Zeal/Fanat Build

[David-P]

ive decided to build a zeal/fanat pally, but i have no idea how to :(, so im afraid if i build the character wrong i'll be disapointed and feel like i've wasted my time. Can anyone give me advice on where to distribute my stats for this Zealot, ive searched around and there isn;t really any specific advice on this. I've already decided on the skills i will use the most, zeal fanat obviously, as well as holy freeze, holy shield and some points in vengeance for physical immunes.

[Taem]

I think the typical Zealot would look something like this:

COMBAT SKILLS

Main Skill: Zeal - 20
Synergy: Sacrifice - 20
Prerequisites: None

Main Skill: Holy Shield 1+
Synergy: Defiance - 0
Prerequisites: Smite, Holy Bolt, Charge, Blessed Hammers

OFFENSIVE AURAS

Main Skill: Fanatisicm - 20
Synergy: None
Prerequisites: Might, Blessed Aim, Concentration

DEFENSIVE AURAS

Main Skill: None
Synergy: None
Prerequisites: None


So you have plenty more points to freely invest into Vigor, Redemption, more Holy Shield and its synergy Defiance, or whatever else floats your boat. So long as you have these main skills listed, you have yourself a zealot :D .

EDIT - Approximatly 43 extra skill points including quests!

[Lord_Olf]

Hi,

just a quick (and rather short) answer to your question:

Obviously, max Fana. For startes, I would put 4 points in Zeal for 5 hits, the rest in Sacrifice. That's because you get more damage from the synergy than from Zeal itself (double, IIRC). Max Zeal (if at all) only AFTER maxing Sacrifice.

I would also recommend maxing Holy Shield, since the damage bonus applies to all armor now, not just the shield. I'm not sure if it's a bug or a feature, but since you'll not be using Defiance, this skill is where most of your Defense will come from.

I would recommend one point in Conviction and one in Redemption (the res-all aura. sorry if I get skill names wrong, german version here). This is to help your party and yourself; Conviction for the spellcasters and for the times you use vengeance, Redemption if you find your resistances or that of your party are lacking.

Instead of putting points into Holy Freeze, I would just hire an A2 NM Merc; saves you skillpoints and you can have Fanat and Holy Freeze on all the time; they complement each other nicely.

It's pretty much a matter of taste how many points you put in Vengeance; I party a lot, so I usually just put one pint into it when soloing, but you might want to it differently.

What to do after you have maxed your primary skills? As for me, I usually started pumping Conviction then, but that was before 1.10 and synergies and damage bonus per SLVL in Zeal. Still viable if you party with spellcasters, I think. But what looks more interesting to me is Defiance; you will not use the Aura itself with this build, BUT it gives 15% Defense bonus per lvl to Holy Shield. So, you could get even more defense, and this probably is what I would do with my next fanatic Zealot: Only 4 points into Zeal, max sacrifice and fanat, rest in Holy Shield and Defiance (and the little helpers mentioned above). That way, you sacrifice 96% Damage to 300% Defense boost from Defiance as a synergy to Holy Shield. A matter of taste, but it looks sound to me.

Well, hope I could help out a bit, still, no guarantees here!

Good luck with your build,

Lord_Olf

[David-P]

thanks for the great advice on where to put skills points :) . But i am still utterly cluesless about where i should place my stats points :( can anyone help me here?

[Lord_Olf]

Hi again,

I'd say it depends on your chioice of equipment and your style of play, i. e. Hardcore or Softcore. I'd leave Energy at base, get enough dex so I can keep up 75% block with holy shield and good To-Hit, and spread the rest between Strength and Vitality. In HC, I'd probably only pump strength to enable me to use my choice of armor and weapon and put the rest into Vitality.

Have fun,

Lord_Olf