DISCLAIMER:
This is property of KIRBIX (Sean D'Hoostelaere). This may be not be
reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not
be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance
written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any
public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.
In plain English, this means that it is against the law for you to copy this
guide. If you want to print it out, that's fine, but I do not permit its use
anywhere on the web or for it to be used for anything profitable.
_________________
/ \
|*****************|
|Table of Contents|
|*****************|
\_________________/
I. Version History
II. What this guide is for
III. Overview of the paladin (Why Auradin?)
IV. Skills
a. Combat skills
b. Offensive Auras
c. Defensive Auras
V. Skill allocation
VI. Stat distribution
VII. Equipment
a. Invariable
1. Gloves
2. Belt
3. Boots
4. Jewelry
b. Variables
c. Final Listings
VIII. Chaos Tristram
IX. Player Versus Player
X. Contact Me
XI. Credits
I. VERSION HISTORY
===============================================================================
1.0- first version
_ _ _
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\_/\_/\_/
II. WHAT THIS GUIDE IS FOR
===============================================================================
This is designed to explain the build of Auradin, a powerful Player Verus Player
build. It is Extraordinarily expensive, and it can only be made on the ladder
realms of battle.net. If you either don't play ladder, or are not a wealthy
man, THIS GUIDE IS NOT FOR YOU.
That aside, these babies can plow through others like nothing and, at a more
recent discovery, can go into chaos tristram and kick total ass.
There are several different layouts that we'll look at and discuss; one focus
will be on pure lightning, one focus on pure fire, and the third will utilize
both.
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III. OVERVIEW OF THE PALADIN (Why Auradin?)
===============================================================================
Auras are an enormous strong point to the paladin- there's no secret there. The
versatility of auras makes Paladins some of the best characters, period.
Well, the auradin takes it a step further, and the entire build focuses around
said auras. Most specifically, the focus goes to the auras that do damage. Using
the attack Zeal to give your character the attack rating bonus needed to hit
your enemies, you let the auras do all of the damage.
Now, this auradin, being meant for PvP, is EXPENSIVE. The reason why? This build
doesn't put a single point into the attack auras. Rather, equipment provides all
of the auras for you.
You see, by wearing two pieces of armor with the runeword dream will give you
2 level 15 auras of holy shock. The funny thing is that the auras stack, giving
you a level 30 aura by default. The same goes for Dragon/Hand of Justice, which
will give you a level 30 holy fire.
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IV. SKILLS
===============================================================================
There are only a dozen or so skills that you will put any points into, and most
of them are prerequisite skills.
If the skills don't have any remote application to this build, I will be
skipping them entirely.
_ _ _
/ \/ \/ \
IVA. Combat skills
===============================================================================
Combat skills are what they sound like. These are the abilities that are used
as attacks. The auras are designed to supplement these attacks. From the smite
of your shield to calling a bolt from heaven, the combat skills are the core
to the attacks of the paladin.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Sacrifice~~
~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 1
Effect: Deal damage to yourself as you viciously attack your foes.
An OK skill, but more importantly used as a synergy for zeal.
HOWEVER, that's only important for a zealot that's doing physical damage, and
you're not.
1 point as a prerequisite.
~~~~~~~
~~Smite~~
~~~~~~~
Required level: 1
Effect: smash your foe with your shield, stunning them
Smite is a great skill if used properly. It ignores defense and stuns. If you
were a different build, this would prove very effective for you. However,
you're not a vindicator, and so you won't be using smite.
Put a point into it as a prerequisite.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Holy Bolt~~
~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 6
Effect: sends a bolt of holy light outwards, healing friends and damaging
undead foes.
Holy bolt can do good damage to the undead, and it can heal your party.
...while that's kind of nice when you're level 7 or 8, it REALLY doesn't have
any place in your build whatsoever. However, it's on the path to holy shield.
A point prerequisite.
~~~~~~~~
~~Charge~~
~~~~~~~~
Required level: 12
Effect: run super-fast at your opponent and strike them.
A great PvP skill- you fly at the opponent and hit 'em.
It's an alternate way to do your duelist. If you want to do charge, each
individual hit will do more damage, though you may find zeal is more
reliable at landing a hit with each attack.
Either max this or max zeal- 0 or 20
Zeal is going to be your main attack on this character. Smite, while being
more effective at dealing damage, doesn't work with the auras, and zeal is
the next best thing.
