The Divine Protector: PLD Guide 2025

That's the base block rate of the shields size, skill on the shield isnt played into it afaik

Yes, both Ochain and Duban have the same base block rate. However, Duban's superior stats—Shield Skill, VIT, Magic Evasion, MDT II, and overall utility make Ochain largely obsolete. Ochain is only relevant if you already have it and in niche situations where you need MP recovery. Otherwise, Duban is the clear winner.

The ~108% listed on BG Wiki for Ochain and Duban indicates their exceptionally high block rate, nearly guaranteed under standard conditions. It’s not a literal 108%, but rather a representation of their reliability. For example, against an Apex Archaic Cogs lvl 145, I observed a block rate of 93.48%. The difference is influenced by factors such as your Shield Skill, the monster's combat skill, and potentially other modifiers, showcasing their effectiveness even against high-level enemies.

Does anyone happen to have BIS Imperator set for pld?

Edit: assuming typical aminon fight buffs.

Ran Kastra's sim and here's what I'm getting. Let me know if any corrections should be made. Thank you all.

Guide Completion Announcement
The main structure of the guide is now complete.
There are still some small errors, missing sets, or additional equipment pieces, but the core content is finished.

About Formatting & Readability
Due to BBCode and forum limitations, making the guide shorter while keeping all this information readable and visually clean is nearly impossible.
I aimed for a balance between information density and clarity.
A plain-text version wouldn't be any easier to read—if anything, it might be worse.

This guide is not meant to be read from start to finish in one go.
Instead, it is designed so you can go straight to the sections that interest you.
Use the Table of Contents and "Back to Top" links to navigate quickly.

Feedback & Further Improvements
I welcome constructive feedback, suggestions, and discussions about sets and strategies.
If you have ideas to improve the guide, feel free to share them!

That being said, I have no interest in engaging with negativity, trolling, or pointless arguments.
I prefer to focus on improving the guide rather than getting caught up in unnecessary debates.

Final Thoughts
Thanks to everyone who provided constructive feedback, and I hope this guide will be useful to the community!

You’re welcome o/

Small typing nit for ya:
In the cure IV enmity generation table against 10 mobs, you're missing the ÷ 10 on the headers for
CE(+57/+30 Enmity) Final VE(CE × 6)

First time lurking here. Every VE and CE values are wrong in every place where they were multiplied by enmity.

189 Enmity gives 2.89 multiplier not 1.89

Thank you for pointing out the error! I have now updated the guide and corrected all the values. I appreciate your help in making it more accurate.

Guide Update Announcement

Ongoing Improvements
The main structure of the guide is complete, but I will continue refining and expanding it. The next updates will focus on:

- Adding Low and Mid-tier sets for Weapon Skills (WS).
- Expanding gear options for key Job Abilities (JA).
- Improving setups for certain spells.

Goal of These Updates
My goal is to make the guide more accessible by providing viable gearing options beyond just high-end setups. This will help players at different stages of progression find effective builds without requiring top-tier equipment.

Feedback & Contributions
As always, I welcome constructive feedback! If you have suggestions or notice anything missing, feel free to share. I will keep refining the guide based on useful input from the community.

Thanks for Your Support!
I appreciate all the feedback and discussions so far. I hope these updates will make the guide even more useful for everyone!

Great guide!

I saw the inputs for some of the gearswap but I was wondering if you or anyone has whatever the most up to date pld.lua file that they could direct me towards?

Just coming back and trying to get my gearswaps in order! Thank you

There isn't really a "most up to date" PLD lua as they're all different. There's some generic ones people share you can copy/paste gear into, but for the most part people will take one they like and modify it how they like. You can find various ones on google, and if you don't want to search around, here is mine.

**Edit** to save replying to you in the DRK and BST threads as well, here are a DRK and BST lua.

Super taff sur le guide ;)

Hey!

Thanks for your feedback on the guide! :)

I do have a PLD lua, but it's very specific and also manages some mechanics for an alt, so it's not really suitable for a returning player. However, if you still want to check it out, here’s my GitHub where you can find it:

Gearswap

If you have any questions or need help adapting it, feel free to ask!

Lifesaver, thank you Boposhopo


appreciate the link as well Tetsouo, will check it out!

Still best DPS to spam Knights of Round on Aminon at 1k? Caliburnus + Imperator any better?

If you're able to go at 1k every time, KOTR is the best. If you're holding to higher TP for safety, Caliburnus pulls ahead, in my group's experience. Might be even better at higher stages, we just have a stage 3 ATM.

We've noticed and maybe it was just having double 11 tact/miser that day and its anecdotal, but darksday he may have some regain or something so we hold tp a little higher, everyone is pretty much ripping at low tp and doing all they can to get tp back, impact spam, sodas/wings, dropping shell5 with regal gloves etc

would love to have a SOLID use case to make a stage 5 sword, but havent found much on it yet to justify

BiS for RDM dMND enfeebling, the only reason I’m making it. For my PLD well I rather use my GS to screw around.

PLD/BLU Blue Magic section added

Hello everyone,

I've just added a full Blue Magic spell section for the PLD/BLU setup.

