2026-04-12 · Tests & balance

Paladin balance and iteration notes

The Paladin showcase repeatedly emphasizes that the class is still in active iteration. Many of the abilities, visuals, and talent placements are provisional, and several specific balance concerns are identified during the demonstration.

Iteration status

The talent tree shown is not final. Additional talent effects are expected to be added, and the tree may grow or be reorganized as those effects are integrated. Several spells are also described as candidates for redesign, relocation within the tree, or outright removal.

The stream includes direct references to bugs, placeholder values, and unfinished integrations, including translation mismatches, cooldown bugs, and incomplete spell restrictions.

Animation and presentation issues

The Paladin's melee animation flow is described as below target quality at that stage. A specific issue is noted where the second strike in a melee sequence is visually out of sync with its effects, while the first and third strikes behave more correctly. The animation controller for melee combat is identified as an area needing further work.

Spell visuals are also uneven. Some effects are treated as placeholders or early versions, especially for abilities such as Blessed Hammer. The team also notes that Paladin animations and effects do not yet meet the intended standard.

Ability fit and fantasy concerns

A major design question concerns whether certain abilities match the Paladin fantasy.

Heavenly Dive

Heavenly Dive is the clearest example. Although it provides needed mobility, it is considered by both speakers to feel more like a Warrior skill. The leap-and-slow behavior is seen as mechanically useful but thematically questionable for a Paladin.

Cavalcade of Light control effect

Cavalcade of Light's pull effect is also under review. The intended fantasy is repeated trampling or impact toward the center, but the exact crowd-control implementation may change to a knockback-to-center effect, stun, slow, or root.

Support power and immunity balance

Oath of Sanctuary is recognized as a powerful ally-protection tool because it grants immunity to another player. Several balancing levers are identified:

it cannot be self-cast,
the Paladin is rooted or committed while channeling,
the channel can be interrupted,
a debuff can prevent repeated reapplication.

This indicates that the spell is considered viable only with strong constraints.

Tank balance and block interactions

The tank route is built around active blocking, but some of its interactions are still being finalized. The on-block empowerment for Shield Smite is presented as a strong class-defining mechanic, yet some of the related effects may be moved between baseline functionality and talents depending on how specialized tank gameplay needs to feel.

A bug is also identified with Replenished Aegis not reducing cooldown as intended.

AoE and crowd-control concerns

The discussion addresses broader concerns about area-of-effect spells in both PvE and PvP. Large AoE kits can create balance problems in mass combat and in farming scenarios where players gather many enemies and eliminate them with stacked area damage.

Possible balancing methods mentioned include:

higher mana or resource costs,
target caps,
diminishing effectiveness across many targets,
tighter tuning of damage and control effects.

Castigation is cited as an example where delayed activation is used to create counterplay for an AoE stun.

Hit, dodge, and mitigation systems

Blocking already functions as a way to negate projectile damage. Dodge is still under evaluation and is not expected to be part of the upcoming test in a finalized form. The stated reasoning is production scope: if implementing and tuning dodge would delay the game significantly, it may be postponed or removed in favor of shipping a more stable core experience.

Talent tree size and bloat

The team discusses the risk of bloated talent trees. Small stat nodes are defended as useful for pacing and milestone progression, but not if they become filler with no meaningful impact. The stated goal is to balance milestone satisfaction with limited talent points so that choices remain meaningful.

Visual readability of upgrades

There is interest in making upgraded versions of major cooldowns visually distinct. Avatar of Sanctification is used as an example: larger or more elaborate wings could indicate a more heavily invested version. The purpose would be gameplay readability, especially in PvP, where players cannot inspect an opponent's talent tree directly.

Source

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