Trying to make a dex based Kobold (ua) Paladin. My preliminary plan is: Str 8 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 8 Wis 10 Cha 17 Free feat: War Caster Fighting Style: Dueling (Rapier+Shield) Cantrip from Racial: Charisma Based Booming Blade Oath of the Ancients
Does this make sense? How would you level him? ASI/Feat?
I’ve been playing a halfling dexadin, ancients. Love it. Enjoy that medium mount which with misty step you can take everywhere. Can you take a dex boost for your asi instead of warcaster? My character is level 9, I barely cast spells, just smite. Boosting dex is huge for you. It’s the god-stat (to hit, damage, ac, initiative, dex saves, a bunch of skills), you want it to 20. Just got there at level 8. I mostly tank (i went defensive style), so I’m looking at defensive duelist, or maybe sentinel at 12.
That 17 cha is triggering, cause you know, odd number, but there’s more important things. Come to think of it, You could, at level 1, go resilient con instead of warcaster (probably a better all around choice for a pally). Dex bump at 4; con and cha at 8; then dex again at 12. No fun toys from feats, but very effective.
Awesome response! So you are thinking for my free feat at level 1, resilient con, then maybe reorganize my point buy, keep Cha at 16 and use ASIs at level to increase dex/ cha to 20? If I go 16 Cha aswell I can boost another stat with something. So at level three it would be Dex 16, Con 16 and Cha 16. Will be a little lacking in the feat department, but will probably survive.
Which medium mount are we talking about? Misty step mount sounds fun!
Does booming blade cantrip make sense for my racial pick?
I just noticed, why are you using the UA? There’s a published version. Are you sure your DM is ok with the UA? It’s usually more powerful than the published version.
That said, if you’re sitting on 3 16’s you will be in good shape. Then I’d boost dex at 4, certainly. Level 8 you can play with a feat if you like. I was sorely tempted, mostly because feats are more fun than asi. But that dex boost was too good to pass up.
Spell description has a mastiff (big dog) in it. But ask your DM if you want something else, maybe they’ll go for it. Or see if you can use those stats and re-skin it to your liking. Personally, I have a lot of fun with my character riding around on a big dog.
What’s your role in the party? If you’re tanking, you might want to look at defensive style over dueling.
I don’t have the UA, so I don’t know what your spell choices are. In general, booming blade will work until you hit level 5. At that point, you are better off attacking twice. (In case you didn’t realize, you can either cast booming blade and attack once with it, or attack twice. You cannot booming blade, then attack a second time in one round.)
Its mostly theorycrafting for a potential Adventure. The DM is my brother in-law and we share a bunch of character and adventure ideas now that we cant meet in real life.
ASI at 4 is probably where I will end up. Possibly at 8 aswell, then Piercer or Slasher at 12.
Yeah riding a mastiff sounds fun! I think he is flexible for whatever mount I pick as long as its not game breaking.
Will most likely be tanking and I did switch to Defensive earlier today, since Dueling started to make less sense.
Lets me pick any Cantrip from the Sorcerer spell list with Int, Wis or Cha as spellcasting. Figured Booming Blade would be useful!
Using the sorcerer list, I’d consider something like firebolt to give you a bit of ranged attack option. But since you want to be in melee to smite, even better might be lightning lure, pull those bad guys to you. Combine it with sentinel and they won’t be able to leave once you have them next to you.
Very new to DnD, so dont really know what I want to do. This is as I think I mentioned earlier Theory-crafting to let me learn the ins and outs of character creation.
If you’re that new, you shouldn’t use the UA version, of anything really. UA means it was a play test release. Some of them never make past that stage, and the ones that do are usually toned down for official publication. UA is often a bit overpowered.
Like Xalthu said for one you shouldn't be using a UA as it's not finalized and generally has some broken features.
Further, theory crafting isnt how you learn the ins and outs of Character Creation. Theory Crafting is how you purpose a Character and its feasibility of working for what you want. There is absolutely no point on even answering your your question and helping build your idea if you dont even know what you want it to do.
