Balanced Paladin Viable

[Strider_]

I am making a paladin mostly focused on tanking but able to dish out some damage and buffing capabilities. For that I made this distribution

 

M 14

C 10

D 10

P 15

I  13

R 16

 

However I've had bad experiences in other crpgs where I made characters that were complete unplayable. Is something like this viable or should I completely ditch dexterity in favor of other stats? Something like this:

 

 

M 14

C 10

D 5

P 17

I  14

R 18

Edited March 27, 2015 by Strider_

[Yvain]

I am curious of this as well.

[illathid]

I am making a paladin mostly focused on tanking but able to dish out some damage and buffing capabilities. For that I made this distribution

 

M 14

C 10

D 10

P 15

I  13

R 16

 

However I've had bad experiences in other crpgs where I made characters that were complete unplayable. Is something like this viable or should I completely ditch dexterity in favor of other stats? Something like this:

 

 

M 14

C 10

D 5

P 17

I  14

R 18

I'm having good luck with my balanced paladin right now. Stats are:

M 18

C 7

D 7

P 14

I  18

R 14

 

I could've taken Dex and Con down further, but I've found that hurts my fortitude and reflex scores too much and negates one of the great things about Paladins.

[Odd Hermit]

However I've had bad experiences in other crpgs where I made characters that were complete unplayable. Is something like this viable or should I completely ditch dexterity in favor of other stats? Something like this:

 

 

M 14

C 10

D 5

P 17

I  14

R 18

 

Will make an effective tank and give you good dialogue options. Don't expect great damage output though.

 

I'd wear a large shield and use a hatchet for maximum deflection, then swap to a good damage set-up when you don't need the high defenses. Grab weapon and shield style and cautious attack as first two talents IMO. 

Edited March 27, 2015 by Odd Hermit

[Yvain]

 

I am making a paladin mostly focused on tanking but able to dish out some damage and buffing capabilities. For that I made this distribution

 

M 14

C 10

D 10

P 15

I  13

R 16

 

However I've had bad experiences in other crpgs where I made characters that were complete unplayable. Is something like this viable or should I completely ditch dexterity in favor of other stats? Something like this:

 

 

M 14

C 10

D 5

P 17

I  14

R 18

I'm having good luck with my balanced paladin right now. Stats are:

M 18

C 7

D 7

P 14

I  18

R 14

 

I could've taken Dex and Con down further, but I've found that hurts my fortitude and reflex scores too much and negates one of the great things about Paladins.

 

Is int that high really worth it? 14 vs 18 you gain around .6 to your radius. Which is pretty small in game terms. The duration increase I feel are kind of negligible as well.

Edited March 27, 2015 by Yvain

[Odd Hermit]

High int is definitely not worth it, I tested this and the distance you can be away from the paladin aura isn't very far even with 20 int. You're never going to comfortably cover a balance party of ranged and melee with the whole thing unless you crowd together which isn't a good idea.

 

And Liberating Exhortation is good enough @ base duration really.

 

I'd take some Int only if for dialogue options on the PC, otherwise leave @ base of 10 or lower it a bit.

[Yvain]

Right now I am thinking

 

S 18

C 8

D 10

P 14

I  14

R 14

 

Great Sword for "reasons". Shared Front Line with Eder as the main tank. I had 12 int originally however as a front liner, the way the game seems to go having that bit of extra distance is helpful from the positioning most fights ended up in.

 

I played up to level 4 on hard with it. The difference in health is around 30 points. However, endurance is only 6. I don't think it will effect my regular survivability in each individual fight.  Still throwing the idea around.

[Gromnir]

I am making a paladin mostly focused on tanking but able to dish out some damage and buffing capabilities. For that I made this distribution

 

M 14

C 10

D 10

P 15

I  13

R 16

 

However I've had bad experiences in other crpgs where I made characters that were complete unplayable. Is something like this viable or should I completely ditch dexterity in favor of other stats? Something like this:

 

 

M 14

C 10

D 5

P 17

I  14

R 18

beginning attributes are important, but not nearly as important as ability and talent choices will eventually become.  people fixate on poe starting attributes, but that is a mistake.  

 

use the companions as a comparison.  the chanter companion, kana, has useful attributes for a chanter.  is not ideal attributes, but his attribute spread is better than most o' the joinable npcs.  however, what is the point o' good attributes if kana's abilities are cringe worthy? am gonna need a few level-ups to make kana genuine useful to us. eder, on the other hand, has crummy starting attributes for the tank role we wish for him to fill.  nevertheless, he gots ok starting talents and abilities (though ruffian weapon focus is perplexing) and as soon as we added the defender ability, he became more than satisfactory in his role.  folks is complaining about aloth attributes, but a poe wizard is far more  a function o' his spell selection than anything else.  we gave the joinable wizard slicken at the first opportunity and with discovered spell books we have been able to add a few other o' our favorite spells.  aloth attributes has not prevented him from being a major contributor. am much concerned about grieving mother. if we don't get her soon, she may be too level'd to be useful.  is not her stats that will make her useless, but rather her talent and ability selection.  unlike a wizard, we can't simply add the "spells" we want to he repertoire.

 

also, with 11 classes, there was a need to make each class distinct from each other.  make distinct is functional resulting in greater specialization.  the poe  paladin's role is that of a low maintenance support class that is excellent in defense.  if you wish to make a paladin that does jaw-dropping damage, you are gonna need work very hard at it, and you still won't be as good as a rogue.

 

you are gonna have a difficult time making a character genuine unplayable because of your starting attribute selections, regardless o' how borked they may appear to some o' the mechanics junkies who post on these boards.  on the other hand,  if you is building a character that don't exactly coincide with the role obsidian chose for your chosen class, you is gonna need be a bit more thoughtful with your talent and ability choices.  

 

HA! Good Fun!