Two-Handed sword paladin? [SP, no HR, etc]

All,

I've always loved the look of two-handed swords, but builds using them tend to fall apart, at least in my very limited experience. I have always wanted to make a character that uses one, because I love the way it looks on the screen when I'm killing things. I'm looking for ideas that would help me survive in Hell (solo, /players 1).

I was originally thinking of making a Concentrate barbarian in order to max out defense without blocking. But, as much as I love my Conc barb (who is in fact a sword barb) he is slow. None of the barbarian skills allow a fast attack with a two-handed weapon, except Whirlwind, and let me tell you ... I hate whirlwind. Even saving my character and doing a respec into it with all the damage I could muster, I couldnt get the hang of it. I'd hit 1 or 2 guys even when I'd spin through a crowd. Tried for an hour. LOATHE it. And so since Concentration is a bit slow and boring and I'd have no shield, I decided to move over to thinking about a paladin.

So are there any paladin builds that could make it through Hell? I was thinking that maybe I could go a with a traditional Zealot build (20 Fana, 20 Zeal, 20 Smite) including 20 in Holy Shield for a weapon switch for when I get surrounded and need to block. I'd go against tradition and get a Defiance merc and then just Zeal my way to glory, with my eventual goal being a Flamebellow or something (since I have one).

But, I dunno ... should I just give up this crazy dream?

Thanks!|||I believe with the right equipment, a Paladin using Charge usually 1 hit kills monsters. A big 2-hander and Charge may be the way to go.

I've never seen one or made one, but I believe I read a post yesterday stating that a Charge Paladin is quite fun to play because of the enormous amounts of damage it is capable of delivering to single targets.

Negatives:

1) With no shield, you may have a more difficult time surviving due to lack of resists.

Use charms or the Salvation Aura.

2)Physical Immune monsters may be a problem depending on your gear.

3) Large groups of enemies

Holy Freeze will help here. Having points in the skill or a Doom runeword on yourself or on your mercenary will help with both crowd control and provide an option for countering Physical Immune enemies. An Act 2 mercenary with Holy Freeze can also be hired.|||Thanks. I'm single player only, no mods, and so therefore no high runes, so Ohm and Cham (and therefore Doom) are out of the question.

Charge. I'll think about that and read some guides. Could be fun. I'd almost lean more towards a Defiance merc to keep my defenses up. Well, assuming I could remain near him.

I wonder what I should run for my own aura. I could put points in Holy Freeze myself, I suppose, though I could also just run the Might aura since Charge gives pretty good AR when maxed, and the Might aura does pretty good damage (and I'm not sure how significant the attack speed from Fanaticism would matter).

What happens when I'm clicking the charge button while swarmed? Do I whiff, or do does the game use my mana and make me hit hard as if I'd actually charged across some distance?

Anyway, I'll think about Charge. It is time to read some guides perhaps.

Thanks!|||Quote:




So are there any paladin builds that could make it through Hell?




Yes, I have made 2h Zealots, Chargers, and Avengers in SP.


Quote:




get a Defiance merc




This won't do much good. Unless you are able to get your defense into the 10s of thousands, you should ignore it in PvM.

2h Paladins are quite viable, they just require a bit more strategy and careful playing. My thoughts on 2h Pallys:

*Holy Freeze helps a lot, either from your merc or yourself

*Knockback, Slow Target, and Hit Causes Monster Flee can save your life (if you are going Zeal, Cleglaws Pincers are the best gloves around)

*5+ points in Conversion gives amazing crowd control

*Use Charge both offensively and defensively to avoid getting surrounded

If you are interested in chargers, here is a guide.|||Thanks Doctor Clock!