Paladin Evolved (Dev Panel US Fan Fest)

[Mikey_R]

First caveat to get out of the way, this is very early dev info and is likely to be changed before release.

With that out of the way, I want to go over Paladin Evolved as shown in the Dev Panel that happened at the US Fan Fest.

Some basic things across all jobs:
-Massive reduction in buttons, aiming for about 16 in total
-Combo consolidation, that 3 part combo, now only takes up 1 button
-Actions change dependant on different circumstances

Dev Panel for timed for Paladin

First thing to mention, I'm not going to list every action that was removed, just assume if it isn't mentioned, it is gone.

First things first, whilst crude, there are 2 gauges that fill. The 'Defence' gauge and 'Honor' gauge, each one having 2 circles next to them. They both seem to build up over time, with Defence filling every 20 seconds and Honor filling every 40. There is also a 'Crest' text, but nothing changes there at all.

Going through combat, the first thing that is shown is the basic combo. Fast Blade > Riot Blade > Divine Authority (new action with new animation).

This gives the Paladin the Expiacion Avowed buff which changes the 'Continuation' button to Expiacion. This buff lasts 30 seconds.

Next that is shown is a new action 'Divine Justice' (using the Holy Spirit icon as a placeholder). When cast on an enemy, it used Holy Spirit, when used on an ally, it casts Clemency.

Next is Imperator. This allows the use of the magic blade combo, Blade of Faith > Blade of Truth > Blade of Valor. Imperator itself seems to have a very short cooldown, however, it does use up a stack of 'Honor Gauge'. It also gives a 'Divine Might' buff. Upon using Blade of Valor, you get Blade of Honor ready buff, which changes the 'Continuation' button to Blade of Honor. They do not show what the Divine Might buff does, but later in the panel, you can surmise that it upgrades 'Divine Judgement' to Confeiteor when attacking an enemy.

Next, Holy Sheltron and a new action 'Answering Strike. Starting With Sheltron, upon use, you use a stack of 'Defence' and you get a buff called 'Surcoat of Satisfaction' for 4 seconds, After 4 seconds, the buff changes to 'Surcoat of Answer' for another 4 seconds. This is related to 'Answering Strike' as it is a counter move. If you block an attack, you can use 'Answering Strike'. The potency of Answering Strike is increased if you block during that first buff, 'Surcoat of Satisfaction' (it was also renamed to 'Satisfaction' with a slightly different animation. I do not know how much stronger it is meant to be as the 'stronger' one done less damage than the weaker one, however, that is the intention as they described. Upon using the counter, the Paladin also gets a buff for 15 seconds with the same name as the attack. It has the current Holy Sheltron regen icon, however, there was no regen effect.

Next, Passage of Arms, mostly the same. The only clear difference is it now gives a buff called 'Gathering Round' for 30 seconds. This is a new action that replaces Passage of Arms and seems to be a heal on the party.

Next, they use Divine Veil and Hallowed Ground, no noticeable changes there.

Provoke is next. This is another action that changes dependant on target. Enemy is Provoke, party member is Shirk. It also has 2 stacks and has a cooldown of 10 seconds. When using Provoke, you get a buff for 10 seconds, no idea what it does but it has the Iron Will icon. It does not seem to increase enmity gain (shown later).

Intervene (called 'Intercession' in the panel), gap closer on enemy, on an ally, it gives Cover. Notably, it done no damage.

Shield Lob, Shield Lob at far range, Shield Bash at close range, still has the stun for 6 seconds. Notably here, the effects seem to imply they are AoE.

A bit later, they use Holy Sheltron on an ally with the Intervention effects. This gave a similar buff to Holy Sheltron, Shield of Satisfaction > Shield of Answer. Likely the same effect as the Holy Sheltron.

Those are the main points to take away from the panel, apart from the fact they are bringing back main and off tanks. Main tanks are 'skilled at taking direct damage' and have 'actions to counter enemy attacks'. Off tanks are 'Skilled at lowering damage' and have 'Actions to lower enemy damage'. Paladin and the new tank job are main tanks, with the Dark Knight, Warrior and Gunbreaker filling in the Off tank role.

One of the goals of the 'evolved' jobs is to be much more flexible, and I do think they have achieved this. Also remembering that there is no 2 minute meta to contend with, you are free to sculpt the rotation around the fight, mainly the use of Imperator for those disconnects. My only worry is that it is too simple, however, without getting my hands on it and playing it in content, it will be hard to judge, however, I am willing to give it a good go, especially since this seems to be the direction they want to take the jobs in. If I were to describe this, I would call it cautiously optimistic.

SO, what is everyone's thoughts/opinions about what we have seen?