Paladin of Light

Armor Types

Gear and Item Set Info

This build is based around two concepts - getting enemies' attention, and not dying.  One-Hand/Shield combinations are obligatory, as Absorb Magic is among the strongest tank abilities in the game.  Heavy Armor is an important part of the build as well, as it helps you not die, and gives you potent bonuses.  As long as you have five pieces of Heavy Armor, you can take any combination for the other two slots, mostly to tune ability costs per your play style.  

Crafted sets that would work well with this build are Alessia's Bulwark, which provides a chance to debuff an enemy on physical attack.  Whitestrake's Retribution is also a strong choice, as you'll get some temporary HP if something goes terribly wrong.  

Dropped sets that would be useful include Akaviri Dragonguard, as you will be able to use your potent Ultimate buffs more often. Beckoning Steel is a good choice, as not only will you passively cover your allies from spell projectiles, but with Absorb Magic, it will slightly heal you.  Knightmare is another strong contender, as you can apply an AoE debuff upon dealing melee damage.  Meridia's Blessed Armor will make your blocking greatly superior, as you can blind opponents.  Vampire Cloak makes you take less damage in general.  Wyrd Tree's Blessing means that for solo play, you could swap out Extended Ritual for something more aggressive.

General Info

The Paladin is a build all about being the shield standing between your enemies, and your friends.  Your shield is by far your greatest asset, absorbing enemy magic, and ensuring that enemies attack you and only you.  Your sword is a life-giver, in that it will apply potent debuffs that make your enemies less able to take down you or your friends.  Lastly, you will call upon potent Ultimate abilities that protect your friends, and cause your foes to have mental breakdowns.

It's encouraged to role-play a little bit as a Paladin, just to be in the right mindset.  I personally have a challenge where I never murder citizens, and if I steal, I must immediately go defeat a World Boss that I have not defeated before.  Long made short, you're the good guy.  Be the good guy (or girl!)

Also, proudly wear the armor of a holy knight while playing this build!  I encourage motifs such as Ancient Elf, due to the more abstract elements of the look, as well as Order of the Hour due to being a set worn by a ecclesiastical order.  Glass Armor can be elegant with a light color scheme.  A more pragmatic Paladin would strike an imposingly righteous figure in Mercenary armor.  Avoid any scary looks, like Wood Elf, Daedric, or Xivkyn, unless you can't avoid it.

In combat, we have two bars.  Primary Bar deals debuffs to enemies using 1H skills, and also uses Explosive Charge to get everyone's attention initially.  This bar uses Sturdy Horn, to exalt our allies to press the attack!  Our secondary bar is our protective bar, using Inner Rage to taunt enemies at range, and limited healing abilities to both sustain ourselves and protect any friends who need it.  This bar uses the Restoring Barrier to powefully protect and mend.  Both bars take Channeled Focus and Absorb Magic, to ensure that we don't die while we're keeping enemies taunted and debuffed.

It's possible to swap out some skills when not grouped with others.  Empowering Sweep is a good balance between offense and defense as it reduces damage taken, and deals good damage - I encourage this at early levels as it's likely the first Ultimate morph you'll be able to get.  If you don't need to heal allies, you can replace Ritual of Rebirth with Reflective Light, or Luminous Shards.  If you've got good health sustain, but are having issues with Magicka, you may consider replacing Absorb Magic with Harness Magicka, or if you need a bit more shielding, Blazing Shield.

Build Rating