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Blessed Hammer Paladin Guide

Season 8

Last Updated:August 10, 2024|Change Log

The Blessed Hammer Paladin, commonly known as Hammerdin or Hdin, has been a staple build in Diablo 2 for many years. It excels at sniping Elite monsters, as well as a large majority of the game’s activities.
The Hdin’s main damage Skill is Blessed Hammer, which deals Magic Damage. This is an ideal damage type considering the extreme lack of Magic Immune monsters throughout Diablo 2. The hammers have an additional advantage of dealing 150% damage to Undead and Demons, making it an amazing Chaos Sanctuary farmer. Blessed Hammer is always paired with Auras such as concentration making it ideal for group play.
For survivability, the Hdin utilizes Holy Shield to greatly increase Defense and Chance to Block. Holy Shield also has a hidden mechanic which drastically speeds up the block animation, making it extremely useful.

Standard Variant
Standard Variant

Blessed Hammer

Concentration

Holy Shield

Teleport

This build guide assumes you have a Character at Level 75 before transitioning to it. Check out our Paladin Leveling Guide and our General Leveling Strategies to reach Level 75.

Very Tanky ✔
Almost No Immunes ✔
Great for Magic Finding ✔
Easy to Learn Difficult to Master ✔
With Variations it Can do Any Content ✔

❌ Bad in Narrow Areas
❌ Repetitive Skill Actions
❌ Gear Takes Time to Acquire

❌ Can Feel Clunky Without Teleport
❌ Early Game Positioning Takes Effort

Sunder Charm Setup

This build does not benefit from the new Sunder Charm because the Hammerdin only deals Magic Damage. There is no way to further reduce the Magic Resistance of monsters sundered by black cleft. Leaving you with only a negative effect, and they still take virtually no damage.

Terror Zones

The new Terror Zone mechanic combined with Sunder Charms open up a wide range of farmable areas. The following list highlights the best and worst Terror Zones for this build on the Starter or Budget setup. With the Sunder Charm Setup, more Terror Zones become accessible. Learn more about Terror Zones here and see how they stack up in our Terror Zone Tier List.

Best

Travincal - Quick Access, Council Members
Chaos Sanctuary - High Density, Many Elite Groups, Diablo
Worldstone Keep + Throne of Destruction - High Density, Many Elite Groups
Flayer Jungle - High Density, Many Elite Groups, No Immunities
Pit - Easy Mobility, Many Elite Groups

Worst

Burial Grounds + Crypt + Mausoleum - Low Density, Trash Mobility, Few Elite Groups
Blood Moor + Den of Evil - Low Density, Few Elite Groups
Ruined Temple + Disused Fane ONLY - Trash Mobility, Immunities
Arreat Plateau - Low Density, Trash Mobility, Few Elite Groups
Lost City + Valley of Snakes + Claw Viper Temple - Immunities, Charging Monsters

Skills

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Charge
2. Smite
3. Cleansing
4. Redemption
5. Salvation
6. Fanaticism

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Blessed Hammer
2. Blessed Aim
3. Concentration
4. Vigor
5. Holy Shield

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Damage

Utility

Attributes

Note: This section provides you with the standard Stat Point allocation. Build Variants can require a different allocation!

Strength

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Strength your gear provides when equipped.

Dexterity

Allocate enough Stat Points into Dexterity to reach max Chance to Block (75%). More Dexterity is needed at higher character levels. In addition to Dexterity and character level, shield bases also affect Chance to Block.

Vitality

Allocate any remaining Stat Points into Vitality after meeting Strength, Dexterity and Energy requirements.

Energy

Don't allocate any Stat Points into Energy. This build gets enough Mana from gear, buffs, Charms, and Mana Potions.

Essentials

Gear Options

Farming Spots

Mercenary

Playstyle

Breakpoints

Hardcore

Build Variants

Starter
Standard
Magic Find
Ubers
High Investment
Hardcore

Setup

The Starter Variant of the Blessed Hammer Paladin relies heavily on Skills and Faster Cast Rate to deal damage. Lore, Stealth, Spirit Crystal Sword, and Spirit Targe are easily obtainable sources of these stats. Life, Resistances, and Faster Hit Recovery are also great stats to help your starter setup.

Mercenary

To keep your Mercenary alive, equip him with a Body Armor and Helmet that provides Resistances and Life. Insight is a fairly easy Runeword to find that gives a great amount of damage and Quality of Life with Meditation. Hire the Holy Freeze Aura Mercenary to gain extra Crowd Control.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Charge
2. Smite
3. Cleansing

Max out the following Skills in order of priority:
1. Blessed Hammer
2. vigor
3. Concentration
4. blessed aim
5. Holy Shield

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to equip your gear. Put remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Standard Blessed Hammer Paladin is well-rounded in speed, survivability, damage, and Magic Find. Important Breakpoints: 75% or 125% FCR. This build with the Spirit Sacred Targe and Rune Circle Ring enables you to reach the 125% FCR breakpoint and travel to your destination as fast as possible for a Paladin as well as output the most damage per second (dps). Alternatively, you can utilize a Herald of Zakarum with an Ist Rune and a second Fortuitous Ring of Fortune to run higher Magic Find and damage per hammer, but overall less dps than this build.

Mercenary

Hire a Holy Freeze Aura Mercenary for Crowd Control. Equip him with Insight Giant Thresher for Meditation to keep your Mana Pool full. Andariel's Visage and Fortitude Sacred Armor fill in everything else you need from damage to survivability.

