[Shaun]

rosen or bibiki shell. well it depends.for hnm i use rosen and as much HP+ as i can afford at the start for spirits.then switch to shell and other crap koenig gloves to AF2 and crap.but in xp...well i dont really xp my pld anymore since i lvled war and sam but id say shell.

[Ferien]

I don't think you can get Bibiki shell back once you've tossed it.

Also, Shaun, you're much better off keeping Rosen equipped for HNM than the seashell. VIT on HNM is pretty much a useless stat, and you're much better served by HP in that slot. Makes me glad I haven't thrown my Happy Egg after 2 years.

[Shaun]

hehe i keep around 1600 average.and rosen is nice but i like to try different stuff.but either way they're about the same. 10hp +/= 1VIT.but i still cant wait to play w/ shell on aspid

[Gdogg]

Purrrfect :
Is there any way to get the bibiki seashell back after you've committed an act of stupidity in Besiged and chucked it at a Lamia? >.> That pissed me off bad.

I feel your pain, I was in wrong macro set and thought I was hitting provoke, but instead ranged my Happy egg (
there has gotta be some guard against stupidity

[PLDExander]

Gdogg :

Purrrfect :
Is there any way to get the bibiki seashell back after you've committed an act of stupidity in Besiged and chucked it at a Lamia? >.> That pissed me off bad.

I feel your pain, I was in wrong macro set and thought I was hitting provoke, but instead ranged my Happy egg (
there has gotta be some guard against stupidity

There is, make sure your in your correct macro set befor you set out on aventures or EXP pts. ^.^; Other then that, nice thread.

[Shuemue]

Glad I spotted this guide... my LS had an unfortunate incident with the distribution of a k.body abjuration... tried to login the PLD who needed it, but unfortunately the details weren't working, so it ended up dropping to me, a taru BLM who hadn't even unlocked PLD. -.-

I'm doing the decent thing and trying to level PLD so it doesn't go to waste, I've soloed to 17 so far, not terribly keen on the dunes, and I'm rather enjoying the ability to get pounded in the face without dying after 2-3 hits.

No doubt I'll be back with a bunch of nab questions, but this'll sure help get me started.

[erish]

Ferien would it be possible to add maybe for end game purposes a section for /nin tanking in HNMs ? I tried searching the forums for info on gear builds for this but have yet to come across anything defintive although the basic rule of haste+ and eminty+ seem to be the rule it would be nice to add a guide to that since the rest is so complete.

[Ferien]

I was actually thinking about doing that a few days ago. Not sure if I should put it in my FAQ or on Paq's guide though.

[Asherek]

There's not a whole lot to really say though, /NIN is most useful on the endurance fights (Tiamat, Jormungand, Cerberus, Hydra, etc.). Need to concentrate on Enmity and Haste gear in order to make Flash as effective as possible to gain hate.

Couple of things I noticed about the initial post:

1.) It's actually Knight's Earring. Small nitpick, but Knightly Earring is Spell Interruption Rate -9% and Enhances Shield Bash Effect.

2.) While it's true for some HNM 300+ Shield skill isn't noticeable, I notice the procrates improve more on the very tough hitters like Jormungand and Tiamat. Around 313-317 seems the be sweet spot here to be honest.

[Ferien]

Thanks, can't believe I did that >.>

As for Shield skill on wyrms, I've had good days and I've had bad days with Jorm, but the one thing that's stayed constant: I always plan on having Utsusemi. When my shadows have been down, without any Shield+ gear on, I still hover around 50%, which is only a little bit less than what you'd get on weaker mobs. Since right now I max at 302, I can't test it, so I won't disagree with you. I will, however, offer a compromise: On the mobs that you typically straight-tank with WAR sub, Shield skill starts to level out at around 305.

[Asherek]

Yeah, last Tiamat fight I swapped into +Shield gear whenever Shadows were down. At 62% for the hell of it I left shadows off intentionally (for the hell of it and Mighty Strikes definitely wasn't on >.>) for around 15 seconds while I took hits, I shield-blocked all of them with 316 shield skill, which I know was pretty lucky, but it still proc'd far more often than when I had far less +Shield gear on.

[NOTR]

Awesome guide, very helpful, I would've used Phalanax Rings if it wasn't for this >_<

[Ferien]

10/23: Added my Shield tests, finally.

[Byrthnoth]

I'm going to be a Tarutaru paladin as soon as I scrape enough money together to take PLD to 75. I'd like a bit of advice.

I've heard that Byrnie +1 is better than Gallant Surcoat for xp PLD. I'm not asking an "is it worth it" question here, but rather "will the AGL-3 significantly affect my shield proc rate?" I'd rather not farm 15mil only to find out that I take 20% more damage wearing Byrnie+1 than Gallant Surcoat, my free gear.

