The 1pt smiter guide to Uber Tristram v 1.0.

As a cheap weapon option, I picked up a lightsabre/ black runeword on switch. My question is dex. for using sword with has a high req. somewhere in the 130's.
Where should I get this dex. from, hardpoints?

This is being made to kill dclone. Then if successful i will move on to ubers.
I play hc..
 
Well, if you plan to level in the 90's ,even if you use a hoz, the dexterity required for max block will be 130+ so phase blade requirements aren't an issue.
You can always use a ravenfrost with 20 to dexterity and a rare ring that has dexterity as well. Usually it helps when you know your endgame gear before hand,but in my opinion 100 base dexterity isn't bad at all.
 
My Pally’s life began just 4 days ago, and I’m love ‘n it!


I gave up Diablo II again some time ago, until just shy of two weeks ago. A friend had been telling me to get back in. The friends I play with all gave up HC some time ago due to the lag from dupers and the tppk guys, so normal ladder it was. I made a Sorc (my fav class since the beginning for mf/rushing). I got to 80 geared up and started MFing and only found a few nice things. I was already getting bored with the game and it was suggested I make a smiter, I laughed at that. After a friend told me he would gear me out if I tried a smiter I did it, fully expecting to shelf/delete another crap pally. I came to the forums and found this guide and when from there.

I worked quickly and hit 24 and got rushed to Baal in no time I was 48 and in NM Baal. I really started to dislike this pally and almost just gave up but I figured might as well get to 75ish range and get a hell rush. I had a few pieces of gear, traded for a few, and my buddy dropped me the rest here is what I have right now:

Helm: Andy’s helm/shako/w ptopaz (using the shako more than Andy’s right now)
Ammy: Highlords/Saracen's Chance
Weapon/Shield 1: Grief BA(%33/+394)/Hoz(195%) /w pdiamond
Weapon/Shield 2: Wizard spike/Stormsheild
Armor 1: Enigma Dust Shroud(~1260 def)
Armor 2: Fort Arc Plate(~1660 def)
Armor 3: Skullder’s /w ptopaz
Drac’s Gloves
Verdungo's Hearty Cord(32/15%)
Gore rider boots
Ring 1: Nature’s Peace(for nik key runs)
Ring 2: Raven Frost (20 dex)
Ring 3: Dwarf
Ring 4: Manald(7% only mana leech I have when doing area clears pit/tunnels ect)
Then I have a ton of mostly life, 1 12% FHR, and a few little resist charms.

My skills are
Holy Shield - Max
Zeal – Max
Sac – Max
Fanat – Max
Prereq – 1
Salvation -1
So I’ll end up with around ~20 unused skill points

Basic stats at 85 come out to:
19k def
1700 life
200 mana from gear (~600 with the wiz switch for teleport)
75% block

This is the first character I have felt like a god with. I can drop hell meph in seconds in a full game, I can do solo baal runs very quickly (with around ~200 mf from gear above), and I can do all the key runs. The only problem I have is IM casters so I stay out of act 4 and when I do a baal runs I just make a new game if I tele down and find them in the throne. Hands down this is the best and the most enjoyable character I have ever played. I also have another friend that made a similar build and just started up with me and we plan to duo out the uber mobs (just need to get his gear going). It will be nice to have fanat, salvation, might, and holy freeze up at the same time :). I do have a few questions for you uber 1337 Pally guys out there:

What would you change on my gear? I’m going to change out the Stormsheild for a lidless /w pdiamond soon, as I only use the switch for teleport and the extra mana and cast rate will help). Highlords is nice but my resists are horrible, but when I toss on the chance I end up with chance to cast IM and that messes up life tap so that will have to go soon. I was thinking about trying to trade for a 28+ Mara’s to fill the ammy slot. I hope to have Anni/torch and a few other charms to fill out my resists some day and switch back to Highlords. I’m using a BA right now and it has +33% IAS where can I find out the break points for speed so I can hit them. I see a lot of people saying the PB are way better, should I try to find one? I’m gambling like a mad man trying to find a resist ring with mana leech to pair up with the raven for full time use.

