Paladin
NEWThe Paladin is one of two Lord of Hatred (April 2026) additions: a holy warrior fighting through radiant strikes, whirling hammers and battlefield auras built around Oaths. A net buff across all Oaths and its defenses (Defiance Aura, Aegis) leaves it A-tier — no build is "bad" anymore, but it still lacks the raw top-end push of the S-tier classes.
Role
Holy melee frontline / support
Core Mechanic
Devotion to one of four Oaths (Disciple, Zealot, Judicator and more), which reshapes your playstyle, combined with Aura skills that project persistent buffs and damage around you.
PvE Tier
PvEAPlaystyle
A Lord of Hatred (April 2026) class: a holy-warrior frontliner that mixes melee strikes with light-based buffs and team support. Rates A-tier for endgame push in Season 14.
Recommended Builds
Auradin
Full guide →D2-style aura killer — kills by running past monsters and letting Holy Light Aura obliterate them, enabled by the Dawnfire gloves.
Zealot
Full guide →Fast melee build using the Core skill Zeal for rapid, high-attack-speed strikes to carve through packs.
Blessed Hammer
Full guide →The classic Hammerdin — swirling holy hammers, with the Judicator Oath weapon Herald's Morningstar or a Disciple/Arbiter auto-cast variant.
Key Aspects & Uniques
- Dawnfire — Gloves unique essential to the Auradin — makes Holy Light Aura the build's primary damage source.
- Herald's Morningstar — Powerful Judicator weapon granting extra Blessed Hammer skills and increased Blessed Hammer damage.
- Argent Veil — Auto-casts Blessed Hammer for you, letting the Arbiter variant zoom around while everything nearby is shredded.
Strengths
- +Outstanding survivability — upgraded Defiance Aura and Aegis make it elite for Solo Self-Found.
- +Every Oath was strengthened, so build variety is real and no option feels dead.
- +Aura-based builds passively damage everything while you reposition.
Weaknesses
- −Newer class with a thinner, still-maturing build pool than the veterans.
- −Some top builds hinge on specific uniques (Dawnfire, Herald's Morningstar) and can suffer trigger-timing inconsistency.
- −Despite buffs it still sits behind the absolute top classes in raw Pit clearing speed.
Why This Tier
A-tier: a strong, tanky debut with genuinely good aura, zeal and hammer builds, but its top-end push and build depth have not yet caught the established S-tier classes.
Skills