***1.10 Vindi/Temp guide***

Vindicator/templar guide - A LONG AWAITED GUIDE!!!!!!!!!
This type of paladin build is extremely versatile but its power is focused to a 1 vs. 1 setting but enough practice will allow you to compensate for that. I must warn you this is going to be a lengthy guide due to the fact YOU must understand why everything is in such a way it must all work items and skill choices harmoniously intricately work together with each other. Also a typical v/t should be in the high level 80s(Minimum, to be somewhat developed in versatility). You must dedicate yourself to such a build if you ever wish to be successful at it, some people can do this in weeks. The last thing I will mention is the cost to make such a character is about 10-70+ high runes. Also to the time to master this build will (can, usually does) take longer than obtaining the runes. (Mine took about 25ish to be a killing machine and 2 years to develop a flawless skill, I personally haven’t been beaten consistently and average an 8:0 ratio to the average Joe)

Abbreviations: (no particular order you should know most)
V/T - vindicator/templar
Sin- Old skool saying for assassin
WW- whirlwind
HoZ-Herald of Zakarum
CB-crushing blow
OW-open wounds
IAS-increased attack speed (you should know this)
R-range
IBS- invisible bone spirit
IMO-in my opinion
Desynch- de-synchronization – a form of lag that makes u think you are somewhere but to the server u are else where usually somewhere in your trail (ex. Getting caught on a rock or getting stuck to something, server side but you are else where on your screen).

STATS:
Strength: base
Dexterity: enough for max block
Vitality: all available stat points left
Energy: none

Explanation:
Strength isn’t an issue for a v/t staying alive is. The returns for the points spent in strength wouldn’t be as good of a choice as vitality would due to the equipment layout, but if you want lots of smite damage then you should invest is up to you, its trading aprox 3life(non-bo) for 3max damage. As for dexterity its pretty obvious, excessive dexterity doesn’t do anything but add a few defense points which doesn’t do much for you if compared the returns you would gain from vitality. Energy is a complete waste as meditation can be your source of mana regeneration and with all the +skills its it is an utter waste of stat points, I have never used more than aprox 50-300 to kill another player (including lengthy 5+min duels)

SKILLS:
20-smite
20-holy shield
20-fanaticism

***The above are to be max-ed first CONTARY TO WHAT YOU MAY BELIEVE***

1+conviction (highly advised to be level 1)
FoH/holy shock- all available points left (must be the same level)
Optional: 1vigor, 1 meditation

Explanation-Skills:
Most people believe FoH should be acquired immediately, as it shouldn't. They also think they get it right, there is a big reason why it is called V/t, everything is emphasized on the V the T is more over the lines of a bolstered attack to aid V techniques. Another reason is that FoH can be negated very easily. The optional skills of meditation and vigor can be useful in some cases like Pally vs. Pally. I no longer found a reason to use them due to the shear power that v/t’s have gained in 1.10 and the skill points can be used to gain a 4 level gain effect to FoH or smiting power, depending on what level you are.

Equipment: - i will assume you know what your are doing in terms of IAS, if not go here: http://diablo2.ingame.de/tips/calcs/...p?lang=english
Helm: shako-ber/jah/um/perfect lighting fact jewel
Amulet: maras/+2 skills dual stat with lighting resists
Armor: enigma/chains of honor
*Shield: Upgraded/regular Herald of Zakarum (HoZ) - ber/jah/um/perfect lighting facet jewel
Weapon: see below
Belt: 15dr verdungos hearty cord, preferably with high +vitality but a +30 will suffice
Rings: raven frost, bul kathos wedding band
Gloves: bloodfists/ dual stat with resists and IAS if possible
Boots: imp shank/ frw fhr lighting resist with stat boots is the best
Weapon switch: call to arms/lidless or if you plan on doing lots of Pally vs. Pally, wiz spike wit 30 lighting resist jewel and a 4 p topaz/Lo'ed elite class pally shield (with resists)-which can completely negate FoH or any similar forms of lighting damage

**Stash** recommend equipment for being lazy
1 raven frost
1 or 2 dwarf star(s)
1 t-gods
1 rising sun
1 water walks
1 4 p-sapphire elite class pally shield with inherent resists
1 or 2 wisps – optional I never had a need for them nor do I own any on non-ladder
1 hot spur
1 nokozan amulet

*Shield-some other shields may be better than HoZ depending on your style, such as Alma Negra for charging and more smite damage. This is a matter of situation and preference. IMO an upgraded HoZ is the BEST shield, but finding a gosu shield is close to nil and still couldn't match up to an upgraded HoZ.

