Level 13 Pally could really use some advice on surviving pvp :)

[Sado]

<DIV>I am a level 13 Pally on the Nagafen server and right now I am just trying to level her.  I have several freeport toons but I am finding that leveling this Pally is much harder than any Freeport toon I have been leveling so far.   I seem to get more lag in Antonica than in the Commonlands (really !) so that has something to do with it, but also I just seem to be a sitting duck.   Is there a guide somewhere to help me level this pally in a pvp setting...because I am sure I must not be playing this pally to even half-way of her potential.  I cannot seem to be able to fight my way out of a paper bag at this point, and am getting snuffed right and left.  I read in the guide in this section of the forums that grouping is STRONGLY recommended so is this the way I should be focusing on and not soloing ?  Is there any level I can struggle toward for something to look forward to that will help me  and make playing this class easier ?  My guess is that since I can fight and heal that my only real viable option will be grouping but any advice would be appreciated.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Lol, and can you tell me...is the horse worth it ? <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[Taipans]

<DIV><SPAN>I have not seen a leveling PVP guide for a pally. And since im level 70 I cant remember what skills are available at level 13. I have however spent some time dueling with my pally and learned a few things along the way. For one thing we are not the best PVP class. However we do have a set of nice stuns which can really frustrate scouts and monks if you can fire them off before they do. My strategy is to spam in succession all my stuns. You can really crush a caster this way, since they don’t have much mitigation against Physical damage, and low health pools. Scouts and monks/bruisers have high DPS and avoidance, so they are tough to kill. Although once again spamming your stuns, (I think yours are kick and maybe a shield bash as your level) and laying on as much damage as possible before they can return the favor is your only chance. Lay on hands is a also a life saver in a fight, its usually the only reason I squeeze out matches against scouts. I have never been beaten by a caster btw, they are very easy to kill if you can keep them from casting! And even if they nuke you, you can try stunning them again and use LOH in the process. Im no expert on PVP though and im sure there are more around her that can help you, but just don’t feel bad as Pallys aren’t the best PVP class you can play. And getting ganked out of the blue by a group is going to be tuff to fight your way out of with any class.</SPAN></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <P><SPAN class=time_text></SPAN> </P><p>Message Edited by Taipans on <span class=date_text>07-07-2006</span> <span class=time_text>07:26 AM</span>

[Vathranen]

<DIV>I've got a 67 Paladin on PvP server and I would say, reroll now. Don't bother. Seriously. I think Paladin is quite possibly the worst PvP class you could choose next to Illusionist. We don't get nearly as many interrupts as brawlers do, and you won't be able to hit them due to their avoidance. Since 2/3 of your combat arts are spells you can count them out as a brawler will wait till you're casting to interrupt you.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Also, the higher you get the less damage you do. Do not plan on soloing as a Paladin.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>This sounds really bad I know, but I'm trying to help you out. Really, don't bother. You're in for a frustrating experience.</DIV>

[Brigh]

Through the 20s I have been able to solo yellow scouts 1 v 1.It helps though that my first pvp main is 70 so I can supply all the cure, heal, and totems I need. I also supplied several masters (conviction, omen, strike stun, etc...with LU25 there was a small flood of 20s masters I got some more from too).I also have an imbued steel bp and long sword from taking two nights of clearing all the TS node crap to find the ore nodes, legendary bracer, fabled lvl 19(?)ish bracelet, and mix of treasured gear. I hotkey lots of my gear like earrings for elemental, noxious, or tanking.Since severed fir is or was so abundant for me (4 sitting in the bank) harvesting, I also had an imbued staff made for DPS as secondary tank and a wand to try and smite runners with mental damage.I have 3 hex dolls (two master crafted str/sta, 1 common agi for the snare in hopes of it actually working when I have 8 sec to cast it).Remember wiz roots are elemental, warlock / necro roots are noxious.I kicked the crap out of an orange wizard using cure, bash, kick, Omen, Conviction, the divine strike stun, etc. When he was out of melee range and I had one of the two spell stuns up, I cast them when I saw him casting.My combat window was full of xxxxx interrupted...I don't know how it is later, but what the poster above me omits is that ALL classes have their strengths and weaknesses in pvp. Tanks are there to hold aggro and take a beating IN A GROUP.There are some classes you will find harder than others to 1 v 1 against. Use the terrain to your advantage, as Vysha put it in the AGI write up he did here. Put your back to a wall, tree, what ever when faced with an assassin.Griff towers, cliffs, small hills are your friends as long as you command the opposite side of them.Kick / bash / stun, THEN ward / heal. Use your M2 Blinding Light (if you so choose it) to not only encounter taunt, but also lower divine resistance so you can land your abilities better.My paladin is an erudite, so I can see who the casters and healers are.Since I have played a PVE paladin as my main to 58 before PVP came out, I am familiar with the class here.<p>Message Edited by Brigh on <span class=date_text>07-14-2006</span> <span class=time_text>11:58 PM</span>

