D2R Season 9: Charger Paladin Build [D2R 2.8]

Jonas Author

Created - 07.01.2025 Updated - 05.03.2025

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For a long time, there were only three popular Paladin builds in Diablo II: Resurrected. There’s the Hammerdin, which relies on swirling hammers to kill the forces of evil. You also have the FOHdin that purifies the minions of Hell with powerful Fists of the Heavens. For Paladins who’d like to handle things “physically,” there’s the ever-reliable Zealot which, as you can tell, uses Zeal the vast majority of the time.

All of these D2R builds are awesome in their own way but did you know what’s not talked about often? Charge. You see, these builds allocate a single point in Charge for the sake of mobility, as well as a mere prerequisite for other skills. We feel that this is criminal considering how incredible Charge is when built right.

So today, we are offering you a meta-build that deserves more attention than what it’s receiving in the current ladder season. Come! Let’s explore what makes the Charger Paladin in Diablo II: Resurrected Season 9 a build that you definitely must try out!

Why Choose the Charger Paladin?

The D2R Charger Paladin is a build that can take on the uber bosses and just about any formidable monster in the game. This build relies heavily on Charge to deal with the enemy. This skill does physical damage, which makes gearing easy considering that you have plenty of options to choose from that elevate this particular damage type to new heights.

However, our Diablo II: Resurrected build guide will only focus on the best D2R items for this build. This is so that if you give the Charge Paladin a try, you will know how hard-hitting this build can be! In fact, it can deal an insane amount of single-target damage that one-shotting bosses is not a dream—it’s a reality!

Playstyle

The Charger Paladin in Diablo II: Resurrected is an off-meta build that deserves more attention than what it’s currently receiving. Its average popularity likely stems from the notion that not a lot of people know exactly how to optimize the build’s performance.

You see, utilizing Charge on a target that’s in close range will not prompt the Paladin to move and attack the enemy with the said skill. You have to create some separation by running away for a bit (or using Teleport from Enigma) before Charge can be executed.

Fortunately, the initial separation is all you need because Charge has a built-in knockback mechanic that allows you to do a follow-up immediately after the first rush. In most cases, the damage output of this build is enough to slay even uber bosses in the game by using Charge several times.

However, if these enemies do not go down after some hits, the monsters might end up being rammed with their backs against the wall, which creates the problem of having to move away, Charge, and then move away some more.

Other D2R builds don’t have a similar problem because they can initiate attacks that don’t rely on specific conditions being met. So, if the intended target is not dead and there’s a wall or obstruction behind them, you will have to run away and follow the strategy for separation mentioned earlier.

A weakness of the Charger Paladin is that it doesn’t do well when surrounded by enemies. Thankfully, this particular build also uses Blessed Hammer to defeat multiple monsters at once. You will need a separate set of weapons to maximize Blessed Hammer. More on this later in the appropriate sections of this build guide.

The need for weapon swapping makes the D2R Charge Paladin an incredibly fun build to play. It could be annoying at first but you’ll get the hang of it in no time!

Stats

• Strength: Depends on preference
• Dexterity: Only enough to satisfy attribute requirements on gear
• Vitality: Dump extra points here
• Energy: 10-20 points early on, reallocate points elsewhere later

The Charger Paladin is a powerhouse that deals an insane amount of physical damage. And, while conventional wisdom dictates that you put more STR than any other attribute, that’s not necessary.

You see, the bulk of the damage of this build comes from Enhanced Damage (ED) on gear. Hence, the high amount of STR for the purpose of greatly boosting physical damage, which some “Titan Builds” in D2R are known for, is not necessary for what you’re trying to achieve here.

With that said, we only recommend putting however many points in strength that you need to satisfy gear requirements. Other than that, the remaining points should be allocated to vitality for improved survivability.

Anyway, dexterity is only allocated as a means of equipping certain types of gear. You don’t need to spend a lot of points in DEX because your attack rating is addressed by one of the main auras you can activate. This mystery skill will be revealed later on in this D2R build guide, so keep reading!

If you are asking why this build needs 10 to 20 points of Energy early on, the reason is simple: it’s quite mana-intensive. Using Charge and following that up with Blessed Hammer will quickly eat up your mana pool. Having lots of mana doesn’t necessarily solve that issue, though it certainly helps when spamming these skills.

