Powered By

Zeal Paladin Guide

Season 8B

Last Updated:August 10, 2024|Change Log

The Zeal Paladin or Zealer is the perfect marriage of fun and power. Few things beat plunging into hordes of monsters and rapidly hacking them to bits! The Zealer effortlessly slaughters legions of demons and Uber Bosses just the same. This Paladin is a jack-of-all-trades, excelling at every farming strategy. No quest is too daunting for this holy crusader! In destroying Bosses, dominating Elite Packs, and shredding Baal Waves, all even in a full game, this build puts the game to the sword.

Dealing exclusively Physical Damage with Fanaticism-empowered Zeal, the Zealer faces few Immunity-related obstacles throughout most of the game. This is even more so the case when using Bone Break. With several specialty setups designed for crushing different monsters and farming strategies, this build is highly malleable. The Physical Zealer is a solid beginner-friendly build as well, with a relatively simple playstyle, intuitive gear options, and big Damage. The Zealer doesn't require ultra-rare gear either, making this build a solid choice for early-mid Ladder. Breaking the mold with violent swings...let's hack it!

Ideal Standard Setup
Ideal Standard Setup


Zeal


Fanaticism


Holy Shield


Teleport

This build guide assumes you have a Character at Level 75 before transitioning to it. Check out our Paladin Leveling Guide and our General Leveling Strategies to reach Level 75.

Enjoyable Playstyle ✔
Destroys Uber Bosses ✔
Easy To Learn And Master ✔
Can Farm Almost Anything ✔
Lots Of Strong Build Options ✔

❌ Bad Density Farmer
❌ Dangerous Playstyle
❌ Repetitive Skill Usage
❌ Only 1 Type Of Damage
❌ Highly Weapon Dependent

Sunder Charm Setup

Patch 2.5 introduced a new way of breaking Immunities: Sunder Charms. Any enemy that would be Immune to your damage type is instead reduced to 95% Resistance, before any other Resistance reductions apply. The Charm also reduces YOUR Resistance against the sundered damage type! Check out our post on Sunder Charms to learn more about these new Charms. The following setup uses Bone Break, allowing you to farm anywhere you want.

Sunder Charm Setup
Sunder Charm Setup

Gear Changes

To optimize this Sunder Charm you need as much -% Enemy Physical Resistance as possible. Equip The Reaper's Toll on your Mercenary for its Decrepify proc to accomplish this.

Counteract the negative effect of Bone Break with % Damage Reduction items such as Crown of Ages, Vampire Gaze, String of Ears, Verdungo's Hearty Cord, and Stormshield.

Terror Zones

The new Terror Zone mechanic combined with Sunder Charms open up a wide range of farmable areas. The following list highlights the best and worst Terror Zones for this build. With the Sunder Charm Setup, more Terror Zones become accessible. Learn more about Terror Zones here and see how they stack up in our Terror Zone Tier List.

Best

Travincal - Quick Access, Breakable Immunities, Council Members
Pit - High Density, Many Elite Groups, Easy Mobility, No Immunities
Underground Passage + Dark Wood - Many Elite Groups, Easy Mobility, No Immunities
Chaos Sanctuary - High Density, Quick Access, Many Elite Groups, Boss
Worldstone Keep + Throne of Destruction - High Density, Quick Access, Many Elite Groups, Breakable Immunities

Worst

Arcane Sanctuary - Trash Mobility, Immunities
Far Oasis - High Elemental Damage, Immunities
Crystalline Passage + Frozen River - High Physical Damage, High Elemental Damage, Immunities
Barracks + Jail - Trash Mobility, Immunities
The Secret Cow Level - Few Elite Groups, Tanky Enemies, Slow Access, High Physical Damage

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Smite
2. Charge
3. Cleansing
4. Vigor

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Zeal
2. Fanaticism
3. Sacrifice
4. Holy Shield

Put all remaining Skill Points into Defiance and/or Resist Lightning past Level 80.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Damage

Utility

Attributes

Note: All Zeal Paladin Build Variants use this Stat Point allocation!

