Paladin: Guide by Willriker/Part III

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==Knowing Your Shield==
 
===Shields===
 
:I don’t see how a guide about Paladins can get away without a discussion on Shields. They are important in the daily life of a Paladin. They serve one purpose, and that is to reduce the amount of damage dealt, well that and my favorite skill, Shield Bash. But using a shield in FFXI is not as simple as you would first think.
 
:Way back in the day, when shields activated no damage was dealt. Aside from the stat bonuses gained from the shield, it did not matter what shield you used at all. In fact, when your shield used to activate you even had the added benefit of not having a badly timed spell interrupted by an enemies attack! It used to behave exactly like parry does today. There was a down side to all this though, your shield would rarely activate and because of that your shield would not level nearly as quickly as today. In fact it was truly such a pain to level that most Paladins just said screw it, it’ll cap off sometime in endgame, and forgot about it.
 
:Square Enix has released an update to FFXI a while ago that revolutionized shields in FFXI. This update truly made shields complicated enough to mention exactly how they work in this guide.
#When shields activate they no longer reduce all damage dealt by an enemy. 
#The amount of damage reduced by a shield is determined by the type of shield. (I'll discuss that in a bit)
#The activation rate of shields has been increased.
#The type of shield being used determines the activation rate of the shield. {A theory that I definitely buy into)
===Type of Shields===
 
:There are 4 classes of shields. In general the smallest shields are deemed to be class 1, while the largest shields are deemed to be class 4. (Note some web pages have a 5th class, this only has Aegis in it, the relic shield, I am not sure if it is because it follows this pattern or that they just don’t know how it behaves.) Class 1 shields activate more often than class 4 shields, but they do not block nearly as much of a percentage of damage as a class 4 shield. Conversely, a class 4 shield activates less than a class 1 shield, but blocks more damage than a class 1 shield.
 
===Choosing a Shield===
 
:As you can see we have a dilemma, what shield do we want to use? Well if you’re awake today you already know the answer… It depends on your situation. To elaborate, since smaller shields activate more often, it is easier to get skill-ups with a small shield (more on that in a bit). If your shield is very close to cap, then you get the privilege of being able to use a larger shield to its fullest potential. Using a larger shield before you're close to the level cap is, well, almost a waste of time. So the question now becomes, what does my shield cap at? Here you go, a level-by-level spreadsheet on skill caps for sword, shield, evasion and parry. I'll continue on after this chart.
{|cellpadding="5" width="100%"	
:{| width="60%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"	 	 	
Level	Sword	Shield	Evasion	Parry
1 	6 	6 	5 	5
2 	9 	9 	7 	7
3 	12 	12 	10 	10
4 	15 	15 	13 	13
5 	18 	18 	16 	16
6 	21 	21 	19 	19
7 	24 	24 	21 	21
8 	27 	27 	24 	24
9 	30 	30 	27 	27
10 	33 	33 	30 	30
11 	36 	36 	33 	33
12 	39 	39 	35 	35
13 	42 	42 	38 	38
14 	45 	45 	41 	41
15 	48 	48 	44 	44
16 	51 	51 	47 	47
17 	54 	54 	49 	49
18 	57 	57 	52 	52
19 	60 	60 	55 	55
20 	63 	63 	58 	58
21 	66 	66 	61 	61
22 	69 	69 	63 	63
23 	72 	72 	66 	66
24 	75 	75 	69 	69
25 	78 	78 	72 	72
26 	81 	81 	75 	75
27 	84 	84 	77 	77
28 	87 	87 	80 	80
29 	90 	90 	83 	83
30 	93 	93 	86 	86
31 	96 	96 	89 	89
32 	99 	99 	91 	91
33 	102 	102 	94 	94
34 	105 	105 	97 	97
35 	108 	108 	100 	100
36 	111 	111 	103 	103
37 	114 	114 	105 	105
	 
:This Figure was derived from 
:http://mysterytour.web.infoseek.co.jp/ffxi/us/index.html
 
:You could write this down if you wanted to, but there is a pattern. Your Shield skill will always cap out at your Sword skills cap. And, your parry skill will always cap out at your evasion cap. (As a Paladin, I cannot vouch for any other job).
 
 
===Leveling Your Shield Skill===
 
:Now that we know our capping levels, the difference between shields, and how shields work, I will get into how to level your shield out nicely. Before you read I would like to inform you that I cap off shield every level. At one point I actually did a survey of Paladins shield skill values and I had more skill in shield than Paladins 7 levels above me. I recently did the survey again, and I have more than almost every non-end game Paladin out there. I also told many younger Paladins in game how to do it, and they achieved similar results. So, this method has been tested for consistency.
 
:Ok, I must tell you now; if you plan on leveling your shield skill you have to go all in with it… It has become much easier to cap off shield since the before mentioned update, but that does not mean that it is easy. And I can’t stress that enough, it’s a long slow hard road to capping of shield (well only if you have lost ground to make up for). There are many factors that you need to handle in order to get your character to level its shield effectively. But the good news is that there is only one principle to understand: You Will Never Get A Shield Skill Up If Your Shield Did Not Activate!!!
 
:Evasion… Evasion is your number one nemesis when leveling shield. If you spent any time tanking as paladin or warrior you already know that this is the first skill to cap off, always. And at first glance we like that, I mean if you dodge the attack you took no damage right? Well yes, that is true. But in later levels having shield leveled just makes you take so much less damage than evasion (alone). And that’s your job; take as little damage as possible while holding hate. So, I cannot urge you enough to place an emphasis on shield (till it caps every level) while your character is young. Please remember the one principle ‘’’’’You Will Never Get A Shield Skill Up If Your Shield Did Not Activate!!!’’’’’ This is not like evasion, where you can get hit, not evaded, and still get a skill up. It will never happen. Furthermore, if you evaded an attack…well you evaded the attack and therefore have no chance of blocking the attack! This is the main purpose of the minus evasion gear, like cavaliers mantle, you must gimp the hell out of your evasion. Sorry not nice to hear, but it WILL make you better. Think of it analogous to the worst tasting cough syrup you have ever tasted. Now don’t get me wrong, if you can find a +Vitality item (A decent one) to take the place of a –evasion item you may want to go that route, but –evasion will help you level shield skill.
 
:Shield seems to be attached to your agility statistic. This is why you see so many Paladins running around with Drone Earrings (+3 agility), it is also the elusive reason as to why Agility is listed on other strategy guides as being important to a Paladin even though they never seem to tell you why. Agility really does make a difference.
 
:One sad part of leveling shield and parry for that matter is that it is impossible to cap it off solo, and that goes with skill-up parties also, the only time efficient way to level it is within your exp parties… yes that can suck. And people will ask you why you are wearing the gear you are wearing. All I had to tell them is that my shield skill is 10% higher than other paladins shield skill at that level because I am wearing gear like this, and instead of being upset I always got a /hurray!
 
