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Jan 24 2008 03:00pm
The Hammerdin (PvM)
Blessed Hammer and Concentration Paladin, but you already knew that.
by Zodijackyl

There are a few approaches to the hammerdin. This guide is oriented to the various PvM builds.
First of all, there's straight up PvM, and then there's the MFer. MF dins aren't meant to kill in full games, and the best way to gain a lot of MF with a minor gear switch is a Gull dagger.
Hammerdins should aim for 50FCR with a scepter or 80fcr with Spectral Shard. The MF hammerdin can use 30FCR, but I do not recommend it. For a player with less resources, I recommend 50FCR with a scepter, as the damage helps a lot. If you lack the resources to hit 50FCR, start with 30FCR until you can achieve 50FCR.

You also have the choice between simply relying on resistances and life to absorb your hits, going for a lightweight defense build using a high defense Mage Plate, or the heavy defense build using a -req Ornate Plate. A hammerdin opting to use an Ornate Plate MUST have -requirements on the armor, preferably -30 (or -40 on NL), -20 being a lot of points to sacrifice to strength for the defense, and a full requirement armor being ridiculous for a hammerdin. Consider that a Mage Plate required 55 strength and can have over 500 defense, and an Ornate Plate requires 102(-40)/119(-30)/136(-20) strength. I do not think the extra strength is worth the defense for a PvM hammerdin, but it is a good option for those who do not want to remake a hammerdin with high base strength. More than 119str is not viable to me, but some choose to do so. The gain in defense over a Mage Plate is less than an upgrade from a non defense helm/shield to a Grim Helm and Grim Shield.

Stats
  • Strength - Enough to use your gear, shouldn't be too much. The only time you should have more than 80 strength is if you are using an Ornate Plate for a defense build.
  • Dexterity - None. If you use Shard, you should get the dexterity from items.
  • Vitality - Everything you didn't put into strength.
  • Energy - None. Energy is for a sorceress and nothing else.
Skills

Defensive Auras
  • 20 Vigor (synergy + movement)
  • 1 Redemption - Clean up and rejuvenate without potions
  • 1 Prayer (prereq)
  • 1 Defiance (prereq)
  • 1 Cleansing (prereq) - Also useful at times
Offensive Auras
  • 20 Concentration - The only aura for a hammerdin
  • 20 Blessed Aim (synergy)
  • 1 Might (prereq)
Combat Skills
  • 20 Blessed Hammer
  • 1 Smite (prereq)
  • 1 Holy Bolt (prereq)
  • 1 Charge (prereq + movement)
  • xx Holy Shield*
*Though some consider passive resists to be better than Holy Shield, due to the limitations of +skills and shields on classic, I recommend adding all of your extra points to Holy Shield unless you have experience in building hammerdins. With a high block shield, some points to Resist Fire can help you out, with Resist Lightning being a lesser possibility. Always have enough Holy Shield to max your block, and consider the 1/3 loss of block while running.

Items

Most importantly, you need to max your fire and lightning resistances. Try to get the stats you need off of gear, but don't sacrifice FCR/resists for them.
Colored tags are used to show different item choices for different builds.

Weapon(s)
  • 80FCR Spectral Shard - The 80FCR option, only use this if you can get your damage elsewhere.
  • 50FCR Scepter - Magic or Rare with +2 Paladin skills and mods**
  • MF Gull - 100 Magic Find, need I say more?
  • Budget +2 Paladin weapon - lacks the potential mods of a scepter, but it adds some damage.
  • DO NOT USE Wands - There is no point at all in using one, 10 FCR over a scepter isn't worth the loss of damage, and you can get resists elsewhere.
**+2 to Paladin Skills is the bare minimum, this can be shopped easily. 10FCR is a great bonus, 20FCR is unspawnable in recent patches. Up to +3 Blessed Hammer and +3 Concentration is possible, with Blessed Hammer being highly preferably as it adds more damage, but less common. Resistances and strength are great bonuses from rare scepters. Don't expect to find all of these mods together, it is very difficult to shop/find and it carries a massive price tag.

