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Paladin Group Raid Strategies
Contents
This guide is intended to
improve a paladin’s contribution to a group or raid. When grouping, the
effective paladin is unselfish, aware of his/her comrade’s needs, willing to
take a hit for the team, and not concerned about being the last man standing.
Paladins do not win battles, but rather they help others win battles.
The overall goal for a paladin in a group or raid is to protect and help your
comrades, and this should be the focus of most that you do. Paladins protect
people from taking damage, from dying, from nasty debuffs, and from having to
walk long distances back to the group. Paladins also should be keenly aware of
other class roles, and do their best to make sure each group member is free to
play to their strengths.
Overall Goal: Protecting other Group Members
Primary Roles
Secondary Roles
Paladins can be most helpful
to their comrades by focusing on the primary roles, and using the secondary
roles when needed, but never at the expense of your primary role as a
tank/buffer.
It’s important to note that the primary roles and secondary roles are not
necessarily exclusive. While tanking, a paladin will obviously deal damage, and
it is often practical to heal while tanking. But damage and healing shouldn’t be
the primary focus of a paladin, except in special circumstances.
Aggro: Also called hate or threat, aggro
refers to how much a bad guy wants to kill you. Tanks want high aggro, squishies
want low aggro.
AoE: An Area of Effect (AoE) spell is
one that damages several bad guys at once, usually in a confined area. AoE
spells generally generate a lot of aggro.
Buff: A spell that increases stats
and/or abilities. Each group member should always have a paladin-supplied buff.
Caster: A group member that does
damage from afar. Casters are squishy and should be protected from direct melee
combat.
Debuff: A spell that decreases stats
and/or abilities. Debuffs that paladins should be most concerned with are magic,
disease, and poisons.
Squishy: A group member with low
armor, such as a mage or warlock. Less so, druids and rogues.
Rez: An abbreviation for “resurrect”.
Tank: A group member whose primary
responsibility is to absorb and take damage dealt by bad guys so that other
group members don’t have to.
To be an effective paladin,
it’s important to understand what the other classes are going to be doing in a
battle, and what they need to be effective. This is more important for a paladin
to know than for some other classes, because it is the paladin’s job to make
sure that every group member has what they need to get their job done.
Tanks
Tanks are designed to stand
in the thick of a fight and absorb damage, just like a paladin. When playing
with other tanks, make sure they aren’t taking more damage than is their fair
share. Use stuns, aggro-raising spells, and melee attacks to pull aggro from an
overloaded tank.
Casters
Casters (Squishies) like to
deal damage from afar, and don’t like to engage in melee combat. It is the
paladin’s job to make sure melee attackers don’t get to casters, and if they do,
to get them off the caster as soon as possible. The fight will be over much
sooner if a caster is free to fight without being hassled by melee fighters.
Also, bad guy casters should be dealt with early so they don’t hassle anyone,
your friendly casters included.
Healers
Healers are generally squishy
like casters, although druids can take a hit when needed. But if a healer is
fighting, they can’t be healing effectively. Do whatever it takes to get bad
guys off healers as soon as possible, and shield the healer if necessary until
you can get the bad guy off.
Hunters
Hunters are like casters in that they do the most damage
from afar, but they can take a beating better than casters or healers. If
practical, help hunters out, but keep in mind they can hold their own in a fight
longer than a healer or caster.
The goal of a tank is not glorious, but it is simple in
concept – to stand in front of the bad guys and take a beating so your comrades
don’t have to. Paladins are well suited for this task because of the high armor
and high hit points.
For the solo-minded paladin, tanking can be difficult to adjust to because the
focus is not on dealing damage, but on taking damage and holding aggro.
'It takes a certain amount of humility to understand you weren’t invited into
the group for your big 2-handed mace, so break out the shield, step in front of
the biggest baddest monster and take a beating like a good paladin.”
Aggro
Aggro management can be tricky at times. The paladin’s goal is to attract enough
aggro that bad guys are focused on the paladin instead of other party members
that would rather not be taking the damage. At the same time, too much aggro
will get you killed and frustrate your healer. When trying to attract aggro, be
aware of other group members or pets that can also handle damage. There is no
need for a paladin to be taking hits from every bad guy if there is a warrior or
pet in the group that is perfectly capable of taking a hit.
