Shield Throw Questions

Well,

  • Retaliation (Sentinel) provides 5% damage per point (tripled if you’ve blocked in the last 5 seconds),
  • Relentless gives +5% increased damage per point,
  • Conviction gives 4% phys/fire damage per point,
  • Prayer gives 7% per point if you’ve healed yourself or an ally recently (though it’s bugged & doesn’t proc if the heal would fully heal you) & you could combine that with Holy Symbol for a heal on block,
  • Reverence of Duality gives 2% per point
  • Light of Rahyeh gives 8% fire damage per point
  • Redemption gives +7% per point if you have proc’d Penance recently (chance to receive bleeding when hit)

Plus there’s plenty on the Forge Guard:

  • Fresh from the Forge adds flat phys & fire damage every 3 seconds
  • Peltast gives increased throwing attack damage
  • Prime Fighter gives strength & attunement

And Void Knight:

  • Devouring Blade gives +10% damage if you’ve killed recently,
  • Sorrow & Steel gives increased phys (& void) damage but probably not too useful for you if you’re converting to fire
  • Umbral Attunement gives attunement & 4% damage per point,
  • Void Bolts adds flat void throwing damage,
  • Future Strikes is bonkers if you’re going Shield Throw as it gives up to 100% chance for every hit (Shield Throw’s initial hit plus Eruption) to proc an ailment that deals 50 void damage after 2 seconds & it’s at the same level as Devouring Orb which is awesome too.

Also, if you’re going block, you absolutely have to take Rallying Block on the Forge Guard tree, it gives 5 armour & protections (per point, up to 50) for 4 seconds per block.

I do like the ward (& life) on block from Holy Aura, I view them as a short-term protection that reduces the hp you loose on the next hit.

(Wow do I wish there was a talent calculator! Alt-tabbing in progress…)

Here’s what I’m thinking with each tier of Pal passives on its own line, counting upwards (bottom to top; just so I can keep them straight):

SENTINEL (20): Fearless 8/8, Gladiator 5/5, Relentless 2/8, Retaliation 5/5

PAL (57+):
0: Conviction 8/8. Honour 5/5
5: Valor 8/8, Holy Symbol ???/6
10: [None]
15: [None]
20: Prayer ???/10
25: Staunch Defender 1+/10
30: Shield Wall 4/4, Penance ???/10
35: Divine Essence ???/5
40: Redemption ???/7
45: Light of Rahyeh 12/12

FG (20+): Steel Aegis 8/8, Prime Fighter 2/5, Rallying Block 10/10, Smelter’s Might ???/10

VK (???): Devouring Blade 10/10, Umbral Attunement ???/10, Future Strike ???/10, Void Bolts ???/8

Penance might make sense with Maehlin’s Hubris gloves, but then Redemption doesn’t work (no more bleeds). I could go Penance + Redemption without the gloves, but then the bleeds will have less +dmg on them (none of my fire, ele, or spell dmg counts) and that’s 17 points for +49% dmg (ignoring the bleed dmg). I don’t like the sound of that.

I’m wondering if it isn’t better to go Holy Symbol 6/6 and Prayer 10/10. If I’m doing this, I could also go Divine Essence 5/5 since Holy Symbol will trigger it. That leaves me at a minimum of 59 in Pal with Staunch Defender at 1/10. (Not sure how bad that is.)

I also don’t like the idea of Void Bolts. Again, none of my fire or ele dmg will affect the +void dmg.

I feel like 20+ in FG is mandatory if I’m going the block route. As you say, Rallying Block 10/10.

I guess I’ll try this out and see what happens. I’m only up to level 28 so far and I’m going to finish the story before hitting Arena & Monolith. Gonna be a while. When I get there, I should probably do the FG points after Shield Wall and before finishing Prayer.

EDIT: Whoops! I missed the 3 sec cooldown on Holy Symbol. Prayer lasts 4 sec so maybe it doesn’t matter?

For Pennance/Redemption, it’s 17 points but you get 200% ignite chance (with the gloves) plus 49% increased damage, IMO it’s only worth it if you have the gloves since it’s all converted into ignite chance (same for Smelter’s Might).

Staunch defender’s benefit is increased the lower your block protection is, but don’t forget Faith Armour & Prayer Aegis for the defensive benefits (up to 40% crit avoidance, 40% armour and 70 hp & 10% glancing blow if you max both), while you can get all the benefits from gear, some points in there might make gearing easier.

I’d probably go with points in Void Knight later once you’re happy with your points in Paladin/Forge Guard.

Passive points are easy to respec, so don’t be too worried about trying stuff.

I’ve made some headway. I’m up to 45 or so and things are coming together. I think I’m 42 or 43 points into the Pal tree - not too far from Light of Rahyeh, though I may put a few points (4-6) in there and then swap to the FG 20 points before going back to finish Light. I don’t have the gloves yet, so I’m kind of floundering where to put points 40-45. I already have 3 in Faith Armor and I’m dubious about maxing it. I fear that’s the best option though since there really isn’t anything else that’s crucial. I tossed a few points into that 40 passive for +2% to dmg, healing, health, & mana but I kind of doubt that’s a good idea for 5 points. (Then again, the extra health and mana are nice.)

Btw, looking at your post about a Pal ignite build, I have a Torch of the Pontifex but I don’t think I’ll end up using it. The +dmg on it is only good for ignite (not Shield Throw or Eruption) and I’d miss the +block % from my shield.

Another btw, you were spot on about blocking. Even at this stage, I appreciate how much it fires and does for me.

And a question. The 5th usable skill. I have Shield Throw, Aura, Sigils of Hope (I hate spamming this), and Smite (proc from idols - not sure if I have to have it on my active skill bar). I’ve got an untalented Judgement for now. It’s a nice heal and it will proc Prayer for me if I don’t want to wait/watch for a block. (But that heal really is nice.) I don’t know if/when I’ll go into VK to pick up Volatile Reversal (and I really don’t want a second skill to spam). Do you have any suggestions?

EDIT: On my second Monolith, the gloves dropped. Yay! Now I’ve got Prayer at something like 7/10 and lots of room for more points. Penance is only 6/10 and Redemption is 5/10, I think. What’s the total number of points in the game? I wonder.

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