Shield
  • Standard Rare shield - Any type but Ancient/Pavise - +2 Paladin Skills is the primary desirable mod. Prismatic (all resists) is the next most important mod. Individual resistances or defense
  • DO NOT USE Wall of the Eyeless (or any other unique shield) - You want this to add damage, and you can get defense, resists, and strength from it. You don't need FCR from your shield, and you don't need anyting else any unique shields have to offer.
Armor
  • Standard Rare armor - FHR/Life/Resistances (at least two of these, and aim for 2 resists), strength and dexterity are bonuses. Pick a light armor type.
  • Defense (Light) Rare Mage Plate - Defense is the main advantage of this armor type, so get a decent amount of enhanced defense unless you're just using it for the same mods as a regular rare armor. Otherwise, go for the same mods (FHR/Life/Resists) as any other rare armor.
  • Defense (Heavy) Rare Ornate Plate - Over 800 defense, the closer to 902 the better, and -requirements. After those two, go for the same mods as any other armor.
  • Budget Goldskin - 35 all resistances, the cheap but highly effective and viable unique option. This works beyond a budget option, but I recommend a rare above it.
  • DO NOT USE Silks of the Victor - 100str is too much to get +1 skills, a bit of defense, and nothing else. Goldskin is worth around the same amount, so you have another viable budget option.
Helmet
  • Standard Rare helm - FHR/Life/Resistances are the key here.
  • Defense Rare Grim Helm/Grand Crown - High enhanced damage, otherwise the same mods as any other rare helm.
  • MF Tarnhelm - High MF (range is 25-50)
Belt
  • Standard Rare belt - FHR/Strength/Life/Resistances are the desirable mods, but good belts are hard to come by. Prioritize what your gear needs the most and go from there.
  • Budget Bladebuckle - Really cheap, but it has some stats and 30FHR
  • DO NOT USE Goldwrap - 30MF and nothing else for this build, you can get much better mods from even a cheap belt.
  • DO NOT USE Nightsmoke - Minor resists/mana/dtm, it's a trash belt, do not use it for anything.
Gloves
  • Standard Magefist - 20FCR
  • Option/Variation Rare gloves - You can pick up some missing stats here on an 80FCR build with FCR rings and amulet. 15str/9dex/30res are the maximum.
  • Option Bloodfist - 30FHR and 40Life, if you don't need FCR, these can be quite helpful (especially on a Scepter build)
  • DO NOT USE Chance Guards - You get much more MF from a Gull, and reducing yourself to 30FCR hurts your killing potential. Unless you're looking for a massive amount of MF to use solo against weak monsters, don't use these. If you want to goldfind, make a barb.
  • DO NOT USE Frostburn - You can get much more than mana from your gloves, just use mana potions.
Boots
  • Standard Rare boots - 30FRW is useful but not needed because you can charge, 10FHR is useful if you need it to hit a breakpoint, and up to 9dex is useful if you're using Shard. Otherwise, go for resists off the boots.
  • MF Rare MF boots - MF and Fire/Light resists are your priority, plus FHR if you need it. You don't need dexterity for Shard, and you don't need FRW as you move at your own pace.
  • Option/Variation Hotspur - +15% Maximum Fire Resistance, plus 45FR and some life
  • DO NOT USE Tearhaunch - Minor resists/stats, you can get much more from cheap rare boots. Vigor does not increase your damage as a syngery.
  • DO NOT USE Treads of Cthon/Vidalas Fetlock - FRW is not very important, magic boots with a resistance offer more than either of these.
Amulet
  • Standard Rare amulet - +1 or +2, FCR if needed, and resists. Life, strength, dexterity (at times), mana, and all the normal bonuses are nice.
  • Budget Nokozan Relic - 20FHR is nice, 50 fire resist helps quite a bit, and the 10% max fire resist helps tank quite a bit. If the rest of your gear can support it, this is a semi-viable option for a well geared din to switch in for CSing.
  • DO NOT USE The Eye Of Etlich/The Mahim-Oak Curio - A basic +1 or some weak stats, never use these as even Nokozan gives you more.
  • DO NOT USE Any non skilled rare amulet - You need some damage here, don't give it up for other mods
Rings
  • Option The Stone Of Jordan - +1 to skills and extra mana
  • Option Rare FCR ring(s) - FCR to hit a breakpoint, then build up your fire+light resist, after that you can pick up some stats (str/dex/life) from this, and also mana if needed.
  • Option Rare stat/res ring(s) - If you have enough FCR and don't use SOJs, you can pick up some extra stats and resists here.
  • DO NOT USE Nagelring - Up to 30MF but no other mods, you can get more MF from other items, get some resists here and get your MF elsewhere.

