Is this going to work at all?

[Ade]

I keep losing every PvP battle and I don't think Pure Class bonuses are going to help because this game is all about high AC. Pure Paladin Class Bonuses are more about increasing the duration of certain buffs and a few other things. Paladin will be a great Party PvPer but he will still be very weak solo due to his awful AC.

Paladin's Pure Class Bonuses don't entail a natural AC boost. I have taken 20 Tumble, which seems to be the only reasonable number for a Pure Paladin to take, as it gives an extra 4 base AC. I have taken Armor Skin.

With Ragnar's Burial Shield, Lumi Shining Mail, and the Paladin Amulet from the Fire Plane Boss I can use Divine Shield to get up to 65 AC.

When I'm level 40 and I have Epic Weapon Focus and Improved Critical with Rapier, I imagine the highest I'll be able to get my AB, fully buffed without help from others, is 60.

For some reason 57 AB isn't enough to do any damage to anyone, which I think is asinine. How are some characters able to get their AC so high? It makes no sense if the game is supposed to adhere to some method of actual physics. I mean, how strong can someone get? There is no reason that a character should avoid the swing of the most powerful weapons in the game every time. If someone has come up with a character that simply never gets hit (thus the player doesn't have to try anymore because his stats do all the work), then something needs to be changed.

I cannot win a single battle and it's not because I'm stupid or because I'm a "bad gamer." It's because I didn't study on the most exploitative ways to win and I decided to cut my own path, and in retrospect that seems to have been a very stupid move, as the people who just copied the greatest builds or found the stat exploits to get the most AC are the ones having the most fun.

Yeah, there's a certain type of gamer who only has fun when he can win without trying. I was becoming that gamer on Phantasy Star Online, amassing three Lv. 200 characters and almost a fourth. But I figured out every cheap way to excel at the game and people were not having fun playing with a massive EXP hog. So I moved on to try a new game, and it's full of people who are so experienced and so knowledgeable of every exploit in the game that they're literally impossible to beat, absolutely 100% of the time. Maybe those people should move on and let us wimps have a day in the sun. I'm sick of losing every single battle just because of numbers. If I lost because I was stupid or I made some mistake then I would be fine, but when someone runs up to me and does "hit hit hit hit" dead before I can even use my super slow Divine Shield and Might, well, it's frustrating.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with my character other than taking a few points in Parry early on. He is 90% planned out and will reach nearly 100 discipline. Is there anything I can do to get more AC? That seems to be the only stat that matters at all.

Further, I am sick of the taunts of players who think it's some major "coup" to win a battle in an RPG that's all about planning and stats, and very little about having to be quick-minded (since there are several seconds between each action, even a person of moderate intelligence can select his next move, the numbers do all the work). While this game is admirable in its complexity, there is no skill other than the arbitrary selection of Stats and Feats upon level ups, and since that can be easily copied, there are no victories that anyone should "take pride" in. This is not a FPS or a Fighting Game that requires twitch skills, and people shouldn't consider themselves "leet" because they're good at crunching numbers. Those are accountants.

That said, there's still a stinging sense of loss every time I lose on this game, because I know how many other games I excel at. This is the first game I've ever gotten into way after the main player base has come and gone, and I must admit it's very difficult to "not be one of the best." However, I expect to be treated like a good gamer in spite of my lack of knowledge of this particular game. If you want to see some skill then come meet me on Phantasy Star Online (not an advertisement), and you will have more respect for me. Or try to clear Life Force for the NES without losing a single ship.

I'm tired of the whisperings that Ariston Hart is a crybaby idiot. Yeah, I get pissed off easily. So what? Really, so what? Everyone has flaws. I will never be able to change this about me. I've always been a spiteful loser. It's how I AM. I could be a lot worse things, I suppose. Just because I am bad at one game does not mean I'm a bad gamer. Just because I tried to make something difficult work does not mean I am stupid.

I have a bad attitude, I hate losing, and I especially hate losing to people who think there's some major pride to be associated with this. This reflects poorly on me, but it should not be exploited, lest your own flaws get the best of you someday.

By the way, I don't want some sort of reprimand for venting my frustrations. It's better to vent frustrations than to cheat at the game to get revenge, or to attempt to hack the server or something stupid like that. This is very therapeutic for me.

