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Holy Fire Paladin

Last Updated: March 2nd 2024

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Have you ever wondered how it feels to juggle burning swords? Then the Holy Fire Paladin lets you fulfills your dream as the holy fire Aura imbues your attacks with massive Fire Damage. You also deal decent Physical Damage to keep your Life topped off in almost most situations.

But it doesn't end here! The Aura also deals damage in a massive area around your Paladin.

For this guide, we'll focus on the variant that actively uses Holy Fire in combination with zeal. This version works well on a reasonable investment, but if you want to throw a lot of currency at this build, check out the double dragon + hand of justice variant below! This build just charges around and Holy Fire just melts monsters on the screen!

Ideal Standard Setup
Ideal Standard Setup

Holy Fire

Zeal

Charge

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 ✔
Great Self-Sustain ✔
Fast Paced Action ✔
Engaging Melee Combat ✔
Low Investment To Start ✔

❌ Limited Farming Areas
❌ Starter Struggles In Hell
❌ Susceptible To Ranged Enemies
❌ Struggles On High Player Counts
❌ Extremely High Investment Required

Sunder Charm Setup

Patch 2.5 introduces a new way of breaking Immunities: Sunder Charms. Any enemy that would be Immune to your damage type is insted reduced to 95% Resistance, before any other Resistance reductions apply. (e.g. Conviction, Lower Resist) The Charm also reduces YOUR Resistance against the sundered damage type! Check out our post on Sunder Charms to learn more about these new Charms. The following setup uses Flame Rift, allowing you to farm anywhere you want.

Sunder Charm Setup
Sunder Charm Setup

Gear Changes

To optimize this Sunder Charm we need as much -% Enemy Fire Resistance as possible. The Holy Fire Paladin only has the Helmet as a flexible item Slot for this stat. Equip Flickering Flame Diadem to reach -185% Enemy Fire Resistance combined with the maxed out Conviction Aura.

Flickering Flame Diadem also counteracts the negative effect of Flame Rift.

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 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

Tal Rasha's Tombs - High Density, Many Elite Groups, Quick Access, SKIP Tombs with Burning Dead!
Flayer Jungle + Flayer Dungeon - High Density, Many Elite Groups, Quick Access, SKIP Shamans!
Stony Tomb ONLY - High Density, Many Elite Groups, Kill Elite Groups in Rocky Waste while searching
Far Oasis - High Density, Many Elite Groups, No Immunities
Frigid Highlands - Boss, Quick Access, ONLY KILL Eldritch the Rectifier

Worst

Chaos Sanctuary - Immunities
River of Flame + City of the Damned - Immunities, Tanky enemies
Worldstone Keep + Throne of Destruction - Immunities, Tanky enemies, High incoming Damage
Arcane Sanctuary - Immunities, Trash Mobility
Outer Steppes + Plains of Despair - Immunities, Tanky enemies, High incoming Damage

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Holy Shield
2. Vigor
3. Zeal (maxed later)

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Holy Fire
2. Resist Fire
3. Salvation
4. Zeal
5. Sacrifice

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

Budget
Standard
Dragon + HoJ
Ubers

Setup

The Holy Fire Paladin relies on some specific Affixes to properly work. This setup allows you to deal with any Immune to Fire monster you encounter in low player counts.
Cover the "Cannot Be Frozen"-Affix with Raven frost and use Bulwark Diadem for its Physical Damage Reduction. angelic halo + angelic wings cover your Attack Rating needs. gorerider bring Crushing Blow into the mix, which speeds up boss fights significantly. And upgraded hexfire socketed with a shael rune and laying of hands gets you to a great Attack Speed Breakpoint. With treachery's Fade, spirit, and Charms you can ensure capped Resistances.

