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For a very basic approach, follow the following:
(If level 40 or above) Shield Oath. No matter what.
Shield Lob to pull
Flash TWICE when the mobs have gathered.
Fast Blade -> Savage Blade -> Rage of Halone
Repeat until pull is complete.
Now to get a little bit more in depth with your abilities.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns are your claim to fame in survival. Without them, it'd be pretty easy for any class in the game to be a tank. Ill try to go over each one a little.
1. Rampart
This is one that you will use frequently. Its a 10% reduction to incoming damage (20% when you get the Enhanced Rampart trait at GLA 14), with a 90 second cooldown. This used in conjunction with Convalesence is a surefire way to tank a medium to high damage attack.
2. Fight or Flight
This is an "Always On" cooldown. The moment this available to use, you should be using it. Fight or Flight grants you a 30% buff to all of your outgoing damage for 20 seconds. (Increased to 30 seconds with the Enhanced Fight or Flight trait at GLA 28) More damage = more enmity.
3. Convalescence
I mainly use this in situations where I feel the healer is either being overworked or is about to heal after a massive attack. Convalescence increases the potency of all incoming healing spells by 20% (Increased to 30% with the Enhanced Convalescence trait at GLA 32). When used in conjunction with Rampart it really makes any heals from your healer(s) a little more potent, since you're taking less damage and healing more HP.
4. Awareness
This skill learned at GLA 34 completely nullfied any chance of taking a critical hit for 20 seconds. (25 seconds with the Enhanced Awareness trait unlocked at GLA 44). Now, this skill sounds like it would be uber useful, but its not very often that you'll take a critical hit from something that wont do more damage than a normal attack. While not included in my normal rotation, I do pop it every now and again to be safe.
5. Bulwark
This skill is unlocked at GLA 46, and has no upgrades. It increases your chance to block attacks by a whopping 60%. Used in conjunction with a shield that has a high block rate, and its effectively a free Rampart. This is part of my normal rotation, but it is usually only used if I need a defensive buff and none of the others are cooled down. It is my last resort. There are no traits that buff this cooldown.
6. Sentinel
This is one of my favorite cooldowns to use, outside of Hallowed Ground. This bad boy, unlocked at GLA 38 decreases all damage taken by a flat 30% (Increased to 40% with the Enhanced Sentinel trait at GLA 48). I use this in a high damage situation where I know im about to take a hit, but the healer(s) are keeping up with the damage pretty well.
7. Hallowed Ground
The be all to end all of Paladin cooldowns. This is your OH SHIT! button. Unlocked from your PLD 50 quests, this bad boy makes you completely invulnerable for 10 seconds. Titan about to Mountain Buster you with low health? Garuda and Suparna spamming Wicked Wheel? Hallowed Ground will stop it all, provided you activated the ability about a full second before the attack lands. This should only be used in an emergency situation, and should definitely have a macro set up with it that alerts your party that you've used the ability, and when the ability has worn off so the healers can plan accordingly.
8. Honorable Mentions
These next two abilities are skills you get from leveling up and/or completing your PLD job quests:
Tempered Will is unlocked at GLA 42. It immediately cures Heavy and Bind, as well as preventing you from being knocked back or pulled in. I do not have this in my rotation, and its not even in my two hot bars for PLD.
Cover is unlocked by your PLD 35 job quest. It tethers you to a selected ally, and you will now take 100% of the physical damage they would have receieved, as long as they remain within 10 yalms of your character, for 12 seconds. This is not in my rotation, and not on any hotbars. Usually, I dont have the time to think "Hey, Mitsuki is about to take a massive physical attack, I should use Cover on her." in the heat of a battle. However, I have found that if you can tether to an ally getting hit pretty heavily and pair it with Hallowed Ground, you're mitigating damage across TWO people. I have not done it myself, but ive seen it used occasionally in Syrcus Tower during an unfortunate position change.
To be continued....
Need a picture to help? Here's one I grabbed on Reddit a while back:
Any questions? Hit me up in game. Im not the greatest PLD tank the realm has ever seen, but im pretty damn good at what I do.
(If level 40 or above) Shield Oath. No matter what.
