Do we need more "holy" games ? Paladin LFG !

[MrKupos]

I love paladins, because of the light they hold. Because of the shield and faith they use. Because of the cause. and they are complete tanks that are good against undead....

I've recently had a chat with some friends about the crusader in Diablo III ~ They were saying that paladins were very generic for the most part and that another class would have been better. I replied saying that way too few (recent) games actually had paladins in them and we concluded that they just weren't really popular.

With the recent release of Lords of the Fallen (It has some sort of paladin, yay !), do you like the "holy" type of warrior ? What are your opinions on Paladins ? Do you want more games that uses these kinds of characters ?

Extra challenge : Find 10 recent (5yrs or less) with Paladins as Main/Playable character excluding MMOs.

1 - Dragon Age : Origins (Templar)

 

[Mezahmay]

I like paladin playable classes in games. I may be biased since I like their capacity for support/healing schemes in MMOs after years of WoW conditioning. They weren't my favorite healing class by far, but I did enjoy the time spent pally healing. I'm not a fan of religion, but I enjoy most holy characters that have a more philosophical/deist stance on their faith as a source of strength instead of some kind of evangelist who takes their belief literally.

I feel that they have adequate representation in gaming these days, especially since to the best of my knowledge they've only been used in fantasy RPGs or RTSs. I'm not sure the same aesthetic applies in futuristic or even modern settings, or at least hasn't been used well in such a setting. I keep thinking of The Secret World, but I don't think it used a paladin type class.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Dragon Age: Origins had the Templar class, which is basically a paladin in the way that you play it, but I get what you're saying.

I like the paladins too, so long as they're done right. I enjoy a character who has unshakable faith in God, even when they are constantly surround and assaulted by people saying that they're being stupid, and by monster and demons that would cause a normal person to question the existence of a higher being with good intentions. What I don't enjoy is when the writers turn those characters into fools who go around preaching their faith and shouting down anyone who won't listen. "My faith is my shield," mean that you use it to defend, not go around and smack the townsfolk on the head with it.

 

[sageoftruth]

If their faith helps them call upon some badass divine intervention, then count me in. I could use a warrior with celestial wings and the ability to crush creatures of darkness with the literal fist of God, a la Persona 4.

 

[VanQ]

I like paladin playable classes in games. I may be biased since I like their capacity for support/healing schemes in MMOs after years of WoW conditioning. They weren't my favorite healing class by far, but I did enjoy the time spent pally healing. I'm not a fan of religion, but I enjoy most holy characters that have a more philosophical/deist stance on their faith as a source of strength instead of some kind of evangelist who takes their belief literally.

My opinion on the WoW Paladin kinda colludes with yours. I like them in that they're a cool, flashy kind of class but I especially like that The Light is an ambiguous source of power that doesn't answer to any specific faith, but simply answers to faith in general. The stronger the faith, the stronger The Light responds.

This is why even though Humans/Tauren/Dwarves/Elves all believe in different things, they can all call upon The Light equally.

Spoiler: A deeper look at The Light in Warcraft lore

Alternatively, classes like the Templar in Dragon Age bothered and even frustrated me. As soon as you bring a "one true God" kind of thing into it, that's when I start to draw similarities between the character and the kind of awful things real people have done in their gods' names. It around about then that I tend to lose all sympathy for that character.

 

[MrKupos]

Dragon Age: Origins had the Templar class, which is basically a paladin in the way that you play it, but I get what you're saying.

I like the paladins too, so long as they're done right. I enjoy a character who has unshakable faith in God, even when they are constantly surround and assaulted by people saying that they're being stupid, and by monster and demons that would cause a normal person to question the existence of a higher being with good intentions. What I don't enjoy is when the writers turn those characters into fools who go around preaching their faith and shouting down anyone who won't listen. "My faith is my shield," mean that you use it to defend, not go around and smack the townsfolk on the head with it.

I was not aware of Dragon Age: Origins Templar class, I probably missed it since I beleive this series is Origin only now... I'll add that game to the challenge list.

I do agree with what you are saying in regards to the kind of faith a paladin should have ~ I'm strongly taking my ideas of a good paladin straight from either Warcraft III or Diablo. I actually don't remember them interracting all that much with anything but enemies tho, I'll have to replay the human campaign...

Who's your favorite paladin ?

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Spoiler

With the recent release of Lords of the Fallen (It has some sort of paladin, yay !), do you like the "holy" type of warrior ? What are your opinions on Paladins ? Do you want more games that uses these kinds of characters?

