what should i be looking at? hardcore, so needs to be as unkillable as possible but still based around a healthy mf%

looking at 75% fcr, 86% fhr, 75% max block, as much hp as possible (2k+ no bo), as much resists + sorb as possible.


best item build to achieve this?

not sure if wiz vs hoto, spirit vs hoz etc.

There are about 300 hammerdin guides here

125 fcr is the way to go

Hoto obviously
Spirit obviously

Being hc doesnt mean you should nerf your dmg to shit. Killing mobs before they kill you is best defense

oh hey

In order never to die, you must never get hit; think on it a bit.

you should use the standard 125 fcr softcore build:

shako (use ber in open socket as extra dam red)
2/10 fcr/all res/etc. ammy
hoto
enigma
35 fcr spirit in 45 all res st
soj + bk (wisp instead of bk when you do baal runs)
mages or trangs
arachnid
wartravs (if you feel unsafe to fire/lightning get hotspurs or some rare boots with high res but IMO not worth it. wartravs are fine)
CTA/spirit

skillers with as much + life as you can get (gheeds if you like a bit more mf)
torch
anni
11/20 scs to cap fire/light res (if it makes you feel better just overcap light res for those conviction souls which you can also do with boots)


now all your defense needed comes from your merc:

defiance merc with
doom
coh
delirium or dream

defiance aura will boost your defense to ~ 30 k
doom will grant you a holy freeze aura
delirium or dream procs confuse

that stuff + max block + ~3,8 k hp --> solo p8 is easy

ofc you could still die if you play like garbage and telestomp all the time on fana/extra fast/amp mobs. nothing will prevent you from dying if you play like crap!

most unkillable= max block max DR.

use a storm shield and shako

could use a wizzy with this setup and get your dmg from the inventory. 12k+ hammer damage is overkill.

dont forget CTA

12k+ hammers aren't overkill in full game or single player p7/8. stormshield sucks, especially on a paladin where you want a 45 all res base. if you really want high DR use coa instead of shako with ber/ber and soe instead of arachnid. you can still maintain 125 fcr with a 2/20 ammy and a 10 fcr ring.
coa ber/ber 31% + enigma 8% + soe 15% = 54% DR --> no need stormshield

Life with this set up?

depends on your inventory. but with cta, nigma, a couple of pcombs/25+ life and rest filled with 20 life scs you should have between 3.2 and 3.5 k

Like none of these builds are budget lol