Pillars of Faith (and Facestabs): The Paladin's Handbook (By Litigation)

[Veep]

Equipped for the Crusade: Items​

Just remember that your top priority in every 5-level interval should be to keep your armor, weapon (and implement if you use one) and neck item up to date. Plan it right and you'll still have plenty of room for other nice things.

Armor

Lv. 2+

Dwarven (PHB): Bonus to Endurance as a property, and a free surge-value heal per day. Good value.

Martyr's (AV): The at-will gives up a point of your AC to give to adjacent allies. Can be useful sometimes.

Screaming (AV): Bonus to Intimidate as a property, along with a per-encounter attack debuff from range. Nice.

Veteran's (AV): Property gives you +1 to attack and all defenses on action point use. This one used to be a lot more powerful, but even now it's still pretty solid.

Lv. 3+

Heartening (AV): Dwarves and anyone else who gets a minor-action or less second wind will look at this one for its property granting a healthy amount of temp HPs.

Lifegiving (AV): Necrotic resistance with a daily last-resort healing power. Not bad.

Meliorating (AV): Better defense every time you reach a milestone in the day. Awesome, especially if you don't have the Dexterity to take full advantage of Agile Armor. And this is in a lower pricing bracket than that one.

Versatile (AV): At-will lets you sacrifice a point of AC to remove speed and skill penalties. Can be handy, at least until you get access to plate that lets you ignore such penalties at no cost.

Lv. 4+

Armor of Durability (AV): Property grants bonus to personal healing surge use. Good one.

Black Iron (PHB): Resistance properties against two of the more common damage types used by enemies (fire and necrotic). Solid.

Reinforcing (AV): Property grants an +1 item bonus to all defenses when you get hit in melee for the round after. The potential isn't as high as Meliorating, but it's more consistent. Another good choice if you can't take full advantage of Agile.

Salubrious (AV): This one is outstanding if you get enough sources of regeneration at some point in your career. Late Paragon and Epic are where this one is likely to really shine. Yet another good one for those who can't use Agile to its fullest.

Verve (AV): The property means you don't die as easily. Solid.

Lv. 5+

Agile (AV): A trap ... until you close in on Lv. 30, then it becomes awesome if you have any sort of DEX modifier. At that point there are no other masterwork armors a level or two above to grab your immediate attention.

Battleforged (PHB): Stronger second wind when bloodied. Not bad for a Dwarf or anyone else with a minor-action or less second wind.

Shared Suffering (AV): Encounter power makes an enemy pay for inflicting you with ongoing damage. Not bad.

Lv. 8+

Bloodiron (AV): +2 item bonus to AC against a target you thump for a round. Nice.

Lv. 13+

Coral (AV): Worth a look if your campaign involves a lot of water travel.

Lv. 20+

Spectral Plate (AV2): Ignore speed and check penalties in this plate, along with a daily move action power where you're insubstantial and phasing. Very solid.

Lv. 24+

Soulwarding (AV): Resist two common enemy damage types (necrotic and psychic) and protection against attacks that make you lose healing surges. Nice.

Lv. 27

Gallant (AV2): Half-surge's worth of free healing for yourself when you use Lay on Hands on an ally. Excellent. Combine with the Pious Champion feat and you can either heal two allies and yourself some, or one ally and yourself a lot.


Weapons

Lv. 2+

Bloodclaw (AV): Actually not bad for two-handed weapon Straladins to take in the first half of Heroic Tier, which they can use with Blood of the Mighty or Heedless Fury. After that point, ditch this entirely.

Vicious (PHB): The basic d12 per plus crit weapon. Decent.

Lv. 3+

Frost (PHB): This weapon really earns its stripes in Paragon Tier, when you can use Wintertouched and Lasting Frost together to set up combat advantage whenever you hit with it.

Inescapable (AV): Stacks bonuses to hit with every miss until you hit the enemy. Solid.

Vanguard (AV): Good for chargers.

Lv. 4+

Battlecrazed (AV): Good damage bonus when bloodied.

Medic's (AV): Extra healing for an ally when you use Channel Divinity, and the daily gives you a second use of Channel Divinity in the encounter. Solid.

Rending (AV): Axe only; follow up a crit with a melee basic attack. Solid.

Sunblade (AV): A heavy blade with an at-will Radiant keyword and damage option. It can also shed a lot of light to negate concealment in dark places. Your first lightsaber, and a solid option, especially if you didn't take Holy Strike, Virtuous Strike and Bless Weapon.

Vigilant Blade (D 381):The first of several weapons that serve as a combination of weapon and implement, which reduces your item dependency (and thus saves money). This heavy blade (or, curiously, light blade) lets you shed bright light at-will for dark places and night scenarios, and the per-encounter power that lets you switch places with an ally being attacked and set up combat advantage against the assailant is also nice.

Lv. 5+

Flaming (PHB): Poor Tieflings can't catch a break, can they? Just when it looked as if this weapon was gonna be worth it for them at last, the update comes along and breaks their hearts. You have to wait until Epic Tier, and Hell's Burning Mark, for this to be even remotely worth the investment.

Lightning (PHB): A flavorful, and finally viable option, thanks to nice things like Storm Sacrifice and (if you're in Eberron) Mark of Storm. Unlike Flaming, this one can be worth the cost.

Lv. 8+

Cunning (AV): If you're into dealing save-ends effects with weapons, you'll want to consider this weapon for the penalty to the first save against it inflicts. Good even after the errata.

Disrupting (DA 09): Can be a flail or hammer (or a mace, but Paladins don't use those). Serves as a weapon/implement combo and is more effective against undead. Fair enough, but Crusader's is better.

