Paladin Guide

[Bossman4]

Here is a Paladin guide for anyone whos been waiting. Please give REP

my opinion, Paladins are WoW's jack of all trades. We tank and we heal. If a fight is going sour, we can stop our melee and shift into heal-mode, helping the group stay alive. Our buffs are amazing and incredibly helpful. A group can never, repeat, NEVER have too many Paladins. More Paladins in a group means more variety and more backup. The only downside is our lack of a ranged attack. Paladins are not good pullers, hence the "Paladin-pull" (pulling an enemy by having it aggro on you from nearly-max range). If it really bothers you, make friends with an engineer (or become one) and keep a steady supply of EZ Throw Dynamite on hand. You can also get the highest Holy Talent and get a ranged attack. Not my preference but you may wish to do so.


Seals and Judging

I can't count the number of times I've grouped with Paladins who don't judge. WHY NOT? The only excuse is that you're the healer and need to conserve your mana for heals. Otherwise, judge like it's your job!
Why? Because it is! Judge with Light if you want the tank to gain some life back. Judge with Wisdom if you think someone needs mana.
Judge with Justice to keep the enemy from fleeing if that's a problem.
Judge with Righteousness if you want an extra hit of damage. Judge with Crusader if you're going to use Holy damage. Use the appropriate judgment depending on the situation but for goodness sake JUDGE.


Tricks

In my opinion, Paladins have 3 unique tricks they can use to get out of trouble: Blessing of Protection (BoP), Divine Protection/Shield and Lay on Hands (loh). The first is only good against physical damage so use it appropriately. The second is good for all damage. The last is your lifeline. I use them in the order listed. When soloing, you should be able to tell whether you can win the fight or not. That is, know when to run and don't be afraid to do so. These tricks (and maybe a potion) will keep you alive when others would die. If used correctly, you should not die very often at all.

In groups, I save them for bad times. If a caster is getting hit badly by a melee enemy, I try to put up the BoP on them and give the healer (or me) that extra time to save the caster. The Divine Protection/Shield is good if you don't think you're going to get that heal in time. Loh is your last ditch. Due to the cooldown on it, save it for when you need it. Also, be aware that BoP will often reset a melee enemy's aggro or hate, shifting it around to someone new. Be prepared.

When you put up Divine Protection/Shield on yourself, use that time to either heal (if you think you will win the fight, either by spell or First Aid) or run. Those are your choices.

Higher levels of loh give you mana back. If you're out of mana and running out of health, loh will give you some mana to work with if you use it. Very helpful if things aren't going well.


Grouping Notes

Use your Blessings and Seals. I've grouped with Paladins who don't do this. Why are they in the group if they're not making full use of their abilities to the group's benefit? Honestly, Bless, Seal, Judge, do your job as a Paladin and provide as much aid as you can.

Bless yourself first then everyone else. That way, when your Blessings starts flashing you know you need to re-bless the entire group.

Blessings: Get more than one or two and keep them up to date.
There's nothing more frustrating than grouping with other Paladins and learning they don't have any variety to offer. A rare occurrence but one easily avoided.

Seals: If there are other Paladins in the group, talk with each other and decide who is sealing with what. 2 or 3 different seals on a single enemy make a world of difference.

Auras: Same note as with Blessings. Get more than just Devotion and Retribution. If you're not the highest Paladin in the group, your level of those auras may not be the highest. Variety!

Aggro/Hate: Paladins can tank very well. While it may be difficult to hold the enemy's attention, especially against red-con enemies or higher, it can be done. Don't forget you can use Seal of Fury to help you gain aggro/hate and Blessing of Salvation to help party members
*not* gain aggro/hate. Varying combinations of those will serve you well.


Paladin as the Healer

I'm not a fan of being the healer in a group but I've done it successfully. Know your limits and watch your mana. Running out of mana is the worst thing that can happen. In my opinion, Paladins are excellent backup healers or great for groups that may not need much constant healing and attention.


Paladins vs. the Undead

Learn it, love it, live it if you can. Exorcism gives you a lot of extra damage, not to mention an instant ranged attack. (This is the only time some Paladins will have a ranged attack!) You can make them flee if you get too many (Turn Undead). You can sense them on your mini-map. Whenever I get to slaying undead scum, my heart goes warm, my Exorcisms start flying and I think that it doesn't get much better than this. Because it doesn't.


Enemies That Flee

Judge with Justice, stun or be prepared to give chase. In crowded areas where chasing is ill-advised, I highly recommend judging with Justice. Terribly effective.


Which Blessing should I use?

Use the one that works best for you. No easy answer here. If you run out of mana, use Wisdom. If you like damage, use Might. If you don't like damage, use Salvation (if you have it). Experiment and see which you prefer. There is no "best" Blessing.


Which Aura should I use?

See the notes on Blessing choice. Seriously, experiment and see what works. Do you like the extra armor and absorption from Defiance or the extra damage from Retribution? Are you going up against a caster so that a resistance aura might help?


Which Seal should I use? What should I judge?

Unlike the previous two, this one has some guidelines. If you have Command, know that it is more effective with a slow 2h weapon than a faster 1h weapon. Why? It's set to have a certain number of procs per minute so more hits do not equate to more procs. I don't think (though I'm not positive here so maybe someone can confirm) Righteousness has this limitation. Hence, if correct, Righteousness would be better suited for 1h weapons.

That being said, experiment with your Seals while soloing. Figure out whether you like the stable added speed and damage of Crusader or the random bursts of extra damage from Command. Do you like the healing of Light or need the mana from Wisdom? Most Paladins stick with Crusader, me included, but the other choices are very viable and just as useful and strong. Figure out which one(s) you prefer.