Why is this because regardless of how many people like to make Dexadins or think they have a place they dont. They are never going to be able to compete against Strength based Paladins as they are mechanically inferior to them as Tanks. Paladins and Fighters dont rely on HP to be tanks like Barbaians. They rely on AC. Not Dexadin will ever compete against a regular Paladin in this regard.
So when you say you have no idea what you want your class to be I'm going to tell you this and I'm also going to tell you to pick another class other than a Paladin which mechanically is one of the more difficult classes to play.
My dexadin is doing very well tanking with his 21 ac. Thank you very much. I guess it could be a 22 if I had full plate (+1full plate, since I have +1 studded leather). But then my initiative would be lower, along with a big bunch of skills, and dex saves are more important that str saves, so I’m quite glad those are higher. Theory crafting is fun, but if you only focus on one part of a character, you’re not seeing the forest for the trees. Moreover, actual play is more relevant than theory and in actual play, he kicks ass. Finally, I’m having fun playing him, which is more relevant still.
I agree with you on a few things here. First ha king fun playing a character is what's important and DeX Saves are more important than Str saves.
Now with what I disagree with. I'm not focusing on one aspect. I'm stating a Mechanical fact. Further you seem under the impression that I put more points in to Str past 15. I don't. Theres far more important things than adding to STR. Mainly feats tough, and Res Constitution and ASI points in Charisma. I'm not concerned about Str to hit or for damage as a Paladin as the bulk of Damage comes from Smite and being more survivable is the better option.
Let me put it this way when I played Avernus in season 9 of AL. I had a 25AC and most things couldnt touch me at level 5. But they had to deal with me or I'd destroy them. In order for a Dexadin to do this you have to pump so much ASI in to dex you loose out on a lot of other things. I'm not saying it's not fun. I'm saying mechanically its inferior
I leaned too much into the fun part, didn’t mean to accuse you of anything or put words in your mouth, sorry.
But my ac is only one lower than a heavy armor paladin, so negligible. I should say I roll for stats, which is part of the difference. Not trying to get into that discussion here, though. (And even then, I had a 14, racial took me to 16, then asi at 4 and 8 to get to 20.)And I do take your point about putting my asi into dex means I don’t have it for other things. My point is, dex is so good (too good really) that you are still coming out ahead by doing that. AC, to hit (you can’t smite if you don’t hit them first), damage, initiative, dex saves, skills.
So, to me it seems like a pretty narrow view of “mechanically” when you focus only on ac. For example, I’m +5 on stealth, even not proficient. That’s come in handy more than once, when I can sneak up with the rogue in case things go sideways. Let’s see a full plate pally do that.
That is the main thing now. You roll for stats. In the majority of conversations on comparing solid builds I've been in it's based off point buy as rolling stats is random and you can get all 18s..... yes I've done this twice and it's really broken.
So several things here.
First Paladins do not start off with Light Armor it's not an option. Second if you opt for gold instead of Starting equipment you run the risk of starting with between 50-200 gold depending how you role. If you get 50 well...... youd only be able to afford just your light armor with 12AC+dex. As it costs 45 gold. Other than that you cant even wear the chainmail you start with because it has a Str requirement of 13.
Second even if you end up starting with it you are talking top tier light armor vs starting heavy armor. In most campaigns I've played in AL I've ended up with plate by lvl 5 latest. It's generally more level 2 or 3 from pulling it off enemies. The highest dex score you could have is 17 off point buy meaning youd have a plus 3. Your highest AC with out items or class abilities is 15 vs 18. Even if you used both 4th and 8th level ASIs in Dex it still takes you 8 levels to compete with plate. Additionally this is two early levels where you dont have feats or other stats. Taking Res Con at level 4 gives you the best utility as it increases you Con and your Con saving through which is important for concentration checks on spells like Bless and shield of faith.
