Derisive's Quick and Cheap Zealot Guide

Table of Contents

• Gear
• Skills
• Stat Distribution
• Mercenary Options
• Strategy
• Notes, Links, and Calculations
• In Depth Shockadin
• Oath Analysis
• Acknowledgments

This is a guide centered around a fairly well-received post I made about how to make a cheap PvM zealadin, I have reformatted it and am now posting it as a guide. The basic skill outline is provided here and more specialized ones are at the bottom of this post.

Gear

Weapon

1. Crescentmoon Phaseblade: Incredible speed, ignore target defense, static procs
2. Almost any unique/rare/runeword with decent speed and 130+ damage: though preferably higher than that, some standouts include: Death Cleaver, Oath, Nord's Tenderizer, Azurewrath, Runemaster, Frostwind, Lightsabre, Gimmershreds, Stormlash, Horizons, and the elite pally scepters, Fleshripper, and Baranar's Star (needs 20% additional IAS).

Shield

1. Herald of the Zakurum: No doubt about, this is the best cheap one you can get, though any unique paladin shield is fine.
2. Sanctuary Vortex Shield: These shields can get extremely good. Check out the picture below:

Helm

1. Guillame's Face: This offers marvelous CB, FHR, and DS. An absolutely wonderful helm overall.
2. Vampire Gaze: This offers excellent dual leech and damage reduction, though the leech isn't really needed when you use the right gloves, Guillame's is much better.
3. Crown of Ages: Socketed these things are actually not very expensive at all. They pack nice resists, great defense, and a splash of %DR. They also throw in some FHR, which can sometimes be sorely needed.

Here's a picture of mine:

Gloves

1. Dracul's Grasp: Lifetap is the only proc you want, and these save you strength, and they have open wounds, though that isn't really needed PvM. With these gloves, your zealot can live through nearly any situation the game throws at you and it will help your merc live too!
   
2. Bloodfists: Upped twice these give stupendous FHR, some IAS, and decent defense. . .definitely a great choice
3. Crafted Blood Gloves: They give the lifeleech you want without overriding your merc casting decrep. They can also have str, resists, and assorted other goodies. I prefer Drac's though.

Armor

1. "Duress": My favorite armor. It gives excellent resists, nice physical mods, though they are more suited for PvP, and much needed resists. Do not build it in high strength requiring armor (120+) and aim for at least 1500 defense if you can manage remaking it.
2. "Gloom": Like Duress, this armor sports awesome defense, but it has large resists and many fewer melee mods. I consider it to be roughly equal to Duress, because of Duress' excellent Crushing Blow.

Here's a picture of my Gloom.

1. Guardian Angel: Takes your maximum resistance to godly levels, though its defense is very lacking. Socket with an 'um', though IMO Duress is better.
2. Gladiator's Bane: Allows for greater ing versatality as it provides the CBF mod and has nice FHR and defense. Socketing with an um would be optimal.
3. The Leviathan: This armor is just plain fantastic. It has nice defense, great DR, and a strength bonus that considerably adds to your zeal damage. Its main drawbacks are lack of resists and FHR, so either an um or a shael should be what you socket it with. Considering Thundergod's as a primary belt or using IK gloves and belt, what I prefer because of large resist bonuses, your other problem, is a good idea so you can have more points in vitality.
4. Up'd Shaftstop: Like a Leviathan with less defense and more DR, this will require 158 strength, which isn't too much. It suffers from everything I dislike about the Leviathan and has all of the same upsides only it isn't wuite as good IMO, though both are worse than either a Gladiator's Bane or a Duress.
5. Up'd Duriel's Shell: A great armor with a low strength requirement, decent defense, and fantastic resists. It needs FHR though, so a shael is the way to for socketing.
6. Any high defense armor with some resists/FHR.

Boots

1. Goreriders: No competition here. . .best melee boots by far.
2. Goblin Toe's: Upping these once will give you so-so defense, and fantastic CB, use them only if you cannot get goreriders.
3. Sandstorm Treks: A good pair of boots to wear if your poison resists are lacking or if the rest of your build lacks FHR.