:Also, you need to fight things that attack really fast, monk class mobs like spiders or anything that loves using double attack (like raptors) will become great friends…. The more times they attack, the more of a chance you will have to get your shield to activate. Yes the reasoning is that simple and yet so damn effective. I have found that goblins offer a great skill-up opportunity for both shield and parry. There are long times when you are killing crawlers and beetles… if you care about your shield skill please try to find other things to level on. Beetles and crawlers are worthless to level shield on, but great for exp….
===Shield Skill Items===
 
:On the topic of +shield skill items I have 2 things to say. While the type of shield you are carrying determines how often your shield activates, the value of your shield skill plays an even greater role. Now I’m not talking about a level 72 Paladin trying to get shield skill-ups off a level 2 enemy, which is just silly. Rather I am talking about a Paladin, with let’s say 50-shield skill, trying to level it off a mob that caps a WS of at 220. Granted this is an extreme, in general you would like to have some +shield skill on you, about enough to get your shield skill to somewhere around your swords current cap. Yes this will suck at first, but the skill-ups are what you’re after. This is what happens when you neglect a skill that’s such a pain in the butt to level…. You need to make up for lost time. However the good thing is that these +Shield items will help you level your Shield much faster. So in a couple levels you will be able to switch in your + shield items for better + vitality , + defense, or + hit point items that you are really after. Shield skill items also increase the skill cap for shield. So it your shield skill ends up being higher than your sword skill at any point don’t come back here to flame me lol.
 
:There are 5 main factors you need to address in order to get the best shield skill-ups, and they are as follows, in order of importance:
# What you fight, monk class mobs like spiders or mobs with a double 
attack like raptors and even goblins will give you the best skill-ups.
#What Shield you use, use a class one shield or a class two shield for leveling your shield if it is truly gimped and not even close to 	cap.
#Gimp your evasion, you don’t get hit, you won’t level shield that 	easy
#+Agility items
#+Shield skill items
 
 
==The Parry Skill==
 
===Parry===
 
:The parry skill truly is wonderful for a Paladin, at times it’s even better than our vaunted shield skill. When Parry activates the damage from that attack is completely negated! Not only that, but if you timed a spell badly and parry kicks in your spell will still continue! Sadly, this skill Caps out at a much lower level than our shield skill, which means that it will never happen as often as our shield would. Note that the Parry skill will always cap at the same level as your evasion skill! At one point I also did a survey of Ninjas on parry skill, and when I was a 69 Paladin I had a higher skill level attained than many 75 Ninjas, which first lead me to believe that you need to be taking damage to level this attribute.
===Leveling the Parry Skill===
 
:Leveling parry skill is extremely similar to shield, so look at shield skill-up portion of this guide to under stand it further. It is therefore critical to pay attention to this skill as well, since the main role of a paladin is to control hate while taking as little damage as possible. There is one exception to leveling parry as apposed to leveling shield though. And that is simply change what you are fighting. I don’t have the slightest clue why, but spiders and raptors do not level you parry skill nearly as nicely as lizards. Yes that’s right I said fight lizards to level your parrying skill. Just go and try it, you won’t be let down. 
 
:Here lies our problem, we are definitely able to cap off shield or parry but capping off both becomes nearly impossible until end game. Since Paladins are more skilled with shield than parry I decided to work on that while I was in exp parties but make your own choices it is your character after all.
==Weapons==
 
===Swords===
 
:As a Paladin in FFXI you are blessed with an A+ skill rating in the one-handed sword. Swords are not known for how much damage they do. Out side of your weapon skills do not expect to keep up with a melee in damage per hour using a sword, heck don't even get the idea that your weapon skills will consistently out due a melee either. That being said, Paladins still use this weapon more often than not. The reason for this is relatively simple, it is still the best one-handed weapon choice we have, damage per hour wise. The whole reason we insist upon using a one-handed weapon is that it also allows us to wield a shield in our off hand. That being said here is a list of the swords you will find especially useful through out your Paladins carrier. I do not intend to have this list interpreted as a cookie cutter mold of what a Paladins gear should be. That is NOT the purpose of these lists. I am merely attempting to provide you with equipment that you may find interesting during your path as Paladin. Therefore I am not listing every sword in the game and level ranges you should be using them at. This is just a list of the stuff that well, it's the good stuff.
 
:
Weapon 	Level	Stats 	Notes
San d'Orian Sword
Kingdom Sword	15 	DMG: 11 Delay: 222 HP +4
DMG: 12 Delay: 216 HP +6 	+HP is never a bad thing, I can't tell you how many times +5 HP has saved my behind.
Centurion's Sword	30 	DMG: 19 Delay: 255 Accuracy +3 Attack +4 	By this point in the game you will start to realize how little damage Paladin does, not only that but how often a Paladin misses. This is one of the few times you will find it acceptable to wear an offensive sword. Don't get used to it.
Strider Sword 	32 	DMG: 19 Delay: 231 AGI +3 	+Agility equipment is great for leveling parry and shield, if you can get a hold of this, it'll help you in the long run.
Grudge Sword 	39 	DMG: 26 Delay: 240 Enmity +1 	This piece will help you with the main reason people want a Paladin, Hate control. I really can’t see why you wouldn’t want this. In fact, you may just want to keep this sword in storage for when you get into some of the CoP missions.
Honor Sword 	42 	DMG: 28 Delay: 240 VIT +2 MND +2 	This is your artifact armor’s weapon, also known as AF1. It is quite possibly the best out of any of the Artifact weapons. Not to mention the first weapon that would actually give you +VIT, decent damage, decent delay, and NICE effects. You can get away with this bad boy for quite a while.
Gluttony Sword 	57 	DMG: 44 Delay: 295 STR –1 DEX –1 AGI –1 MND –1 CHR –1 VIT +7	Heh, and you thought you were holding onto that Honor Sword forever. You will hold onto this sword for a long damn time, and frankly if you don’t…then I don’t know what your thinking bout but it sure isn’t tanking.
Macuahuitl +1 	65 	DMG: 37 Delay: 227 Accuracy -4 Attack +11 Enmity +4 	A good replacement for the Gluttony, a near must-have if you didn't get that one, and possibly better than the Durandal. It's hard to beat the Enmity+4 this sword offers for tanking, or its Attack bonus if you're looking for a DD build.
Joyeuse 	70 	DMG: 39 Delay: 224 Occasionally attacks twice 	Now don’t get me wrong here, this is NOT a tanking weapon, it is purely for TP. Many enemies would be more easily tanked by a Ninja, or maybe you just aren’t the main tank, when this occurs it’s nice to build Tactical Points off side enemies, toss in your Spirits Within, and repeat quickly. This is the type of situation this sword was designed for. Not to mention it makes HNM a hell of a lot more fun than just outside healing people.
Company Sword 	70 	DMG: 46 Delay: 264 	This sword will provide you damage over time which may even surpass Joyeuse. It is a must have sword and ideal for many situations. Even Experience Parties would be happy to see this on you.
Durandal 	71 	DMG: 40 Delay: 240 VIT +7 Enmity +1 	XD I can finally say that a party would not mind you finally trading in your Gluttony Sword for this piece of equipment.
		