*Weapon (will depend on the scenario and explained) – a nice array of weapons to choose that deserve merit. Silence phase blade (pb)/zerker axe (ba) for the +2 skills and +75 resists, there are a few things you should know about. The main differences between the 2 is that the pb is range 2 and zerker is ranger 3 and requires additional IAS to achieve 6fpa smite, I will discuss range later on. Stormlash (suggested socket ber if your rich, if not um rune) inherent IAS, crushing blow, high max damage (although the min is pretty low). Jewelers R3 of quickness, and rose branded R3 of quickness (mix of ber/um usually ber) are HIGH END smiting weapons for Pally vs. Pally. I happen to prefer Stormlash for its flexibility in charging for all around dueling and cost to a high-end weapon, as it is oriented for Pally vs. Pally. An anti Holy freeze weapon is to get a 6 socket pb/zerker with a WIAS of 130 or WSM-130 (You should know what they mean I’m tired of explaining these abbreviations, tt). The zerker and pb principles of silence should be applied to these guys if you choose to utilize such a weapon. The rune words such as: malice, king slayer only come to mind that are worth mentioning for low end smiting weapons

Charms:
10 combat gc’s preferably with life
9 sc’s +life, the higher the better, with lighting resists
1 annihilus

Explanation-Charms:
Combat gc’s focus on smite damage and is the only charm to boost smite damage dramatically. The sc’s w/ life is most opt at 10+life as + strength/dexterity would not be as efficient.

Explanation-Gear:
Shako provides the necessary mana needed, unlike crown of ages- it’s unsuitable for its high strength requirement, the life returns from a 2x jah'ed crown wouldn’t be worth the extra +1 to skills and mana provided from a shako. Enigma is the basis of having base strength as well as the bonuses from enigma fit this type of class like a fine suit. Mara’s is the best for resists and +skills and stats and adding to BO, having this flexibility is invaluable. In private circles of pally vs. pally I still have found this better than viper torc for the sole reason of resists. It’s not worth spending a rune and basing your stats around an amulet just for pally vs. pally, having 30secs - 5mins+ duels isn’t worth the time that it took to make this sub-class (some don’t even allow bo).

In general:
Silence pb/ba = no questions on this, this is a must have, HoZ is like the same as silence pb/ba. Silence is the best a v/t for its +75 resists +2 skills and phase blade for -30 base weapon speed including 20 IAS from silence will give fps smite with level 20+ fanat.

In specific: (3 pages already!)
Silence isn’t always the best thing to use when dueling a melee char, sometimes a silence pb will not be adequate. I find that it just cant ensure victory all the time for say vs. a barb, this where CB and OW comes in to destroy any other melee type (see weapons for choices or any other weapon with CB and/or OW).

***************************TACTICS**************** ******
AMAZON:
This is a piece of cake as of 1.10, it is COMPLETLY different to that in 09. Its very simple to take down any zon due to the nature of smite always hitting, charge is now super fast and some minor details. The main tactic is to get close up and personal with zons, when you approach the zon you should charge the zon. There are only be 2 options a zon would do either switch to javelins and make it easy for you or run, just smite away if they think they can even tank you, if they run then switch to conviction. Once u see conviction underneath them FoH 1-2 times before the zon gets off your screen, then charge and attempt to smite then you force the zon back to those 2 options, rinse and repeat this tactic and you will never lose. This becomes a different case if the zon happens to have 2 wisp's at 20 lighting absorb, you will have to rely on charging and smiting the zon will he/she dies. Not much explaining here to do, if you cant kill a zon with smite and have high lighting resists and 2k smite damage read no more this guide is intended for intermediate pk-ers and have moderate knowledge of PvP (this is the EASEST match up).

