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Ranger Smiter Paladins - ClassicM - 11-23-2004

Well I upgraded from playing classic to LOD and I am back in the realms. I am struggling for items but Shenk was kind enough to drop Widowmaker (one of the reasons I joined ladder).

Dunno if any of you guys did this but I am wondering how effective it will be.

Smiter -

20 smite
20 fana
20 holly shield
And some defiance to increase defense rating

Need items that will provide most resist and dexterity with Boots, Gloves, Belt, Armor and Helm + rings and amy. Any suggestions how to get to dex 145+ - str is not that important


On the switch good charge or zeal weapon to reach 4 fps and very good shield. Maybe a runeword in berserker axe or scepter/ceudus with ias mode and + skills.

Zakarum shield or some other power killing + skills shield - upgraded HOZ maybe.

I appreciate the help + any suggestions for + skills are welcome. I was thinking of putting point or two into the Conviction so ranger could deal elemental dmg as well.


Ranger Smiter Paladins - Baajikiil - 11-23-2004

I think you will have trouble with physical immunes. Even if you for conviction, you still need gear that will give you elemental damage. 1 point in vengeance doesn't do the trick (unless you have an elite unique paladin scepter perhaps).
Perhaps an elemental aura?

Other than that, your build should do fine. You will have to do situational retreats often though, they are the hallmark of the ranger. I would think that you will kill most normal monsters with guided arrow, an only resort to smite vs act bosses and leaders(once you've killed the leaders minions). Rangers are fun builds, and usually safe builds. They are not for everybody though, some find them tedious.


Quote:Need items that will provide most resist and dexterity with Boots, Gloves, Belt, Armor and Helm + rings and amy. Any suggestions how to get to dex 145+ - str is not that important

Take a look at IK gloves/belt combo; it gives decent stat boni as well as good resists. Best boots for resists are really rares. If you have them though, Nats boots have decent resists as well as 40% run. Actually, now that I think about it, Nats helm gives dex as well. Pair the boots and the helm for an additional -10? magic damage.

Mara's would be the best amulet, but most likely you can make do with a decent rare. Start your gambling. Same goes for rings. A manald would help with mana steal, but otherwise is lackluster. Look for rares, or maybe a ravenfrost for AR+cannot be frozen.

These suggestions are mostly defensive though(I play HC), to maximize a smiters offense, you really need crushing blow. Dex might not be too much trouble for you anyway; if you intend to keep max block, you'll need over 100 base dex by the time you can use widowmaker.

EDIT: Oh yeah, look at Duress runeword for armor. Hard to beat for resists as well as helping offense(crushing blow and open wounds). You will need some mana steal as well to keep up guided. When using fanat, one decent mana steal item may suffice(6% or more).

Ranger Smiter Paladins - ClassicM - 11-28-2004

Baajikiil,Nov 23 2004, 05:38 PM Wrote:I think you will have trouble with physical immunes.  Even if you for conviction, you still need gear that will give you elemental damage.  1 point in vengeance doesn't do the trick (unless you have an elite unique paladin scepter perhaps). 
Perhaps an elemental aura?

Other than that, your build should do fine.  You will have to do situational retreats often though, they are the hallmark of the ranger.  I would think that you will kill most normal monsters with guided arrow, an only resort to smite vs act bosses and leaders(once you've killed the leaders minions).  Rangers are fun builds, and usually safe builds.  They are not for everybody though, some find them tedious.
Take a look at IK gloves/belt combo; it gives decent stat boni as well as good resists.  Best boots for resists are really rares.  If you have them though, Nats boots have decent resists as well as 40% run.  Actually, now that I think about it, Nats helm gives dex as well.  Pair the boots and the helm for an additional -10? magic damage. 

Mara's would be the best amulet, but most likely you can make do with a decent rare.  Start your gambling.  Same goes for rings.  A manald would help with mana steal, but otherwise is lackluster.  Look for rares, or maybe a ravenfrost for AR+cannot be frozen.

These suggestions are mostly defensive though(I play HC), to maximize a smiters offense, you really need crushing blow.  Dex might not be too much trouble for you anyway; if you intend to keep max block, you'll need over 100 base dex by the time you can use widowmaker.

