-Diablo 2 Vindi/Smiter Guide (1.11)
-V3.0 (09/04/05)
-By KIRBIX
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 Smiter?)
IV. Skills
a. Combat skills
b. Offensive Auras
c. Defensive Auras
V. Skill allocation
VI. Stat distribution
VII. Equipment
VIII. Leveling up
IX. Chaos Tristram
X. Player Versus Player
XI. Mercenary
XII. Contact Me
XIII. Credits
I. VERSION HISTORY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.0- first version; I'm tired of smiter topics, so let's make a guide!
2.0- Ashnod provided some much needed criticism.
3.0- It was a mess; it needed some fixing, so I fixed it!
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II. WHAT THIS GUIDE IS FOR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is designed to explain the build of vindicator, a very powerful PKing
build that has recently taken the limelight due to the fact that it can go
through chaos tristram by itself and thrash the evil brothers.
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III. OVERVIEW OF THE PALADIN (Why Smiter?)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The paladin is a unique blend of character. Generally speaking, he's a melee
character, having attacks that utilize attacking up close. However, the paladin
is unique from a barbarian, assassin or amazon in that he has auras. These auras
give him magical properties to defeat his foes. Abilities such as automatic
healing, boosts to attack and defense, raising/lowering resistances of those
around you.
The Smiter utilizes the ability Smite- using smite, a paladin swings his shield
at the foe and deals damage with his shield. Smite is useful because it is very
fast and cannot be blocked. Against bosses, it can be invaluable due to the fact
that you will never miss, meaning that abilities such as crushing blow can be
activated with relative ease.
While never being quite as powerful as the hammerdin, the smiter is perfect for
one-on-one battling. Holy shield, an ability designed to add damage to smite,
also adds blocking ability and defense. Therefore, Smiters will have very high
defense by default, and seeing as paladin is designed to be defensive, it is
fairly simple to create a smiter that will attack fast and hard while having
ridiculous defense and block. Smiters are, simply put, unstoppable tanks.
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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 (most of the auras) don't have any remote application to this
build except prerequisite, I will be skipping them entirely.
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/ \/ \/ \
A. 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.
~~~~~~~
~~Smite~~
~~~~~~~
Required level: 1
Effect: smash your foe with your shield, stunning them
This baby is the core of your build. You will want to max this early. You see,
smite gives good bonuses with each level, can be obtained early, and the Mana
cost NEVER GOES UP. It will always cost 2 mana to use it, no matter how
powerful you have made it. Max it ASAP
<>
~~Smite is a weapon skill and thus is affected by Attack Speed
(e.g. 'Fanaticism') and is not affected by Cast Rate (e.g. -of the
Apprentice). Smite works with any "X% Chance to cast level Y (spell) upon
striking ability on your weapon.
~~Smite does not receive added damage vs. undead with the Sanctuary aura.
~~The Fire/Cold/Lightning damage added to attacks with the Holy-Fire,
Holy-Freeze, and Holy-Shock auras do not add onto Smite damage.
~~Smite does not work with Life/Mana % Steal, but the lifetap curse DOES
work.
~~Smite can also deal crushing blow and open wounds damage, but not deadly
strike and elemental damages.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~~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.
Not a bad skill, but Smite is better. You get leftover points when you're done
maxing required skills, and people often use their leftover points in this
skill.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~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 has three uses- it raises your defense, it raises your block, and
it increases your smite damage. As a character that needs high defense, block
and smite damage, holy shield is an absolute MUST.
Because the Mana cost doesn't raise, you can max it whenever you want.
However, you'll definitely want to max your attacks first.
20 points, for sure.
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B.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.
~~~~~~~
~~Might~~
~~~~~~~
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, of the attack auras, it is the weakest- one point as a prereq
and don't bother again- concentration and fanaticism are better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Blessed Aim~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 12
Effect: enhances your attack rating
Useless aura for you- you don't bother with Attack Rating.