Belt

1. Verdungo's Hearty Cord: Your primary belt, it has DR, life, and nice defense.
2. Thundergod's Vigor: Lightning absorb is definitely needed sometimes when dealing with souls etc. This is a decent option for primary belt as wel. It is especially nice if you plan on soloing any part of acts 4 or 5, as they are extremely dangerous because of souls.

Jewelry

1. Angelic Amulet + Ring: These two together take your attack rating to where you can hit near anything in Hell. . .a must-have that I always keep on.
2. Ravenfrost: I just keep this ring on all the time because of the dexterity boost and the cannot be frozen mod. A must-have IMO.
3. Highlord's Wrath: This amulet gives IAS, which is needed fo a few weapons, and great Deadly Strike. This amulet is recommended only if you don't need AR.
4. Metalgrid: Offering huge defense, resists, and AR, this is your best option if you don't choose to use the Angelic combination.

Prebuffing and Alternate Gear (Situational)

When you cast Holy Shield, you'll want as many +skills as possible. Even a +2 Paladin Combat Skills amulet is better than nothing.

Here's my prebuff gear, and check out the difference it makes.

Prebuff Gear:

Here's my defense without special prebuff gear:

Here's my defense with it:

Also note that most of the gear you use to prebuff your Holy Shield makes great gear to Smite with (+ to Combat Skills).

Alternate gear should also cover physical immunes and Oblivion Knights.

For Physical Immunes you'll want a Lacerator, and, if you use Dracs, gloves that don't proc a curse, because that would interfere with the entire point of using it, amp damage.

For Iron Maiden, you'll want a Passion Berserker Axe and to use Berserk as your skill.

Skills

• Zeal -- 20 points
• Sacrifice -- 20 points
• Fanaticism -- 20 points
• Holy Shield -- 20 points
• Defiance -- any spare points
• Smite -- any spare points
• Vigor -- 1 point
• Prerequesites -- Might, Blessed Aim, Concentration, Prayer, Cleansing, Holy Bolt, Blessed Hammer, Smite, Charge: 9 total

Smite or Defiance?

Smite is a great option for extra points, as is defiance. Defiance offers additional defense while Smite offers a more efficient means of boss killing. On my most recent zealot, I have chosen to invest points in Smite, as I chose to use a Defiance merc and a high defense set up. Essentially it comes down to personal taste.

One-Point Wonders

Holy Freeze, Conviction, and Redemption are great skills worth perhaps a one point investment, should you choose too. They are not essential, but having Holy Freeze is highly reccommended, because even if you have a Holy Freeze merc, he can die, especially in the areas where you might need him most. Flashing Holy Freeze is suddenly your best friend.

*NOTE* If you are playing Single Player you will have to deal with immunes, I would suggest Banabar's Star or Gimmershreds or a Lacerator to break their physical immunity, if you plan on breaking it with elemental attacks, put one point into conviction. Also, one point in redemption can really help sometimes. Though I didn't use it myself, I'm sure many would find it useful.

Stat Distribution

• Strength -- 80 as always, enough for your gear. I am going to assume for this calculation that you made "Duress" in a Great Hauberk (118 str) because it is the highest I recommended. 80 base str is the only number you will need, because Dracul's gives you 15 and HoZ 20, and Guillame's another 15, though dracul's, your lightest item, requires 76 strength. With it on you have 95, enough for the HoZ, which gives you 115, enough for Guillame's, and that ends up with 130, enough for any armor I recommended.
• Dexterity -- 121 or less Go for max block or the dexterity requirement on a phaseblade, because you will only need 110 or so for max block. For this calculation I will assume that you are using a Crescent Moon, meaning 136 required dexterity. I will also assume that your ravenfrost gives only 15, though you should aim for higher. You will need maximum 121.
• Vitality -- 200+ Every spare point should be spent here, get at least, bare minimum 200.
• Energy -- base Zeal is cheap, you won't need a single point here.

