Diablo II: Avenger Skill Layout

An Avenger is a Paladin that uses the Vengeance skill to deal large amounts of elemental damage to his foes. The skill setup is as follows:

Might - 1
Sacrifice - 1
Smite - 1
Holy Fire - 1
Thorns - 1

At level six the character is utilizing the Holy Fire aura for added damage to all attacks. Starting gear is still in use and will be for some time, but monsters are not causing any dangerous situations.

Holy Bolt - 1
Zeal - 1
Charge - 1

At level twelve Zeal becomes available and gives added damage to all attacks, as well as the ability to hit multiple targets. However it does utilize mana and since mana leech is virtual impossible to find this early in the game the normal attack is still used often as well.

Vengeance - 1
Blessed Hammer - 1
Holy Freeze - 1
Resist Lightning - 7

At level 18 Vengeance, our main attacking skill, becomes available. However it is too mana intensive to use, and without the Conviction aura not as viable as the alternative. Therefore Holy Freeze is utilized to deal extra damage as well as slow down all monsters within melee range to give the character added defensive support.

Resist Lightning - 10
Holy Shield - 1
Resist Fire - 2
Sanctuary - 1

At level twenty-four Holy Shield becomes available. While it does help on the defensive end, it is far too mana intensive to utilize, especially with such a short duration period. Besides which with Holy Freeze active, blocking is not so important in Normal difficulty. We are pumping the synergies of Vengeance in preparation for Conviction becoming available. As a result progress will be slow due to using a single point Holy Freeze aura to deal all of our damage.

Holy Shield - 5
Resist Fire - 3
Conviction - 1

At level thirty we are ready to move to Vengeance as our main attacking skill, now that Conviction is available. The synergies will be pumped to increase its damage but also to keep mana usage as low as possible for as long as possible, since mana leech items are still rare. Holy Shield has been increased enough to make using it viable, if deemed necessary.

Conviction - 20
Resist Fire - 6

We immediately maximize Conviction as soon as possible. Here one must know what end equipment they will be using and how many +skills it gives. Since Conviction is maxed out at level 25 we do not want to add more skill points to it than absolutely necessary.

Resist Fire - 10
Resist Cold - 10
Holy Shield - 7

At level sixty-four all of the synergies are raises as far as necessary if you are planning on wearing as an armor Guardian Angel. Any more hard points will only increase the damage of Vengeance but not give any additional points to the maximum resistance of elemental damage. Since it is more skill point effective to raise Vengeance at this point that is what we plan on doing next. However if Guardian Angel is not going to be worn then here is where a decision must be made. Either go with Vengeance or stay on a more mana saving path and continue to pump the synergies. I choose to max Vengeance.

Vengeance - 20

At level seventy-nine all needed skills are maxed and damage output is as high as possible. From here the extra skill points can be used as deemed necessary. Vigor and Redemption can be gained as utility skills, Holy Shield could be increased for the additional defense and blocking or the Vengeance synergies can be raised for additional damage. All routes are useful, so the final determination is based on what the character will accomplish once he has solved the game.

Final Skill distribution:

Conviction - 20
Vengeance - 20
Resist Lightning - 10
Resist Cold - 10
Resist Fire - 10
Holy Shield - 7