Paladin build PvM?

Alright, som I'm currently playing with a Bow-oriented Amazon. We are playing the game in multi-player, by that I mean PvM. I always build my Paladins to have Fanaticism and Zeal, I have found this build to be effective but I want some variation. I have little-no gear available for this char, except for a shield by the name of Herald of Zakarum.

So with little resources, and not playing on Ladder. What would be a good build to dish out damage along with synergizing with my Bowazon mate?

Opinions and answers would be EVEN better with reasons behind the statements or links to guides.

(We are currently playing on normal. We both have a lot of experience with the game and we are by no means new to the game, so builds that require skills or timing are more than welcome. We are currently lvl 26)

Thanks in advance for answers.

-Maling|||Well... You didn't really specify your playstyle preference or whether you intend to do runs to improve your gear. The only auras I can think of that could sustain an untwinked character through Hell are:

Holy Shock (Tesladin, does nothing for your party)

Holy Freeze (Frost Zealot, kinda weak in Hell)

Conviction (Avenger, annoyingly slow; FoH, very modal)

Concentration (Hammerdin, powerful but widely despised)

That leaves, of course, Fanaticism. Zealots are the most popular builds that use it, as you know. Martyrs (Sacrifice Paladins) are viable but, like Avengers, annoyingly slow. You could also go with a Charger, which is potentially powerful but unreasonably difficult to use (and mana-hungry, for a Paladin skill).

To be honest, it's up to you whether you want to leverage the raw power of Blessed Hammer or run with something less conventional like a Martyr or Tesladin. You could even mix the two with a Hammer/Charge hybrid if you wanted.|||Alright, thank you.

I have some questions though, when running Tesladin, do I combine that with Zeal? If not, what do I combine it with?

Does anyone have guides for the builds LordC mentioned?

Edit: Oh and my play style preference would be a viable, but mainly damage focused character.|||The Pally guides are stickied at at the top. You may want to try the teslafroster instead of a full tesladin. That way if you face a lightning immune you can switch to your cold aura.

http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/s...d.php?t=386143

Oh, especially if you bowzon friend wants to you the elemental arrows you might consider runnnig a pally with the conviction aura. A convicion zealot or avenger maybe.|||Zeal/Conviction could work really well if your buddy switches to a Fishyzon (LF/FA: Lightning Fury and Frozen Arrow, powerful untwinked build). Or as said above he could stick to bows and just spend the 20 points in FA and a synergy. Conviction will also help the bowa hit more often if he mainly uses multishot or strafe.

If not the above I'd go the Tesladin. You won't do much for your party except kill pretty fast, which is fine. If you also put points into sacrifice and zeal for some physical damage and your buddy uses FA then immunes won't be too bad. Typical skill progression: couple of points into zeal and holy shield, max holy shock. If you're lacking attack rating at this stage you can put some more into Zeal. Then max resist lightning, zeal and sacrifice.|||Thanks.

I had a little build in mind, for the two of us.

If I would go Fist of Heavens + Conviction and my friend would go mainly Frozen arrow.

At least on paper, that gives pretty darn good synergy.

Might be getting a little off track here, but does anyone know if this would work? And if not, why?

I recently got my hands on some gear that would help the situation out, a lot of resistance and armor that is.

So, does anyone have experience with either of these builds, or even them combined?

Edit: Also, what would be "better" in this situasion, conviction + zeal or conviction + fist of heavens?|||Fist of Heavens is very situational. On one hand, it deals long-range Lightning damage that, with Conviction active, cannot be resisted by normal monsters. That damage is backed up by a huge burst of holy bolts that wreck undead like nobody's business.

On the other hand, it has a one-second cast delay, and its damage is very low against non-undead. Even if you manage to find enough equipment to give you +20 to your FoH skill level, it will still only dish out ~4500 damage a shot. Since monsters in a two player game in Hell will routinely have over 20,000 HP, that just won't cut the mustard. If you want to use this build, your utility will be confined to high-undead areas like the Ancient Tunnels and Chaos Sanctuary.

As far as other builds utilizing Conviction...

Avengers use Vengeance for big cross-elemental damage, but they attack pretty slowly and need to suck down lots of potions due to their low life-stealing and relatively high mana use. That said, they can clear Hell without too much assistance from their gear, assuming that they're tactical about it (think D1 Warrior).

Conviction Zealots obviously attack a lot faster, but since their aura and main skill don't synergize for higher damage, they're fairly gear-dependent. Finding a useful elemental damage weapon or the necessary runes to make one without trading could be a challenge.

As for your Amazon companion, I second the motion for using a Fishyzon. Freezing Arrow and its synergy only use up 41 skill points, so he/she will have plenty left over for backup skills. Among those, Lightning Fury is the most potent, especially with a Conviction aura. And nothing's cooler than slaughtering every monster in the Worldstone Keep wearing nothing but a Beryl Javelin of Worth and a smile.|||Thanks for the answers.

I'm going Conviction Zealot then, aiming straight for a Famine!|||I have to suggest Gimmershred unique flying axe for a Conviction Zealot. Super cheap and one of my favorite items in the game.