Difference between revisions of "Paladin"

Revision as of 08:42, 25 July 2011

A melee fighter with a few magical attacks, the Paladin can battle the demons on his own, or use his magics to ennoble his party to new levels of ferocity.

Background

The Knights of Westmarch who felled the armies of mighty Leoric are pure at heart and closely follow the teachings of Zakarum, the Religion of the Light. A battle-ready warrior for whom faith is a shield, the Paladin fights for what he believes to be right. His steadfastness gives him powers to bestow blessings to his friends and wreak cruel justice on foes. There are those who call the Paladin an overwrought zealot, but others recognize in him the strength and goodness of the Light.

Statistics

Faster Cast Rate

The Faster Cast Rate mod affects Holy Shield, Blessed Hammer, and Fist of the Heavens, as well as any skills granted you by an item (eg. Teleport, War Cry, and so on).

Faster Block Rate

Holy Shield reduces your block speed to 2 frames by default, breakpoints for such are in line 3 of the following chart.

*Holy Shield only

Faster Hit Recovery

Very popular in PVP circles, this shortens the time it takes for you to recover from a severe hit.

History

During the mid-twelfth century, after the Church of Zakarum had gained prominence in the East, the Church decreed that the visions of Akarat would be spread throughout the known world in order to redeem the masses. Thus, the church selected a group of its most charismatic and devoted priests and sent them on a mission to proselytize the people of the West.

Unfortunately, the Church had not prepared these men for the rigors of travel or the hazards of the world. Those priests who survived their missions recounted tales of harsh weather, inadequate supplies, attacks from bandits, and even encounters with horrible monsters. To ensure the success of future missions, the Church set about training holy warriors, Paladins, to accompany and safeguard their missionaries. These "Protectors of the Word" proved to be more successful at converting the native peoples than the Priests they were assigned to defend. Impressing the locals with daring deeds, powerful weapons, and martial prowess was far more convincing than the condemnations of a soft-spoken monk. However, once the Word had been spread to every major city of the West, the Protectors of the Word faded from public view.

Some decades later, Paladins were again called into service. During the height of the Time of Troubles, the Church commenced a second campaign of conversion. This time, however, unconvincible were deemed to be evil. The Zakarum inquisition, spread through the lands like a tempest, laying waste to all suspected of demonic possession or corruption. Leading this crusade was a new generation of Paladins, known as the "Hand of Zakarum". These cavaliers of righteousness swept through the lands, expunging the taint of demonic contamination wherever they found it.

In the midst of this bloody crusade, a rebellion arose within the ranks of the Paladins of Zakarum. The rebels condemned the methods of the Inquisition, proclaiming that their new Order of Paladins should protect the innocent, and that the evil corruption they fought was merely evidence of their forebear's failure. They resolved to fight the true source of corruption. The Three Prime Evils - Diablo, Baal, and Mephisto. And so, these rebellious Paladins left their Zakarum brethren and ventured West.

Traits and Abilities

Paladins use holy magic as gifted by the High Heavens. They must maintain strictly ordered lives, constantly upholding the cause of Virtue and Light. They must never succumb to worldly temptations lest they risk being deceived into following false lights -- demons masquerading as heavenly beings.

Paladins may use their skills to increase their prowess with sword and shield, as well as lend blessing "Auras" to themselves and to any who join them. They are particularly effective against the Undead, as they know many holy incantations effective against these creatures.

Takes on the Paladin

There are many different Paladin builds, such as: Hammerdin, Auradin, Vengadin/Avenger, Zealot (or Zealadin), Zealot Vengadin, Smiter, Dragon Paladin (or Dragadin).

Many of the build names are based on the type of attack they use:

Auradin

Combines different types of runewords: normally, a Dream helmet, Dream shield, Dragon armor, Hand of Justice or Grief sword, and other things. It uses mostly runewords that add extra auras.

Dragon Paladin

Uses Holy Fire. Most of their damage comes from their equipment. They normally use a Hand of Justice weapon, Dragon armor, and Dragon shield—all which give a high level Holy Fire.

Hammerdin

Combines Blessed Hammer and other synergies to increase the damage and often reach over 13 000 damage.

Vengadin

Uses Vengeance combined with its other synergies. They also use Conviction to easily beat monsters with immunities.

Smiter

Uses Smite along with its synergies. Good Smiters often use expensive gear such as an exile shield.

Zaladin

Uses Zaladar a form of spear fighting with auras and seals. This is by far the best build of any build that any class can pick. A lesser known fact is that Zaladins increase the drop rate rare items.

Zealot

Uses Zeal to do many hits before the monster can even think about it. The Paladin also complements the Zeal ability with Fanaticism for very quick and effective blows. Zeal can also be combined with elemental auras for fire, frost or lighting damage.

Zealot Vengadin

Uses both Zeal and Vengeance quick blows and elemental damage including the skills that stack on them.