How the engine works
Blessed Shield with the Shield of Retribution upgrade becomes a Juggernaut skill. It flies straight and does not come back, pulsing 70% of your Thorns damage for 3 seconds before it bursts. So your damage is your Thorns, and the rest of the bar builds it: Clash with Punishment, and Defiance Aura with Rite of Thorns. Fortress then multiplies everything by 4% for each stack of Resolve you hold. The throw has short reach, so in practice you stand close, throw three shields, press something else, and repeat.
Who it's for
Players who want one build from a fresh 70 to the top end without waiting on a drop. It is good in all content, clears packs well and kills bosses well. You pay for that by standing still at close range while you deal damage.
- Rating
- A to B-Tier
- Difficulty
- Moderate — close range
- Key stat
- Thorns
- Must have
- Nothing — works without uniques
The bar
Four skills at rank 15 and two small ones. At the start, Rally sits where Fortress is, and you swap it out once your Faith holds up. There is no Key Passive here.
Rank 15 with Shield of Retribution, Damage Bonus (75% of your shield's block chance as damage) and Cast Speed. Your only attack. Throw it from close range.
Press — three at a timeRank 4 with Punishment, Resolve and Crusader's March Effectiveness. It starts Punishment for Thorns, gives Resolve and up to 38% block, and it arms Ward of the White Dove.
Press — every packRank 15 with Resolve Damage Bonus (4% more damage for each Resolve), Free Cast and Rampart of Thorns (500% of Thorns each second). Your burst window for elite packs and bosses.
ElitesRank 15 with Potency, Rite of Thorns and Maximum Life. Armour, resistances and Thorns. Press the active when you are stunned.
Press — when stunnedRank 15 with Extra Passive Stack, Rite of Vengeance and Resource Generation. Attack speed and crit, and the active Weakens nearby enemies.
Press — on cooldownRank 2. Fortify and a heal, on a build that needs both.
Press — on cooldownPassives
There is no Key Passive here. There are two ways to run the last slot. Holy Light Aura gives healing and Fortify. Condemn at rank 4 with Gather the Guilty pulls enemies together and makes them Vulnerable. Take Holy Light Aura, because survivability is this build's weak point, and move to Condemn once you stop dying. A second option is to leave Blessed Shield at rank 1 and put those points into Clash at rank 15, since the damage comes from Thorns. Rank 15 Blessed Shield is the recommended version.
Oath
Take the Juggernaut oath. The Shield of Retribution upgrade turns Blessed Shield into a Juggernaut skill, which is what lets the Juggernaut aspects apply to it: Chastisement for more damage against bosses and crowd-controlled enemies, and Juggernaut's Covenant for more damage when you consume Resolve. Resolve is the second half of the build. You stack it, Fortress multiplies your damage by it, and Lapa's Scripture turns the Resolve you lose into Thorns.
| Pick | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Juggernaut oath | Blessed Shield becomes a Juggernaut skill through its Shield of Retribution upgrade, so Juggernaut aspects boost it. |
| Resolve | Fortress gives 4% more damage for each stack, and Glynn's Anvil gives 3 to 4% damage reduction for each. Dominance and Clash keep it full. |
| Thorns | The shield pulses 70% of your Thorns. Clash's Punishment, Defiance Aura's Rite of Thorns, Spiked Armor and Lapa's Scripture all raise it. |
What to wear
A one-handed weapon and a shield, all legendary to start with. One unique shield changes the rotation, and the rest are upgrades you add as they come.
