Unholy Melee Paladin [105-125 content in TU's]

not relevant skip to bottom post 1/31/2020 edit

Lemures and Bloodthorns deals with most bosses in Median relatively well (120-125 ubers). End game zones like Labyrinth however, is a way different story. You cannot really do much to improve your damage output on Rift bosses and Phoboss or Unstable Anomaly (you will literally deal no damage expect long 5-10 minute kills) however Labyrinth mobs can be killed at a mediocre pace (not fast, not slow I guess). This makes UHM a slow Rifter in terms of dps but one of the best tanky supports for rifting with a partner. The key to tanking as UHM lies within Grim Presence, Sanguine Covenant and as much Uninterruptible Attack as possible.

Of course there are other methods to tank up such as investing in block (Eviscerator) and whatnot but doing that lowers your damage output which is totally fine if your partner can dps.

Morph has also tested rifts as Bloodthorns UHM and the damage output against Rift Bosses is really unforgiving and slow (10 minute kills per Phoboss/Anom no joke). I don't remember what his %ar was considering UHM lacks the ability to naturally obtain +%AR but even with ideal amounts of AR we're still looking at close to 10 min kills.

Johnny Impak wrote:Any input would be appreciated, currently lvl 24. Lol

Gz on reading through, I'd say most useful information mentioned during these 25 pages is 100% Chance of Uninterruptable Attack. It really helps a lot. About gearing I can only share my limited experience with mid-game. Set with TU4 boots and crafted gloves, mostly socketed with ohm/pruby, has me at 25k life and 7,5k blood thorns damage. By going full quiet craft with focus on vitality, I managed to get 33k hp and 4k blood thorns, so I'd say set is quite decent for mid game. Spent only 60-70 shrines though, might try to roll better gear later.

Grim Presence adds damage to Divine Apparition, Vessel of Justice and Symphony of Destruction, so it might be worth to consider maxing it for some bosses or farming. Divine Apparition does cold dmg to whole screen which weakens and freezes big groups of enemies quite nicely and SoD can deal huge single target damage.

But in general you seem to have understood it all really well.

Johnny Impak wrote:
► Show Spoiler
I decided to try this paladin because spending hours farming for trapsin gear is boring.

Did read the guide and the whole comment section (My motivation deserves mad props here) and I see little to no agreement on how to properly skill/gear him. Some say that set and expensive SU’s are better, while someone seems to prove that vitality crafts are superior.

Skillwise, I can straight up say that I think 1 posession is a mistake. Other than that I have the following conclusion on the skillplan for a Bloodthorn build.

Grim Presence -1: Does not bring anything special to bloodthorn itself.

Lemures -1: Not a lemures build.

Posession -16: Reaching max evade is essential late game, when stuff actually hurt like a truck. This also clears the FHR breakpoint to leave space for more useful stuff.

Bloodthorne: Max until end of early game, 1 point after lvl 105. Early on the damage of 20 points in the skill makes a difference, later on it just adds mana consumption for a small boost in damage. Skill points can be better invested.

Sanguine Covenant: I would max this. I’d rather overheal than actually lacking survivability. Maxing this would mainly benefit in teganze, toraja and labyrinth.
Better safe than sorry I say.

Tainted blood: Max, only source of defense increment. Life regen is also nice.

Stormlord: I’d say around 15. Enough base to raise stats at higher skill levels. Some say 1, others say max here. I’m in the middle.

Rapture: 15 again. Enough to have significant boost and duration.

Hoplites: 1. For tough situations.

Superbeast: 1. Soft points will do the rest.

Blessed Life: Enough to reach 50% physical dr.

So basically this is how I will start. Any input would be appreciated, currently lvl 24. Lol

You are correct with your assessment of Possession, 16 points is mandatory for late game.
As for which melee attack you use (cold or fire), 1 point. The damage increase per hard point is barely significant once you have many +skills. All you do is cause yourself mana issues by maxing it.
I say max stormlord and leftovers in sanguine covenant. The more max HP/regen you have, the less life on attack matters. With max stormlord and a few charms, you can literally dump 100% of your stat points in vit and still wear the heaviest gear.