Unforgettable Cudgel (AV2): What did I just say about Paladins and maces ... oh wait, this one may actually be an exception. The 19-20 crit range on all divine powers brings the DPR into competitive standing with a warhammer. And you can choose to save-ends daze an enemy on a crit instead of deal the extra damage. Not a bad option for late Heroic on up through Paragon if you're looking for a combo weapon/implement, especially if you have extra things to trigger with crits. It does lose its luster going into Epic, though.

Lv. 9+

Crusader's (AV): A hammer that serves as a weapon/implement combo. Half of the damage is radiant, which makes it very good for those who abuse radiant vulnerability, and the daily power gives you a second use of Channel Divinity in an encounter.

Githyanki Silver (MOTP): Heavy blade only, and boy is this one nasty. Take the Psychic Lock feat and have fun. If you're a Chaladin, use with Enfeebling Strike on top of that.

Lullaby (AV): One of the very few daily-power-only weapons worth a look. In this case, it's because the daily is a Sleep power. Comes in hammer or flail.

Lv. 10+

Blackshroud (AV): Concealment when you off an enemy. Comes in axe or heavy blade. Not bad.

Weapon of Evil Undone (AV2): A weapon/divine implement combo that comes in any weapon a Paladin will think to use. This one is particularly special because it works with all divine powers that can be cast with a holy symbol. That's important for some Half-Elves.

Lv. 12+

Jagged (AV): Crit deals heavy save-ends ongoing damage instead of extra damage die, and it crits on 19-20. Comes in axe or heavy blade. Nice.

Lv. 13+

Bloodiron (AV): Essentially doubles the crit damage dealt, and the d10 per plus figures makes that quite worthwhile.

Bradaman's (AV2): Part of the Arms of Unbreakable Honor set, but it does just fine on its own. It's a weapon/implement combo available for all the main Paladin weapon types. The best part, however, is the ability to Divine Challenge two enemies. Hospitalers and Champions of Order, in particular, will covet this one greatly.

Desiccating (AV): Cumulative weakening of Fortitude (save-ends) with every hit. Not bad against Brutes.

Farslayer (AV): At-will power lets you melee basic attack from 5 squares away. Can come in handy.

Withering (AV): Cumulative debuff of AC (save-ends) with every hit. This one is more all-purpose than Desiccating.

Lv. 15+

Radiant (AV): At-will Radiant keyword switch, just like the Sunblade. When the switch is on, it also deals an extra item bonus to damage, which by itself makes it superior to its far more flavorful counterpart. However, if you're wearing the Iron Armbands of Power, you can stick with the Sunblade, as item bonuses don't stack.

Lv. 19+

Blade of Bahamut (AV): If you worship Bahamut, this heavy blade is a weapon/implement combo and helps reduce your item dependency. Solid crits, d10 per plus, along with a CHA-based blast 5 attack power that heals your allies a bit.

Moradin's (AV): If you worship Moradin, this hammer is a weapon/implement combo and helps reduce your item dependency. It deals great crits, too, d12 per plus.

Lv. 25+

Brilliant Energy (AV): Like the Sunblade, a far more interesting and flavorful lightsaber than the technically superior Radiant Weapon. If you're wearing Iron Armbands of Power then the disparity disappears, and you get solid crit damage of d10s per plus and a very nice encounter power that lets you attack Reflex with an attack that would normally target AC.

Holy Avenger (PHB): This weapon, which can also be used as an implement, is one of the best damage-increasing options for Paladins who throw around a lot of light. The bonus damage on Radiant powers applies to both weapon and implement usage, making it excellent for all breeds of Paladins. The daily is a +5 to all NADs for potentially the whole party for a turn when you need it. Comes in axe, hammer, or heavy blade.

Lv. 29

Sorrowsong Blade (E2 KotG): This heavy blade is like Githyanki Silver but even better, as all attacks with it deal half psychic damage, permanently. And now that damage types and keywords have been clarified, what this means is that not only does it work with Psychic Lock, but attacks with this weapon don't lose their original damage type, either. Major win.



Holy Symbols

Lv. 8+

Symbol of the Champion's Code (AV2): There is literally no reason to use any other symbol. Moreover, there's no reason not to have one of these after late Heroic Tier. Even if you never make any attacks with it, the bonus to Challenge and Sanction damage is something you simply don't pass up. Even if your symbol is a plus or two below attack-caliber for your level, it will make a difference.



Neck

Lv. 2+

Amulet of Mental Resolve (AV): +2 item bonus to saves against charm, illusion and sleep. Good early on.

Amulet of Physical Resolve (AV): +2 item bonus to saves against weakening, slowing and immobilizing. Also good early.

Lv. 4+

Cloak of Distortion (AV): Not really worth it in Heroic Tier, anymore. It does get a lot better later, though.

Healer's Brooch (AV): Extra hit points on all of your own healing powers. Great one for the healing-inclined.

Lv. 5+

Amulet of Life (D 381): Encounter power lets you spend an additional healing surge on top of any power that lets you use one. Pretty good, if rather pricey. Best taken if you have bonuses to your surge value.

Lv. 8+

Periapt of Recovery (AV): +2 bonus to death saves. Nice.

Lv. 15

Brooch of Vitalty (AV): Increase your max HPs. Simple, and awesome.

Lv. 25

Life Charm (AV): Also known as: You (almost) never die.


Arms (Bracers)

Lv. 6

Bracers of Mental Might (AV): Good one for Chaladins who picked up an item bonus to damage in another item slot. Opens you up to perhaps pick a STR-based power or paragon path.

Iron Armbands of Power (AV): If you don't have an item bonus to damage from anywhere else, this is your default arms slot item. Period.