1 point as a prereq.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Concentration~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 18
Effect: greatly enhances your damage
A better version of Might. However, it's not as good as fanaticism. One point
there and use it until level 30, and forget it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Fanaticism~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 30
Effect: Greatly boosts damage, attack speed and attack rating
While it doesn't give as much damage as concentration, the added attack speed
means EVERYTHING. The faster you can smack the opponent, the faster you'll use
the mods on your equipment to kill your opponent. It's your main aura.
Max this aura.
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C. 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
~~~~~~~~~~
~~Defiance~~
~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 6
Effect: Greatly boosts defense
Defiance is, as an aura, very good. However, fanaticism is a better aura- you
will never use defiance.
HOWEVER, it synergizes with holy shield for a nice defense bonus. This is very
important later on, and you're going to want this skill maxed in the end. I
do mean in the end- this is the last skill you'll max.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Cleansing~~
~~~~~~~~~~~
Required level: 12
Effect: reduces poison and curse time
Useful in act 2 normal- after that, totally useless.
1 point as a prereq.
~~~~~~~
~~Vigor~~
~~~~~~~
Required level: 18
Effect: increases speed and stamina
An EXCELLENT aura. When you're not fighting, this is a great way to get around
the map.
With the leftover points you have, people either pump vigor or charge. It's
your call- +skills will give you good vigor regardless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Medetation~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~
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, and in some cases, a necessary action to take.
1 point. With +skills, you'll have maxed out resistances without trouble; a
necessity when in hell. Basically, use it when in parties, but don't make it
your crutch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Smite is available from square one. Dump your points into smite. Place your
points into prerequisites from time to time, as well. You can place a couple of
points into defiance if you want, but there's no reason to this early. You
should have smite maxed by level 30.
Now that you're level 30, you have fanaticism and holy shield to max. Three
points into holy shield, and then max fanaticism. From there, finish off holy
shield. You're now *about* level 60. Start maxing defiance. By level 75 (just
as you're about to enter hell mode) you should have great defense AND attack,
even without good equipment.
When you've maxed defiance, you get to pick where you put the rest of your
skills. I prefer dumping into vigor, as it's awesome for between battles (and
it also is a decent substitute for teleport in baal runs).
If you're planning to PvP rather than solo chaos tristram, however, you should
raise charge. It's a great PvP skill and might just save your ass on occasion.
<>
He makes a valid point- for every 2 points you put into a resist aura, your
paladin gets another point into his maximum resists. Especially if you're
planning to do chaos tristram, this can help a great deal. However, I didn't
include them due to the fact that your need a lot of points, and they are
better spent elsewhere, in my opinion.
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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. A person with an Enigma runeword in their armor
won't need as much strength as everyone else. Just take into account the +str
that you'll get from your equipment.
A few strength goals to hit:
118- guardian angel
174- crown of ages
DEXTERITY- Dexterity determines your attack rating and your chance to block.
Attack rating is useless as a smiter; your attack ignores it. However, 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 POINTS WHATSOEVER. I mean, it's 2 MP that we're talking about. By
level 30, it's a joke to use it.
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VII. EQUIPMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment is always a real hassle for several reasons. One, it's a very
controversial subject. Two, it's extraordinarily difficult to get the stuff you
want.
Because of the controversy over equipment, I suggest you ask the message boards
what's the best way to go. I will also not be posting WHY I chose what I chose,
simply to prevent people bothering me about it.
Early on, you want anything that gives +skills, +damage or +AS. Beyond
that, there's not much to look for. +vitaily and +health are good, but it's
hard to come by a piece of equipment with any decent boosts to your health.
At the end, your smiter MUST HAVE the following:
=+resist
=Damage reduction
=LIFE TAP (get it somehow through your equips)
=enhanced damage
=+attack speed
Here's the ideal eqiupment setup to give you what you need.
********
**HELMET**
********
There is really only one helmet that a smiter should use if you're talking
having perfect equipment- the crown of ages.
\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
Damage reduction, Skill boost, resistance boost... and it has two sockets, too.
If you have the money, buy two Ber runes to socket it with. The additional
damage reduction is ideal.
However, if you don't want to pay for a CoA, or you hate the strength req, you
can always use the Harlequin Crest. Socket it and add an Um for the resists.
