Best Paladin Ladder Spec: Blessed Hammer Paladin / Hammerdin
The Paladin requires no introduction. The famous Blessed Hammer Paladin / Hammerdin still continues to dominate the meta. In addition, the newly buffed Fist of the Heavens and Vindicator Templar (V/T) builds offer great P1-P3 gameplay for budget oriented strategies. The synergy function that allows Concentration aura to buff the magic damage of Blessed Hammer takes the build to another dimension. The Hammerdin offers monstrous amount of magical damage, which does not face immunity problems and obliterates P8 Chaos Sanctuary seal bosses and monsters alike. While the boss damage is definitely lower compared to Lightning Fury / Charged Strike Amazons, it is still good enough for P8. The strengths of the Blessed Hammer Paladin / Hammerdin are as follows:
the potential weaknesses of the Hammerdin are as follows:
The Hammerdin has unparalelled versatility. The class can reach 125 FCR frames easily which allows it to have decent mobility via Enigma teleports. High survivability is not a problem due to having high life and Holy Shield. High damage is easy to obtain due to Blessed Hammer magic damage. All the end game farm areas are open spaces which allows the Hammerdin to properly swirl those deadly blessed hammers and obliterate monsters. The Hammerdin is usually the CSer in the meta, although it can also clear throne and kill P8 bosses efficiently as well. The Hammerdin continues to dominate the ladder meta and remains in the S tier.
Final Verdict for Hammerdin: S tier