Paladin - MF and Undead (help!)

[MalVeauX]

Paladin - MF and Undead (help!)

Hello all

The pit has been so generous to my amazon, but I find myself wanting a different character. So I'd like to create a paladin that rips through undead while wearing medium-quality gear and a good level of MF (say, 300%).

Now, I've read that the Crypt and Mauselium were the places to go for undead and high TC drops, so I figured the paladin could be just fine down there with his undead killing specialized skills. Holybolt has huge synergy, but is that the way to go? Fist of the Heavens is good too, and it has spread holybolt. So I figured the build would mainly use:

Fist of the Heavens
Holybolt
Blessed Hammer

Blessed hammer simply for the synergy to Holy Bolt's damage. I plan on using holybolt the most for speed and shear damage. But after seeing what level 20 HB, 20 FoH, and 20 BH look like, I'm left wondering. Why with such huge synergies does holybolt's damage sit around 4k? That's all? I seem to remember HB doing huge huge damage to undead. Perhaps it was the beta or something?

So now I'm still looking to use those skills, but the aura is the one that is the real question. Sanctuary is the obvious choice, but the damage is useless, but the knockback (and look factor) are what make it useful. So why max Sanctuary? Perhaps a low level would do just for the radius. Also, I thought about redemption, for the same looks and the life/mana after smashing undead. But honestly, a potion is just as effective. So then I figured, why not a level 1 meditation and use the extra skills for holyshield. So as you can see, I'm hesitant to really just lay down a lot of skills on an aura yet.

This is where you all come in. I'd like to use HB and FoH and an aura basically (more like obviously). I'd like to MF those two areas mentioned above. Has anyone made a build similar or read about one? If so, I'd like some input or perhaps a link. Gear suggestions are accepted, but not really taken seriously as I'd like to not have to depend on gear too much since he should be able to rip through undead naked. But, I havn't played it yet, so I'm not sure about it.

Let me know what you all think!

 

[cyradis2003]

he should be able to rip through undead naked.

I think that is illegal in most states ......

 

[MoUsE_WiZ]

Why with such huge synergies does holybolt's damage sit around 4k? That's all? I seem to remember HB doing huge huge damage to undead. Perhaps it was the beta or something?

I haven't made one, so I can't answer the other questions, but note that with all 3 skills at 20, every single point into HB after that 20 increases damage by 300 which is a pretty decent amount, so level 30 will net you 8400ish, which should be quite reasonable.
Also keep in mind it's 8k damage for like 3 mana or something.

As for auras, if you plan on pindling with him I'd probably go with sanctuary for the knockback. In the crypt/mausoleum however knockback shouldn't be important at all. If not doing pindle then, I'd probably go holy shield+ either defiance or vigor (or both...check on r/w BPs =p)...MF is the character's main purpose right, it's a fairly long walk to the crypt mausoleum, vigor will cut down on that significantly. Or if you go with both, you could do operation "build character that can walk as fast as others run", so you should be kept safe on the way there.

Meditation should not be needed at all ever if you're not FoHing (you probably will FoH vs pindle, and you probably won't in the crypt/mausoleum, due to many LIs combined with not enough monsters to make the spread bolts = concentrated damage of just casting HB, not to mention the delay).

Then of course there's an alternate build that focuses on getting FoH dmg high...something like
20 HB
20 FoH
20 Convic
20 Holy shock
rest holy shield + prereqs

That's just my general musings on the subject having never played such a character.

 

[mestre]

I haven't made one, so I can't answer the other questions, but note that with all 3 skills at 20, every single point into HB after that 20 increases damage by 300 which is a pretty decent amount, so level 30 will net you 7000ish, which should be quite reasonable.
Also keep in mind it's 7k damage for like 3 mana or something.

As for auras, if you plan on pindling with him I'd probably go with sanctuary for the knockback. In the crypt/mausoleum however knockback shouldn't be important at all. If not doing pindle then, I'd probably go holy shield+ either defiance or vigor (or both...check on r/w BPs =p)...MF is the character's main purpose right, it's a fairly long walk to the crypt mausoleum, vigor will cut down on that significantly. Or if you go with both, you could do operation "build character that can walk as fast as others run", so you should be kept safe on the way there.

