12-11-2003, 06:01 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-11-2003, 06:13 PM by IlleglWpns.)
I've been playing a charger paladin lately , and it's been so much fun that I decided to write a guide. This first two parts will focus on skill point allocation, and using charge effectively. The equipment section will go up when I have more time. Any corrections/additions are welcome.
Part I: Skill Allocation
As a charger the focus of your build is doing ginormous physical damage. The bulk of your charge damage will come from the two synergies (vigor and might), which when maxed add 800% to damage vs. 575% from the skill itself. I highly recommend maxing both. Maxing charge, vigor, and might uses 60 skill points. A typical character tops out at level 80-85 which means 92-97 skill points counting quest rewards. That means there are quite a few points left. A few of the (IMHO) better options are listed below:
I: Get a better damage dealing aura. Might is great in normal but is lacking in some key areas: For starters, Might does not provide an AR boost. With charge's massive AR bonus it might not seem necessary, but as you'll see later missed charges are a serious problem. The additional AR from, say, fanaticism might not seem like much, but even a few extra % is helpful. Furthermore if you're using conversion as a support skill might is completely useless. You need to hit to convert, and conversion provides no AR boost whatsoever.
The second problem is redundancy. When playing in parties it seems like everyone uses either a holy freeze or might merc, rendering your might moot.
II. Get a crowd control option. One of the nice things about charge is that as long as you're zipping around smacking things into oblivion you won't need crowd control. However things can and do get ugly in a hurry, and certain enemies (especially fast ones) will need more than a merc to distract them. Conversion is perfect for this role because monsters absolutely LOATH their converted brethren. Convert a couple and watch the rest jump on them like Rush Limbaugh on Vicodin.
Because of severe diminishing returns you won't need more than 5 points into conversion. This combined with +skills will do nicely. However you MUST support conversion with the appropriate gear and skill choices for it to be effective. More on this in the equipment section.
Holy freeze is the other option (indeed it's probably the canonical one). The slowdown from holy freeze benefits chargers in several ways. Slower monsters mean that they will reach melee range later, which gives you more time to react and pick a target appropriately. Slower monsters also mean that you can tempt fate (hit and run while the monster is in its swing animation) more effectively. This is especially useful on act bosses and other things you can't knock back with charge.
However since holy freeze is available on mercenaries it might be better not to spend the points in it yourself (since the extra cold damage is useless to you).
III.
Get more defense. If you're using a shield pumping holy shield and defiance is always a good idea. It's not quite as effective with a charger since you're constantly moving around, but there may be occasions where you are forced to tank and there the extra defense and blocking will come in handy.
IV. Get a PI solution
PIs are no longer nearly as common as they were in 1.09, but they are still a pain. Your shiny new BOTD Colossus blade doing a hojillion points of damage won't do squat the first time you run across a stone skin maggot boss.
You have two options here. One is to defeat phys immunities with gear. This means getting a wand with amp damage charges and putting it on weapon switch, or getting a weapon with a high % to cast amp damage.
The second is to invest skill points. There are three possible routes here, one is to invest in vengeance, the other is to use blessed hammer, the third is to use sanctuary. The blessed hammer route has a certain elegance to it since it shares a synergy with charge. Pumping concentration is a good idea, since it increases both charge and hammer damage. However blessed hammers are hard to use and in general a charger won't have the mana pool or equipment to cast hammers for long. Vengeance is a more intriguing option, because its synergies enhance your defensive capabilities. The resist xxx auras now increase maximum resists, so by pumping them you can simultaneously have a decent phys immune killer and greatly increased resistance to the elements. The problem here is striking a good balance between damage, AR, and mana consumption, but it can be done. Both options will require at least 20 points to be effective in hell, so don't be stingy!
For blessed hammer I suggest 20 in concentration and 10 in hammer.
For vengeance I suggest 10-20 in vengeance (for the AR), 10 in resist fire, and 10 in resist lightning.
The third option, sanctuary, is perhaps the most efficient one. Sanctuary negates the resistances of undead monsters. This means undead Physical Immunes will have NO physical resistance while under the influence of sanctuary. Since the only physical immunes you have to face are undead (the spectres in the arcane sanctuary) it comes in handy. 1 point in sanctuary will suffice for this purpose. However if you plan to use the knockback effect of sanctuary as well you will need a greater investment.
