Dream Zealot Paladin Build for Diablo 2 Resurrected

The Dream Zealot, sometimes referred to as the Tesladin, is a special item-based build that plays very similarly to the classic Zealot, with a twist: it uses the Dream Rune Word in its shield and helm to generate a very high level Holy Shock, which is then empowered by the Resist Lightning and Salvation synergies for very high Lightning damage. Using Holy Shock through gear also allows the Paladin to use an additional Aura of their choice, generally Conviction or Fanaticism.

The following section shows the core skills for the Dream Zealot. For a detailed breakdown of all core and optional skills as well as the recommended order for allocating skill points, refer to the Skills page of this guide.

Note that you will be investing skill points in either Fanaticism or Conviction. Both have pros and cons and depend on your gear. No skill points are to be allocated to Holy Shock either, as the Aura will be provided by Dream instead.

1. 1 point to all prerequisites
2. 20 points to Sacrifice — Synergy for Zeal, required
3. 20 points to Resist Lightning — Synergy for Holy Shock, required
4. 20 points to Zeal — Main damage skill, invest in Sacrifice first for more damage or Zeal for more Attack Rating, required
5. 20 points to Salvation — Synergy for Holy Shock, required
6. 1+ points to Holy Shield — Temporary defensive buff, required
7. 20 points to your Aura of choice ( Fanaticism or Conviction) — Secondary damage Aura, required

Note that since Dream is only available from Level 65 onward, playing as a Dream Zealot from the start of the game is not possible. For a smoother leveling experience, we recommend using a generic melee Paladin build with Holy Fire and Zeal. For more information, refer to the Early Leveling section of this guide.

You can read more details about the Stats and Attribute requirements for the Dream Zealot on our Skills page.

The following section shows some of the most important items for the Dream Zealot. For a detailed per-slot breakdown of all Dream Zealot items and alternative builds, refer to the Gear page of this guide.

• Weapon: Grief Phase Blade
• Weapon Swap: Call to Arms and Spirit
• Shield: Dream
• Body Armor: Fortitude
• Helm: Dream
• Gloves: Laying of Hands
• Boots: Gore Rider
• Belt: Verdungo's Hearty Cord
• Ring 1: Raven Frost
• Ring 2: Raven Frost or Rare ring with % Life and Mana Leech per Hit
• Amulet: Highlord's Wrath
• Charm 1: Paladin Hellfire Torch
• Charm 2: Annihilus
• Charm 3: Small Charms with Maximum Damage, Attack Rating, and Life (such Charms are commonly known as 3/20/20s)
• Charm 4: Small Charms with enough Resistances and Faster Hit Recovery to hit important breakpoints, depending on needs
• Charm 5: 1x Lightning Sunder Charm

We also have a video guide that goes over the build, if you prefer that instead of or in addition to our written guide.

In Diablo 2, stats that affect action speed (known as frames) for attacking, casting, blocking, and recovering from a hit can almost never be taken literally. For example, gaining 10% Increased Attack Speed from an item will not necessarily translate into 10% faster attacks. To achieve faster actions, certain breakpoints must be reached, which vary for every class. The tables below list how much of a given stat is required to actually improve the action speed of the class for the stated action.

You can either hire a Defensive (Holy Freeze) or Offensive (Might) Desert Guard Mercenary in Act 2, Nightmare difficulty, depending on whether you want to slow monsters for added safety or improve your overall damage as well as that of your Mercenary. If you picked Conviction as your Aura, you can also hire an Act 1 Cold Rogue Mercenary with Faith (to provide you with Fanaticism) as its weapon.

• Weapon (Act 1 Rogue): Faith Diamond Bow or Great Bow
• Weapon (Act 2 Desert Guard): Ethereal Infinity
• Body Armor: Ethereal Fortitude
• Helm: Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ral Rune

1. 1 point to Might
2. 1 point to Sacrifice
3. 3 points to Resist Fire until level 6
4. 6 points to Holy Fire between level 6 and 11
5. 1 point to Zeal at level 12
6. All remaining Points to Holy Fire

For more comprehensive leveling advice, please refer to our Paladin Fastest Leveling Build.