Set goals for your attributes from the start and stick to them:

• Strength: Develop your Strength as fast as possible towards the goal you set for yourself to carry the best weapons and good armors (between 100 and 144 seems to me to be a good range: 144 for the Ornate plates with -15% of requirements). I have a preference for 133 but it's arbitrary. Others prefer to reach the 170 minimum in the long run, it's a matter of taste.

• Dexterity: see note on the block below for Dexterity. Make sure you always have 75% parry (with Holy Shield). So adjust from time to time.

• Vitality : as much as possible in your Vitality.

• Energy : In general, do not invest points in Energy (unless you want to develop a fistadin or a hammerdin).

Paladins in Diablo 2 Resurrected have a variety of skills to choose from, divided into three skill trees: Combat Skills, Defensive Auras, and Offensive Auras. Here's a brief overview of each:

Combat Skills:

• Zeal: A melee attack that strikes multiple enemies in quick succession.

• Sacrifice: A melee attack that sacrifices health to deal increased damage.

• Vengeance: A ranged attack that deals elemental damage based on the Paladin's equipped weapon.

• Charge: A dash attack that deals damage and stuns enemies in its path.

• Blessed Hammer: A magical hammer that spins around the Paladin, damaging enemies it hits.

Defensive Auras:

• Prayer: Gradually restores the health of the Paladin and nearby allies.

• Defiance: Increases the defense rating of the Paladin and nearby allies.

• Holy Freeze: Slows enemies and deals cold damage.

• Cleansing: Removes curses and negative effects from the Paladin and nearby allies.

• Vigor: Increases the movement speed of the Paladin and nearby allies.

Offensive Auras:

• Holy Fire: Adds fire damage to the Paladin's attacks.

• Holy Shock: Adds lightning damage to the Paladin's attacks.

• Thorns: Reflects damage back to enemies that hit the Paladin.

• Concentration: Increases the damage and accuracy of the Paladin's attacks.

• Fanaticism: Increases the attack speed and damage of the Paladin and nearby allies.

Each skill tree offers a different playstyle and can be combined with skills from the other trees for even more customization.

Paladins in Diablo 2 Resurrected can equip a variety of D2R items to enhance their combat abilities and survivability. Here are some of the equipment options available to Paladins:

Weapons:

• One-handed swords, maces, or axes: These can be used with a shield for added defense.

• Two-handed swords, maces, or axes: These offer higher damage but sacrifice some defense.

• Spears or polearms: These provide longer reach and can be used with a shield or two-handed.

Shields:

• Paladin shields: These are unique to the Paladin class and offer bonuses to skills and attributes.

• Regular shields: These offer basic defense and can be used with any one-handed weapon.

Armor:

• Plate mail: Offers high defense but can be heavy and slow.

• Chain mail: Provides moderate defense and faster movement speed.

• Light armor: Offers less defense but provides faster movement and attack speed.

Accessories:

1. Amulets: Can provide bonuses to skills, attributes, or resistances.

2. Rings: Similar to amulets, but with different bonuses.

3. Charms: Small Diablo 2 items that can be carried in the inventory for additional bonuses.

Paladins can also use gems and runes to enhance their equipment, adding new properties or bonuses to their gear. The specific equipment choices will depend on the Paladin's build and playstyle, but a well-equipped Paladin should have a balance of offense, defense, and mobility.

Paladins in Diablo 2 Resurrected can benefit greatly from runewords, which are powerful combinations of runes that can be inserted into socketed Diablo 2 Resurrected items. Here are some runewords that are particularly useful for Paladins:

• Call to Arms (Amn + Ral + Mal + Ist + Ohm): This runeword can be used to create a weapon that provides bonuses to skills, life, and mana, and can also be used to cast a Battle Command or Battle Orders skill, which increases the Paladin's damage and attributes.

• Enigma (Jah + Ith + Ber): This runeword can be used to create an armor that provides bonuses to strength, vitality, and all resistances, as well as teleportation.

• Dream (Io + Jah + Pul): This D2R runeword can be used to create a helmet or shield that provides bonuses to skills, life, and mana, and can also provide the Paladin with the ability to cast Holy Shock or Holy Fire.

• Beast (Ber + Tir + Um + Mal + Lum): This runeword can be used to create a weapon that provides bonuses to skills, damage, and attack speed, as well as the ability to transform the Paladin into a werewolf or werebear.

These are just a few examples of the many runewords available in Diablo 2 Resurrected, and the specific runewords a Paladin should use will depend on their build and playstyle. However, by using the right runewords, a Paladin can greatly enhance their abilities and become a powerful force on the battlefield.