If you're gonna go charger, then don't even put a point here, but you may
find that this is a more reliable attack, although it does nowhere near
as much damage.
All or nothing- 0 or 20
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Blessed Hammer~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 18
Effect: sends a hammer spiraling around you at your foes.
Hammerdins love this spell- Yea, it really is AWESOME, but that's not what
you're about. 1 point into it as a prereq and forget about it altogether.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Holy Shield~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 24
Effect: Magically enhances shield to give defense bonuses
Holy shield is an EXCELLENT ability that increases your defense and your chance
to block. What more is there to say?
Definitely max this baby as soon as you can get around to it. I'd max your
attack auras first, though.
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IVB.Offensive Auras
===============================================================================
Offensive auras surround your paladin, giving him boosts to his attack. Some of
them add elemental damage, some of them simply up your damage. One of them
simply lowers the elemental resistance of your enemies.
~~~~~~~
~ight~~
~~~~~~~
Required level: 1
Effect: enhances your damage
This is the first aura, and it's a good one. Adding 40% to your damage
immediately, might adds damage.. what more could you want? The more the
better! However, you're not doing physical damage- you're inflicting elemental
damage.
This is one of the cores skills to the auradin, so I'll explain it here:
It has two effects. One, it adds LOTS of fire damage to your attacks. Two, it
"pulses", which means that every few seconds, it deals fire damage to the
nearby enemies.
You'll be utilizing both; for PvM, the focus will be more in the added damage,
but many PvP duelers allow the pulse to kill their opponents.
1 point here- let your equipment take care of you.
~~~~~~~~
~~Thorns~~
~~~~~~~~
Required level: 6
Effect: Inflict damage back the enemy
For every one damage the enemy does to you, they take 10 back! AWESOME!
... the problem is that the enemies in hell have 100x the health as they do
damage, and that's a lot of damage that you're gonna have to sustain for it to
kill the enemy. Not to mention that it doesn't work on magic damage.
1 point as a prerequisite, but don't ever bother with it.
Great aura- it has the same effects as the holy fire aura, but the pulse also
instantly chills (slows) all enemies.
It's a very popular aura for your mercenary, and that's where you'll have it.
1 point as a prerequisite.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Holy Shock~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 24
Effect: Sends electric damage through your foes
Exactly the same as the holy fire and holy freeze- pulses lightning damage, and
adds lit damage to your attacks.
ZERO points here- it's not a prerequisite to anything, so ignore it.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Sanctuary~~
~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 24
Effect: Deals damage to the undead
This is another pulsing aura spell, but it only damages undead foes.
It's USELESS when compared to the elemental auras.. don't bother.
1 point prereq and pretend it doesn't exist.
Here's the aura that you're gonna equip. It lowers enemy resists, which ups
your elemental damage, and it also lowers their defense so that zeal has that
much less difficulty connecting with the enemy.
Max this skill- it's a must-have ability.
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IVC. Defensive Auras
===============================================================================
The defensive auras serve the same purpose as the offensive auras, but they
instead increase your defense properties.
~~~~~~~~
~~Prayer~~
~~~~~~~~
Required level: 1
Effect: heals all within range of it
It heals VERY SLOWLY, for a VERY HIGH mp amount. Don't ever use it.
Still, it's a prereq. 1 point
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Resist Fire~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 1
Effect: increases your resistance to fire
While it's not a great skill on its own, it has two benefits:
1) It's a synergy for holy fire
2) It raises your max resists 1 resist for every 2 levels.
Max it; not only will you now have 85 fire resist, but HF will be that much
stronger.
Defiance is, as an aura, very good. However, you've got better things to use.
It's got a great synergy with holy shield, but unfortunately, you don't have
the points to spend.
1 point here.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Cleansing~~
~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 12
Effect: reduces poison and curse time
Useful in act 2 normal- after that, totally useless.
1 point as a prereq.
An EXCELLENT aura. When you're not fighting, this is a great way to get around
the map.
1 point, because you can't afford to pump it. Wish you did, but you don't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
~edetation~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 24
Effect: Raises your mana
Unlike prayer, this spell costs nothing and will quickly recharge your mana.
When you don't have bodies to redeem, this spell is invaluable.
Put a point into it, and let +skills do the rest.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Salvation~~
~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 30
Effect: increases all resistances
This is a crowd-pleaser, as it raises all of your resists by a TON.
It also synergizes Holy fire AND shock.
