For Paladins in Season 11, we currently recommend two different play-styles, however the Paladin is extremely powerful and any of our leveling builds can quickly get you to the endgame. Blessed Hammer gains strength as it continues forward, while Zeal can start out very strong from the start. We strongly recommend using one of these leveling guides before transitioning to one of our end-game build guides, which you can find at the link below.
General Leveling Tips
The recommended difficulty to level in is Hard. This will provide you with the smoothest and fastest leveling experience. If you like the added challenge, you can of course play in expert, but the extra experience from monsters does not make up for the added time it takes to kill them, and this will generally result in a slower and clunkier leveling process. Additionally, Normal difficulty will not provide as much experience and will be an even slower but easier playthrough.
In regard to leveling up on the seasonal realm, you might also want to check out our season checklist, as it will give you some useful tips and tricks on how to be prepared for Season 11 of Diablo 4. Don’t miss this chance to make the most out of your leveling journey!
Before you can engage in endgame activities like Nightmare Dungeons, Infernal Hordes, Helltides, Kurast Undercity, Pit of the Artificiers or the Tree of Whispers, you must complete the main storyline.
Getting a mount is an important step in your leveling journey, and we recommend generally saving your explorations of the world (such as for unlocking all Teleports) for until after you get it. For more details, read our mount guide.
Faith, Paladin’s Resource
Paladins have one main resource used for casting their spells: Faith
Faith is the main resource and is comparable to the primary resource of other classes; it refills slowly over time, but can also be replenished through the use of some Basic Skills and talents. Faith is used for casting many skills but there are some nodes in the tree that will shift that resource over to Life instead. These nodes that we suggest are in the leveling guides.
Unique Class Mechanic – Oaths
The Paladin’s unique class mechanic is called Oath. This mechanic will unlock upon reaching Level 15 and allows Paladins to specialize in one of four different styles. The specializations are Zealot, Juggernaut, Judicator, and Disciple.
Zealot – A great Oath for melee Zealot tagged Skills as they will now generate Fervor which can be useful for extra damage and Fortify.
- Casting Zealot Skills grants Fervor for 2 seconds. Critically Striking with these Skills echoes the attack for an additional 17% of the damage, repeating for each stack of Fervor.
- While at maximum Fervor, additionally Fortify for 1% of your Maximum Life.
Juggernaut – An extremely tanky Oath that works super well with the Shield skills Shield Bash and Shield Charge for lots of damage while having great damage reduction and blocking.
- Casting a Juggernaut Skill consumes 8 stacks of Resolve, giving your Juggernaut Skills X% increased damage and gain 20% increased size for 5 seconds.
- Your Minimum Resolve is increased by 1 and is no longer consumed when getting hit.
Judicator – A powerful AOE explosion Oath useful with skills like Spear of the Heavens and Blessed Hammer. This Oath has a lot more variety in Skills that can use it so check out our endgame guides but also feel free to experiment some yourself as all Basic Skills now become viable for Judgement application.
- Your Basic Skills now apply Judgement.
- Judgement can now be detonated early by your Core Judicator Skills, dealing 80% weapon damage in a small area and gaining Judicator Skill benefits.
- Each time you Judge an enemy, increase the damage they take from you by X%, up to X% until they die.
Disciple – An extremely powerful Oath that puts the user into Arbiter Form every time a Disciple skill is cast. With some Cooldown Reduction and a couple of different skills on the hotbar it is possible to remain in Arbiter Form 100% of the time, providing a large damage increase and Wing Attacks that can solo content while you simply run around.
- Casting a Disciple Skill with a cooldown grants Arbiter for 4.5 seconds.
- Upon landing, Arbiter of Justice bombards the battlefield with 10 additional Blessed Spears, making enemies Vulnerable for 4 seconds.
- While in Arbiter form, your Disciple Skills deal X% increased damage.
Secondary Unique Class Mechanic
The Paladin also generates various stacks that can give offensive and defensive bonuses based on how many they have built up. Additionally, he has some other game mechanics that affect monsters in unique ways. These include:
- Resolve: Increases your damage reduction by 20% while active. Taking direct damage consumes a stack. You can hold up to 8 stacks.
- Judgement: Marks an enemy for 3 seconds. Deals 80% damage after expiration.