Uniques
| Item | What it does | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Ward of the White Dove | Shield. Blessed Shield deals more damage, and casting any other skill makes your next 3 Blessed Shields double that bonus and cost 7 less Faith. This is what creates the three-shields-then-something-else rhythm. First choice to upgrade in the Cube. | Core |
| Enigma | Chest runeword. It gives you a teleport, which fixes the build's lack of mobility. | Recommended Crafted |
| Tibault's Will | Pants. Add it alongside Enigma once Ward of the White Dove is in. | Recommended |
| Mantle of the Grey | Chest. More damage and larger skills. Wear it in place of Enigma for bossing. | Variant |
| Blood-Mad Idol | Amulet. You are always Berserking and take 200% more damage as Burning, in return for 80 to 100% more damage while Burning. Second in the Cube upgrade order, and risky on a build that already struggles to survive. | Optional |
| Leoric's Crown | Helm. It counts as jewellery, so it takes Soul Splinters and boosts them. Socket Black Soulstone and Pain in it. | Recommended |
| Ring of Starless Skies | Ring. Spending Faith lowers your skill costs and raises your damage, stacking 5 times. | Mythic |
Before they drop
Nothing is missing before the uniques drop. The all-legendary starter is a complete build: Bulwark's Aspect, Spiked Armor, Chastisement, Redirected Force, Glynn's Anvil, Dominance, Juggernaut's Covenant and Lapa's Scripture, with Umbral for Faith. Run Rally in Fortress's slot until Faith stops being a problem, and use the runewords Cir + Ceh and Cem + Gar. In early Torment, look for Maximum Life, Life on Hit and Life regeneration before anything else.
Legendary aspects
| Aspect | What it does for you |
|---|---|
| Lapa's Scripture | Losing Resolve grants Thorns, up to 20 stacks. Your main Thorns multiplier. |
| Juggernaut's Covenant | Consuming Resolve gives 60 to 100% more damage. |
| Aspect of Chastisement | Juggernaut skills deal 55 to 75% more damage to bosses and crowd-controlled enemies. A large part of why the build kills bosses well. |
| Aspect of Dominance | Crowd-controlling enemies grants Resolve. With the wolves from the Ceh rune it caps your Resolve almost instantly. |
| Spiked Armor | Armour, Thorns and +15% block chance in one aspect. |
| Glynn's Anvil | +2 maximum Resolve and 3 to 4% damage reduction for each stack. More Resolve is also more Fortress damage. |
| Aspect of Redirected Force | Critical strike damage based on your block chance, doubled for 10 seconds after you block. |
| Bulwark's Aspect | You can no longer Dodge, in return for 20 to 30% damage reduction while blocking and +15% block chance. Aspect of Interdiction on boots is a further block option. |
You stand still to deal damage
The shield has short reach and you are rooted while you throw it, with low survivability underneath. Build Life, Life on Hit and Life regeneration first in early Torment, keep Defiance Aura for stuns, and do not swap Holy Light Aura out until you have stopped dying.
Stats, gems and paragon
Roll and masterwork toward these, in this order.
| # | Stat | Where you roll it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thorns | Wherever it can roll |
| 2 | Strength | Every slot |
| 3 | Maximum Life | Wherever it can roll. Add Life on Hit and Life regeneration in early Torment |
| 4 | Maximum Resolve stacks | Tempers on helm, chest and pants |
| 5 | Defiance Aura Potency | Temper on gloves |
| 6 | Critical Strike Chance | Tempers on weapon and shield. Do not go past 100% |
| 7 | Cooldown Reduction | Tempers |
| 8 | Resource Generation (your Faith) | Rings. Temper Resource Cost Reduction or Lucky Hit: Chance to Restore Primary Resource there |
Hard targets
There is no hard breakpoint for this build. Follow the order above. Two things to watch: do not overcap critical strike chance, and stack block, because Blessed Shield's Damage Bonus turns your shield's block chance into damage. Block comes from Clash (up to 38%), the Castle board (9%), the Beacon board (11%), the Shield Bearer board, Bulwark's Aspect (15%) and Interdiction.
Tempering & masterworking
Temper Maximum Resolve stacks on helm, chest and pants, Defiance Aura Potency on gloves, Critical Strike Chance on weapon and shield, Cooldown Reduction where you can, and Resource Cost Reduction or Lucky Hit: Chance to Restore Primary Resource on rings. Masterwork in the same order as the stat list above.
Gems, runewords & Splinters
- Gems: Skull in the weapon.
- Runewords: Cir + Ceh and Cem + Gar to start. The wolves from Ceh crowd-control enemies, and with Aspect of Dominance that fills your Resolve almost at once. For the finished build, Igni + Lac and Tam + Gar.
