Paladin Blink Tanking

[Lmnop]

I think the 4 second casting time is the downer, there. The elemental Jutsus are actually irresistable (their effect, that is) but accordingly, I imagine they give rather low hate profiles.

[Armando]

What Lmnop said. 300 VE is a very, very small amount, and the 4 second casting time pretty much kills it. And those 0 damage nukes won't get you anywhere for sure.

[MogKnight]

I have been asked by my linkshell a few times to bring some NIN tools. Honestly, you can if you want to bring NIN tools. However, note that the cast time on it would limit you how much you can spam this spell to the point where you only really need to bring just one type of tool. I don't do it myself since at the time I was playing PLD/NIN, the hate didn't waver too much that I needed an extra boost.

Oh, one thing I will note though: all this PLD/NIN tanking is really only for HNMs or fairly long fights. Try doing any of this in a Merit Party or XP party and be prepared to be disappointed.

[Armando]

Oh, one thing I will note though: all this PLD/NIN tanking is really only for HNMs or fairly long fights. Try doing any of this in a Merit Party or XP party and be prepared to be disappointed.

PLD/NIN can DD in a merit party though.

[MogKnight]

Of course... but I mean to say that all the information in this thread shouldn't be applied to merit parties or XP. You're most likely going to have a rough time trying to do the same job as you were on an HNM compared to a merit party. You'll need to be properly geared for it and the two situations calls for different sets of gear.

[IfritnoItazura]

Oh, one thing I will note though: all this PLD/NIN tanking is really only for HNMs or fairly long fights. Try doing any of this in a Merit Party or XP party and be prepared to be disappointed.

PLD/NIN can DD in a merit party though.

I've done a fair amount of PLD/NIN in Assault and merit parties lately.

PLD/NIN isn't really a tank in WS spam merit parties--then again, no one is. It's pretty much expected that every DD have damage mitigation (usually /NIN or /SAM), and handle a monster in his face until the next person uses a weaponskill.

In WS spam parties, PLD/NIN's main duty is to pry the critter off of the puller (usually a BRD), and direct the party's DDs attention to it. Pretty much any decent DD will gain the attention of the monster and become "tank" for some duration each fight; I often switch target to the next critter in line while the rest of the DDs are still working on the last 10% of the current target's HP bar.

The secondary duty is to help with curing, and reduce damage taken by party members with Cover.

It's a bit annoying, but trying too hard to tank in a WS spam party is counter productive. At the same time, PLD/NIN players need to realize the combination is a second class DD at best; with Joyeuse/Justice Sword, Haubergeon, Brutal Earring, Swift Belt, Dusk Glvoes/Tarasque Mitts +1, etc., etc., I can only manage ~18% of total damage output while decent DDs do about 27% damage each in a four-man front line. (With great DDs, I'd be doing even less.)

That means if any DD should be doing "non-DD" things, it should be the PLD/NIN--use the MP to help cure; Cover to reduce time other people spend casting Utusemi: Ichi or getting hit; toss a Cure 1 at puller when s/he bring multiple monsters so can use a JA to pry all monsters off him/her if needed; and etc., so the real DDs can spend more time doing damage (and the puller can spend more time pulling).


For Assault, often the party can engage critters much like a WS spam party, but it's also quite common to have longer fight per monster as well, especially when there are only four people like my perma. In that case, PLD/NIN tanks a lot like a NIN/WAR, but uses Flash instead of Provoke. Mostly, I fight in Assaults wearing DD gear, but I do bring most of my defense/enmity set, and can switch mode on the fly in about 3 seconds. (Can't do much about the food choice once I gulp it, but oh well.)

Another example is my skill up and latent breaking party last night. It was pretty much like NIN style tanking in per-merit level parties; managed to get those crabs to face me 90% of the time while taking minimal damage. I was also the main healer, so keep party members and myself from getting hit was a good idea. (Had help from March x2 from BRD on Flash and Utsusemi, but was using Joyeuse/Warp Cudgel combination for weapons while fending off a WAR with Double Attack merits who was trying to break Great Sword latent for WSNM. )


So, PLD/NIN isn't just for HNM, but it isn't a first class DD in merit party, either. It's not even really a tank in a WS spam party. That said, it can be used much like a NIN/WAR tank, especially with March/Haste support.