I kind of like "sword and board" knights in games. There's something about the "thunk" of blows on a shield that really pleases me for some reason. As far as the "holy" aspect goes, eh...it tends to get over-done. Characterization in games tends to be a bit murky at best, and Paladins are no exception. They're almost always zealots...either goodie zealots, or accidentally evil authoritarian zealots.

Who's your favorite paladin ?

Spoiler: This Guy

Spoiler: Or This Guy

 

[Duck Sandwich]

I like the idea of a dude who fights FOR GREAT JUSTICE and bashes dudes in the face with a shield. I loved the Diablo 2 Paladin's Holy Freeze aura. The Cleric from Shadow Over Mystara was awesome too. His healing and blessing moves made him able to both dish out and take more damage than the dudes that specialized in melee (the Fighter and Dwarf). But I don't like when certain moves only work on certain kinds of enemies. For example, the Cleric's Turn Undead move, which functions as an instant "Make undeads go away" button.

 

[Elfgore]

Love Paladins, love everything about them. Not only are they amazing melee fighters, they're also tanks, healers, and magic casters. The purest example of a good being, using their powers to eradicate undead hordes.

My highest level WOW toon was a Dwarf Paladin. Level 76 I think. Man, did I fucking love that bastard. You'll be missed Forinn, you and your amazing orange beard.

As a big fantasy nerd, I really have wanted more Paladins to appear in games.

 

[MysticSlayer]

As far as characters go, I can't say that I enjoy playing them. I prefer playing a character that makes me feel like the line between me and my enemies is incredibly thin, possibly non-existent, and paladin's tend to go against that idea. There are ways to do it right, but I rarely see it done in a way that I enjoy. Also, there's generally a class that has more enjoyable gameplay to me.

 

[Therumancer]

I love paladins, because of the light they hold. Because of the shield and faith they use. Because of the cause. and they are complete tanks that are good against undead....

I've recently had a chat with some friends about the crusader in Diablo III ~ They were saying that paladins were very generic for the most part and that another class would have been better. I replied saying that way too few (recent) games actually had paladins in them and we concluded that they just weren't really popular.

With the recent release of Lords of the Fallen (It has some sort of paladin, yay !), do you like the "holy" type of warrior ? What are your opinions on Paladins ? Do you want more games that uses these kinds of characters ?

Extra challenge : Find 10 recent (5yrs or less) with Paladins as Main/Playable character excluding MMOs.

1 - Dragon Age : Origins (Templar)

I think right now everyone still wants to be the grimdark anti-hero, so straightforward heroic characters aren't all that popular, and the Paladin is the classic "White Knight" like Galahad or Lancelot smiting evil with the favor of god behind them. I think part of it is that a lot of effort also goes into making all the darker and more morally gray stuff cooler in games, and the good guys are oftentimes neglected in response. As a general rule if you have say a Paladin and some kind of Swordsmage or Dark Knight, the latter two are likely to wind up being better, and more entertaining characters, with more polish. Likewise if your like me and enjoy playing good aligned wizards, you'll oftentimes notice that the evil themed mages like Warlocks and Necromancers wind up being much more powerful and versatile.

That said, I think a lot of it is that the heroic knight questing against evil has been kind of a stereotype forever even if it's hard to pin down many actual stories other than versions of King Arthur. The other stuff has been around decades now, but it still stands out as different, and again as I pointed out tends to be favored by game design. Even in PnP D&D games unless I rolled stupidly high attributes I pretty much had to have a 17 in Charisma (eating a big attribute) and then for all my cool powers wound up having to deal with truly stifling "good is stupid" limitations. Then lost access to weapon specialization (unless house rules are being used) and similar things.

I do hope good guys being cool comes back soon. I get tired of all the grimdark angst and anti-heroes after a while. I mean it can be fun, but sometimes you just want to flat out be the good guy and not feel like some parody.

 

[nomotog_v1legacy]

I would like to see the paladin make a comeback. They kind of haven't been played straight in awhile actually. You would get the religious warrior,but they would end up being more evil dark or simply not good. I would like to see the return of the honest to goodness good paladin.

 

[AntiChri5]

Im not really sure Dragon Age's Templars count as Paladins. They are more of a deconstruction of the Paladin archetype.

I like Paladins in games. But my favourite isn't even from a game, which is rather sad in what it says about characterization in games.

It's Michael from the Dresden Files, in case anybody cares.