The Paladin expresses divine power through melee strikes and physical contact rather than through spellcasting. The official archetype phrase is Warrior of Faith. It tanks in plate with a shield or deals damage with a two-handed weapon, it heals in emergencies rather than steadily, and it can consecrate the ground it fights on.
Field | Detail |
|---|---|
Archetype | Warrior of Faith |
Roles | Tank, Healer |
Playable races | Deep Dwarf, Deep Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling, High Elf, Human |
Armor and weapons | Plate armor with a shield for tanking, or a two-handed weapon for damage. Earlier class documentation, written before the 2026 rework, describes Paladins as typically wearing plate armor and wielding most melee weaponry. |
Rework status | Detailed rework published and shipped to the closed beta servers in update 0.29.0.0 on September 10 2026 |
Identity and role
As an emergency healer the Paladin is fast casting and expensive, excelling at the last-second save rather than sustained output. It can absorb harm intended for allies at the cost of its own resources or health, it carries a passive divine aura, and it has a strong anti-undead toolkit.
The planned separation from the Cleric was partly walked back during development. The original intent was to split the two cleanly, with the Cleric as word and prayer and the Paladin as martial devotion. As the Cleric rework progressed and the miracles and blessings attached to its Holy Strike were well received, the team walked back on that a little and brought the miraculous smites over to the Paladin as well. The two classes remain distinct, but the Paladin is not purely martial.
The Paladin is a knight, and the knight classes took shared changes: Deflect, Weapon Shield and Focused Concentration were removed, and Kick was replaced with a shield-based interrupt, in the Paladin's case Shield Slam. Ancient Guardian, the Paladin pet ability, was removed as well, described as odd, off-theme and generally too powerful.
Playable races
The Paladin is open to Deep Dwarf, Deep Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling, High Elf and Human.
That list covers the full designed race roster. Deep Dwarf and High Elf are designed but are not among the races playable at Early Access launch on October 1 2026, so the practical choice at launch is the remainder of the list.
Damage
Ability | Effect |
|---|---|
Crusader Strike | The basic attack, replacing Slam. Mechanically very similar to the Cleric Holy Strike but with a higher base damage and multiple tiers. Weapon Ratio Damage plus Holy Damage with scaling bonus Threat, and a small chance to channel the wrath of your faith or grant Fervor. |
Restorative Smite | Shares a cooldown with Vengeful Smite. It no longer requires a Fulfillment stack, its damage was reduced and its bonus Threat kept, and the healing is significantly amplified when standing upon consecrated ground. |
Vengeful Smite | The damage-focused sibling. Its Holy Damage is greatly increased on consecrated ground. |
Hammer of Light | New. Can be used on targets dead and living, dealing Holy Damage plus Threat. Primarily a tool for pulling. |
Shield abilities
Ability | Effect |
|---|---|
Shield Slam | Replaces Kick. Interrupts a spell and locks out that school of magic. |
Warding Slam | The upgrade. Gains damage based on the Armor Class of your shield and briefly increases your Block chance. You do not need to interrupt a spell in order to benefit from the damage and block increase. |
Shield Toss | Changed from an area effect to an actual bounce effect that chains between nearby targets, interrupting each target it hits. |
Consecrations and Oaths
Consecrations are ground-based and remain where they were invoked for 30 seconds, which makes positioning part of the class rather than an afterthought.
Consecration | Effect |
|---|---|
Hallowed Ground | Grants Corruption resistance to groupmates standing inside, and increases the effectiveness of your Smite abilities. |
Blessing of Sanctuary | Formerly a targeted ability. It now protects those standing within, reducing the melee damage they receive. |
Exorcism | Undead within are snared and feared, and damaged over time if they defy you or return. |
Oath | Absorption | Duration |
|---|---|---|
Oath of Vigilance | A minor oath that absorbs 5 percent of the damage intended for a groupmate and redirects half of that damage to you. | Long duration. |
Oath of Sacrifice | A major oath that absorbs 75 percent of the damage intended for a groupmate and redirects half of that damage to you. | Short duration, on a longer cooldown. |
Auras and buffs
A Paladin chooses one aura at a time.
Aura | Effect |
|---|---|
Aura of Courage | Group Armor Class, a small chance to fully resist Fear, and a bonus to all your generated Threat. |
Aura of Piety | A bonus to all healing received by group members. |
Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
Conviction | Replaces Supplication. Strength, Wisdom, Stamina and minor Mana Regeneration. |
Divine Spark | A hit point buff that stacks with the Cleric line. Paladins have lost access to Holy Fortitude and the other Cleric hit point buffs. |
Poison and Disease resistance | Two tiers, self-only. |
Fervor | The fully stacked Fulfillment haste, now a buff rarely received from Crusader Strike. Fulfillment stacks are no longer consumed by Restorative Smite. |
Healing and resurrection
Healing Touch replaces the existing healing line: short range, fast casting, moderate cooldown, and in the team's own words not the most efficient healing spell around. That is the intended shape of the class as a healer, a save rather than a sustain.
Resurrection is the more significant addition. Paladins now receive a full line of Resurrection spells one tier behind Clerics, starting at level 16 and ending with Revival, the 75 percent experience resurrection, at level 56. In a game where death costs experience and leaves your items on your corpse, a second class carrying resurrection changes what a group can risk. See Death Penalty.
Also retained: Lay on Hands, Lull updated to match the Cleric Pacify lineup and limited to a single target at a time, Ward the Dead, Stun, Blind, Root, Cleanse Disease, Cleanse Poison, Divine Aegis, Invisibility versus Undead, Taunt, Unleash the Light, Mark of the Crusader and Abolish Magic.
Playing a Paladin in a group
Class details below come from the ability rework that rolled onto the closed beta servers through 2026. The developers state plainly that there is a high probability some aspects will change before they reach the beta servers, so treat specific ability behaviour as a snapshot of the beta build rather than a settled launch state.
The Paladin sits between the Fighter and the Cleric without replacing either. It does not have the Fighter's threat control and it is not a main healer, but it tanks in plate, resurrects, absorbs damage aimed at someone else, and brings one of two group auras. The armor class rework that made heavier armor more effective helps it directly. See Classes, Combat, Grouping and Items and Equipment.