Zealot - Help on Gear and a few questions plz

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Shanksie1337

New member
Zealot - Help on Gear and a few questions plz

Hi Folks

I have just been bitten by the "build a Zealot" bug, mainly because Baal decided to drop me a Stormlash, and i haven't played a Zealot since my very first D2 char, and he was crap as i hadn't discovered synergies/builds.
I also blame rob, for chatting to me about his Zealot :)

Having read the Zealot guide sticked on the forums i am happy with the skill distribution, but i have a couple of queries on the gear, and maybe the stat points.

Just a note - i am a semi rich legit ladder player, so botd/enigma etc are a no go as i am not spending all my "wealth" on one 99% dodgy item for a char that is for PvM only.

Ok Gear:

Weapon: Stormlash (what to socket in here? Amn ?)
Shield: Hoz "Um"
Armour: Guardian Angel "Um" (should i use an Upp'd GA, or just a Templar GA?)
Boots: Gore Rider
Ammy: Highlords (i don't think i'll need the IAS, but the DS is nice - maras? / Seraph's? / Metalgrid? - see helm)
Helm: Andy's Visage - my first choice as IAS+LL+skills+str - (should i be using Guillames face for the mods, or a Shako or something else?)
Gloves: Draculs Grasp
Belt: Not sure - String? / Verdungoes? / ThunderGods? - or other option?
Ring1: 20/235 Raven Frost
Ring2: Rare 5LL/8ML ring with some other mods.


General Questions:

1. Should i worry overly about Damage reduction? as if i don't use Shako or String i'll have no PDR. I have an Upp'd 153x def Shaftstop "Um" i could use.
2. Having played a little with my old crappy Zealot i know more strength = more damage, but is it worth getting the str to wear the upp'd GA, or would i be better of using normal GA and using the extra stats is vita?
3. Having looked at a few weapons, i see that a Heavens Light is rather nice, would this be better than the Stormlash?
4. What merc - i'd normally assume might merc for melee chars, but would HF be a better choice to help be avoid getting mobbed?
5. Merc Gear: Reapers Toll - would again normally be an immediate choice, but will this interfer with the Life Tap, and if so, would i be better off using a different weapon and missing out on the Decrepify?

Thanks for reading, and hopefully a few ppl will be kind enough to offer some help.
 
Shanksie m8! Great too see you here, so all my questions to you have actually got you interested, yey :clap:

I did not take such an "academic" approach and just slapped my guy together (beeing my second char and all) so I am actually quite curious to hear answers to some of your questions.

One thing with my guy is that he relies greatly on CB. So my gear is chosen to get me over that 95% cap.

I wear Guillames (35% CB) Gores (15%) Heavens Light/soon Stormlash (33%) soon Duress (15%) That is a nice 98%, not too much not too little.
 
If you think that you will have enough life with the upped GA then go ahead and upgrade it. Sacrificing life for more Defense/Damage isn't too bad, just be careful not to go overboard.
 
Shanks, regarding question 5 I can confirm that the Decrepify cast by your Mercs Reapers Toll will cancel out your LifeTap.

Also I can add that my Zealot had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Clone for the first time this morning and I am impressed. The 15 seconds reported by others is indeed correct, and this was without Stormlash and with far from maxed resistances.

During this fight I equipped my Merc with a Hone Sundan to not interfer with my LifeTap but I needed Full Rejuv potions anyway. With 1100 life and bad resistances the Clone took half my life away instantly a couple of times.
Got me thinking that drinking potions can replace my LifeTap and Decrepify would help me kill him even faster. I will test with Reapers Toll on merc next time I meet him.
 
Shanks, regarding question 5 I can confirm that the Decrepify cast by your Mercs Reapers Toll will cancel out your LifeTap.

how vital is the life tap? - i will have ~9 from andy's + ~9 from Dracul's and even with the Hell penalty on leech i was hoping the Life Tap would be a bonus rather than a neccesity.

As for the Upp'd GA - it will only "cost" me an extra 13 strength if i have my maths right, and i am hoping the extra damage and defense is worth the loss of life.
 
I run around with ~25ll and that feels like more then enough. I can fill my lifebulb very quickly after getting hit.
 
