How to Skill & Stat your Blessed Hammer Paladin + which Items you should pick
The Hammerdin is probably the most popular Paladin build in Diablo 2 Resurrected. He focuses on the skill Blessed Hammer and its synergies in order to deal massive amounts of damage. This extreme damage potential is the reason for the build’s popularity as well-equipped Hammerdins can deal about 20,000 per hammer.
Enigma Runeword is a must-have for this build because it provides the teleport ability. The Hammerdin’s play style includes teleporting close to large groups of monsters and then attacking with multiple Hammers.
Note that this is also the most expensive build to reach his maximum potential because too many players are searching for the same items, for example Enigma, which is one of the most expensive runewords in D2R (you’ll need to find both Jah and Ber runes to build)
The Hammerdin invests 20 points in his following primary skills:
This is the build’s main attack. At higher levels, it has the potential of dealing tremendous amounts of damage in both PvP fights and PvE.
You need to max out this skill only because it provides synergy to Blessed Hammer (14% magic damage per level)
You’re not going to use this skill but the synergy (14% magic damage per level) it provides to Blessed Hammer is too strong to be ignored.
It’s a great defensive skill because it offers you a lot of sustainability. It’s a good skill for every Paladin build. However, some alternate versions of the build spend only 1 point in Holy Shield and max out Fire or Lightning resist instead.
This will be your main Aura as it increases your damage. Also, it reduces the chance of being interrupted during an attack.
You can play many variations, but the following items are a popular pick for your hammerdin equipment:
Enigma Runeword in a Dusk Shroud, Archon Plate or Mage Plate for the low strength requirement.
Amulet with Faster Cast Rate, +Paladin Skills and + All Resistances.
If your goal is to build a hammerdin that can output 125% FCR, have a look at these suggestions:
Spirit Rune Word with 35% faster cast rate, (made in an elite paladin shield with a bonus to all resistances).
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If you want to focus on maximizing the damage that your hammerdin can output, you might be interested in the following modifications to the gear mentioned:
Strength: Spend points in this attribute until you can equip your endgame gear.
Dexterity: Invest enough points to reach max block. Note that Holy Shield boosts your block chance, but it cannot exceed 75%. Thus, calculate the points you need to invest considering the Holy Shield’s bonus.
Vitality: Invest all your points left in your Life pool.
Energy: Don’t waste any points for your mana. Your late game equipment will help you overcome your mana issues.
A Hammerdin is performing very well in Magic Find runs due to his high damage output. He’s powerful for both solo and party Magic Find runs, across all difficulties of the game.
Recommended items to use for MF runs:
The ideal partner of a Hammerdin is an offensive Act 2 (Nightmare) hireling. Its Might Aura will increase your damage output even more.
An alternative option is the defensive version of the Act 2 hireling. It allows for a more defensive setup as its Holy Freeze Aura slows your enemies.