Max it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Redemption~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 30
Effect: Gain life and mana off of nearby corpses
When you've finished destroying a group of enemies, you're often missing
some health and mana. One point into redemption and you'll fill your mana and
life very quickly, making you ready for the next group of baddies.
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V. SKILL ALLOCATION
===============================================================================
Now we get to the three variations to the build: Do you want to use Holy Shock,
Holy Fire, or Both?
If you use only Holy Fire, the following point setup is ideal:
That's 80 points out of a possible 110. Assuming you have level 1 HS, you also
need another 17 points, for a total of 97.
That build can be achieved by level 85, and the remaining points can go into
Holy Shield.
~+~+~+~+~+~+~
A holy shock build will be exactly the same, except that you max resist
lightning instead.
~+~+~+~+~+~+~
As for the dual tree, just max the second resist aura and skip out on salvation.
It's fairly simple to build each of them, with little variation between the
three.
========================
This build is useless PvM, so don't worry about what order to max the skills.
Just be sure to reach the correct end-result. Without your auras added by armor,
you're as much use as a fish out of water...
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VI. STAT DISTRIBUTION
===============================================================================
As you well know, there are 4 statistics that you can allocate points to:
Strength, Dexterity, Vitality and Energy.
\ /\ /
Strength
/ \/ \
Strength is what allows you to equip things. Strength requirements
vary from person to person. If you have Annihilus and the torch, you have a
HUGE boost to your strength.
The highest strength you'll need is 148 for your vortex shield, so aim for 150.
Unless you're a fire paladin, in which case you'll need 174 for Crown of Ages.
\ / \ /
Dexterity
/ \ / \
Dexterity determines your attack rating and your chance to block.
While you do need attack rating, you'll be getting your bonuses from other
areas. Instead, you need dex for block rate. With a paladin, 75% block (max
block) is easily obtainable. With maxed holy shield, you can expect somewhere
around 100 dexterity will be quite enough. It varies by person and your +skill
charms. Shoot for 100-110.
\ /\ /
Vitality
/ \/ \
Every extra point will go into vitality. More health decreases the
odds that you'll die; it's that simple.
\ /\ /
Energy
/ \/ \
NO energy- zeal takes 2MP, and nothing else costs a thing.
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VII. EQUIPMENT
===============================================================================
Equipment is the heart of the auradin- it's where ALL of his damage comes from.
Therefore, it is necessary that you have the correct equipment.
There is no "OK, but not the best" equipment- it's all or nothing.
NOW, several pieces of equipment do not vary, no matter your build. Let's list
those first, shall we?
VIIa1.
********
**GLOVES**
********
For gloves, there's only one choice- you need Dracul's Grasp. The chance to
cast life tap allows you to fight and not die.
\Dracul's Grasp (Unique Vampirebone Gloves)
/Defense: 125-145
\+90-120% Enhanced Defense
/+10-15 To Strength
\+5-10 Life After Each Kill
/25% Chance of Open Wounds
\7-10% Life Stolen Per Hit
/5% Chance To Cast Level 10 Life Tap On Striking
VIIa2.
******
**BELT**
******
Verdungo's Hearty Coil provides tons of good stuff for you- damage reduction,
massive vitality boost, and a bonus to your hit recovery. Get it!
\Verdungo's Hearty Cord (Unique Mithril Coil)
/Defense: 125-158
\+90-140% Enhanced Defense
/10% Faster Hit Recovery
\+30-40 To Vitality
/Replenish Life +10-13
\+100-120 Maximum Stamina
/Damage Reduced By 10-15%
VIIa3.
*******
**BOOTS**
*******
Your boots need to be sturdy- they carry your feet! The boots of choice for an
auradin are sandstorm treks. An all-around durable boot, they'll take you
anywhere.
\Sandstorm Trek (Unique Scarabshell Boots)
/Defense: 158-178
\+140-170% Enhanced Defense
/+20% Faster Hit Recovery
\+20% Faster Run/Walk
/+1-99 Maximum Stamina (Based On Character Level)
\+10-15 To Strength
/+10-15 To Vitality
\50% Slower Stamina Drain
/Poison Resist +40-70
\Repairs 1 Durability In 20 Seconds
VIIa4.
*********
**JEWELRY**
*********
On an auradin, you'll do damage from your pulses, but generally speaking, you
need to get most of your damage from the added damage to zeal. Therefore, it'd
be a good idea to have a zeal that actually connects. That requires Attack
Rating.
