Class deep dive
The Paladin
The Paladin at a glance
| Role | Hybrid: tank, stuns, heals, resurrection |
| Armor | Plate |
| Key stats | Stamina, Wisdom |
| Arrived | Launch class (1999) |
Allakhazam’s class guide sums the paladin up as a cleric and warrior hybrid: a holy knight who tanks well, stuns foes, heals self or allies better than any other non-priest class (especially in emergencies), and does tremendous damage to the undead.
Sources: Allakhazam: EQ:Classes (wiki)
What a paladin does
Paladins are holy warriors who fight Norrath’s evil and undead with blessed spells and strength of arms. They are mainly melee fighters, wearing plate and wielding many kinds of weapons.
They are capable fighters and battlefield healers. Their combat spells focus on stunning enemies and smiting the undead, and they have spells that raise allies’ health and armor. Every so often a paladin can lay hands on themselves or a friend for an instant, powerful heal.
The official text calls paladins the greatest force against the undead, with special abilities at higher levels to smite them. They also gain a limited ability to resurrect fallen friends with a reduced death penalty.
A paladin can sometimes work alone, healing with magic, but really shines in a group, fighting head to head and falling back to heal when needed.
Sources: Library of Erudin: EverQuest Library — The Classes of Norrath (official text) · Allakhazam: EQ:Classes (wiki)
The quest that started it all
The paladin’s Fiery Avenger quest came first. Project 1999 reproduces the September 2000 announcement of epic quests for every class: new “Fiery Avenger” style quests, “including paladins,” each ending in a weapon with its own model and particle effects.
Sources: Project 1999 Wiki: Class Epic Quest List
The epic: Fiery Defender (later upgraded to the Fiery Avenger)
Epic quests came to EverQuest in September 2000, shortly after The Ruins of Kunark. They were modelled on the paladin’s Fiery Avenger quest: long, multi-step journeys through the highest-level dungeons, usually needing groups to kill powerful creatures. Each ended in a unique weapon with its own model and particle effects. The paladin’s reward was the Fiery Defender (later upgraded to the Fiery Avenger), with the effect Holy Shock.
Who could be one
In the classic era recreated by Project 1999, the paladin epic could be used by all races allowed to be paladins. The Iksar appear there because they joined with The Ruins of Kunark.
Sources: Project 1999 Wiki: Class Epic Quest List
Titles
After level 50, each class earns titles that show in /who. A paladin became a Cavalier at 51, a Knight at 55 and a Crusader at 60.
Sources: Project 1999 Wiki: Character Classes and titles
Playing a paladin today
The class is still in the game on Daybreak’s live and time-locked progression servers. Project 1999 recreates the Classic, Kunark and Velious eras, so it has the original fourteen classes. See EverQuest Today for where the game stands now.
All class deep dives → The Shaman
Illustrations are original fan art made for this site, not in-game screenshots.