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- This article is about the general class description. For the Warcraft III hero unit, see Paladin (Warcraft III).
- In all things, paladins must reflect the Light, which supplements our strength. To strive to be divine for one of our kind does not mean we strive for godhood--we strive to be good in all actions. Although called upon to smite evil in these harsh times, you must always remember that it's aiding others that will truly set you apart from the other citizens. Compassion, patience, bravery--these things mean as much to a paladin as strength in battle.
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 blessings that provide useful buffs for other players while withstanding heavy physical damage with plate armor and strong defensive abilities.
- Through the holy specialization, paladins are able to empower their healing even further. The holy spec's most important talent, , allows a varying amount, depending on the Heal used, of a Paladin's 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 , , and .
- 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.
- 1 Class overview
- 2 Background
- 3 Races
- 4 Specializations
- 5 Holy Power
- 6 Gear
- 7 Abilities
- 8 Stats
- 9 PvP
- 10 Images
- 11 Videos
- 12 See also
- 13 Patch changes
- 14 References
- 15 External links
This is the call of the paladin: to protect the weak, to bring justice to the unjust, and to vanquish evil from the darkest corners of the world. These holy warriors are equipped with plate armor so they can confront the toughest of foes, and the blessing of the Light allows them to heal wounds and, in some cases, even restore life to the dead. Ready to serve, paladins can defend their allies with sword and shield, or they can wield massive two-handed weapons against their enemies. The Light grants paladins additional power against the undead and demons, ensuring that these profane beings corrupt the world no longer.
Paladins are not only zealots, but also guardians of the righteous, and they bestow blessings on those the Light would shine upon. The Light radiates from paladins, and worthy allies who stand near them are emboldened by its power.
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 misguided paladins such as those in the Scarlet Crusade that end up doing evil in spite of their claims to follow the Light.
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 by siphoning it from their revered Sunwell. 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. Recently, tauren paladins, known as Sunwalkers, have learned to use the power of the sun, much as druids use the power of the moon, making them able to wield the power of Light.
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.
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 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. Many paladins traveled to quarantined lands to ease the suffering of those left within the plague-ridden colonies, but although the paladins were immune to disease of any kind, they were persecuted by the general populace who believed that they had been infected by the foul plague.
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.
Code of conduct
This section concerns content exclusive to World of Warcraft.
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 as long as they believe their cause to be just, the Light will continue to serve them because wielding the Light is a matter of willpower and faith in one's own ability to do it. Since he felt conflicted, Arthas's ability to use the Light began to wane after he culled Stratholme. He perceived this as the Light choosing to abandon him, which weakened his faith in it further.
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.
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.
- Main article: Paladin 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. Draenei paladins are members of an organization called the Hand of Argus.
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 how the tauren have only been worshiping the moon, while both the sun and the moon are the eyes of the Earthmother, making them both equally sacred. This new belief made the tauren able to draw powers from the sun as the druid can draw power from the moon.
Each paladin order has a different mount.
Invokes the power of the Light to protect and to heal.
Holy paladins have devoted themselves to healing, with powerful specializations including and . With their plate armor, Holy paladins are some of the toughest healers in the game. When they need to deal damage, they prefer ranged Holy attacks like and .
Like priests who serve the Light, holy paladins are devout in their faith. After spending much of their lives in hallowed halls studying divine doctrine, those who pledge themselves to a holy order become beacons of the Light for their allies in conflict, taking up the heavy armor and weaponry of justice. Holding the unwavering belief that any battle waged to eradicate evil in the world is righteous, these paladins stands on the frontlines in service to all others dedicated to the cause. The truth and virtue of the Light imbues these sacred knights with the power to revitalize their comrades. If necessary, they even lay down their own lives to serve as martyr for the greater good.
Uses Holy magic to shield <himself/herself> and defend allies from attackers.
Through the Protection spec, 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. Strong stamina scaling, simple and very high threat generation and the superb talent make paladins powerful tanks. With plate armor, shields and an array of powerful self-healing and defensive options, Protection paladins are often hard to defeat even without a healer by their side.
The paladin’s tools of war lay bare their motivations. Clenched in one hand is the weapon, a deadly device for exacting righteous judgment. Locked in the other hand is the shield, a symbolic and literal barrier protecting good from evil. Stalwart and steadfast, these protectors are ardent defenders of the Light and all that it touches, and are rejuvenated by its radiance in return. So dedicated they are to their cause that they consecrate the very ground upon which they battle corruption.
A righteous crusader who judges and punishes opponents with weapons and Holy magic.