I mean, I've known more than a few PLDs who wear their AF from when they get it to end-game. Investing 15mil in a Byrnie+1 might be a little rough on the pocketbook (running around 30k right now <,<), but it I could get a piece of gear *better* than PLD AF, then it would give me an advantage for those last 15 levels. I'm interested in proving the people that Tarutarus can be the best XP PLDs with the correct setup. We've got the MP to chain high (level 25 Taru MP > level 75 Galka MP), as long as we can pull enough HP+ together to never get 1-shotted (or near it), then I think we'd easily be better than most other races.

Basic gear progression I'm considering:
16-29: HQ Def gear in slots not mentioned, Battle Gloves, Hope Earring +1 (1 or 2 depending on situation), Cassie Earring, 2 Stamina Ring +1s, Van Pendant/Justice Badge (Cure)/Spike Necklace (WS), Warrior's Belt +1
30-50: Kampf gear, Ajase Beads, 2 Stamina/Verve Ring +1, Drone/Cassie/Buckler (situation), Macro in Taru RSE hands/Feet for WS, Life Belt, HQ Mantle/Resentment Cape
50-60: AF + Byrnie +1, Knightly Mantle, Life Belt, 2 Vigor Ring +1, Drone/Cassie/Buckler, IM Gorget/Fortified Chain (I'd like to say Auditory Torque, but Garuda RMT has Boroka on lockdown last I checked)
60-75: Same as 50-60, but Shield Torque, Hercules Ring, Hospitaler Earring on Macros, and Warwolf's Belt

I didn't mention Shields, Ranged/Throwing, or Swords. For swords, I'm going to use whatever lets me do the most damage. I've already camped Auriga Xiphos for the low levels, and after that everything is on the AH but Joyeuse, which I camped yesterday. I witnissed Charybdis' death at 1:30PM EST. I started camping him at 9PM EST. I was still camping at 5AM EST, then I decided to go to bed. He popped at 9:30ish AM EST. WTF? That's 20 hours from his death on a *supposed* 8-16. Not only that, but we were killing a consistant stream of PHs from 9-5AM. I killed so many PHs that I figured out which of the two Devil Mantas in the room is actually his PH. /rage.
Anyway, Shields are fairly easy to see the progression of. I'll probably be using Kite +1 -> Jennet -> Heater +1 -> RK Army/Sentinal -> RK+2 -> Diamond +1 -> Koenig/Kaiser.
I'll merit and cap Sword + Shield on RDM before I level PLD. I'll also be capping Parry. Hurray for Chigoes.

If anyone sees something I missed, mention in please.

I still have to get . . . .
1) About 25mil for Cassie Earring, Byrnie +1, and various other gear/food/the massive supply of Kazham Pineapples and Water Crystals I'm going to be consuming.
2) Ajase Beads (haven't started camping this NM yet)
3) Resentment Cape (0/3)
4) Jelly Ring (1/1 for a friend, need to kill for myself)
5) Joyeuse (that bastid!!! - see above rant)
6) Intruder's Earring (0/8), Bomb Queen Ring (no HNM shell right now), Bloodbead Ring (should start camping this guy >.>), Bloodbead/Pigeon+1 - These are really only needed if I decide to do HNM with PLD. Really, I just want to be an amazing XP PLD. I wouldn't mind doing Dynamis as PLD, because it seems more fun than RDM Dynamis, but I've no real desire to tank things that are so much stronger than me that the VIT and DEF I've spent time acquiring doesn't really matter.

[Ferien]

Yes, Byrnie +1 will be better than the AF body, but a Haubergeon will be even better than that. Also, use either a Breath or High Breath mantle all the way up. I also wouldn't advise using a Cassie in xp, even as a Taru. You're much, much better off with the MP.

[Byrthnoth]

Well, here's the comparison I worked out.

So, Hauby +1 has over Byrnie +1:
9 DEX <---- *** Accounts for 4.5 Acc, and I'd probably not be anywhere near the cap, so no real other effect ***
3 INT <-- doesn't really matter (even if the stat has a purpose for PLD, I'm tarutaru)
3 MND <--- I doubt I'll have trouble capping my cures anyway, and as RDM I've found vast differences in MND have limited effects on the intensity of spells.
3 CHR <--- depends who you ask
1 STR <---- 1/2 Attack point and raises the curve max
12 ACC <---- Well . . . . . Accuracy looks awesome

-2 AGL <---- decreases Shield/Parrying Proc rate some more
-30 HP <--- Tarutaru <3 HP. I can't imagine taking Magmatic Erucas, Gobs in Yhoator, or something without some extra HP.
-5 VIT <--- I'm tarutaru ; ; <3 VIT
-13 ATK <---- PLD has fairly low attack to start with, considering we aren't eating any attack food
-1 DEF <--- can't imagine this will have any effect, especially eating DEF food.