I also notice on some huge groups of mobs I get locked up casting chilling armor and the cold bolts and end up getting beat on badly, what can I do to kill this? Mainly it happens on the second group of Baals minions (the raise dead guys with the cold mage skells), currently I’m just dropping it for Enigma on that group but the cold bolts still fire off :(.

How much FHR should I shoot for, or would it not matter? I have a few GCs with 12%.

I socketed the HOZ with a diamond but now I’m wondering if I can upgrade it after it’s socketed? If not I’ll have to try to trade for another one. I have a few ums now so I might end up trading for another one anyways for the little extra resists.

I have seen a ton of people trading the exile eth shields, and I’m thinking about picking one up. I was worried that with as fast as I smite I might be able to break it, but smite seems to kill durability off my weapon not shield for some reason. The down side to this is I would be in even worse shape for resists. I’ll have to hold off till I can get some decent charms going.

I’m ending up with extra skill points. Where should I drop them? I was thinking maybe 10/10 holy bolt/FoH and try to get it high enough to kill off some of the immune to physical guys as I have no way of killing them now. I dropped one point in vengeance and was planning to put a 6 soc PB with eth/pruby/pruby/ptopaz/ptopaz/ptopaz on switch until I get a Bart’s Star but I need the switch for FCR/mana to teleport and I already have two helms and 3 armors cluttering up my stash as it is :(. The other options would be to drop them in the resists to increase max or maybe dump them in conviction. Conviction cant break phys immune right?

I’m very lacking in DR(15%) but physical damage never really effects me, it’s only the glooms/harp guys with elemental attacks that can really move my life. For a build like this does DR even really matter?

I know CB is important for this build but with only the 15% on the riders and my +damage I’m taking down all the bosses I fight in no time, should I really worry about getting the G’s face?

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for any help you can provide on my quest to kill the uber 3 :)

Kingdryland, you are my hero :), this is the best build I have ever played.

I’m also sorry for asking dumb questions, I’ve just almost never played a pally and have only had a few melee chars in all the time I’ve played :(
 
Thanks for the kind words,I'm happy that you enjoy playing the game with your new pally. That was my goal when I composed this guide,so people can have a tool to easily run the ubers and a char that is really enjoyable and effective in general gameplay. I have met way too many people that made expensive pure smiters only to get bored eventually.
No question is dumb, so let's see If I can answer some...

48% fhr imo is the ideal for pvm.About where to put the rest of your skills. I wouldn't invest in foh/bolt,it costs alot of mana for a non caster like you,it is a spell with a timer (annoying) and it need an active conviction aura to deal a serious damage.

Some crushing blow is required for bosses of course,but unlike other builds,I never supported getting as high as possible. I usually run ubers with 40-60% and it works perfectly. If 15% is enough for you it's perfectly fine. ]

You can still upgrad your hoz,and the pdiamond will remain there. But you don't have a reason really. You will only gain a small defense bonus,some more smite damage (you don't need it with grief) and a severe increase in strength and level requirements.

Vs physical immunes and iron maiden there are many solutions.You already put a point in vengeance but that won't help much vs im. You can pick up a javeling like demon's arch,a bow with elemental damage (harmony?) ,a lacerator etc etc .I like gimmershred flying axe,I zeal the immunes and throw it when there are IM casters in the area. In your case that your switch is dedicated to teleporting gear,you can keep it in inventory/stash easily because it ocupies only 2 boxes.

Fortitude is certainly my favorite zealot armor and enigma is not bad at all of course. You can safely remove that skulders,you have enigma for mf.
Hoz is a solid choice for any paladin. Since you are ladder you don't have to limit yourself to a lidless,make a spirit instead. Get a nice 0/4 socket paladin only shield ,sacred targe or rondache if you can,and you will get resists,mana,skills and fhr.

Exile runeword gives the self repair mod,so ethereal exiles never break. The problem here is that this runeword doesn't provide any increased block bonus,so If you use that you'll need more points invested in dexterity. If you get an exile,I strongly recommend a sacred targe or rondache,they will require the lowest addition in dexterity for max block. Dracul's won't be very needed after exile,so you can get blood crafted gloves with points in dexterity among others (recipe is: blue vampirebone/sharskin/heavy gloves+ nef rune+any jewel+ perfect ruby).

