Paladin

• Leopher wrote on 2011-02-14 22:03
  I've been wondering what the best skills to rank for Paladin are and why. So far I've just assumed rank Spirit of Order for the HP and Stamina and to look better/more prestiges. Also, I use almost entirely melee and a little bit of bow now and then and a rare rank F Icebolt.
• Wing wrote on 2011-02-14 22:05
  You will rank them all sooner or later.. But rank power first.
• Cynic wrote on 2011-02-14 22:05
  Mmm. I'd say Power of Order for the STR and Will, and Sword of Order for the Damage/Wound. It might be good to rank Eye of Order if you have very erratic damage, however. But it depends on your stats.
• Shirayuki wrote on 2011-02-14 22:26
  Power then Sword of Order is what I'd do.
  
  /went dk immediately after power
• Fyois wrote on 2011-02-14 22:45
  I actually do it opposite, Sword then power. Sword because it adds raw damage and wound. But hey, I like wounds ^^
• Kaeporo wrote on 2011-02-14 23:05
  There's nothing wrong with ranking Spirit of Order first. It boosts your survivability by a significant amount while boosting/restoring stamina and mana.
  
  You should also let go of obtaining r1 everything. Offensive transformation skills tend to have diminishing returns at higher ranks. As an example, it's more efficient to obtain r5 Eye of Order/Power of Order and r9 Sword of Order than r1 Eye of Order/Sword of Order.
  
  Rank Paladin Natural Shield and Spirit of Order before you work on whichever offensive skill you chose to ignore (Eye of Order/Power of Order), otherwise you're going hybrid too early.
• Leopher wrote on 2011-02-15 01:36
  Thanks for the advice everyone. So does anyone have recommendations for an actual build? I was thinking I'll rank Power of Order first (maybe rank 9 or so?) and then Sword of Order (rank 9 again?). In fact, maybe I'll rank everything except for passive defenses to rank 1 first unless I find myself needing more HP and Stamina allot. A character still in the first Paladin form but with rank 1 everything else would be very sneaky and deceptive in pvp...
• Ryoko wrote on 2011-02-15 02:02

  Quote from PoLkaTulK;336335:

  Thanks for the advice everyone. So does anyone have recommendations for an actual build? I was thinking I'll rank Power of Order first (maybe rank 9 or so?) and then Sword of Order (rank 9 again?). In fact, maybe I'll rank everything except for passive defenses to rank 1 first unless I find myself needing more HP and Stamina allot. A character still in the first Paladin form but with rank 1 everything else would be very sneaky and deceptive in pvp...

  
  
  Most people would foil it either by your journal's total level or even CP mods. Balance everything out evenly, and then rank it as you go or something like that.
  
  For example, Rank one rank of each by one everytime you can rank something, choose that. Then altogether, they'll feel somewhat easier to rank. Or just cap something at a certain rank, and then do the other skills if you can resist ranking that other skill up for power even more.
• truefire wrote on 2011-02-15 02:18

  Quote from Fyois;336165:

  I actually do it opposite, Sword then power. Sword because it adds raw damage and wound. But hey, I like wounds ^^

  
  
  The raw damage that comes from str per rank of Power is higher than the raw damage that comes from Sword at any rank, for both min and max. Assuming Sword is still at rank F, the only time it yields a better return than Power is when Power is at rank 5, in which case you'd get more damage by ranking Sword from F to C than you would from ranking Power from 5 to 4, and for less levels. That is the only time; after that, Power of Order returns to being more melee-damage efficient from 4-1.
  
  On-topic: You don't have long to benefit from trans, so if you're going for broke, do so offensively first. Power (Eye if ranged) first, then Sword. Then Spirit. Then it's whatever you feel like. The only roles that should consider the offensive advantages of learning Spirit first are alchemists and mages. While Spirit is indeed a good tool for tanking/survivability, again remember that you don't have long to use it. While trans can be used to save yourself from imminent death, that should rarely be your primary motivation for using it.
  
