Question For Paladins 35+

[Tim Wakefield]

As i slowly but surely approach these higher levels....i was wondering in what order do you cast your spells and such at the beginning of a battle? I dont have flash yet but you can include whatever you want into the order of the skills. Thanks for the help in advance

 

[Skabbo]

It depends on your party setup.. I normally play with a thf, so the order of events goes:
Get behind mob, wait for Sata

Provoke

Flash

Check on either Shield Bash, Sentinel, or Rampart readiness, all 3 draw extra aggro for the start of the fight. Pick one and use it (unless your fighting something you will need to stun, in which case save Shield Bash).

Wait 3-5 sec, by this point you will usually need to hit yourself with a Cure 2 or 3, depending on what you're fighting.

Repeat the process, provoke will be ready within 5-7 seconds following the cure. Then it is another 15 before Flash is ready again. ALWAYS Cure yourself while you are waiting for a hate grabbing spell/ability.

In some cases, like if there isnt a thief in the party to stick hate at the beginning, I will save Rampart in case aggro is drawn away from you during the fight. At that point it gets some aggro back (and also polite) to give the area defense boost to surrounding party members.

 

[Agris]

I wouldnt really want to comment on my spell casting techniques, becaue youre galka and I'm Hume. We are going to play the job of PLD completely differently. Me having more MP, and you have more VIT, need to compensate and pick and choose which cure spell to use.

But as far as using Rampart, Sentinel, and Shield Bash at the begginging of everyfight, id have to disagree with this. These abbilities are for hate emergencies, and a good PLD should be able to hold hate fine with just cures, flashs, and vokes. And when the time comes that a huge burst, or youre paralyzed or silenced, or early SC then blow those abilities.

*side note*
Also keep in mind everything done in battle draws some sort of amount of hate. Berserk, Defender, Holy Circle, even activating food gives hate.

 

[Keits]

I wouldnt really want to comment on my spell casting techniques, becaue youre galka and I'm Hume. We are going to play the job of PLD completely differently. Me having more MP, and you have more VIT, need to compensate and pick and choose which cure spell to use.

But as far as using Rampart, Sentinel, and Shield Bash at the begginging of everyfight, id have to disagree with this. These abbilities are for hate emergencies, and a good PLD should be able to hold hate fine with just cures, flashs, and vokes. And when the time comes that a huge burst, or youre paralyzed or silenced, or early SC then blow those abilities.

*side note*
Also keep in mind everything done in battle draws some sort of amount of hate. Berserk, Defender, Holy Circle, even activating food gives hate.

Comon Agris... you KNOW you love my early skillchains.

 

[Skabbo]

Also true, forgot to mention Holy Circle and activating food. Both do draw some additional aggro in a pinch.

As far as using abilities at the beginning of a match, I leveled from 55-63 with a static, and after we all got used to each other's play style, I realized that for the most part my 5-min abilities were going to waste since we didn't really have many aggro emergencies, which is why I got into the habit of 'rotating' them between fights. That way I'd use sentinel one fight, the next fight use Shield Bash, the next Holy Circle, the next Rampart, and by the time the 4th fight ended, Sentinel would be ready to use again.
In situation where you're in an unfamiliar party, Argis has a point that it would be in everyone's best interest to save them for a time when they become necessary, I just did this to avoid them going to waste entirely.

Aggro control is something you will eventually get the feel for. If for the most part, you play in pickup parties, you will start to get the hang of knowing who is pulling the most aggro, and at what point in the fight it becomes necessary to use more abilities, cast more, etc.. The other good point he made was that with Paladins, race choice changes the style in which you play the game greatly. A galka paladin's vitality will extend the time at the beginning of the fight before you have to start curing, but your limitations when it comes to MP may also have you using abilities more, as opposed to casting, to keep aggro. As long as you keep that mob on you, how you do it is pretty unique to the Paladin.

 

[Agris]

Very well said Skabbo PLD is all about feel. The more you do it, the better you will get. And be warned @ lvl 50 the hate game changes, and again @ 60. 70 is waiting for me to find out whats next. ^^