Lv. 14

Counterstrike Guards (AV): If you got your item bonus to damage from somewhere else (such as a Radiant Weapon), this is a great item to take in place of the Iron Armbands, making your Defender Catch-22 ever deadlier with its MBA payback from an enemy's miss.



Arms (Shields)

Lv. 9

Recoil Shield (AV): Per-encounter knocking prone of an enemy who hits you in melee. Nice.

Lv. 15

Shield of Fellowship (AV2): Lets you transfer THPs you gain to an ally next to you. Think of the possibilities in conjunction with things like Bolstering Strike and Virtue.



Feet

Lv. 2

Acrobat Boots (PHB): Minor action to stand up from being prone. Good one early.

Boots of Adept Charging (AV): Shift after a charge. Nice.

Lv. 3

Catstep Boots (AV): Half-damage, land on your feet from a fall. Good for this tier.

Lv. 7

Boots of the Fencing Master (AV): +1 item bonus to AC and Reflex whenever you shift, and you get to shift 2 squares every encounter. Good one.

Rushing Cleats (AV): A vital item for polearm specialists.

Lv. 8

Boots of Quickness (AV): Untyped bonus to your Reflex defense. There's a version of it at each tier. Reflex is likely to be your weakest defense; you may or may not care about it.

Lv. 9

Boots of Eagerness (AV): Extra move action per encounter. Nice.

Lv. 12

Battlestrider Greaves (PHB): Essentially negates the speed penalty for plate. Not bad.

Dragonborn Greaves (AV): Extra defense and speed when bloodied. Nice.

Lv. 13

Winged Boots (PHB): Your first item that prevents fall damage completely. Also comes with a daily flight power.

Lv. 14

Oceanstrider Boots (AV): +1 item bonus to speed and you can walk and stand on water and other non-hazardous liquid surfaces. Very nice.

Lv. 18

Dimensional Stride Boots (AV): +1 untyped bonus to Reflex, with a per-encounter teleportation power. Good.

Phantom Chaussures (AV): Concealment for moving 3 or more squares. Awesome.

Lv. 24

Boots of Caiphon (AV2): +2 item bonus to Reflex, and you get to sacrifice a little damage in exchange for a nice-distance shift. That damage isn't nearly as much as you'd take from an OA, so a great deal all around.

Lv. 25

Airstriders (AV): You get to fly. Along with taking no damage from falls. Great.

Sandals of Avandra (AV): +2 item bonus to speed, and shift half your speed at-will. Awesome.

Lv. 28

Boots of Teleportation (AV): At-will teleportation. That should say it all.


Hands

Lv. 6

Breaching Gauntlets (AV): Reduce some resistance against your attacks. Good for this point.

Lv. 9

Gloves of Storing (AV): Interesting, and handy at times.

Lv. 10

Strikebacks (AV): Per-encounter immediate reaction attack against an enemy who hit you, creating a sick Catch-22 if your punishment ability is what it ought to be.

Lv. 11

Gloves of Ice (AV2): Practically a must if you're playing with the Lasting Frost synergy.

Lv. 12

Gloves of the Healer (AV): And this is one for the more healing-oriented. A bonus on all your healing spells, including Lay on Hands.

Lv. 18

Gauntlets of Destruction (PHB): Makes all your attacks brutal 1. Good option if you're not already using a brutal weapon.

Lv. 20

Many-Fingered Gloves (AV2): Wear an extra ring. Very beneficial.

Lv. 22

Foe Caller Gauntlets (D 381): Pull 'em over, cancel their attack, and strike a punishment-stacking MBA once every fight. Very nice.


Head

Lv. 4

Casque of Tactics (AV): Until you can comfortably afford a Helm of Battle, this will do.

Helm of Opportunity (AV): More accurate OAs = better front-line defender.

Lv. 6

Horned Helm (PHB): If you charge a lot this is good for the extra damage.

Lv. 7

Phrenic Crown (AV): If you have any save-ends attacks at all against Will, the penalty to enemies' first saves against the effect helps ensure another round of misery. Used to be even more powerful, but it's still good.

Lv. 8

Circlet of Indomitability (AV): Untyped bonus to Will, and a version comes at each tier. Most Paladins will have either Wisdom or Charisma high enough to care about Will, so this one's a great all-purpose benefit.

Coif of Mindiron (AV): Per-encounter prevention of daze if Will is attacked. Gets even better in later tiers, when it also prevents stuns and eventually domination.

Lv. 9

Helm of Battle (PHB): Item bonus to initiative for you and nearby allies. Nice.

Lv. 14

Goggles of Night (PHB): Darkvision is nice if you don't have it already.

Helm of Able Defense (AV2): +1 item bonus to Will and an extra +2 to all defenses until your first turn at minimum. Quite good.

Lv. 21

Essence of the Wisp (AV2): +2 item bonus to Will, and an at-will power that pulls enemies who dare use ranged attacks against you a couple squares as an immediate action. Can help you lock down enemies who prefer to stay at range.

Eye of Discernment (AV): Practical immunity to blinding is the main draw here, and that's pretty major.

Lv. 22

Helm of Ghostly Defense (PHB): Necrotic resistance and per-encounter insubstantial. Nice.

Lv. 23

Eye of Awareness (AV): +2 to Will and +5 to initiative. Very good.



Rings

Lv. 13

Ring of Giants (D 378): Stronger crits, which is good if you're damage-focused. The daily power is only for Primal powers, but that's not the important part.

Lv. 15

Ring of Aquatic Ability (AV): A ring slot is where you're most likely to put swim speed/underwater breathing properties.

Ring of the Dragonborn Emperor (AV): Item bonus to damage on all close attacks. Including close bursts and blasts with your weapon. Note this is not redundant with Iron Armbands of Power since that item applies only to powers designated "melee."

