So, who are we ?

[Grimdark]

My first post here guys, so give me a great welcome !

I was interested in how you see the Paladin regarding the possible roles in WoW.
Please notice that answers like "I am Retri ! Retri is cool" doesn't really match my vision of this question.

First of all, I am not asking what specs do you play (!), the thing I would like to know is - Who are Paladins for you !
Let's do a little roleplay and imagination games.

What is a Paladin ? A great warrior unleashing the powers of light combined with will and pure strength on he's enemys?
Defending hes friends by clearing the fronline and not letting anything bypass hes shield?

Maybe a fanatic of Light and god, who is able to paint everything in blood in the name of "THE" God !
Having A big weapon cutting and crushing through the heads of the non-belivers !

Or is a paladin the heart and light of people around ? Giving strengt to hes allies and light to their hearts, making them belive in the most impossible victories on the battlefield ?

Also feel free to move aside from the roles in WoW, but lease not to far.
Realy interested in your points of view !

[-Skye]

Paladins for me are shiny warriors with glowing wings who look way more badass.

[Grimdark]

And wht regarding the Light, the will the purity ?

[Deleted]

At OP, this is one of my favorite subjects. So i would like the opportunity to throw in my 2 shillings if i may. What comes to mind when we think of the Paladin? For many of us, the image is indelibly linked to that of the medieval knight, the supreme hero of the Middle Ages. Clad in shining armor, his lance gleaming in the morning sun, the knight is the quintessence of gallantry, the champion of the powerless, and the personification of courage - at least as we remember them from history.

Now being an old D&D player, i could talk at length about the history, ethos, virtues and tithes of a Paladin. But i shan't bore you with such detail. Rather i would just say the in a historical context the Paladin was not confined just to Christendom, for in the annals of King Richard the Lion heart, supreme crusader of his time, he recorded his opponent as the shining example of Gallantry and Chivalry, and that would he have been a Christian would have been a great Crusader King, similarly Saladin recorded Richard in his letters as the greatest military general he had ever clashed with, and in this letter recorded his title as "Melek Inkitar" the King of the English.

The roots of the Paladin lies in the saxon cavaliers known as Cnith's, whilst crude in appearance and manners these bold warriors attracted attention because of their high quality armor and horsemanship, many aristocratic families would hire Cnith mercenaries to defend their lands from marauders. Whilst still second class citizens the Cnith's became an important part of society and were eventually elevated by the Anglican Church under the title of Knight elevating their status to Aristocracy. With the involvement of the Church, Knighthood was declared a holy calling and in the 11th Century AD the church prompted by troubles in the holy land and partial self interest gave it holy sanction, thus arose the Holy Warrior the "hand of god".

Though the knight commanded respect, s/he was rarely envied. The life was dangerous and brutal, marked by incessant confrontations and threat of humiliation in combat. Unlike Arthurian legend depicted in modern films, video games and indeed WOW, Knight's would never get to see old age. The rigid chivalric code, which made abstract principles of loyalty more important than life itself, resulted in a death sentence for most knights. Few would live beyond 30.

Paladin was a title given to Charlemagne's warriors who exceeded in battle against the Saracen horde in the holy land, one such notable Paladin was Roland. Of course Warcraft Paladins do not have any affiliation to church or temple, which is awesome but are written in lore as champions for truth, justice and freedom or to uphold a cause of their people, their culture or society.

Paladins in Warcraft unlike their historical compatriots or even the lore based figures have been placed in a role which is neither here nor there. The role of a support member of the party. If you could compare it to anything in the modern military sense it would be a combat corpsman or combat engineer, a fixer upper, if s/he is in your team you should have an advantage over your opponent kind of jazz.

The Paladin class has been pigeon holed into this realm of "team player" where by as retribution you bring support skills such as the ability to off heal, defensive blessings, protection and to assist in damage output. But as explained by other posters, the Paladin is a very charismatic class and attracts a wide variety of players, much more so than say a warlock, due to the lore and the depth of "heroic" feeling. It is because of this, that blizzard likes to keep retribution in check.

There is nothing wrong with Holy Paladins but inherently Paladins wear heavy armor, wield 2 handed hammers and invoke the power of light to judge, heal and protect, holy paladins also tick that box, some what. In games like D&D, your Paladin can be a Chevalier (think Tirion), an Equerry an expert at mounted combat, an Errant adventurer (this Max of Northshire)out to seek glory for his cause or a Medician ( this i support would be the box for holy paladins).

