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c'est long, c'est en anglais, mais ca peut peut-etre fauire changer d'avis certains.
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Hello all and thanks for attending my crash course in becoming a good defensive Paladin. First off my name is Lamorak DeGalis and I am a lvl 50 paladin in Crimson Dragoons (great guild) on Gawaine. Been playing my Paladin since day 1 of release and enjoy all aspects of the class.
Many of you may be up and coming Paladins and others perhaps experienced veterans, but you should never stop learning. In this guide I will attempt to explain what I feel are the major components for becoming a good defensive Paladin and playing one to the fullest.
I will cover the following topics:
Spec (and advice for speccing while leveling)
Twisting
Blocking
Realm Abilities
AF explained
Dueling Techniques (all melee classes)
Tips and Tricks
Conclusion
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_SPEC-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
First off I have been reading this class board for about a year but I have not bothered to post much. However after reading alot of spec advice from lvl 50 Paladins to low lvl Paladins that I feel are bad, and also just all around bad advice, I felt inclined to offer my opinion and experience.
The most important line for being a good defensive Paladin are our Chants. Chants have been ridiculed and put down since day 1 but I have stood by them and I have allways had faith in them. If you are going to be defensive you NEED 48 chants. To me this is a no brainer. But I see alot of people saying 46 chants, 38 chants, 36 chants is good spot to stop at and I totally disagree. The reason for 48 chants is simple. 975 af unbuffed at RR 4 and under and 988 cap at RR 5. WOW! No other class can come close to getting that much AF, and it plays a huge role in blocking which I will get into later (essence of defense).
At 48 chants you get the last heal chant which heals for 46 hps every 7 or so seconds. But you can heal for 92 every 7 seconds which will be covered under twisting later on. 48 chants provides the last self AF buff which also helps reach AF caps. Also you get the best endurance chant and dmg chant along with better resists. Nothing like haveing +46% energy before charging a bunch of lurikeen chanters, eh?
So 48 chants is important, the next imporant spec is 42 shield. Nothing less, nothing more (god please nothing more). You get slam. Slam is probably the easiest way to get yourself out of a sticky situation, or put an end to the fight in this game for melees (outside of gerbal for zerkers). Sure it has no bonus to hit, sure it costs alot of endurance, but with the new lvl 51 tower shields I slam for over 200 dmg 90% of time (who cares if you miss 2-3 times before landing it, you have perma endurance).
Slash. Slash spec is probably the most debated line for paladins but to me its simple. I used to be 39 slash, 48 chants, 42 shield, 15 parry up untill respec. I did good dmg, not really less then a Paladin with 50 slash. Then I figured "hey, i love defense, all I use is amythyst slash and people with 2 weapons get past shield". So, i changed my spec to 29 slash, 42 shield, 48 chants, 30 parry and it rocks!. The difference in my dmg from going from 39 slash to 29 slash was about 10-15 dmg a swing. BUT, this is a big but, I got aug str 1 and the boost to weaponskill and dmg made my dmg about the same as before. 29 slash is still 3/4 your level and with +11 with SC and what ever RR you will hit hard as someone with 39+ whatever or a gimpy paladin with 50 slash.
So here are my 3 specs that I recommend for being a defensive Paladin:
1)48 chants,42 shield, 29 slash, 30 parry. (my 30+9 parry and MOP 2 wreaks havoc on people with 2 weapons. I DO NOT lose to mercs, bms, NS's, rangers (heh) or SBs because of my parry. Zerkers are just my arch nemesis, but they only win about 60% of time.
2)48 chants, 42 shield, 34 slash, 18 parry. 34 slash so you get befuddler so you can land the stun off block. alot easier then trying to land slam against someone in 1 on 1. I can not attest to usefulness of befuddler but this is a viable spec.
3)48 chants, 42 shield, 39 slash, 15 parry. This is what I used to be and it is a good spec. 39+ skill can get you to 50 for a bit lower dmg variance and backslash is a decent move. But, I think my spec is better from past experiences.
while leveling up keep chants 1 below lvl, slash 2/3 your level and shield as much as you can. And learn to double heal now at early age.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-TWISTING_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Ahh, the infamous word twisting that causes fear and confusion in most lvl 5 Paladins in Camelot hills. But fear no more my young padawons, for everything you ever wanted to know about how to twist is here.
Let me start off by sharing with you how my main combat macro bar is set up.
1)Sprint
2)Stick
3)Taunt
4)Slam
5)Amythyst
6)Body resist (or engage sometimes)
7)Dmg chant
8)Armor factor chant
9)Endurance chant
10)Refreshment chant
This has been the general layout I have used since release and it is useful for twisting. In rvr (especially since endurance chant) I start my twisting routine as soon as I engage an enemy. I start double healing.
Double healing is when you switch between your chants and end on refreshment. You wait 7/8 seconds or untill you read that you have healed yourself and then repeat the twist again and end on refresment, thus healing for 46x2 every chant cycle. You can also wait untill you see your refresment cup fade away to do cycle again. Its second nature for me now.
