INNATE ATTRIBUTES
My experience tells me that what I describe below is true... or at least they seem true.
A player needs to understand the differences in attributes.
Statistics (Stats) are the following seven (7) innate attributes: Agility, Charisma, Dexterity, Intelligence, Stamina, Strength and Wisdom.
These are basically things that affect (or have a direct correlation to) the ratings of other statistics, such as Armor Class, Hit Points, Endurance, Attack and Mana.
Resistances (Resists) are the
following six (6) innate attributes: Cold Resistance, Corruption, Disease
Resistance, Fire Resistance, Magic Resistance and Poison Resistance.
These are basically your innate ability to resist/endure various types of magical affects/attacks.
In any case, in reference to Stats:
1) Stats go up with
Levels (usually 5-per-level).
2) Stats are capped
at 255 until Level 60 (you can max this out by Level 51).
3) After Level 60,
the Stat caps start going up again.
4) By Level 80, your
cap will be 355.
5) Level 85
increased this further (380).
6) DoN Progression will increase your
Stat caps by 10 more (an Alternate
Advancement Ability awarded with Progression).
7) “Planar
Power” (a purchased Alternate
Advancement Ability, with Level restrictions) will increase Stat caps by
100 more (20 Levels of plus-5 increases).
8) Pure casters (not Paladins, sorry!), can further and
significantly increase their Intelligence and Wisdom with an AA called
“Innate Enlightenment.”
9) “Fundament
of Power” will increase the cap for Strength (only), by 9 (a purchased
Alternate Advancement Ability, of 9 Levels of plus-1 increases).
10) UPDATE:
An Underfoot patch in 2010 added “Earthen” AA lines that increased
stat caps by 25.
11) By my figuring, presently, for Paladins
with the AA’s, the cap is 515 for all but Strength, which is 524.
12) NOTE:
Buffs… and particular Shaman buffs… temporarily increase stats caps
as well (Strength, Stamina & Dexterity… to be specific).
As for Resists:
1) Resists go up
with Levels (about 10-per-level, I believe).
2) Resists are
capped at 500 until Level 65 (you can max this out by Level 50).
3) After Level 65, the
cap starts to increase again.
4) By Level 80, your
cap will be 575.
5) Level 85
increased this further (600).
6) The six (6)
Muramite Proving Grounds Group Trials
will increase your resists caps by 50 more (5 to 10 each via an awarded Alternative Advancement Ability).
7) “Discordant
8) By my figuring,
presently, for Paladins with AA, the cap is 700.
These "Caps" (maximum levels) mean that the attributes can only
be increased to your "cap" and no further.
Thus, if the bonuses on your gear can technically take you to 375 Dexterity, and your cap is 350, then your Dexterity will “register” as 350, not 375 (you will only benefit by 350 Dexterity… the additional 25 are essentially useless).
However, there are methods to increase caps... or artificially/temporarily increase them.
Certain buffs include
“overcap” ability, such as the Shaman line of buffs (like Focus or
Unity), gear with "Heroic"
stats allow an artificial cap increases, such as "STRENGTH 25 (+3)...
“(the +3 is the Heroic Stat… or an “overcap”) and
similar.
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Agility Armor Class
Attack Charisma
Cold Resistance Corruption Dexterity Disease
Resistance
Agility
It may also play into your innate Armor Class.
Paladins often tank and have a reasonably high defense skill. AC is one of their most important attributes, so you may want to consider a few points in this area. It also seems that Agility is the one attribute that helps you move faster, so if your agility is high, you will find that may out run others and when you have a buff like SOW.
High agility is a good thing.
Armor Class
This is not an attribute
you can invest in when creating a character.
Innate strength, and perhaps agility, both play in determining your
innate armor class.
As you increase in level, so will your armor class, even if you are not
wearing any armor.
You can significantly increase AC by what you wear and carry. AC is only limited by your equipment and buffs.
I have seen young paladin's running around wearing armor that does nothing for Armor Class. I don't understand this at all. Nothing is better than armor class at lessening the damage you take and in helping you survive longer. Unless armor truly adds significant increases to agility, dexterity, attack and/or strength, the trade is not worth it.
You may be more agile, but you take more damage and the additional blows you avoid are few. You may be stronger, but you take more damage and the extra damage you inflict is not off-setting the damage you are taking. Get the drift? I have tried the trade-off and it is my observation that all most nothing beats good AC.
With that said, after you attain Level 56 or so, the MOB's hit so hard that a few AC is no longer really making a significant difference like it can and does at lower Levels. Therefore, at those levels, sacrificing a few AC in favor of other stats is not completely taboo (and can be beneficial), within reason.
In fact, most seem to agree that any significant AC benefit ends at about 5K to 6K AC.
