Paladin
Class: Paladin
Description: Upholders of the Holy Light and defenders of the Alliance, the Paladins can be found from the northern forests of the Tirisfal Glades, fighting back the advance of the Forsaken, to the southern reaches of the Blasted Lands, ceaselessly upholding their vigil against demonic forces from beyond the Dark Portal. Wielding their mighty hammers and the strength of the Light, these holy warriors command forces in battle, all the while throwing themselves to where the fighting is the thickest.

From the October Issue of CGW: This Alliance-only class is the combination tank/buffer/healer. Heavy on defense, paladins can also create seals (fixed areas that provide benefits) and auras (the devotion aura in Warcraft III for example). Paladins can also imbune weapons with magical properties. Armor: Must begin as a chain class and work up to plate armor.

A Paladin?s Melee abilities draw on his mana pool. Some examples of melee abilities are Holy Strike , allowing a high damage melee attack, with an extra bonus versus Undead. Also, Fist of Justice will stun with intent to interrupt an enemy, possibly knocking opponents to the ground.

Of course Paladins have spell abilities. They can Lay on Hands , which will completely heal their target, but also totally drain their mana. LoH has a one hour cycle time. Paladins also have Holy Light , which is a heal spell line not quite as strong as the Priests. Paladins can also Purify , which dispels against detrimental spell effects on the group. They also get the ability to Resurrect at level 12, but it is not as efficient as the priest.

Paladins receive a line of abilities called Seals , which act as short duration enhancements. They may only place one Seal on a given player at a time, but two paladins can stack their Seals on the same player. Some examples of seals are:

Seal of Wisdom , most beneficial for casters, it gives an enhanced mana regeneration.
Seal of Might adds increased damage output.
Seal of Protection places a 5 second immunity from damage on the target.
Seal of Righteousness will increase a player?s damage versus the undead.
Seal of Fury places a hate enhancement buff on the target.

Paladins also have Auras , or group buffs similar to warrior shouts. Some Auras are:

Devotion , which will increase the party?s armor class.
Healing , adds health regeneration to the party.
Retribution , places a group damage shield around the party, damaging any attacking enemies.

Races: Humans , Dwarves
Primary Abilities:
Class Skills: Divine Shield, Devotion Aura, Holy Light

Upholders of the Holy Light and defenders of the Alliance, the Paladins can be found from the northern forests of the Tirisfal Glades, fighting back the advance of the Forsaken, to the southern reaches of the Blasted Lands, ceaselessly upholding their vigil against demonic forces from beyond the Dark Portal. Wielding their mighty hammers and the strength of the Light, these holy warriors command forces in battle, all the while throwing themselves to where the fighting is the thickest.

Paladins are an Alliance only class - the counterpart to the Horde only Shaman class. They serve the Alliance as the hybrid tank/healer. Although they don't have the same durability as the Warrior, they aren't far behind with all their buffs and healing spells. The Paladin is the only other class besides the Warrior that can wear plate armor, which will most likely be a very valuable defensive tool. Paladins can use swords and axes but start out with the ability to use only blunt weapons like maces.

The Paladin has a range of different types of attacks, which include holy magic, seals, auras and blessings. A Paladin uses mana to cast spells, with heals being the most expensive mana-wise. Because of this a Paladin can't be as mana-efficient when healing as a Priest can be.

A Paladin gains holy magic that is very similar to that which would be found in a Priest, yet at reduced effectiveness. Players of Warcraft III will recognize the spell Holy Light as one of the Paladin's abilities which heals the target for a set amount. Other abilities include Purify (remove negative effects) and Resurrect.

One of the more unique abilities that a Paladin gains is his use of Seals. Seals are basically short duration self-buffs that are limited to only one at a time. For example the Seal of Righteousness will give the Paladin a chance to add additional Holy damage each swing. If a Paladin attempts to cast more than one seal, it will simply overwrite the first one. Each Seal also can be "judged?on an enemy, turning the previous buffing Seal into a debuffing seal, which will negatively impact the enemy. For example, when the Seal of Righteousness is "judged? it will cause the target to be more susceptible to Holy damage.

A Paladin also has buffs to offer to a group, there are two different ones: Aura's and Blessings. Blessings are relatively short buffs, which never last more then 5 minutes. They are meant to give a class a temporary boost, so the Paladin can aid those around him. There are many Blessings to choose from, including Blessing of Might (increases attack power), Blessing of Wisdom (periodic mana regeneration), or Blessing of Light (target will be healed by a greater amount). A Paladin should choose wisely when dealing out the Blessings to the various classes.

Auras generally work to strengthen those around the Paladin according to the type of aura that was cast by applying to the Paladin and his or her nearby group members. In WoW, the Paladin will have a number of Auras to choose from, including Devotion Aura (increases armor), Concentration Aura (decreases the chance of spell interruption), or Retribution Aura (reflects damage). Different from Blessings, Auras do not have to be cast again, and do not cost any mana to cast.

In short, a Paladin is meant to aid those in combat, but is able to engage in combat as well. Their high survivability is their strength, their relatively low damage, and their inability to attack at range, is their weakness.

Holy


Holy provides spells that aid the paladin and other friendly targets. It includes spells like Holy Light and Lay on Hands, which heal other players, and Purify and Cleanse, which remove negative effects from other players, such as disease, poison, or magic effects. A protect spell, Divine Favor, protects the Paladin from physical attacks and spells for a limited time but does not allow him or her to attack. Holy also gives the Paladin the ability to resurrect other players through the Redemption spell. A number of spells that aid the Paladin against the undead are also provided. Exorcism and Judgement deal damage to undead, Sense Undead shows undead on the minimap, and Turn Undead causes an undead enemy to flee.