pld guide

[simplex]

i see alot of leet guides like awntwans DRK guide. wondering if somebody can make one

[Kagi]

I would if I could, still too low level here ._. :sweat: Maybe Daigoro can do one :p

[Somajan]

I vote for Imac2much, even though he's a total Galka meathead, he is wise in the ways of the paladin, and that's what really counts, regardless of race.

[Arnda]

We could always collaborate. I fancy myself a good writer (:biggrin: ), but my experience isn't nearly good enough. We could effectively take old posts, arguments, investigations, and info from other websites (such as kill charts, WS info, etc.) and make it into a big-ol post, then get it stickied.

In fact, it's probably not even that difficult. I kind of see a format arising already:

I. About the job/Why be a Paladin?
II. Abilities/Spells/Subjobs/Races
III. Equipment and Leveling
IV. Party Techniques, Tanking, and Holding Hate

Something to that effect.

[Kagi]

Rar, that sounds like fun. :) After 2 months of FFXI I now have this collaboration-is-greater-than-individual-work thing going on lol.

[Zelld]

I'll take the equipment section if you all want.

[Arnda]

For Equipment, I'd like a perspective from PLDs of every race, actually. If we could, I'd like to establish a rough upgrade list (i.e. when to switch your sword, when to swap armor, and more important, when to swap accessories) for each individual race.

Reason being, a Galka may really want to consider the RSE (as imac and several other Galkas have noted), Elvaan may want to emphasize DEX and evade a little more, Taru may want to add some HP, etc. Default lists are all well and good, but a default list only works particularly well for... well... a hume. :p

I'll try to work out the best way to do this. Maybe set up a site or email account for submissions. Then we can just have "Equipment - Mithra (written by GenericCatPaladin)" in the guide post(s).

[Zelld]

Well, the main thing the pld of ANY race should focus on is vit. Galka to Taru, more vit, better able to take a hit, better tank.

From there it could be broken down some as you state into the other groups...

Charisma goes a long way for a pld too, in helping them keep the hate :D

and to my knowledge, over on Ragnarok, almost every pld i see goes one of two ways equipment wise as they level...

[imac2much]

No zelld, taking less damage isn't the PLD's only role. His other (equally important) role is KEEPING the aggro. DEF, VIT, HP are all good stats for a PLD, but MP and ACC are important as well to keep the aggro. Different races SHOULD focus on different equipment, you need to strengthen your weaknesses.

I wouldn't mind helping out with this at all, though there are several people who are much more knowledgeable than me. But as long as we all work together it should work out alright (though I agree that Daigoro, bside, kanmojeeb and other high level importers would do a much better job :biggrin: )

[Zorbaine]

I'll add in a newbie section, in case all of you higher PLD's forget.

[simplex]

yeah that would be nice.

oh and should i buy LIFE BELT or the RK Belt? both 38-40k

also

Phalanx Rings or VIT + rings?

and

what back/neck armor are you guys using?

im lost :'(

[imac2much]

Standard answer: RK Belt. I have both and I 99% use Life Belt. Hitting creates more aggro than missing, and plus I gain TP quickly to use a 300% Spirits Within for 555 damage. But I might change to RK Belt later, I still don't know.

For your level use Phalanx Rings... defense is still important. I think VIT will come more into play when we get rampart and we can easily reach the 'diminishing returns' threshold of defense. Back, I use Earth Mantle, but will change to Beak Mantle next level. Once I get rank 6, I'll get my CP Mantle (EX so you can't buy it).

Neck I use Holy Phial because I'm Galka. I see most Elvaans use the Sandoria CP lvl 55 neck thing... it has some def as well as acc/atk+4. At later levels I'll change to Darksteel Gorget (better version of Holy Phial).

[Lilandra]

yeah I have a Rk belt as of now but im thinking of switching over to life belt since ill be getting Vorpal blade in the next few days. Think the life belt is probably all in all the best belt for its lvl (for a melee class)

[Kagi]

I haven't found myself missing -that- badly yet, so I'm sticking with RK Belt. :biggrin: All you less agile creatures ^^;; (if only slightly)

[Lilandra]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO *dies cause he has 2 less agi then whren* :)

[Kagi]

:sweat:

[simplex]

i want my af armor ; ;.

i wish i was in Midgardsormr.

[simplex]

what sword skill lvl do yo uget spirits within?

[kainzero]

get your AF1 the hard way! assembling a messy green disorganzied PT and then forging them into an elite unit that kicks much arse! ^^;

i dunno how complicated this guide could get.

PLD Job Description:
You're a tank. You're made to take damage, not give damage. You also have some bonuses against undead.