Lv. 16

War Ring (AV): Stronger crits. Good if you're going for damage.

Lv. 17

Ring of the Radiant Storm (AV2): If your main damage type is either Lightning or Radiant, you'll want to take a good look at this one. Rerolling damage and keeping the better result is a nice boost.

Lv. 21

Ring of Tenacious Will (AV): Uses Charisma to determine number of healing surges instead of Constitution. Practically a must for Chaladins who boost Wisdom as a secondary stat exclusively.

Lv. 22

Luminary Ring (AV): Increase the range of powers that heal or give bonuses, nice things like Wrath of the Gods. Apparently this includes attack powers that do those things as well, not just utilities, which makes this even more amazing.

Lv. 24

Ring of Regeneration (PHB): Item bonus to healing surge value as a property, and the daily, after a milestone, gives you regeneration 10 and gives you back a healing surge. Good.

Lv. 25

Gargoyle Ring (AV): Save against petrification, even when you are petrified. Nice.

Lv. 27

Ring of the Phoenix (AV): Solid fire resistance property, and a very nice self-resurrection daily power.

Shadow Band (AV): Concealment all the time. Great fun.

Lv. 29

Ring of Free Time (AV2): Resist 5 all constantly is awesome enough. Then there's the one extra minor action per encounter from this ring ... which turns into an extra minor action every single round after the first milestone. Incredible, since Paladins tend to use their minor actions a lot. For certain builds, particularly those with sustain-minor powers, this could even be essential.


Waist

Lv. 2

Belt of Vigor (PHB): Item bonus to healing surge value. Solid start.

Lv. 6

Cincture of the Dragon Spirit (AV): If you're allowed liberal use of the Intimidate skill in combat this could be handy for Straladins.

Lv. 7

Belt of Sacrifice (PHB): Item bonus to nearby allies' healing surge value. Great property, especially if you use Lay on Hands and some of the Paladin's healing surge trigger spells. Ignore the daily.

Rope of Slave Fighting (AV): Attack normally when prone. Nice. The Paragon Tier version cancels combat advantage when prone as well.

Lv. 8

Belt of Vim (AV): Untyped Fortitude bonus. Comes in a version at each tier. Just a great all-purpose benefit.

Lv. 10

Diamond Cincture (AV2): Item bonus to Fortitude with the opportunity to spend more healing surges if you need to. Good one, for sure, but since you can easily pick up ways to use your own healing surges every encounter, it's not the be-all, end-all like it is for some other classes.

Lv. 21

Baldric of Valor (AV): Bonuses to attack, saves and defenses for action point usage. Nice.

Lv. 23

Belt of Vitality (AV): +2 untyped bonus to Fortitude, and once per day get back up when you make a death save. Very nice.


Wonderous Items




Dragonshard Augments (Eberron)

Lv. 2

Eberron Shard of Lightning (EPG): The shard of choice for those who use Lightning Weapons, as well as Avatars of Storm.

Siberys Shard of Merciless Cold (EPG): Lasting Frost users go straight for this one.

Lv. 3

Siberys Shard of Radiance (EPG): Untyped bonus to Radiant damage rolls. If you have Holy Strike or Virtuous Strike, you want this as soon as possible. Paragon and Epic Tier versions available, too.

 

[Veep]

Advanced Purification: Combos​

These are some of the key tricks that Paladins can do. Most of them can either be done at-will or per encounter. Many of these have been hinted at throughout this guide, but here is where you get to see them all come together.



Heroic Tier

Lv. 1 One Hit, One Kill, Every Fight, No Matter Your God

NOTE: This assumes a Paladin starting with STR 18.

Piece 1: Heedless Fury (Paladin encounter 1, DP)
Piece 2: Any two-handed weapon with 1d12 or 2d6 damage dice
Piece 3: Divine Strength (Paladin Channel Divinity, PHB)

Sequence:
Minor action - Divine Strength
Standard action - Heedless Fury

Description: This is the way a Straladin serves as a secondary Striker every encounter very early on, aided by Heedless Fury's 3[W] figure and Divine Strength to add more damage.

A Lv. 1 enemy on average has 29 HPs. A Brute has 33. In comparison, here's what Heedless Fury with some of the biggest weapons can do (assume no Weapon Focus or racial equivalents for any of them):

Fullblade or greataxe: 3d12 + 4 (STR) + 4 (Divine Strength) = 27.5 average.
Maul: 6d6 + 4 + 4 = 29 average.
Execution axe: 3d12 (brutal 2) + 4 + 4 = 30.5 average.
Mordenkrad: 6d6 (brutal 1) + 4 + 4 = 32 average.

In the last three cases, you average killing one non-Brute enemy outright if you hit, with no help at all.

Dwarves using an execution axe or mordenkrad pick up Dwarven Weapon Training and get a free +2 extra damage along with their proficiency. A mordenkrad-wielding Dwarf, at 34 average damage, thus averages killing a Brute every encounter that he hits.

Another piece to the puzzle: If you start the fight next to the enemy you're trying to kill, you can also use Ardent Vow as your second minor action if you have it, before you attack. Assuming a starting WIS of 14, add 7 to all the damage figures above.

Variation 1: Use Blood of the Mighty (Paladin daily 1, DP) instead of Heedless Fury.

Fullblade or greataxe: 34 average.
Maul: 36 average.
Execution axe: 38 average.
Mordenkrad: 40 average.

Easily averaging killing a Brute outright in all cases.

Variation 2 (Tempus worshippers only): With a high-crit weapon, use Righteous Rage of Tempus (Divinity feat, FRPG) instead of Divine Strength with Heedless Fury.

Non-humans can only use a greataxe with this at Lv. 1. Humans can use a fullblade or execution axe because of the extra feat.

