Is it pointless to lvl Paladin?

[Rivxkobe]

Also since it's new by 3.0 it has the ability to cast protect if a member has been raised and it's Stone skin offers even more defense and not just for you but also for your party members.

Um... What?

[Martin_Arcainess]

I don't think that Protect and StoneSkin, or the ability to cast them on party members is new in 3.0.

Worded it wrong then but since 3.0 the changes to Stone Skin and Protect have been changed. Now PLD's Protect is on par with Any healers Protect and the only difference between a PLD's and any other healers Stone skin compared to WHM's is cast time.

In short PLD's SS and Protect can save the healers some MP in those down time moments.

Um... What?

Read above but more slowly this time ;3 lol

but yeah not best wording by my part

[Februs]

Pld is a fine choice. It has it's issues and is in the greatest need of some adjustments out of all the jobs in the game, but it's not nearly as bad as some of the hearsay make it out to be.

Yes, Pld's have much lower output than Drk's and War's in the MT position. However, in the OT position Pld's have a very similar output to Drk's, because Royal Authority gives a steady potency. Drk's only exceed it because of burst Dmg from Dark Arts and using their ridiculous number of OGCD's.

In regards to Tanking, Pld is still the Tank to be when facing off against a physical boss. You'll feel right at home in fights like A3 or Thordan Ex, where almost every attack can be mitigated with your shield. Drk's have extremely similar CD's to Pld, but moves like Shelltron, Clemency, and Stoneskin set Pld apart. Physical Tank busters are a joke to a Pld, and if you know how to time your CD's appropriately, there is literally never a time where you are vulnerable to dmg. Further, out of all the Tanks, Pld's work with the healers more than any other because they can mitigate group dmg (Divine Veil/Cover) and heal others (Clemency).

[Velox]

PLD is a great tank. WAR is just broken right now it's so OP in how much DPS it can produce as a tank. That's why people are flocking to it. PLD is very much in line with DRK, with the primary difference being PLD handling physical damage better and DRK handling magic better.

That being said, DRK is favored due to Alex Savage relying on physical autoattacks while tank busters are magical. SE already acknowledged this oversight that is leaving PLD on the sidelines and said they will correct it for 3.2 (bosses will have a mix of both physical and magical tank busters and DPS checks will be eased in favor of mechanics checks instead so certain tanks and healers aren't mandatory).

[whiskeybravo]

I have Drk and War at 60 and am still leveling Pld, so I don't think it's pointless. They each have their own benefits, and if you like Pld more than the others then you should definitely level it up.

[Syzygian]

Frankly if you're serious about tanking there's no reason to not have them all at 60.

[Dhex]

Leveling Paladin is worthwhile; it's got enough versatility you can play with it in encounters that aren't as heavily weighted towards DPS. In a raid setting I currently rank it third among the tanks and I've decided to prioritize it as such while gearing going forward from patch 3.1 - if you enjoy tanking you should level all three since much of the gear crosses over.

[Lambdafish]

Nobody has metioned that tank damage calculations are changing in 3.2 which may be a big step in making PLD DPS more viable. Personally I have always been a PLD and I haven't had many problems being a PLD in 3.x other than player perception, which has mostly died down now that gear is more plentiful. Yoshi P has stated his stance on PLD saying that its the content that doesnt cater to PLD and they are working to address this (starting with Thorden).

So yes, if you want to level PLD then go for it!

[fm_fenrir]

I've been having a ball with PLD, trying to squeeze as many HOT DEEPS as possible out of it. There's really nothing wrong with PLD's SwO damage at all.

Also, yeah, whoever said RA combo is the most consistent tank DPS rotation is correct. That's PLD's theme, really; it's not the best at any one thing, but it does what it actually does very, very consistently.

[Lambdafish]

That's PLD's theme, really; it's not the best at any one thing, but it does what it actually does very, very consistently.

shh, Don't tell anyone but PLD is actually RDM in disguise