In 90% of situations during combat, I twist from Dmg to af to endurance and end on refreshment (as you can see going right down my macro bar). this allows about 4 swings with dmg chant pulsing, 4-5 seconds of AF chant pulsing, endurance for 4-5 seconds and regen will double heal. Also I use a jambiya so when completly out of endurance and I twist this way, the lingering endurance pulse allows me to get in 3 amythyst slashes before I twist again.
I recomend twisting this way for PVE and almost every rvr situation. Somtimes I'll end on armor factor in order to drain a 2hander and block him, or end on endurance to recovery end for something sneaky. Or perhaps i twist in body resist if i'm soloing an assasin to lower his poison tick/duration.
Double healing is very important. 1 Paladin can heal himself for 690 hitpoints in 1 minute (60 seconds/8seconds x92). Throw in blocks, parrys and misses and thats hella defense.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_BLOCKING-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Here are some ways to improve your blocking rate. I hear alot of people complaining about blocking in rvr but its not true. You can block just as well in rvr as in pve if you consider these 10 facts.
1)Spec, but most people who go shield have 42 shield + some.
2)Ras. Mastery of blocking 3 is nice and probably my best RA investment.
3)Buffs. When I rvr I usually have 282 dex. That will more then offset people with uber str and weaponskill. for me anyhow.
4)AF. nothing beats a paladin af, but other classes can get high af with buffs. Armor factor will help you block/parry and get missed.
5)Shield bonus and opponents weapon bonus. 35% bonus shield vs 35% bonus weapon you dont' gain or suffer anything. 35% bonus shield vs 25% bonus df weapon for example, i have 10% bonus to block, roughly.
6)Weapon move bonus vs bonus to defence. If I use reflect (med bonus to defense) I gurantee i'll block/parry next round against a mob or player. problem is it has no bonus to hit.
7)DW/LA/CW. People who use 2 weapons have bonus to shield. People who use 2handed weapons have bonus against parry. So, as sword/shield paladin I block 2handers great, parry 2weapon users great. thus my 42 shield, 30 parry spec for pesky assasins and light tanks.
8)Number of attackers. If 3 people attacking someone with large shield, in front of you, you have same chance to block all of them. Add a 4th person, and someone is gonna hit every round. Same holds true for mobs.
9)Mythic (Sanya Bigfatliar) has stated in a grab bag post that Con affects your defense detection range, minimally. I have 196 con unbuffed, 318 with my lvl 40 cleric buffs. I notice i can block and guard people farther away, but nothing to cheer about.
10)Lvl of you vs lvl of attacker. This makes sense, but its really a comparason of defense skills/shield bonus/level vs opponents weaponskill/weapon bonus/level.
10 ways to improve your blocking rate. If you have the spec, the ras, the dex and the AF you will block like a madman.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_Realm Abilities-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Get faith heal. ok got that out of the way. If your a defensive Paladin I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend investing in aug dex 2, mastery of blocking 2 (at least) and parry 2. They do wonders and are allways active.
After you have Faith Heal, and some mastery of blocking,parry you should get aug str 1 in order to raise weaponskill and dmg. It helps more then you think, for me anyhow with 29 slash base. Next I recommend long wind 1 so you can sprint from lyonese to castle sauvage and back if you feel so (explain deeper under tricks/tips). After long wind i suggest mastery of pain to augment your average dmg. I have mastery of pain 2 and I crit about 1/4 swings at least. Crits on slam are nice .
After all that its up in the air. I got lifter 1 for sieges, toughness 1 and aug con 1. I highly dont' recommend avoidance of magic, swimming, tireless or any of those timer combat things. armor of faith sucks as well as avoid pain, i've tested them.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-AF Explained_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Alot of people do not understand how important armor factor is in deciding how often you will block, parry or get missed. Hell even how much dmg you take. Absorbtion determines your af cap (thus plate wearers have higher af.) Against a yellow con mob with armor chant up, 983 af (988 with base buff from cleric) I block/parry about 95% of his swings. About 85% against oranges, about 75% against reds. If you want to see the differnce AF can do for you and are lvl 50, copy to pend, and have a paladin with 38 chants and paladin with 48 chants. same slash/shield/equipment. go up to red mob. Run af in both instances. Who will die first? I bet 200 real U.S. dollars on the paladin with 38 chants. AF is huge, just below dex for determining your defense capabilities.
I could not fathom being a defensive paladin without my 48 af chant. if I was 38 chants and defensive, and had no respec left I would quit the game. End of story. Go 48 chants damn't and thank me later.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-DUELING MASTER-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Since albs could duel eachother I have dueled every alb melee class including friars, multiple paladins with different and same specs, armsmen of all sorts, infis both slash and thrust, scouts, minstrels, clerics, mercs... about 35 duels so far and I am still undefeated and have not had to use Faith heal in one duel. I also go to multi realm duels often and go undefeated except for occasion freak blademaster accident or zerker accident, but then usually beat them 2nd time. I guess what I will do is give a generic strategy for each class. This will help you in rvr as well as you can apply these strategies to 1 on1s you get into during large battles.
