Wolves' Den Paladin

[Kazu731]

Hello! I am a level 30 Gladiator. Everything about this game really excites me and I am very much a fan of arenas. So I have been very excited to get to try Wolves' Den.

I can't seem to find much information about my goal as a Paladin. I have tried about two matches--one win, one loss--but I don't want to hinder my parties by being un-job changed too much. In Wolves' Den, I notice that SMN seems to dominate the rankings. Do PLDs not do very well in the current meta? I want to know precisely my goal--am I able to produce some quality damage on a target? Am I just there for CCing?

[Potatoes]

Hello,
For the most part without any skill points or defining skills like Cover or Full Swing tanks are just another DPS. Speaking specifically for the level 30 PvP, 9 times out of 10 you are just going to rush healer down then clean up. White mages have trouble healing without Regen and SCHs will get picked apart by sleep if your team has it and is coordinated enough to utilize it as they cannot remove conditions til 40. If you're trying to kill a target try to save your stuns until they're about 60% or lower and you have another dps helping you out. This is usually when you apply Full Swing if you have it since you're trying to burst your target for a kill.

DO keep an eye out for your healer though as you can easily be their best friend. If you purchase Testudo, make sure to use it as soon as you get spooked as it's worthless if you lose your healer. (1/2)

[Potatoes]

(2/2)
A lot of healers don't realize this but if you Cover a healer they can freecast while Covered if they have no mages damaging them as you'll be the one taking all the incoming physical damage and stuns. If your healer is getting pressured you can stun the people chasing them but it's not really worth chain stunning until you get the 6 second stun trait in the 40 and 50 pvp tiers.

But until you get to a higher level and unlock more pvp skills, really just focus on not getting CC'd and pressuring the mages as much as possible while watching yours. Watch for White/Black Mages that open with Presence of Mind or Quickcast since that's a sure fire sign that they're looking to sleep someone and don't waste your stuns unless you're purposely trying to stall for another player or you're trying to waste someone's Surecast or Equanimity. Just keep at it and eventually you'll look like you'll know what you're doing like it's not your First Time.

[bbt]

Both. The meta observes a Paladin as pressure DPS and hard CC. 10 seconds of stun (6/3/1) and Full Swing are devastating. You should be focusing on DPS full time, peeling when necessary with stuns/blinds and complementing burst calls with a complete stun cycle.

At higher levels and ranks you will gain access to strong utility abilities like Cover, which redirects all physical damage from an ally onto you for 12 seconds, and Testudo, which can be applied to an ally to reduce damage taken by 30%/50% for 8s/16s (dependent on upgrades).