Diablo 2: Resurrected
Hephaestus, Level 90 • Smiter
Smiters are usually built either for PvP or for completing the Pandemonium Event since with anything else they are quite ineffective compared to other characters. Smiters are amongst the most popular characters for dealing with Ubers as the play-style is very simple and it can be done with low to mediocre gear. However, no matter how easy it is to farm them with a Smiter, if you are being careless, unprepared and unaware you may end up dying many times and eventually unable to complete the event. This Smiter is strictly build around dealing with Ubers and in this guide we will thoroughly check what makes them so ideal for it.
Hephaestus has taken his name from the Greek God of Blacksmith and Fire. He has crafted many weapons for the Gods and this time he has forged a flawless craftsmanship (Exile) for himself heading to the Pandemonium Event. After all, only an Olympian God can challenge the Titans of Tristram and expect to emerge victorious!
Positive
+ Amazing Boss Killer
+ Maxed Block
+ Insane Defense
+ Stunning Resistances
+ No AR required
Negative
- Ineffective outside Bosses
- No crowd Control
- Many stats don't work with Smite
- Destined to be alone (no mercenary)
Smite has a few peculiarities compared to other melee skills thus, it would be wise to know how exactly it functions and everything around it. In order to make the best out of your character and choose your own gear depending on your needs we need to learn what works with Smite, what doesn't and from which sources it draws its power.
Even though you are using a Shield as an attack, Smite will take into consideration your Weapon's:
Smite receives damage from all these sources:
Smite Damage = (Shield Damage + (Damage +x)) * (1 + (Strength + (+x% Enhanced Damage) / 100))
As you can see, there are several important attributes that a Smiter can't take advantage of but those still don't prevent him from being one of the best Uber runners. Let's take a look at some of the benefits Smiters have and some attributes that they can "abuse" which make them superb at completing the Pandemonium Event.
As usual we need to put enough Strength to equip our gear. For this
build we may need to add 185 Strength to wear Steelrends. All that Strength however, is not wasted as it improves our damage. For the Dexterity, since we have Holy Shield reaching max Block should be easy. Thus, equip all your gear, cast Holy Shield and add as many Dexterity points needed to reach the 75% Block Cap. Rest points can all go into vitality which along with Cta will bring your life above 2500. With our setup it is more than enough to keep you alive.
For the Skills we obviously need to max Smite, Holy Shield and Fanaticism. Our rest points can be spread in the Resist Lighting, Fire and Cold since for every two points they will passively increase the maximum resistances respectively. In this build, all of our resistances, except Poison, will be over the usual 75% cap. Eventually, one point into Salvation will counter perfectly Mephisto's Conviction which should be the Aura to use against him.
Even though it's not that important, the defense is quite insane.
Gear
Even though the Pandemonium Event is probably the hardest part of the game, a Smiter can complete it without having to acquire the best gear. Nonetheless, getting the best equipment to increase the speed, safety and overall effectiveness of your runs is what you should be aiming for. Outside Ubers, a Smiter has little to no use so at least make sure to make your Smiter good at it!
Weapon: Phase Blade Grief
Shield: Exile
Armor: Fortitude
Helm: Guillaume's Face
Gloves: Steelrend
Belt: Thundergod's Vigor
Boots: Gore Riders
Rings: Raven Frost + Rare
Amulet: Mara's Kaleidoscope
Switch: Call to Arms + Spirit
Weapon: Obedience
Armor: Treachery
Helm: Andariel's Visage (Ral)
A Mercenary can not survive in the Uber Tristram and most likely will die many times while trying to acquire the Organs from the mini Ubers. You need to tank all the damage to increase your chances of keeping him alive. At the end of the day, you don't really need him as you can perfectly fine complete the whole event on your own. In case you would like to farm different areas, a Might Mercenary would be ideal not only to boost your own damage but also to make the best out of him since he will be boosted by the Fanaticism Aura as well making him a reliable attacking force. If you insist in using him against Ubers, make sure to max his resists along with some Damage Reduction gear.
Running the Ubers
Smiters are excelling at dealing with Ubers and our gear is at it's top level so basically we don't need to develop any excessive strategy. The most important part would be to separate Uber Mephisto from the rest two. Even though it's possible, you should avoid fighting all three together because the Conviction Aura Mephisto has is very dangerous. For extra safety, use Salvation until Mephisto is dead. Mephisto will fall down easily even without using Fanaticism Aura. Once he is gone you can literally charge into the other two. They are harmless and it will be a matter of time to bring them down.
Fighting all the Ubers at the same time.
