Paladin Combat Skills

These skills are primarily melee strikes of various types, but Paladins also possess a few magical attacks and some shield attacks as well.

Paladin Skills

Synergies:

Sacrifice

Required Level: 1
Prerequisites: None
Synergies: Points in these skills increase the damage done with Sacrifice.

Redemption: +15% Damage Per Level
Fanaticism: +5% Damage Per Level

Details: Sacrifice boosts the Paladin's damage and attack rating substantially, at a cost in blood. Each hit landed with this skill inflicts 8% of its damage on the Paladin.

To offset the damage to self, life leech equipment can come in very handy.
It's possible to kill yourself with Sacrifice, leading to the amusing "Paladin was slain by Paladin." death message in game.
Damage overruns: the key difficulty in using this skill is that you only leech back life based on the monster's hit points, but you lose health based on the damage done.
- Example: if you have 10% life leech and do 500 damage to a monster with 100 hit points, you'll leech back 10 hit points, but lose 8% of 500 = 40.
- Physical resistance has the same effect: 100 damage to a monster with 50% physical resistance means you only leech life on that 50%, but lose Sacrifice on the full 100.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Damage to Self: 8%
Attack Rating +%	20	27	34	41	48	55	62	69	76	83	90	97	104	111	118	125	132	139	146	153
Damage %	180	195	210	225	240	255	270	285	300	315	330	345	360	375	390	405	420	435	450	465

Smite=

Required Level: 1
Prerequisites: None
Requires: A shield equipped.
Synergies: None.
Details: Smite is a shield bash that damages, stuns, and knocks back the target.

The speed of smite is based on the equipped weapon.
Smite causes durability loss to the equipped weapon.
Smite's damage is based on the shield. Only Paladins see the listed Smite damage on shields.
Damage types that work with Smite: Crushing Blow and Open Wounds.
Damage types that do not work with Smite: Life and mana leech, Deadly Strike, elemental damage from Auras, undead damage from Sanctuary, damage from Charms,
Smith will steal life (only) when the Life Tap Curse is active on the target.
Smite always hits, so can be very useful against monsters or players with high defense.
Bosses and SuperUniques have a resistance to being stunned, but will be stunned with repeated hits. Act Bosses can not be stunned.
Stun lengths are decreased to 1/2 in Nightmare and 1/4 in Hell.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost: 2
Damage +%	15	30	45	60	75	90	105	120	135	150	165	180	195	210	225	240	255	270	285	300
Stun (seconds)	0.6	0.8	1.0	1.2	1.4	1.6	1.8	2.0	2.2	2.4	2.6	2.8	3.0	3.2	3.4	3.6	3.8	4.0	4.2	4.4

Holy Bolt

Required Level: 6
Prerequisites: None
Synergies: Each point in the following skills boosts the damage or healing of Holy Bolt.

Blessed Hammer: +50% Magic Damage Per Level
Fist of the Heavens: +50% Magic Damage Per Level
Prayer: +15% Life Healed Per Level

Details: A glowing, magical projectile is fired out at a medium rate of speed. This projectile will damage enemy undead monsters, and heal friends.

Holy Bolt ignores the resistances of the Undead.
Chiefly a novelty skill of some use early in the game, since neither the healing nor the damage are large enough to be of much use long term.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost	2	2	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.3	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.8	2.8	2.9	3	3	3.1	3.1
Magic Damage	8-16	16-24	24-32	32-40	40-48	48-56	56-64	64-72	74-83	84-94	94-105	104-116	114-127	124-138	134-149	144-160	157-175	170-190	183-205	196-220
Healing	1-6	3-10	5-14	7-18	9-22	11-26	13-30	15-34	17-38	19-42	21-46	23-50	25-54	27-58	29-62	31-66	33-70	35-74	37-78	39-82

Zeal

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

Sacrifice: +12% Damage Per Level

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

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.

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

Charge

Required Level: 12
Prerequisites: Smite
Synergies: None.
Effect: Closes the distance with an enemy, delivering a bash on contact.

Despite the icon and location on the skill tree (after Smite) Charge does not require a shield, nor does the shield damage factor into the damage dealt if you have a weapon equipped. Charging with a big damage, two-handed weapon can be very effective.
Like all of the Paladin's combat skills, Charge is best used on the left click, while an aura is active on the right.

You can only use Charge on a Monster if you are already not in melee range. This is the one drawback when compared to Sacrifice. You will have to back away or select another monster that is further away.
May be used to flee from fights or even dodge (outrun) projectiles (such as Diablo's Fire Nova or Undead Mages' Bone Spirit). May also be used to (very) rapidly traverse land.