Fullblade or greataxe: 3d12 + 4 (STR) + 1d12 (RRoT, high crit) = 30 average.
Execution axe: 3d12 (brutal 2) + 4 + 1d12 = 33 average.

So a human Straladin of Tempus can potentially average killing one Brute every encounter.



Lv. 2 Massive Damage

NOTE: This assumes a Paladin starting with STR 18.

Piece 1: Heedless Fury (Paladin encounter 1, DP)
Piece 2: Bloodclaw for any two-handed weapon with 1d12 or 2d6 damage dice (Weapon property, AV)
Piece 3: Divine Strength (Paladin Channel Divinity, PHB)

Sequence:
Minor action - Divine Strength
Standard action - Heedless Fury
Free action (only after hit) - Bloodclaw encounter power

Description: An extension of the above combo. At minimum, when you use Heedless Fury, you stand to gain +4 to all of the damage figures from the above combo (+1 enhancement bonus, +3 Bloodclaw encounter power).

Fullblade or greataxe: 31.5 average.
Maul: 33 average.
Execution axe: 34.5 average (36.5 Dwarf).
Mordenkrad: 36 average (38 Dwarf).

A Lv. 2 average enemy has 38 HPs, and a Brute has 44. Which means that a mordenkrad-wielding Dwarf averages killing one non-Brute every fight that he hits with Heedless Fury.

Another piece to the puzzle: If you start the fight next to the enemy you're trying to kill, you can also use Ardent Vow as your second minor action if you have it, before you attack. Assuming a starting WIS of 14, add 7 to all damage figures.

Variation 1: Use Blood of the Mighty (Paladin daily 1, DP) instead of Heedless Fury.

Fullblade or greataxe: 38 average.
Maul: 40 average.
Execution axe: 42 average (44 Dwarf).
Mordenkrad: 44 average (46 Dwarf).

You average killing one non-Brute every fight in for all the 1d12 or 2d6 weapons. A mordenkrad will kill a Brute outright.

Variation 2 (Tempus worshippers only): With a high-crit weapon, use Righteous Rage of Tempus (Divinity feat, FRPG) instead of Divine Strength with Heedless Fury.

RRoT adds an additional +1d6 (Bloodclaw crit property) to what it did before. So add a total of 7.5 to the damage figures from the above combos:

Fullblade or greataxe: 37.5 average (just short of killing non-Brutes on average, taking Weapon Focus will push this over the threshold)
Execution axe: 40.5 average (easily killing non-Brutes on average)

Variation 3 (Tempus worshippers only): Blood of the Mighty + high crit weapon + RRoT

Fullblade or greataxe: 44 damage (killing a Brute on average)
Execution axe: 48 damage (EASILY killing a Brute on average)



Full-Blooded Nova

NOTE: This assumes a Paladin starting with STR 18, WIS 14.

Piece 1: Heedless Fury (Paladin encounter 1, DP)
Piece 2: Superior Weapon Proficiency (General feat, PHB)
Piece 3: Weapon Focus (General feat, PHB)
Piece 4: Bloodclaw +1 fullblade, execution axe or mordenkrad (Weapon property, AV)
Piece 5: Divine Strength (Paladin Channel Divinity, PHB)
Piece 6: Ardent Vow (Paladin class feature, DP)
Piece 7: Blood of the Mighty (Paladin daily 1, DP)

Sequence:
You MUST start your turn next to your target.
Minor action - Divine Strength
Minor action - Ardent Vow
Standard action - Heedless Fury
Free action (only after hit) - Bloodclaw encounter power
Free action (only after hit) - Action point
Standard action - Blood of the Mighty

Description: The Straladin's big nova for Heroic Tier. This time we're fully optimizing it, so we only want superior weapons, and we must have Weapon Focus (unless you're a Dwarf, in which case you took Dwarven Weapon Training and have a net +1 damage benefit per hit over everyone else). Everyone can get this combo going in full by Lv. 2.

Now for the numbers:

Fullblade: 39.5 (HF hit) + 32 (BotM hit) = 71.5 average
Execution axe: 42.5 (HF hit) + 36 (BotM hit) = 78.5 average (80.5 Dwarf)
Mordenkrad: 44 (HF hit) + 38 (BotM hit) = 82 average (84 Dwarf)

Enemy HPs for comparisons:

Lv. 5: 63 (Brute 75) (All weapons kill non-Brutes, last two kill Brutes)
Lv. 6: 72 (Brute 86) (Fullblade falls just short of killing non-Brutes, no Brutes killed)
Lv. 7: 80 (Brute 96) (Mordenkrad and Dwarf with execution axe kill non-Brutes)

Further development: Lv. 8 Straladin, now with STR 20, WIS 16, Bloodclaw +2 and Iron Armbands of Power. This adds +4 damage to both hits, and an additional +5 to Heedless Fury.

Fullblade: 48.5 + 36 = 84.5
Execution axe: 51.5 + 40 = 91.5 (93.5 Dwarf)
Mordenkrad: 53 + 42 = 95 (97 Dwarf)

Enemy HPs:

Lv. 8: 89 (Brute 107) (Execution axe and mordenkrad kills non-Brute)
Lv. 9: 97 (Brute 117) (Only a Dwarf with mordenkrad can kill anything)
Lv. 10: 106 (Brute 128) (Haha, forget it)

Closing thoughts: We see that this is clearly a potent combo up to Lv. 5 or so, being able to kill standard enemies outright and take an Elite down to half or lower.

However, we also see just how much monster HPs scale, to the point that even after optimizing everything we could think of at Lv. 8, the combo still lost its one-shot ability (except for Dwarves with a mordenkrad) at the very next level. At this point, we're definitely experiencing diminishing returns.