[Kaleyen]

"There are some classes you will find harder than others to 1 v 1 against."So true, but I'm surprised to see that a Pally can do so well at a 1 v 1 fight.  The only ones I really have troubles with are those dang druids!<div></div>

[Vathranen]

<DIV>I did pretty well in my 20's too. I actually took an even level bruiser at 22, we both saw each other at the same time so it was a straight up brawl. I won due to kick/ward/heal without much trouble.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>That won't work when you get higher up. If you've played to 58 on PvE then you know your damage output isn't going to increase much while all other class' damage output does increase. But, as you said, Paladin is there to taunt in a group. Well, you have Redemption by your mid-20's so you should know that it doesn't work in PvP. That's why I said any other fighter will work better because their aggro buff still works in PvP just like in PvE. Couple that with the crazy resist rate in tier 7 and 3 second taunts here and there won't save anybody. You'll want a berserker or a guardian with their auto-taunting for that. However, in a group setting, your group heals and wards on said berserker/guardian can tip the scales. Paladin can play a role in PvP, don't get me wrong, but it's certainly not the glamorous role they play in PvE.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Let me throw this in here too - a one-on-one fight against an even level opponent will favor the Paladin. I probably would do well if I ever fought a single opponent the same level as me just because I can outlast most anybody. The trouble is that nobody in PvP wants to lose so nobody plays fair, and what Paladins lack is dirty tricks. A solo scout probably won't bother with you; you'll probably never even know you were sized up due to stealth & track. If the scout has friends and you're alone then you're going to lose. Too many interrupts when you're against multiple opponents. The only fights I saw after level 30 were me being either A) outnumbered, B) out-leveled or C) both. Usually C. The other problem is that, until Decree, you have nothing you can use on the run, and no snare capability unless you go AGI line. So if you do start to come out ahead in a fight all the opponent has to do is start walking and you can't do anything to stop them.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>One last note here: Paladins do well against casters. The problem is, people start out as casters and quickly realize that it's a waste of time and switch to scouts. You won't find a lot of casters past 35ish except necros. The problem with necros is that you aren't fighting a caster, you're fighting a caster's army.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV><p>Message Edited by Vathranen on <span class=date_text>07-15-2006</span> <span class=time_text>02:39 PM</span>

[nodaisho]

My 16 has no problems PvPing, frequently running off yellows (can't chase them down when they run), even a yellow assassin grouped with a blue fury, I don't know if the PvP is worse higher, but it is fine now, especially when you are grouped (mitigation buffs are my friend)

[holypaladin28]

<DIV>im a lvl 45 pally and let me tell you what i see for the forst 35 lvls pally is the worst PVP class ever when you hit lvl 35-40  then it starts to shine.  if you play right.  use your heals and wards.  when im in pvp i will cast my ward for 700 thenheal  then attack then repeat ever 24 seconds.  also fabled armor is your friend and i would say max out your WIS AA line for the better resists</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>it works for me and im ranked 3 on vow for pally class</DIV>

[Vathranen]

Maybe I'm just a really bad Paladin then. I have all Legendary/Fabled armor, Master 1 or Adept 1's. I'm level 67. All my resists are around the 4k mark. However, my damage hasn't increased at all since level 45ish. I get killed all the time because defense does not keep up with damage output after 50.

[ChopStix]

<P>i agree completely with the situation of a paladin not doing any damage at the higher lvls.. i'm a 67 pally. and all i see is around 600-700 melee damage from masters...  its almost ridiculous that they go and nerf our symbols now and cant use them to dash now. wierd how they didnt put that in the update notes ehh?  we also dont get an evac like a sk does....  i would like to know what developers think sometimes..  if we're suppose to be a mirror/direct opponent of a sk wheres our high damge harms touch? we get a refusal of conviction that does max 1400 damage? [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] so we get a heal if we're not interupted</P> <P> </P> <P> i think something needs to be done about it. and i'm not wasteing my time rerolling anything.. the only thing i'll reroll is my account and play vanguard when its released..</P> <P> </P> <P> </P> <P>we need to start complaining in everyway we can, send bug reports in everyday if need be...   they nerfed the conjuror class within 2 weeks the server went live, why not the assassins/brigands?</P>

