I_D's Definitive Smiter Guide [Archive] - Diablo 2 @ Diablo2.com Forums

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Immortal_Daemon

01-12-2008, 03:50 AM

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Table Of Contents:
1) Introduction
2) Pros & Cons
3) Abbreviations
4) Breakpoint Tables
5) Player vs Player Build(s)
6) Good-mannered vs Bad-mannered
7) Player vs Monster Build(s)
8) Mercenary
9) Strategy
10) Helpful Sites
11) Does/Does Not Work With Smite

1) Introduction:
First, let it be known that no character is invincible. Blizzard designed Diablo 2 with mortal characters in mind, so each character has some weakness, regardless of how nice your gear is. This is true for any build in the game.

The purpose of this guide is to provide the information necessary to create the best possible build of a Smiter. I will be giving recommended gear as well as viable alternatives for those out there who do not have the items I list first. Keep in mind that the items I list first are almost always going to be the best choice. The alternatives are, like I said, viable and can therefore work perfectly well, but there’s a chance they will not get the job done as efficiently as my first choices.

With that said, let’s get this show on the road…

2) Pros & Cons:
Pros:
• Extremely efficient in 1v1 combat
• Can be extremely cheap, to extremely expensive, and be viable either way
• Die very rarely’
• Kills the Ubers with ease
• Goes well with hybrids
Cons:
• Terrible during group combat
• To completely deck out a character, it’s extremely expensive
• Often times does not have much health

3) Abbreviations:
• IAS: Increased attack speed – The rate at which you melee attack
• FCR: Faster cast rate – The rate at which you cast spells
• FHR: Faster hit recovery – The rate at which you recover from attacks
• DR: Damage reduction – Capped at 50%. The rate at which melee damage is reduced when attacked
• MR: Magic reductin – Capped at 50%. The rate at which magic damage is reduced when attacked
• FRW: Faster Run/Walk – The speed at which you can run
• Tele: Teleport – A skill granted by the runeword “Enigma”
• RW: Runeword – A combination of runes that creates a special item
• Nigma: Enigma – Nickname for the runeword “Enigma”
• Cookie-Cutter: Standard – Nickname for the stereotypical effective build of a character
• EDmg: Enhanced Damage – Attribute of various items that grants increased damage
• ED: Enhanced Defense – Attribute of various items that grants increased defense
• Res: Resistance – Defense against elemental spells
• FPS: Frames Per Second – The speed at which your computer refreshes the screen
• FPA: Frames Per Attack – The number of frames an animation for an attack requires
• CB: Crushing Blow – An attribute that eliminates a % of the enemy’s health upon attacking
• DS: Deadly Strike – An attribute that causes the “Deadly Strike” effect upon attacking
• OW: Open Wounds – An attribute that causes the “Open Wounds” effect upon attacking
• HS: Holy Shield – A spell that greatly increases defense
• BP: Breakpoint – The amount of increased X it takes to lose a frame during the animation
• HOTO: Heart of the Oak – Nickname for the runeword “Heart of the Oak”
• Wizzy: Wizardspike – Nickname for the item “Wizardspike”
• Shako: Harlequin Crest – Nickname for the item “Harlequin Crest”
• .08 / .09: Old Patch – Abbreviation for items that still remain in the game from previous patches
• Dupe: Duplicated – Copied and pasted into the game, essentially creating a clone.
• Poof: Vanish – Duped items often “poof” after a certain amount of time, because the game realizes the item is not supposed to exist, and therefore deletes it.
• GM: Good mannered – Following the rules in dueling sessions
• BM: Bad mannered – Not following standard rules in dueling sessions
• CBF: Cannot Be Frozen – An attribute that prevents being frozen by enemies
• Desynching: Movement Speed - When your character moves so fast the game cannot track your position, and you therefore show up in fake spots on the opponent’s screen.
• HUD: Heads-Up Display: The area of the screen that shows your life, mana, etc.

4) Breakpoint Tables:
NOTE: All information gathered from PvPWest. (http://www.pvpwest.com)

Faster Hit Recovery Breakpoints
FRAME____________________+%
• 13______________________0%
• 12______________________3%
• 11______________________7%
• 10______________________13%
• 9_______________________20%
• 8_______________________32%
• 7_______________________48%
• 6_______________________75%
• 5_______________________120%
• 4_______________________280%

Faster Block Rate Breakpoints
FRAME________________ +%
• 5___________________With HS = / Without HS = 0%
• 4___________________With HS = / Without HS = 13%
• 3___________________With HS = / Without HS = 32%
• 2___________________With HS = 0% / Without HS = 86%
• 1___________________With HS = 86% / Without HS = 600%

Faster Cast Rate Breakpoints
FRAME_____________________+%
• 15_______________________0%
• 14_______________________9%
• 13_______________________18%
• 12_______________________30%
• 11_______________________48%
• 10_______________________75%
• 9________________________125%

Crushing Blow
NOTE: Written as Melee - Ranged
• vs. Normal Monsters_____________________ 1/4th – 1/8th
• vs. Players and Hirelings__________________1/10th – 1/20th
• vs. Champions, Uniques, and Bosses_________1/8th – 1/6th

NOTE: Smite damage rarely displays correctly on the character screen. To determine your true Smite damage, this is the formula:

Minimum Smite Damage = (Shield Min Damage + (Damage +x) + (Holy Shield Min Damage)) * (1 + (Strength + (+x% Enhanced Damage) / 100)))

Maximum Smite Damage = (Shield Max Damage + (Damage +x) + (Holy Shield Max Damage)) * (1 + (Strength + (+x% Enhanced Damage) / 100)))

NOTE: For an excellent thread devoted to Smite damage, and a couple fun tricks with it, visit Safetypro’s thread HERE. (http://diablo2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=401)

5) Player vs Player Build(s):
The goal with this character is to reach the fastest IAS BP. Unfortunately there are no BP tables for this, since it varies depending on the weapon. At the end of this guide, however, I have provided a link to an IAS calculator to help determine how fast you are attacking. Speed is absolutely mandatory here. If you don’t reach the fastest BP (which is a 6-frame FPA) then you will have an extremely tough time winning. We’ll also be hitting the 50% DR cap with this build. DR is another extremely important part of this build. It is a melee character, after all.

Starting Stats:
• Strength: 25
• Dexterity: 20
• Vitality: 25
• Energy: 15
Final Stats:
• Strength: Just enough to use gear
• Dexterity: Enough to obtain 75% block with HS cast (after all gear is applied)
• Vitality: All remaining points
• Energy: None

Life Per Vitality Point: 3
Mana Per Energy Point: 2

Skills:
Combat Skills:
• Smite: 20
• Holy Bolt: 1
• Charge: Varies
• Blessed Hammer: 1
• Holy Shield: 20
Offensive Aura
• Might: 1
• Blessed Aim: 1
• Concentration: 1
• Fanaticism: 20
Defensive Aura:
• .Defiance: 20

NOTE: Since Smiters don’t require many skill points to be effective, many PvP players choose to make hybrid characters. At the end of this guide I’ve provided a link to Chippydip’s skill planner. Use this to determine what your favorite type of hybrid (if you decide to go that route) is.
Some good choices are:
• Focus: Smite. Secondary: Charge
• Focus: Smite. Secondary: FoH
• Focus: FoH. Secondary: Smite
• Focus: Smite. Secondary: Hammers
NOTE: Be fully aware here. If you choose to become a hybrid, you will often have to wear different gear to take advantage of your secondary attack.
• If you decide to use Charge, you'll need to bring Angelics with you so you can maintain nice AR.
• If you decide to use FoH, you'll need to switch around your skills to balance out melee and FoH damage (use the skill planner).
• If you decide to use Hammers, you'll have to switch around your gear to give yourself some better FCR.

Gear:
• Recommended Weapon: Grief Berserker Axe
• Alternatives: Grief Phase Blade, Silence (fast weapon), Astreon’s Ward, Stormlash, Wizardspike
• Why I Choose This: Incredible amounts of damage and speed. Most people prefer a phase blade, but if you scroll down a bit, the reason for using a berserker axe will become clear. Be extremely aware of your attack speed for each weapon.

• Recommended Armor: Mageplate / Duskshroud Enigma
• Alternatives: Chains of Honor, Fortitude, Stone, Prudence, Guardian Angel
• Why I Choose This: The strength bonus is absolutely amazing for this character. Not only that, but it has some nice DR on it, which comes in handy.

• Recommended Helm: Crown of Ages + Ber + Ber
• Alternatives: Shako + Ber, Veil Of Steel, Crown of Thieves, Guillaume’s Face
• Why I Choose This: High defense, tons of DR, lots of Res. What more could you want? It has a high strength requirement, but that’s where the Enigma’s strength boost comes in handy. With a decent torch/annihilus, you shouldn’t have to put many points into strength to use the Crown of Ages.

• Recommended Shield: Upped Herald of Zakarum + Ber / Um Rune
• Alternatives: Non-Upped HoZ, Spirit, Exile, Sanctary
• Why I Choose This: I would have picked an Exile, but since Life Tap is BM, I definitely don’t recommend it as a first choice. An Upped HoZ dishes out a ton of damage, and also has extremely consistent damage. Not only that, but the block rate is so high on this particular shield that you may not need to put any points into Dexterity to max your block rate (75%). For those who are curious, this is why I did not recommend a phase blade Grief. There’s no point in putting a ton of points into Dexterity simply to use a weapon. Now, if you had to put points into Dexterity to max out block anyway, there would be no harm in using a phase blade. But since we don’t need to put points into Dexterity, there’s no point in using a phase blade.

• Recommended Gloves: Bloodfists
• Alternatives: 20 IAS gloves, Crafted CB Gloves, Steelrends
• Why I Choose This: These give you that little boost of IAS that is required to reach the IAS BP, as well as some very handy FHR and a bit of life.

• Recommended Belt: Verdungo’s Hearty Cord
• Alternatives: String of Ears, Razortail, FHR Belt
• Why I Choose This: Lots of life and DR. This belt is fantastic for a Smiter.

• Recommended Boots: Gore Riders
• Alternatives: Goblin Toes, Sandstorm Treks, War Travelers
• Why I Choose This: Lots of CB, and some nice FRW. The other options are definitely viable though.

• Recommended Amulet: Metalgrid
• Alternatives: Mara’s Kaleidoscope, Seraph’s Hymn, Telling of Beads, +3 Combat Skills Paladin Amulet (with life), Highlord’s Wrath
• Why I Choose This: Tons of defense and Res. Most people prefer Mara’s, but anybody who uses a Smiter knows the extra skill does nothing substantial, so there’s really no reason to use a Mara. If you don’t mind using duped items, go for an Armageddon Slippers amulet. They’re amazingly handy.

