Hobbies And Interests
Prerequisite Skills
Skills in "Diablo II" are represented in the form of a skill tree, a branching system of paths and dependencies that control when skills are available for use. Skills that are further down the skill tree require at least one point in a prerequisite skill before you can access the skill. Smite and Defiance do not require prerequisite skills to unlock, and Charge requires only Smite. Holy Shield requires Holy Bolt and Blessed Hammer in addition to Smite and Charge, and Fanaticism requires Might, Blessed Aim and Concentration.
Smite
Smite is the core and namesake skill of the Smiter, and is your primary means of attacking enemies in "Diablo II." Smite is a shield bash that inflicts physical damage, stuns the enemy and knocks the enemy back. Besides inducing stun and knockback, Smite is noteworthy for several other reasons: Smite will always strike your target regardless of your attack rating, will attack at the listed attack speed for your listed weapon, and will inflict damage from the "crushing blow" and "open wounds" weapon traits and cast any spells your weapon has a chance to cast.
Charge
Charge is a powerful attack skill that allows you to dash at an enemy and perform a shield bash. Charge does more damage per hit than Smite, but can be used only when outside of melee range of your target. Use Charge as your first attack against an enemy at close distance and inflict a terrific blow, then switch to Smite to continue combat. Charge is also useful for fleeing from enemies and quickly traveling across large areas.
Holy Shield
Holy Shield allows your Paladin to temporarily channel his faith into his shield, boosting his defense, shield block chance and Smite damage. Holy Shield's boost to defense and shield block chance will greatly increase your survival rate in "Diablo II," while the boost to Smite damage will make your Smiter even more deadly in combat. Holy Shield receives a synergy bonus of plus-15 percent defense for every point of Defiance, so invest points between Holy Shield and Defiance equally to capitalize on this synergy.
Defiance
Defiance is a defensive aura you can activate to boost your your party's defense. Defiance increases your party's defense by 70 percent at Level 1 and increases your party's defense by an additional 10 percent per level, to a maximum of 260 percent extra defense at level 20. Defiance increases the defense bonus of Holy Shield by 15 percent per level of Defiance, so increase Defiance and Holy shield equally to capitalize on this synergy.
Fanaticism
Fanaticism is an offensive aura you can activate to increase your attack damage, attack speed and attack rating. Fanaticism is vital for exploiting the stun effects induced by Smite, as you will be able to use Smite more quickly than normal. Fanaticism also increases the physical damage delivered by Smite and can stack with the Smite bonus damage from Holy Shield to make your Smite extraordinarily powerful.
Leftover Skill Points
You will gain a total of 110 skill points while playing "Diablo II," 98 from gaining levels and 12 from completing quests. 100 skill points will be spent on the Smiter's five core skills and five points will be used for learning prerequisite skills, leaving you with five points to invest as you see fit. Though the skills these leftover points are invested in will not be as powerful as your main skills, you can equip items that increase skills to boost their effectiveness and make your core skills even more deadly. Meditation is especially useful to learn, as you can activate Meditation during lulls to restore your mana more quickly.