Oberon - The Paladin Without Belief (Totally Subjective Review)

[matrixEXO]

Personally, I find that the Paladin's believe isn't displayed in both his skills AND his design. Currently, he looks like some weird mesh of designs that are meant to look cool but doesn't portray his beliefs in justice and righteousness. What he lacks are actually the tokens of his beliefs, like how an avert Christian believer has a cross with him at all times. On top of that, he looks poorly suited for combat, wearing gloves and light leggings than heavy armor and a thick iron helmet. To me, he looks more like a holy missionary than a paladin; a preacher than a warrior.

 

His whole kit doesn't suit what should have been portrayed, either in terms of skill design or in terms of skill activation. In detail:

 

Smite should have been a one-time melee buff, granting 100/200/300/400 additional HOLY damage on one melee attack where that attack is considered as a charged attack and gains bonuses from it. Holy damage will bypass all resistances and armor. The trick with such a skill activation is actually the range at which you can use it. Melee attacks are only able to proc it thus throwing a Glaive will not proc it at all and since any normal melee attack is considered as charged melee, it will always deal constant high damage if you can get up close to deal it.

 

Hallowed Ground feels out of place. As a Paladin, what does Hallowed Ground give? It should have been different. My idea for a Paladin skill to take over this skill should be Strength in Belief. Strength in Belief grants Oberon 25% damage reduction (not armor but bonus damage reduction) for 8/10/12/14s. Every kill done by Oberon increases this duration by 1s while Smite kills extends the duration by 2s. Seems like OP? Maybe, but it fits his concept thematically. His beliefs drives him forward, able to shrug off damage and with each kill, especially kills by Smite, his own beliefs grow stronger.

 

Renewal is another mechanic that doesn't play well with what is being portrayed. Letting orbs out just isn't a way that a Paladin should be doing. A way to make him more thematically appropriate is to actually create a ring around him, allowing allies near Oberon to recover and also recovering Oberon for the number of allies being healed inside his circle. This way, he can act both as a tank (for allies to stay behind) as a Paladin should but also share his beliefs to his teammates, granting them regeneration over time as they stay near him.

 

Reckoning seems to be a botched up job at making a skill to fit Oberon. Instead, why not try Divine Light? Divine Light generates maximum aggro (9999999) and forces all enemies to target Oberon for 15s. During this time, Oberon's equipped non-ultimate abilities are always active but loses their rank by 2/1/0 (all skills are capped at a minimum level of 1). This way, not only does Oberon act as a Paladin, whose goal is to charge into the battlefield and allow his allies to be led to victory, he also is able to show that his beliefs are not forsaken, so much so that he gains increased offensive capabilities as well as defensive capabilities.

 

 

With these said, do you guys see Oberon's design being fit as a Paladin? What are your own opinions on his kits? Also, constructive criticism on my own suggestions is welcome.

Edited December 23, 2013 by matrixEXO

[Kolos1001]

I see him as a druid more than a paladin. He's fun but I think he's outclassed by most other frames. That or he's another one trick pony.

[matrixEXO]

I see him as a druid more than a paladin. He's fun but I think he's outclassed by most other frames. That or he's another one trick pony.

Similar... but a Druid's skillset would have been more unique than this though.

 

Personally, he's definitely a one-trick pony. Smite isn't really usable on anyone except low-level Grineer grunts (Lancers/Elite Lancers) while Hallowed Grounds doesn't really help much since enemies can just run from it. Renewal may have some bug cause if not, it's the new Quick Thinking and Reckoning is the only skill that seems semi-decent... until you see other more powerful AoE skills that makes generating red orbs not viable at all.

Edited December 23, 2013 by matrixEXO

[xGryphus]

Except he is not paladin - he is merely paladin/druid themed. Furthermore considering that his role is to uphold balance (true neutral) he is more of a druid then a paladin (lawful good).

[matrixEXO]

Except he is not paladin - he is merely paladin/druid themed. Furthermore considering that his role is to uphold balance (true neutral) he is more of a druid then a paladin (lawful good).

Exactly. But then again, if you think about it this way (Tenno = Good, All Else = Evil) then we can see that his role is more towards Paladin. The reason for saying this is because there isn't any other existence out there apart from the Tenno who are considered good. We don't protect others except ourselves. All these can change depending on how we see things. (PS: Gravidus Dilemma made the Tenno be aligned more towards Chaotic Neutral IMO).

