Using the /players8 difficulty since Normal Act IV. Make shael eth in two socket shield. Not only good place, but a good place and youll get some free runes while doing so, which can be used for upgrading Spirit/Rhyme or a weapon upgrade. PS: the amount of times you encounter things that freeze you becomes more when getting in higher difficulties and if you dont have a high cold resist (high difficulty is penalty to resistance) the duration is even longer. Diablo Normal cant drop HoZ Softcore Paladin lvl 47, just started NM. Not so much, to Act 5.

skills is much more important for caster builds which get a lot higher damage from + skills. Spirit is mostly for casters. Does Diablo keep those odds for HoZ in all difficulties, Regonox? With the diamonds, it ends up with something like +67 resist all, which is pretty nice. I have had all 4 runes for a while now, and I read around that I could already farm for a really good, 4-socketable non-magic shield.

Ill try to max that out on both, so between that and the runewords Ill get boosts high enough that I probably wont ever replace those items. Just keep a few of all the runes you find and check whether a new option for an armor/helm/weapon opens up, might get a bonus for those while doing Countess. Best choice will be really Rhyme tho Shael+ Eth because he will need cannot be frozen. But desired, speciallt to boost the skills that will remain low level. Since youre using Zeal, enhanced damage on the shield is useless so only look for all resist shields.

Any of the exceptional paladin shields will make a decent base for runewords if you can find a good roll of all resist. If youre not trying to get the faster cast rate mod from the Spirit or cannot be frozen from Rhyme, virtually any magic and rare paladin shield you find can roll with all resist, + skills, and other useful mods. It doesnt matter for your build. And then you can start being more picky and only picking up rares, etc. Best stats personally think defensive isnt the important part. That remains unanswered.

bonus to block very nice as well. True, but chances of that dropping are very very slim, while a Spirit or Rhyme shield should never be a real problem to get. And all my items (except shield) are rares or uniques with nice bonuses Id rather not give up to boost res by changing them. http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/exceptional/paladinshields.shtml. After that it becomes 1 in 20k or more, act 3 monster (non-bosses) have little chance of dropping it Unique 1 in 85k, Champion 1 in 217k and normal 1 in 4.110k. It looks like you got your shield sorted out, but another suggestion Id make is to get a Mosers Blessed Circle, and put 2 perfect diamonds in it. They also mentioned Baal-summoned Radament in NM. But its magical (self-repair), so I cannot runeword it. Is it hard to get? 108 def, +dam and +AR. Maybe Ill run into a better option in the future, and give this whole idea another try. Since the +2 to all skills from the runeword, would boost dam and AR indirectly anyway. Akaran Targe and onwards all have decent defense and have increasing block % until you get to the Elite shields. Actually, Ill also need plenty of rubies to make a perfect one. Better then spirit and obtainable in nightmare, Forgot that even existed. Is that true? So, I Googled and found these areas mentioned in RankedBoost: Great Marsh, Flayer Jungle, Arachnid Lair, Spider Cavern. On player 8 with no mf. Btw keep in mind that if you run, your block is zero. Focus on those levels of Act 3? Max +res on non-magic shields I could expect while on NM, is +45. Because, if so, Id go farm for it in Normal. But both have different socket needs so whatever is found first will help finding the second. The -40 handicap to res from NM looks like its gonna start giving me trouble soon, as all my res are currently in the 0-45 range.

Holy Shield enhances your full defense, not just the shield, 100 defense shield and 600 defense armor is the same as 350 defense of both. Its a great mid-game choice for a shield; youll eventually want to replace it, but its good.

But, right now, that +res is quite handy.

Andy Hell (quest bugged, which she always is in D2r) 1 in 1619 Does any grind-able drop kind of guarantee gem drops? Or ral ort tal in 3 socket shield. Yes, the cannot be frozen is really nice. I have no secondary gear right now, except for rare gloves with great poison resist stashed away. I wont be farming for shields specifically, thus. The shield always drops pre-socketed, so you dont need to burn a socket quest for it. Is cannot be frozen THAT important? After that non-quest (B/D/M) 1 in 2244/2265/3039 Herald of Zakarum would be nice, but it looks quite improbable as Regonox pointed out. What are the highest non-magic stats I could hope for, then? Of course Id want at least one of those, but both would be super if possible. AP is out of the question, since it only benefits def and res. Diablo Hell 1 in 2675 How often am I gonna run into such dangers, from now on?

And Id rather not waste the runeword on a shield that is (say) 100 def with +15 to all res, If I learn I could run into a (say) 180 def one with +30 if I keep farming. And whats about the best def score I can expect? Waiting for the perfect shield might have you running Countess thousands of times, just aim for a decent one and move on, upgrade when you find better. 65% damage + 121 AR or 45 resist all is the best, which type you need depends on you gear, you have bad res go for res, otherwise some extra damage+ar is always nice.

And I want that +res asap. +Res is the priority, Id say. Good shield will be with decent resists and nm version so it has some defense. Oh then dont make spirit. Offline single player. Zax, the problem with Ancients Pledge and Rhyme is that they lack the +2 to all skills.

Yes, Im that much of a n00b. But frozen impacts movement speed and attack speed, so will slow you down immensely and might actually get you killed (frozen in area with many ranged can be really dangerous). If you really want it you can try socket recipe on any Pala shield you found in NM. And they drop all the time in NM. Also if you find shield with decent res you will have good amount together with rhyme. Even if its +res is not that high. Chances on getting this are very slim. At least for a while.