This update includes:
– A large pool of AoE enmity spells to always have the right tool ready
– The Magic Defense Bonus +10 trait synergy via spell pairing
– Organized tables with enmity values, recast times, and descriptions
– A clean, readable layout with functional formatting

Note: Initially, the Refresh +1 (Latent) synergy was included, but it turns out PLD already has Auto-Refresh I as a native job trait — making the latent effect redundant.
We’ve updated the set to instead include the Max MP Boost trait (via Metallic Body and Mysterious Light), which also adds +10 MP and some minor value.

More updates are coming soon, focusing on Weapon Skill sets — including BiS and intermediate options.

Feel free to check it out and share any feedback!

PLD cannot benefit from /BLU refresh. PLD already has auto-refresh I, and the traits don't stack.

Oh right, totally missed that PLD already has Auto-Refresh — good catch.

So yeah, dropping Self-Destruct and Light of Penance makes more sense.
Swapping in Mysterious Light and Metallic Body gives Max MP Boost instead, and brings the set to 32/35 points.
At least it’s not a wasted trait.

Have you experimented with any completely different sets?
Aside from the AoE/single-target enmity stuff, I’m not really seeing any other useful synergies —
outside of the ones we’re already using (Magic Defense Bonus +10 and Max MP Boost).

Auto Regen, while a rather trivial 1 hp/tick, can serve to counter stage 2 Duban's DoT without altering any idle gear.

Sheep song+Healing breeze = Auto Regen. You'll tend to set sheep song anyway, as an enmity spell. And while Healing breeze doesn't have any direct utility anymore, post majesty, setting the spell does add +10 HP.

Trait wise, there's really not much else. The MDB trait was the best trait gained from master levels.

Stinking gas does not inflict Bio. it's just vit down.

Soporific is another 320/320 AoE enmity spell option. Low level, and doesn't require master levels, but overall worse than cold wave. Higher set point cost, mp cost, 90 sec recast. But. also doesn't risk DoT'ing mobs like cold wave.

The Max MP boost I trait adds 10 MP, for 5 set points. If you wanted MP, Sickle slash(Hp-5 MP+15) + Pollen(CHR+2, HP+5) would add +15 MP for the same slot/point cost, with pollen countering the HP-.

Keep in mind, I'm not suggesting a complete spell set here, just going over options.

head butt is one of my fav /blu spells post empy+2/3 era, can stun quit a few things you might not expect to be able to.

Hi folx. '-')/

Hope people are doing alright.

Was told this existed. Looks neat. Will read in a bit.

Maybe can give some feedback. :)

Wow, your guide is really coming along nicely. I can tell that all of the information is described and placed strategically for the player. Your work even reads very neatly and has the finishing touches of a very professional strategy guide! Keep up the great work!

I assume a knights of the round set isn't too different from savage blade, except different accessories?

Also are we sure for AE that matb ammo is better than Ghastly Tathlum +1? Magic Damage +21 is a lot.

Also I'd assume Sacro Breastplate for AE?

I hope the AE set isn't assume Nyame on Magic Dmg, or uf it is, I'd prolly consider including a "non magic nyame" set because afaik the vast majority of pld are gonna have WSD nyame path, so alternatives to nyame should be considered.

Your guide is looking better and better!

One thing I'd suggest: consider including "Killer Traits" from /BLU. You have access to Beast, Lizard, and Plantoid Killer.

So, I'll start out by saying I welcome another guide writer for the job. From reading through the thread, I understand it's technically "not finished," though really, no job guide technically ever is. So, I'll do my best to remain objective.

- The Enmity Reduction information was a good thought. One, admittedly, I wish I had thought of.

- Perhaps give more consideration to wording on gear swapping section. A Vanilla player can achieve the same effect of balanced HP with minor macro tweaks as a Gearswap or Ashita player.

- Certain sets appear to be high jumps in progression, or pushed to the logical extreme--such as the Cure Self set sitting at 4000+ HP, or the "Mid Tier" set being Odyssey gear.

Thanks a lot for the constructive feedback! Here's a full reply on each point you raised:

• Knights of the Round – I haven’t tested KOTR extensively myself, as I run exclusively with Burtgang. Most of my focus is on Savage Blade and Atonement in endgame content like Dyna-D Wave 3 and Odyssey bosses. Hopefully others in the thread can chime in with deeper insight on KOTR setups.

• Ammo – You were absolutely right: Ghastly Tathlum +1 is better for Aeolian Edge. My original choice (Oshasha’s Treatise) offered no real advantage here. The guide has already been updated accordingly.

• Sacro Breastplate – You made another solid point here. Sacro does outperform Nyame in terms of raw AoE damage. That said, it has no DT, and integrating it requires changing other pieces to stay PDT capped and maintain a solid HP pool around 3000+. I haven't fully reworked the build yet, but you're right — Sacro is definitely a strong candidate and worth serious consideration.

• Nyame Context – The Aeolian set was originally built around Rank 0 Nyame, with no pathing assumed. I’m currently using Path B (WS DMG), which improves the output, but even base Nyame provided a great balance of DT, DEF, Magic Accuracy, and modest MAB — especially in high-density solo cleave like Crawler’s Nest [S].

Thanks again for helping improve the guide — quality feedback like this is always appreciated!