Cooldowns and when to use them best...

[Februs]

Febby's Guide to Pld Buffs (The Mob Tanking Edition).

Synergies (according to timer, not usage):

• (Fight or Flight + Bloodbath) / Rampart
  
• Foresight / Convalescence / Awareness
  
• Bulwark
  
• Sentinel
  
• Hallowed Ground
  
• Extras: Stoneskin, Clemency, and Shelltron.

Defensive Combos and Usages:

Pld CD synergy is actually pretty straight forward. In most cases, the pairings of Pld CD's follows the CD timers. The idea is to match your defense to the amount of dmg being taken. With that in mind, the general rule of thumb for Mob Tanking is “Strongest to Weakest.” There are, however, some exceptions, and which CD's you use will depend on the size of the pull or type of magic being dealt.

For your standard tanking adventures, the pairings are as follows:

• Defensive Combo # 1. (FoF+Bloodbath) + Rampart:
  
  This is your bread and butter right here.
  
  I put FoF+Bloodbath in brackets because they should never be used separately. The healing of BB scales with Dmg, so you might as well take advantage of the dmg boost given by FoF. The CD timers also align, and the duration is only a few seconds off. That said, Pld's dmg output is not high enough to use these two Def CD's alone, especially when tanking. Shield Oath reduces your self-healing substantially, so another CD is necessary. Enter Rampart.
  
  Rampart is one of Pld's best def CD's and should be used with (FoF + BB). The timers align. If you use them together they'll come back around together. Also, if we're talking about MOB pulls, it's a good idea to provide a strong showing at the start.
  
  The mob is strongest when they’re all alive and hitting you. Meaning your defense should be going in order of strongest to weakest when working with Mobs. Rampart is an indiscriminate increase to your defense. It doesn't matter what kind of dmg you're taking, and it's not reliant on RNG or position. This makes it a good starting option.
  On a large pull (2 sets of mobs or more, which is roughly 6 or more mobs), Rampart will have you covered with a strong defense until the Dps can start thinning out the ranks. Once the enemies start dying, you can use weaker CD’s
  
  
• Defensive Combo # 2. Foresight + Convalescence:
  
  This is your secondary defensive combo, and is best used following Combo 1. I typically pair Foresight and Convalescence together based on CD timer and flexibility. Foresight is weak and needs to be supported by another CD. Convalescence is the easiest one to use, and allows the healer to supplement your decreased defense with a boost to their healing. The timers line up perfectly.
  
  If need be, you can also pair these two with additional defense, such as Bulwark. However, the goal is not to do this. You want to stretch your mitigation as far as it goes, and hulking up is not the way to do that. What's more important, and more efficient, is to plan the use of these CD's effectively. As I mentioned, this is a secondary defense. I typically use it following the use of Defensive Combo 1. The reason being is that, by the time the timer of Rampart expires, the Dps should have thinned out some of the mobs (if not outright killed them). Less mobs = less defense required. Foresight and Convalescence can cover it until the remaining mobs are dead.
  
  Another thing I should mention about this combo is that I do NOT like to start pulls with this one, if I can avoid it. This is for 2 reasons:
  
  The first is that Foresight + Convalescence is weaker than (FoF+BB) + Rampart. It doesn't defend against magic, either. Like I said before, you want to start your pull with strong defense.
  
  The second reason is that Convalescence can reduce your enmity. Healers see a sudden boost to their healing magic when you use this move, and it is glorious. However, it also increases the odds of them over healing you, which leads to spikes in healer enmity. Pld's have the weakest enmity in the game (at the moment). It's best not to sabotage it at the start of a pull, before you've had the chance to use your RoH combo on a few targets.
  
  For this reason, this pairing is best used following (FoF+BB) + Rampart. It can be used on smaller pulls, but you have to be more aware of your enmity and what kind of dmg is being dealt.
  
  
• Defensive Combo # 3. Bulwark + Awareness:
  
  This is a tricky one.
  
  Technically, Awareness lines up better with Foresight + Convalescence; however it is best used with Bulwark. Bulwark sees increased efficiency out of nullifying crits. So, using Awarness with it boosts your block rate, thereby increasing your mitigation. That said, the usage is finicky because the timers don't align. You'll have to avoid popping Awareness on CD so that you can use it with Bulwark.
  Awareness CAN be used with any other Defensive Combo in the Pld kit and still do its job effectively, but Bulwark only attains maximum efficiency when used with Awareness (except on boss fights), so the general rule is that you can use Awareness with whatever you like, but Bulwark must be used with Awareness, so plan accordingly.
  