ASSASIN:
This match up has gotten more difficult than 09. 2 types occur in the main line, trapper and melee. As both are as hard to fight, and will be covered in my next guide. Trappers call for the use of t-gods to the unskilled beginners of a v/t, as I suggest you use or commit a kamikaze.
Most trappers don’t know how to place traps but kill due to their shear damage and potential to semi stun lock. The main key to attack trappers is to charge to their side because their traps do the most damage while basking in a single shot. Once you get to the sin, smite as fast as you can (obvious). FoH’ing may be used when they run only, where FoH’ing at the beginning may cause a weakness
in attack sequencing and allow a wailing stream of lighting(I didn’t forget fire, they don’t deserve merit when going against v/t). Like a zon you give them the same type of options, either tank or run. If they tank it becomes a matter of seconds before they die, other than that it’s like a zon.
Melee sins pose a greater potential threat. This is like a game of cat and mouse but the mouse is as big as the cat. You must proceed with caution and walk. As they ww you shift smite them and FoH them as they move away, but if they do short WW’s you just have to keep smiting them. I haven’t encountered many good WW sins so I cant prepare you for what u may see but all I can do is give an algorithm to defeating them. Vs’ing one is completely different than using one to kill as tactics are in their own personality as both classes are extremely viable pvp-ers. I will append to this portion once I have adequate experience dueling STRONG pvp-ers, yet I haven’t lost to one yet (man talk about shit-some skilled people ><! WHY DID ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE LEAVE!!!!… O yah 1.10 is VERY unbalanced)

NECROMANCER:
This is probably the hardest match up you will ever do as most classes are the same. Well then again most are noobs, the good ones are the ones to dread. Fear not as the way of the crusader (charger) is the way to win. I would HIGHLY suggest you use Stormlash to kill these beasts. Charge can be over looked by the necromancer and cause a desynch effect and give yourself a slight instant burst of an offensive edge. I find that all necromancers tend to be the new 1.10 zon and act pretty much the same way but they teleport and shoot IBS (good necromancers will do this VERY often). Charge them hard until they block a hit then wail an onslaught of smite most don’t ever get out (well noobs don’t). If they walk out repeat the charge, if they run and teleport immediately you will have to play more cat and mouse tricks. If they tank you must run if your not good enough when to know your v/t’s limits of damage determining this threshold is a judgement of your instinct I cant say when to break out as necros differ from person to person. You will have to be more skilled in using your v/t to make this type of a judgement, as I said before I recommend you break away until you learn your own threshold. These principles attack a necros weak point as MOST people seem to ignore is fhr, they got a VERY low fhr rate so you have to use it to your advantage. FoH’ing a good necro is teasing him, if your FoH kills a necro, he’s most likely a noob. If they bone prison you teleport out IMMEDIATELY and run off to a corner, IBS is likely on your tail.

BARBARIAN:
See melee assassin same principle to dueling. They hurt just as hard(er). There was only 1 barb that managed to beat me once. All the good barbs left west : / No point in being redundant.