Once you have enough mana leech on your gear, you can drop Energy entirely and allocate those points to Strength for more damage or Vitality for more HP.

The main selling point of the D2R Charge Paladin is that it’s fun to play. Charging at enemies provides you with a thrilling experience, unlike any other skill in the Paladin’s kit.

Moreover, Charge does not rely on increased attack speed bonuses. This alleviates the need for IAS on gear, allowing you to focus on improving survivability and physical damage more than anything.

Now, there is a glaring issue with this build in that Charge only hits one enemy at a time. So, to address this, we’ve included Blessed Hammer as part of the main skill rotation as well. The reason why we chose Blessed Hammer is that it also synergizes with Vigor (which provides bonus damage to Charge), receiving 14% additional magic damage per level of said aura.

There is another version of this build that replaces Blessed Hammer in favor of Zeal. While you can certainly try that out, we feel that it’s less optimal considering that Charge and Zeal both deal physical damage. Blessed Hammer is an overpowered skill that deals magic damage—a type of damage that only several monsters in Diablo II: Resurrected are immune to.

Having said that, there are some important things that you have to know about this build’s primary skill, Charge. For one, weapon range matters so much for a Charge build in D2R Season 9. Ideally, you want to use a weapon that has an added range of 1 or 2 (at the maximum). Anything higher than that makes it harder for you to initiate subsequent Charges. Why is that?

You see, Charge requires a bit of separation between you and the target. Utilizing melee weapons with a high amount of added range means that you can hit them with a melee strike. If you’re able to strike them with a melee hit, then that is a clear indication that you’re “too close” to the enemy, rendering you unable to use Charge as a result.

Furthermore, despite what others might say, Charge cannot be influenced by Faster Run/Walk (FRW) mods and the movement speed bonus provided by Vigor. In other words, Charge has a fixed movement speed that cannot be altered in any way, shape, or form. You still need adequate increases in movement speed because you’ll be repositioning your Charger Paladin quite often for best results.

This build is also underrated in the realm of D2R PvP. Charge, in this instance, is not only used for closing the gap, but it also ensures that your enemies will die with one hit! Are you interested in learning how that’s done? Continue reading to learn more!

Skills

• 20 points on Charge
• 20 points on Blessed Hammer
• 20 points on Might
• 20 points on Vigor
• 20 points on Fanaticism
• 3 points on Blessed Aim
• Put 1 point on the following skills:
  • Smite
  • Holy Bolt
  • Holy Shield
  • Concentration
  • Prayer
  • Cleansing Aura
  • Defiance

Charge is your primary skill on this D2R build. Both Might and Vigor provide the Charge skill with 20% additional damage per level. Besides that, Vigor allows for easy repositioning thanks to the insane movement speed boost it provides when it’s active.

Vigor gives Blessed Hammer a damage boost as well. This is the reason why we’ve opted for Blessed Hammer to deal with multiple monsters at once because its damage is also increased by the same aura that’s making Charge more effective at killing monsters.

Being a physical damage skill, Charge can greatly benefit from Fanaticism. This aura grants massive increases in attack damage and attack rating (or “accuracy” in Diablo II: Resurrected). Although this aura also boosts attack speed, the said bonus is not mandatory for this build unless you’re opting for Zeal instead of Blessed Hammer.

Speaking of which, if you don’t like the feel of Blessed Hammer, you can replace that entirely with Zeal and Sacrifice. Put 12 points on the former and then eight points on the latter. Sacrifice is needed to greatly increase the damage output of Zeal just in case you’re wondering why you should increase its skill level.

Since Zeal is unlocked at clvl (character level) 12 and Blessed Hammer can be used beginning at level 18, you can experiment with these skills to find which one works best for you. We still recommend that you stick with Blessed Hammer but replacing it with Zeal is not a bad choice at all, especially when you’re having more fun using it.

Holy Shield is allocated to significantly enhance your defenses when wielding a shield. Although you’re going to use a two-handed weapon for the Charger Paladin, a simple weapon swap allows you to take advantage of Holy Shield, casting spinning hammers safely while stationary.

Breakpoints

The D2R Charge Paladin, at least our version of it, has two main breakpoints that it needs to hit to unlock its full potential, with the first one being Faster Cast Rate (FCR). The ideal breakpoint is 75% to reduce the animation frames of Blessed Hammer from 15 to 10, essentially making it work (and feel) a lot smoother when spamming.

