d2jsp
Log InRegister
d2jsp Forums > Diablo II > Diablo 2 Discussion > Strategy & Guides > Bui's Vindicator/templar Paladin Guide > East Nonladder V/t Paladin
123178Next
Add Reply New Topic New Poll
Member
Posts: 49,743
Joined: Apr 30 2004
Gold: 14,760.00
Jul 13 2009 06:57pm
Bui’s Vindicator/Templar Paladin Guide




Table of Contents (Clickable)

Page 1
• Introduction
• Duy’s Stats
• Duy Character Screen
• FAQs

Page 2
• Gear
• Stashed Gear
• Recommended Gear

Page 3
• Inventory
• Stat Distributions
• Skill Distributions
• Recommended Hotkeys
• FCR/FHR/Block Tables

Page 4
• Dueling Strategies
• Conclusion

This post was edited by Azn Masta on Jul 13 2009 07:01pm
Member
Posts: 49,743
Joined: Apr 30 2004
Gold: 14,760.00
Jul 13 2009 06:57pm
Introduction:

Hello, my name is Bui and my Vindicator/Templar (V/T) on East is Duy. By modifying numerous builds and setups, I have finally come up with a good combination that is still serving me to this day. In this guide, I will include not only multiple setups for all sorts of occasions and encounters, but also dueling strategies as well. This guide will allow you to make a high smite damage T/V like mine.

Vindicator (Smiters)/Templar (Fist of the Heavens) paladins generally branch out into two different types: V/Ts and T/Vs. Unlike a V/T who relies on high smite damage, a T/V tends to rely not only on smite but a lot on (Fist of the Heavens) FOH to win in a duel. And while this style allows them to have a powerful FOH and decent conviction damage to bring down opponents, they tend to have slightly less smite damage than a V/T. The common view is that V/Ts are better because they have better smite damage. However, what many people do not understand is that while at lower levels, the Smite damage between the two types varies greatly; the gap closes as you level up more. By level 99, a T/V will have ~3200 Smite damage and 5556 FOH damage while a V/T will have ~3350 Smite damage and ~4800 FOH damage. The trade off is only ~100 Smite damage to gain nearly 800 FOH damage. This allows them to tackle tough opponents like Hammerdins much easier because they can wear them down from a distance. And since Smite is already the strongest “face to face” attack anyways, that does not matter as much.

What makes any character good is balance. The same applies in our situation as well. Having too much Smite damage (V/T) will mean you lose something (FOH), and having too much FOH damage (Using FOH Stick) will mean you lose something else (Smite damage). Another common concern is that: since VT vs. VT dueling usually takes place in NM difficulty so the higher FOH will not be as effective right? That is not the case, if both characters have max resist, then yes, the conviction will not matter as much, but FOH will still hurt. My build not only has a good combination of Smite and FOH, but also has high life, multiple setups, and flexibility as well.

With that in mind, let’s get going with the actual guide:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duy - My T/V has:

• 5000+ life (Standard Gear)
• 3200+ Smite Damage
• 5556 FOH Damage (More Conviction/FOH with CTA swap)
• 49-50% Damage reduction (with most setups)
• 75% Block (with most setups)
• 75% FCR Breakpoint (with swap setup)
• 86% FHR Breakpoint (with swap setup)
• Max Resists in Hell (Max Res in NM with conviction on for VT vs. VT)
• Life Tap Switch Setup (with 50% DR and 75%)


Here is a Screenshot of the Duy’s Character Screen

Standard HOZ Setup



FAQs:

What is Synch/Desynch? How do you do it?
• Desynch is a commonly used abbreviation for the word Desynchronization.
• This occurs when you charge around the moor and you are in one spot, but the server thinks you are in a different spot. Hence why when you duel some people they can just “appear” out of nowhere and hurt you.
• When you synch, on your screen nothing strange is happening, however on your opponents screen they see you in one spot, but you are already gone to a different spot.

Grief Phase Blade (PB)
• Grief PB requires less IAS to get smite breakpoint/faster (-30 WSM)
• Grief PB has range 2 (better for charging, worse for smite)
• Grief PB is indestructible (do not need to worry about it breaking mid duel)
• Grief PB can be used in conjuncture with 20 IAS gloves to allow you to keep a good smite speed while you are frozen.