\Harlequin Crest (unique shako)
/Defense:98-141
\+2 To All Skills
/+1-148 To Life (Based On Character Level)
\+1-148 To Mana (Based On Character Level)
/Damage Reduced By 10%
\50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
/+2 To All Attributes
*******
**ARMOR**
*******
Armor is between two rune words, really. Oddly, enigma isn't one of them this
time around. This time you're going to want Fortitude or Chains of Honor. No
need to get complicated- just use a dusk shroud.
Chains of Honor is clearly the better armor of the two, but fortitude has
enhanced damage (a LOT of enhanced damage)- It's up to you which one you use
based on your needs, but generally speaking, assuming you can get everything
else that you need in this list, fortitude is far better.
\Fortitude (4 Socket Body Armor)- El + Sol + Dol + Lo
/20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when Struck
\+25% Faster Cast Rate
/+300% Enhanced Damage
\+200% Enhanced Defense
/+15 Defense
\+(1-1.5)-(99-148.5) To Life (Based on Character Level)
/Replenish Life +7
\+5% To Maximum Lightning Resist
/All Resistances +25-30
\Damage Reduced By 7
/12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
\+1 To Light Radius
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
\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
********
**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
******
**BELT**
******
Verdungo's Hearty Coil provides more damage reduction for you. The more you've
got, the better off you are.
\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%
*******
**BOOTS**
*******
The Gore Riders are the best melee option. Faster run/walk, with open wounds,
crushing blow and deadly strike. Definitely the best choice, especially if you
up them.
\Gore Rider (Unique War Boots)
/Defense: 140-162
\+160-200% Enhanced Defense
/30% Faster Run/Walk
\10% Chance Of Open Wounds
/15% Chance Of Crushing Blow
\15% Deadly Strike
/Requirements -25%
\+20 Maximum Stamina
********
**SHIELD**
********
Your shield is your life force- it is the source of your damage, and it is how
you will block all of your attacks. While Holy Shield should ALWAYS be active
on your smiter, your shield type does still matter. In fact, it's crucial to
have the right shield.
There are two shield types based on your fighting style. If you are PvP and are
facing casters, you will be using Herald of Zakarum. If you're doing ANYTHING
else, you'll use another rune word. You'll use Exile on a Sacred Targe.
\Herald of Zakarum (Unique Gilded Shield)
/Defense: 422-507
\Chance To Block: 82%
/+150-200% Enhanced Defense
\30% Increased Chance Of Blocking
/30% Faster Block Rate
\20% Bonus To Attack Rating
/+20 To Strength
\+20 To Vitality
/All Resistances +50
\+2 To Paladin Skill Levels
/+2 To Combat Skills
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
\Exile (4-socket Paladin Shields)-Vex + Ohm + Ist + Dol
/5% Chance To Cast Level 5 Life Tap On Striking
\Level 13-16 Defiance Aura When Equipped
/+2 To Offensive Auras
\+30% Faster Block Rate
/Freezes Target
\+220-260% Enhanced Defense
/Replenish Life +7
\+5% To Maximum Cold Resist
/+5% To Maximum Fire Resist
\25% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items
/Repairs 1 Durability in 4 Seconds
********
**WEAPON**
********
Finally, it's down to your weapon. There are two very powerful options for the
vindicator. The first option is the Grief rune word. This word adds a high base
damage to your smite attacks, which in turn is multiplied by the bonuses of your
other armor and your aura, and translates into a lot of extra striking power.
On the other hand, Heaven's Light provides +3 to all skills and a good chance
of crushing blow. For people who feel they aren't inflicting crushing blow
often enough, this is the weapon of choice, but bear in mind that crushing blow
cannot kill the enemy; you must eventually do raw damage to kill them off, and
that's where people tend to prefer to use grief, as it gives a lot of extra raw
damage.
