My smammerdin is getting destroyed. = (

[stealthpenguin]

I have a lvl 87 Smite/Hammer Paladin, here are my stats (I know they aren't perfect):

Naked:

Strength - 105
Dexterity - 104
Vitality - 306
Energy - 15

With gear/charms:

Strength - 181
Dexterity - 170
Vitality - 406
Energy - 56

Skills:

+6 to combat skills
+9 to all skills

20 - Concentration
20 - Vigor
20 - Hammer
9 - Holy Shield
1 - Redemption (I love this skill)

I realize my base strength and dex are too high, but it wasn't until recently that I ended up acquiring a Hellfire/Anni.

Here is my gear:

HotO & Spirit Monarch
Grief PB & HoZ w/ 15/40 jewel
Guillame's Helm w/ 15/40 jewel
Fortitude armor
Mara's amulet
Ravenfrost + SoJ
Dracul's Grip
Gore Riders
Verdungo's (just traded for my Arachnid bc I like DR)
4 P Combat GC's
5 16-20 life SC's

I have 1643 life and 13285 Defense (with upped HoZ).

Hammer damage is 10k.
Smite damage is 1249 (before +386 from Grief, and +380% ED)



These are very respectable stats, I'm sure, but I cannot help but feel helpless in Hell at some points (Act IV/V in particular).

I usually go in with concentration and hammer on my HotO switch, and redemption/concentration and smite on the Grief switch.

This work pretty well, as I go in, then spam hammer, then use smite/redemption to clean up and regain all my health/mana.

But when Doom Knights / Vipers / Flayers / etc. come up on me, they just chop me down (unless I can hammer them first).

I was thinking about somehow integrating a CTA into my gameplay, but I don't know how (certainly would help a lot). I got the Verdungo's belt to help with some DR and vitality, but the effects aren't too substantial.

I use this build for mainly PvM but I think it would be decent i PvP, and more specifically I'm collecting keys so I can do the Ubers.

I appreciate any advice you have as I'm tired of dying on Nihlathak/Baal runs.

[sorceressgod]

well, instead of using fort armour, u can use a enigma instead, teleport to nih and start smiting him(of course be sure to have draculs on).

doom knights can kill a melee char quite quickly actually, but they are just ez to kill. just spam hammer field, and run.

[MegaFlame]

Yep, fort helps smite more but enigma improves your hammer which you think is more important than smite right?

[Evrae Altana]

HotO & Spirit Monarch

Try to get yourself a Spirit that's made in a Pal shield.

[stealthpenguin]

I actually used to have Enigma, but I don't really like the teleport, and it lacks resist and enhanced damage.

I'm trying to find out what can make me more durable.

[stealthpenguin]

Although against hordes of monsters I have some trouble, do you think I could solo Uber Tristam?

I went key hunting today, got all 9, and got all 3 organs.

I'm feeling pumped about Tristam, but I'm afraid it'd be a waste if I attempted it alone and failed.

[Evrae Altana]

Although against hordes of monsters I have some trouble, do you think I could solo Uber Tristam?

Since you're a half-smiter, you'll have no problem in Trist, assuming you have the appropriate gear.

[Quietus]

Although against hordes of monsters I have some trouble, do you think I could solo Uber Tristam?

I went key hunting today, got all 9, and got all 3 organs.

I'm feeling pumped about Tristam, but I'm afraid it'd be a waste if I attempted it alone and failed.

With that gear, your resists are so low that you'll get torn apart. I run a similar (though more refined, and quite a bit more expensive) build, and if I'm not careful, in trist, with resists stacked so deep that I have 50% lightning resist AFTER Meph's conviction, he still kills my 3.2k life vanquisher (that's what this build is called, btw) in one shot on rare occasions.

Switch out the fort for coh, if you can, and since you're using grief, switch out the guillaime's for a good kira's. Socket that with a plain 15 ias jewel, or a jewel with 15 ias and lightning resist. This assumes you have 35 or more ias on your phase blade - if you have less, you need 35 ias on your gear to hit 6 frame smite. If you have 35 or more, 30 ias on gear will be fine.

Get a call to arms, and use it before you go in. Even if you have to go into your stash, grab the cta, drop into a waypoint, cast bo, then go back and put grief back on, you WILL need that life.

Get yourself a wand with charges of life tap. Malah sells them in a5 hell, I know that much. Put that on your switch when you go into tristram, and hit Meph with life tap immediately. Meph is always your first target. After that, ignore EVERYTHING else and smite him till he dies. Try not to draw Baal's attention, he's just annoying and will tear your mana apart.

Carry at least four super mana pots with you. You'll be glad you did. Baal's mana rift tears your mana to shreds, and he summons ghosts that will do the same. I often find that in games with me and 3 or more friends, in tristram, I run out of mana quickly, and need an extra 4 - or if Baal is extra-silly with the rift, sometimes another four after that.

Learn to charge. Keep it hotkeyed, because when you use coh/fortitude, you give up your teleport. Outside of teleport, charge is IMO the best movement skill in the game.

Can't think of any other advice off the top of my head, but I play a Vanquisher quite religiously on east nl, so I have a lot of experience with it. Originally, mine was similar to yours, except coh instead of fort - I've since rebuilt and gone silly, and have two fully different gear switches, but that's ... well, silly.


::Edit::

just to give you an idea of what my guy does :

Gear in both modes :

2x bk
29 mara
um'ed nonup hoz
torch
anni
1x pcomb
1x offensive gc


Gear in hammer mode :
enigma mage plate
shako um'ed
magefists
arachnid mesh
39 hoto

Gear in smite mode :
coh dusk shroud
ort guillaime's face
dracul's grasp
trang belt


On switch :
lidless
cta
Switch cta out for a life tap wand when going into tristram, or after Lilith. 105 charges of level 6 life tap on wand.



Base Stats -
Str : 25
Dex : 100 (A little too much after gear, but oh well)
Vit : can't remember, everything else
Energy : 15 (or whatever base is)


Important numbers in hammer mode :

75% fast cast breakpoint
14k hammers
3.2k life
500ish mana
Irrelevant smite, not used in hammer mode

Important numbers in smite mode :

No fast cast
3.2k life
500ish mana
Estimated 5k smite from Grief's damage bonus
11k hammers

~13k defense in all modes

[stealthpenguin]

My Grief (thank god for a good roll), has 36 IAS, so I could just use another 15 IAS jewel for wahtever i switch out.

Also, about the life-tap wand, would that mean that I wouldn't be using my HotO/Hammer?

Maybe instead I could just go in with a bunch of Rejuvenation potion and use those for the first couple seconds until life-tap is inevitably cast on Meph.

And about the Kiras, if I switch to CoH, and get a hold of some resist charms then maybe I could still keep my Guillame's? I feeel attached to it because the +CB% is pretty crucial to this build from what I understand. (plus that way I dont have to find another jewel).

Also, I totally agree with you on Charge. I have a CL/Forb sorc that teleports uber-fast, but I honestly don't miss it at all, especially since the FCR/mana of the +1 to tele that you get on Enigma isnt reliable at all for a character with such low mana. But yah, charge is awesome.

I would find a Necro/Barb to join me but I don't have any friends who play and I don't trust people online enough to not still the torch.

= P

[dkay]

i didnt read the other posts but heres my opinion.

ditch the fort. use base strength and enigma

use spirit sacred targe in inherit resist shield.

get more life. sacrifice skill charms if you have to.
my own hdin/vindicator has 4.1k life 12k hammers 1200 smite listed from grief.