60 Paladin gear - need advice on upgrades ! (tradable or one grouped items)

[Dwarvesareop]

Hey all,

I just hit 60 with my paladin and I was wondering how I could upgrade my gear with tradable items (or no drop items that could be obtained with one group, not talking about raid stuff).

Here is my magelo :
https://wiki.project1999.com/Magelo_Blue:Magelo_Blue:Jonsno

Do you guys have any idea to upgrade my gear, with stuff that could be obtained with one group or bought at EC (I only have 10k in bank atm).

Most of my stuff is the Enchanted Dwarven set (without WIS), so I know I could already get the WIS set (enchanted imbued), but I guess WIS is not the priority for a pally...

Thanks for help !

[Jimjam]

What do you feel holds your paladin back in the content you would like to be doing?

[Shodo]

Fingerbone Hoop and Lodizal Shell Shield would both be good upgrades, as well as a +6 talisman from Western Wastes dragons. More resists and AC in general are what I would shoot for.
You can also do Coldain Ring through 9th with one group (maybe 2 for plate cycle depending on levels) and you can start on Eyepatch of Plunder (soloable other than Lodi bit camps are a pain). Could grind faction in Droga to get ready for Aegis of Bathezid (name?) when Chardok 2.0 gets released.
For the visible dwarven pieces there really isnt a lot better until Skyshrine quest armor but you can buy MQs for that stuff for 5k to 15k minus BP and legs.

Tldr; look at my magelo, most of it is from 1 groupable content or purchaseable. Get more resists and shoot for 270 worn AC.

[Danth]

The dwarven cultural plate can be difficult to replace. Any lower-end replacement will likely involve sacrificing some magic resist. The main stat you're presently lacking seems to be armor; 236 worn AC is quite low for a level 60 tank. I can list some obvious options.

Ear: Black sapphire electrum.
Face: Crystal Spider Eyes, optionally Matchless Dragonskin Mask.
Back: White Bear Pelt Cloak
Shoulder: Dragonwing Mantle (heavy or better)
Wrist: Silver Chitin Wristband
Legs: Dragonleg Breeches (peerless or better)
Hands: Kobold Bone Gauntlets (this is very cheap), optional Crystal Chitin gauntlets
Feet: Barbed Dragonscale Boots
Weapon: Sword of Blessings (nodrop, from Velketor's)

Obtaining all of the above would result in gaining a fair amount of AC plus some hit points. I listed absolutely no quest MQ's; Thurgadin armor MQ's would provide obvious upgrades for the chest, legs, and helm, at least. The cost of obtaining all of these items (or other equivalents) will be higher than your present 10K budget, but that merely means it's something to work towards. Every item listed above satisfies the requirement of being either obtainable by a full group or less, or able to be purchased.

Shodo's suggested items are generally better than what I list here, but typically are vastly more expensive or require far more effort to obtain. Those are good items for a longer-term outlook.

Danth

[XnderXcore]

This is my base. http://wiki.project1999.com/Magelo_Blue:Magelo_Blue:Tearsin_Rain you can tell I haven't done much Velious content. I just returned to the game not long ago so I am working on it. Gearing a Paladin for raids is easy. Resist gear, and more resist gear. You're not going to tank dragons, ever. Gear your stats for survival in raid situations. Gearing for group content is easy. As long as your Cleric pals don't say 'Hey, you're squishy as fuck' you'll be just fine.

[Dwarvesareop]

Thanks for answers,

I'll try to buy 2 Black Sapphire Electrum Earring and Crystal Chitin gauntlets for now.
I'll probably go to Velks later to farm 2 Silver Chitin Wristband and a Sword of Blessings

[Beastagoog]

@OP the fact that you have 88 wisdom is shocking. Your mana pool must last the extent of about 4 heals, and you must be thirsty as fuck for med breaks during group content.


----

in general:



all your paladin's are bad because you haven't invested your efforts in to their manapools.

paladin/sk can tank the content they are meant for well in kunark gear ( they aren't raid tanks with the exceptions of Kunark aka 32k hp mobs ).

post that if you don't have access to high end velious gear you want to build your paladin around a mana pool.

the difference between having +50 ac and 20 stm vrs 20 wisdom base and +100 mana cannot be related, a mana build is simply the best way to build a Paladin/SK.

a knights' power is based entirely on it's manapool, with the exception of the very, very rare raid tanking chance and then all you need to do is survive the total hit amounts per round and keep agro which....if you think about it a 3.5k hp necro could do with sufficient healing...but they cant keep the agro.

How do I know this? because I had a velious geared Paladin, and a kunark geared Paladin had a better mana pool than mine.

you're not there to do damage so you can fuck strength right off, you got yaulp anyhow +40 str. (http://wiki.project1999.com/Yaulp_IV)
stacking stamina is gunna give you shit all returns, 10 stm = 52 hp. so by the time you stack 100 stm you gained a total of 520hp

that's equivilant to 1 heal......if you spent your time more wisely and stacked wisdom you're mana pool would be probably 600-700-800 more and that's between 2-3 heals extra.

( you gotta think outside the box boys )

WISDOM>STM>STR should be the order you stack stats in as a paladin

a 2k hp 3.5k mana pool base paladin is gunna do a lot more than a 2.5 khp 2k mana pool paladin....the end of the debate.

[Beastagoog]

also to all the people that go " boo hoo /cry " you need strength for agro because damage = agro.

Guess what, you have the best friggen agro spell in the game called Flash of Light..

