Redemption Paladin - how does it play?

[Man_Over_Game]

Redemption effectively does these things:

• Keep allies from taking damage.
• Be good in social situations.

The thing is, though, that's ALL the Redemption Paladin does. If neither of those two things are valuable for your playstyle or your team, it might be better to go with another subclass. So you need to figure out how valuable those two things are.

A Redemption Paladin works great with a party of squishies, as he can absorb damage on their behalf and prevent a Concentration Saving Throw, or allow a melee combatant to feel comfortable on the front lines to deal heavy damage. Sentinel is redundant, as it effectively does the same exact thing (keep/punish enemies from hurting your allies). As a Redemption Paladin, you'll be taking a lot of damage (either by punishing enemies for attacking your friends, or by absorbing damage on your friends' behalf), so focus on improving your survivability, like through the Tough feat.

Here are the specialties of effectively each subclass, so you can get an idea of what niche each one fills:

• Ancients: Being the sole melee character, due to its abundant survivability.
• Crown: Enhancing a melee-heavy team.
• Devotion: Group buffs and damage
• Conquest: AoE and anti-swarm, good for protecting your back line.
• Redemption: Social interactions and protecting squishies.
• Vengeance: Single target damage and chasing nimble targets.

Do not expect Redemption Paladins to be good at dealing damage, and they don't make especially good tanks. Preferably, you want to be the last resort when your back line has melted the majority of the enemy team, and SOMEONE needs to keep the Sorcerer/Wizard safe. You're a better tank than a Cleric, but only just.