Which shield is better for a zealot w/ 3k+ hp?

[mortic]

Which shield is better for a zealot w/ 3k+ hp?

I need objective votes. Only vote on this if you have used all shields and your zealot must have 3k+ hp (with cta).

 

[Stoutwood]

I never was too impressed with Exile. When I had one, I noticed the tap still didnt trigger often enough to make a huge difference, even while using CTA. Zealots simply don't hit very often in a duel. Almas on the other hand increase your damage and your AR, and help shorten the duel in your favor.

 

[Euro-Crash]

I need objective votes. Only vote on this if you have used all shields and your zealot must have 3k+ hp (with cta).

What else are you using? How much is your defense without a shield? What is your AR? What are your resistances? How much DR do you have without shield? What is your total in +Skills?

I think it would be necessary to know for a few reasons. If you already have enough DR and resists, then a Stormshield is out. If this is the case I would go with an Alma Negra for mannered duels. The Alma Negra is going to give you a good boost to damage and AR, along with plus skills.

If you are dueling any elemental spell caster or dueling in what many refer to as BM, then Exile would be a good way to go, if you have plenty of AR, DR, damage, resists and +skills...

IMHO, the Exile runeword is not the GODLY shield people swear by. In fact, with the mods that come on it and the Defiance Aura provided, it is almost like the shield that makes up for shortcomings in your build. It seems this is the "I screwed up my build so I use this to fix it" shield.

 

[DistortedRiff]

With 3k life I'd go with the highest def ed/ar exile I could get if I was going for BM. You'd definitely survive for a long time- a ton of defense, and a lot of life if they manage to break through.

Non BM other than CTA I'd use a jeweled non-eth negra, unless I really needed more def.

 

[mortic]

The main reason for this poll is to make it clear to all people who play or plan to play zealot about exile vs other shields. If you pick other shields as being better, then there is no reason to express hostility toward people who use exiles. If you pick exiles to be better, but bm, then you can choose not to duel exile users.

I know that you can use life-tap wand, but I've never seen anyone uses it effectively. Akara is working too hard for life-tap wand to be effective.

EDIT: after all, we all want the most effective setups. If you think your opponent setups are better, but bm, then don't duel them. Similar argument can also be made about hs-prebuff switch vs cta switch. (Please note that this thread is not about temple)

 

[Olio]

It depends upon who you are dueling. My low quality rondache (10 def!) 4 ptopaz shield beats all of these vs FoH. SS is better than exile vs wind druids and smiters, etc. If you want to be most flexible then you should probably have the following in your inventory:

Storm Sheild
4 ptopaz shield
4 psapphire shield

The rest would have more marginal effects vs various builds.

Olio