This guide collects the top runewords for the Paladin class from beginner / ladder starter levelling RWs to end-game ones. Get a head-start with your Pala by equipping it with beginner runewords, getting to the end-game, and gearing it up with the top runeword choices for the 2.4.3 Patch.
Lore (Helm base, Ort+Sol)
+1 To All Skills
+10 To Energy
+2 To Mana After Each Kill
Lightning Resist +30%
Damage Reduced By 7
+2 To Light Radius
Lore is an optimal ladder starter/low level runeword for Paladins for its +1 to all skills and +resistance stats.
Dream (Helm base, Io+Jah+Pul)
0% Chance To Cast Level 15 Confuse When Struck
Level 15 Holy Shock Aura When Equipped
+20-30% Faster Hit Recovery
+30% Enhanced Defense
+150-220 Defense
+10 To Vitality
Increase Maximum Life 5% (Helms Only)
+50 To Life (Shields Only)
+0.625-61.875 To Mana (Based On Character Level)
All Resistances +5-20
12-25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Dream is the perfect helm for tesladins, as wearing a helm and shield dream runeword will provide you a level 30 Holy Shock Aura, affecting enemies in a wide range and providing immense melee lightning damage.
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Edge (Missile Weapon base, Tir+Tal+Amn)
Level 15 Thorns Aura When Equipped
+35% Increased Attack Speed
+320-380% Damage To Demons
+280% Damage To Undead
+75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds
7% Life Stolen Per Hit
Prevent Monster Heal
+5-10 To All Attributes
+2 To Mana After Each Kill
Reduces All Vendor Prices 15%
Edge is a must have runeword for gambling, as it reduces vendor prices by 15%.
Call To Arms (Weapons, Amn + Ral + Mal + Ist + Ohm)
+1 To All Skills
+40% Increased Attack Speed
+250-290% Enhanced Damage (varies)
Adds 5-30 Fire Damage
7% Life Stolen Per Hit
+2-6 To Battle Command (varies)*
+1-6 To Battle Orders (varies)*
+1-4 To Battle Cry (varies)*
Prevent Monster Heal
Replenish Life +12
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Call to Arms is by far the best option for a secondary weapon for any paladin build. The Battle Orders casting can almost double your life and mana, while Battle Command provides you +1 to all skills. Make sure to buff yourself as frequently as needed to benefit from the boosts.
Crescent Moon (Polearm/Axe/Sword base, Shael+Um+Tir)
10% Chance To Cast Level 17 Chain Lightning On Striking
7% Chance To Cast Level 13 Static Field On Striking
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+180-220% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
-35% To Enemy Lightning Resistance
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+9-11 Magic Absorb
+2 To Mana After Each Kill
Level 18 Summon Spirit Wolf (30 Charges)
Crescent Moon is an optimal Zerker or Smiter weapon. It is not the strongest by any means, but can deliver a fairly high amount of damage quickly via the static field casts. It is a great choice for a semi-budget weapon.
Doom (Axe/Polearm/Hammer base, Hel+Ohm+Um+Lo+Cham)
5% Chance To Cast Level 18 Volcano On Striking
Level 12 Holy Freeze Aura When Equipped
+2 To All Skills
+45% Increased Attack Speed
+330-370% Enhanced Damage
-(40-60)% To Enemy Cold Resist
20% Deadly Strike
25% Chance of Open Wounds
Prevent Monster Heal
Freezes Target +3
Requirements -20%
Doom is a great weapon of choice for Smiters, as it has high attack speed and the Holy Freeze aura helps with crowd control. The runeword does not deliver as much damage as a Grief, but it is fun to play with. You can also wear a Doom weapon on your mercenary if you don’t want to sacrifice damage in exchange for crowd control.
Oath (Sword/Axe/Mace base, Ort+Sol)
30% Chance To Cast Level 20 Bone Spirit On Striking
Indestructible
+50% Increased Attack Speed
+210-340% Enhanced Damage
+75% Damage To Demons
+100 To Attack Rating Against Demons
Prevent Monster Heal
+10 To Energy
+10-15 Magic Absorb
Level 16 Heart of Wolverine (20 Charges)
Level 17 Iron Golem (14 Charges)
Oath is a high physical damage, semi-budget runeword, ideal for any melee paladin build. The IAS and Damage is close to a breath of dying runeword, overall Oath is amongst the best physical damage weapons.