[Beastagoog]

3x rage post:

http://wiki.project1999.com/Magelo_Blue:Mandak

I'd fuck off the idol of thorn and get that +18 wisdom sea meat idol, you'll find you should get almost 250 mana from it iirc aka one more HoT/sup heal outta your paladin: vrs 50hp and a tiny increase to your damage output

in addition keeping with your "group theme only" i'd fuck off the DW bracer and get one of those + 12wisdom bracers from WW dragons.

Those two items alone will now get you to 159+12+18 = 189 wisdom and you can prob afford 2 more heals outta your paladin. ( that's 1k more healing potential or 1.4k-1.6k from your hots depending on ticks)

[Beastagoog]

https://wiki.project1999.com/Matchless_Dragonhorn_Bracers

+12 wisdom

[Beastagoog]

https://wiki.project1999.com/Obulus_Death_Shroud

+3 wisdom + 25 mana

[Beastagoog]

https://wiki.project1999.com/Othmir_Prexus_Totem

18 wisdom 20 stm

[Beastagoog]

if you added all those items to that Paladin you'd probably find you lost out on about 100-200 hp, some ac and a tiny tiny unnoticeable difference in the dps, but you gained easily an addition 1k-1.5k hp healing potential out of your paladin, and a longer duration between needing to med/survive etc etc etc etc


also this applies to OP

[Doctor Jeff]

As another long time paladin, this is completely accurate. Build a manapool or you're just a shitty warrior.

[Samaritan]

Thanks for answers,

I'll try to buy 2 Black Sapphire Electrum Earring and Crystal Chitin gauntlets for now.
I'll probably go to Velks later to farm 2 Silver Chitin Wristband and a Sword of Blessings

If you are going to Velks, you might as well farm the CC gaunts too.

The spawn for the mob that drops the gaunts, Crystal Eyes, and the Frenzied who drops the wristband are literally just a few EQ feet away from one another.

[Dolalin]

also to all the people that go " boo hoo /cry " you need strength for agro because damage = agro.

Just to clear up this misconception since I see it a lot... in raw melee, damage does not equal aggro. Swings per second + ratio on the weapon equal aggro. You will make the same agg with 1 str as you will with 255 str.

If it sounds counter-intuitive and illogical, that's because it is a bit. But that's how Everquest was coded.

[Shodo]

https://wiki.project1999.com/Othmir_Prexus_Totem

18 wisdom 20 stm

I'd love to, but unfortunately I don't have another 25k to pull out of my ass at the moment. Prioritizing wisdom is definitely the way to go, but only after meeting the minimum bench marks for AC and resists. Doesn't matter how many heals you add on to your mana pool if you're getting nuked and quadded to shreds.

[Danth]

I've never known mana pool to matter all that much except in raids where you're assigned as a tertiary healer and some solo situations, like PvP. In normal groups (and most any situation where you're assigned as tank) you're typically limited by mana regen rate, not pool size. The difference between, say, 1900 mana and 2300 mana for a tanking Paladin has never seemed relevant to me. The difference another 100 AC and 400 hit points can make can be relevant on a daily basis. In so many words, gear yourself for what you do.

Danth

[Troxx]

Skill aside, a good knight needs:

-sufficient AC to not be a mana sponge (not too hard as a plate class). Even beyond the point of "sufficient", you will still see a lot more return on ac than you will on seeking out good stamina items that are otherwise pretty crummy.

-"enough" HP to not be a mana sponge. This is only a factor when you have a cleric complete healing. Stacking stamina really does have pretty low returns prior to raid gear - you give up a lot in pursuing the fairly marginal return stamina actually gives you

-a good 1hander and a good shield. Knight dps is alway bad. Shield AC is always not subject to AC hard and soft caps, and always worth having unless the content is trivial for the group.

-a good base of int/wisdom. Deeper mana pool does not help you regain mana faster but it does let you go longer starting from full, makes it easier to maintain a reserve for emergency casting, and allows you to capitalize more on those moments where you do have extra down time.

-resists


For what it's worth (probably not much), building a paladin for routine content I would prioritize:

Good shield > AC to functional dropoff > raw hp (if it's a good item in other areas) >= Wis=resists > pumping up AC beyond that point of diminishing returns > stamina > all else

On raid targets and especially nasty caster content, bump resists further up

For a shadowknight? Probably less weight to intelligence as the uses for SK mana isn't as group oriented (buffs/heals). Then again, I haven't played a SK on p99.

Str does not affect threat from melee. Weapon ratio and haste are all that matter. A miss generates just as much threat as a hit.

[Sage Truthbearer]

You don't need a huge mana pool for most situations. However, it helps a lot when you're level 60 and raiding Velious-level content. Let's be honest, in ToV you're not going to be playing a significant role in raids except for patch healing, and that's where your mana pool comes in. When your group is eating tons of AoEs, every extra point of mana is critical because it means more HoTs you can cast. Paladins HoTs are actually pretty efficient and we are criminally underrated in our healing capability. I was able to easily keep my group topped off by myself on trash mobs and helped a ton on nameds too.

[Jimjam]

-a good 1hander and a good shield. Knight dps is alway bad. Shield AC is always not subject to AC hard and soft caps, and always worth having unless the content is trivial for the group.

This was a really good post (apologies for the snip, but it as also a long one)!

Just regarding the section quoted, do we have any confirmation this is the system used for shield AC on p99?

From my own reading, it seems at this point in time, shields shouldn't be using the counted twice/non cap system. Am I mistaken? Is there a way to easily verify if shields are using the count twice or uncapped systems (i.e without parsing)?