The best Paladins are definitely built around their strongest skills, below we list the most common Paladin Builds in Diablo 2 Resurrected and what gear to use to get them at their best:

The Hammerdin is an iconic Paladin build and one of the most popular characters in Diablo 2. It revolves around the use of the Blessed Hammer skill, which deals magic damage that is rarely resisted by monsters. As a result, the Hammerdin is a versatile character that can excel in various situations throughout the entire game, making it the ultimate jack of all trades.

Best Skill Setup for Hammerdin

• Blessed Hammer: This is the primary skill for a Hammerdin Paladin, allowing them to summon spinning hammers that deal damage to all enemies in their path. It's recommended to max out this skill as soon as possible.

• Concentration: This aura increases the Paladin's damage and accuracy, making it an important offensive skill for a Hammerdin.

• Blessed Hammer: This is the primary skill for a Hammerdin Paladin, allowing them to summon spinning hammers that deal damage to all enemies in their path. It's recommended to max out this skill as soon as possible.

• Concentration: This aura increases the Paladin's damage and accuracy, making it an important offensive skill for a Hammerdin.

• Vigor: This aura increases the movement speed of the Paladin and nearby allies, making it easier to navigate through levels and avoid enemy attacks.

• Redemption: This aura has a chance to heal the Paladin and nearby allies when enemies are killed, making it a useful defensive skill for keeping the Paladin and allies alive.

• Blessed Aim: This passive skill increases the Paladin's attack rating, making it easier to hit and deal damage to enemies.

• Blessed Hammer synergies: These skills, including Concentration and Vigor, increase the damage and radius of Blessed Hammer, making them important to max out after maxing out Blessed Hammer itself.

Best D2R Items (Runewords, Armor, Weapon, Merc Setup) for Hammerdin Builds

• Weapon: Spirit Runeword, Heart of the Oak Runeword, or Wizardspike

• Weapon Swap: Call to Arms Runeword

• Shield: Herald of Zakarum, Spirit Runeword

• Shield Switch: Spirit Runeword

• Body Armor: Skin of the Vipermagi, Enigma Runeword

• Helm: Harlequin Crest (Socket it with Um rune) or Any Helm with + to all Skills and Magic Find

• Gloves: Trang-Oul's Claws, Magefist

• Boots: Sandstorm Trek, War Traveler, Waterwalk

• Belt: Arachnid Mesh, Verdungo’s Hearty Cord, Thundergod’s Vigor

• Amulet: Mara's Kaleidoscope, or Rare Amuletlet with +2 to Paladin skills

• Rings: Raven Frost, Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band, Stone of Jordan, or Any Rare Ring with 10% faster cast rate, possibly with life, stats, and/or resists

• Charms: Annihilus, Large Charm Hellfire Torch grants +Skills, + Attributes, and +All Resistances; Grand Charms with +Combat Skills or +Offensive Auras.

A popular Paladin build in D2R is the Smiter, which utilizes Smite as its primary attack skill. Smiters are highly sought after due to their ability to eliminate single targets swiftly, as well as their exceptional survivability. They are an excellent choice for ladder starters, as their auras can benefit the entire party in various scenarios where additional survivability, damage output, or single target damage is required. With a straightforward playstyle, the Smiter is an excellent choice for those who enjoy melee builds.

Best Skill Setup for Smiter

• Smite: This is the primary skill for a Smiter Paladin, allowing them to charge into melee range and deal heavy damage to single targets. It has no casting animation, so FCR breakpoints do not matter for this skill.

• Zeal: This is a secondary melee attack that can be used against multiple enemies, and is useful when facing crowds of smaller monsters.

• Holy Shield: This skill increases the Paladin's chance to block and defense rating when using a shield, making it an important defensive skill for a Smiter Paladin.

• Fanaticism: This aura increases the attack speed and damage of the Paladin and nearby allies, making it a powerful offensive skill for a Smiter Paladin.

• Blessed Aim: This passive skill increases the Paladin's attack rating, making it easier to hit and deal damage to enemies.

• Resist Lightning: This skill provides additional resistance to lightning, which can be helpful when facing enemies with lightning attacks.

Best D2R Items (Runewords, Armor, Weapon) for Simter Builds

• Weapon: Grief Runeword or Last Wish Runeword, Phase Blade

• Weapon Swap: Call to Arms Runeword and Spirit Runeword

• Shield: Rhyme runeword, Ethereal Exile Vortex Shield, or Herald of Zakarum

• Body Armor: Chains of Honor Runeword or Principle Runeword

• Helm: Guillaume's Face

• Gloves: Dracul's Grasp, Venom Grip or Any Glove with 20% Ias and other useful stats like resists, life, etc

• Boots: Goblin Toe, Tearhaunch, or 30% FRW boots with additional resists

• Belt: Thundergod's Vigor or String of Ears

• Amulet: Mara's Kaleidoscope or Any Amulet with + all resistances

• Rings: Raven Frost Raven Frost, Dwarf Star, Wisp Projector, or Any Ring with useful stats like allresist, life, magic find, etc.

