01-14-2006, 08:48 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-06-2006, 06:14 AM by ArcaneSupremacy.)
PvP Vindicator/Savior Guide
Version 1.0
By ArcaneLegend
Version 1.0
By ArcaneLegend
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Savior Variants
- The Basics
- Attributes and Skills
- Equipment
- Dueling Essentials
- Specific Dueling Strategies
- Team Dueling Tips
- Goals
- FAQ
- Final Notes
- Special Thanks
Introduction
Welcome to the world of Saviors. For those of you who do not know, a Savior Paladin utilizes the resistance auras in the Defensive Auras skill tree to minimize damage from elemental sources. This guide will both aid you in the development of an effective Savior variant, and provide dueling strategies against your many adversaries. First, let us explore the specific build options that a Savior has.
Savior Variants
The original idea of Saviors was from The-Professor, who presented a Crusader-type build. His build efficiently handles any elemental-based opponents, as it is supposed to, but due to the nature of Charge, it has a great disadvantage against many combat-type characters. Next, Drizzt introduced his Templar build. His build effortlessly dominates most players in public duels, but there are always the few opponents who stack lightning resistance to render his Fist of the Heavens completely useless. Of course, there are several other skills available, such as Zeal and Vengeance, but considering certain factors such as the dependence on attack rating or defense, those builds may not perform nearly as well as the others, but are still fun to experiment with. Now, after over a month’s time of planning, testing, and adjusting, I reveal to you yet another addition to the world of Saviors: the Vindicator/Savior.
The Basics
Saviors make use of the three resistance auras: Resist Fire, Resist Cold, and Resist Lightning. Each solid skill point invested will give +1% to maximum resistance of that element when the aura is active, but will give half of that bonus passively when you are not using the aura. So, if you have 10 points in Resist Fire, you will always have +5% max resist, but an additional +5% when you turn the aura on.
The point of the V/S (Vindicator/Savior) is to be able to handle all types of opponents, while maintaining high damage that can be reduced to no lower than 50%. There will always be some tough match-ups, but as far as the balance between power and versatility goes, I would say this build ranks pretty high, along with Liberators and V/T’s (Vindicator/Templar’s).
Attributes and Skills
Keep in mind that none of this has to be done exactly as it says. Some of it may depend on what equipment you use, and how you duel. You are free to change anything to suit your needs. It is assumed that you will train your character to somewhere between levels 85 to 90. Of course, higher level means more stat points and skill points, which means more life and customizability, so try to get as far as you can.
Strength – Keep it as low as your charms and items will allow. Remember to check over all your strength bonuses so that you are able to pick up all your equipment if you die. My own character has a base strength of 25.
Dexterity – Again, keep it as low as possible. Maintain 75% blocking chance at all times. By the time you are around level 90, you will likely have 130-150 total. My own character has a base dexterity of 40.
Vitality – Pour any stat points you have left into this. The more vitality you have, the longer you survive. It is not surprising that some people have a base vitality of well over 400.
Energy – Your attacks do not require much mana, and you will have more than enough from items alone. Leave this at 15.
Combat Skills
Smite – 20. This is your primary attack skill. The advantage of this skill over the ones used in other Savior variants is that it ignores target defense, stuns and knocks back targets, and can only be blocked by certain Assassins, and dodged by Amazons. It is one of the deadliest close combat skills in the game.
Charge – 1 or more. This is a powerful attack if used correctly. It can deal a fair amount of damage with just one skill point, and also functions as transportation. This is your secondary attack skill. You may choose to invest more skill points in it, but you probably will not have a lot left over to do so.
Holy Shield – 20. This skill greatly enhances your blocking chance, defense, and Smite damage.
Prerequisites: Holy Bolt, Blessed Hammer – 1 in each.
Offensive Auras
Fanaticism – 20. This skill greatly improves the damage of your attacks, as well as boosts your attack rating for Charge. Keep this skill active as much as possible.
Prerequisites: Might, Blessed Aim, Concentration – 1 in each.
Defensive Auras
Resist Fire – 10 or more. Fire-based characters tend to deal very high and consistent damage. I find that the most efficient way of dealing with them is to wear Hotspur boots for +15% to max resist, and have the skill add another +5% passive bonus, boosting your fire resistance to 95%. If you are not using Hotspur at the moment and a fire user jumps you, you can simply turn on the aura, which should give you enough resistance to either take that enemy down or flee to town.
