Help, problem with Blessed Hammer

[Aeudayan]

Help, problem with Blessed Hammer

Hi. Im new to D2 and made a Paladin. Im up to level 19, and planned to be a "Hammerdin". The problem is, I can't get Blessed Hammer. It says in the skill tree the only req is you be atleast level 18. Im above that, and still can't get it. Is there some sort of hidden pre req? Is there something I am missing? Any help is appreciated. :scratch:

 

[Tsume]

Hi. Im new to D2 and made a Paladin. Im up to level 19, and planned to be a "Hammerdin". The problem is, I can't get Blessed Hammer. It says in the skill tree the only req is you be atleast level 18. Im above that, and still can't get it. Is there some sort of hidden pre req? Is there something I am missing? Any help is appreciated. :scratch:

Well there is one skill that serves as apre req for Blessed Hammer:
Holy Bolt. From what your saying, I gather that your new to Hammerdins and to the game as well. Rather than take a direct approach to helping you I am going to refer you to a guide. If you want to try a Hammerdin you should really check out this guide, Maximum Damage Hammerdin-A Mathmetical Approach, authored by captain_bogus. If your just starting out or just need to know more about different builds, guides are there for you. Check it out.

Here is the link.
Maximum Damage Hammerdin- A Mathmetical Approach

Once you read through that if you have any questions feel free to ask. That, in part, is what forums are for. Good Luck.

 

[Aeudayan]

.

Thank you so much Tsume. I am now level 20 and have Blessed Hammer 1-- and I feel *so* much more powerful. In previous situations, 5-6 archers would pretty uch be death unless I had lots of potions. I have recently entered a room with about 20 skeletons, and some snakes.. and I kill them *all*, and only had to use one heal potion. I honestly do feel overpowered, and I can't imagine how much more powerful I will be the more I raise it.


While I have your attention, BH uses Vigor and Blessed Aim-- Do I need to use concentration INSTEAD of blessed aim, and just reaise blessed aim to a certain point for the extra dmg for BH? Would really be grateful an answer on this one, because it is driving me crazy. :spy:

 

[Mr.E]

Yes, you have to actively USE Concentration to raise your Hammer damage.

Vigor and Blessed Aim are "synergy" abilities. When you add hard Skill Points into them, your Blessed Hammer damage will go up. This is different from using Concentration. Concentration must be your active Aura (on right-click) to raise the damage of your BHs. "Synergies" in general will raise the damage of the skill they synergize. (Some of them increase the duration of some effects, but this doesn't apply to BH.)

Concentration is an Aura. When you have it on your right-click, that Aura is active for your Paladin. It does what it says. It is the only Aura that raises Blessed Hammer damage while active, and works at half the listed effectiveness. (The reason it works at half is because it's supposed to be an Aura to aide physical Paladins. Why Conc raises BH damage, which is a magical spell, is a story all its own.)

In simpler terms...

Vigor and Blessed Aim are "synergy" abilities for Blessed Hammer. If you put points into them, your Blessed Hammer damage goes up (as listed, 14% per point). You don't have to do anything else to get extra damage. "Synergies" work automatically and you'll always have that extra damage once you put the Skill Points into them.

Concentration is the Aura you want active to raise the damage of your Blessed Hammers. It will raise the damage of them by 50% of the listed value. (i.e. If your Concentration aura says "adds +100%" damage, Blessed Hammer with receive a 50% total damage boost.)


Boosting synergies, or Concentration, is a good way to raise the damage of your BH without making BH itself cost more mana. However, it also doesn't add as much damage as sticking a point into Blessed Hammer itself. Until you hit the Level 80's (where you can max BH, Conc, and both synergies), strike a good balance of splitting your Skill Points between your aura, synergies, and just Blessed Hammer itself. I suggest dumping a few (say, 5) points into BH itself to get some cold, hard damage going and then splitting the rest between Concentration and the synergies (Vigor and Blessed Aim). If you're confident in your mana level or you don't mind drinking blues a little more often dump your next Skill Point into Blessed Hammer itself, as you'll get a better damage boost by dumping your points straight into the skill.


How much more powerful? 8) If you're cruising now, you'll really cruise through Nightmare. Hell difficulty may bump you down a bit, but that's just because all the monsters suddenly get a ridiculous boost in power. You can go from man-handling Lister and co. in NM to being crushed by a Unique Quill Rat in Hell Blood Moor. But that's okay, because after a few more levels you'll start dominating again. Blessed Hammer just gets more and more powerful as time goes on and levels rise...

 

[Aeudayan]

Mr. E, thank you. I feel spoiled to get such an amazing answer. You have, and I kid you not, answered just about every question I have been thinking about. Im going to stop putting points into BA for awhile and raise Concentration now. If you wouldn't of told me that, I would probably of never given Conc a second though, and apparently it is pretty powerful. I love my paladin, but im getting nervous that I will be gimp soon because.. yeah, I am a newb. I just entered act 3, and a few people on other forums are talking about I have to start combining things for items, runes, etc, and it is a bit confusing.

Hopefully I can get that down, and learn how to put an aura on an item-- because that sounds pretty cool. Again, Thanks Mr. -- you are a godsend :worship:

 

[Mr.E]

Auras appear only on a few very rare Runewords. And as a Hammerdin you're not really concerned with any of them anyway, so don't pay them any mind.

Don't worry about "gimping" either. As long as you make sure you have high/max Resists and 75% Blocking (when you have the points to dump a few into Holy Shield later, the Dex investment is minimal) you'll be fine, as Hammerdins are very equipment-independent when it comes to crushing hoards of monsters beneath their feet.

If you can do so, get a Spectral Shard. Then when you hit the proper level (and can obtain one) upgrade to a Wizardspike. You don't have to do it, but they're both pretty easy-to-obtain items and they can almost single-handedly take care of the Hammerdin's few needs.