The Diablo 2 Wiki
The Diablo 2 Wiki archive is available for anyone looking for information on Diablo 2. All information here is pre-D2R but contains a lot of useful information that is still relevant. Updated sections for new D2R features can be found on the PureDiablo Diablo 2 section

Zeal

From Diablo 2 Wiki

Zeal

Required Level: 12
Prerequisites: Sacrifice
Synergies: Zeal receives bonus from points spent in:

Details: Zeal is a rapid, multi-strike attack with substantial bonuses to attack rating, attack speed, and damage.

  • The first strike will always aim at the targeted monster. The next four will alternate between all targets in range.
    • Using Zeal on a group tends to wear all the monsters down gradually and equally. Poison damage or Prevent Monster Heal will keep them from healing back during the battle.
    • If you wish to kill a single monster in a group, you should use Vengeance, Sacrifice or Smite to hit just it.
  • If using a one-handed weapon, picking one with 2 or 3 range will work noticeably better than 1-range items, especially when hitting monsters in a group.
  • Note that points in Sacrifice add more to Zeal's damage than points in Zeal itself, though they do not add to the Attack Rating. If higher damage is the goal, raise Zeal enough to get five hits and the necessary AR, then put points into Sacrifice instead.
  • Zeal can not be interrupted; all five hits are always delivered, though not necessarily successfully.
  • In earlier versions of Diablo II, Zeal gained a hit with every point spent in the skill. This was a problem for online play, when characters became desynched and stood there swinging 20 times and hitting nothing. The change to 5 fast hits made Zeal the most popular Paladin combat skill.
Mana: 2
Skill Level Progression [e]
Slvl AR +X%

#Hits

Damage

Slvl AR +X%

#Hits

Damage

Slvl AR +X%

#Hits

Damage

Slvl AR +X%

#Hits

Damage

1 10% 2 +0% 6 60% 5 +12% 11 110% 5 +42% 16 160% 5 +72%
2 20% 3 +0% 7 70% 5 +18% 12 120% 5 +48% 17 170% 5 +78%
3 30% 4 +0% 8 80% 5 +24% 13 130% 5 +54% 18 180% 5 +84%
4 40% 5 +0% 9 90% 5 +30% 14 140% 5 +60% 19 190% 5 +90%
5 50% 5 +6% 10 100% 5 +36% 15 150% 5 +66% 20 200% 5 +96%