Mercenary Options

I would say go either Defiance or Holy Freeze, with the latter being my preference.

For your mercenary, you'll want maxed resistances and decent lifeleech.

Any elite Polearms are great for him, and remember when you equip him that items worn on mercenaries don't use durability.

Mine uses: Tal Rasha's Mask, Smoke Archon, and Bonehew.

Defiance or Holy Freeze?

Defiance means better survival for your mercenary and also can help fix defense-related problem in your build.

Holy Freeze means less enemies hitting you and your merc lass fast. This is especially great if you are in a position where you have to take on a large number of very naughty enemies by yourself (and your hench-idiot of course), like the Travincal, the Chaos Sanctuary and The Throne of Destruction. If you plan on playing the game through without help, Holy Freeze beats Defiance by a large margin, simply because of the Chaos Sanctuary.

Strategy

Normal Enemies

Run up to enemies, zeal, lifetap/leech comes on, your health stays very, very high, you kill them. Next group. . . Also, don't be overwhelmed. Zealot's aren't a charcter you can charge through the game with, killing only selective enemies. You'll have to kill most everything you come across because otherwise you can be overwhelmed.

Physical Immunes

Try to have one item that can proc decrepify OR Static Field and/or do some elemental damage combined with conviction (if you have it). In general I would recommend that you play in parties and let sorcs deal with it. Lacerator (amp damage), Crescent Moon (Static), Azurewrath (1k Mag/Cold Damage, Gimmers/Baranar's (massive elemental damage), or reaper's toll on your merc are all great ways to deal with immune monsters.

Bosses

Static Field and Crushing Blow help you the most here, I would use Crescent Moon if possible to take the Boss' HP down tremendously. But you won't ever zeal against bosses. It doesn't matter that you are a zealot, you'll use Smite against bosses. It hits every time and you can pack on CB, as mentioned above, to take down the health of even the meanest bosses in under a minute.

Poor Baaly-poo didn't know what hit him!

Oblivion Knights

Use a Passion Zerker with Fanat. You will sacrifice all of your defense, but using the innate Berserk skill on that weapon will save you form a bloody death. Your progress through the Chaos Sanctuary will be extremely slow, but you won't die, if you're careful. In NM and normal, using a bow is a good option.

Notes, Links, and Calculations

This section is full of tips to get you here:

Notes

Here's a snapshot of my zealot's Character Screen:

(With my Merc's Defiance Aura)

Just a general comment: whenever you are having trouble hitting things, get a Demon Limb (very cheap) and enchant yourself for the HUGE AR bonus.

You should always have Holy Shield on, no matter the situation. . .

You should always have some cold damage somehow. Even if it means getting a 1-2 Cold damage Small charm, you will want the enemies around you slowed at least a bit.

If you are less concerned with "meleemods" (DS, OW etc.) I would suggest getting a Rockstopper because of the superb resists it offers.

I suggest getting resists to at least +50 to all resistances in Hell however you can accomplish that. My two zealers both had around 160 for most resistances and were fairly invincible. My friends would have trouble and I could bring a cheaply made Zealer and get Anya or whatever. . .The most cost effective way to get resists is through single resistance small charms. 9&10% ones are very cheap. I used Annihilus's on both, though when I got them, they were only a Mal each.

Hitting the max frame rate for zeal is super important. Do whatever you can to achieve that.

Getting 10k AR is what you want. I would say that this is the target number and more is always better, but roughly 10k will allow you to hit most things relatively easily.

Your target defense should be 9-10k, but higher is always better. If your defense is lower, you might be hit more often than you would like, so 10k is the way to go.

Getting at least 48% preferably 86% FHR is something you must-must-must do. Otherwise you can lose control of a crowd very, very easily.

Surviving means having at least 1k life, don't not have that much.