Should I use a 1h weapon or 2h weapon?

2h weapons have a higher dps and kill faster than 1h weapons. With 1h weapons you get the added bonuses and armor of a shield, plus you can block. You also get extra hits such that if you judge with Light or Wisdom you get extra procs. Again, I hate to say it but there's no good answer here, it comes down to preference. One suggestion has 1h weapon/shield more suited to grouping than 2h weapons but I personally have not followed this suggestion nor found it necessary. I find the extra damage and aggro (hate)-generation of a 2h weapon, if and when it connects, makes up for the speed of a 1h weapon. That's my opinion and this is easily a topic on which other Paladins and tanks may disagree.

I've experimented with both in my leveling. I used a 1h sword/shield for a long time until I decided that 2h weapons suit me and my style much better. I found that I preferred the faster killing and higher damage. That's me. You may prefer the bonuses, armor and extra judgment procs of a 1h weapon. Try both.

One thing to be aware of here is that misses on a 2h weapon will hurt A LOT more than with 1h weapons. I've had my 2h weapon miss 3 times in a row and been there ready to hit the table in frustration. With a 1h weapon, your swing speed is so much faster that a few misses don't hurt nearly as much. Just another difference between the two.

Also, don't forget the 20th season Paladin quest that ends with Verigan's Fist, a *very nice* 2h mace. Use Verigan's and love it.
Post-Verigan's is a trying time as you search for something half-decent with which to replace your friend. There's a quest in Stranglethorn Vale (second in a short line) that yields a 30 dps shovel as a reward, the Blue Crystal quest. You will need high level friends or a high level group to complete the quest but it's worth it.
The shovel, while certainly not stylish, is an inexpensive option after Verigan's.


Which Talent line should I invest in?

This choice depends *entirely* on play style. If you use a shield, go for the shield-oriented talents in the Protection line. Otherwise, look over the talents and see what catches your eye. I do recommend that you plan out your talents well in advance. This will help keep you from having to pay to reset them multiple times. This is also especially helpful if you decide to switch your talents and try other options later in the game.

I do want to comment on a few particular talents that I've used. Be aware that as a Retribution/Protection Paladin, I have no experience with the Holy line. Zip, zilch, nada. As such, I won't comment on any of the talents there. Likewise, since I don't have the shield talents and don't use a shield, I won't comment on those. Please do not take their exclusion to mean I dislike them or do not recommend them. I simply have no experience with them and no basis from which to provide an informed opinion.

Blessing of Sanctuary: The damage reduction is taken off the top.
That is, the game subtracts the amount before checking armor absorption and the like. Hence, it's not entirely as effective as one might hope. Still, I definitely notice that I take less damage with this Blessing and use it as my main Blessing. If you think you might like it, give it a shot. It's only an 11-point investment in the Protection line so it's very accessible.

Seal of Command: This one is also accessible, being only an 11-point investment in the Retribution line. Especially worth experimenting with if you use a 2h weapon.

Vengeance: This one is just gravy. After I get a critical hit, my base weapon damage goes up 15% (at 5 points) for 8 seconds. I wouldn't purposefully go down the Retribution line to get this talent but if you're going for Blessing of Kings (BoK) and/or Consecration you might as well get this on the way.

Consecration: This talent is more fun than damaging. The damage isn't very high but the mana cost is. I only use this in certain situations. If I'm in a group and want to have all the enemies in a pull attack me to start with, I'll drop Consecration. Otherwise, it's simply not worth it. The most damage I ever had it do was when a small group I was in got a really bad pull and 3 of us ended up fighting around 7-12 yellow enemies. I kept dropping Consecration, holding aggro (hate) and tanking, while the Priest kept me alive.
That was the only time Consecration did enough damage to be worth the high mana cost. (Plus I knew I wouldn't be healing myself so my mana was only good for Seals and Judging otherwise.)


Armor Stats

One other division in Paladin styles lie in your first choice for armor stats. Some Paladins go strength-heavy while others try for stamina-heavy. Personal choice. Regardless, I recommend str/sta as your first consideration, with intellect following, then agility and lastly spirit. Know that 1 sta = 10 health; 7 str = 1 dps; and 1 int = 15 mana. There's not much to say here other than try to keep your armor relatively up to date.


Weapon Stats

Same considerations apply EXCEPT the first thing you should look at is the dps of the weapon. If you're using a 15 dps weapon with 7 sta and can choose to switch to a 16.5 dps with 4 int, do it. Damage is King.
Factor in the other bonuses (i.e. is 1.5 dps worth losing 70 life?) but remember that your damage is what keeps you going. Especially don't forget to factor in the extra dps given by +str. A 15 dps weapon with 11 str will have better damage than a 16.5 dps weapon with no str.

KEEP YOUR WEAPON UP TO DATE ABOVE ALL. If you can reasonably upgrade your weapon, do it. Maybe not every level but certainly every few.
Every now and then I see a Paladin using a green (uncommon) weapon that is 4 or more levels below him/her and I think to myself: "Boy does that Paladin need to upgrade his/her weapon."


Playing a Paladin from day one, I cannot imagine playing another class. Paladins are incredibly versatile and very strong in the right circumstances. I was serious before when I said that a group cannot have too many Paladins. The versatility, buffs and support a Paladin brings to the table are unparalleled. While we are not the "overpowered" class that some suppose us to be, we are certainly strong and very capable.

[Ced]

Thanks +rep

[Cypher]

Please don't ask for rep, if you deserve it, it will be given to you.

Good Job. Excellent guide.