Last Wish (Sword/Hammer/Axe base, Jah+Mal+Jah+Sur+Jah+Ber)
6% Chance To Cast Level 11 Fade When Struck
10% Chance To Cast Level 18 Life Tap On Striking
20% Chance To Cast Level 20 Charged Bolt On Attack
Level 17 Might Aura When Equipped
+330-375% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
60-70% Chance of Crushing Blow
Prevent Monster Heal
Hit Blinds Target
+(0.5 per character level) 0.5-49.5% Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based on Character Level)
Last Wish is the most expensive runeword in the game with good reason. By using it you will provide a lvl17 Might Aura to your party, resulting in a huge damage boost for all of you. The Life Tap casting will also benefit every physical damage dealing party member, as it will almost insta-heal you. Fade comes incredibly handy on Hardcore, since it boosts both your all resistances and physical resistance. In addition, the enormous Crushing Blow boost will help you kill even the strongest enemies within seconds.
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Grief (Axe/Sword base, Eth+Tir+Lo+Mal+Ral)
5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Venom On Striking
+30-40% Increased Attack Speed
Damage +340-400
Ignore Target's Defense
-25% Target Defense
+(1.875 per character level) 1.875-185.625% Damage To Demons (Based on Character Level)
Adds 5-30 Fire Damage
-20-25% To Enemy Poison Resist
20% Deadly Strike
Prevent Monster Heal
+2 To Mana After Each Kill
+10-15 Life After Each Kill
Grief is just as overpowered for Paladins as for any other classes. It delivers the highest amount of damage, more than any other weapon in the whole game. If you farm the Chaos Sanctuary, the damage boost against demons will further improve your offensive performance. Whether you use a Zealot, Smiter, or any other melee Paladin build, it will be your go-to weapon.
Kingslayer (Sword/Axe base, Mal+Um+Gul+Fal)
+30% Increased Attack Speed
+230-270% Enhanced Damage
-25% Target Defense
20% Bonus To Attack Rating
33% Chance of Crushing Blow
50% Chance of Open Wounds
+1 To Vengeance
Prevent Monster Heal
+10 To Strength
40% Extra Gold From Monsters
Kingslayer is a decent weapon choice for its attack speed, damage, Crushing Blow and Open wounds stats. It is comparable to Oath and Crescent Moon in offensive abilities.
Death (Sword/Axe base, Hel+El+Vex+Ort+Gul)
100% Chance To Cast Level 44 Chain Lightning When You Die
25% Chance To Cast Level 18 Glacial Spike On Attack
Indestructible
+300-385% Enhanced Damage
20% Bonus To Attack Rating
+50 To Attack Rating
Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage
7% Mana Stolen Per Hit
50% Chance of Crushing Blow
+(0.5 per Character Level) 0.5-49.5% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
+1 To Light Radius
Level 22 Blood Golem (15 Charges)
Requirements -20%
Death delivers huge amounts of physical damage with each blow, as it deals almost as much damage as a Breath of the Dying, while providing up to 49% deadly strike. In addition it also has a great deal of Crushing Blow chances. The runeword only lacks attack speed to be perfect for offence.
Hand of Justice (Weapon base, Sur Cham Amn Lo)
100% Chance To Cast Level 36 Blaze When You Level Up
100% Chance To Cast Level 48 Meteor When You Die
Level 16 Holy Fire Aura When Equipped
+33% Increased Attack Speed
+280-330% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
7% Life Stolen Per Hit
-20% To Enemy Fire Resist
20% Deadly Strike
Hit Blinds Target
Freezes Target +3
Hand of Justice, or HOJ in short is the weapon of choice for Holy Fire Auradins. With a HOJ and 2 Dragon runewords you will have a level 44 Holy Fire Aura which will melt any non-immune monsters within seconds in a huge, 30+ radius range. The weapon will also allow you to deal immense physical fire damage.
