Is it possible to make a poor Holy Fire paladin?

I've been wanting to try and run a hardcore Holy Fire + zeal paladin through Hell Baal for some time now, and I think I'm ready to give it a shot.

Here's the thing - I only play single player. I also don't spend a boatload of time MFing. Is there any chance that with 60 points in Holy Fire + synergies, and 20 in Zeal (the rest in holy shield, etc) and a Holy Freeze or Might merc, that I'll be able to do this?

I have access to a few elite clubs, like Nords or Demon Limb which should help boost my elemental power. I may have a Baranar's laying around too.

Thoughts on making this happen without insanely elite gear? Advice and recommendations appreciated!|||I would check out the Tesla and Holy Freeze Zealot guides in the strategy compendium. There isn't anything really different about the three elemental auras except that Holy Fire is the worst of the three. You might want to have Sacrifice maxed to get some extra physical damage against fire immunes. Other than that, I really like Conversion and Smite for CC and extra safety.|||Quote:








I would check out the Tesla and Holy Freeze Zealot guides in the strategy compendium. There isn't anything really different about the three elemental auras except that Holy Fire is the worst of the three.




Actually, I wrote the Frost Zealot guide that is in the strategy compendium =P

I definitely see what you're saying though. The thing is, lightning does a LOT of damage and has a great, easy-to-make weapon (Crescent Moon) that makes it even stronger. Holy Freeze does respectable damage, but slowing everything to crawl makes it incredibly powerful, especially in hardcore.

Holy Fire has none of these advantages. Gear that compliments is insanely difficult to attain, and its damage is the lowest of all. I'm not going to be building any insane runewords or anything, so I'm just wondering what people think is the best thing to do...|||The damage from 20 points in salvation looks pretty pitiful, I'd say your best best is gonna be to max zeal and sacrifice for some phys damage. Stack some CB, use a HF merc and you'll probably be fine... A pali with zeal, holy shiled and a semi-decent weapon doesn't really need an aura anyway |||Quote:








The damage from 20 points in salvation looks pretty pitiful, I'd say your best best is gonna be to max zeal and sacrifice for some phys damage.




That, I like. With 25 Holy Fire + 20 Resist Fire = 800 average fire damage. The 20 points in Salvation only brings that up to around 1000. I'll put it into Sac instead for a more physical attack, and just find a bigger stick than I thought I was gonna use =)

Edit: you know what's saddest? That the 222-333 fire damage from the Demon Limb is more than I'd get with 20 points invested into the salvation synergy.|||Holy Fire transfers to exploding arrows. I don't know if a ranger is an option you'd consider but demon machine/kuko and a razortail make this work pretty well. I got a blessed aim merc for mine and I was on ladder so I was eventually able to make infinity for him. He worked well before he got infinity too.

Also, this method doesn't require that many skill points so you could pick up a melee attack to kill fire immunes.|||The runes for Oath are pretty easy to come by and it would make a better stick than Nord's or Demon Limb. Especially with 20 in Sacrifice|||A ranger could definitely be interesting. AR would certainly seem like a huge problem though considering he doesnt have a skill to boost bow AR.

And you're right, Obdob, those runes are quite attainable. That would be some serious physical damage right there! I may go that route. You think that would outclass Baranar's, too?|||Most definitely. A proper base can be hard to find though, the easiest being a Small Crescent. You should probably aim for a 5 frame zeal, which'll require another 40 ias. To get to 4 frames you need to make it in a War Spike/Scourge/Cryptic Sword and get another 95 off-weapon ias.|||Quote:








A ranger could definitely be interesting. AR would certainly seem like a huge problem though considering he doesnt have a skill to boost bow AR.




The explosion is auto-hit, so that would work well enough. You can also max out Blessed Aim for 100% AR, and have a Demon Limb in the stash or cube for even more AR%/fire damage, I suppose.