Paladin balance concerns and testing notes

The Paladin showcase is framed as an in-development look at class design rather than a final balance pass. Multiple systems, values, and visuals are described as provisional, and several mechanics are discussed specifically in terms of testing, counterplay, and future iteration.

Iterative state of the class

The Paladin tree, spell list, and effects are all described as unfinished. The current layout is one iteration, and more nodes or effects may be added later. Several abilities are shown in a development environment, including placeholder visuals, translation mismatches, and known bugs.

Examples mentioned during the showcase include:

• animation desynchronization in melee attack chains,
• unfinished or placeholder VFX and icons,
• a cooldown-reduction node that is known to be bugged,
• pull behavior on Cavalcade of Light that is still unstable,
• temporary model mismatches in the environment.

Balance philosophy for talents

The class is intended to support experimentation, but not every node is meant to have the same impact. Small stat nodes are justified as progression steps that create milestones on the way to larger talents. At the same time, the developers explicitly reject adding filler only to inflate tree size.

The stated goal is to find a balance between meaningful major choices and enough smaller nodes to make progression feel steady. This is tied to the limited number of talent points available, since excessive bloat would reduce the impact of each choice.

Mobility and class fantasy

One recurring balance question is how much mobility the Paladin should have. Heavenly Dive exists partly to address a current mobility gap, but it is also criticized internally as feeling more appropriate for a warrior. A charge-style movement skill is described as a better thematic fit for the Paladin.

This reflects a broader design principle in the class discussion: mechanics are not judged only by usefulness, but also by whether they fit the intended class identity.

Power cooldowns and baseline fun

Avatar-style empowerment abilities are discussed with caution. The concern is that if too much power is concentrated in a transformation or burst window, the class may feel unsatisfying outside that state. The intended solution is to make Avatar meaningful while preserving a strong baseline kit.

AoE control and counterplay

Area-of-effect abilities are treated as a major balance concern, especially in PvP and large-scale farming. The discussion identifies several ways to keep AoE under control:

• higher resource costs,
• delayed effects that allow counterplay,
• target caps,
• reduced effectiveness across many targets,
• tuning of radius and crowd-control strength.

The delayed stun on Castigation is one example of this approach. Cavalcade of Light is another, with its control effect still under review. The developers also mention that some games solve AoE scaling by limiting how many targets can actually take damage, and that similar solutions could be considered.

Hit resolution, blocking, and dodge

The game is not intended to be a system where every attack always lands with full effect. Blocking already exists as a way to negate projectile damage. Dodge is under active evaluation, but it is not expected to be ready for the upcoming test. The developers state that if implementing dodge properly would delay the project too much, it may be postponed or removed.

This is presented as part of a larger production rule: additional features are secondary to shipping a stable game foundation.

Playtest priorities

The upcoming test is described primarily as a technical test rather than a polished beta. The purpose is to identify crashes, networking issues, server problems, and other technical faults in an unfinished build. Players are explicitly expected to find bugs and edge cases.

The test is also expected to inform class pacing and tuning, including:

• whether leveling pace feels correct,
• whether one talent point per level is sufficient,
• whether classes need stronger power spikes at certain levels,
• how well current role identities hold up in practice.

Access rollout and scale

Access to the test is planned to roll out gradually rather than all at once. The stated reason is to monitor technical stability and apply fixes before expanding the player pool further. More than 60,000 access requests are mentioned, making staged admission necessary.

Although this is not a Paladin-specific point, it directly affects how class feedback will be gathered: balance impressions from the test are expected to come from an unfinished environment under active technical iteration.

Source

• Recording: Scars OF Honor - Paladin Talents Showcase
• YouTube: Watch on YouTube
• Published: Sunday, April 12, 2026 at 7:08 PM UTC