Hello PvE OPs and future PvE OPs!Sharing is Caring! That´s the one and only answer!
Share POWER by Aura Gifts!
Share DAMAGE by HP (Aura of Courage)!
That´s why a PvE Paladin is supposed to be a POWER/HP SPEC and never ever a crit spec!
And share AP gain by Aura of Wisdom!
Defend the entire party and buff them all!
Paladins ain´t damage dealers!
Go for AP gain and REC until you can bring up the "bubble" at almost every mob group, also at smaller ones (Divine Protector ain´t just protection).
Go for ARP until you have a 100% damage output at trashmobs (~35-40%) - you ain´t a boss slayer!
Stack HP and PWR - sharing is caring!
Compare the personal damage output to the overall party buff and/or party damage.
Choose your companions wisely - a full HP companion setup ain´t that good compared to the personal damage output and with it the overall group damage support. You can run the "classic" way by using an augment companion and get a flat stat increase or run the spiky way by using a companion in combination with bonding runestones.
(hint:
/bind "YOUR KEY" "gensendmessage Pets_Summon_Unsummon_Button Clicked" will make life with a companion easier)
Get your ACT (Advanced Combat Tracker) running!
I don´t wanna go into detail any further or advise anything else.
Cya around mates^^
PS: The pictures were taken without VIP-, campfire, party- or potion-buff.Oath of Protection Paladin, unbuffed, IL 3.995 (rank 12s only and transcendent weapon/armor enchantments, Greater Corrupt Black Ice enchantments)At-Will ComparisonSimple dmg testing: 2 minutes of continous at-will usage, without any buffs or weapon enchantments, single target, at-wills at rank 4:
Companion Comparison -Dragonborn Raider vs. Zhentarim Warlock vs. Fire Archon- as summoned companions
Simple dmg and proc-rate testing:
I also had a look at the Duergar Theurge, Quickling and Boar.
Quickling has a nice proc rate but does low dmg.
Duergar Theurge has a good proc rate and great dmg... as long as targets ain´t moving too much.
Boar also has a nice proc rate and is dealing good dmg - great bleeding dmg, but it´s a close combat companion and almost always attacks when your already done with the first rotation.
-Siege Master vs. Young Yeti-
The Siege Master gives a flat 4% dmg bonus while the Yeti can give higher rates of bonus dmg.
I always had a nice proc-rate with an overall duration of almost and over 50% of a dungeon (Blood Thirsty buff lasts 7sec).
So for dungeon runs I run with the Yeti (on average >4% dmg bonus) while I switch to Siege Master on the Stronghold map (8% bonus dmg).
-Owlbear Cub-
The active bonus works well with our encounters, especially with Burning Light (100% proc rate at non-crt encounter hits & dots).
But as long as this is the only real dot encounter power the Owlbear Cub "only" enhances your dmg by about 10% (assuming you run with a summoned companion).
Armor Enchantment ComparisonTest Map: epic Temple of the Spider
Comments
Carry on bro, keep tweaking and testing and get back to us!
As you know the value of dmg output of any of those on-damage-taken enchants depends on the hits you suffer. I run the test runs with my guild mates who are also or almost maxed out. Fast killing means less damage to me = less dmg output of the enchants. I´m running with Burning Light what makes the Briartwine even less effective (but I will not swap out my max dmg dealing skill).
On every tracked eToS run I got numbers of about 340k from Briartwine, ~300k from Frostburn and ~2.000k from Fireburst (also had 3.000 - 4.000k runs with pugs).
While the dmg of Fireburst and Frostburn is affected by buffs n debuffs the Briartwine simply reflects incoming damage.
I have a 2.5k pally and the info you've given here is great and I have a couple of questions if you don't mind:
Firstly I didn't see a screenshot of your stats, can you let us know what your power, recovery and defence are?
I'm currently using a negation, I assume your defence is high enough that it's unnecessary? What would you say is the minimum defence stat required to swap to an offensive armor enchantment?