Just a little note about weapon range: Zeal, like Fend and Fury, is occasionally subject to a bug wherein server desynch makes you miss all the time because (as I partially understand it) you're targeting monsters that aren't actually in range, even if it appears they are. This can mostly be corrected by holding down shift, targeting an empty space and letting the server find your targets for you, or by moving closer to where you, in your ignorance and foolishness, think the monster might actually be. However, I still find the bug to be especially exasperating with range 1 weapons and prefer range 2-3 weapons for this reason alone.

• Range 1 weapons: Mighty Scepter, Legendary Mallet, Tomahawk, Fanged Knife, Conquest Sword, Truncheon.
• Range 2 weapons: Cryptic Sword, Caduceus, Small Crescent, Phase Blade, Tyrant Club.
• Range 3 weapons: Berserker Axe, Scourge

------provided by RobinBanks--------

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The damage calculation equation: (provided by Oramin):

1. First the game check if the item is Ethereal. If it is then it multiplies the base damage for that weapon type and this is the new base damage for all later calculations.
2. We take the base weapon damage (whatever that is) and multiply by (1 + %ED on weapon). This means that if you have a weapon with 150% ED *on* the weapon itself that you multiply by 2.5.
3. Now we add all sources of +MIN, +MAX, and +Damage (as I recall +Damage gets added to both MIN and MAX, check Tommi's page or Mikeandroe's guide to Vengeance for specific details). This is the base for all further modifications such as Skill and Stat bonuses.
4. We take the value calculated in Step 3 and we multiply by (1 + all non-weapon sources of %ED). This means that Zeal, Fanaticism, STR, %ED in armor, etc. all get added together.

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My favorite weapons for a zealer:

1. Death Cleaver
2. Crescent Moon/Oath
3. Azurewrath
4. Fleshripper
5. Lightsaber
6. Others. . .

Noteworthy setups

AR Zealer

This focuses on Attack Rating bonuses in particular.

• Armor: Gladiator's Bane/up'd Duriel's Shell
• Ring/Ammy: Angelic Amulet, Ringx2

Basically this allows you to have a much higher attack rating and therefore hit stuff more often due to not needing a ravenfrost.

DS Zealer

This focuses on Deadly Strike, or the chance to do double damage:

• Weapon: Death Cleaver
• Armor: Duress
• Amulet: Angelic
• Rings: 1 Ravenfrost, 1 Angelic
• Total %Deadly Strike: 96%
• Boots: Goreriders
• Helm: Guillame's

This has the highest damage output possible without getting an ETH DC or an EBotD, though a DC is on the more expensive end of what you can get. This is what I recommend most highly in terms of PvM ownment.

Defensive Zealer

This how to maximize your defense and resistances:

• Amulet: Metal Grid
• Rings: 2xRavenfrosts

The skills setup:

• 20 Defiance
• 20 Holy Shield
• 20 Fanaticism
• 20 Sacrifice
• 5+ Zeal
• 9 Prereqs

The physical damage/AR will be lower so Demonlimb is a must here. Another way I recommend of keeping your AR up is using a Nord's Tenderizer for the 180% AR Bonus or a Baranar's for the 200%, that and Demonlimb will get your AR soaring in no time...This skill setup ensures that almost nothing will ever hit you, because your defense will be over 15k. . ..WOW! A Rockstopper compliments this build for resists quite well, as does Duriel's Shell.

Smiter/Zealer Combination

This build does the best versus bosses and does as near as well as a pure zealer against most monsters. The item setup is more specific though and it is more heavily reliant on resistance small charms than the pure zealer.

Skills:

• 5+ Sacrifice
• 20 Holy Shield
• 20 Smite
• 20 Fanaticism
• 20 Zeal
• 9 Prerequisites

The gear focuses more on +skills than on AR so expect some AR trouble if you aren't careful.

