[Class Build] Dracozzi Paladini aka the PC paladin

[MoxyWoo]

So Dracozzi like Passionate/Clever responses... the acronym is PC... hence the PC paladin.

 

This is just my fun build I used on normal and with a lower micromanage than other classes.  I still think paladins need a buff or bug fixes on stacking overall but I'll at least try to highlight some things.

 

Moon God Like [Living Lands]

Might 19

Con 5

Dex 19

Per 3

Int 15

Res 17

 

(Stats were all over the place because I thought maybe I'd want to switch to being a damager with my other ranged DPS at some point and high dexterity would help that way, and thus give them Zealous auras, but see below...).  I also noticed with the paladin's conviction bonuses as a main PC I was actually better as an offtank.  You get 1 tank companion, 1-2 physical dd, and the other 5-6 are fragile DPS or support, so the one gap in my line was getting one more off tank that didn't need much baby sitting.

 

Offtank version

1.  Flames of Devotion: 2/enc, the burn acts as lash damage so is added before DR which is nice.  Lash weapons make this check as normal though.

-Typically, you have 2 weapon sets, 1 dual wielding 2 average weapons for a burst via this skill, and the other using the offsworn buckler and a drain weapon.

 

2.  Fires of Dracozzi Palace:  When using the above, +5 Freeze Damage Threshold, and 15 second (+int modifier) Fire shield.  This gives 10 base dmg (+might modifier) as far as I can tell.  Basically, you start retaliating nicely for all of act 1, and with Moon God-like you can actually take the hits.

-Additionally, you can stand inside a chill fog from Aloth with little damage using Eder's saint armor.  As this build is an offtank on the front lines, it works out nicely.

 

3.  Zealous Focus:  +6 accuracy for the group that actually stacks with Durance's Inspiring Radiance but none of his other spells.

-I'm not sure if my playthrough is bugged, but I was able to keep most of my group under this buff as long as I had the ring of overseeing on as well as +2 int item.  That said, without both 17+ int and overseeing, I could barely effect Eder at first despite the 15 int and one item or the other.

[Offsworn buckler and the DR belt is available around this time from the merchant in Gilded Vale]

 

4.  Vulnerable Attack:  -20% attack speed, -5 Damage threshold bypass.

-Purely for convenience of burning a little faster via Fires of Dracozzi or doing a big hit with Flames of Devotion.  Also, I just couldn't decide on a weapon group so a focus could go here for people who know the game better than me but having retaliation so early was a nice feature of this build.

 

5.  Liberating Exhortation:  Setup for the other Dracozzi talent, actually quite horrible to use for anything else.

-So situational it almost made me want to reroll, but it becomes better with...

 

6. Inspiring Liberation:  +10 accuracy for 20 seconds (+int modifiers) is quite beastly.

-This is where the build ends, most of the other talents and skill picks are up to the individual, and even the other lvl 4 pick is debatable with things like Hold the Line, Weapon/Shield, Scion of Flame and other more tanking talents.  I just wanted to preserve the jack of all trades feel.

 

This build actually does feel like a paladin that does the support and offtank.  Moon Godlike gives you incredible heals for the entire group (thus less micromanaging), makes you a viable offtank despite being 20 or so deflection behind Eder, and finally having retaliation much earlier than other classes is good too.  The only real con was constitution (pun intended) due to almost going through my health, (not endurance) so I would need to rest every so often from that rather than running out of spells or similar.

 

[Please note though, its only because I used the master race Moon God-like, played a PC paladin on normal, and similar choices to make my game play easier that this build felt good.  I still think paladins need a buff overall, but this is the one build that actually jived with my playstyle and after Act 1, "everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of the team."]

Edited April 16, 2015 by MoxyWoo