Third as a Str based Paladin you dont have to be concerned with using ASI on Str. There are more items that increase str than any other stat. Increasing it to 19 or all the way to 30 and every number in between giving the items you have. This frees up ASIs for feats and more important ASI increases like Charisma. Which increases Spell DC as well as other abilities like a Devotion Paladins Sacred Weapon. Which is another reason I do t advocate for increasing Str past 15.
Fourth unless your taking Res Dex as a feat your Dex save is not that much higher than a Str Paladin that has an 8 in dex after level 6 because of aura of protection. Infact maxing out Cha in this regard is far more beneficial than dex. Now one could argue that you could max out Dex and Cha but then you'd only have a singular ASI to get a feat. Conversely how my character is built I use 2-3 feats.
So yes again mechanically a Dexadin is mechanically inferior to a Str Paladin. This isnt saying it doesnt work or isn't fun it's just not as good mechanically. Much like how dual wielding is really inferior in 5e yet people still do it. This is also why I specifically asked the OP what he wanted his character to do.
Now I have two very powerful Paladins one is very MAD as it's a Devotion Paldin War cleric multiclass but has 6th level spell slots, ranged attacks, amd can make 3 attacks in one action 3 times a day. The other is a Devotion Paladin Zealot Barbarian that can do almost 100 points of damage a turn before rolling dice.
My dexadin is doing very well tanking with his 21 ac. Thank you very much. I guess it could be a 22 if I had full plate (+1full plate, since I have +1 studded leather). But then my initiative would be lower, along with a big bunch of skills, and dex saves are more important that str saves, so I’m quite glad those are higher. Theory crafting is fun, but if you only focus on one part of a character, you’re not seeing the forest for the trees. Moreover, actual play is more relevant than theory and in actual play, he kicks ass. Finally, I’m having fun playing him, which is more relevant still.
Exactly! Its fun! Thats why I do it. Its fun to bounce thoughts and ideas with others.
I agree that playing something is more relevant, but in a time with a pandemic, shitton of work and a new baby, time is sparse. Therefor theory crafting will have to do.
I understand that UA might not be optimal but to that I only say, why not? Its just a thought project. Right now Im playing a Str based paladin in my first campaign ever.
I think we're going round and round, here, but I am glad you're making me think things through.
First, I rolled, but my stats weren't that good. 3-14s, 2-10s and an 11. So one better than if I did point buy, and that one is an odd number, so mechanically, no different.
Starting equipment is not an issue. Show me the DM who won't let you trade down from something more expensive (chain) to something less expensive (studded leather). Maybe that's an AL thing? I have to admit in almost 40 years of D&D, I've never played AL.
I don't ever depend on my character finding a particular magic item to make them work.
Your ac is higher, absolutely. And, honestly, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've actually cast a spell (well, besides find steed) instead of smiting with the spell slot, and even less the number of times it's been a concentration spell. But yes, you'll have a better con save.
Meanwhile, I go first in combat (which allowed me to position myself and force enemies to react to me instead of the other way around), hit more reliably (without needing any magic to do it), do more damage owing to the higher ability score (granted, its only like two or three points, so not much) made my save against a fireball, and did some acrobatics and stealth along the way.
It's mechanically different, but superior is inaccurate and moreover impossible to quantify. I wouldn't go so far as to call a dexadin superior, either. You'll take damage 5% less often than I will (which will certainly add up). I'll do other things that you won't be able to. It's trade offs, but one is not clearly, mechanically better than the other.
AL is completely buy the book. As that is what you have to go on.
It's really irrelevant that you rolled crap or not. In this case it happens to work. If I was to being in any of my rolled characters it absolutely would not. Comparing classes should be done by point buy as it's the most consistent.
You mistake me mentioning the amount of STR items as being reliant on them and not stating a fact that they exist and are an additional reason to not waste ASI on str.
