My very first palidin

[GovernerOfCali]

My very first palidin

I'm actually fairly new to Diablo.... but even newer to using a Paladin. I currently have a lvl 81 barbarian on the new ladder... I went up against uber diablo unexpectedly and unprepared without a single CB item... so I figured I would create a character just for him... (after spending 1 full hour with my barb against Uber D)
I'm currently building a frost zealot to be my Uber Diablo hunter. I got him to lvl 43 this weekend... have his Holy Freeze and Zeal maxed.... and this is what I intend to do with him... any pointers would be greatly appreatiated... pls let me know if you see any flaws with my intended setup.

1) Holy Freeze - max
2) zeal - max
3) Sacrafice - max
4) Holy Shield - 1 point (let +skills add more)
5) Resist Cold - max
6) Savation - 1 point (let +skills add more)

Weapons:
W1) Baranar's Star (my main weapon)
w2) Crushflange (just for boss's for the 33% CB)

Rings:
Ring1) Ravenfrost
Ring2) Dwarf Star

Belt:
String of Ears
considering T-Gods if I get one

The gear below I don't yet have, but this is what i'm aiming for as a setup

Amulet:
Mara's Kaleidoscope (hoping I can trade my Tal Rasha amulet for this)
Also considering Highlord's Wrath

Helm:
Guillaume's Face of course

Shield:
Herald Of Zakarum

Boots:
Gore Rider (currently using Waterwalk's as a temp)

Gloves:
Laying of Hands

Armor:
I currently have Toothrow and Black Hades.... not sure what I want to go with eventually. All the good Rune Word armors just seem too tough to get... any good uniques?


Also, socketing items.... what would give me the best bang for my buck? I was considering socketing the Shield and adding a perfect Diamond.. would that be considered a bad move? What about upgrading boots.... is it worth it?

One last note... i'm currently using IK Belt and Gloves... is this viablo gear to keep on instead of going with String of Ears and Brambles.

 

[prion]

smoke = NefLum, a nice armor I think. Take a look at armor runewords again, you should be able to find something not too expensive.
Definitly put a pdiamond in your HoZ.

 

[GovernerOfCali]

OK, because the String of Ears and Brambles don't help with resistances (which i've decided are gonna be tough to get)... i'm gonna skip them and go with IK gloves and belt.

My current proposed setup is as follows... the only thing i'm still debating... is what to Socket Baranars start with... if I add a Shael, I can get my attack to 5fpa... or, I can add an Amn and it will drop to 6fpa... but i'll have some life leech (Current proposed setup has no life leach at all)

Guillaume's Helm with UM
HoZ with Diamond
Baranars Start with Shael or Amn (not sure which... what do you think?)
Gore Rider Boots
IK Belt
IK Gloves
Duress Armor (made with Archon Plate.... this seems to me to be nice... light and strong)
Dwarf Star Ring
Raven Frost Ring
Mara's Amulet
... and a crushflange on switch for Uber Diablo killing

If you include 30% resistances from quests, this will give me
98% Crushing Blow
179% Resist Cold
177% Resist Fire
180% Resist Lightning
149% Resist Poison
Incease Stats from gear:
+100 Str
+25 Vit
+50 Dex
+75-95 IAS
and 15% fire absorb
.... this was assuming the Mara's has only 20% resist all.... and after I get my anni... it will be even better! (which is good... cause I will probably get an anni before I get to Act 5 in hell and get the extra 10% resist bonus)

For Skill Points:
Max Holy Freeze
Max Zeal
Max Sacrafice
.... not sure exactly what to do after this... .
I guess Resist Cold for the synery to Holy Freeze... but not sure how much? Some points into Holy Shield I guess is good to? How many points? Should Holy Shield be maxed? Or just a little and let my +skills do the work? I guess Resist Cold will need a bit pumped into it for the Synergy to be effective... and Cleansing and Salvation look like they may be worth 1 point also.... would you agree?
Tips/Hints are welcome.

This seems like a pretty nice build that's not insanely exp.... well, I'll see what it takes for me to get that armor with 3 sockets, a HoZ, and Mara's... maybe i'll reconsider?

 

[Fallen Creation]

I think you should forget about sacrifice and put more points into holy shield. As a frost zealot, your main sources of damage are your cold damage and crushing blow. Sacrifice isn't really necessary at all, but a hiigh level holy shield will never hurt. Also, you should consider using the angelic combo (angelic ammy + 1 or 2 angelic rings) for a good AR boost..... if you have decent AR though, go with the highlords.

 

[Stormshield]

a little off topic: Cali> What %ed's your black hades? I may be able to hook you up with some gear for it. I've been wanting a good upped one for the longest time. Assuming you're on USEast of course.