• Charms: Paladin Hellfire Torch, Annihilus, Any charm with +skill, life, resist or FHR

The Fist of the Heavens Paladin is a highly versatile character that excels at sniping elite enemies and clearing dense areas while also offering powerful support capabilities. The Fist of the Heavens skill can be cast from a maximum range, allowing you to name-lock your target and unleash a relentless assault until they are defeated. Additionally, the Holy Bolts that launch out from FoH are capable of clearing massive swaths of demons and undead. With the release of D2R Patch 2.4, this build has been significantly buffed, making it a strong contender alongside the Blessed Hammer Paladin meta. Be sure to check out the Tri-Brid Variant for an exceptional elite build!

Best Skill Setup for FOH Paladin

• Fist of the Heavens: This is the primary skill for a FOHdin Paladin, allowing them to summon bolts of lightning that deal damage to multiple enemies. It's recommended to max out this skill as soon as possible.

• Holy Bolt: This skill can be used to heal the Paladin and nearby allies, making it a useful secondary skill for survivability.

• Holy Shield: This skill increases the Paladin's chance to block and defense rating when using a shield, making it an important defensive skill for a FOHdin Paladin.

• Conviction: This aura reduces the elemental resistances of enemies, increasing the damage dealt by FOH and other elemental attacks.

• Salvation: This aura increases the elemental resistances of the Paladin and nearby allies, providing additional protection against elemental attacks.

• Meditation: This skill increases the Paladin's mana regeneration rate, making it easier to cast FOH and other skills.

• Resist Lightning: This skill provides additional resistance to lightning, which can be helpful when facing enemies with lightning attacks.

Best D2R Items (Runewords, Armor, Weapon Setup) for FOHdin Builds

• Weapon: Grief runeword on Phaseblade, Azurewrath, Spirit runeword, Oath runeword

• Weapon Swap: Call to Arms Runeword

• Shield: Herald of Zakarum runeword

• Shield Swap: Spirit runeword

• Body Armor: Enigma runeword, Fortitude runeword, Treachery runeword, The Spirit Shroud, Skin of the Vipermagi

• Helm: Harlequin Crest Shako, Guillaume's Face, Lore runeword

• Gloves: Dracul's Grasp, Steelrend, Bloodfist

• Boots: Gore Rider, Goblin Toe, Infernostride, Silkweave

• Belt: Arachnid Mesh, Thundergod's Vigor, Verdungo's Hearty Cord

• Amulet: Highlord's Wrath, Mara's Kaleidoscope, or Magic Amulets with +3 Combat Skills are viable.

• Rings: Raven Frost, Bul Kathos' Wedding Band, Wisp Projector

• Charms: Paladin Hellfire Torch, Annihilus, Lightning sunder charm The Crack of the Heavens, Any charm with +Skills, + Attributes, and +All Resistances

The Zealer is a Paladin build that utilizes Zeal as its primary attacking skill. Zealers are a popular choice for PVM because few melee builds are as effective in D2R as them. They are capable of dealing high amounts of single target damage and can quickly dispatch larger mob packs without sacrificing survivability. Zealers are easy to play with and can be efficient ladder starters, even with budget gear. They are a welcome addition to parties as they can provide useful auras, such as Fanaticism or Conviction, during Baal, Chaos, or Terror Zone runs. Additionally, when survivability boosts are needed, Zealers can switch to Salvation or Defiance auras.

Best Skill Setup for Zeal Paladin

• Zeal: This is the primary skill for a Zealot Paladin, allowing them to make multiple attacks in quick succession. It's recommended to max out this skill as soon as possible.

• Vengeance: This skill is a good secondary attack that can deal a lot of elemental damage to multiple enemies.

• Holy Shield: This skill increases the Paladin's chance to block and defense rating when using a shield, making it an important defensive skill for a Zealot Paladin.

• Sacrifice: This skill allows the Paladin to deal heavy damage at the cost of health, making it useful for quickly taking down tough enemies.

• Resist Fire and Resist Cold: These skills provide additional resistance to fire and cold, which can be helpful when facing enemies with those elemental attacks.