This is why the recommended progression of Straladins throughout this handbook has been to keep Heedless Fury, Blood of the Mighty, and the Bloodclaw Weapons until about Lv. 5 or Lv. 6, but then start retraining and requipping yourself more for at-will DPR, mark optimization and battlefield control.




Paragon Tier

Unyielding Justice

Piece 1: Unyielding Faith (Paladin daily power, DP)
Piece 2: Certain Justice (Champion of Order encounter power, PHB)

Sequence:
Standard action - Unyielding Faith
Free action - If you hit with Unyielding Faith, action point
Standard action - Certain Justice

Description: This is how you completely lock down one enemy per day. Since Unyielding Faith is a permanemt Sanction, that makes the Certain Justice follow-up a permanent daze and weaken. Note that since Unyielding Faith is a Charisma-based attack, only Baladin Champions of Order can do this one.



Knightly Justice

Piece 1: Knightly Intercession (Paladin daily power, DP)
Piece 2: Certain Justice (Champion of Order encounter power, PHB)

Sequence:
Immediate action - If enemy within 10 squares hits an ally, Knightly Intercession
Standard action - If you hit with Knightly Intercession, Certain Justice

Next turn: Have fun.

Description: Off-action punishment followed by the Certain Justice perma-lockdown. This is one that all Straladins can do.



Bolster the Fellowship

Piece 1: Bolstering Strike (Paladin at-will power, DP)
Piece 2: Shield of Fellowship (Shield property, AV2)


Sequence:

Standard action - Bolstering Strike
Free action - Shield of Fellowship property, transfer your THPs +3 to an adjacent ally

Description: The Shield of Fellowship, a Lv. 15 item, lets you transfer THPs that you gain to an adjacent ally, and 3 more. This means Bolstering Strike can now grant the THPs to your allies, instead of yourself. An effective way to keep a THP cushion on an ally who needs it.



Fellowship of Virtue

Piece 1: Virtue (Paladin 2 utility, DP)
Piece 2: Shield of Fellowship (Shield property, AV2)
Piece 3 (optional): Deliverance of Faith (Religion 6 utility, D 385)

Sequence:

Minor action - Virtue or Deliverance of Faith
Free action - Shield of Fellowship property, transfer your THPs +3 to an adjacent ally

Description: The Shield of Fellowship lets your Virtue act as a proactive, per-encounter version of Lay on Hands. Actually, scratch that, even better, since you always use your healing surge value! If you also take Deliverance of Faith, you get to do this twice per encounter. This is a great way for Paladins who took Ardent Vow or Virtue's Touch to make up for not taking Lay on Hands.



No Shifting Allowed

Piece 1: Any Arcane multiclass feat (Recommended: Bardic Dilletante, PHB2; Soul of Sorcery, AP; Pact Initiate, PHB)
Piece 2: White Lotus Hindrance (Arcane heroic feat, D 374)
Piece 3: White Lotus Master Hindrance (Arcane paragon feat, D 374)
Piece 4: Virtuous Strike (Paladin at-will, DP)
Piece 5: Power of Arcana (Domain feat, DP)

OR

Piece 4: Any Arcane at-will (Half-Elf only, Dilletante) (Recommended: Eldritch Strike, PHBH; Vicious Mockery, PHB2; Eyebite, PHB)
Piece 5: Versatile Master (Half-Elf paragon feat, PHB2)

Sequence:

Move action - Get into a flank with your ally, if necessary.
Standard action - Virtuous Strike or Arcane at-will from Dilletante.

Next turn: Lather, rinse, repeat.

Description: Master Hindrance makes all squares adjacent to all allies (and you, with the original Hindrance) difficult terrain. If you get an enemy in a flank he cannot shift out of it, since your difficult terrain and your ally's touch.



Champion of Order Action Denial

Piece 1: Champion of Order (Paladin paragon path, PHB)
Piece 2: Mark of Storm (Eberron Dragonmark feat, EPG)
Piece 3: Lightning Weapon (Weapon property, Any weapon, PHB)

OR

Piece 2: Mark of Storm (Eberron Dragonmark feat, EPG)
Piece 3: Valiant Strike (Paladin at-will, PHB)
Piece 4: Power of the Storm (Domain feat, DP)
Piece 5: Any heavy blade
Piece 6: Heavy Blade Opportunity (General paragon feat, PHB)

OR

Piece 2: Eldritch Strike (Warlock at-will, PHBH, Half-Elf only, Dilletante)
Piece 3: Versatile Master (Half-Elf paragon feat, PHB2)

OR

Piece 2: Any Martial multiclass feat (Recommended: Battle Awareness, MP; Resourceful Leader, MP2)
Piece 3: Lashing Flail (Martial paragon feat, MP2)
Piece 4: Any flail

Sequence:

Minor action - Divine Challenge
Opportunity action - Triggered when a Challenged enemy makes an attack that does not include you as a target, make an OA.

Next turn: Repeat.

Description: Whether you get here via Mark of Storm, Eldritch Strike or Lashing Flail, the result is the same. Namely, if the enemy decides to defy your Divine Challenge when you're bearing down on him, you strike with an OA that not only stacks on top of the Challenge damage, but also slides the enemy a square. And because an OA is an interrupt, this can slide the enemy out of melee attack range before his attack can connect, sparing your ally completely and wasting the enemy's turn.



Mark Penalty Madness


Piece 1: Mark of Warding (Eberron Dragonmark feat, EPG)
Piece 2: Group Defense (Half-Elf Paladin heroic feat, DP)
Piece 3: Enfeebling Strike (Paladin at-will, PHB)
Piece 4: Power of Madness (Domain feat, DP)
Piece 5: Githyanki Silver Weapon (Weapon property, Heavy blade, MOTP)
Piece 6: Psychic Lock (General paragon feat, PHB)

Sequence:
Minor action - Divine Challenge
Standard action - Enfeebling Strike

Next turn: Repeat.

