Hey, i got a zealot with like 345 stat points to put on..

the question is, should i put my points into dex to have max block or is it not worth the points?

If you could describe the gear you gonna use, it would be much more easy for me to decide.

From, 345 im guessing hes around 70? If you max HS(Holy Shield) and have a Shield like Stormshield once you get higher then yes, its worth it. It would only require around 120 dex when you can first equip it.

yeah shit sry i forgot all about the gear.. im going to use:

wrymhide enigma
ebotd zerk
coa
goreriders
angelics (or hilords n bhold/rspiral)
dracs gloves
not sure what belt (but it dont really matter)
and eithere a zakarum or vortex exile

hope that helps a bit more, tell me if u need more info

If you're ladder, use fortitude.

Yea, no matter what your need max block pvm or pvp.

use verdungo for belt.

enigma's def is way too low even though the mods are good. there are plenty of other choices.

exile sux btw (i'd really rather not go into this debate again, but if u insist, i will). since u should be able to get enough DR elsewhere, i suggest alma negra for dueling melee, and hoz for dueling casters.

i have a PWNING pvp zealot...and i can tell u after making about 5 of em....DONT put any more into dex then ur wep requires... u will have max block from HS and ur sheild (if u dont quite make it...just throw on a ravenfrost for +20 dex) and then u will have it.....if ur worries about AR...raven also takes care of that.....i use 2x raven/highlords on my current zealot...and i only use angelic if im facing someone with exhile....if u have any other questions...ask me....o, and if ur wondering what u should do with the points that u DONT put into dex...ALL into vit....and yeah...dungos is a good choice for a belt

if ur sheild only has like 40% chance to block....just use 2x raven and waterwalks will get u 75% for sure...if ur set on the rings and ammy u have now...then yeah put into dex..because 75% block is crutial in pvp...but if it were me, i would just have + dex items and get it that way

i c.. i c..

now does anyone have a suggestion of what armor i should use instead of enigma?

it depends on the type of zealot....believe it or not, u cant stylize ur zealot.....fortitude would rule (300% ed)...but i personally like uped shaft (30% ed)...but yeah...nigma would not be very good for a zealot

depending on what defficulty u r gonna duel in, coh isnt a bad choice (+65 resist)

armor is directly related to ur sheild (at least on palies) if u use hoz..u will already have good resist and i would then use either the shaft or fort....but i wouldnt use hoz...exile is EASILY the best sheild u can use...and then u might want to think about using coh, but ive seen some exile/fort zealots that deal ALOT of damage....their only problem is when they come across sorcs....die EZ...it just depends on if ur gonna try and duel every character that comes ur way, or if ur gonna only duel melee, and use some other character for casters, or if u wanna have 1 character that seems invicible...

let me know if u have any other questions

coh is a nice armor for baal runs (those pesky souls and conv aura unique monsters) but use fortitude for dueling...

care to explain why u think so?

plz dont get azn into an argument over why/why not exile is the best pvp zealer shield, its not worth arguing with him (he'll prove some good points and totally prove you wrong)

I have sayd this many times before, and i bet this wont be the last time i say it.
Fortitude really sucks in an armour.
YOU WILL NOT GET ANYTHING GOOD ANYMORE SINCE BLIZZ CHANGED THE STATS.

New stats is as follow:

Weapons
20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when Struck
+25% Faster Cast Rate
+300% Enhanced Damage
+200% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
+1-99 To Life (Based on Character Level)
Replenish Life +7
+5% To Maximum Lightning Resist

Body Armor
All Resistances +25-30 (varies)
Damage Reduced By 7
12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1 To Light Radius



Anyway, i think exile is the best smither shield, but only if it has the following stats:
1. +Paladin combat skills (You can get it with 3+)
2. Chromatic - All Resistances +35-45 (50)
3. It must be etheral

With those stats, the shield would be awsome good. I seen one before wich my master had, so i know it exist.

AznAvatar: That is my reason why Exile is the best.

When it comes to DMG reduce%, i think that can be done with the rest of the items (Wich i would prefere)

-8% CoH
-23% CoA socket with cham, ber
-15% Verdungo
That is 46%.
You can if you want get 54% if you use 2 ber in CoA, but i prefere to have 46% and 2 BK rings.