Heart of the Oak (Mace/Staff base, Ko+Vex+Pul+Thul)
+3 To All Skills
+40% Faster Cast Rate
+75% Damage To Demons
+100 To Attack Rating Against DemonsAdds 3-14 Cold Damage, 3 sec.Duration
7% Mana Stolen Per Hit
+10 To Dexterity
Replenish Life +20
Increase Maximum Mana 15%
All Resistances +30-40
Level 4 Oak Sage (25 Charges)
Level 14 Raven (60 Charges)
Heart of the Oak is the perfect weapon for Hammerdins, as it provides +3 all skills with several other useful stats such as the 40% FCR and the 30-40% all resistance bonuses. No other weapon comes close to HOTO’s abilities for blessed hammer paladins.
Spirit (Sword base, Tal+Thul+Ort+Amn)
+2 To All Skills
+25-35% Faster Cast Rate
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage
Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 3 Second Duration
+75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds
7% Life Stolen Per Hit
+250 Defense Vs. Missile
+22 To Vitality
+89-112 To Mana
+3-8 Magic Absorb
Spirit is the second-best option for a Hammerdin weapon. It is a lesser version of HOTO with slightly less FCR and only 2 all skills, but on the upside it grants some extra Vitality, Mana and a great deal of FHR.
Enigma (Body Armor base, Jah+Ith+Ber)
+2 To All Skills
+45% Faster Run/Walk
+1 To Teleport
+750-775 Defense
+ (0.75 Per Character Level) +0-74 To Strength (Based On Character Level)
Increase Maximum Life 5%
Damage Reduced By 8%
+14 Life After Each Kill
15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+ (1 Per Character Level) +1-99% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based On Character Level)
Enigma is a must have item if you want to teleport. It is the ideal armor for blessed hammer paladins, as it has unmatched additional qualities such as the +2 all skills, up to 99% Magic Find bonus, damage reduction, increased life, decent amount of defense and huge boost to Strength.
Duress (Body Armor base, Shael+Um+Thul)
+40% Faster Hit Recovery
+10-20% Enhanced Damage
Adds 37-133 Cold Damage 2 sec. Duration
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
33% Chance of Open Wounds
+150-200% Enhanced Defense
-20% Slower Stamina Drain
Cold Resist +45%
Lightning Resist +15%
Fire Resist +15%
Poison Resist +15%
Duress is amongst the best armors for Melee Paladins, mainly due to the +15% Crushing Blow and +33% Open wounds stats. It also has great defensive stats such as the up to 200% Enhanced defense, 15 to all resistance and +45% to cold, and the 40% Faster Hit Recovery. It is very comparable to Fortitude in performance.
Fortitude (Body Armor base, El+Sol+Dol+Lo)
20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when Struck
+25% Faster Cast Rate
+300% Enhanced Damage
+200% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
+X To Life (Based on Character Level)
Replenish Life +7
+5% To Maximum Lightning Resist
All Resistances +25-30
Damage Reduced By 7
12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
+1 To Light Radius
Fortitude is probably the best melee paladin armor runeword, as it adds the most amount of damage (300% Enhanced damage), a great deal of defense (200% Enhanced defense + Level 15 Chilling Armor), while also boosting your life and all resistance.
Principle (Body Armor base, Ral+Gul+Eld)
100% Chance To Cast Level 5 Holy Bolt On Striking
+2 To Paladin Skill Levels
+50% Damage to Undead
+100-150 To Life
15% Slower Stamina Drain
+5% To Maximum Poison Resist
Fire Resist +30%
Principle is a great lower level/starter runeword armor, as it grants +2 to paladin skills and 100-150 to base life.
Stealth (Body Armor base, Tal + Eth)
Magic Damage Reduced By 3
+6 To Dexterity
+15 To Maximum Stamina
Poison Resist +30%
Regenerate Mana 15%
25% Faster Run/Walk
25% Faster Cast Rate
25% Faster Hit Recovery
Stealth is another useful lower level/starter runeword, the FCR and FRW bonuses will let you quickly level up your character.
Smoke (Body Armor base, Nef + Lum)
+75% Enhanced Defense
+280 Defense Vs. Missile
All Resistances +50
20% Faster Hit Recovery
Level 6 Weaken (18 Charges)
+10 To Energy
-1 To Light Radius
Smoke is the optimal levelling armor for Hardcore characters due to it’s huge all resistance bonus.
