status quo:PLD

[Gasgul]

ive been away on other stuff,

but came back to eff around, PLD@64, still built for vit/def (from the old school days) as i was leaving the last time i started to see a few /nin's and such, so just curious,
i got from 62-64 recently and did not have any issues with hate nor mp (taru) my gear is good nearly every ja/ma/ws has its own /equips,

I generally only play during jp times due to location, hence not getting alot of feed back,

so whats the deal/fad these days for exp and pld, ?

[BerenTebogo]

I leveled up 100% as a enmity / def whore, but the consensus these days is that PLD has an A+ weapon and high STR, use it.

Go ACC/ATT/ENM/Haste, have good WS macro for vorpal and DD tank.

Works out better for TP burning.

[Eaglestrike]

To keep things simple:

Vit/Def still works.

DD works as well, and with more damage, things go quicker. So DD is a better build.

For HNMing pld/nin just owns pld/war just about everywhere.

[SamanosukeShiva]

No! PLD/WAR owns j00!!! -rag™

[Gasgul]

oky,

I have been 2 timing war/nin and pld/war both at 64 now, hence the equipment for DD is there and uptodate,

last Q
what sj should i be sitting LFG on? tried and true, /war or laugh it up with /nin?

[Celebrindor]

I'd say for EXP still lfg as /war, esp at your level. Later on (read: 74+) when you'd have access to Utsu:Ni and the vast majority of parties do not have a tank but merely TPburn, go /nin and be properly geared for DD.

DD gear of course earlier works, just saying that in the meripo world, its DoT > all.

[Alastaire]

Personally I went /NIN at those levels, since if you gear for damage and /WAR you're gonna get hit pretty hard. Flash at the beginning of the fight, occasional Cures, will be enough to keep hate until the mob dies.

[Garret]

With the massive shield enhancements & the new sentinel update even Pld/War won't be getting as bloody while bloodtanking.

[Stellar]

Go /war or you will be wasting a lot of times at later levels getting your shield skill up to date.. You can kill 2 birds with 1 stone by getting exp and shield skill as /war.

[Allundaria]

Good discussion in another thread earlier this week regarding midlevel PLD stuff: here.

But yeah basically the new meta trend is to ditch the VIT/DEF build exp party PLD in favor of a more attack/accuracy oriented one to expedite kills. A PLD geared in Hauby/Woodsman/Amemet+1 will take marginally more damage than a Surcoat/VIT ring/Knightly one, but put out much more damage with their A+ weapon, attack/acc boosts, and high STR.

The changes to shield blocking in reducing damage and giving TP really helped facilitate this change in the PLD dynamic; you take less damage than before and will end up having 100+ TP pretty darn frequently. Swapping into a STR/acc equip set for Vorpal Blade can get you Rampage-esque WS results if done well.

[Brimah]

With the DMG oriented PLD, do you still go with Tacos for food or sushi for the Acc?

[Frodorn]

With the DMG oriented PLD, do you still go with Tacos for food or sushi for the Acc?

As long as your not over Hunting I'd use Sushi, The amount of Damage Reduction from a Size 3 Shield alone covers the old Vit/Def Thinking.

Next thing that no one has Mentioned yet is Defender...

Even back in the Def/Vit days it was not all the Popular to keep it up 24/7 so should you even consider it now?

Truth is... Defender is even more useful now then it was back then... Not for its Damage Reduction but for the fact that its buffs counter act Berserk. You build Tp now fast enough to get more then 1 WS out during Berserk but you take a beating with it up... so cover it with Defender!

1.) Build Tp
2.) Berserk
3.) Vorpal Blade
4.) Defender
5.) Build Tp
6.) Cancel Defender
7.) Vorpal Blade
8.) Cancel Berserk
9.) ???
10.) PROFIT!

[Turin]

With the DMG oriented PLD, do you still go with Tacos for food or sushi for the Acc?

If you're that worried about defense you could always use Bream Sushi for an extra 5 VIT.

[Allundaria]

With the DMG oriented PLD, do you still go with Tacos for food or sushi for the Acc?

If you're fighting ITs, I'd go with tacos. It really helps take the edge of some of the edge off hits that don't get shield blocked. If you're chaining VTs you can opt for Bream Sushi for the lolVIT and good accuracy boost.

Each camp and player style is a bit different so it's probably a good idea to carry both foods, as well as a wide array of acc/attack/def/enmity pieces to mix and match until you're comfortable with how much you're getting hit for and how much you're hitting back. I found myself going for my Tiphia Sting more often than my Bibiki Seashell.