[Amoenotep]

well...first off..your pure class pally. no bonuses in for that class yet so you won't really get anywhere good. second sounds like your a heavy...dex'rs have all the ac. so its not about how they take a hit, its about how they dodge your hits.

i encourage you to stick with your build and find its niche in the world. every build has merit, no matter how unplanned and haphazard it may seem. not many regular built chars can solo pvp everything on the server. most that can are gimp'd toons that have come over the years of NWN to be refined many times. of course sometimes you just fight a broken class *cough*hips*cough*.

with a 60+ab/ac your pally sounds like it would do well against most builds except extreme dex'rs and some of the PM's that run around....but the best thing about PM's now is that they are evil and you can smite them....great smite X ftw baby!

all in all though, your probably trying to pvp someone that is using a gimp build to attack. get a buddy or 2 and smack them in the face, that will teach them a lesson.

[LinuxPup]

If you can't get high AC, you can always get lots of hp and damage reduction... in fact you better

Also try some of the subraces... they get some goodies that help survival.

IMO, its good to just get enough charisma to max divine might (30 cha) if you can, and no higher.... pump everything else into dex or strength. Also, use taunt... its an awesome class skill that can easily drop someones AC by 6, making it much easier to hit them... and giving them a 30% spell failure rate.

[Ade]

Well I encourage people to stop using these gimp classes and challenge yourselves.

I quit playing Street Fighter 2 with a friend of mine because he refused to use anyone but M. Bison. The same applies here, except it's much more complicated.

If anything I should be praised for getting a Paladin to Lv. 37. But most people taunt me when they kill me.

Thanks for the advice, btw.

[$chase$]

LMAO

[Lorkar1]

There is always going to be someone bigger or badder that comes along to beat you senseless here. Unfortunately, that is just a fact of life on this server. I wont be like some and say get over it and game on. What I will say is keep learning from your battles and refine your skills as a builder. And stay partied with people you enjoy adventuring with. Those so-called "1334" players have all been were you are at some point unless they had everything given to them.
That was one of the things I now miss with Yoda not playing, were the PvP sessions. I learned a fair amount about PvP from both getting beat by him and beating him. There are still a few players here who are good sports about the PvP experience on this server.

[minielvis]

65 AC , 60 AB and you don't even have your pure bonuses yet?

Sounds good to me, you've nothing to complain about.
It's in the way you play your toon that makes it good, not
just the toon itself.

[$chase$]

i have first hand seen him in pvp and you are 100% right. alot of the good players have been here for years.. thats why there good

[Ajantis.]

Watch that armor your wearing. The Lumi Shining Mail does look like the ideal equipment for a paladin, however its weakness to negative energy can prove fatal. There's a lot of players running around with negative energy enchanted weapons out there.


Edit: And now that you've posted you build like you have, its makes it all the more easier for others to take advantage of that weakness.

This is why many players join a guild to exchange ideas about their builds and future builds. Many have private forums to discuss things like this which becomes a great resource of information. Freedom to discuss your build among a friendly environment is a great asset.

[lordshelt]

I too have seen your build and it looks pretty good to me (course I get smacked around in pvp myself all the time). And I want to add to the above post about guilds in that, joining a guild usually also gives you easy access to many items such as weapons and armor that you would normally have to spend alot of time and effort getting.

[Ade]

I've had time to cool off. Maybe I am just approaching battles poorly then. I guess practice.

[Ajantis.]

Perseverance

[Findor]

One thing you might like to know is that a toon's AC is by no means THE yardstick for his ability to survive in melee bouts. I would encourage you to spend some time reading on the nwnwiki.org site. Damage immunity, resistance and reduction, along with concealment and Epic Dodge, are all means of negating damage from combat.

With some help from one of the players, I did some testing recently of a Paladin. He has a L40 Paly that it didn't appear I was managing any critical hits against during a defense of our Relics. I wanted to know why. Just so you know, I have a hard hitting STR-based Bard/WM build with a buffed AB of 65 that regularly crits other toons for 200+ damage a hit. I didn't think I was critting him because I saw no damage being done over 60 or 70 points. We met and tested his build. LOL...the 60-70 points of damage were my crits. Buffed, he had a lot of Damage Reduction and Resistance. I was impressed. I think pure Paladin builds can be quite viable in NS4 if built properly. Naturally, there is always at least one build that can get the better of another. No build I've ever seen is invincible.

[cely]

Paladin will be a great Party PvPer but he will still be very weak solo due to his awful AC.

Ain't that the truth. D&D was never meant to be a solo affair and despite all of the balancing that the devs have done, it's still not a solo affair. There will always be something or someone that is able to counter your strengths and exploit your weaknesses. It's the nature of the game, it's what makes it interesting.

[Ade]

Being a gamer who is used to being in situations where all difficulties can eventually be overcome, this is a very irritating reality to accept.

*is still working on it...