Asking for Paladin advice

[Ziuwaz]

Hello everyone!

 

Once more I am looking to get into new and cool builds. For all the hundreds of hours i played PoE1 I never got into Paladins and I wanted to change that! My experiments with hired companions weren't too impressive and so I have come to the experts on this forum to ask once more for help... I read somewhere that DPS Paladin builds are meh until you reach higher levels and it's recommended to off-tank before arriving there, confirmation?

 

I'd love to build a Paladin that...

 

...is able to deal damage, should be closer to dps than off-tank, doesn't need to be a rogue or monk though

...is preferably dual-wielding (not mandatory)

...is possible without dumping my stats into oblivion (Immersion)

...is PotD- and NPC-party-viable

 

(Even though it's the wrong forum: Bonus points: importing this char to Deadfire, good multiclassing suggestions? Looking at you, Paladin/Rogue.)

 

 

Thank you guys so much for your guidance/ideas!

Edited March 27, 2019 by Ziuwaz

[Boeroer]

You could do the following:

 

MIG: 15

CON: 10

DEX: 15

PER: 15

INT: 15

RES: 8

 

Order: Bleak Walker or Goldpact Knight (Variant A) or Darcozzi Paladini (Variant B)

 

Abilities:

• Flames of Devotion
• Zealous Focus
• Sworn Enemy (A) or Liberating Exhortation (B)
• Lay on Hands (A) or Sworn Enemy (B)
• Coordinated Attacks
• Inspiring Triumph
• Sacred Immolation
• Abjuration

 

Talents:

• Remember Rakhan Field/Enduring Flames (A), Inspiring Liberation (B)
• Intense Flames
• Weapon Focus Adventurer
• Scion of Flames
• Runner's Wounding Shot
• Two-Handed Style
• Savage Attack
• Apprentice's Sneak Attack

In Defiance Bay, choose the Doemenel route to get Merciless Hand. In Twin Elms, side with the looters to get Dungeon Delver.

 

Key items: Belt of the Deadfire Cannoneer, Forgemaster Gloves, Spectacular Spetum, Blade of the Endless Paths

 

You will have Spectacular Spetum and Blade of the Endless Paths as weapon choices. Both grant +10 ACC to an ally who targets the same enemy as you. This also works for spells etc. This is EXTREMELY good against tough enemies which are hard to hit. If you have any ally in the party who can debuff an enemy (hard CC like stun or paralyze are awesome - but also blind etc. works well - providing a severe drop of defenses) you should attack a tough enemy with Spetum or Blade (depends if the enemy is more vulnerable to slash/crush or pierce - most of the time the Blade will be best). It's enough to point+click on that enemy - you don#t have to actively swing at it to give the nearest ally who also attacks this target +20 ACC (or +30 if you used a Darcozzi). It's just imporatent to not cancel the attacks for doing something else which is not aggressive (this will cancel the ACC bonus for your ally).

 

Your ally then casts his (hard) CC onto the enemy which will most likely hit or even crit.

 

Now it's time to decide if you want to summon Firebrand (not while your ally is casting: will cancel the ACC bonus) to finish the enemy off very quickly with Flames of Devotion - or to stick to your current weapon and finish the job. It depends on the stage of the game and on the immunities/DR of the enemy - and on how much endurance he has left. Don't put too much thought into it and go by intuition.

 

Thing with Firebrand is that it has enormous base damage compared to other weapons and thus works very well with all dmg bonuses - it also has double crit damage. You can enhance this further with Merciless Hand etc. If you do hard-CC your enemy you will be landing crits a lot more often (debuffed defeneses meet your overall very high ACC with Flames of Devotion) which means that this enemy will die very quickly.

 

That's against tough enemies. Against weak mobs or enemies with low defenses you can summon Firebrand right away if they are not immune to fire. Scrap the additional +10 ACC for your allies and go right to town with that burning blade.

 

In the late game with all the Durgan Steel and lashes on your weapons you might feel that Firebrand doesn't do that much more dps compared to a fully upgraded Blade. You can then switch the Forgemaster Gloves for Gauntlets of Swift Action and only summon Firebrand as backup once you meet foes who are vulnerable to fire (hello White March).

 

The thing with Firebrand is that it's very strong in the early to late mid game. And with Belt + Gloves you get 6 casts per rest which ususally is enough to use it in all encounters until you rest. 

 

The stacking of Marking, Coordinated Attacks (and with B Inspiring Exhortation) means you are also a supporter - but a selfish one because you want to profit from the "supported" CC.

 

Of yourse you can also use that ACC boost to support the dps of your ally. FOr example it's quite easy for a fighter to prone dragons with an Overbearing Weapon (We Toki for example) if they get +30 ACC from you - while you also hack away at the dragon.

 

If you combine this support with a Priest whi uses Inspiring Radiance (+10 ACC) and Devotions (+20 ACC) which will stack with it - and/or a Cipher with Tactical Meld (+20 ACC, stacks with your support) you will have a very easy time hitting/critting even the most toughest enemies while also do good melee damage.

 

You are not a healer though - nor are you a tank. So don't jump right into the middle but play more like a flanker. Paladins are ok off-tanks even when picking no defensive talents whatsoever. But don't overdo it.

 

If you find yourself flanking a lot (or have a Cipher with Phantom Foes) you might want to use the Survival bonus that gives you +dmg on flanked targets and wear and item (like Glanfathan Stalking Boots) while swinging Firebrand. It stacks with Apprentice's Sneak Attack and works beautifully with Firebrand's high base dmg.
Else the ACC bonus from Survival is also great. Just note that there's none against kith, so in that case the flanking bonus is better.

 

For Deadfire you can then use a Holy Slayer (Paladin/Rogue). Those are a very nice combo of sturdyness and dmg output since the combination of high lashes (Paladin) with high dg bonuses (Rogue) is very potent. Subclasses like Assassin or Streetfighter come to mind. Unfortunately there's not items in Deadfire that summons Firebrand for you might want to pick one if the many Estocs, Pollaxes and Great Swords to keep the style. You can reforge the Blade ofthe Endless Paths for example. It's a good weapon and fits well. 

 

You could also try a Paladin/Druid (Liberator). You could summon Firebrand then in every encounter. In Deadfire summoned weapons scale with char level so it will keep being viable until the end. It has an inherent lash so it's quite good. It also works with the Ring of Focused Flame (+10 ACC always) and Scion of FLame (+1 Penetration).

The Druid part won't add a lot of melee bonuses besides Firebrand, but he can be used to heal and put out CC very well.

 

Holy Slayer would do a lot more melee damage, Liberator would be a lot more versatile (healing, support, CC, dmg).

Edited March 28, 2019 by Boeroer

[Ziuwaz]

Wow, what an incredible answer to my question! Path A seems really intriguing and I'l definitly try it out. Thank you very much for taking the time to write this extensive build/guide. It helps a lot! I feel like I really needed the Paladin "guidance", only now I realise how I've never properly used Pallegina...

[DEFO]

thx boeroer :D