PALLY POWERS

razz

ok since they nerfed binding oath ive pretty much stopped using it because i dont find it useful at all and i switched to using circle of power. I was wondering what other pally users are rotating with so any pally brothers and sisters out there let me know. Also i was thinking of swapping out aura of wisdom for aura of solitude but dont know if the recharge is better than the extra damage and healing buff .

rjc9000

razz#9746 said:

ok since they nerfed binding oath ive pretty much stopped using it because i dont find it useful at all and i switched to using circle of power. I was wondering what other pally users are rotating with so any pally brothers and sisters out there let me know. Also i was thinking of swapping out aura of wisdom for aura of solitude but dont know if the recharge is better than the extra damage and healing buff .

Keep Wisdom/Courage. The other Auras aren't as great and Courage adds a lot more damage than you'd think (more noticeable than Solitude, imo).

Templar's is a must have. Bane and Circle work pretty well and that trio of powers (Bane/Templar's/Circle) has been my go to setup on certain bossfights (FBI Turtle and Svardborg, for example).

Binding Oath "can" work, assuming you are decently geared and don't die to the part where you recieve damage. However, if you don't have a lot of gear, best stay away from BO.

armadeonx

You should also check the Class Forums, there's plenty of discussion going on about builds and rotations.

kreatyve

Moved to the OP forum.

waywardwizard

razz#9746 said:

ok since they nerfed binding oath ive pretty much stopped using it because i dont find it useful at all and i switched to using circle of power. I was wondering what other pally users are rotating with so any pally brothers and sisters out there let me know. Also i was thinking of swapping out aura of wisdom for aura of solitude but dont know if the recharge is better than the extra damage and healing buff .

Hi there, my paladin has also stopped using BO. Now for dungeons I run CoP/TW/BL with AoC/AoW. Solo play is pretty much the same but I probably swap BL for RA for single target dmg and movement.

hrunting1

I've seen folks use CoP more often now since the nerf. Myself I still use BO and still have no problem with it except at Orcus (mostly due to being with a under geared group). My rotation is TW, BO, smite/BL/ or bane it's situational on the last encounter.

I've even had to run TW, BO, and CoP to get a group through CN. Don't ask me why cause I pulled a group through the whole dungeon. Was a painful experience. I topped every chart that run. Never done that LoL.

thrilk

I run Wisdom/Courage, Radiant Strike/Oath Strike and Shield of Faith/Divine Judgment 100% of the time.

For easy dailies I run Burning Light/TW/Smite

For more dangerous content I switch to CoP/TW/Smite

On occasion, for hard boss battles I have used BO/TW/CoP.

jaegernl

I find the change to Binding Oath was well-deserved. It was too good.

Anyway, I still use Binding Oath in a lot of content, especially when moving fast and clearing trash. It's an absolutely great taunt.

waywardwizard

jaegernl said:

I find the change to Binding Oath was well-deserved. It was too good.

Anyway, I still use Binding Oath in a lot of content, especially when moving fast and clearing trash. It's an absolutely great taunt.

Interesting. Could you perhaps give an example? When my paladin moves fast and clears stuff, like in-between bosses in CN for example, BO would be not only useless but actually holding me back. I run into the trash firing off Radiant at-wills, hit TW , cast CoP and charge BL, DJ. Continue with Radiant at-wills till TW/BL come off cooldown and repeat till mobs are dead and I guarantee all the mobs are on my paladin during all this thanks to constant barrage of damage and cc. I honestly see no reason to slot BO in that scenario. The taunt of BO is a good aggro grabber vs a boss who is targeting someone other than the tank but thats that. Even if a paladin is built as a pure tank, all defensive with minimal dps, TW and BL would still be still better to deal with trash because they are both damage+cc.

The nerf to BO was way too severe. It went from a super strong ability to a practically useless one. Cryptic usually deals in absolutes, things are either black or white, no middle ground. And that's exactly what they did with BO too.

jaegernl

Constantly spamming different taunts to keep agro while pulling door-to-door. I use TW/BL/BO in that scenario. Allows you to stay on the move - with small interuptions to charge a tiny bit of BL - and keep agro, whilst producing a ton of AP.

If you stop at every little pack, sure, go with CoP. But with the parties I run with, stopping is a waste of time. Stuff is dead before CoP is down and BL is charged.

jaegernl

Also, I don't see how the nerf is too severe. With a bit of defense and Divine Protector up, it takes Orcus three hits to get through my Shield HP. It's still one of the best defensive skills out there.

nightranger7477

I agree with @jaegernl BO is still a great defensive tool and the taunt is a monster magnet. believe you me I was not happy when they initially announced the change, but I think the change was needed. I slot TW/BO/BL for trash mobs and run TW/BA/COP at all bosses. BO used to be slotted always at bosses but with 60% AP and TW it's not even needed. The changes to the paladin class were good but still need a complete rework of the bulwark tree to finish the class balance.

waywardwizard

jaegernl said:

Constantly spamming different taunts to keep agro while pulling door-to-door. I use TW/BL/BO in that scenario. Allows you to stay on the move - with small interuptions to charge a tiny bit of BL - and keep agro, whilst producing a ton of AP.

If you stop at every little pack, sure, go with CoP. But with the parties I run with, stopping is a waste of time. Stuff is dead before CoP is down and BL is charged.

Indeed a lower item level paladin would probably have to stop at every little pack. I just take them all usually since nothing short of Orcus can dent my op.

Are your paladins running with an AC/DC ? Key question. Orcus can kill a lesser geared paladin via Binding Oath since the damage it returns to the paladin's health is unmitigated - in my case I would take over 100 000 true damage upon BO expiration. Surely with AA up you wont notice that but do you guys understand what this means? It means that with BO on we actually take more dmg than without since BO returns unmitigated damage. With high enough cooldown reduction I guess its possible to be perma BO but Im not a fan of the recovery build. So thats why i say BO is useless (to me) now. I used to use it vs the truly big threats, now not really.

That being said Im glad to see there are optionс when approaching tanking as a Paladin

spelldazer

Wanted to say thanks to all who contributed in this thread. It has helped me resurrect my ProtOP and make her viable again. She is sub 3k but can now pull all manner of teams through elol, cn, and etos. Even low undergeared and useless players. Well...to an extent. You do need at least one other semi competent player for most content. ;-)

I have settled on the following rotations: BO, TW, CoP for solo play and for good teams, especially if there is a decent DC spamming AA and heals. For extra punishing content, I swap CoP out and use Absolution. First on myself and then on squishy team mates or the ones who like to sit in the red. Works a treat. Pop bubble at the right moment, of course. If I get badly dented through all this then I can shield up for a bit and jump right back in. It also allows me to pick up fallen mates while getting hit.

Personally, I wish more OPs would use Absolution. As a dpser, I've run into too many OP tanks that don't have it unlocked and it would have really made a difference. It stops silly oneshots and keeps newbie teams (and pallies) going. The more I run with it on my pally, the more I like it.

Anyway, just my 2 cents.

rjc9000

spelldazer said:

Personally, I wish more OPs would use Absolution. As a dpser, I've run into too many OP tanks that don't have it unlocked and it would have really made a difference. It stops silly oneshots and keeps newbie teams (and pallies) going. The more I run with it on my pally, the more I like it.



Anyway, just my 2 cents.

And you don't even need to commit an encounter slot to slap a shield & +50% DR to everyone!

Combine it with Circle of Power and cunning usage of Sanctuary, and you can easily put your teammates at or close to the DR cap (but the Absolution will require micromanagement on your part).

I put this strategy to good use on a DC-less FBI (OP/HR/CW/CW/TempLock) and our team laughed as bosses tickled us for little damage.

(Well, we might not have needed to worry about protection if the HR burned through all the mobs faster...)

armadeonx

In trash mobs I find the combination of TW & BL to be really useful for the stuns. I've boosted my Control so it lasts a bit longer too. The more they are stunned, the less damage they deal out.

I usually swap to TW/Bane/CoP or Absolution for bosses. I always slot Auras of Courage & Wisdom and will only change Courage to Truth if there's not a good DC and the group are having trouble staying on their feet.

nightranger7477

Same exact set up I run, just wish bane animation was faster or just one application for 30%........