BCNM PLD Tactics

[Lodoss]

Hiya, I recently attained lv 41 and decided to try out BCNMs having heard of the great reward from doing em.. I know PLD's have a huge role in em, but I was wondering if anyone had any tips or strategies for the lv 40 BCNMs? Thank you for anything you can share

[Krumble]

Take this how you will:

For BCNM40, the only way I would take a PLD into the giddeus ring is if they are using yagudo drinks. As a BRD, it's quite frustrating to wait and wait and wait while a little mandragora double hits you for 17-20 because the PLD is out of MP and is dealing pathetic damage.

The first two times I did it with a non-BST party, we did not have the forethought to get the PLD drinks. And every single time, it'd be the DRG provoking off of me with a weaponskill and provoke. This didn't work well, because I had 255 defense and I am certain the DRG had less and put a strain on healer MP.

That said, PLD can be _great_ if they have constant MP. The mandragoras don't hit very hard, so I suggest taking your highest leveled great sword just to speed up the fight.

PLD role in BCNM fight isn't very much different from normal exp parties, though there is one thing. If you cannot land silence on the black mandra, you will want to run out of range of Flood when he starts casting it. If you leave your camera unlocked and take off, you can get out of range easy. This is provided he IS in fact aggro on you, and not, for example, on the monk using a 2hr or something.

As a BRD, you can make it easier for us in 2 ways. Provoke and flash before breaking sleep. And at least attempt to pick off the "early wakers." By this I mean the ones that get out of our horde lullaby rotation, and that we are single sleeping with Foe Lullaby. I run around to avoid getting hit when they wake, saves me a lot of damage, so it's often obvious when I have 1 separate from the others. Though the PLD often don't notice ;p

Make sure your group's /autotarget is off and that they have /assist "Yourname" keys. That's about all I can think of now..

[Aniga]

Make your Paladin use a two-hander. Don't expect him to tank. However, him running in first with Invincibility makes it a little easier for the bard to set up the first sleep. Past that they're a somewhat low damage dealer that can heal a bit. They're going to have a heck of a time holding agro, so expect the monk/what not to tank for a good portion of the time--but not big deal, they don't hit extremely hard. The Paladin should be using a Meat Mithkabob to keep damage output up.

That's about it, I guess.

[bannefin]

everyone you talk to will have a different opinion on this

imo, if you're going into a BCNM as a paladin, you're making a mistake

the mandras hit for nothing, the only danger is flood, which will more often than not knock you out in 1 hit if it doesnt get interrupted. its a test of dps, and paladin fail horribly.

if you do go in as a paladin, take a few tips to help your group

keep everyone in the "hall". have the black mandy targetted, run out, flash/banishga and run back to the hall. keeping all the guys in the hall helps with sleepga or lullaby. subbing whm in this case is better than war imo, for banishga and support healing of bard

if you can get a monk in your bcnm, its almost a guaranteed win. once you're past the risk of flood, its smooth sailing. drk's are good for stun and paladins also have flat blade.

this is, of course, just another of many opinions on the subject

[BrotherRaven]

In 30+ consecutive wins of BCNM 40s Giddeus, I have seen 2 Floods, 1 Paralyzga, 3 Blindgas. (Hint hint RDM Silence?)

Average Time: 10 minutes

PLD/WAR, RDM/BLM, BRD/WHM, WAR/SAM, RNG/NIN

Yes, we've done it with just 5, so the 6th can be whatever.

I use a 2HS, Beserk, MP Rings and MP Items for the long haul. (use a fish mithkabob for defense). I go in with about 180 mp.
After the inital take down of the BLM (about 20~30 sec) just use Flash and get the Brd to play Balland on you. RDM and BRD can worry about healing the BRD. Just focus on trying to keep hate as much as possible. The big deal is pulling the white ones off the Bard (alot of hate because he constantly sleeps them). Often times it will take a Provoke AND Flash to grab ones attention. So often times I will just flash once per white.

I use cover twice and usually both on the Rng.

Whms are pointless, Blms are pointless, Mnks are pointless. War/Sam and Rng/Nin will do MORE dmg in the long haul than either a Blm or Mnk.

Everbody uses 2 hours.

As the PLD i provide nice ability to pull the creatures off the Bard. I can nicely group them in the beginning with Invincible. 2HS does plenty of dmg. And by keeping agro on the whites for about 50% of the time means alot less healing for the Rdm.

PLDs are way more purposeful then any silly whm or mnk.

Any RDM who can't silence the Black mandras isn't worthwhile.
Any BRD who can't sleep the White mandras isn't worthwhile.

Plain and simple

[necros]

Additionally, it would be wise not to learn how to fight the Giddeus battle on Earthday or Lightday. Darkday might be a good idea, it makes the mandras less.... angry.^^

I fight the mandra battle with BrotherRaven as the rdm/blm and we do a good job. Having a pld eases the amount of damage that a whm or rdm needs to heal and has woken up allies more then a few times with a well placed cure 1.

[asushiman]

I go in as a PLD/NIN using 2 Hunting Swords. I have combination lvl 40 and lvl 30 armor for Dex bonuses and i have STR bonuses on my rings. I use 2 Beetle Earring+1 for attack +3. I would just use Corns as my Food for +6 HP and +3 VIT coz theyre very cheap and does a good job. I'd spend on my money on Melon Juices. I'd use 3 per fight. I would pull the White ones to the bard and the bard would sleep them. I would not use invincible coz i have the attention already plus i have a mage to cure us. I would stay with the Bard for 2 sleeps then join the rest of the melees. I'd spam Flash, Cure 2s and Blink on the black one and ask the other melees not to use their WS frequently. This way when the Black one casts flood on me i'd use blink. Poof! I'm ALIVE with 0 damage! This is the best way to tank the Flood besides running for your life. It's quite impressive too since i've died from the flood countless of times as a PLD/WAR. After the black one is dead my job is done. I'd let my other melees tank the white ones for me since they could easily take the aggro off me with their WS' and abilities.

I would never use a GS again coz even with my skills maxed out I would still miss a lot and as a result I can't get the aggro i needed even if i spam Cures and Provoke. Sometimes i would get the enemy back but after a while it'll go back to the other melees coz they really hit way harder than me that i cant get the enemy. As a PLD/NIN my 2 1h swords hits way better than a greatsword and even faster plus if 1 sword miss, the other would prolly land not like with the Greatsword if it miss there goes the whole damage output.

hmmm.. that's about how i do my bcnms. Happy Hunting guys!!

[Atreus]

Currently I have both a 47 PLD and 42 WAR. Would it be better to take the WAR , rather than the PLD, into the Giddeus BCNM40? If i take my WAR how would the tactics differ from those mentioned for the PLD? My greatest concern is for the safety of my group, so I just want to make sure I use the best Tank for the job.