• Weapon: Heaven's Light/Redeemer
• Shield: Alma Negra/HoZ
• Amulet: Highlord's Wrath
• Rings: Ravenx2

When using this build, the angelic combination isn't utilized so your AR will be much, much lower. The best way to deal with this is the Demon Limb on switch, but if that isn't enough, you could consider an Alma Negra. Using the Alma Negra will increase your damage and AR, though it will greatly reduce your resistances. If you want to use the Alma Negra, use it with that in mind. It means you will need many more resistance charms. If you use the Redeemer, which is better for smiting, you might consider using some 20% IAS gloves because it requires 60% total IAS to be effective. Some nice ways of doing this are using IK gloves and boots, Laying of Hands, or Mavina's Helm, Orphan's call Gloves, or even Lavagouts. If using Mav's helm, I would suggest also using her gloves. Magnus' Skin or the IK combination are my favored options among these. Also, crafted safety gloves with 20% IAS are great if you don't have max DR already.

FreezeZealer

Though the setup works with any elemental attack aura I think Freeze is the best because it both slows and deals hefty damage to enemies.

Skills:

• 5+ Sacrifice
• 20 Holy Freeze
• 20 Resist Cold
• 10 Holy Shield
• 10 Salvation
• 20+ Zeal

All remaining points after level 84 should go into Zeal, though this is mainly for AR. There are many gear setups but I will recommend that the weapon be Heaven's Light because of the - to target defense and 3 Skills and great socketing capabilities. AR will be a big problem here, because of no fanaticism, so if you find that using a demon limb on switch to get your AR up there isn't enough, use a Nord's/Baranar's or Alma Negra or something to add as much % to it as possible. Getting a Holy Freeze merc is redundant here, so get a Defiance Merc because of your low Holy Shield, this will really, really help.

Templar's Might using Zealer

Templar's Might is an awesome armor, but its strength requirement is very, very high. To get around this I propose a certain setup:

• Armor: Templar's Might (+2 Offensive Auras, socketed with a Hel Rune)
• Shield: Up'd HoZ
• Belt: IK
• Boots: IK
• Gloves: IK/Gores

These items give a total of +65 Strength which really help when getting to 198 strength (what you will need after the hel rune) meaning you will have to get 133 base strength, which really isn't bad at all. This is great for zeal damage because strength=enhanced zeal damage and also you will need less physical points in dexterity because the IK set gives 20 and decent resists. The largest downside of this is low DR and Meleemods (DS, CB, OW etc.) so I think this is best combined with a Death Cleaver or when using an elemental attack aura. The helm, since you will not have other lifeleech, should be a Vampire Gaze because that gives significant DR and Dual Leech, though I do not think it is required, even though Guillame's gives 15 strength. This is also a very high defense gear setup, so going very defensive is a good idea or, since the HoZ you are using is already up'd, going zeal/smite hybrid is logical. The high strength will do nice things for your low level zeal if you go that root, so it could add some nice balance.

Useful Links

• The Weapon Speed Calculator
• The Skill Calculator
• The Arreat Summit
• Useful websites compiled by bloodshrike
• LanderZ's Damage Taken Calc
• Where to find more zealot guides, should this one not suit your needs
• AcidRane's Fire Zealot Guide
• Bloodshrike's compendium

Useful Calculations and formulas

None of these are written by me, they are written by who they say they are written by, and should those who wrote them wish them off this page, I will remove them.

In Depth Shockadin

This guide was originally posted seperately, but now it's included in this one!

Equipment

The main thing about the equipment is I chose it to be all for Holy Shock and no physical backup (maxed sacrifice, in most cases). I also wanted to keep it relatively cheap. The only main things that are important/vital in this "proposal" I guess, lame term though, are the weapon choices.

Weapon 1

Crescent Moon in a phase blade.

Not only does this wepon give a massive -35% Lightning Resists but also gives "Ignore Target Defense" and procs static field. This is your primary wepon and it is to be used with zeal. It is used against non-boss monsters whose defense you can "ignore."

Weapon 2

Widowmaker ward bow with a shael in it.