The best method of pumping your attack rating is to use the angelic set.
\Angelic Halo (Set Piece Ring)
/Required Level: 12
\Replenish Life +6
/+20 To Life
\+144-1188 Attack Rating (Based On Character Level) (2 Set Items)
/+50% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items (3 Set Items)
***************
\Angelic Wings (Set Piece Amulet)
/Required Level: 12
\20% Damage Taken Goes to Mana
/+3 To Light Radius
\+75 Life (2 Set Items)
/+1 To All Skills (3 Set Items)
***************
As for your second ring, use a ravenfrost for some great bonuses- AR, dex, and
Cannot Be Frozen.
\Raven Frost (unique ring)
/+150-250 To Attack Rating
\Adds 15-45 Cold Damage, 4 sec. Duration
/Cannot Be Frozen
\+15-20 To Dexterity
/+40 To Mana
\Cold Absorb 20%
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VIIb. Variable equipment
===============================================================================
NOW, for the equipment that varies:
It's time to figure out the equipment that gives auras!
There are two different auras that you'll use- Holy Fire and Holy Shock.
Holy Shock is granted by the runeword "Dream", found in helmets and shields.
Holy Fire is in two runewords- "Dragon", found in armor and shields, and
"Hand of Justice" (HoJ) found in weapons.
SO, here's the stats for those runewords:
\Dream (3 Socket Helms/Shields)- Io+Jah+Pul
/10% Chance To Cast Level 15 Confuse When Struck
\Level 15 Holy Shock Aura When Equipped
/+20-30% Faster Hit Recovery
\+30% Enhanced Defense
/+150-220 Defense
\+10 To Vitality
/Increase Maximum Life 5% (Helms Only)
\+50 To Life (Shields Only)
/+0.625-61.875 To Mana (Based On Character Level)
\All Resistances +5-20
/12-25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
***************
\Dragon (3 Socket Body Armor/Shields)- Sur+Lo+Sol
/20% Chance to Cast Level 18 Venom When Struck
\12% Chance To Cast Level 15 Hydra On Striking
/Level 14 Holy Fire Aura When Equipped
\+360 Defense
/+230 Defense Vs. Missile
\+3-5 To All Attributes
/+0.375-37.125 To Strength (Based on Character Level)
\Increase Maximum Mana 5% (Armor Only)
/+50 To Mana (Shields Only)
\+5% To Maximum Lightning Resist
/Damage Reduced by 7
***************
\Hand of Justice (4 Socket Weapons )- Sur+Cham+Amn+Lo
/100% Chance To Cast Level 36 Blaze When You Level Up
\100% Chance To Cast Level 48 Meteor When You Die
/Level 16 Holy Fire Aura When Equipped
\+33% Increased Attack Speed
/+280-330% Enhanced Damage
\Ignore Target's Defense
/7% Life Stolen Per Hit
\-20% To Enemy Fire Resistance
/20% Deadly Strike
\Hit Blinds Target
/Freezes Target +3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, you obviously will not use all of these on each build. SO, you need a
backup weapon, body armor, and helmet for the times that you aren't (shield is
always either dream or dragon, so that's taken care of)
When you don't have a dream helmet equipped, all melee paladins go for the
Crown of Ages. Resists, damage reduction and 2 sockets... great helmet.
\Crown of Ages (unique corona)
/Defense: 349-399
\+50% Enhanced Defense
/+100-150 Defense
\+1 To All Skills
/Damage Reduced By 10-15%
\All Resistances +20-30
/+30% Faster Hit Recovery
\Socketed (1-2)
/Indestructible
If you're not using the Hand of Justice (dreamers in particular), the runeword
"Beast" is your best friend. High damage, high IAS and a fanatacism aura to
turn your zeal into a whirling dervish of damage.
\Beast (5 socket axes/scepters/hammers) Ber + Tir + Um + Mal + Lum
/Level 9 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped
\+40% Increased Attack Speed
/+240-270% Enhanced Damage
\20% Chance of Crushing Blow
/25% Chance of Open Wounds
\+3 To Werebear
/+3 To Lycanthropy
\Prevent Monster Heal
/+25-40 To Strength (varies)
\+10 To Energy
/+2 To Mana After Each Kill
\Level 13 Summon Grizzly (5 Charges)
Lastly, for those of you not using Dragon armor, you'll be wearing Chains of
Honor, the all-round best armor in the game. Granted, Fortitude grants damage,
and enigma gives teleportation, but CoH is overall a better armor than
both of them.
