Diablo 2: Resurrected
Achilles - LvL 96 Zealot Paladin
Achilles - LvL 96 Zealot Paladin
Zealots are one of the most popular Paladin builds and when it comes to PvM they are one of the strongest physical melee builds in the game. They combine high offense with high defense and with few proper tweaks in your build they can reach to a level where even Hell at Players 8 is not even challenging. The build below takes care of some vital points in defense and throws everything else into the offense to literally destroy everything in your path in seconds.Achilles was one of the finest heroes in Greek Mythology. Even though he was a demigod, it was said he was immortal with only one vulnerable spot. Just as great and immortal Achilles was so is this Zealot who will never go down unless you hit his "Achilles heel".
Positive
+ Insane Damage
+ High Defense
+ Maxed Block
+ Great Health
+ Swift Attack Speed
+ Superb Resistances
+ Beastly Mercenary
+ Extremely Effective at Players 8
Negative
- Low Attack Rating vs Bosses
- Low Crowd Control
Why Zealots are effective?
The reason why a Zealot can be extremely effective is because his Skills provide significant Damage and Attack Speed bonuses which are crucial for every physical character. Thus, Zealots are usually a good build for new players since apart from the fact that they cover your survivability and your damage output they are very easy to play. Let's take a closer look and check what makes a Zealot such an ideal character for beginners and even for a Hardcore play-through.
- Damage Per Second (DPS): Dealing high damage is one of the most fundamental things a physical build has to cover. A fully synergized Zeal will add a substantial bonus to Damage, Attack Rating and Attack Speed. The Skill's ability to hit nearby targets at a rapid speed will allow you to dispose of group of monsters quickly making up for the lack of crowd control. Fanaticism works like a Zeal but in an aura. It's another skill that adds a substantial bonus to Damage, Attack Rating and Attack Speed but affects all of your party members. Combined with Zeal, a Zealot can basically reach the last Attack Speed Breakpoint with any weapon which opens room for plenty customization.
- Holy Shield: One of the best skills in the game, Holy Shield is particularly popular for increasing the Block Chance. Block will basically stop any Physical or Ranged attack if triggered. With a Block Chance cap at 75%, Holy shield can get you there effortlessly thus blocking 3 out of the 4 physical or ranged attacks. Moreover, it adds a huge amount of defense which can offer even more protection. The skill is so good that nearly all Paladins sacrifice the Two-Handed Weapons for the Shield.
- Auras: The numerous Auras Paladin has can help you in different situations while you are questing or leveling before you manage to upgrade and finalize your build. Salvation, Redemption, Conviction, Holy freeze, Vigor can all speed up your process and cover the needs you might need at certain times during your journey. As they also affect all of your party members, there are plenty great combinations you can create.
- Mercenary: Hirelings for the most time are just a support unit who will carry an Aura or a debuff. A Zealot's Hireling may be an exception because Fanaticism Aura will put him into a beast mode. There will be times that your Hireling will do more than you can do yourself. The potential of this Hireling can reach to a point where even Playable Classes can't.
- Items: The Skills are great but they can't really shine unless they are combined with the proper gear. The overpowered gear that you can use is usually effective with all builds but there are a few cases where that gear can sparkle on a Zealot a bit more. Paladin bases can prove extremely useful with Runewords as they retain the mods they have while one of the best examples is also with the Weapon. Grief is such a powerful weapon that makes up for the lower damage One-Handed Weapons provide, allowing a Zealot to still deal massive damage and wield his shield at the same time.
Even though Strength adds damage you should add only enough points to equip all of your gear. This is because we will need to spend plenty points in Dexterity to maximize our Block and at the same time gain some Attack Rating which is quite important. Without any need for energy, the rest points can all go to Vitality or you can balance some of your remaining points into Strength and Dexterity.
- Strength: 115
- Dexterity: 150+
- Vitality: Rest
- Energy: None
The main skills of a Zealot should be Zeal, Sacrifice, Fanaticism and Holy shield.
One point in Salvation can also help in various and tough situations but when the final build is reached it will less effective.
