Not sure if anyone has thought of this for a hybrid foh/hammer setup but I played around with using a pride merc to supply conc aura so that I could save points to pump up hammer synergies and it works nicely.

Here is the skeleton build with 3 different varriations

https://maxroll.gg/d2/d2planner/0dqd0ylk

Set 1 would be best in slot gear for dps. The sceptre would obviously be hard af to find but it's nice to have a real end game option to strive for

Set 2 has 1 less fcr frame on tele, hammer and foh but packs a greater punch for those that like to see big numbers on the char screen (this build isnt as good as set 1)

Set 3 is a "budget" build that doesnt use a top of the line scepter and instead uses hoto. Still solid dps at a fraction of the price.


The benefit to using pride as stated allows you to save 20 skill points from concentration and instead invest those points into hammer synergies. The works out to around a 2k increase on hammer damage compared to a standard foh/hammer hybrid build with the same foh dmg and frames.

The secondary benefit to this setup is that you no longer have to swap to concentration when using hammers which increases QoL of the build and also allows you to use redemption without giving up dps to further boost QoL and survivability.

Let me hear your thought. Apologies if this was already what people were doing - it just occurred to me

This post was edited by Void511 on Mar 12 2024 06:56am

Seems better. I assume this is normal but people might advocated for Conc in order to run Insight (and save on HRs)

In terms of finalizing a build, this is obviously preferable.

Yes for sure this is an end game TZ power leveling setup. Should have no mana issues with redemption but insight is for sure the go to for early ladder still

I had the same idea
The only downside I can’t seem to fix is the fact that paladin’s advantage over other classes is having an active aura
With that kind of build we kinda let go of that advantage… I mean, yes we still get a minor buff from a lvl1 redemption or defiance or even salvation if low res… but we also loose 75% of merc’s dmg output compared to insight + self conc

Trying to figure out how to get the best of all this, can’t make my mind yet

Very nice idea.

Actually it's quite close to the FoH Pangolin flavor that I'm running currently. Namely, just one point Conc aura, and rest into Hammer synergies. With GG equipment you get to 19 Conc aura.

Insight Prayer Cure merc also gives you nice sustain. I'm running whatever aura on myself in this set up, switching between Conc / Redemption / Fana / Convi depending on the situation and budget (Convi only makes sense if early ladder and running with someone).

This post was edited by Ashirgo on Mar 12 2024 08:25am

I mean merc dmg should never be a consideration outside of the survivability of the merc. They arent going to make any noticable difference to clear speed. If anything this gives you more flexibility in your auras, being able to cleanse to remove curse/psn, redemption for sustain, defiance for strong melee packs, salv for lr/conv packs etc without giving up hammer dps while doing so.

This post was edited by Void511 on Mar 12 2024 08:27am

bit of a question of preference. personnaly, if im running a "tz power leveling" setup, i see myself doing a mind numbing amount of runs, and therefore prefer qol options like insight vs redemption. but thats just me. here youre gaining in one area of qol but making sacrifices in another.

full on foh or full on hdin is better overall from qol point of view, imo.

This post was edited by C4NTWO on Mar 12 2024 08:39am

That's true but i don't mind skill swapping and will happily trade that for some increased dps. I tend to only Power lvl during good TZ though and not grind endless hours though

Never really played paladins but I’ve always thought that once you have gg gear it’s just better to run hammerdin instead of fohdin, no?

depends on monster type. for the most part, foh > hdin inside chaos and hdin > foh everywhere else generally speaking. but an hdin clears chaos just fine.

This post was edited by C4NTWO on Mar 12 2024 08:47am