Lastly, it is generally accepted that 1 AC is worth 6 HP (Hit Points) (based on old-school testing by a Ranger forum). This rule of thumb has worked very well for me. Yes, I know some blow-hards claim 1 AC = 10 HP and other variances, but when questioned as to their bases or source, they can’t back it up. I use the 1 AC = 6 HP because it was tested and evaluated as noted. However, Rangers are a chain class while Paladins are a Plate class… so I will acquiesce on that point. So, allowing 1 or 2 more HP in the comparison (re; 1 AC = 7 or 8 HP), may not be completely out of line.
Attack
Innate strength is clearly a factor in determining this ability, as well
as perhaps dexterity and agility.
Your attack attribute will go up as you level, even if you have no weapon in your hand.
The weapons and items you carry/wear can/will increase your attack ability, which is your ability to successfully strike and damage the MOB that you are attacking.
The better the Damage and the faster the Delay of a weapon, the better your attack damage becomes. In fact, a higher damage weapon (say 30 damage) with a delay of 50 may be a better choice over a lesser damage weapon (say 15) with a 28 delay.
Logic can help you determine if the speed is worth the trade off. Simply consider if the fight lasts 1,000 ticks. Using base damage, what total damage (by way of delay) will one do as compared to the other, with a 100% hit rate?
Example, lets take 2 items.
Let's say one is a 40 based damage and one is a 15 base damage.
Let's say the 40 weapon has a delay of 50 and the 15 weapon has a delay of only 20.
The 40 weapon can hit 20 times over 1,000 ticks for a base of 800 damage.
The 15 weapon can hit 50 times over 1,000 ticks for a based of 750 damage.
So you see? The fast weapon may
allow you to hit the MOB a full 30 more times than the slow weapon, but in the
long run, it is the slow
weapon is potentially doing the most damage!
A similar way to look at it is the Damage vs. Delay ratio (Damage divided
by Delay). The higher this ratio, the better.
In the above example, the 40 Damage weapon has a ratio of 0.8 and the 15 Damage weapon has a ratio of 0.75... which is actually an easier way to determine that the "slow" weapon is the better weapon.
However, this does not take into account damage bonuses (this adds to base damage inflicted) or procs (processes) that add to the damage you inflict. In fact, sometimes if you weigh in the Damage Bonus and potential proc damage, you may decide the “fast” weapon is better after all.
NOTE:
Procs, and especially buff-based procs, will apply to both weapons. However,
the procs are based on a chance-per-swing, so to speak, and the faster weapon
will, therefore, more chances to proc and therefore, benefit more from the proc.
NOTE: Haste modifies the slow weapon more so than the fast one, in a manner of speaking. Using delay as the basis, a 10 percent haste of 50 results in 45 delay (a 5 delay improvement), while it results in only an 18 delay for the 20 weapon (an improvement of just 2).
Anyway, the point is, don't be so quick to trade in a "slow" weapon for a "fast" weapon. That weapon may not be as good as you think.
Charisma
I have found that prices can change somewhat dramatically with lower charisma. I had a dwarf friend (low charisma) that sold an item for 3 plat... I got 9 plat for the same item from the same NPC!
It does seem, though, that there is a point where Charisma tops out and buy/sell prices no longer change (this somewhere around 125).
I have also noticed that where
you are (re: what zone) often affects price as well.
Example, I have noted price differences on the same items from one zone to another, especially when it comes to Luclin versus Norrath. I also suspect faction may have some play into what prices are.
The other known affect of this stat is that it plays into the success rate for Bard/Enchanter charm spells, but that is irrelevant to a Paladin.
This stat is not something to be concerned with when making your Paladin, at all. You can carry items (re: armor) that you can use (wear/hold), or get some Charisma buffs cast on you (like Glamour); to increase your profits and/or get discounted prices, when need be.
Cold Resistance
This is not an attribute you can invest in when creating a character.
Initial ratings seem to be based mostly on race and character type and will not increase as you level.
This resist not only seems to apply with spell attacks, but with weather (snow covered terrain). So, if you are hunting in a cold place or battling beasts that use cold/ice based attacks, you may want to seek out some buffs/armor that increase this stat.
Corruption
This is not an attribute you can invest in when creating a character and it will not increase as you level up.
This particular resist was introduced with The Serpent Spine expansion.
Currently, the only way to increase this buff above the base 15, is via worn items.
There is currently no Innate AA for it, like the other stats/resists.
I can only assume this resist carries the same caps as the other resists (600, as there is no AA for Corruption).
Dexterity
It is may also have a role in casting spells during combat (spell accuracy), help avoid interruptions while casting spells, play into the success of critical hits, how fast Rogues/Rangers learn their skills (not of a concern to Paladins), factor into damage done by missile (ranged) attacks...... and more!
It seems to be a pretty utilitarian
stat!
