First paladin

[Kimi]

First paladin

Hey there!

Well I've been playing d2 for quite a while (took a barbarian to 73 or so and working on my necro atm) and was interested in leveling a paladin for once! I need some tips and help regarding something;

Skills - What should I pick? I would personally enjoy if I could get a guide with talents that does damage with a 1-hander + a shield. A melee paladin with one weapon and a shield that is plus some juicy auras to use : ) I've always loved my barbarian when he deals raw damage and when I feel the power with every hit, you know? (my necro, specced fishymancer, is quite the opposite).

Any help would be very nice!

Regards, Kimi

 

[LoboMau]

Re: First paladin

Hey there!

Well I've been playing d2 for quite a while (took a barbarian to 73 or so and working on my necro atm) and was interested in leveling a paladin for once! I need some tips and help regarding something;

Skills - What should I pick? I would personally enjoy if I could get a guide with talents that does damage with a 1-hander + a shield. A melee paladin with one weapon and a shield that is plus some juicy auras to use : ) I've always loved my barbarian when he deals raw damage and when I feel the power with every hit, you know? (my necro, specced fishymancer, is quite the opposite).

Any help would be very nice!

Regards, Kimi

I personally love the Zealot who's dealing a lot of damage and that very fast. Faster than any barbarian is able to, I think.
Even if the bnet is overrun by zealot builds he's still worth a look.

But you can try a Tesladin, a combination of a zealot's and elemental damage who's dealing a lot of lightning damage.

There exist a lot of guides how to build one of 'em.

In your case I would certainly recommend the zealot!

 

[Kimi]

Re: First paladin

I personally love the Zealot who's dealing a lot of damage and that very fast. Faster than any barbarian is able to, I think.
Even if the bnet is overrun by zealot builds he's still worth a look.

But you can try a Tesladin, a combination of a zealot's and elemental damage who's dealing a lot of lightning damage.

There exist a lot of guides how to build one of 'em.

In your case I would certainly recommend the zealot!

Thanks for the reply and yeah, a Zealot seems like it's easy to play and alot of fun.

I maybe wasn't clear enough earlier, but this character is only made for offline PvM. I'm only gonna play alone (occasionally with others on LAN) and I just want some mindless fun : )

 

[LoboMau]

Re: First paladin

Thanks for the reply and yeah, a Zealot seems like it's easy to play and alot of fun.

I maybe wasn't clear enough earlier, but this character is only made for offline PvM. I'm only gonna play alone (occasionally with others on LAN) and I just want some mindless fun : )

I play offline very often because there I am able to test some great builds that are unreachable in bnet.

You can simulate an 8-player game, so it's not too easy if you don't want.

 

[PFSS]

Re: First paladin

Frostzealot.

Or a Riftadin is pretty nice too. And a lot more powerful than people might expect. a Bit pricy for just a fun build.

 

[Mongdengee]

Re: First paladin

definitly recommend some variation of the zealot if you plan on making it on single player. its the only viable way to pvm effectively other than a hammerdin and i dont think you want to play a caster from what i read. a fun option would be an auradin but i dont think you can pull that off in single player mode since some of the required runewords to build an auradin are ladder only. maybe theres a cheap version of the auradin that doesnt require those runewords that i dont know about.

 

[Kimi]

Re: First paladin

Hi again, and thanks for the answers. I did read some posts on the forum and finally used this build; http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=356928 which seems pretty nice. I get my Zeal maxed out with synergy + the badass aura + holy shield so I get my defence real high. Though, this one; http://strategy.diabloii.net/news.php?id=505 is pretty good aswell, with the lightning damage done when I meet those PI mobs in the game.

What are your thoughts? Which build does fit my needs best? Is the first one funnier / better / easier to play than the second? Or is it vice-versa?

Is these builds I posted good enough to use in Hell and forth? Will I be able, in time, get to kill NM Baal with /players8? (Had major problems with my barbarian on NM Baal, especially with his minions.. damn they hit hard) Would be really fun to actually to get further into the game with the paladin than with my barbarian! And how well does it MF? Can I sacrifice some gear for MF and still actually make it out of act bosses alive?

