Seraph Guide
So it didn't take me as long as I had origianlly thought it would to type this up so here we have it.
Introduction
I call this build the Seraph. Mainly because I think it sounds cool but also because of the concept the character is built around, damage to undead and demons. This is my first guide so bear with me through it all. First off a couple of quick points:
1.) This build does not use a shield. No I am not insane, that’s just the way it works.
2.) This build can be frustrating sometimes, but it is really quite fun to play with not to mention unique.
3.) This guide is based on my level 83 paladin and the experiences I have had with him. He is in Act 5 hell and has soloed much of the game. So if you are worried that you won’t be able to solo the game, you are wrong.
Now without further ado to the guide.
Stat Placement
Strength- enough for your end game equipment, just like pretty much every other build.
Dexterity- you may need to place some extra points here for attack rating sake. My pally has about 150 base here and I am thinking this will probably be pretty good.
Vitality- the rest did I really have to say that.
Energy- None, mana is some what of a challenge but there is always blue potions around.
Skill Placement
This is a variant of the avenger build so the skills will look a lot like the avenger. But these are the ones that I suggest for the build
Conviction - 20 points as your main aura
Vengeance - 20 points as your main attack. The points are also needed for attack rating
Resist Cold- 10+. As a synergy to vengeance it is good to have some points here but without the points in holy shield you can afford some more skills so place as you see fit.
Resist Fire- 10+. For the same reasons as above
Resist Lightning- 10+. Again the same reasons
Prerequisites and Utility Skills
Prayer, Defiance, Cleansing, Vigor, Meditation, Redemption.
Might, Holy Fire, Thorns, Holy Freeze, and Sanctuary.
Sacrifice, Zeal
13 Points in Prerequisites and Utilities
As it stand I only have 83 points allocated. The rest can really be spent as you see fit. Synergies are always a good thing to have so I would suggest putting skills there. You can also pick up a second aura, I recommend holy freeze, for the times when you are playing with another pally with conviction. One other note about hot keying skills. It is nice to have you main aura on F1 (or I guess which ever you like). But you should hot key Resist Lightning and Resist Fire on the two hot keys adjacent to you main aura. Then with a flick of the mouse wheel you have lots of fire or lightning resistance. If you choose Salvation as a secondary aura (which also synergizes to Vengeance but not as well) you should hot key that right next to your main aura.
Equipment
This is a rather equipment independent build, at least from my experience. The thing that you need most from your equipment are resistances. So the equipment is rather flexible, but still some things are better than others.
Helm- Vampire Gaze. Dual Leech, damage reduction and even some added damage. Very nice. I am also in the process of testing Kira’s Guardian.
Amulet- Seraph’s Hymn. The build partly takes it’s name from here, but it is also quite nice in that it has plus 2 to skill (4 to defensive), and damage/attack rating to demons and undead. However this will most likely be your end game ammy. An ammy with resistances is better earlier on, Saracen’s Chance or Mara’s would be best.
Armor- Duriel’s Shell. Resistances and Cannot be Frozen make this a very nice piece of armor. Upgraded it makes for an even better armor. I am in the process of testing Shaftstop here with Kira’s to make up for the resistances.
Weapon- Spire of Honor. This is one of two of the best weapons in the game for this character. Lot’s of mods for AR, Defense, plus to skills and more make this essential. Upgrade it and it just makes me drool.
Secondary Weapon- Tomb Reaver. If you can’t handle the slower Spire this is your next choice. Lots of damage, sockets, resistances, speed, and damage to undead all make this weapon a VERY good choice to replace your spire. It is more expensive but worth it.
Shield- You don’t get to use a shield, that’s half the fun of this build
Rings- Ravenfrost and Nature’s Peace. Raven gives you lots of AR and Dex so that’s very nice. Nature’s peace prevents monster heal and doesn’t let things be resurrected. This ring can be a life saver in acts 1 and 3 where all those little guys are that can surround you quickly.
Belt- String of Ears. This is really the only belt I have played with. Life leech and damage reduction are nice.
Gloves- Laying of Hands. Lots of fire resist is good early, faster attack and damage to demons all make for an excellent pair. Dracul’s grasp is nice for act bosses of you can get the life tap to go.
Boots- Gore Riders. War travs can be a good substitute, but gores are recommended
Charms- I am not so good with charms as I never really have much currency to get a decent set up. Anything you are lacking can be made up for here. I would recommend getting life and attack rating charms though as life is always good and your attack rating will suffer.
