1. Strength - All you want, in terms of Strength, is enough of it to equip everything you will want to use on your character. 
2. Dexterity - Same as Strength - you only need enough Dexterity to meet gear requirements. Unless spending a few additional points on it is enough to achieve max block - then you should do just that. 
3. Vitality - You should put all your remaining points here - main stat. 
4. Energy - Adding points to Energy is an extreme waste - don't do it. 

This is the core Skill Tree of this Build. It provides us with our main offensive ability - the fabled Blessed Hammer. Moreover, it gives us some additional mobility (charge) and greatly improves our overall defenses (Holy Shield). 

Skills:

1. Holy Bolt [1/20] - Prerequisite. A bolt of energy that damages undead, or heals friendly units. This is a versatile but annoying to use Skill that will both heal you and damage your enemies. 
2. Smite [1/20] - Prerequisite. This skill can be used to knock back and stun enemies. 
3. Charge [1/20] - Closes the distance with an enemy, delivering a bash on contact. The charge can be used as a mobility skill (you can escape from monsters by charging to isolated enemies or speed up your movement by charging monsters you meet on your path). 
4. Blessed Hammer [20/20] - One of the most iconic Skills in Diablo 2. It summons a magic hammer that spirals outward, damaging enemies. It deals extra damage to the undead. With appropriate gear, Blessed Hammer can reach unbelievably high levels of Damage. Even without high-end gear, it gets the job done and makes Paladin builds based on it well-suited for early ladder play. This is your main (and only) offensive ability - if you didn't use it yet, you will be amazed by what it can do. 
5. Holy Shield [1/20] - Magically enhances shield to give defense bonuses. This is one of the most powerful defensive Skills in the game and it allows the Paladin to achieve maximum block very easily; 1 point Holy Shield increases your Defense by 25% and the Chance of Blocking by 14%. You can spend some more points here, but additional Skill Levels you'll eventually get from gear should be enough to make this Skill amazing. 

OFFENSIVE AURAS

This skill Tree gives us a solid passive Damage boost and makes the build much more reliable offensively (concentration). 

Skills:

1. Skills:

2. Might [1/20] - Prerequisite. Increases damage dealt by party members. 
3. Blessed Aim [X/20] - An Aura that increases your Attack Rating. Very nice to have as there is nothing more annoying than missing attacks. 
4. Concentration [20/20] - Reduces the chance that your attacks will be interrupted and massively increases your Damage. 20 Points spend on Concentration gives 345% extra Damage (half of this works on Blessed Hammers, which is massive for this build). 

This Skill Tree contains some great utility abilities - we'll take full advantage of them. 

Skills:

1. Prayer [1/20] - Prerequisite. Heals all party members. 
2. Defiance [1/20] - Prerequisite. Boosts the Defense of all party members. 
3. Cleansing [1/20] - Prerequisite. Reduces Poison and Curse duration for all party members. 
4. Vigor [20/20] - Increases Speed, Stamina, and Stamina recovery for all party members. A great utility ability that makes you move much faster and ensures that you never run out of stamina. Most of all, however, Vigor synergizes with Blessed Hammer. 
5. Meditation [1/20] - Boosts Mana recovery for all party members. This is a great utility aura that will triple your mana recovery rate if you spend just 1 point on it. 
6. Salvation [1/20] - Increases all Elemental resistances for all party members. Thanks to this amazing aura, you don't have to stack Elemental Resistances on your gear and thus can fight in high-level areas much earlier (and easier). 
7. Redemption [1/20] - Periodically attempts to redeem corpses for Health and Mana. Another utility aura that can restore substantial amounts of your health and mana, and clear out corpses in the process. 

Faster Cast Rate is a must-have for Hammerdin, so you should stack quite a lot of it (achieving the 75 Breakpoint should be your goal, but 48 is good enough). +Skills are also extremely important as they will greatly increase your Damage output (Blessed Hammer and Concentration both benefit from them). Magic Find should also be close to the top of your list as it will allow you to gear up much quicker. Extra Health and Vitality is always welcome as well, as it makes you a bit tankier. Faster Hit Recovery, Faster Run/Walk, and extra Stamina/Stamina Regen are also very useful to have (especially early, when you don't have unique and high-level runewords yet). 

HELMETS

[Early] Lore (Runeword) - This amazing and easy-to-get Runeword gives you +1 to all Skills, which will most likely be the first one you will get. On top of skill levels, you also get nice damage reduction, high lightning resistance, and some extra mana. 