Grief Berzerker Axe (Griefz)
• Griefz requires more IAS to get smite breakpoint/slower (0 WSM)
• Griefz has range 3 (better for smiting, worst for charging)
• Griefz does more damage when charging but hits slower

So which is better? Grief PB vs. Griefz
• Grief PB is better in situation where you may be slowed or you need to charge
• Griefz is better in situations where you need more range to hit opponents easier
• It is highly recommended to carry both and use them alternately depending on the situation

Charge Lock? How do I fix this without rejoining?
• Minor charge lock is different from Major charge lock. Major Charge Lock cannot be fixed unless you rejoin.
• Minor charge lock = when you charge and switch to smite and hit and your character freezes. Major Charge lock happens when you die while charging.
• To get out of minor charge lock, just press the “W” key, similarly to WSG’ing.

What is WSG?
• Weapon Switch Glitch (WSG). The default key for this technique is W.
• When you are in the middle of a continuous attack (Ex: locked by traps), If you switch to your other weapons by pressing W it resets the lock giving you time to escape
• By rapidly pressing W and running south, you can escape locks

This post was edited by Azn Masta on Jul 13 2009 07:23pm
Member
Posts: 49,743
Joined: Apr 30 2004
Gold: 14,760.00
Jul 13 2009 06:58pm
Gear:

Helms:
Shako (Ber)
It gives tons of life/DR/skill. The best helm overall for your T/V when you do not need something specific such extra DR, or res, or FHR.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/BerShako.jpg

Crown of Ages (CoA) (Ber/Ber)
It gives 1 to all skills and FHR, resists, but most importantly, more DR than shako. Helm will be used occasionally when you decide to use a shield that is not Ber’d HOZ to maintain 50% DR.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/BerBerCoA.jpg



Armors:
Enigma (Mage plate)
This armor is the main part of your build. It gives you the STR needed to wear. Try to aim for Mage Plate or a “Light” Armor because while Gothic may look good to some people, it will slow down your walk speed and that is vital when you are trying to run/walk to avoid attacks

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/Enigma-1.jpg



Shields:
Upgraded Herald Of Zakarum (HOZ) (Ber)
Simply the best shield overall for your T/V. It has good/consistent smite damage and a handful of useful mods such as STR, res and +skills.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/200edHoZ.jpg

Sacred Targe “Exile”
This is the best shield for public games and BM dueling when you want to beat able to heal some life back with life tap. It also gives decent res if you can find one with 45 base res and 5% stack for Cold and Fire as well.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/ExileSacredTarge.jpg

Sacred Targe “Spirit”
This is one of the best shields available for your paladin. It gives 35% FCR and 55% FHR on top of massive resistance. This shield is a must for your 75% FCR setup.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/SpritSacredTarge.jpg

Sacred Targe “Sanctuary”
This shield gives 115% resist to all elements and FHR as well as slow missile charges. If caster decides to BM you, just pull out this shield and cast slow missile - their ranged attacks will be useless. In GM situations, you can use this shield to negate attacks such as FOH or Blizzard as well.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/SanctuarySacredTarge.jpg



Belts:
Verdungo's Hearty Cord
This is the best belt for your standard setup. It has great life, DR, and even some FHR to give you that escaping edge.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/VerdungosCoil.jpg

Arachnid’s Mesh
The 20% FCR helps you achieve the 75% FCR breakpoint needed to catch some opponents (ex: necros). The 1 to all Skill will boost damage and life, and the mana will allow you to have more mana to chase down your opponents.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/ArachBelt.jpg



Rings:
Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band (BKs)
1 to all skills and a nice life bonus on top of that makes this the #1 ring for your standard setup.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/BKRing.jpg

Raven Frost
Provides the Cannot be Frozen (CNBF) mod. It also Gives an AR and mana boost as well. This is used in situations where you do not want to be slowed and/or absorb cold.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/RavenFrost-2.jpg

10fcr/120AR/15DEX or 20STR/40 life/90 mana/15 res all Ring
The best all around FCR ring for this build. It is used to get that 75% FCR breakpoint. 15DEX helps getting max block, but some builds need STR to wear CoA.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/RuleBiteFCRRing.jpg



Gloves:
20%IAS/10% CB/15STR/15DEX/20Life/30Light Resist
The best gloves possible for any V/T or T/V build. They allow you to get more life in addition to damage and speed that allows you to keep a good smite speed when you are holy frozen in VT vs. VT duels.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/BoneFingerGloves.jpg



Boots:
Bitter Brogues (or boots with Str/Dex/Res)
These are simply the best overall boots for your character. It gives you STR to boost smite damage, DEX to get max block and good resistance.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/BitterBrogues.jpg

