Diablo II: Fanatic Zealot Skill Layout

A Fanatic Zealot is a Paladin that utilizes the Zeal attack and Fanatic aura to enhance his physical attack. This build deals purely physical damage to monsters and as such needs a backup skill, such as Vengeance, or specialized equipment, such as Reapers Toll, in order to deal with the physically immune monsters of Hell. The skill setup is as follows:

Might - 1
Sacrifice - 1
Smite - 1
Holy Bolt - 1

At level six this character is utilizing the Might aura in order to amplify his damage. For the low level monsters encountered at this point this is quite adequate to keep progress moving at a decent pace. As Might isn't a synergy for the endgame skills only a single point is placed here.

Blessed Aim - 1
Zeal - 1
Charge - 1

Now at level twelve Zeal becomes available as the character's main attacking skill. This allows multiple monsters to be targeted at the same time, as well as increasing the damage of each attack. Still only a single point Might aura is utilized so progress will most likely slow down a bit at this point as skill points are used mostly on prerequisites so far.

Zeal - 7
Blessed Hammer - 1
Concentration - 1

At level eighteen the character trades in a single point Might aura for a single point Concentration aura. The damage dealt is not increased significantly, but the chance of having the zeal cycle interrupted is reduced dramatically. Along with this the Zeal skill is pumped which adds to the damage done as well as the number of targets that can be hit per cycle. As such the character's progress should increase again to acceptable levels.

Zeal - 13
Holy Shield - 1

At level twenty-four the character is able to utilize the Holy shield skill. As the length of time it will remain is low and mana cost high this skill will only be used in extreme circumstances at this point, such as against Act bosses. Zeal is also increased as the character's level increases, allowing progress to remain smooth.

Zeal - 20
Fanaticism - 2

At level thirty Fanaticism becomes available and replaces Concentration as the aura of choice. At level thirty-one Zeal is maxed as well. With Fanaticism the character's attack becomes faster and additional damage modifiers are added to his attack, helping him deal with the increased Hit Points of the monsters in the later acts.

Fanaticism - 20

At level forty-nine Fanaticism is maxed and the character has received the bulk of the enhanced damage modifiers possible. As such his damage is significant and will allow him to deal with virtually any monster pack encountered.

Holy Shield - 10
Vengeance - 1
Sacrifice - 20

At level seventy-one Holy Shield has been increased to allow it's use in normal questing. Now its charge will last for a few minutes at a time and as such can be used in all circumstances rather than only against act bosses. As such the survival of the character is increased exponentially with the better block rate and multiplied defense rating that Holy shield provides. Vengeance is also given a single point as the answer to physical immune monsters. Preferably the character will have an equipment answer to PIs, but if any unbreakable ones are encountered he will have a way to deal with them with Vengeance. Along with this Sacrifice, a synergy for Zeal, is maxed and as a result increased the damage dealt by the character significantly.

Holy Shield - 20

At level seventy-nine Holy Shield is maxed to allow the highest possible bonus to blocking percentage. This allows the character to have what is basically 75% resistance to physical attacks with a blocking percentage of the same value. Depending on equipment worn this could also push the character's defense rating past the ten thousand mark, which is the magic value when monsters begin to have difficulties successfully attacking the character. That coupled with the max block rating allows the character able to tank even the most dangerous monster packs. From this point onward the character can place points into Defiance as a synergy for Holy Shield. This will increase the defense rating of the character that much more and increase his survivability.

Final Skill Distribution:

Zeal - 20
Sacrifice - 20
Fanaticism - 20
Holy Shield - 20
Vengeance - 1
Defiance - rest