Paladin Macro and Party Play Guide

[LordBiGGs]

Hey everyone, I decided to take some time and write a specific guide to playing paladin in a party and the macros to use. I’ve seen a lot of guides giving info on pld’s but not a lot of real tips on actually playing the job. I’m not as high level as a lot of the other paladins I’ve seen in the forum, but honestly after 50 and change levels of the job, I don’t think I have a whole lot more to learn. I’ve heard from party members that I’m a lot better than a lot of the pld’s they’ve played with. I actually had a party of all lvl 54’s and me at 51 not too long ago because a friend from my LS really needed a tank for his party. After the initial doubt, I showed them what a real pld can do and got some praise saying despite my level (which wasn’t even high enough for any AF armor), I tanked better than the 54 pld with AF boots and gloves. So, I decided I would share my playing style with others.

A little note: If you like to talk to people while you are partying, don’t use my play style. It won’t work most of the time. You’re going to be too busy to talk. You might have time in between abilities to say something quick, but honestly during a battle, I can’t talk. There’s too many abilities paladins have to use (pretty frequently too) to have time to talk in my play style. If you have something to say that is going to take more than about 5 seconds to type, you don’t have time in a battle.

[LordBiGGs]

Macro Portion

First I want to start out with the Macros I use. I don’t use any /p macro’s except for skill chains since people really don’t need to see what you’re doing and if you don’t have a /p macro, you can just hammer the macro as often as you want to see the cool down time.

The Alt keys are used for non-magic abilities.

Alt 1 = Provoke
Alt 2 = Shield Bash
Alt 3 = Sentinel
Alt 4 = Defender
Alt 5 = Rampart (when I get it)
Alt 6 = Cover
Alt 7 = Line 1... /ja “Berserk <me>
Line 2... /wait 1
Line 3... a macro for whatever weapon skill you use. Make sure as soon as your weapon skill is used you cancel berserk so you don’t take extra damage.
Line 4... /p something to let them know what skill you are using and your number in the skill chain if you are involved.
Alt 0 = Line 1... /ja “Invincible <me>
Line 2... /wait 1
Line 3... /ja “Berserk� <me> (you don’t take physical damage while Invincible, so you might as well berserk. Cancel berserk as soon as invincible wears off.)

Now for the Ctrl keys. I used these for all my magic abilities

Ctrl 1 = Cure 1 <st>
Ctrl 2 = Cure 2 <st>
Ctrl 3 = Cure 3 <st>
Ctrl 4 = Cure 4 <st>
Ctrl 5 = Protect
Ctrl 6 = Shell

Basically the reasoning for the cures being set like that are the order you get them. It’s easiest to remember the cure being the same as the number used. Cure 1 is only macro‘d so it can be used to wake people up. Also you will notice flash isn’t macro’d. The reason for this is when you press the macro for a spell, you don’t see the cool down like you would with a job ability. I access the magic menu every once in a while and check the cool down manually. I guess seeing the cool down doesn’t matter as long as it’s used when available, but that's what I like to do.

[LordBiGGs]

Playing Portion

Now for the actually playing portion of the guide.

To start out I want to say, if you have a thief in the party or someone subbing thf after lvl 60, let someone else provoke first and set up for a SA/TA. After the thief tricks off you, then you start generating your hate. You might want to have another party member provoke again during a battle for another SA/TA or just TA/SA off another party member and then get behind you for cover.

Aside from trick attacks, this is what I do.

First of all bring some fish kabob’s with you. These seriously give you a big defense boost. Second, always carry a stat boosting sword (ex. AF1) and a damage dealing sword (ex. tact. espadon). Use the damage dealing sword against mobs that you can actually hurt. It makes it easier to keep hate. Against things you hit for 0 most of the time (crabs in kuftal), there is no point in using a sword that doesn’t provide stat boosts. You might as well hit for 0 with the AF that gives vit2, mnd2, than a tact. espadon that only gives +attack. If you can afford a sword that can serve as your damage dealing sword and stat boosting sword (ex. gluttony sword) feel free to do so.

So once you’re all equipped, it’s time to fight.

First of all, paladin hate is mostly caused by spikes like provoke and flash. Because paladin hate is spiked, my method for hate control is spike distribution. What I mean by this is, don’t provoke at the beginning of a battle then flash directly afterwards. This will leave you with no abilities to spike your hate for another 30 seconds. It‘s bad when your hate is fading and your party members are generating hate continuously. My preferred method is to provoke, and then flash about 10 seconds later. Basically just by spacing them out a little you maintain high hate constantly rather than massive spikes, where you have more hate than needed, and then troughs, where you have very little hate. The only time you should create a massive spike and dump all your abilities at once is when you lose hate or a party member is about to use something that will spike their hate. Aside from the spacing of abilities, use provoke and flash as often as possible.

Use sentinel every chance you get during a fight. I usually try to use sentinel right after a provoke so there is no chance I will lose hate while sentinel is on and waste the boost it gives. If the enemy doesn’t have anything you need to shield bash, just use it every chance you get. Have cover ready for any party member who really needs it. In my experience the only times I have trouble with hate are after ancient magic MB’s (freeze for example) or powered up ranger attacks. Rangers always stand behind me so cover is ready, and blm‘s usually get behind me before they burst. With jobs like drk, drg or mnk, hate loss is usually very short, if it happens at all, so cover isn't too much of an issue.

I keep defender up at all times. I know a lot of pld’s don’t really use defender, but it makes you take less damage, which is always good. The only time you shouldn’t use defender is when you are having trouble with hate and can actually damage a mob without it.

I use cures sparingly. I mostly use cures when I lose hate or if I have spare mp because of an rdm refreshing me or brd with ballad. It is important to remember to cure every once in a while to keep hate, or when cure is really needed. Don’t cure too much though because you will wind up with very little mp at the end of a fight and increase your party’s downtime.

Rest after each battle. MP is more important than TP for a paladin. Your flashes and cures will generate more hate than a weapon skill. The only time you should rest is if you notice you are never lacking in mp and just don’t need rest. Personally, if I have an rdm for refresh or brd for ballad, I use cure more during battle, using the extra mp and then resting afterwards.

So to sum it all up, if you use my macro system, pound Alt 1-4 constantly, unless you need to use shield bash for something important. Check your menu for flash and use it a little after you provoke. Use a cure II, III or IV every once in a while, or if it is really needed.

That’s about all I have to say. If you feel I forgot anything or have any questions or comments, just post away.

[Clifford]

At what point did you stop using Cure I? I'm a level 36 pld 1k from 37 (where i can get the notorious flash)

[Negs]

You can stop using CureI once you find the CureII becomes a more viable choice for healing yourself. I myself phased out CureI once my CureII began to heal for close to 90HP. At this point, it's just less efficient to use CureI 3x when you can use just one CureII to heal for the same amount of HP.

I suppose one can argue that using a weaker Cure spell goes with the whole "Spacing Out" of abilities notion, but casting spells also keeps you from striking the mob w/ your weapon...

'Hope that helps...


-Negs

[Loial]

The problem for many PLD is that when they get Cure II (level 17 if I remember), it isn't necessary to use it just yet. Then when you hit 21, you are swayed into wearing the Spike Necklace with MND-6 which can decrease the potency of your Cure II.

The best remedy is to get your healing skill up. Be lame and spam Cure I on yourself at your mog house and zone in/zone out. This will increase your skill so that you can use Cure II at 17 if you wanted to (regardless of whether you opt for the spike necklace or not).

Even with a MND down debuff from a mob, I found that holding hate with a Cure II that only does 65 hp is better than spamming Cure I.

Best bet, get your healing skill up and feel out whether you like Cure I or II better for keeping hate.

Oh, and considering that Clifford is now 36, I guess that information is for other PLD out there But when you do get Flash, if you learn to use all your abilities to the fullest, you probably will NOT have to use Cure II ever again to hold hate. By the time you reach 50, you'll be switching to Cure III.

[LordBiGGs]

i stopped using cure I sometime in qufim, so between 20 and 25. i also used a justice badge, which is +3mnd rather than -4 or 6 from a spike/fang necklace. i prefer to keep my pld completely defensive with +mnd gear over +dex or str. i've been able to keep hate fine so far without help from damage. also i'm a hume so the +mnd helps but my mp to use. i equipped a holy phial at lvl 26. lvl 48 i started using a promise badge. i'm considering switching to an asura's necklace, but i'm not sure yet, +5mnd is nice.