Bst/pld?

[Alfa]

I was wondering if bst/pld was a good combo. what do you guys think?

[Murphie]

I don't think /PLD would offer much functionality that isn't already found in /WHM or /WAR. You'd get a few jobs traits that aren't likely to make or break you (two defense bonuses and shield mastery), less MP and general spell functionality than you'd get with /WHM, and less raw attack power than you'd get with /WAR.

[IfritnoItazura]

For soloing, some Tarutaru BSTs like it, for the defense. The smaller MP pool compared to /WHM doesn't bother them, since they have MP to spare anyway.

Once you can reliable get pets to tank, you're definitely better off with /WHM or /NIN Of course, if you're soloing, feel free to try any combination you like.

* * *

I don't consider it an appropriate support job for party use.

[Heartily]

I let my pet tank so I use Blu most often to add more damage ability when needed. Blu has cocoon for defense, which is great. Blu adds headbutt for stun and bludgeon for the final kill and a wider range of elememtal attacks than PLD.
I would even prefer red mage to Pld due to more attack options.
Beast 55,Blu 41 Pld. 37

[Icemage]

Can't imagine many situations where /PLD will be better than:

/WHM (Protect, Shell, Sneak, Invisible, Blink, Stoneskin, Erase, Poisona, Paralyna)
/RDM (Protect, Shell, Sneak, Invisible, Blink, Stoneskin, Dispel)
/NIN (Utsusemi: Ichi, Utsusemi: Ni)
/BLU (Cocoon, Pollen, various stat-ups from Blue Magic)


Icemage

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

I pretty much swear by /WHM for BST, it gives you all the tools you need to survive and its only trumped by /NIN for DoT and use in Magic-aggro areas. But post update, getting regular chain #3/4s hasn't been an issue for me, even as /WHM.

Mage subs have a lot going for them on BST solo. That Gaudy Harness is a thing of beauty and you can almost live on the refresh latent of 49 MP.

/PLD has the defense boosts, but in most cases you're letting your pet tank, so its not really an issue of taking damage so much as just not stealing hate from your pet, there are plenty of ways to protect yourself when you do get hate.

[Alfa]

thanks for alll the info guys.

[Lmnop]

Didn't see it mentioned so I thought I would...

At the highest levels, /pld is the only sub to give you Cures and auto-refresh.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Didn't see it mentioned so I thought I would...

At the highest levels, /pld is the only sub to give you Cures and auto-refresh.

It's amazing how Gaudy Harness makes it so that 49 MP is all you'll ever need. The only reason I would need to get back up to 49 MP through some form of auto-refresh would be to get blink and stoneskin back up more often. But I wouldn't get that from /PLD.

It's also amazing how sanction refresh makes even Gaudy Harness seem unnecessary at certain camps.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

The Gaudy Harness really is a big thing going for BST/WHM. Its enough MP returned for regular Blink/SS and consistant use of Regen. After that, all you have to do is keen eye on your hate and you'll seldom ever have a problem. There are sessions I never even stop to rest for MP because that 49 MP tends to be enough.

Plus all the status cures and Divine Seal really sell WHM a lot better than most subs, though against mobs where ailments are an issue, I can see RDM and BLU having benefits.

[IfritnoItazura]

I knew a player who played as a mid level BST/PLD. Thinking that was a very weird combination at the time, I asked him about it, and he said it was for the additional defense, since he's Tarutaru. (This was long before Shield Master, Sentinel change, and Auto-Refresh update, too.) Would've dismissed him as misguided, but on events where we had him along, he always knew exactly what he was doing, and came very well prepared. It was quit evident he did his research and spared no expense to have the right setup for the task at hand; his axe and jug pets mauled down many denizens of Promyvions, bosses included.

I've never had a chance to talk to him again about BST in depth before he quit, but from time to time I wonder still why someone who seemed smart and knowledgeable would choose /PLD. The best I can come up with is that he played aggressively enough to put the additional defense to use; i.e. early engagement instead of letting pet establish solid enmity lead. There may be some other tricks and subtleties, but I just don't know what.

Knowing what I know now, I think /NIN probably would've been better for his style, since he didn't mind buying and brining meds. Would love to have another chance to chat with him about it. /sigh

As Beastmaster is probably the ultimate self-expression in FFXI, I don't think I want to press the issue of "optimal" support job for soloing. BST/PLD may not be a great combo in my view, but one player using it has impressed me a great deal.

So, go for it if it's your style--BST/PLD, BST/NIN, BST/WHM, BST/BLU, and etc.--whatever works for you, and enjoy. ^_^

[Lmnop]

As Beastmaster is probably the ultimate self-expression in FFXI, I don't think I want to press the issue of "optimal" support job for soloing.

This is so incredibly true. We tell everyone that they can sub whatever they want as long as they're playing solo, so why would we pick on a BST's choice of solo sub? Granted, this thread hasn't approached belittling any particular combination, which is nice. So don't take this as casting Enfire on the thread, it's important to know that bst/whm is hands-down better than bst/smn. But it's an interesting observation that people tend to want to hold Bst solo to the same standards as any other job in party play. i.e. optimized.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

We tell everyone that they can sub whatever they want as long as they're playing solo, so why would we pick on a BST's choice of solo sub?

I don't think anyone is "picking on" anyone's sub in this thread. The OP came here for objective comparisons on the effectiveness of subs, and we've pretty much stuck to that.

We could have simply said, "Hey, when you solo, do whatever you want." But I've never seen the point in giving that advice. People will do what they want to in the end without anyone giving them permission to do so.

[Lmnop]

I don't think anyone is "picking on" anyone's sub in this thread. The OP came here for objective comparisons on the effectiveness of subs, and we've pretty much stuck to that.
We could have simply said, "Hey, when you solo, do whatever you want." But I've never seen the point in giving that advice. People will do what they want to in the end without anyone giving them permission to do so.

>.>

Granted, this thread hasn't approached belittling any particular combination, which is nice. So don't take this as casting Enfire on the thread, it's important to know that bst/whm is hands-down better than bst/smn.