\Chains of Honor (4 Socket Body Armor)- Dol+Um+Ber+Ist
/+2 To All Skills
\+200% Damage To Demons
/+100% Damage To Undead
\8% Life Stolen Per Hit
/+70% Enhanced Defense
\+20 To Strength
/Replenish Life +7
\All Resistances +65
/Damage Reduced By 8%
\25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
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VIIC. FINAL LISTINGS
===============================================================================
Lightning Auradin:
"Beast" in a berzerker axe (doesn't have to be- zerker's the best, though)
/"Chains of Honor" in an archon plate (good defense, low strength)
"Dream" in a Vortex shield (Make sure to get 30+ res all in the vortex)
/"Dream" in a Bone Visage
\Angelic Amulet
/Ravenfrost
\Angelic Ring
/Dracul's Grasp
\Sandstorm Treks
/Verdungo's Hearty Cord
Total level of Holy Shock: 30
Fire Auradin:
\Hand of Justice in a berzerker axe (doesn't have to be- it's the best, though)
/"Dragon" in an archon plate (good defense, low strength)
"Dragon" in a Vortex shield (Make sure to get 30+ res all in the vortex)
/Crown of Ages
\Angelic Amulet
/Ravenfrost
\Angelic Ring
/Dracul's Grasp
\Sandstorm Treks
/Verdungo's Hearty Cord
Total level of Holy Fire: 44
Lightning AND Fire Auradin:
\Hand of Justice in a berzerker axe (doesn't have to be- it's the best, though)
/"Dragon" in an archon plate (good defense, low strength)
"Dream" in a Vortex shield (Make sure to get 30+ res all in the vortex)
/"Dream" in a Bone Visage
\Angelic Amulet
/Ravenfrost
\Angelic Ring
/Dracul's Grasp
\Sandstorm Treks
/Verdungo's Hearty Cord
Total level of Holy Shock: 30
Total level of Holy Fire: 30
OOH, By the way- For Charms, you need to get as many Faster Hit Recovery charms
as you can. Also be sure to pick up Paladin Combat Grand Charms to boost your
holy shield and your zeal/charge.
If you need reists, grab resist small charms as well. Expensive, yes, but
that's what it's gotta be.
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VIII. CHAOS TRISTRAM
===============================================================================
Unfortunately, while I do know the strategy to beat chaos tristram, I want to
confirm it with some friends of mine (notably the guy who perfected the
strategy)- I await his email.
Once I get it, I will update this section. For now, here's what I can tell you:
Use fire and lightning, and replace the angelic ring/ammy with Bul-Kathos and
maras(Hand of Justice gives Ignore Target's defense- you don't need the AR)
The conviction aura you have will nullify Mephisto's conviction aura,
so you'll have no problem taking him down (provided you have good resists
normally).
More than that to come!
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IX. PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER
===============================================================================
SO, you have two attacks to choose from: charge and zeal.
If you choose zeal, you're looking at anywhere from 2,000 to 12,000 damage
BEFORE conviction comes into play, and you've got five swings of zeal. Zeal,
while having less AR and less damage than charge, will swing five times, which
gives you that much more of a chance to connect with the other guy.
Charge will do upwards of 14,000 damage before you calculate in the conviction,
and it's got a far larger AR bonus than zeal. Still, if it happens to miss,
charge leaves you more open than zeal does.
Your call as to which you use, but the strategy is the same- Stock up on your
resistances, and pump your FHR so that you don't find yourself attacking once,
missing, and promptly dying.
Against casters, you could almost try just letting the aura pulse take them
out... not saying it'll work, but I've seen it done with quite a bit of
success.
X. CONTACT ME
===============================================================================
My guides are NOT perfect, and I'd love someone to proofread them. If you
want to make a correction to it, Email me at kirbix@gmail.com. I'll take
suggestions, but most likely throw them in the garbage. Try and suggest,
though- who knows, I might take it. If you have a good idea, I'll take it,
and I will credit you.
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XI. CREDITS
===============================================================================
Chou Balloon Fighter- for helping to guide me in the right direction. Many
thanks, Chou!
Arreat Summit - Provided all the information
I could possibly want.
GameFaqs and/or CjayC- For making Gamefaqs the #1 game site on the internet.