Oh, btw, this char is 100% untwinked. Building him up from scratch.
Regards, Kimi

 

[Mongdengee]

Re: First paladin

you should probly go with the cookie cut normal zealer imo. its cheaper to build and probably overall more effective for solo play. i built a zealer last ladder season on bnet and i had no problems going through hell and doing baal. it really all comes down to your gear setup. you need a good % of life leach as well as dr and resists. for those pesky iron maiden casters make sure you carry around a range weapon. gimmershred is nice because it adds lots of magic damage which is useful against PI mobs as well.

 

[LoboMau]

Re: First paladin

Hi again, and thanks for the answers. I did read some posts on the forum and finally used this build; http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=356928 which seems pretty nice. I get my Zeal maxed out with synergy + the badass aura + holy shield so I get my defence real high. Though, this one; http://strategy.diabloii.net/news.php?id=505 is pretty good aswell, with the lightning damage done when I meet those PI mobs in the game.

What are your thoughts? Which build does fit my needs best? Is the first one funnier / better / easier to play than the second? Or is it vice-versa?

Is these builds I posted good enough to use in Hell and forth? Will I be able, in time, get to kill NM Baal with /players8? (Had major problems with my barbarian on NM Baal, especially with his minions.. damn they hit hard) Would be really fun to actually to get further into the game with the paladin than with my barbarian! And how well does it MF? Can I sacrifice some gear for MF and still actually make it out of act bosses alive?

Oh, btw, this char is 100% untwinked. Building him up from scratch.
Regards, Kimi

I like both zealots. It depends on your style of playing.
With both builds you will be able to kill Bhaal in Hell with "/players 8" without any problems if the equipment fits.

I think that the zealot is a comparatively bad build to do mf runs. You could try to combine some set items like Oprhan's Call to get more mf but it's nothing that I would recommend and I nothing I ever liked to do.

BUT: With a zealot you are killing a lot faster and so you can do more runs in the same time, hehe.

 

[LoboMau]

Re: First paladin

a fun option would be an auradin but i dont think you can pull that off in single player mode since some of the required runewords to build an auradin are ladder only. maybe theres a cheap version of the auradin that doesnt require those runewords that i dont know about.

With the right "Mod" you are able to create all the runewords - even the ladder-only ones.
I ever use "Nobbie's Mod" to play because it includes some good improvements and allows the in-game creation of items with the "cube mod".

 

[Kimi]

Re: First paladin

Thanks for the replies everyone : ) I decided do make myself a pure Zealer, and it seems like a nice way of playin so far (lvl 25, /players8 all the time). My thoughts now are what type nice, rather low-level runewords I can get my hands on atm. (I'm on act 2 normal btw) Any suggestions? To be honest, when I started playing with my barbarian (which is lvl 73 by now) I had no clue about what MF'ing, runewords or anything else were. That was just confusing aspects of the game and I skipped that part all together (and also the community for that part, but this was a long time ago), so I feel it kinda let my poor barbarian in the dark when I was only relying on uniques and/or rare items.

So, to sum it up; My Zealer is shaping up nicely, but are there any runewords I should try to get early on in the game so I can get a pretty good head start when I start to climb levels?

EDIT: For that matter, I could always gather some runes from my barbarian and transfer them to my paladin. That opens up some space for me to get some runes that is unreachable for my paladin atm.

Regards, Kimi

 

[LoboMau]

Re: First paladin

Thanks for the replies everyone : ) I decided do make myself a pure Zealer, and it seems like a nice way of playin so far (lvl 25, /players8 all the time). My thoughts now are what type nice, rather low-level runewords I can get my hands on atm. (I'm on act 2 normal btw) Any suggestions? To be honest, when I started playing with my barbarian (which is lvl 73 by now) I had no clue about what MF'ing, runewords or anything else were. That was just confusing aspects of the game and I skipped that part all together (and also the community for that part, but this was a long time ago), so I feel it kinda let my poor barbarian in the dark when I was only relying on uniques and/or rare items.

So, to sum it up; My Zealer is shaping up nicely, but are there any runewords I should try to get early on in the game so I can get a pretty good head start when I start to climb levels?

EDIT: For that matter, I could always gather some runes from my barbarian and transfer them to my paladin. That opens up some space for me to get some runes that is unreachable for my paladin atm.

Regards, Kimi

A very great runeword for not so rich paladins is "Crescent Moon". Nothing for low level of course, but the most expensive rune is UM and it has some really great stats!

For low levels a fast weapon (maybe Crystal Sword) with some open sockets for elementary damage and maybe leech could be great.
Or maybe you could try "Strength" (Amn + Tir). It offers cb, ll and ed.

