Clerv's PvM Auradin Guide

[Namtar]

Well, first off, Holy crap if you have one of those, because they're ultra rare, and, yes, that is probably a superior alternative. Although, honestly, I don't know why you bothered putting points into Holy Shield if you have that thing. Following the guide, you'd have at least slvl 10. Might as well not burn those skills points and just invest it all in Sacrifice.

Good point. And apparently I misremembered. I actually do have 20 hard points in Sacrifice. Hm, I could respec to rely only on the Holy Shield from the CtA Caduceus without any hard points in the skill (because yeah, I'd still get a level 10 Holy Shield with all the +skills and Battle Command). That would save me three skill points that could go somewhere else, although I'm not sure where else: it's not even enough points to get Vigor without giving up a point from Sacrifice (or Salvation, or going without Charge). I could get a low-level Fanaticism, I suppose. I'll have to think about it. This whole time I've always had at least one hard point into Holy Shield because I was playing a paladin and I was used to always getting Holy Shield.

Yea, Life Tap and Zeal with a decent Sacrifice synergy and Conviction will keep your red bubble full. That's not the issue. The issue is that once their life gets low CB stops helping and your small damage output might not be enough to overcome their rapid Life Regen rate.

Well, there's also the 72% Deadly Strike, 10% Open Wounds, synergized Zeal, and there's all that elemental damage (okay, so not much fire damage against Diablo and not much lightning damage against Mephisto, but still, those level 30 auras have to count for something, right?) in addition to the physical damage. Mightn't all that be able to outrace their hideous regeneration rates?

[Clervis]

those level 30 auras have to count for something, right?) in addition to the physical damage. Mightn't all that be able to outrace their hideous regeneration rates?

Maybe. I need to do some experimenting. But the thing is, if you get surrounded by minions (particularly Pit Lords) you might only be landing every 5 hit on your target. More physical damage would really help you in this by dispatching Pit Lords, maintaining your leech, and getting that extra damage on the ubers. I'm starting to think that physical focused Auradin (like yours) would be far superior for ubers than my old guide. Hence why I kind of want to rewrite it.

[Clervis]

Texxxmex sent me a message asking if I was going to rewrite my guide like I was pondering. Ultimately, I told him, I don't really have the time and I don't think people have the interest to warrant a rewrite, but I did go through some of the points that I would have included. Below you can find my suggestions:

Skills:
Before you would max Resist Fire, Resist Lightning, Salvation and get a slvl 25 Conviction before bolstering Holy Shield or Defiance. Now, I suggest bumping up Sacrifice (it's possible to max it) rather than Holy Shield or Defiance. The whole point is to bump up physical for an extra prong of attack and to bump up your leeching ability. So the choices below are centered around physical damage options.

Weapon:
There are three HoJ choices with tradeoffs: Phaseblade, Berserker Axe, and Caduceus. I'll show the physical damage, given you max Sacrifice, and the additional IAS you'll need to hit 4 frames per attack (essential!).
-Phaseblade (1.2K-2.6K physdam, needs 39 IAS) offers indestructibility and doesn't require a Faith merc, but physical damage depends on your choice of merc; defensive merc 1.2 phys dam, offensive merc up to 2.6K phys dam. This means you can use IAS gloves + Highlords and whatever merc you want, or use a Faith Merc and throw on a pair of Dracul's Grasp.
-Berserker Axe (2.2K physdam, needs 32+ IAS) offers high physical damage, but requires a Faith merc. You'll need Highlords + IAS gloves; I suggest crafted Blood gloves with LL, ML, Str, Dex, Life, or Resists.
-Caduceus (1.6K physdam, needs 11+ IAS) offers moderate physical damage and potential +skill mods, but requires a Faith Merc. Skill mods to look for are Conviction, Zeal, Redemption, Vigor, and Holy Shield (ultra-rare); however, high level skills can make repairs expensive. You only need Highlords so throw on some Drac's for gloves.

Merc:
-Phaseblade build can choose whatever merc he wants. A Defensive merc (Act 1 w/ Ice Bow, Act 2 Holy Freeze, Act 2 Defiance, etc.) will give you 1.2K physical damage. A Faith merc allows him to use Drac's and yields 1.6K physical damage. An Act 2 Offensive merc with Pride provides the maximum physical damage at 2.6K physical damage.
-Berserker Axe & Caduceus builds need a Faith Merc. I'd choose a bugged Fort Armor and Delirium Helms, but that can certainly be an area of preference.

Switch:
The switch traditionally has been CtA with Spirit shield. I've heard one person suggest a Pheonix shield, which brings an interesting dynamic, but ultimately doesn't help you in a sticky situation where it really counts. Another option I'd suggest is the ultra-rare CtA in a Scepter w/ Holy Shield skills. They are ultra-rare but they do exist. If you rope one of these it can save you 11 skill points, which will go right back to your physical damage.

Ubers:
Any of these builds can handle Uber Baal, Uber Diablo and any of the lesser gods because none are immune to Fire, Lightning, or Physical and you can leech from all of them with or without Life Tap. You can take on all of these with regular gear. Uber Mephisto, however, is a four prong problem. One, he is immune to Lightning Damage (80% after Conviction). Two, he is immune to life leech (Life Tap works, though). Three, his minions are skeletons which you also can not leech from (except Life Tap). Four, he has an slvl 20 Conviction (-125 resist all). Hence, some gear/strategy adjustments need to be made for Uber Mephy, but nobody else really.

