Part of the fun i have when a new TLP gets launched is figuring out what to do this time. Planning on going to Aradune Server. This go around I'm thinking of Rolling a Paladin. I've never played a Pally but enjoy tanking and dealing damage. I like the idea of playing a Paladin because there kinda rare to see. I want to try and Raid this go through. I dont want to be the main tank in Raids but I like the idea of being an Off Tank. From what I've read though Pally DPS is really bad in the beginning expansions, will I still be desirable in Raids? Being able to heal allies to me I think will offset the satisfaction I'd normally see with a SK. Im on the fence on boxing a Cleric to go with the Paladin. My play time is limited (work and family) I feel like with a boxed Cleric I can put together pretty fast whenever I log in instead of sitting LFG. (Paly Dies no big deal, CLR rez, CLR dies no big deal Paly Rez, I hate when groups break when a key member of group dies and than calls it a night) Boxing a Mage is also something I thought about, I love mage class, but i dont think Pally and Mage would have much synergy which is ok. I dont plan on (Duoing) ever, i enjoy full groups.
Paladins are both rare and desired. Their righteous nature is not everyone's cup of tea, but you won't have trouble finding a home in any aspect of game play. My rule of thumb for 2-boxing is the box should be an extension of the main. What are the limitations of the Paladin by itself and pick a class that can supplement. With that said, I personally wouldn't pair a Paladin and Cleric, because you'd find the best synergy with a Bard, Druid, or Shaman. Vice-versa with a Cleric main. I'd probably string a long a Necromancer or Enchanter if I were to main a Cleric. Imagine raiding with a Cleric that had a dedicated tapper?
I feel the best option for a paladin box is a Shaman or druid. You could go mage if you want but i feel you will spend more time on the mage for faster kills. Shaman gives you the ability to slow and heal. I know some people would prefer the DS of the druid over the shaman, but trust me i have gone both ways and the shaman is best. Also the shaman can cc with root or slow, and off tank if need be. Only advantage the druid has over the shaman is the ability to port.
Bull is probably right, at release the best 2 box for a Paladin (assuming you mean strictly 2 boxing) will be a Bard, Druid or Sham. My opinion is the absolute best 2 box for Paladin is a Beastlord, but you obviously won't have that option until Luclin. You are going to kill pretty slowly with either box choice, but I think you'll have a hard time just staying alive without significant downtime with the Bard due to lack of heals. As a pure 2 box for a Paladin, I would not recommend the Bard. The Shaman will give you the chance to fight harder content due to slow. Shaman slows plus heals will allow you to take on harder individual mobs, as well as more mobs at once. Shaman DPS is pretty much DoTs only, but it is better than most realize when considering box classes. The Druid will obviously give you ports at the expense of slow, which will limit the difficulty of the content you can take on. Druids should be better DPS though with DS, DoTs and nukes. If you want to play with charm (I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this Druid ability), there are many places to find animals that really boosts your DPS. When Luclin comes out, there are several places to use Dire Charm all the way through PoFire that is very easy box DPS. Heals, DS, ports, charm, invis, run speed...I would definitely pick Druid to pair with Paladin.
CoD rats can be DC'd. PoFire spiders too. Super easy box DPS, making for excellent relaxing 2 man grinding all the way through GoD. Once OoW hits the charm fun is over though.
Oh, and I can't believe I forgot snare....essential in the early expansions to deal with runners. Go Druid.
Great points. About desirability, Paladin are - painful to play at the early expansions, but later on are damn near mandatory for raids, they sadly get overlooked a lot due to how ridiculously good Shadowknights are, but the key thing that makes Paladin a good choice is how few opt to play them, while everyone & his dog has an SK. Have 3 boxed PAL/DRU/BRD and it was a really good trio, while the Paladin was the weak link to begin with the other 2 fill the gaps really well & overall made playing a Paladin a ton more fun, later into the game this trio became really strong (around 85 I stopped using them) and from what I understand would only get better after 85. If you can only 2 box I'd pick Shaman over Druid in the early game but swap to Druid later on - especially if you can find a partner who has a bard + something else.
You guys arent making it easy! haha Im liking the idea of a Shaman Box now that you guys mentioned it, Ive never played a Shaman before. Will they easily be able to keep a Paladin up for Group content? I dont see myself ever duoing for XP, my goal is to always start a full group up. Shaman and a Paladin enough heals to keep everyone up for full Group content?
I am also planning to main a Paladin, as I too enjoy playing the underdog and rarely seen classes. Here is the thing, as far as one v one. Shaman is the best class in the game. While Enchanter is very strong, they need a cleric to really shine. Shaman doesn't need anyone. They can pretty much kill any mob in the game due to slow/dots/heals etc. The slow is the real game changer. Shaman is the king of buffs, this is undisputed. So pairing a Shaman with a Paladin or any melee class is always going to be the optimal choice. I plan to play Rizlona and like Bullsnooze said the idea is to have your box or boxes fill the gaps to make your main really shine. So I will be playing Paladin / Shaman / Bard. If I was only allowed one box it would be Paladin / Shaman. HOWEVER, I see a great point with the druid's ability to charm, but you're absolutely right, adding in the charm factor especially from a druid is going to increase your work capacity substantially.
In the later game Shaman is a very strong group & raid ae healer, early-game it's considerably weaker than Cleric but not as weak as Druid for single target healing - the slow is the thing that helps a ton though & with the Paladin having some healing power itself the two together will be very capable of holding you up.
Grouping - Pal/Shm is excellent to start a group. You can go the min/max and get a charm+cleric or simply a puller + dps depending on the camp. Raiding on a Paladin - I'm going to be straight with you, it takes a dedicated person to raid as a Paladin from Classic through Velious. They are going to be expected to eat death touches in classic and since there are only 90% rezzes and a LOT of death touches, the exp loss adds up. In addition, other than some offtanking, Paladins don't offer much to a raid until Luclin. DPS is extraordinarily poor and all the spells are worse versions of a cleric. It can be very frustrating maximizing your class only to be outshined by literally every other class. Most guild leaders will only take around 3 Paladins so get in a guild early!
