Paladin Chronicle by Gixander

E-mail with suggestions: ouberion @ live . com

Level: 75 PLD / 37 WAR Race: Elvaan

The following statistics table are meant to show what Gixander current has at the moment, not as an attempt to show off, but as a quick glance at what his status is. I'd prefer to have it look like the graphic on the Linkshell Community, but I'm not that great with the wiki markup, so hopefully this gets the point across for what it needs to. These stats are based on being an Elvaan PLD/WAR at 75. Endgame statistics for PLD/NIN, PLD/RDM, and PLD/DNC will be included at that point in time. This is meant to show a generic build that works towards statistics that you should look out for.

Hello, my name is Gixander. I currently seek out a living on the Fairy server as a fledgling Paladin/Warrior of the Elvaan race; previously I was a Tarutaru White Mage up in the 72 White Mage / 36 Black Mage range. Having got tired of dealing with keeping the party alive from a magical standpoint, I decided to flip to the opposite side of the coin. Now, you may think that White Mages and Paladins have a little bit more of a difference than just two sides of the same coin. This is true, but one of the things I pride myself on is the fact that I do a lot of research into how jobs worked.

When I was a White Mage, I had always planned on keeping that as my main. I made certain as I leveled that I opened all of the jobs (all 20) and started playing them. I got them all at least into the dreaded Valkurm Dunes, so I had a bit of first hand experience as to how each job functioned. Even knowing low levels playing tactics (and yes, they are different even from 1-20) helped me to predict what players would do nearing End-Game.

This guide is not meant to be a "here's what you are going to do in order to level and here's how to do it". There are too many guides like that scattered across the internet. In addition, many of those guides start out with the immediate disclaimer that the reader will have to "bear with them" since they are now level 75 and writing about experiences a level 1 player will have.

BIG DIFFERENCE!

The only disclaimer that I will make at this point is that I assume a few things about you as a starting Paladin:

• At this point, I am assuming that you have a generic understanding of Warrior and White Mage as jobs. I know that many people have different jobs available to them to use as a support job for Paladin. Viable options are, as of the latest update of this guide and playing style: Warrior, White Mage, Dancer. Another option I've seen is Red Mage, though this takes a bit of practice; keep in mind that the same could be said for any other job combination. Note that End-game changes subjob viability.
• Since the guide is not going to say "go out and buy this" and is also not written from a server-specific standpoint, I make no requirement on any gil amount, equipment, or vehicle accessibility. When I unlocked Paladin, I had 30k, only certain equipment sets that I didn't want to throw away (many Warrior equipments could be equipped by Paladin), and I only had Chocobos available. I did not have the Airship pass, nor did I even have Rank 5 (I was Rank 2 when I unlocked Paladin). Gixander was started as a Level 1 Warrior with 0 gil, and went straight from there to Paladin.
• Currently, the guide only covers from 1 through 10 from a San d'Orian standpoint (Ronfaure -> La Thiene). Eventually, the guide will also cover Windurstian (Sarty Barty -> Tahrongi) and Bastokian standpoints (Gustaberg -> Highlands). This only applies to the start of the game, and doesn't actually have many differences. Monster and available equipment options do differ, since you have different locales and options from the auction house and stores; however, this doesn't change much of your playing style.
• After arriving at Jeuno at level 20, you should know that many areas are open for where you decide to level. I will first cover all the most used camp locations, and then move from there to including as many available areas as possible.
• This guide is written from a "I will not do Level Sync" standpoint. I have mixed Level Sync and non-Level Sync parties, and I've come to the conclusion that while Level Sync can help you level quite fast, you do take a massive hit on the skills you need the most: Sword, Shield, Evasion, Parrying (to some extent), Healing, etc.

Any good guide has a nice layout; not necessarily a layout which pleases the eye (with all those funky tables and such that clog up the screen), but one that helps you answer the question "Where is this information?" with the answer "Here it is, right here."

This guide is divided, similar to other guides, by level. But underneath that, the following section headers are listed.