• Defense: Depends on base Helmet 
• Required Level: 27 
• Required Strength: Depends on base Helmet 
• Durability: Depends on base Helmet 
• Ort + Sol
  • +1 to All Skills 
  • +10 to Energy 
  • Lightning Resist +30% 
  • Damage Reduced by 7 
  • +2 to Mana After Each Kill 
  • +2 to Light Radius 

[Late] Harlequin Crest (Shako) - This Helmet is, most likely, the most universal gear piece in Diablo 2 Resurrected -  You can't go wrong with Shako in the late game. It gives you everything you might want for your Hammerdin - Skill levels, Mana, Health, Damage taken reduction, attributes, and magic find. 

• Defense: 98 to 141 
• Required Level: 62
• Required Strength: 50
• Durability: 20
  • +2 to All Skills 
  • +1-148 to Life (+1.5 per Character Level) 
  • +1-148 to Mana (+1.5 per Character Level) 
  • Damage Reduced By 10% 
  • 50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items 
  • +2 to All Attributes 

WEAPONS

[Early] Spirit Weapon (Runeword) - You can't go wrong with Spirit Weapon and you most likely won't change it for a long time. It is extremely powerful, considering that you can get it on day 1 (if you grind long enough, that is). it gives you everything you might need - Skill Levels, Faster Cast Rate, Life Leech, Bonus Mana, Extra Life, and Faster Hit Recovery.

• Damage:  Depends on base Weapon
• Required Level: 25
• Required Dexterity: Depends on base Weapon
• Required Strength: Depends on base Weapon
• Durability: Depends on base Weapon 
• Tal + Thul + Ort + Amn  
  • +2 To All Skills 
  • +25-35% Faster Cast Rate (varies) 
  • +55% Faster Hit Recovery 
  • Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage 
  • Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 3 Second Duration (Normal) 
  • +75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds 
  • 7% Life Stolen Per Hit 
  • +250 Defense Vs. Missile 
  • +22 To Vitality 
  • +89-112 To Mana (varies) 
  • +3-8 Magic Absorb (varies)

[Late] Heart of the Oak (Runeword) - This is a nice upgrade over the Spirit Weapon and an extremely solid end-game choice. Heart of the Oak provides +3 to all Skills and a 30% Faster Cast Rate. Moreover, it has a very high Mana Steal and gives a whopping +30-40 to All Resistances. 

• Damage:  Depends on base Weapon
• Required Level: 55
• Required Dexterity: Depends on base Weapon
• Required Strength: Depends on base Weapon
• Durability: Depends on base Weapon 
• Ko + Vex + Pul + Thul 
  • +3 To All Skills 
  • +40% Faster Cast Rate
  • +75% Damage To Demons 
  • +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons 
  • Adds 3-14 Cold Damage, 3 sec. Duration (Normal) 
  • 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit 
  • +10 To Dexterity 
  • Replenish Life +20 
  • Increase Maximum Mana 15% 
  • All Resistances +30-40 (varies) 
  • Level 4 Oak Sage (25 Charges) 
  • Level 14 Raven (60 Charges) 

[Early] Spirit Shield (Runeword) - As a Paladin, you can easily get a class-specific shield with 4 sockets which makes this Runeword an excellent choice. Spirit Shield is not only amazing in your weapon, but it is also amazing in your shields as well! Spirit Shield gives you a lot of Resistances, +1 to All Skills, a lot of mana, vitality, and a high bonus to Faster Cast Rate. 

• Defense: Depends on base Shield 
• Required Level: 25 
• Required Strength: Depends on base Shield 
• Durability: Depends on base Shield 
• Tal + Thul + Ort + Amn 
  • +1 To All Skills 
  • +25-35% Faster Cast Rate (varies) 
  • +55% Faster Hit Recovery 
  • +250 Defense Vs. Missile 
  • +22 To Vitality 
  • +89-112 To Mana (varies) 
  • Cold Resist +35% 
  • Lightning Resist +35% 
  • Poison Resist +35% 
  • +3-8 Magic Absorb (varies) 
  • Attacker Takes Damage of 14 

[Late] Herald of Zakarum (Gilded Shield) - One of the best shields in the game and the most powerful item you can have on the Hammerdin. The bonuses this shield provides are unbelievably strong (+4 to Blessed Hammer in total, for example!). Herald of Zakarum not only increases your offensive power, but it is also a great defensive shield as well (high enhanced defense, high chance to block, very high all resistance bonus, and vitality). 

• Defense: 422 to 507 
• Required Level: 42 
• Required Strength: 89 ​​​​​ 
  • +2 To Paladin Skill Levels 
  • +2 To Combat Skills (Paladin Only) 
  • +150-200% Enhanced Defense 
  • 30% Increased Chance Of Block 
  • 30% Faster Block Rate 
  • 20% Bonus To Attack Rating 
  • +20 To Strength 
  • +20 To Vitality 
  • All Resistances +50 

AMULETS

[Early] Rare/Magic Amulet with + Paladin/Combat Skills/Offensive Auras/Defensive Auras would be ideal, but chances of finding these are extremely low. Most likely, you will end up with a Magic Amulet with Magic Find and/or Resistances. 

