General

ShiKage's Post-BB Paladin Build

I'm not well-versed in the ways of Paladins. I've never actually played one far into third job in the official servers, but I have played the class in JMST and have discussed this build over with a certain player who has made her own Paladin in KMS and this is what I have come up with. This build may not be for everyone, so take it as you will.

[header][b]First Job[/b][/header]

Level 10 : +1 Power Strike
Level 11 : +3 Slash Blast
Level 12 : +3 Slash Blast
Level 13 : +3 Slash Blast
Level 14 : +3 Slash Blast
Level 15 : +3 Slash Blast
Level 16 : +3 Slash Blast
Level 17 : +2 Slash Blast (Max), +1 Power Strike
Level 18 : +3 Power Strike
Level 19 : +3 Power Strike
Level 20 : +3 Power Strike
Level 21 : +3 Power Strike
Level 22 : +3 Power Strike
Level 23 : +3 Power Strike (Max)
Level 24 : +3 HP Increase
Level 25 : +3 HP Increase
Level 26 : +3 HP Increase
Level 27 : +1 HP Increase (Max), +2 Iron Body
Level 28 : +3 Iron Body
Level 29 : +3 Iron Body
Level 30 : +3 Iron Body (11)

[b]Result :[/b]
10 HP Increase (MAX)
20 Power Strike (MAX)
20 Slash Blast (MAX)
11 Iron Body

[b]Reason :[/b]
In the Big Bang changes, MAX HP Increase was changed completely. Instead of increasing base HP when you level up, it now increases your HP by total percent based on the skill's level. For instance, if you have 1,000 HP and you put 10 points into HP Increase, you will get plus 200 HP at that exact moment. Therefore, instead of going for HP Increase immediately, it's wise to go for Slash Blast. Put one point into Power Strike as a prerequisite to Slash Blast and then proceed to max Slash Blast. After that, finish up Power Strike. For the rest of the time, finish up HP Increase and then dump the rest of your points in Iron Body. Those points in Iron Body will prove to be of some use now. After Big Bang, defense actually helps, so the more defense, the more survivability you will have.

[header][b]Second Job[/b][/header]

Level 30 : +1 Ground Smash
Level 31 : +3 Mastery
Level 32 : +2 Mastery, +1 Booster
Level 33 : +3 Booster
Level 34 : +1 Booster (5), +2 Mastery
Level 35 : +3 Mastery
Level 36 : +3 Mastery
Level 37 : +3 Mastery
Level 38 : +3 Mastery
Level 39 : +1 Mastery (Max), +2 Improved Basics
Level 40 : +3 Improved Basics
Level 41 : +3 Improved Basics
Level 42 : +2 Improved Basics (Max), +1 Final Attack
Level 43 : +3 Final Attack
Level 44 : +3 Final Attack
Level 45 : +3 Final Attack
Level 46 : +3 Final Attack
Level 47 : +3 Final Attack
Level 48 : +3 Final Attack
Level 49 : +1 Final Attack (Max), +2 Threaten
Level 50 : +1 Threaten (3), +2 Power Guard
Level 51 : +3 Power Guard
Level 52 : +3 Power Guard
Level 53 : +3 Power Guard
Level 54 : +3 Power Guard
Level 55 : +3 Power Guard
Level 56 : +3 Power Guard (Max)
Level 57 : +3 Threaten
Level 58 : +3 Threaten
Level 59 : +3 Threaten
Level 60 : +3 Threaten
Level 61 : +3 Threaten
Level 62 : +2 Threaten (Max), +1 Booster
Level 63 : +3 Booster
Level 64 : +3 Booster
Level 65 : +3 Booster
Level 66 : +3 Booster
Level 67 : +2 Booster (Max), +1 Ground Smash
Level 68 : +3 Ground Smash
Level 69 : +3 Ground Smash
Level 70 : +3 Ground Smash (11)

[b]Result :[/b]
11 Ground Smash
20 Mastery (MAX)
20 Booster (MAX)
20 Final Attack (MAX)
20 Threaten (MAX)
20 Power Guard (MAX)
10 Improved Basics (MAX)

[b]Reason :[/b]
You may be thinking, "Only eleven points in Ground Smash? What are you thinking?" However, Ground Smash is replaced in third job pretty quickly. Level one Ground Smash is more than efficient enough to get you through second job and into the part of third job where it's completely replaced. Slash Blast with Improved Basics on bigger mobs will be better than Ground Smash, especially in places like Monster Carnival. So, to start out, get one Ground Smash to help a bit with training, then get 5 Mastery for the sake of getting 5 booster, which will help your training a lot, then proceed to max out Mastery. After Mastery, max out Improved Basics so that you deal a lot more damage, which will in turn help you train a bit faster. After that, max out Final Attack. Final Attack, after the Big Bang, is very good. It has absolutely no delay, so it's practically extra damage added to whatever skill you use. This will help out your training by quite a bit. After Final Attack is maxed, you should get 3 Threaten so that you can work on Power Guard. Power Guard, after the Big Bang, has a fifty percent reflection rate, meaning you only take half of the damage you normally would from a monster. This will save a lot in potions, and in turn, money. After that, proceed to max out Threaten and then Booster. After that, you will have ten extra points. Either dump some in Iron Body for an extra bit of defense or dump the rest in Ground Smash.