\Grief (5 Socket Swords/Axes)-Eth + Tir + Lo + Mal + Ral
/35% Chance To Cast Level 15 Venom On Striking
\+30-40% Increased Attack Speed
/Damage +340-400
\Ignore Target's Defense
/-25% Target Defense
\+1.875 (per character level)% Damage To Demons (Based on Character Level)
/Adds 5-30 Fire Damage
\-20-25% To Enemy Poison Resistance
/20% Deadly Strike
\Prevent Monster Heal
/+2 To Mana After Each Kill
\+11 Life After Each Kill
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
Heaven's Light (Unique Mighty Scepter)
+250-300% Enhanced Damage
+50% Damage To Undead
-33% Target Defense
+20% Increased Attack Speed
33% Chance of Crushing Blow
+15-20 Life After Each Demon Kill
+2-3 To Paladin Skill Levels
+3 To Light Radius
Socketed (1-2)
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
The poor man's option is the black runeword, which provides an excellent chance
for crushing blow.
\Black (3 Socket Clubs/Hammers/Maces)-Thul + Io + Nef
/+120% Enhanced Damage
\40% Chance Of Crushing Blow
/+200 To Attack Rating
\Adds 3-14 Cold Damage - Cold Duration 3 Seconds
/+10 To Vitality
\15% Increased Attack Speed
/Knockback
\Magic Damage Reduced By 2
/Level 4 Corpse Explosion (12 Charges)
*********
**JEWELRY**
*********
There's no options, here- Smiters need this jewelry. For the two rings, a
Bul-Kathos' wedding band and a Raven Frost, while around your neck you'll be
wearing Mara's Kaleidoscope.
\Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
/+1 To All Skill Levels
\+ 0-49 To Life (Based On Character Level)
/3-5% Life Stolen Per Hit
\+50 Maximum Stamina
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
\Raven Frost
/+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%
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
Mara's Kaleidoscope
+2 To All Skill Levels
All Resistances +20-30
+5 To All Attributes
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VIII. LEVELING UP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The great part about a vindicator is the fact that you get smite immediately.
However, smite is... rather useless early on. With a sceptre of any type, you
can deal 20-30 damage with might, whereas your shield will not be likely to top
10 damage. Therefore, you probably will not use your shield until around level
20, or possibly even later than that.
In the first act, just use normal attacks to kill everything- you should find
that it's not a very difficult task whatsoever to finish the act with your eyes
closed.
Act 2 brings lots of new ugly baddies. For a smiter, this act can be a REAL
challenge, as the enemies all use either poison or lightning to damage you.
Without decent defense and resists, you'll be fighting for your life at every
turn. Its recommended that you stick with a group when finishing Act 2- joining
forces with a summoner is always a surefire way to stay alive.
Come Act 3, you should be in the low to mid 20s, which means you will have a
decent smite. Find a good paladin shield and begin using smite as your primary
attack. Due to the overwhelming number of flayers and fetishes that you
encounter, it's advisable that you join a party all the same.
With Act 4, you should have holy shield, which means smite is only getting
better. Start aiming for max block, and stock up on LOTS of fire resist. If your
resist and block are both high, you should be capable of taking the act solo.
If you're having problems, join a group.
You might as well get an Act 5 rush, as there's no good reason to do the Act 5
quests. Get your rush through act 5 and Baal run for a while. You can tank
fairly well, and as long as you've got some sorceress backup, you should do
perfectly fine.
Come nightmare, your smite and fanatisicm should be maxed and you should be
doing fairly powerful smite attacks. From here on out, just take everything
however you choose- If you have problems, join groups of people who are doing
the same thing as you are.
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IX. CHAOS TRISTRAM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Vindicator was initially planned as a PvP build, but that was before Chaos
Tristram was introduced. (For an explanation of Chaos Tristram, check here:
http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin
/file/diablo_ii_lod_111_ultimate_quest.txt)
Chaos Tristram includes the big three, each with monstrous HP. Smiters are,
naturally, the best option when it comes to taking these bad boys down. You're
going to need beyond the maximum resistance, as Mephisto uses conviction to
ruin your resists and slaughter you. Salvation will help quite a bit against
his nasty aura. Crushing Blow is an excellent tool to start the battle quickly.
