TienJe’s Mage Paladin Guide v1.0

1. Introduction

Mages are widely considered to be the “holy grail” of all paladin builds, the association stemming from their difficulty and price of construction and the great reward for properly building one. The difficulty stems from its skill allocation, whose optimal levels will change depending on the gear setup and character level. Most character builds are fairly simple to deduce, and are composed simply of maxing this, this, and that. However, optimizing the damage for Blessed Hammer and Fist of Heavens is a 3- and 2- dimensional problem respectively, giving rise to the great confusion that surrounds this build. The rarity of a properly built mage is perhaps only surpassed by the rarity of a well-played one.

This guide will be a bit brief, as I am writing it during my lay-over in the Las Vegas airport, but all the important information should be included.

Character Overview

The Mage build is more than a combination of a hammerdin and a templar; the synergistic nature of hybrid builds really comes through with this paladin. The combination of hammers and FoH is a great mix of defensive and offensive attacks, and between these two attacks, you will find a counter for almost every situation, allowing the Mage to be competitive across the entire PvP landscape.

There are many other builds utilizing hammer CTA’s and FoH scepters, but my philosophy is that the power of the mage comes from the combination of the two attacks and the seamless transition between the two, so this build will focus on using a HoTo as the main weapon for both attacks.

Disclaimer

Again, I make no claim as to the origins of this build. This guide merely represents my interpretation.

2. Character Stats

Starting Attributes

Strength: 25
Dexterity: 20
Vitality: 25
Energy: 15

Hit Points: 55
Stamina: 89
Mana: 15

Each Character Level

Life :+2
Stamina: +1
Mana: +1.5

Attribute Point Effect

1 Vitality point gives 3 Life
1 Vitality point gives 1 Stamina
1 Energy point gives 1.5 Mana

Stat Allocation

STR: enough for equipment
DEX: enough for max block with DR/block setup
VIT: all remaining points
ENG: base

3. Character Equipment

Normally, I like to discuss skill allocations before divulging into the equipment selection, but because the optimal skill setups depend on the equipment choices, I will have to break away from the pattern here, and touch on gear first. As with all my guides, the setups listed here are not the only possible solutions, as many exist. Feel free to tweak them to your personal taste.

Like all characters, Mages can have multiple setups.

All setups will be built for 125% FCR, and at least 48% FHR.

Pure Damage Setup
Griffons /w Lightning Facet
2 Pal 20 FCR ammy
HoTo
Enigma
HoZ /w Lightning Facet
Trang’s Gloves
2x BK Rings
Spider Sash
FRW/FHR/Stat/Res Boots

As you can see, this setup lacks stack against the elements and DR/block, but it provides the maximum damage possible. The facets in the helm and shield can be switched to any number of runes without affecting the optimal skill allocation, since they give simple linear increases in FoH damage, so this setup can be modified to get up to 24 DR, or +10% max res to any of the elements, which should be enough for pubbies.

The next equipment setup we address will be the DR/block setup. There are a number of different setups, including builds with Stormshield or Ber Shako, but I present one using CoA here, to attempt to maximize the damage, though it will be a bit more pricey.

DR/Block Setup
CoA /w 2x Ber
2 pal 10 FCR STR rare ammy
Hoto
Enigma
Spirit Sacred Targe /w base res
Trang’s Gloves
Raven Frost
BK Ring
Spider Sash
FRW/FHR/Stat/Res Boots

This build has 39% DR, and you will have max block, given your DEX investment. With strong hammer damage, 39% DR should be enough to tackle the strongest physical attackers. The important issue in this setup will be getting the necessary STR to wear CoA, and so your 2/10 ammy should have a large amount of STR. At lvl 96, with 18 STR on boots and 20 stat’d Anni and Torch, you will have 155 STR. That means your ammy needs 19 STR to allow you to wear CoA without placing any points into STR. Note that you will be losing + skills and some %Lightning Damage, so your damage in this setup will be lower.

I will leave it to you to figure out your elemental stack setups. They should be fairly self-explanatory.

Charms

Charms are also fairly simple. Use:

2x FHR combat GC’s
7x Life combat GC’s
Torch
Anni
1x 5% FHR sc (with any prefix)
Mix 20/11’s, 20/5’s, and 20/17’s for taste

4. Skill Point Allocation

Get ready to spend a little time here, because this will be the most confusing part of building your Mage. Here we go.

Assumptions

Because the levels of +skills on the different gear setups will change the optimal skill allocation, we must select a “main” setup to optimize for, and then live with the small allocation errors for the switches (the damage differences will be fairly small anyway). I am going to define the Pure Damage setup as our “main”.

You may choose to use a different setup to optimize for, but please note that you will need to use the skill calculators (explained later) to figure out your proper skill allocation if you do.

We must also choose a target character level, since the skill allocation will depend on how many skill points we have to use. I am going to set our target level to be 96. If you want to select a different target character level, you will also need to use the calculators to figure out the skill setup on your own.

Skill Setups

At this point, having chosen a “main” setup and a target character level, we are ready to continue. Maxing out Hammer and FoH will require the Mage to be lvl 126, which of course is impossible, so we must decide how to spread out our limited skills. We are faced with a choice of how to spread our points between Hammer and FoH, which will change which attack we emphasize.