 

The problem with the design is that even though they themed it as such (Paladin), they didn't flesh it out right. If they wanted to make a Druid-Paladin hybrid, they should not just call it a Paladin. It's not right both to the onlookers and the ones doing it. Personally, I don't think it's themed right; not for a paladin/druid nor paladin-druid combination.

Edited December 23, 2013 by matrixEXO

[Temporary]

The names of his abilities fit but his look and feel don't, they even stated on the live stream that he looks more like a druid.

He is a good frame but mostly for defense & survival missions as he cant keep up with pure damage frames, he fits a niche role where a pure healer like Trinity isn't necessary and a utility class becomes a help not a hindrance.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Temporary

[matrixEXO]

The names of his abilities fit but his look and feel don't, they even stated on the live stream that he looks more like a druid.

He is a good frame but mostly for defense & survival missions as he cant keep up with pure damage frames, he fits a niche role where a pure healer like Trinity isn't necessary and a utility class becomes a help not a hindrance.

Personally, I doubt Hallowed Ground fits a Paladin. A Paladin does not make an area blessed or holy. Their duty is mainly to battle against evil and not to make areas hallowed or anything.

 

I don't deny that he fits the support-utility class but his skills just doesn't thematically fit. Not for a druid and not for a paladin. Personally, a druid would look more... different than what he looks like as well. I can't put it to words but he seems like some holy missionary or preacher rather than either druid or paladin.

Edited December 23, 2013 by matrixEXO

[00zau]

Smite is fine thematically; there are spells called smite in several games that are basically singe-target damage spells.

 

I agree that I wish he looked more knight-like, less druid-like.

[matrixEXO]

Smite is fine thematically; there are spells called smite in several games that are basically singe-target damage spells.

 

I agree that I wish he looked more knight-like, less druid-like.

Except in this game, it's single target damage spell with an extremely unreliable secondary damage function.

[Fumblewatt]

Except he is not paladin - he is merely paladin/druid themed. Furthermore considering that his role is to uphold balance (true neutral) he is more of a druid then a paladin (lawful good).

 

Exactly. But then again, if you think about it this way (Tenno = Good, All Else = Evil) then we can see that his role is more towards Paladin. The reason for saying this is because there isn't any other existence out there apart from the Tenno who are considered good. We don't protect others except ourselves. All these can change depending on how we see things. (PS: Gravidus Dilemma made the Tenno be aligned more towards Chaotic Neutral IMO).

 

The problem with the design is that even though they themed it as such (Paladin), they didn't flesh it out right. If they wanted to make a Druid-Paladin hybrid, they should not just call it a Paladin. It's not right both to the onlookers and the ones doing it. Personally, I don't think it's themed right; not for a paladin/druid nor paladin-druid combination.

Well, it's a sci-fi game, druids were known to uphold justice in ancient society, solving personal disputes.

Both Paladin and Druid mixed togheter in a sci-fi game makes sense, since they did the same thing and served the same purpose under different religious beliefs, heck they could even throw in police officer to spice the mix up a bit more. And as for the model itself, it looks like a perfect hybrid between a sci-fi druid/pally.

The thing DE could do is release helmets that look more paladin like, and body skins that look more "druidic". 

[matrixEXO]

Well, it's a sci-fi game, druids were known to uphold justice in ancient society, solving personal disputes.

Both Paladin and Druid mixed togheter in a sci-fi game makes sense, since they did the same thing and served the same purpose under different religious beliefs, heck they could even throw in police officer to spice the mix up a bit more. And as for the model itself, it looks like a perfect hybrid between a sci-fi druid/pally.

The thing DE could do is release helmets that look more paladin like, and body skins that look more "druidic". 

It would be better to call him a druid-paladin hybrid then, rather than forcing the title of paladin onto him. By forcing such a title, he would obviously be succumbed to such analysis. Don't get me wrong; if it fits, I'm happy... but if it doesn't then it needs to change. Theme is a major aspect in character designs.

 

I get it's a sci-fi game but most warframes has always been built around the theme. These themes are always their "label" like Volt = Electricity or Nova = Anti-Matter. This time, his designs doesn't fit his theme and neither does his abilities (to me at least). Speaking of which, Valkyr doesn't fit her theme in terms of abilities either (also, the purely "passive" frame got changed A LOT into what it is today and mostly for the worse IMO). Either DE is running out of ninja juice and not able to think properly for them or someone in the design section is not doing things right. Maybe it's high time DE stopped making new warframes and start improving on old ones. We can wait cause we have a butt-ton of frames to play right now and too little places to fit them in.