Waterwalks
These boots will give you 65 to life and 15DEX to maintain you max block. It also gives 5% fire stack as well as some FRW. If you cannot get your hands on godly res boots, these are still godly.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/Waterwalks.jpg



Amulet:
Armageddon Slippers
This amulet provides a huge boost to life/DEX/res/life and is one the best amulet for this build. Armageddon Slippers is almost a 100% perfect roll, and due to the fact that those mods can no longer spawn, it is almost impossible to get something better that can replace this.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/ArmageddonSlippers.jpg

Mara's Kaleidoscope
This is a pretty good amulet for our build. It is not quite as good as Armageddon Slippers but is much cheaper and gives all the minimum requirements needed on a VT amulet (skills/stats/res). Use this if you cannot get something like Armageddon Slippers.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/MarasAmulet.jpg



Weapons:
Grief Phase Blade/Grief Berzerker Axe
This is the best weapon for your character and there should be no alternatives. Even a low grief will be better than something else. It adds 400 damage directly to your smite damage while offering some IAS to help you hit the needed IAS breakpoints as well.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/GriefPB.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/AznMastaBui/Diablo/GriefZerker.jpg



Stashed-Gear
• Kira’s Guardian (Cold Resist/Resist All Jewel)
• Absorb Rings (Wisp/Dwarf/Raven)
• Thundergods/Snowclash/Hotspurs
• 15/15/70 Poison Resist Sandstorm Treks
• “Treachery” Runeword (for Fading to get res and DR to BM)
• “Eternity” Runeword (for reviving monsters and dueling BM necros/Hdins)
• 10x 20life/11res SCs for stacking Light Resist
_____________________________________________

Recommended Gear

Standard Setup/VT vs. VT Setup
• Helm - Shako (Ber)
• Armor - Mage plate Enigma
• Amulet – Armageddon Slippers
• Boots – Bitter Brogues or Waterwalks (If you have Max Res)
• Rings – 2x BK Rings (Swap on Res Rings as needed)
• Gloves – 20%IAS/10% CB/15STR/15DEX/20Life/30Light Resist Gloves
• Belt - Verdungo's Hearty Cord
• Weapon – Grief PB
• Shield – Upgraded Herald Of Zakarum (Ber)

75% FCR/86%FHR Tele-Smite Setup
• Helm - CoA (Ber/Ber)
• Armor - Mage plate Enigma
• Amulet – Armageddon Slippers
• Boots – Bitter Brogues or Waterwalks or Treks
• Rings – 2x 10fcr/120AR/20Strength/40 life/90 mana/15 res all Rings
• Gloves – 20%IAS/10% CB/15STR/15DEX/20Life/30Light Resist Gloves
• Belt - Arachnid’s Mesh
• Weapon – Grief PB or Griefz (Depends on Match Up)
• Shield – Sacred Targe “Spirit”

Exile (Life tap) Setup
• Helm - CoA (Ber/Ber)
• Armor - Mage plate Enigma
• Amulet – Armageddon Slippers
• Boots – Bitter Brogues
• Rings – 1x Raven Frost + 1x BK Rings (or 1x 15DEX FCR ring if needed for Max Block)
• Gloves – 20%IAS/10% CB/15STR/15DEX/20Life/30Light Resist Gloves
• Belt - Verdungo's Hearty Cord
• Weapon – Grief PB or Griefz (Depends on Match Up)
• Shield – Sacred Targe “Exile”
Member
Posts: 49,743
Joined: Apr 30 2004
Gold: 14,760.00
Jul 13 2009 06:59pm
Inventory:

9x Combat Grand Charms
10x 20Life/5Resist All SCs
1x 20/20 Torch
1x 20/20/10 Anni

**NOTE**
You may need to use a few 15life/70mana SCs vs. some opponents to increase mana.


Stat Distribution:

Strength - Base
Dexterity - 136 DEX or enough for Max block (138DEX at level 99)
Vitality - All
Energy - Base

**NOTE**
You MIGHT need to add a little bit of STR depending on your setup and gear


Skill Distribution:

Required:
• Holy Shield - 20
• Holy Shock - 20
• Fist of the Heavens - 20
• Fanaticism - 20
• Conviction - 1
• Smite - All remaining points

Optional:
• Salvation - 1




Recommended Hotkeys

Q=Weapon Switch
W=Weapon Switch
E=Battle Command
R=Battle Order
T=Holy Shield
A=Smite
S=Charge
D=FOH
F=Zeal
G=Holy Bolt
Z=Teleport
X=Fanaticism
C=Conviction
V=Holy Freeze
B=Salvation
_____________________________________________

FCR/FHR/Block Tables




FCR
75% FCR is the recommend one when you need to catch pesky casters

FHR
86% FHR is the recommend one when you duel opponents like assassins. Otherwise 10% from Verdungo’s is good enough.

