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I'm kinda curious as to why you say you have low AC. At first level, it might not be maxed since you can't afford a full plate armor yet, but it should be pretty decent, and it will quickly become very good (considering in Pathfinder 2E, the math is made so you can't make a character that is almost impossible to hit). What does your AC look like?
As for your actual question about Retributive Strike, let's take a look at that. The trigger states an enemy has to damage (so successfully attack) an ally of yours, and they both have to be within 15 feet of you. Even if the enemy isn't within your reach, so long as they are in range, you can use the reaction and protect your ally.
As for the timing, since it says they gain resistance to all damage "against the triggering damage", it means they are protected right away, against this specific attack.
Finally, the last sentence of the description says "If the foe is within reach, make a melee Strike against it", so unless you have a reach weapon or some other means of getting reach, you can't Strike the foe as part of that reaction if they are on the other side of your ally (for now. I'm pretty sure there are feats to allow it if you want).
So in the situation you are describing, with a mefit attacking your ally while you are 10 feet from the mefit, your ally would take only 3 slashing damage from that Strike (and full damage from further Strikes if they happen later before you get another reaction), but you could not attack the mefit with your hammer.
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Yes, you do get +3 AC from your proficiency. Don't forget it increases at every level.
How much Strength and Dexterity does your character have? If you have a Dex bonus, you would have one more AC with Chain mail than your current calculation, since it has a max Dex bonus of +1. If you're waiting to get enough money for a full plate and don't have a Dex bonus, though, that is understandable. Also, depending on what you needed to buy at character creation, you may want to look into Splint Mail, which would give you one more AC. It is more expensive, but if you have the gold to spare and enough Strength, there are no drawbacks to having that instead of Chain.
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Also, Retributive Strike is one of the best Reactions in the game and Paladin's can take Ranged Reprisal to expand their attack zone by quite a bit. People pick up the Champion Dedication often to access it. So enemies either attack a nearby ally and you react/protect/strike, or they attack you, a Champion which is the class with the best defenses in the game, plus you can heal yourself in an emergency.
As Jackie noted, expect to get hit. That's normal for PF2, as is taking the time outside of combat to recover (usually with Medicine, though with Lay On Hands you could simply keep refreshing your Focus Point and do so).
Synergy with one's party and the battlefield matter too, something emphasized in PF2 more than most RPGs.
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18 str 10 dex, no dex bonus ^^
I'm waiting for an heavier armor indeed :)Took ranged reprisal indeed, to expand the usefullness to 1.5m reach :)
But still it's meh, I hoped for an active skill, not a reactive one. If the GM want to screw us the only thing he has to do is attacking me. I'm not the tank thefore I don't have the highest AC and Retributive is useless :/ But I will deal with it :)
Except Champions are designed to be one of the best (if not THE best) tank classes in the game. You need to get full plate armor as fast as you possibly can with your build as you need the highest AC you can get. Your party should sell all the loot they can find to help you get plate mail. I'd try to get full plate before you hit level 2, it is that important.
I know you also like the 2H weapon deal, but a shield can increase your AC by +2, which is huge. It also opens up the Shield Block reaction to stop even more damage (but you only get one reaction a turn, so keep that aspect in mind).
Champions are built to have access to the best AC in the game. Attack the Champion? Great, I have the best AC. Don't attack the Champion? Great, I have reactions that can punish that behavior.
The other frontliners must help you get your reaction by staying close to you when they fight.
With Ranged Reprisal, I would go for using a shield and a trident with Returning from your Blade ally.
What is the rest of the party like ?
I wouldn't necessarily do that with zero Dex.
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Hello, friend!
I hope I do not come off as strong, because your feelings are very much valid, but I do think it is a good idea to put things a little into perspective.
In this game in particular, classes have much more of a tight role. It isn’t to say that they don’t have much leeway, because they do! But in this fashion, the Champion’s chassis is supposed to be one of a great tank. So, most of its abilities are either circumstancially ofensive, or generally defensive.
