Paladin Best weapon for zealot?

[Touloumo]

I'm running a zealot, mainly for nostalgia reasons. I've been using uniques I've found along the way, Aldur's mace, butcher's pupil, Djin Slayer, etc. But now, in Hell, it is time for a proper weapon.

What is your favourite zealot weapon for pvm? Grief in PB, eBotD in BA, eDeath in BA? Other rune words or uniques?

 

[krischan]

Grief in a phase blade. In a one-hander, even the worst Grief beats any alternative for pretty much any melee character (not enchantresses, however), perhaps except for a very, very few outrageous rares. For a few purposes or setups, Last Wish might beat it, but that runeword needs 5 HRs. So once you have the LW runes, you probably have the runes for three Griefs as well.

 

[Sopper]

What Krischan said: Grief is very hard to beat

 

[Touloumo]

Thank you both. Grief in a phase blade has been phenomenal. I did also get to try Death in a BA. It was comparable, but landed significantly fewer hits, as well as hitting slower.

 

[d2lover]

@Touloumo it's because Grief has this:

Ignore target defense

if you want to only play with zeal, a stonecrusher can be ok for UT or Dclone, because ITD doesn't work, and it has this stat:

reduces monster def by xx per hit, which becomes ITD on bosses after some hits.

If you use smite however for monsters that have high def, nothing beat Grief, because of the way the damage gets added to smite.

Last wish is complete trash for a zealot and only usable on a hammerdin who wants to make UT with as few gearswitches as possible, which is not wise, since you have a shared stash in d2r

 

[krizn]

there are a few niche weapons to look into if you are like me and don't enjoy using grief on every single melee build.

* the main issue i have with grief is it's lack of utility and lack of build variance.

-Heaven's Light-
aka the boss killer. 33% crushing blow means you gain more from speed than anything else. also you can take gobs off now. combine with Gface if you're ubering.
* 2 sockets for massive customization options
* eth or non-eth it still smashes bosses because of crushing blow
* i recommend non-eth if you wear a fort because you don't have to zod it, unless you prefer indestructable.

-Astreon's Iron Ward-
similar to Heaven's Light, but less custom options.
* gives you some magic damage, just enough for some ghosties
* +attack rating at 200% is huge
* 25% slow is a nice safety
* eth or non-eth it still smashes bosses because of crushing blow

-Azurewrath-
the ghost killer.
* believe it or not, it can be used for ubers with enough crushing blow. the aura keeps the ads off of you
* incredible speed because it's a phase blade. frees up some build options for general mobbing

-Death Cleaver-
on a zealer wearing highlord's wrath you are going to have max deadly strike at lvl 91
* it hits extremely hard when ethereal
* is still strong non-eth and is significantly cheaper. socket with an eth rune for -58% target defense. massive hit chance boost.

-Razor's Edge-
Butcher's Pupil's daddy. high deadly strike, insaine open wounds. open wounds can stack for really stronk damage.
* eth is preferred due to low base damage
* non-eth is still useable, but leaves desires

-Lacerator-
yeah, it's a throwing axe. just try it. make sure it's ethereal
* 33% amp will proc so much it's nuts. generally once something is amped, it dies.
* 50% fear will clear mobs away from champions

-Breath of the Dying-
for obvious utility reasons this thing is a monster. put it in an eth berserker axe
* anything over 370% damage works just fine. i've used 350% with success
* the leech will keep you alive forever
* huge stat buff for build variability

-Death-
the name says it. eth berserker axe vs eth ettin axe is the question.
* crushing blow and deadly strike at 100% is nuts for killing anything
* procs an aoe freeze

-Doom-
the safety weapon, put it in a berserker axe
* holy freeze will save you a lot and helps with phys immunes
* +2 skills isn't a bad thing lol

-Last Wish-
for being extra. put it in whatever, this thing is more of a meme
* 70% crushing blow? yesplz
* might aura stacks with your fanaticism
* magic find on a crushing blow melee weapon?
* fade too, this thing basically slaps but the cost is insane

i'm not saying these are better options vs grief. i'm saying these are what i like to use because i don't like to use grief.
just some suggestions and honestly in most cases very cheap options compared to the current dps champion

**PS**
i use an ebotdz on my conc barb and he smashes ww beast/grief barbs all day.

 

[Sopper]

**PS**
i use an ebotdz on my conc barb and he smashes ww beast/grief barbs all day.

Simply not true
It might feel this way... but in reality it is not.

 

[krizn]

**PS**
i use an ebotdz on my conc barb and he smashes ww beast/grief barbs all day.

Simply not true
It might feel this way... but in reality it is not.

totally is true =)

but the thread isn't pvp based to my knowledge anyway.

pure built conc melee barb vs a ww bvc
they don't have the defense/ar to keep up.
if it was a bvb barb, well that might be different, but they don't generally joine melee games and try to bm

 

[Touloumo]

For eDeath, why is it a question between Ettin Axe and Berserker Axe?

Everywhere I've read says the BA is the clear winner

 

[Sopper]

Range 2 vs Range 3

 

[krizn]

For eDeath, why is it a question between Ettin Axe and Berserker Axe?

Everywhere I've read says the BA is the clear winner

Like Sopper said, range, which in my experience doesn't make any noticible difference in pvm, but also speed and damage. Ettin is slower having a base of [10] while Berserker has a base of [0]. Ettin axes do however have a higher average damage by 2 at 49.5 it is tied for second highest one-handed with the Seraph Rod being equal and only the Legendary Maller being higher.

 

[d2lover]

Also, getting a 5s eth Ettin axe is not an insurmountable task.

 

[Foolishpleazure]

@Touloumo it's because Grief has this:

Ignore target defense

if you want to only play with zeal, a stonecrusher can be ok for UT or Dclone, because ITD doesn't work, and it has this stat:

reduces monster def by xx per hit, which becomes ITD on bosses after some hits.

If you use smite however for monsters that have high def, nothing beat Grief, because of the way the damage gets added to smite.

Last wish is complete trash for a zealot and only usable on a hammerdin who wants to make UT with as few gearswitches as possible, which is not wise, since you have a shared stash in d2r

Sorry guys,not trying to troll an old post but you forgot,not only does Grief have ITD,(doesn't work on bosses) it also has -25% def from the Eth rune (which DOES work on bosses).