With the Skill Points that are left we have a few choices.
- Defiance for extra defense.
- Blessed Aim for the passive AR.
- Resistances for increasing the resist cap.
A level 10 Blessed Aim adds 50% bonus to Attack Rating and a Level 10 Resist Lighting adds 5% to our maximum Lighting Resistance.
Gear
With a mediocre gear this character can still be very effective. However, if we invest in gear this character can truly become glorious.
Physical builds rely too much on their gear to make a difference and this is why we should carefully choose the gear in every slot to take maximum advantage of a Zealot's Skills. With our defenses being in an uttermost condition, our main concern should be in bumping the damage as much as possible.
Weapon: Grief
Shield: Phoenix (+45% to all Resistances)
Armor: Fortitude
Helm: Guillaume's Face ( 40% ED + Damage)
Gloves: Laying of Hands
Belt: Verdungo's Hearty Cord
Boots: Gore Riders
Rings: Raven Frost + Rare
Amulet: Highlord's Wrath
Switch: Call to Arms + Spirit (Paladin Shield)
Inventory: After placing a Torch and Anni prioritize in adding charms with mods you lack such as
Resistances and Attack Rating and the rest inventory can be filled with random damage charms.
Weapon - Grief (Phase Blade)
Grief is considered one of the most overpowered Runewords for a reason. Since One-Hand Weapons are usually low on damage, Grief nullifies that weakness by adding massive flat damage to the weapon. This alone is enough to stick to a One-Hand Weapon and build your character around Grief as it also adds a great bonus to Attack Speed basically providing two of the most important stats. However, the goodies of Grief don't end here. The "Ignore Target's Defense" mod is very convenient to have as it will allow you to hit regular monsters 95% of the time. The Deadly Strike is one of the most important stats which in combination with the rest gear can help us reach to a point where every hit nearly deals double damage. The extra damage to Demons is not to be neglected. Most of the monsters along with the Act Bosses are Demons thus, any extra damage is super useful to make Grief the best One-Hand option without anything coming even closer.
The sword of a Paladin represents the might of righteousness and his shield symbolizes the strength of his faith.
Shield - Phoenix (Sacred Targe)
A quite expensive and very powerful Runeword which seems to have low popularity has finally found the perfect build for a perfect match. The massive up to 400% enhanced damage is just screaming to choose that shield above anything else reducing that massive damage gap two-handed weapons have by a fair amount. Aside from the damage bonus, Phoenix adds Redemption, an amazing aura to keep you at full health and mana at all times. The fire Absorb and the extra maximum resistances it provides basically makes it an ideal shield for both Offensives and Defensive purposes. Oh, did I mention that it can be made in a Paladin Shield with +45% to all resistances? Even if you don't plan to use Phoenix as your Shield, the popular Exile is not a good option. It's a very defensive oriented shield and it's main drawback is that it casts LifeTap very often overriding the Decrepify from the Mercenary's Reapers killing your potential for causing outstanding damage.
Body Armor - Fortitude (Light Plate)
Fortitude is the last item that completes our monster trio. It's another great Runeword which offers a variety of useful stats. Of course the 300% Enhanced Damage which combined with the rest of our Enhanced Damage bonuses can basically convert Grief to an almost Two-Handed Weapon in terms of damage. Other than that, the rest mods it provides are helpful as well. A great amount of life, great boost to resistances, maximum Lighting Resist and chance to cast Chilling Armor for more defense are hard to leave behind.
Helm - Guillaume's Face
There is a variety of interesting helms to choose from but Guillaume's Face provides excellent Bonuses for physical builds that are very much needed. This Helm is our main source of Faster Hit Recovery and the reason why we can at least expect to reach the first Breakpoints. Most of our Crushing Blow comes from this helm and even a small percentage of it can speed up drastically a Boss fight. Deadly Strike is super important especially on higher Player Settings where every source of extra damage is a must-have. A good bonus to additional strength is certainly not bad.