Strength

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to equip all of your gear. Take into account how much Strength your gear provides when equipped.
Optional: Put additional Stat Points into Strength to increase Zeal's damage.

Dexterity

Allocate enough Stat Points into Dexterity to reach max Chance to Block (75%) on your main weapon loadout. Make sure that Holy Shield is active prior to putting Dexterity Points in. More Dexterity is needed at higher Character Levels. In addition to Dexterity and Character Level, Shield Bases also affect Chance to Block.

Vitality

Allocate any remaining Stat Points into Vitality after meeting Strength, Dexterity and Energy requirements.

Energy

Don't allocate any Stat Points into Energy. Mana costs are mainly covered by the “x% Mana Stolen per Hit” stat on your gear. This build also gets enough Mana from gear, Charms, buffs, and Mana Potions.

Essentials

Gear Options

Farming Spots

Mercenary

Playstyle

Breakpoints

Hardcore

Build Variants

Starter
Budget
Standard
Attack Speed
Mobility
Ubers
Hardcore

Setup

The Starter variant of the Zeal Paladin meets the minimum gear requirements for farming the Starter tagged areas in the "Farming Spots" section above. These areas can be Solo-farmed by this setup (/Players1 on Single Player) in both Nightmare and Hell difficulty. An Upgraded Butcher's Pupil is a strong, relatively easy to acquire weapon that provides this build with sufficient power. There are several other low budget options that work just as well or nearly as well such as Unbending Will (see "Gear Options" above). Beyond a decently strong weapon, make sure to prioritize Attack Speed, Attack Rating, Damage, Damage Reduction, Resistances, Cannot Be Frozen, and Life/Attributes on your gear. A Teleport Charge Staff on Weapon-Swap allows this build to reposition. Follow the Paladin Leveling Guide to get your Paladin to Level 75.

Mercenary

An Act 5 Frenzy Mercenary using 2x 1-H Lawbringers or an Act 5 Bash Mercenary using 1x 2-H Lawbringer is ideal for a Starter Zeal Paladin. The combination of Decrepify and Battle Cry provides added safety and damage. Decrepify allows you to deal with Physical Immune monsters. Mercenaries require Resistances, Life Leech, and/or Damage Reduction to stay alive. Smoke and a Crown of Thieves are cheap Body Armor/Helmet options for Resistances and Life Leech.
Note: An Act 2 Might Mercenary using Insight can also work here.

Skills

1-Point Charge is used for mobility on the Starter build.

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Smite
2. Charge
3. Cleansing
4. Vigor

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Zeal
2. Fanaticism
3. Sacrifice
4. Holy Shield

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%). Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Budget Zealer achieves solid results with gear that is much easier to acquire than the gear on the Standard Build. This variant can farm almost every Farming Spot the Standard Build can, and almost just as well, albeit on a lower Player Count. With 1-3 Players in the game or /Players1-3 on Single Player, the Budget setup dominates Travincal, The Pit, and Act Bosses. It can even hold its own in Chaos Sanctuary and Worldstone Keep. With a Teleport Charge Amulet or Naj's Puzzler on Weapon-Swap, you can jump directly into Elite Packs after using Charge. A Wizardspike on swap allows us to achieve the 75% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint for Teleporting when using a Teleport Charge Amulet. If you can acquire Bone Break you can smash Immune to Physical mobs. The Budget Zeal Paladin makes use of several lower-end gear options that still provide solid Damage, Attack Rating, Resistances, Damage Reduction, and the Cannot Be Frozen stat.

Mercenary

Similar to the Standard Build, the Budget Zeal Paladin uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with The Reaper's Toll and Guillaume's Face. However, because Fortitude requires a Lo Rune, Duress, Treachery, and Duriel's Shell make great Budget alternatives for a Body Armor.

Skills

1-Point Charge is used for mobility on the Budget build.