Resist Cold – 1 or more. The main, and probably only use for this is to deal with Blizzard Sorceresses. Cold Mastery can easily cut your cold resistance down to the negatives. Even with resist-stacking equipment, you will need to keep this aura active, unless you have a lot of resistance charms. This is a fight where maximum resistance does not matter nearly as much as resistance itself. Rather than investing heavily in the skill, a Snowclash may be used for its +15% max bonus.
Resist Lightning – 20. About half of the spell-casters are lightning-based. With this skill, you can instantly eliminate all those threats.
Salvation – 1 or none. Unlike the individual elemental resist auras, this one does not boost maximum resistances. It is handy for dealing with multiple opponents. If you feel that this skill is worth your one point, go for it. I chose not to.
Prerequisites: none.
Equipment
There are plenty of items to choose from. Most of them require a certain degree of wealth, but there are cheaper setups available that work quite well, depending on the level of competition. I will skip the details on each of the low-end items, so just remember that most of them are simply toned down versions of the high-end equipment. You may be forced to change items around occasionally, so make sure you have plenty of space in stash.
Weapons
“Grief” – Yes, it is expensive, but if you want to have a chance at beating other Vindicators, you will need this. There is an ongoing debate on which weapon to use this in, berserker axe or phase blade. That will be covered in a later subsection.
“Call to Arms” – As long as you are dueling in a place where it is allowed, CtA on weapon swap will give you an impressive boost in life and mana.
Other options: Astreon’s Iron Ward, The Redeemer, “Silence”, “Kingslayer”.
Headgear
Harlequin Crest – It has damage reduction, +skills, a huge life bonus, and low requirement. It is also quite inexpensive.
Crown of Ages – It has high defense, +skills, +resistances, damage reduction, and a lot of faster hit recovery. However, due to its high strength requirement, I usually just stick with Shako instead.
“Dream” – Since you do have Resist Lightning, the Holy Shock from Dream should be fully enhanced by synergy already. When paired with a Dream shield, this may be useful against non-physical damage opponents (since you will lack DR) who run from you a lot.
Kira’s Guardian – This helm gives an enormous boost to all resistances. A perfect one with an Um rune gives 85%. It also has a bit of FHR, and also “cannot be frozen” (which is useful only if you have no other sources of CBF).
Other options: Peasant Crown, Rockstopper, Vampire Gaze, Andariel’s Visage.
Body Armors
“Enigma” – If you are like me, and prefer to have low strength and very high vitality, you will need this. The strength bonus is the main point of this armor. Other useful stats are the DR, +skills, a slight life boost, a lot of faster run/walk, and Teleport (which can save your life sometimes). Dusk shroud and mage plate are the most strength-conservative armors to use.
“Chains of Honor” – If you really need the resistances, go ahead and use this. Beware that you will likely need a lot more points in strength. Other useful stats are the DR and +skills.
“Fortitude” – The large damage boost from this armor is actually not a lot compared to Enigma, especially considering the strength needed use this in a setup. However, the life boost, resistances, and +5% max lightning resistance are pretty nice.
Other options: Shaftstop, Guardian Angel, Arkaine’s Valor, “Lionheart”, “Duress”, “Principle”.
Shields
Herald of Zakarum (upgraded) – High and consistent damage, lots of +skill, high resistance boost, dual-attributes, good defense, and excellent blocking make this one of the best, if not the best, shield for Smite.
“Exile” – Some say it is the best, others say it is the worst, and I say it is neither. If used against a HoZ user, chances are, you will be beaten in terms of life and damage. However, it has its uses in PvM, and even against most Barbarians. This shield is far from bad. Most people simply do not know how to use it properly. Be prepared to receive complaints about Life Tap.
“Phoenix” – As with Exile, the blocking chance is terrible. It does have some bonuses to max resists, so it may prove to be useful against some casters. The insane damage bonus makes this shield a deadly tool against Exile users, finishing the duel quickly, making Life Tap useless.