[Novalos]

If you like, I can make you a set of Iron Vanguard armor and weapons for free.  Just send me a tell ingame.  Hopefully will help you through those teen levels, and if not, they go quick anyways.~Novalos47 Paladin of Nagafen<div></div>

[Vathranen]

Consider also that just because of the PvP ruleset Shadowknight Harm Touch may be increased while Lay on Hands has been reduced (since it's a heal). I'm going to check tonight but I'm betting Shadowknight lifetaps are also not affected by the PvP ruleset while Paladin heals are reduced by 30% or more.

[Hakan]

<P>Heh... not that I want to draw to close of a parallel between fantasy and "reality", but Paladins are like... British regulars in the Revolutionary War.  They are great if you want to stand toe to toe, 1 on 1, and fight.  Probably top 2 classes in the game, toe to toe.</P> <P>However, why in the 9 hells would an assasain want to toe the line with a Paladin?  Would a Paladin take 50 paces and nuke with a wizard?  Look, the class is designed to be tank fodder, pure and simple.  Effective PvP combat depends on mobility, effective timing, hit and run, ambushes... not /dueling someone. Paladins really aren't that naturally great at manuver and it requires tremendous skill and talent to make it work in PvP.  It can be done, obviously... but despite what your mothers may have told you, we are not all going to be above average players no matter how hard we practice or how many theories on PvP we read.</P> <P>Everyone thinks they are special /shurg</P> <P>Hakanek</P> <P>Unrest</P>

[Vathranen]

<P>Well I finally got a one-on-one fight with a Brigand two levels lower than me. I was 67 and he was 65. We saw each other at the same time so there was no ambush. He royally stomped my [Removed for Content]. I managed to ward one time and heal one time through all the interrupts. That's it. No other nukes or heals or combat arts. My damage output is too low to manage to hurt him and my defense isn't high enough to allow me to live through his onslaught. As I said before, my equipment isn't going to get any better. My mitigation is 55% and my avoidance is 45%. My heal is master 2 my ward is adept 3 my defensive stance is adept 3.</P> <P>After 50 the damage just doesn't scale right anymore. DPS classes increase at a huge rate and defense kind of tapers off.</P> <P>Or it could be that I am not a good Paladin. I played a Paladin to 55 on PvE and now 68 on PvP and I've learned a few things but that doesn't make me a professional. I kicked him and managed a ward, shield bashed and managed a heal, but he had many more interrupts than me (I think they get an auto-buff for interrupts). He also had me stunned for 50% of the fight. After my first attack he did walk the plank or something and I was stuck just standing there while he wailed away at my backside to half health.</P><p>Message Edited by Vathranen on <span class=date_text>07-21-2006</span> <span class=time_text>09:58 AM</span>

[Fatuus]

<P>This is the key to winning with a paladin versus scouts when dueling....</P> <P>1) Start with Doom Judgement Adept III....this removes all their buffs....including poisons....That takes away about 70% of their damage and makes it easier to kill...doom judgement is awesome since its an aoe and you can keep doing it until it hits...(especially against invis oppenents.</P> <P>2) Do interupts and stuns as much as possible, but don't forget about 2 key spells ...your conviction line which is a nice AOE stun / attack and castigate when you get a bunch of dots on you. Castigate with 3 dots on you at master I does around 1500 damage to the person AND cures them from you. You might need to use them in conjuction to get castigate off since it has a 3 second cast time.</P> <P>3) Don't forget your heals and cures...but burning them down is the way to go...against fighters you often need to ward and heal since its often who has power at the end.</P> <P>4) Bottom line...If you are not using doom judgement as a paladin you are so wrong you should reroll...its probably the BEST dueling spell in the game...bar none. I love dueling a summoner with a beefed up pet, only to have the pet AND the necros buffs all fall in a second.</P> <P>Flayedskin First lvl 50/60/70 troll paladin worldwide</P>

[Vathranen]

Yeah I was tapping the Doom Judgement attack but I never got it off. I think the brigand must have had a stun poison or something.

[Hakan]

<P>Vath you have way more Paladin PvP experience than I do... but keep in mind that the other guy might have just been really freaking good, or really freaking lucky, or you could have been unlucky, or the fight could have gone entirely the other way if a couple tiny things went differently, like getting off the Doom Judgement and a couple stuns.</P> <P>Hakanek</P>