Lastly, did the pally get a nerf in mod 8..?
Thanks
Xael De Armadeon: DC
Xane De Armadeon: CW
Zen De Armadeon: OP
Zohar De Armadeon: TR
Chrion De Armadeon: SW
Gosti Big Belly: GWF
Barney McRustbucket: GF
Lt. Thackeray: HR
Lucius De Armadeon: BD
Member of Casual Dailies - XBox
you´re welcome.
1. Screenshots: I´m really hoping the pictures are visible, especially the big one. If not leave me a hint, pls.
2. Stats: You´ve to "decide" whether to run with an augment stone or with an active companion, that´s why I posted a screenshot of both stat ratings. It really depends on YOUR playstyle.
Any stone will give you a flat and steady stat increase while an active companion will boost your stats with Companion Gifts temporary (20 sec active, 10 sec icd).
Pwr is one of the main stats for a PvE Paladin! I´m running with about 22.5k while using a stone - boosting up to ~40k in combat. When I run with an active companion I´m only at ~18k pwr... but boosting up to 60-75k in combat and with 3x Companion Gift (without any potions or food).
I feel very comfortable with ~40% ap gain (~7k rec, 400 ap gain, 20 CHA). Even when I haven´t had the Snail it was not that hard to provide my mates with a 100% uptime of Divine Protector. Just play around with some more recovery or other Heroic Feats (e.g. Divine Action to 5).
My Damage Resistance is at about 35-40%. I´ve never put in any def focused items or enchants.
3. def vs. armor enchantment: Paladins are kinda dmg lovers! You load your Binding Oath with incoming dmg. The less def you have the more dmg you deal - with Binding Oath, loaded by incoming dmg. The less def you have the faster you boost your pwr stat - with Oath of Protection.
Binding Oath and Divine Protector are all the def you need! Any other def boosting -by items, feats, boons, enchants (...)- is a waste of stats.
There is no minimum def stat requirement to swap to an off enchantment.
I also ran with a Negation enchant but swapped to an offensive enchantment when I got the Snail - when I didn´t need the rec boost anymore.
4. Paladin nerf: Even the game became kinda boring with the Paladin class it´s not nerfed in Mod 8 yet.
I really hope the devs will bring up challenging content again instead of nerfing any class.
I get it now with the screenshots Those stats are amazingly high compared to what we get atm on xbox - even top players only have around 24-25k power here.
My ap gain is currently at about 30% with about 5k recovery but I've yet to get any artifacts to legendary (let alone mythic) so I have about another 1.5k coming in the future, plus extra from upgrading my current rank 7 enchantments. My health is only about 110k but I guess that's partly due to the mod 6 elven armor...
The pointer about binding oath is great as I currently have 10k defence plus a lesser negation and until I read this I always had aura of protection slotted. I do find that even with bubble up, the scorpions in elol still take off a fair chunk of health if I'm in both their red zones - would the answer to that be hitting binding oath again before the 20% dmg hits me?
I don't have an ioun stone yet but I like the idea of a companion not in my way - If i'm soloing I find Relentless doesn't work sometimes due to me targeting the companion instead of the enemy
One question that still confuses me a little is that of 'active companion' - does that mean the companion has to be summoned or do you get the bonuses from all 'active' ones without summoning?
When I first did my build I used one from mmominds but that had no points in divine action. I had no idea at the time so I followed the guide. I recently respecced for some minor adjustments and added 3 points and I'm liking it better though I still can't get close enough to perma without a haste dc yet.
My power is still a pathetic 9.5k. Does power or the amount of damage you hit for (or take) affect ap recharge at all?
