Hi, I am currently sentinel rank 20, and have done, if not extensive, atleast
speculative testing regarding shields and their stats. So I thought I'd open up a
thread to help explain some of the facets of shield use as well as open some
discussion in regards to what all the stats do exactly.
Commands:
When you equip a shield, the guard command is immediately placed in the first unused
action slot. For those of you who have a specific slot you like this command to be in,
it can be moved with the text command;
/eaction slot# Guard
As an example, I always like my guard command to be in the third action slot. So I use
the text command;
/eaction 3 Guard
If you want to make a macro for Guard it should look something like this;
/action Guard <me>
(The november update negated the need for the "sub" text command.)
Stats:
Shields have 4 stats, Defense, Attack, Blocking and Wield Rate.
* Attack: Attack really only effects one thing, and that is how much damage your shield will do with abilities like Shield Bash.
* Defense: Defense is a bit misleading. For one thing, most of you might have noticed that when you equip a shield it doesn't actually alter your defense rating. That is because the defense listed on your shield would more accurately be described as Damage Mitigation. And so far it seems to be a static number. Meaning that when you have a shield with a defense rating of 16 (sheepskin leather targe) it actually blocks 16 damage from an incoming frontal attack. So basically, the higher defense your shield has the less damage you will take when you block, in a direct 1:1 ratio.(If anyone has proof that this is inaccurate, please let me know.)
* Blocking: Blocking mostly seems to be a % chance that your block will succeed. The lower the value the greater risk you run of having your block fail.
* Wield Rate: Wield Rate reflects how long your Guard will last. It is a direct 1:1 ratio, so Bronze Scutum with its wield rate of 10 will have a Guard duration of 10 seconds, Whereas Bronze Pelta with it's wield rate of 13 will have a Guard duration of 13 seconds.
Abilities/Traits:
* Guard: Sentinel rank 1(Requires a shield) Stamina cost 2, Duration directly effected by wield rate. "Guard with your shield." Blocks incoming frontal damage from normal attacks based on Defense of shield.
* Phalanx: Learned at Gladiator rank 8 Costs 0 Stamina points and 250 tp points. "Strike from behind the safety of your shield, dealing slashing damage and increasing enmity. Can only be executed following a block." This ability can be used after any type of block, be it from Guard, Aegis Boon, or Outmaneuver.
* Aegis Boon: Learned at sentinel rank 10 Costs 6 stamina points to use(40% of the gauge). Duration is directly effected by wield rate and self-preservation. "Recover behind the safety of your shield, increasing defense against frontal attacks and converting blocked damage into HP." This ability blocks all incoming damage from normal frontal attacks and converts a portion into hp. Does not block damage from tp moves or spells. (Right now it is bugged, While the ability is active you won't see the mob attack, nor will you see your hp recover in real time in the log.)
* Outmaneuver: Learned at Sentinel rank 20 Costs 6 stamina points. Duration is directly effected by wield rate and self-preservation. "Strategize for survival, increasing defense against frontal attacks and increasing TP generated by blocks." The Description of the ability is a bit misleading, you don't actually block any more damage than you would during a normal Guard, you just gain tp at an increased rate for every blocked attack. Does not block damage from tp moves or spells.
* Self-Preservation: Purchased from the Gladiator Guild FOr 8,000 Gladiator marks. Must have completed the rank 20 Gladiator quest. "Increases the length of your guard ability by 50%." It costs 4 trait points to equip. As stated above, this duration is directly effected by your shield's wield rate; a shield with a wield rate of 10 has a Guard duration of 15 seconds with Self-preservation; a shield with a wield rate of 18 has a Guard duration of 27 with self-preservation.
If I've overlooked anything please let me know, or if you disagree with any of the
information I have given.
Hope this helps everyone understand their shields a bit more, though.
Shield
Shield
from: http://ffxiv.zam.com/forum.html?forum=1 ... howmany=50
