Paladin advice required

[Peace-Division]

Hello fellow WoL's

I've recently started a paladin, and enjoying it a lot. However I feel like im in a bind. Ive just gotten to Brayfox Longstop as my current lvl matched dungeon and despite my gearing efforts im getting mauled in there.

I am wearing a full Cavalry set and my shield is a quest freebie the Bull Hoplon

Now as I start the dungeon the first few mob packs (monkeys and birds) shred me to pieces and I nearly die. I am in an AI run with my squadron at the moment just doing positional practice, but the HP i have at the start of the encounter does get removed in chunks really fast. It seems the only way to not get mauled is to ignore my basic combos or eclipse spam and cycle targets and hit them with a stun each just to slow the damage down.

I know the AI healer is a bit rubbish but even in the first few seconds with a cool-down on the go such as rampart i feel like im being destroyed.

As per screenshot my stats and HP. Have I just to suck it up and hope for a healer that doesnt doze off ( when i start with players after a few more practice squadron runs) or is this gear not as good as it would seem?

Any advice would be appreciated ,especially with this block str and rate differences i see in various shield types

[Enkidoh]

Welcome to Eorzea knight-in-training!

Brayflox's Longstop is a rite of passage in the game as it is probably the first dungeon up to that point to start putting in more complex mechanics and enemy behaviour than what you are used to, rather than just finding the path to the end boss and smashing him. That said, healer effectiveness is also absolutely crucial to keeping you and the party alive, and as you noted, the squadron AI is... not so good. Hence why in Squadron 'Command Missions' I like to take not just a CNJ along for healing but an ACN as well, as the ACN squad member will also chuck a Physick your way if needed meaning you have a back-up healer as well.

Gear wise from what I can see you're pretty good with the gear from Brayflox which is matched for that dungeon, but perhaps try upgrading the shield if you can (don't forget your Grand Company sells GC gear for GC seals up to level 50 that also give bonuses if you wear the whole set). I'd replace that Brand New Ring you have though as the EXP bonus it gives ends at level 30 and as it's stats are okay for that levell but there are others that give better, it's not really doing anything.

It must be also mentioned that as the tank, you will be hammered pretty much, it's the nature of the beast. Once you get better abilities and gear that starts to become less noticable, but at such lower levels you feel like a punching bag more often than not seeing your HP plummet rapidly and the healer trying vainly to keep up.

Either way, don't be discouraged! Try to pull enemies in small enough groups as you can without nearby ones linking (easier said than done, but some can be pulled on their own fairly safely, which can make it more manageable). And for what it's worth, I failed it numerous times when I first made my own way through ARR back in circa 2013 with actual parties so I know your pain all too well (took me ages to get the hang of things, mostly the damn dragon at the end with it's stupid poison addiction). Either way, keep at it!

[Peace-Division]

Thank you. I appreciate your feedback.

I do normally run an Arcanist x2 combo when im doing in my squadrons for, as you say, the extra physiks heals, and the endless AOE damage they can do with their own spells and minion attacks (way better than the archer aoe), but I was, on this run as a newbie tank taking my Thaumaturge out as he needs to get his offensive rankings up a lot more. I wonder if this was also why the fights didnt go well as they are very slow at damage it seems compared to the the other ranged classes.

[dangadget]

Your gear is fine for that level, the issue lies with the squadron quite honestly.
It will never be as effective at keeping you alive nor at defeating the mobs fast enough in comparison to an even half-way competent party

[BigDoobs]

I'd say if you're having issues staying alive in dungeons in general its probably not a bad idea to have a stash of health potions or perhaps prioritizing tenacity as a stat. Tenacity is good for smoothing out damage intake in between damage reduction cooldowns.

[ArianeEwah]

Your gear is almost perfect for your level, no issue here. I guess your squad doesn't have high attack bonuses, right? This increases the duration you are tanking and taking damage, so you might get the impression you take more damage than you should. While in reality, you might actually be doing fine. What's important is your cooldown usage to mitigate the damage. Remember that beside Rampart, you still have Arm's Length (which slows enemies attacking you) and Reprisal (enemies affected by it have their damage dealt reduced). Use your CDs throughout the fight, one followed by the next. With level 35 you get Sheltron which blocks all incoming attacks for 4s. I recommend you get the Decorated Iron Scutum for a shield once you hit 36. Its block rate is lower than your current shield, but it has higher block strength, and Sheltron ignores the block rate. (If you happen to get your hands on a Vintage Scutum at 40, you are good to go 'til lvl 50)

As Enkidoh said, with 30+ dungeons the difficulty increases bit by bit, including the damage taken part. Don't be discouraged and try to push your limit.

[TouchandFeel]

With level 35 you get Sheltron which blocks all incoming attacks for 4s

If I recall correctly, it's been a while since I leveled PLD, when you first get Sheltron it only blocks the next incoming attack and therefore only defends against a single attack before it goes away. It isn't until you get the Enhanced Sheltron trait at lvl.74 that it changes from defending against a single attack to defending against all attacks for a 6s duration.

To the poster, in addition to what has already been said regarding pacing out small enough groups of enemies and using defensive cooldowns, also don't forget that as a PLD you have multiple stun abilities that can lower incoming damage a bit.
Low Blow is an instant cast ability with a relatively low recast time, so just go ahead and use it when it's available and if things are getting really rough you can always use Shield Bash to stun-lock the enemy group by just cycling between the different enemies and using Bash on them to keep the group locked down for a bit which will give your squadron some time to whittle them down a bit.
Keep in mind, the above strategy is really only something you may want to do at lower levels as a tank, since once you get get higher level you will have more defensive tools available that will make surviving way easier and you as well as your party members will have more AoE damage abilities and so just dishing out as much damage as possible as quickly as possible will start to become more efficient.

[Peace-Division]

I appreciate all your inputs.

Thank you

[ArianeEwah]

If I recall correctly, it's been a while since I leveled PLD, when you first get Sheltron it only blocks the next incoming attack and therefore only defends against a single attack before it goes away. It isn't until you get the Enhanced Sheltron trait at lvl.74 that it changes from defending against a single attack to defending against all attacks for a 6s duration.

It only blocked one single attack within 5s/6s pre-ShB, since 5.0 it blocks all attacks for its duration (excluding crits). Its base duration is 4s, the trait you mentioned just increases it to 6s.

[wereotter]

Brayflox is, arguably, the first instance in the game to actually test your healer's ability to keep the tank alive. This makes running the dungeon with the squadron healer a bit more of a challenge than running with an actual player as the player can make smarter decisions than the squadron healer (and if you're doing this to level yourself up.... you're a tank, you'll get a fast queue time, you don't need to rely on the squadron to level up)

You can help the healer out not just with your use of Rampart, which you already said you're using, but also using Reprisal which gives the surrounding enemies a 10% damage dealt reduction, and Arm's Length which will put a 20% slow on the enemies when they hit you