Paladin Rotation, Openers, and Abilities (Patch 6.5) - FFXIV

Paladin is the classic sword and board tank job of Final Fantasy XIV. When you picture a tank, you likely picture being a wall that soaks damage, protects your allies, and gets mobs really angry. Paladin is arguably one of the best equipped for doing these three things.

Of all the tanks, Paladin is the beefiest of the jobs in Final Fantasy XIV and their kit is incredibly indicative of this. You have the widest array of defensive cooldowns of any tank and arguably the most flexible. It also has the benefit of being the most approachable to learn the tank role with. 

Paladin’s damage is centered around very symmetrical 20-second burst windows. There are two off-global cooldowns (oGCD’s) that become available every 60 seconds, indicating when your burst window starts. In these burst windows you aim to fit eight GCDs in, with some that are featured in every burst window. 

This guide will take you through the normal flow of Paladin’s gameplay throughout the course of most encounters and help you understand the cyclical nature of the job for optimizing consistency.

If you’re not sure where to start and you’re a little lost, check the full Paladin job guide for more in-depth explanations about how Paladin works.

The basics of Paladin

What separates an okay Paladin from a great one is the ability to understand when each of your defensive tools should be used and being able to consistently execute your rotation and mitigation schedule the exact same way every single pull. Paladin has very little in terms of offensive oGCDs, which means that this job is good for players with high ping. 

In exchange for having the most flexibility and variety of defensive cooldown options, Paladin has one of the simplest rotations of any of the four tanks. You don't have to manage any resources going into your burst except for MP. Atonement grants 400 MP per use, which allows you to generally ignore its management since you get four to six uses per filler phase.

Paladin’s rotation

Those who are new to tanking will find Paladin very approachable, as it lacks the same offensive resource management that every other tank has. Unlike many of the other tanks, Paladin lacks a two-minute burst. Instead, they have the same options available every 30 seconds for minor oGCDs, and every 60 seconds for major GCDs. Relying on one-minute bursts instead of having a normal two-minute window allows you to keep track of alignment better, which enables you to develop better muscle memory.

There are two phases in the Paladin rotation: A burst phase and a filler phase. The burst phase has you using your highest potency GCDs while being buffed by Fight or Flight. The filler phase consists of your normal 1-2-3 combo, which sees you keep your two 30-second oGCDs (Expiacion and Circle of Scorn) constantly on cooldown. 

Filler phase

The filler phase leaves plenty of room for weaving in your defensive mitigations. In most fights, you’ll get 16 GCDs between your burst windows. Unlike with other jobs, you’re not filling to build resources into your burst phase. Rather, you are waiting for your one-minute burst cooldowns to become available while simply making the best of the resources you generate.

At the end of every 1-2-3 combo — consisting of Fast Blade, Riot Blade, and Royal Authority — you will be given three stacks of Sword Oath and a single stack of Divine Might.

• Divine Might is a buff to your Holy Spirit, Paladin’s primary ranged GCD. It is granted to you in stacks and consumed when you use your next Holy Spirit or after 30 seconds. This allows you to cast Holy Spirit instantly and raises its potency.
• Sword Oath allows you to execute Atonement once per stack. Like Divine Might, this will fall off after 30 seconds. 

Your primary goal in your filler phase is to use as many Atonements and empowered Holy Spirits as you can, as well as keeping Expiacion and Circle of Scorn on cooldown. Like all jobs, you’ll need to hold some skills for your burst window. To accomplish this, start your next 1-2-3 combo before using up any stacks of Divine Might or Sword Oath. This is a decision made during your filler phase to put extra higher potency GCDs (such as Holy Spirit) into your burst phase.

If Fight or Flight is ready to come off cooldown, delay using Holy Spirit for as long as you possibly can. That said, never overwrite stacks of Sword Oath just to get a second Holy Spirit in, this is an overall potency loss.

Burst phase

The timers you use for your burst phase are the 60-second timers attached to Fight or Flight and Requiescat. Fight or Flight is a buff that increases your damage, while Requiescat deals damage, gives you four stacks of Requiescat, and makes you Confiteor Ready. 

You should aim to always press Fight or Flight before Requiescat so that it gets the damage buff. Confiteor Ready allows you to use Paladin’s combo of high potency GCDs, referred to as the Confiteor combo. These GCD’s consist of:

• Confiteor
• Blade of Faith
• Blade of Truth
• Blade of Valor

These GCDs are a combo chain, meaning they must be executed consecutively in order to complete the entire chain. However, there are several GCDs that do not break the combo chain; Goring Blade, Holy Spirit, and Atonement all leave the chain intact. 

