Dedicated Uber or Converted Hammer?

I'm trying to decide if I should build a dedicated Zeal/Smiter (any other Uber-Soloing build) or if I should just tweak my hammerdin a bit.



I've read many guides, and I know that with 1-Point smite and the right equipment, Uber Tristram can be soloed easy.



A very interesting guide here (probably one of the best written guides I've read) got me interested in the idea of converting my level 88 hammerdin.



He suggests maxing Holy shield, and only maxing one of the blessed hammer synergies (or splitting points between the two) At level 97 you can max both synergies, blessed hammer, and holy shield (but there is no way I'm waiting 'till then...)



Does holy shield synergize Smite? Perhaps I could just get it to... 15- or so (pre boosts)



Gear would look like this:



Bold is what I am using now, other are what I'll need to get.



Helm: Shako Guillame's face (socketed - Um)

Armor: 'Enigma' // 'Treachery' (for Fade Prebuff)

Shield: Herald of Zakarum (Socketed - Um)

Gloves: Magefist Dracul's Grasp

Rings: Ravenfrost rings

Amulet: Mara's

Belt: Arachnid Mesh

Boots: Sandstorm Trek Gore Rider

Weapon: 'Heart of the Oak' 'Kingslayer' Phase blade

Weapon switch: Wizardspike

Shield Switch: ?? 'Spirit' (I'm non-ladder so, thats hard to come by)



The Advantages of just using my hammerdin is I won't have to transfer keys. I can run the keys, run for organs, run for torch, all on one charecter. I don't have to start a new charecter and spend the days trying to level (trying to level a charecter USWest Normal is pathetic...)



Disadvatages would be not having max hammer damage (I think I only do 8k now, and that does fine for me)



What I'm wondering is what my hammer damage is going to look like if I don't max both synergies, opting to max holy shield for the smite damage.



What are the advantages of having a dedicated Uber-Trist charecter?



Through some ideas and opinions at me!|||Grief/Guils face/Gores/Dracs/Fade prebuff should easily do ubers. Just switching gear and using 1 point Smite with regular hammerdin skills.|||#1. You don't need to max Holy Shield to Uber, doing so only slightly speeds up the process. Don't respec. Just switch your gear around and your Hammerdin magically becomes a 1 point Smiter.

#2. 8k hammer damage should be fine unless you're always playing 8 player games.|||I'm a bit bothered as why I am only getting 8k damage... My gear is almost complete, and Blessed Hammer is maxed and fully synergized.



All that I'm waiting on is Anni, Torch, SoJ x2, and Mara's... are those stat points going to boost me up to 13k-14k? I assume thats what I should be getting for damage.|||Either way, you're doing heavy muling. Keeping gear on switch occupies stash, so whenever you manage to pick something up, you will fill up pretty quick. And, as you need so many keys per run, your motivation to not have a dedicated runner should be the difficulty leveling up another. On West Ladder, its pretty easy, but on NL so I wouldn't be surprised that leveling there is difficult being that most of the populace did so while ladder characters.

Your damage is fine - you can get up to 16-17k as far as I've seen (not counting skill shrine) but you would have to optimized gear specifically for that. Considering that your inventory would be full of charms, it makes picking anything up a real hassle.|||Other than the afore mentioned gear he's pretty much optimized. My stash is completely empty, and I don't find the need for more than a few charms (although I might need them for ubers?) Storing the gear shouldn't be bad, although it is another inconvenience... I'm torn.|||Well, as you were contemplating hammer damage, you're still missing a bit - but I know you're waiting on those.

But just to be clear, just keep in mind that you'll be doing a lot of muling whether you have a dedicated character or not. Since keysets take up 18 slots at a time (as you want to open all 3 per game to get all organs), you'll be muling plenty of them.

Also consider the risk of losing items every time you mule - no matter how safe you are, if the server crashes or you disconnect for whatever reason, you're practically guaranteed to lose something. When you have to mule gear switches, its especially risky as those are major investments that could suddenly end up gone.

If you're lucky, you may end up muling hundreds or thousands of times without a problem. But you never know, and that's a risk I think you should consider when making your decision.