Conclusion
There are possibly many builds that can deal with Ubers and most likely much more effective than a Smiter. However, a Smiter is a guaranteed choice to complete as many Uber Tristram runs you wish in a short period of time without much effort and without expensive gear. Nevertheless, good equipment will make everything much easier and faster and will provide the survivability you need to farm them without the risk of dying. Knowing how everything works is not necessary but to make the best out of your character it would be wise to learn how exactly Smite works and apply your own build ideas to expand your character. If you decide to invest in a Smiter, one thing's for certain, the Ubers will tremble for every step that brings you closer to them!
Hephaestus, Level 90 • Smiter
Smiters are usually built either for PvP or for completing the Pandemonium Event since with anything else they are quite ineffective compared to other characters. Smiters are amongst the most popular characters for dealing with Ubers as the play-style is very simple and it can be done with low to mediocre gear. However, no matter how easy it is to farm them with a Smiter, if you are being careless, unprepared and unaware you may end up dying many times and eventually unable to complete the event. This Smiter is strictly build around dealing with Ubers and in this guide we will thoroughly check what makes them so ideal for it.
Hephaestus has taken his name from the Greek God of Blacksmith and Fire. He has crafted many weapons for the Gods and this time he has forged a flawless craftsmanship (Exile) for himself heading to the Pandemonium Event. After all, only an Olympian God can challenge the Titans of Tristram and expect to emerge victorious!
Positive
+ Amazing Boss Killer
+ Maxed Block
+ Insane Defense
+ Stunning Resistances
+ No AR required
Negative
- Ineffective outside Bosses
- No crowd Control
- Many stats don't work with Smite
- Destined to be alone (no mercenary)
Smite has a few peculiarities compared to other melee skills thus, it would be wise to know how exactly it functions and everything around it. In order to make the best out of your character and choose your own gear depending on your needs we need to learn what works with Smite, what doesn't and from which sources it draws its power.Even though you are using a Shield as an attack, Smite will take into consideration your Weapon's:
- Range
- Durability
- Base Attack Speed
Smite receives damage from all these sources:
- Smite Skill level
- Holy Shield
- Shield Damage
- Damage +
- Strength (each point of Str adds 1% ED)
- Paladin Offensive Auras (Might, Concentration, Fanaticism)
- Heart of the Wolverine
- % Enhanced Damage from all sources except from the Weapon
- Damage +
- Weapon's Base Attack Speed
- Increased Attack Speed
- Crushing Blow and Open Wounds
- Chance to Cast X (like Life Tap)
- Hit blinds or Freezes target
- Prevent Monster Heal
- Slows Target
- Weapon's base damage (is not transferred to Smite)
- Weapon's % Enhanced Damage (does not increase Smite's Damage)
- + to Minimum and + to Maximum Damage stats
- % Damage to Demons and Undead
- Elemental Damage (Fire, Cold, Lighting, Poison, Magic)
- Deadly and Critical Strike
- Life and Mana steal
Smite Damage = (Shield Damage + (Damage +x)) * (1 + (Strength + (+x% Enhanced Damage) / 100))
As you can see, there are several important attributes that a Smiter can't take advantage of but those still don't prevent him from being one of the best Uber runners. Let's take a look at some of the benefits Smiters have and some attributes that they can "abuse" which make them superb at completing the Pandemonium Event.
- Smite Always Hits: The ability to always hit with an uninterruptible attack is the core of this build. Nothing would have worked so flawlessly without it and many other important attributes will have maximum benefit out of this.
- Life Tap: The best source of Lifesteal comes from this curse. Once triggered, every hit you land will fully heal you. Combined with the 100% chance to hit you get with Smite, unless something one hits you, you will basically never die.
- Crushing Blow: Crushing Blow is one of the deadliest attributes against bosses. It works with Smite, it works against Ubers. Enough said.
- Attack Speed: Smite generally hits very fast. With Fanaticism Aura you will reach maximum attack speed without any problem. Combine everything we mentioned above and you just have a killing machine that will never die.
- Resistance Auras: Resistances is one of the most important things you need to take care of. One point in Salvation will grant a massive boost whenever you need it while the rest Resistances skills will passively increase your maximum resistance cap nullifying one of the most dangerous threats.
- Gear: Some items much this build so much that it seems they were created just for a Smiter. Grief, Exile, some source of Crushing Blow and everything else is a bonus.
As usual we need to put enough Strength to equip our gear. For this
build we may need to add 185 Strength to wear Steelrends. All that Strength however, is not wasted as it improves our damage. For the Dexterity, since we have Holy Shield reaching max Block should be easy. Thus, equip all your gear, cast Holy Shield and add as many Dexterity points needed to reach the 75% Block Cap. Rest points can all go into vitality which along with Cta will bring your life above 2500. With our setup it is more than enough to keep you alive.- Strength: 185
- Dexterity: 150+
- Vitality: Rest
- Energy: None
For the Skills we obviously need to max Smite, Holy Shield and Fanaticism. Our rest points can be spread in the Resist Lighting, Fire and Cold since for every two points they will passively increase the maximum resistances respectively. In this build, all of our resistances, except Poison, will be over the usual 75% cap. Eventually, one point into Salvation will counter perfectly Mephisto's Conviction which should be the Aura to use against him.
