Paladin combat rotation

[Phanes]

As an FYI I am following this build as I just came back and had no idea what I was doing. BTW it is a great build so far.

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...uilds-Season-3

I am trying to figure out the rotation of a paladin. Typically in MMOs I always have a trash mob rotation, AOE rotation if I have access to it, and a boss mob rotation.

Right now, at level 8, I am doing Intimidate > Smite. When we get to a boss I prep with all my short time buffs/feats and go in with Intimidate > Smite > Sunder but it feels like sunder just really slows down my DPS.

Going forward what would I be looking at for combat rotations given the build I posted?

[cru121]

Use intimidate only if you are grouping with a weaker party members, to grab mob's attention. If the monster runs off to kill your hireling or party member, use it.
If you want to use Sunder, use it first because it has a chance to reduce AC/Fort of your target. In DDO, depending on the difficulty and character, mobs often die in a few hits, making sunder rather unnecessary. It might have more value in boss fights or against fortified opponents (undead, constructs, raid bosses).
Smite Evil is a limited resource, so use it against priority targets.
Consider also special attacks from your enhancement trees, Leading the Charge, Exalted Cleave, etc.

[magaiti]

Most of the time, best combat rotation is hold down attack button and switch to new target as soon as your current one dies.

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

Personally, I do not believe that the term "rotation" can be applied to this game. It is unlike other MMOs insofar that there is no "cobination of attack moves" that are linked together or used in rapid succession.
I know such a thing (a "rotation") from SWTOR, and DDO is unlike that, imho.

You smite enemies only so often, because you smite charges are limited until you rest again. Same with turning of undead ones.
Because of that, it is better to have the right weapon for a specific enemies - at least that's my personal opinion. For example good or light damage against undead ones.
Your melee strikes are unlimited - there is not such a thing as stamina involved - so it is important to hit the adversary with good strikes as often as posible. Maximizing critical success with strikes is important, too.

There are active abilities as well. You need to calculate how long they go on, and what they do.

Casters have it a bit easier, because they can - at least in principle - cast more often that Paladins can smite - but even they run out of spell points at one point. Then, they must rest as well.

Good quest management involves knowing where the rest shrines are, and when to use them. Especially in elite difficulty, wherein yu can only use them ONCE per quest (if i recall that correctly, that is).

The only other thing is, to debuff enemies. Bards can do that. Paladins can do that to some extend with their spells as well. Look at the duration of your spells, and of your "action boosts" and of your other active abilities.

[Phanes]

Ok so it sounds like left click damage and save intimidate for when a mob runs at the caster

Then just manage specials for boss IE intimidate, smite etc

I have tanked a lot in other MMOs so I know it is more complicated for that I am just trying to get the basics down.

[Kodwraith]

In heroic I usually just have the hot button pair of Improved Smite and HolyRetribution. I use Charge to open up usually (you only need 1 AP). I have not taken the cleaves in the KotC tree. Smite is itself a cleave, so between that and strikethrough, I usually am hitting all the mobs in front of me all the time.

I have intimidate on my hot bar, but I don't use it all that much.

I don't usually run out of smites as with 2HF everything is dying in about 4 hits.