5 Bits of wisdom every FFXI Paladin should know.
From House Paladin Wiki
5 Bits of wisdom every FFXI Paladin should know.
Almost 2 years ago I installed a copy of FFXI on my PC and began my journey in Vana'diel, on the Pandemonium server. Originally I wanted to be a Dragoon, but for various reasons I went Paladin instead and never once regretted it. Thus Osiris, the Galkan Paladin was born. In my time as a Paladin, I have learned allot of lessons, some good, some not so good. There are tons of great guides on gear, strategy and such for a Paladin. Pretty much everything you could want to know about being a Paladin can be found here:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/jobs.html?fjob=5;mid=1125608999160161842;num=18
My intent here isn't to create another guide, but to share 5 bits of wisdom I have learned and live by. Anyways onto the show!
1. "Any Paladin can keep hate, but only the great ones have control of their hate and thus control whatever they are fighting." This statement is simple, yet tricky to pull off. But the reality is if you "Control hate, you control the battle". Lower level Paladins take pride, in never losing hate. Some Paladins take pride in the fact that they kept hate after a Benediction. Others brag about how they have never lose hate. But the simple fact is, if you are building a wall of hate you are probably wasting mana, and abilities, thus increasing your downtime and decreasing XP.
Say your party creates "X" amount of hate in a fight. You only need to create slightly more then that mysterious "X" amount and you will always have the mob on you. Do anything more and its a waste. It takes practice, but one can learn to feel when you hit the "X" mark, and hate is just above that line. One can learn to keep it on that line, or build it up in preparation of a big skill chain, or actually totally lose it!
Yes you may actually want to LOSE hate! Losing hate for a few seconds can decrease downtime and increase XP! If you have a voke buddy make the first voke, then a Thf SA/TAs a big hit on your back, that's extra free hate for you at the start of the fight, plus the mob takes some nice damage.
But maybe mid battle you want to lose hate so someone like a Drk can SA/TA close a big skill chain on your back. If you control your hate, this will take only a few seconds, do huge damage and completely lock the mob to you. That's if it survives! If done right mobs drop fast, there is no downtime and little mana use. But it can only be done if you can control hate and lose it at the right moment. But it is a fine line and one must be prepared incase something goes wrong. Which leads to the next bit of wisdom..
2. "Always keep something in reserve." No matter how good you are or what gears you have, there will be times when you unexpectedly lose hate. First order of the day is: Do not Panic! If you are like me and keep something in reserve, you shouldn't have anything to panic about. I usually keep a Flash or Rampart available for emergencies, but that is my personal preference. No matter what job ability you choose, try to keep something for the inevitable time that the mob makes a move towards the mages. Last thing you want to find yourself doing is pointlessly mashing your voke macro while chasing something intent on killing the Whm. Also tricky guys like Anticans have a hate reset move which will annoy the hell out of you. But less so if you have something in reserve to grab them back!
3. "A Paladin cant tank here, Nin tank please!" I have heard this more times then I can count. From COP bosses, to Hakutaku you will eventually hear the dreaded "Sorry. We want a Ninja tank for this."
Its easy to get upset or frustrated, and feel like you aren't needed when people prefer a Nin tank. But the reality is, there will be times were a Ninja tank is preferred and will be a better tank over a Paladin. They can blink away damage and thus decrease mana use and result in less downtime. So instead of getting upset, just step back and let the Ninja do their job. Support them if needed and be ready to take over if things go wrong. Perhaps you will be able to surprise people if things go wrong, and the Nin tanks die. Then you can take over and show them what a Paladin can do! Hey! Rushing in to save the day is what a Paladin is all about!!
There will be other times were people will insist on a Nin tank, yet that may not be the right choice for the fight. I will usually try to add my feedback on why I think a Nin tank isn't the one for the job, however if its obvious that the group is dead set on Nin tank (as they often are), and wont listen to me, I don't bother. Usually after they fail a few times and become frustrated I will suggest they give the Paladin a chance. "Hey what have we got to lose?" I say. Usually we lose nothing and we end up winning. Prove them wrong, but do it with class.
The reality is Ninja was not originally conceived as a tanking class by SE. Clever players were able to adapt the Ninja to a tanking role, which is great and shows the versatility of the Ninja job. Personally I feel that a Paladin can tank ANYTHING with the right support team, but that doesn't mean they should. Sometimes a Nin tank is more easier on the team in general. Which brings us to our next bit of Wisdom.
4. "A Paladin is only as good as the rest of his team." Many times I have been complimented for my tanking abilities. Often people congratulate me for a great bit of tanking, or being praised for tanking one of the many "Nin tank onry" mobs. The reality is that I could not have done my job, without the support of the healers, refreshers SA/TAers and DDers in my group. My favorite acronym is "Together Everyone Achieves, More" for TEAM. This is especially true in this game. Agro management and being successful as a tank is a TEAM effort. A Paladin cannot and should not do it alone! So the next time people are praising and congratulating you for a job well done, don't forget the support team that allowed you to pull it off.
5. "Attitude>Skill>Gear>Race." I personally feel that a players "Attitude" is the most important aspect in this game. FFXI is a very social game and thus our attitude plays a big part in how successful we are in this game. You can have the best skills, and +1 gears, but if your attitude sucks people wont want you around. But just because you are a social butterfly doesn't mean you can neglect your skill and gears! Part of having a good attitude is a willingness to be open, research and improve oneself. Thus having a great attitude will improve you in all things! We should all know by now that race shouldnt matter as long as attitude, skill and gear is there. So no point rehashing a dead topic!
I also posted this topic on the Alla forums, further discussion and reading can be had at this link:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/jobs.html?fjob=5;mid=1132155303180776210;num=4
Anyways these are 5 bits of wisdom that I have learned in my 2 years of being a Paladin.
--FlowMaestro 01:23, 9 January 2006 (CET)
