The Divine Protector: PLD Guide 2024 - (Under Construction)

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So.....recoloring the bgwiki page constitutes getting to lay credit to "I made a guide"?

I'm trying not to be rude, but did you ask any other PLDs for their opinion before making sets?

Oh, cool, I was just thinking about starting Paladin, and needed a couple of entry-level gear ideas. I'm sure this guide will be very useful for that.

Can we, as a community, stop pretending that "hey look at my top-shelf gear set" is useful without a lot of "here's what I wore while I was working on that" attached?

No one is, he has a 89% PDT set that he's labled as 82% PDT set that has pointless gear in it that could be better served as other pieces (that are easy to get, don't even have to be "pro player").

**edit also as mentioned, a lot of this is copy/pasted from bg-wiki. If you want a guide (that actually has entry level sets), use the already existing up to date guide on bg-wiki *** thing to say, ignore it, but not deleting it just crossing it out to own up to it. Guide is appreciated, point I want to make doesn't get made by telling ppl to go elsewhere.

**edit edit** also beginner? These sets cost 100s of millions and clearing highest content.

I was going to say something but I deleted my comment because I don't think the guide is done yet. For whatever the reason, it's taking its time. For what it's worth, when I first seen the post, it was at gifts, when I refreshed the page later, it was at idle gearsets. Table of contents states there's more to it.

Let the OP finish then criticize... maybe. I don't understand why it was posted like this, but whatever...

I would assume it was an accidental publish instead of a preview, so give it time. Editing the BBcode is just a block of text only so I can understand/see if it was an accidental early publish. Both buttons are relatively close together.

Idk, call me crazy, but regardless of the status of a guide published to the public I'd like to have sets that would actually be good to use. Hence why I asked if he discussed sets with any other PLDs previously.

Hello everyone,

I wanted to take a moment to address the feedback on my guide. I posted it early to test the anchoring system, which isn’t functioning properly in a node, while still keeping the thread accessible. My intention was to ensure that everything was working as expected before fully launching the guide.

I apologize for not marking the guide as "under construction." That was an oversight on my part, and I understand how it might have caused some confusion. I should have made it clear that the guide was still a work in progress.

My goal is to create a comprehensive guide that consolidates all the necessary information in one place. This way, both new and experienced Paladins can easily access all the information they need without having to navigate through multiple threads. I'm committed to finalizing the content to make it as useful and centralized as possible for the community.

Thank you for your feedback—it gave me a good laugh! No need to get so worked up—grab a tea or some marshmallows lol. I appreciate your patience and support as I continue to improve the guide.

Thanks again for your understanding!

Best regards,

I'm down for tea and marshmallows that's a new combo for me

Good luck with some on these sets. Definitely work in progress. Tanking in that set might get you killed and Magic set needs tweaking as some of need additional testing for viability.

unrelated stupid AI generated image? check.
obnoxiously narrow page layout? check.
even more obnoxiously hard to read color scheme? check.

this is a chipotle-tier bowl bomb of ***.

The Job Traits section needs another look. Unless BG is wrong, the max subjob level is 59 at ML50, so Resist Sleep III, Defense Bonus IV, and Shield Barrier should be in the "Main Job Only" section.

This already exists. It’s called the Community Paladin Guide. As Celebrindal pointed out, you’re obviously familiar with the website that hosts it. If you’d like to add some sets or information, that would be the place to do it, not here.

Nerdy gatekeeping at its finest. Just be glad someone cares enough about this old hag game to still post a guide. If you don't like it, then ignore it.

If you don't like criticism of a guide posted on a public forum then ignore it.

If you don't like his criticism of your criticism of the guide, then ignore it.

...just kidding. I think it could be constructive to have a conversation about what's in this guide that's wrong, or what OP thinks is missing from the guides others have posted.

Someone earlier suggested that there may not be beginner/intermediate sets?

Honestly, I haven't looked at a PLD guide...maybe ever? So I'm not really familiar with what's out there or what isn't.

For my part, looking at this guide, I feel like telling people how to unlock PLD is a bit over-the-top in terms of "everything you need to know about PLD."

Ditto the JA descriptions, traits, and spell list. I don't think they really add much to helping a new player play the job. It could be helpful to list the enmity values, situations when you might use them, how they stack, or things like that, but just listing each entry and its description adds very little value and just makes the guide longer and more overwhelming.

One last criticism I'd add for this guide: It talks entirely about gearswap (using GS priority, using FC set but it's OK because GS will swap it right off, etc.). While I understand that most endgame players use Gearswap, I'm not sure up-and-coming new players will be using it and asking them to pick up and start using GS in order to be able to take advantage of your guide can put up barriers between you and the potential readers of the guide.

Side note: is there a way to get the site to stop snapping back up to the top of the page every GD time this page loads? I think it has something to do with the node/how the guide loads, but it's very annoying.

Hello everyone,

I’d like to take a moment to address the comments and clarify a few things about the premature publication of my guide.