  I honestly believe that any reasoning for Spirit first that does not come from an alc/mage is purely cosmetic/bragging rights. Don't believe me? Rank something non-Spirit first and marvel at how many people will think you're some scrub because wings aren't sticking out of your pally's back.
• Leopher wrote on 2011-02-15 03:44
  Thanks for the good advice, I can definitely see how it is more efficient to rank skills evenly. I'll be ranking Power, Spirit, and Sword, of Order at the same time in that priority order so long as I don't find myself needing more strength, dex, life, or stamina, etc. in which case I will modify my focus to suite my needs. Thanks everyone, especially Kaeporo, Ryoko, and truefire ( + rep for you guys).
• Cryosite wrote on 2011-02-15 16:04
  Even with rank F spirit of order, you should never run into problems of not having enough stamina. Paladin gives absurd amounts of it. I would however suggest ranking Spirit of order a few times, just so that it can "hold more points." I find that it can be very irritating shortly after I rebirth my alt, and quickly gain 5 or 10 levels from killing things... only to find spirit of order is maxed out and I gained levels that didn't help any. Once you level a few times and mess around with the skill you'll start to see what I mean.
  
  If you are using weapons for which you have low balance, then you should use different weapons, not rely on trans dex to give you balance. So dex should not be a concern either. Completely ignore eye of order until you decide to work on archery more, if you ever do.
  
  Definitely work on power/sword with greater emphasis on power. Even if there are diminishing returns, more is still better. Use your trans not so much in emergencies, but in situations were a few minutes of extra firepower will let you kill stuff faster, therefore earn gold and exp faster.
  
  Once you have both of those skills at rk1, you can build up the other aspect of what a transformation is good for: making you more survivable. Paladin with all rank F skills is already more survivable than outside of trans due to more HP, but you can push it a bit further but ranking spirit of order and passive defenses. Since you have already maxed out your offense capabilities at this point, may as well boost defense.
• Leopher wrote on 2011-02-15 23:36

  Quote from Cryosite;336859:

  Even with rank F spirit of order, you should never run into problems of not having enough stamina. Paladin gives absurd amounts of it. I would however suggest ranking Spirit of order a few times, just so that it can "hold more points." I find that it can be very irritating shortly after I rebirth my alt, and quickly gain 5 or 10 levels from killing things... only to find spirit of order is maxed out and I gained levels that didn't help any. Once you level a few times and mess around with the skill you'll start to see what I mean.
  
  If you are using weapons for which you have low balance, then you should use different weapons, not rely on trans dex to give you balance. So dex should not be a concern either. Completely ignore eye of order until you decide to work on archery more, if you ever do.
  
  Definitely work on power/sword with greater emphasis on power. Even if there are diminishing returns, more is still better. Use your trans not so much in emergencies, but in situations were a few minutes of extra firepower will let you kill stuff faster, therefore earn gold and exp faster.
  
  Once you have both of those skills at rk1, you can build up the other aspect of what a transformation is good for: making you more survivable. Paladin with all rank F skills is already more survivable than outside of trans due to more HP, but you can push it a bit further but ranking spirit of order and passive defenses. Since you have already maxed out your offense capabilities at this point, may as well boost defense.

  
  
  Sounds good. Thank you for your time.
• MSZShadow wrote on 2011-02-16 02:56
  In general, assuming you don't plan to rank passive defenses yet.
  Powder > Sword > Eye > Spirit.
  That's my opinion.
  It might be a good idea to rank them somewhat evenly, though.
• Leopher wrote on 2011-02-16 16:54

  Quote from MSZShadow;337475:

  In general, assuming you don't plan to rank passive defenses yet.
  Powder > Sword > Eye > Spirit.
  That's my opinion.
  It might be a good idea to rank them somewhat evenly, though.

  
  
  I'm guessing you mean Power, or am I missing something?
• Magenera wrote on 2011-02-16 19:24

  Quote from PoLkaTulK;337915:

  I'm guessing you mean Power, or am I missing something?

  
  
  No he MEANS powder.