McFluffin has been playing and making content for Last Epoch since Alpha. He has also been a Community Tester since the implementation of the program, which has allowed him the opportunity to provide feedback to Eleventh Hour Games on pre release builds since 2020. With degrees in both science and philosophy, McFluffin enjoys applying the analytical processees he's learned to build making, efficiency, and a better understanding of the inner workings of the games he plays. Despite all of that, his favorite thing to do is be weird on Twitch while hanging out with his friendly and welcoming community. Learn about the Skills, Gameplay and Passives for the Smite Hammerdin Paladin Build.
Hammer Throw
Hammer Throw is you means of creating Smite procs. Iron Spiral allows our hammers to spiral so they can hit large targets more than once. Catapult allows us to throw three hammers at once. We take enough points in Ballista to reach zero mana, then invest elsewhere.
Sigils Of Hope
Sigils Of Hope provides valuable buffs, but with a high Mana cost that we use to keep our mana low for Devotion. Empowering Sigils provides extra damage. On defense Iron Sigils gives Endurance Threshold and Sign of the Guardian improves our Block. Enduring Hope and Word of Alacrity smooth out the play style.
Smite
Smite is your primary damage and is procced through Chance To Cast Smite When You Hit With Throwing Attacks. It already has great single target, and by adding Unbalanced Scale you also get very good clear Conviction is needed to crit cap. Keep this off your bar and use Shield Rush as your Movement Skill.
Volatile Reversal
Volatile Reversal is a unique movement ability with tons of utility. Time Rifts increases enemy damage taken while Warped Time and Catching Up speed up your build. It can also be used for extreme mobility and animation canceling so take the time to master this skill!
Holy Aura
Holy Aura is a strong support ability that provides powerful buffs to you and allies. This setup focuses on granting defenses with Shelter from the Storm and Purification plus tons of Throwing Attack Speed from the Expedite and Fanaticism Nodes, with the Haste buff on top!
Skills
Alternative Skills & Tips
- If you want to be able to auto cast Sigils Of Hope using the Num Lock trick you need to take Exigency. Note that you have much less control over your mana this way and won't be able to burn it at the start of a boss fight for maximum damage, so we do not recommend this.
- If you find yourself crit capped and you don't need to invest the full 5 points in Conviction on the Smite tree, you can instead allocate those points to either Blinding Flash or Deep Impact. The DPS gains are very similar.
- If you prefer to have your Hammers follow you, take the Hammer Throw node Hammer Vortex. You need to account for the increased mana cost if you go this route.
Passives
Passives provide powerful effects that dictate the playstyle of a Class and its Masteries. Remember that you can allocate Passives on the first half of all Masteries regardless of the one you chose.
- Armour Clad grants Damage Reduction and is crucial for any Sentinel's survivability.
- Juggernaut, Abyssal Endurance, Holy Icon and Defiance provide tons of Resistances. Use them as needed.
- Place at least 1 Point into Gladiator, Steel Aegis, Honour and Shield Wall for the Block Chance.
- The stats granted by Reverence of Duality are extremely powerful.
- Invest your final Points in Prayer Aegis or Light of Rahyeh, depending on your needs.
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Passive Points.
Gameplay
This Paladin uses Hammer Throw to proc Smite, which calls down Lightning upon the battlefield. Remember that you don't need Smite on your Skill bar. Make sure you are familiar with enemy mechanics to know when to use your Support Skills to stay alive. Pay attention to their telegraphed attacks!
Skill Usage/Rotation
- Cast Sigils Of Hope until you're low mana to maximize the damage gained from Devotion.
- Spam Hammer Throw at enemies. Stand close to them to maximize damage.
- Use unspecced Shield Rush or Lunge to move across the map.
- Cast Volatile Reversal and Holy Aura on top of enemies for their buffs and extra Damage.
- Maintain 4 Sigils Of Hope up at all times while also using it to keep your mana low.
Mapping
- Rush to the objective with unspecced Shield Rush or Lunge.
- Proc the Haste buff from Holy Aura's Expedite Node for the additional Movement Speed.
- Be careful not to backtrack when using Volatile Reversal.
- Group mobs before using Volatile Reversal and Holy Aura to maximize their Buffs.
- For large groups, use Hammer Throw while staying on the move to maximize clear and reduce incoming damage.
Bossing
- Burn your mana with Sigils Of Hope just before engaging the boss.
- Take advantage of all your defensive buffs and keep them active.
- Actively use Holy Aura to double the effect of its buffs.
- Use Volatile Reversal to ramp up your damage then spam Hammer Throw, staying as close as you can to the boss to maximize damage and the potential for multiple hits from the same hammer. In this setup, Volatile Reversal can have 100% uptime so use it on cooldown as long as it won't place you into a bad position.
- Keep unspecced Shield Rush off Cooldown for emergency situations or telegraphed Boss attacks.
Advanced Skill Tips
- Use Volatile Reversal to cancel out animations. This can be used to interrupt Shield Rush mid animation in dangerous situations. This mechanic can be pushed to the extreme by skilful players, creating a choreography of blinks and dashes that the enemy AI struggles to keep up with. At the same time, using this at the wrong time could end up with you in the wrong spot, so be extremely careful while learning how to use this Skill.
- Proc the Haste buff from Holy Aura's Expedite Node before using Shield Rush. The additional Movement Speed gained by the buff applies to the entire duration of Shield Rush, even if the buff expires.
- Standing close to enemies not only maximizes damage, it also increases the likelihood that heals from Smite reach you, so stay as close to enemies as possible!
Learn more about how to maximize your gameplay in the Build Scaling section of this guide.