• Recommended Rings: Raven Frost + Wisp Projector
• Alternatives: Dwarf Star, Bul-Kathos’ Wedding Band, Dual-stat rings
• Why I Choose This: These allow you to have a bit of absorb gear, yet still remain GM. Not only that, but Raven Frost has some very handy Dexterity boosts, and the CBF attribute.

• Items On Switch: Call To Arms + Spirit
• Items In Inventory: Torch + Annihilus
• Charms In Inventory: Life Small Charms. The most per charm is 20, so try to get close to that. If you don’t mind using duped gear, go for 3/20/20’s (Damage/Life/Attack Rating).

6) Good-mannered vs Bad-mannered:
Many people choose to duel with certain rules. People feel there are certain things in the game that should not have been included because they give an unfair advantage to one player or another (or multiple players).

Many things are considering bad-mannered, or “BM.” I’m bound to forget some things, but I’ll list all of the major pet peeves:
• Holy Freeze: This is BM because it cannot be blocked by anything, and it slows down the player to a snail pace.
• Slow Target: This is also unblockable, and slows the player to a snail pace.
• Town camping: This refers to players who repeatedly sit outside the barrier that separates enemy – friendly territory. It’s extremely hard to kill a person who is camping.
• Jumping: This refers to attacking a person without each dueler saying “Go” first.
• Ganging: This refers to multiple duelers attacking one person at the same time, without that person’s consent.
• Melee Grief: This is heavily debated. On characters where the “Cast On Strike” effect is active (Barbarians, Zealers, etc.) this is considered BM because Grief’s Venom is extremely powerful and can drain a dueler’s health almost instantly.
• Pre-buffing: This refers to casting defensive spells before dueling, such as Fade or Battle Orders (occasional offensive spells, such as Enchant also fit here). Many people do not pay attention to this rule, however, because of the popularity of the Call To Arms runeword.
• Mercenaries: This refers to using a mercenary during dueling. This is a BIG no-no. Using a mercenary essentially doubles your chances of winning, which is obviously unfair.
• Potting: This refers to using either Life or Mana potions during a duel. Life potions are BM regardless of who you ask, but some people allow Mana potions. Make sure to ask before you duel.
• Absorbing Gear: This refers to gear that absorbs elemental damage. Often times one piece of gear is allowed, but more than one piece is BM. Make sure to ask before you duel.
• Life Tap: This refers to casting the spell Life Tap (via spell or item) during combat. It’s essentially free healing, so this is definitely BM.

Those are some of the big pet peeves. Like I said, I certainly didn’t cover them all. Also keep in mind that various tournaments have specific rules that must be followed.

7) Player vs Monster / Ubers Build(s):
The goal of this character is going to be to maintain the fastest IAS BP (that's very important) and get quite a bit of CB. Don't let CB become your focus though, we'll be needing decent damage as well. I generally try to stick with at least 60% CB, and then get some damage gear. That generally ensures an easy victory. We're also going to want as much Res as possible.

Starting Stats:
• Strength: 25
• Dexterity: 20
• Vitality: 25
• Energy: 15
Final Stats:
• Strength: Just enough to use gear
• Dexterity: You max reach 75% block if you wish, but it is by no means required
• Vitality: All remaining points
• Energy: None

Life Per Vitality Point: 3
Mana Per Energy Point: 2

Skills:
Combat Skills:
• Smite: 20
• Holy Bolt: 1
• Charge: 1
• Blessed Hammer: 1
• Holy Shield: 20
Offensive Aura
• Might: 1
• Blessed Aim: 1
• Concentration: 1
• Fanaticism: 20
Defensive Aura:
• .Defiance: 20
• Salvation: 1
NOTE: The rest may go wherever you please. I would recommend placing at least one into Resist Fire / Cold / Lightning for some hidden passive bonuses.

Gear:
• Recommended Weapon: Silence Phase Blade
• Alternatives: Grief, Last Wish, Astreon’s Ward, The Redeemer, Horizon’s Tornado, Stormlash, Black
• Why I Choose This: Excellent speed and a LOT of Res. This weapon is fantastic for maintaining good Res when fighting Uber Mephisto.

• Recommended Armor: Chains of Honor Archon Plate / Dusk Shroud
• Alternatives: Enigma, Guardian Angel, Fortitude, Prudence, Stone, Treachery
• Why I Choose This: Simply put, it has a ton of Res. Not only that, but it has some extra DR as well as some damage to demons, which is handy for fighting Ubers.

• Recommended Helm: Guillaume’s Face + Um Rune
• Alternatives: Crown of Ages, Crown of Thieves, Shako, Kira's Guardian
• Why I Choose This: Lots of CB which is super handy (almost mandatory) for fighting the Ubers. The Um rune is simply to help with Res. If you’re not worried about it, feel free to socket with something else. If you are receiving the CB from something else, feel free to go for another choice. They're all pretty darn good.

• Recommended Shield: Ethereal Exile (with Res)
• Alternatives: Hoz, Upped Hoz, Sanctuary, High-Smite + High-Res shield
• Why I Choose This: A heck of a lot of defense, Res, and almost automatic Life Tap to keep you alive during Ubers. With the right shield, it can dish out more damage than an Upped HoZ which is pretty impressive. If you plan on not using an Ethereal Exile, however, you may want to choose a weapon other than Silence. There’s no point in putting points into Dexterity to use a phase blade when you already have maxed block.

• Recommended Gloves: Dracul’s Grasp
• Alternatives: Bloodfists, 20ias gloves, Steelrends, Crafted CB Gloves, Venom Grips
• Why I Choose This: A nice little bit of a boost to Strength, as well as some extremely handy Life Tap. Be aware of your other gear, though. If you already have a high chance to cast Life Tap, there’s not much point in wearing these gloves.

• Recommended Belt: Thundergod's Vigor
• Alternatives: String of Ears, Razortail, FHR Belt, Dungo
• Why I Choose This: Excellent defense, nice stat boosts, and fantastic lightning absorb for pesky Mephisto.

• Recommended Boots: Gore Riders
• Alternatives: Goblin Toes, Sandstorm Treks, War Travelers
• Why I Choose This: Lots of CB, and some nice FRW. The other options are definitely viable though.

• Recommended Amulet: Metalgrid
• Alternatives: Mara’s Kaleidoscope, Seraph’s Hymn, Telling of Beads, +3 Combat Skills Paladin Amulet (with life), Highlord’s Wrath
• Why I Choose This: Tons of defense and Res. Most people prefer Mara’s, but anybody who uses a Smiter knows the extra skill does nothing substantial, so there’s really no reason to use a Mara. If you don’t mind using duped items, go for an Armageddon Slippers amulet. They’re amazingly handy.

• Recommended Rings: Raven Frost + Wisp Projector
• Alternatives: Dwarf Star, Bul-Kathos’ Wedding Band, Dual-stat rings
• Why I Choose This: These allow you to have a bit of absorb gear, yet still remain GM. Not only that, but Raven Frost has some very handy Dexterity boosts, and the CBF attribute.

• Items On Switch: Call To Arms + Spirit
• Items In Inventory: Torch + Annihilus
• Charms In Inventory: Life Small Charms. The most per charm is 20, so try to get close to that. If you don’t mind using duped gear, go for 3/20/20’s (Damage/Life/Attack Rating). If you’re worried about your Res, try to find some Res Small Charms.

7.5) Player vs Monster / Ubers Poorman’s Build:
The goal of this character is going to be to maintain the fastest IAS BP (that's very important) and get quite a bit of CB. Unfortunately low-price CB gear is tough to come by, so instead we'll often have to go for life-granting gear. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of CB gear out there, so it won't be too tough to find it. However, expect the CB gear to be a tad more expensive than the rest of the gear. Also remember to get plenty of resistances.

Starting Stats:
• Strength: 25
• Dexterity: 20
• Vitality: 25
• Energy: 15
Final Stats:
• Strength: Just enough to use gear
• Dexterity: You max reach 75% block if you wish, but it is by no means required
• Vitality: All remaining points
• Energy: None

Life Per Vitality Point: 3
Mana Per Energy Point: 2

Skills:
Combat Skills:
• Smite: 20
• Holy Bolt: 1
• Charge: 1
• Blessed Hammer: 1
• Holy Shield: 20
Offensive Aura
• Might: 1
• Blessed Aim: 1
• Concentration: 1
• Fanaticism: 20
• Holy Fire: 1
• Holy Freeze: 1
Defensive Aura:
• .Defiance: 20
• Salvation: 1
NOTE: The rest may go wherever you please. I would recommend placing at least one into Resist Fire / Cold / Lightning for some hidden passive bonuses.

Gear:
NOTE: Unfortunately I can’t list many alternatives for this build. It’s pretty hard to get any cheaper than this build.
I am not listing “sets” for this build, simply because the combinations of all those pieces of gear is huge. If you feel confident about using a certain set (Griswolds is pretty good, for example) then definitely test it out. There’s no shame it dying during Uber Tristram, especially if you’re trying out a cheap build.

• Recommended Weapon: Wizardspike + Shael Rune / Black in a fast weapon.
• Why I Choose This: With the Shael rune, this will hit the fastest IAS BP, and gives a bunch of Res / Tons of CB and nice speed.

• Recommended Armor: 4 open-socket (Archon Plate is a good choice) armor + Perfect Rubies / Perfect Skulls / Jewels
• Why I Choose This: This one is up to preference. I would rather have the rubies in my armor, because life is very handy. Some would prefer skulls, though, to allow them to recharge health very quickly.

• Recommended Helm: 3 open-socket helm (try to find something with requirements similar to an Archon Plate) + Perfect Rubies / Jewels
• Why I Choose This: A huge life bonus. If you socket it with your own jewels, make sure they’re worthwhile.

• Recommended Shield: 4 open-socket shield (Zakarum is a good choice) + Perfect Diamonds, preferably already having a Res attribute on it.
• Alternatives: Anything with high Smite damage (35+ without HS active) and 4 open-sockets. Also try to find something with Resistance on it.
• Why I Choose This: They’re extremely easy to find. Baal running in Hell mode for a day warrants me a 40+ 4 open-socket shield almost daily. Not only that, but they’re actually pretty darn powerful, and give a ton of Res.

