Paladin

The paladin (often shortened to "pala" or "pally" by players) is a holy knight, a hybrid class with the ability to play a variety of different roles — healing (holy), tanking (protection), and DPS (retribution). They have auras, blessings and seals that provide useful buffs for other players while withstanding heavy physical damage with plate armor and strong defensive abilities.


 * Through the holy tree, Paladins are able to empower their healing even further. The holy tree's most important talent, Beacon of Light, allows 50% of a Paladin's direct heals to be mirrored to the affected friendly target.


 * Protection paladins are excellent tanks. Through the use of a shield, and the wearing of plate armor, they can mitigate quite a bit of physical damage. They also excel at tanking multiple mobs at the same time through the use of Hammer of the Righteous, Holy Wrath, and Consecration. Paladin tanks have gained widespread acceptance in the community.


 * Retribution paladins specialize in melee DPS and are able to increase their DPS by a considerable margin and fight several targets at a time with a good efficiency.

Background


As "warriors of the Holy Light", paladins uphold all that is good and true in the world and revile all that is evil and sinister — especially undead and the Burning Legion. They offer assistance to the beleaguered and smite their enemies with holy fervor. Found in almost every corner of Azeroth fighting the forces of evil and barbarism, these stalwart warriors of faith ceaselessly uphold their vigil against demonic forces. Paladins are the embodiment of good and selfless dedication to the protection of their peoples. They help the innocent and punish the wicked. There are however, also evil paladins such as those in the Scarlet Crusade.

Humans, draenei, and Ironforge dwarves are the most likely to become paladins, as these races revere the Holy Light. Blood elves known as Blood Knights used to bend the powers of the Light to their will, using a captured Naaru. After events at the Sunwell, they have begun using the Light legitimately. The paladin order, also called the Knights of the Silver Hand, grew out of humanity's culture, and its greatest heroes and fiercest proponents are humans. Ironforge dwarves possess the toughness needed to withstand the onslaught of the paladins' many enemies. High elves rarely become paladins, though this has changed somewhat, as their blood elf brothers and sisters expand the Blood Knight order. The Blood Knights are commonly mistaken as the enemy of the Knights of the Silver Hand by outsiders unfamiliar with the ways of the Light, but this is a false presumption. Recently, tauren paladins, known as Sunwalkers, have learned to use the power of the sun, much as druids use the power of the moon.

Second War
By the time of the Second War, had perceived that the pious Clerics of Northshire, who suffered such terrible attrition in the First War, were ill-suited for the dangers of combat. Along with many of the surviving Clerics of Northshire, he sought those of only the greatest virtue among the knighthood of Lordaeron and tutored them in the ways of magic. Led by the crusading, it now rested upon the new paladins — christened the Knights of the Silver Hand — to heal the wounds sustained in combat and to restore faith in the promise of freedom from Orcish tyranny.

Third War
Although the paladins were once loved and revered throughout the lands of Lordaeron, by the time of the Third War, they had since fallen into hard times. The entire Order of the Silver Hand was disbanded for refusing to kill innocent townsfolk who were believed to be contaminated by the dreaded Undead plague of the Scourge. Disenfranchised and driven from their former homes, the paladins still worked selflessly to protect humanity from the gnawing jaws of evil.

World of Warcraft
Following the invasion of the Scourge, many of the order's paladins joined a zealous group of followers of the Light known as the Scarlet Crusade. However, many of these paladins have become fanatical towards their ambition of destroying the Scourge, to the point that those not wearing their colors are deemed corrupted. After leaving the Crusade, some paladins decided to join the Argent Dawn. Some paladins have also turned from the light and joined Arthas Menethil as death knights.

Others fled south, to the Kingdom of Stormwind. The paladin order, still referring to themselves as the Order of the Silver Hand, now thrives under new leadership at the Cathedral of Light in Stormwind City. Over time, the followers of the Holy Light spread their philosophy to the dwarves of Ironforge, who soon adopted the tenets of the order as well. Though decimated, the Knights of the Silver Hand eventually bounced back.

In a World of Warcraft questline, vows to restore the original order, which later merges with the Argent Dawn to form the Argent Crusade.

The Blood Knights are a paladin order within the blood elves. The Hand of Argus is a paladin order within the draenei. The Sunwalkers is a paladin order with the tauren.