EDIT: Oh yeah, look at Duress runeword for armor.  Hard to beat for resists as well as helping offense(crushing blow and open wounds).  You will need some mana steal as well to keep up guided.  When using fanat, one decent mana steal item may suffice(6% or more).
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Actually I intended this build for friendly duels! I already made (still making but almost complete) hammeradin for mf. He needs more holly shield faster block help but can manage at lvl 87 decent pit runs.

Now about the ranger...

I absolutely LOVE THE BUILD and am in NM so real fun is about to start in a few days.

I was thinking about Iks glove/ boots combo but lack resistance - although 20dex20str sure seem nice. 40 stat points would be uber.

I need to maximize my resistance with rings and Amy and I need very good armor with the best resistance I can find.

Reason for high dex would be for sure hit with widowmaker and as I investigated for a bit when it comes to dueling smiter’s dexterity and block and defense is all that matters. Hopefully I can make enough with dexterity substitute to have better chances surviving smiter with 10 combat charms, Ill try to go offensive charms so my bow dmg is maximized.

Found whichwild string and I got to tell you how delighted I am. New stats on whichwild are stunning. At lvl 40 I was able to kill with one or two shots any Baal minion and it took a few more for minion bosses and Lister's bunch but it was manageable.

This bow comes with two sockets and I am just wondering how would it look after upgrade - anyone?

I have enough stats for 20 points spared into sacrifice/ zeal - I don’t know if I should put all the points into sacrifice but we will see.

As well how does leach work in pvp, does anyone know what the penalty is?

All in all, I am very delighted so far, more than enough, and I want to thank you for your response.

I am getting d2 addicted again - that might be a bad thing. After all semester is not over yet.

Ranger Smiter Paladins - Dynomite - 11-30-2004

ClassicM,Nov 28 2004, 05:37 PM Wrote:This bow comes with two sockets and I am just wondering how would it look after upgrade - anyone?


As well how does leach work in pvp, does anyone know what the penalty is?

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I would put some shaels in your bow for added 40ias. Maybe you might want some ed or crushing blow but speed is usually the best choice if it will help you. (also shaels are cheap unlike bers or ohms) ;)

As far as I know, leech doesn't work in PvP. I believe that was taken out in 1.10 <_<



Ranger Smiter Paladins - BFD - 12-01-2004

Dynomite,Nov 30 2004, 06:56 PM Wrote:I would put some shaels in your bow for added 40ias.&nbsp; Maybe you might want some ed or crushing blow but speed is usually the best choice if it will help you. (also shaels are cheap unlike bers or ohms)&nbsp; ;)

As far as I know, leech doesn't work in PvP.&nbsp; I believe that was taken out in 1.10&nbsp; <_<
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IIRC, leech is 1/10th in pvp in 1.10. Also, you will most likely want to max Blessed Aim as it provides a passive +5% AR for every hard skill point invested in it. This is in effect when the aura is off, up to maximum of +100% AR when you put all 20 pts into it.

Ranger Smiter Paladins - Baajikiil - 12-01-2004

Quote:Reason for high dex would be for sure hit with widowmaker

Hmm, I would have thought that a ranger/smiter weilding widowmaker would have no need for dex at all(except for blocking). Both Guided Arrow and smite are basically autohit.

In dueling though, it may be very easy run out of mana for guided, especially since many of your hits will be blocked anyway.

Witchwild is quite a good bow right now. There are whole guides devoted to witchyzons, and it is more than capable of being an end game bow(PVM).

As for dueling, well I play only HC and I haven't reached the point of wealth/boredom to duel in HC, so I can't offer too many tips there.

EDIT: To make my post a little more useful:

Quote:This bow comes with two sockets and I am just wondering how would it look after upgrade - anyone?

Witchwild needs 34% IAS to hit the last breakpoint(with lvl 20 fanat), so the best combo inthe sockets would be 1 shael and 1 IAS jewel with a second mod. That's assuming you have no IAS from other gear. The best bet is to aim for 34% total IAS with lvl 20 Fanat. Otherwise, throw in maybe a nef/eth/or damage boosting jewel. It will keep it's sockets, and whatever is in them, when upgraded.

As for upgraded stats, use this calc:Courtesy of adeyke.