• Recommended Gloves: N/A
• Why I Choose This: We already reach the IAS BP, so go wild here. Find anything that suits you. Something with +Strength or +Dexterity (or both) wouldn’t be a bad idea, simply to help you wear your gear.

• Recommended Belt: N/A
• Alternatives: String of Ears, Razortail
• Why I Choose This: Nothing is mandatory here either. Find something that would be helpful, and go from there.

• Recommended Boots: Goblin Toes
• Why I Choose This: These aren’t mandatory, but are pretty darn handy. If you can’t find them, don’t freak out. Just try to get something helpful.

• Recommended Amulet: Seraph’s Hymn
• Why I Choose This: This isn’t required by any means, but it comes in handy. It’s pretty cheap, so getting your hands on one shouldn’t be that tough. If you can’t, though, don’t fret. As always, try to find something useful.

• Recommended Rings: Raven Frosts
• Why I Choose This: They’re pretty darn cheap, and you’ll be putting a lot of points into Dexterity, so every little bit helps. Raven Frosts give a heck of a lot of Dexterity (especially two Raven Frosts) so that’ll help out a lot. If you can’t find any, make due with whatever you can find. Try to find some rings with +stats on them.

• Items On Switch: Life Tap Wand
• Items In Inventory: Anything you can muster up
NOTE: Life Tap wands can be bought from venders in Act 5 during Hell mode. I’m sure they can be found elsewhere, but this is the easiest place to find them. You wand a wand that gives Life Tap charges but NOT +Life Tap, as this only works for Necromancers.

8) Mercenary:
• Recommended Weapon: Ethereal Breath of the Dying War Pike
• Alternatives: Insight, Infinity, Doom, Destruction, Any Polearm with high damage
• Why I Choose This: With high damage, mercenaries can often deal more damage than the actual player. Obviously damage is helpful, and a lot of it is definitely nice to have.

• Recommended Armor: Fortitude
• Alternatives: Stone, Prudence, Chains of Honor, Duress
• Why I Choose This: TONS of extra damage and health. That goes a very long way. The high defense is also very handy. The alternatives are also extremely nice as well (especially if you find ethereal versions).

• Recommended Helm: “Visionary” Attribute Helm
• Alternatives: Andariel’s Visage, Veil of Steel, Shako, Vampire’s Gaze
• Why I Choose This: A heck of a lot of attack rating, which means your mercenary won’t have to worry about missing his attacks. Try to find some with nice attributes for some extra effects.

9) Strategy:
Vs Ubers:
• You should always have a trustworthy friend in the game. If you die, you’ll need somebody to help you recover your body.
• Upon entering the portal, travel North West until you reach the wall. From there, follow the wall towards the South and all the way around until you’ve almost done a full circle.
• You will see a small rock. Stand to the left of it, and a lot of minions will spawn on top of you. Within seconds, Mephisto will bum-rush you. When he does, run away so Diablo and Baal don’t follow him, and then cast Life Tap on Mephisto.
• Once Life Tap is cast, start hacking away. If you do not have much CB, it will take some time to kill Mephisto. Make sure you have plenty of potions in your belt, and if Life Tap ever stops being active, back up and cast it again before you die (believe me, death comes quickly if you don’t have Life Tap cast).
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This is a thumbnail. Click it for a larger picture.

NOTE: There is a glitch in the game called “Charge-lock.” This occurs when you try switching to another attack/item/animation/etc. during mid-Charge. If you do this, most of the time you won’t be able to attack unless you switch weapons then switch back. ALWAYS make sure Charge is complete before you try using another attack.
A way to avoid this is to not cast HS. You can try this if you want, but I’d prefer to simply not use another attack during mid-Charge. I enjoy my defense thank you very much.

NOTE: Desynching refers to moving so quickly the game cannot track your location. The side effect of this is your character will appear to be in a false location on the opponent’s screen. Obviously this can be very useful for duels.
The easiest way to desynch is to use Charge. Simply Charging around in a zigzag pattern will result in desynching. You must stay moving in order to maintain the desynch, however. Standing still will eliminate it.

Vs Assassin:
• Trapsin: Being a melee character means you have to get close to the enemy to land a hit. Any smart Trapsin will use this to her advantage by staying away from you and letting her traps to the work. To get around this, use Charge to desynch and slam into the Assassin. In almost every case, her defense will be very low and you will be able to do some pretty decent damage simply from your Charge. Unfortunately our Attack Rating is low, so we won’t be able to simply charge her to death (unless she is really bad) so after Charge is complete, switch to Smite for some quick death.
• WWSin: These guys are a joke for a Smiter. In most cases, our defense will be so high they won’t be able to hurt us. Simply hold shift when attacking to stand still, and when she Whirlwinds past you, land some blows and she’ll die quickly.

Vs Amazon:
• Javzon: These guys are gonna be tough. They have extremely powerful attacks, and most of the time they hack. Desynch using Charge and try to land the first hit. She shouldn’t take long to kill once you land your first hit. Just make sure you’re the person to attack first, or else you’re done for. Stay on the offensive at all times.
• Bowzon: These guys can either be very easy, or very tough. If you land the first hit, it’s basically an automatic win. If she lands the first hit, it’s basically an automatic loss (unless it’s a really poorly-geared Amazon). The majority of the time, she’ll have Knockback which will be very tough to recover from, unless you’ve geared yourself with high amounts of FHR (which I recommend doing). Stay moving so she can’t get a lock on you, and desynch using Charge. Be careful, though, because a lot of Bowzons can also desynch using FRW charms, so try to get a namelock and Charge in to keep her from desynching.

Vs Barbarian:
• WWBarb: These guys are definitely a challenge. They’ll have lots of defense, and very high attack power. Hold shift to attack when he Whirlwinds towards you, but be ready to Charge of there if need be. Many Barbarians know how to Whirlwind in circles without stopping, so if he catches you in the middle of the circle, you’re done for. Try to attack from the fringes and he’ll die after enough hits. This match can be a toss up. The two opponents are very evenly matched.
• Conc Barb: Like WWBarbs, these can be a toss up. If you land the first hit, it’s almost a sure win. Most Conc Barbs use two-handed weapons, so they can’t block, which means they’ll go down quickly. The few (smart) Conc Barbs who use a shield, however, will be tough. Conc does a heck of a lot of damage, but is very slow. We should be able to survive one hit, but definitely not two. If he hits you, make sure you hit him back before he can recover. Smite is waaaay faster than Concentrate, so landing the first hit should generally equal a win.
• Frenzy Barb: Nothing to worry about here. Frenzy isn’t strong enough to really worry about for a Smiter, and most of the time you’ll have killed him before he can get his speed and damage up anyway. Do the usual: desynch and slam into him, then switch to Smite.

Vs Druid:
• Nado Druid: These guys are extremely hard. Standing inside Hurricane will slow you greatly, and their Tornados are pretty darn quick, and very powerful. Do your best to Charge in and out. Hurricane attacks in pulses, so if you’re not inside the radius for a long enough time, you won’t be hurt by it. The pulse is very quick, however, so make sure not to dawdle.
• Summon Druid: These guys are almost impossible to kill for us poor Smiters. While the Druid himself is a piece of cake, landing a hit is next to impossible. He’ll be completely surrounded by summons, so actually getting to him is very difficult. Do your best to Charge around his minions, and land a hit. You’re fighting an uphill battle with this one.
• Melee Druid: Be very afraid of these guys. Just like Zealers, they dish out tons of damage in an extremely short time. You have one advantage, however, and that is speed. Most melee Druids can attack faster than Smiters, but they definitely can’t move faster. Desynch with Charge and throw some attacks on him. Be sure to Charge out of there quickly, though, or he’ll recover and wail on you. Druids have very nice FHR, so they’ll be able to react quickly. Do not stand around any longer than you have to.

Vs Necromancer:
• Summoner: Similar to Summon Druids, these guys are super hard to hit, making them very difficult to kill. Do your best to avoid the summons and land a hit on the actual opponent. If you can, he’ll go down easily.
• Bone Necro: Next to invincible when fighting a Smiter. Using Bone Wall or Bone Prison, these guys can avoid you with ease, and will launch homing attacks at you. Desynch immediately to avoid this, and slam into him and do not let up even for a millisecond until he is dead. If you give him a second to breathe, he will make you regret it.

Vs Paladin:
• Hammerdin: Always attack from below when fighting a Hammerdin. A Hammerdin’s Hammers will spawn above him, so if you attack from below, you can generally avoid damage. As always, desynch and Charge into him, causing Knockback. Switch to Smite, and rain the blows on him.
• Melee Paladin: These guys are no joke. They can do anything you can do, so beware. This is a pure test of skill. Whoever can maneuver faster will be the winner. Desynch immediately, and try to get a namelock. Switch to Smite when close, and let him have it.
• FoH Paladin: Your high resistances should protect you a bit here, but definitely stay moving. Desynch and let him have it with Charge and Smite. If he lands a hit on you, you’ll be in trouble.
• Auradin: Assuming he isn’t hacking, he’ll be a breeze to kill. Your high res, and absorb gear (one piece only, remember) will tear through his skills, and your Smite will tear through his armor.

Vs Sorceress:
• Melee: No strategy here. Just run on in and let her have it. She’ll be dead before she hits the ground.
• Casting: Stay moving at all times. I repeat: stay moving. If you stop, you’re dead. Your Res will be high, but won’t stand a chance against her high damage. Charge in and out in a weaving pattern, and land a Smite when you get the chance. Don’t stand still very long, however, because she’ll recover and let you have a piece of her mind.

10) Helpful Sites:
Arreat Summit (http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/)
This site is amazing. Nearly everything you could ever want to know is on here.

Diablo2Guide (http://diablo2guide.com/)
Anything that isn’t on Arreat Summit can be found here. Together they are extremely helpful.

PvPWest (http://pvpwest.com/)
An excellent site for viewing break point tables.

German IAS Calculator (http://diablo2.ingame.de/tips/calcs/weaponspeed.php?lang=English)
The easiest way to determine your IAS BPs.

Chippydip’s Skill Planner (http://www.d2items.com/skills.php?class=bar)
An extremely easy way to test your skill trees without having to level a character.

11) Does/Does Not Work With Smite:
NOTE: All of this information is pulled straight from JSP. I have edited it around to make it easier to read, though. If you happen to know of something I forget, don't hesitate to let me know. All of this information is based on 1.11 rules, so if you play previous versions of the game, expect changes.