Part I: Skill Allocation
As a charger the focus of your build is doing ginormous physical damage. The bulk of your charge damage will come from the two synergies (vigor and might), which when maxed add 800% to damage vs. 575% from the skill itself. I highly recommend maxing both. Maxing charge, vigor, and might uses 60 skill points. A typical character tops out at level 80-85 which means 92-97 skill points counting quest rewards. That means there are quite a few points left. A few of the (IMHO) better options are listed below:
I: Get a better damage dealing aura. Might is great in normal but is lacking in some key areas: For starters, Might does not provide an AR boost. With charge's massive AR bonus it might not seem necessary, but as you'll see later missed charges are a serious problem. The additional AR from, say, fanaticism might not seem like much, but even a few extra % is helpful. Furthermore if you're using conversion as a support skill might is completely useless. You need to hit to convert, and conversion provides no AR boost whatsoever.
The second problem is redundancy. When playing in parties it seems like everyone uses either a holy freeze or might merc, rendering your might moot.
II. Get a crowd control option. One of the nice things about charge is that as long as you're zipping around smacking things into oblivion you won't need crowd control. However things can and do get ugly in a hurry, and certain enemies (especially fast ones) will need more than a merc to distract them. Conversion is perfect for this role because monsters absolutely LOATH their converted brethren. Convert a couple and watch the rest jump on them like Rush Limbaugh on Vicodin.
Because of severe diminishing returns you won't need more than 5 points into conversion. This combined with +skills will do nicely. However you MUST support conversion with the appropriate gear and skill choices for it to be effective. More on this in the equipment section.
Holy freeze is the other option (indeed it's probably the canonical one). The slowdown from holy freeze benefits chargers in several ways. Slower monsters mean that they will reach melee range later, which gives you more time to react and pick a target appropriately. Slower monsters also mean that you can tempt fate (hit and run while the monster is in its swing animation) more effectively. This is especially useful on act bosses and other things you can't knock back with charge.
However since holy freeze is available on mercenaries it might be better not to spend the points in it yourself (since the extra cold damage is useless to you).
III.
Get more defense. If you're using a shield pumping holy shield and defiance is always a good idea. It's not quite as effective with a charger since you're constantly moving around, but there may be occasions where you are forced to tank and there the extra defense and blocking will come in handy.
IV. Get a PI solution
PIs are no longer nearly as common as they were in 1.09, but they are still a pain. Your shiny new BOTD Colossus blade doing a hojillion points of damage won't do squat the first time you run across a stone skin maggot boss.
You have two options here. One is to defeat phys immunities with gear. This means getting a wand with amp damage charges and putting it on weapon switch, or getting a weapon with a high % to cast amp damage.
The second is to invest skill points. There are three possible routes here, one is to invest in vengeance, the other is to use blessed hammer, the third is to use sanctuary. The blessed hammer route has a certain elegance to it since it shares a synergy with charge. Pumping concentration is a good idea, since it increases both charge and hammer damage. However blessed hammers are hard to use and in general a charger won't have the mana pool or equipment to cast hammers for long. Vengeance is a more intriguing option, because its synergies enhance your defensive capabilities. The resist xxx auras now increase maximum resists, so by pumping them you can simultaneously have a decent phys immune killer and greatly increased resistance to the elements. The problem here is striking a good balance between damage, AR, and mana consumption, but it can be done. Both options will require at least 20 points to be effective in hell, so don't be stingy!
For blessed hammer I suggest 20 in concentration and 10 in hammer.
For vengeance I suggest 10-20 in vengeance (for the AR), 10 in resist fire, and 10 in resist lightning.
The third option, sanctuary, is perhaps the most efficient one. Sanctuary negates the resistances of undead monsters. This means undead Physical Immunes will have NO physical resistance while under the influence of sanctuary. Since the only physical immunes you have to face are undead (the spectres in the arcane sanctuary) it comes in handy. 1 point in sanctuary will suffice for this purpose. However if you plan to use the knockback effect of sanctuary as well you will need a greater investment.