- Fervor: Gain Stacks for offensive damage output. Empowers certain skills per stack.
- Retribution: Retribution is a chance for your Thorns to pulse around you when you Block. This damage counts as a Juggernaut Skill
- Weaken: Weakened Enemies Deal Reduced Damage: 20% for normal enemies, 15% for Elite Enemies, and 10% for bosses
Weapons and Restrictions
Flail is class specific Paladin weapon type with an implicit of added Vulnerable Damage %. Swords, Maces, Axes, Two-handed Swords, and Two-handed Axes are the other weapons available and of course offhand shields as well. Two-handed weapons are the slowest with doubled power of the Legendary Aspect imprinted on them. One-handed weapons are fast, but need a proper Shield to match the base damage of 2-handers.
Due to the Paragon Board Castle providing damage for Armor% though, we recommend almost every build use a 1-handed weapon and shield currently. Every weapon type has its own bonus to specific damage type and different attack speed so make sure to check them all out and see what fits your build best!
Skills and Passive Skills
This section provides an overview of the main skill categories for the Paladin. For a detailed list of all Paladin skills and passive skills, refer to the pages below.
Paladin Skills Categories
All classes have Basic, Core, and Ultimate Skills as categories. Paladins also have Aura, Valor, and Justice Skills.
Basic Skills
Basic Skills are spammable skills whose primary purpose is to regenerate Faith. Basic Skills are not very powerful, but good to finish off small enemies or as a filler while waiting for more powerful skills to be available.
The Basic Skills for the Paladin are:
- Brandish, Holy Bolt, Clash and Advance
Core Skills
These are some of the most used Paladin skills in any build, as they are the main source of damage. However, while Core Skills have no cooldown, their biggest drawback is their Faith cost.
The Core Skills for the Paladin are:
- Zeal, Blessed Shield, Blessed Hammer, Divine Lance and Shield Bash
Aura Skills
Aura Skills help to boost the defensive and offensive capabilities of the Paladin with passive and active bonuses. Using multiple auras is often quite handy for many builds so don’t be afraid to put a couple on your bar if you have the extra slots.
The Aura Skills for the Paladin are:
Valor Skills
The Valor Skill category includes Paladin skills that allow for mobility and defensiveness. These can be very powerful and most endgame builds will use at least one of them to speed up their runs.
The Valor Skills for the Paladin are:
- Shield Charge Aegis, Falling Star, and Rally
Justice Skills
With these skills, Paladins can control the battlefield with a variety of AoE skills. Some Heal while others Stun, creating a variety of ways to keep your Paladin in close.
The Justice Skills for the Paladin are:
- Purify, Consecration, Condemn and Spear of the Heavens
Ultimate Skills
Ultimate Skills are powerful skills that have a long cooldown. Ultimate Skills must be built around in order to be effective, and only one can be chosen at a time.
The Ultimate Skills for the Paladin are:
- Heaven’s Fury, Fortress, Zenith and Arbiter of Justice
Dismount Skill
While mounted, the Paladin class has access to a unique Dismount Skill called Falling Strike which causes them to soar into the air with Angel Wings and dive into a group of enemies dealing damage on impact. Players that are struck by an enemy are automatically dismounted and are unable to use their Dismount Skill.
Paladin Attributes
The four core attributes benefit each of the five classes in slightly different ways. Here are their effects for the Paladin:
| Attribute | Effect 1 | Effect 2 | Effect 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | 12.5% Skill Damage per 100 points | 20 Armor per 100 points | |
| Intelligence* | 2% Critical Strike Chance per 100 points | 2% All Resistances per 100 points | |
| Willpower | 3% Resource Generation per 100 points | 3.5% Healing Received per 100 points | |
| Dexterity | .6% Dodge Chance per 100 points |
Strength is considered the primary attribute for Paladin, as it multiplies all damage.
Intelligence is the second best followed by Willpower and lastly Dexterity which is mostly an afterthought on the Paladin.
Endgame Paladin Builds
The leveling builds listed at the top of this page are designed to take your Paladin to Level 60. Afterwards, you should use an endgame build guide to allocate Paragon points and equip gear with the best stats and Aspects. The following endgame builds will help you optimize your character from Level 60 to Paragon Level 300.