Constructive Criticism is Welcome
First of all, I want to say that I take constructive criticism seriously. I’ve been reading through all the feedback carefully, and I appreciate the insights shared. My intention was never to come across as pretentious or to claim that my guide is better than existing resources.

Why Was the Guide Posted Early?
The guide was published early because I was testing the anchoring system and ensuring everything functioned correctly. I’m not very familiar with how this system works, nor with some of the finer details of the BBCode used on this forum. As a result, I made the decision to test it in a live environment. Unfortunately, this caused some confusion, and for that, I apologize.

The Published Version Was Not Ready
What was published was not intended to be judged as a finished product. It was simply a draft—a technical test for layout and functionality. In hindsight, I should have marked the guide as “under construction” or even hidden the node entirely until the work was complete. That was my oversight, and I take full responsibility for it.

Unnecessary Arguments in the Thread
Some of the harsher criticisms directed at me personally have honestly made me smile. I thought, “Alright, this is a bit intense, but it’s the internet—people are passionate.” However, I’ve noticed that others have started defending the guide, and this has led to unnecessary arguments and disputes. These back-and-forth exchanges are unproductive and don’t benefit anyone. Let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture.

What Happens Next?
I’ve decided to temporarily hide the guide and continue working on it privately. I won’t be updating the thread until the guide is fully finished, to avoid any further misunderstandings. I can understand why the initial reactions might have been, “What is this mess?” But after I explained the reasons for the premature publication and apologized, I believe it’s time to move on from this situation.

My Goal and Commitment
I want to be clear that this is a project I’m passionate about, and I will continue to work on it regardless of the reactions. Creating a comprehensive guide has been a goal of mine for a long time, and I’m motivated to complete it. Once it’s ready, I’ll be open to constructive discussions about the sets, strategies, or other technical aspects. My intention has always been to create something useful for both new and experienced players alike.

Moving Forward
That said, I understand that the current draft wasn’t in a state to be evaluated, and that’s entirely my fault for not being clearer upfront. I’ll learn from this experience and improve my approach going forward.

Thank you for your patience and feedback, whether positive or negative. I look forward to sharing a completed version of the guide that I hope will be helpful and appreciated by the community.

Best regards,

Ah, and before I go, if anyone happens to have a solid understanding of how BBCode works on FFXIAH or knows of any detailed resources covering supported tags, styling tips, or advanced functionalities, I’d really appreciate it!

I did find this section in the Help page:
FFXIAH BBCode

But it doesn’t seem to cover everything that might be available. Any additional insights or links would be greatly welcomed!

Good luck, guide makers are few and far between, and if you're committed to seeing it through I think it could be a good addition to the site once it's done.

PLD is super nuanced at this point. Even more so if you don't use gearswap. So the bar for this guide will be very high. That being said the amount of flame has been palatable and enjoyable, so good luck have fun.

I think PLD is actually one of the easier jobs to set up without GS. There are definitely sacrifices to how you can perform, but it's not particularly complex. Especially if you don't do weapon/shield swapping, it's really dead simple to use equipsets for PLD.

I have these sets:
Idle
SIRD
Phalanx
Enmity
Cure SIRD

That's it. I have some others (TP, Savage, Aeolian, etc.) but they're super niche and not used for normal PLD stuff (tanking, curing, holding hate, etc.)

I have duplicates of all the above for different shields and for weapon swaps, but I'm still only at 14 total sets for PLD. You could absolutely do just fine in endgame content on PLD with 5 or 6 sets, IMO.

It's definitely quite difficult to get those sets fine-tuned to the right HP levels, min-maxing everything as much as you can, and all that, but it's not a very complex job in terms of total equipsets and how to organize your macros/equipsets. It's really braindead simple, honestly.

Ooo that's actually probably true now. I built mine before majesty was a thing and early PLD tanking with people who could do good damage was pretty terrible. Just curing alone can probably walk you through the early steps for a newish player. If you have access to endgame gear then it's definitely as easy as you said.

The only thing that gets nuanced at that point is knowing that it's more important to be tough in all your sets rather than the max potency possible at all times.

So are you saying this is more of a personal guide rather than a community guide? Cause if your intention isn't going to be better than current resources for the community why is it getting made? Especially when you say you want it as a collection for the community.


I agree, and I'll admit I'm probably responsible for some of it, but in my opinion is there's nothing more useless than an innacurate guide. The whole point of a guide is to be accurate.


I'm glad, I think community guides are helpful for any community, but I will stress my previous statements: Please talk to other PLDs about sets, especially if you want to make a guide for the community. If you just want to make "Tetsouo's Guide to Tanking" with your own personal sets and ideas, then that's different.


I'd be curious as to your reasoning as to why you think the bg-wiki community guide isn't good enough and why a new guide needs to be made? To be clear, don't want to deter you at all, but I'm always curious why someone would go to lengths to make a guide that (at least in my opinion) already exists in some form.

lolpld
lmaotarutarus

Get a life kids.

Anyone that wants to play this game without GS has my utmost respect. Having FC on tap for pld is so nice tho. I'd probably develop arthritis if I tried to do it manually.