Usage

Set your hotkeys to have Charge and Blessed Hammer on left click, and Vigor and Concentration on right click, and get used to switching them quickly. Charge/Vigor moves you quickly, and Hammer/Conc is for killing. Keep Redemption and Holy Shield on hotkeys, along with Cleansing, unless you need a resistance aura to support your party. Town Portal should always been hotkeyed too.

Get used to moving with Charge/Vigor, and running with just Vigor. Use charge to bring yourself up close to monsters quickly, or move close enough to lure them, get some hammers going, then move away and let them get hit, and cast some more hammers. If you're working with another player, continually cast hammers and let them lure monsters into the hammer field, as well as having other players hit them with cold spells to freeze them, or knock them away with leap.

Switching to Redemption for a few seconds after you kill each pack of monsters will greatly reduce your potion consumption, but if you are working with a magicfind barb, let them pop the bosses first.

A magic find hammerdin is mainly useful to clear Travincal council, and to clear Chaos Sanctuary (preferably with a BO barb or MF barb with you). They do less damage, but you aren't doing it for experience, so you rarely have more than 2-3 characters in the game. Don't try to run Andy/Meph or any other bosses, those are for a sorceress, and it's not worth the time to run all that way on a hammerdin, it is best oriented to Trav/CS.

While running Chaos Sanctuary, every Unique/minion monster group gives you quite a bit of experience, it slows down and becomes minor by level 92, but through 91 it is worth clearing. You should be able to tank most seal boss mobs fine, but you will likely have to use some juvs for the aura enchanted ones. Cast a full field of hammers, then unless you're soloing, someone else hits the seal.

Standard classic CS procedure is a sorceress teleporting and TPing at either the pentacle or near the Infector seal (sometimes known as a "hot TP", not to be confused with an intentionally mobbed portal used to kill people). Barb gives everyone BO, hammerdin takes their place, someone hits the seal, and the hammerdin tanks, usually with a blizzard sorceress freezing the venom lords. Make sure you hit the non-active seal, then proceed to the Lord de Seis seal, where you will have to kill him. Usually, the sorceress will solo the Grand Vizier seal, unless the run is mainly lower (<90) levels.
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Jan 24 2008 03:02pm
Great guide as always Zodijackyl. thumbsup.gif

This post was edited by Monze on Jan 24 2008 03:28pm
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Jan 24 2008 03:26pm
very nice guide m8
sticky this plz

10/10
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Jan 24 2008 03:28pm
nice guide dude wink.gif
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Jan 24 2008 04:36pm
Perfect example of WHY we needed a classic forum.

Excellent write up Steve, as always.
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Jan 24 2008 05:54pm
Sweet guide. Sticky is ofc.
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Jan 26 2008 02:36am
Very helpful guide.

Quick question, what about Iratha's Set (for the extra resists, maybe important in HC ?) or Angelic Set (Armor/Ammy/Rings) for the bonus of MF and +1 skills with budget Gear... are they both not worth the sacrifice of stats ?
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Jan 27 2008 01:44pm
very very nice guide


really good equip section and general usage =)

[x] sticky


@neofutt2: I had a scl hdin with shard+iratha set last ladder and its playable, this ladder I got a shard+rares hdin and it´s really really better because of mass more dmg IMO.
angelic wastes too much possible stats, the 50mf per ring wouldnt be worth the loss.
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Jan 27 2008 02:32pm
great guide, 10/10
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Jan 27 2008 04:07pm
great 10/10
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