First, Mephy's Conviction means that you'll have to use your Conviction to cancel his. Note: this only means you don't suffer his effects, your merc will and he will likely die. So there's no point in switching up your main aura. Second, you'll need a form of life tap. The Berserker & Phaseblade builds can have this problem, but others might want a more dependable form considering Drac's low proc rate (5% on striking). Here are some options:
-Exile provides 15% on striking and a tremendous defense boost at the expense of Dream, which you really don't need.
-Last Wish provides 10% on striking, tremendous Crushing Blow, slvl 11 Fade, and a Might aura to boot at the expense of the IAS and Fire damage. Your best bet it in a War Spike.
-Life Tap charged item- These last less than a minute usually so you'll have to recast. Options are magic/rare daggers, wands or axes (on switch); Marrowwalk (you'll lose Goreriders 15 CB & 15 DS).

Lastly, damage is the issue. You can't rely on Lightning, instead you have to rely on your Fire, physical, and the Crushing Blow portion of your physical. In addition, you lose 75% of your fire damage by dropping Hand Of Justice. Hence, what you're left with is crushing blow and straight physical damage. Swap you dream helm out for Guillame's Face, socket it with an Um or IAS jewel, and you'll have 50% chance (w/ Goreriders's) of taking 1/8 of Mephy's life per hit. With Last Wish, you'll be at 100% chance. With the Conviction aura, you'll probably have around a 85% chance to hit Mephisto using Zeal. This is a decent delivery method so long as you're smart and take him on separate from his brothers. The last quarter of his life, of course, will take long than the previous 3/4, but with the skill investment in physical damage you could do a decent amount of damage. If you want an even faster kill, Grief works wonders on that last segment. Fortitude makes a good replacement for Dragon, as well. Hence, the gear I suggest for Ubers is somewhat modifiable. The below alternate gear setups from best and most expensive to doable and cheaper.

Best Option
Weapon: Last Wish (War Spike)
Helm: Guillame's Face (IAS jewel)
Armor: eBugged Fortitude
Shield: Exile

Medium Option
Weapon: Grief (Phase Blade)
Helm: Guillame's Face (IAS jewel)
Armor: eBugged Fortitude
Shield: Exile

Cheap Option
Weapon: Grief (Phase Blade)
Helm: Guillame's Face (IAS Jewel)
Armor: Fortitude

I hope this helps.

[Schnarklicks]

Hi, thank you for the guide.

I am still reading through it so I apologize if this was answered in the guide, however I made an Auradin in patch 1.11 using the 30 holy fire and 30 holy shock method that you propose. I had vamp gloves, verdungos, sandstorm, maras, and good rings as well (I think raven and SOJ) for gear, and he got totally smoked in Hell, I mean totally smoked. Yeah, he could kill stuff, but he wasn't by any means this "killing machine" that the Auradin build I was reading would propose he would be.

I want to make another auradin because I think they are one of the coolest and most unique builds, but before I put the time in I want to make sure that it's going to be viable. I will read the rest of your guide and then reply.

[Clervis]

Well it looks like you didn't follow the guide too well, which is your prerogative. Some of the gear suggestions may seem interchangeable, but they are subtly important. Toss the Maras, Verdungos, Sandstorm Trek, and SoJ. One thing I noticed is that you don't have any mana leech. You don't need a lot, just some. Also, you need to make sure you have max block and maxed resists (at least in fire and lightning). Without these two you won't be nearly as rugged. If killing speed is the issue, you need to make sure that you have maxed your synergies (slvl 20 Resist Fire, Resist Lightning, Salvation, Sacrifice). More importantly, though, you need to hit 4 frames per attack, which with your setup is only attainable through a Faith Merc and a Phase Blade HoJ. But keep in mind that this is a well-rounded build, not a glass cannon like most Sorcs and Zons, so while he might not kill as fast as a pumped Lightning Fury or Meteor, he can tank quite a bit of punishment if properly equipped.

[Namtar]

Been a while since I've read through all this, so I'm probably repeating something that's been said a few times, but it's important to realize just why it is that you want to max your Zeal attack rate: every hit adds the damage from the auras as well as potentially giving a proc for Hydra, crushing blow, deadly strike, open wounds, and lifesteal. The combination of a level 25 Conviction and the ITD on Hand of Justice ensure that you're landing lots and lots of Zeal hits, even without anything that gives you much AR. My auradin has 2510 Attack Rating, which would normally be pretty bad for a melee character, but I still slaughter everything in the game. Of course, having a high attack speed is good in general, but it's especially important for an auradin because you can't really trade faster striking for higher damage. Your physical damage is mediocre. It's all the stuff that gets added per-hit that gives you killing power.

[Clervis]

I think those Hydra's are especially underrated. When you take on a good sized mob, you can get about 5 hydra's out at a time. They just unleash a fury of little firebolts. It's great for dealing with the stragglers because once all of the heads get oriented a few targets, they just don't stand a chance.