Core Mechanics
Damage
Blessed Shield is a Judicator Core skill that throws a ricocheting shield normally, by using
Shield of Retribution, we convert it into a Juggernaut Core Skill that applies our Thorns damage 6 times per throw.
In order to maximize our Thorns damage we use
Clash with
Enhanced Clash,
Aegis with
Impunity and
Defiance Aura with
Rite of Thorns.
Our Ultimate Skill of choice varies depending on our needs:
Arbiter of Justice is used because it provides incredible damage multipliers in
Aspect of Ascension and
Aspect of Celestial Strife. Also, to Speedfarm,
Arbiter of Justice is used in combination with
Argent Veil and
Aspect of the Arbiter's Zephyr to clear much faster than would otherwise be possible by allowing us to cast when we Evade.
Fortress is used to make us tankier in combination with
Flickerstep, to cast it often enough to basically be Immune to damage.
Juggernaut Explained
An often misunderstood mechanic is
Juggernaut. Without
Mantle of the Grey, when you get to 8 Resolve it consumes them on your next Juggernaut Skill cast to provide you the benefits of
Juggernaut. With
Mantle of the Grey this only occurs when you reach your Maximum Resolve. For that reason, it is important to balance your Resolve Generated and Maximum Resolve.
For example, in the Mythic (Speedfarm) Variant, we use
Aspect of Valiance and +5 Resolve Generated to get a total of 11 Resolve when we cast
Falling Star. We always have a minimum of 1 Resolve because of
Juggernaut, meaning that when we cast
Falling Star, we can generate up to 12 Maximum Resolve. Therefore, we get +4 Maximum Resolve on our Pants, getting us from 8 to 12.
Less Maximum Resolve is not too bad, more is because it means you now have to cast either
Clash or another
Falling Star, to reach your maximum, at an awkward time.
Defenses
Sadly, Paladin is not the tankiest of classes but we do our best to stay healthy enough.
Blessed Shield not only has access to the usual Paladin defensive layers (high Armor, Block, Healing) but it also always has Resolve, which gives 20% Damage Reduction.
It's Very Important to try to get one Life on Hit Affix somewhere for sustain.
We also run
Cem +
Que to be a lot tankier in the Endgame variant and can use it on the Mythic variant too.
In the Pushing/Bossing variants we resort to
Fortress or inject some tankiness into
Arbiter of Justice variants with
Consecration /
Holy Light Aura.
Aspect of Hale's Salve is a fantastic Aspect to get Fortify.
Resource Management
We need to run a Runeword with
Lum until we have one of the following setups:
- 2x Faith per Second Affixes + 1x Lucky Hit Chance to Restore Resources on
Argent Veil variants. - 2x Faith per Second Affixes + 2x Lucky Hit: Chance to Restore Resources
The best Runewords are:
Bac +
Lum on
Argent Veil variants.
Igni +
Lum
Cem +
Lum (better than
Bac but better used with
Que)
Poc +
Lum
Cir +
Lum
Runes
Early on, use
Cir +
Gar for Critical Strike Chance.
Cem +
Que is used for tankiness on
Argent Veil Variants.
Cir,
Cem or
Igni +
Thul is used for Vulnerable, CC for
Dizzying Blow and [x]15% damage.
Ahu +
Qax is used for a disgustingly good damage multiplier.
Bac +
Wat is used to CC constantly for our
Godslayer Crown to pull mobs in.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Amulet Affix Priority?
- S-Tier
Heavyweight
Discipline
Iron Sharpens Iron
Crack in the Armor
Fortitude
The Best Offense
- A-Tier
Riposte
- B-Tier
Dizzying Blow
- C-Tier
- Cooldown Reduction
- Strength
- Maximum Resource (Basic Skill builds)
- Attack Speed (when not capped)
- Critical Strike Chance (when not capped)
- D-Tier
- F-Tier
Righteousness doesn't apply to the build.
Attack Speed Breakpoints
Because the game's server operates in frames (images), Skills can only be cast in a whole number of frames. This means, for example, that you can't cast a Skill in 10.2 frames. To extend this example further, that means that all Attack Speed values that lead to a cast time of 10.01 to 10.99 frames would mean you end up casting at 11 frames, effectively wasting all Attack Speed gains from 11 frames to 10.01.
For that reason, it is important to reach the Attack Speed Breakpoint of a frame.
You might be wondering how frames translate into actual Cast Speed. Because the server runs at 60 frames per second, the way we translate frames into Cast Speed is with the formula: 60 / Frames = Casts per Second.
Breakpoints:
- 20 Frames - 128%
- 21 Frames - 113.9%
- 22 Frames - 106.2%
- 23 Frames - 98%
Why
Preacher over
Beacon generally?
It is around 10% less damage for a 35% increase in tankiness.
Why doesn't the Push variant use
Relentless?
It's more damage and survivability to get enough Cooldown Reduction for
Arbiter of Justice without it.
Where are we getting Fortified from?
- To count as being Fortified, any amount of Fortification will do.
- We boost the Fortified amount with some magic nodes on
Preacher.
Aspect of Hale's Salve.- Raheir, your mercenary, also provides a bit of Fortify through his ability.
Renewal gives Fortify and is provided by
Shroud of False Death for free.- If you do not have or use
Shroud of False Death, put a point in it when playing in a Party (no access to Raheir Fortify. - We opt for 3/3 generally anyways.
What bugs does the build have?
-
Defiance Aura and
Thorns and Thistles are Additive with eachother instead of Multiplicative.
Punishment does not show an increase in the Thorns stat sheet value but does increase damage by [x]20%.- Skill Ranks from Runes and Items visually show double the intended increase for
Rite of Thorns(15% per Rank instead of 7.5%) but actually give NO increase at all. - Skill Ranks from Skill Points do work.
- Juggernaut Skill Ranks on
Mantle of the Grey don't.
Vex Rune doesn't.- Aura Skill Ranks on a Chest don't.
Is the Support Paladin good?
Yes, it provides you with a ridiculous amount of survivability and damage. Here's my Support Paladin Guide.
Masterworking and Greater Affixes Explained
To find everything you need to know about Masterworking and Greater Affixes make sure to check our Tempering and Masterworking Guide out.
Further Questions
If you have any questions about this guide feel free to reach out to me whilst live on Twitch or contact me offline via my Discord.