Paladin / Necro / Monk — The Paladin Main
The one-trio answer for a Paladin-locked main. Necro's lich line solves the smite mana problem directly, Monk adds top melee damage plus mana-free mend, and slot three swaps toward priests for high-tier pushes.
Paladin
Necromancer
MonkOverview
The build for a player locked into Paladin primary who wants one trio that levels and flexes. The Paladin smite-into-Lay-on-Hands engine burns mana hard; the Necro lich line is the best mana return in the game, so Necro solves the bottleneck directly while adding a pet, lifetaps, and dots. Monk brings the top melee damage in the game plus mana-free mend.
Builder score at D0 puts it near the top of Paladin trios. The pieces cover each other: mana from lich, adds held by the pet, panic buttons on two separate resource bars.
Stances & Invocations
Stance
Mage Hunter
Incoming magical damage −50%, physical −20%. Every point reduced consumes equal endurance (Strategy-reduced).
Paladin, Shadow Knight, Berserker
Evasive
95% chance to evade all incoming attacks. Every point evaded costs 2 endurance, reduced by Strategy skill. Evasion fails without endurance or while feigning death.
Ranger, Monk, Bard, Rogue, Beastlord
Invocation
Recovery
Mana regen doubled and spells cost 5% less mana. Out-of-combat regen unaffected; the regen modifier stays active out of combat even when the invocation isn't.
Cleric, Paladin, Ranger, Shadow Knight, Druid, Bard, Shaman, Necromancer, Wizard, Magician, Enchanter, Beastlord
Arcane Mastery
Spell cast and recovery times −20%, another −10% per additional intelligence class. Detrimental spell mana cost −10%, another −5% per intelligence class.
Shadow Knight, Necromancer, Wizard, Magician, Enchanter
Arcane Mastery (Necro qualifies) speeds the dot layer; Recovery for the smite bar.
Key Abilities
Paladin
| # | Name | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smite SPELL | The Lay-on-Hands loop feeder |
| 2 | Lay on Hands SPELL | Damage engine |
Necromancer
| # | Name | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lich line SPELL | The mana problem, solved |
| 2 | Dot stack SPELL | Ticking while you melee |
Monk
| # | Name | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mend ABILITY | Mana-free panic button |
| 2 | Feign Death ABILITY | Reset button on bad pulls |
Leveling Path
- Blackburrow5–12
- Befallen10–22
- Najena19–25
- Lair of the Splitpaw24–32
- Lower Guk32–42
- Nagafen's Lair46–50
Playstyle Notes
Smite for the Lay-on-Hands loop, lich for mana, pet on adds, dots ticking while you melee, mend as the free panic button. Keep Monk in slot two the whole way up; Necro holds slot three while leveling and swaps toward Shaman or Cleric when you start pushing D3 and up — every class keeps its levels, so the swap costs nothing.
AA Priorities
- Lay on Hands cooldown — Engine uptime
- Lich line — Mana return
- Mend — Monk panic
- Dot crit — Necro scaling
Gear Notes
| Item | Source | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Journeyman's Boots | Quested | Drelzna, Najena — no run speed otherwise |
| Befallen +4 set | Dropped | Befallen revamp named — carries you to Lower Guk |
Pros & Cons
- Solves the Paladin mana problem with the best mana engine in the game
- One trio levels 1–50 and farms named without a respec
- Free class swaps mean slot three flexes toward Shaman or Cleric for D3/D4 pushes
- Not a top-of-the-board D4 build — that job belongs to the priest-swap variant
- Lich management while getting hit takes practice
- Monk and Paladin compete for melee gear early