This Guide covers the everything you need to know about playing a Paladin, and if you read the whole thing your're off to a good start. Paladins are the Main tanks of Grand Fantasia, meaning they are wanted/needed in dungeons. They are ok for PvE grind and Good in PvP (ok Paladins can be GODLY in PvP). After level 65, Paladins have a class upgrade becoming Templars.
To view early pre~Paladin skills, as well as more detailed Paladin skills descriptions and other helpful info check out
This guide by Dalican
Another Good Read is this guide by
Shinstrike detailing Templar Skills
Follow these links to the specific portions you're interested in reading. Part I is just below the links.
Part I. (Part I is just below these links)
Tactics
A. 1v1
B. AoE
Party Scenarios
Boss Fights
Other Paladins Suggest
Part II. (click on the links as this info is on Page 5 of this thread)
PvP
A. Intro
B. Skill Tactics
C. Battle Field Basics
Costumizing your Paladin
Equipment
A. Choosing a Weapon
B. Recommendations
Talents
A. List
B. Combos
Master Skills
A. List
B. Recommendation
Summoning Sprite
A. Emblems
B. Sprite Clothing
Adding Stats
Armory
A. Hammers
B. Swords
C. Armors
D. Shields
Tactics
Paladins have 2 ways of training:
A. 1v1 = slow, cost effective method
B. AoE = fast, wallet drain method
A. 1v1 scenarios become necessary if the map your on is crowded or the mobs are few and far apart from each other.
For 1v1 you can try these tactics:
- Holy Light Grenade to pull. Useful if the area is crowded. As long as you hit the first blow, no matter who kills the mob, you gain xp. Basically think of HLG as a way of claiming mobs.
- Shield Bash>Mighty Shield Bash. This is the one and only skill you should be using in a 1v1 fight. Use shield bash, then regular hits until mobs die. When you learn Mighty Shield Bash, then use that skill against mobs. MSB can do about 1/4 hp damage on a mob, the stasis effect will leave the mob defenseless until he is less than 2 hits away from death.
- Showdown Banner>Weakening Strike. If your soloing a Boss, then this combo is quite useful. It reduces damage taken, which in most cases leaves a boss damaging you for a lot less damage per round.
The overall focus of 1v1 is to minimize damage taken and MP use. That way you spend less on MP pots and eliminate the need to sit down to recover in between fights.
B. AoE is great alternative to 1v1 training. In order for this method to really increase your xp gain, you're going to need to aggro more than 3 mobs. I've timed it, and AoEing 3 mobs actually takes longer than 1v1 them, but 4 mobs + and you get more kills in less time. So how do we go about AoE?
- Showdown Banner>Perfect Defense. Protect yourself! 5 mobs hitting you at the same time can go terribly wrong. Use either skill at the beginning of each pull to add to your survivability. As you progress in levels, you may not have to use these skills anymore.
- Build Charges. You can either Build all 5 charges, or build 1 charge and quick release. Basically you can claim mobs with a regular attack, or use any skill that builds charges while gathering mobs. I recommend Quick Release, spamming Eternal Radiance as much as you can with only a single Charge.
- Terra Ripple>Whirlwind Chop>Eternal Radiance. Paladins only have 2 AoE attacks they can use during a pull, since both WC and ER use charge bars. So until you hit level 40, you are going to be relying on WC. After 40, you get the amazing ER, with not only deals a hefty amount of fixed magic based damage, but also causes a 'dizzy' effect.
Note: Dizzy is not the same as stasis. If you hit a dizzied opponent, they lose their dizzy state. Therefore, start to damage mobs with Terra Ripple, then use ER. If you do it the other way around, Terra will remove Dizzy effect and you will take more damage.
- Healing Light>Restorative Aura. Heal! Your taking damage and if your hp dips below 50% get it back up! I like Aura, since it heals over time meaning I can worry less on spamming heals.
The overall focus of AoE is to go crazy! As you may have noticed, you are using lots of skills, so your MP will drain fast. Bring plenty of MP pots to minimize waiting in between bouts.
Party Scenarios
So you've party up, now what?
- Well if your in a dungeon, your tactics will depend mainly on your level. If your level is around the same as the dungeon mobs, then you might have to rely on 1v1 tactics.
- If your level is above that of dungeon mobs, then try AoE. Use Hot Blooded Surge and Edge of Righteousness, run into a group and use Terra Ripple.
- Follow that up with Whirlwind Chop, and as soon as you get it, Eternal Radiance. Quickly use a charge build skill like Holy Light Grenade, and Quick Release ER. Keep doing this until all mobs die and use Terra Ripple when its cool down phase finishes.
- If you see your HP going down fast, try to pull less next time. Building up some charges for Perfect Defense can save you and your party from a wipe out if you're almost near death.
- Watch out for debuffs and magic attack mobs. The undead have a nasty debuff that makes your skills fail 60% of the time. Use good judgment if you plan to AoE on these. Mobs using magic attacks are dangerous too, since these attack hit for a lot of damage and can take you out if you get by a lot of them at the same time.
Boss Fights
Instanced Boss take a while to bring down so you will want to spam tons of malice building skills to ensure your parties safety, especially them DPS, which may steal aggro, if you slack off.
- Malice Building: Start off by Casting Hot Blooded Surge and Edge of Righteousness. Hit the boss with Holy Light Grenade>Armor Cracking Strike>Mighty Shield Bash> Shield Bash> Strike of Justice.
Keep using these skills repeatedly as soon as their cool down phase wears off. Remember to always use HBS and EoR together for extra malice.
If you're skills are Sealed off by a debuff, resist the urge to dispel it. Chances are as soon as you dispel they will get Sealed right away anyway. Use regular attacks and wait out the debuff.
- Perfect Defense: If a boss is hitting you hard, bust out PD. If you're still feeling the hurt, then use Showdown Banner and Weakening Strike. Summoning a Sprite with Emblems and the right clothing helps too.
- Try to maximize your healers range. When a boss comes in close, try stepping back a bit to add a few inches of range. Also make sure your back is always toward your healer. NEVER put the boss in between you and the healer.
- Equipment Counts: If you can't hold aggro following these steps, double check your equipment. There are several shields, armor and even swords that add Malice. Remember never to summon a Sprite with Red Lip Mask, as the effect reduces your Malice.
Other Paladins Suggest:
Here I will paraphrase what other paladins have suggested as their tactics for PvE. Their original post may be found among the comments of this thread.
adica:"just aoeing , we get so little damage anyway that we can afford to stack a good amount of mob . Perfect Defense was always then started luring mob around once i've a good amount on me I'll just build charge ,switching between different mob aka 1 hit each , to 4/5 charges and then releasing whirlwind chop then again another 1/2 charge to finish off the mob who's still alive. Heal up rinse and repeat ."
Animarelics:"For multiple mobs I apply Hot Blooded Surge+ Edge of Righteousness, then Pull with Holy Light Grenade, then go in with Terra Ripple and or whirlwind chop.
I also use a malice skill on at least every mob to ensure I can pull them back if they wander which they normally don't if the party follows my lead on Targeting"