PLD/GLD Gear/Meld Set up?

[MoonKeeperr]

Hello i'd like to know what i should buy/use on my PLD and GLD and Meld ? And is the Darksteel Gear good for GLD what should i add to it?

[Molly_Millions]

Use a Cobalt Cuirass, the darksteel hauby is for DD, the other darksteel pieces are classes only, so they are not for PLD. I don't have one with such a meld yet, but it seems like the best way to go for PLD is to meld some comination of either DEF/HP, VIT/HP, or massive amounts of HP. If you are planning to share your chestpiece with WAR it's feasible to double meld VIT on your chestpiece, which will add DPS on that job.

[Curcio]

LEt it be known no one will fault you for using Gallant body (AF). Plenty of long fights I've been through in my double meld cuirass with 0MP - Wishing I could cover someone to succor a friend to help with healing and emnity.

Edit - Also try the PLD guide down the page. It lists priority gear choices and melds for your Paladin.

[R0ssdaddy]

Even though PLD is my favorite job I havent played it in a very long time, but it would take a lot of convincing to take away the gallant gloves/surcoat.

The Gallant Surcoat's "Enchances Cover" ability actually means that if YOU take dmg while covering someone else you regen mp in proportion to dmg taken. This easily adds up HUGE, I remember using it in iffy fights and gaining back over 1k mp before Cover expired, so I probably wouldnt pass it up for anything else except the heavy darklight.

Same with the gloves, they enchance Holy Succor which is not just an awesome self-heal but also one of your most reliable hate building tools. Honestly though I have never tested Succor without the gloves so it might be a minimal difference.

Boots, Sentinel's Sabatons with +HP on it. The Sabatons have +9 enmity and you are gonna need all the enmity you can possibly get. Drop a +65 on it if you arent a gillionaire going for double melds and call it a day. Best in slot for WAR also, outside of heavy DL.

Waist= Cobalt Plate Belt with Double enmity+.

Weapon = Cobalt Winglet with enmity+ until you get a primal weapon. You might even be better off with a double enmity winglet instead of any of the primal weapons, been too long since I was PLD to tell you for sure.

That leaves Head, Legs, and Jewelry. Legs are either AF or Felt Trousers with "Ironman's Will Materia" (The one that is +STR and +VIT)

Head, idk I always stuck with Coronet.

Jewelry = Stonewall Earrings (10 enmity), Militia Choker (30 enmity, but very pricey atm so electrum gorget if you cant afford it), Coral Armillae +1(more enmity), and then I would use Electrum Rings to make sure my fast blade flat blade combos never missed.

Good Luck! If you are short on gil and can only afford one thing, I would suggest the double melded Enmity+ belt. Try to get 40+ and you will notice the difference, also best for WAR.

[DarthTaru]

Farm AV and CC and get Heavy Darklight body and Heavy Darklight Gauntlets.
The Gallant Surcoat's cover effect is interesting but I have found no situation in this game yet where I would prefer that over Heavy Darklight. After you get whatever gear you're able to with your present resources I would make those two pieces your top priority.

[Molly_Millions]

Farm AV and CC and get Heavy Darklight body and Heavy Darklight Gauntlets.
The Gallant Surcoat's cover effect is interesting but I have found no situation in this game yet where I would prefer that over Heavy Darklight. After you get whatever gear you're able to with your present resources I would make those two pieces your top priority.

imo you can't count on getting those, the drop rate is too low. it's better to go with melded stuff then replace it if and when you get hdl gear.

Also, for a helmet, you can use the Militia Armet, it's really good for PLD and is a 100% drop in LL hamlet if you have a top provisioner and get over 6k points. As a bonus, it matches the pld af set.

[Arkine]

PLD is very messy to meld for since you have 4 stats to work with while other jobs deal with 2, also the effectivness of these stats are very foggy and you'll see people on both sides of the debate.

Hamlet is your friend.

You can pretty much wear the whole Hamlet set for PLD and it will have above average stats for all the slots.

Militia Armet : Defense 94 HP+60 Vitality+7 Mind+7 Enmity+10
Militia Cuirass : Defense 184 HP+100 Vitality+7 Mind+13 Critical Hit Rating+15 Parry+10
Militia Gauntlets: Defense 76 HP+120 Mind+7 Enmity+10
Militia Tights : Defense 138 HP+100 MP+50 Vitality+15 Mind+15 Accuracy+5 Spell Interrupt Resistance+50
Militia Sabatons : Defense 70 HP+110 Vitality+3 Mind+3 Accuracy+2

What you really want:

Militia Armet : Defense 94 HP+60 Vitality+7 Mind+7 Enmity+10 From Aleport
Militia Gauntlets: Defense 76 HP+120 Mind+7 Enmity+10 From Hyrstmil
Militia Tights : Defense 138 HP+100 MP+50 Vitality+15 Mind+15 Accuracy+5 Spell Interrupt Resistance+50 From Hyrstmil
Militia Choker : Defense 12 Accuracy+5 Enmity+30 From Golden Bazaar


For Body go AF just for the cover effect, or Militia body if you have a BRD.