Armorwise:
1 RSE
8 Scale
17 Lizard
21 Beetle
24 Chain
30 Centy/Royal Sq.
40 Plate/IM helm
Shields-
I don't remember the path, but I know Decurion's pre-28 and Kite 28-43. I think you use use the L1 shield for a while, then upgrade to an Aspis? I forget.
Neck-
Justice Badge > Holy Phial
Rings-
Always get VIT+, at least through 42 to what I can tell. Sphene's at 36 if you didn't get the +1 Ring at 16.
Cape-
Whatever's highest in DEF.
Earrings-
Look into evadeup earrings.
Belt-
Warrior Belt, then Warrior Belt+1.

Weapons:
You can use a club, but sword does more damage and 10-34 you can actually participate in Renkei somewhat. PLD also have mastery in GS and Staff, but 2H weapons drop the shield. You want the shield for the additional DEF and the chance at blocking. Skillup is rarer in shield, which is why you want it on at all times. And PLD can use some spears, but... it's highly not recommended because they don't have much skill with it.

1H Sword-
L1 Bronze > L7 Spatha > L11 Bee Spatha > L19/L15 Small Sword/Fire Sword > L30 Centy Sword > L34(?) Hunting/War Sword > L42 AF1 Honor Sword

Subjobs:
WAR and only WAR. In EXTREME EXTREME EXTREME situations, Taru PLD/WHM can be a healer, but WAR and WAR all the way. Provoke is absolutely necessary, and later on, Defender at L50.

Holding hate:
Early on, you mostly have provoke. You might be able to fire on Cure 1s on yourself to keep some hate and decrease WHM hate. Eventually, as you grow, you'll begin to use higher and higher Cures, and develop a natural flow of that by yourself.
Level 10, you get WAR subs provoke. It's your best friend. When you're tank, and you should be, you want to use it every 30 seconds.
Level 15 you get Shield Bash. It's decent at interrupting Gob Bombs, but later on, it gets resisted way too much. But, it's still useful to interrupt long cast spells. Also very useful to control hate to a degree.
Level 30 you get Sentinel. Very short time, you get a DEF boost. I don't think too much of it, I use it mainly to build what hate it gets. You also get WAR sub Berserk. This is something you don't want to use when you tank, maybe if you hunt you can mess around with but try not to touch it.
Level 37 you get a spell called Flash. Flash is your best friend's girlfriend. Provoke+Flash+Shield Bash+Sentinel+Cure III... that's a lot of hate right there.
Level 38 you get Cover. I'm not too familiar with it yet, but if you use it on a member, you can stand between them and the monster and absorb the damage. Helpful for that overnuking mage, Barraging ranger, and Soul Eaten DRK.

As far as THF goes, always learn fuidama tactics, I can't comment too much on that, something you gotta learn in-game.

WS (sword):
Fast Blade - Your most damaging WS for a long time. I THINK it hits twice, which would explain why it alternates between 18 and 36 damage at low levels...
Burning/Red Lotus - Nearly similar WS to each other. By the time you get it, your main Renkei in Valkurm is probably Fast > Burning/Lotus > Combo.
Flat Blade - Crap damage, but the advantage is stun. When most renkei's get reduced to two man, this is what you gotta save up for to interrupt Bombs and other interruptibles.
Shining Blade/Seraph Blade - Light damage, it's decent. If you charge up TP to 300% you will do quite a chunk of damage against Light-weak enemies. I did 240 on a Soldier Crawler at 42.

Food:
Food is good. Sometimes you won't need it as much, when the enemies hit for wimpy damage like Yhoator Mandras, but when you fight boss mobs or other hard hitting stuff you want it on.
I recommend you learn cooking for juices. Juice regens your MP, and proper use of it will help you avoid MP downfalls.
Cheap stuff:
Roasted Corn, Tortilla, Crayfish (? Not sure)
Expensive stuff:
Boiled/Steamed Crab, Fish Mithkabob/Chiefkabob
Juice:
Pineapple Juice