- Soul Splinters: Black Soulstone and Pain in Leoric's Crown, then Anguish, Sin and Mother in your jewellery. Without the crown, Black Soulstone, Pain and Anguish.
- Talisman: Cathan's Righteous Will charms. Once you own the Seal of the Diamond Mind, add Cathan's Iron Conviction pieces as well for Rite of Might, 55% Aura Potency, 30% damage reduction and Rite of Prayer healing.
Paragon
Five boards in this order: Start with the Revenge glyph, Relentless with Spirit, Castle with Sentinel, Shield Bearer with Outmatch, and Beacon with Chip. Level glyphs in the order Revenge, Spirit, Outmatch, Sentinel, Chip, then Honed. Early on, take each glyph only as far as its minimum requirements rather than maxing one, and spread the levels.
| Glyph | Where and why |
|---|---|
| Revenge | Start board. Level it first. |
| Spirit | Relentless board. |
| Sentinel | Castle board. |
| Outmatch | Shield Bearer board. Third in the levelling order. |
| Chip | Beacon board. |
Mercenary
Hire Raheir and set Aldkin as reinforcement with Field of Languish.
From fresh 70 to finished
You won't have the gear on day one. This is the order it comes together in.
Bar: Defiance Aura, Rally, Clash, Holy Light Aura, Fanaticism Aura and Blessed Shield. Fit the starter aspects, above all Lapa's Scripture, Dominance and Juggernaut's Covenant, with the runewords Cir + Ceh and Cem + Gar. Build Life first.
As your gear fills in and Faith stops running dry, replace Rally with Fortress and start using it on every elite pack and boss.
The rotation changes to three shields, then any other skill to re-arm the bonus. Evade counts, so you never have to waste a cooldown.
Enigma's teleport fixes your mobility. Add Tibault's Will and Leoric's Crown with Black Soulstone and Pain. Keep Mantle of the Grey in your bag for bosses.
Upgrade in the Cube in this order: Ward of the White Dove, Blood-Mad Idol, Leoric's Crown, Ring of Starless Skies, then Tibault's Will. For Pit and Tower pushing, move to the Seal of the Diamond Mind with Iron Conviction charms, and the runewords Igni + Lac and Tam + Gar.
The rotation
It starts Punishment for Thorns, builds Resolve and arms Ward of the White Dove.
Throw from close range. With the Ward, these three have double bonus damage and cost 7 less Faith.
Cast any other skill, then throw three more. Evade counts if nothing else is ready.
Fanaticism Aura for Weaken, Holy Light Aura for Fortify and the heal, Defiance Aura when you are crowd-controlled.
Drop it on elite packs and bosses with your Resolve full, and fight inside it.
On bosses
This is a strong boss build. Arrive with full Resolve, put Fortress down for the 4% per stack and Rampart of Thorns, and keep the Clash then three shields rhythm going. Chastisement gives its full bonus against bosses. Swap Enigma for Mantle of the Grey for the fight.
Strengths, weaknesses, mistakes
What it's good at
- A complete build with no uniques, so it is the best Paladin starter at 70.
- Strong at every stage, from early Torment to Pit pushing.
- Great area damage and a genuine boss killer.
- Defensive stats double as damage: block, Resolve and Thorns all feed the shield.
Where it struggles
- Short range. The shield keeps you in melee distance.
- Low survivability for a shield build.
- You cannot move while you deal damage.
- Slow around the map until you have Enigma.
Mistakes that ruin it
- Throwing from too far away. The shield flies straight, does not return and has short reach. Stand close so the pulses land.
- Holding Blessed Shield forever with the Ward on. Only the next 3 shields after another skill get the doubled bonus. Count three, press something, repeat.
- Letting Resolve sit low. Fortress multiplies damage per stack and Glynn's Anvil reduces damage per stack. Use Clash, Dominance and the Ceh wolves to keep it full.
- Overcapping critical strike chance. Anything past 100% is wasted. Put it into Thorns, Life or Resolve instead.
- Dropping Holy Light Aura too early. Condemn is more damage, but this build's problem is staying alive.
Not for you? The other Paladin builds: Evade Hammerdin · Auradin.