“Sanctuary” – For those of you who wondered why I spent so long searching for this shield, now you know. Its excellent blocking and very high resistances make this a great all-purpose Savior shield. It even has Slow Missile charges do not cost a lot to repair, if you absolutely must use them. Get this in an elite Paladin shield with high resistances, and you may find yourself frequently using it on your main setup.
“Dream” – Refer to “Dream” under Headgear. It is best to make this in an elite Paladin shield with high resistances.
“Spirit” – If you use CtA, this will improve those spells. Keep this on weapon swap.
Stormshield – This is a shield that instantly solves all your DR problems. It lacks a bit in damage, but the resistances are decent, and you will have far more options for your other equipment.
Other options: Alma Negra, Herald of Zakarum, Griswold’s Honor.
Gloves
Bloodfist – It makes me wonder why such nice gloves are not exceptional or elite. It adds life, and a good chunk of FHR. Unless you absolutely must use something else, stick with this.
Dracul’s Grasp – The Open Wounds is useful in long duels, but the Life Tap is often frowned upon. It is useful to keep one around for PvM though.
Rare/Crafted gloves – Look for the following: IAS, attributes, resistances, life, and CB.
Other options: Immortal King’s Forge, Laying of Hands.
Belts
Verdungo’s Hearty Cord – With its DR, high vitality bonus, good defense, and some life replenishing, it is often considered to be the “perfect melee belt”.
Snowclash – There is no reason you should use this except when fighting cold Sorceresses. It only takes up 2 stash spaces, so why not?
Thundergod’s Vigor – The +10% max bonus from this along with Resist Lightning’s passive bonus will give you 95% just like that. On top of that, it adds dual-attributes and also a bit of lightning absorb, which is hopefully small enough that people will not complain about it.
Other options: String of Ears, Credendum.
Boots
Waterwalk – It gives a nice FRW, dexterity and life boost. The +5% max fire resistance is also convenient. Look for ones with at least +60 to life.
Sandstorm Trek – FRW, FHR, dual-attributes, and a huge boost to poison resistance makes this great for dealing with, well, poison users.
Hotspur – This will pretty much give you an automatic victory over all fire-based opponents.
Gore Rider – The CB and OW are useful, and the DS works with Charge. The defense and FRW are quite good as well.
Rare boots – Look for the following: FRW, attributes, resistances, FHR.
Other options: Aldur’s Advance, Immortal King’s Pillar, Natalya’s Soul.
Amulets
Mara’s Kaleidoscope – With its high resistances, +skills, and attribute bonuses, this thing is hard to beat.
Nokozan Relic – I find that it is more efficient to switch out the boots rather than the amulet. With Hotspur on, this is not necessary. If you cannot switch to Hotspur due to important stats on your current boots, then this amulet is your alternative.
Rare/Crafted amulets – Look for the following: +Paladin skills, attributes, resistances, life.
Other options: Highlord’s Wrath, Seraph’s Hymn.
Rings
Raven Frost – The dexterity boost and CBF are essential. The AR bonus is helpful for Charging too. Keep at least one equipped at all times. If a cold-based opponent complains about absorb, the most logical explanation is that you need the dexterity bonus.
Bul-Katho’s Wedding Band – The +skills help your damage, and there is a small life boost. Use this unless you really need some stats on another ring.
Dwarf Star – Who needs absorb when you have 95% resistance? Avoid this unless you really need to piss somebody off.
Wisp Projector – Refer to the comment on Dwarf Star.
Rare/Crafted rings – Look for the following: Attributes, resistances, life.
Other options: The Stone of Jordan.
Charms
Annihilus – This will give a significant boost to damage, resistances, and also save you many stat points. Definitely try to get one of these.
Hellfire Torch – Like Annihilus, it comes with stat boosts and resistances. It also gives a large boost in damage. Obviously, find one that adds to Paladin skills.
Lionbranded grand charm – This gives +1 to Paladin combat skills, which improves both defense and damage. Try to get 9 of them to fill up your inventory. If you cannot afford ones with life or FHR, plain ones will suffice.
Small charm of Vita – These each give +16-20 to life. If you have the maximum number of the other charms mentioned, you should have 10 inventory spaces left for these. If you have more space than that, fill it in with more life charms! Try to get ones with resistances.