My levelling guide, from Bastok:
Level 1-7
You could probably solo most things, can even take on evens and some toughs. Attack isn't terribly different from WAR, MNK, DRK... etc, plus you can heal yourself. Take skins or L1 RSE, doesn't really matter. At 6, you could probably head to the Fumaroles in SGustaberg, which is great for EXP.
Level 8-12
Buy your first equipment upgrade and head for Konschtat. Here, you will fight Rock Eaters, and there's two places they generally appear. One near Gusgen Mines, the other near the SAM Quest site. They are in opposite directions. These are your greatest source for EXP, as they are incredibly easy, you can easily defeat evens and toughs. If they're camped, too bad =\ you could XP off of saplings and wasps.
Level 12-16
Time to start PTing! Hit up a PT in Valkurm. At L12, you should be taking on Ambusher-level Gobs. At L14, Snippers give great EXP. Right now, you should notice that WARs seem to be just as good as you, they have versatility in weapons and do more damage, and take just as much.
Level 16-20
You have two options. You can either stay in Valkurm and take Snippers up to 17, then fight Leecher-Gambler-level Gobs and Pugils, or you can attempt to put together a Korroloka Tunnel PT. The latter is very difficult. Be sure to pick up Lizard Armor. Use Cure I to keep hate.
Level 20-24
Head on over to Jeuno and fear what most people fear. Qufim. You should pick up Beetle at L21. Find a good PT and chain Worms in the lake during the day till 22, then pick on Clippers, which are probably good till 24. On the flip side, if you're good at putting together PTs, there's an alternate levelling area in Champaign where you can chain beetles. At 23, you might notice a shift in your curing tactic to Cure II, if you haven't already.
Level 24-25
Probably the most excruciating pain in levelling. Get your chain armor on and head over to Qufim for Pugil chains. If you're lucky, there's an area across the Tower with plenty of Pugils, but if it's camped it could get difficult.
Level 25-28
If your PT is really in sync, check out Yhoator Mandragora. Otherwise, stick with their Yuhtunga Brethren till 28. You'll notice at 25, WARs get double strike, and seem to take slightly more damage than you.
Level 28-33
Yhoator is a gold mine. Mandragora are good 'till 32-33 ish, and there's Smithies/Pathfinders and even Lizards to kill at 31. If the area is too crowded (and it really was on Asura) try to put together an Altepa group and head there at 30. Beetles are good. If you remember your Beetle camping spot at 20, that place is excellent to camp Evil Weapons as well from 30-33. Once you hit 30, invest everything you can into Centurion/Royal Sq. Armor, and at this point, you will actually smile as you take a substantial amount of less damage than WARs.
Level 33-36
I did most of this run in Garliage Citadel. It was hell when it was crowded, but bats are easy, and same with beetles. If your RDM doesn't have dispel, beetles will destroy you. Watch your puller, there's lots of holes in the area. Cure III actually becomes a bit more viable than Cure II right now.
Level 36-38
Worker Crawlers in CN is the popular place to go. They don't hit hard and there are a lot to go around. Your DEF steadily rises.
Level 38-42
Gustav Tunnel did it for me, here. Bats are good till about 41. Flies are a bit dangerous, watch out for them, since Cursed Sphere is a threat. As far as Gobs, Poachers are the easiest, followed by the Reapers, and try not to get Robbers because they have insane evade. At 40, invest in Plate, and get the IM helmet for sure.

AF1:
If you remember the kid and the fishing rod, give him back his fishing rod if you haven't already. If you sold it or broke it, buy him another one. He'll give you a quest for a whetstone in Ordelles.
Take the entrance on the left of La Theine, then head east in the fork in the road and proceed down, through, then back up to H-10. You'll see a Stalagmite, touching it triggers the boss.
The boss is a Stone Elemental. He hits for about 130-150 at 42, and casts Stonega II and other fun spells. Absolutely recommended to have multiple BLM, I'd think the ideal PT is PLD/SAM/BLM/BLM/RDM/WHM, I did it in a massive Alliance of PLD/SAM/THF/WHM/BRD/WHM/RDM/RDM/RDM. Magic Burst with the SAM, whether it's his Self-Renkei or not, but nuke the sucker to death and collect your whetstone to turn it in for your AF1, the Honor Sword.

I think that's all I'm suitably allowed to discuss without overstepping my experience. Feel free to make any changes or disagree, I don't think I'm that good of a PLD -_-;

[kainzero]

*double post*

sorry...

[Khujy]

Wow! bro, leveling is a pain, switching from places to places, fighting different monsters as they stronger and also you do too. Man that's why I love Paladin, althought I am still waiting for the game to come out for PS2, damn Square Enix. Well when I begin, I'll be a WAR/MNK and when I reach lv 30 on my Warrior, I'll do the Paladin Quest. But answer me one question bro! How hard is to level up from level 1 WAR to level 18, do the sub job quest and then continue to lv 30 WAR? Cuz when I get the game, I plan to play 2-3 hours on weekdays and 6 hours on weekends for sure. Just wondering how long it will take if I level up like crazy and also getting gils and doing quests? Thank you!

[Somajan]

I started out with monk first and got it to 18 right away, that way the armor I was getting for warrior to 30 I could save all the way up to level 30 for paladin.

[Lyonesse]

I really should start writing a PLD and WHM guide now that I have 1500 hours logged in including North American Beta. :sweat: