Galka Guru

Finally! Paladin lv. 75! Didn't take too long to grind and it was sure hella fun to do! And the fun's just starting. I am feeling really ambitious about my new job, and really can't wait to take on all the fun events with PLD. I should've lvled a tank job sooner! Even though I've always been meaning to. Having played many DD jobs already and Red Mage, I feel there's much experience I can bring to the round table of Paladin. Even my DD roots are apparent in my PLD:


Probably the highest Vorpal Blade I'll ever see. Outside of meripo instances I don't see how any of my sword weapon skills will ever reach that level again, and it's not like I'll be meriting on PLD any more. It was a lot of fun to push the PLD DD threshold during the final stretch of my stint to lv. 75. Parsing along the lines of an average-above average merit-style WAR/NIN using a job known for its weak damage output was pretty fun. With the grind out of the way, I can focus on becoming a real Paladin.

Unlike a DD job where you can take it out for a merit PT to test its potential and tweak the way you play the job, I'm stuck looking for things to tank. We have so many people with multiple versatile jobs in Dawn that I really hope my PLD will get his oppurtunity to shine. Shortly after attaining 75, craving some blood, I went out Campaigning in search for some action. Initially I went PLD/NIN because I'm pretty well geared for that set-up already, so am pretty favored toward it. I don't have much on the PLD/WAR side of things, aside from a Shadow Mantle and some hax Galka HP and VIT. Anyway, since it's a new day and age in tanking, we probably won't see much blood-tanking occur too much anymore; I figure it's best to start practicing the art of PLD/NIN!

So I fixed myself a self-Cure3 macro and went out hunting big game. Found some pretty exciting Campaign battles the first night on PLD. I soon realized regular mobs are a waste to try to shadow tank and bosses, as fun and entertaining as they may be to tank, really deplete your resources without real support. Some fights I was lucky to find competant mages to Haste me and help Cure me, but those types of players are really hard to come by in Campaign. I could rant on and on about Campaign, but I'll save that for another day. I found myself in a pretty crazy battle in Jugner (S) that night with one that seemed to last an eternity.

Since I was sitting on Credit Ops for a while already, I kept spamming the battle-related Campaign Ops for some big points. I had kept failing Aegis Scream III, an Op where you had to participate in 5 battles defending your nation's territories or a battle with at least 5 waves of enemy advancements, but eventually after one long fight I was able to complete it. Paladin is really an ideal job for Campaign, since all you are able to fulfill so much of the criteria for performing well by taking constant damage, dealing out a considerable amount, and Curing as much as you can.


Anyway, after some fun it was back to business again. Having gotten lv. 75 so fast my Shield skill was significantly low. It was only 209 by the time I finished leveling PLD. Being one of the most important aspects of PLD tanking, I determined it was best to cap this combat skill ASAP. Referring back to some threads on KI and BG about Parry skill-up, I took my Taru slave out to Boyahda for some massive skill-ups. In a very short amount of time (probably about three hours total within just two sessions), I was able to reach from 209 to about 262!! Wow I wish Parrying was this easy to skill. Trixter the dinosaur PLD gave me shit about it because he had to cap his during the old-fashioned pre-Shield buff days. Didn't help that he didn't have a secondary RDM account to keep him alive, either. :p There are so many possibilities when you have a dual-box RDM at your disposal!

My third Shield skill-up session took me into the dark depths of the Den of Rancor (actually the ideal camp is right there near the entrance). Another couple of hours here allowed me to cap my Shield at 276. The screenshot shows 274 only because I forgot to take one at 276. :( Progress was a little slower since I played it safe and only had 2 Pucks beating on me this time, whereas I was able to support myself with 3 in Boyahda Tree. I was also able to get 1-2 points of Parrying while at it as well. I'm only 3-4 points shy of capping Parry on PLD, but once I have some free time I'll take my Samurai out for real Parrying skill-up sessions.


Looking into some situational set-ups for my PLD, I found a nice little cape that not only isn't a bad substitute for Cerberus Mantle or Valor Cape, but has a great Magic damage taken -5% on it. I have a few ideas already on some magic resist gear, including the easily obtainable Iron Ram Lance that I have more than enough Allied Notes to spend on. I can't wait for the next Proto-Ultima to roll around to see how well I manage against Citadel Buster. Anyway, this cape drops from a 21 hour on-the-dot Tonberry NM. I had no idea what the ToD was so I just turned on Timestamp and sat my AFK ass in Yhoatar Jungle while I was out for the day. Incredibly, a few minutes after coming home the NM popped right in front of me. Going 1/1 on the drop and putting in minimal effort, I was pretty lucky. P.S. Koki did it.