Skills

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Charge
2. Smite
3. Cleansing
4. Redemption
5. Salvation
6. Fanaticism

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Blessed Hammer
2. Blessed Aim
3. Concentration
4. Vigor
5. Holy Shield

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip your gear. Put enough points into Dexterity to maintain 75% Chance to Block with Holy Shield active. Remaining Stat Points go into Vitality.

Setup

This variant focuses on squeezing out as much +x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (MF) as possible while having swift mobility at the expense of some damage. Hunting Elite packs on Players 1 is the ideal playstyle for this setup. Important Breakpoints: 125% FCR.
Our most important items for this variant are Wizardspike, Spirit Sacred Targe, and Arachnid Mesh.

Mercenary

This variant is designed for a lower player count, so stack +x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items by items by equipping items such as Stealskull and Chains of Honor Sacred Armor on the Mercenary.
Note: Magic Find on your Mercenary is added to your own when they kill an enemy.

Skills

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Charge
2. Smite
3. Cleansing
4. Redemption
5. Salvation
6. Fanaticism

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Blessed Hammer
2. Blessed Aim
3. Concentration
4. Vigor
5. Holy Shield

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip your gear. Put enough points into Dexterity to maintain 75% Chance to Block with Holy Shield active. Remaining Stat Points go into Vitality.

Setup

Swap Guillaume's Face and Chains of Honor Archon Plate pieces with your Mercenary. Important pieces are Grief Phase Blade for damage, Dracul's Grasp for a source of LifeTap and x% Chance of Open Wounds, and Raven Frost for Cannot be Frozen.

Playstyle

  • Swap in Treachery and activate the Fade buff for 15% Damage Reduction and +60 All Resistances for 288 seconds. You can proc this buff on the fire next to the River of Flame Waypoint.
  • Use Smite for Physical Damage to kill bosses and monsters. Use Blessed Hammer for Magic Damage to kill trash mobs.
  • Use Enigma to Teleport from place to place (you can store it inside your cube or on your Mercenary).

Mercenary

The Mercenary is using our Enigma and Harlequin Crest while we are wearing his Guillaume's Face and Chains of Honor.
Note: Make the Mercenary's Chains of Honor in a non-Ethereal base.

Skills

Alternative Option: Invest only 1 Skill Point into Fanaticism and move the rest into Resist Lightning for the passive Maximum Lightning Resist. This helps against Uber Mephisto's Conviction, one of your biggest threats.

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Holy Shield
2. Charge
3. Smite
4. Cleansing
5. Redemption
6. Salvation

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Blessed Hammer
2. Blessed Aim
3. Concentration
4. Vigor
5. Fanaticism

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear. Put enough points into Dexterity to maintain 75% Chance to Block with Holy Shield active. Remaining Stat Points go into Vitality.

Setup

The High Investment variant is an alternative setup (not necessarily better) for well-funded players looking for a change. This build uses Phoenix Sacred Targe for Redemption to sustain Mana and Life and increase our Maximum Fire and Lightning Resistances. Important Breakpoints: 75% FCR and 48% FHR.

Mercenary

A big change with this build is hiring an Act 1 Mercenary with Ice Matriarchal Bow. Insight from and Act 2 Mercenary is no longer needed for Mana sustain due to Phoenix Sacred Targe. Holy Freeze Aura is still provided by the Ice Matriarchal Bow. Vampire Gaze and Treachery Archon Plate fill in everything else you need, from damage to survivability.

Skills

Put 1 Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Charge
2. Smite
3. Cleansing
4. Salvation
5. Fanaticism
6. Resist Lightning
(2 Points for passive bonus)

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Blessed Hammer
2. Blessed Aim
3. Concentration
4. Vigor
5. Holy Shield

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to equip your gear. Also put enough points into Dexterity to maintain 75% Chance to Block with Holy Shield active. Remaining Stat Points go into Vitality.

Setup

For Hardcore gameplay, prioritize having high over-capped Resistances to maintain the maximum when affected by hostile Conviction Auras.
You want high Damage Reduction (47%) while maintaining 75% Faster Cast Rate and high + to Skills on gear. Also prioritize Life over x% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items for survivability.

Mercenary

Hire a Holy Freeze Aura Mercenary for Crowd Control. Equip him with Insight Giant Thresher for Meditation to keep your Mana Pool full. Andariel's Visage and Fortitude Sacred Armor fill in everything else you need from damage to survivability.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Charge
2. Smite
3. Cleansing
4. Redemption
5. Salvation
6. Fanaticism

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Blessed Hammer
2. Blessed Aim
3. Concentration
4. Vigor
5. Holy Shield

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength and Dexterity to equip your gear. Also put enough points into Dexterity to maintain 75% Chance to Block with Holy Shield active. Remaining Stat Points go into Vitality.

Video Guide

Mechanics

Blessed Hammer

Smite

Summary

  • Keep your Holy Shield buff up at all times! Battle Command and Battle Orders are also important if you have crafted a Call to Arms War Scepter.
  • Whenever casting Blessed Hammer make sure Concentration is on to deal maximum damage.
  • Put enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear and enough Dexterity for max Chance to Block (75%). The remaining Stat Points go into Vitality.
  • Position yourself well during combat using kiting, "telestomping," and "hammer fields" to take down your enemy. Pay attention to the enemy’s positioning, Elite Affixes, and Auras.
  • Use Smite and your Mercenary against Magic Immune monsters.
  • Insight Mercenary solves your Mana problems.
  • Have fun!

We hope you enjoy this build! It can be fun and rewarding especially once you get practiced with it. There is nothing like destroying monsters with good positioning and kiting them through your freshly made hammer fields!
Good luck!

Credits

Updated and Maintained by Jymnasium
Originally Written by BTNeandertha1
Reviewed by Lexyu

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