Paladins is Hi-Rez Studios' free-to-play team hero shooter, out of beta since May 2018, and it is no longer being developed. Hi-Rez halted active work on Paladins and the original SMITE on 6 February 2025 during a restructuring that cut a large share of its staff, and the game has been in maintenance mode since. Servers are still up: Steam concurrents in August 2026 average roughly 900 over a rolling 30 days with 24-hour peaks near 1,500, against an all-time high of 60,712. Balance is frozen, so any tier list from 2025 onward is still accurate.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Role | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Frog Isle | Five-card loadouts capped at 15 points basics | Damage: projectile burst | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Stone Keep | Talents chosen before the match starts mastery | Damage: projectile burst | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Jaguar Falls | The in-match credit shop + gear | Damage: hitscan poke or Damage: projectile burst | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Timber Mill | Build optimization | Damage: hitscan poke | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Magistrate's Archives | Min-max | Damage: hitscan poke or Support: main healer | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Frog Isle)
A Siege map with a raised central point and multiple approach lanes, one of the earliest maps in the game and still one of the most balanced. The side routes make it a strong Flank map without abandoning the Front Line.
Level/Difficulty: All ranks, common in casual queue Key Rewards: Balanced flank routes, clear high ground, short payload path
What to Do in Frog Isle
- Learn Five-card loadouts capped at 15 points. Each champion equips exactly five cards, and each card can be set from rank one to rank five, with the total ranks in a loadout capped at 15. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Damage: projectile burst as your starting role. See our builds guide for why.
- Buy Cauterize by the second team fight in every single match. Anti-healing is the item that decides whether your damage sticks, and a team that skips it will out-damage the enemy all game and still lose the point.
- Acquire your first weapons upgrade: Viktor's Assault Rifle or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Five-card loadouts capped at 15 points fundamentals
- Damage: projectile burst selected and functional
- Frog Isle main content cleared
- Ready for Stone Keep
Phase 2: Early Game (Stone Keep)
A large Siege map with a wide open central point and long sightlines into it. Hitscan Damage champions and long-range Supports gain more here than anywhere else, and diving across the open middle usually ends badly.
Level/Difficulty: All ranks Key Rewards: Long sightlines, strong poke angles, punishing open capture point
What to Do in Stone Keep
- Work on Talents chosen before the match starts. Every champion has three Talents, picked alongside your loadout at the start of a match. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Viktor's Assault Rifle if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Concentrate your 15 loadout points into cards affecting three abilities rather than spreading one rank across five cards. A rank-one card in Paladins is close to no effect at all, so five weak cards is functionally an empty loadout.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Jaguar Falls.
- Consider whether Damage: hitscan poke might suit your playstyle better than Damage: projectile burst.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Talents chosen before the match starts integrated into gameplay
- Viktor's Assault Rifle acquired
- Stone Keep fully cleared
- Ready for Jaguar Falls
Phase 3: Mid Game (Jaguar Falls)
A Siege map built around verticality, with elevated platforms flanking the point. Champions with vertical mobility get more out of it than the map's size suggests, and the payload path is one of the more contested in the rotation.
Level/Difficulty: All ranks Key Rewards: Vertical flank routes, elevated healing positions, tight payload chokes
What to Do in Jaguar Falls
- Master The in-match credit shop. You earn credits during the match and spend them on items across four categories: Defense, Utility, Healing and Damage. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Cassie's Crossbow. It's the best weapon and becomes accessible around now.
- Check the enemy Talent choices on the scoreboard during the opening ride to the point. Talents change how abilities work, so the same enemy champion can require a completely different approach between rounds.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Four champion classes for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- The in-match credit shop mastered
- Cassie's Crossbow acquired or in progress
- Jaguar Falls fully cleared
- Ready for Timber Mill
Phase 4: Late Game (Timber Mill)
A Siege map with a compact point and heavy cover, which favours close-range Front Line and Flank play over poke. The choke on the payload run is narrow enough that a single well-placed shield can stall the push outright.
Level/Difficulty: All ranks Key Rewards: Close-quarters engagements, strong shield chokes, short rotation times
What to Do in Timber Mill
- Finalize your build. You should be running Damage: hitscan poke or Damage: projectile burst with optimized gear.
- Cassie's Crossbow should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Ride your mount from spawn every time. Walking back after a death is the single most common reason a team loses the first capture, and the mount is free.
- Siege point-and-payload rounds optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Magistrate's Archives.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Cassie's Crossbow upgraded to max
- Timber Mill fully cleared
- Ready for Magistrate's Archives
Phase 5: Endgame (Magistrate's Archives)
Used for the faster modes rather than Siege, with a single contested area and short spawn distances. Onslaught here rewards sustained team fighting because respawns arrive fast enough that a partial wipe rarely ends the fight.
Level/Difficulty: All ranks, best for learning a new champion Key Rewards: Fast respawns, continuous fighting, low rotation punishment
What to Do in Magistrate's Archives
- Magistrate's Archives tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Buy Wrecker against shield-heavy compositions and Haven against burst Damage. Both are cheap at rank one and the AI-adjacent habit of buying the same three items every match costs more games than aim ever does.
- The endgame loop: run Magistrate's Archives, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Support: main healer for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Siege point-and-payload rounds mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Magistrate's Archives fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Skipping the item shop entirely, especially Cauterize, and then blaming the Support for the enemy tank not dying.
- Spreading loadout points evenly across five cards so that no card reaches a rank where it changes anything.
- Instant-locking a Flank on a team that already has two, then losing the point because nobody can hold it.
- Diving the enemy Front Line as a Flank instead of the Support, which trades your nine seconds for their two.
- Expecting new champions, balance patches or content updates; Hi-Rez ended active development on 6 February 2025.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Buy Cauterize by the second team fight in every single match. Anti-healing is the item that decides whether your damage sticks, and a team that skips it will out-damage the enemy all game and still lose the point.
- Concentrate your 15 loadout points into cards affecting three abilities rather than spreading one rank across five cards. A rank-one card in Paladins is close to no effect at all, so five weak cards is functionally an empty loadout.
- Check the enemy Talent choices on the scoreboard during the opening ride to the point. Talents change how abilities work, so the same enemy champion can require a completely different approach between rounds.
- Ride your mount from spawn every time. Walking back after a death is the single most common reason a team loses the first capture, and the mount is free.
- Buy Wrecker against shield-heavy compositions and Haven against burst Damage. Both are cheap at rank one and the AI-adjacent habit of buying the same three items every match costs more games than aim ever does.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Paladins Guides
- Paladins Paladins Overview
- Paladins Best Builds
- Paladins Tier List
- Paladins Beginner's Guide
- Paladins Tips & Tricks
- Paladins Weapons Guide
- Paladins Combat Guide
- Paladins Boss Guide
- Paladins Maps & Locations
- Paladins Crafting Guide
- Paladins Classes & Characters
Similar Games
If you enjoy Paladins, check out these related guides:
- Counter-Strike 2 Walkthrough: fps game with similar mechanics
- Apex Legends Walkthrough: fps game with similar mechanics
- Rainbow Six Siege Walkthrough: fps game with similar mechanics
