Shield?

[Madison]

would it be a bad idea to not use a shield if im a paladin?
I like useing a Great sword but if it will hurt me in the long run I might reconsider

[Aroquin]

I'm only lvl 25 PLD but from the way I understand it (and from my own experience) a Paladin's shield is one of his most important lines of defense. I block way more attacks now than I did with war at this level.

I've only seen a few PLD's equipping great sword and all three of them have been laughed at by higher level players.

Just my 2 gil. Could be way off base.

[Lartfor]

Why would any one laugh at some one because they choose to use a different spec than that of the normal... Some peoples ignorance astounds me. Any way, i plan on using sword and board as my primary through all the levels. But as i reach the 60's many awsome greatswords become available, and i might just get a set of gear that leans me to be more of an offensive pld, incase im not the one tanking in the group.

[imac2much]

It is true that there are some VERY sweet PLD-only GS around level 55+ (there is a Royal Guard or something sword at level 55 with great damage and sweet stat mods, and Ram Dao at level 59 I think with even better damage but no stat mods). I can understand why some PLD would want to use these in order to deal respectable damage, and likewise hold aggro better.

However, one thing you have to realize that higher damage is useless if you can't hit. Several weaker, faster hits will generate more hate than slow hits that rarely cause damage. Remember that as a PLD you will have about 8 or so less skill points in GS than 1hs at level 55-60, which translates into several points of accuracy. Also, I'm looking forward to using Spirits Within at level 55, since someone told me he did over 500 damage with it on an IT mob with 300%... not bad for a PLD, since we don't use much +atk food/equipment :biggrin:

Still, do what you want. Using a GS will not make you gimped at all, just maybe *somewhat* less effective (personal opinion). I tried it, didn't like it much, so I stopped, but it may work better for others. I also am looking forward to future AF which adds enmity to every action we take. This means that 1hs+shield PLD will have even more enmity attached to their faster swings (and of course Shield Bash, which GS PLD won't have). And don't underestimate Shield Bash: I've used it to stop several monsters from casting ancient magic on me :sweat:

[daigoro]

I like to use GS but only in non-critical situations....key hunts, af quests, etc. It is certainly not suitable for level up PT because...

1. Impossible to hold aggro
2. Won't block any attacks
3. Shield Bash (although with equip macro you can still shield bash...just lose any TP you might have)
4. Hit rate is horrible (mine anyway ;; )
5. Miss any chance of shield skill up

Skill 200 and 225 (sickle moon and spin slash) are quite nice and worth spending time joining skill up pts for. Up until today, the skill capture site had listed GS for PLD stopping at skill 248. But now it says the cap was adjusted and list GS cap at 250....which means we can get the final skill Groundstrike at 75 ( I need 18 more skill though).

Besides GS PLD can also get final weapon skills in club and staff. Although I have never been asked by a PT to use a club, they are more effective on skeletons than a sword...and with 25 more skill I can get Black Halo :D) My staff..uh, needs a bit more work..like 100 skill before I can get the final ws.

PLD can also skill up dagger and spear. Spear is nice to skill up for Penta Thrust when your in the mood to poke stuff...but the cap is 200 and you get no weapon skills past 175 (vorpal thrust)....mine sits at about 180 not sure if i will cap it or not. Dagger is something I haven’t really even messed with yet but since the last weapon skill PLD/War can use is 150 skill (energy drain) and we do not get viper bite or cyclone (unless sub thf, rdm, brd, rng, nin) I don’t see the benefit of leveling it up..except out of extreme boredom as I sit at the cap :D

btw, my spirits within with 300%TP, 100%HP will do consistent 668 damage to anything....from the smallest bunny to the biggest NM (that i fought anyway). Most of the time I am not part of renkei/skill chain so I just keep building up TP to use spirits as emergency hate or to finish off something to keep chain going. Just remember that the damage is only that high if both TP and HP are max...anything less and damage is quite less.

-daigoro

[Tokitoki]

Might i remind you that the PLD weapon is a GS, very cool looking too ^^, LS friend got it a little while ago. Or maybe im wrong, meh you guys correct me if im wrong. Although you wont block as much, you've got high VIT and HP, Cure spells to help, and then you can still have a high Parry skill. Also ive been told that Shield Bash isnt very good past...what they say?...uhh 30 or so i think is what i was told...maybe it was lower...

[shock~moredheL]

Shield Bash is great to have since it creates hate as well and can be used if provoke isn't ready.

if people want to use it they should. you can give them the best reasons for why they should use shield but if they want to use GS you can't stop them.

[imac2much]

Originally posted by Tokitoki
Might i remind you that the PLD weapon is a GS, very cool looking too ^^, LS friend got it a little while ago. Or maybe im wrong, meh you guys correct me if im wrong. Although you wont block as much, you've got high VIT and HP, Cure spells to help, and then you can still have a high Parry skill. Also ive been told that Shield Bash isnt very good past...what they say?...uhh 30 or so i think is what i was told...maybe it was lower...

Sorry, Tokitoki, not to insult you at all, but you were told a lot of misinformation :sweat:

1) PLD weapon? I assume you mean AF... no, our AF is Honor Sword, which is a 1h sword. Like I said, there are a few PLD-only Great Swords (Royal Guard Blade, Royal Knight Blade I think, and Ram Dao) at levels 40, 55, and 59 I believe. They are very nice, like I mentioned in my previous post, but that doesn't make up for the drawbacks in XP PTs.

2) Losing Shield = less Defense, no shield blocking, no shield bash = less effective tank. You will do a bit more damage (not much more, because you do not use +attack equipment or food... if you do in an xp PT, you are a poor PLD :sweat: ) but you will miss more as well, and WHM will have to cure you much more.

3) Shield bash is ALWAYS useful. Always! If your friend said otherwise, he doesn't know how to use it properly. First of all, it generates a nice amount of hate. Second, it interrupts many monster skills and spells. Mages like to cast ancient at higher levels... Shield Bash and Weapon Bash are a lifesaver in those instances.

Yes we still have high VIT, parrying, etc, but we have all this with 1 h sword as well. Why sacrifice important things for very little gain? For farming purposes/for fun I may level GS and spear, but I won't ever use them in an xp PT...

[Tokitoki]

I gotta get a new LS :sweat:, feeding me bad information and making me look like an idiot, and yes sorry i did mean AF sword...

EDIT: Went onto the Bilingual Site and checked out the PLD AF sword while i was tehre looking at the THF AF dagger ^^. Yea sorry out the mix up, i must have been half paying attention when she showed me her sword, said something about PLD AF sword and some GS, and she showed me one...ANYWAY, thanks for correcting me, sorry for the wrong information...