I agree that it is easily possible for a PLD to DD from 16-75 using the proper gear (one piece of which would be Hauby), however, this requires that your party not overhunt to the extent where that extra 5 VIT would be needed to lower your damage curve just a little more . . . . . . We all know how much parties like to overhunt, and I doubt I'll have a static for this, so I might end up needing that VIT.

I understand the argument for Hauby. It gets PLD Accuracy a little bit closer to the numbers that other DD melees strive for, and allows them to more significantly contribute to the damage of their party and, hence, their Xp/Hr. However, it seems that you're sacrificing a lot of the key PLD stats, of which Tarutarus are woefully equipped to begin with, to obtain that extra bit of accuracy. Couldn't I just wear a Woodman's, Life Belt, and Tiphia Sting for TP gain? That's accuracy +17 for VIT+5 max sacrifice from 60-71 (+ 5ACC from Mermans from 60-65), which is a hit I'm taking already from Hauby +1 vs Byrnie +1. Admittedly, a Toreador's Ring would be better, but I'm going to have to spend at least 3 months farming and BCNMing on BST just to scrape together my 25mil. <,< I'd probably macro in Chiv. Chain for Weaponskill, but once I get Shield Torque it's going to take a lot to get it off my neck.

[thedramallama]

Byrthnoth, I think once you get to the levels you're speaking of on pld, you'll realize that a haub is perfectly fine for exp (in most cases, yes even as a taru).

[Ferien]

Byrthnoth :this requires that your party not overhunt

That's pretty much the only problem you'll run into. If you're overhunting, you're going to want to use your AF body regardless. For stuff you should be xping on (VT-low IT) the acc bonus on Haubergeon will not only contribute to the party's damage, but will also give you a lot of hate. Remember, your primary job is to hold hate in a party, and under most circumstances, the acc +10 from Hauby (combined with +enmity from the rest of your gear) will do the job a lot better than enmity+2 from Surcoat (especially since you can macro Surcoat in for voke and Flash). The stats on Byrnie look nice, but since there is no Accuracy on it, it's not nearly as effective as Haubergeon could be.

[Byrthnoth]

Upon reviewing the Accuracy gear available to Paladin while maintaining a reasonable XP setup, I've figured out you guys were pretty much right.
Life Belt + Hauby +1 = +25 ACC (including Dex)
If I can manage a Woodsman without jumping my damage too much, then I'd be up to +30 Acc. Quite honestly, I'm tarutaru. As long as it doesn't 1-shot me, I'll probably be OK because I can Cure 4 myself and shrug off the MP.

Depending upon the melee, they tend to aim for anywhere between 35 and 50 accuracy in their gear depending upon what they're hunting if they intend to use food without an accuracy bonus (meat). (Merit = 35, typical overhunting 50-70 party=50, Gods=You eat Sushi) That amount of Accuracy is not feasible for Paladin until 74ish, because until then you're probably acting like a tank instead of a burn melee, and you can't afford to sacrifice things like Shield Torque and Buckler Earring for PCC and Fowling/Minuet, or Hercules/Jelly for 2x Woodsman/Snipers, or Bibiki Seashell/Rosenborg for Tiphia Sting. I mean, that's +28 more ACC that you can't use until you aren't being a tankadin.

Then the question becomes: If I'm not going to be able to get a sizeable amount of Accuracy, should I really bother, or should I just focus on minimizing the damage I take while maximizing my hate? On the other hand, I know it's going to piss me off to have a sword and miss with it 2/3 of the time. Also, in another question. Is it possible to increase my DEF and VIT to the point where I don't need DEF food anymore and can use attack/defense gear like Byrnie with Bream Sushi or something?

I think I'll ask a PLD in my LS what he thinks. He's been through 1-70, and I was with him. He's a very good player, and I suspect he'll set me straight. >.> Either way, I'm going to hoard gil, I'm tired of being the poorest person I know. <,< I mean, I've been playing for 2.5 years for chrissakes. Why the hell am I so poor? I know people who I helped get their subjob items who are now running around in Dalmaticas, and I've only just recently hit 75 RDM.

[Epicus]

First off, I'm not quite sure on why you say Hospitalers Earring is so bad, sure it's not as good as Shield Skill+3, but if you don't have the money for that earring, it's definitely the next best. Sure, it's all fine and dandy that it has Cure Potency+5% but it also has 3 defense, which is very nice for an earring.

And secondly, no mention to Unyielding Ring at 50? That ring is loaded with DEF+7 VIT+3 DEX+3, that's an awesome ring for PLD. Not to mention it can easily replace Hercules Ring. I find myself tanking with Parade Gorget and using Jelly Ring/Unyielding Ring.