Paladin (Final Fantasy XI)

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Paladins specialize in close-range combat, just like warriors. However, through long hours of spiritual training, paladins have acquired the ability to cast white magic spells, making them even more valuable on the battlefield.

Official description

Paladins (ナイト, Naito?, lit. Knight) appear in Final Fantasy XI as an advanced job available to characters who have completed the Paladin flag quest after reaching level 30 with at least one job.

Paladins are one of the two main "tanks", due to their high Vitality and Defense, protective and curative white magic, and defensive abilities like Cover, Sentinel, Rampart, and Invincible which actually does render a paladin immune to physical damage for a short period of time (magic damage is still received as normal).

See also: Paladin (job)

Becoming a Paladin

The quest to become a Paladin begins in San d'Oria. This is the only quest for an advanced job that has prerequisites besides a level requirement and a quest. Player must first complete two Squire's Tests before they can be eligible for the Knight's Test. The Squire's quests can be completed before the character reaches level 30.

The Quest to become a paladin takes the player to Davoi, the capital of the Orc nation. Strangely enough, the proud Elvaan Knights send the player on what is basically a sneaking mission to find an old well. Inside is more than water, but a dead paladin's soul. After retrieving the knight's soul the player has proven themself worthy and earned the right to level as a Paladin.

Abilities

Job abilities

Job Ability	Level	Recast	Duration	Description
Invincible	1	1:00:00	0:00:30	Grants immunity to all physical attacks.
Holy Circle	5	0:05:00	0:03:00	Grants resistance against undead to party members within area of effect.
Shield Bash	15	0:03:00	—	Delivers an attack that can stun the target. Shield required.
Sentinel	30	0:05:00	0:00:30	Reduces physical damage taken and increases enmity.
Cover	35	0:03:00	0:00:15	Allows you to protect party members by placing yourself between them and the enemy.
Rampart	62	0:05:00	0:00:30	Grants a Magic Shield effect and enhances defense for party members within area of effect.
Chivalry	75(Only unlocked with Merit Points)	0:10:00	—	Converts TP to MP.
Fealty	75(Only unlocked with Merit Points)	0:10:00	0:01:00	Grants a powerful resistance to enfeebling magic.
Divine Emblem	78	0:10:00	0:01:00	Enhances the accuracy of your next divine magic spell and increases enmity.
Sepulcher	87	0:05:00	0:03:00	Lowers accuracy, evasion, magic accuracy, magic evasion and TP gain for undead.
Palisade	95	0:05:00	0:01:00	Increases chance of blocking with shield, and eliminates enmity loss.
Intervene	96	1:00:00	0:00:30	Strikes the target with your shield and decreases its attack and accuracy.

Job traits

Job Trait	Levels	Tier	Description
Undead Killer	1	I	Gives you an edge when fighting undead.
Defense Bonus	10 / 30 / 50 / 70 / 76 / 91	VI	Improves defense against physical attacks.
Resist Sleep	20 / 40 / 60 / 75 / 81	V	Increases resistance against sleep.
Shield Mastery	25 / 50 / 75 / 96	IV	Grants bonus TP when blocking an attack with a shield. Also prevents spell interruption.
Auto Refresh	35	I	Gradually restores MP.
Max HP Boost	45 / 85	II	Increases your maximum HP.
Guardian	75(Only unlocked with Merit Points)	Varies	Reduces enmity loss while using Sentinel.
Iron Will	75(Only unlocked with Merit Points)	Varies	Adds a spell interruption down effect to Rampart.
Shield Def. Bonus	77 / 82 / 91	III	Reduces damage taken when blocking an attack with a shield.
Crit Def. Bonus	79 / 85	II	Improves defense against critical hits.

White Magic

Level White Magic 5 Cure 7 Banish 10 Protect 17 Cure II 20 Shell 30 Cure III Protect II 34 Banish II

Level White Magic 37 Flash 40 Shell II 50 Protect III Raise 55 Cure IV Holy 60 Shell III 61 Reprisal

Level White Magic 70 Protect IV 77 Phalanx 80 Shell IV 85 Enlight 88 Crusade 90 Protect V 99 Holy II

Skill ratings

Combat Skill Rank Caps by Level 49 99 Dagger C- 139 368 Sword A+ 150 424 Great Sword B 144 398 Polearm E 124 300 Club A- 150 417 Staff A- 150 417 Evasion C 139 373 Shield A+ 150 424 Parrying C 139 373

Combat Skill Rank Caps by Level 49 99 Divine B+ 144 404 Healing C 139 373 Enhancing D 133 334

Gameplay

Strengths

• Strongest defense and a high shield skill make Paladins capable of surviving hits other jobs cannot.
• Paladins have a variety of spells and abilities designed to direct enmity towards them and/or away from other party members making them ideal tanks, protectors of the party.
• Paladins have a very large amount of Enmity equipment available and can hold hate very well in most situations.

Weaknesses

• Depending on what enemy is to be fought, a Paladin may not be as useful as a Ninja because of the damage he will take. Some creatures hit too hard for even a paladin to survive. Other enemies attack quickly but with relatively low accuracy—high enough to hit paladins though—and pose less of a threat to other potential tanks.
• Due to player preferences, it may be difficult to find an experience party at extremely high levels.

Support Jobs

Warrior

Warrior is the major support job for Paladins up through level 70 and for almost every purpose they would be used in high-end events. The simple reason for this is just that warriors get the ability Provoke, the simplest and most reliable way of creating enmity. Certain other abilities are enjoyed by Paladins, such as Defender and double attack.

Ninja

Sometimes Paladins between level 70 and level 75 will use a ninja support job to function purely as a direct damage. With the support job they can function reasonably well in TP-burn parties with their A+ rating in sword as well as benefit from Blink through Utsusemi. A ninja sub can also be useful for soloing because Utsusemi reduces the need for healing (and thus downtime), and Paladin/Ninja tanks can work in situations that don't require large amounts of enmity generation. Paladins have an advantage over some other jobs that use Ninja as a support job in that Shield Mastery will prevent spell interruptions from damage if the hit is blocked with a shield, which when combined with Flash, substantially improves the efficacy of Utsusemi: Ichi.

Red Mage

When soloing, Red Mage can be an effective support job for Paladins due to an increased MP pool and spells like Phalanx and Stoneskin to reduce damage, while also having en-spells like Enblizzard to increase damage dealt, usually with a sword and shield set-up.

Dancer

The most popular job for solo Paladins in 2010, PLD/DNC allows the Paladin to continue to heal him/herself even when MP is running desperately low.

Other appearances

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game

Paladin appears on cards.

Trading card.

Trading card.

Triple Triad (Portal App)

Paladin appears on a Triple Triad card.

Gallery

Promotional artwork of the Paladin by Yuzuki Ikeda.

A Mithra Paladin in Artifact Armor.

A group shot of all the races in Artifact Armor.

Etymology

[view · edit · purge]The paladins, sometimes known as the Twelve Peers, were the foremost warriors of Charlemagne's court, according to the literary cycle known as the Matter of France.