• Required Level: varies. 
• In Magic Amulets, look for:
  • + to Combat Skills. 
  • + to Offensive Auras. 
  • + to Defensive Auras. 
  • Magic Find. 
  • Resistances. 
• In Rare Amulets, look for:
  • + to Paladin Skills 
  • Magic Find 
  • Resistances 
  • Attributes 

[Late] Mara's Kaleidoscope - In a build that wants +All Skills, this amulet is a must for the end game. It provides a great combination of offensive (+2 to all skills) and defensive (+20-30 to all resistances) properties. 

• Required Level: 67
  • +2 To All Skills 
  • All Resistances +20-30 (varies) 
  • +5 To All Attributes 

ARMORS

[Early] Stealth (Runeword) - This is an extremely powerful Early-game Runeword and you simply can't go wrong with it.  It will make the early grind much easier (it regenerates mana and gives a substantial boost to the Fuster Run/Walk which is great before you get high enough Vigor). 

• Defense: Depends on base Armor 
• Required Level: 17 
• Required Strength: Depends on base Armor 
• Durability: Depends on base Armor 
• Tal + Eth  
  • +25% Faster Run/Walk 
  • +25% Faster Casting Rate 
  • +25% Faster Hit Recovery 
  • +6 to Dexterity 
  • Regenerate Mana 15% 
  • +15 Maximum Stamina 
  • Poison Resist +30% 
  • Magic Damage Reduced by 3 

[Mid/Late] Skin of the Vipermagi (Serpentskin Armor) - A very solid upgrade over Stealth. It increases All Skills and FCR making it a great offensive option. You should be able to get this one rather cheaply. 

• Defense: 279
• Required Strength: 43
• Durability: 24
• Required Level: 29
  • +120% Defense
  • +1 to All Skills
  • 30% Faster Cast Rate
  • Magic Damage Reduced By 9-13 (varies) 
  • All Resistances +20-35 (varies) 

[Late] Enigma (Runeword) - This powerful Chest Runeword provides everything you might want from an item, including +2 to All Skills, Teleport (!),  +14 to Life after each kill, and a very nice boost to Magic Find. Ideally, you will want to inscribe this Runeword into an Archon Plate. 

• Defense: Depends on base Armor 
• Required Level: 65 
• Required Strength: Depends on base Armor 
• Durability: Depends on base Armor 
• Jah + Ith + Ber  
  • +2 To All Skills 
  • +45% Faster Run/Walk 
  • +1 To Teleport 
  • +750-775 Defense (varies) 
  • +(0.75*Clvl) To Strength (Based On Character Level) 
  • Increase Maximum Life 5% 
  • Damage Reduced By 8% 
  • +14 Life After Each Kill 
  • 15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana 
  • (1*Clvl)% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based On Character Level)

RINGS

[Early] Rare/Magic Rings with Faster Cast Rate, Resistances, Magic Find, and Bonuses to Life are what you should be looking for early. You will most likely find tons of these early - just pick the best pair and use them until you find a replacement. 

• Required Level: varies. 
• In Magic Rings, look for:
  • Magic Find 
  • Attributes 
  • Magic Find 
• In Rare Rings, look for:
  • Faster Cast Rate
  • Magic Find 
  • Resistances 
  • Attributes 
  • Life Leech 

[Late] Raven Frost - One of the best rings you can have on any Diablo 2 Build. It provides Freeze Immunity which is extremely important to have on every build. 

• Required Level: 76
  • +150-250 Attack Rating (varies) 
  • 15-45 Cold Damage 
  • +15-20 Dexterity (varies) 
  • +40 Mana 
  • Cold Absorb 20% (varies) 
  • Cannot be Frozen 

[Late] The Stone of Jordan - One of the most iconic items in Diablo 2 - you can find references to it in other Blizzard games. If you're after some more offensive power, this Unique Ring will give you just that. Stone of Jordan increases the level of all your Skills and your max Mana.

• Required Level: 29
  • +1 to All Skills
  • Maximum Mana to 25% 
  • Adds 1-12 Lightning Damage 
  • +20 to Mana

GLOVES

[Early] Rare Gloves with Life Leech, Magic Find, increased Gold from Monsters, and Half Freeze Duration are good early-game options until you find something better. 