Well if you dont Cast concentration spells than well my AC is substantially higher than yours. Further if I get hit with any spell or have to save against any spell that requires a save I'd have to role less than 7 to fail.
Your next point is entirely speculative:
You only go first of you roll high enough. But yes you have a higher chance. Unless I take Alert then it's about the same.
Your ability to save against the fireball is entirely reliant on your roll and is only a slight increase in your ability to save. Conversely I can take Shield master and if I make a save can take zero damage vs you taking damage as well as in certain scenarios use shield AC to increase my dex save. Because as a Paladin you arent proficent in Dex saves, and from our discussions I'm highly doubting you put much points into Charisma, our saves differ only between 0-5 only on spells and effects that dont specifically target the Paladin. It's entirely plausible that I infact have a higher Dex save is actually higher in certain situations because of my ability to grab more feats.
Hitting more reliably is again very speculative and I dont need a magic item to hit more reliable than your plus 5 at level 8 earliest. Infact until level 8 I'd more than like have the same hit ratio or higher depending on your Cha score do to Devotion Channel Divinity Sacred Weapon.
Your damage is further speculative and is highly dependent on being the same race and not dealing extra damage. If i were to take any Aasimar which i always use a scourge aasimar than my overal Damage greatly exceeds yours. Further I'm less concerned with the point or two difference you can deal as my character can also take tough and increase HP by 40 because I have more ASI to spend on feats instead of ASI increases to make a build viable.
You can do acrobatics but it means nothing when athletics is and can be used in its place and again is based off your roles.
Stealth is entirely reliant on game play play style and is not an end all be all ability.
Your further wrong in the amount of overal damage youd take. As you yourself stated you can count on one hand the times you've cast spells as a Paladin. I cast shield of Faith which increases my AC by a further +2 which I can substantially more easily maintain. That 5% turns into a 15% increase now which adds up much faster.
Mechanically it is inferior. We can easily prove this in a character vs character and see which one comes out alive. Mind you I can take all the feats I mentioned even more so if I go variant human and still be able to increase my Charisma. And be an overall mechanically superior character. My Paladins are always the bane of DMs because of the way I build them. Even more so in AL games because of certain rules.
Hello!
Trying to make a dex based Kobold (ua) Paladin.
My preliminary plan is:
Str 8 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 8 Wis 10 Cha 17
Free feat: War Caster
Fighting Style: Dueling (Rapier+Shield)
Cantrip from Racial: Charisma Based Booming Blade
Oath of the Ancients
Does this make sense? How would you level him? ASI/Feat?
I’ve been playing a halfling dexadin, ancients. Love it. Enjoy that medium mount which with misty step you can take everywhere. Can you take a dex boost for your asi instead of warcaster? My character is level 9, I barely cast spells, just smite.
Boosting dex is huge for you. It’s the god-stat (to hit, damage, ac, initiative, dex saves, a bunch of skills), you want it to 20. Just got there at level 8. I mostly tank (i went defensive style), so I’m looking at defensive duelist, or maybe sentinel at 12.
That 17 cha is triggering, cause you know, odd number, but there’s more important things.
Come to think of it, You could, at level 1, go resilient con instead of warcaster (probably a better all around choice for a pally). Dex bump at 4; con and cha at 8; then dex again at 12. No fun toys from feats, but very effective.
Awesome response! So you are thinking for my free feat at level 1, resilient con, then maybe reorganize my point buy, keep Cha at 16 and use ASIs at level to increase dex/ cha to 20? If I go 16 Cha aswell I can boost another stat with something. So at level three it would be Dex 16, Con 16 and Cha 16.
Will be a little lacking in the feat department, but will probably survive.
Which medium mount are we talking about? Misty step mount sounds fun!
Does booming blade cantrip make sense for my racial pick?
I just noticed, why are you using the UA? There’s a published version. Are you sure your DM is ok with the UA? It’s usually more powerful than the published version.
