I just want to clarify that I’ve been playing kTOS to test Paladin and want to share what works and what doesn’t with the class. Most Importantly, Paladin is not by any means a priority member in the party but not having a cleric is far worse. So here goes:
Barrier: Only the edge of the barrier knocks back and damages enemies with the attribute.
Bug - Sometimes mobs pass through after getting hit by the edge, not pushed back or are knocked into the circle and thus are free to move around without getting hurt within the barrier. Large type monsters that have knock back resist also do not get knocked back but take some damage. The damage however does not continue to take effects after 2/3 ticks and the large size enemy can freely move around inside the barrier.
Conviction: Does extra hits with smite after the conviction debuff is applied to the enemy however…
Bug - the extra hits do not apply additional multipliers when the enemy is demon type or weak to strike type attacks. Only the first initial hit recieves the multiplier bonus.
Note, Considering the 3 ranks I invested into this class, after the recent patch I expected more from this combo. So hopefully it gets fixed.
Paladin needs some love right now.
Currently in KTOS you’ll be doing dungeons and missions from 90+ every day alongside questing. But what people are looking for from a Cleric is usually support/buffs to make runs faster or less rage-inducing, Chaplain being the absolute best choice for Stone Skin and Last Rite. Paladin offers very little support and also requires 3 circles which sacrifices other int-based alternatives in competing ranks. What makes Paladin shine is it’s synergy with c2 Cleric and Restoration. Every other skill in Paladin circles are optional. With only 140 int at Rank 5, you are guaranteed to be the best healer. 11 heal tiles, achievable with divine might is no joke especially as a Paladin.
Restoration is your best support skill as it’s a one-point wonder that increases Heal tile effectiveness.
Okay so now we understand that Paladin has little to offer as a support but as a healer it’s pretty solid thanks to Restoration. But what can it achieve as a dps?
Testing Part 1 - Zalciai + Smite for Insane crits
Krivis c2 > Paladin c2:
Zalciai - debuffs enemy, reducing enemy crit resist and scales with spr. Enemy crit resist can go below 0, the resulting chance would be higher the lower the crit resist value is. Not sure of what the calculation is but I’ve confirmed that it works.
cons: long cast animation, long cd, no overheat, poor scaling with spr.
Zaibas - Decent single-target dps, scales with int really well.
cons: long cd, few mobs are weak to lightning, isn’t neccesary for dealing with flying type once you have smite.
Daino - increases buff limit
cons: Totally unneeded after the recent patch, if you manage your party members buffs appropriately you can avoid krivis for cleric2.
Aukuras - pulls agro
cons: Not even worth it in my opinion, mobs change target as soon as they get near the torch.
I played up to level 162 and was able to do over 10k crits on certain enemy types with smite, as well as nice damage on bosses. However because of SPR’s horrible scaling, and having no int and hadn’t picked c2 cleric I was a pretty terrible healer even with restoration so I had no choice but to give up on this build because it was just too painful.
Testing Part 2 - Battle League and PvE Healer/DPS
Cleric c2 > Priest c1 > Paladin c3:
In a recent patch Safety Zone now has an attribute for c2 Clerics which gives an extra +20 blocks which is AMAZING. I feel c2 Cleric is basically required after this patch was introduced along with Daino becoming more redundant due to increased buff limit.
Additionally, Smite now does additional hits when an enemy is suffering from Conviction debuff. This is a real plus for us Paladins.
Resurrection and Stone Skin are OP in Battle League if you are a c3 Priest. These skills are must have skills for party and I do not regret having Priest c1 this time around over Krivis.
After trying c3 Paladin and learning how bugged Barrier was I was a little disappointed, but I still had a little hope as Conviction is nothing to frown at. Alongside Divine Might it can achieve level 6 skill level and reduce elemental resistances of the target for each property, fire, poison, lightning and ice by 120. With gear that gives elemental property atk will buff each additional hit by +120 damage per element. You can easily achieve 3 elements out of 4, and with an awakened weapon can potentially get a full + 480 dmg per hit.
Paladin is starting to seem a whole lot more viable for a dps but i still felt I was lacking some fast hitting, multihit skills.
The great thing about playing a Paladin is you won’t ever feel like you are useless because there is another Priest in the party and this was part of the problem that i felt with choosing Priest c1. If there was another Priest with a higher level blessing, then i have a whole rank that wont be utilised. Something like Krivis or Dievdirby would work a lot better and the extra hits from Zaibas and Carve will work well with Conviction.
In my experience playing Paladin level 10 Cure, level 10 Heal and Smite will easily carry you to r6 so you can start enjoying Conviction and Barrier. It’s nothing game breaking, but it can potentially help you reach dps-tier alongside a supporting class like Krivis or Dievdirby.
In my opinion we should leave the Priest builds to the Chaplains and glorify the battlefield with our heal tiles. After playing a hybrid of Priest and Paladin with 120 con, 160 int and 40 dex. I still feel that a lot of testing needs to be done regarding statting, but I feel that for melee characters you should prioritize high dex instead of con, you still get evasion and can make up for having less hp with gear.
Cleric c2’s should have around 140 int at r5, you’ll get 10 int bonus at r6 and another 10 bonus at r7. This is a suitable amount for Heal and Cure damage. I absolutely suggest c2 Cleric as it will make up for not having Stone Skin or Mass Heal and scales really well with int. But if you want to go for the alternative which is c2/c3 Priest, make sure you max out your Mass Heal, Revive and Resurrection.
Remember that there are even more options at r7. As for me I’m going to be trying out Cleric2 > Dievdirby > Paladin3 > Plague Doctor for GVG and Earth Tower, which is the only current end-game content available in kTOS unless you include Battle League. With high dex to capitalize on carve, smite, conviction dps in my next Paladin build. If you want a more Full Support build, I’d suggest Priest3 > Chaplain > Cleric2/Oracle > Plague Doctor/Kabbalist.
Good luck and I hope there are more Paladins that join the fight.