Beyond that... thwack away! They go down remarkably fast, as you're able to do
ridiculous damage to them, seeing as smite can't be blocked.
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X. PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Vindicator was originally designed as an ultimate PvP fighter, and to this
day the vindi is an excellent PvP choice.
As a vindi, you'll be up in their face, smacking 'em down with smite. Being
close to them will be dangerous, which means you need to keep your ass from
dying. LOTS of resist, damage reduction and defense. Fortunately, holy shield
takes care of defense and block fairly easily, but you still need to stock up
on charms to add to your life, resist and damage reduction. Life leech is an
absolute must. If you don't leech, you die.
Strategy? There isn't one. Just smite them down into the ground. Simple enough,
I think.
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XI. MERCENARY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I almost forgot the loyal companion to your character- a mercenary. Act II
mercs are invaluable to your cause. Most people use a holy freeze mercenary, as
the chill factor means you can better manage the crowds.
HOWEVER, the rich prefer a prayer mercenary. Why, you ask? Simple, a good merc
can get holy freeze himself.
In D2 expansion, mercs were given the ability to equip stuff. The use of the
Doom runeword gives your mercenary holy freeze innately. Of the other auras, the
only useful one left is prayer, and so prayer becomes his innate aura.
Some people use defiance- I personally prefer prayer, though- 100% your call.
You should equip your mercenary with:
*WEAPON*
\Doom (5 Socket Axes/Polearms/Hammers)-Hel + Ohm + Um + Lo + Cham
/5% Chance To Cast Level 18 Volcano On Striking
\Level 12 Holy Freeze Aura When Equipped
/+2 To All Skills
\+45% Increased Attack Speed
/+330-370% Enhanced Damage
\-(40-60)% To Enemy Cold Resistance
/20% Deadly Strike
\25% Chance of Open Wounds
/Prevent Monster Heal
\Freezes Target +3
/Requirements -20%
##################
OR, if you're a bit poorer:
\Bonehew (Unique Ogre Axe)
/+270-320% Enhanced Damage
\Level 14 Corpse Explosion (30 charges)
/Prevent Monster Heal
\30% Increased Attack Speed
/50% Chance To Cast Level 16 Bone Spear On Striking
\Socketed (2)
##################
*ARMOR*
\Guardian Angel (Unique Templar Coat)
/+180-200% Enhanced Defense(varies)
\+20% Increased Chance Of Blocking
/+30% Faster Block Rate
\+ 2-247 To Attack Rating Against Demons (Based On Character Level)
/+1 To Paladin Skill Levels
\+4 To Light Radius
/15% To Maximum Poison Resist
\15% To Maximum Cold Resist
/15% To Maximum Lightning Resist
\15% To Maximum Fire Resist
##################
*HELMET*
\Andariel's Visage (unique demonhead)
/+100-150% Enhanced Defense
\+2 To All Skills
/20% Increased Attack Speed
\8-10% Life Stolen Per Hit
/+25-30 To Strength
\+10% To Maximum Poison Resist
/Fire Resist -30%
\Poison Resist +70%
/15% Chance To Cast Level 15 Poison Nova When Struck
\Level 3 Venom (20 charges)
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XII. CONTACT ME
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This ought to cover all of the basics, but maybe it won't. If I'm missing some
information, or you'd like to add some comments, or maybe you have a question
about the vindicator, don't hesistate to E-Mail me. My Email address is
Kirbix@gmail.com. If you have advice to add and I feel it is useful information,
I will add it to the guide and your name will pop up in my credits.
_ _ _
/ \/ \/ \
\_/\_/\_/
XIII. CREDITS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
St0rm 46- Provided me with a bit of background info for the smite skill.
ASHNOD- One of the best vindicator builders out there, this guide gets his
"stamp of approval"- many comments made were on his recommendation,
and I greatly appreciate the help he gave.
Arreat Summit - The best Diablo 2 website on the
<> internet; many thanks for the info!
GameFAQs and CjayC- The number one gaming site. Period. I appreciate being
allowed to write for you and to help others with their
gaming; you made it possible.
Copyright 2005 ? Sean D'Hoostelaere