• Initial Tidbits: This section gives an overview of sorts for the levels, such as what areas you will be heading into, what you should generally be looking for in a party, what the ability to solo in this level range is; may not seem very information heavy, but it helps to know what the outlook for the near future is.
• Spells and Abilities: Self-explanatory. Spells are the Paladin's second way of life, following the ever-popular Meat-Shield reference. Your spells, to the onlooker, are nothing more than a red flashing neon sign over your head directing the mob to hit you. This section will help to overcome that idea. Abilties, which for the purposes of shortened section headers will also be the section discussing job traits, covers those extra things that define Paladin versus a Warrior with a severly gimped White Mage subjob.
• The Cost of Survival: This section kinda lumps two sections together, one that deals with equipment and its cost, and one that deals with items and their cost. Not only will this cover information pertaining to what new equipment is available, but also a mini cost-comparision of the statistics. While I don't mean to suggest that I know everything about the inner workings of the game, feel free to read this section for more than just "Here's a list of items I can buy."
• Locationx3: Because it's shorter than Location Location Location; this section covers the area you are most likely going to be looking to solo or party in. This is basically nothing more than a suggestion of camping area, with a few words on why I'm suggesting this area.
• Monsters Galore: Because I didn't give enough information in the Locationx3 section; Monsters Galore starts to review each monster in the area that you will be fighting in this level, and some ideas on what to do to fight them adequately.

Okay, so the first thing you need to keep in mind as a Paladin (besides the fact that you are going to be what most consider a "meat shield" for your character's life) is that while your main choices in gear are setup to increase defense, there are various options open to you. However, in order to make these options "viable", you have to understand what each statistic does for you as a Paladin. It may seem very weird to you that I'm making a statement that statistics help out each job differently, but if you play different jobs you'll understand.

Since you are reading this either as a in-depth guide or a "what will I be getting myself into", chances are you already understand the basics of your stats. Strength boosts attack, Vitality increases your defense, Mind is tied to healing and protective magic...and so on. I don't have to describe that.

• Vitality
  • Even though this is a very well-known fact, it cannot be stressed enough: 2 VIT = 1 Defense. As a 69 Paladin / 34 Warrior, I had 70+7 (total of 77) Vitality. This means that I had 77/2 or 33 (since we round down) extra points of defense. This should immediately note Vitality as a key statistic in your mind.
  • However, Vitality goes far beyond that. As a Paladin, you don't have much in the way of Magic Points (MP). Therefore, it's necessary to keep your healing abilities as capped out as possible. Vitality helps in that, since a high level of Vitality can mean a good 30 or 40 Hit Points of difference when being healed. And as we all know, all it takes is 1 point of damage to kill someone.
  • The ultimate reason for keeping Vitality in mind is not increasing defense or healing capabilities. Vitality alters what is known as the damage curve. The damage curve basically denotes what the range of damage you could take is. Let's show some generic example numbers: Say that fighting a Carrion Worm you could take anywhere from 3 to 7 points of damage, with an example defense of, say, 5. Let's not include Vitality yet. Increase your defense to 6, and the range may shift to 3 to 6 points. Notice how the lower value stayed the same? Let's say our Vitality was increase from 0 to 1, and our defense was still at 5. That range would now be 2 to 6 points. Ah! Very nice! Increase your defense and you eliminate the higher values of the range, while increasing your vitality shifts the entire range down. Couple this with the fact that Vitality increases your defense, and you have a winning stat to watch out for equipment.

• Defense
  • Everybody and their uncle wants to increase their defense. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, you have to keep in mind how it works. I did a short cover of Defense in the Vitality section (hopefully, you are reading this in order and are not bouncing around), so let's cover it a bit better here.
  • Defense works by taking that range of possible damage values and cutting out the higher numbers as your defense increases. We had that 3 to 7 points of damage in our example range above, with an example defense of 5. Increase your defense by a single point, and you may make the range 3 to 6. Increase it by 2, and it may now be 3 to 5.
  • The most effective way to determine which of the two stats (Vitality and Defense) you need will not be viable until later in your career. Get in a battle (or a party) and take note of the damage your receive. If you were to receive, for example, values that bounce all over the place (20, 25, 24, 22, 18), then you need Defense because the range of values you can receive is very large. If, however, the values were clumped together (20, 20, 21, 22, 20), then you just need Vitality since the range of values is small, so increasing Vitality will drop the range.

• Hit Points
  • What you'll find is that you have a large number of Hit Points, and that helps you to take more damage without dying. However, you can always use more, and thankfully there are many options for raising your HP through equipment. Many equipment sets offer what is called a Set Bonus for HP, which increases your HP more and more as you equipment more of the set (2 pieces equipped giving you +30, 3 giving +60, etc.).
  • Since Paladins are built for a Sword-Shield type of equipment setup, your HP will come into play later in the game. We are lucky to have, at our disposal, the cool weaponskill Spirits Within. This weaponskill takes into account your current TP (don't ever do it under 300, except in certain circumstances, which we'll get to later on) and HP (300 TP = slightly over half your HP). For example, with 1986 HP (my HP + a body boost, which makes you have 150% HP) and 300 TP, Spirits Within fires off 960 points of damage. Very nice.