Endgame Activities
Finish the storyline to unlock the various endgame activities in Diablo 4. Follow the yellow-marked quests, and you should have no trouble finding your way.
After finishing the main storyline, the game becomes quite open-ended. The following sections provide a quick list of the activities you should do, in approximate order.
Endgame Tips After Level 60
The leveling builds on this page are designed to get you to Level 60, but as you approach or reach that milestone, you might be wondering what activities you should engage in Diablo 4. Below, we will briefly go over some of the things you can and, in some cases, should be doing after Level 60.
Finishing the storyline is necessary to unlock the various endgame activities on offer, so it is definitely something you should prioritize. Just make sure you always complete the yellow-marked quests, and you should have no trouble finding your way.
Keep in mind that after you complete the main storyline, the game is quite open-ended, leaving you with a choice of which activities to engage in and in what order, depending on your goals (leveling as quickly as possible, progressing Nightmare Dungeons, engaging in PvP, etc.). That said, in the sections that follow we have provided a quick list of the activities you should do, in approximate order.
Tree of Whispers
The Tree of Whispers, located in Hawezar, rewards you for completing bounties found all over the game world. These are generally profitable activities that will reward you with experience and items, and since they are found in many areas of the world, they can be paired well with completing other events and activities.
The Tree of Whispers is also your first source of Nightmare Sigils, items needed to activate Nightmare Dungeons, one of the primary endgame activities.
Nightmare Dungeons
Nightmare dungeons are a great way to find Obducite and other materials. Once you receive your first Sigil (likely from the Tree of Whispers), you can start to do these dungeons, which will drop more Sigils, and after that you should never really run out. Each Sigil can be a different type of dungeon, with the best ones being Horadric Storeroom, Treasure Breach, and the rare Mythic Escalation Prankster sigil that gives 5 Mythic items upon completion. Nightmare dungeons can only be performed in World Tier 3 or higher.
Nightmare dungeons are an essential part of the endgame (since their difficulty has a lot of potential for increase), providing you with a challenge in return for which you can receive great item rewards.
Helltides
Helltides appear on the map for players who are in World Tier 3 or higher, taking over large swathes of land for one hour. During this time, monsters killed in the affected area drop a special temporary currency that can be used to unlock chests found in the Helltide area.
Participating in Helltides often is highly recommended, if for no other reason that they are the only place where you can reliably obtain Forgotten Souls, a crafting material required to Enchant Sacred and Ancestral (World Tier 4) items at the Occultist. Enchanting items to replace an undesirable property is key to optimizing your gear, and that is simply not possible without Forgotten Souls.
Legion Events and World Bosses
Legion events and World Bosses are marked on the map, and these are good activities to engage in in World Tiers 3 or 4, since they reward potentially good items, as well as good experience, in the case of Legion events. Simply go to the marked area on the map and join the other players in killing the enemies.
The Pit
The Pit is a progression challenge unlocked at level 60. The format is a dungeon mobbing phase to fill a progression bar, and a final Boss fight to clear the Pit level. Use The Pit level up your Glyphs, unlock higher Torment difficulties, and for the paragon xp grind. Leveling all of your glyphs to 100 is one of the best ways to gain endgame power.
Infernal Hordes
The Infernal Hordes is similar to Nightmare dungeons as you gain access via an Infernal Compass, but works as a wave-based endgame activity first introduced in Season 5. These can be acquired through various endgame activities such as defeating endgame bosses, Whispers, Nightmare Dungeons, Helltides and more. During the encounters in this area you’ll accumulate Aether which is used at the end of the run to unlock loot caches and currency or to Summon greater challenges.
Kurast Undercity
Kurast Underctity, introduced in the Vessel of Hatred expansion, is a time attack dungeon scenario where Tributes are offered and Bargains struck to target specific rewards like runes, xp or specific types of gearing. To unlock Undercity, reach Level 20, have the Vessel of Hatred expansion, and summon the Spirit Flame in the Nahantu region.
Seasonal Activites
Seasons come with various events with supplemental power systems, secondary reputation tracks, and world events. Check our updated Seasonal Hub for general season theme information every season.
Changelog
Guide Created: December 19th 2025