Gathered info from here. (http://forums.d2jsp.org/index.php?showtopic=3532193)

The Following DOES Work With Smite (not all of it displays, though):
* Bonus damage from Strength (1 str = 1% edmg)
* +Skills
* Crushing Blow (very important for ubers)
* Open Wounds (very important for ubers)
* Curses (Life Tap, Iron Maiden, etc.)
* Hit Blinds Target, Hit Freezes Target
* % Chance to cast
* Prevent Monster Heal (does not work on Prime Evils, Lesser Evils, or Ubers)
* Enhanced damage on anything but the weapon
* +Damage on weapons (Grief, Redeemer, etc.)

The Following DOES NOT Work With Smite:
* Leeching (life steal, mana steal, etc.)
* Deadly Strike / Critical Strike
* Knockback (Smite already includes it by default, though)
* Elemental damage from gear (this does not include +magic damage from items like Azurewrath)
* Elemental damage from auras
* Magic damage from Sanctuary (including Azurewrath)
* Gear/Charms that adds a set amount of damage except for those items which have the Damage +X attribute (e.g. WarTravs will *not* add damage to Smite; neither will 3/20/20 scs; but a Grief will)
* Edmg on the weapon
* Edmg to demons / undead

Epilogue: I look forward to comments and critiques. If I missed anything, be sure to slam me so I never do it again. ;)

NOTE:
Yes, I'm fully aware this shares information (word for word) with my other guides. I do this on purpose, since some features of the game aren't exclusive to only one character. ;)

Ayliffe

01-12-2008, 08:30 AM

Wicked ****ing guide I_D. Got any V/t tips? :)

safetypro

01-12-2008, 01:25 PM

Awesome guide! I had no idea you were so articulate. 10/10*****

Landau14

01-12-2008, 01:56 PM

Read half because I didn't have patience, but I would give it 9/10 for now.
A couple of things:
Tgods is a the choice for you uber smiter. Dungos are good but Tgod has lightning absorb, huge dex and str bonuses and can be used in the future for a zon.
You didn't mentioned Black neither in the rich section nor in the poorman's section. Now that just insulting. Black is an excellent choice for a weapon since its great IAS (on flail) and amazing CB.
You should add Kira's as a helm option. Great resists which are very important against Meph convic.
AP CoH? too much str for my taste. DS is my choice of armor. Allows you to put no points in str.
You shouldn't use torch in a uber smiter build. Sure, it's very helpful, but it's a pain since you can't pick up the torch that you get.
I think you should mention very loudly that reaching the IAS bp with fana and CB is the most important things in ubering.
Fire/Light/Cold res hidden bonus is CRAP. it gets you +0.5 to max res of that res, which is completely nothing. I would say put points in salvation for bigger res which allows you not to consider res in your gear choice and zeal for other PvM. Charge can be an option for the option of going PvP and Vigor as well for getting around town much faster. Other defensive aura can also be considered for PvM.

PS- as far as I know Bone prison, Bone wall and Iron Maiden are BM as well. Is that just me? but I had no idea absorbing items are BM... odd.

Hope you can read my whole post. It's a bit long(:

Sfx_

01-12-2008, 05:27 PM

PS- as far as I know Bone prison, Bone wall and Iron Maiden are BM as well. Is that just me? but I had no idea absorbing items are BM... odd.

Not many People Think cage and wall is Bm , ppl just dont like it but... 100% of the time sorb = Bm :P

Immortal_Daemon

01-12-2008, 06:38 PM

Thanks Landau, I'll add those items in.

I figured I'd forget something in there. There's so many choices, lol.

EDIT: Also, the reason I say to only put one point into Salvation is thus: If you check out the diminishing returns, you'll find that only one hard point is necessary, and the rest of your gear will make it so it gives you the maximum logical amount of resistance.

Wicked ****ing guide I_D. Got any V/t tips? :)

Tossed a couple things up there for you.

Unfortunately I don't mess with hybrids often, so I'd be too afraid of saying the wrong thing about them.

Ayliffe

01-12-2008, 09:46 PM

Thanks Landau, I'll add those items in.

I figured I'd forget something in there. There's so many choices, lol.

EDIT: Also, the reason I say to only put one point into Salvation is thus: If you check out the diminishing returns, you'll find that only one hard point is necessary, and the rest of your gear will make it so it gives you the maximum logical amount of resistance.

Tossed a couple things up there for you.

Unfortunately I don't mess with hybrids often, so I'd be too afraid of saying the wrong thing about them.

Thanks bro. great guide though, look forward to reading the hdin one i just saw.

Landau14

01-13-2008, 03:40 PM

Yeah, but if you get to the point where you actually look for places to put points in, Salv can be an option. Especially since Uber smiter doesn't have that much +skills on him.

Still haven't read all of it, but the Stragety is awesome.

Put a space in the first paragraph in the poorman's gear section between opening and weapon. That's pretty much everything I can add- so that's a pretty darn good guide(:

Belhemel

01-13-2008, 10:20 PM

Not many People Think cage and wall is Bm , ppl just dont like it but... 100% of the time sorb = Bm :P

I gotta disagree here cuz one source of sorb has always been ok when I duel although I don't do it often.

amatuerbeerguy

01-13-2008, 10:24 PM

I have never seen a guide this in dept. Nicely done. I have not did a smiter yet I may try this one.

Immortal_Daemon

01-14-2008, 02:45 AM

I have never seen a guide this in dept. Nicely done. I have not did a smiter yet I may try this one.

I highly recommend checking out Safetypro's treatise thread. It turns out Smiters can do quite a bit of damage that I didn't know about, so that might make you wanna make a Smiter.

Put a space in the first paragraph in the poorman's gear section between opening and weapon. That's pretty much everything I can add- so that's a pretty darn good guide(:

I think I got the place you were talking about.

And thanks. :D

Phoenix13

01-19-2008, 07:16 PM

Awesome guide, but for PvP, wouldn't highlords or maras be better?

Ayliffe

01-19-2008, 07:47 PM

Awesome guide, but for PvP, wouldn't highlords or maras be better?

If you need the 20% ias then highlords is better, in terms of mara's vs. Metalgrid, Maras will end up giving you more life but probably less res and you'll do more damage, where as Metalgrid gives better defense and res. So really, it depends on what you want. I would suggest mara's if you are making some sort of hybrid, but metalgrid otherwise, especially against melee classes; that defense is huge with Holy shield on.

JogaBonito

01-21-2008, 01:01 PM

Good guide again, however against gfg hdins , they > smite.

Omnicide

01-22-2008, 03:03 AM

*cough* Well you've managed to improve your older guide, it seems.

What can I say? Your smiter guide was the reason I DIDN'T make one...which says a lot. It includes a lot of nice little details and links to help them make hybrids out of it, even.

I guess the only thing I can recommend which would help a lot of newer smiter builders is including a section that explains what does/doesn't work with smite...as that seems to cause a LOT of confusing among people, remember? Things like the ED on Fort...or DS from Highlord's...or LL...yeah. That's about all I got on it. ._.;

@Phoenix...Why Highlord's? 1 skill, 20 IAS and 35 res, since DS doesn't work with Smite.

@Joga...My, aren't we unbiased?

Landau14

01-22-2008, 01:51 PM

To reach that IAS bp if you can't do it in any other way. And anyway the other option is Mara's which is much cheaper. Oh, and HL gives nice Light res, which is good against Meph in Uber Tristram.

And I think there should be ANOTHER thread about the stuff that works/doesn't work with smite. Like the one before the reset.

Immortal_Daemon

01-22-2008, 07:09 PM

That's a good idea.

Maybe I'll get together with Omni and see what we can cook up.

EDIT:
Added the info from JSP.

If anybody has anything else, hit me up and I'll throw it in.

Landau14

01-22-2008, 07:46 PM

I think you should mention OW is very important on Ubers and also that Prevent Monster Heal doesn't work on them (as far as I know)

Immortal_Daemon

01-22-2008, 07:56 PM

Got em. :)

Landau14

01-22-2008, 08:08 PM

lol. You're quick (:

Omnicide

01-22-2008, 08:40 PM

Yeah, I think it would make more sense to have it IN the smiter guide.

The less places to look for that info, the better. Plus since we'll be using this guide to tell people where to go for smiters, better it has as much info as possible.

Now I really got nothing else on it. D:

jeromy

02-05-2008, 12:55 AM

so there is no life/mana leech with smite...? I never knew that....?!?!

Immortal_Daemon

02-05-2008, 02:02 AM

so there is no life/mana leech with smite...? I never knew that....?!?!

Well now you know. :p

Life Tap DOES work with Smite, though.

kenji51590

02-22-2008, 12:44 AM

whats good ias for a smiter ? on the german ias calcualtor said i need only 10 ias and im not sure if thats correct

saracen85

02-22-2008, 02:26 AM

whats good ias for a smiter ? on the german ias calcualtor said i need only 10 ias and im not sure if thats correct

it depends on your fanaticism level, weapon type, ias..
but 6 frame smite should be the breakpoint you're looking for.

kenji51590

02-22-2008, 05:51 AM

what is 6 frame? i have griefz with 34 ias and 20 ias from hilghlord : / not alot and my fanat is lvl 29.

saracen85

02-22-2008, 06:32 AM

frames per attack just mean how fast that you attack. 1 second is translated to 25 frames in d2. 6 frames is the fastest smite speed possible = 4.1 attacks per second.

with your setup, you don't need any more ias to reach that breakpoint =)

Valdorin

03-10-2008, 02:03 AM

Very well written guide you have there. Some missing things though. For a PvP smiter why would you need Gore Riders? Waterwalks with 50+ life are the best option really. If you have 50+ life on them they give more +life than Sandstorm treks. The +dexterity really helps with Maxing block and for some other things I'm going to mention. For gloves, use the Immortal King's set piece. Why? Huge +strenght, dexetrity, some resistances and pretty good defence. Rings? Only use Wisp if you're dueling a lightning character (I.E Charged Strike amazon, Lightning sorceress) along wiht Thunder God's Vigor. Sure, it absorbs, but most of the time people are rarely good mannered. If you're dueling anyone else, Ravenfrost and Bal kathos's Weddingband are the way to go. +skills can help when enough are applied, for Fanactism, smite damage, and especially Holy Shield. Your armour choices are nice, but you can use Archon Plate enigma with ease when you get your strenght bonus'. Use Shako for SmitervsSmiter, the Damage reduction and resistances are nothing compred to the mass life bonus. Grief Phase Blade instead of Berserker axe.Easier to hit maximum IAS with smite. In total, here's what my smite uses:

Waterwalks
Enigma AP
Mara's -(The skills and +attributes are nice)
Ravenfrost/Bal Kathos's
Vedungo's
Shako/CoA- for elemental casters.
Grief Phase Blade
Up'd Jah'd HoZ-The CoA's resistances can take care of any non-perfect resistances and damage reduction is fine.
Paladin torch-Only 17/11
Annihilus-16/16/7
Lots of +20 to life small charms. No paladin combats.