Keep it on switch against bosses. This has both Ignore Target Defense and +3-5 to Guided Arrow. Against bosses you will use guided arrow because it always hit and always bring the lightning damage with it.

Shield

HoZ

Best non runeword shield in the game. Socket with an um or perfect diamond to achieve better resists.

Helm

2 Options here, 1 for the less broke, 1 for the more.

1. Griffon's. The lightning damage mods on this make it godly for you, but they can be pricey.
2. Shako. Socket with an um and enjoy the +2 skills.

Armor

Since you will not be worrying about traditional melee mods, I would recommend getting either a Guardian Angel, upping a Vipermagi if you need resists, or going duress if you really want extra defense and melee mods, though IMO you don't need them because you are not a physical attacker, nor are you PvP. Smoke also provides nice resists for the extremely low cost.

Socketing should be Um for resists.

Boots

If you chose Duress, choose gores. If you chose any other, I would up some tearhaunches or use IK boots or Nat boots. Basically use the haunches if you don't want to "waste" points on Vigor.

Gloves

Any IAS gloves will work. Crafting some Hit Power gloves with IAS would be nice against bosses because then you get the knockback animation without sacrifing precious IAS (nef in Widow), though you should not use the Hit Power for non bosses because it will throw off your zeal. If you are having trouble keeping your life up, Dracul's Grasp is a nice way to go, though I suggest Redemption after a skirmish.

Belt

Verdungo's Hearty Cord!!! (maybe you could throw on a thundergod's against souls or whatever but I see no need).

Jewelry

musts:

• Highlords=IAS+1 Skill
• Ravenfrost=Cannot be Frozen

Secondary ring:

• Any rare ring with str/dex + resists
• Bul Katho's with low leech if you can afford it.

--With this gear you should have roughly +6 to your skills and an additional 2 in combat, 5 FPA zeal, and 10 fpa guided arrow (near max) as well as nice defense and near maximum or maximum resists.

SKILLS

98 Used:

• 20 Holy Shock (primary damage method)
• 20 Resist Lightning (primary synergy)
• 20 Salvation (don't worry, I'll explain)
• 20 Holy Shield (Always have this on when zealing/vengeancing)
• 1 in Vengeance (Attack Against Light Immunes, use with Conviction)
• 1 in Sacrifice
• 1 in Zeal (Main Attack)
• 1 in Conviction (secondary Attack Aura)
• 1 in Fanaticism
• 1 in Prayer/Cleansing/Vigor/Redemption/Holy Fire/Holy Freeze/Might/Smite/Charge/Blessed Hammer/Holy Bolt/Thorns/Sanctuary
• 1+ in Defiance (last to drop points in to as insane defense isn't needed PvM)

There are 17 1 point wonders and prerequisites here, which is very, very high, so read below if you wish to lower the required level for the build.

This uses a total of 99(+for additional defiance)skill points, which is a relatively high number because of the insane number of prerequisites, so if you wish to not take the char that high, I would suggest ditching either redemption or conviction. I would say conviction is more essential to the build than redemption because of immunes.

Now here's why I did not max/drop more points into Sacrifice/Zeal as most guide's I have seen: You have a skill to use against immunes: Vengeance. I was thinking about including more points in conviction as a possible second aura to use in conjunction with vengeance more often, which is still something you might want to do if, and only if, you do not plan on playing in a party. I decided that the extra lightning damage was more effective.

STAT POINT DISTRIBUTION

For this I am going to assume you used Guardian Angel and not some other armor...Also, if you are using gloves or charms or anything really that gives + to stats or a specific stat, subtract the bonus from the figure I have listed.

Str: 103 (+2 from Shako, +20 from HoZ)

Required for up'd Tearhaunches

Dexterity: 139 (+5 from Tearhaunches, +2 from Shako)

Required for Widowmaker as well as covering max block easily

Vit: Every other point

How much life you have=how much vit, so this is where it's at in terms of stat points. Aim for ~200

Strategy

Ok, I have seen some confusion about this, though I thought it would be relatively simple, so here goes:

Against Non-Immunes/Normal Monsters

Run up to them, zeal, they die. Redemption until you are healed, then move to the next pack.