As for speed breakpoints, there is a famous german site that offers a weapon speed calculator. Google for it,since the forum rules forbid me from posting a link. In your case, 60% total ias will take you to the last zeal/smite breakpoint with fanaticism on (the ias from grief is included to that amount). Pretty easy.

If guil face doesn't appeal to you then shako is fine. But since you seem to worry about your resists, consider using a veil of steel (if you don't have enough strength put a hel there), a kira's guardian or even a nice griswold corona. It has 5% to all res,straight cold absorb to pair it with you ravenfrost and two open sockets for a pair of um or other resist runes/jewels.
If you furter want to fix your resists, and highlord's is not enough,a mara's, a metalgrid, a rare are all nice options. Highlord's though offers a huge damage bonus with that deadly strike mod so It would be the last slot I would seek for resists.

Hope this helps.
 
ok so this is my first pally build, ive gathered your CB for the rich gear word for word, except it was too hard finding a 3os elite pally res shield, and i wasnt gonna risk paying a couple hr's for a 0s one and cube it, so i had a hoz lying around anyway and Umd it. anyway thats not my point, your guide rocks, and the only part i felt was lacking was a general gameplay part which im getting a little bit from the other posts in this thread, can u explain the aura switching to me, ya its kinda sad, my first pally build, i kinda understand zeal=crowds smite=bosses part, also a question about the defiance or blessed aim, do i really need blessed aim if im not PvPing, should i just max defiance? thx
 
You never switch aura (unless you have put one point in salvation and there is another paladin with fanaticism in the game). Both defiance and blessed aim are considered because they give a passive bonus. Defiance gives 15% defense bonus to holy shield with hard point invested there (defiance that is) while each hard point spent in blessed aim gives a 5% bonus to base attack rating.
 
kingdryland said:
Both defiance and blessed aim are considered because they give a passive bonus. Defiance gives 15% defense bonus to holy shield with hard point invested there (defiance that is) while each hard point spent in blessed aim gives a 5% bonus to base attack rating.
Click to expand...
Hmm, I only now realize that there is this tiny line on Arreat Summit...never knew about that.
I am building a 1 pt Smiter more or less after your guidelines and he's 77 now. I have maxed Fana, Zeal, Sacrifice and I am maxing HS.
Do you think it is best to put some hard pts in BA to boost general tohit chance or invest in Defiance to boost overall DR ?
I'd say that the hidden passive bonus to hit might help with general non-ITDable enemies zealing that is: Ubers, Bosses, Lister's Friends and I don't know if I lost somebody else.
On the other hand 15% hidden passive on HS def is not bad at all, and more def is useful in general pvm as well as Trist minions (are the Ubers ITD? not sure about that).
Great guide. :thumbsup:
 
On Ubers themselves ITD won't work,but you have smite for those,don't worry, and smite is itd against every monster or player (besides dual claw block assassins and amazons that use dodge,but that's pvp). Rest of their summons/minions are normal monsters,If you zeal them with itd weapon you will land (almost) always. That's why vs mephi and diablo even zealing can be very effective,although it takes a bit longer than smite.It is 100% safe because they provide you with a minion pool from where you can leech constantly :grin: :grin: :grin:

Uber baal is more hard because his puppies are physically immune but he is doable with zeal too...But zeal is for spicing it up. The general rule is smite the bosses,zeal the minions.

As for the bonuses,I think that defiance is more useful,since a 8k ar is easily reachable without investing in blessed aim,and it is sufficient for general pvm. You can always of course decide that your defense is enough too,or balance the too,really,it is up to you. Zealots can survive with 1 hard point in blessed aim and defiance just fine.
 
