The best way to learn how to play your class better is right here:http://www.fflogs.com/

You can check out the best Paladins in the world (who upload) on Ratfinx http://www.fflogs.com/rankings/10#bo...l&spec=Paladin

And then Compare it directly to your OWN parse (if you uploaded it, which you should, even if it's private/unlisted). You can see when and where they use their cooldowns (offensive AND defensive) as well as when they're in Shield or Sword. Ideally you'll find another PLD who's in the same role as you (MT or OT).

For example, here's a really good MT PLD - http://www.fflogs.com/reports/vNy6Tb...pe=damage-done

It looks like he never changes stance, so I assume he was 100% Sword Oath, which may not work for your group. Heals need to be on it, and you need to know what cooldowns to use when. He opens with FoF and it wears off during Concussion, for instance, and then uses it on cooldown from there.

A VERY important thing to note about cooldown usage in this fight - getting 3 casts of a cooldown at the reduced effectiveness is strictly better than getting only 2 casts at the boosted effectiveness. If you end up holding FoF for 30s more than once, you're losing 1 cast of it for the duration of the fight, almost undoubtedly, which is a pretty significant loss.