Gloves - Laying of Hands
Laying of Hands may seem like a poor-mans choice but they actually provide more than any other gloves can. Even though our Zealot has no issues reaching the latest Attack Speed Breakpoint, extra Attack Speed is always handy when enemies chill you with a Holy Freeze Aura or slow you down with Decrepify. A massive boost to Fire Resist will allow us to max it easily and along with Phoenix's Absorb we will heal instead of taking damage. The massive damage against Demons is something that shouldn't be overlooked and is actually one of the main reasons to use these gloves. Since most of the monsters in the game are Demons the value of these Gloves is priceless.
Belt - Verdungo's Hearty Cord
There are several belts with very nice stats but Verdungo's Hearty Cord does much more defensively than any other belt can do offensively. Even though this build is hard to bring down, Verdungo's is the only item that grants us some "Reduced Damage" which is essential for any Physical build. A substantial bonus to vitality is hard to leave behind while the Faster Hit recovery which we have overlooked in this build is a step forward for the next breakpoint.
Boots - Gore Rider
Boots are one of the few items that you don't have many alternatives. Gore Rider are simply the best by offering those important mods that you need to have.
Open wounds, Crushing Blow but preferably Deadly Strike are what we are looking for along and with some decent Faster Run Walk are simply hard to beat.
Amulet - Highlord's Wrath
Highlord's Wrath is usually the best amulet for such builds. Once again, the Attack Speed is not going to make a difference but the Deadly strike will sure do. Along with the rest of our gear, Deadly Strike can reach up to 85% which translate in double damage most of the time which is critical at Higher Player Settings. Lastly, the Lighting Resistance will help us maximize our crazy 90% Lighting Resist.
Rings - Raven Frost + Rare
A Physical build can't perform well while being constantly chilled. Raven Frost solves that issue by offering the key stat "can not be frozen". However, Raven Frost is to be used just for that.
The Attack Rating along with the Dexterity increase our chances to hit by a fair amount. The Dexterity can also save you several points for reaching Max Block. The cold damage added is neglectable but the chilling effect is certainly not. Finally, with a great Cold Absorb we basically reach a point where elemental damage is trivial. For the second ring slot, a dual leech ring is of top priority. Any amount of Mana leech will be enough to keep our mana maximum at all times and basically remove the need to carry and use mana potions. This ring will also be our only source of Lifesteal but with such a high damage it will heal us extremely fast. A dual leech ring can come with some handy secondary mods so just equip the best one you can find.
Switch - Call to Arms + Spirit
Even at switch where all characters carry the classic Call to Arms and Spirit combo you can still get something more from the Paladin. The Cta can be created in a Weapon such as the War Scepter which can provide a variety of Paladin Skills and therefore can be used to our advantage. Skills such as Redemption, Vigor or Salvation can be part of your Call to Arms Runeword and may be used whenever in need without wasting points into them. Moreover, the War Scepter may also provide extra skill points to Holy Shield which can be used as a greater buff. Spirit can be created in a Paladin Shield with extra resistances eventually leading to a massive Resistances boost. Finally, you can also use a Paladin shield that requires low Strength avoiding the massive amount Monarch needs. It's a win-win in any case.
Demon Limb - Prebuff
Demon Limb is such a convenient item to keep in the stash and use it as a prebuff at the beginning of your farming route whenever you feel it is needed. It allows you to cast a Level 23 Enchant adding over 200% Attack Rating. As already mentioned above, missing attacks can be a bit troublesome against Bosses and Demon Limb can literally grant over 5000 Attack Rating improving your hit ratio by a lot. A great solution to an annoying problem. On top of that, Enchant will also add some additional Fire Damage to your attacks. Even though it's quite abysmal, combined with the Firestorm from Phoenix, the Firestorm from the Torch and the -28% Fire Resistance Phoenix grants they all combine well to at least add an extra source of damage mostly against immunities because everything else will be dead already before the fire damage is even noticeable.
Final stats when fully buffed.