 

[GovernerOfCali]

The reason for sacrafice is the 12% damage bonus per level it gives to zeal. Because this guys main purpose is to hunt down and kill Uber Diablo as quickly as possible, I want the physical damage to be as good as it can get.... Cold damage is just a bonus I get with the package. Maybe the following with be a nice combo of both...

Max Holy Freeze
Max Zeal
Max Sacrafice (this will add 120% to my physical damage)
Max Holy Shield
1pt Cleansing
1pt Salvation

I know crushing blow will do the bulk of the work on Uber Diablo for me... but for for that last part.... I want to finish him off with some powerful beatings too


Stormshield - my black hades is 40% ED... I currently use it on my barbarian (who does my magic finding)... all 3 sockets have perfect Topaz's in them. For my Frost Zealot, I am gonna go with Duress Armor (made with Archon Plate)... I just need to find the Archon Plate with 3 sockets now. But, i'm on USWest Ladder... sorry.

 

[Stormshield]

Argh! Thanks anyway.

As for armor help, Gloom's a really good alternative if you can get the Um rune.

I, myself, prefer lionheart as a lower level armor. HelLumFal, not -too- terribly hard to get, I have at least three of each of those runes at any given time.

For all those stats, and 30% resist, I think it's a really nice alternative to Duress.

 

[GovernerOfCali]

Hmm... that Gloom is nice.. and I already DO have the Um... I got the Shael to for Duress... but no Pul or Fal for Glooms.
Even more importantly... no 3 socket Archon Plate.... so, i'll see when I get the plate what I have for runes.... I like the idea that Gloom's has 45% resist all,Chance To Cast Dim Vision, and better enhanced defense then Duress. But Duress has two very nice attributes... 15% Chance of Crushing Blow and 33% Chance of Open Wounds... hmm.. decisions decisions..... I'll cross that bridge when I get there...

 

[Ulric]

You might want to go with Drac instead of LOH. Normally you cannot leech form DC, but with Lifetap you should be able to. that way you don't have to pop back to town for more pots. Since CB will do most of the damage it would not hurt much to lose LOH. Also.. you can get more CB by crafting blood gloves, but you do not need too much CB if you're a zealot. With all the hits you're gonna get, 10 to 25% is plenty.

 

[GovernerOfCali]

What about this Thundergods Vigor belt? I was gonna go with the IK belt and gloves combo... for the resistance to fire and lighting... both good for Uber D.... but, if I go with Laying of Hands, I get the huge fire resistance.... but what about the T-gods belt.. .it says this...

+20 Lightning Absorb
10% To Maximum Lightning Resist

What is +20 Lighting absorb? That doesn't sound as good as 20% Lightning absorb. If Uber D has a mightly powerful fire/lightning... is 20 really gonna make a difference? I've always been under the impression that when I see a straight number not a percent, it's really not viable up against powerful boss's... is that true... or does this T-Gods really have some good lightning resist?

Sorry for all the questions.. the more questions I ask and looking I do... the more options I see... I don't think there is one perfect setup... just a lot of good ones that are very viable...

 

[jimboe]

Sounds Good

That sounds good to me but i have a problem with my single player palidin. He is a level 62 with zeal and fanaticism but not sacrifice because i am dumb but i am getting there. The problem i am having is i dont have enough life and if a fight a fire enchanted monster i die or if they cast iron maiden on me because i have about 600 life but i deal over 700 and i keep dieing do you now anything besides putting 5 to vitality everytime i level up that will help me. I dont want to lose xp everytime i go out on monster runs so i am stuck. :thanks:

 

[GovernerOfCali]

Well, as of now... he's level 67 with the following
Zeal - Max
Sacrafice - Max
Holy Freeze - Max
Holy Shield - 6 i think now?
Resist Cold - 1

for gear
Armor - Duress made from Archon Plate
Helm - Guillaume's Face
Boots - Goblin Toe/Tearhaunch ... I put on the Goblin Toes before boss's... other then that... Tearhaunch have that aura that makes me run like a speed freak
Gloves - Laying of Hands (I have Draculs on my barb I could switch over when he's high enough lvl... but Laying of hands give me fire resist too which is nice)
Rings - both kinda lousy... but one adds 108AR and the other 87ish AR.
Amulet - Rare with +2 defense auras and TP charges.... but I swap it out a lot for one with resistances
Shield - A rare with resistances about 20% on all and fast blocking
Belt - Immortal Kings
Weapon - The Atlantean/Baranar's Star ... not sure which I like more... the problem with Baranar's Star is that my base strength is not high enough to use it. When I die, I only get part of my body... and the Baranars Star does not come.. unless I switch weapons to crushflange for the str... then put on my helm and belt... THEN I can grab my body. If I go with Heaven's Light eventually, I am OK on str... so I don't wanna add to it really... but it scares me that i'm gonna loose items cause of this.

But with synergies, i'm now thinking maybe I should stop putting points into Holy Shield and put them into Resist Cold.... any thoughts on that???