[header][b]Third Job[/b][/header]

Level 70 : +1 Fire Charge
Level 71 : +3 Fire Charge
Level 72 : +2 Fire Charge (6), +1 Lightning Charge
Level 73 : +3 Lightning Charge
Level 74 : +2 Lightning Charge (6), +1 Ice Charge
Level 75 : +3 Ice Charge
Level 76 : +2 Ice Charge (6), +1 Restoration
Level 77 : +3 Charge Blow
Level 78 : +3 Charge Blow
Level 79 : +3 Charge Blow
Level 80 : +3 Charge Blow
Level 81 : +3 Charge Blow
Level 82 : +3 Charge Blow
Level 83 : +3 Charge Blow
Level 84 : +3 Charge Blow
Level 85 : +3 Charge Blow
Level 86 : +3 Charge Blow (Max)
Level 87 : +3 Fire Charge
Level 88 : +3 Fire Charge
Level 89 : +3 Fire Charge
Level 90 : +3 Fire Charge
Level 91 : +2 Fire Charge (Max), +1 Lightning Charge
Level 92 : +3 Lightning Charge
Level 93 : +3 Lightning Charge
Level 94 : +3 Lightning Charge
Level 95 : +3 Lightning Charge
Level 96 : +1 Lightning Charge (Max), +2 Ice Charge
Level 97 : +3 Ice Charge
Level 98 : +3 Ice Charge
Level 99 : +3 Ice Charge
Level 100 : +3 Ice Charge (Max)
Level 101 : +3 Restoration
Level 102 : +3 Restoration
Level 103 : +3 Restoration (Max)
Level 104 : +3 Combat Orders
Level 105 : +3 Combat Orders
Level 106 : +3 Combat Orders
Level 107 : +3 Combat Orders
Level 108 : +3 Combat Orders
Level 109 : +3 Combat Orders
Level 110 : +2 Combat Orders (Max), +1 Shield Mastery
Level 111 : +3 Shield Mastery
Level 112 : +3 Shield Mastery
Level 113 : +3 Shield Mastery
Level 114 : +3 Shield Mastery
Level 115 : +3 Shield Mastery
Level 116 : +3 Shield Mastery
Level 117 : +1 Shield Mastery (Max), +2 Magic Crash/Iron Body/Ground Smash
Level 118 : +3 Magic Crash/Iron Body/Ground Smash
Level 119 : +3 Magic Crash/Iron Body/Ground Smash
Level 120 : +3 Magic Crash/Iron Body/Ground Smash

[b]Result :[/b]
20 Shield Mastery (MAX)
30 Charge Blow (MAX)
20 Fire Charge (MAX)
20 Ice Charge (MAX)
20 Lightning Charge (MAX)
20 Combat Orders (MAX)
10 Restoration (MAX)
11 Magic Crash/Iron Body/Ground Smash

[b]Reason :[/b]
Okay, this one is a bit different than pre-Big Bang. Pre-Big Bang, everything was focused around maxing your charges first. However, now, I would suggest work on getting 6 points in all charges for the time. Of course you should get all three charges for versatility and for the stack effect, the added power, and the elemental weaknesses some monsters may have. Once you have those 6 points allocated to all charges, at least one point in Restoration would be really nice. It saves on potions if used right. However, that is purely optional. You don't necessarily need it so early, but it's nice to have. After that, proceed to max Charge Blow. Charge Blow is different than pre-Big Bang in the fact that it no longer cancels your charges. Your charges remain intact 100% of the time you use Charge Bow. This, of course, is the skill that replaces Ground Smash. It does a lot more damage and hits more mobs. So, Charge Blow as soon as possible in third job is a must. After that, you will want to max out Fire Charge, as it's the strongest charge in third job. Not only that, but most monsters you will find will be weak to fire, or at least, at that level they will be. After Fire Charge is maxed, proceed to max Lightning Charge because of the stack effect. It will help with damage and maybe you will find a few lightning-weak monsters to train on around those levels. Ice Charge will be last. It's not too needed at these levels, due to the damage reductions from monsters, the high defense Paladins have, and the Restoration skill that heals you so easily. After all three charges are maxed, you will want to max Restoration. Restoration is very good. It has a very short cool down time and it recovers most of your HP in a single instant. It's almost a replacement for HP potions. Of course, it won't be in all situations. After Restoration is maxed, work on Combat Orders. I didn't tell you to get Combat Orders soon because it's not really too useful in third job. The points you would have used on it could have done the same thing for any other skill. It doesn't go over the max level of skills for any skill except the ones in fourth job, so there was no real point in maxing Combat Orders so soon. After you have Combat Orders maxed, work on Shield Mastery. Shield Mastery will be very helpful if you're a one-handed weapon user, as it adds more defense to your shield, which will help reduce the damage you take. Afer that's maxed, dump the final eleven extra SP into Magic Crash, Iron Body, or Ground Smash. Any of them are fine. I would suggest Iron Body for those points, though, since the more defense you have, the better.

[b]Fourth job will not be a part of this guide. The fourth job builds always vary on what skill books you're able to get your hands on and some things are controversial, so I'll leave it to you to figure out.[/b]

[url=http://ellinforest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9461]Advanced Charge Blow has changed after the Big Bang. Instead of being an enhancement to Charge Blow and getting rid of the charge killing effect, it now not only increases the damage dealt with the skill, but it also adds mastery as long as you have a charge active.[/url]

Thank you for reading my guide.

Credits go to myself and Polantaris. Thank you, Polantaris, for your helpful insight in helping me with this build.