That said, if you’re sitting on 3 16’s you will be in good shape. Then I’d boost dex at 4, certainly. Level 8 you can play with a feat if you like. I was sorely tempted, mostly because feats are more fun than asi. But that dex boost was too good to pass up.
Spell description has a mastiff (big dog) in it. But ask your DM if you want something else, maybe they’ll go for it. Or see if you can use those stats and re-skin it to your liking. Personally, I have a lot of fun with my character riding around on a big dog.
What’s your role in the party? If you’re tanking, you might want to look at defensive style over dueling.
I don’t have the UA, so I don’t know what your spell choices are. In general, booming blade will work until you hit level 5. At that point, you are better off attacking twice. (In case you didn’t realize, you can either cast booming blade and attack once with it, or attack twice. You cannot booming blade, then attack a second time in one round.)
Its mostly theorycrafting for a potential Adventure. The DM is my brother in-law and we share a bunch of character and adventure ideas now that we cant meet in real life.
ASI at 4 is probably where I will end up. Possibly at 8 aswell, then Piercer or Slasher at 12.
Yeah riding a mastiff sounds fun! I think he is flexible for whatever mount I pick as long as its not game breaking.
Will most likely be tanking and I did switch to Defensive earlier today, since Dueling started to make less sense.
Lets me pick any Cantrip from the Sorcerer spell list with Int, Wis or Cha as spellcasting. Figured Booming Blade would be useful!
Using the sorcerer list, I’d consider something like firebolt to give you a bit of ranged attack option. But since you want to be in melee to smite, even better might be lightning lure, pull those bad guys to you. Combine it with sentinel and they won’t be able to leave once you have them next to you.
Did not know abt lightning lure. We are both quite new to DnD. Sounds like a perfect spell for a tank build!
The first biggest question that you should answer is not does this make sense when asking for advice on the build but what you want the build to do.
Very new to DnD, so dont really know what I want to do. This is as I think I mentioned earlier Theory-crafting to let me learn the ins and outs of character creation.
If you’re that new, you shouldn’t use the UA version, of anything really. UA means it was a play test release. Some of them never make past that stage, and the ones that do are usually toned down for official publication. UA is often a bit overpowered.
Like Xalthu said for one you shouldn't be using a UA as it's not finalized and generally has some broken features.
Further, theory crafting isnt how you learn the ins and outs of Character Creation. Theory Crafting is how you purpose a Character and its feasibility of working for what you want. There is absolutely no point on even answering your your question and helping build your idea if you dont even know what you want it to do.
Why is this because regardless of how many people like to make Dexadins or think they have a place they dont. They are never going to be able to compete against Strength based Paladins as they are mechanically inferior to them as Tanks. Paladins and Fighters dont rely on HP to be tanks like Barbaians. They rely on AC. Not Dexadin will ever compete against a regular Paladin in this regard.
So when you say you have no idea what you want your class to be I'm going to tell you this and I'm also going to tell you to pick another class other than a Paladin which mechanically is one of the more difficult classes to play.
My dexadin is doing very well tanking with his 21 ac. Thank you very much. I guess it could be a 22 if I had full plate (+1full plate, since I have +1 studded leather). But then my initiative would be lower, along with a big bunch of skills, and dex saves are more important that str saves, so I’m quite glad those are higher. Theory crafting is fun, but if you only focus on one part of a character, you’re not seeing the forest for the trees. Moreover, actual play is more relevant than theory and in actual play, he kicks ass. Finally, I’m having fun playing him, which is more relevant still.
I agree with you on a few things here. First ha king fun playing a character is what's important and DeX Saves are more important than Str saves.
Now with what I disagree with. I'm not focusing on one aspect. I'm stating a Mechanical fact. Further you seem under the impression that I put more points in to Str past 15. I don't. Theres far more important things than adding to STR. Mainly feats tough, and Res Constitution and ASI points in Charisma. I'm not concerned about Str to hit or for damage as a Paladin as the bulk of Damage comes from Smite and being more survivable is the better option.