Another breakpoint that you have to hit is Faster Hit Recovery (or FHR). You want this to be as high as 86% (4 frames) but not lower than 48% (5 frames). This is to significantly reduce the recovery animation after receiving a massive hit. Not being able to recover quickly makes playing the Charger Paladin awful, particularly when repositioning your character to use Charge.

The attack speed breakpoint is only crucial if you’re using a two-handed weapon with Zeal. Since you’re going to use the Thunder Maul, aim for 50% increased attack speed bonuses from gear. If you can achieve 83%, that’s even better! This presupposes that you have a level 20 Fanaticism Aura active, so if you don’t have the said aura maxed out yet, go for 63% IAS.

Here are the ideal breakpoints to hit for the D2R Charge Paladin build:

• FCR: 75%
• FHR: 86% or 48%
• IAS: 50% or 83%
• Note: only worry about the IAS breakpoint if you’re using Zeal as a complementary skill to Charge.

Charger Paladin Gear Recommendations

What stats and bonuses should you look for when securing the pieces of gear for the D2R Charger Paladin? Prioritize those that grant massive amounts of Enhanced Damage because the majority of the power of this build relies on ED.

Additionally, grab items that boost the chance to land a Crushing Blow or Deadly Strike. These two damage mechanics in D2R take a huge chunk of the enemy’s HP every time you Charge.

Moreover, capping your resistances and increasing your life pool is a must. That’s because you might get hit by the enemy as you reposition yourself for the kill.

Although Charge does not benefit from the increased movement speed provided by FRW bonuses, they are still good for improving overall mobility.

Do you need some assistance when it comes to improving your Charger Paladin? If so, visit our D2R Store for all your gearing needs!

Helmet

Guillaume’s Face, when worn by the Charge Paladin, hits three birds with one stone. For starters, it enables you to execute a Deadly Strike or Crushing Blow, with the latter having increased chances (35%) of happening than the former.

Aside from that, this thing already grants 30% Faster Hit Recovery on its own. This means that you only have to worry about the remaining 56% to attain the ideal FHR breakpoint.

Lastly, the GFace provides 120% Enhanced Defense and 15 STR. Both of these stats work great for this melee D2R build for sure!

Now, add a socket to Guillaume’s Face by completing Larzuk’s mission in Act 5. When it’s socketed, put a Cham Rune inside to make you immune to freeze.

Do you want an alternative helmet to Guillaume’s Face that also provides 30% FHR? Well, Crown of Ages is a suitable replacement! Besides its considerable bonus to Faster Hit Recovery, this unique helmet reduces physical damage by up to 15% as well. If you are wealthy, you can even insert up to two Ber Runes for additional physical damage reduction.

Body Armor

One of the best body armor runewords for melee builds in D2R, Fortitude is also amazing when it’s equipped by the Charger Paladin. This thing gives you an insane 300% Enhanced Damage bonus right off the bat. If that still doesn’t convince you of the value it provides, Fortitude sorts out your defenses as well, thanks to its 200% Enhanced Defense, 30 all-resists, and level 15 Chilling Armor.

Fortitude can also top-up your mana due to its unique bonus. Every time you receive damage (and you’re going to get hit due to the nature of the build), a portion of that damage is converted to mana, alleviating the need to maintain a stock of Mana Potions on your belt.

Would you believe us when we say that we also recommend the Enigma as an alternative to Fortitude for the Charge Paladin in Diablo II: Resurrected Season 9?

While this D2R runeword is best known for allowing any class in the game to use Teleport, Enigma is actually more than that in this particular build. Notably, its 45% FRW helps make repositioning a lot better. The +2 skills also provide more oomph to both Charge and Blessed Hammer.

Weapon

It is important to note that the weapons we’ll be recommending in this build guide are two-handers, specifically when it comes to boosting the damage of Charge. There is a separate weapon for improving Blessed Hammer, but that will be discussed later.

In the meantime, set your eyes on the Ribcracker. This unique quarterstaff deals absurd amounts of damage, particularly when fighting against the walking dead. Its most popular trait is that 50% chance of landing a Crushing Blow. Pair that with the GFace, and you’ll understand why it’s a weapon that’s easy to recommend for the Diablo II: Resurrected Charge Paladin build.