Edited December 23, 2013 by matrixEXO

[Varzy]

Well, it's a sci-fi game, druids were known to uphold justice in ancient society, solving personal disputes.

Both Paladin and Druid mixed togheter in a sci-fi game makes sense, since they did the same thing and served the same purpose under different religious beliefs,

 

This. The difference between Paladins and Druids in most modern understanding really only comes down to two things -- their beliefs and how those beliefs are expressed.

 

Paladins would go out and fight the good fight on the front lines, whereas Druids served as pillars of the community and society. Theyre seen as opposing because druids are associated with paganism/nature whereas paladins, with Christianity/divine power.

 

Thus, Oberon, whose theme is nature and upholding the balance that is slipping into chaos, can tread the line between them. Because he goes out and fights the good fight and restores life to his allies, he fights for the balance as a paladin would, while still drawing power from it like a druid.

 

Instead of Druids or Paladins, we should see Oberon as the warrior of balance he truly is -- ie, a Jedi.

[matrixEXO]

This. The difference between Paladins and Druids in most modern understanding really only comes down to two things -- their beliefs and how those beliefs are expressed.

 

Paladins would go out and fight the good fight on the front lines, whereas Druids served as pillars of the community and society. Theyre seen as opposing because druids are associated with paganism/nature whereas paladins, with Christianity/divine power.

 

Thus, Oberon, whose theme is nature and upholding the balance that is slipping into chaos, can tread the line between them. Because he goes out and fights the good fight and restores life to his allies, he fights for the balance as a paladin would, while still drawing power from it like a druid.

 

Instead of Druids or Paladins, we should see Oberon as the warrior of balance he truly is -- ie, a Jedi.

If that is his theme then I wouldn't mind it but once they tacked the word paladin,,, You should know where I'm getting for this. The problem is how they presented him for me to find faults rather than how he's been designed initially. Also, Sci-fi is fine but central themes are always less than 3 words. For reference...

 

:::::

PHASE ONE Rules:

1. 1 (ONE) submission per user.

2. Post must be less than 150 words.

3. Post must follow this format:

 

      THEME TITLE ( 1 – 4 words, i.e “Fire Warframe”)

      Brief summary of why this theme fits “Warframe” (100-150 words).

 

4. Accompanying and inspirational art is allowed (Maximum 2 (TWO) Images).

:::::

 

This is what was posted in the Council's would-be design of the Nova. As we all know, theme has a strong and central effect onto the skills and design that a warframe and their skill effects would look like. For Oberon, being labeled as a paladin forces him to indirectly take on the theme of "Paladin". If they dodged using such words and just ran with "Oberon is a warframe who upholds the balance etc etc etc." then I can understand. Copying 11.5's changelog:

 

Update 11.5.0: The Cicero Crisis.

 

- New Warframe: OBERON – the Paladin Warframe! Equally adept at healing friends or striking down the enemy. Oberon embodies the balance Tenno are sworn to uphold. Find him today by fighting Vay Hek!

Edited December 24, 2013 by matrixEXO

[TheHeraldXII]

The paladin theme is basically a "knight" type character, so strong combat focus, but with abilities associated with the "holy" character archetype, which is mostly just healing and protection. In a lot of RPGs, the paladin is basically just a hyrbid of the "warrior" and "holy man" archetypes. What we get with Oberon is a warrior, with his above average health and standard armour, who's ability set is if anything uninspired. It's not like they aren't holy themed abilities, it's just that they are pretty much generic abilities given a holy themed name.

1-Magic missile ability

2-AoE damage zone

3-Healing, which is btw the only real quality he needs to be considered a "paladin", seeing as Tenno are by default assumed to be honorable warriors.

4-AoE burst damage

I mean, c'mon, he basically has Ember's skillset with a healing spell thrown in for good measure.

 

To be Paladin-themed, he doesn't need to play like a WoW paladin or a D&D paladin or anything, he just needs a strong theme throughout his abilities at all to justify saying he's ANYTHING themed. I started off wanting to point out that he was as paladin themed as he really needs to be, but in the end I noticed that there was no theme, just the usual box-ticking list of abilities with a heal thrown in the spare slot. Then again, what could they do, they've had a paladin warframe for as long as I've been playing. Remember Trinity?