Best D2R Items (Runewords, Armor, Weapon Setup) for Zealot Paladin Builds

• Weapon: Grief Phaseblade, Last Wish Phase Blade

• Weapon Swap: Call to Arms Runeword, Spirit Runeword

• Shield: Ethereal Exile

• Shield Swap: Spirit runeword

• Body Armor: Fortitude runeword

• Helm: Crown of Ages (with 2 Ber runes, or 2 Um runes if you wear a Stormshield), Guillaume's Face

• Gloves: Steelrend, Dracul’s Grasp

• Boots: Gore Rider, Goblin Toe, Infernostride, Silkweave

• Belt: Verdungo's Hearty Cord, Thundergod’s Vigor, String of Ears

• Amulet: Highlord's Wrath,

• Rings: Raven Frost, Wisp Projector, Any Rare Rings with % Life and Mana Leech per Hit

• Charms: Paladin Hellfire Torch, Annihilus, Gheed’s Fortune, Magic Grand Charms with +1 to pala combat skills +Life or +FHR, Magic Small Charms with +all resistances, or +life

Paladins in Diablo 2 Resurrected have several important breakpoints that affect their performance in combat. Here are the most important breakpoints for Paladins:

FCR (Faster Cast Rate) is an important stat for casters in Diablo 2, but it also affects the speed at which Paladins can use their skills, particularly those with casting animations. Here are the FCR breakpoints for Paladins in Diablo 2:

• 0% FCR: Paladins will cast at normal speed.

• 9% FCR: Paladins will reach the first breakpoint, reducing the casting animation by 1 frame.

• 18% FCR: Paladins will reach the second breakpoint, reducing the casting animation by 2 frames.

• 24% FCR: Paladins will reach the third breakpoint, reducing the casting animation by 3 frames.

• 30% FCR: Paladins will reach the fourth breakpoint, reducing the casting animation by 4 frames.

• 39% FCR: Paladins will reach the fifth breakpoint, reducing the casting animation by 5 frames.

• 48% FCR: Paladins will reach the sixth breakpoint, reducing the casting animation by 6 frames.

• 75% FCR: Paladins will reach the final breakpoint, reducing the casting animation by 7 frames.

It's worth noting that some Paladin skills, such as Zeal and Vengeance, have no casting animation and are not affected by FCR. Additionally, some equipment, such as the Paladin shield "Spirit" or certain runewords, can provide bonuses to FCR. The specific FCR breakpoints a Paladin should aim for will depend on the skills they use and their overall build, but reaching the first or second breakpoint can be a significant improvement in casting speed.

FHR (Faster Hit Recovery) is an important stat for all characters in Diablo 2, including Paladins. FHR determines how quickly a character recovers from being hit or stunned, allowing them to act more quickly in combat. Here are the FHR breakpoints for Paladins in Diablo 2:

• 0% FHR: Paladins will recover from being hit or stunned after 16 frames.

• 5% FHR: Paladins will reach the first breakpoint, reducing the recovery time to 15 frames.

• 9% FHR: Paladins will reach the second breakpoint, reducing the recovery time to 14 frames.

• 14% FHR: Paladins will reach the third breakpoint, reducing the recovery time to 13 frames.

• 20% FHR: Paladins will reach the fourth breakpoint, reducing the recovery time to 12 frames.

• 30% FHR: Paladins will reach the fifth breakpoint, reducing the recovery time to 11 frames.

• 42% FHR: Paladins will reach the sixth breakpoint, reducing the recovery time to 10 frames.

• 60% FHR: Paladins will reach the seventh breakpoint, reducing the recovery time to 9 frames.

• 86% FHR: Paladins will reach the final breakpoint, reducing the recovery time to 8 frames.

FBR (Faster Block Rate) is a stat that affects how quickly a character can recover from blocking an attack. For Paladins, who often rely on shields for defense, FBR can be an important stat to consider. Here are the FBR breakpoints for Paladins in Diablo 2:

• 0% FBR: Paladins will recover from blocking after 15 frames.

• 7% FBR: Paladins will reach the first breakpoint, reducing the block recovery time to 14 frames.

• 15% FBR: Paladins will reach the second breakpoint, reducing the block recovery time to 13 frames.

• 27% FBR: Paladins will reach the third breakpoint, reducing the block recovery time to 12 frames.

• 48% FBR: Paladins will reach the fourth breakpoint, reducing the block recovery time to 11 frames.

• 86% FBR: Paladins will reach the final breakpoint, reducing the block recovery time to 10 frames.

The Paladin's builds offer a wide range of options, allowing players to either engage as a spell caster or dive into the fray with a melee build. Both types are highly effective for PvM and PvP gameplay. Among the Paladin's builds, the "Hammerdin" is often regarded as one of the strongest for PvM, and it is capable of dealing massive amounts of damage even with budget Diablo 2 items. What's more, you can find cheap D2R items for sale here.