The Choice of Weapon
I will go over the advantages of Grief berserker axes and Grief phase blades, but I cannot state that either one is better overall. The decision is yours to make.
Berserker axe has slightly longer range, slightly higher Charge damage, and low dex requirement. 54% total IAS is needed to reach the fastest Smite rate.
Phase blade is indestructible, and automatically reaches the fastest Smite rate. Also, attack speed will not be affected quite as much by enemies that slow you down.
Dueling Essentials
Walking – When you walk, you maintain your normal blocking chance and defense. When you run, your blocking chance is cut to 1/3 of its original percentage, and your defense is reduced to zero. So, whenever you fight opponents who use attacks that require AR to hit, or can be blocked, walk.
Charging – This counts as running. It is useful for catching up to targets that run from you, and dodging missiles, but if you head right into a bunch of arrows are into a Whirlwind, you are a goner. Whenever you see someone running around, Charge! You have an extremely high chance of hitting that way.
Mastering your skills – Sometimes you will have to switch between skills and auras very quickly. This is often what separates good players from competent players. With plenty of practice, this will prove to be even more important than just getting the most expensive equipment.
Specific Dueling Strategies
Automatic Victories
These are the character builds that you should have absolutely no trouble beating (in a “fair” duel anyway): Lightning Javazon, Trapper, Fire Druid, Fire Sorc, and Lightning Sorc. There is no real strategy against opponents who can barely put a scratch on you, so I will skip to the others.
Other Characters
Amazon
Bowazon – If you followed the principles of walking, they cannot hit you nearly as often. Spiral in towards them with Charge, and give them a taste of metal. Difficulty = **
Hybrid – This type is uncommon, a bit sneakier than the others, but not particularly dangerous. They will switch between javelin and bow frequently, but luckily for you, their versatility came at the cost of their damage. Keep your DR fairly high, your blocking and lightning resistance up, and they are just weaker Bowazons. Difficulty = *
Assassin
Whirlwind – Weapon Block is the most annoying Assassin skill ever, next to Mind Blast. Unlike shields, Weapon Block can block Smite and even spells. Just remember to walk, and if they WW away from you, do not follow. Make sure you have high poison resistance, since a lot of their damage comes from Venom. Difficulty = ***
Hybrid – Yes, they use traps, and yes, you are pretty much immune to them, but somehow these guys still maintain a strong WW. Follow the same strategy as above, but make sure you have 95% lightning resistance or 95% fire resistance, depending on the opponent, so you can completely ignore the traps. Difficulty = ***
Barbarian
BvB Whirlwind – They use a shield and max their blocking, which just means they deal lower damage and have lower life, while the shield does nothing against Smite. Walk and Smite, and it should be a relatively easy duel. Difficulty = **
BvC Whirlwind – These guys hit much harder, can take a lot more damage, and are able to reach very high AR with a slight gear change. This is one of the few times I would ever recommend using Exile. After all, since they use Fanaticism, you could say it justifies stacking Defiance and using Life Tap. Difficulty = ****
Berserk – Avoid “going easy” on them. The damage from one of their hits will surprise you for sure. Just Smite them as if they are Zealots. Difficulty = *
Concentrate – Their attack cannot be interrupted, but that just means they will swing and miss you more often. Once again, just keep it simple and Smite them. Difficulty = *
Singer – War Cry stuns, but Smite cannot be interrupted. Since they probably have no shield on, try to Charge-lock them. If they get too close, use Smite. Difficulty = *
Druid
Fury – Generally, these are quite similar to Zealots. Those who use shields are not terribly tough to beat, but the two-handed weapon ones can be, since they out-range you by quite a bit. On top of that, they have obscenely high AR and can reach about twice the amount of life that you have. With low defense and no blocking, they are open to Charge-lock. Difficulty = ***
Rabies – Keep your poison resistance up, and get some items that reduce poison duration. Most Rabies Druids like to hit and run, so Charge whenever that happens. Bear in mind that Rabies, unlike typical poison damage, kills you rather than leave you at 1 life. It is a race against time. Difficulty = **
Fury/Rabies – These Druids will stay and fight after they infect you, and they probably have lower overall stats. Treat them like a regular Fury Druid. Difficulty = **
Wind – With your high resistances, you can neglect Hurricane’s cold damage. Tornado, however, deals physical damage, and if you are not careful, a Tornado can hit you more than once. Fortunately, it is nearly impossible to aim a Tornado, so the Druid will have to come to you to attack you. Smite off their Oak Sage first, and then take out the Druid. Difficulty = **