For a cheap shield the runeword "Rhyme" is the best choice I think. If you can find a good blank paladin shield with 2 sockets and some bonuses on res it's perfect.

 

[Kimi]

Re: First paladin

A very great runeword for not so rich paladins is "Crescent Moon". Nothing for low level of course, but the most expensive rune is UM and it has some really great stats!

For low levels a fast weapon (maybe Crystal Sword) with some open sockets for elementary damage and maybe leech could be great.
Or maybe you could try "Strength" (Amn + Tir). It offers cb, ll and ed.

For a cheap shield the runeword "Rhyme" is the best choice I think. If you can find a good blank paladin shield with 2 sockets and some bonuses on res it's perfect.

Thanks for the quick anwser!

I did check out your tips (http://www.spaceman.ca/rune/index.php?MyRunes=#) and Strength and Rhyme seems like a good way to start out my paladin. But, while I was looking at the requirements for both of the runewords, Rhyme needs a shield (ofc) and Strength needs a Melee Weapon. Can this melee weapon be at any ilvl, any type etc? Is there anything prohibiting me from doing Strength in a Short Sword from act 1? And does Rhyme need any type of specific ilvl or something?

Don't wanna mess this up and wanna get this right the first time, sorry for all the newbie questions : )

Regards

 

[LoboMau]

Re: First paladin

Thanks for the quick anwser!

I did check out your tips (http://www.spaceman.ca/rune/index.php?MyRunes=#) and Strength and Rhyme seems like a good way to start out my paladin. But, while I was looking at the requirements for both of the runewords, Rhyme needs a shield (ofc) and Strength needs a Melee Weapon. Can this melee weapon be at any ilvl, any type etc? Is there anything prohibiting me from doing Strength in a Short Sword from act 1? And does Rhyme need any type of specific ilvl or something?

Don't wanna mess this up and wanna get this right the first time, sorry for all the newbie questions : )

Regards

There aren't any prohibitions. Only that the weapon need to be a melee weapon, hehe.

 

[Kimi]

Re: First paladin

Thanks for the answers : ) I now know what to do and will return if I have any further questions, but there is just one more; the merc. Act 2 NM might aura, right? Does his aura stack with fanatic?

 

[LoboMau]

Re: First paladin

Thanks for the answers : ) I now know what to do and will return if I have any further questions, but there is just one more; the merc. Act 2 NM might aura, right? Does his aura stack with fanatic?

You should get a holy frost (defensive) mercenary. Stacking is only possible with same auras given by items on the same character.

 

[Mongdengee]

Re: First paladin

You should get a holy frost (defensive) mercenary. Stacking is only possible with same auras given by items on the same character.

? sorry im a bit confused by this statement. yes the might aura from merc does stack with your pally's fanaticsm. but like lobomau said i would highly reccomend a holy freeze merc for solo play to help manage those big packs of mobs you'll be facing and take less damage.

 

[Kimi]

Re: First paladin

Yeah, I'll probably go with the defensive merc. Holy freeze is very nice indeed.
Just wondering, the guide I'm following says to max fanatic first. I just hit lvl 30 and got fanatic though I can only put one point in the aura each level (obviously). Now, at lvl 30, I got 3 spare points with 1 point in fanatic. Can I spend those three points on say Holy Shield / Zeal or something else and at lvl 31 put every point in fanatic until I get 20 points in the aura?

Regards

 

[LoboMau]

Re: First paladin

? sorry im a bit confused by this statement. yes the might aura from merc does stack with your pally's fanaticsm. but like lobomau said i would highly reccomend a holy freeze merc for solo play to help manage those big packs of mobs you'll be facing and take less damage.

Ah, I think I got it wrong...

 

[LoboMau]

Re: First paladin

Yeah, I'll probably go with the defensive merc. Holy freeze is very nice indeed.
Just wondering, the guide I'm following says to max fanatic first. I just hit lvl 30 and got fanatic though I can only put one point in the aura each level (obviously). Now, at lvl 30, I got 3 spare points with 1 point in fanatic. Can I spend those three points on say Holy Shield / Zeal or something else and at lvl 31 put every point in fanatic until I get 20 points in the aura?

Regards

Yes, I would put 1 point every level-up into Fanaticism and after HS/Zeal. Spare point you can use like you want. I would max Zeal first and later HS.