:This was basically just common sense type of stuff, by the time you achieve this point in the game I am SURE that you will be able to figure out what to get. Just focus on your role in party/alliance and equip yourself accordingly.
===Staves===
 
:It should be noted that Staffs are two-handed weapons and as such you lose the ability to equip a shield in your off hand. This is a major down side to the use of staffs as will be discussed later. I am not going to bother discussing staffs like Signet staff and trick staff, these are simply support staffs that every job has access to. Instead I am going to discuss the 2 staffs that are pretty much a MUST have for a Paladin. They are as follows:
 
:
Weapon 	Level	Stats	Notes
Earth Staff 	51 	DMG: 30 Delay: 366 VIT +4
Physical Damage -20%
Additional Effect: Earth Damage
(Hidden Effect: enhances earth based spells)	When a Paladin uses this staff he/she does not care about the damage they do, nor the hidden effect, What a Paladin is after is the +4 VIT and the physical damage –20%. There are enemies that can hit for 300 damage a hit, take away 20% of that damage and it now becomes a hit for 240 damage. Not bad not bad at all. Still, outside of kiting an enemy a capped Shield skill will reduce your damage far more than the 20% from this staff. If you haven't capped your Shield skill (or aren’t even close to capping it...) use the staff please.
Terra's Staff 	51 	DMG: 35 Delay: 356 VIT +5
Physical Damage –20%
Additional Effect: Earth Damage
(Hidden Effect: enhances earth based spells)	This is the HQ version of the Earth Staff, the only thing that a Paladin would gain from this would be an additional one point of Vitality. Giving the violent upsurge in price, I really don’t think this one Vitality would be worth the money.
Dark Staff 	51 	DMG: 30 Delay: 366 STR +1 DEX +1
VIT +1 AGI +1 MND +1 CHR +1
MP Recovered While Healing +10
Additional effect: Darkness damage
(Hidden Effect: enhances darkness based spells)	This staff is use purely for recovering MP. That's it, end of story. Yes, it does also provide some nice stat bonuses, but all in all it just is not worth using this in any sort of fight.
Pluto's Staff 	51 	DMG: 35 Delay: 356 STR +2 DEX +2
VIT +2 AGI +2 MND +2 CHR +2
MP Recovered While Healing +10
Additional effect: Darkness damage
(Hidden Effect: enhances darkness based spells)	Buying this will be a waste of time. It is the HQ version of the Dark Staff. Unless you also have a mage job, and therefore have this rotting in your Mog House already, don't buy the HQ version. Speaking from a PURELY Paladin point of view, you get nothing more out of the HQ version than what you can get out of the NQ version.
Primate Staff/Kinkobo	51 	DMG: 68 Delay: 412 Critical Hit +5% 
Latent Effect: Delay: 329 Accuracy +10
(Latent effect triggered by eating Pamamas)	The Primate Staff (or it's usually cheaper, enchanted sister, the Kinkobo) is excellent for Paladins looking for damage output from their staff. This is an excellent choice if your Staff skill is skilled up some, and you're trying to kill things weak to blunt damage (the Primate absolutely tears things like skeletons and pots apart). The downside is that you have to eat a Pamama for the staff to really excel, but if you're tanking, you shouldn't be using this staff, and if you're out dealing damage, the +10 Accuracy should make up for any loss in accuracy from not eating sushi. If you normally eat meat dishes, the stave's natural damage should make up for it.
===Great Swords===
 
:These are for Paladins who are not tanking, a properly equipped Paladin can do an incredible amount of damage, but a Paladin equipped to do damage would not be the best tank, as it would require you to sacrifice your tanking equipment (for the time being) for equipment that would let you hit the enemy. 
 
:Unless skilling up, Paladins won’t be seen sporting a Great Sword until well into the later levels of the game, and even then the conventional wisdom is that it isn’t worth the trouble. Remember a Great Sword is two handed, and therefore will not allow you to equip a shield in your off hand. 
 
:In theory it looks like Paladin would be nice with a Great Sword, after all Paladin’s have access to almost every Great sword out there. But until you are at a level where acquiring a great sword would allow you to one shot lesser enemies to farm quicker, or have the Great Sword skilled up high enough to unleash a nice weapon skill against a NM or HNM great sword is not for you. It is definitely not for experience parties. That being said, a Paladin must choose when the time is correct for him/her to equip this especially nasty piece of equipment.
 
:Some nice Great Swords for a Paladin include, but are not limited to:
:
Weapon 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Ram-Dao 	59 	DMG: 78 Delay: 480 Damage Per Second: 9.75	A Paladin-only Great Sword, and good looking at that.
Flamberge 	69 	DMG: 80 Delay: 480 Damage Per Second: 10.00
MND +2 Attack +5	
Nagan 	71 	DMG: 84 Delay: 480 Damage Per Second: 10.50
HP +11 DEX +3 VIT +3	
Martial Sword	71 	DMG: 76 Delay: 466 Damage Per Second: 10.27
TP Bonus	
Balan's Sword	73 	DMG: 83 Delay: 466 Damage Per Second: 10.69
HP +13 STR +2 INT +4	
Algol 	75 	DMG: 85 Delay: 489 Damage Per Second: 10.43
Attack +3 Triple Attack +3% Additional Effect: Damage	
===Swords or Staves, Which is Better?===
 
:Well, as we see as Paladins we have yet another dilemma. Either we go out and level our shields to use a sword/shield combination or go out and just go for earth staff. Some people will tell you to use an earth staff in a party at least for a few levels, I think this is an incredible mistake. 
 
:Not only will you lose out on multiple levels worth of time to skill up your shield (which isn’t easy in and of it's self) but, once you hit level 73 or so, you will notice that you are not going to fight very many IT enemies. In fact, more VT enemies will become more frequent. And unlike the previous 73 levels in the game you will actually be able to hurt these enemies. Not only that but you will be expected to not only control hate, but also finish off an enemy in the attempt to chain as many as possible all while taking as little damage as possible. To fill this role you will need to be proficient in both your sword and your shield skills. 
 
:Using an earth staff simply will not save enough damage to equate to the faster kills a sword/shield will make. That and when your shield activates it will block a larger portion of damage than your earth staff will. With a Capped Shield skill your shield (no matter the rank) will reduce more damage than your staff will.
 
:However, you should not forget about your earth staff. Save this piece of equipment for those especially nasty fights. You know the kind… the ones that your link shell has posted in the link shell messages all week long. Or the ones that you’ve heard rumors about… the ones that have whipped out 25 level 75 characters in the course of 4 moves. The kind of fights that cannot be straight tanked, but kited around. These are the fights that your earth staff was not only made for, but also commonly used in. In these types of fights the chances of you even touching an enemy in an offensive way is slim to none, so you don’t really need to worry about inflicting damage. You only need to worry bout two things, controlling hate (solo or with a partner) and staying alive. And your earth staff will undoubtedly increase your survivability during any situation where you must kite an enemy or you facing a really tough enemy without a capped shield skill.
 
