Monday, February 28, 2011

Paragon Review





Warriors are divided into two basic subgroups; those that can take a beating and those that bring the hurt - the Paragon is definitely among the latter. In fact there may not be another soul in this calling as effective as delivering a beat down. Utilizing powerful combat techniques and moving with a fluid grace, the Paragon is like an axe wielding, plate wearing martial artist. Whether as a focal point or a minor component, there are some powerful talents here that pair well with the other DPS souls.

Pros

  • High damage output
  • Able to deal damage to ranged opponents
  • Well suited for soloing
  • Able to interrupt casters


Cons

  • Less mobile than other Warriors
  • Relies almost solely on avoidance with limited mitigation
  • Can feel weaker than other souls at early levels



Overview
The Paragon is an offensive powerhouse that combines the feel of a martial artist with the power of steel. A heavy Paragon build can be the ticket to a fast and smooth leveling experience from level 20 onward, combing high dps with some decent crowd control. Even though the Paragon gains a talent to increase their base movement speed periodically, the soul lacks an ability to quickly close the distance on an opponent that some other warrior souls enjoy.


Solo Play
An excellent solo class that pairs high damage output with fun gameplay. Many of the Paragons abilities are reactive in nature, requiring players to pay attention to procs and triggers. These follow up attacks act similarly to finishing moves, but will award attack points to keep the killing spree rolling along.

Group Play
Paragons are effective in dungeons, raids and rift invasions due to high DPS and some moderate crowd control and interrupts. However a player with Paragon as their focal point would probably be better served to choose another soul to increase raid synergy and bring more to the table as thus far I have found more benefit in increasing overall raid damage than the moderate upgrade the Paragon gives my personal DPS.

Pairs Best With

Riftblade
Mating a Paragon with a Riftblade makes for one of the best cloth killers in the game. The added magical damage and ranged attacks will also help mask the fact that the Paragon struggles to close distance on opponents. At 6 points into the tree: Freeze Armor will slow an enemy by 50%, couple this with the 50% movement speed increase of Fleet of Foot for maximum benefit.

Champion
The constant companion of any build, the Champion pairs well with nearly every soul but its upside to a Paragon build is without compare. Crazy amounts of DPS increase talents, an AoE root and Blitz (which makes Bull Rush available in combat) as early as 11 points into the tree makes this a must have for the Paragon.

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