Then let him prove why my type of exile aint best. :)

hye guys its ok now.. i had to on a dew points to dex.. but i got 75% block with my exile.. my zealot pwnz now..

ty all for all ur help:)

Wich monster did you test your block% on?

go ahead and argue. i take hard statistics over anyone's opinion or experience.

Quote:

______________________________________________
Quote from Mortic.
22.5k ar
35k def (no prebuff)
chance to hit eth templar/exile = 33%

eth templar/exile/angelics:
20k ar
45k def (no prebuff)
chance to hit eth templar/hoz = 36%


As you can see there is no real bonus from the defense and defiance of exile. From experience exile will win if life tap is casted when the exile user still has over 50% life left. Otherwise, other shield user has the advantage of higher damage. End Quote from Mortic.



Quoted from Stoutwood:
That's how you hit someone with 45k defense. The difference between the two is negligible. And yes, if someone has 19k defense without Exile, they will get KO'ed in one or two zeals. That is obscenely low defense whether or not you are an Exile user. End Quote from Stoutwood.

_____________________________________

as proven, the def u get with exile won't make much def unless ur def without exile is unspeakably low. an equally effective amount of def can easily be achieved by other means.

exile = lower blocking than alma negra, hoz, or ss = more pts in dex = fewer pts in vit = lower life. also, exile has no +stats = more pts in str to use other gear = fewer pts in vit = lower life. i have tested various setups in single player and have found that i get 300-500 less life (before BO) with exile setups. not worth the few % lower chance of getting hit IMO.

regarding the life tap, 20% chance to cast (exile + dracs) is about once every 5 hits. most zealots, with or without BO, do not survive 5 hits. even if it triggers early, it won't save u if u die in a couple of hits.

let's compare the usable stats of exile, alma negra, hoz, and ss...

exile:
high def and defiance
life tap (i don't even consider it to be much use except in pvm)
+2 offensive auras
whatever built-in mods the shield had

alma negra:
high blocking
+2 pally skills
enhanced dmg
enhanced ar
1 extra socket

hoz:
high blocking
+2 pally skills and +2 combat skills
50 res all
slight ar bonus
20 dual stats
1 extra socket

ss:
high blocking
highest DR of any item in the game (allows versatility in other equipment)
30 str
dual resists
1 extra socket

exile's only redeeming mods are the high def and defiance, the built-in pally shield mod, and in a few cases the life tap. a friend of mine has 9k damage, 24k ar, 2k life, and 31k def. no cta, no exile, no skill charges. to this day he has never lost a duel to an exile zealot.

if u're still obsessed with the life tap, why not buy urself a wand with life tap charges from malah for <100k and save a few high runes? if exile is not BM by ur standards, i don't see why life tap wands should be.

feel free to keep debating this if u think u can back urself up.

i dont have any facts to suport my arguments...which i dont care, because statistics in a game like D2 can be ezily changed...if u understand...i just know from experience, someone who uses exile, hardly ever gets hit...not to mention the life tap (when combined with dracs....u cant lose)

as far as ur friend goes, those exhile duelers mustve sucked...u cant load out a character wit the best items in the game, that never works, certain items help each other in certin ways (and those people must not have had the items to go with exhile), but if u dont use the right ones, and i mean ALL the right ones, u suck...simple as that...(weapon in particular)

and yes i will keep debating this issue

hoz would be the only sheild i would use besides exile....SS sucks horribly for a zealot...for any paladin actually, it suks

yes, those exile duelers indeed must've sucked...simply because they were unwilling to accept the fact that exile sucks.

as shown in the the second chance-to-hit example, the target exile zealot had 45k def, which even by exile user standards is very high. in my tests in single player, i used what i thought were the best possible combinations.

my friend did not intentionally duel bad players. u merely assumed that they all sucked. anyone can make assumptions, and i can assume that the zealots from ur experience dueled poorer zealots, but i choose not to. it is highly unlikely that every exile zealot he's ever encountered were as bad as u seem to think. i posted his stats on my previous post. it's there if u want to compare them with ur own stats. numbers don't lie (with the exception of dmg with grief).

d2 is a game of probability and statistics. u can't expect ppl to think that all those test results are lies and u are right, especially when u clearly stated that u have no evidence to support ur arguments. it's certainly not the matter of whether u care or not.