 
==Equipment You Should Think About==
 
 
===General Guidelines for Choosing Equipment===
 
:Paladins enjoy a tremendous variety when choosing gear. They can wear pretty much anything out there. But as a Paladin, there are certain types of gear that you will find far more advantageous than others. Unlike other jobs in FFXI, where your priority is to hit the enemy, your priority is to receive as little damage as possible while being able to control hate. Therefore, every piece of gear that you can pick up which will reduce the amount of damage that you take is of paramount importance. I cannot stress this enough, you must keep up to date on your gear, it IS what will keep you alive, and speed up your experience parties! In your travels as Paladin you will come across many players who do not have up to date gear and can get away with it… as Paladin you do NOT have this luxury. That being said, somehow Paladin is still one of the cheaper jobs to level, where gear comes into the equation, so don’t panic. This is because, in large part, the gear we deem to be quality … all other jobs would not touch with a ten-foot pole. Less demand = less of a price :D lucky us.
	
:When Choosing gear do so with this priority VIT > Def > AGI > HP > MP (you may want to switch the HP and MP around if you are Galka) Defense and Vitality are extremely close in importance until late levels. If you are holding onto a piece of gear which has +1 VIT for 7 levels, while there is an option of choosing a piece of equipment that has 5-10 more defense, you are doing yourself an injustice. This only applies during lower levels. At Higher levels the effect of additional defense actually caps out. By later levels I mean levels 72 and up. (72 is just an estimate don’t take it as a rule)
:I MUST make it clear that just because you are a tank, it does not mean that you cannot do damage. When you are up against some especially tough things yes you want as much damage reduction as you can get your hands on. But, if you are up against something that isn’t hitting you all that hard I highly advise you to swap out some of your damage reduction gears in favor for a slightly more offensive setup. Remember you are there to take damage so the mage can use less cures. This is supposed to lead to less down time and more exp per hour. In the advent that you aren’t taking very much damage and MP isn’t an issue, do damage, and increase your exp per hour that way. It will add an element of fun to your play that you have never seen before as Paladin.
 
:Note: I am not going to waste my time writing about racial gear or supplementary items like warp cudgel or empress rings. This is all gear Paladins should take special note of, not a set guide for wearing this while you are in levels 10-15, for example.
 
 
===Some Especially Nice Pieces of Gear===
 
 
====Shields====
 
:A Paladins Shield is the best resource for avoiding damage that this job possesses. It activates a hell of a lot more than Parry does, assuming your shield skill isn’t gimped. And the shield also is a great resource for defense/vitality/agility/hp all depending on your situation. These are some of the better shields.
 
:
Shield 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Marine Shield 	1 	DEF: 1 VIT +1 AGI +1 +1 	Use this and not shell shield, it will help keep your shield skill from falling too far behind.
Aspis +1 	9 	DEF: 4 	Viable option to Marine Shield
Turtle Shield 	24 	DEF: 6 VIT +3 AGI –6 +6 	Now if you don’t especially care about your shield skill, equip this one, I did. Just note that you will have the make up for the shield skill levels later. But the +3 Vitality may just be worth it.
Republic Targe 	25 	DEF: 8 HP +8 	This is a viable option to the turtle shield, if the –6 agility turns your stomach.
Jennet Shield 	38 	DEF: 10 VIT +1 	
Light Buckler 	40 	DEF: 6 Shield Skill +5 	If you let your shield fall too far behind this may help you start to get skill-ups again.
Heater Shield +1 	43 	DEF: 13 	
Royal Knight Army Shield 	50 	DEF: 14 STR +2 MND +1 	Don’t waste your time with the T.K. Army shield it will not help you as much.
Master Shield 	52 	DEF: 8 Shield Skill +10 	Equip this bad boy and your sacrificing a lot, but MAN the skill-ups you get with this thing is incredible.
Temple Knight Army Shield +1	52 	DEF: 15 STR +1 MND +2
In areas under own nation's control: VIT +3	This is a great shield as long as your nation is not shitty in the tallies.
Musketeer Commander's Shield	55 	DEF: 12 AGI +3 	For those of you Paladins that love the skill-ups, and having your parry/ 
shield skills activate more often, this shield for you. I would highly recommend this or Master’s shield, which ever you will choose, you will keep the shield for about 11 levels, there’s really not much better. And its bout time you started getting your shield skill back up there.
Iron Ram Shield 	60 	DEF: 15 STR +3 VIT +3 Attack +3 Evasion +3	Excellent shield that came out with WoTG for once you hit 60.
Diamond Shield 	66 	DEF: 18 VIT +2 	Finally, another shield that offers Vitality! If you can afford it, grab it.
Astral Aspis 	68 	DEF: 3 AGI +3 INT +3
Converts 25 HP to MP	This only made this entry for you Galkas… I felt bad for you
Ice Shield 	72 	DEF: 23 VIT +2 +20
Physical Damage "Ice Spikes"	Now this is a Shield! You get the Vitality of a Diamond Shield, more defense than Diamond Shield, and Ice Spikes! Sadly you can only equip this item for one level... so you really do not see any Paladins running around with this.
Tatami Shield 	72 	DEF: 24 STR +5 Evasion +3
Enhances "Killer Effects"	This Helps Makes an enemy afraid of you. When an enemy is afraid of you they are paralyzed for one action. This adds another method for escaping damage to your parry/shield combination of skills. That in combination with all the CHR that is tossed a Paladins way makes this quite a nice shield.
Koenig Shield 	73 	DEF: 22 VIT +6 Enmity +3
Enhances "Beast Killer" effect	If you are a 73 Paladin and you do not wear this, you're either poor or we'll... I’m in too good of a mood to say it right now.
Aegis 	75 	DEF: 40
Enhances "Shield Bash" effect
Magic Damage Taken -25%	This is the best shield in the game. Well from what I hear it is the best shield in the game. I have never seen one in action, due to how much of a pain in the ass it is to get. Good luck in getting it, but if you do, I will be so jealous. By the way it multiplies the damage of Shield Bash by 10 times its rated amount! And is rumored to have a 75% block rate!
====Head====
 