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Smite
2. Charge
3. Cleansing
4. Vigor

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Zeal
2. Fanaticism
3. Sacrifice
4. Holy Shield

Put all remaining Skill Points into Defiance and/or Resist Lightning past Level 80.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%). Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

This is the Standard Best in Slot (BiS) Zeal Paladin featured in the beginning of the guide. It is the balanced "jack-of-all-trades" version, capable of performing the most tasks well. This variant is the point of comparison for all other variants. It carefully balances Damage, Magic Find, Defensive Stats, and Teleport mobility. Bone Break allows this build to smash Immune to Physical mobs. This setup reaches the 48% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint on Weapon-Swap.

Mercenary

The Standard Zeal Paladin Mercenary is an Act 2 Might Mercenary with The Reaper's Toll for -50% to Enemy Physical Resistance from its Decrepify proc. Fortitude and Guillaume's Face maximize this Mercenary's damage and survivability.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Smite
2. Charge
3. Cleansing
4. Vigor

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Zeal
2. Fanaticism
3. Sacrifice
4. Holy Shield

Put all remaining Skill Points into Defiance and/or Resist Lightning past Level 80.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%). You can also allocate additional Stat Points into Strength to increase Zeal's damage. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

This Zeal Paladin variant achieves a minimum of 113% Increased Attack Speed (IAS) on its gear to completely nullify the Attack Speed Slow from Decrepify. In combination with Fanaticism and Grief Phase Blade, 113% IAS on your gear provides such a large Attack Speed surplus that Oblivion Knights are no longer able to slow Zeal (this mitigates the effect of enemy Holy Freeze as well). Baal's Decrepify is also completely negated by this setup. Naturally, Chaos Sanctuary, Worldstone Keep, and Baal Waves/Baal are strong loot/Experience farms for this build variant. The IAS stat is required on nearly every piece of its gear. Ruby Jewels of Fervor and Nosferatu's Coil make this setup possible. Bone Break allows this build to smash Immune to Physical mobs. The Attack Speed Zealer sacrifices Damage Reduction and a Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint from the Standard Build.

Mercenary

Just as with the Standard Build, the Attack Speed Zeal Paladin uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with The Reaper's Toll, Fortitude, and Guillaume's Face.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Smite
2. Charge
3. Cleansing
4. Vigor

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Zeal
2. Fanaticism
3. Sacrifice
4. Holy Shield

Put all remaining Skill Points into Defiance and/or Resist Lightning past Level 80.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%). You can also allocate additional Stat Points into Strength to increase Zeal's damage. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

This Zeal Paladin variant achieves the 125% Faster Cast Rate (FCR) Breakpoint on Weapon-Swap by using Arachnid Mesh, Trang-Oul's Claws, a Rare Circlet with 20% FCR, and a Caster Crafted Amulet with 10-20% FCR. Prioritizing fast Teleport cast speed, this setup is optimal for farming The Pit, Travincal, Uber Key Bosses (e.g. Nihlathak), Act Bosses, and any Farming Spots which require travel such as several Terror Zones. Bone Break allows this build to smash Immune to Physical mobs. The Mobility Zealer sacrifices Damage and Damage Reduction. Reaching the 75% FCR Breakpoint is much easier and does not sacrifice damage; it only requires Arachnid Mesh in place of String of Ears on the Standard Build.

Mercenary

Just as with the Standard Build, the Mobility Zeal Paladin uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with The Reaper's Toll, Fortitude, and Guillaume's Face.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Smite
2. Charge
3. Cleansing
4. Vigor

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Zeal
2. Fanaticism
3. Sacrifice
4. Holy Shield

Put all remaining Skill Points into Defiance and/or Resist Lightning past Level 80.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%). You can also allocate additional Stat Points into Strength to increase Zeal's damage. Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

The Ubers variant specializes in defeating the Uber Bosses, including mini-Ubers such as Lilith. Crushing Blow, Open Wounds, Deadly Strike, Enhanced Damage, Damage Reduction, Resistances, and Life are priority stats on this setup. You can use a Teleport Charges Amulet for mobility to justify using Fortitude or Chains of Honor for more Damage and All Resistances. Exile, Dracul's Grasp, or a Life Tap Charges Wand provides a source of Life Tap for much needed Life Sustain. Pre-buffing Enchant with Demon Limb provides additional Attack Rating and pre-buffing Fade with Treachery provides Damage Reduction, Resistances, and Curse Duration Reduction. Thundergod's Vigor and stacked Lightning Resistance allows this build to tank Uber Mephisto. For extra swag, use Last Wish for its solid combination of Uber-killing stats.