This post was edited by Azn Masta on Jul 13 2009 07:04pm
Member
Posts: 49,743
Joined: Apr 30 2004
Gold: 14,760.00
Jul 13 2009 06:59pm
Dueling Strategies

Amazon:
• Bow: Stay on them constantly to prevent them from shooting you. These guys can be tricky if they are smart and have a Lightning Fury/Shield Setup. However, remember you are a VT and not a pure smite. You have FOH which can be used to damage/put them in Dodge animation if you do avoid getting hurt. As soon as they go into dodge animation, charge in and quick smite them as many times as you can. Repeat as needed.
• Charged Strike: They cannot go head to head with you. Wear a Tgod and you have officially ended any hopes they had of beating you. You can flash holy freeze and slow them down or simply just charge in and smite them down. Against FC’ers, just put on wisp + Tgod and do the same thing you would to a normal CS zon.


Barbarians:
• BvC/BvA: These guys can be tricky if you do not know how to duel them. Against the bad ones you can just tank them and smite and they will die. However, the better ones will try to clip you can OW you to wear you down. I recommend if they do long WWs, synch to where they will land and shift smite at that location as they run into your attack. If they are defensive, just keep FOH them until they are forced to attack you. As soon as they come close to you, smite and they will get hurt. Remember that you can block their attacks, but they cannot block yours. Even if they negate your conviction, your 5556 FOH damage will still hurt so do not worry.

• Conc./Zerk/Melee Barbs: They cannot go head to head with you. Just walk up and smite them.


Necromancer:
• PNB: Necromancers in general are probably the hardest class for you if they are smart and know what to do. The smarter ones will spam a bunch of spirits in a train and stay around their own spirits so they if you come close you will get hurt. There are 2 ways to duel these guys. Use the 75%FCR setup and teleport around them throwing FOHs to annoy them. As soon as they accidentally get into your range, you want to name lock and stomp with tele smite. If they get KB’d throw in a charge and continue to smite. If they get away, repeat this. The second style only works against non block necromancers, but since you have good charge damage, you can tele around and try to catch them in a charge and kill them. That second style will get your killed if you try it on a max block necromancer so be careful who you use it against.

• Poison Nova: Treat these guys similarly to PNB necros, however while they cannot spirit train anymore they still have a powerful nova attack that can kill you in a few hits if you get caught. Wear Kiras + Treks on top of your regular 75% FCR setup and try to catch them similarly to how you do vs. PNB necros. One good thing is that most of these guys are not max block. So if you see a good chance to just charge them down and kill them, do it. Worst comes to worst, just sit behind a corner or something and wait for them to come to you. Their attacks are only mid range so they have to come close to hurt you.


Sorceress:
• Cold: Wear Kiras + Bitter Brogues + Spirit Shield + 2x Raven Frosts. With that much stack, you can practically just chase them down and FOH them to death while avoiding their blizzards. If you see an opportunity to charge them/smite them then do it. They should barely be able to hit you if you are quick enough, but your FOH is auto aim and will hit them easily.

• Fire: These guys can be very difficult if they are smart and just stay out of your range. Wear a dwarf star and use 75% FCR setup against these guys. Try to lure them close to you with FOH and if you see an opportunity to tele smite or charge them take it. Remember, you can name lock using your aura and chain-lock tele smite them if you are quick enough.

• Lightning: Avoid their powerful lightning. Read how to duel Fireball Sorcs and apply the same concept.


Paladins:
• Hammerdin: These are annoying if they stack high light resists. Remember they can kill you in ~3 hits if you are not careful so remember to keep in your mind a picture of where invisible hammer could be. To duel these guys, you want to try and play south of them and mess up their synch with holy freeze. FOH them as much as possible to annoy them and lure them to tele stomp you. As soon as they do, switch to smite and quick smite them as much as you can until they charge off. Repeat as needed. These guys take good timing and patience to defeat.

• Smiters/VT: If you are dueling a pure smiter, it should be relatively easier. They have slightly higher smite damage than you, but you have FOH and can chip away their life while they cant even hit you due to holy freeze slowing down their synches. Against as VT it is a Mirror Match. The person with better gear/ better timing/ higher level will win this duel. Just remember you have powerful FOH, so if you can keep them away from you and chip down their life with FOH before smiting them you can win. In some matches you may need a wisp, other times you will not.