:Equipment for Paladin’s head slot really runs the gambit in terms of versatility. Check out some of the options below, there is some pretty nice stuff down there.
:
Armor 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Cache-nez 	1 	DEF: 2 Enmity +2	Nice to keep around, never know when you’ll need it. Good luck in getting it though.
Royal Footman's Bandana	10 	DEF: 5 AGI +1 	
Kingdom Bandana 	15 	DEF: 7 AGI +1 	
Kampfschaller 	29 	DEF: 14 AGI +2 	
Iron Musketeer's Armet 	40 	DEF: 17 VIT +2 	
Gallant Coronet 	56 	DEF: 24 HP +12 MND +3
Enhances "Cover" effect	This is a piece from your vaunted Artifact Armor. Paladins are quite lucky in that their Artifact Armor RULES. You can take Artifact Armor straight through till level 73 if you like. Yes it’s just that good.
Optical Hat 	70 	Accuracy +10 Ranged Accuracy +10
Evasion +10	At higher level Paladin you will be expected to deal damage when you are not tanking, if you can’t then you will be tossed into an outside healing party… which isn’t nearly as fun. By this time in your Paladin’s career you know that you really can’t hit the flat side of a barn, this will help in that respect.
Lord's Armet 	70 	DEF: 26 VIT +2 Enmity +2
Converts 15 MP to HP	This gear is arguable just as good as your AF. Of course that’s dependant on who you talk to. Taru Paladins would enjoy this gear, but all other races will have to deal with a little bit of scrutiny over this decision.
Adaman Barbuta 	73 	DEF: 28 HP +12 MP +12 VIT +3
Enmity +2 Evasion –3	Ah yes, you finally get to change away from your AF without catching crap over it, have fun!
Koenig Schaller 	73 	DEF: 40 HP +30 STR -5 DEX –5 VIT +10 
CHR +10 Shield Skill +5	Ah yes, this is the stuff that every Paladin is after, arguably the best Paladin Head piece in the game!
Valor Coronet 	73 	DEF: 28 HP +18 Enmity +3 Healing Magic +10
Enhances “Rampart” Effect	This is what people refer to when they say AF2. Quite nice stuff. But it is different than your regular AF. As for a general tanking item it will be extremely hard to find something more versatile.
Gallant Coronet +1 	74 	DEF: 28 HP +12 MND +6 Enmity +3
Enhances “Cover” Effect	This is nothing more than an HQ version of your AF. Ok, it’s a big upgraded badass version of your AF.
Valor Coronet +1 	75 	DEF: 29 HP +18 MP +18 Healing Magic +10
Enmity +4 Enhances “Rampart” Effect	And finally the HQ version of your AF2. The single most versatile piece of tanking equipment you can possibly find in the game. It is HIGLY advised.
====Neck====
 
:As for Neck pieces Paladins don’t get very many options. But that is not saying that there aren’t decent neckpieces out there. Here are some of the best.
:
Armor 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Medieval Collar 	35 	DEF: 3 VIT +2 	This is a piece you will become great friends with. Chances are that you will have it for a LONG time.
Auditory Torque 	47 	DEF: 5 Latent Effect: STR +4 VIT +4 	I am not sure how to trigger this Latent effect, but this section is for pieces that a Paladin should think about. So, think about it.
Hateful Collar 	50 	DEF: 6 Enmity +1 	For use strictly when your melees want to go a little crazy, making your life trying to control hate difficult. That or if your lucky enough to tank a HNM/NM in full Koenig, all the Enmity you can muster will help in that case.
Iron Musketeer's Gorget	55 	DEF: 7 HP +15 VIT +1 	This is quite probably the best neckpiece for Paladins
Shield Torque 	65 	Shield Skill +7 	Not only for use if your shield is gimped. Since the last shield update, this has made its way into the HNM scene as much more than a toy item.
Jeweled Collar 	70 	STR +1 DEX +1 VIT +1 AGI +1 MND +1
 +10 +10 +10 +10 +10 +10	You don’t get the HP+ that the Gorget gave you, but it is definitely a viable option.
Fortitude Torque 	73 	VIT +5 Sword Skill +7 Great Axe Skill +7	
====Earrings====
 
:In General there is not very many decent pieces for this spot for a Paladin, many find something they like and keep it for 30 levels at a time. Here are some popular earrings among Paladins.
:
Armor 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Cassie Earring 	1 	DEF: 2 STR +1 VIT +1 Converts 50 MP to HP 	O.o an earring that adds Strength, Vitality, defense, and HP! If you can survive the MP loss this is quite a nice earring, especially for a Paladin..
Physical Earring 	10 	Converts 25 MP to HP 	This is especially nice for those Tarutaru Paladins since MP really isn’t as much of an issue compared to HP.
Mercenary's Earring	30 	Latent effect: VIT +2 	As earrings go you might not find much of a better one than this. Vitality is your single most important Statistic. Keep it up there. (Also, the latent effect is triggered by having Warrior as your subjob)
Bloodbead Earring 	32 	HP +25 	This is mainly for the especially fierce adversaries. Some end game HNM have very nasty attacks that if left not dealt with, will deal 1,200+ damage. All the survivability you can muster will give your mages time to heal your sorry butt, remember they are human too.
Drone Earring 	35 	AGI +3 +6 	I cannot tell you how many Paladins carry one or even two of these even at 70+. Shield and Parry skills seem to be linked to the Agility statistic. So having two of these yields a respectable +6 agility from your rings alone, combine this with your Kamphf gears and you’ll have some incredible agility to level your shield and parry with.
Astral Earring 	45 	Converts 25 HP to MP 	This is a viable option for Galka Paladins only. I cannot emphasize how little MP they get.
Hospitaler Earring 	54 	DEF: 3 Cure Potency +5% 	As end game Paladin you will find yourself either tanking, doing damage (with proper setup), or back up healing. Since chances are that you aren’t set up for DD you may spend time back-up healing. This will help you scrounge every scrap of efficiency from you MP.
Robust Earring 	67 	VIT +2 +11 +11 	Adds Vitality, ‘nuff said.
Vampire Earring 	67 	Nighttime: STR +4 VIT +4 	If you like to switch equipment often this earring rules! Although if you’re like me and are lazy, screw this.
Knight's Earring 	72 	VIT +2 Shield Skill +5 Divine Magic Skill +5	If you can manage to get your hands on this, it’s a pain to organize a run for it and even then a rough fight, you’ll be then envy of most Paladin’s.
====Body====
 