Switch: +6 to battle orders Call to arms
Spirit
Put on arach for more +skills for Battle orders
Put on SoJ for reasons similar to Arach.

And that's it! I have 4.6k life, 2.5k smite (Damage isn;t a high priority, if you're over 2k you're ok if you have enough life)
I've never lost a mellee duel, and most casters I can take. Hammerdins pose a problem, but you get a Templar with a FoHstick for those guys.

I also have several +strenght small charms, but otherwise, I have no points into strenght, and only about 15 into dexterity. I have Maximum block too. When, or if you ever die, I suggest re-joining the game, incase anyone jumps or Nks you. Get a good +strenght ring (+15 should suffice) so you can put on gear. It may take some adjusting, but you shouldn;t be helpless with your small charms and ring(s).

saracen85

03-10-2008, 02:25 AM

but goreriders have open wounds.. simple enough reason why it's one of the choices =)

Immortal_Daemon

03-10-2008, 06:30 AM

I highly dissagree with your gear choices Valdorin.

Life is not everything, not by a long shot.

The gear I choose is specifically designed to meet as many breakpoints as possible, whereas you're ditching most of them in favor of life.
Your method might be effective in some situations, but I find my build to be extremely versatile and handy against many different types of enemies.

Valdorin

03-10-2008, 02:44 PM

I see your point. I have tried to take into account however, several breakpoints. I've hit the IAS breakpoint-very important. My Verdungo's offers a good amount of FHR and I have enough +20 to life/5% FHR small charms or grand charms to work with, so I have about 120% FHR. My FBR is relatively good, and I hit the 86% chance with Holy Shield. I don't really need the FCR unless I'm dueling casters which then I use Arachnid Mesh and Spirit.
Almsot every PvP mellee and most casters take more then 6 hits (mellee) or 3 hits to actually kill me with my life. I usually end up killing them. I'll try your build though.
I also forgot, your PvP strategies are actually really good. They've worked for me, and kudos to you for them. The one thing with an Auradin however. They can be really tough if they play it right. I think I may have a link here to show you how an Auradin destroyed a Smiter. The Auradin was all legit too.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cmr56G8k4eY

Phoenix13

04-02-2008, 08:58 PM

Lets say I get 35%ias grief zerker axe, wearing bloodfist and fana giving 37ias. Will I get the breakpoint? And lets say I wear an eth exile vortex, will it be hard to get max block?

Immortal_Daemon

04-03-2008, 09:03 PM

Simply use the helpful links I listed, or in my sig.
Check out the IAS Calculator for your answer.

As for Max block, the Vortex Shield's block rate is fairly decent, so it shouldn't be too hard.

Kakashi Hatake

04-21-2008, 02:44 PM

hmmm i think your crazy with your armor choice...i realize you have it as an option but coh needs to be ur number 1 option...200% dmg to demon, 100% to undead, 65 resist, dr, life leach, replenish life, 2 all skills, and 20 str...for anything melee this armor is a must have...besides that its a fantastic guide

Supersonicman

04-27-2008, 02:20 AM

ye i found it helpfull, great guide.
ive always wanted too roll a smiter but had zero idea how.
i have been inspired.

mephiztophelez

04-28-2008, 03:24 AM

• WWSin: These guys are a joke for a Smiter. In most cases, our defense will be so high they won’t be able to hurt us. Simply hold shift when attacking to stand still, and when she Whirlwinds past you, land some blows and she’ll die quickly.
<snip>
• WWBarb: These guys are definitely a challenge. They’ll have lots of defense, and very high attack power. Hold shift to attack when he Whirlwinds towards you, but be ready to Charge of there if need be. Many Barbarians know how to Whirlwind in circles without stopping, so if he catches you in the middle of the circle, you’re done for. Try to attack from the fringes and he’ll die after enough hits. This match can be a toss up. The two opponents are very evenly matched.

these tactics will get you slaughtered by any ww-user worth their salt. assuming your opponent is incompetent is not the way to win a duel. no ww-user worth a damn EVER whirls towards a smiter, thats just begging for death.

some discussion on the skill of Tele'smiting would be useful. tele-smite is pretty much the only way you'll ever beat any half-decent ww-user ('sin or barb). don't rely on super-high defence to save you, with Angelics, a fools claw and chant from a demon limb, i have yet to meet a smiter i can't hit fairly consistently (this includes those idiot-high 40k defence models).

smiters who lack the skill of tele'smite are what i refer to as: "ezpk" for either my ww'sin or my BvB.

overall, not a bad guide.

theOG22093

05-03-2008, 05:57 AM

saracen85

05-03-2008, 09:34 AM

@og
life leech won't work with smite.

Immortal_Daemon

05-03-2008, 06:30 PM

On PvP:

Sheild: You suggested an Upp'd HoZ over a regular non-upped HoZ, which doesnt offer much to your damage, but requires you to waste more stats points.

Amulet: You suggested Metalgrid over Maras, mainly becuase it gave more resistances. With the rest of the gear, you should allready have max resistances. That leaves a choice of 2+skills or......defense? You decide.

Rings: You decided to go with wisp over BK, I really don't see why. I would keep wisp in stash, and ONLY use it over BK when you need the sorb, which many consider BM btw. Bk will offer 1 skill and some LL, which some people still think is BM.

On Uber Non-Poor Man's Build:
Pretty good, but I would probably go with LW Pb over your specified weapon.

On Poor Man's Build(Uber):
I really don't recommend you make an Uber Smiter without Life-Tap.

Besides the above, wonderful guide, Love It. :D
Congrats.

Shield: Twice the shield damage is pretty good, especially since your other gear will require you to have that much strength anyway.

Amulet: Actually I recommend it mostly because of the HUGE defense boost. It goes a loooooong way.

Rings: One piece of gear per element is not BM, unless you play by very strict rules. If that's the case, go for something else. But the standard rules say that one Wisp is perfectly acceptable.

PVM:
Last Wish is highly overrated, but go for it if you want. I'd rather not have to compensate for the slow speed.

As for the poor-man's guide..... if you read you'll notice that I say a Life Tap wand is basically the only required item.

theOG22093

05-03-2008, 06:34 PM

Upp'ing it won't add much more damage..

Immortal_Daemon

05-04-2008, 08:27 AM

Upp'ing it won't add much more damage..

It doubles the damage on the shield, which is a pretty decent amount in the long run...... especially (again) since you have to use those stat points into strength anyway.

You've already looked at this, but I'll post it anyway...

Herald of Zakarum has +2 Paladin Skills and +2 Paladin Combat Skills, has 50 to all resistances and can be socketted, has a very high block and adds strength and vitality.
Smite Damage = 5891

Herald of Zakarum can be upped to an elite Paladin Shield following the Horadric Cube recipe.
Smite Damage = 6143

300-ish damage increase. That's only with one point into Smite and a Grief, so it can only get better if you max out Smite (which you SHOULD do).

Kakashi Hatake

05-04-2008, 04:17 PM

9) Strategy:

• WWBarb: These guys are definitely a challenge. They’ll have lots of defense, and very high attack power. Hold shift to attack when he Whirlwinds towards you, but be ready to Charge of there if need be. Many Barbarians know how to Whirlwind in circles without stopping, so if he catches you in the middle of the circle, you’re done for. Try to attack from the fringes and he’ll die after enough hits. This match can be a toss up. The two opponents are very evenly matched.

if im not mistakin....doesnt smite ignore defense....and if it doesnt then greif does...doesnt it? and how do you ww in a circle lol

theOG22093

05-04-2008, 09:21 PM

Smite does ITD, and so does Grief, so bad strats there.

Immortal_Daemon

05-05-2008, 01:00 AM

ITD doesn't make their defense null...... it basically just means AR isn't an issue.
They still have a crapload of defense, so damage is hard to come by.

OG, seems like all you want to do is find errors in my guide. I have worked with Smiters for years, and I can confidently say I know how they work, and thus...... this is the guide I came up with. If you disagree with my choices, you're welcome to make your own guide, and see how well it's received.

As for WWing in a circle..... it's not that hard once you learn how to do it.
It's more of a tight triangle, to be specific, but shift+clicking is the way to success. With some practice, anybody can do it.

theOG22093

05-05-2008, 02:50 AM

saracen85

05-05-2008, 03:03 AM

if it's pvp, itd will not work. so, grief's itd is a pointless mod..

as as for a barb than wws in circles, iirc it's a technique whereby you attack in triangles.. that way, mana forbidding, you'll be ww-ing non-stop.

it's a good pvm technique vs mobs and bosses btw.

theOG22093

05-05-2008, 05:18 AM

Immortal_Daemon

05-05-2008, 07:10 PM

IDK whats got you, but I was just simply giving my own opinion. If you can't take that, then don't make a guide in a forum, where everyone can give their opinion.

I can handle it just fine. What I'm trying to point out is that you aren't providing anything constructive.

You say "bad strats" but don't pose an alternative, for example.

For one, you're wrong about the strategies being bad; but even if you were correct, at least provide an alternative.

mephiztophelez

05-06-2008, 01:18 AM

if im not mistakin....doesnt smite ignore defense....and if it doesnt then greif does...doesnt it? and how do you ww in a circle lol
smite ignores a lot of things. defence and blocking being the two most obvious.

the thing about Smite is it always hits. if you're in range, you hit. the only ways to stop smite hitting you are 1: be out of range. 2: D/A/E from a 'zon, 3: weapon block on a dual claw assassin.

They still have a crapload of defense, so damage is hard to come by.
so what? once you've hit them, it's their %DR that makes a difference, not their defence.

As for WWing in a circle..... it's not that hard once you learn how to do it.
tri-whirling, or doing the "dance-of-death" is a key skill every ww-user needs to master.

as any ww-user will learn, very quickly, danceing with a smiter is just begging for death. a ww-user beats a smiter by "Whirl Away". the smiter follows, might get whacked, but when he stops and starts to smite, ww carries you out of range, hopefully getting in a hit or two.

It's more of a tight triangle, to be specific, but shift+clicking is the way to success. With some practice, anybody can do it.
sure, shift-click is how you defeat a silly ww-user, one that kindly whirls straight at you.

it's not going to bring much victory against a ww-user that knows how to fight a smiter. my BvB routinely beats smiters with a mere 15% DR and 5.8k life.

the key to beating ww-users with smite is the art of tele-smiting (and often lots of lifetap). simply shift+smiting isn't how you beat a competent ww'er.

