Ash is the new tank lady in Paladins. Our author Leya tested her. Her verdict: Ash is really fun to play, but sometimes a bit too slow. Read her experience in the playtest report about the rammer Ash, the latest champion in Paladins.
Get out of my way, here I come! With Ash, I become the rammer who simply flings opponents away. No one gets on the control point that I just occupied. No one is allowed to even look at my payload. Otherwise, I’ll come with my pulse cannon and show everyone who’s the boss in the ring.
Ash stands for strength and pride – This tank shows colors
As soon as Ash rides out of the base, her flag flies boldly and wildly behind her. She always carries the flag on her back armor, ready to mark her territory. Once she sets her sights on a target, she bites down hard. You shouldn’t hesitate to fight with Ash.
Her complete abilities are designed to shove enemies away and keep them at bay. Ash’s pulse cannon can knock opponents back with a kinetic explosion. Every opponent caught in the cone of the explosion flies back a good distance. With her shoulder charge, she rushes forward and crashes into her opponents with force. Upon impact, they take damage and are flung away.
This video by Hi-Rez showcases Ash’s skills.
When Ash uses her ultimate ability – Show Dominance – she jumps forward and jabs her flag into the ground: This is my territory and you’re not getting in.
Ash becomes immune to all damage in a round zone around the flag and can defend her territory like a lioness. Those who take up the fight will be flung back, bombarded, and shoulder charged.
Ash awakens the warrior in me – My point!
Her entire skill set strongly motivates me not to give up the control point. I did everything in my power to deny enemies access.
It’s just fun to really spread out and be dominant with Ash. And that very gameplay thrill gives me the motivation to want to do my job well. With 5750 health points, Ash is one of the robust tanks and can endure being shot at for a long time. She can afford to stay longer on the control point. When things get tricky, you can knock opponents away with the kinetic explosion.
Is her armor too heavy for Ash or why is she so slow?
Although everything about Ash screams “attack”, it is sometimes difficult to do just that with her. Ash wears a large and bulky armor, and I wonder if maybe a delicate girl is hiding underneath. Because she needs a lot of setup time for her abilities and is quite immobile.
When Ash goes for the shoulder charge, it takes her a while to get into position. I found it hard to hit opponents with the shoulder charge. It takes her a long time to initiate and she runs quite far forward. Opponents can easily dodge, and I had to wonder if the risk was worth it. If you charge forward so recklessly, you quickly find yourself among many opponents who tear Ash apart. The high health bar doesn’t help then.
Ash’s rolling shield also moves slowly and sluggishly. She throws it a set distance in front of her and opponents can easily walk around it. Timing the use correctly was difficult for me. It worked best when I threw it in the direction of narrow corridors. This way, flankers often had to look for another way.
Even her ultimate ability is sluggish. Ash takes a few seconds to prepare her jump. However, when she jumps, she goes further than I expected, and I often ended up a bit too far from the control point.
But that inertia might actually provide a good balance for Ash. She already has very high health points, and her abilities are strong. Somewhere you have to make compromises.
Ash is the saving knight at the last moment
Gradually, I realized that Ash’s strength in Paladins lies in being the last-minute savior. I managed a few times to sweep opponents off the control point with a kinetic explosion when all hope seemed lost. I was able to simply be present long enough and shove enemies away until my team regained control.
I felt fantastic doing this, and even a bit heroic. The only improvement to that: shoving enemies off the map!
Where will Ash find her place?
Ash is simply so much fun that I expect to encounter her more often. I am not sure if she can secure a place at the top of the tier list . She seems a bit too slow and easy to counter for that. Opponents can dodge her quickly. Makoa simply pulls her out of her ultimate with his hook.
I created a first deck build where I focused entirely on her kinetic explosion. With that, I had the most influence and blowing away opponents is just damn cool. I used the shoulder charge the least, as I found it very hard to hit.
I rate Ash in a good mid-tier position and think that her balance will be tweaked a bit. After all, she succeeded in making tanking really fun for me. Maybe I’ll even shift from my main roles of flanker and support to tank and support.
What are your impressions of Ash? How do you assess her in the meta?
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You can find her skills and cards here: Paladins: Ash – New tank ruins your capture plans