When you’ve reached level 56, you can upgrade this thing to a Stalagmite for even more damage. To do this, put the Lum and Pul Runes together with a Perfect Emerald inside the Horadric Cube and press “Transmute” to turn the Ribcracker into an awesome beast of a weapon!

At level 69, let go of the upgraded Ribcracker and replace it with Breath of the Dying. How does this weapon runeword benefit the Charge Paladin, you ask? Well, its sheer 400% Enhanced Damage is enough explanation. However, its “-25% Target Defense” should also be pointed out, primarily because this mod works against Uber Bosses and whatnot. The fact that the defenses of your enemies are reduced by that amount while factoring in your ability to deal a Crushing Blow or Deadly Strike, makes BoTD so amazing!

That said, you’re going to use the Thunder Maul as the base. This boasts the highest physical damage among two-handed weapons in the game. What’s more, it gains 1% Enhanced Damage for every point of STR, so increasing said attribute is an option that you can take.

Another benefit of using the Breath of the Dying is that it reduces the insane STR requirement of Thunder Maul from 253 down to just 193.

Weapon Swap

How quickly you can spawn hammers using the Blessed Hammer skill is affected by the amount of Faster Cast Rate your Charge Paladin has. The weapon and the shield you will use let you achieve the 75% FCR breakpoint without having to invest in the said bonus anywhere else. This is assuming that you can get the maximum FCR rolls on each item, that is. Anyway, the items in question are Heart of the Oak (40%) and Spirit (35%).

Don’t worry if you cannot hit the perfect rolls on the aforementioned items. The FCR bonuses granted by Fortitude or Enigma should help you attain the necessary breakpoint to make Blessed Hammers less clunky to use.

Whenever you have the said items on weapon swap, use Charge to get close to your main target, switch to HOTO and Spirit, and then spam Blessed Hammer until every last one of your enemies is dead.

If you want to take things to another level, use Battle Orders and Battle Command from Call to Arms (make sure to retain Spirit while buffing).

Gloves

Not needing attack speed bonuses on gear allows you to equip the Steelrend and never look back. Apart from the 60% Enhanced Damage, these unique gloves grant Crushing Blow at a measly 10%, though that is more than enough to raise your chance of landing one when factoring your other items with CB, such as the GFace and Ribcracker.

Boots

Between the Gore Rider and the Goblin Toe, we will recommend the former rather than the latter. The reason is not something elaborate, really, because the Gore Rider also enables you to hit enemies with a Deadly Strike and inflict Open Wounds.

But more importantly, the Gore Rider provides you with a considerable 30% boost in movement speed, which the Goblin Toe cannot. With the constant repositioning needed to land the perfect hit, not having any bonuses to movement speed feels bad for the D2R Charger Paladin.

Amulet

Some would argue that Deadly Strike makes you more proficient at killing enemies using the Charger Paladin build than Crushing Blow. Whatever your thoughts are about this topic, both of them are beneficial to your success. This makes the Highlord’s Wrath an incredible addition to the build thanks to its insane Deadly Strike bonus that gets better the higher your levels are!

When you’re wielding both Spirit and HOTO and you’re still short on FCR due to the absence of any of the recommended body armors mentioned earlier, then you can supplement that for the meantime with a rare amulet with + to Paladin skills and Faster Cast Rate.

Rings

If you do not have your GFace socketed with Cham Rune, the Raven Frost can grant the CBF mod to make you immune to being frozen. Although its added cold damage could give you the power to shatter enemies when killing them with Charge, that’s fine because you are the one who slayed them, not your Mercenary.

Mana sustain is an issue that is only addressed when you have enough mana leech. To make sure that you’re leeching enough mana from enemies, you have to wear a rare ring that contains said modifier. If you have the Cham Rune socketed into your helmet, you can put two rare rings with leech instead of a Raven Frost on the other finger.

Belt

The choice of your belt that you can have the Charger Paladin wear depends on the circumstances that he’s going to be in. For fighting monsters, we recommend the String of Ears. Wearing this belt is not only because of its physical and magical damage reduction but also its 180% ED and life leech.

The only time you will replace the String of Ears is when you’re fighting against other D2R players. If that’s the case, you will use Verdungo’s Hearty Cord. Although it lacks magical damage reduction, this unique belt makes up for it by granting a huge bonus to HP and life regeneration.

