Well.. I used to play D2 a loong time ago, years. But I got bored right after I finished Act I. Prob a year later, I got interested enough to do Act II but similarly, I stopped before doing much of Act III :P Well, I'm back and starting over this time with a Paladin instead of a Barbarian, and I plan to beat the game this time around (on normal mode at least). I know my questions seem pretty primitive (considering I have no clue what half of the stuff you guys talk about here means), but hopefully you can stoop down to my level for a bit :)
For starters... What skills should I train in? I'm level 6, trained once in Might Aura, but I am unsure what else to invest in. Zeal sounds like it could be fun, or maybe not. Any suggestions? It may not seem like it since I get bored easily, but I'm the powergamer type and I really hate not being as good as I could be. Yep, I'm the kind of person who gets pissed that they could have bought something for 20 cents cheaper at another store..
And... I'm not playing on B.net... Is it a good idea to download 1.10? My friend who apparently was very good at this said that it makes the game really easy on hardcore.. I'm not sure how pertinent this is to me specifically, but I don't want the game to go on super-easy mode yet.
Hrm I did some reading... And I guess there are multiple types of paladins that I'm supposed to shoot for... Well, I don't really like the idea of the hammerdin.. I think I'd like to hit *really* hard, and maybe have good defense too, so I'm not sure I would like a Zealot paladin either... That's about the extent of my knowledge. From what I read, paladins are very important characters to plan, so I don't want to f* this up :D Any suggestions on what I should shoot my character for?
Also... if I want to play on battle.net, do I have to create the character there and always play online then? Also, would you recommend it? I tend to get pissed off at assholes ;) I think it would be good to play with other people though, because I'm pretty sure that's the reason why I quit both times before.
LordDrift
16-05-2004, 11:54
Cheapest most effective overall build for a starter i think would be a hammerdin, even with the most crappiest equipment you can do pretty well.
Stormshield
16-05-2004, 13:20
Here are some builds I like playing around with, and there are also subclasses to quite a few of them.
Ranger - Paladin who primarily, or exclusively uses a bow
-Shock Ranger, invests most of his skill points into Holy Shock, and it's synergies. (1.10 thing, I'd suggest downloading it. It makes alot more skills usable)
-Frost Ranger, invests most of his skill points into Holy Freeze, and it's synergies.
-Flaming Ranger, again, points into holy fire and its synergy. This really isn't suggested though, holy fire tends to attract huge crowds of monsters at higher levels.
-Fanatic Ranger, points into fanatacism, and what's left over would go into pretty much anything you want them to. You could go zeal, charge, smite, even Fist of the Heavens, with FoH, Holy Shock, and Conviction
-Hammerdin/Ranger, I had one of these in .09, and it was loads of fun. On your switch you can use a bow, and while on your primary weapon switch you can use caster equipment to cast hammers. If monsters start to run away, switch to your bow, and gun them down. Mostly you'd end up using pure hammers, but the bow thing is fun to play with.
Zealots
Fanatic Zealot - Just like the name implies, standard skills here are: Sacrafice, Zeal, Holy Shield, Fanatacism, then Defiance, or Blessed Aim (I'd suggest defiance)
Frost Zealot - Again, holy freeze, zeal, and the rest. It's a good idea to use a fast weapon here. Holy freeze synergies a must.
Shock-Zealot - I think the proper name's Teslazealot, or something. Either way, again, like the name implies. Holy Shock, with a fast weapon, using zeal. Synergies a must.
Flaming-Zealot - you get the picture.. Holy fire.
Power Zealot - These use concentration instead of Fanatacism, and were very popular in .09. If you have a weapon with "Ignores targets defense" these guys are really fun to play. You very rarely get blocklocked, and you can go with a mild amount of blessed hammers for crowd control.
Smealot - A mixture of Smite and Zeal, not really suggested for PvM (player vs monsters) but it's still a fun build. Primarily uses fanatacism as it's aura.
Miscelaneous Melee Builds
Avengers
-Fanatic Avenger, maxes Fanatacism, along with Vengeance, and it's synergies. Maybe a few points into holy shield. Very fun build I hear, though I've never tried it.
-Standard Avenger, these use conviction instead of fanatacism. Fun build also.
-Frost Avenger, the same deal, except with holy freeze, and as many synergies into it as you can afford, which won't be many.
-Shock, and Flame Avengers, same deal as the Frost Avenger.
Martyr, Martyrs use Sacrafice, and it's Synergies. It's kind of a risky build because of the life loss early on, but once you get a fair amount of life leach, you do fine.
Crusader, Crusader = Charger. You can do any number of things here. Holy Freeze, Holy Shock, Holy Fire, Fanatacism, add a touch of Zeal, Vengeance, or even hammers w/ Concentration!
Caster/Non Melee builds
Vindicator/Templar (v/t) Smite/FoH basically, max Smite, Holy Shield, Fanatacism, then FoH, and a mixture of Holy Shock and Conviction with what you've got left. There are more efficient ways to build them, but that's the most simplistic. It's also more of a PvP (Player vs Player) oriented build, so you might want to stear clear of it.
Hammerdin / Liberator, Blessed Hammers. Max it, it's synergies, and concentration. Dump a point or two into Holy Shield, and what's left into Charge, and you have a liberator/hammerdin (note if you go pure hammerdin, you shouldnt bother with charge, and instead choose something that's more benificial. Play around with it and see what you think.
FoH, simple build. Max FoH, Holy Shock, and Conviction. What's left, you can do whatever you want with. I'd prefer Holy Shield, and Defiance for a defense boost, with a point into all the defensive auras.
Those are the only builds I can think of right off hand that don't require -TOO- many high-quality items to use. If you decide to play online, on USEast I may be able to give you a few items to help you start off. Message me on AIM, or MSN.
AIM: SnakeByte1117
MSN: DyslexicKev@hotmail.com
Hey thanks for the build help... it will go a long way towards deciding which kind of paladin I want. And thanks for the offer of items, but I don't really like being twinked my first time around things (prob the biggest thing I like about this game is the loot, like anybody else.. being twinked completely ruins that :P). I am still not sure if I will play on B-net or not, either... Decisions, decisions. :)
Well, the good news is that I don't have to worry about whether or not to play B-net anymore.. The bad news is that I can't play because I don't have the Exp Pack... Oh well.. Maybe I'll give it a shot if I ever get decent at this game, though. :)
Also... how does this sound for a build: Concentration as my main aura, along with using Charge/Sacrifice (using 2H weapons). I was reading a pala guide, and that combo seems to fit what I want for a character perfectly. Could you suggest any alternate auras to help, maybe Redemption, etc? Thanks :)
-=ancientdemon=-
16-05-2004, 19:53
fanat over concentration and zeal over sacrifice would be better imho gl with ur build...
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