Weapon Choices
The best weapon set for tanking is clearly a shield and 1-handed weapon. Even if
a paladin uses and specializes in 2-handed weapons, a shield plus a cheap
1-handed sword is better than the best 2-handed weapon when tanking. Dealing
damage is secondary to absorbing damage and the extra armor from the shield is
essential.
However, if the mobs you are facing are not troubling your squishy characters,
or the group has pets capable of tanking, a 2-handed weapon can be an option.
When choosing a 2-handed weapon, make sure that aggro is still handled well
(either by yourself or another tank) and that the group’s healer is not
overtaxed healing the extra damage you are taking.
Auras
Not only is Devotion aura the best overall aura, it is the best aura for
grouping. The armor increases from this aura, especially when talents are used
to improve it, are incredible. It is perfectly reasonable to double the armor
class for casters with this one aura.
Retribution aura can be used when fighting mobs that are lower level than
the group, and there isn’t much concern about taking hits, but even so, the
damage done to the bad guys from your retribution aura will pale in comparison
to what your damage dealing comrades can do.
The resistance auras never seem to awe-inspiring, but if your group is fighting
a large group of casters that are using magic from a specific branch, then you
can throw up a resistance aura. Remember that devotion aura does not stop magic
damage, only physical damage, so there is no major disadvantage to dropping
devotion aura when facing casters that are attacking with spells.
Seals
The obvious seal for tanking is the Seal of Fury, as this directly increases
aggro directed at the paladin. When using Seal of Fury, it is best to use a
fast, one-handed weapon since aggro is added with each melee attack. Also be
sure that you are well-trained in the weapon because misses don’t do any good
for gaining the aggro given by Seal of Fury.
In some cases, you will be able to generate enough threat without the Seal of
Fury, or your group will have other members or pets capable of handling aggro.
In these cases, you can effectively use a damage-increasing seal, such as
Crusader, Righteousness, or Command.
If you need some extra mana or extra hit-points, Seal of Light and Seal of
Wisdom can be helpful in a pinch. These seals aren’t going to gain you huge
amounts of mana or health, but they are better suited for group-play than for
soloing since your damage output isn’t as much of a concern.
Seals expire quickly and can be neglected in the heat of a battle, but you
should always have one up. Any seal is better than not having one up at all.
Blessings for the Paladin
The general purpose tanking blessing to cast on yourself is probably Blessing of
Might. Blessing of Wisdom can be a great choice too if you are using a lot of
mana-intensive spells.
Other Spells
Consecration: Consecration is a great AoE spell that does decent damage and
makes bad guys very angry at the paladin, which is good. Often the aggro
generated from consecration is sufficient that the paladin can abandon Seal of
Fury for a damage-increasing seal. Consecration is obviously best used when lots
of bad guys are around, but it can be effective against single targets too.
Hammer of Justice: Hammer of Justice (stun) is great in several situations and
should be used often. It is great against casters and even better for using
against a melee bad guy that is bothering one of your casters.
Resurrecting is pretty straight-forward, but there are some
things to keep in mind:
- Pack lots of water with you so people don’t have to
wait for you to regenerate the mana to resurrect.
- Always have the latest Resurrect spell so that your
comrades don’t come back from the dead hurting for mana and hit-points.
- When you resurrect someone, they are pulled to you, so
there’s no need to wade into a bunch of bad guys to resurrect. Stand in a
safe area and resurrect from there.
- If you have a warlock’s Soulstone, and you die, stay
down until further notice. If you resurrect using the Soulstone only to die
again, you have left your group in a sticky situation.
- When resurrecting an entire group, resurrect the
healers first, then casters. The healers so they can heal while you
resurrect and the casters so they can start getting their mana back.
Paladins have a huge array of buffs (in the form of
blessings) to help out fellow group members, and have the interesting situation
of being able to only apply one blessing for each group member. If a group
member wants a specific blessing, then by all means use that one for them. But
most group members will leave it up to the paladin to apply the best blessing
for a situation, so it’s essential to have a working knowledge of which
blessings are best for which classes in which situations. If there are multiple
paladins in the group, it is important to work out which paladin is doing which
blessing for which group member.