Mercenary

The Budget Mercenary focuses on its survival. With an insight, treachery and a Life Leech Helmet like vampire gaze make him very durable.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Holy Shield
2. Vigor
3. fanaticism
4.Zeal (maxed later)

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Holy Fire
2. Resist Fire
3. Salvation
4. Zeal

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip your gear. Put enough Dexterity to reach 75% Chance to Block. Put remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The standard version mixes the Holy Fire Zealer with some massive Physical Damage from Grief Phase Blade. Exile Sacred Targe brings great sustain through life tap. Holy Fire scales with +x to Skills and -x% Enemy Fire Resistance. The new Runeword flickering flame, Highlord's Wrath, and Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band are great sources for these stats. With laying of hands and Highlord's Wrath you reach the fastest Breakpoint possible. arachnid mesh allows you to teleport with Enigma. Replace one of your Captain's Grand Charm of Vita for Flame Rift to open up even more farmable areas!

Mercenary

The Mercenary is clear-cut across all variants. Use the Might (Damage) or Holy Freeze (Crowd Control) version, depending on your preference. Use Infinity War Pike, Fortitude Sacred Armor, and Andariel's Visage socketed with Ruby Jewel of Fervor to keep him alive permanently.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Holy Shield
2. Vigor
3. Fanaticism
4. Zeal (maxed later)

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Holy Fire
2. Resist Fire
3. Salvation
4. Zeal
5. Sacrifice

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 Dexterity to reach 75% Chance to Block. Put remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The double Dragon + hand of justice setup is unique. With only these 3 items and your skill tree, this build is ready to destroy enemies on /players 1. The remaining gear is completely flexible. You can mix and match items to cap out your Resistances, Damage Reduction, Magic Find, and more. The Crown of Ages with 2 Rainbow Facets is your best helmet options as the +3 to Fire Skills from flickering flame doesn't apply to the item-granted Holy Fire Aura. Add a raven frost, laying of hands and a Dual Leech Ring to turn this build into an effective Zealer. This allows you to farm in higher player count. The new Flame Rift Sundered Charm opens up a lot more farmable areas. Check out the Sundered Charm Setup above on how to integrate it for this variant.

Mercenary

The Act 5 Frenzy provides more reliable Static Field than the Act 3 Lightning version. Using 2x Crescent Moon Conquest Sword, a Fortitude Sacred Armor, and Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ruby Jewel of Fervor makes him almost unkillable, allowing you to go into a much higher player count.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Holy Shield
2. Vigor
3. Fanaticism
4. Zeal (maxed later)

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Conviction
2. Resist Fire
3. Salvation
4. Zeal
5. Sacrifice

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 Dexterity to reach 75% Chance to Block. Put remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Uber variant is based on the double Dragon and Hand of Justice setup.

Replace the helmet for Guillaume's Face (Um Rune) and boots for Gore Rider. These items provide the much-needed % Chance of Crushing Blow and % Chance of Open Wounds.

Put a Bone Wand of Lower Resistance into your Horadric Cube and replace it with your call to arms after you used Battle Orders. Use it against the Ubers to increase your damage.

Fill up your inventory with Resistance Charms to cap them out and over cap Lightning Resist.

Mercenary

The Fire version of the Iron Wolf provides you with up to +452% Attack Rating by applying Enchant. He will NOT survive the Ubers, so don't worry about keeping him alive. He only buffs you if you're in combat. Run out to any Waypoint you have and find random monsters to trigger it. Add as many +x to Skills as you can to boost his Enchant. Hexfire, Ormus' Robes, Flickering Flame, and a Lidless Wall are his optimal setup until he has enough Strength for Spirit Monarch.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Holy Shield
2. Vigor
3. Fanaticism
4. Zeal (maxed later)

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Conviction
2. Resist Fire
3. Salvation
4. Zeal
5. Sacrifice

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 Dexterity to reach 75% Chance to Block. Put remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Summary

  • Use Charge, vigor and teleport to move around quickly.
  • Activate holy Shield at the start of each farming session to increase your % Chance to Block.
  • Let your enemies feel the fire with Zeal. This is the best option for both multiple and single targets.
  • Switch to fanaticism to deal with Immune to Fire monsters and skip enemies that also are Immune to Physical.
  • Keep your Mercenary close to apply conviction to enemies you are fighting on the standard variant of this build.
  • Try out the double dragon + hand of justice when you have enough currency for it!

The Holy Fire Paladin is a great alternative to the pure Physical Damage Zealer. It is amazing to play a build where enemies perish from your mere presence!

Good luck!

Credits

Written by Teo1904
Reviewed by MacroBioBoi

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