:This slot, along with your legs slot, offers the most defense out of any slot available. So make use of this resource. There are also many options in this slot for a Paladin, some add more survivability than others. Here are some items to think about for this slot.
:
Armor 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Kampfbrust 	29 	DEF: 25 AGI +3 	No room to go for the Normal Quality version here, Get the HQ it’ll be worth it. And one hell of a lot better than Centurions.
Earth Doublet 	42 	DEF: 27 VIT +4 +5 	As of yet, this is the only viable option to Kampbrust.
Brigandine 	45 	DEF: 32 HP +10 DEX +2 VIT +2 	I hate the way this piece looks, but you really can’t argue with the stats on it. The +1 is even better! If you can afford the +1 version get it..
Brigandine +1 	45 	DEF: 33 HP +15 STR +1 DEX +3 VIT +3
AGI +1 INT +1 MND +1 CHR +1	This is the HQ version, it’s pricey but very nice indeed.
Iron Musketeer's Cuirass	50 	DEF: 40 VIT +1 	This item is comparable with Brigadine, but in my opinion looks so nice that I HAD to have it. And I lived every minute in it.
Parade Cuirass 	50 	DEF: 38 HP +28 Enmity +2 	This was extremely fun to use, though I really don’t know if it is better than your Brigandine and Iron Musketeers. If you are getting the feeling that your melee are holding back their true power cause you cant keep hate, go and get it. You won’t be let down.
Scorpion Harness 	57 	DEF: 40 HP +15 +15 +15 +15
Accuracy + 10 Evasion +10	The only time you would use this is for a DD set up, end game. Remember, your accuracy is really bad as Paladin. Anything you can do to help it will work wonders.
Haubergeon 	59 	DEF: 45 STR +5 DEX +5 AGI –5 Attack +10
Accuracy +10 Evasion –20	In my opinion this is much better for a Paladin DD setup. It 
provides everything you need in one nice package.
Gallant Surcoat 	60 	DEF: 47 HP +20 VIT +4 Divine Magic Skill +5 Enmity +2	This is your Artifact Armor sets body piece. You will NOT find anything better than this for a really long time. Get it, use it, and laugh at everyone else who has to buy/upgrade his or her equipment.
Lord's Cuirass 	70 	DEF: 49 VIT +5 CHR +1 Converts 25 MP to HP 	Is this better than your AF? Well it adds more defense, Vitality and HP than your AF did, but you are doing so at an expense of Enmity and MP. It’s a controversial set to wear, but I loved it, and I hope you will too. At the very least it’ll get people talking, however good or bad that is.
Adaman Cuirass 	73 	DEF: 52 MP +8 VIT +4 MND +4 Enmity +3 	Hands down better than your AF body piece in everyday situations. But as soon as you need an HP build or a DD build you’re going to have to switch this out.
Koenig Cuirass 	73 	DEF: 65 HP +60 STR –10 DEX –10 VIT +20 CHR +20 	I cannot think of any high level Paladin that does not know what this looks like on sight alone, all want this. It has no +enmity to it, so you will find yourself losing hate in an exp party, but that is not what this is designed for anyway. This was MADE for tanking the really bad ass HNM out there. And THAT is what you just spent 73-75 levels +merit points worth of training to be able to do.
Gallant Surcoat +1 	74 	DEF: 55 HP +20 VIT +6 Divine Magic Skill +8 Enmity +2 	This is simply an upgrade of your AF, that’s all. Yes better than your Adaman Cuirass, but if your going to go through the trouble of being in dynamis, focus on the Valor instead.
Valor Surcoat 	75 	DEF: 55 HP +23 DEX +3 Enmity +4
Enhances “Cover” Ability	Valor gear FTW get it kick some ass and thank me for the advice later!
Valor Surcoat +1 	75 	DEF: 56 HP +30 DEX +3 Enmity +5
Enhances “Cover” Ability	Yeah, yeah, where’s the VIT?! The fact of the matter is that this set has VIT loaded into its other components, your really getting this for the enmity +5 and the HP and Cover! Get it you won’t be let down.
====Hands====
 
:There are soooo many decent pieces of hand gear. The hand gear available really runs the full gambit of uses. Its very difficult to choose which will help you more at times, but then again this is NOT a list which is meant to be the end all be all (this is what you MUST wear) Paladin gear. It’s merely something to think about.
:
Armor 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Garrison Gloves 	20 	DEF: 4 VIT +1 INT +1 	This is nice, you’re looking at maybe one less defense from anything else you could’ve gotten… but in exchange you gain VIT and INT, at this level 1 VIT > 1 Defense
Chain Mittens 	24 	DEF: 7 	This stuff rules, its one of my favorite piece of gear due to cost/availability/effectiveness. You will be surprised how many things you can tank in this thing, and it will serve you well for a long time.
Eisenhentzes 	29 	DEF: 9 VIT +1 	If you can afford the HQ, please do so. It is not unheard of for Paladins to use some pieces of this set up until they reach their AF. You will have this for a loooong time.
Rush Gloves 	50 	DEF: 11 VIT +4 AGI +1 MND -3 	These are a definite improvement over your Eisen gear, but you will get access to your AF hands in 4 levels, it’s your call if you want to use these. Just letting you know that they are a DEFINATE upgrade with respect to your Eisen gear.
Gallant Gauntlets 	54 	DEF: 16 HP +11 DEX +3 +10 Enmity +2 	I cannot urge you enough to get these, this is your AF hands. You will use these all the way up to level 73… I’m not kidding! Get them, they are free but a pain in the butt to get (as with all of your AF). I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to get your FULL AF.
Lord's Gauntlets 	70 	DEF: 18 VIT +2 +2 +2
Converts 20 MP to HP Enmity +2 	This is rather controversial. Personally I thought this gear was too pretty not to get. Some think it’s just ugly. Some hate the converting stat. Some love the converting stat. Love it or hate it I don’t care, you’ll never get as many examines from other people (unless you’re in Koenig gear).
Hydra Moufles 	70 	DEF: 17 HP -18 MP +18 Accuracy +4 Enmity +6 	I am personally in love with this set, the total set adds something like +36 enmity... how cool is that! A monkey smashing his fists on the keyboard can keep hate in that much enmity lol.
Valor Gauntlets 	72 	DEF: 22 HP +16 VIT +5 Enmity +3 Enhances "Shield Bash" effect	This is your AF2. Valor Gear rules, it is hands down the single most versatile tanking gear you can get. Well with the exception of Valor +1. Not a single person on Vana’diel will complain if you showed up to straight tank in full Valor gear.
Adaman Gauntlets 	73 	DEF: 20 MP +10 VIT +3 AGI -1 INT -1 Enmity +2 	Ahhh yes, Adaman. Believe it or not the stats are barely comparable to your AF… (when you compare each whole set) Is this necessary to buy. In terms of effectiveness some say yes, some say no. You decide, it’s your game right? It is effective in MANY tanking situations. Personally, I view Adaman as more of a status symbol than anything else. An “I emerged from my AF Pupa” if you will. So it was a must buy for me and I love it.
Koenig Handschuhs 	73 	DEF: 30 HP +20 STR -5 DEX -5 VIT +10
CHR +10 Enhances "Resist Sleep" effect	Let us get one thing straight I love Koenig. But I’m going to use this time to bash it. Just so you know its drawbacks. It has NO enmity, so for tanking in exp parties its crap. It has massive –STR and – DEX so for the ever so popular DD parties in endgame its crap. This is sonly for the biggest, baddest, hardest hitting enemies around! And that is all! (Well, it’s great to wear for leisure too)
Gallant Gauntlets +1	74 	DEF: 22 HP +11 DEX +6 VIT +3 Enmity +2 	This is your AF+1. Do your self a favor and focus on Valor instead. It’s far superior in my book (and yes this is my book). But not to take away from this, it is an upgrade to your AF, a small upgrade but an upgrade never the less.
Valor Gauntlets +1 	75 	DEF: 23 HP +16 VIT +6 Enmity +4
Enhances "Shield Bash" effect	As for a general set of tanking gear, this is the best you will find in the game. It is EXTREMELY versatile. And the stats on the set are indeed nice as well.
====Legs====
 
:Aside from your body slot your leg slots yield the largest defense bonuses. You can also find some pretty nice Vitality/Agility gears in this spot as well. Here are some items to think about.
 
