Fist of Heavens FOH Paladin Build Guide D2R 2.6
27/09/2022 05:00:14
D2R Builds , Diablo 2: Resurrected , Game Guides
Fist of Heavens FOH Paladin Introduction
The Fist of Heavens skill got a major boost in patch 2.4, as the casting delay of the skill was reduced from 1s to 0.4s, making FOH Paladins one of the most effective, if not the most effective farmers. However they are quite expensive, so I donโt suggest this build as a ladder starter. FOH Paladins excel at both Boss and mob farming, and are very good magic finding characters. However they can only kill Undead and Demon enemies, so if your favourite area is the Secret Cow Level unfortunately you wonโt be able to farm it effectively.
Ideally a FOHer wears an enigma, and the primary way of moving is via Teleport. The build is very fit for almost all purposes, do Diablo runs at an 8 player difficulty, or farm Mephisto and Andariel. FOH Paladins can have up to 800% Magic Find and still clear Bosses without a problem.
This build is perfect for hardcore!! Its survivability is second to none! The Holy Bolts released constantly heal you, while the Redemption aura both heals and helps with mana recovery. You can expect your character to continuously have the maximum life and be pretty much immortal.
Related Guides
Melee Sorceress Build | Berserk Barbarian Build | Meteor Sorceress Build | Bow Sorceress Build
Gameplay
Attacking skills: Our only attacking skill is Fist of Heavens. It deals some Lightning damage to the targeted enemies, and releases several Holy Bolts that deal 5k magic damage each, making you able to clear a wide area quickly. Holy Bolt only damages Undeads and Demons, so you wonโt be able to easily deal with other types of monsters. On the other hand, you will quickly be able to farm Chaos Sanctuary at 8 player difficulty.
Movement: As per usual, the favoured way of movement is by teleportation. Wear an Enigma, or if you canโt afford it, get an amulet or an Ondalโs Wisdom staff as switch and use teleport charges. Ideally you should have at least 75% FCR to reach the 10 frame teleport casting breakpoint, but the build is easily able to reach the 125% FCR highest breakpoint.
Survivability: FOH Paladins have no issue with survivability. They have decent defense against melee and missile attacks due to Holy Shield, and can easily reach 75% all resistance. % Damage reduction or elemental absorptions on your gear are not even necessary, since Holy Bolts constantly heal you. If that wasnโt enough, you should use Redemption as your aura, and redeem almost every corpse, healing you for 200 life and mana each. Any additional survivability booster item is just a nice bonus. In case you play on Hardcore and want to make sure to survive any situation, you can wear a Stormshield for its % damage reduction. Having Call to Arms as switch weapon also comes handy.
Party and Solo play: You will be able to carry an entire 8player party in Chaos Sanctuary runs on your own, even on hardcore difficulty. The FOHdin is probably the only build in the entire game which is capable of doing that. The party will love you for their easily earned character levels. In addition you can also use Conviction, Salvation, Fanaticism, or any other party-supporting aura.
Magic Find: You can wear magic find gear while still being effective at killing monsters. The buildโs potential magic find % is about 600%, which puts it well above most magic finding builds other than sorcs. However on 8 player games you might not want to compromise on your damage, and wear maximum damage dealing gear.
Stats
Strength: Have just enough to wear your gear
Dexterity: Have enough to reach 75% chance to block with Holy Shield casted
Vitality: Put all the rest of your available points on it.
Energy: Donโt put any points on it
Skill Points
Combat Skill Tree:
- Put a point on Fist of Heavens prerequisites
- Max out Fist of Heavens
- Max out Holy Bolt
- Max out Holy Shock
- Put the rest of your points on Holy Shield
Offensive Skill Tree:
- Optionally you can have a level25 Conviction to maximise Lightning damage.
Defensive Skill Tree:
- Max out Redemption,
- put a point on itโs prerequisites
Fist of Heavens FOH Paladin Gearing
Helms
- Griffonโs Eye Diadem โค Great choice for Lightning Damage and FCR boosting
- Harlequin Crest Shako โค Has great offensive and defensive qualities, also a great choice for Magic Find and Hardcore.
- Crown of Ages โค You should consider using it on Hardcore.
Amulets
- Maraโs Kaleidoscope โค The best choice for balanced defense and offense.
- Magic Amulet with Magic Find% โค The best amulet for Magic Finding.
- Magic or Rare Amulet with Combat Skill/Paladin Skill, and/or Faster Cast Rate โค Good ladder starter, but can be viable for endgame too
Body Armors
- Enigma Archon Plate โค A cornerstone item as it allows you to teleport and also deliver the most damage. It is also the best magic finding option
- Chains of Honor โค The best balanced armor for both defense and offense, solves resistance problems
Weapons
- Heart of the Oak runeword โค Great both for offense and defense.
- Spirit Crystal Sword โค A budget choice, but greatly effective
- Wizardspike โค Decent choice for early ladder, great for defense and grants a lot of FCR.