Even though it's not that important, the defense is quite insane.
Gear
Even though the Pandemonium Event is probably the hardest part of the game, a Smiter can complete it without having to acquire the best gear. Nonetheless, getting the best equipment to increase the speed, safety and overall effectiveness of your runs is what you should be aiming for. Outside Ubers, a Smiter has little to no use so at least make sure to make your Smiter good at it!
Weapon: Phase Blade Grief
Shield: Exile
Armor: Fortitude
Helm: Guillaume's Face
Gloves: Steelrend
Belt: Thundergod's Vigor
Boots: Gore Riders
Rings: Raven Frost + Rare
Amulet: Mara's Kaleidoscope
Switch: Call to Arms + Spirit
- Grief is considered to be the ultimate weapon since the way Smite works none of the rest weapons can come even close. The massive damage that is added to Smite is mostly needed to finish off Ubers when they are low on health where Crushing Blow becomes less effective. It's very important to create it in a Phase Blade to reach the maximum attack speed effortlessly.
- Exile is the heart of this build due to the chance to cast Life Tap. It is the most reliable source for the Life Tap to trigger which will make you invincible. In addition, it adds a Defiance Aura which along with your Holy Shield will increase your defense to an extreme amount.
- Fortitude is an item that synergies very nice with your weapon, with your shield and generally with a Smiter build. It will boost your Damage even more, add extra defense due to Chilling Armor reaching an insane amount, boost your resistances and life and along with Exile your Fire, Lighting and Cold Resist will be capped at 80%.
- Guillaume's Face is an awesome offensive item. It grants a great amount of Crushing Blow which is crucial against Ubers. With some FHR and Strength it's a great addition.
- Thundergod's Vigor is awesome for its Lighting Absorb and maximum Lighting Resistance which is the most important resistance against Mephisto. A great boost to Strength and Vitality makes it an idea belt.
- Gore Riders add another amount of Crushing Blow. However, their main utility comes for providing Open Wounds which is crucial against the Ubers and no other item in our build offers it.
- Steelrend is perhaps the most uncommon item on this list. With some extra damage, more Crushing Blow and additional Strength, Steelrend fit the build perfectly reaching a total of 70% Crushing Blow. Moreover, they have really high defense which this build can fully take advantage of.
- Mara's Kaleidoscope is a standard item. With some boost to skills and resistances it is a solid choice.
- Raven Frost is a necessary item for it's "Can not be Frozen" mod. Nonetheless, with some extra Dexterity and Cold Absorb it's quite a useful ring. For your second slot, since Life Leech doesn't work focus on a Rare Ring with Stats, Life and Resistances.
Weapon: Obedience
Armor: Treachery
Helm: Andariel's Visage (Ral)
A Mercenary can not survive in the Uber Tristram and most likely will die many times while trying to acquire the Organs from the mini Ubers. You need to tank all the damage to increase your chances of keeping him alive. At the end of the day, you don't really need him as you can perfectly fine complete the whole event on your own. In case you would like to farm different areas, a Might Mercenary would be ideal not only to boost your own damage but also to make the best out of him since he will be boosted by the Fanaticism Aura as well making him a reliable attacking force. If you insist in using him against Ubers, make sure to max his resists along with some Damage Reduction gear.
Running the Ubers
Smiters are excelling at dealing with Ubers and our gear is at it's top level so basically we don't need to develop any excessive strategy. The most important part would be to separate Uber Mephisto from the rest two. Even though it's possible, you should avoid fighting all three together because the Conviction Aura Mephisto has is very dangerous. For extra safety, use Salvation until Mephisto is dead. Mephisto will fall down easily even without using Fanaticism Aura. Once he is gone you can literally charge into the other two. They are harmless and it will be a matter of time to bring them down.
Conclusion
There are possibly many builds that can deal with Ubers and most likely much more effective than a Smiter. However, a Smiter is a guaranteed choice to complete as many Uber Tristram runs you wish in a short period of time without much effort and without expensive gear. Nevertheless, good equipment will make everything much easier and faster and will provide the survivability you need to farm them without the risk of dying. Knowing how everything works is not necessary but to make the best out of your character it would be wise to learn how exactly Smite works and apply your own build ideas to expand your character. If you decide to invest in a Smiter, one thing's for certain, the Ubers will tremble for every step that brings you closer to them!
Last edited:
I meant RF provides cold absorb, Dwarf provides fire. Thanks!
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