The blessings are ultra-short compared to other class’s buffs, and this is
because they are so situational. The paladin should always be aware of the
current situation, and adjust blessings accordingly. Because of the short
duration of the blessings, it’s best to get in the habit of buffing whenever
there is downtime and to use a UI mod that will show you, at a glance, the
current buffs for each party member. And don’t forget, pets love being blessed
too.
Casters/Healers
A caster/healer will either want Blessing of Wisdom or Blessing of
Salvation. Generally, Blessing of Wisdom is the every-day utility buffs for
casters/healers, and it’s hard to go wrong with it. But in a heavy fight, or if
a caster is having problems with aggro, go with Blessing of Salvation. Warlocks
are good candidates for Salvation.
Rogues, Warriors, Hunters
Blessing of Might is the utility buff here, with Blessing of Salvation
reserved for hunters and rogues in heavy fights and aggro-intensive situations.
Rogues are excellent candidates for Blessing of Salvation because of the amount
of aggro they generate coupled with the fact that they have no pet.
Druids
Druids are just a strange bunch, because you never know what they are going to
be doing. If they are healing or casting, go with Blessing of Wisdom or
Blessing of Salvation. If they are tanking or dealing damage, Blessing
of Might is the better choice.
Healing
Paladins can make an serviceable secondary healer, but just don’t have the mana
or the arsenal of spells to compete with a priest or druid. When healing,
Holy Light is going to be your go-to spell. Flash of Light only saves
you one second, and just can’t compete with the healing power of Holy Light.
Paladin heals are horribly
slow, so its best to start the heal when you see your target’s damage get about
halfway down. Once it’s below the ¼ mark, you most likely won’t have time to get
it off. Sometimes, you can use Flash of Light to give an extra boost
before you launch Holy Light, but this is an iffy tactic. The Spiritual Focus
and Improve Holy Light talents are a must for any paladin that wants to
heal even part-time. If you have to make a choice between healing two group
members, healers should get first priority, and then you should make it a
priority to get the bad guy off of them that caused them trouble in the first
place. Blessing of Protection is a great spell for casting on someone
about to die so that you have extra time to get your heal off. It’s also great
for casting on healers that are in trouble. Not only does it give them time to
heal, but it gives a tank a chance to take away any aggro the healer has.
Healing: Poisons, Magic, and Disease
The paladin can cure any debuff except for curses and
physical debuffs. Keep a close eye on the portraits of your group members so you
can get rid of their debuffs in a timely manner. No one should ever have to ask
for a paladin to help them in this regard. Some bad guys are merciless about
poisoning and disease-giving, so in these cases it may be best to save your mana
for more important tasks and take care of the problem when things are less
hectic. But keep in mind that some poisons are nastier than others, and these
need addressed quickly.
Healing: Protecting
Paladins have three save-the-day options: Blessing of
Protection, Lay on Hands, and Divine Intervention. Don’t be selfish – use these
on others before yourself.
Blessing of Protection can be used
every five minutes, so don’t hesitate to use it if someone is taking a beating
and needs immediate attention. Follow it up with a heal if possible. Blessing of
Protection can be available every three minutes if you spend two talent points.
Lay on Hands can only be used once an
hour, or once every 40 minutes with the use of two talent points. Even so, if it
has to be used, use it – that’s why you have it.
Divine Intervention is the ultimate
last resort, but it has some good uses. If everyone in your group looks like
they are going down, then by all means, use Divine Intervention to get someone
out of there, especially if they are a
resurrecter or you have a Soulstone.
While a paladin should never get into a DPS-bragging match
with a rogue, warlock, mage or hunter, they can provide some much-needed damage
output in a group. The important thing to remember about trying to dish out
damage during a fight is that it should never get in the way of helping other
group members through tanking, buffing, or even healing.
Most paladins are most likely comfortable with the best ways to boost damage
through solo play and small groups, so this guide won’t address damage output
any more than already mentioned.
Most people are aware there are three places for paladins
to spend their talent points:
- Holy (Healing)
- Protection (Better Defense)
- Retribution (Better Offense).
There is always healthy debate and conversation regarding the best use of
talents, so this section of the guide is not intended to be a comprehensive
guide to talents, but just a general overview of how they can affect your
grouping.
