Need advice from the Beta Guys on my Paladin Build

[Torm51]

Hey guys!  I am looking forward to POE's release.  My question is if this build that I am thinking of for my first character is viable at all.  I have a Paladin Fetish so can you guess what the main character will be?  I was thinking of making him 1 of the 2 tanks I plan to have in the crew the other being a Fighter.  So defense focused, Dwarf Moonlike (heals for the party as I lose Endurance), Order: Kind Wayfarers for Strange Mercy Heals (I heard The Sword and the Shepherd is terrible at the moment but the idea sounds cool).  Is my thought process at least good? I just like playing Support/Tank Paladins a lot.  I know what a crap role to like eh? lol

 

Regards,

Andy

[Bazy]

It's viable.... If not one of the better tank options. 

 

You make make anything a decent tank. 

Edited February 12, 2015 by Bazy

[Namutree]

Perfectly fine build.

[Sock]

I've been playing with Paladin a lot more lately, trying to figure it out. As a main tank, they currently take a big hit in functionality simply due to their combat only aura mechanic. Everytime combat starts, they are stationary for ~1 second. In that one second, your enemies are rushing you, your backup is passing you, and you're entering a battle field that is already at least 50% static.

 

So, I really wouldn't recommend a paladin as your main tank. I have found that using a pike is very effective, as it allows your paladin to take advantage of the fact that they're joining the battle late, it balances itself very well and takes advantage of the range of the pike. Further, you can take the cautious fighting talent if you want to turn your paladin into an off-tank.

 

However, something to keep in mind is that you will very rarely be hit like this. Light armor, like padded or robes, or no armor at all might even be best for this build, but that's a high risk/high reward type of build, and you could be found with your pants around your ankles if your fighter gets overwhelmed.

 

If you're dead set on being in the thick of things, then consider dual wielding or a two handed weapon. Paladins have the ability to get very high defenses naturally, and a shield would be overkill in most cases. These are just my observations and impressions. Others may have developed their paladins differently and found great success, perhaps even avoiding the auras altogether.

[Namutree]

I've been playing with Paladin a lot more lately, trying to figure it out. As a main tank, they currently take a big hit in functionality simply due to their combat only aura mechanic. Everytime combat starts, they are stationary for ~1 second. In that one second, your enemies are rushing you, your backup is passing you, and you're entering a battle field that is already at least 50% static.

 

So, I really wouldn't recommend a paladin as your main tank. I have found that using a pike is very effective, as it allows your paladin to take advantage of the fact that they're joining the battle late, it balances itself very well and takes advantage of the range of the pike. Further, you can take the cautious fighting talent if you want to turn your paladin into an off-tank.

 

However, something to keep in mind is that you will very rarely be hit like this. Light armor, like padded or robes, or no armor at all might even be best for this build, but that's a high risk/high reward type of build, and you could be found with your pants around your ankles if your fighter gets overwhelmed.

 

If you're dead set on being in the thick of things, then consider dual wielding or a two handed weapon. Paladins have the ability to get very high defenses naturally, and a shield would be overkill in most cases. These are just my observations and impressions. Others may have developed their paladins differently and found great success, perhaps even avoiding the auras altogether.

The paladin is better at tanking than a DPS role. As a tank I find cautious attack to be a poor choice as it simply doesn't help much since the loss of DPS costs you, and a bonus to only deflection isn't all encompassing enough.

 

I would recommend a weapon and shield style WITH the weapon and shield style talent which gives +10 REFLEX as well as deflection. When distributing attributes buff RES and your will defense will be good; combine that with the buffed CON that one assumes any decent tank would have and your fortitude is quite high too. With this set up you will be quite the effective tank.

[Torm51]

Appreciate all the responses.  Is there anywhere I can find talent choices for classes other then the wiki?

[Namutree]

Appreciate all the responses.  Is there anywhere I can find talent choices for classes other then the wiki?

Not that I know of. In fact, I wouldn't trust the wiki as it is out of date. I just memorized the talents when I played the beta.

Edited February 13, 2015 by Namutree

[aeonsim]

They make decent tanks, the fact that there auras are combat only and thus stop them charging forward immediately only matters if your idea of how to play is to charge you melee characters straight at an enemy. If you prefer to position the party (in stealth if you want) then trigger combat with a spell or ranged weapon it has little or no impact, they'll be active by the time the enemies reach you, the biggest down side is that opening attack will miss the benefit of the aura.

In general they have been all round defences than any of the other classes, giving you better over all defences against all attack types (though individual party members may be better at a single defence), and if you want to you can build them so they have the highest deflection defence of all the characters (Good against nearly all weapons and some spells).

[Torm51]

I appreciate the responses guys.  Good to know that the class I always play is at least viable.  Maybe but not the best but can contribute.