Necromancer
Bone – You cannot defend against bone spells, since they deal magical damage. Dodge as many Bone Spears and Bone Spirits as you can, and if you ever get trapped in a Bone Prison, Enigma’s Teleport is what will save your life. The only way to beat these guys is to get behind their line of fire somehow. Difficulty = ****
Poison – Stack some poison resistance, and not even Lower Resist will make a difference. Just know that in the 2-second poison duration, other sources of poison will not stack damages. In most cases it will take up to 3 Poison Novas to reduce your life to 1, so waste no time with the Necro. Difficulty = **
Summoning – If they use Revives, it is probably a better idea to wait out the 3 minutes so they all die off. Otherwise, high DR and resistances should protect you from the Skeletons and Mages long enough to knock out the Necro. Difficulty = ***
Paladin
Zealot – Your attacks always hit them, but they miss you most of the time. You probably have significantly more life than they do too. 99% of the time, this duel should be as simple as walking up and smacking them. Once again, do not go easy on them. Ever since the birth of the Grief rune word, any Paladin with at least 1 point in Smite is a potential threat. Difficulty = *
Crusader – Most of these focus so much on damage that they do not bother with a shield. You are probably more likely to land a hit with Charge than they are. It should be an easy duel, but for the love of God, do not run! Difficulty = *
Vindicator/Crusader – This is commonly referred to as the “pure Smiter”, which is not exactly true since they max out Charge. It is crucial that you walk in this duel until the split-second before you are in each other’s faces. Depending on your setups, this should be a pretty even match-up. Difficulty = ***
Vindicator/Templar – These guys can be tricky. If your lightning resistance is stacked high enough, you turn your opponent into yet another “pure Smiter”. Some V/T’s use higher-level Convictions than others though, so do not get careless. Difficulty = ***
Templar/Vindicator – Their focus on an elemental spell will be their downfall against you. Turn on Resist Lightning, and they have no choice but to Smite you. However, your Smite is far more powerful. Just remember to switch auras at the right times, and this should be relatively easy. Difficulty = **
Templar – Frankly, they could do triple the damage for all I care. All this is, is a T/V without a secondary attack. Please win. Difficulty = *
Hammerdin – This is a tough duel, but it depends how smart your opponent is. The dumber ones like to stand in place and cast a simple field of Hammers. For those, you can either Teleport to a blind spot just below them, or you can try to Charge your way in and hope you avoid the Hammers. The smarter Hammerdins will move around a lot, making a totally random field of Hammers. Your best chance is to place defensively and wait for them to come to you. When they are just close enough for you to get a hit in, do so, and get out of there. One wrong move, and you are screwed. Difficulty = *****
Liberator – A good one will be a nightmare to deal with. However, unlike dueling with Hammerdins, you do not have to worry about getting killed in 2 hits. Just remember to walk, and their Charge should rarely hit you. Try to avoid most of the Hammers, and hopefully get a few hits in. Difficulty = *****
Judicator – Well, once again, you have automatically eliminated one of their main attacks. This is really just a weak Hammerdin. Again, dodge as many Hammers as you can, and occasionally Charge at them. Difficulty = ****
Auradin – These have grown more and more popular ever since the ladder rune words came out. Most of them use Charge to kill, but their stacked auras themselves can hurt a lot, especially since they use Conviction. Get your fire and lightning resistances way up, and there should not be a problem. Difficulty = **
Ranger – I wonder why I even bothered to write this. Just Charge and put them out of their misery. Difficulty = *
Sorceress
Blizzard – Even a Savior hates to see these. You will need 350-400% cold resistance in Hell to counteract Cold Mastery and any Rainbow Facets, as opposed to 250-300% for Templars. There is one piece of equipment that I have not discussed, and that is the resistance shield. Take a Paladin shield with 4 open sockets and high resistances, insert 4 perfect sapphires, and you get a shield that adds about 200 cold resistance. However, even that may not be enough. You may also need Kira’s Guardian, Snowclash, and perhaps even Resist Cold on, unless you wish to be killed in 1-2 hits. It can be extremely difficult to fight multiple opponents if there is a Blizz Sorc around. Difficulty = ****
Frozen Orb – 2 Raven Frosts can reduce Frozen Orb’s damage quite a bit, but personally, I would rather not hear complaints from the opponent about absorb. Just Charge around in areas where the bolts are not too concentrated, and it should be a quick duel. Difficulty = **
Team Dueling Tips
With several excellent auras available, this build is one of the best team players around, not just for PvP, but for PvM as well.