Holy
The two talents from this tree that are both effective and
easy to get are Spiritual Focus and Improved Holy Light. If you
plan on doing any amount of healing (including healing yourself), these are a
must-haves, and you should spend 5 points in each. They make you a better soloer
and a better healer and are available early in the tree.
- Spiritual Focus greatly decreases the chance of
your heals getting interrupted
- Improved Holy Light does just what it sounds
like it does.
- Deep in the tree you’ll find Holy Shock which
is an impressive ranged attack that can be used for dealing great damage and
for pulling. For non-healing builds, this talent won’t ever be attainable.
Protection
This is the tree to focus on if you want high defense,
whether because you are in a group most of the time, or that’s just your
preference. Solo-minded paladins that still group sometimes should take a
serious look at some of these talents.
- Improved Devotion Aura gives you a significant boost
to your devotion aura
- Toughness increases your armor
- Improved Blessing of Protection improves your ability
to shield other group members
- Improved Seal of Fury increases your ability to hold
aggro.
A lot of the talents in this tree are for shield-bearers, so can be safely
skipped by 2-handed solo Paladins who only break out the shield in groups.
Retribution
This is the tree for most solo-minded PvE paladins, since
it shortens the amount of time you have to spend hitting bad guys on the head
before they die. Most of these talents are for damage output, which is only a
secondary goal when grouping. That being said, Improved Blessing of Might
and Consecration are great for groups. Consecration especially, as it is
a quick and effective way to gain aggro. Deep in the tree is a great new
blessing, Blessing of Kings. For more information on talents, please
reference the Paladin Talent Guide available at
http://paladin.worldofwar.net
Pulling
Pulling refers to the act of pulling one bad guy away from
a group of other bad guys so that the group can concentrate on fighting one (or
a few) at a time. Almost always, a caster or hunter will be responsible for
pulling. In these circumstances, remember to stay back with the group and let
the bad guys come to the you, and don’t go chasing them. When the bad guys get
near you, it is the tanks’ job to stop them in their tracks and prevent them
from gaining access to the non-tanks. This can be accomplished by simple melee
attacks, consecration, or Hammer of Justice. Have Seal of Fury up before the bad
guys get to you.
It is possible for paladins to pull, but it’s a tricky endeavor. To pull, creep
close to a bad guy that is a little bit a way from the rest of the bad guys and
pay close attention to see when the bad guy notices you. When they aggro,
immediately turn tail and run to a safe distance. Different bad guys react
differently, so always pay close attention. Also, dynamite and bombs (for
engineers) can be used to pull.
Running Bad Guys
Smarter bad guys will run away from your group when things
get bad for them. If they are running to their friends, this can be a bad thing
for the group. Seal of Justice, and Judgment of Justice can be used to prevent
this. You can judge with SoJ when the bad guys has about 1/4 health left or even
use Hammer of Justice in a pinch. If you can’t stop them from running, don’t
chase them. Leave that for the group members that can use a ranged attack.
Consecration Grouping
If the group is fighting bad guys that are spread out, an
effective tactic can be to hit one bad guy with a melee attack, and then run
next to other bad guys while the first bad guy follows you. When you have
several close to you, launch consecration to assault them all. Keep in mind this
will generate a healthy amount of aggro.
Which Guy To Fight
There is no rule that you have to fight the bad guy that is
fighting you. In some situations, it can be best to fight the bad guy that
everyone else is fighting, as this is a more effective use of everyone else’s
damage output. It can be tricky though, to hold aggro on a bad guy that you
aren’t directly fighting, so keep an eye on the situation to see if your
attention is needed elsewhere.
Paladins should always keep an eye on squishy team members to see if they need
help in a fight, too. A quick stun or consecration can do wonders for freeing up
casters and healers for their fights.
Also, keep an eye on other tanks and melee fighters to make sure they aren’t
taking more damage than their fair share.
Follow Orders
Since paladins are a supporting class, a good paladin
should be especially sensitive to the needs of others. Pay attention to and
immediately act on requests to back up, requests for blessings, requests for
help, etc.
Loot Etiquette
When rolling for loot, the general rule of thumb is not to
roll on anything that you don’t need. For pre-40 paladins, this means anything
except plate and mail, and for post-40 paladins, this means anything except
plate. Paladins can use a large variety of weapons, so you may roll on a weapon
you can use unless there is another group member that has a greater need.
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