Deadly Strike Zealot
Deadly strike zealots don’t have the insane damage of the Raw Damage variant. Instead they depend on Deadly Strike to enhance their damage. Deadly Strike effectively doubles the damage that they originally deal, and if you hit the Deadly Strike cap of 95%, you will be hitting double damage almost every time (unless of course you are incredibly unlucky).
Skills
Well-Rounded:
Zeal – 20
Fanaticism – 20
Holy Shield – 20
Sacrifice – 20
Defiance – 20
Vicious Turtle:
Zeal – 20
Fanaticism – 20
Holy Shield – 20
Defiance – 20
Blessed Aim – 20
Weapons
Death Cleaver (Ladder Only) – The ultimate Deadly Striker weapon. With 66% DS, -33% Target Defense, IAS, and incredible damage, this weapon is reason enough to play ladder. Try and get one of these if at all possible.
Razor’s Edge – This is the Death Cleaver’s little brother. It’s not quite as menacing, but it has most of the same stats. It also has Open Wounds to supplement its damage, assuming you get close enough to hit. Cheap and effective.
Rune Master (Ladder Only) - The Rune Master allows for a staggering amount of DS, with the option of either Lo runes or a combination of Lo and ED/IAS jewels. A Rune Master with Deadly Strike will hit even higher damage than a Death Cleaver, but will require a lot of extra IAS.
Headstriker – This sword can max out your chance of DS on its own. Watch out though, because it requires lots of IAS. If you’re on ladder, upgrade it.
Cruel Weapons – Since 1.10 these weapons have all been incredibly cheap. Try and get a LoLoEth version and you will still be doing 40% DS.
Fury – Another weapon that has become “obsolete” since 1.10. It still has incredible mods and is cheaper than ever.
Hand of Justice – A last resort. This runeword is too expensive for a deadly strike build, and it is also a gray area in Temple rules. Steer clear of this if at all possible.
Jewelry
Highlord’s Wrath/Raven Frosts – With this build you need the Deadly Strike from this amulet, and in the case of the Headstriker, you need the IAS.
Angelic Amulet/Ring(s) - If your Deadly Strike is sufficiently high, the only thing left to do is hit your opponent more often.
Charms
Deadly Strikers are always low on Attack Rating. Consider using Steel Charms of Vita if at all possible. Otherwise use Sharp/Fine charms.
Special Notes
You will usually be using Gore Riders on this build. Some of these weapons do max out your DS without these boots. If this is the case, try the Hsarus’ combination. Also consider using a Guillaume’s/Magnus’ combination with this build.
Open Wounds Zealot
This is probably the most economic of zealot builds. It doesn’t rely on overt damage. Instead you stick your opponents and let ‘em bleed. Try to get the 95% cap for OW damage.
Skills
Well-Rounded:
Zeal – 20
Fanaticism – 20
Holy Shield – 20
Sacrifice – 20
Defiance – 20
Vicious Turtle:
Zeal – 20
Fanaticism – 20
Holy Shield – 20
Defiance – 20
Blessed Aim – 20
Weapons
Fury – This “outdated” weapon is the ultimate Bleeder weapon. It has 66% OW and other great mods. It even has deadly strike so you can hit them hard while they sit there and bleed. Cheap and effective. What more could you ask for in a weapon?
Razor’s Edge – In addition to its considerable DS, it also has a 50% chance of OW. Still a great choice.
Rune Master (Ladder Only) - Making yet another return to this guide, the Rune Master can be socketed with any number of Um runes to attain high percentages of Open Wounds.
Kingslayer – Another runeword that gives tons of OW. It’s no Fury, but it might be easier to make.
Fleshripper – An incredible weapon that has great mods and doesn’t require much IAS. Unfortunately, it maxes out at 5 frames per second. It also slows your opponent, so many would consider it bad manners.
Bloodmoon (Ladder Only) – A last resort. Take anything else if at all possible.
Jewelry
Highlord’s Wrath/Raven Frosts – Bleeders do better with a little bit of Deadly Strike to supplement their OW damage. Use this if possible. Otherwise try Angelics.
Charms
Always keep at least 300 poison damage in your inventory to supplement your OW damage. The rest should be Steels or Sharps/Fines.
Special Notes
Blood Belt – It adds 5-10% Chance of Open Wounds. Consider using it if you aren’t at the cap.
Elemental Zealot
With 1.10, many people thought this build was finished. However, SoFine-Finest and RaTeD-X both managed to make incredible elemental-based builds. Because Sacrifice only works on physical damage, it should be forgone for this particular build.