Retribution paladins favor slow two handed weapons, causing sudden damage spikes through both melee and spell crits. They favour single-target attacks like , and to build Holy Power, powering regular use of , or for AoE. In PvP, Retribution paladins can be very effective off-healers, and have excellent mobility. Retribution paladins can use powerful augments like and to buff their damage output.
To serve as instrument of the Light is to hold an unshakable faith. Oftentimes the most dedicated paladins become fanatical in their devotion, instruments of retribution against those who dare defy the laws of the divine. These paladins are vengeful guardians of the weak—crusaders judging and punishing the wicked. Their resolute conviction in the divine order of all things assures them that victory is inevitable—but they will fight to the end to ensure that the Light prevails.
- Main article: Holy Power
Paladins have a resource system similar to the rogue's combo points called Holy Power. It is gained by using various spells, such as , , and , while being consumed by spells such as , , , and . Up to 3 Holy Power can be stored (5 with , although abilities will still consume at most 3). Holy Power does not decay until 30 seconds out of combat.
- See also: Paladin sets
Paladins cannot dual wield, or wield daggers, fist weapons or staves. They also cannot use ranged weapons. They have no spammable ranged attacks, but can use , , and (if Protection) or (if holy), to pull, as needed.
They can summon their own Warhorse at level 20, and the Paladin will automatically learn Apprentice Riding. The epic Charger is acquired automatically at level 40, and is ridable, however does not give the benefit of 100% movement speed boost until Journeyman Riding is learned.
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 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. Draenei paladins also tend to prefer their own two-handed hammers, a Light-blessed crystalline weapon known as the . Blood elf paladins seem to prefer polearms instead.
Paladins play a key role by buffing their allies . However, they also have a few other handy spells and abilities in their arsenal.
- Main article: Paladin abilities
Paladin talents increase their ability to heal the wounded, strengthen their capacity to protect their companions, and allow them to deal out vicious damage in the name of justice.
As of patch 4.0.1 Blessings have been consolidated into 2 buffs, and , with both having a 60 minute duration. Unlike their previous incarnations, these blessings are no longer single target and, upon being cast on a Party or Raid member, are mirrored onto all members of the Raid/Party including the Paladin.
- Main article: Blessing
- Main article: Hand (spell)
Seals are self-buffs, permanent until changed, turned off or the Paladin switches specialization, which boost the power of the Paladin's melee attacks. Effectively, they add a weapon proc to their melee strikes. Previously, Paladins could unleash these seals upon an enemy using , causing holy damage and causing an effect depending on which seal is used. The Paladin needs to have a Seal active to use Judgment.
- Main article: Seal (ability)
Paladins have regular access to spell interruption through and , as well as talents including and .
Paladins have several anti-undead and demon abilities such as , , and which make them very effective when fighting Demon and Undead targets (not including Forsaken players, who are considered Humanoids for balance reasons). and work against all targets, but have additional mechanics when dealing with undead and demon.
Paladin stats vary by role. Secondary stats can be optionally obtained after primary stats have been met.
|Stats to Avoid|
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 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.
- Paladin attributes
- See List of paladins for notable paladins of various races from lore.
- See Tips and advice for paladins for further advice and tips on the paladin's varying roles.
- See the paladin category for further information on the paladin class.
- Statistics of paladins from Warcraft II.
- Divine Magic
- Spell power coefficient
- Paladin twinking guide
- Paladins as healers
- Paladins as tanks
- Paladins as DPS
- Patch 7.0.3 (Beta): Now begins with plate armor at level 1 instead of mail armor.
- Patch 5.0.4 (2012-08-28):
- Paladins can now store up to 5 Holy Power at a time at higher levels, but still can only use up to 3 on each Holy Power spender.
- Auras have been removed from the game.
- Seals now works as "stances" instead of being a timed buff, which makes them persist through death.
- Relics have been removed from the game.
- Patch 4.0.1 (2010-10-12):
- Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14): All Auras now affect all party and raid members within the area of effect.
- Patch 2.0.1 (2006-12-05): With the introduction of the blood elves, paladins are now playable by both the Alliance and the Horde.
- ^ Of Blood and Honor, page 5
- ^ http://us.battle.net/wow/en/game/class/paladin
- ^ http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=25626575587#1
- ^ Warcraft II Strategy: Units.
- ^ Warcraft III - Humans -> Units -> Paladin.
- ^ Warcraft III - Undead -> Units -> Death Knight.
- ^ Dark Factions, pg. 154-155.
- ^ Ask CDev #1
- ^ Arthas: Rise of the Lich King
- ^ Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game, pg. 90.
- ^ World of Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game, pg. 79.
- ^ a b c Legion Class Preview Series: Paladin
- ^ Mace