No Love For The Paladin Build

Discrimination seems to be part of almost any society. In the world of Guild Wars, it is no different. The players don't seem to care if you're black or white, Ascalonian or Krytan. What they do care about is your profession. While there are 10 primary professions to chose from, and then nine secondary professions, not all of the combinations are respected. One mix in particular is typically greeted with contempt - The Warrior/Monk.

Being a "war/mo" is not the end of the world. You could still earn the admiration of your fellow players, especially in the storyline maps. No, to truly experience Guild Wars discrimination, just create a Paladin and then enter the random arena.

For those of you not familiar with Guild Wars history, a Paladin is a Warrior/Monk that uses specific skills... mainly Swordsmanship, Mending and Healing Hands. Back in the day, it was very difficult to counter that build. Most players weren't familiar with anti-enchantment skills. A War/Mo could run around the battlefield, usually unmolested.

Today, simply casting Mending will earn insults. :o

Having much success in Hero Battles with my Four Goalie build, which is three Monks and a Paladin, I was curious to see how my Paladin would perform in random combat. It was a new experience for me. I thought of an analogy to describe playing Random Arena as a Paladin. It's as if you're the kid in elementary school that no one wants talks to, because you're slow and you smell funny.

Player 1: Ugh, who farted?
Player 2: Ewww... it's TANK! He's casted Mending.
Player 1: Noob!
Player 1 has left the game.

I've seen players drop out of a match, simply because I casted Mending. There's no respect for the Paladin build. I've been playing Guild Wars longer than most people even knew that it existed. I've singlehandedly won random Arena battle, by simply outlasting my opponants. That doesn't matter. He casted Healing Hands... he must be a terrible player... right?

I can laugh this stuff off. The experience was actually the first time, in a long time, that I enjoyed playing Guild Wars. I was having fun. The colorful phrases to describe the Paladin build were amusing. However, this must be an awful greeting for new players.

With over 90 different profession combinations, I struggle to think of a character more disliked than the War/Mo. This is sad, as it is a popular choice with new players. Perhaps ArenaNet should give the Paladins some love. Maybe it's time to give Mending a power boost.