Hybrid PLD Tank

[Losrase]

What exactly is a Hybrid PLD Tank. From the forums I read so far, it seems some Vit and Def are exchanged for ACC, STR, and ATK. Am I understanding this correctly?

[Armando]

Close.

The higher up in level you go, the less of an impact VIT has on the damage you take. The idea is to trade VIT, AGI, and Evasion (since we don't really evade at all except when using Flash) for Accuracy, Attack, and other DD stats, while keeping your Defense more or less the same (not a problem, since most DD pieces have Defense very close to defensive armor pieces.)

Also, at higher levels (41+), hybrid tanks will generally eat Sushi when the party has enough healing power to increase damage further. This is because after a certain point, Defense stops lowering damage as much as it normally does, so against VT and low IT mobs, Defense food doesn't help as much as it should, while Sushi gives a large increase to your damage output.

Higher damage = faster kills + more hate
More hate = other DDs can do more damage = faster kills

EDIT: It's worth pointing out that if you do it wrong, or in the wrong situation, you'll hurt your party instead of help it.

[Losrase]

Can this work at low levels (below level 41)? For example, instead of using the level 14 vit rings use the level 14 strength rings? Exchanging Decurion (sp?) shield for Lantern shield? Or is that a bad idea?

[Armando]

Yes, it is possible pre-41. The biggest factor in damage taken, assuming you're gearing up correctly, will always be whether you choose to eat DD food or Defense food. Losing VIT/AGI/Evasion for DD stats will hardly affect the damage you take.

However, at low levels, sushi doesn't give nearly as big an increase to your accuracy as it does at higher levels, and with no Refresh, it's harder for your party to have an overabundance of healing. Because of that, from 10-30, I would avoid sushi, and opt for Meat/Rice Dumplings instead, but ONLY IF YOUR PARTY IS HAVING NO TROUBLE WITH HEALING OR DOWNTIME. This is very important. If you're going to try it out, do a few fights without food and see how it goes. If your healers aren't comfortable with the damage you take, or you're causing downtime, use Defense food.

For ring choices, I would recommend Mighty Rings. As for shields, both Lantern and Decurion's are bad choices. Shields are divided by size, and their size determines how often you block, and how much damage is reduced when you block. In terms of overall efficiency, Size 1 (targes, bucklers, etc.) is as bad as it comes, with size 3 (kite shields) being the best. Since no Size 3 shields are available until Lv.28, Size 2 shields (the large, round, flat, usually wooden kinds) should be used instead.

[IfritnoItazura]

1. Start party with no food and full defense/VIT gear.
2. If getting hit too hard in the first two or three fights, use defense food.
3. If the damage seem like it won't get in the way of chaining, use DD food.
4. Over the next few battles, start switching out pieces of defense/VIT accessory gears for accuracy/attack.
5. Keep fiddling until you have as much DD gear as you can without taking too much damage and risk the exp chain.

So, in a nutshell, stuff your inventory with both DD and defense/VIT gears and food, and fiddle with them out in the field.

[Losrase]

I thought size 1 blocks more often but less damage reduction. Size 2 blocks less often than size 1 but more damage reduction than size 1. Size 3 blocks less often than size 2 but more damage reduction than size 2.

Has anyone calculated the damage reduce per shield size and how often each size shield blocks? If there is a website or forum where to find this information would be very helpful.

[Armando]

Shield data: Size 2 vs Size 3

Proc rate: Size 1 > Size 2 = Size 3 > Size 4
Damage reduction per shield block:
Size 1 = 25%
Size 2 = 45%
Size 3 = 60%
Size 4 = 75%

Overall damage reduction (proc rate * damage reduction):
Size 3 > Size 4 > Size 2 > Size 1