Why I Still Love Paladins (Despite the Smite Nerf)

#shorts

[joshuahampton]

I mean, Paladins have always been the most powerful martial class. Now they get access to a huge pool of bonus action "rez someone" points? That's so big nobody should miss Smiting. Forget all the other awesome perks.

[KarlMarkyMarxx]

Trading Smite as a bonus reaction for Lay on Hands also being a bonus action is a huge net win. I hate how no one mentions it. It's a massive net gain in comparison to losing burst damage. Smiting when you don't land a crit or an enemy isn't at death's door is usually a waste of resources anyway.

[jlbernardes]

I wasn't a fan of playing paladins before, particularly devotion, but in 2024 my first build was a forest gnome devotion paladin with shillelagh and board and it's pretty impressive.

[michaeln.]

As much as I loved playing Paladins in 2014, I can absolutely see why they had to be brought down a notch. And the really fun stuff still works: Smiting when you crit? Yes please!

[dndelver]

Absolutely agreed, Paladins are so much more fun and versatile now, while previously they were pretty much just played as Nova machines.

[michalberanek]

One day you should publish a short, then have the video be about something completely different

[goji]

I genuinely like that Smite has been reduced to once per turn. It's a lot healthier for the game and I say this as someone who loves playing paladins.
What I DON'T like is the bonus action restriction. It feels like it does nothing but mess with multiclasses and feats which are already obscure and not necessarily optimized.
It's especially infuriating with Eldritch Smite just not needing a BA.

[awitte]

Paladins were always overpowered in 5e, this nerf was needed.