Dragon (Body Armor base, Sur+Lo+Sol)
20% Chance to Cast Level 18 Venom When Struck
12% Chance To Cast Level 15 Hydra On Striking
Level 14 Holy Fire Aura When Equipped
+360 Defense
+230 Defense vs. Missile
+3-5 To All Attributes
+0.375-37.125 To Strength (Based on Character Level)
Increase Maximum Mana 5% (Armor Only)
+50 To Mana (Shields Only)
+5% To Maximum Lightning Resist
Damage Reduced by 7
Dragon Body Armor is a cornerstone item for Holy Fire Auradins. While the armor itself doesn’t have good defensive or offensive qualities, it is the only armor choice for Auradins.
Phoenix (Shield base, Vex+Vex+Lo+Jah)
100% Chance To Cast level 40 Blaze When You Level Up
40% Chance To Cast Level 22 Firestorm On Striking
Level 10-15 Redemption Aura When Equipped
+350-400% Enhanced Damage
Ignores Target's Defense
14% Mana Stolen Per Hit
-28% To Enemy Fire Resistance
20% Deadly Strike
+350-400 Defense Vs. Missile
+15-21 Fire Absorb
When it comes to runeword shields, the only two options that come to mind are Phoenix and Exile. Phoenix is a great damage booster for melee paladins, and the redemption aura will constantly heal you by redeeming corpses. Other than the 350-400% Enhanced Damage, it also adds 20% to deadly strike.
Exile (Shield base, Vex+Ohm+Ist+Dol)
15% Chance To Cast Level 5 Life Tap On Striking
Level 13-16 Defiance Aura When Equipped
+2 To Offensive Auras (Paladin Only)
+30% Faster Block Rate
Freezes Target
+220-260% Enhanced Defense
Replenish Life +7
+5% To Maximum Cold Resist
+5% To Maximum Fire Resist
25% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items
Repairs 1 Durability in 4 Seconds
Exile is the more defense oriented melee paladin shield of choice. The Defiance Aura and 220-260% Enhanced defense adds a huge amount of defense to your character, not to mention that the runeword should be put in an ethereal base. The Life Tap will allow you to constantly heal yourself with each attack.
Spirit (Shield base, Tal+Thul+Ort+Amn)
+2 To All Skills
+25-35% Faster Cast Rate
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
+250 Defense Vs. Missile
+22 To Vitality
+89-112 To Mana
Cold Resist +35%
Lightning Resist +35%
Poison Resist +35%
+3-8 Magic Absorb
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Spirit should be used by Hammerdins, as it is the best shield option for them due to the +2 to all skills and +FCR abilities. You should also wear a spirit as your secondary shield with Call to Arms so you can cast a higher level Battle Orders and Battle Command. Spirit can be completed in paladin only shields, so base shields such as a 40-45% all resistance Paladin Only shield is possibly the best base to use.
Dream (Shield base, Io+Jah+Pul)
0% Chance To Cast Level 15 Confuse When Struck
Level 15 Holy Shock Aura When Equipped
+20-30% Faster Hit Recovery
+30% Enhanced Defense
+150-220 Defense
+10 To Vitality
Increase Maximum Life 5% (Helms Only)
+50 To Life (Shields Only)
+0.625-61.875 To Mana (Based On Character Level)
All Resistances +5-20
12-25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Dream Shield is a cornerstone item for Tesladins. By wearing two Dream runewords, you will constantly have a level30 Holy Shock aura casted which will deal a huge amount of damage on a wide radious against enemy monsters.
Dragon (Shield base, Sur+Lo+Sol)
20% Chance to Cast Level 18 Venom When Struck
12% Chance To Cast Level 15 Hydra On Striking
Level 14 Holy Fire Aura When Equipped
+360 Defense
+230 Defense vs. Missile
+3-5 To All Attributes
+0.375-37.125 To Strength (Based on Character Level)
Increase Maximum Mana 5% (Armor Only)
+50 To Mana (Shields Only)
+5% To Maximum Lightning Resist
Damage Reduced by 7
Dragon Shield is another cornerstone item for Holy Fire Auradins. It is the only shield that boosts Holy Fire Aura level, and by wearing a Hand of Justice and dual Dragon runewords you will have a level44 Holy Fire aura on your character, melting any non-immune monsters within seconds.
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Ultimate Mercenary Guide | D2R Rune Farming Guide | 4 Socket Monarch Farming Guide