Because Paladins cannot get the damage output of a dual wielding class, they often rely on proc's for a little extra DPS.
A high dexterity is something to work towards with your character and it is wise to put some points in, at the very start.
Disease Resistance
This is not an attribute you can invest in when creating a character.
Initial ratings seem to be based mostly on race and character type and will not increase as you level.
Use spell buffs to enhance this stat. It may also be a good stat to seek
out in armor and weapons.
My experience has been that disease attacks do hamper your fighting ability to some level, as well as draining your health.
Fortunately, Paladins do have anti-disease spells they can use on themselves and others.
Endurance
It was centered on the Berserker class, as I recall.
I believe endurance is based on Stamina and is basically your ability to
"endure" sustained activity (basically how much you can do before
reaching exhaustion).
Once you are out of endurance, your overall performance will suffer. Example, Warriors use Endurance like mana, in a manner of speaking.
Paladins primarily need endurance for
use with their disciplines (discs cost endurance to activate and maintain).
If you are out of food and/or water, you will soon find that you have no
endurance and cannot meditate.
Low endurance may also make you consume food/water faster (such as when you are swimming, using certain weapons, jumping...).
Endurance is only limited by your equipment and buffs.
Fire Resistance
This is not an attribute
you can invest in when creating a character.
Initial ratings seem to be based mostly on race and character type and will not increase as you level. So, if you are hunting beasts that use heat/fire based attacks, you may want to seek out some buffs/armor that increases this stat.
In fact, I have found that this is a somewhat important stat for a Paladin. One thing I wish I had done early on was to acquire or focus on armor that increased my Fire Resistance more.
Despite the fact Paladin's have an affinity for killing the undead and
their epics involve Dragons (who like to use fire based spells/attacks)…
Paladin's have no spell for
Fire Resistance!
Hit Points
This is not an attribute you can invest in when creating a character.
Hit Points are determined by your Stamina, to some extent.
This does not mean stamina is that
important, but it is important to have sufficient Hit Points to survive
multiple blows from MOB’s and allow healers enough cast-time to keep you
healed!
Damage mitigation gained from others stats can be just as beneficial, as they can play into damage avoidance and damage reduction, reducing or avoiding the effects of spell attacks and so forth.
In short, if the other area's are neglected, your total Hit Points will not make all that much of a difference, because you will be taking higher damage.
This is not to say, however, that HP buffs are not good to have.
It is generally excepted that 6 HP are equal to 1 AC.
Intelligence
It directly affects the amount of mana for Wizards, Mages, Necromancers and Shadowknights... but not Paladins.
This statistic has no real relevance to a Paladin except for potentially increasing the speed at which you learn trade skills (and then, perhaps only if it is higher than your Wisdom).
You should not assign any bonus points to it, when creating a Paladin character.
Magic Resistance
Initial ratings seem to be based mostly on race and character type and will not increase as you level.
This is your ability to resist and/or endure (shake off) magic based
attacks that do not fall in the fire, cold or disease category (like charm,
summon and so forth).
I found this attribute to be of little use until I got into higher levels and MOB's began to use such spells against me.
Mana
This is not an attribute you can invest in when creating a character, but it will increase as you go up in levels.
The more mana you have, the more spells you can cast.
You will find it very important to work on the Meditation skill, to regen
mana faster.
The amount of mana you have is influenced by your innate Wisdom, but that is not to say you should focus on wisdom items or investing in wisdom when creating a character.
Instead, you will find mana being increased as a side bonus from the
armor and weapons you wear (either by way of direct Mana bonuses or
Wisdom increases).
It is better to simply seek out "mind" buffs so that mana replenishes faster.
Stamina
It also plays a major role in your endurance level and influences how long you can hold your breath (you will find this a useful thing when underwater like in Kedge Keep or in air-less locations like the Grey).
It is a reasonably important attribute for Paladins, as they are often
secondary tanks, if not the primary tank.
Strength
I have found it to be of great need/use in looting stuff and being able to carry it back to a merchant and sell it.
It also influences maximum/average damage and how quickly you can learn offensive skills.
As a melee class, you really want to have a good amount of points in this
stat, since you will be wearing plate armors (heavy stuff).
This statistic is very easy to raise through items and spells.
Innate strength is nice to have, but hit points are likely of more use.
It may be a good idea to enhance strength ability by questing and seeking out weight reduction bags. Such bags allow you to carry alternative weapons, armors and a heavy load of looted items, while still having a strong attack and not being "encumbered" (overweight).
You may often hear that a Paladin is a "Wisdom Caster." This is what they mean.
It can also affect how quickly you learn many skills, if your Wisdom is higher than your Intelligence.
This is the core statistic of your mana pool.
Finding items which give direct mana bonuses are better than those that add to your Wisdom.
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This Page Last updated July 3,
2010