Paladin

In-Game Description
Difficulty: Hard

''The Paladin specialises in firing high-velocity projectiles to deliver radial bursts of repair energy to allies within the area of influence. Its repair functionality is augmented with abilities to boost the defense of an allied target with its launch-bay solutions as well as purge negative/positive effects on allies and enemies, respectively. With its speed, manoeuvrability, and general low profile, the Paladin is equally a difficult target to track. Such capabilities are needed, however, as the craft cannot sustain focus fire and should take immediate evasive action when confronted.''

Summary
The Paladin is a healer that plays differently from its brother the Protector. Unlike the Protector, the Paladin uses projectiles to burst-heal friendlies at a distance. As a result, instead of being forced to maintain line of sight, the Paladin can peek around cover, heal its allies, and disappear before being detected.

When playing as a Paladin

 * The Paladin cannot sustain much damage, and, therefore, should stay away from the frontline.
 * The Plasma Field can deal a lot of damage up close, but going close to enemy ships will most likely get the Paladin killed in a fleet battle.
 * When multiple allied ships are damaged, the Paladin can heal them simultaneous if they are close together.

When playing with a Paladin

 * The Paladin's Plasma Field is very effective against missiles and squadrons, try and get into its range if targeted.
 * Attack ships should look out for the Paladin as it would be the enemy team's main target during a large team battle.
 * It is important to call out for the Paladin's Purge Torpedo whenever you have a debuff that is crucial to get rid of.

When playing against a Paladin

 * If you can recognize a rash Paladin captain, you can lead them away from their fleet formation and then it is easy to get rid of the light armored healer.
 * Stealth ships can easily get close and assassinate the Paladin.
 * It is crucial to target this ship during Gamma.

Tips

 * Being another healer, captains of the Paladin should be aware of their surroundings and use bigger ships as cover from enemy fire.
 * This ship's best friend would be an USR Colossus or a Zarek Gladiator due to their armored nature and hit health-pool, along with the ship's Defense Drones ability. These combinations of ships can prove to be quite a task for the enemy to take down. The ship also posses its own Purge Torpedo and this could be crucial against ships like the USR Displacer in situations where the enemy Displacer has affected the allied Colossus with the 'Displaced' effect and the Colossus would be pushed out of formation. If not for the Paladin's Purge Torpedo, the formation would stay the same and this can make or break the fleet battle.
 * The Paladin's Repair Ballista can be used to heal the ship itself indirectly if fired upon an object near the ship. This heal will have reduced effectiveness as it will not stack.
 * Stealth ships such as the TDS Basilisk can easily sneak past the team formation and assassinate the Paladin, but a periodic check with the Plasma Field can detect any stealth ships within 5 km.