I'm the worst Pld ever. v_v

[Renryuu]

So recently I decided I was gonna ditch dpsing and main tanking as I was enjoying the game far more on my Drk than I had been on my Blm or Smn. I decided to level up Pld since everyone says it's the beginner tank and the best MT and... disaster happened.

I did Cutter's Cry and was unable to hold hate most of the time, died frequently even with using all my cooldowns, and only cleared it cause of the Mch who ended up as the tank for basically the whole run. I don't understand how I was able to do this dungeon so much better with Drk but fail it so horribly with Pld. I had such high hopes and now I'm wondering if I'm gonna be stuck being a caster and being so annoyed and frustrated to the point that I have a seizure or something as a result. v_v

[Alistaire]

When people say "PLD is the easy tank to play" they mean for single-target type stuff, raids, trials, CT etc... PLDs are the worst at dungeons.

[Malicewolf]

Haha, not surprised to hear this. Sorry to hear about your troubles with PLD tanking, but there seemed to be a bit of a misconception ^^; PLD is the easier in terms of their rotation and dealing with single target enemies/bosses. But in area where there are multiple mobs to worry about, they are probably the worst. You must ditch dealing damage in order to grab aggro with flash. You do have Circle of Scorn, but that doesn't come till 50 and it's CD is too long to be spammed. Pretty much just good for initial pulls in order to grab some additional hate on the mobs.

If anything a PLD will actually force you to learn how to manage your aggro more (if you wish to get better that is). Because you will have to choose between 2 options. Sit and spam flash and deal very little damage or learn to rotate your targets well and prioritize your targets based on aggro meters (which requires you to switch targets constantly). Once you're geared well, Circle of Scorn and a flash (maybe 2) will usually be enough to hold aggro for the most part unless your DPS are going crazy (or a NIN is trolling you).

Also, cutter's cry is one of those inbetween dungeons where you can be under level 40. PLD's biggest issue as a tank is that they don't get their tank stance until level 40 (whereas everyone else gets theirs at 30). Instead we get our DPS stance... While nice we can deal more dmg, the problem is that our DPS counterparts have gotten some nice moves to use to rip hate right off of us. Even an experienced tank player would have trouble holding aggro as a PLD without their tank stance in Cutter's Cry. Not impossible, but we'd have to be focusing pretty well on aggro meters.

A DRK on the otherhand can just spam unleash all day, e'er day and not give any fudgsicles.

Why not keep playing DRK? If you've gotten up to cutter's cry with PLD, you should have all the cross class skills you'd want for tanking.

[LalafellDown]

So recently I decided I was gonna ditch dpsing and main tanking as I was enjoying the game far more on my Drk than I had been on my Blm or Smn. I decided to level up Pld since everyone says it's the beginner tank and the best MT and... disaster happened.

I did Cutter's Cry and was unable to hold hate most of the time, died frequently even with using all my cooldowns, and only cleared it cause of the Mch who ended up as the tank for basically the whole run. I don't understand how I was able to do this dungeon so much better with Drk but fail it so horribly with Pld. I had such high hopes and now I'm wondering if I'm gonna be stuck being a caster and being so annoyed and frustrated to the point that I have a seizure or something as a result. v_v

/em comforts <t> (●´;д; )ヾ(･ω･`●)ｮﾁｮ

[Renryuu]

Well I had asked another forum about what tank would be best for a person who has never tanked in an mmo and has only toyed with tanking in FF14 (aka, me leveling Drk up to 54). The majority of responses was that Pld was the best choice. I loved leveling Drk and tanking with it which is what has me wanting to commit to tanking, but I recognize that if I'm to be a good tank, I should play something that is more desirable and can self sustain so that healers don't need to babysit my health. From what I can gather and read on the matter, I find info that says that Drk is just meh in comparison to the other tanks which brought me to asking forums on tank suggestions. Drk appealed to me since it's play style is kinda similar to characters I play in non MMO games and it's aesthetics are quite pleasing to me since I'm a sucker for over the top flashy moves, but at the same time, I'm willing to play a tank that is more beneficial, though I doubt I'd ever do savage since I'm in a dead FC.

[Donjo]

Reading this story reminded me of a particular problem that can occur in Cutter's Cry that is unique to Paladins. A poke at your character on the lodestone confirmed this fact.

You entered Cutter's Cry at Level 38.

One of the absolute most hellish experience a Paladin can get themselves into is to attempt to enter Cutter's Cry before reaching Level 40. This is because you gain Shield Oath, the Paladin equivalent to Grit, with the Level 40 Job Quest. What happened to you this run is completely understandable and your fellow Paladins feel your pain. Once you get Shield Oath, Cutter's Cry will nearly instanteously become a cakewalk. So hang in there

[Deathgiver]

One of the absolute most hellish experience a Paladin can get themselves into is to attempt to enter Cutter's Cry before reaching Level 40.

So much this... I absolutely abhor tanking anything that levels syncs you to between level 30 - 39 on PLD. Sword oath is not enough to keep up hate and do any sort of dps at the same time on trash., You basically end up spamming flash until you're out of mp if you have any sort of decent dps. My static pld feels the same way, and he's no chump when it comes to holding hate.

[Renryuu]

Would it be best to just fate grind or leve grind my way to 40 since I'm now 39? Also would it be advisable to never do roulette as Pld so I can avoid this issue in the future or does Cutter's Cry sync to 40 so it won't be a issue later on?

[The_Last_Dragoon]

Cutter's Cry was much easier to do as a PLD when your dps weren't level sync'd and gear sync'd. Level 35 was unique in that it was the first time in 5 levels that you didn't get free gear, and if you didn't know how to get gear your level, then you were pretty much stuck with whatever you got in dungeons/quests. As the other people above me have said, don't give up on PLD, because it does get easier, and the issues you had during that run were of no fault of your own.

Would it be best to just fate grind or leve grind my way to 40 since I'm now 39? Also would it be advisable to never do roulette as Pld so I can avoid this issue in the future or does Cutter's Cry sync to 40 so it won't be a issue later on?

Yes, since lv38-43 is the magic number for Central Coerthas, aka Fate Farm central

[Seku]

Need to take advantage of shield bash, stone skin spamming, and maxing out flash's blind potential until level 40. People who say PLD is the easy tank are referring to the fact that it's combo rotation is easy with little resource management. WAR is probably the easiest over all tank, as you can spam butcher's block and basically be like a PLD, but you'll never have issues with hate and have access to Defiance, which in my opinion makes tanking a lot easier.

Would it be best to just fate grind or leve grind my way to 40 since I'm now 39? Also would it be advisable to never do roulette as Pld so I can avoid this issue in the future or does Cutter's Cry sync to 40 so it won't be a issue later on?

Nah. I think you should do it via this dungeon so you can get a feel of keeping yourself alive while keeping hate. This way later on if you get horrible healers / groups, you'll be well aware of your abilities and will be able to keep yourself alive -- assuming you're seeking to learn to play the job to it's fullest.