New to PoE, would love some advice

[tearran]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just started playing Pillars of Eternity, I have to say I love the story!

 

I am having issues though, with being happy with my PC, Combat and Party Composition / Micro.

 

First off I have to say that I can't seem to find a role for my PC that I like. Being used to Divinity OS where I could sort of be anything has made choosing a niche role difficult for me. Upon doing research I can only really find info about builds from 2015, and the game seems to have changed a lot since then.

 

I was hoping to build an all around melee character, someone who could essentially deal out as much damage as they can take. For role-play purposes I was thinking of a Warrior Priest from Warhammer.  A character who's power in melee came from his faith in his beliefs (also flaming war hammers imbued with the strength of a god is pretty cool) and can take the strongest enemies head on (i.e tank them)

 

This naturally lead me to think a Paladin would be the right fit. I've played a bit with a paladin thus far but it seems melee support is the only thing I can do, and I don't get to have much fun in combat. I'm stuck playing a party wizard (a class I care little for) most of the time.

 

Is there a way to make my Paladin more punchy and active in combat? I don't much care for min maxing and I don't plan on playing on anything other then normal so he doesn't have to be over the top.

 

I was thinking of building a Paladin around flames of devotion and Crits, using flame enchanted weapons, Intense Flames, Enduring Flames, Scion of Flame. 

 

Do you think as someone who wants to be melee focused I would be better off with a Barbarian or DPS built Fighter? I really want to make my PC feel like a leader and hero, not just another party member.

 

Also, is there a way to build a party that inst relying on my controlling wizards and priests? I'm trying to make use of the AI but I don't want to die horribly because I forget to go back to one of them to cast a critical spell?

 

 

TLDR - Is it possible to have fun with a PC Paladin that does good alpha (or even DPS or should I just focus on a barb or fighter for my melee fun. Also whats the best set up so that I don't have to focus on Mircoing my casters (should I dump them and play a full melee party?) Playing on Normal Difficulty.