Best practice is to use all of your Requiescat stacks and complete the Confiteor combo before pressing any other buttons. Because of this, prioritize using your other high potency GCD, Goring Blade, before entering the Confiteor Combo. A large portion of your damage comes from making sure you get every use of Goring Blade that you can during the course of an encounter due to its high damage potency.

Your burst phase should always contain eight GCDs, and one usage of Expiacion and Circle of Scorn per burst. An example burst phase will look like the following:

1. Fast Blade
2. Riot Blade
3. Royal Authority (earns three stacks of Sword Oath and one stack of Divine Might)
4. Fast Blade
5. Riot Blade
6. Holy Spirit
7. Atonement (x3)
8. Royal Authority
9. Repeat

This is where optimizing your filler phase comes in. Under certain burst windows, it is possible to fit in two uses of Holy Spirit with Divine Might if you have delayed spending your Divine Might the correct way. 

Paladin Opener

The standard Paladin opener is crafted around a GCD of 2.5 seconds. Depending on the fight, you may need to shift around the use of certain oGCDs.

1. Holy Spirit (only if pulling, use at -2 seconds)
2. Fast Blade
3. Current Tincture of Strength
4. Riot Blade
5. Royal Authority
6. Fight or Flight
7. Requiescat
8. Goring Blade
9. Circle of Scorn
10. Expiacion
11. Confiteor
12. Intervene
13. Blade of Faith
14. Intervene
15. Blade of Truth
16. Blade of Valor
17. Holy Spirit
18. Atonement
19. Atonement
20. Atonement

After you’ve completed your opener, you immediately move into your filler, making sure to use your stacks of Sword Oath and Divine Might before finishing your next 1-2-3 combo and continuously using Expiacion and Circle of Scorn as they become available.

Paladin’s Damage Mitigations and Other Abilities

While Paladin has relatively simplistic offensive abilities, it truly shines in its suite of mitigation cooldowns. All tanks share similar cooldowns, but Paladin is granted a few extra for flavor and utility. 

Paladin’s offensive cooldowns are not limited just by set timers, but also by the Oath you build up in your job gauge as you do auto attacks over the course of an encounter. All of the offensive GCDs that use MP (the Confiteor combo and Holy Spirit) also heal when casted.

• Sentinel: Sentinel is a heavy mitigation on a two-minute cooldown. This will be your go-to mitigation for tank busters and bigger mob pulls in dungeons.
• Holy Sheltron: Holy Sheltron is a short but powerful mitigation. This consumes Oath Gauge in order to provide you with a heavy mitigation and regen for a short period of time.
• Intervention: Intervention is like Holy Sheltron but you can place it on a party member. To get the full effect of Intervention you must have Rampart or Sentinel active.
• Passage of Arms: This is a party wide mitigation in the shape of a cone behind you. It blocks an amount of damage that anyone standing in the cone takes at the expense of your ability to move or deal damage. If you “flash” out Passage (quickly press it between GCDs then go back to attacking) party members will retain the buff for a brief period of time, allowing you to get the benefits of this mitigation without the drawback.
• Divine Veil: Another party wide mitigation. This applies a shield to all allies as well as heals them.
• Hallowed Ground: Hallowed Ground is Paladin’s invulnerability. For a short duration this will allow you to take no damage whatsoever. It has an exceptionally high 420-second cooldown.
• Clemency: Clemency is a heavy GCD heal. If you use this heal on an ally you also receive 50% of the healing done.
• Bulwark: Bulwark is a skill that increases your block rate for a brief period of time. The rate at which you block is determined by your gear. At higher gear levels this is effectively a shorter Rampart.
• Cover: Cover allows you to take 100% of damage for a target ally as long as they stay within a certain range. This ability cannot transfer all types of damage however, and may lead to some unexpected interactions with certain mechanics. Activating this costs Oath Gauge and is on a two minute cooldown.

Paladins are incredible tanks to bring to your prog groups. Simply put, a good Paladin player can use the myriad of tools provided to clutch almost any situation they’re met with while also providing a still sizable chunk of damage. Mastering the Paladin is truly a test of patience, and at times, your reflexes.