Description: This Half-Elf Chaladin of Madness is all about stacking penalties on marks. With all the pieces in place, an enemy he whacks with Enfeebling Strike gets slapped with a -5 to hit him, and a whopping -8 to hit his allies, who also have an extra +1 to all defenses from his Group Defense. So, effectively, that's -9 to hit his allies. Perfect way to render an enemy impotent.



Mega-Zap

Piece 1: Mighty Challenge (Paladin heroic feat, DP)
Piece 2: Morninglord (Divine paragon path, FRPG)
Piece 3: Any Radiant keyword attack (e.g. Holy Strike, Virtuous Strike, Radiant weapon, Sunblade)
Piece 4: Symbol of the Champion's Code (Holy symbol, AV2)

Sequence:
Minor action - Divine Challenge
Standard action - Radiant keyword attack

Next turn: Repeat.

Description: The Baladin Morninglord's calling card. With the pieces in place his Divine Challenge becomes truly scary all by itself. We're talking 33 points of automatic damage by the end of Paragon Tier, and 43 by the end of Epic. In both cases, that's competitive with a moderately optimized melee basic attack. And, of course, to bring up your threat level even more, keep some punishment stackers handy.




Epic Tier

Certain Justice, Indeed

Piece 1: Champion of Order (Paladin paragon path, PHB)
Piece 2: Crusading Wrath (Paladin epic feat, DP)

Sequence:
Minor action - Divine Strength
Standard action - Certain Justice

Next turn: Laugh.

Description: If you thought Certain Justice was awesome in Paragon Tier, then you'll really love it in Epic Tier when you get Crusading Wrath. With that feat, Divine Strength becomes a way to perma-mark your foe. Combine that with Certain Justice, and you've effectively got an attack that turns the biggest threat in every single fight into a mewling little kitten. Permanently if they can't escape your mark. Perfect to use on that Solo or Elite your party may be saving for last.



At-Will Dazing - Earth Domain

Piece 1: Bolstering Strike (Paladin at-will, PHB)
Piece 2: Power of Earth (Domain feat, DP)
Piece 3: Battle Awareness (Fighter multiclass feat, MP)
Piece 4: Overwhelming Impact (Fighter epic feat, MP2)
Piece 5: Any hammer

Sequence:
Standard action - Bolstering Strike

Next turn: Rinse and repeat.

Description: An at-will daze attack for Chaladins. What more needs to be said?



At-Will Dazing - Son of Mercy

Piece 1: Son of Mercy (Defender class paragon path, D 370)
Piece 2: Battle Awareness (Fighter multiclass feat, MP)
Piece 3: Overwhelming Impact (Fighter epic feat, MP2)
Piece 4: Any hammer

Sequence:
Minor action - Divine Challenge
Free action - Lawbreaker's Doom
Standard action - Any attack

Next turn: Attack again. If enemy dies, repeat Divine Challenge and Lawbreaker's Doom on new target.

Description: At-will dazing for Straladins. Yet another present for an already godly paragon path.

 

[Veep]

Executing the Crusade: Tactics​

I. Threat Level vs. Survivability.

As a defender, you always want to present enemies with two bad choices. Balacing the equation between threat level and survivability is how you accomplish this, and is, hands-down, the No. 1 priority of any defender.

When one thinks of threat level for a defender, they typically think of mark punishment. And that is indeed the most important part of it. Things to take into account:

(a) Damage and/or status effects caused by your mark punishment.
(b) Damage mitigated by your mark punishment.
(c) What penalties the mark itself inflicts, or what penalties you can stack on top of it.
(d) Since your default punishment mechanic doesn't use up your immediate action, what CAN you use your immediate action for? Punishment stacking? Ways to punish enemies who aren't even marked?

However, threat level goes beyond your mark. Almost as important is how strong your opportunity attack is. If it's a threat, enemies will take their move actions with care when you are nearby. This is why having a working melee basic attack is vital. Together with your mark, this constitutes your off-turn threat level.

Then there is the question of what you do when it is your turn. Do you deal damage at or near Striker benchmarks? Can you heal enough to undo your enemies' handiwork and make your party's healing surge uses efficient (or better still, do this proactively via prodigious amounts of THPs)? Do you cancel out status effects regularly? Did you somehow pick up means of executing burst damage or enabling party novas? Can you execute multi-round status effect lockdown sequences on enemies near your space? Paladins are capable of acquiring means to do any of these things, and focusing on at least one, as well as your mark punishment, makes you an even greater threat the enemy will want to account for.

As your threat level, both on-turn and off-turn, increases to the point where enemies will not want to attack anyone except you, you then want to make that choice unappealing. That's where survivability comes in. Survivability includes defenses, damage reduction, maximum hit point value, temporary hit points, self-healing, and punishments against enemies for attacking you. Paladins already have a terrific start here, being able to wear plate mail from the start, having the highest total of healing surges, and having a class bonus to all NADs. If you have trained your survivability beyond even the default, with the feat support your own class provides in this area, general feats and powers, and so forth, enemies will not enjoy wasting their attacks on you. But if your threat level is high, they'll have no choice.



II. Know how to increase your threat level.

Straladins: You increase your threat level by maximizing the damage you deal. You'll typically use a superior two-handed weapon, and in the first 5 or 6 levels you optimize the tools you have to kill one enemy outright per encounter. Once enemy HPs outpace your ability to do that, you turn your attention to at-will DPR (typically from Holy Strike), which you can deal near or at Striker benchmarks if you build correctly. At Paragon Tier, you should start looking at the great debilitation options available to Straladins, in terms of both PPs and powers.

