PLD is a riddle? Give me thoughts and outside the box thinking...no flames

[Sqwall]

So..let me know if i'm wrong.

Weapon: anything with skill speed and fast auto-attack. (But has to be a sword)

Shield: Block chance for shield swipe (SS really does a ton of damage and damage = enmity)

Armor(s): VIT, STR, ( I put VIT first and foremost because well...i'm a tank...me want's HP'S) and for secondary stats DET, and if you can find it Skill speed.

Jewerly: This is where you pick up your MND and PIE for more MP. Flash is a non-damaging SPELL ... so for the time being I'm going to ASSUME that MND affects it's resist. .

Materia: Now this is where I don't have all the answers.
1. I don't know what materia can or can't be slotted in any gear.
2. I don't know the AMOUNT of +'s materia grants.


Blue: VIT (More HP means you can fight longer)
Red: DET (more DET means your HP loss from enemies will be less)
Purple: Skill Speed ( this allows your skills to have less cooldown)

[Zace]

Why get MND and PIE on your Jewelry when you can get STR and Skill Speed? You shouldn't be relying on Flash so much that you run out of MP constantly.
Just a side-note I've been pumping all my bonus stats into STR and have absolutely no problems with survivability, I've been able to chain-pull every dungeon so far.

[Sqwall]

Since I changed everything up I started to notice...
1.Flash enmity isn't worth using it after 3 times with diminishing returns
2.Flash isn't affected by MND
3. Cure is seeming less and less worthy for the larger MP pool since it will only be worth a damn at level 50 with Hallowed Ground. Low HP pop HG and cure alot i dunno
4. MORE HP....Stoneskin is sounding more and more appealing

[Themis]

Weapon: Whatever has the highest damage is my preference. WD is the biggest factor in weaponskill damage and also increases the enmity generated by Flash (enmity on Flash is calculated similar to weaponskill damage, it just deals 0 damage).

Shield: I've not played around with many shields (what with being Legacy, I already have one). I think your choice may depend on whether you need to block more damage (these tend to have low block rates), or block more often (these tend to have low block strength). I have a shield with a balance of both and it works well for me currently.

My build is made up of mostly VIT + Paladin AF whilst I'm working on acquiring better gear. Once I can get around to melds, I will probably push some STR onto my current accessories.

Skill speed has been shown to have very low rates of effect, so unless you can get enough to really make a difference (not very likely, and there are better stats to improve on) I wouldn't bother with it personally.

Piety and Mind: Don't even bother with those. You don't need any more MP as you won't be using it all that quickly. Some Ethers or Riot Blades will keep you ok if you feel like you will run out. Mind has no effect on Flash at all. Only healing potency. Which is pretty damn disappointing on Gladiator or Paladin.

Flash is effected by: Weapon Damage + STR + Determination (in some combination and coefficients that I don't know of). Flash is like any other debuff: either the mob is going to resist it completely (immune), or it will land for decreasing amounts of time (gradual resistance) or it will land at full strength all the time (if this even happens). The enmity generated by Flash, however, is based on the WD + STR + Determination part, not the Blind debuff (though it may contribute a small amount). The enmity generated, as such, does not have any kind of diminishing returns, as it is not based on the success of the debuff effect.

My favourite stats to look at (in no order): Weapon Damage, STR, VIT, Crit Hit, Accuracy. I'll throw DEX into that too, if you need to have some to make a difference to block or parry rate (you need a fair amount for a 1% change).

I would like to know whether Accuracy is a thing we need to look at, though, when it comes to high end content.

[WingsofWar]

Why get MND and PIE on your Jewelry when you can get STR and Skill Speed? You shouldn't be relying on Flash so much that you run out of MP constantly.
Just a side-note I've been pumping all my bonus stats into STR and have absolutely no problems with survivability, I've been able to chain-pull every dungeon so far.

In my opinion.. for GLD, as far as efficiency.. your tank is probably not the best it could be by putting all your bonus points in STR. Realistically.. you could put no bonus points anywhere and still have no problems surviving. The 30 bonus points you receive in STR will either give you 1% more damage mitigation, and a small boost in attack damage. It is somewhat nice, but to me it isn't as valuable as the 450hp gain you get from VIT, which improves regen tick. I find this more sought after because of endgame raids and big boss fates.

But that is just me and my play style as a tank..

[Sqwall]

Things that i'm seeing so far


Stats to push hard: VIT, STR,
Armor Bonuses: DET, Critical hit rate, accuracy(some jewelry)
Weapon: Attack Power, Critical hit rate, accuracy

I'll try see if flash is affected by critical hit rate....might be...further testing to find this out

[Sapphidia]

Just to pick up on a point in the first point - Shield Swipe is NOT good threat.

Yes it's good -damage-, but it doesnt have the extra Enmity effect that Savage Blade and Rage of Halone have. Whilst it hits as hard as either for less TP, Shield Swipe will do something like half the threat of Savage Blade and 25% the threat of Halone, if not even less (I can't remember the values, I do know that Rage of Halone is a LOT of extra threat). As a result, using Shield Swipe constantly is a massive loss in threat when you could just be doing your basic Fast -> Savage -> Halone combo. Shield Swipe is purely for solo DPS and mitigating damage via the Pacify. Don't spam it when tanking or you'll lose aggro all over the place.

Also I believe the diminishing returns on Flash only affects the length of the Blind Debuff. Flash should add the same amount of threat to all targets regardless of how many times you've used it.

[Vydos]

I first started with spreading my stats around. At level 50, I spread it in 20 vit, 5 dex, 5 str. But I quickly noticed that I'm more efficient by putting everything in vit. Which I ended up doing after resetting my stat points. And it helps a lot. Better defense + Bigger HP pool is definately something usefull for the endgame fights.

[LCorvus]

It all comes down to what rotation you think works best, but I find personally that Shield Swipe is actually a skill I will hit every time it procs. Not sure what content Sapphidia is referring to but I've found in the lvl 50 dungeons that I don't have issues with enmity, which means that once I build a base of enmity I switch from high-enmity generating abilities to just dealing as much damage as possible.
In which case, Shield Swipe with it's 210 potency is one of your most powerful moves on the global cooldown. A full Rage of Halone combo is a total of 610 potency (3 attack combo) and a Riot Blade combo will net you 380 (2 attack combo). Shield Swipe in comparison will net you 630 (3 attacks) and 420 (2 attacks). So once your enmity is sufficient enough, it's definitely worth it to get as many shield swipes as you can in, especially considering the fact it does not interrupt other combos.

[Sqwall]

Finally, been waiting for someone to notice Shield Swipe has a good amount of potency to it. I to use it EVERY time it's up for a fast attack and the pacification bonus. @ Sapphidia I still believe shield swipe grants a very fast amount of Enmity, damage, and pacification. That's three pluses. I now use it in my rotation. Shield Lobe>Flash>Fast Blade>Savage Blade>Rage of Halone>Shield Swipe>Flash> Repeat That's 15 seconds for my full rotation. Doesn't seem all that bad for 13.5 to 15 seconds difference