Skills
Vicious Turtle:
Zeal - 20
Fanaticism - 20
Holy Shield - 20
Defiance - 20
Blessed Aim – 20
Weapons
Famine – Almost as expensive as BotD, this is the best possible Elemental weapon. It has great elemental damage mods, along with considerable damage. Put it in either a War Spike or a Berserker Axe. Otherwise it is far too slow.
Nord’s Tenderizer – A new weapon with great zealot mods. It adds tons of cold damage, and gives a massive AR boost. It’s also incredibly easy to find.
Stormlash – While it has very nice elemental damage, its true beauty shines when you see the lightning damage hit or a Tornado casts. Very handy for this variant.
Gimmershred – Don’t let these tiny axes fool you. They deal more elemental damage than almost any other weapon. Definitely worth considering.
Baranar’s Star – An old favorite. While it is no longer one of the best weapons out there, it’s incredibly easy to find. It is also very fast. Ethereal versions are great.
Demon Limb – Certainly not your first choice if you have the option. It will self repair though, making an ethereal version worth using.
Jewelry
Angelic Amulet/Ring(s) – The attack rating is definitely needed for this build, and Deadly Strike won’t help your weapons too much. A good choice.
Charms
Get elemental damage charms with the highest damage you can manage. Aim for Flaming/Hibernal/Shocking Small Charms of Vita if you can manage it. Throw in some poison damage too if you want.
Special Notes
Some people like to mix elemental damage with physical. This is not a bad idea. You may consider getting a little bit of Deadly Strike on the side from Highlord’s and Gore Riders if you can spare the AR. In general though, aim for AR over physical damage if you can swing it though.
Zealot Dialogues (FAQs)
Questioner: How much faster hit recovery should I aim for?
Stoutwood: Consider this: A zealot gets hit on average 3-6 times per duel. He will not need to recover often. What is a good middle ground that is easy to achieve without sacrificing gear?
Questioner: Ah, so I should aim for 48% or 86%! How much IAS do I need to hit the maximum frame rate with >insert weapon name here<?
Stoutwood: The max frame rate is 4 frames per second. All weapons need different amounts of IAS to hit the max frame rate. There are various weapon speed calculators online. Look for one on
www.Google.com.
Questioner: Ok, I’ll do that and quit asking you incessant frame rate questions when I could just look up the information myself! So anyway, why isn’t Chains of Honor described more in-depth on here? It looks like its teh r0x0r.
Stoutwood: Look at the stats and realize that this is a PvP guide.
Questioner: Ah, I see. It not only has crappy defense, but 90% of the stats are aimed at PvM. I’m glad that I didn’t fall into the newb trap and waste a rune on it only to get a royal smackdown by people who actually read your guide. So how do I beat Diablo in Hell?
Stoutwood: This is a PvP guide.
Questioner: Oh I’m sorry; obviously I forgot that this kind of information should be looked up on PvM guides.
Stoutwood: Yes, you’re right.
Questioner: I do 10K damage! How come I don't kill everyone in 1 hit?
Stoutwood: You have a minimum damage too. Remember your calculus classes.
Questioner: I see, if I take the limit as number of hits go to infinity, the outlaying values of max and min become the least likely to hit while the average damage hits the most! Apparently I should pay more attention to my average damage instead of always expecting my max to hit as if I was a simpleton who knows nothing about math!
Stoutwood: Good. Also keep in mind that there is a 1/6 PvP penalty, and that your opponent has Damage Reduction.
Questioner: Exile has Life Tap and a Defiance aura! What could possibly make you think it sucks?
Stoutwood: This observation made by Mortic:
"Eth Templar/HoZ/Angelics
22.5k ar
35k def (no prebuff)
Chance to hit Eth templar/Exile = 33%
Eth Templar/Exile/Angelics:
20k ar
45k def (no prebuff)
Chance to hit Eth templar/Hoz = 36%
As you can see there is no real bonus from the defense and defiance of Exile. From experience exile will win if life tap is casted when the exile user still has over 50% life left. Otherwise, other shield user has the advantage of higher damage."
Questioner: I seem to be so flooded with popular misconceptions that I cannot distinguish them from the truth! So why are you entitled to write this guide?
Stoutwood: I didn’t write this guide alone. I had the help of many skilled zealots, all listed in the Special Thanks section. I just called the rights to this guide since I spent so many months as one of the only zealots in Temple.
Questioner: Ah, I see. So basically I should just read this guide and all my questions will be answered?
Stoutwood: Yes.
Special Thanks
SoFine_Finest
ReVoLuTiOn_MxR
Keebler_GoDs
RaTeD_X
pimp_templar
ExiD
TheDrunk_EoTD
InUyAsHa_MxR
Garbad_the_Weak
Mortic
Shaq-Fu