• Mind
  • Mind is important, because you are half defensive Warrior, half wannabe White Mage. Our White Mage side needs a good portion of Mind; however, you might think that Paladin, being more geared for the defensive side of things, would not have a good level of defense. This is not true; Paladin are actually tied with Red Mage for the third highest Mind rating in the game (not counting support job bonuses).

Let's take a look at the other nineteen jobs, and see what they have to offer as a support job for Paladin. There are a large number of viable job options, depending on what portion of the game you are using your Paladin.

• Warrior
  • Job Traits: Defense Bonus (L20), Resist Virus (L30), Double Attack (L50), Attack Bonus (L60), Resist Virus II (L70)
  • Job Abilities: Provoke (L10), Berserk (L30), Defender (L50), Warcry (L70)
  • Warrior is the de-facto support job to make Paladin the best tank possible. Until you reach level 10, you aren't much different from a Warrior, but when you hit 10 and gain access to Provoke...all that goes out the window. Welcome to party time! This is the setup I currently use, and it helps in a few ways. You already have Defense Bonus I anyways (from PLD Level 10), but what helps is that Double Attack! Wait...a Paladin wanting Double Attack? Yes! Double Attack does give you a higher rate of TP gain, meaning more weaponskills, meaning more damage, and therefore more enmity!

• Monk
  • Job Traits: Boost (L10), Dodge (L30), Focus (L50), Chakra (L70)
  • Job Abilities: Martial Arts I (L1), Subtle Blow I (L10), Counter (L20), Max HP Boost (L30), Martial Arts II (L32), Subtle Blow II (L50), Martial Arts III (L62), Max HP Boost II (L70)
  • Monk is a different subjob than what you would normally expect from a Paladin. You get the ability to Chakra, which can help a little bit (poison and blind will be cured) and give a bit of HP back. Counter does help, and it actually can activate through a Cover (PLD/MNK). Honestly, the only thing I would be interested in this combination for would be the HP Boosts...but that's only an additional 60 hit points.

• White Mage
  • Job Traits: Magic Defense Bonus (L20), Clear Mind I (L40), Auto Regen (L50), Magic Defense Bonus II (L60), Clear Mind II (L70)
  • Job Abilities: Divine Seal (L30)
  • Additional Spells (not had by Paladin): Dia (L6), Paralyze (L8), Barstonra (L10), Poisona (L12), Barsleepra (L14), Protectra (L14), Barwatera (L18), Paralyna (L18), Aquaveil (L20), Barpoisonra (L20), Barparalyzra (L24), Baraera (L26), Slow (L26), Blindna (L28), Banishga (L30), Deodorize (L30), Silence (L30), Curaga (L32), Barfira (L34) Shellra (L34), Barblindra (L36), Diaga (L36), Blink (L38), Silena (L38), Sneak (L40), Barblizzara (L42), Regen (L42), Barsilencera (L46), Barthundra (L50), Invisible (L50), Reraise (L50), Protectra II (L54), Stoneskin (L56), Cursna (L58), Curaga II (L62), Erase (L64), Viruna (L68), Dia II (L72), Teleport-Dem (L72), Teleport-Holla (L72), Teleport-Mea (L72), Shellra II (L74)
  • Talk about a lot of spells. All those spells which are listed do not include the ones Paladin get (the single-target Cure series, Raise, Banish, single-target Protect, single-target Shell, etc.). That'd be a pretty nice magic list to choose from. Other than practical reasons to be a PLD/WHM, such as teleporting you party around the world, this actually can have some uses. Certainly, it'd be nice if you could get Haste as well, but that would require Level 80 as your main job. However, you have access to awesome spells which can make this a very long-lasting tank. You get the Bar- elemental spells, Sneak, Invisible, and Deodorize...and Reraise! Stoneskin is also a personal favorite (once again stemming from my first type playing the game as a White Mage...I'd loved Stoneskin then and I never got tired of it). You'll also get Erase, Regen, Blink, and a whole slew of status altering magic to cast.

• Black Mage
• Red Mage
• Thief
• Dark Knight
• Beastmaster
• Bard
• Ranger
• Dragoon
• Summoner
• Ninja
• Samurai
• Blue Mage
• Corsair
• Puppetmaster
• Dancer
• Scholar