:
Armor 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Royal Footman's Trousers	20 	DEF: 12 VIT +1 	
Kampfdiechlings 	29 	DEF: 18 VIT +2 AGI +2 	These will treat you quite well, I highly suggest this piece.
Royal Squire's Breeches 	40 	DEF: 22 DEX +1 AGI +1 	This is an upgrade only if you were not able to acquire Kampfdiechlings.
Iron Musketeer's Cuisses	50 	DEF: 29 AGI +2 	This is quite good, and could be taken all the way to your AF legs if you wish.
Gallant Breeches 	58 	DEF: 34 HP +15 AGI +3 Enhancing Magic Skill +5 Enmity +2 	This is your Artifact Armor Leg Piece, again it rules. It will be very hard to beat this for a very long time. I Highly advise procuring this, it will serve you well.
Lord's Cuisses 	70 	DEF: 38 VIT +2 Converts 12 MP to HP Enmity +2 	Is this better than your AF legs? My answer is that it is simply different, that’s all. You gain about the same HP and Enmity, you will lose your agility bonus but gain a vitality bonus and more defense… the only real draw back is that you lose 12 MP. It’s your call.
Adaman Cuisses 	73 	DEF: 41 VIT +3 INT –3 Evasion –1 Enmity +3 	Ah yes, Adaman. Absolutely no one will argue with you as to which is better; Adaman is. You can finally emerge from your AF. But don’t get used to these, there are far better pieces of equipment out there.
Koenig Diechlings 	73 	DEF: 45 HP +40 STR –5 DEX –5 VIT +10 CHR +10 Evasion +11	This is the stuff that you really want for those very menacing enemies. Again Koenig is not recommended for any experience point party, although one or two pieces probable won’t cause too much Hate control issues. Just keep in mind that this is meant for HNM type fights.
Crimson Cuisses 	73 	DEF: 43 HP +25 MP +25 Movement Speed +12%
 +20 +20 +20 	These are quite arguably the best the best leg pieces a paladin can get, simply due to the +HP and MP bonuses. But it also adds 12% Movement speed, which will be of the utmost importance when Kiting HNM’s around, Not to mention getting around Jeuno.
Valor Breeches 	74 	DEF: 43 HP +20 STR +4 Enmity +3
Spell interruption rate –10%	Let me introduce you to your AF2 Legs piece. This is a nice little piece of equipment. Though, my heart belongs to Crimson Cuisses. However if I’m not kiting, I wouldn’t put my nose up to this armor.
Gallant Breeches +1 	74 	DEF: 43 HP +20 AGI +4 Enmity +2
Enhancing Magic Skill +10 	Simply an upgraded version of your AF, nothing new here just all around better.
Valor Breeches +1 	75 	DEF: 44 HP +20 STR +6 Enmity +4
Spell Interruption Rate –10%	Ok, so I bashed AF2… AF2 +1 is another story entirely. This is nice stuff.
====Feet====
 
:With the feet gear slot a Paladin has some room to experiment. Nothing in these slots yields such a huge bonus that they cannot be replaced (with the single exception of AF or AF+1). However, here are some pieces of gear that you may want to make special note of.
:
Armor 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Leaping Boots 	7 	DEF: 3 AGI +3 DEX +3 	Hey, for low-level gear this is the shiznit for everybody.
Power Sandals 	18 	DEF: 3 VIT +3 +7 	Now, your not going to find much better than this for a good long time, but this is quested, and the quest can be challenging, depending on your luck.
Kampfschuhs 	29 	DEF: 9 VIT +3 	This is so good that many Paladin’s decide to just keep this until their Artifact Gear, and even then it’s only slightly better than the Power Sandals.
Royal Knight's Sollerets	50 	DEF: 9 AGI +2 	If you find your shield skill is gimped these will help you to make progress in catching it back up to somewhere near respectable levels. Remember, Agility is just one thing you can do to increase your shield skill ups.
Gallant Leggings 	52 	DEF: 14 HP +15 CHR +5 Shield Skill +10
Enhances “Holy Circle” effect	Welcome to your Artifact Foot gear. I simply cannot express how lucky Paladins are with the quality of their Artifact Armor. It is used straight up until level 75+ merits if you wish. That’s 24 levels!
Rutter Sabatons 	67 	DEF: 16 STR +3 VIT +2 Attack +5 "Slow" +2%	DD jobs love this piece and so should you, when arranging a DD setup. You won’t use it until endgame though, so you have plenty of time to get it.
Lord's Sabatons 	70 	DEF: 17 VIT +1 CHR +1 Converts 10 MP to HP
MP Recovered While Healing +3	This is one piece of the lords set that many Paladin’s have. Simply because a Paladin is not kind on the MP, and needs to rest often, this will help to decrease that wait time, and yield faster EXP because of it, though they do not necessarily wear this actively in parties it has become a mainstay in a lot of Paladins setups.
Valor Leggings 	71 	DEF: 19 HP +18 MND +3 Enmity +1
Enhances “Sentinel” Effect	This must be the one piece of AF2 which is actually worse than the AF1. +10 Shield rules!!
Adaman Sabatons 	73 	DEF: 17 HP +15 VIT +1 AGI –1 Enmity +1 	Ah yes Adaman. For the most part, the Adaman set is on par with your AF1. But this piece of Adaman bloooows, do yourself a favor… don’t even buy it! Keep the shield skill from your AF1 boots equipped and be on your way.
Koenig Schuhs 	73 	DEF: 25 HP +20 STR –5 DEX –5 VIT +10
CHR +10 Enhances “Resist Paralyze” Effect	This is the single best tanking foot piece for a Paladin. In general, 90% of Paladins can expect +1 enmity from their leg Foot Equipment Slot. That being said, I do not know of any Paladin that would not be more than willing to toss that +1 enmity for +10 VIT. AF1 or its HQ are both interchangeable with Koenig feet, depending on the circumstances.
Gallant Leggings +1 	74 	DEF: 19 HP +20 CHR +5 Shield Skill +12 
Enhances “Holy Circle” Effect	I Believe this to be the best foot piece for tanking that you can get! Sure you miss out on the 2 enmity from Valor+1 but you get 	Shield +12!! I’m a shield nut and this is incredible. To my 	knowledge this is the largest amount of shield skill you can get in 	to a single slot. So take advantage of it.
Valor Leggings +1 	75 	DEF: 20 HP +18 MND +4 Enmity +2
Enhances “Sentinel” Effect	Honestly, if it wasn’t for the +Enmity, I wouldn’t even bother with these.
====Waist====
 
:Paladin really does get the short end of the stick when it comes to this slot, well it depends on how you look at it. They get a few really, really, good belts and the rest are crap. So you’ll find yourself with the same damn belt for 90% of your levels. Sure its one less thing to buy, but the lack of variety in my belt slot has been, well not fun for me.
:
Armor 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Warrior's Belt +1	15 	DEF: 2 HP +4 VIT +3 	When I leveled, it was before the time of storm belt. And I used this straight up and till Warwolf. I am going to try to give you more options in this guide though.
Life Belt 	48 	Accuracy +10 	Hey there are times when an enemy just doesn’t hit you hard at all. Use this to help speed along kills for more exp per hour!
Storm Belt 	50 	DEF: 4 VIT +4 STR +4 Assault: Accuracy +15	A belt that increases your damage dealing prowess, AND decreases the damage dealt to you! Now THAT is nice.
Marid Belt 	71 	DEF: 7 VIT +5 HP +22 DEX +2 
HP Recovered While Healing +1	Is this better than Warwolf? Your call, just think for yourself for a minute, its healthy and stops you from being type-cast any more than we already are lol.
Warwolf Belt 	71 	DEF: 6 STR +5 DEX +5 VIT +5 Enmity +3 	Hell, everyone and their mother wears this belt, DD and tanks alike. And for good reason, it’ll increase damage dealt, critical hit rate, and decrease damage dealt to you. Wear it!
====Rings====
 
