Diablo 4 Season 11: Best Paladin leveling build

Finally, the Paladin class has descended onto the eternal battlefield of Sanctuary in Diablo 4. And it is still very much a powerhouse when it comes to slaying demons, complete with various active Skills and Auras, just like in Diablo 2. The class was rumored to be arriving with the upcoming Lord of Hatred expansion of Diablo 4. However, recent leaks had indicated that Paladin would be stealth-dropped with the new Season of Divine Intervention, immediately following The Game Awards.

It was during The Game Awards that Blizzard officially announced the Lord of Hatred expansion, showcasing the Paladin taking the fight directly against Mephisto and cutting a path of Holy destruction through demons. Aside from Paladin, the expansion is introducing a second class and a new playable area set in Skovos (Diablo 3 remembers). The expansion will also introduce new endgame systems and a new activity, while re-introducing the Horadric Cube. The showcase ended with the announcement of Paladin's imminent arrival with Season 11, and here we are.

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How do you level up a Paladin in Diablo 4 Season 11?

Fanaticism Aura's passive is a large DPS multiplier, thanks to a constant Vulnerable application (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Given that Paladin is a fan-favourite and is a returning class, you can actually play it with a few of the older, tried-and-tested builds, such as Hammerdin or Smiter (via Shield Bash). However, I am suggesting a different sort of leveling build, using a new Skill called Brandish. Essentially, we will use Brandish to spread a debuff called Judgement, which will either blow up packs by itself, or we will manually detonate it with Blessed Shield. It's simple and comes online as soon as you boot up the character.

Packs of normal demons are easy to mow down in Diablo 4. However, Season 11 is chock full of rare and elites that are much harder to deal with. Fortunately, we will be utilizing the Fanaticism, Defiance, and Holy Light Auras to boost our demon-slaying capabilities. As for moving around quickly, we will be using Falling Star. If you dislike Aurastacking, you can drop the Holy Light Aura and instead take Arbiter of Justice for some eye-watering damage output on demand, or Fortress for literal invincibility for half a minute.

Here's the Skill point investment progression:

• Brandish
• Enhanced Brandish
• Cross Strike - Brandish
• Blessed Shield
• Enhanced Blessed Shield
• Fanaticism Aura
• Defiance Aura
• Enhanced Defiance Aura
• Rite of Prayer - Defiance Aura
• Enhanced Fanaticism Aura
• Rite of Humility - Fanaticism Aura
• Falling Star
• Enhanced Falling Star
• Freefall - Falling Star
• Shield of Justice - Blessed Shield
• Judicator - Oath
• En Guarde
• En Guarde
• En Guarde
• Riposte
• Riposte
• Riposte
• Righteousness
• Righteousness
• Heaven's Fury
• Enhanced Heaven's Fury
• Triplicate - Heaven's Fury
• Righteousness
• Master Craftwork
• Master Craftwork
• Master Craftwork
• Shining Armor
• Giant Slayer
• Giant Slayer
• Giant Slayer
• Judgement Day
• Crack in the Armor
• Crack in the Armor
• Crack in the Armor
• High Charity
• High Charity
• High Charity
• Blessed Shield
• Blessed Shield
• Blessed Shield
• Blessed Shield
• Fanaticism Aura
• Fanaticism Aura
• Fanaticism Aura
• Fanaticism Aura
• Defiance Aura
• Defiance Aura
• Defiance Aura
• Defiance Aura
• Heaven's Fury
• Heaven's Fury
• Heaven's Fury
• Heaven's Fury
• Pacify
• Resolute
• Conviction
• Courage
• Courage
• Courage
• Discipline
• Discipline
• Discipline
• Longevity
• Renewal
• The Best Offense
• The Best Offense
• The Best Offense

Judicator is the bread and butter of your entire skill rotation (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Note that a lot of the Skill points will be coming from the Seasonal Journey objectives, so don't feel like you have to follow this to the T. Also, it is better to take the Shield of Justice morph for Blessed Shield once you reach level 15, as your Oath becomes available through the Call of the Paladin quest, and the Judicator Oath essentially fuels your entire build.