Charms

• Hellfire Torch: With +3 to Paladin Skill Levels and 20 Attributes (for more damage and HP).
• Annihilus: 20% Resistances coupled with +1 to skills? What’s not to love?
• Gheed’s Embrace: Your only main source of Magic Find. Get one with a good roll.
• Bone Break: If you rely heavily on Charge alone, Bone Break should help you deal with those pesky monsters that have immunity to physical damage.
• Grand Charms: Maximum Damage, Attack Rating, and Life
• Small Charms: Same thing as Grand Charms

Mercenary

There is no question about which Mercenary you need to hire to bring out the best of the Charger Paladin. Of course, it’s none other than the Act 2 Mercenary, specifically with the Might Aura. Having a hireling with the said aura alleviates the need for you to use it yourself. Instead, alternate between Vigor and Fanaticism depending on your needs.

Here is the ideal equipment for the Charger Paladin’s Act 2 Mercenary:

• Weapon: Infinity (Conviction Aura also boosts your damage by lowering the enemy’s defense by 83%)
• Helmet: Andariel’s Visage (with 15% IAS Jewel)
• Body Armor: Fortitude or Treachery

Tips and Strategies

• Positioning is key: Before you rush to the target with Charge, make sure that there is no obstacle behind them within a considerable distance. This strategy mainly applies to uber bosses, though, since Charge itself can destroy normal monsters in a single Charge.
• Use Shift-Click: There are two ways to control the Charger Paladin. The first is by left-clicking on the enemy, which is the typical case. However, the other way to play this build is by shift-clicking on the ground. Doing so will prompt your character to Charge in the area and direction of the mouse click. This gives you more control of where you want to rush in.
• Don't Charge Your Way Out: It's quite tempting to use Charge willy-nilly but we advise you to only use it to rush in; not get your way out of a mess. That's because every monster that you click when trying to get away will be attacked, which requires you to stop. What you do instead when you need to get out of sticky situations is to click on an empty land until you're far enough to recuperate. After that, simply charge back in.
• Master the Art of 'Staggered' Charging: Mindlessly charging forward can eat up your mana quite easily. However, a good way of preventing this is by using the staggered charging method. To do this, bind Charge on the left mouse button first and foremost. Then, click on the edge of the screen (in the direction you're supposed to go) and continue holding Charge as your character moves. While moving, tap the Shift Key to force your character to initiate a "staggered" charge--alternating between a Charge (skill use) and a regular run. It takes some time to get used to the staggered charging method but once you've mastered it, mana is not going to be an issue moving forward (pun intended).
• Execute the ‘Pinging’ Strategy When Fighting Immovable Bosses: Part of your main rotation involves knocking back enemies to continually use Charge without the need to reposition. However, some bosses in the game cannot be moved by any knockback mechanics. To address that, use the “Pinging” strategy, which is the most basic concept that all Charger Paladins must do to achieve success. Basically, pinging is the act of charging forward and then running a bit back to initiate another Charge. Repeat this process until the enemy is dead.

Final Thoughts

The Charger Paladin is a freight train that cannot be stopped in Diablo II: Resurrected Season 9. This build outputs massive amounts of physical damage—all while running at fast speeds that no monster can see coming.

Its main weakness of not hitting multiple targets at once can be resolved by using Blessed Hammer. This complementary skill also synergizes with the same aura, Vigor, which can boost the damage of Charge considerably.

With that said, we hope that we’ve convinced you to try the D2R Charge Paladin in Season 9. We promise that you won’t regret that decision!

Anyway, if you need any help with securing the necessary items for the Charger Paladin, our D2R Store is ready to assist you in this regard. We offer incredible discounts, especially when buying the Ethereal versions of the gear mentioned in this build guide. So, what are you waiting for? Head to our store today!

PROS

• Zoom-zoom playstyle gives D2R builds who rely on Teleport a run for their money.
• Charge is so strong of a skill that it can decimate monsters in just one or two hits.
• Fast run speed ensures that repositioning is not an issue on this build.

CONS

• Clunky playstyle at the beginning unless the mechanics of this build have been mastered.
• Killing act bosses can be a pain due to knockback immunity.
• Has to depend on Blessed Hammer to address the build’s lack of AoE damage.