[Keno]

With the DMG oriented PLD, do you still go with Tacos for food or sushi for the Acc?

If you're fighting ITs, I'd go with tacos. It really helps take the edge of some of the edge off hits that don't get shield blocked. If you're chaining VTs you can opt for Bream Sushi for the lolVIT and good accuracy boost.

Each camp and player style is a bit different so it's probably a good idea to carry both foods, as well as a wide array of acc/attack/def/enmity pieces to mix and match until you're comfortable with how much you're getting hit for and how much you're hitting back. I found myself going for my Tiphia Sting more often than my Bibiki Seashell.

If you're damage oriented then why wouldn't you /NIN and use sushi? Specialization is important, you don't want to be a well rounded piece of crap. If you go a /nin DD build then with flash and your damage done you should be able to keep hate. If you want to blood tank go /war and stack the def/vit/tacos and you should be able to keep hate like that. When you start mixing though (i.e. /war with dd gear and sushi or /nin with dd gear and tacos) you're going to get your ass beaten and/or lose hate.

[Furionstormrage]

If you're in a T/VT "pseudo burn" setup, go for the Hauby/Woodsman/Amemet+1 route, do as much damage as you can, and try to keep up with the DDs.

If you're in an old-school "fight IT++++lolz" PT, the Enmity/Shield Skill/VITDef route is a good option.

At 65, Shield Torque is a great piece, the more you can get your Shield to Block, the less damage you take and the faster you can get TP.
(Shield Block now grants an extra 5 TP)

[Allundaria]

If you're damage oriented then why wouldn't you /NIN and use sushi? Specialization is important, you don't want to be a well rounded piece of crap. If you go a /nin DD build then with flash and your damage done you should be able to keep hate. If you want to blood tank go /war and stack the def/vit/tacos and you should be able to keep hate like that. When you start mixing though (i.e. /war with dd gear and sushi or /nin with dd gear and tacos) you're going to get your ass beaten and/or lose hate.

Like Stellar noted, pre-74 it's not really worth it to /NIN honestly. Ichi shadows barely mitigate anything, and losing your shield and it's damage block reduction and shield mastery TP gain in exchange for minor haste on a second sword is not feasible. Even if you keep the sword and shield in /NIN, you lose out on the offensive power of berserk and double attack in addition to the defensive abilities of defender and provoke. Exception to this if your PT is well setup to support a rotating shadow exchange between other /NIN melees that can equalize their hate.

Not to mention that even in a well-setup melee burn style PT you'll be missing out on precious points of shield skill that you'll have to makeup vs. crabs or something later on. /WAR, be flexible.

[Ferien]

For PLD, you'll still be expected to tank pre-burn pts. Before 74, tanking /NIN is entirely not worth it, especially if you're ditching your Shield. Any PLD who's tanking, even /NIN, should be wearing his shield, which completely detracts from the DoT boosts NIN gives you.

WAR sub gives you Provoke, Double Attack, Berserk, Defender, an Attack Bonus, and more STR than NIN. NIN, without an offhand multihit weapon (which the OP won't have at 62~64...) gives you Utsusemi: Ichi. It's really no contest. Like the previous poster said, the only way it would work is if you've got other /NIN melees and they're prepared to rotate tanking, in which case you're not being a tank, and the PT's better off getting another melee/NIN anyway.

@ the OP: Gear for acc where you can afford it. I've posted a theoretical gearset for your level in a similar thread on KI, but my test subject just hit 50, so she's got a ways to go. If you'd like to play around with it:

Bastard Sword (+1)
RG Shield
Tiphia Sting (carry Bibikishell just in case)
AF Head
Peacock Charm, Chiv Chain, Parade Gorget, and Shield Torque
Buckler + Assault or Merman's Earring
Haubergeon
AF Hands
Woodsman's Rings (keep Herc/Mermaid's Ring around)
High Breath Mantle (5 enmity should out-hate Amemet's attack)
Life/Potent Belt
RK Breeches
AF Boots

Essential motive behind the set is to maximize the potential of your enmity by using Accuracy/Attack where you can get a significant boost. In doing this, you're using damage alongside with your JAs and Cures to tank, making you more effective overall. The increase in damage taken should be minimal, but in the event you're taking more damage than you'd like, Tacos and/or Defender are still there to help you out.

[Gasgul]

not intended as a bump,

just wanted to thank all those who replied,

responses were appreciated

[Sepuku]

Slightly offtopic but still usefull:

If you still need shield skillups , i have a hint for you.

The sipar shield which drops from Adamantoise gave the most skill ups for me.

I think it has hidden effect massive procrate.