A cross between the Warrior and the Priest, the Paladin smites enemies of the Holy Light with mighty and resilient fervor. The Paladin provides buffs, auras, and blessings that bolster it and its party’s defensive as well as attacking skills. With its defensive and destructive attributes and with the ability to absorb so much beating, the Paladin can fill the role of a Tanker (Protection), DPS (Retribution), and Healer (Holy) effectively.

Background

The Paladin is the bane of the Undead and has tirelessly defended the weak and the helpless against those who oppose the Holy Light. Fusing the abilities of the Warrior and the Priest, the Paladin is virtually a hybrid class that can withstand enormous amount of damage. Such skill is greatly complemented by the Paladin’s ability to strike back with mighty blows of his own and his capabilities to either heal the wounded or bring back the slain heroes of the party.

The Paladin is the Holy Light’s greatest champion. Being the protector of all that is good and righteous, a Paladin devotes most, if not all, of his time destroying demons and other insister entities – particularly the Burning Legion and the swarms of the Undead. A Paladin condemns all that is evil and will give up his life to defend the tenets of the Alliance and the Holy Light.

The Paladin is found in almost all regions of Azeroth doing what he was born to do – to purge the evil that tries to take control of the land. With such zeal, the Paladin always stands guard and keeps constant watch for demonic forces that might come from the Dark Portal.

The first society of Paladins was known as the Knights of the Silver Hand. From this order rose numerous champions and defenders of the Holy Light, with most of its proponents borne from the human race. There are also races that can become Paladins and share the same degree of abhorrence for all that is evil and its embodiments; all Paladins have aligned themselves for the defense of everything that is good regardless of faction.

The Second War
Suffering a near destruction during the First War, the surviving members of the Clerics of Northshire under the leadership of Archbishop Alonsus Faol were trained in the arts of combat and magic. Under the tutelage of carefully-picked knights of Lordaeron, the clerics became the blight of evil – the Paladins.

Supervised carefully by Uther Lightbringer, the tasks of defending what good remains of Lordaeron, and banishing evil and the Undead from the face of the earth were now shouldered by the Paladins, who formed the Knights of the Silver Hand. The said society of Paladins saw action in the Second War against the Orcs.

The Third War
Despite orders to kill innocent townsfolk who were infected with the plague of Undeath, the Paladins of the Silver Hand refused to carry out their mission and were eventually disbanded for their objection to the commands of their leaders. Although driven from their homes and their society in tatters, the remaining Paladins still continued to champion for righteousness and defend the people from the peril of evil. Driven with holy zeal from the Light, these Paladins now harness magic and wield warhammers in their never ending quest to battle with all that seeks to destroy all that is good.

History
The Knights of the Silver Hand was the first organization of Paladins. Formed during the Second War, the Order was led by Uther Lightbringer. Under his command, the Paladins grew to become a bulwark for the Alliance and were the epitome of righteousness until the Plague of Undeath roamed the land and destroyed much of it – turning the inhabitants afflicted with the plague to Undead.

The Paladins were able to stop the initial push of the Scourge. Although the Paladins were immune to the Undeath curse, it did not stop the corruption of Prince Arthas Menethil, heir to the throne of Lordaeron and Uther The Lightbringer’s apprentice. Arthas massacred a good number of Paladins, including his teacher Uther and eventually his father King Terenas.

Those who survived the massacre of the Paladins joined the Scarlet Crusade, a group that still believes in the light. However, Scarlet Crusade was a fanatical society that was bent on destroying the Scourge to the point where they deem those not wearing the group’s colors as corrupt. Others decided to join Argent Dawn after the Scarlet Crusade was corrupted from within. There were also those who decided to side with Arthas and eventually became the dreaded Deathknights.

Those who remained loyal to the light exiled themselves to the Kingdom of Stormwind in the south. Though utterly decimated, these Paladins still call themselves members of the Silver Hand and made the Cathedral of Light in Stormwind City their base. Their presence in Stormwind brought the Order’s influence to Ironforge where several dwarves embraced the philosophy and the tenets of the Light and of the Silver Hand. With new allies, the Knights of the Silver Hand made a rebound. Under the leadership of Tirion Fordring, the remaining Paladins vowed to reinstate the original order.

