Diablo 4‘s Paladin is a bit of an anomaly in Season 13, despite being one of the new Lord of Hatred classes. The Paladin has technically been available for players who pre-purchased the expansion since Season 11, but has undergone some major changes since it was released. Although the Paladin was nerfed in Diablo 4 Season 13, it’s what Lord of Hatred didn’t give the class that makes it the odd one out of Diablo 4‘s roster.
The release of Lord of Hatred brings Diablo 4‘s class total up to eight, with Paladin and Warlock joining the roster in this expansion. Both the Warlock and Paladin offer unique playstyle options defined by their class-specific mechanics. However, the Paladin is the only class in the game that doesn’t have to go through a class quest in order to unlock its mechanic.
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Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred Makes the Paladin’s Oath Mechanic a Completely Unique Experience
The Paladin’s Oaths allow the class to specialize in a particular type of gameplay, whether its defensive priority, offensive fervor, or even mobility via transformation. There are four different Oaths that the Paladin can choose from, including:
- Juggernaut
- Zealot
- Judicator
- Disciple
Other classes, like the Spiritborn and Warlock, have a similar class mechanic where choosing one of four archetypes informs the class’s playstyle. What makes the Paladin so unique is not that it has these build-defining mechanics, but that players automatically unlock them upon reaching level 15.
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Drag weapons to fill the grid
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The Paladin Doesn’t Have to Complete a Class Quest to Unlock Oaths
Each class in Diablo 4 has a unique class mechanic that helps it stand out from the others. For example, the Necromancer’s Book of the Dead lets players customize their summons, while the Sorcerer can Enchant active skills to gain unique passive effects. In order to access these features, players typically have to complete an associated quest that unlocks at level 15. These quests usually give some background on why the class has this feature, giving the player some context before fully letting them incorporate their class mechanic into their build.
Unlike most Diablo 4 classes, the Paladin doesn’t have to complete a quest to unlock its Oaths feature. Instead, Oaths will automatically become available once the class reaches level 15. Because the Paladin became available two seasons before Lord of Hatred actually launched, many players assumed that a class quest to unlock Oaths would be added once the expansion dropped. This ended up not being the case and has left the Paladin as the odd one out among Diablo 4‘s classes.
The Paladin technically has the class-oriented side quests in “Path of the Paladin” from Season 11 and “Remembering the Fallen” that grants players the Lord Paladin’s Bulwark shield. Neither of these are automatically unlocked from leveling or are necessary for class progression.
The Spitiborn and Warlock Classes Prove that Paladins Dodged a Massive Bullet
Part of the problem of these class quests is that they must be completed every time the Diablo 4 players create a new character, meaning it’s a seasonal requirement. Having to repeat these quests every season can be quite tedious, especially when classes like the Spiritborn and Warlock have very long class quests. The Spiritborn requires players to perform the Sacred Hunt, entering the Spirit Realm and performing different emotes to unlock the path forward toward a boss fight against The Beast, Nature’s Wrath. The Warlock’s class quest requires players to travel to different locations in order to seal four separate demons and bind them to the Warlock’s command.
Scratch & Peek
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as
possible.
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as possible.
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Each of these side quests can take quite a bit of time out of a given Diablo 4 season’s progression, which makes the fact that the Paladin doesn’t need to complete one of these quests to unlock their Oaths a nice reprieve for players. It’s also one of the major reasons why players should choose to play a Paladin in Diablo 4 Season 13, even if the class is overall weaker than it has been.
- Released
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June 5, 2023
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
