WB Centje
Zealot build:
///Skills///
20 Zeal (main attack)
20 Sacrifice (synergy)
20 Fanaticism (main aura)
Other skills usually used:
20 Holy Shield (not necessary to max but I think it's definitely worth 20 points since it can give you monstrous defense these days)
One other option is to put some points into the three Resist auras to receive a passive bonus to max resists (for every 2 pts in a resist aura, you get a passive bonus of 1 pt to your maximum resist. for example: 10 in resist cold would raise your max cold resist by 5 pts at all times, even with the aura not active). This also adds to your Vengeance damage for PI's.
1 pt in other utitlity auras and skills. Make sure you have Vengeance for PI's. They aren't extremely common but can be dealt with. I find Redemption, Vigor, and Cleansing to all be invaluable. If you party play people will constantly be screaming "Gimme Salvation PLZ!". Do so if you wish. But I only suggest one point in Salvation with + skills carrying you the rest of the way.
Try to max your skills in this order: Fanaticism, Zeal, Sacrifice, Holy Shield. But make sure you immediately get at least 4-5 in Zeal and 5 or so in Holy Shield. Sacrifice is a good skill to use while waiting for Zeal at low levels. It does insane damage when combined with Might and won't hurt you much until later in the game when you deal high amounts of damage.
///Stats///
Str: Enough to wear your end game gear, you know what that is so you put the points you need here. If you wear Zak shield then you can generally have 20 less str invested since you get 20 from it and it's pretty light (unless you upgrade).
Dex: Enough for max block. With max Holy Shield, HoZ, and even possibly Guardian Angel you won't need much. You'll probably end up with enough dex to wear phase blades too. But don't kill yourself to get there.
Vitality: Everything else. Should be well over 200 maybe more.
Energy: Nothing obviously. Zeal costs 2 mana and leeches like crazy.
///Equipment///
Weapons:
Schaeffer's Hammer (still very good)
Stormlash (similiar to Schaeffer's, I think this one is VERY good on a Zealot)
Breath of the Dying. Sick, absolutely sick. Put this in an ethereal
Berserker Axe or other 6 socket one hander and you're not going to have much trouble even with Hell.
These are some awesome endgame choices for weapons. But all of them will cost you an arm and a leg and all the items on your mules.
Almost any of the new elite weapons will work. Some of these that are quite good are Nord's Tenderizer, Demon Limb, Azurewrath, or some oldies like Baranar's Star.
You will want to hit the 4fps breakpoint which gives 6.2 attacks per second. With many weapons (BotD, Stormlash) this is almost a given. With some however it's harder (Schaeffer's). Check out the calculator to figure out how much you need for your weapon choice.
One weapon I must suggest for any Zealot (especially those on ladder) is the ridiculously easy to make and effective:
Crescent Moon Runeword (Shael + Um+ Tir). Only useable in Sword/Axe/Polearm so only Swords and Axes for our build.
Stats:
10% Chance To Cast Level 17 Chain Lightning On Striking
7% Chance To Cast Level 13 Static Field On Striking
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+180-220% Enhanced Damage (varies)
Ignore Target's Defense
-35% To Enemy Lightning Resistance
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+9-11 Magic Absorb (varies)
+2 To Mana After Each Kill
Level 18 Summon Spirit Wolf (30 Charges)
Very good and very easy to make. Highly suggested for those on the ladder, or those with little resources. Only rune that is remotely hard to find is Um. The countess in Nightmare can drop the others very easily. Um can be traded for with little difficulty.
Rares have to potential to roll upwards of 400ed now, plus other good mods. DO NOT LEAVE RARES ON THE GROUND. Even normal rares can be upgraded to exc/elite if they are awesome enough.
And finally, don't forget you can cube any weapon class now with gems. I made a Cruel War Pike of Alacrity (1 socket) for my merc the other day with some chipped and trash gems I had laying around. So don't rule this option out at all.
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Weapon Switch: Lightsabre for Gloams is nice, make sure your resists are maxed against these guys too (we're talking Hell gloams here). A good bow is good for IM casting dorks. Here are some options:
Burriza (upgrade for a little more damage, but higher req)
Widowmaker (fire magic arrows, very ideal when combined with Fanaticism).