Shields
- Spirit in @allres paladin shield โค The highest damage shield choice, great for defense as well.
- Stormshield โค Consider it for Hardcore
- Herald of Zakarum โค Another great option for balanced offense and defense
- Rhyme runeword โค A decent budget ladder starter.
Switch Weapons
- Call to Arms โค Almost doubles survivability with Battle Orders, every build needs a CTA.
Switch Shields
- Spirit Paladin Shield โค Boosts Call to Armsโ Battle Orders and Battle Command
Rings
- The Stone of Jordan โค The best ring for damage.
- Raven Frost โค Great option against cold damage and being frozen
- 10% FCR Rare Ring โค If you donโt reach the 125% breakpoint, I suggest using FCR rings. With resistances, they can be great for defense too.
- Nagelring โค A good Magic Finding choice.
Gloves
- Magefist โค The good offensive option.
- Trang-Oulโs Claws โค Grants 20% FCR like magefist, and also great for cold resistance.
Belts
- Arachnid Mesh โค The highest damage belt, also great for FCR.
- Verdungoโs Hearty Cord โค Great defensive belt, consider it for Hardcore
- Tal Rashaโs Fine-Spun Cloth โค A decent choice at early ladder or for Magic Finding
- Goldwrap โค The best Magic Finding choice.
- Nightsmoke โค A decent budget ladder starter.
Boots
- Triple resist 30% FRW boots โค The best choice for survivability
- Sandstorm Trek โค One of the best choices for survivability, especially if ethereal.
- Waterwalk โค Another great choice for survivability
- War Traveler โค The best for Magic Finding.
Charms
- Annihilus โค A must have item for every build.
- Paladin Hellfire Torch โค Another must have item.
- Lightning Sunder charm โค It is optional to remove lightning immunity
- +1 to Paladin Combat skills grand charm โค If you can afford it, try to have them with +life. +FHR
- + All resistances small charm โค If you can afford it, try to have them with +life.
- + Life small charm โค If you can afford it, try to have them with +mana.
- + Lightning resist small charms โค They help to compensate for the fire Sunder charm
Sockets/Jewels
- Lightning Rainbow Facet โค The best choice for damage boosting.
- Ist rune โค The best choice for Magic Finding.
- Um rune โค Use it for allresist boosting if needed.
- Ort Rune โค Use it to boost lightning resist boosting
- Perfect Diamond โค Can use it instead of Um runes in shields and helms.
Mercenary
Have an Act2 mercenary with Holy Freeze aura for crowd control.
Ethereal items donโt lose durability if your mercenary wears them, so having ethereal item bases for each gear slot is preferred due to the increased defense on armor items and increased damage on weapons. In many instances ethereal items that are great for mercenaries will be much more expensive than non-ethereal ones.
Mercenary gear:
Helm
- Any 3 socketed helm with 3 perfect diamond โค increase mercenary resistances and survivability
- Tal Rashaโs set helm โค a decent choice
- Vampire Gaze unique helm - โค another decent choice
- Guillameโs face set helm - usefulness โค only use it with high merc defensive abilities
- Andarielโs Visage unique helm โค the best helm choice
Weapon
- Insight runeword โค provides meditation aura so you never run out of mana
- Bonehew unique weapon โค simply a good choice
- Tomb Reaver unique weapon โค the highest damage choice
- The Reaperโs Toll unique weapon โค great for both offense and defense
- Infinity runeword โค the best choice for offense
Body Armor
- Treachery runeword โค great for both defense and offense, a budget choice
- Fortitude runeword โค the best choice for both defense and offense
Ladder Starter / Budget FOH Paladin Gear
Lore Runeword Helm โฌ 10% FCR Amulet โฌ Stealth Runeword Body Armor โฌ Spirit Crystal Sword Weapon โฌ Spirit Paladin Shield โฌ No Switch Weapon and Shield โฌ 10% FCR Rings โฌ Trang-Oulโs Claws Gloves โฌ Nightsmoke Belt โฌ Rare Boots with resistances โฌ Life and Resistance charms โฌ Perfect Diamond Item Sockets
Best FOH Paladin Gear
Griffonโs Eye helm โฌ Maraโs Kaleidoscope Amulet โฌ Enigma Body Armor โฌ Heart of the Oak weapon โฌ Spirit Paladin Shield โฌ Call to Arms Switch Weapon โฌ Spirit Paladin Switch Shield โฌ 10% FCR triple resist Rings โฌ Magefist Gloves โฌ Arachnid Mesh Belt โฌ 30% FRW triple resist boots โฌ Annihilus โฌ Paladin Hellfire Torch โฌ Lightning Sunder charm โฌ +1 Paladin Combat Skills, +Life, + Fire resist and +Mana Charms โฌ +5/-5 Lightning Rainbow Facet Item Sockets
If you'd rather skip farming you can quickly buy gear at Rpgstash's D2R Store.