• Required Level: varies. 
• In Rare Gloves, look for:
  • Life Leech 
  • Extra Gold From Monsters
  • Half Freeze Duration 
  • Magic Find 

[Late] Trang'Ouls Claws (Heavy Bracers) - These amazing gloves grant a 20% Increased Faster Cast Rate and a nice boost to Cold resistance. Alternatively, you can use Magefist (but Trang'Ouls Claws are better because of the Cold Resist). 

• Defense: 67-74
• Required Level: 45
• Required Strength: 58
• Durability: 16
  • +20% Faster Cast Rate 
  • Cold Resist +30% 
  • +30 Defense 
  • +25% Poison Skill Damage 
  • +2 To Curses (Necromancer Only) 

BOOTS

[Early] Rare/Magic Boots with Faster Run/Walk, Magic Find, increased Gold from Monsters, and extra Attributes are a good early-game option until you find something better. 

• Required Level: varies. 
• In Magic Belts look for:
  • Faster Run/Walk and Slower Stamina Drain 
  • Faster Run/Walk 
  • Magic Find 
  • Attributes 
• In Rare Belts, look for:
  • Resistances 
  • Faster Run/Walk 
  • Extra Gold From Monsters
  • Magic Find 
  • Attributes 

[Late] War Traveler (Battle Boots) - The best pair if you want to increases your Loot by boosting MF stat. They also provide decent Movement Speed and extra STR/VIT. 

• Defense: 120-139 
• Required Level: 42
• Required Strength: 95
• Kick Damage: 37-64 
• Durability: 48
  • +150-190% Enhanced Defense 
  • 25% Faster Run/Walk 
  • +10 to Vitality 
  • +10 to Strength 
  • Adds 15-25 Damage 
  • +40% Slower Stamina Drain 
  • Attacker Takes Damage Of 5-10 
  • 30-50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items 

BELTS

[Early] Rare/Magic Rings with Faster Hit Recovery, bonuses to Life, and increased Gold from Monsters are a good early-game option until you find something better. 

• Required Level: varies. 
• In Magic Belts look for:
  • Bonuses to Life 
  • Faster Hit Recovery 
• In Rare Belts, look for:
  • Faster Hit Recovery 
  • Extra Gold from Monsters 
  • Replenish Life 
  • Bonuses to Life 
  • Resistances 

[Late] Arachnid Mesh (Spiderweb Sash) - A great offensive option that you should go for later in the game. It gives you +1 to all Skills and Faster Cast Rate, which is great. 

• Defense: 119-138 
• Potion Slots: 16 
• Required Level: 80
• Required Strength: 50
• Durability: 12
  • +90-120% Enhanced Defense  
  • Slows Target by 20% 
  • +1 To All Skills 
  • 20% Faster Cast Rate 
  • Maximum Mana 5% 
  • Level 3 Venom (11 Charges) 

CHARMS

1. Grand Charms -  If you're lucky and you find Grand Charms with +Combat Skills or Offensive Auras early, consider yourself lucky. Otherwise, use any of these that offer useful bonuses - Magic Find, Resistances, Life, etc. 
2. Large Charms -  You can find Magic Find, Resistances and bonuses to Life on these which makes them useful early on - if you find these, you should definitely use them. 
3. Small Charms - With these, you should get your desired Resistances, bonuses to Life, or bonuses to Magic Find - whatever suits your needs, basically. 
4. As for Unique Charms; if you can afford them - use them. 

MERCENARY

Equipping a mercenary early on can be extremely difficult as finding a 4-Socket Polearm (for Insight Runeword) can take a lot of time, however, if you manage to do that, you should definitely employ a Merc as it will help you on your ventures. Please note that the below-mentioned recommendations can turn out to be quite expensive, especially early on. 

We recommend picking up Act 2 Defiance Mercenary for extra damage mitigation bonuses. He should be equipped with: 

1. Insight Rune Word in Ethereal Spear - This provides a Meditation Aura that increases our Mana Recovery Rate which is extremely helpful. 
2. Fortitude Rune Word in Armor - This Runeword gives solid defenses that are necessary to keep your merc alive. 
3. Vampire Gaze - An extremely solid and versatile headgear that will make your merc much more durable. 
4. The rest of the Merc's equipment will mainly depend on your budget and drops - focusing on items with extra defense, life/vitality, life leech, or offensive mods (like crushing blow) is generally a good idea. 

END NOTE

This is our premiere Diablo 2 Resurrected build where we tried to include all of the important information on how to set up this character while keeping the guide as compact as possible. If we've missed something of importance, please let us know! 

If you have any Build requests, please post them in the Comments section below. We will be happy to cover your most requested builds in the future! Also, we hope that you have found this guide useful and informative. Also, we will be happy to receive constructive criticism that will help us improve our future work, so don't hesitate to give us your feedback.