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What Aspects and Runewords should you be chasing for Judgement Paladin in Diablo 4 Season 11?

Aspects are some of the highest damage multipliers in Diablo 4 (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Before we list out all the Aspects, it should be noted that Paladin's exclusive Aspects are specifically obtained through salvaging existing items with said modifiers. The class is still technically exclusive to the expansion, hence the Aspects are likely to originate from the dungeons of Skovos as a natural drop. Therefore, for Season 11, you'll have to fish for items until you get the Aspects you need.

Here are some of the important aspects you should slot in, given you have the items:

• Aspect of Firm Decree
• Aspect of the Indomitable
• Aspect of the Judicator (Amulet is the best choice)
• Aspect of Holy Punishment
• Juggernaut's Aspect
• Aspect of the Golden Hour

Add in any resource and cooldown-based Aspects to your free items, as every little bit helps. As for Runewords, there aren't any that are particularly powerful for Paladin, but I have been using Lith+Zid, which grants me 25 offering for standing still for 0.3 seconds and launches a copy of Paladin's Blessed Spear by spending the same amount of offering. If you want a second Runeword setup, I'd opt for Cir+Vex, granting 300 offering for casting 5 Skills and giving +1 level to all Skills for 10 seconds by consuming 100 offering.

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What should be your Judgement Paladin's Divine Gift setup in Diablo 4 Season 11?

Make yourself tanky and rich by using Divine Gifts wisely (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Divine Gifts are the primary gameplay and reward modifiers in Season 11. As more and more Lesser Evils infest areas of Sanctuary, they can occasionally take physical form during Helltide, Pit runs, Kurast Undercity runs, and even invade as a World Boss. Killing them grants a special slottable that modifies how you interact with activities.

Here is how I have set up my Divine Gifts in Season 11, based on build progression:

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Who are the ideal Mercenaries for the Judgement Paladin leveling build in Diablo 4's Season 11?

Mercenaries make your progression so much better when you're solo (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Mercenaries are a system introduced in the Vessel of Hatred expansion that adds several NPC characters who can join you and aid you in combat with various Skills and effects. Although they are unique to the previous expansion, purchasing Lord of Hatred grants access to it, so you should get your Mercenaries set up as soon as you can.

However, if you already have Mercenaries unlocked, here is who you should choose as your companion and who should be your backup.

Primary Mercenary - Raheir

• Ground Slam
• Raheir’s Aegis
• Bastion
• Inspiration

Mercenary Reinforcement - Varyana

• Bloodthirst (when player casts any Skill in combat)

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How should you transition into the endgame of Diablo 4 Season 11 with Judgement Paladin?

Two best-in-slot uniques for two very distinct builds (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Personally, I prefer to retain my preferred Skills or general build concept when switching up from the lower difficulty states to Torment 1 and higher. Therefore, I've personally opted to play a Brandish Nova build using the Supplication Unique Sword. The Unique causes Brandish to shoot out in all directions, which also returns to us via the Returning Light morph, effectively doubling our DPS.

Some good uniques that benefit this gameplay style are as follows:

• Seal of the Second Trumpet
• Herald of Zakarum
• Godslayer Crown
• Judicant's Glaivehelm (only if you're lacking supplemental damage)

If you're looking for something more classic, you can also opt for Hammerdin with the Herald's Morningstar Unique Flail. Regardless, your top priority should be unlocking the Paragon Tree as fast as you can and immediately rushing towards the Castle Paragon Board, which gives you an uncapped damage boost based on 1.8% of your Armour value. With all the aspects and passives on both the Skill tree and the Paragon Board, you can easily get a 500% damage spike very early on.

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Check out our other Diablo 4 guides and articles:

• Best class in Diablo 4 Season 11: What’s the most OP spec going into the new season?
• Diablo 4 Season 11: All New Uniques
• Diablo 4 Season 11: Best Sorcerer leveling build
• Diablo 4 Season 11: Best Barbarian leveling build guide
• Diablo 4 Season 11: Best Necromancer leveling build guide

Edited by Arnab Chakrabarti