Or just any good bow. You can go into ranger mode at rare times (IM Mages) and it's very helpful. You'll be surprised at your damage output with a good bow and Fanaticism.
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Armor:
Guardian Angel, Chains of Honor Runeword (for the rich), and Stone runeword are all good choices. I suggest Guardian as a backup for any Paladin build cause of the sick elemental damage you'll be taking in certain areas of Hell.
Helms:
For the rich: Crown of Ages (wow, this thing is powerful, especially with 2 sockets), Andariels Visage (very useful helm, especially for those going the Schaeffer's/slower weapon route since they'll need lots of IAS). Don't forget, if you use Andariel's to include some extra fire resists to make up for it's penalty. Vampire Gaze is still VERY good too. Never forget Vamp Gaze as an option for a Zealot.
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For the Rich: Herald of Zakarum. The best shield out there. Alma Negra lacks resists but is still quite nice. Dragonscale is cool but probably doesn't fit a Zealot build too well.
Exile runeword has the potential to be an insane shield. Gives you defiance aura and if placed in an Ethereal Elite Paladin Shield can offer insane defense. It also has chance to cast Life Tap (also known as "immunity to death" for zealots), max bonus towards your resists, freezes target (awesome on a Zealot), 2 to offensive auras, and other good mods. Make sure your shield as high base resists though or you'll be hurting for resists in Hell. It does repair durability too so you can make it in an Ethereal shield and have no worries.
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Gloves:
Deaths Gloves (combined with sash)
Sigons Gloves (combined with belt)
Bloodfist, Venom Grip, Lavagout. Rare/Crafted gloves can be nice too.
Laying of Hands are ideal. IAS, Fire resist, and sick damage to demons mod. Soul Drainers and Steelrend (high str req though) are very good too.
But the best gloves out there for a Zealot are Dracul's Grasp:
+90-120% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+10-15 To Strength (varies)
+5-10 Life After Each Kill (varies)
25% Chance of Open Wounds
7-10% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies)
5% Chance To Cast Level 10 Life Tap On Striking
Ok, the perfect mods for any Zealot right here (and all on one item):
Life Tap is just insane. Half the damage you deal going back to you essentially makes you pretty much invincible. This triggers VERY often with Zeal at 4fps by the way.
Life after each kill and Strength bonus are both nice. Chance for open wounds is just awesome with the regen rates of enemies now.
And 7-10& life leech! As if the Life Tap on strike wasn't enough to keep you alive. These gloves are wondrous to say the least.
They won't give you IAS but you probably won't need it unless you go with a very slow weapon.
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Belt:
Deaths/Sigons as suggested in the gloves. With two pieces of these sets you get nice bonuses. Leech, and IAS for example. VERY good cheap options here.
String of Ears is still probably the best.
Verdungo's Hearty cord can be quite nice too though, considering you'll probably have enough leech as it is.
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Boots:
Gore Riders are probably the best boots you'll find. With Deadly Strike, Crushing Blow, Open wounds, and good R/W it's hard to beat these boots.
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Rings:
Raven Frost is perfect. Especially since you won't have CBF anywhere else on your gear probably.
For a second ring I suggest a nice rare dual leech ring since they are back. Blood rings are always nice. As are the BK ring, carrion wind (very good actually), and Dwarf Star/Wisp Projector in your stash for fights with elmental baddies.
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Amulets:
For engame the best is probalby Highlords. Looking at the mods you can see why I'd say this. Seraph's Hymn and Metalgrid are much better than most people think. Both of these have great potential.
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Charms:
Go for all resist charms if possible. Even with HoZ and resists on other gear you'll still need more in Hell. It's also easy to find single resist charms with 9-11% and save them. By the time you reach Hell you really need maxed resists, nothing less is acceptable when you go toe to toe with LE's, Steel Scarabs, Gloams, Balrogs, Abyss Mages, Diablo, etc...etc...
Other than that an Annihilus is good.... if you can get one. Gheed's can give nice gold/mf. And skill charms are probably better replaced by life/resist charms, but a few can't hurt either.
ga de build hierin volgen, lijkt mij goed geargumenteerd, maar 't zal voor morgen ofzo zijn zenne ;-) ni vandaag...