Logically speaking, if retribution was buffed to the level it should be, no one would want to play a warrior or lolknight. Hence we must be kept in check otherwise the harry potters out there would rue the day they crossed the Paladin xD.

And i suppose that niche is a great niche if it were Paladins who did it alone, but now that slot can be filled by Shamans, Priests, Druids, Monks and the abilities they possess outshine many of our abilities, but let this not daunt you. We will still keep championing the cause of the holy light! You can nerf us, you can put cool downs on our words of glory, you can take away our auras and nerf our damage or aoe healing, but in every battleground, in every arena, in every dungeon and raid you will find us, fighting on... We shall never surrender!

Finally to all my brothers and sisters fighting the good fight, lose not morale with the endless stream of ridicule thrown our way, instead take heart from this one poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson:

"My good blade carves the casques of men,
My tough lance thrusteth sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure."

[Deleted]

Well.. That summed it up pretty well.. I think we can all go home now!

Does anyone know where i left my Holy relic. ? im sure i had it on me in Wotlk.

[Alindra]

Big Damn Heroes.

(Sorry for the flippant comment, but I couldn't help myself.)

[Grimdark]

Requite,

Oh, this was simply amazing ! I just couldn't stop reading

[Neldarie]

In wow its more like Demonhunters who converted in the footsteps of Uther.

[Morally Grey Storm]

We are who we want to be.
Each and every paladin is unique.
Some choose to be menders and tacticians, some choose to shield their comrades from harm by becoming a wall unmoving in the face of all that is evil.

And some choose the best and logical path: the path of Retribution. No evil is left unpunished , no crime goes left without payback.
No pity.
No remorse.
No fear.


It's all in your head what and who do you want to be.

[NightKnight87]

I always envisioned the paladin as something like Gandalf in Return of the King, when he rides out from Minas Tirith against the Nazgul, shining with light, although with heavy armour and sword held high. Something like this.

Since I'm playing retribution, I love a quote I saw in somebody's signature here on the forums, something along the lines of bringing the path of the healer or protector to its logical conclusion by destroying evil before the weak need to be shielded or healed.

[MerinPally]

Superstars. We are who we are

[anaxie]

Paladins, we are the Divine.

Whos ready to get intimate with Highlord Anaxie?

I'll need a giant Hammer and a Silver fist. Easy on the procs,

[slime]

We are priests! in platemail!

[Immitis]

a paladin can be all of those things op.

there not all just one group.

[Regen]

Paladins, we are the Divine.

Whos ready to get intimate with Highlord Anaxie?

I'll need a giant Hammer and a Silver fist. Easy on the procs,

I'm in!


PS Do a full LFR/Flex clear of SoO...it's the only raid/difficulties of any raid you haven't completed and my OCD doesn't like how that looks on your armory.

[Lyese]

Paladins have usually always been a support class in other games/media. Warcraft 2, DnD, EQ, etc. all have the PLD in either hybrid defensive/support roles or straight up of either. Hell, DnD PLDs are pretty much the0 "grab Divine Grace and get the hell out" class. Only in WoW are PLDs exceptional spellcasters, and sadly, DPSers. I've never liked Retribution as a spec because I don't see it as a very strong icon for PLD in general. 2her over sword and board? Or divine symbol/board? It also doesn't help that Ret is the red headed stepchild of the game by Kalgan's own words, which combined with the bullheaded majority that play that class earned us the nickname "Retardins." To me, the PLD is a holy warrior who is seen at the frontlines aiding and supporting his allies. We're not meant to rush in and crush the squishy's skull, we enable our team mates to do that and get back out alive. We save our healers from getting jumped on, our casters from being shanked, and our frontliners from being scattered. We are the bastion of the battle, the one place where anyone can find solace and deliverance. Plus, I got sick of the Alliance making QQ threads about not having Seal of Blood.

[anaxie]

I'm in!


PS Do a full LFR/Flex clear of SoO...it's the only raid/difficulties of any raid you haven't completed and my OCD doesn't like how that looks on your armory.

Cant do it

[Regen]

Cant do it

But. We can. Together. We can hold Librams.

[anaxie]

But. We can. Together. We can hold Librams.

Im too scared to que LFR

[Zogarth]

The ones who could not decide if they wanted to be a badass warrior and give in to their manly needs, or if they were more of the feminine priesty type, so they chose the middle. Closet-priest would be a nice name for them. The pink warriors. The rainbow army. The plate-priests. They have many names...