Alordrogon's Outland Antics ¨C Introductions

Hi, my name is Alordrogon, or just Alord on the beta test servers. They didn''t let us use our original names, so a brand-new nickname we have for this Paladin. There are so many new things to do in Blizzard''s new expansion and with so little real life time, I feel well behind my fellow beta testers. As most Paladins have already read by now, there have been many changes to the talent trees, a few new spells added to out repertoire, all of which are things to be very excited about.
One of the nicest things about the new talent trees is that all three trees seem to be viable now. Blizzard has been working hard to make the Paladin more than just a combat medic. However as any instance raider can tell you, Paladins who are true to their class know healing is our strong suit. For good or for bad, nothing has changed in the Burning Crusade. We still make powerful combat healers, especially with our cleansing abilities, we will still find us pigeon holed for this role, especially in 25-man raids. However for small instances, a Paladin tank is a strong possibility, although things do seem to go a little slower then if a warrior were tanking. The Retribution tree, which a good number of Paladins have worked with, has a much improved bottom end with the return of an instant strike damage spell. This new spell seems to be the most looked forward to change in the tree.

Retribution may have the new instant strike but the tree that has seen the most change, which in this author''s opinion is the most interesting tree, is the Protection tree. While a more in-depth look at the Protection tree will be done in a later article while I get more acquainted with it. It needs to be said that many are still very curious to see how viable a tank a Paladin can be with the addition of some those new spells and talents. With the number of new 5-man instances being added, having a Paladin able to switch in for the ever so important "warrior tank position" can make group-making a lot easier. I got a chance to tank the Blood Furnace for a partial run the other night and felt pretty confident in the role of tank (if only that pesky Rogue Sprawl would stop stealing aggro) . I still wasn''t able to hold aggro as well as a top tiered warrior like Buster, but I was definitely an acceptable stand-in while he is away from the keyboard.
Before we get too much into any particular specs or new spells, it''s probably a good idea to start like your average Burning Crusade blog and mention my initial experiences through the Dark Portal. After that seemingly long ride from Nethergarde Keep, full of anticipation and curiosity to the Dark Portal, behold, a Paladin''s delight, Demons! Ok, so a Pit Lord is a little much for me, but the point remains the same. Much to the enjoyment of many Paladins, Hellfire Peninsula, the starting zone in the Outland, continues where the Eastern and Western Plaguelands left off. There is a heavy demon and undead contingent to face in the early parts of the zone, which gives Paladins a large array of "toys" to play with right off the bat. With each enemy giving around 500 - 600 experience points per kill, excluding the rested bonus, leveling won''t be all that unbearable. It is pretty crazy to see 1000+ experience per kill with a rested bonus.
There are so many new things that I''m dying to get into but I keep having to stop to take care of things, like spending my talent points. The very first thing many Paladins will do, counting this Paladin, is spec heavy into the Retribution tree. Dropping 41 points into the Retribution tree allowed me to get the much looked forward to Crusader Strike! Back in the first beta for the original game, Paladins used to have an instant strike. Coupled with the Paladin''s infamous abilities to stay alive, it was deemed too powerful for Paladins to have any semblance of "dps". It took two years of "begging" but we finally got it back, in limited form. The Crusader strike is an instant cast spell that will cause weapon damage plus an addition 40% holy damage, a nice little burst of holy-typed damage. As mentioned earlier, going into an almost full Retribution and getting such talents as Seal of Command, the burst damage for the Paladin is at an all time high. With the combination of Crusader Strike, Judging Command and Exorcism on those pesky undead and demon targets, it is not too uncommon to knock down targets immediately to half health in a matter of 5 seconds. This is a very welcomed change from the ungodly long fights most Paladins are used to by now. All we need now is stealth and we can just do away with the Rogue class all together!

This leads the Paladin to another interesting point. While Strength and Agility are always important to any melee class, the Paladin has the unique problem of trying to focus every single major stat. Strength and agility are important for the extra attack power and critical strike chance, especially to help with the burst damage while leveling or PvPing. However it is also important to keep up their mana, so intelligence, and to a much lesser degree spirit, remains vitally important. Without keeping up the mana, you can expect a lot of downtime, so you better stock up on the new Draenic Water. Once I reach 70, I will once again be able to focus a lot less on damage, but for leveling up, no matter what class you are, you need to be able to kill and kill quickly. Just when I thought I was going to be getting rid of those extra armor "resistance" sets, I need to create multiple suits for leveling up and raiding.
The Burning Crusade offers a lot of new and amazing lands to explore. There are seven new areas in the Outland, dozens of new 5-man dungeons each pretty exciting and an interesting change from the monotony of what we have come to get accustomed to over the past two years. Even with the new lands to explore, every single class has new talent and new moves. I am regularly surprised with all the new "special powers". It seems a bit overpowered by today''s standards, but I''m sure everything will seem normal in another year. With the strong multi-dimensional nature that the Paladin has undergone since launch, there is much to be excited about come January 16, 2007. The only question that the Paladin must ask himself is: come the expansion do you want to fight at the front lines, swing your hammer against the might foe, or mend your friends in battle around you? Come the release date, it will become a whole new ball game and it sure as heck looks like a lot of fun. Be sure to come back next week where I get more in-depth about my Retribution build. I hope to get more tanking experiences with a Protection-heavy build in the future too, and well, I''ll have to eventually check out a Holy spec as well, although I really am trying to take a break from healing for now. Oh, and by popular demand, in each future issue, I will include a shot of me bubble-hearthing out of a new and unique tough spot somewhere out in the Outland!