Thanks a lot for your advice
Xael De Armadeon: DC
Xane De Armadeon: CW
Zen De Armadeon: OP
Zohar De Armadeon: TR
Chrion De Armadeon: SW
Gosti Big Belly: GWF
Barney McRustbucket: GF
Lt. Thackeray: HR
Lucius De Armadeon: BD
Member of Casual Dailies - XBox
Well... sure you can activate Binding Oath again... and again... and again. But if you´re exploding before both are almost down and can´t stand the self-destructive dmg... your team might be HAMSTER up as well. I don´t like this kamikaze playstyle but it´s always an option.
Your right. All of your slotted companions are active and give the active bonusses (5).
I´ll change it to "summoned" - for a better understanding, thx. As far as I know the amount of pwr does not affect the ap gain but the amount of incoming dmg does.
But tbh - i don´t really know, just watched my ap gain after reading your question.
Keep it up and have fun^^
Xael De Armadeon: DC
Xane De Armadeon: CW
Zen De Armadeon: OP
Zohar De Armadeon: TR
Chrion De Armadeon: SW
Gosti Big Belly: GWF
Barney McRustbucket: GF
Lt. Thackeray: HR
Lucius De Armadeon: BD
Member of Casual Dailies - XBox
Thanks in advance.
you´re welcome.
I didn´t want to write a guide cuz there are many out there already explaining how the Paladin works.
The most important stats -after reaching the primary objective of an OP Paladin, protect the entire party- are HP and pwr... for my understanding of the role and mechanics of the Paladin.
I tried to avoid the Symbol of the Devoted right from the beginning of my journey cuz I wanted to have an artifact what will be more useful than only restoring my own ap (and healing myself).
The idea is to have as much ap gain as necessary (by recovery and ap gain itself, but beware of the soft-cap of 800 for ap gain) and to have as much HP and pwr as possible.
So that I always use my excel-sheets to calculate the ratings output before buying, crafting or farming items, I was looking for a combination that will fit my needs best.
The other two artifats I use are:
Symbol of Earth: 4.000 HP, 1.000 arp, 600 ctrl res
Symbol of Air: 1.000 pwr, 1.000 rec, 600 mov
Maybe I will swap to Vanguard´s Banner instead of the Symbol of Air... one far day...
Vanguard´s Banner will give a little more shared dmg and pwr to my team mates due to the 4k HP and will be more useful at dragon raids.
Hope that helps a bit^^
I changed the summoned companion to Dragonborn Raider instead of Zhentarim Warlock - just because of the 3rd off slot.
Further more I added the Owlbear Cub to the list of active companions.
@jaegernl
I think it really depends on the party you´re running with. The Lostmauth Set deals nice dmg - even you´re only at a 40-50% crt rating with almost no crt procing skills. When I run in pugs I use my Lostmauth Set but when I run with my mates I use the setup of above.
PS: I still haven´t balanced my build when running with the Twisted weapon set yet.
You can keep up the 24 stacks as long as you stay at full health by using your tHP - which will add 3.840 pwr.
that´s simple to answer.
Char Off/Def slots: Radiant / Radiant Enchantments (balance your spec with some Cruel ones if you lack recovery/ap gain)
Companion item Off/Def slots: Radiant / Dark Enchantments
Companion runestones: Bonding
Weapon slot: Plague Fire/Feytouched
Armor slot: Fireburst
Your toon is amazing
Just to know and compare to mine companions... Wich companion Stone you have? What companion is 'Hurricane'?
Thank you!
Does the power you gain from your oath of protection paragon mechanic transfer to your party via Aura's gifts or does it only transfer 'base' power? Additonally- is this power stat that is transfered by aura gifts at all magnified by power buffs from another class IE (Annointed Army).
I've tried with Aura's gifts and Without- I'm just trying to weigh the benefit of having it vs taking something else instead.
--
I'll never retrace my steps.
Some of my best friends are Imaginary.
@eloyn
Thx mate.
I don´t run with an augment companion like an ioun stone anymore.
