Brainstorming the ultimate group of 8 synergizing Paladins running as many different auras as possible.
This is something I did way back in the days of D2 original and it was as overpowered as it sounds, and while I don’t recall the exact skill plan that we used I remember about 90% of it and will provide a basic outline of each build as best I can remember and re-engineer them with the hope that improvements might be spotted by the community here. And maybe that some group might take the plunge again.
Each sub build within the Paladin Possey utilizes a different attack skill and per the normal convention are named for that skill rather then their auras. Back in the day each of us rolled fresh Paladins with matching naming pattern to show our allegence, which I’ll list here.
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Brother Smiter
This is a fairly conventional Smite Paladin, but he runs Defiance as the main Aura due to other members running the auras that Smite paladins generally use. In battle the Smiter stun locks bosses making them defenseless for the rest of the group, in normal mob fights the goal is to cyclicly stun mobs and protect/bailout other party members by stunning and pushing off any mobs that surround them. Damage output is practically irrelivent due to the rest of the party having so much and this is the parties tankies member due to the passive synergy on defiance. Also this was the role I played in the original possey. -
Brother Charger
This will be a head-hunter for the group focusing down elites using chain charges and a 2h weapon, maxes Might and Vigor and runs Might as the primary aura. Also specks as the groups healer by picking up Prayer and Clensing. Tactically the Charger is the one of the harder to play roles due to it’s lower defense, they should avoid going too deep into enemy formations and need to keep moving at all times. -
Brother Zealer
An unconventional Zealot maxing it along with Sacrafice and running Concentration as main aura. Lastly HolyShield for defence. Tactically the Zealer is a frontline Brawler who will be fighting right alongside the next 2 Paladins. -
Brother Avenger
Conventional Avenger build utilizing Vengence/Conviction plus HolyShield and putting as many points as possible into Fire/Cold/Lightning resistences for damage synergy. This is one of the groups answers for Physical Immunes. -
Brother Martyr
A Sacrifice Paladin maxing and running Fanatism, also buys Redemption for synergy and HolyShield for defence, splashing in a little conversion can help with crowd control. Obviously utilizes lifesteal for sustainment and otherwise needs zero Mana. -
Brother Hammer
A fairly conventional Hammerdin maxing hammer and it’s synergies, build but omits the typical high end auras to just run maxed Vigor as main aura for group mobility Tactically this Paladin plays just behind the front lines and creates a zone of flying hammers that aid the front line fighters as well as creating a safe zone for anyone needing to fallback. With this in mind this is the natural Paladin to act as the leader to direct the groups advance. The damage output of these hammers will be truly insane, in the original group our Hammerdin would easily wipe out a whole room before the melee paladins could even reach their targets. Can switch to Holy Aim if Conviction isn’t being provided by the Avenger and hit chances drop too much. -
Brother Heavener
As the name implies this is a Fist of Heavens build and it and the last Paladin form the rear echelon and position themselves behind the Hammerdin. As with many FoH builds this runs Holy Shock as main aura for extra damage output. HolyBolt is used on party members who get in trouble and Fist is used to nuke priority targets that may be causing trouble. This Paladin also has primary responsibility for threats coming from the rear that survive the offensive auras. -
Brother Archer
And lastly and without the right gear probably least as well the archer paladin, specifically a Holy Fire or Holy Freeze varient, or even both depending on situation. If the group needs higher resistances Salvation can be a secondary aura particularly if the Avenger can’t put up an element speficif resist to handle the problem. With 7 other Paladins in front the archer need litterally never hit anything with melee or ranged attacks and can let their auras do all the damage particularly at early levels. Primary focus of this paladin is pre-emptive crowd control by getting slows on enemies, so if they run a Holy Fire Aura they should get cold damage on their weapon. I originaly came up with this build specifically to accomadate a guy who wanted to be a range weapon Paladin and it was long before modern ‘ranger’ type builds which are very item dependent.
So in toal the party will be running Defiance, Might, Concentration, Fanatisism, Conviction, Vigor, Holy Shock and Holy (Freeze or Fire) as the baseline. Damage bonus sums to a whopping 761% with level 20 auras and goes up 33.5% for each +1 skill applied to the whole group. The Group should remain viable even if 1 or 2 members go down or just arn’t available to play. A hard core version of the same group would likely raise the priority of Cleansing, Salvation and other defensive auras as well as the disipline and coordination neededed by the group.
Interested in hearing your feedback and if your interested in trying it yourself reply below to try to form a group to roll it.