Early paladin feels weird?

[DocQuixotic]

Hello guys, new to the forums. I've recently resubbed after the BFA disaster and I love my old main classes, warrior and scholar, but want to try another tanking class. However, I don't have access to heavensward still and gladiator just feels weird to me. I'm not sure if its the lack of damaging AOE or something, but it feels lame compared to WAR. Does PLD get better feeling or should I just give up on it?

[Dalmacus]

2.0 paladins only have 1 combo halone. But in heavensward and stormblood they get massive improvements. So don't worry and just enjoy it!

[DocQuixotic]

Ah that's probably it. Right now it just dosen't seem to flow right. Thanks for the advice.

[Kalise]

Paladin just has some really unfortunate spacing of its skills.

Like, it only has a single combo until level 54 and it's AoE damage isn't until level 46/50.

But after you hit level 50, things start to improve pretty quickly for PLD (Well... Until you do some level sync content and go back to Halone spam...)

[Drakkaelus]

Yeah, it didn't occur to SE to make Paladins any fun to play until you're near lvl 60.

[Enkidoh]

Yeah, it didn't occur to SE to make Paladins any fun to play until you're near lvl 60.

Depends how you define 'fun to play': if you're looking for a class/Job with multiple complex skillchain combos and ability swapping, then of course you're going to be bored. But you have to remember GLA/PLD is set up to be easy to play for a reason - it's looked on as the 'beginner' tank, one with an easy set of combos and simple mechanics to ease a new player into the tanking role. That's not to say it's 'baby's first tank' though, as it's not. In the hands of a skilled player GLA/PLD is very effective and a lot of fun. You just need to look at the bigger picture here.

And that also means looking at it's early levels from a different perspective. It's lack of AoE attacks early on and two skillchain combos (funny how everyone seems to forget Fast Blade+Riot Blade even exists, given it does the exact same damage as Fast Blade+Savage Blade, only it regenerates MP instead of boosting hate) are not a reflection of the class as 'boring'. It's meant to be a learning curve: you're meant to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run, and run before you can step into a car and drive off. Don't expect to be able to just get your driver's licence when you're still in preschool (but I think I pushed that metaphor too far).

[Kalise]

(funny how everyone seems to forget Fast Blade+Riot Blade even exists, given it does the exact same damage as Fast Blade+Savage Blade, only it regenerates MP instead of boosting hate)

Probably because you get Rage of Halone at the early level of 26, which makes Riot Blade utterly useless because it won't chain into a similar 3rd strike until Goring Blade on level 54. I mean, unless you're really needing that MP after spamming... Flash? Your only MP costing skill until level 58.

(Also, Riot Blade actually does more damage than Savage Blade. RB is 240 potency vs SB's 210. Just, Rage of Halone is 270 potency so is better than just FB+RB spam due to fewer 160 potency Fast Blades)

But you have to remember GLA/PLD is set up to be easy to play for a reason - it's looked on as the 'beginner' tank, one with an easy set of combos and simple mechanics to ease a new player into the tanking role.

Even so, having a second combo (Thus, not having a useless Riot Blade) at a more reasonable level (Both WAR and DRK get their second combo attacks at level 38 for example) wouldn't necessarily make the class excessively complex. Especially when you consider that the first additional combo they get, Goring Blade, is a DoT that has lower upfront potency than Rage of Halone meaning you'd still be spamming Halone most of the time, but just maintaining the DoT from Goring every 21 seconds.

In addition, having a second AoE skill, one that deals damage, earlier wouldn't massively influence the complexity. But it would help PLD feel better to use in AoE situations where both WAR and DRK get AoE damage at level 10 and 6 respectively.

This isn't to mention how this "Beginner" tank has this thing where from level 50 it ramps up in complexity. Since it starts to access many of its core skills, as well as getting its job gauge and also its dual resource management. Literally level 50-60 PLD gains more complexity than 1-50 WAR or DRK. At the cost of 1-50 PLD being frustratingly simple because it just doesn't DO anything. It has Flash for AoE and it has Rage of Halone as a single combo. That's it, that's its entire kit until you hit 40+ and start to access some actual skills (Such as Spirit's Within, Total Eclipse and Circle of Scorn)

[Drakkaelus]

Depends how you define 'fun to play'

Something that doesn't have me watching Netflix or YouTube when I'm supposed to be engaged in the game.

But that's just me.

if you're looking for a class/Job with multiple complex skillchain combos and ability swapping, then of course you're going to be bored. But you have to remember GLA/PLD is set up to be easy to play for a reason - it's looked on as the 'beginner' tank, one with an easy set of combos and simple mechanics to ease a new player into the tanking role. That's not to say it's 'baby's first tank' though, as it's not. In the hands of a skilled player GLA/PLD is very effective and a lot of fun. You just need to look at the bigger picture here.

And that also means looking at it's early levels from a different perspective. It's lack of AoE attacks early on and two skillchain combos (funny how everyone seems to forget Fast Blade+Riot Blade even exists, given it does the exact same damage as Fast Blade+Savage Blade, only it regenerates MP instead of boosting hate) are not a reflection of the class as 'boring'. It's meant to be a learning curve: you're meant to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run, and run before you can step into a car and drive off. Don't expect to be able to just get your driver's licence when you're still in preschool (but I think I pushed that metaphor too far).

No, at the early levels PLD is the very definition of, "baby's first tank". It doesn't take 50+ levels to learn how to use more than one combo. Yeah, you crawl before you walk but if you're still crawling while everyone else is doing a gymnastics routine, it might be taking you a little too long to get going. There is absolutely nothing going on in these early dungeons that's so complex that it necessitates only having a single combo to balance it out.

[Bright-Flower]

PLD is very dull early on.

It never becomes a 'complicated' job but by the time you get to level 70 there is more going on, with Requiscat > Holy SPirit spam, a dps combo with a dot finisher and a flat damage finisher etc. But early on it's very dull and I'm always hesitant to queue for leveling roulette because while PLD has enough going on for me at 70 it's very dull early on. But then, a lot of jobs feel incomplete and boring at lower levels, not just PLD.

[BaratanFaenthand]

WAR is definitely better up until 50 then it starts to even out. Paladin has poor spacing of their abilities.