PALADIN: *I won’t go in-depth cause it will spoil the surprises , but I will go detailed vs. the noob types (since they deserve no right to call themselves a true pk-er).
This is the most full-filling and satisfying duel you can have. There are quite a few variants but I will list the most dominant builds. When going against a Crusader walk and shift smite name lock him as he charges you won’t be able to smite once his charge ends if he is experienced, keep fanat on at all times no need to FoH him to death it wont be fun. Facing a liberator it’s the same principle except this is going to be a VERY LONG duel if he’s good hammers will be a pain to go against. When dealing with another v/t, usually it will start off with both off you FoH’ing e/o for a bit and serve e/o some smite, enough of that be creative in your tactics confuse e/o! That’s the beauty of v/t dueling surprises or turnover’s can occur frequently and pretty dam fast.
Ok the noob classes, noob smiter, noob FoH’er, noob hammer-din. A smiter should be teased with FoH + conviction and be surprised with smite. These noobs use doom, exile, and Astreons typically. In this case use an R3 weapon I suggest using Stormlash, all you do is shift smite him for like 4 seconds and pull off and rinse and repeat. If life tap goes off continue this process but you must be quicker than him and smite a few times. If they use doom you might be in trouble (if not using the anti HF weapon), but as before the same tactic is applied most people don’t know how to duel, timing is also a key factor in this duel. (This marks the end of the 5th page of this guide!)
Now for FoH-er’s, time to break out the 4 Lo’ed shield and show him just how pathetic he is, I LAUGH AT ANY FoH-er. I never ever lost to one this becomes hilarious when they do miniscule damage to you around 50-100 at most. If he is packing a paladin decked out with facets and such then you will have to get a wisp to use blackhorn’s and t-gods, other than that… LOL.
Hammers are something to be weary off. Attack him with FoH, they tend to get jumpy. They will teleport to u and hammer immediately, if they do so they are doing you a FAVOR, smite the sap 1-2 times just to see if he is below or above you. If he is you above, continue smiting. Else pull off and repeat the process, noobs love getting aggravated when they realize they suck!

SORCERESS:
As if teleport’ing wasn’t enough, pfft these girls get annoying to duel. Be patient with charge as you have to wait for them to attack you if you want to charge. FoH won’t help you much if they are smart. At this point you should use charge more often than usual if u want to beat any sorc, I find that fire sorc’s tend to be lay downs for you to mow over, read stash equipment if you are having problems. If they are actually skilled you must be patient until you find a weakness in their sequencing if the become erratic the easier they are to kill.
Cold sorcs will be the longest duel you could ever have. Just like the fire sorc wait until you can have a potential attack position, or wait him out some where in a corner, against a wall, in a house in the moor. This is all about reading the sorc and their habits, I cant really say much about them besides that stacked cold resists and 2x ravens will make it go even longer if the sorc is willing to wait. Hiding in a house is the best thing to do, no sense in trying to catch the sorc while she blizzards you. Remember charge and smite are your best friends.

DRUID:
The last class finally. Ill make this quick I’m tired of writing 6 pages for this guide, I will try not to hit 7 ><. So what you do if he’s a wind druid pick off his sage with either smite/charge/FoH and then charge (avoid tornadoes while doing so) to him and wail on his ass, this is the main principle enuff said. If he’s a flaming rabies (Fire claws/rabies) FoH him till he comes to you and take advantage of your range most will use a pb, and if they dare to use a 2 hander on you, then charge him and spank his fugly ass. Fury ww/wb are lay downs.

Credits/acknowledgements:
I give thanks to the following in no particular order besides what I am currently recalling:
EotD – My (our clan jOOb) clan for giving me some sort of purpose to keep on pk-ing
Gimmeitam – For the greatest duels I’ve had in 09
Lestat- You made me realize my place when I was only a pub destroyer and that higher caliber people like you existed and brought up my game up tremendously. You gave me high expectations of myself for the fuel in my ambition for the game, with out you I would not be what I have become to this day, I cant thank you enough, and you will soon learn this. (was way back in 09 )
Endurack a.k.a.: jOOb!!- jOO + nOOb = jOOb!! Lolol we may have many gg’s to come if we get EotD going
Jill-PvP, lord2800 and CourtTv/Food – we had VERY GG pally duels. (sol, I got words for you: you don’t get any credit your to much of an asshole, you and your legit ecbbq )
Shags and Tenken/Diego – you guys are a pain in the ass to duel as necros TT x10!!!!!!
Kissmasha/Ponce – If your out there reading this all I remember about you is we had some GOOD times.

Lestat-: My Faith in FoH
Jill-PvP: The Strength of my Smite
Endurack: The Power of my Conviction
Kissmasha: The Fervor of my Fanaticism

I am the Vindicator, and I am the Templar.
R.I.P. Jill

Stuck in the stack. Great job.