If you're just starting you can go with a pretty basic set up and it will get you by until you get better stuff.

Lets talk gear: (entirely my preferences)

Head: AF, the stats are pretty decent.
Body: AF, the cover effect alone makes it worth carrying around, also 12 MND is ok.
Hands: Sentinels with T4 HP.
Waist: Sentinels with 1 T4 enmity, or Cobalt with double T3s since T3s are much cheaper than T4 and cobalt is 40k a pop you can dedicate a mill to get it double melded.
Legs: Felt Trousers with HP or T4 Ironman's Will. (Also cheap try to double meld T3 HP 40/40 )
Feet: Sentinels with HP, feet have lousy materia options so HP it is. The boots themselves have +9 enmity.

Sentinel stuff is pricey if you just started so stick T4s on them and dont try risking to double meld them unless you have a lot of gil laying around.

Jewelry:
Neck: Militia Choker IMHO is best in slot, you can put a Stonewall choker(+HP) or Electrum(+atk) instead.
Wrists: Coral Armillae (+enmity), Raptorskin Wristbands(+50HP). Nothing else really.
Ears: Stonewall earring(+10enmity), Rose Gold Earrings(HP+25/MP+15), Black Pearl if you cant afford the others.
Rings: Amber rings(+VIT) I use for kiting, Electrum rings (+acc) when straight tanking (for Flatblade)


Of course if you somehow got Heavy Darklight go with that instead.

[Curcio]

Thanks for the suggestions, Arkine. I'm curious what people think about stats for Paladin in terms of Str, Mnd, Vit, and Dex.

I haven't heard much about STR or DEX besides the fact that STR boosts PLD damage and Dex affects accuracy/block. I've heard a majority of people say don't bother with Dex because it doesn't help much.

I've heard people talk more about MND than STR, especially in terms of Flat Blade. Is Flat Blade's emnity affected by MND more than STR? Or are people taking MND over STR because it does the same, but also affects our healing potency?

And Vitality I've heard mixed reviews. People say to take it where you can, and others say it's a waste. With a 1/1 conversion ration on VIT/HP it seems you would use VIT more for whatever defense it helps bolster, while the icing on the cake is the slight HP boost.

What says everyone else? I'm mostly curious about Flat Blade. Does STR/MND affect the emnity outcome, or is it the damage both add to the Weaponskill that boosts the emnity gain? Thanks for the information.

[Molly_Millions]

Thanks for the suggestions, Arkine. I'm curious what people think about stats for Paladin in terms of Str, Mnd, Vit, and Dex.

When melding gear you should prioritize your stats as such:

STR > MND > HP > DEF > VIT.

Forget about DEX on PLD, you don't need it. DEX adds dmg from weaponskills and acc. It is not your priority to do massive damage. By adding to DEX you are not adding to another stat that would do you more good such as STR (which in addition to weaponskill dmg will help your auto-attack). The other would be benefit of adding DEX is acc, you'll get more acc by adding points directly into acc, so use an electrum ring +1 instead of adding DEX, you should only need one. Be aware that the only place to put DEX on PLD is your gloves. By doing so, you are taking up a slot that could be used for STR. By adding to DEX on PLD you really would be doing yourself a disservice.

I've heard people talk more about MND than STR, especially in terms of Flat Blade. Is Flat Blade's emnity affected by MND more than STR? Or are people taking MND over STR because it does the same, but also affects our healing potency?

STR is you primary damage modifier, MND your secondary. Another benefit of MND is better healing. However, in a lot of fights, you won't have enough MP to do much healing. MND only affects your auto-attack damage in terms of added dps. Therefore STR > MND.

And Vitality I've heard mixed reviews. People say to take it where you can, and others say it's a waste. With a 1/1 conversion ration on VIT/HP it seems you would use VIT more for whatever defense it helps bolster, while the icing on the cake is the slight HP boost.

VIT is not a complete waste, however you get more damage mitigation from DEF. VIT is not an auto-attack modifier on PLD, so the only thing as PLD that you get from VIT is DEF and 1:1 hp per point of VIT. Therefore DEF > VIT.