Against Immune Normal Monsters

These are slightly harder than regular monsters. Turn conviction on and vengeance away. When you combine your damage with the static field you won't have too much trouble. Let your merc do some of the work if you have one. It's also fun to turn on conviction and Guided Arrow, just to keep lifetap going for your merc while he does the dirty work.

Against Bosses

Holy Shock with Widowmaker, when the boss gets too close, run with vigor on somewhere else. If you should find a superunique or tough monster, know that ignore target defense' does not work on them. If not switch to zeal and static field away at them while your merc kills them. This is the time when you want dracul's to keep your and the mercs life up.

It is also viable to get smiting, just know that it will take an extremely long time. Static Field is your friend here.

Positioning Yourself When Using Widowmaker

Try to stay behind your mercenary, keeping lifetap going for him and feeding him potions when neccessary.

Another example of this:

Choosing your Play Style

This build is effective as either a bowadin or as a zealot, but I think a mix of the two is optimal.

Throughout act 4, I played almost excusively by the bow, and then during other acts I found that it was very easy to switch back and forth effectively.

Play style is versatile, but in general, do what you're most comforatble with, which you will be able to easily establish by late normal.

Your Mercenary

It should be Holy Freeze. Especially when using your bow, you will need good crowd control. If you are ladder, you'll want to use Insight, as the mana regeneration is invaluable when using mana eaters like Vengeance and Guided Arrow.

Debate from my Original Post

In this section, I have compiled debate from my original post into one post so that those opinions stated are not lost when I delete the original.

Oath Analysis

Oath:

• -4 Socket Swords/Axes/Maces-
• Shael + Pul + Mal + Lum
• 30% Chance To Cast Level 20 Bone Spirit On Striking
• Indestructible
• +50% Increased Attack Speed
• +210-340% Enhanced Damage (varies)
• +75% Damage To Demons
• +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons
• Prevent Monster Heal
• +10 To Energy
• +10-15 Magic Absorb (varies)
• Level 16 Heart Of Wolverine (20 Charges)
• Level 17 Iron Golem (14 Charges

• Heart Of Wolverine stats (level 16)
• Heart of Wolverine
• summon a spirit pet that adds to the damage and attack rating of you and your party

• Current Skill Level: 16
• Life: 608-684
• Damage: +125 percent
• Attack: +130 percent
• Radius: 40 yards
• Mana Cost: 35

Oath in Weapons

Which weapon is best for Oath?

• This is a stellar runeword, and I will assume that you are not making this word for the charges, but rather for its insane damage, so I will be including ethereal weapons.
• The average %ED role is: 275%

War Spike and Zerker

These are the two that I just did in depth cacls for, I will include others with less typing involved below these two.

War Spike damage

• Base weapon: 30-48 * (1+2.10-3.40 + .15) =
• (93-136) - (148-218) meaning:
• --Lowest Role:
• 93-148 (120 Average) - This is faster than a zerker and has an average damage that isn't too different!
• --Average Role:
• 112-180 (148 Average) - Slightly better than a low role
• --Highest Role:
• 136-218 (177 Average) - Becoming an excellent weapon

Eth War Spike Damage

• Base weapon: 30-48 * (1+2.10-3.40 + .15) * (1 + .5) =
• (139-204)-(222-327)
• --Lowest Role
• 139-222 (180 Average)
• --Average Role
• 168-270 (219 Average)
• --Highest Role
• 204-327 (265 Average) - Superb weapon here

Berserker Axe Damage

• Base weapon: 24-71 * (1+2.10-3.40 + .15) =
• (74-109)-(220-323), meaning:
• --Lowest Role
• 74-220 (147 Average) - This weapon is outclassed by most uniques, but isn't bad at all when you figure in the HoW charges (ED+AR)
• --Average Role
• 90-266 (178 Average) - Getting better!
• --Highest Role
• 109-323 (216 Average) - This is now an excellent PvM weapon with high max/min and an excellent charge of HoW, I will discuss usage later