Mercenary- Act 2 Defiance. This is your best choice as it will effectively triple your armor rating. Merc gear should be face of horror mask and reapers toll. Armor isn’t important, but should be something with CBF. Basically your merc is your crowd control. Popping off decrepify with Reapers toll and the chance to flee on the face of horror will increase your chance of survival greatly. A rich mans choice for a merc weapon is a Doom runeword weapon. But I prefer Reapers.
Strategies to Survive
First off get into spears as quickly as you can. The sooner you start to learn how to operate without a shield the better. First a couple very important things to remember:
1.) Walk don’t run. You will get slaughtered without a shield if you run. The only time I suggest running is if you are running away from battle.
2.) Take your time. Without a shield you should be at least a couple levels beyond where a pally with a shield would be at the same point.
3.) Learn to use the landscape. It is vitally important that you learn to break up monster packs with terrain. One of the major weaknesses of this build is that he is very susceptible to being surrounded. Usually being surrounded means death so avoid it if at all possible.
4.) Beware the archers. Archers REALLY hurt so try and get your merc to tank them or get them running to where you can hit them while not firing at you. If you can get an archer pack split up it is much safer to the take them out piecemeal.
Now a basic encounter with the enemy:
Once a pack is activated you should have one of three responses:
1.) Run away. If a pack comes charging at you it is best to get them away from other monsters to where you and your merc can take them out. Getting caught in a hit recover cycle is bad so if you are only taking damage from one pack it is better. This works best for corrupted rouges, salamanders, and the fighter knights in act 4 to get the away from the Oblivion Knights.
2.) Stand your ground. Let the monsters come to you. This way your merc can work on crowd control before they can even get to you. This works well for monsters that come in large packs like carvers, flayers, blood maggot young.
3.) Go get them. Sometimes it is required of you to go get monsters because they won’t come to you. This is often the case with ranged units like archers, glooms, and the like. You will probably have to walk a zigzag course to get to them but they are usually pretty fragile and die easily.
As for the guide that is all I can think of to tell you. If you have any questions or comments or suggested revisions please let me know and I will take a look.
So it didn't take me as long as I had origianlly thought it would to type this up so here we have it.
Introduction
I call this build the Seraph. Mainly because I think it sounds cool but also because of the concept the character is built around, damage to undead and demons. This is my first guide so bear with me through it all. First off a couple of quick points:
1.) This build does not use a shield. No I am not insane, that’s just the way it works.
2.) This build can be frustrating sometimes, but it is really quite fun to play with not to mention unique.
3.) This guide is based on my level 83 paladin and the experiences I have had with him. He is in Act 5 hell and has soloed much of the game. So if you are worried that you won’t be able to solo the game, you are wrong.
Now without further ado to the guide.
Stat Placement
Strength- enough for your end game equipment, just like pretty much every other build.
Dexterity- you may need to place some extra points here for attack rating sake. My pally has about 150 base here and I am thinking this will probably be pretty good.
Vitality- the rest did I really have to say that.
Energy- None, mana is some what of a challenge but there is always blue potions around.
Skill Placement
This is a variant of the avenger build so the skills will look a lot like the avenger. But these are the ones that I suggest for the build
Conviction - 20 points as your main aura
Vengeance - 20 points as your main attack. The points are also needed for attack rating
Resist Cold- 10+. As a synergy to vengeance it is good to have some points here but without the points in holy shield you can afford some more skills so place as you see fit.
Resist Fire- 10+. For the same reasons as above
Resist Lightning- 10+. Again the same reasons
Prerequisites and Utility Skills
Prayer, Defiance, Cleansing, Vigor, Meditation, Redemption.
Might, Holy Fire, Thorns, Holy Freeze, and Sanctuary.
Sacrifice, Zeal
13 Points in Prerequisites and Utilities
As it stand I only have 83 points allocated. The rest can really be spent as you see fit. Synergies are always a good thing to have so I would suggest putting skills there. You can also pick up a second aura, I recommend holy freeze, for the times when you are playing with another pally with conviction. One other note about hot keying skills. It is nice to have you main aura on F1 (or I guess which ever you like). But you should hot key Resist Lightning and Resist Fire on the two hot keys adjacent to you main aura. Then with a flick of the mouse wheel you have lots of fire or lightning resistance. If you choose Salvation as a secondary aura (which also synergizes to Vengeance but not as well) you should hot key that right next to your main aura.