As a Paladin, your ring slots are your biggest source of Vitality and HP items, aside from your sword and shield slots. So make use of this to resource, you won’t be let down.
:
Armor 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Bastokan Ring 	1 	HP +3 DEX +1 VIT +1	
Stamina Ring 	14 	VIT +2 	The High Quality version of this offers an additional Defense +1.
Verve Ring 	36 	VIT +3 	The High Quality version of this offers an additional Defense +2.
Ether Ring 	40 	Converts 30 HP to MP 	For you Galka out there.
Phalanx Ring 	50 	DEF: 10 	Ok, There seems to be a lot of confusion about when to wear this item. Defense increases the chances that the damage you will receive will hit the low end of the potential damage curve you are assigned to. Therefore use this when you see your damage received swinging wildly. If you keep the rest of your gear up to date, and not ignore your defense for other stat bonuses, this will only happen once in your career as a Paladin. When you first start to level off of Spiders in Boyoda Tree is the time when defense is needed the most. And this is when you should resort to using a Phalanx Ring or two. Any time before that or after that Vitality becomes more important than your defense. (just don’t neglect your defense)
Vigor Ring 	54 	VIT +4 	The High Quality version of this offers an additional Defense +3. This is a fine piece of equipment, and definitely worth the investment.
Bomb Queen Ring	57 	HP +75 	The single most important ring you will ever have when fighting HNM and other particularly nasty beings on FFXI. The amount of times this ring will save you will surely become mind-boggling. Only one other piece of equipment in the game will offer you as much HP as this ring. Truly a must have.
Bloodbead Ring 	62 	DEF: 2 HP +50 MP –10 	This Ring offers the third largest HP increase of any item in the game, for Paladins, at the cost of only 10 MP. Also a must have item. But if you have only one slot open I would choose the Bomb Queen Ring.
Hercules' Ring 	66 	Enmity +3 Latent effect: Adds "Refresh" effect (1/tick)
Latent effect: Adds "Regen" effect (3/tick)	This is one of the best rings you will ever buy. The Enmity +3 
allows your Melee to do more damage without fear of death, and also helps during HNM/NM. The Regen/Refresh effect kicks in while you are at 50% HP and pretty much makes you invincible while farming. NO DOWN TIME FARMING. Not even your DD’s can say that.
Defending Ring 	70 	Damage Taken –10% 	Unquestionably the best ring for a Paladin in the entire game! Sadly it is also the hardest ring in the entire game to get, by design? I think so. This will never change… they want it that way.
Robust Ring 	72 	VIT +5 	The HQ version offers an additional Defense +4.
Terra's Ring 	74 	DEF: 4 VIT +6 	This ring offers the most vitality out of any ring in the game.
====Ranged Weapons====
 
:Sadly you have but one truly mentionable item that will fit in your ranged weapon slot, as a Paladin. But the good news us that it is actually quite good.
 
:
Armor 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Rosenbogen	70 	DMG: 68 Delay: 360 HP +10 VIT +3	Not this weapon seems to be tailor made for the Paladin job to use, and if you don’t then there is something wrong with you. This thing rules.
====Ammo====
 
:As a Paladin you will not be known for your skills on the ranged attack side of the game. But you still get access to some arrows. You also get access to another item that fits in your ammo slot, it is a throwing weapon that you do NOT want to throw.
:
Armor 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Happy Egg 	1 	DMG: 1 Delay: 777 HP +1% VIT +1	This can only be received on Easter celebrations. So DON’T THROW IT!!! Or you will have to wait a real life year to get another one. This is sooo good of a piece you will have this tucked away in your ammo slot for levels 1-60. No I am not kidding there is nothing better till you can get Bibiki Seashell
Bibiki Seashell	60 	DMG: 1 Delay: VIT +4 +3
Enhances "Aquan Killer" effect	There is no better use for this slot until you are level 70, when you gain access to Rosenbogen. The HP will be more helpful to you than your additional 1 VIT the Bibiki offers.
Demon Arrow 	60 	DMG: 34 Delay: 90 Ranged Accuracy +5
Additional effect: Weakens Attacks	Just put it here because you might think about using it. DON’T! You will barely be able to hit anything let alone get an additional effect to work. So just don’t bother!
====Back====
 
:For a Paladin, the back slot has limited uses. It either can be used to gimp out your evasion (to level out shield easier) or to add Vitality. Other than that you’re not going to find much for the majority of your life as a Paladin.
 
:
Armor 	Level	Stats 	Notes
Breath Mantle 	18 	DEF: 3 Enchantment: HP +18 Enmity +3	Many people shy away from enchantment armor, but this one is actually pretty useful. It has 50 charges, recast 30 minutes, and the enchantment lasts for 30 minutes. Also, with judicious leveling, you can make all the charges last until you find a better back piece.
Nomad's Mantle +1 	24 	DEF: 3 AGI +1 Evasion +3 	Don’t let your shield fall too far behind. Agility truly helps.
High Breath Mantle 	36 	DEF: 5 +5
Enchantment: HP +38 Enmity +5	Like the breath mantle (although cheaper for some reason), this back piece is wonderful. A little lacking on the VIT, but the HP and Enmity can make up for it if the rest of your gear is up to date.
Cavalier's Mantle +1 	37 	DEF: 9 VIT +3 Evasion -10 	O.o +VIT and –Evasion jump on it and skill that shield!
Republican Army Mantle	55 	DEF: 6 HP +6 DEX +2 VIT +2 	Having Bastok as your hometown on my server doesn’t have many advantages, but this certainly is one of them :D it’s a Rank 6 Bastok item, and incredibly nice compared to any previous option not to mention being free!
Knightly Mantle 	60 	DEF: 12 VIT +4 	Yeah this is something you will wear almost constantly.
Gigant Mantle 	70 	DEF: 4 HP +80 	If you can afford this Grab it! It’s just that good, this item will give you the most HP out of any item in the game!
Valor Cape 	70 	DEF: 16 HP +40 VIT +6 Enmity +3 	This is possibly a reason to sell a Gigant Mantle. This Cape is Quite nice, I especially enjoy the +3 Enmity on it, it would allow me to ditch my Hercules Ring in favor of a soil Ring :D Although if I am not mistaken this mantle has not come out yet, it is rumored to be in one of the new Dynamis areas.
Shadow Mantle 	75 	DEF: 15 Occasionally annuls physical damage
Darksday: VIT +20	The best Back piece in the game! Last I heard it was rumored to be a drop from Dynamis Lord….
			
 
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