Shanksie1337 said:
1. Should i worry overly about Damage reduction? as if i don't use Shako or String i'll have no PDR. I have an Upp'd 153x def Shaftstop "Um" i could use.
2. Having played a little with my old crappy Zealot i know more strength = more damage, but is it worth getting the str to wear the upp'd GA, or would i be better of using normal GA and using the extra stats is vita?
3. Having looked at a few weapons, i see that a Heavens Light is rather nice, would this be better than the Stormlash?
4. What merc - i'd normally assume might merc for melee chars, but would HF be a better choice to help be avoid getting mobbed?
5. Merc Gear: Reapers Toll - would again normally be an immediate choice, but will this interfer with the Life Tap, and if so, would i be better off using a different weapon and missing out on the Decrepify?

Thanks for reading, and hopefully a few ppl will be kind enough to offer some help.
Click to expand...
1) Some dmg reduce would be nice. verdungo gets 15% and vit for example. But it's not that important for PvM anymore.
2) I wouldn't up it. 196 str is steep, and you wont be getting anything from *cough* enigma, what most people use to get high str. GA has +-800 and with HS you'll have high enough defense for PvM.
3) Stormlash is the ultimare zealots pvm weapon. Static+speed is to good. Heavens light is a very good alternative until you can get stormlash though.
4) Personal preference. attack><defense. I'd take HF, but I just really love the slow effect.
5) If you have HF merc, keep Lifetap. if you go for might merc, decrep might help more. I think. I haven't tested it :D

HoD
 
cheers for the reply HoD

str wise:
15 anni
20 Tgods
25-30 andariels
10-15 Draculs

so i'll only need to add maybe 10-15 more str, and the loss of life can be made up for in life sc's.

and the GA is already upp'd - i traded for an upp'd 154x def one ages ago and had it lying on mules for ages - i also have a decent normal one for him to wear until he is lvl 83 :)

As for the Stormlash - what would be best to put in the socket - i won't need IAS (45 needed - 30 on SLash, and 20 on andy's), so:
Amn for LL
Eth for -25% defence
Nef for KB - seems like a bad idea to me?

As for the merc, i may leave that open as i'll probably only play in a party with m8's so i'll see what mercs ppl have already as there seems no point in all having the same merc.
 
Stormlash indeed best weapon yet it can be improved in several ways...
you can Lo (+20% deadly strike) or Mal (PMH)
About armor - I'd say use stone (fairly cheap to make it self) or duress (it will bost your offence hell a lot)
About helm I dont know - andy is nice but I dont like -30% FR mode, personally I tend use with my zealot Guilliame face
Gores probably ultimate zealot boots anyway
Sheild Umed HOZ probably best choice untill day you can get your hands on Exile which I count as ultimate zealot shield
Highlord is good choice all around
For the belt I am using perfect nosferatu but vertigo probably better choice
gloves - same choice like you drakuls
rings pretty much same like you
 
Shanksie1337 said:
cheers for the reply HoD

str wise:
15 anni
20 Tgods
25-30 andariels
10-15 Draculs

so i'll only need to add maybe 10-15 more str, and the loss of life can be made up for in life sc's.

and the GA is already upp'd - i traded for an upp'd 154x def one ages ago and had it lying on mules for ages - i also have a decent normal one for him to wear until he is lvl 83 :)

As for the Stormlash - what would be best to put in the socket - i won't need IAS (45 needed - 30 on SLash, and 20 on andy's), so:
Amn for LL
Eth for -25% defence
Nef for KB - seems like a bad idea to me?

As for the merc, i may leave that open as i'll probably only play in a party with m8's so i'll see what mercs ppl have already as there seems no point in all having the same merc.
Click to expand...

Well if its only few points of str, then go for the upped one.

