1) (combat skill) for damage : sacrifice or zeal?

it seems that there are more zealots out there than matyrs. but doesnt sacrifice deal more damage? items aside, here are the facts. at level 20, zeal does 96% damage by itself , and an additional 20x12% from 20 points of sacrifice (by synergy), which adds up to a grand total of 240% + 96% = 336% (approx). at level 20, sacrifice does 465% damage itself, and an additional 20x20% from 20 points of redemption and sacrifice (by synergy), which adds up to a grand total of 400% + 465% = 865% (approx). in terms of AR, zeal has a 200% AR compared to 153% AR for sacrifice.

but zeal hits rapidly for 5 times for every strike. does that mean that a single paladin's hit from sacrifice is equivalent to 5 hits from a paladin using zeal? is zeal that much faster than one using sacrifice if both paladins are using a very fast weapon of the same make?

2) (offensive aura) elemental : conviction or vengence?
i shall not be so lengthy this time. so in short, conviction reduces the elemental resistances of the monsters to allow for greater elemental damage whereas vengence increases the elemental damage done by the paladin instead. but if a monster is, say immune to a certain element, does the increased damage from vengence penetrate through? if not, isn't conviction a better choice?

and given conviction's ability to reduce the defence of any monster by 90% at level 20, most monsters would be easier to hit regardless of your own AR.

the only drawback is that the aura range is limited to 13.3 yards, which is quite small, and your henchman would have to be quite close to reap the benefits of that aura.


ok, those are just my opinions. your feedback and experience on the above would be greatly appreciated, thanks !

Go with Zeal, and max also Sacrifice for the synergy, if you have enough skillpoints left.
And if your going to use Zeal, go with Fanatism.

Conviction is mainly only used with FoH, or unless there are a lot of sorc's around.

sorry, i just realised my mistake that vengence is not an aura but a combat skill. so vengence and conviction can actually be used in conjunction with each other.

but if limited by skill points, and given a choice of only vengence or conviction, which would be preferred?

It depens.

Conviction would help the whole party, but if you're going to use Conviction, you need something that deals the damage. Even godly BotD is useless, without any main attack skill.

Go with Zeal, and max also Sacrifice for the synergy, if you have enough skillpoints left. And if your going to use Zeal, go with Fanatism.


may i ask why? the only advantages i see with zeal is with its more rapid attacks, a slightly higer AR, and no necessity to balance out the life loss with lots of life steal items as in sacrifice.

but the damage from sacrifice, when maxed with the synegistic skills, is enormous, when used with fanaticism. is that not better, or even worth some consideration?

my only pain is the lack of life steal items to counter its 8% damage to self, cos in hell, 8% is equivalent to 32% (due to life steal working at one-quarter of its stated effectiveness), and 32% life steal in items is quite a task to manage for me currently ...

but other than that, why zeal and not sacrifice? are there any more drawbacks to sacrifice that i am not aware of ? or is zeal just simply easier to use?

Mainly because Zeal is much faster, so enemies can't hit you as often as if you were using Sacrifice, which only allows you to attack one enemy at the time.

I had an Sacrifice paladin once, and I can't remember how he used to manage.

Conviction just work for an anvenger or FoH
I have built an avenger
if you goes for an elemental attack then choose Convicton for your aura

Mainly because Zeal is much faster, so enemies can't hit you as often as if you were using Sacrifice, which only allows you to attack one enemy at the time.

I had an Sacrifice paladin once, and I can't remember how he used to manage.

Thanks etanol. I think I may have to drop my idea of a sacrifice paladin because I lack the life steal items to sustain his attacks. Zeal is definitely faster, and easier to use, but I was thinking of deviating from the mainstream of zealots out there ... :)

True, I'm building my bow sorc, and already have crying barb and melee sorc.
They are somewhat mainstream, but far away from being so popular as hammerdins or zealots etc.

True, I'm building my bow sorc, and already have crying barb and melee sorc.
They are somewhat mainstream, but far away from being so popular as hammerdins or zealots etc.

let's be honest ... it's the exceptional damage from the sacrifice aura that drives me ... not the over-abundance of zealots out there that motivates me otherwise ... haha ...

Then you should try out Charge, using BotD war pike or thunder maul. If you get enough crushing blow and other stats, it's a one hit KO in duels.

Then you should try out Charge, using BotD war pike or thunder maul. If you get enough crushing blow and other stats, it's a one hit KO in duels.

i actually considered it. charge does even more insane damage compared to sacrifice. but it is not practical.

as a main attack skill, you have to move about to make room for charging, and the thought of maneuvering myself non-stop to charge a tightly clustered or scattered mob of 20 minions already gives me a headache. and sacrifice, even though it is slower than zeal, can engage the monsters faster on the average when compared to charge ... just like zeal is easier to play compared to sacrifice due to its advantage in speed and the lack of need to aim.

no doubt it is useful in duels, but i want to playable and balanced character somewhat ... not a bull in a bullpit ... no offence to the hammerdins or whatever-you-call-them out there ... ;)

It's kind of boring to own everything with hammerdins. :P

It's kind of boring to own everything with hammerdins. :P

dont tell me. there are definitely people who get excited with their characters ... haha ... if you look at it on a higher scale, we are just weirdos who play with moveable jpgs controlled by a logic of 0s and 1s. hell, even the jpegs are pixels of 0s and 1s.

and some of us spend more time on it than with our family and friends ... dont ask me why ... ;)

dont look at me ... i am a victim too ...