Sometimes Charge skill may stun yourself (you cannot attack and move but can drink potions) when attacking. This may continue very long until to your death. You can fix this by pressing the "W" key to swap weapons which should exit you from the stun.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost: 9
Damage +%	100	125	150	175	200	225	250	275	300	325	350	375	400	425	450	475	500	525	550	575
Attack Mod +%	50	65	80	95	110	125	140	155	170	185	200	215	230	245	260	275	290	305	320	335

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| valign="top" |Vengeance| valign="top" | Vengeance
Required Level: 18
Prerequisites: Sacrifice [1], Zeal [12]
|}When a Paladin undertakes a crusade to banish evil, he is permitted to call upon the just souls of past crusades. Thus summoned, the spirits of the honorably vanquished manifest themselves and lend their energies to the weapons of the Paladin.Effect: Adds Elemental (Fire, Lightning and Cold) damage to all melee attacks. The Damage bonus applies to all three elemental damages. At level 1, it would be +70% Fire, +70% Cold, and +70% Lightning (not Poison).Poison is not included in the Vengeance Skill.Monster resistances have the ability to reduce the additional elemental damage.{| ! Level ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! 10 ! 11 ! 12 ! 13 ! 14 ! 15 ! 16 ! 17 ! 18 ! 19 ! 20 |- | Mana Cost | 4 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 5 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 6 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 7 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 8 | 8.2 | 8.5 | 8.7 |- | Cold Length | 1.2 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 6.6 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 8.4 | 9.0 | 9.6 | 10.2 | 10.8 | 11.4 | 12.0 | 12.6 |- | Elem Damage +% | 70 | 76 | 82 | 88 | 94 | 100 | 106 | 112 | 118 | 124 | 130 | 136 | 142 | 148 | 154 | 160 | 166 | 172 | 178 | 184 |- | Attack Bonus +% | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 100 | 110 | 120 | 130 | 140 | 150 | 160 | 170 | 180 | 190 | 200 | 210 |}
{| cellpadding="1" ! align="left" | Vengeance Receives Bonuses From |- | align="left" | Resist Fire: +10% Fire Damage Per Level |- | align="left" | Resist Cold: +10% Cold Damage Per Level |- | align="left" | Resist Lightning: +10% Lightning Damage Per Level |- | align="left" | Salvation: +2% Elemental Damage Per Level |}

{| cellspacing="10" | valign="top" |Blessed Hammer| valign="top" | Blessed Hammer
Required Level: 18
Prerequisites: Holy Bolt [6]
|}The Visions of Akarat tell of a hopeless battle. Legions of the undead had laid siege to a small convent of nuns who were the keepers of a sacred relic, the Hammer of Ghrab Thaar. Suspended over a fiery chasm within the convent, the sisters knew the Hammer to be a powerful vessel of the Light and vowed never to allow it to fall into the hands of evil. With no weapons of their own, and no one to defend them, the nuns sacrificed themselves to destroy the hammer. Rather than let the undead despoil the church and the relic, they took the hammer and plunged themselves into the fiery chasm. At that moment, a powerful force of Light washed over the undead legion, striking them down where they stood. Since that time a well-trained Paladin is able to tap the remnants of this released energy, whirling a magical hammer to strike down his adversaries, especially the forces of the walking dead.Effect: A summoned Hammer spirals outward, damaging enemies. The Undead take additional damage.

This sends out a little glowing Hammer. The Hammer spins around you making a wider and wider turn until it disappears. Blessed Hammer has the ability to damage multiple enemies if it hits them.
Ignores the resistances and immunities of Undead
Also receives bonuses from Concentration
This spell also ignores the resistances and immunities of Demon {|

! Level ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! 10 ! 11 ! 12 ! 13 ! 14 ! 15 ! 16 ! 17 ! 18 ! 19 ! 20 |- | Mana Cost | 5 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 6 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 7 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 8 | 8.2 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 9 | 9.2 | 9.5 | 9.7 |- | Damage | 12-16 | 20-24 | 28-32 | 36-40 | 44-48 | 52-56 | 60-64 | 68-72 | 78-82 | 88-92 | 98-102 | 108-112 | 118-122 | 128-132 | 138-142 | 148-152 | 160-164 | 172-176 | 184-188 | 196-200 |- | +150% Damage To Undead | |}
{| cellpadding="1" ! align="left" | Blessed Hammer Receives Bonuses From: |- | align="left" | Blessed Aim: +14% Magic Damage Per Level |- | align="left" | Vigor: +14% Magic Damage Per Level

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| valign="top" |Conversion| valign="top" | Conversion
Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Sacrifice [1], Zeal [12], Vengeance [18]
|}Through force of will and strength of steel, a noble Paladin with this skill is able to blind his enemies with the glory of the Light. After trading blows with the Paladin and facing the fire of righteousness burning in his eyes, an enemy will sometimes be struck with a divine epiphany and momentarily repent his past undertakings. So complete is the transformation, that the converted will turn to slay its former comrades.Effect: A successful attack has a chance to convert the target to fight evil. Player vs Player - This will not work on other Players.