Code of conduct
A paladin must be good and will lose all Light-given abilities if he ever willingly commits an evil act. Additionally, the paladin's code requires that he respect legitimate authority, act with honor (not lying, not cheating, not using poison and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use their help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents. While he may adventure with others from different organizations, a paladin will never knowingly associate with evil persons, nor will he continue an association with someone who consistently offends his moral code. A paladin may accept only henchmen, followers or cohorts whose intentions are good. A paladin who violates this code, becomes an ex-paladin, and loses all Light-given abilities until he atones for his violations.

Paladins don't always have to work within good or neutral organizations as seen by the Scarlet Crusade and others — however, they do have to believe they are working for good organizations or have faith that their cause is good and just. A paladin can be evil (as illustrated by Renault Mograine and Arthas before he took up Frostmourne, but his holy powers did start to weaken after he culled Stratholme; the further down the dark path he went, the more they faded until eventually left him), but as long as they believe their cause to be just, the Light will continue to serve them.

Similarly, the Light cannot be forcibly stripped from a paladin that personally conducts himself in an honorable manner. When Tirion Fordring defended the orc Eitrigg from his fellow humans, he was banished from the Order of the Silver Hand, and a ceremony was performed by Uther the Lightbringer to strip him of his power. However, the ceremony failed, and while Tirion accepted his sentence of exile, he retained his paladin powers.

Notable paladins



 * (formerly, later a death knight and then became, now dead)
 * (formerly, now the current Lich King)
 * (formerly, later a death knight, redeemed by his son)
 * Terenas Menethil II
 * First Sunwalker
 * Terenas Menethil II
 * First Sunwalker
 * First Sunwalker
 * First Sunwalker
 * First Sunwalker
 * First Sunwalker

Races


The paladin class can be played by the following races:

Blood elf paladins belong to the Order of Blood Knights, while human and dwarven paladins are usually from the Knights of the Silver Hand. Currently, draenei paladins are members of an organization called the Hand of Argus, but this may change with time as the draenei are now part of the Alliance and some may consider joining the Silver Hand.

In Cataclysm
As of the Cataclysm expansion, Tauren are the second race of the Horde to be able to take on the role of paladin. Tauren paladins are called Sunwalkers.

Aponi Brightmane, an NPC on The Elder Rise in Thunderbluff, is believed to have been the first in-game Tauren paladin. She has a conversation with Tahu Sagewind about drawing powers from the sun as the Druid can draw power from the moon.

Racial mounts
Each paladin order has a different mount.
 * Human, Dwarf: Summon Warhorse, Charger
 * Draenei: Summon Exarch's Elekk, Summon Great Exarch's Elekk
 * Blood Elf: Summon Warhorse, Summon Charger
 * Tauren: Summon Sunwalker Kodo, Summon Great Sunwalker Kodo
 * All: Argent Charger

Gear
Paladins can wear cloth, leather, mail or plate armor and may use a shield. They can use polearms and one or two handed swords, axes and maces.

Paladins cannot dual wield, or wield daggers, fist weapons or staves. They also cannot use ranged weapons. In lieu of a ranged weapon slot, paladins receive a relic (formerly a Libram) slot. They have no spammable ranged attacks, but can use Hand of Reckoning, Exorcism, and Avenger's Shield (if Protection) or (if holy), Holy Shock to pull, as needed. Righteous Defense can also be used as a ranged pull, albeit its mechanics are a tad different.

They can summon their own Warhorse at level 20 after learning it from the trainer. The epic Charger is trainable at level 40.

Lore-wise, paladins are often depicted wielding large, often two-handed warhammers. The "paladin hammer", in addition to the book of incantations paladins often carry, are perhaps the most characteristic features of a paladin. Some hammers are even known to have names, such as Arthas Menethil's Light's Vengeance and Uther the Lightbringer's Hammer of the Lightbringer. The paladin hammer became the iconic paladin weapon under Uther, but fell out of favor after his death. Blood elf paladins seem to prefer polearms instead.

Abilities
Paladins play a key role by buffing their allies. However, they also have a few other handy spells and abilities in their arsenal.

Auras


In addition to spell buffs (see Blessings below) paladins have the ability to use auras, area-of-effect buffs that boost the abilities of all party members within a certain radius. Only one aura may be active per paladin, but multiple paladins can use different auras within a group (although two paladins using the same aura gain no additional effect instead defaulting to the aura cast by the higher level paladin). The auras themselves cost no mana to operate, have no innate cooldown (other than the Global Cooldown), and may be switched between at will.

