Gameplay

This page gives an overview of everything related to the **gameplay** of Paladins.

## General

* Bots
	+ Bots are AI controlled characters in Paladins, they participate in Training vs AI matches or when a player disconnects from a match.
* Common terms
	+ Common terms used in Paladins like AoE, Airborne, Hitscan, LoS, etc.
* Death Recap
	+ The Death Recap is an information screen in Paladins which helps the player understand from what they died from.
* Eliminations
	+ Players get eliminations in every game mode by killing enemies or assisting the teammates by killing enemies.
* Controls
	+ The default controls to play the game.
* Voice Guided System
	+ The Voice Guided System is a library of preset voice commands that allow players to communicate with their team without having to type in the chat.
* Warning Indicators
	+ Warning Indicators warn the player if this player is in the area of influence of a strong enemy explosion or a crowd control effect.
* Zoning
	+ Zoning is a concept where the team is moving toward the enemy base to make it harder for them to reach the capture point.

### Abilities

Champions are the playable characters in Paladins. Each one has its own unique abilities and fighting style.

* Ability
	+ Each Champion has several abilities like Dealing damage, defending allies, constructing turrets or other deployables, changing Champion mode or making use of special movement capabilities.
* Movement Ability
	+ Movement abilities are Champion skills that allow them to quickly chase, escape or reach higher platforms.
* Weapon Shots
	+ Only abilities that counts as Weapon Shots can trigger effects from some items or Gameplay mechanics.
* Ultimate Ability
	+ Ultimate abilities are powerful abilities only available to a Champion once their Ultimate Meter has filled.

### Damage Types

* Area or Direct Damage
	+ Area or Direct Damage of weapon shots or abilities determines the damage area.
* Burst Damage
	+ Burst Damage is a high amount of damage dealt in a short time period. Some Champions can utilize all of their abilities in a short time to deal a high amount of damage.
* Damage over Time
	+ Damage over Time or DoT for short is a type of damage applied through a DoT Debuff.
* Executes
	+ Executes are a special type of damage that ignores any kind of Damage Reduction and complete damage immunity, being directly applied to the health of the target.
* Poke Damage
	+ Using corners to your advantage by repeatedly moving out from behind them, shooting, and moving back is an effective strategy to do damage while minimizing the risk you take.
* Sustained Damage
	+ Champions that can do consistent damage for long periods of time are effective at applying sustained damage.
* True Damage
	+ True Damage is a special type of damage that ignores any kind of Damage Reduction, being directly applied to the health of the target.

### Effects

* Cleanses
	+ Cleanses remove all Crowd Control effects and Debuffs upon activation and prevent them for the duration.
* Damage Reduction
	+ Damage Reduction is a gameplay mechanics that reduces the damage Champions take in the game.
* Deployables
	+ A Deployable is everything that can be damaged and isn't a Champion or Shield.
* Healing
	+ Healing allow the champion to restores a champion's replenishable Health Pool.
* Immunities
	+ Immunities are gameplay mechanics that give Champions invulnerability to some negative effects in the game.
* Shields
	+ Shields absorb a limited amount of damage from enemy champions while allowing allies to shoot through them.
* Status Effects
	+ Status Effects are negative conditions which usually afflict the targeted champions with some kind of penalty.
* Stealth
	+ Stealth allows champions to turn invisible to the opposing team.

## Playstyle

Champions use Cards to increase their performance and enhance their skills, and Items to help them adapt to specific situations in any match.

### Cards

*Main article:* Cards

Cards offer players the ability to empower a Champions' attributes and enhance or modify their skills, tailoring them to a particular playstyle. All cards are available to all champions to use for free. Each champion in the game has their own unique card collection that cannot be used by any other champion.

### Talents

*Main article:* Talents

Talents are special kinds of cards that all Champions selects at the start of the match and bring powerful benefits to each champion.

### Items

*Main article:* Items

Items are special kinds of cards that all Champions have access to via the in-match store. These items allow players to gain useful benefits such as bonus movement or reload speed. There are four types of items: Defense, Utility, Healing, and Offense.

* Credits
	+ Credits are a currency earned by players during matches that is used to purchase Items. Credits can only be spent during the match they were earned and do not carry over to other matches.

## Game Modes

*Main article:* Game Modes

Siege, Onslaught, Team Deathmatch and Ranked are playable Game Modes in Paladins. Each mode has its own unique set of maps with their own play style, rules and objectives.

### Objectives

* Capture Point
	+ Capture points are objectives in Paladins.
* Payload
	+ Payloads are objectives in Paladins.

## Maps

*Main article:* Maps

Maps are areas in the realm of Paladins where most of the fighting takes place.

* Map Features
	+ Each Map has its own special, distinctive elements that make it unique.
* Callouts
	+ Each Siege map have callouts for different locations around the map.

## Game Mechanics

* Advanced Mechanics
	+ Mechanis that can be used by advanced players.
* Anti-Healing Mechanic
	+ Anti-Healing Mechanic is a mechanic that counters the Healing which is done and becomes more effective over the time of a match.
* Comeback Mechanic
	+ Comeback Mechanic is a mechanic in Siege that gives the team, which is behind according to score, an advantage while capturing the Capture Point.
* Damage Falloff
	+ Many champions have a limited range in which they can effectively deal damage with the primary attack.
* Diminishing returns
	+ Diminishing returns makes many different types of effects (both positive and negative effects) less effective when stacked up or reused on a recently affected target.
* Headshot
	+ Headshots occur when a champion with a hitscan-type weapon lands a shot around the head area of an enemy champion.
* Lifesteal
	+ An effect where the player gain Health based on the amount of Damage dealt. Can be received via Abilities, Items, and Cards.
* Out of Combat
	+ A player is out of combat if he does not shoot for 5 seconds and his opponents do not inflict any damage on him.
* Overtime
	+ Overtime is an extension to the normal time given in a match.
* Respawn
	+ Respawning is the system by which players come back to life without the intervention of other players.

## End of the Game

* Accolades
	+ Accolades are medals awarded for a player's accomplishments during a match.
* Scoreboard
	+ The Scoreboard shows the performance of the players during and after a match.
* Post-Match Lobby Landing Screen
	+ After a match finishes, players will be presented with the accomplishments of their entire team. Each player will receive a unique accolade based on their best accomplishments during the match.

## Retired

* Health Drops
	+ Health Drops were floating, cross shaped pickups that would restore a fixed amount of health to the champion that touched them.
* Respawn Beacon
	+ Respawn Beacons allowed teams to quickly return to the battlefield after respawning.
* Top Play
	+ After finishing a match a screen pops up that introduces the top play of the game.