Mercenary
Weapon: Ethereal Reaper's Toll (15% AS + 40% ED)
Armor: Ethereal Fortitude
Helm: Ethereal Andariel's Visage (40% ED + FR)
The potential this Hireling can reach due to Fanaticism Aura should not be overlooked. If we invest in our Mercenary we will be rewarded with a Hireling that can rigorously run Hell at Players 8 on his own. An Act2 Might Mercenary will add an extra source of damage and along with the rest stuff that be combined they create a duo so strong that words can't speak for themselves. An Ethereal Reaper's Toll may not provide the highest possible damage but the chance to cast Decrepify so often is what makes this Weapon better than any other by a long shot. And since the Hireling is capable of delivering tons of damage it would be a shame not to use Fortitude and miss the chance to create a killing machine. Obviously the 300% ED is what we need here but fortitude as explained earlier is a good all-around armor. Andariel's Visage is an excellent item that provides some of the most useful stats namely Attack Speed and Lfe-Steal. However, since Hireling's Attack Speed is easily covered and he already has high Life-Steal you can get more with a two Socketed Crown of Ages. Currently, I need Andarie's Visage for the Strength it provides but the final outcome with a two socketed Crown of Ages will result in a much more tankier and at the same time a better damage dealer Mercenary.
The Final Outcome
Now that we combined the perfect gear with the Paladin's amazing Skills, it's time to see how they perform in action. Words can only describe a condition while the actual action can represent the real situation. In the video below we can see how both our Zealot and the Mercenary perform at Players 1 and Players 8. As you may have noticed, the Mercenary is stated plenty times. This is because he is a real damage dealer and not just a support tool to carry Auras and De-buffs. Even side by side with a Hard Hitting character such as the Zealot, the Mercenary is still able to shine. Make sure to constantly stick close to your Hireling to take advantage of the Decrepify Curse at all times. Damage wise, we have all these stuff active.
- Grief (+400 DmG)
- Phoenix (400% ED)
- Fortitude (300% ED)
- LvL 26 Zeal (372% ED)
- LvL 26 Fanaticism (475% ED)
- LvL 23 Might (260% ED)
- Decrepify (-50% Physical Resistance)
- Damage to Demons (+530%)
- Damage Charms (+55 to Max DmG)
- Guillaume's Face Jewel (40% ED)
- 50% Crushing Blow
- 85% Deadly Strike
Even though nearly all of our stats are at their best possible condition and dying may rarely happen there are some occasions at Higher Player Settings that can be fatal if being careless. Every area in Hell is usually packed with plenty Boss Packs and some of those could be deadly with the appropriate mods so a scenario as described below will eventually happen.
- Amplify Curse. Hell is filled with Boss packs who are Cursed and that Amplify Damage can convert even a Godly Hero to a Mere Mortal. Even though you can still resist plenty of damage, Amplify Curse is super dangerous with hard-hitting mobs such as the Moon Lords, Minions of Destruction, Doom Knights and so on but in any case it should never be taken lightly against anything.
- Stygian Dolls are a nightmare for every melee character because you can't kill them without avoiding their death explosion. The damage that is dealt is quite high and it's very easy to start swinging with Zeal and kill a bunch of those that will lead to an unpredictable death. With Amplify Damage it's almost guranteed that you will die. Hirelings are not affected so use those against them and make sure to stay away.
- Oblivion Knights may die fast but they may also trouble you a lot before they do. Amplify Damage, Decrepify , Lower Resist casted at the right time can put you in a very difficult situation mostly because it will catch you out of guard. Bring them down first to avoid any surprises.
- Black Souls are usually a threat no matter how much Lighting Resistance you have. They attack in such a fast way and the damage they deal feels like you have no Lighting resistance at all. They have high Physical Resistance and they are undead meaning you can't life leech from them. The craziest scenario which is very likely to happen is to run into a Boss Pack with Conviction which guarantees an instant death.
Conclusion
Zealots are usually powerful builds in PvM even with a budget gear. Due to Paladin's numerous aura's there are quite many variations you can create but a Fanatic Zealot is probably the strongest and most reliable route you can follow. The build above focuses too much on damage but at the same time doesn't leave the build exposed defensively since after all, the best defense is a good offense.
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