Immortal_Daemon

05-06-2008, 05:32 PM

theOG22093

05-06-2008, 09:34 PM

You misread what I was saying....

I was saying "it's not that hard once you learn how to do it" and "it's shift+clicking with practice" in reference to the triangle/circle WWing....... not smiting.

Anybody can shift+click with Smite. If you can't, then you don't have two hands.

....Unless,you learned to do it with your...FEET! :D
Lets end this on a good note, Nice guide.

mephiztophelez

05-07-2008, 12:17 AM

You misread what I was saying....

I was saying "it's not that hard once you learn how to do it" and "it's shift+clicking with practice" in reference to the triangle/circle WWing....... not smiting.

Anybody can shift+click with Smite. If you can't, then you don't have two hands.

:eek: shift + WW? :eek:
you have ww set to your LMB? i tried that a while ago and it was painful. i'd suggest using ww on your RMB.

you still havn't discussed Tele-Smiting in your guide. it strikes me as a glaring omission.

Immortal_Daemon

05-07-2008, 03:28 AM

I thought everybody used WW on the LMB?

Maybe I'm just weird. O_o

As for tele-smiting, I guess I'll throw that in there in a bit. I've never really used it since I've never had fast enough FCR on a smiter. I'll make mention of it though when I have some time.

Omnicide

05-07-2008, 03:39 AM

*cough uses WW on LMB* ._.;;

Am I not supposed to? D:

mephiztophelez

05-07-2008, 04:22 AM

*cough uses WW on LMB* ._.;;

Am I not supposed to? D:
use it however works for you. i have found it far easier to tri-whirl with it set on RMB, i can also skill-switch mid-whirl if i need to (from WW to Mindblast if a favourite), a BvC can also use it to get an unsummon name-lock mid-whirl.

I thought everybody used WW on the LMB?
you thought wrong.

As for tele-smiting, I guess I'll throw that in there in a bit. I've never really used it since I've never had fast enough FCR on a smiter. I'll make mention of it though when I have some time.
o_O

i suggest you practice it.

fcr isn't really needed, it's nice, but not mandatory. mostly, tele-smite is used from an RMB namelock (eg: aura-locking, you can use Unsummon if you choose), tap tele, switch back to Fanat & shift smite once you land.

it's a very, very handy PvP skill for a smiter to know. and it's the only way for a smiter to consistently beat any half competent ww-user.

saracen85

05-07-2008, 05:47 AM

imo most multi target attacks should be mapped to th rmb... only that darn paladin's the exception =P

wat3rboy1014

05-11-2008, 06:28 AM

Immortal_Daemon

05-12-2008, 02:55 AM

ok i have a couple questions since i know almost nothing about smiters...(all of these questions are in regard to making an uber smiter)

1. would seraph's ammy be a bad choice because all of that damage to demons things doesn't effect smite?

2. is the sword or zerker just there to give support stats?

3. before going into the portal if im using last wish should i go and kill weak monsters to cast fade or anything like that?

o and btw...great guide, very very helpful

1. Seraph's isn't too bad. There are simply better choices out there. If a Seraph's is all you have, don't sweat it.

2. I'm not sure what this question is asking.

3. If you want to cast fade, just stand in some fire for a few seconds. That'll make Fade cast.

wat3rboy1014

05-13-2008, 12:23 AM

1. Seraph's isn't too bad. There are simply better choices out there. If a Seraph's is all you have, don't sweat it.

2. I'm not sure what this question is asking.

3. If you want to cast fade, just stand in some fire for a few seconds. That'll make Fade cast.

what i meant for #2: is the weapon just there for supporting stats? like do you use it to actually kill anything? or just use it for the mods?

Omnicide

05-13-2008, 12:58 AM

It's a smiter...smite doesn't use a weapon's damage (unless it's +integer damage) with smite, and only specific mods work with smite...there should be a thread telling you which mods affect smite. The only reason I can think to have a decent damage one hand weapon is for charge.

Immortal_Daemon

05-13-2008, 03:44 AM

I recommend a weapon that grants +damage (Grief, Redeemer, etc.).

If you can't get one, it doesn't really matter. Speed comes first. I actually used a Wizardspike + Shael as my first weapon. It's mega fast, and gives a TON of resistances, so it's very helpful, even though it dishes out practically no damage.

Kakashi Hatake

06-08-2008, 08:41 PM

why 1 in salvation? i assume it has something to do with the minions in ubers but if you have salvation wheres ur fanat.....answer that and i give a 10/10

mephiztophelez

06-09-2008, 02:22 AM

why 1 in salvation? i assume it has something to do with the minions in ubers but if you have salvation wheres ur fanat.....answer that and i give a 10/10

you can't have both Fanat and Salvation going at the same time (unless you're using a Beast or Faith weapon somewhere obviously).

salvation is a one-point-wonder. toggle it on and you'll get upwards of 100% res-all with just the single point (depending on gear). sure, you lose the damage from Fanat, but your resists are suddenly pretty godly. this can be very useful against Cold Sorks, Lower-Res necs and Conviction users in the PvP arena and can nicely take care of uber Mephs conviction aura in PvM. now, if your a stupid godly pally and can maintain max-res without your salvation under such conditions, bully for you, keep fanat running.

Kakashi Hatake

06-09-2008, 11:10 PM

you can't have both Fanat and Salvation going at the same time (unless you're using a Beast or Faith weapon somewhere obviously).

salvation is a one-point-wonder. toggle it on and you'll get upwards of 100% res-all with just the single point (depending on gear). sure, you lose the damage from Fanat, but your resists are suddenly pretty godly. this can be very useful against Cold Sorks, Lower-Res necs and Conviction users in the PvP arena and can nicely take care of uber Mephs conviction aura in PvM. now, if your a stupid godly pally and can maintain max-res without your salvation under such conditions, bully for you, keep fanat running.

ur statement about not having fanat and salvvation at same time was my point, smite is useless without fanat. plz see my thread in pally guide section

mephiztophelez

06-10-2008, 12:53 AM

smite is useless without fanat.
most definatly not the case, especially in uber-trist. crushing blow does the main damage in there.

i use smite with salvation in pvp on a fairly regular basis. sure, it doesn't hit as hard, but it still does ok damage for something thats auto-hit and can't be blocked.

maxed smite & holy shield, a nice grief and an uped hoz, along with the str to use it (140'ish) is a decent amount of base damage and off-weapon %ed in it's own right.

Kakashi Hatake

06-10-2008, 04:44 AM

yes i have a better grasp on whats going on now ty

Immortal_Daemon

06-10-2008, 05:14 PM

Your question may have already been answered, but I'll expand it a bit.

One point into Salvation allows the rest of your gear to bring it up to a pretty darn good level. It should allow you have maxed-out resistances, or at least close, even when Mephisto is lowering your resistances.

When fighting Mephisto, it is much more intelligent to use Salvation than Fanaticism, since it almost eliminates Mephisto's ability to hurt you. If you use Fanaticism, you'll be dead before you know it.

For the other two ubers, however, Fanaticism is definitely the way to go.

Kakashi Hatake

06-10-2008, 07:39 PM

yes i undeerstand now. my original confusion was i thought u were saying use salvation through the whole ubers but i get what you mean now ty. my smiter is doing pretty good now his resistance isnt perect but if i get the right charms ill be good. id get maras but i dont want to get up my seraphs 45% more dmg top demons

Neill

07-07-2008, 01:22 AM

o.O
Tight build man. Super nice, pretty much flawless XD. Though a Bone necromancer is usually a breeze for a V/T pally because of his nice FoH and Teleport ability. If you have (on switch) a HoTo and a Spirit, youre FCR will be very nice, and you can make him look really dumb. Then again, you're not talking about V/T's, so in the way of a smiter, this is perfect. Publish it if you can along with your other builds XD

theOG22093

07-07-2008, 03:26 AM

most definatly not the case, especially in uber-trist. crushing blow does the main damage in there.

i use smite with salvation in pvp on a fairly regular basis. sure, it doesn't hit as hard, but it still does ok damage for something thats auto-hit and can't be blocked.

maxed smite & holy shield, a nice grief and an uped hoz, along with the str to use it (140'ish) is a decent amount of base damage and off-weapon %ed in it's own right.

Owned by claw block. O_o

mephiztophelez

07-07-2008, 06:16 AM

Owned by claw block. O_o

current score, iirc, is 5-6 my smiter vs your sin. i wouldn't call that "owned". and i'll remind you, my smiter hasn't used any absorb gear at all against you.......

theOG22093

07-07-2008, 10:36 AM

current score, iirc, is 5-6 my smiter vs your sin. i wouldn't call that "owned". and i'll remind you, my smiter hasn't used any absorb gear at all against you.......

I said that because you said smite was unblockable. Not having my sin v your smite anything to do with it. ><
I quit though.

Valanceer

07-10-2008, 04:55 PM

Yea you helped me a lot on figuring out what i need for my smiter and your guide is really really nice and I don't care about the hybrids so still like probably 9.9 for me

Supster

07-13-2008, 12:29 AM

Awesome guide! I had no idea you were so articulate. 10/10*****

I've also thought the OP was illiterate! nice guild!

Upp'ing it won't add much more damage..

lol, are you saying it's not worth it to upgrade hoz if you actually decide to ues it? 142 str is steep? fortitutde smiter?

Dapopos

08-20-2008, 02:31 AM

Nice guide, another pair of gloves you can use though is Dracuals Grasp or whatever it s called, and it has a built in life tap.

Neill

09-27-2008, 05:43 PM

theOG22093

09-27-2008, 10:20 PM

Why Metalgrid? Why Salvation vs. Mephisto and not Fanactism? Mara's +skills and stats actually does help if you haven't noticed. The 2 skills Up smite damage = faster ubering + extra skills into Holy Shield = More block, and all those other things you might need. Just use Silence Phaseblade, +75 resistances, Use Wisp, good resistance Exile, Um'd Guillaums with an Anni and you're set. I even use Enigma with Ubers because my resistances are fine.

1. Metalgrid is a bad choice, yes.
2. Salvation=Light Stack, meph has conviction.
3. Maras is a good choice, agreed.
4. Grief or Last Wish>
5. CoH>

Immortal_Daemon

09-27-2008, 11:03 PM

Why Metalgrid? Why Salvation vs. Mephisto and not Fanactism? Mara's +skills and stats actually does help if you haven't noticed. The 2 skills Up smite damage = faster ubering + extra skills into Holy Shield = More block, and all those other things you might need. Just use Silence Phaseblade, +75 resistances, Use Wisp, good resistance Exile, Um'd Guillaums with an Anni and you're set. I even use Enigma with Ubers because my resistances are fine.

