Capping Shield Skill

[LastHope]

So I finally hit 75 on PLD, and thanks to /NIN the last few levels my Shield Skill is horribly under the cap (about 20 levels). Can any PLDs offer advice about the best place to skill shield? I assume that /BLU or /RDM would be best for this. Only places I've heard people skill are Boyahda Tree crab at Cloister zone and Puks in Den of Rancor. Are there any other places that might be better than these two?

[Ferien]

Are there any other places that might be better than these two?

Not as far as I know. Pucks are probably your best choice at your level of skill, and with /RDM, you should be able to last forever against them. Have fun, it's a pain in the ass, and I suggest equipping for parry at the same time so you don't have to head back there and do it twice. Yes, parry will proc before your shield and slow it down, but at the rate you'll be parrying, it's really not going to matter, and if you manage to skill it up, you'll be much happier later on.

[Liquidedust]

So I finally hit 75 on PLD, and thanks to /NIN the last few levels my Shield Skill is horribly under the cap (about 20 levels). Can any PLDs offer advice about the best place to skill shield? I assume that /BLU or /RDM would be best for this. Only places I've heard people skill are Boyahda Tree crab at Cloister zone and Puks in Den of Rancor. Are there any other places that might be better than these two?

Any MNK mob that con Even Match or over will work the best (Yagudos, Orcs, Mandragoras etc . . .). Steelshells also works up in Tree (but you need /RDM for Steelshells IMO).

/RDM serves you best overall with Phalanx and SS, but you need high Enhancing magic skill to migrate damage in enough amounts to validate the mp usage (160+ generally ok for Phalanx on MNK mobs). If your Enhancing Magic skill is low stick to /BLU and Cocoon (or just take on mobs with /RDM and let Enhancing Magic skill cap as you skill up).

[Antec]

Another good way to get skill ups is tanking Dynamis mobs, especially MNKs :d, that's how I got my shield to cap after doing leech DD PLD in LS merit pties for a few lvls.

[SephYuyX]

This video applys to Guard skill, http://youtube.com/watch?v=MP5rA_xZKWU but can still apply to similiar (Not sure if AGI has anything to do with Blocking though)

[Tormentormike]

I'd recommend /RDM and Pucks in the Den. Phalanx and Stoneskin help out a ton, and you'll be capped in no time at all. If your parrying is anywhere near being capped, get that done while you're there too. Blue numbers always make everything better!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3.../PLDCAPPED.jpg

[quannum]

besieged

[Guyverarmor]

I'd recommend /RDM and Pucks in the Den. Phalanx and Stoneskin help out a ton, and you'll be capped in no time at all. If your parrying is anywhere near being capped, get that done while you're there too. Blue numbers always make everything better!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3.../PLDCAPPED.jpg

Sounds about right, except I did mine In Btree as pld/rdm. should have tried Den though >_>

[exceed]

i'd say chigoes

[Tekki]

dynamis

[Tormentormike]

i'd say chigoes

These would work too, but Puck's are just set up perfectly for skill ups. Double attacks, dont hit for alot, 5 to pull with a zone extremely close by. Boyahda Tree would work also if you stood by the zone to Cloister of Tremors with the one Steelshell that pops in that little path, but imo it would be slower, when compared to the Den of Rancor.

[Teffy]

chigoes are the best for parrying/shield, but don't know if you can find any high enough to finish out shield. Mine stopped skilling on the ones in mire around 170.

[Zilong]

I'm pretty sure the marid spawned chigoes are the highest level one you can get.

[Furionstormrage]

/RDM and Puks.

I hit about 272 on them, then went and let Dolls in Sky beat me up, zone, repeat to cap it out.

[killerx]

dynamis

best place to lvl shield right there

[Seraph]

dynamis

best place to lvl shield right there

I must have gained about 20 levels of shield skill on the NM Monk in Xarcabard. Northlands Dynamis mobs will cap shield skill easily. Now, getting those last 10 levels of parrying skill on the other hand has not been such a joy...

[Medivac]

go /rdm fight korrigan in the boyohda tree

[cassiraa]

Shield should skill up pretty quickly just doing normal stuff with a shield.

Farming in sea/sky or dynamis, go /WAR and grab that Koenig Schaller you put in storage months ago. Shield should be capped in a few days, a lot more painlessly than trying to do it all at once. If you do want to do the "all at once" thing, Just join a skillup party and work on Club or something.

[BerenTebogo]

Faust

Just get a few friends and go up and skill on faust, if you cant kill it just escape when capped.

[Venture]

The one EM-T MNK-type Emphredian Shade near the zone to Arrapago Reef that leads to Ashu Tailaf. Go PLD/RDM, get your Enhancing Magic capped, turtle out DEF, VIT, physical damage -%, Phalanx, Stoneskin, Bio II. Bring along a Durandal for +VIT in your sword, or use a Jadagna for the MP restore WS moves. Helps to have Chivalry, and a Parade Gorget with Sanction Refresh so you can pimp 3 MP per tick Refresh.

Between reapplying Stoneskin and Phalanx, you can go piss off on the couch because of how damage is divided with MNK monsters. The zoneline is a few feet down the tunnel, and you can use Dvucca Isle staging point to be there in a coupla minutes. That's how I did mine. The Shades that are actually inside the Reef that are MNKs are a few levels lower, I think, if you want. Only thing you really gotta watch out for is to recast Stoneskin to get a fresh set to deal with Dancing Chains, apply Regen to patch up any damage that does get to your HP, and that HUGE defense down move they use that you'll want to have Sentinel and Flash up to deal with. They don't Def down too much, and it wears off in about 45 seconds, so when it does happen you shouldn't have too much of a problem dealing with it. Ethereal will get you some MP back if you get hammered during that cycle.