[edit] I didn't mention points in rapture, which is basically determined by other gear...
Need more speed, more points in rapture, it's not rocket surgery.

In this thread people keep talking to (or about?) someone called Khamul but I can't see any posts by him...

Where can I find some info on Khamul's paladin build? (I tried search)

Also - some posts seems to be saying that Sanguine Covenant gives uninterruptible attack but I don't see it on the skill tooltip? Is it just because you get 200% FHR?

Captcha wrote:In this thread people keep talking to (or about?) someone called Khamul but I can't see any posts by him...

Where can I find some info on Khamul's paladin build? (I tried search)

Also - some posts seems to be saying that Sanguine Covenant gives uninterruptible attack but I don't see it on the skill tooltip? Is it just because you get 200% FHR?

i name changed thats my old forum name. the post is somehwjhere around page 19

Ah I get it now, thanks.

Your post on p19, is that just for Lemures or would you build a fire-based UHM the same way?
I think it was written after the DA nerf so I guess it's still viable to use Lemures and DA within a cold build. I try to get "Spell damage" over fire or cold damage when I can so that I can use either Lemures or the fire one.

I'm also planning to try vit crafts and see how that works out.

PS If anyone can explain Uninterruptible Attack that would be good.

hello all is this build viable as a starter?

Unholy Melee Paladin is currently one of the meta builds so yes

Captcha wrote:Ah I get it now, thanks.

Your post on p19, is that just for Lemures or would you build a fire-based UHM the same way?
I think it was written after the DA nerf so I guess it's still viable to use Lemures and DA within a cold build. I try to get "Spell damage" over fire or cold damage when I can so that I can use either Lemures or the fire one.

I'm also planning to try vit crafts and see how that works out.

PS If anyone can explain Uninterruptible Attack that would be good.

I actually haven't properly tested the fire variant of UHM (i have now so feel free to ask 1/31/2020) but I believe the Radiance setup is fine. The focus of the build is to get more damage out of Bloodthorns, so maxing it is essential unlike my Lemures setup which relies on procs/Divine Apparition for most of its damage. Fire/Bloodthorns is superior to cold/Lemures UHM because it has a lot more skills and items tailored towards it like a Fire-based Vessel of Justice,

Mark of the Que-Hegan

Mark of the Que-Hegan
Targe (Sacred)
Defense: (4742 - 5541) to (5247 - 6097)
Chance to Block: 2%
(Paladin Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 437
Item Level: 120
+4 to Paladin Skill Levels
-(20 to 30)% to Enemy Fire Resistance
+20 to Ranged Blood Thorns
+20% to Summoned Minion Resistances
+(150 to 200)% Enhanced Defense
+(750 to 1000) Defense
+(75 to 225) Life Regenerated per Second
Maximum Fire Resist +2%
5% Reanimate as: Random Monster
Socketed (4)

which has Ranged Bloodthorns for certain ubers albeit gigantic manacost,

Adjudicator

Adjudicator
Goedendag (Sacred)
One-Hand Damage: 53 to 54
(Paladin Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 574
Item Level: 120
Strength Damage Bonus: (0.14 per Strength)%
Holy: Holy Fire Deals 4.5% of Strength as More Total Damage (max 250%)
Unholy: Blood Thorns: +40% Damage Multiplier
Nephalem: +25% Total Vessel Damage Bonus from Passives
+1 to Paladin Skill Levels
Adds 175-325 Fire Damage
Adds 1-600 Lightning Damage
Adds 200-250 Cold Damage
+800 Poison Damage over 1 seconds
-(15 to 25)% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
Socketed (3)

for more Bloodthorns damage, better procs (Cataclysm, Flamestrike) etc... There's just a lot more going for fire.

