Sir Iron Will's Wisdom: Ask A Ninja! (PLD/NIN That Is).

Sir Iron Will's Wisdom is here to bring you everything you ever wanted to know about tanking, and probably some things you never wanted to know and now wish to blot out of your memory, whether you like it or not, Izman is here with the do's and don'ts of tanking, in general, solo or end game. This week, after a short disappearance in the hinterlands of Arkansas, Izman is back to hide from you some more behind his shadows.

Ahh, it seems like it has been forever since last I posted. I did miss last weeks post from being too tired and lazy. To make up for it, today I'm going to go over some of the things I do when tanking subbed NIN, which is for just about everything I do. Most of this you will know because I honestly don't do anything special or different. I'm just going to cover how I gear for NIN sub and how to use the sub to its maximum potential.

Ok, some things you need to ask yourself if your going to use PLD/NIN a lot first. Can I count to three (I can but its really hard to play with one hand and count with the other)? Do I even have NIN sub? Do I have a bajillion Gil for Shihei and the Ni scroll?

If you answered yes to all this then you're on the right track.

In essence, when subbing NIN you are just trying not to get hit. This means your gear will be a little different from other subs if you have the gear to optimize for subbing NIN. For example, a Terror or Wivre Shield with more enmity and less block rate than the Koenig shield with less enmity but a higher block rate.

The weapon I use almost always with NIN sub is the Macuahuitl +1 with its +4 enmity it's to good to pass up. You can use the Joyeuse and others I suppose but on mobs that you can't hit this is the one I love to use. And don't be a cheap bastard and get the NQ version. LOL

I mentioned shields right before swords and there is not really a lot of variety at end game for shields. Koenig Shield is a must have and is a great shield but with NIN sub a Wivre or Terror Shield out shine it. If you're new to subbing NIN stick with the Koenig till you master threading shadows.

At this point, the line blurs from on gear depending on your race, your own style of tanking, and the gear you are able to obtain.

I will go over what I use for /NIN but keep in mind if you're a Taru or Galka this will most likely not be ideal for you. For the most part I just stock up on enmity. If you have Iron Ram gear from the past that is great stuff to use. I know I use the hat and boots all the time. The legs and hands are also very amazing but I tend to use Homam in those spots.

There are a few bodies you can use. AF body if you're a cheap S.O.B. who wont buy Adaman gear, AF +1 body to sell that Adaman piece you bought with a few others that are harder to obtain like Valor body and Ares. There is also the Nuevo body that you put fast cast and enmity on, right?

Hands that are great for subbing NIN are Homam (Iz)Manopolas, Askar hands, I.R. hands, and Adaman (I think).

Legs, the bane of my existance. Homam legs, more Homam legs, I.R. legs, and Adaman once again if you just dinged 73. I think that is about it.

Boots. OK, you win this one you cheap bastards. AF feet are still really great even for NIN sub and the HQ even better but it's only something I macro in when shadows are down. When I do have shadows up, I use I.R. boots with all of its enmity but Adaman, Homam, and Askar are all great choices and the best will vary on your play style.

For rings I use a Hercules' Ring and if you don't own one you get my Cheap S.O.B. Seal of Approval™! I mainly use a Bomb Queen Ring on my other finger but the CoP ring is also amazing. I would wear more but I lost my other 8 fingers in the Dunes to a crab.

Waist is easy enough, a Trance Belt being the better choice but a Warwolf Belt is also very good and very cheap. I wouldn't use anything other then these unless I was a Taru or Galka.

Ears! A lot for choices for ears. I use a Loquacious Earring and a Ethereal Earring but those don't come until later in the game. A Buckler Earring is fine or HP Earrings of any sort and the Cure Potency +5% are all nice until you can get a Loquacious and Ether earring.

The neck slot, the only exposed spot on your body besides your face. Parade Gorget is amazing as well as the Ritter Gorget and the last choice I can think of is a Shield Torque for when those shadows are down.

Bow? Well, the Lamian Kaman or the +1 are the best. And here is where I become the cheap sob that uses a NQ. A Rosenbogen is fine I guess but the point is not to get hit so the VIT and HP become less important than MP and Magic Defense.

The back. A Cerberus Mantle is amazing with its 3 enmity and it is also becoming more affordable. The Gigant Mantle is OK
but I think costs more then a Cerb Mantle now, and a Boxer's Mantle rounds out the top 3 choices besides a Cerberus Mantle +1, but I don't have the 20+ Mil for one of those. If you don't have those then just about anything will work to fill in space.

Well, that's it for the gear part now lets talk about counting shadows.

Threading shadows is the term I use when I cancel my shadows to put up a fresh set. To do this properly you have to cancel your shadows at the top of your screen right before the third attack comes in while you are casting a new set of shadows. This can be difficult at times with lag and spell lock but with enough practice it will become second nature to you.

Some things to keep in mind when doing this is that Ichi will overwrite itself so no need to cancel shadows if you're casting Ichi over Ichi. The only time you will have to cancel is when you're casting Ichi and have shadows up from Ni before. One other short tip is to save Shield Bash to stun a enemy to get a Ichi up in time of need.

Here are some final tips and good things to have with NIN sub: 1. A shield set that you can swap into when your shadows are down. 2. The less blinking the better and your mages will love you, the more you blink the higher your chance of death. 3. Keep in mind to not swap out anything that will make you lose TP.

That's it for this week, I'm sure I have missed a few things or there are things I didn't think of but playing PLD really is more dependent on skill than gear, more then most jobs I would think. So go practice threading those shadows until you have 1-2-3 pounded into your little concussed PLD head. Lets all cross our fingers and hope the I.R. body is at least half as awesome as we all think it will be!