Since hes easier than Baal overall, and in Normal itd be easier still as Im lvl 51 by now. +2 to all skills is not as awesome as it looks, true. Countess NM drops one in average 9.37 runs, shouldnt take to long and is a good place for farming the shield anyway. Before going into NMs end. Not THAT huge a bonus.

As I use Zeal/Sacrifice+Fanaticism. Whats the best currently reasonable place for that? Basically, just pick up and identify every paladin shield you find until you find one you really like.

Best chances are Baal/Diablo/Mephisto Quest (first time you kill them), without MF on player 8 it would be 1 in 1436/1450/1945 (B/D/M). Andy Nightmare cant drop HoZ, Having mf would obviously increase your odds. Just go online, look at the pally shields that can have 4 sockets, do normal cows find a base, go seek out larzuk, get 4 sockets. But I keep feeling the overall def is kinda low. You either get a boost to dam and AR, or to all res. Would you say thats a good guide to get it? Act 3 has the best chances for that drop, right? UPDATE: By sheer luck, as each Runeword has a different length, I ended up picking Ancients Pledge for the time being. Yes, try to grab a secondary weapon either combat (or just bonus to Holy Shield) put it with Spirit under switch to combat or just switch activate holy shield and switch back. You can go on without it, but its really good for melee. What are the best shield options, under these circumstances? hit recovery, vitality and def vs missiles. No, if you play on more players it will eventualy drop. Had all the runes, and found a nice 3-socket shield without even farming for it. Does Diablo keep those odds for HoZ in all difficulties, Regonox?

Without needing to reach Hell, or say act IV or V of NM? Considering Im lvl 47 right now, I could rush up to Act 3 rather fast. I know Spirit is best for casters, but it still has multiple bonuses I find interesting. Also rhyme has some +MF. A 18 video seems excessive for just one item that cannot be obtained any other way except randomly, right? Basically go for Spirit/Rhyme and hope you find on of these, dont hunt for it, chances are far to low. If you walk its 1/3. Wheres the best place to farm for it?

Ive gone through that. Diablo Nightmare 1 in 2265 Its good thing to be few more levels above current location. You could check your chances here, remove the - between the // My current shield is an Akaran Targe I got farming Pindleskin in Normal. Normally Id say cows, but you can run about everywhere in act 4 and 5 (or even act 1) to have them drop. I could farm that. (Can I also get faster block rate on non-magical shields?).

https:/-/d2.maxroll.gg/d2-drop-calculator#p8,1;mf200;item=unique,unique285, Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled, World of Warcraft Arena World Championship. Assuming you use Holy Shield, go for good block shields like Aerin or Crown (or their NM versions but I dont think they can drop anywhere you are yet and its not important enough to wait for them).

Absolutly, you will suffer greatly without it.

I cant find a complete, properly organised shield list online. Also has good block rate. It has decent def with the Runewords bonus (58), and original +res of 23. To then 4-socket with the Horadric Cube recipe, if it doesnt come with its own (Larzuks Quest in Normal is already spent). Nowhere, just honestly keep clearing nightmare and it will usualy drops. I boost it with Holy Shield, one of my main skills (9 right now, so I get a bit over double that). Well NM Auric Shields can go up to 209, but that is not likely to drop and it is less important aswell, the resistance or dam/ar would be more important and having the runeword itself is the most important thing. Best place for farming all Im lacking, is Countess NM. Defense, block, +Dam +AR or +Res. Why do you say it as its a bad thing? So I guess best option might be to just push on (maybe do some countess on NM, there are a decent amount of armor and weapon stands in the tower these have a reasonable chance to drop Auric Shields as well (and lots of smaller monsters in Act1 makes for better chance of a auric shield dropping), as a bonus you will likely get another set of the needed runes thus you can just maken another spirit when you find a better shield.

I dont wanna wait half a game for it. But, again, Id rather not wait half a game to get it. Overleveled for current area, I know now. I know its not top priority, over the bonuses. Such as Vengeance, which Ill invest on just as a way to face immune to physical types (as my dam is mostly physical). But I personally would make both, Spirit for prebuff (and sometimes main) and rhyme mostly for the Cannot Be Frozen if not already allready present, which is the most likely situation. You need block and cannot be frozen. So, now I have +res of 71 (66 for cold), which in NM is allowing me to have almost all of them maxed out. I have around 425 right now. In any case, Ill have to wait until NM Diablo to have a better chance for it right? Ive given away like a dozen of them the last few days. Class specific items dont drop that often anyway so its not a bad rule to follow.

I read that the last two stats are mutually exclusive. And also rhyme has good block and faster block rate. Finding max res or damage/ar is not easy, might need to settle for less first, the rune should drop reasonably often in NM dont be afraid to make a Spirit/Rhyme from a lesser shield. Elemental or Crushing Blow weapons could be a decent combat switch. If you cant remember their names, just look for lvl required 26 or greater. By just diving into crowds and zealing away. I mean, I know that long freeze is a serious pain for a melee. Zax, the problem with Ancients Pledge and Rhyme is that they lack the +2 to all skills. As Ill need TWO of those, total. Also, I dont have any Shael yet. And I only have one now. Just kill monsters fast, dont aim for bosses but for masses. Overleveled for current area, I know now. Def is not the main concern, get a good block auric shield and try to keep near 75% block chance, defense is nice to have to so dont neglect it. But maybe Ill run into enemies that lower it, with curses and auras and so? Rhyme DOES look interesting with those big boosts to block, though. Solo melee Id go for Spirit under W and Rhyme as main, and in certain areas Spirit main and Rhyme switch. Both Rhyme and Spirit look good enough to keep, switching as needed. Thanks to those, I have enough run and attack speed, hit recovery and dual leech to handle almost everything thus far without even needing to touch potions.