Paladin Basics Guide

Paladin

Guide Info

Last Updated: 12 Jan, 2023

Patch Applicable: 6.3

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Table of Contents

Welcome to the Basics Guide for Paladin! Whether you are a fresh level 90, a returning player, or just need a refresher, this guide will get you started and allow you to hit the ground running.

Since this is a basic introduction to level 90 Paladin, this guide will not go into many nuances and topics that are tied to high-end optimization. If you are looking for such information, you may find it in one of the dedicated guides below:

Leveling Guide
Openers
Advanced Guide
Fight Tips (Coming Soon!)
Stats and Materia (see main page)
Gearing
Skill Overview
Frequently Asked Questions

Paladin Playstyle

The Paladin rotation revolves around its main buffs: Fight or Flight, which heavily buffs all damage dealt, and Requiescat, which enables the use of powerful spells. Defensively, Paladin has strong party mitigation as well as targeted mitigation for your co-tank or party members.

Core Concepts

There are a few key concepts that are fundamental to the game and carry over between jobs.

Keeping your Global Cooldown (GCD) on cooldown is one of the most important parts of playing any job. Pressing something wrong is almost always better than pressing nothing at all.
As a primarily melee job, it is important to know how to keep melee uptime on the boss. This includes knowing when mechanics snapshot and where you can greed for extra GCDs before and after disengaging for mechanics.
Keep off-Global Cooldowns (oGCDs) on cooldown. Damaging oGCDs should be used roughly as they come off cooldown, as long as using them does not delay your next GCD due to animation lock.

The Rotation (as of patch 6.3)

Paladin Opener

The potion used is whatever the current tier’s Strength potion is (as of patch 6.3, it is the Grade 7 Tincture of Strength).

After the opener, we cycle between a filler phase and a burst phase (explained below).

Paladin Rotation

Burst Phase

The burst phase begins with the use of Fight or Flight, and should contain the following GCDs:

Goring Blade
Confiteor
Blade of Faith
Blade of Truth
Blade of Valor
3 filler GCDs (if you have the Divine Might buff, prioritize Holy Spirit)

The exact GCD order is flexible. Since Goring Blade and the Confiteor combo actions do not break combo, it is recommended to use them first in the Fight or Flight window to avoid losing uses.

Each Fight or Flight should also include the following actions:

Requiescat (this can be weaved immediately after Fight or Flight, and must precede Confiteor)
Circle of Scorn
Expiacion
2 Intervenes (these should be held for Fight or Flight when possible — use them outside of Fight or Flight if needed to keep melee uptime)

Filler Phase

During the filler phase, abide by the following rules:

Use Holy Spirit to consume Divine Might any time before the next Royal Authority (to avoid wasting Divine Might)
- Sometimes, it may be possible to hold a Holy Spirit into the Fight or Flight window without overwriting Divine Might
Spend Sword Oath stacks on Atonements as you get them
Begin a Royal Authority combo when out of Atonements
Use Circle of Scorn and Expiacion on cooldown — you will naturally get one use for free between Fight or Flight windows
Try to hold both Intervenes for Fight or Flight
Use Fight or Flight on cooldown, this begins another burst phase
- You can (and should) begin a burst phase as soon as Fight or Flight comes up, even if you are mid combo. Goring Blade and Confiteor combo actions do not break your Royal Authority combo.

Weaving Fight or Flight (fast GCD only)

If playing at a weaponskill recast speed (GCD speed) faster than 2.50, weave Fight or Flight late in the GCD so that it can cover 9 GCDs. Depending on latency and execution, this might not be possible at slower speeds (2.45-2.49). See the Frequently Asked Questions page to understand why playing at 2.50 is recommended.

Multiple Targets

At three or more targets, replace single target melee combos with Total Eclipse and Prominence and Holy Spirit with Holy Circle

Notable Utility

Divine Veil provides a party-wide shield and heal. Use during dungeon trash pulls as self-mitigation or during trials and raids as party mitigation.

Passage of Arms applies a buff to all party members behind you, granting them a 15% reduction in damage taken. The buff lingers for five seconds after you cancel it, so the most common use case is flashing it onto the party before high raid-wide damage.

In a pinch this can also be used for a hard-hitting tankbuster, but needs to be channeled since the guaranteed block buff ends as soon as the skill is canceled. This is not recommended because the cooldown is very long and is often more valuable as raid mitigation.

Intervention gives your target a buff that reduces damage taken, as well as provides a small regen effect. The damage reduction buff can be buffed by having either Rampart or Sentinel active when casting Intervention. Having both Rampart and Sentinel active does not provide an additional buff.

Reprisal reduces the damage dealt by all enemies around you. Most of the time, use this on raid-wide damage.

Use your other defensive cooldowns to reduce incoming damage and make life easier for your healers.

These skills are very niche and infrequently used but have their time and place to shine. Clemency is a significant DPS loss but enables soloing dungeon bosses when the healer is dead, or saving runs when progging raids and trials. Cover can be used in niche optimization strategies or for saving a party member from otherwise lethal damage. Covered damage ignores Hallowed Ground.

Helpful Macros

Co-tank macros assume your co-tank is in party slot two (default party sorting).

Intervention on Co-Tank

/merror off 
/ac Intervention <2>
/ac Intervention <2>
/ac Intervention <2>
/ac Intervention <2>
/ac Intervention <2>
/ac Intervention <2>
/ac Intervention <2>
/ac Intervention <2>
/ac Intervention <2>
/ac Intervention <2>
/ac Intervention <2>
/ac Intervention <2>
/ac Intervention <2>
/micon Intervention

Mouseover Cover:

/merror off
/ac Cover <mo>
/ac Cover <mo>
/ac Cover <mo>
/ac Cover <mo>
/ac Cover <mo>
/ac Cover <mo>
/ac Cover <mo>
/ac Cover <mo>
/ac Cover <mo>
/ac Cover <mo>
/ac Cover <mo>
/ac Cover <mo>
/ac Cover <mo>
/micon Cover

Shirk on Co-Tank

/merror off
/ac Shirk <2>
/ac Shirk <2>
/ac Shirk <2>
/ac Shirk <2>
/ac Shirk <2>
/ac Shirk <2>
/ac Shirk <2>
/ac Shirk <2>
/ac Shirk <2>
/ac Shirk <2>
/ac Shirk <2>
/ac Shirk <2>
/ac Shirk <2>
/micon Shirk

Why are there so many repeated lines? FFXIV macros do not queue, so hitting a macro while in animation lock from another action will cause the macro to not go off. Since macros execute lines sequentially at around one line per frame, repeating the /action lines simulates mashing the ability every frame for ~15 frames and gives the macro a semblance of queuing.

Mouseover? <2>?
<mo> will attempt to target whatever your mouse cursor is currently hovering over when that macro line is reached, whether it be their physical model or a name on your party list.

<2> targets the second player on your party list, which is the other tank by default in eight-person content.