Blessings
As of patch 4.01 Blessings have been consolidated into 2 buffs, Blessing of Might and Blessing of Kings, with both having a 60 minute duration. Unlike their previous incarnations, these blessings are no longer single target and are raid wide casts.

Hands
Hands are spell buffs that can be cast on party and raid members. Hands are derived from previous blessings, and includes Hand of Freedom, Hand of Protection, Hand of Sacrifice, and Hand of Salvation.

Holy Power
Paladins have received a new resource system, similar to Rogue's combo points called Holy Power. It is gained by using various spells, such as Holy Shock, Crusader Strike, and Hammer of the Righteous, while being consumed by spells such as Word of Glory, Light of Dawn, Shield of Righteousness, and Templar's Verdict. Up to three stacks of Holy Power is applied, and it will stay available for 30-seconds in and out of combat.

Seals
Seals are long term self-buffs which boost the paladin's power temporarily. Effectively, they add a weapon proc to their melee strikes. Additionally, paladins can unleash these seals upon an enemy with the Judgment ability, causing holy damage and causing an effect depending on which seal is used.

Stats


Paladin stats vary by role. Secondary stats can be optionally obtained after primary stats have been met.

Talents and end-game expectations


Paladins are a very unique class that have the ability to perform all three major functions required in group or raid play depending on their spec.

Healing
Holy paladins have devoted themselves to spellcasting. The most common use of the holy tree is healing; they take points in improving their healing spells allowing them to easily fill the position of a healer in a party or raid situation. Important talents such as Beacon of Light, Light of Dawn and Aura Mastery are found in the Holy tree. With the introduction of Holy Power as a second resource system, Paladins gained Word of Glory which has no mana costs, instead it uses Holy Power. You can build up Holy Power with Holy Shock and then unleash it with Word of Glory or Light of Dawn.

A less known utility of the Holy tree is the spellcaster dps role. Instead of healing, the paladin attacks enemies with spells such as Holy Shock and Exorcism, for which Denounce is crucial: Holy dps can't be found under level 31.

Tanking
Through the protection tree, paladins gain an increased ability to tank enemies. Paladins are especially well known for their ability to tank many enemies at once with rapid threat production. Paladin tanking was once largely reliant on reflective damage, but can now effectively generate multi-target threat through the AoE spell Consecration and the multi-target attack Hammer of the Righteous to hold aggro on multiple targets. Strong stamina scaling, simple and very high threat generation and the superb Ardent Defender talent make paladins perhaps the best tanks in the game.

Damage


Retribution damage favors slow two handed weapons and cause sudden damage spikes through both melee and spell crits. Through the now baseline retribution talent Crusader Strike and tier 3 talent Divine Storm they can deal considerable weapon based burst damage for AoE damage or for single target damage Templar's Verdict is a new melee range attack that deals additional weapon damage base on Holy Power consumption. Additionally, retribution paladins bring a large amount of raid utility, making them valuable in endgame instances. Retribution paladins are popular for their increased damage abilities for groups with the talent Communion, increasing the damage of the paladin's group by 3%.

Paladins have several anti-undead and demon abilities such as Exorcism, Holy Wrath, and Turn Evil which make them very effective when fighting Demon and Undead targets (not including Forsaken players, who are considered Humanoids for balance reasons). Exorcism and Holy Wrath work against all targets, but have additional mechanics when dealing with undead and demon.

The retribution tree was once considered a joke until it was redesigned to use the same gear as warriors with damaged based off physical rather than spell power. It has remained a very strong tree since that time and often considered "OP" hence Ghostcrawler's line about one of his hobbies being "nerfing paladins".

PvP
In PvP, the paladin's most well-known strength is his/her ability to outlast his opponent(s). With plate armor, their ability to heal themselves and allies, and a near-complete invulnerability every few minutes, they are a hard target to take down. Paladins can also do a surprising amount of burst-damage and have good access to stun abilities. Paladins also make great supporting characters, buffing and healing team-mates while being able to survive the enemy's attention. Paladins are particularly vulnerable to Silence and Interrupt effects, as all of a paladin's abilities are part of a single magic school (holy). In addition, dispel effects are powerful against paladins.