Equipment
This is a rather equipment independent build, at least from my experience. The thing that you need most from your equipment are resistances. So the equipment is rather flexible, but still some things are better than others.
Helm- Vampire Gaze. Dual Leech, damage reduction and even some added damage. Very nice. I am also in the process of testing Kira’s Guardian.
Amulet- Seraph’s Hymn. The build partly takes it’s name from here, but it is also quite nice in that it has plus 2 to skill (4 to defensive), and damage/attack rating to demons and undead. However this will most likely be your end game ammy. An ammy with resistances is better earlier on, Saracen’s Chance or Mara’s would be best.
Armor- Duriel’s Shell. Resistances and Cannot be Frozen make this a very nice piece of armor. Upgraded it makes for an even better armor. I am in the process of testing Shaftstop here with Kira’s to make up for the resistances.
Weapon- Spire of Honor. This is one of two of the best weapons in the game for this character. Lot’s of mods for AR, Defense, plus to skills and more make this essential. Upgrade it and it just makes me drool.
Secondary Weapon- Tomb Reaver. If you can’t handle the slower Spire this is your next choice. Lots of damage, sockets, resistances, speed, and damage to undead all make this weapon a VERY good choice to replace your spire. It is more expensive but worth it.
Shield- You don’t get to use a shield, that’s half the fun of this build
Rings- Ravenfrost and Nature’s Peace. Raven gives you lots of AR and Dex so that’s very nice. Nature’s peace prevents monster heal and doesn’t let things be resurrected. This ring can be a life saver in acts 1 and 3 where all those little guys are that can surround you quickly.
Belt- String of Ears. This is really the only belt I have played with. Life leech and damage reduction are nice.
Gloves- Laying of Hands. Lots of fire resist is good early, faster attack and damage to demons all make for an excellent pair. Dracul’s grasp is nice for act bosses of you can get the life tap to go.
Boots- Gore Riders. War travs can be a good substitute, but gores are recommended
Charms- I am not so good with charms as I never really have much currency to get a decent set up. Anything you are lacking can be made up for here. I would recommend getting life and attack rating charms though as life is always good and your attack rating will suffer.
Mercenary- Act 2 Defiance. This is your best choice as it will effectively triple your armor rating. Merc gear should be face of horror mask and reapers toll. Armor isn’t important, but should be something with CBF. Basically your merc is your crowd control. Popping off decrepify with Reapers toll and the chance to flee on the face of horror will increase your chance of survival greatly. A rich mans choice for a merc weapon is a Doom runeword weapon. But I prefer Reapers.
Strategies to Survive
First off get into spears as quickly as you can. The sooner you start to learn how to operate without a shield the better. First a couple very important things to remember:
1.) Walk don’t run. You will get slaughtered without a shield if you run. The only time I suggest running is if you are running away from battle.
2.) Take your time. Without a shield you should be at least a couple levels beyond where a pally with a shield would be at the same point.
3.) Learn to use the landscape. It is vitally important that you learn to break up monster packs with terrain. One of the major weaknesses of this build is that he is very susceptible to being surrounded. Usually being surrounded means death so avoid it if at all possible.
4.) Beware the archers. Archers REALLY hurt so try and get your merc to tank them or get them running to where you can hit them while not firing at you. If you can get an archer pack split up it is much safer to the take them out piecemeal.
Now a basic encounter with the enemy:
Once a pack is activated you should have one of three responses:
1.) Run away. If a pack comes charging at you it is best to get them away from other monsters to where you and your merc can take them out. Getting caught in a hit recover cycle is bad so if you are only taking damage from one pack it is better. This works best for corrupted rouges, salamanders, and the fighter knights in act 4 to get the away from the Oblivion Knights.
2.) Stand your ground. Let the monsters come to you. This way your merc can work on crowd control before they can even get to you. This works well for monsters that come in large packs like carvers, flayers, blood maggot young.
3.) Go get them. Sometimes it is required of you to go get monsters because they won’t come to you. This is often the case with ranged units like archers, glooms, and the like. You will probably have to walk a zigzag course to get to them but they are usually pretty fragile and die easily.
As for the guide that is all I can think of to tell you. If you have any questions or comments or suggested revisions please let me know and I will take a look.