When I ran with a stone I preferred the "Red Dragon Ioun Stone" - just for the cool look. You can also use the "Ioun Stone of Radiance". I don´t recommend any of the others. Even the active bonuses of the Dragon/Radiance Stones are kinda bad the other active bonuses are kinda useless.
Right now I´m running with the "Dragon Born Raider". As I already mentioned it´s because of the proc rate of Companions Gifts, the overall dmg output and the 3 off slots.
Hurricane is the Air Archon. Stoned the Earth Archon.
@bitt3rnightmar3
Simple to answer. It is the must have feat - for OPs and ODs!
Yes, the power gains are tranferred to your mates.
As you can see at the picture showing the char stats when running with a summoned companion with 3x companion gift, the pwr stack-up is really great.
Your party members will love you for a nice buff of about 20k extra pwr (50% bonus dmg!!!).
Well mate... you´re absolutely right!
I stopped calculating the exact output of every power of each class and so on.
Guess we all remember the great work from Kaelac and all our other testing fellows. I also still have several formulae in my excel sheets.
But is it really worth doing the exact calculation at this state of the game? I think it ain´t.
Feel free to add your link, I´m always willing to reconsider my thoughts.
Cya ingame, mate.
===============
Hi Neopreen and others!
First of all, thank you so much for sharing your build and apologise for my long post in advance....
I have been leeching your set up since I found it in January (main toon is a CW) - bookmarked this page on multiple devices.....and few commented on how well I fair on the damage front (usually 2nd on board behind Gwf) on top of the main purpose of your build! - and although I'm by no mean close to your completed product (and the stats that you achieved)...but the general direction/idea is all yours...though I need some advice to get the best out of my resources. Hope you can help if you have a few mins.
BACKGROUND
========
My current setup:
Dragonborn race: (as it happened already close to yours so didn't reroll)
CON+29, CHA+22 WIS+15 - don't think that one here and there would make a huge difference...right?
Feats/Powers: getting there, few more extra points needed from overflows to get full lvl 4 on some active Powers)
Boons (of the 26 or so available, got 14/15, so some way to go - Linu will have to wait....a very long wait......)
Gear:
Whole Dusk set (head/body/arm: restoration feet: ward, OK?) as easier to obtain than Dragonflight at this stage for me as not in a guild...
Burning Mace/Shield currently grinding motes.....ffs, DD/PW need to realise gaming is their business and livelihood but not others who have a job....too much grinding in this game...anyway, using the Ensorcelled Mulhorand set for the time being as that's what I have....the burning set is top of my list though, even before Demo which everyone is doing.
Right hand side:
Got the regen rings done at last as literally just got Jewelcrafting up to 25. so item-wise now exactly same items as yours.
I'm waiting for double RP next week to get the few artifact weapon to Legendary (for upgrade with stones in existing then feed into Burning) - as well as all the enchantments I culminated (currently using mostly 7/8 few 9 and 10)
Companion: Warlock (Summoned with all Bonding rune) and alternate with Black Dragon stone - other Active: Air, Earth and Fire plus new recruit Grazilaxx for helping the Ichor grind - only active when doing underdark....sorry for not following your companion choice fully!
=====
Now...Here is the main question - Artifacts: I have in my possession a range of (mostly Power and Union, and a couple of Stabs that are not important for the build) artifacts as I need a few for making feeders - the Union ones in particular are quite costly and not easy to come by even from lockboxes - so want to see your (or others) opinion before I waste some of these as feeders....
Here is the list:
(I'm wearing)
Wheel of Element (main)
Symbol of Air
Symbol of Earth
Tiamat (you have the OP sigil)
In my inventory, ready to be refined and fed into the above:
Stability - not important i guess
Buenor's Helm - new from Underdark (more on Defense and Life Steal - doubt can be used to feed)
Realm Catalogue (Stability - got it for the little guy when bag full lol)
Power
Red dragon heart - from the Dragon pack (not feedable)
Lantern
Bloodcrystal Raven Skull
and more wheels as feeders
Union:
OP sigil (not feedable)
Rod of Imperial Restraint
Waters of Elah'zad
So first of my few questions - Which should I choose for my four Artifact?
I quite like the first 3 of your: the Wheel, Air and Earth but I'm reluctant to upgrade Artifact that cannot be re-use (OP - or any Sigils, Red Dragon and possible the Helm).
I see OP Sigil is for debuff (resist damage) plus extra HP but because I really don't want to upgrade an Artifact that can never to use to upgrade another should it become less useful in the future.
Unless it's used as main, i guess the main 'function' of artifact is irrelevant(?) - So I chose (or rather Kept) Tiamat on me as it also reduces damage (when in main) but with a range of PWR, Crit, Recover, ARP AND AP gain! so I'm really tempted to use it as "current" endgame Artifact, rather than OP sigil
The other one I'm thinking of is the Rod of Imperial Restraint - it gives extra damage (only when in main) plus extra REC and Life Steal on equip. ALSO, if I sub your chosen Band of Constitution with a Belt of Imperial of Honor, you can extra 25% fire damage with your power. Sound good on paper...with the Burning Weapons?? what do you think?
Sorry, I'm not that technical like you wizz's - most of the time I just see what's the main reason for the build and balance the stats.
My current stats (again, pre gemmed rings, without burning weapon and legendary, and mostly 7/8 rank - a couple higher enchants)
Item level: 2850
Power: 8430
Crit Stk: 4342
Arm Pen: 2073
Rec: 4750
AP gain: 580
Combat Adv bonus: 400
Control: 0
Defense: 5766
Deflect: 1246
Regeneration: 1203
Crit Chance: 25.1% (Severity +80%) should I need to get this to 100%??
Resis ignored: -26.8%
Recharge speed: +53.4%
AP Gain: a poorly 36.8%
Damage resis +36%
Deflect Chance 4.5% (severity: 50%)
Health regen: 3.3%
Bonus inc heal 3.5%
Life Steal 0% Severity 100% (LOL last time I checked 0 x millions is still 0....)
Thank you for reading this post this far - ANY feedback/constructive criticism will be gratefully received!!!!
Best regards,
scmk, CW at heart & OP in development - and Trickster abandoner....
you´re welcome and I´ll try to aswer your question(s).
First of all: Your progress looks great - keep it up man!
You mentioned the artifact and belt of the Imperial Dragon set (chance to deal 25% of weapon dmg as fire dmg). I haven´t done the math and haven´t tested the dmg output of the set but it seems to be less useful than running with a HP setup and gaining the extra dmg by stacking pwr by dmg equal to 10% of the extra HP. You also can run with the Lostmauth set if you wanna run more dps like.
Tiamat´s artifact is a nice one - keep it and maybe swap it out later.
Buenor's Helm - feedable. No PvE OP needs def and/or lifesteal.
Realm Catalogue - feedable. It has been designed before the VIP system was implemented.
Lantern of Revelation - feedable. I only use it in PvP. If you wanna run some PvP later - keep it. Otherwise feed it and buy a new one when you need it.
Bloodcrystal Raven Skull - feedable. This one has always been a feeder. Same as with the Lantern.
Waters of Elah´zad - feedable. I don´t think there´s any use for us OPs.
Red Dragon Heart - unfeedable. Nice for leveling up and mb the GF.
I think you´ve to decide for the way you wanna go and then choose the set of your choice (neck, belt, arti) - even it won´t be a "set" (I can´t recommend the Lostmauth set as long as you´re not using the Force of Will feat to get some more crt).
At last let me point out that it all depends on your personal playstyle - keep it that way, play it that way, build it that way!
cheers, hf n meet me in game^^
Nah, i use the Lostmauth set on my CW, though the other stats are quite good (pwr, crit and arp) but the set only gives one extra critical hit (that's how i read it) - which is fine on my CW as it's almost 50% critical chance but my OP only have 24% doesn't seem justifiable to spend the effort of getting that set. Beside I do enjoy the idea of this build, "sharing" and hey i am already a regular 2nd on scoreboard (and sometimes top in a single pally group in a medium level group) so no complain esp with lots of room to add powers still with upgraded weapons, artifacts and enchant etc done properly. you have no idea how much i need next week's double RP, have i mentioned it yet??
Right! from you comments, I think I will keep the Tiamat, Rod (just in case I want to play around later) and use the others as feeders (except Red dragon, in bank and OP sigil discard - what was the benefit of it on the build btw? or just cos it was a good one with a zero price tag??) - good to know the Helm is useless and feedable!! too so i will pop it into the Book - not sure about PC but Xbox's VIP doesn't come with a merchant so if you have small bag spaces, it does save the hassles mid dungeon struggles! Though I have since bought a set of stronghold keys including a rune bag. woohoo.
Again grateful for sharing the build and your swift feedback on mine. Much appreciated - i think you are the OP version of Ironzerg.
I just have a few questions regarding your feat setup :
You choosed bound by light instead of Swift Flash. Sure, Swift Flash aint that great ... but bound by light seems even worse Am i missing something ?
You took Purifying fire instead of Prism. I'm running purifying fire, and find the damage weak (mind i'm 2K IL). Is it that good ? or Prism is that bad ? (looking at your parsing on at will dps, it seems PF is doing like 0.4% of your DPS ...)
On the basic feats, i understand not taking Light's Shield, as in fact, the more we get hit for, the more damage we send back
You're not maxing Exemplar's haste, nor Divine Action. Is impassioned Pleas working ? (i've read on Sharpedge's guide it's broken). You're taking crit increase instead. Is it worth it ? (or more exactly, is it worth it for undergeared pallies ?)
On Augment companion versus a zhentarim warlock : as i'm new (less than 2 weeks into the game) would it be advisable to aim first for an augment before an active pet to boost me ? i mean, it seems you get faster and for cheaper some return on investment, while a Zhent warlock will take time to upgrade to be interesting no ?
On at will selection, if i understand correctly, Shielding strike is the best DPS ? i love shielding strike for the shield it provides, but was considering using valorous to add more DPS to the team ... Shielding seems the way to go no ?
Thanks for all those precious informations
Xael De Armadeon: DC
Xane De Armadeon: CW
Zen De Armadeon: OP
Zohar De Armadeon: TR
Chrion De Armadeon: SW
Gosti Big Belly: GWF
Barney McRustbucket: GF
Lt. Thackeray: HR
Lucius De Armadeon: BD
Member of Casual Dailies - XBox
Xael De Armadeon: DC
Xane De Armadeon: CW
Zen De Armadeon: OP
Zohar De Armadeon: TR
Chrion De Armadeon: SW
Gosti Big Belly: GWF
Barney McRustbucket: GF
Lt. Thackeray: HR
Lucius De Armadeon: BD
Member of Casual Dailies - XBox
This is my guy:
Xael De Armadeon: DC
Xane De Armadeon: CW
Zen De Armadeon: OP
Zohar De Armadeon: TR
Chrion De Armadeon: SW
Gosti Big Belly: GWF
Barney McRustbucket: GF
Lt. Thackeray: HR
Lucius De Armadeon: BD
Member of Casual Dailies - XBox
The irony, reading this a year later. Because the new fancy fixed damage weapons.
By the way, since "To Protect and Serve" is the motto painted on the Los Angeles PD (yeah yeah, blame the weirdo Californian here)... does that mean that this build is the best for collecting
evidenceloot? Does this mean that this build gets a cop car to ride around in?(Love the build concept. my Paladin runs a similar build idea, although I know Sharpie and @jaegernl give me flak for a support Paladin when Divine Judgement is ridiculous).