Let me put it this way when I played Avernus in season 9 of AL. I had a 25AC and most things couldnt touch me at level 5. But they had to deal with me or I'd destroy them. In order for a Dexadin to do this you have to pump so much ASI in to dex you loose out on a lot of other things. I'm not saying it's not fun. I'm saying mechanically its inferior
I leaned too much into the fun part, didn’t mean to accuse you of anything or put words in your mouth, sorry.
But my ac is only one lower than a heavy armor paladin, so negligible. I should say I roll for stats, which is part of the difference. Not trying to get into that discussion here, though. (And even then, I had a 14, racial took me to 16, then asi at 4 and 8 to get to 20.)And I do take your point about putting my asi into dex means I don’t have it for other things. My point is, dex is so good (too good really) that you are still coming out ahead by doing that. AC, to hit (you can’t smite if you don’t hit them first), damage, initiative, dex saves, skills.
So, to me it seems like a pretty narrow view of “mechanically” when you focus only on ac. For example, I’m +5 on stealth, even not proficient. That’s come in handy more than once, when I can sneak up with the rogue in case things go sideways. Let’s see a full plate pally do that.
That is the main thing now. You roll for stats. In the majority of conversations on comparing solid builds I've been in it's based off point buy as rolling stats is random and you can get all 18s..... yes I've done this twice and it's really broken.
So several things here.
First Paladins do not start off with Light Armor it's not an option. Second if you opt for gold instead of Starting equipment you run the risk of starting with between 50-200 gold depending how you role. If you get 50 well...... youd only be able to afford just your light armor with 12AC+dex. As it costs 45 gold. Other than that you cant even wear the chainmail you start with because it has a Str requirement of 13.
Second even if you end up starting with it you are talking top tier light armor vs starting heavy armor. In most campaigns I've played in AL I've ended up with plate by lvl 5 latest. It's generally more level 2 or 3 from pulling it off enemies. The highest dex score you could have is 17 off point buy meaning youd have a plus 3. Your highest AC with out items or class abilities is 15 vs 18. Even if you used both 4th and 8th level ASIs in Dex it still takes you 8 levels to compete with plate. Additionally this is two early levels where you dont have feats or other stats. Taking Res Con at level 4 gives you the best utility as it increases you Con and your Con saving through which is important for concentration checks on spells like Bless and shield of faith.
Third as a Str based Paladin you dont have to be concerned with using ASI on Str. There are more items that increase str than any other stat. Increasing it to 19 or all the way to 30 and every number in between giving the items you have. This frees up ASIs for feats and more important ASI increases like Charisma. Which increases Spell DC as well as other abilities like a Devotion Paladins Sacred Weapon. Which is another reason I do t advocate for increasing Str past 15.
Fourth unless your taking Res Dex as a feat your Dex save is not that much higher than a Str Paladin that has an 8 in dex after level 6 because of aura of protection. Infact maxing out Cha in this regard is far more beneficial than dex. Now one could argue that you could max out Dex and Cha but then you'd only have a singular ASI to get a feat. Conversely how my character is built I use 2-3 feats.
So yes again mechanically a Dexadin is mechanically inferior to a Str Paladin. This isnt saying it doesnt work or isn't fun it's just not as good mechanically. Much like how dual wielding is really inferior in 5e yet people still do it. This is also why I specifically asked the OP what he wanted his character to do.
Now I have two very powerful Paladins one is very MAD as it's a Devotion Paldin War cleric multiclass but has 6th level spell slots, ranged attacks, amd can make 3 attacks in one action 3 times a day. The other is a Devotion Paladin Zealot Barbarian that can do almost 100 points of damage a turn before rolling dice.
Exactly! Its fun! Thats why I do it. Its fun to bounce thoughts and ideas with others.
I agree that playing something is more relevant, but in a time with a pandemic, shitton of work and a new baby, time is sparse. Therefor theory crafting will have to do.