Yes, the rule is pretty much that. I'll see what equipment I can get, because now I am using some approximate setup (Crescent Moon pb, Naj's Armor, Rare +2, res all, ml circlet, spirit Kurast shield, Gore, +1 res all ml ammy, raven, ll res ring, lava gout, SoE belt).
Atm I can have access to:
Eth Up'd HoZ 'Zod' (what a waste, but still, a friend gave me)
Fortitude ap
I guess I really should get Guillaume's, Dracul's and Higlord's but I doubt I can get another Lo. For now I am gonna stick with your 'medium' weapon section.
Ty for the advice
EDIT
I have AR far lower than 8000, I am gonna check my setup to make up for it.
 
Since the begining my char of choice Necros, reading this guide has inspired me to try this setup TY for such a comprehensive guide. I woke up one of my mules and tasked him to be all he can be (lol). So i will let you know how it goes.

I can`t offer you my first born if this works for me, (wives always objecting:) but i will offer you my first torch as a token of apreciation.
 
i did 5 mini uber runs with my hammerdin with no trouble. i didn't do an uber run yet though, because i wanted some hrs to make some stuff, and organ sets trade for hr.


i used this gear setup:
shako (topaz)
the rising sun
enigma dusk shroud
wizardspike
spirit akarian targe (friend told me it didn't matter with holy shield. and i have enough dex for max block with it now.)
drac's
verdungo's
war travs
soj
ravenfrost
spirit zakarum (switch)
cta flail (switch)
4 shael 2 ber phase blade (inventory. replaces cta for boss fight)

i quite like this setup because i can wear all that gear when i'm doing rushes, chaos runs (that's why i'm wearing the rising sun. venom lord tech), etc. all i have to do is leave the phase blade in my stash and i'm prepaired for ubers/dclone.

i assume i'll have to wear a kira's and use salvation for meph. right?
 
Since this has made it back to page one I thought I'd ask a question.

What solution would you suggest for dealing with the phys immunes encountered in general pvm/leveling play? (beside the tactic of "Run Away").

At level 77 my zealot still has relatively low life (under 1000) so life tap from his dracs seems pretty important.

However the usual solutions I would use against PI's such as reapers on merc, atmas ammy, or lacerators on switch would conflict with the life tap.

I have tried gimmershreds which seem painfully slow in most situations and a lightsabre which was faster speed wise but slower dmg wise.

Unfortunately I tend to be the type of player who hates leaving a monster alive.

Thanks
 
What's your main weapon? If you want to dispatch physical immunes with ease,keep an azurewrath on switch,it is fast and cuts PI's like hot knife through butter. I recommend lacerator or gimmers normally,because with one switch you can deal with PI's and Iron maiden which azure won't do. Second choice is a nice lawbringer, made in something like a war scepter or a long sword (both are fast). This way the physical damage will be very low but it is exactly what we want. PIs aren't affected by physical damage and when you are under IM effect, dealing minimal physical damage is bliss. Decrepify will conflict with life tap yes but since PIs are unleechable anyway I find that this is not a problem. And I am one of those that don't like leaving monsters alive either :)
 
gz @ kingdryland for this guide

My lvl 81 smiter got the first torch today (dru 10/20), soloed from keys to torch. Heavens/GA/hoz/gore/verdungo/dracul's/mara - no pala skillers/no pala torch.

[highlight]Very good guide![/highlight]

thx kingdryland! :flowers:
 
what do I do now?????

ok, I read about 40 different messages on this forum...and I'm kinda confused....Does +1 smite work just as well? I made a sNL pally, he's lvl 82 now with 80 skills saved, I only use 2 skills thus far (+1 smite, +1 salvation) and 300stats are remaining after using some in str & vitality...I haven't done any quests. I have guillam's face, goblic toe, ravenfrost, guardian templar, and venom grip. How should i complete this? Where should my gear go from here...how many should I add to smite, or do I make a different char. build? :shocked:
 
What do you want to do? Ubers?General pvm? If you want you can use the skill plan in the first page of this guide,and follow the gear choices mentioned as well. That will provide you with an uber killer for sure. If that doesn't appeal to you there are plenty of paladin guides around,some of those deal with the ubers too.
 
uber pally guide

I definitely want to do ubers...I haven't even seen one yet though...lol. I'll look towards the first page. thanks. oh, and do I need pcomb gcs in order to make this? or can i get away without it?
 
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