This skill will not work on Super Unique Monsters, Champions, and Bosses.
Conversion allows you to steal Monsters and use them against other Monsters in the area. Consider stealing Monsters with special attacks like Lightning or Blizzard, to help you fight. Be warned that eventually conversion will wear off and you will be forced to destroy your new friend.
You get experience for kills made by monsters you have converted.
You do not get experience for those converted monsters that are killed while under your power. You do not get experience for any of your minions that are killed (Golems, Valkyries, Revived, Converted, Attracted, Confused, Skeletal Mages, Skeletons).
Combining Conversion with Thorns makes a great way to get large numbers of monsters to kill themselves, however, once the Conversion wears off, your Thorns aura will remain on the monster for a second or two. If you hit the monster during this time (easy to do with Zeal) then you'll do massive damage to yourself. {|

! Level ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! 10 ! 11 ! 12 ! 13 ! 14 ! 15 ! 16 ! 17 ! 18 ! 19 ! 20 |- | Mana Cost: 4 | |- | Chance to Convert % | 7 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 40 | 41 | 41 | 42 |- | Duration 16 Seconds |

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| valign="top" |Holy Shield| valign="top" | Holy Shield
Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Smite [1], Holy Bolt [6], Charge [12], Blessed hammer [18]
|}To a Paladin, the shield is a symbol of his faith. Particularly devout Paladins can channel their faith into their shields, bolstering its defensive value with holy energy. The purer his faith, the greater his defense.Effect: Magically enhances shield to give defense bonuses. Holy Shield increases Smite Damage for each point.Holy Shield is not a Passive skill, it is similar to the Sorceress' Frozen Armor spells. To create a Holy Shield, cast the spell. It will last until it wears off which will be determined by how many skill points you have placed in Holy Shield.Paladins who use Shields should consider this skill. Additional defense and increased blocking is always something to be desired, and this skill can still be used in combination with his Auras, and other Combat skills.You may not want to use this skill in combination with the Thorns Aura. When using Thorns, you want the monsters to hit you so that they will be damaged by Thorns, however Holy Shield makes it more difficult for monsters to hit you.Holy Shield is very useful to increase blocking on shields with low blocking. You may find a great rare, or unique shield with low blocking. The lack of blocking on the shield may make you think twice about using it, but with Holy Shield you can raise the chance to block and still use this shield.{| ! Level ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! 10 ! 11 ! 12 ! 13 ! 14 ! 15 ! 16 ! 17 ! 18 ! 19 ! 20 |- | Mana Cost: 35 | |- | Duration (seconds) | 30 | 55 | 80 | 105 | 130 | 155 | 180 | 205 | 230 | 255 | 280 | 305 | 330 | 355 | 380 | 405 | 430 | 455 | 480 | 505 |- | Defense +% | 25 | 40 | 55 | 70 | 85 | 100 | 115 | 130 | 145 | 160 | 175 | 190 | 205 | 220 | 235 | 250 | 265 | 280 | 295 | 310 |- | Successful Blocking +% | 14 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 35 |- | Smite Damage + | 3-6 | 5-8 | 7-10 | 9-12 | 11-14 | 13-16 | 15-18 | 17-20 | 20-23 | 23-26 | 26-29 | 29-32 | 32-35 | 35-38 | 38-41 | 41-44 | 45-48 | 49-52 | 53-56 | 57-60 |}
{| cellpadding="1" ! align="left" | Holy Shield Receives Bonuses From |- | align="left" | Defiance: +15% Defense Per Level

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| valign="top" |Fist of the Heavens| valign="top" | Fist of the Heavens
Casting Delay: 1 Second
Required Level: 30
Prerequisites: Sacrifice [1], Holy Bolt [6], Zeal [12], Vengeance [18], Blessed Hammer [18], Conversion [24]
|}This spell allows the Paladin to summon the power of holy vengeance. Manifesting as lightning from the heavens, these bolts rain down from the sky, exploding into a thousand shafts of light that radiate outwards to banish the evil from the battlefield.Effect: Lightning attack from the sky that releases Holy Bolts. Target a monster, and Fist of Heavens unleashes a Lightning Bolt from the Heavens. From the impact point, Holy Bolts spread out around the area. This skill is primarily useful against large collections of undead Monsters but also can be used against other monsters for the direct Lightning damage.{| ! Level ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! 10 ! 11 ! 12 ! 13 ! 14 ! 15 ! 16 ! 17 ! 18 ! 19 ! 20 |- | Mana Cost: 25 | |- | Lightning Damage | 150-200 | 165-215 | 180-230 | 195-245 | 210-260 | 225-275 | 240-290 | 255-305 | 285-335 | 315-365 | 345-395 | 375-425 | 405-455 | 435-485 | 465-515 | 495-545 | 540-590 | 585-635 | 630-680 | 675-725 |- | Holy Bolt Damage | 40-50 | 46-56 | 52-62 | 58-68 | 64-74 | 70-80 | 76-86 | 82-92 | 92-102 | 102-112 | 112-122 | 122-132 | 132-142 | 142-152 | 152-162 | 162-172 | 178-188 | 194-204 | 210-220 | 226-236 |}
{| cellpadding="1" ! align="left" | Fist of the Heavens Receives Bonuses From |- | align="left" | Holy Bolt: +15% Holy Bolt Damage Per Level |- | align="left" | Holy Shock: +7% Lightning Damage Per Level

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