I understand that UA might not be optimal but to that I only say, why not? Its just a thought project. Right now Im playing a Str based paladin in my first campaign ever.
I think we're going round and round, here, but I am glad you're making me think things through.
First, I rolled, but my stats weren't that good. 3-14s, 2-10s and an 11. So one better than if I did point buy, and that one is an odd number, so mechanically, no different.
Starting equipment is not an issue. Show me the DM who won't let you trade down from something more expensive (chain) to something less expensive (studded leather). Maybe that's an AL thing? I have to admit in almost 40 years of D&D, I've never played AL.
I don't ever depend on my character finding a particular magic item to make them work.
Your ac is higher, absolutely. And, honestly, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've actually cast a spell (well, besides find steed) instead of smiting with the spell slot, and even less the number of times it's been a concentration spell. But yes, you'll have a better con save.
Meanwhile, I go first in combat (which allowed me to position myself and force enemies to react to me instead of the other way around), hit more reliably (without needing any magic to do it), do more damage owing to the higher ability score (granted, its only like two or three points, so not much) made my save against a fireball, and did some acrobatics and stealth along the way.
It's mechanically different, but superior is inaccurate and moreover impossible to quantify. I wouldn't go so far as to call a dexadin superior, either. You'll take damage 5% less often than I will (which will certainly add up). I'll do other things that you won't be able to. It's trade offs, but one is not clearly, mechanically better than the other.
AL is completely buy the book. As that is what you have to go on.
It's really irrelevant that you rolled crap or not. In this case it happens to work. If I was to being in any of my rolled characters it absolutely would not. Comparing classes should be done by point buy as it's the most consistent.
You mistake me mentioning the amount of STR items as being reliant on them and not stating a fact that they exist and are an additional reason to not waste ASI on str.
Well if you dont Cast concentration spells than well my AC is substantially higher than yours. Further if I get hit with any spell or have to save against any spell that requires a save I'd have to role less than 7 to fail.
Your next point is entirely speculative:
You only go first of you roll high enough. But yes you have a higher chance. Unless I take Alert then it's about the same.
Your ability to save against the fireball is entirely reliant on your roll and is only a slight increase in your ability to save. Conversely I can take Shield master and if I make a save can take zero damage vs you taking damage as well as in certain scenarios use shield AC to increase my dex save. Because as a Paladin you arent proficent in Dex saves, and from our discussions I'm highly doubting you put much points into Charisma, our saves differ only between 0-5 only on spells and effects that dont specifically target the Paladin. It's entirely plausible that I infact have a higher Dex save is actually higher in certain situations because of my ability to grab more feats.
Hitting more reliably is again very speculative and I dont need a magic item to hit more reliable than your plus 5 at level 8 earliest. Infact until level 8 I'd more than like have the same hit ratio or higher depending on your Cha score do to Devotion Channel Divinity Sacred Weapon.
Your damage is further speculative and is highly dependent on being the same race and not dealing extra damage. If i were to take any Aasimar which i always use a scourge aasimar than my overal Damage greatly exceeds yours. Further I'm less concerned with the point or two difference you can deal as my character can also take tough and increase HP by 40 because I have more ASI to spend on feats instead of ASI increases to make a build viable.
You can do acrobatics but it means nothing when athletics is and can be used in its place and again is based off your roles.
Stealth is entirely reliant on game play play style and is not an end all be all ability.
Your further wrong in the amount of overal damage youd take. As you yourself stated you can count on one hand the times you've cast spells as a Paladin. I cast shield of Faith which increases my AC by a further +2 which I can substantially more easily maintain. That 5% turns into a 15% increase now which adds up much faster.
Mechanically it is inferior. We can easily prove this in a character vs character and see which one comes out alive. Mind you I can take all the feats I mentioned even more so if I go variant human and still be able to increase my Charisma. And be an overall mechanically superior character. My Paladins are always the bane of DMs because of the way I build them. Even more so in AL games because of certain rules.