Hi everyone,

I decided to give D2R a go after a lot of time passed since the last time that I played D2.

I am planning to go for a solid 125fcr hammer pala and am putting together everything I need before starting out and need a little help clarifying gear and progression. I will be happy to tip you if your answer is useful so please dont be shy

- Is it still possible to get a rush from A1 norm - A5 hell skipping the ancients Q in A5 norm and nightmare to go straight for chaos runs to lvl up? If yes, how frequently can it be expected that games are open where I might "leech" ancients Q status?

- I am not sure how the new content affects the classic LoD gear setup of a 125fcr pally, so far I am planning for Eni MP, Hoto, Spirit, Maras, Shako, BK, 10fcr ring, arach, Magefist and eth treks; is this still valid? Or are there new items that offer better choices?

- As for the merc equip, I am planning for Eth Andy´s, Eth Insight and Eth Forti - I am unsure about Forti base str req and would love if someone could map out the ballpark of which base the merc gets to use around which level being restricted by str requirement

- Any comments on things you consider a must-know change from D2LoD to D2R are of course highly appreciated


Thank you very much in advance, looking forward to your comments

- Is it still possible to get a rush from A1 norm - A5 hell skipping the ancients Q in A5 norm and nightmare to go straight for chaos runs to lvl up? If yes, how frequently can it be expected that games are open where I might "leech" ancients Q status?

-Yes,your best bet is to buy one on d2jsp in the services section.

- I am not sure how the new content affects the classic LoD gear setup of a 125fcr pally, so far I am planning for Eni MP, Hoto, Spirit, Maras, Shako, BK, 10fcr ring, arach, Magefist and eth treks; is this still valid? Or are there new items that offer better choices?

-This is still a gg setup,you may want to check this alternative build which uses some of the new content -> https://maxroll.gg/d2/guides/blessed-hammer-paladin and then you can decide.

- As for the merc equip, I am planning for Eth Andy´s, Eth Insight and Eth Forti - I am unsure about Forti base str req and would love if someone could map out the ballpark of which base the merc gets to use around which level being restricted by str requirement

- https://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/elite/armor.shtml notice that there are not the eth attribute req's,just go -10 for each.

- Any comments on things you consider a must-know change from D2LoD to D2R are of course highly appreciated

-try to learn more about terror zones/heralds/new ways of leveling...glhf

This post was edited by Schizophrenia on Mar 20 2026 06:08am

you’re basically just rebuilding old lod hammerdin, which still works, but a few things to clear up

rush works the same, you can still skip ancients and leech chaos, just depends on finding games. less common than before but still happens, especially early ladder or active times

your gear is standard and fine. 125 fcr setup didn’t really change. no real “new bis” that replaces the classic core, so hoto/spirit/arach/magefist/eni is still the baseline. bk is whatever, fcr ring + stats/res is usually better

merc doesn’t matter that much for hammerdin, insight is fine for qol but not required. fort base is usually eth elite (archon / sacred), str scales with lvl so just don’t overthink it, he’ll wear it eventually

biggest thing: nothing fundamental changed for hammerdin. it’s still strong, still safe, still a bit overrated for clear compared to newer stuff, but it does its job

don’t overplan it, just get 75 fcr early, then 125, then fill in gear. rest is the same game as before

to your first point yes, you still need bumpers for a grush though. I don’t see them pop up too often but they’re usually pretty cheap

To your second, if you’re playing nl make sure you get a magic sunder charm to open up all the farming areas in the game

To your third, It’ll depend on what base you use. It’s can be rough because the bases you’ll really want to be using to get him extra tanky can require your merc to be pretty high level even with andys

To your fourth, yes the new herald system is ass and you’ll be lucky to farm one of the new sunders yourself, make sure you look at the herald spawning mechanics explained by someone much smarter than me. Portal barb has been revived with the new sling rings so check that out for some fun. Warlock is ridiculously over powered, like clear p8 hell with nothing but a weapon overpowered if you want some brainless fun.

This post was edited by dubstepmammoth on Mar 20 2026 06:10am

Thank you all for your help! I really appreciate it.

I must admit that alone planning the gear while of course possibly overthinking it always was a fun thing on its own

regarding the new content, I assume that it might be heavy same as when uber tristram for torches was released (or was it released from the beginning on? I honestly dont really remember). Is there a special character/build needed for this like a smiter paladin for uber tristram or is the new content actually playable with a standard hammerdin

You should be fine just with a hdin honestly, the terror zones just make normal monsters stronger based off your character level and since the din already destroys you shouldn’t have too many issues especially with open zones. The heralds can get pretty beefy and spawn with thorns but that’s more an issue for melee classes.