At about the same time you shift your focus toward at-will DPR and debilitation, you also make your Divine Challenge punishment a priority. Mighty Challenge and Symbol of the Champion's Code are musts here. In combination with your high on-turn damage, an enemy will be loath to attack anyone else other than you if a strong DC zap lifts your damage threat to unhealthier levels. Because Mighty Challenge only works on DC, you're best as a single-target defender (Half-Orcs are the exception here). Later on, definitely invest in Forceful Challenge and, in Epic, Weakening Challenge. Those feats are just as good for Straladins as for anyone else.

Although single-target defense is your major strong point, you shouldn't neglect your per-encounter crowd-control abilities. Even if your Divine Sanctions aren't the most damaging (again, except for Half-Orcs), you can still follow up a mass-Sanction with AoE powers that have strong effects on marked foes, such as the Lv. 3 power Winter's Edge.

Chaladins: Moreso than the Straladin's, your threat level rests on your mark and your other off-actions. You have effective Divine Challenge and Divine Sanction by default, so you can be good at both single-target and multi-target defense. You will want to throw DS around a few times per encounter to take advantage of your multi-target potential, so Valorous Smite and Call of Challenge are very good to have early on. Unlike the Straladin, you also have class-native punishment stackers, and some really good ones, too, so that will help your single-target stickiness. A good melee basic attack is vital, too, so you'll want to take Virtuous Strike or Melee Training. The former is even good for survivability with its saves bonus.

Your on-turn threat level typically doesn't involve big damage (a few exceptions do exist here), but you have other ways to be a threat to be noted. Two that stick out in particular are (a) inflicting additional hit penalties besides your mark (and that stack with it), and (b) optimizing your healing and save-granting ability. These two stick out because they're the two to which Chaladins have the most regular access. Hit penalties can be accomplished by the at-will Enfeebling Strike and encounter powers like Astral Thunder. And healing/saves optimization has a ton of feat support in just your class alone (Lend Health, Devoted Paladin, Angelic Protection, Hero's Poise, etc., etc., etc.). Besides those, you have access to encounter and daily powers that inflict annoying and crippling status effects, as well as ways to buff the party's attacks and damage.

Baladins: You have the highest off-turn threat level of the three main Paladin types, especially when your mark is involved. Your Sanctions are every bit as good as the Chaladin's, making you great against multiple foes, and thanks to Mighty Challenge, your Challenge is far more devastating. You also have access to all the class-native punishment stackers that Chaladins have to make yourself an even deadlier single-target defender.

Your on-turn threat level is where it gets interesting. Particularly power selection. You want to avoid any powers that rely on Wisdom for riders, so Holy Strike and Bolstering Strike are definitely out. In general, you'll find that you are better suited for control than damage on your turn. Powers like Valiant Strike (best with domain support) and Enfeebling Strike are still fair game, so those give you, respectively, sure-hitting (hopefully with other good effects) and extra hit penalties to stack on your marks. And thankfully, you'll use to full effect plenty of encounter and daily powers that bolster your ability to control the space around you.

You also have some capacity for healing and saves, if not quite as frequently as the Chaladin. You'll definitely want to take Untiring Virtue in Paragon Tier to actually be able to cast more than one Virtue's Touch or Lay on Hands per day. One that's taken care of, you'll find that you can actually take advantage of much the same feat support in this area that Chaladins enjoy (including the great Angelic Protection and Hero's Poise).



III. Know how to increase your survivability.

Straladins: You're likely to have a high Wisdom as well as a high Strength, which is great for your survivability. You'll have two good NADs by default, and your high Wisdom allows you to take full advantage of feats such as Virtuous Recovery and Honored Foe.

Chaladins: You probably have the highest number of survivability options overall, and you will want to use them. You will typically still have a high enough Wisdom to put Virtuous Recovery and Honored Foe to good use. As increasing your threat level typically doesn't involve dealing massive amounts of on-turn damage, you should use a shield. You should have a fairly high Constitution score to start, and in Paragon Tier, Shield Mastery will really help your Fortitude defense keep pace.

Baladins: Your extremely high off-action threat level comes with a price: Because your Wisdom and your Constitution aren't that high, your survivability options are a lot more limited than your single attack-stat counterparts (thankfully, you have two high NADs by default). Forget about Virtuous Recovery and Honored Foe. You'll have to make do with Toughness, which is practically a must for you. You will also want Devoted Paladin for the extra healing surge, and maybe even Durable as well. You will also want to use a shield for the AC and Reflex, especially since you probably won't even qualify for Armor Specialization (Plate).



IV. Know how you execute the crusade.

Straladins: Your typical round will consist of walking up to a target within your speed, Challenging him if you hadn't already, and laying a smackdown. Sometimes you will want to charge. Typically, you're about simple Soldier tactics with a hint of Brute. If you can get multiple enemies around you, use a mass-Sanction power followed by one of your AoEs, preferably one that inflicts crippling status effects.

Chaladins: You are pretty much a Solider through and through, with quite a bit of the Leader parenthetical as well. You function best in the middle of your allies' formation (preferably with other melee support nearby), ready to strike out into melee, but always mindful of an opportunity to use a burst or blast power. Unlike the Straladin, you typically don't want to rush ahead of the rest of your party, since you also want to be in position to heal and buff.

Baladins: Overall, you play similar to the Chaladin in that you function best as a Soldier in the middle of your allies and with other melee support nearby. You can be a little more aggressive than the Chaladin against single targets, thanks to your stronger DC and not having as many Leader responsibilities, but you're not as Brutish as Straladins can get away with.