Listed damages are with Pure Damage setup, with Lightning Facets. Here are three possible skill setups:

60/30 Split
19 Hammer
7 Conc
20 Vigor
14 Blessed Aim
13 FoH
17 Holy Shock
1 Conv
0 Med
----------
Hammer Damage: 10392
FoH Damage: 5626

50/40 Split
15 Hammer
4 Conc
20 Vigor
11 Blessed Aim
20 FoH
20 Holy Shock
1 Conv
0 Med
----------
Hammer Damage: 8075
FoH Damage: 7530

70/20 Split
20 Hammer
11 Conc
20 Vigor
19 Blessed Aim
20 FoH
20 Holy Shock
1 Conv
0 Med
----------
Hammer Damage: 13091
FoH Damage: 3978

Don’t ask me which one is better, because I won’t answer you.

Custom Skill Allocations and Using the Calculators

If the assumptions made above or the listed skill allocations don’t appeal to you, you have the option of using the calculators to devise your own setup. I will guide you through the process in this section.

My calculators are all hosted @ http://holeycow247.googlepages.com

Screenshots: http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/56/hammerbo4.png | http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/9799/fohwa9.png

As with the assumptions listed earlier in this section, you will need to decide on a setup and a character level to optimize for. Add up all the +Paladin/+All/+Combat/+Offensive skill bonuses from your equipment, and record the numbers (don’t forget +1 from Battle Command).

Next, you need to figure out how many skill points you have to spread between Hammer and FoH skills. Take your target character level, subtract 1 (you don’t get a skill point at level 1), and then add 12 (from skill quests). This is how many total skill points you have to spend.

The next step is to take out the number of points used on pre-reqs and other skills. Using the skill planner at www.d2skills.com, place 1 point in every skill you plan to use/have (don’t forget the prereqs), but leave Hammer, Conc, Vigor, Blessed Aim, FoH, and Holy Shock at 0 (the calculators will deal with these). The skill planner will tell you how many skills you have used; subtract his number from the total number of skill points you have. If you don’t spend any points in Meditation, the resist auras, and leave Conviction at 1, you will be subtracting 17.

The number you have now is the number of points you have to split between Hammer and FoH, which I will call x. Using the calculators hosted at the link above, plug in the +skills you recorded from your equipment earlier, and enter in the number of skills you want to spend for both Hammer and FoH. The balance is up to you, but you must make sure that the sum equals x, or your Mage won’t be built properly.

After entering these numbers, the calculators will automatically output the optimal base levels for Hammer, Conc, Vigor, Blessed Aim, FoH, and Holy Shock. Use these numbers to build your Mage.

5. Strategies

Mages will play much like a hammerdin, using desync, teleport, and hammers in every permutation imaginable. However, because the Mage has FoH, you will be able to apply damage from further away and apply much more pressure than a normal hammerdin. Because FoH is almost impossible to dodge, the opponent is driven to make offensive moves, thus creating openings and bringing them in range of your hammers, lest they let your FoH wear them down without a fight.

I’m not going to discuss specific class strategies, but there are a few things I want to mention:

Desync- The Mage is perhaps the fastest paladin build, with max Vigor and an enormous amount of +skills, giving the Mage the capacity to desync like none other. A Mage played without desync is really losing out on a lot opportunities. Teleport is no doubt a great way for movement, but you must use vigor/charge as well. Desync, especially when coupled with FoH, is extremely aggravating for any opponent.

Mixing attacks- A lot of mage builds use FoH/Hammer scepters on different switches to boost their damage, but I don’t believe that is the proper way to play the mage. FoH, when used liberally, will slowly wear down the opponent, forcing them into playing offensive, which will make your hammers much more effective. Mages should be switching between skills on the fly, keeping the opponent in limbo between trying to attack to out-damage your FoH and trying to dodge the hammers.

FoH Chainlock- This is a variation on the hammerdins throw/unsummon chainlock that only the mage can perform. Instead of using throw weapon or unsummon to stall the hammer casting, the mage can cast a FoH, and use the 1 second casting delay to stall casting in order to allow you to teleport. FoH has the capacity to stun the target, which will allow you (in some cases) to hit with your following tele/hammer, much like a ghosts’s traps help to hold the enemy in place long enough for WW to make contact.

Conviction Delay- Conviction (and any other aura that affects other targets for that matter) has a small delay before the aura will “lock” onto its target. The delay is only about half a second, but it means that switching to Conviction right before casting FoH will usually not allow the –Res to get applied before the FoH hits. Just be aware of this delay, and make sure you keep Conviction on a little longer when you want to deal a heavy hit with FoH, like against a barb that’s holding down WW. Note that FoH is still effective without Conviction, so you can still cast a quick FoH amidst your hammers without waiting for the aura to lock on.





That’s all for now.

This post was edited by Dumpling on Jul 16 2008 08:51am

written, as requested

lol nice guide

gz guide, just like your other 2 guides

well explained guide on the basics of a mage paladin
guides don't have to be long to be good
good job

k pari found a booboo.

the 70/20 split should have level 10 FoH and Holy Shock

and if u want more allround build u could go for dungo, griff ber, enigma, spirit -> 31 DR..50fhr

This post was edited by lifo on Jul 16 2008 10:57am

I heard you have problems vs wwsins on mage, is this true?

i dont see how a mage would become dangerous to a wwsin unless he/she is playing exceptionally well, and even then, a pure hammerdin would have been stronger i think

err <.<

I was just trying to make fun of dave cause its hilarious watching him try to play din but ty for srs reply.