  The other tricky part is that Bulwark only defends against physical dmg, is reliant on position, and dependent on the type of shield being used. For this reason, I don't like to start a pull with Bulwark either. When I do, I typically chose to hold off on using it until I have the mob settled into position, to make the most out of my block rate.
  As for shields, for maximum defense against Mobs, a higher block rate shield is best. However, on bosses, stronger blocks are often better. This is less important, though, because shield stats will eventually reach a cap as we get further into expansion.
  
  
• Sentinel:
  
  One step shy from God Mode. Sentinel is one of Pld's trickiest moves, because of how delightfully simple it is. It has a high defense, low duration, and long CD. For this reason, it is best saved for either a high dmg moment (Tank busters) or the end of your defensive rotation. [/U]There are 3 effective ways to use Sentinel, but all of them fall down to buying time.[/U]
  
  Method 1: The “Oh Shit” Button.
  
  This is probably the most common way people use Sentinel. You can pop it with pretty much any other Defensive CD in the Pld kit and it will give you a solid boost to defense. Using it like this is basically like using it as an “oh shit” button, and you’re buying time for the healer to keep up with the dmg. It is typically unplanned and results from over-pulling, inefficient use of CD’s, or if the healer is struggling to keep up. In all cases, you’re buying time for the healer to keep you alive.
  
  Method 2: Coupling Sentinel with HG.
  
  This is a planned use of Sentinel which is usually reserved for very large pulls with high dmg output. Basically, what you do is pre-buff with Stoneskin, pull big, and pop HG without any other CD’s. When HG falls off, pop Sentinel. Roughly half way through Sentinel’s duration, pop FoF+BB. When Sentinel falls off, pop Rampart. You’re working strongest to weakest here (following the typical method). By the time you get to Bulwark, the mob should be dead or close enough to dead that you don’t have to worry about it.
  
  Method 3: The Reverse Order:
  
  This is advanced Pld tanking and is by far the hardest to do. For one, it requires you to think in reverse. Most Defensive Combos work by following the strongest to weakest method to provide the most defense when the mob is at its strongest. This method tweaks the order a little.
  
  Because Sentinel’s duration is only 10s, starting a pull with Sentinel is not efficient. The effect will end before you finish getting the mob in order. Instead, this method starts with a weaker CD, such as Foresight, to cover the damage you take while in transit (mobs hitting you while following you). When you finish your pull (you’ve stopped), you start your defensive combo rotation. Combo 1 is most often used alone because it is strongest. Combo 2 and 3 are often paired to give them a boost. Sentinel come in LAST.
  
  Basically, Instead of scaling your defense with the mob’s strength (strongest at start, weaker as the mobs die) you’re providing a constant baseline of defense throughout the entire encounter. Sentinel is used at the end as a means to buy you time so that your other CD’s can come back up. It’s very tricky, and it requires you to know precisely when your buffs expire so that you can apply the next set, but it is a means by which Pld’s can do very large pulls without having to resort to using HG. I only recommend it if you know how to cycle your buffs very efficiently.
  
  
• Hallowed Ground:
  
  God Mode for 10 seconds (roughly, depending on latency).
  
  Like Sentinel, HG only has 3 uses. The fist is as an “Oh Shit” button. Not an efficient use, but it is sometimes necessary. The second is a panned use for the biggest pull in the dungeon (see Sentinel method 2). The last is to skip mechanics (Tank busters, Final Stings, player swaps, like in Ravana Ex, etc.). All in all, it is a very simple move and is easy to use. However, the consequences for using it wrong are devastating, as it will most likely result in a wipe and the CD timer is absurdly long.
  
  
• The Extras:
  
  
  I can always tell a career Whm from a moonlighter depending on how they use Stoneskin. A lot of Whm’s will pre-buff you with it just before the last mob of a pull dies so that it is up for the start of the next pull. Mimic those professionals.
  
  On mob pulls, Stoneskin is simply used a Pre-buff. If your healer is not pre-buffing you before the last mob of a pull dies, you should be doing it to yourself to save time. It gives you an extra precious few seconds at the start of the next pull to line everything up before you start your Defensive CD rotations. Most good healers will handle this for you, but if they’re not, I tend to self-cast SS when the last mob of a pull is sub 30% to prep for the next pull.
  
  Clemency, has almost no use during mob pulls unless your healer is asleep or dead. There have been, very rare, occasions in which I’ve had to self-heal during a mob pull because the healer was falling behind, dead, or I maybe just ran out of Tp and had nothing else to do, but these circumstances are extremely rare. Clemency’s use is 99% for boss encounters, however it is important to note that most mobs cannot hit hard enough to cancel a Clemency cast. Those that do typically use an AoE cone or charge bar. So there’s really nothing stopping you from using it if you have to.
  
  Shelltron is very simple. In mob pulls, use it on CD or to proc a hit of Shield Swipe. In boss fights, save it for TB’s or cleaves.