@darkstarhub @helvete You are both right, Hammerdin is the obvious candidate. I was skeptical at first, as I already had my Hdin's setup figured out (125fcr spirit). I was using Mara's, and switching that away would've set me back in the resist department, in exchange of +1 skill and mana/life (Soj or BKWB). Not sure If that would've been worth it. Or I could do like
@Grape did with his Sorc, and switch Trang's gloves with 1.07 LoH. That would let me drop out Hotspurs, for whatever. Again, not really worth it.
Then I started thinking. Who says Hammerdins have to use Shako? Circlets are the new craze! I quickly went through my stashes, and found this one:
Code:
Wraith Circlet
Tiara
Defense: 46
Durability: 10 of 25
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0x576ad228
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Paladin Skill Levels
+20% Faster Cast Rate
All Resistances +12
Damage Reduced by 2
+2 to Light Radius
Ok, better than I expected. This and the amulet put me in 165fcr, enough so I could drop out Spirit and bring in Herald of Zakarum!
Now, the loss of Shako isn't a minor thing, with it's life/mana, DR and MF. Also, by switching +all skills gear for +pally skills I lost 4 levels of BO. So my life went from 3000+ to around 2600 (after BO). Ouch. But. The lower strength requirements and higher blocking from HoZ allowed me to save points from str and dex and put more into vita (strength bugging with rings and Enigma, no strength was necessary at all).
After respeccing, I was at 2960 hp and 670 mana after BO. Good enough. Hammer damage: 13k-13k
After socketing HoZ with Um, resists are where they need to. MF is only 152, but that's fine, as I run CS and it's about exp and runes for me. And I still have one socket possibility left with the Tiara. Possibilities are many: Um for extra resists, Pruby for life, Ptopaz for MF, Shael for FHR (as I lost quite a bit with Spirit). Even Ber might be an option at one point.
If I'd want to squeeze even more damage I'd switch in beta BKWB, Gheed's with skiller and switch the Tiara to Griffon's. That way I could replace fcr ring with another Beta BKWB. But alas, I don't have beta BKWBs or extra Griffon's, so that will have to wait (it's most likely not going to happen even if I gain the items).
Not sure if sacrificing survivability for kill speed is the right choice, but I think level 96-97 is a good spot to test it, as experience gaining is still somewhat reasonable. The extra damage feels faster and smoother, and I think I kill more "bystanders" than before. But that may just be the rush of getting a new setup speaking. Even though he's a tank, physical damage is easily his weakest point, so I'll be extra careful with Might/Fanaticism packs.