Mercenary

Just as with the Standard Build, the Ubers Zeal Paladin uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with The Reaper's Toll, Fortitude, and Guillaume's Face. Along with Bone Break, Decrepify also allows you destroy Uber Baal's Physical Immune summons.
Note: The Mercenary is notoriously hard to keep alive versus Uber Bosses. Don't count on him being alive 100% of the time.

Skills

Use Resist Lightning Aura against Uber Mephisto if you are lacking stacked Lightning Resistance on your gear. Use your 1-Point Smite to train down the Ubers if your Damage and/or Attack Rating with Zeal is insufficient.

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Smite
2. Charge
3. Cleansing
4. Vigor

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Zeal
2. Fanaticism
3. Sacrifice
4. Holy Shield

Put all remaining Skill Points into Resist Lightning past Level 80.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%). Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Setup

For the Hardcore mode variant, aim for 50% Damage Reduction, high Defense, and maximum Chance to Block (75%) to guard against taking extreme amounts of Physical Damage. Additionally, overcap Resistances beyond the natural cap of 75% if possible to counteract hostile Conviction or Lower Resist. If you choose to use Bone Break, you can equip Stormshield to counteract its negative effect. This setup reaches the 48% Faster Cast Rate Breakpoint on Weapon-Swap. Consult the "Hardcore" section for more detailed information.

Mercenary

Just as with the Standard Build, a Hardcore Zeal Paladin uses an Act 2 Might Mercenary with The Reaper's Toll, Fortitude, and Guillaume's Face.

Skills

Put 1 Skill Point into each of the following Skills:
1. Smite
2. Charge
3. Cleansing
4. Vigor

Max out the following Skills in this order:
1. Zeal
2. Fanaticism
3. Sacrifice
4. Holy Shield

Put all remaining Skill Points into Defiance past Level 80 if you do not plan on farming Baal/Worldstone Keep. Otherwise, put Skill Points into both Defiance and Resist Lightning just as on the Standard Build.

Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression
Use the Scroll Bar to see Skill Point Progression

Attributes

Allocate enough Stat Points into Strength to wear your gear and enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%). Put all remaining Stat Points into Vitality.

Video Guide

Video Guide by DarkHumility

Summary

  • Teleport using the Faster Cast Rate-granting gear on your Weapon-Swap.
  • Keep Fanaticism active at all times while attacking with Zeal on your main weapon loadout.
  • Take advantage of Holy Shield: put enough Stat Points into Dexterity to achieve maximum Chance to Block (75%) with Holy Shield active.
  • If you are lacking some of the Best in Slot (BiS) gear for this build, make use of easier to acquire alternatives such as Oath and Shaftstop to get to a functional, powerful Zeal Paladin setup faster.
  • This build is fully customizable in terms of its weapon, Increased Attack Speed, Faster Cast Rate, Deadly Strike, Damage Reduction, Defense, Resistances, Magic Find, and a host of other stats. Build your Zealer according to what you want to farm and the gear you have available.
  • While the Zeal Paladin proves efficient in several top Farming Spots, this build is most effective as an Uber killer. Farm Hellfire Torches with this build to use it to its full potential!

We hope you enjoy this build! It doesn't get much more fun than plunging into hordes of enemies and cutting them to ribbons. Strike fear into the hearts of demons...big and small!

Good luck!

Credits

Written by DarkHumility
Reviewed by Teo1904

© 2024 Maxroll Media Group, All Rights Reserved