Metalgrid: The defense boost you gain is HUGE compared to the perks of other amulets.

Salvation: Because your resistances will be horrible when fighting Mephisto.

The +skills from a Mara's barely makes a difference in your Smite damage, and your defense argument is void because the Metalgrid adds exponentially more defense than a Mara's does.

theOG22093

09-28-2008, 02:39 PM

Metalgrid: The defense boost you gain is HUGE compared to the perks of other amulets.

Salvation: Because your resistances will be horrible when fighting Mephisto.

The +skills from a Mara's barely makes a difference in your Smite damage, and your defense argument is void because the Metalgrid adds exponentially more defense than a Mara's does.

You aslo get more life from BO, etc etc
I still will always prefer 2Skills/Stats/Resis to Defense/Resis.

Immortal_Daemon

09-28-2008, 10:21 PM

You aslo get more life from BO, etc etc
I still will always prefer 2Skills/Stats/Resis to Defense/Resis.

I do in certain occasions, but not in the one he was referring to.

Agree to disagree, I suppose.

mephiztophelez

09-29-2008, 02:11 AM

theOG22093

09-29-2008, 03:17 AM

Darthruneis

09-29-2008, 12:51 PM

also: defense is almost completely irrelevant in PvM.
Defence determines the monsters' chances to hit you. Higher your defence, lower their chance to hit you.

Immortal_Daemon

09-29-2008, 05:13 PM

lol, metalgrid on a SMITER.... thats funny. like smiters need AR...... sure, use a 'grid if thats the best resis ammy you have, otherwise, there are plenty of better choices.

also: defense is almost completely irrelevant in PvM.

Obviously you haven't tried it.

There's only one attack in the entire game, that I know of, that can one-shot my Smiter.

That attack is Uber Mephisto's melee. With a Metalgrid, that isn't a factor anymore.

theOG22093

09-29-2008, 06:38 PM

Obviously you haven't tried it.

There's only one attack in the entire game, that I know of, that can one-shot my Smiter.

That attack is Uber Mephisto's melee. With a Metalgrid, that isn't a factor anymore.

If you want a defense route, slap on a Exile.

mephiztophelez

09-30-2008, 12:26 AM

Defence determines the monsters' chances to hit you. Higher your defence, lower their chance to hit you.
nah, really? you rekon? gee, i'm so glad your here to tell me these things....
/sarcasm.
once you hit ~10k def+, very little in the game will get past it too often (and 10k aint that hard to hit once holy shield is maxed out)

Obviously you haven't tried it.
don't be a twat.

i have used a 'grid on a smiter/charger. i used it instead of a highlords against Blizzard sorks when i needed that extra resis. the AR was nice for charge, but still not enough to hit high-defence builds (need angelics for that).

but that wasn't a pure smiter, that was a charge/smite hybrid where AR is actually kind of useful. still cost me a TON of damage from the lower Deadly Strike tho.

theOG22093

09-30-2008, 04:51 AM

nah, really? you rekon? gee, i'm so glad your here to tell me these things....
/sarcasm.
once you hit ~10k def+, very little in the game will get past it too often (and 10k aint that hard to hit once holy shield is maxed out)

don't be a twat.

i have used a 'grid on a smiter/charger. i used it instead of a highlords against Blizzard sorks when i needed that extra resis. the AR was nice for charge, but still not enough to hit high-defence builds (need angelics for that).

but that wasn't a pure smiter, that was a charge/smite hybrid where AR is actually kind of useful. still cost me a TON of damage from the lower Deadly Strike tho.

etc etc scrub

Kakashi Hatake

09-30-2008, 05:50 PM

Metalgrid: The defense boost you gain is HUGE compared to the perks of other amulets.

Salvation: Because your resistances will be horrible when fighting Mephisto.

The +skills from a Mara's barely makes a difference in your Smite damage, and your defense argument is void because the Metalgrid adds exponentially more defense than a Mara's does.

vouch this

and the ar comes in handy if you decide to be a pvp smiter. rare to see a good pvp smiter that doesnt charge at you atleast occasionally. the 2 skills lost are only significant with bo.......but 2 skills = what? 50 life max?

Immortal_Daemon

09-30-2008, 10:05 PM

If you want a defense route, slap on a Exile.

I did slap on an Exile...

If you honestly just recommended that for PvP, then I'm gonna have to just ignore everything you say from now on. http://diablo2.com/forum/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

theOG22093

10-01-2008, 03:23 AM

I did slap on an Exile...

If you honestly just recommended that for PvP, then I'm gonna have to just ignore everything you say from now on. http://diablo2.com/forum/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

I was under the impression we were talking about Pvm this whole time...
Ya I hope you don't use metal grids on your pk smiters..

safetypro

10-02-2008, 09:39 PM

Just popped in say hello boys.:)
How's things?

Daemon, this guy really needs your help and some of the other advice is a little off base:
http://www.diablo2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5941
I started a response but I just don't have the energy anymore....LOL

Feel free to drop by Diii.net and say Hi anytime. I'm either hanging out on the USE Tradeboard, The Druid Forum or the Paladin Forum.

®@þþ3¬

10-20-2008, 07:07 PM

Does Exile really add more damage than upped HoZ?

Riddleboxx

10-26-2008, 07:48 AM

lol, metalgrid on a SMITER.... thats funny. like smiters need AR...... sure, use a 'grid if thats the best resis ammy you have, otherwise, there are plenty of better choices.

also: defense is almost completely irrelevant in PvM.

You're missing the picture here, lol.

If you "change" it. You "change" the build.

The only thing lacking from this godly smiter was what? Resists.

You get that with the 35 res metalgrid.......Skill pts don't mean much so in comparison to Maras Metalgrid is better. Why?

300 + Defense. Add that to the multiplier.

Does Exile really add more damage than upped HoZ?

Up'd Eth Hoz does more consistent damage.

Exile does more top end damage but doesn't strike as consistently.

Immortal_Daemon

10-26-2008, 08:27 AM

You're missing the picture here, lol.

If you "change" it. You "change" the build.

The only thing lacking from this godly smiter was what? Resists.

You get that with the 35 res metalgrid.......Skill pts don't mean much so in comparison to Maras Metalgrid is better. Why?

300 + Defense. Add that to the multiplier.

Finally somebody else understands!

The defense = massive awesome!

The ~35 res is simply icing on the cake.

Riddleboxx

10-26-2008, 11:45 AM

Finally somebody else understands!

The defense = massive awesome!

The ~35 res is simply icing on the cake.

This smiter, with the PvP setup, flat out does not die unless Maidened.

halone

11-10-2008, 03:38 PM

Riddleboxx

11-11-2008, 09:22 AM

awesome guide but one thing is bad the pvp with smiter is a bit weird.. lol a sumning druid? how should that be hard? also tele/smite should be note in as for wwsin.. those are ****ing hard if they build good they will make traps plus ww away from u really.. they are a hard time for a smiter..

Summon druids are difficult because you have to break through their army while being frozen by a hurricane and being shot with tornados.

It's one of the worst PvP matchups in the game.

Erikoperiko

03-14-2009, 10:35 PM

Immortal_Daemon

03-16-2009, 12:46 AM

I'm thinking of starting a smiter in SP. How should I build this. I don't have the runes for a CoH. Maybe, if I'm lucky with some of the next hf's, I'll be able to afford a Grief, but that's just a maybe.

So, does anyone have some ideas about the gear?

I offer up some pretty cheap solutions in the guide.

I'd go with whatever res-based + IAS gear you can get. It should be effective enough to get the job done.

Keep in mind, you'll have a tough time in SP. Smite is hard to use for crowd-control.

Erikoperiko

03-16-2009, 04:46 PM

ok thanks.

I like having a bit of a challenge, so I'll try it out!

saracen85

03-18-2009, 06:21 AM

^^check out dii.net's single player forum..
there's one guy who patted his character using smite alongside freeze monsters gear. the mod allows monsters to freeze instead of being knocked back thus making it a viable SP skill. as for crowd control, there's always zeal to fall back on..

buffacumber

03-18-2009, 08:40 AM

Immortal_Daemon

03-20-2009, 12:18 AM

I want to str glitch plz help!

15/15 anni+torch
enigma dusk shroud
2x ber coa
eth exile vortex shield
gore riders
bloodfists
2x ravens
maras ammy ( or metal grid)
grief phaseblade

what should my starting stats be so that my character will look naked? (not counting the torch/anni)
(also should i go grief zerk to lower the dex req?)

Thank you!

Your stats can be whatever you like them to be.
Strength-glitching is simply using a Strength/Dex charm to wear your gear.

Just keep your stats low enough so that you cannot wear gear without the aid of a charm(s).

Be careful though, you might not be able to pick everything up after dying if you use this method.

dainbramage

03-20-2009, 07:58 AM

good luck glitching an enigma.

Erikoperiko

03-20-2009, 05:05 PM

I'm building a smiter right now on SP. What kind of merc would you recommend? Would a might aura stack with a fanatism? Or would holy freeze be helpfull, or maybe a defiance?? (Currently I have my first act one roque)

5150 Crux

03-21-2009, 10:50 PM

Hello i got a question wouldnt getting rid of both bks and maras give u alot less skill points decreasing smite damage? if it seems like i dont know wat i am talking about its probably true just try being civil. and i got a question for Immortal if i follow ur guide wat will my smiter damage be?

Immortal_Daemon

03-22-2009, 01:12 AM

Merc: It doesn't *really* matter, but I prefer stuff with cold damage. It slows your enemies which makes crowd-control a lot easier.

As for Smite damage, it could vary quite a bit depending on what gear you use.
If you follow the guide closely, though, I can pretty much promise you won't have any trouble causing damage.

Erikoperiko

03-22-2009, 07:16 PM

Immortal_Daemon

03-22-2009, 10:10 PM

again, a question, I got to lvl 61 and are ready to use a heaven's light.

Should I socket it with a Shael??? (if I calculated it correctly, I would reach the 8 frame bp).
I have lvl 26 fanatism and there is already 20% IAS on the heaven's light.

Can someone varify my calculations?

