Why no palies?

[Jaleth]

Originally Posted by Feanol [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I know this isn't a direct answer to the OP, but just had some thoughts bubbling as I read through the thread to this point.

I think the reason you see few Paladins is a classic example of the self-fulfilling prophecy.

People looking for advice on what class to play hear bad things about Paladins. Less players start Paladins. Less Paladins means there are fewer experienced ones playing to ask for class advice. It all just builds on itself to the point where new Paladins are having to find their way in the dark without a large Paladin community familiar with tactics and gearing.

And of course, a clever and attentive Paladin is better than some half-afk Enchanter or Shaman. This game has good players, not good classes.


As a side note, fuck fighting a Paladin on Red. Exercise in futility.

QFT

There were so many community websites for classes out there. I would frequent Paladins of Norrath from lore to tactics and advice. It was a plethora of knowledge that I would turn to nearly on a daily basis.
With the information we gained there, to actively seeking advice from higher level paladins in game we grew in knowledge, therefore efficiency. I always enjoyed passing down that knowledge to other paladins, and directing them to sites that could help them grow.

I believe shadow knights had something similar, Evilgamerz or something like that

[captnamazing]

Originally Posted by Ronnie328 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I saw an epic erudite pally the other day. The experience itself was epic.

You must be talking about Sadad!

[Vexenu]

Paladins are amazing group tanks. They're up there with Bards and Enchanters in terms of how much they can singlehandedly carry a group through skillful play. Huge skill ceiling on the class, and very dependent on the player's attention to detail. People don't appreciate how ridiculously powerful root and stun are, especially on a tank. You just completely shut down caster mobs with stun, while root allows you total control over mob positioning and makes managing adds/mutiple pulls/group caster agro almost painless. Heals, lulls, rez, LoH and Cleric buffs are just icing on the cake.

The reason no one plays them is because they really aren't good for anything else besides group tanking. They're one of the worst solo classes, one of the worst raid classes, one of the worst plat-farming classes and one of the worst duo/trio classes. When I play my Paladin and do anything besides tank in a dungeon group I feel like a fish out of water. But when I am tanking for a dungeon group, I feel almost godlike. They're just extremely specialized.

[pharmakos]

i was going to say paladins do pretty well in duos, but then i realized the best classes they duo with are also the best solo classes, lol.

but yeah, paladin + enchanter and paladin + necromancer are tight! especially paladin + necromancer can easily tackle a lot of dungeon content that neither one would be able to manage on their own.

[Kennie]

I'm a paladin! Someone sell me a book of scale

[Swish]

Originally Posted by Danth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

If the Paladin has a tougher time keeping up in the above group, at least he can; the Shadow Knight can't do much of anything at all to save an Enchanter who's at 20% life because the Cleric was tabbed out reading Reddit instead of actually healing.

Darkness and fear, and the enchanter won't have aggro anyway if you're shadow vortexing while that mob was mezzed.

The Shadow Knight certainly can't provide any buffs when the group has to settle for a Druid healer instead of a Cleric, and has some difficulty with interrupting caster or healer opponents (it can, but snare/fear requires a lot of setup time and isn't always practical in some tight spaces).

SLN/Natureskin is no bad substitute, l2druid.

Take casters first unless the enchanter wants to ToT...if its that bad you just ask your monk/other melees to get on the same side. Casters have no HP, and as a rogue I've regularly pushed from the front and switched briefly to backstab when it pops.

Nor can the SK help out all that well with crowd control in groups that lack a mezzer

Wave of Enfeeblement, shadow vortex as a follow up...if the group doesn't have someone willing to root then you're in a bad group anyway.

or do much to reduce damage intake when the slower's too lazy to bother actually slowing anything and the healer's struggling for mana.

Chain lifetapping isn't a stun, but it can save a wipe.

The Shadow Knight maintains marginally higher popularity simply because it solos better and has (arguably) a slightly better raid role.

Ask yourself why that is.



next

[Danth]

Swish, I play both classes extensively. So do others in this thread. You don't. My Shadow Knight has been my main on P99 for the past four years or so. It's been level 60 for most of that. Yours never even made 60 at all. Some of what you're saying seems either mistaken or based on pride; you come across as an enthusiastic class partisan who "discovered" the SK. I'm glad for your fun, but don't let your enthusiasm cloud your rationality.

A) "SLN/Natureskin is no bad substitute, l2druid."

Eh? Most Paladin buff lines stack with Druid and Shaman buffs. Don't even try telling me the puller or Enchanter won't appreciate having hundreds extra hit points.

B) "Darkness and fear, and the enchanter won't have aggro anyway if you're shadow vortexing while that mob was mezzed."

Darkness and fear takes too long in that situation. 20% low HP aggro overrules all other aggro, and you know full well that bad things happen sometimes--unless you're going to claim that nobody has ever died in your groups, a claim that'll get you laughed at if you try to make it.

C) "if the group doesn't have someone willing to root then you're in a bad group anyway."

Well yes--that's the point. Do you only join optimal, perfectly balanced groups full of motivated players who never go AFK and always pay 100% attention? This is the real world, not theorycraftland. Some groups suck.

D) "Chain lifetapping isn't a stun, but it can save a wipe."

Rarely, yes, I've done so myself, but I'm not sure if you have a point there. I've saved a lot more wipes on my Paladin. The SK's much better at helping recover once wipes occur, though.

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Saying the Paladin's the better group tank as a whole doesn't mean it's always better 100% of the time. Much of the time they're basically equal. There are even some situations where the Shadow Knight's the better choice. I have an easier time on my SK in really-fast-paced groups. It can serve double-duty as a feign puller when necessary (I was in such a group just last night). It tends to be favored in some camps due to snare.

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Pharmakos--Paladin/Enchanter is a strong duo. I don't mention it simply because it's a little one-sided; the Enchanter would nearly always favor having a Cleric instead. Likewise the Necromancer will usually favor having someone else first as well. Conversely, Monk Shaman and Shadow Knight/Shaman are both strong duos and I know quite a few Shamans who prefer the latter.

Danth

[phacemeltar]

I main healed mistmore CE as 39 paladin for 2 hours the other day. group comp was 2x rangers, warrior, sk, enc. the sk refused to help heal. that is all.

[REMEZ]

PS3 is better than xbox
coke is better than pepsi
my dad is stronger than yours

[Arteker]

sks more desirable in raid scene than paladins ? uhm?.

1- excellent off tanking abilitys . snap agro make paladins excellent for these trash mobs u want tashed , maloed slowed asap without losing a enchanter or shaman. this is easy to accomplish with a paladin .

2- patch healing, a lvl 60 paladin can help patch heal either a a mt or group mates or a rampage tank .

3- buffer, paladin assist with buffs either divine strengh or if the situation is hard to help with naltron symbol.

4- emergency rez , 90s rez for battle rez if no enough cleric in a chain .

5- loh .
6- aoe popper u want a class to pull xx mob and pop the aoe? paladin can achieve this by using his 60 disc or da .
7- counter trainer , pull botch , lots of people with agro, drop a rune and group heal pop da and run with shit away . /consent random monk rogue