• Zealot: They cannot go head to head with you. Just walk up and smite them.

Druids:
• Elemental: These guys can be tricky if you are not careful. Remember, 50% DR is vital here. Try to force them to stomp you your leave themselves in your range. When you see a good opportunity, just tele smite on them and most of the time, you will have a name lock so just smite them down. If they are not max block, you can actually get a name lock and just charge them to get the kill. Easier said than done, but with practice you can kill a good druid.

• Rabies or Rabies/Fury Hybrids: Be careful so you do not get bitten. Charge around them and FOH to bring down their life. A common way to kill these guys is killing their oak first. 90% of druids will instantly resummon the oak and leave themselves open to your attacks. If they don’t resummon it, they are stuck with low life and cannot go head to head with you. Just walk up and smite them.

• Fury: They cannot go head to head with you. Just walk up and smite them.


Assassins:
• Trapper: A good trapper is very hard. If you fight a good trapper who knows how to avoid getting hit and has a good name lock you are in trouble. Average trapper are a joke, but good ones may even have chaos to WW away as you try to charge them. Basically just charge around to annoy them as they cannot stun lock you. Wait for them to make a mistake and step out of their traps and quick run in and get a few smites before running off again to repeat. Use FOH to lure them to come to you and kill that annoying shadow.

• Ghost: You should not lose to a ghost sin on a VT. They only have one ranged attack (Mind blast) and level 1 trap. And if they do that, quickly charge in and get smite them once or twice then run off again and repeat. Do not just walk/run into their WW as they WW away from you. Synch around and FOH them until they see a good opportunity to run in and smite them a few times. Sometimes you can catch them off guard and tele smite them as well. If they are stupid and try to WW through you, it will be easy.

• Bramble/Fort: These guys are even easier than Ghost sins. Most of them do not know what they are doing and will simply try to WW through you. Just Smite them down, but remember not to chase them and run into their WW as it will hurt. If they are a bramble assassin, use FOH to kill their shadow – Do not Smite it as you can get hurt from Thorns. Most of the time you can just FOH them until they come to you can then switch to smite and kill them.

• Hybrids: Good ones will WW away as you try to charge them. Basically just charge around to annoy them as they cannot stun lock you. Wait for them to make a mistake and step out of their traps and quick run in and get a few smites before running off again to repeat. Use FOH to lure them to come to you and kill that annoying shadow. This battle will be a mind game so try to trick them into messing up.


Conclusions

• The Vindicator/Templar can be a very good class 1v1 GM. They have a good ranged as well as close range attack and can use multiple setups. They have many strengths, but unfortunately also have many weaknesses.
• Not only are they effective, but are also very fun characters to play. They can be good in the hands of a new player and exceptional in the hands of a good player.
Member
Posts: 271
Joined: Jun 5 2009
Gold: 0.00
Jul 13 2009 07:02pm
Excellent well written guide :)

You should write out a guide for writing guides :P

Anyways gave it a quick skim, give it 10/10 for presentation, detail and explanation.

Side note: Do you use a special note pad program? -- Or do you tediously write this all out on the thread or in the notepad ?
Member
Posts: 49,743
Joined: Apr 30 2004
Gold: 14,760.00
Jul 13 2009 07:05pm
Quote (dyingtimes @ Mon, Jul 13 2009, 09:02pm)
Excellent well written guide :)

You should write out a guide for writing guides :P

Anyways gave it a quick skim, give it 10/10 for presentation, detail and explanation.

Side note: Do you use a special note pad program? -- Or do you tediously write this all out on the thread or in the notepad ?


i write it with microsoft word and then use the spell check function before i submit it on jsp :)
Member
Posts: 12,628
Joined: Oct 7 2008
Gold: 10.00
Jul 13 2009 07:09pm
I always vouch Aaron's guides.

Duy is a mean V/t
Member
Posts: 5,702
Joined: Jun 15 2006
Gold: 36.00
Jul 13 2009 07:11pm
No vigor?

And for bowas, you're much better off hf charging until they stop to use lightning fury

Other than that, it's a good guide

This post was edited by On3W1ng3dAng3l on Jul 13 2009 07:11pm
Member
Posts: 24,100
Joined: Oct 5 2004
Gold: 199.18
Warn: 10%
Jul 13 2009 07:14pm
Nice guide man
Go Back To Strategy & Guides Topic List
123178Next
Add Reply New Topic New Poll