ALBION MELEE
1) Mercs. Mercs are really easy to duel and beat for some reason, regardless of dirty tricks, fa, ip etc. Basically what I do is run af from start and just style/slam like i normaly do. with 983 af and 42+9+18 shield and 30+9+12 parry I will block/parry thier moves and run them ooe. I will also twist, dmg, endurance, regen but end on af during this to heal myself a bit. If for some reason the merc is laying the hurt on, switch back to normal routine of double healing and you shouldn't lose with any of my 3 specs and ras.
2)Friars. Friars can either be a cake walk or get you down to 30% health and scare me. Either way I walk away. The trick is similiar to dueling a merc. Have af up at beginning of fight and maybe even engage first 2 swings to have them lose some endurance. once they haste, slam, slam, slam (3 times in a row since they are weak to crush), then start double healing because it will go fast from here usually. Since they are 2handed your shield should own them. Also when they haste sometimes it will lower thier weaponskill and you will block more (friar tried to explain how this happens but I didn't pay good attention).
3)Armsmen. Sword/shield no contest. I could run regen and go afk and probably win. Hybrid spec armsmen are harder, and its usually because you don't know they are hybrid untill they slam, phalanx or you style, and they switch to polearm for 44 move. If you know someone is hybrd spec or 44 pole its best not to style at first and just run af chant. af chant will help you block at best 1 out of every 2 moves they do while they have endurance, making it hard for them to chain. just swing away with no styles so they can't land 44 move and double heal yourself. when its time, slam, then turn on dmg chant, slam, slam and from half life this will put them down to 20% and you should be at about 80% health, then just finish them off.
4)Minstrels. really easy to beat. if you want to really piss them off run body chant and have thier nukes get resisted or hit for 64 dmg .
5)Other paladins. 2 hand paladins I will beat and end up at 100% health about 90% of time. sometimes they may land a hit , but then I just heal back up. other shield paladins I will beat if they are below 48 chants. other 48 chant paladins comes down to twisting, spec, skill and equipment. Dueled lots of paladins, some with exact same spec and still win. Why? my twisting is 2nd nature.
Hibernia
1)Heros really suck in duels, at least from my experiance. CS heros hit for like 150 dmg, large weapon, even crush dont' do alot of dmg and sword/shield heros will just die, but be long fight. Just double heal no worries here.
2)Champions. Champions are sketchy. Some are good, some are bad. I have not dueled one since endurance chant, but before It would allways be a close fight or I would own him. With endurance should be about 90% fight in my favor. just double heal and maybe engage at start.
3)Blademasters. They are weak to crush. slam, slam, slam. hell even slam the whole fight and just run endurance. do about 200+ dmg every time. lol.
4)Bards. Easy. double heal.
5)Wardens. Easy, double heal and use fast weapon. nothing else to it.
Midgard
1)warriors can get scarey if they slam then switch to 2hand. but if you double heal and dont' miss a beat, you should win. treat them like an armsman.
2)Thanes. lol. let them win so they don't delete.
3)Skalds. Somtimes they will like to gay you and snare adn kite, but from start of fight use engage and run heal and let them use mana/endurance on songs, then heal up. if they figure this out, just go to pure melee and double heal.
4)Zerkers. Only melee class I expect them to beat me. Left axe is vicious and so is thier dmg output. Some things yhou should do is save slam for when they gerbal, and if they purge turn on sprint and endurance and run in circles out of combat range. don't stand toe to toe with them in gerbal mode.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_Tips and Tricks_-_-_-_-_-_-
I mentioned earlier how you should get long wind and last endurance chant so you can sprint from lyonese to CS and back. well its very simple to do this. If you don't have long wind, but last endurance chant when you sprint your endurance bar stays the same. However if you have long wind 1 and last endurance chant, you gain endurance while sprinting with chant up. So by twisting endurance chant on and off about every 3-4 seconds, you dont' use power and your endurance will regen from the twisting. Once you get the hange of it you run anywhere you want, just involves twisting and longwind.
If your in a 1 on 1 with a tank in rvr and your low on health and nobody is attacking enemy. just engage and run heal. alot of paladins don't think of this but its good strategy.
Use reflect when soloing so you get bonus to defense. when i use reflect i gurantee i'll block/parry next round vs any con mob almost. with lvl 38 cleric buffs I soloed a hulk using this technique in DF. solo reds fine.
Use taunt to interupt bards and force them to burn those instants. or tuant then slam them. same goes for casters.
Wow this was long post, hope this helped at least 1 person
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Broc : Ciladric / OnK, Seigneur thauma et Palouf séniles. Cilte, Hérémage usé. Korrak Sorcier pas frais.
Orcanie : Zildjian, enchant assist-debuff bot. Tuya, arbuste.YS : Cactusodin, Bolt + assist-debuff bot.
Onk, Mage Général UD. Kael'thas.
Cactusmortel, nécromancien.Ishtar
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