Shield Lob to pull
Flash TWICE when the mobs have gathered.
Fast Blade -> Savage Blade -> Rage of Halone
Repeat until pull is complete.
Now to get a little bit more in depth with your abilities.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns are your claim to fame in survival. Without them, it'd be pretty easy for any class in the game to be a tank. Ill try to go over each one a little.
1. Rampart
This is one that you will use frequently. Its a 10% reduction to incoming damage (20% when you get the Enhanced Rampart trait at GLA 14), with a 90 second cooldown. This used in conjunction with Convalesence is a surefire way to tank a medium to high damage attack.
2. Fight or Flight
This is an "Always On" cooldown. The moment this available to use, you should be using it. Fight or Flight grants you a 30% buff to all of your outgoing damage for 20 seconds. (Increased to 30 seconds with the Enhanced Fight or Flight trait at GLA 28) More damage = more enmity.
3. Convalescence
I mainly use this in situations where I feel the healer is either being overworked or is about to heal after a massive attack. Convalescence increases the potency of all incoming healing spells by 20% (Increased to 30% with the Enhanced Convalescence trait at GLA 32). When used in conjunction with Rampart it really makes any heals from your healer(s) a little more potent, since you're taking less damage and healing more HP.
4. Awareness
This skill learned at GLA 34 completely nullfied any chance of taking a critical hit for 20 seconds. (25 seconds with the Enhanced Awareness trait unlocked at GLA 44). Now, this skill sounds like it would be uber useful, but its not very often that you'll take a critical hit from something that wont do more damage than a normal attack. While not included in my normal rotation, I do pop it every now and again to be safe.
5. Bulwark
This skill is unlocked at GLA 46, and has no upgrades. It increases your chance to block attacks by a whopping 60%. Used in conjunction with a shield that has a high block rate, and its effectively a free Rampart. This is part of my normal rotation, but it is usually only used if I need a defensive buff and none of the others are cooled down. It is my last resort. There are no traits that buff this cooldown.
6. Sentinel
This is one of my favorite cooldowns to use, outside of Hallowed Ground. This bad boy, unlocked at GLA 38 decreases all damage taken by a flat 30% (Increased to 40% with the Enhanced Sentinel trait at GLA 48). I use this in a high damage situation where I know im about to take a hit, but the healer(s) are keeping up with the damage pretty well.
7. Hallowed Ground
The be all to end all of Paladin cooldowns. This is your OH SHIT! button. Unlocked from your PLD 50 quests, this bad boy makes you completely invulnerable for 10 seconds. Titan about to Mountain Buster you with low health? Garuda and Suparna spamming Wicked Wheel? Hallowed Ground will stop it all, provided you activated the ability about a full second before the attack lands. This should only be used in an emergency situation, and should definitely have a macro set up with it that alerts your party that you've used the ability, and when the ability has worn off so the healers can plan accordingly.
8. Honorable Mentions
These next two abilities are skills you get from leveling up and/or completing your PLD job quests:
Tempered Will is unlocked at GLA 42. It immediately cures Heavy and Bind, as well as preventing you from being knocked back or pulled in. I do not have this in my rotation, and its not even in my two hot bars for PLD.
Cover is unlocked by your PLD 35 job quest. It tethers you to a selected ally, and you will now take 100% of the physical damage they would have receieved, as long as they remain within 10 yalms of your character, for 12 seconds. This is not in my rotation, and not on any hotbars. Usually, I dont have the time to think "Hey, Mitsuki is about to take a massive physical attack, I should use Cover on her." in the heat of a battle. However, I have found that if you can tether to an ally getting hit pretty heavily and pair it with Hallowed Ground, you're mitigating damage across TWO people. I have not done it myself, but ive seen it used occasionally in Syrcus Tower during an unfortunate position change.
To be continued....
Need a picture to help? Here's one I grabbed on Reddit a while back:
Any questions? Hit me up in game. Im not the greatest PLD tank the realm has ever seen, but im pretty damn good at what I do.
Last edited by Steven Mcnubbin on 9/27/2014, 1:14 am; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : Finished the Cooldowns section. Still very much a WIP.)
