Note that just because you *can* solo something doesn't mean you're going to want to. Paladin damage output doesn't keep up with monster hit point scaling past the low to mid 40's. By the early 50's it'll take a Paladin so long to kill something by himself that I no longer rate it as a particularly useful means of gaining experience.
For most of the leveling process I consider the Paladin a superior tank relative to both the Warrior and Shadow Knight. The Paladin can control a situation and protect his group in ways those other classes cannot.
The Paladin's primary weakness is that the class stagnates at 50+ and goes into decline at very high levels. The offensive spells (undead nukes) don't scale well enough to be particularly valuable at 60. The lull spell line becomes increasingly hazardous as monster magic resistance increases and doesn't work on 55+ monsters. Stuns don't work on most important targets either (giants, dragons, anything 55+). The Paladin is my favorite class in EQ, but it's not a class I've any interest in taking to 60 during this game era.
I advise skipping the Armor of Ro except possibly for the chest and legs since those slots are hard for a Paladin to fill. Due to how P1999 models armor, you need to stack a lot of AC before you notice good effect from it. Deepwater armor is perfect for that. I recommend aiming for a minimum of 200 worn AC by level 50 and 250 worn AC by level 60. If you can scrounge up more than those minimums, so much the better.
Danth
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