I use this site (also found in my sig) to figure out IAS stuff: http://diablo3.ingame.de/tips/calcs/weaponspeed.php?lang=english

Fanaticism level 26 + Heaven's Light (with 20ias built in) you have a 9-frame attack.
Based on the calculator, even with a Shael rune, you'll still only be at a 9-frame attack.

You need at least 45% IAS to reach an 8-frame attack with that weapon.
I would recommend finding some IAS gloves. They're very common.

Erikoperiko

03-22-2009, 11:22 PM

ok thanks

is there any way of seeing the difference when playing? Or do I just have to trust the calculator?

Immortal_Daemon

03-23-2009, 08:19 PM

ok thanks

is there any way of seeing the difference when playing? Or do I just have to trust the calculator?

It depends on your computer, actually.

While in game, type "/fps" to view your frames per second. As long as you're above 25fps, you can see the difference.

Hold shift, then attack (to attack while standing still) and you'll be able to see the difference.

A slow smiter has a very "swingy" attack. It's noticeably a shield smash.
A really fast smiter attacks so fast that it almost looks like a shield stab instead.

It's pretty cool to watch, actually. I recommend just trying it out to see the difference. Equip gear one piece at a time, and watch your smite get faster. http://diablo2.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

wanws

04-03-2009, 12:40 PM

I need some help and criticism on a build i thought of.
Since i refered mostly to your guild for makin my first smiter (which i scred up as i did not entirely follow your build), i thought u, or someone can help.

im also a "noob", in the sense that i don't really understand the 'breakpoint' thing much, only a bit.

Here goes:

Helm: Kiras (undecided in what to soc it with. perhaps an um for resist)

Ammy: Metalgrid (as Immortal_Daemon suggested)

Armor: Fort (preferably as high a def as i can find, maybe an ED AP, still searching though)

Wpn: LW pb (high CB)

shld: Eth Exile, about 1600+ def (i currently have a 65 ED one i think, no resistance however. hence the kiras)

Belt: T-gods (for light absorb)

rings: ??? (undecided. having kiras dosent require me to have raven for CBF. was thinking of wisp for more light absorb. i did fine an ok 10 to all resist ring plus a few more bonuses though, to cover for lack of resist)

glove: Steelrends (for strength, CB as well as ED.)

boots: ??? (since i already have about 75% CB thanks to LW and rends, i
dont think i'll be using gores. any suggestions are welcome)

Charms: A 20/13/10 Anni and any resist charms i can get my hands on.

Abviously, im going for the highest damage while trying not to compromise resist, CB, etc.

with this build, i should have about... 330% to 360% ED (depends on rends % stats), 168-203 resists to all (excluding charms other than anni), +80-85 strength (rends strength bonus varies), 75% CB and about +40 to dex.

since i screwed up my first smiter (btw i came back to d2 after a 4 year break), i think i'll remake it... since i never really planned for it ("wasted" stats etc)

keep in mind that im not a rich guy, and i dont really care for "perfection", such as 20/20/10 annis, perf torch, perf this, perf that etc. So no advise is too harsh for me to take, i suppose.

currently, this build of mine (i dont know it is a standard build or not, or someone else already named this build as his. if it is, then i suppose its not mine) is still in its preliminary stages and i havent planned for the stats yet. i plan on planning the stats after confirming the items im gonna use.

Thanks for any advise you can offer me!

Immortal_Daemon

04-03-2009, 04:50 PM

That build should do you just fine.

The only recommendation I would make would be to try to use a different weapon. It depends on your shield and level, of course, but you could potentially be wasting a LOT of points into Dexterity.

If your shield requires a lot of Dex to maximize your block rate, there's nothing wrong. But if you have a high-block shield, you'll just be wasting points to use your weapon, and those could go to your health if you used something else.

Sir Hector

04-03-2009, 06:28 PM

Great guide! However,I think some points in Meditation and some in Smite,and you've got yourself a Smiter!

wanws

04-04-2009, 05:49 AM

SexdUp

04-04-2009, 02:02 PM

This smiter, with the PvP setup, flat out does not die unless Maidened.

Oh gawd LOL

Immortal_Daemon

04-04-2009, 08:48 PM

different weapon as in use a zerker?
or use a different runeword?
if you talk aboit breakpoints, i doubt my attack speed will be as fast as if i change to a zerker (correct me if im wrong, but pb base attack speed is faster than zerk?)

anyway, since im using t gods and i have a 20/xx/xx anni, i already have +40 dex. (i think?)
if i just put 110 to 120 dex, i should be able to use a pb even if i decide to change my belt or go hunt for an anni. plus i have some dex charms.. bad thing would be the char would be less flexible with changeing the items build.

and the exile is on a vortex. not sure about the requirements right now though.

It doesn't have to be a berzerker axe, it could be anything.

I just don't really like Phase Blades that much, because the dexterity requirement is so friggin high.

You're right, though, the Phase Blade is quite a bit faster than most weapons.

It's up to you, really. Test the waters and see what you like.

PureChaos

04-05-2009, 05:06 AM

Well, if he does decide to max block, then his Dex will already be pretty close to the requ for the PB. So if he has a Torch, and possibly an Anni, he will probably be at, or very close to what he needs to use it. The extra few points if he isn't is probably worth it for the faster attack speed.

And I'd stick with that rune word considering the rest of your set-up, as it has the high % CB, not to mention the Life Tap since you aren't using Drac's. The 6% chance for fade is also useful if you don't have another item for it.

wanws

04-05-2009, 01:03 PM

And I'd stick with that rune word considering the rest of your set-up, as it has the high % CB, not to mention the Life Tap since you aren't using Drac's. The 6% chance for fade is also useful if you don't have another item for it.

i use LW precisely because of the CB, as you pointed out. i didnt see much point in having dracs as i already have chance to cast lifetap on exile.

and i use a PB for faster attack speed because i wont be socketing any item with +IAS stuff. i definately have to soc it with an 'um' coz of my low resists.

perhaps i'll use hero edit to try out my build first, before i really make the char.

and perhaps i'll change my helm. so any suggestions for a high resist helm or any helm i can soc with um?

PureChaos

04-06-2009, 01:28 AM

Uhh... Crown of Ages is a really good one, although its also extremely expensive depending on the stats. Cheapest would probably 8 or so hrs.
Stats:

Defense: 349-399 (Base Defense: 111-165)
Required Level: 82
Required Strength: 174
+50% Enhanced Defense
+100-150 Defense (varies)
+1 To All Skills
Damage Reduced By 10-15% (varies)
All Resistances +20-30 (varies)
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
Socketed (1-2) (varies)
Indestructible

If you can't afford one of those, Rock-Stopper would probably work. And it would be considerably cheaper.
Stats:

Defense: 163-201 (varies)(Base Defense: 52-62)
Required Level: 31
Required Strength: 43
Durability: 18
+160-220% Enhanced Defense (varies)
Damage Reduced By 10%
30% Faster Hit Recovery
Cold Resist +20-40% (varies)
Fire Resist +20-50% (varies)
Lightning Resist +20-40% (varies)
+15 To Vitality

As you can see, they are pretty similar, but the CoA is definitely better, but more expensive. Your choice depending on your budget, or what you need in a Helm. You can use your Socket quest on the Rock-stopper, and put in an Um if you want more resists. (Rock stopper is missing in Poison Res.) Or a Ber for 8% more Physical Damage reduction.

One thing the Rock-stopper has that the Crown of Ages doesn't is a low strength requirement, which is pretty nice, because as a Smiter, most to all of your points need to be into Dexterity/and or Vitality. So unless you have enough strength from your other items, you'd need to use some to get to your CoA.

Hope this helps.

wanws

04-07-2009, 09:31 AM

PureChaos, thx for ur suggestions.

i was thinking about COA actually, but yea, its pretty expensive. and the strength requirement kills you. but i can afford it if i really wanted to. i'll probably try to find a 2 soc one, resists dont really matter, as i'll probably put 2 ums or something. DR... i'll just see what i can get.

Sinise

06-13-2009, 12:46 AM

First of all. Very nice guide, in fact it is so good that it inspired me to create a smiter character specialized in doing Uber-tristrams and of course follows the guidelines which you have posted.

I just have one question regarding the equipment of the Uber-tristram build.

If I may, quote this part:

Gear:
• Recommended Weapon: Silence Phase Blade
• Alternatives: Grief, Last Wish, Astreon’s Ward, The Redeemer, Horizon’s Tornado, Stormlash, Black
• Why I Choose This: Excellent speed and a LOT of Res. This weapon is fantastic for maintaining good Res when fighting Uber Mephisto.

Well. I'm desperately searching for someone who can offer me a Silence Phase Blade but after two weeks of searching I have given up. I wonder, since I did found a 6x Socketed Crystal Sword, if it is OK for me to make a Silence runeword out of that Crystal Sword instead of the Phase Blade?

I mean, the only thing I seem to be loosing then is some damage or does stuff like IAS matter too on the weapons? And the damage loss, is it huge or just a matter of say 100-200 smite damage?

Also, is the weapon Azurewrath a good choice for Uber Smiters? It adds some magic damage and gives you a sanctuary aura.

Omnicide

06-13-2009, 04:57 PM

Yes, you'll need the IAS that a PB offers and the added little bit of indestructibility so you're not worrying about repairs.

Azurewrath's magic damage and Santuary won't work because elemental and magic damage don't add onto smite damage. Read the section in the paladin archive for more on that.

DeMoN.

06-23-2009, 05:58 PM

Hey

How can you get 75 max block with the EQ on this Guide and not put any stats at Dex ?
( This is the PvP Build )

I got this eq now :

Helm =
Amu = Mara’s 30
Armor = Enigma Ap Perf
Wep = Grief Berserker Axe 40/390
Shield = Upped Herald of Zakarum + Ber perf upped
Belt = Verdungo’s Hearty Cord
Ring's = Raven + Bk 5
Boots =
Gloves = Bloodfist's perf upped
Torch = 20/17
Anni = 20/20/8
+ Full maxed Holy Shield

All this = 46 Max Block

Omnicide

06-23-2009, 09:58 PM

If you read it, he said to put enough dex to get max block. He never mentioned having no dex added for it.

DeMoN.

06-25-2009, 10:48 PM

If you read it, he said to put enough dex to get max block. He never mentioned having no dex added for it.

He wrote this too :

Wtih Zakarum shield he means.
Not only that, but the block rate is so high on this particular shield that you may not need to put any points into Dexterity to max your block rate (75%)

Omnicide

06-26-2009, 01:48 AM

May not=/=will not.

zonhunter21

08-17-2009, 10:49 PM

Making smiter following this guide. Thanks.