Fanaticism – This improves your party’s AR, damage, and attack speed. Unless you must have something else on your right skill icon, keep Fanaticism on.
Defensive auras – A high-level resistance aura can reach allies that are as far as 50 yards! You can even stay in town and your aura will still protect them unless they stray too far. When your party is fighting several elemental enemies, use the correct resistance aura, and observe the number of hits even your weakest teammate can withstand.
Tanking – Paladins are designed to be able to endure. If your allies happen to be physically weaker characters, such as Sorceresses, then be an obstacle to your opponents.
Warcries – Assuming you have CtA on weapon swap, it is helpful to party members who either do not have one, or have lower level spells. If a party member (especially a Barbarian) has stronger Battle Orders, do not cast your own until it wears off, since the most recently cast BO will override the previous.
Goals
- Maintain 75% chance to block at all times, unless you are dueling against casters only.
- Find at least one setup that gives you at least 40% DR and max resistances in Hell difficulty.
- Find at least one setup that allows you to tank 3 elements simultaneously.
- For less wealthy players, aim for 3.5K-4K total life after using CtA. For the wealthier ones, 4K-4.5K is reasonable. The true duelists are able to reach 5K.
- Beware of stunning attacks. Even if you are immune to traps, Mind Blast can still stun you, which leaves you open for an opposing teammate to attack you. If possible, discuss tactics with your allies ahead of time. Decide on who will take out the Trapper, and so on.
FAQ
Q: Would this build work well against the Ubers in Tristram?
A: Yes, it would. Then again, any Vindicator can be converted into an effective “Uber Smiter” with some changes in gear.
Q: How come FHR was never mentioned?
A: Smite being an uninterruptible attack means that almost nothing should stop you from attacking, as long as you do not get hit between attacks. This is not an issue in pure Smite duels or melee duels of any other kind. This is also not a problem when dealing with most casters, since elemental damage has minimal effect on you. The only times that FHR will matter is when you are hit by ranged attacks that either stun or deal considerable damage, such as Tornado, Bone Spear, Mind Blast, and Guided Arrow. In such events, switch in some equipment or charms that add FHR.
Q: How come there are no IAS or FHR tables included in this guide?
A: For IAS, I have already covered that in the Equipment section. There are only two truly viable weapon options, one of which requires 54% total IAS, the other requires no additional IAS. Fastest Smite rate is absolutely necessary, so there is no point in listing any other breakpoints. As for FHR, it is assumed that those who are interested in PvP know at least the very basics of the Paladin class. It is not difficult to search for these tables, but for your convenience, I will list a few breakpoints here. They are: 27%, 48%, and 86%.
Q: May I copy parts of this guide to post elsewhere?
A: You may do so, provided that you give credit to the author, me.
Final Notes
Nothing in this guide claimed that this build is invincible. The V/S, like every other character, is far from invincible. Every once in a while, you may encounter a caster who can outsmart you. Do not be frustrated. Instead, realize what you did wrong, and try again. That is the key to improving your dueling skills.
I hope you enjoyed reading this guide as much as I did writing it. Best of luck to all of you who will attempt this build. Last but not least: The true winner is the player who takes the most enjoyment and pride in using his character!
Special Thanks
- AuraBullet, A|fzZz, Chobo, who assisted me in obtaining some of my items, and also in testing the build in PvP.
- crazyorc2000, PeTeRQ, who showed their support the whole way.
- Fusa, Stoutwood, whose equipment suggestions were put to use.
- The-Professor, who inspired this build, and also helped me in skill point allocations.
![[Image: mrruthmn.png]](http://miniprofile.xfire.com/bg/sh/type/1/mrruthmn.png)