In the socket I'd put ideally an ed/min. That might be expensive though ;) Other obvious options are the expensive runes that work well in any weapon (jah ber lo mal um). Nef is more a negative effect, you want the monsters nice and close to you. Amn is possible but I'd take eth over amn. Plain ed or min+other good mods (or a perfect crimson jewel of bliss +18 to min dmg :drool: ) So it goes like this imo (price+effect)

1) ed/min
2) min or ed with other usefull mods like ele dmg(not lightning ofcourse) max dmg
3) eth so cheap and it helps hitting quite a lot (but with high lvl zeal+enchant you'll have plenty of ar really)
4) expensive runes

If you can afford a jah or something like that, the order is 1 4 2 3 :D

HoD
 
String, Storm for damred.(Zealot no need HoZ)
Guillames face, Gore Rider, Highlords for the deadly mods.
Armor: Duress or GA.
Weapon: Stormlash or Hevaven's Light(2xETH for -83 target def:)
Gloves: Draculs or LoH(use LoH if u have leech ring)
 
hmmmz

having just done the maths it seems i can use the uppd GA with no extra points in str (i have 90 base).

I have a SS or two muled somewhere, so i'll try the SS to see how that plays
 
Storm setup:

Shield: Storm
Belt: String
Gloves: Laying(You Dont need Draculs because u have 50 damred and 15+LL)
ring: Raven+Carrion or high LL rare

HoZ setup:

DR: HoZ, Shaft, String, LoH

Nice mods:HoZ, TO belt(and u can use 2 carrion for leech or 2 raven for AR and Draculs for leech), Duress(for good resist and deadly mods) or GA for max resists

Sanctuary:

U can make 100+ resist paladin shields with this runeword :drool: I have a 108 allres Zakurum shield.

Sanctuary pros: U dont need UM runes and perf diamonds :drool: With shaft u have godly defese vs missiles :drool:
Sanctuary cons: No + skills and HoZ/Storm have faster block rate.
 
String<<<Verdungo. If you need dmg reduce from your belt, go for verdungo. You might want to consider Tgods, people always say verdungo is sooo much worse, but if verdungo doesnt help you hit the fhr breakpoint the str might be of more use then the vit (example: str sc get exchanged for vita's )

As for the gloves, don't forget that draculs has 25% OW and 10-15 str. It's lifetap is 50% ll. Imo, its best to pick draculs. Even against certain bosses like meph and baal, because you can hardly leech from them (meph not at all). Basically, draculs take of all the ll you'll ever need (if you get a good one, 10 from the gloves and 50 as soon as lifetap triggers, which will be frequent with stormlash+fana+zeal). Then you have all your other slots free for Physdmg reduce, res etc.

HoD
 
your zealot is looking more like a pvm player than a pvp.
Because stormlash is so fast, you'll have to test out the deadly strike vs resistances of highlords/maras. Your armor should be upped considering that you will have the strength for it. In the stormlash, i'd go with a high rune that adds OW/DS/CB or if you aren't going to spend that much, maybe a nice ed/max jewel or something like that.

Other than that you'll be fine. The problem with the zealot bug, is that you'll play one.....then you'll want to make a better one, and a better one and so on. I went from something comprable to your setup, to a month of rushing for runes to pay for this setup for pvp....:
ber ber coa
Highlords
Eth zodded deathcleaver (266%)
Eth zodded valor
Eth vortex exile with resists
draculs
2 p ravens
verdungos (33/15)
gores
5 100pdsc with 2str
3 313pdsc
1 20/15/6 anni
9 10max/ar gc's
2 5 to strength lc's.

The nice thing is that because I use charms to boost my str.....i look naked! I go into dueling games and asking people if they want to duel a naked pally. its always fun to laugh afterward, I own everyone, about how they got their butt's kicked by a naked pally.
 
my god life tap is godly :)

the merc can do without his reapers ( so no decrep for PI's ), so what good switch weapons are available/reccomended for removing PI?

i was thinking Lacerators :) depending on my dex level's for max block?!
 
Shanksie1337 said:
my god life tap is godly :)

the merc can do without his reapers ( so no decrep for PI's ), so what good switch weapons are available/reccomended for removing PI?

i was thinking Lacerators :) depending on my dex level's for max block?!
Click to expand...
Hmm, lacerator on switch seems the best idea. 33% to cast = it should trigger from one zeal. I don't think anything has such a high chance. Plus, if it's really dangerous, you can throw it :)

HoD
 
Last question :) (maybe)

what sort of life is "acceptable"?
i know more is good, but atm i have ~1.3k with some stat points unspent at clvl 84.

How much life does your zealots have? (& at what clvl)
 
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