Meditation should not be needed at all ever if you're not FoHing (you probably will FoH vs pindle, and you probably won't in the crypt/mausoleum, due to many LIs combined with not enough monsters to make the spread bolts = concentrated damage of just casting HB, not to mention the delay).

Then of course there's an alternate build that focuses on getting FoH dmg high...something like
20 HB
20 FoH
20 Convic
20 Holy shock
rest holy shield + prereqs

That's just my general musings on the subject having never played such a character.

I have made FoH pallies, and they (still) suck. So slowly would I kill, I was in fact "the convinction paladin." I didn't even max holy bolt for it was clear it was not helping.

They were supposed to ignore resistances on undeads, but still I couldn't hurt immune to lightning ones. Heaven's fist also has another downside (i.e. but the low damage) that is cast delay. You cast it, it doesn't kill (doh) and still you have to wait a whole second to try again. The holy bolts that spread through the screen must have been designed to lag only: the damage is laughable.

A paladin that would obliterate through undead would be the blessed hammer one.*

They kill oblivion knights with 2 hammers in full games, while you need 3 of 4 attacks, being that you need to wait one second between each attack while the hammerdin can continuously cast.

 

[MoUsE_WiZ]

<just tested the above mentioned FoH build on pindle>
Kills just as fast as anything (actually, kills the entire pack just as fast as anything, I still maintain that BS + dim vision is the fastest possible safe pindle-only kill), that's with level 27 skills and since I was lazy and took a sorc build that I already had and changed the class/skills only, so with only 70% fcr.

Note that I didn't at any point suggest that build for anything but pindle.

And since I'm in a testing mood now...I changed the 70 to 75, went with sanctuary + hammer instead of convic/shock, and used holy bolt...it was fast at pindle, but somewhat slower than DV+BS necro, and not quite as safe.

In conclusion bonecros r teh pwn pindle...gonna try him with vigor in the mausoleum now

In doubly conclusion, with vigor, he is fine in mausleum/crypt...something like 5 holy bolts per kill with players 8, with players 1 it's 1 or 2...that's lvl 27 skills 75% fcr. The one problem I've noticed is the merc deciding to stand inbetween you and your target, gotta move around him sometimes.
Also, although he is quite fine in there, a cold sorc will still do much better due to teleport, and the stupidly crazy damage of blizzard combined with merc + static on the occaisional CI boss.

 

[nebby]

I have made FoH pallies, and they (still) suck. So slowly would I kill, I was in fact "the convinction paladin." I didn't even max holy bolt for it was clear it was not helping.

They were supposed to ignore resistances on undeads, but still I couldn't hurt immune to lightning ones. Heaven's fist also has another downside (i.e. but the low damage) that is cast delay. You cast it, it doesn't kill (doh) and still

:lol: :lol: :lol:

hadn't thought of that casting delay thing. What an utterly useless skill. One has to assume that Blizzard intended this skill to be useful only in duels. Even then, given a Tgods and a few lightning resists, it's still pretty useless there too.

 

[skunkbelly]

Hi Mouse,

I made a Holy Bolt pally a while back, and used the salvation aura. With that aura, I could twink like crazy for MFing, and still have maxed resists (except poison). It was great fun. Most stuff in the Crypt/Mausoluem died in 1-2 bolts (soloing on Bnet).

Of course, he was useless anywhere else

Edit: Oh, and instead of vigor, I used a few fast run-walk items for the run from the WP to the Burial Grounds. That run can get quite hairy for a character with no real offensive power.

 

[skunkbelly]

Oh, yes, gear choices:

(using salvation aura)
Skullder's with Ptopaz
Tarn with Ptopaz
upgraded Goldwrap
Gull with MF/poison resist jewel
Rhyme grim shield
rare rings and amulet with MF and resists
rare boots with MF and resists
rare gloves with MF and resists
Gheed's
Anni
charms to max out resists

 

[MalVeauX]

So from the looks of it, the aura is really not even important and can be left for personal taste really.

If that is the case, I will probably do something along the lines of:

20 Holybolt
20 Blessed Hammer
20 Fist of Heavens

The remaining points will probably be spent in either as 10 Salvation and 10 Holyshield, or 10 Vigor and 10 Holyshield. From the looks though, it may be Salvation for the resistances lost to MF gear.

Thanks for the input guys!