forget radiance setup seriously follow the post below instead 1/31/2020 edit

If you can't do the Radiance setup for obvious reasons, you could craft everything similar to Lemures guide with emphasis on %fire spell damage and %vitality. Paladin helms spawn up to +5 Paladin skills and can spawn Spellbind proc which is very very very strong utility. Paladin Shields also have up to +5 Paladin skills and can roll Bear Stance. Gloves and Belts roll up to +2 paladin skills with a few useful procs on both, but not as good as Spellbind on helm. Body can roll +2 all skills, 10-15% all attributes, high energy factor and 50% magic find. Boots are trash no matter how hard you try to craft a good pair (Use Wake of Destruction TU at all stages of the game). I would just use Honorifics and MO with UMO's if I got my hands on a few good ones. If you don't have any UMOs, boots with high +energy factory, 30-40% movespeed and %fire spell are the best you can do. All these crafts are done by Quiet (+%vit) or Fascinating (+%fire spell) and Eerie (+EF) for boots/body. (no longer relevant since honorific nerf just use Wake of Destruction).

Uninterruptible attack or UA is exactly as it implies - attacks cannot be interrupted so it's like a get out of jail free card. With 100% UA you can ignore every attack that puts you in Faster Hit Recovery mode as long as you are attacking something and if you're attacking something you'll be leeching forever in situations where you would normally get stuck in FHR mode and mowed down by mobs. Well not exactly accurate but it more-less explains it I think

edit: i should've mentioned that manacost becomes gigantic and didn't mention that %AR is necessary for bosses. Jewels are the best way to circumvent this issue. If you plan to challenge labs its different i cba in this post.

Elendilli wrote:cut

I'm using the build described below. This thing can clear T14 in around 30 minutes, but to be fair, Phobos kills me in 3-4 seconds (don't know a strat, working on it).

My character has level 140 with ~32k hp, 88-90 maxres, 290-310 res (for T14+ with it's -100 pierce penalty), 12k blood thorns damage on character page.

It's the fast moving & slow killing immortal badass (you can afk on T10 lab in a pack of few Erinies) - thanks to regen 4k hp/sec.

Talents:
1st window:
Vessel of retribution - 1
Rapture - all the rest points when others skills learned
Solstice and equinox - 1

2nd window:
Posession - 16
Sanguine covenant - supermax
Tainted blood - supermax
Stormlord - supermax
Everything near - 1

3rd window:
Superbeast - 1
Divine apparition - 1p
Blessed life - to 50% DR cap or supermax

Gear:
Weapon:

Dux Infernum

Dux Infernum
War Axe (Sacred)
One-Hand Damage: (115 - 128) to (140 - 156)
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 581
Item Level: 120
Strength Damage Bonus: (0.11 per Strength)%
Level 8 Hellfire Aura
-18% to Enemy Elemental Resistances
Maximum Fire Resist +5%
7.3 Yard Radius
+(4 to 5) to All Skills
Adds 500-1000 Fire Damage
0.5% to Fire Spell Damage (Based on Character Level)
+(150 to 180)% Enhanced Damage
+200% to Summoned Minion Life
Maximum Cold Resist -2%
+200 Life on Melee Attack
Socketed (6)

- Jinnies REALLY can tank, it's good / fire damage
Shield:

Orationis Tenebris

Orationis Tenebris
Rondache (Sacred)
Defense: (3669 - 4503) to (4048 - 4968)
Chance to Block: 2%
(Paladin Only)
Required Level: 100
Required Dexterity: 440
Item Level: 105
Sanguine Covenant Regenerates 2% of Maximum Life per Second
+(2 to 3) to Paladin Skill Levels
40% Hit Recovery
+(25 to 50)% to Fire Spell Damage
+(25 to 50)% to Cold Spell Damage
+(120 to 170)% Enhanced Defense
Cannot Be Frozen
Socketed (4)

- your way to immortality
Rings:

Empyrean Glory

Empyrean Glory
Ring
Required Level: 50
Item Level: 120
1% Chance to cast level 40 Singularity on Kill
(6 to 10)% to All Attributes
Maximum Life +5%
Maximum Mana +15%
15% Gold Find

x2 - all stats / hit points
Amulet:

Klaatu Barada Nikto

Klaatu Barada Nikto
Amulet
Required Level: 110
Item Level: 105
30% Enhanced Damage vs. Necrobots
10% Chance to cast level 40 Nova Bomb on Melee Attack
+2 to All Skills
25% Attack Speed
Adds 1-188 Lightning Damage
+650 Poison Damage over 2 seconds
Stun Attack
+(11 to 16) to Hive
Lightning Resist +(40 to 50)%
Poison Resist +(40 to 50)%

- Hive oSkill / Necrobot killer / Resistances
Belt:

Doomcloud Spine

Doomcloud Spine
Plated Belt (Sacred)
Defense: 4089 to 4479
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 675
Item Level: 120
Adds 100-150 Lightning Damage
+25% to Lightning Spell Damage
-15% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
+200% Enhanced Defense
+50 to Vitality
15% to Vitality
Maximum Lightning Resist +2%
+5 Lightning Absorb
Socketed (2)

Henchmen Trophies
(Legendary Set)

Boots:

Fangskin Scales

Fangskin Scales
Greaves (Sacred)
Defense: 2481 to 2799
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 650
Item Level: 120
(10 to 40)% Movement Speed
Adds 6-8 Poison Damage over 1 seconds
+25% to Poison Spell Damage
-15% to Enemy Poison Resistance
+200% Enhanced Defense
+50 to Energy
15% to Energy
Maximum Poison Resist +2%
Socketed (4)

Henchmen Trophies
(Legendary Set)

Gloves:

Stareye's Claws

Stareye's Claws
Gauntlets (Sacred)
Defense: 1674 to 1959
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 625
Item Level: 120
Adds 100-150 Cold Damage
+25% to Cold Spell Damage
-15% to Enemy Cold Resistance
+200% Enhanced Defense
+50 to Dexterity
15% to Dexterity
Maximum Cold Resist +2%
+5 Cold Absorb
Socketed (4)

Henchmen Trophies
(Legendary Set)

Helm:

Blackskull's Horns

Blackskull's Horns
Crown (Sacred)
Defense: 4437 to 4914
Required Level: 100
Required Strength: 675
Item Level: 120
Adds 100-150 Fire Damage
+25% to Fire Spell Damage
-15% to Enemy Fire Resistance
+200% Enhanced Defense
+50 to Strength
15% to Strength
Maximum Fire Resist +2%
+5 Fire Absorb
Socketed (4)

Henchmen Trophies
(Legendary Set)

Body: Natasha RW with +5 max res

Sockets:
Weapon: 1 indestructible then x5 Ohm runes
Body: x6 Xis rune for RW
The rest: max res if needed (p-gems or

Zann Esu's Stone

Zann Esu's Stone
Jewel
Required Level: 100
Item Level: 115
Can be Inserted into Socketed Items
5% Cast Speed
+3% to Spell Damage
Maximum [Random Elemental] Resist +1%

) then Ohm runes

MO:
Weapon: Attack rating x5 then fire damage the rest
The rest: fire damage then flat vitality
Jewelry: fire damage then damage reduction then something else
Some mana on attack somewhere

A lot of upgrade possibilities here, but character builded this way can burn T12 almost brainlessly (it can tank ALL ATTACKS of Unstable anomaly!!!) and has some semi-hard times on T15.
Remember: it's not for damage but for immortality and lazy killing.

Edit: killing just one Ghabard or Anomaly in around 8-10 minutes - it's normal. We've come for lazy journey.

Farm build is A LOT differents: the glasscanon with 200% movespeed, godly dps and nullified survivability, but it's another story.