Champion is one of my favorite classes, and I think a lot of people would happily say that they’re the best class. This, of course, might not mean much, because everyone values different things, and that’s okay! But I think that most people would agree that the champion’s strength comes in the form of how much they can contribute to the party. Between Lay on Hands, high AC(that does take a little while to start coming ahead from other PC’s, that might be true) and its punishing reaction, the champion is meant to be a big giant nuisance in the battlefield for enemies; or to be struck all the time.
If the second starts happening, well… Even if you have high AC, you will not be some sort of impenetrable fortress, really. Your main strength is that, thanks to your armor class, you might not be critted as often against dangerous enemies, though, which is pretty powerful but not all-denying. Thankfully, just in the way that you help your allies, your allies can help you too.
A 2-handed “holy avenger-type” Champion is a completely usable concept! But because the chassis of the class pushes it to, well, get hit, the lack of a shield — which helps both with AC and damage reduction to your own self — you’re more diversifying than investing in its own natural strengths. Which, again, it’s completely doable.
If you want to capitalize in the big die, I’d recommend picking the Mauler dedication up. There’s plenty of cool feats that grant usable, active actions instead of reactions for you to pick up. Realistically, champion feats are kind of not the most flashy ones, so looking some dedications up is a good general idea as well. In the future, also consider going with a fighter yourself, and then picking the champion dedication up for a more undeniably offensive interpretation of the holy avenger fantasy trope.
Your observations about the class are all spot-on, but they are supposed to be its strengths rather than weaknesses. Also! Remember that Retributive Strike is a MAPless attack. It works great with reach weapons too, but that’s not a must. I hope you can find what you’re looking for in the Champion, and have a fun game!
A lot of the paladin's offensive power shines through against specific foes. Ghost touch makes a huge difference when fighting ghosts. Disrupting is a d6 positive damage which can also trigger weakness on certain undead. When neither is relevant, shifting may be helpful to let you switch between reach weapons and bigger dice or use a different damage type against weakness and resistance.
And soon you'll start getting options to inflict good damage. The amounts look modest, until you realize every fiend has a weakness wnd takes extra damage. So your damage will vary based on your campaign, but usually fiends and undead are some of the most common things you'll fight.
So your damage may look lower than the barbarians, but keep in mind it is often going to be 3-20 points higher against favored foes.
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I wouldn't necessarily do that with zero Dex.The other frontliners must help you get your reaction by staying close to you when they fight.
With Ranged Reprisal, I would go for using a shield and a trident with Returning from your Blade ally.
What is the rest of the party like ?
If you are within melee range, you strike with STR. If not, at least you can attempt to Strike at range. Nothing lost at all, just more possibilities to use your free attack.
If you are within melee range, you strike with STR. If not, at least you can attempt to Strike at range. Nothing lost at all, just more possibilities to use your free attack.I wouldn't necessarily do that with zero Dex.The other frontliners must help you get your reaction by staying close to you when they fight.
With Ranged Reprisal, I would go for using a shield and a trident with Returning from your Blade ally.
What is the rest of the party like ?
True, I would just rather have the extra damage option with the bastard sword or the reach of the flickmace if I feel like cheesing.
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True, I would just rather have the extra damage option with the bastard sword or the reach of the flickmace if I feel like cheesing.If you are within melee range, you strike with STR. If not, at least you can attempt to Strike at range. Nothing lost at all, just more possibilities to use your free attack.I wouldn't necessarily do that with zero Dex.The other frontliners must help you get your reaction by staying close to you when they fight.
With Ranged Reprisal, I would go for using a shield and a trident with Returning from your Blade ally.
What is the rest of the party like ?
As soon as my Paladin could pay for Returning on his +1 trident, I used Shifting for my blade ally.
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What is "MAP" ? Something linked to malus on multiple attacks?
Yes. Multiple Attack Penalty. Often abbreviated as MAP on these forums.