Code of Conduct
A Paladin must align himself with the Light in order to gain its powers and use it only for good. The moment a Paladin acts out of his oath to the light and turn to corruption willingly, he will lose all abilities bestowed by the Light on him. A Paladin is also to follow the chain of command and respect those with higher rankings, do honorable deeds, and render punishment to those guilty of harming or threatening the innocent.

Even if a Paladin acts in alliance with an evil organization, he will not lose his powers provided he believes what he is doing is for the Light. He may accept followers and henchmen to aid him in his crusade as long as they are good or neutral.

When a Paladin knowingly uses his powers for evil and chaotic ends, he will be stripped of all of his light powers and becomes an ex-Paladin. He can no longer continue his training as a Paladin until he atones for his errors.

Overview
The Paladin has a vast array of healing spells and blessed auras that makes him the ideal filler for the main tank/ healer position of a party during combat or raid. While their endurance and durability renders the Paladin almost invincible, it lacks AoE healing and has to resort to single target healing during hostile engagements.

The Paladin is very effective against the Undead and the demons as he has the auras that repel/damage the said units.

Perhaps the Paladin’s greatest asset is its extreme hardiness to damage. When a Paladin is equipped with a plate armor, the Paladin’s durability is increased exponentially. With healing and blessed auras, it is as if the Paladin is nearly indestructible from the opposition’s attacks. All these are further enhanced with the Paladin’s effective damage rate and stun abilities.

As a support character, the Paladin is also an excellent choice, providing the party the much needed protection and healing buffs while taking most of the enemies’ attacks.

The Races
The Paladin class is only available to the following factions:

Race	Faction
Draenei	Alliance
Dwarves	Alliance
Humans	Alliance
Blood Elves	The Horde

Paladins borne from the Human and Dwarf races are associated with the Knights of the Silver Hand. The Draenei Paladins are members of the Hand of Argus. With the Draenei joining the Alliance, it is very likely that they will join the Knights of the Silver Hand.

Paladins of the Blood Elf race are aligned with the Order of the Blood Knights. Even if they are members of the Scourge, the Blood Elf Paladins can manipulate the powers of the Light to do their bidding. However, it has been rumored that they are using the powers of the light legitimately.

The Skill Trees
A Paladin can train in three different aspects of the Light. Each tree of talents has its unique characteristics that determine the role a Paladin can fill in a group during a raid or a mission. The three skill trees are: Holy, Protection, and Retribution.

• Holy Tree

When a Paladin decides to specialize in the Holy Tree, he is given almost unlimited powers in healing and even resurrecting the dead. The tree also focuses on caster-related buffs. Essential talents in this tree include Aura Mastery, Divine Favor, and Holy Shock.

• Protection Tree

This tree increases the Paladin’s defense, damage mitigation and return, and mastery of one-handed weapons. The Protection Tree is obviously the tree for a Paladin tank. Must have abilities in this tree consists of Ardent Defender, Avenger’s Shield, and Righteous Fury.

• Retribution Tree

A Retribution Paladin is the epitome of a holy melee fighter, as this tree focuses on damage dealing and damage avoidance. With the proper equipment, a Retribution-centered Paladin can provide buffs, cleansing, offhealing, and significant amount of damage. Key talents in this tree are Crusader Strike, Divine Storm, and Sanctified Seals.

The Weapons and Armor
A Paladin can start with cloth, leather, or mail. At Level 40, he can train to wear plate armor.

The Paladin can wield the following weapons:

• Swords (one- and two-handed);
• Maces (one- and two-handed);
• Axes (one- and two-handed);
• Polearms

Limitations of the Paladin
A Paladin cannot dual wield and has limited options for ranged attacks. Since the Paladin relies heavily on his special skills and buffs for both offense and defense, it makes him a Mana-dependent unit.

While the Paladin is a durable unit, it has limited abilities to draw attacks from the opposition.