Critical Chance vs Strength - Paladin

[ulti_19]

Thank you for the crit rates! With it being so low at 500 plus, strength is definitely better.

[Nenin]

...and in the case of PvP you are pigeonholed into a specific item setup and only allowed to socket one or the other, thereby invalidating statistical freedom.

FFXIV is a game defined by the illusion of choice. This thread is about PLD so let's review your options:




30 stat points
STR - The only right answer. Increases the DMG of every single offensive ability you have. Increases auto attack DMG. Also slightly increases block strength.
DEX - You have no ranged attacks. Even Shield Lob is melee. All 30 points in DEX would increase your block rate by < 2% and the only blocking you'll do in PvP is from Cover.
VIT - "Let's zerg the PLD, allowing the BLM and SCH to freecast", said nobody ever. You'll be the last to die 95% of the time and if anyone tries to burst you early you have Shield Oath, Rampart, Sentinel, Awareness, Bulwark, Convalescence, Flash, Shield Swipe, and Shield Bash. If all else fails 10s of invincibility + immunity to almost everything.
INT - No offensive spells. It literally does nothing for you.
MND - You don't have the Might and Mend traits and all PLD weapons have 0 magic damage. Your cures on the dying healer are like throwing band-aids at a guy when he's on fire. Seriously, with 400 MND your Cure will do < 350.
PIE - More MP for what? With 0 extra piety you have enough to use Flash and Stoneskin to your heart's content.



Cross class abilities
Cure - See above ^
Raise - Can't use it.
Stoneskin - It's only 10% and you have no Surecast/Swiftcast but it gives you something to do when you're bound, and Tempered Will is on CD, and you're out of TP for Shield Lob, and Enliven is on CD, and Icarus Wings are on CD, and your healer can't cleanse you...
Protect - Does nothing in PvP.
Foresight - Does nothing in PvP.
Fracture - It's a shorter duration than with MRD/WAR but it's better than nothing I guess.
Bloodbath - Not bad. Helps counter weak DoT spreading and AOEs.
Skull Sunder - You can't combo it. Oh boy 100 potency.
Mercy Stroke - Pretty essential. There's no reason not to use it if you have it.

You have a plethora of useless/unusable abilities to choose from.



Gear
Head/Chest/Hands/Waist/Legs/Feet - You have no choice. You can only wear the fending set.
Accessories - All pieces have one main stat. This is a repeat of the 30 point choice and again anything other than pure STR is the wrong answer.



Melds
You can't add any STR/VIT and the other main stats blow so it's Crit/Determination/Skill Speed on everything. With overmelds there's no wiggle room because you can hit the stat caps for those 3 on every item except chest, legs, and weapon. You could stack some sleep or stun resist materia but doing so means giving up a lot of secondary stats.