Ethereal Berserker Axe Damage:

• Base weapon: 24-71 * (1+2.10-3.40 + .15) * (1 + .5)-eth bonus =
• (111-163) - (330-484), meaning:
• --Lowest Role:
• 111-330 (220 average) - Still godly!
• --Average Role (without superior mod)
• 135-399 (267 Average) -- Awesome
• --Highest Role: (inc. Superior (15% ED on weapon)
• 163-484 (323 Average) - Almost an eBotD, yet waaaay cheaper.

Other Weapons

Conquest Sword: 37-53

• Non-eth
• Low = (114-164), 139 Average
• Average = (138-198), 168 Average
• High = (168-241), 204 Average
• Eth
• Low = (172-246), 209 Average
• Average = (208-298), 253 Average
• High = (252-361), 306 Average

Cryptic Sword: 5-77

• Non eth>
• Low = 15-238, 126 Average
• Average = 18-288, 153 Average
• High = 22-350, 186 Average
• Eth
• Low = 23-358, 190 Average
• Average = 28-433, 230 Average
• High = 34-525, 279 Average

Phase Blade: 31-35

• Low = 96-108, 102 Average
• Average = 116-131, 123 Average
• High = 141-159, 150 Average

Scourge: 3-80

• Non-eth
• Low = 9- 248, 128 Average
• Average = 11-300, 155 Average
• High = 13-364, 188 Average
• Eth
• Low = 13-372, 192 Average
• Average = 16-450, 233 Average
• High = 20-546, 283 Average

Usage

Eth Conquest Swords and eth Zerkers are the best high damage weapons, an eth War Spike is the most reliable in terms of damage at higher speeds and a scourge outclasses a cryptic sword completely.

If using a WW Barb or Fanat Zealer, use an eth Zerker/Conquest Sword "Oath" as your main attacking power and (hopefully) one on switch to cast HoW. If using anything other than a fanat zealer/WW barb, I would suggest using the weapon Speed Calculator to figure out exactly how much IAS you will need with either of those and compare it to that needed when using any of the -10 speed weapons.

For an elemental aura pally using zeal:

• Oath has a:
• 6 FpA zeal in a Zerker/Conquest, needs 13% more for 5 FpA
• 5 FpA zeal a Warspike/Scourge/Cryptic, needs 92% more for 4 FpA
• 5 FpA zeal in a Phaseblade, needs 22% more for 4 FpA

355% ed roll, slvl 20 zeal, sac, fanat in a non-eth zerker with HoW, compared with an Ezerker without HoW

• Ezerker: (163-484) * (1 + 3.73 + 3.36) = 1318-3915 (2616 Average)
• Zerker w/ HoW: (109-323) * (1 + 3.73 + 3.36 + 1.25) = 1018-3016 (2017 Average)

It is therefore my opinion that using the ethereal version of an item results in better damage that using a non ethereal version and using the HoW charges, though using them on an "Oath" switch would be just fine as well. Except in the following case:

Elemental Aura dins need AR, and HoW offers an 130% bonus, so once again, eth with normal on switch would be the best, but the second best is definitely using the non eth version of the item as a main weapon. My top choice would be a phaseblade with enough IAS to get to the 4 FpA breakpoint, or a zerker/conquest for better physical leech/damage ability.

Acknowledgments

Special Thanks to:

• Oramin
• Syrith
• D_Shiftlet
• RobinBanks
• Dao_Jones
• Bloodshrike
• LanderZ
• 1.10_
• Grimborn

And of course, you folks here at the AB!

Firedove, Guaise, TGM, and Lady TGM say hello!

Bibliography

• The Arreat Summit
• The Weapon Speed Calculator
• The Skill Calculator
• Bloodshrike's compendium

And now it's time for me to go

Bye!