Diablo 4 Boosting

Diablo 4 Season 16 is a true turning point for Paladin. For the past few seasons, Paladin builds have been dominated by Shield of Retribution and Fortress builds. While Zealot branch boasts a distinct melee tempo, it has always lacked sufficient ceiling support.

With the crucial buff to March of the Stalwart Soul in PTR, and Talisman set stacking mechanic introduced by Horadric Items, Advance Zealot Paladin build finally possesses top-tier strength: it can quickly handle all phases of Mephisto on Torment 12 difficulty and reliably push to Pit 130+.

Season 16 Makes Advance Zealot a Viable Build

The core of this build revolves around the basic skill Advance as the primary source of damage, using Zealot Oath to generate Fervor stacks while gaining damage bonuses, damage reduction, and Fortify, balancing offensive and defensive capabilities.

Vanguard's Rush allows Advance to quickly close the distance to enemies and increases damage based on Fervor stacks. March of the Stalwart Soul further enhances Advance's damage, skill level, and dash range, transforming it from a basic skill into a core damage-dealing tool with both mobility and crowd control.

What truly elevates this build's potential is Horadric Items system introduced in D4 Season 16. Through its set bonuses and the reduced amulet requirements of Seal of the Diamond Mind, players can simultaneously activate the 5-piece set effects of both Cathan's Dauntless Faith and Heaven's Radiant Fire.

Different Roles of the Two Sets

The two sets respectively enhance Advance Zealot Paladin build's damage output and overall damage, finally giving this previously low-ceilinged build the ability to challenge high-level Pit raids and quickly kill difficult bosses.

Cathan's Dauntless Faith Set

Cathan's Dauntless Faith forms the foundation of the entire build's defense and damage output. Its 3-piece set effect automatically triggers Rally every 6 seconds, so Rally doesn't need to be placed in the skill bar to trigger Arcadia's effect.

After the Season 16 buff, Arcadia can convert a portion of Fortify life into Barrier and provides 33% damage reduction, significantly improving survivability in melee combat. Cathan's Dauntless Faith's 5-piece set further enhances Zealot's damage output.

Heaven's Radiant Fire Set

Heaven's Radiant Fire further amplifies damage. Its 5-piece set provides 500% more damage, but requires applying Judgement to the enemy first.

Therefore, this build chooses Faith Is My Shield variant of Aegis, which increases block chance to 100% while applying Judgement, balancing set bonus trigger, damage, and defense.

Skill Configuration

This build focuses skill points primarily on Advance, the two auras, and Aegis, balancing output, buffs, and survivability.

Advance (Level 15)

The core damage skill, choosing upgrades to Critical Strike Chance, Vanguard's Rush, and Unhindered to enhance critical strike chance, dash ability, and movement fluidity.

Fantasyism Aura (Level 15)

Provides stackable Attack Speed ​​and critical strike chance, further enhanced by upgrades to Rite of Vengeance and Potency.

Defiance Aura (Level 15)

Increases Armor, Resistance, and Maximum Life, improving survivability in high-level challenges.

Rally (Level 1)

Choose Words of Rejuvenation upgrade to enhance recovery. Since Dauntless Faith automatically triggers Rally, it doesn't need to be added to the skill bar.

Aegis (Level 15)

Provides a large amount of Block Chance, synergizing with Faith Is My Shield to apply Judgement. Choose Unstoppable and Duration to increase skill uptime.

Condemn (Level 1)

Paired with Weaken and Gather the Guilty upgrades, it applies Vulnerable and expands its area of ​​effect.

Zenith (Level 1)

Choose Unstoppable, Empyrean Edge, and Critical Strike Chance upgrades to further increase critical strike damage.

Rite of Might is not a must-have in this setup - due to the lack of a stable way to gain Resolve stacks, its damage increase effect is difficult to trigger consistently. If Resolve can be reliably generated later through methods like Horadric affix, the skill configuration can be adjusted to further increase the damage ceiling.

Gear and Horadric Affix Priorities

Advance Zealot Paladin's gear selection revolves around three main objectives: maintaining Fervor buff, increasing Advance damage, and ensuring survivability through blocking and barriers.

Since this build has specific requirements for gear and amulets, players can also choose Diablo 4 items for sale when perfecting their gear set to specifically fill in the gaps and reduce the time cost of repeatedly farming for them.

Core Equipment/Aspect

• Helmet - Crown of Lucion, provides 6 stacks of independent damage increase.
• Chest Armor - Bulwark's Aspect, increases block chance and block damage reduction.
• Gloves - Aspect of the Zealot's Covenant, increases Fervor stacks and increases Zealot Oath damage.
• Pants - Arcadia, provides a barrier and damage reduction.
• Boots - March of the Stalwart Soul, significantly enhances Advance.
• Amulet - Aspect of Jacques' Fervor, increases damage based on Fervor stacks.
• Ring 1 - Revelator's Aspect, supplements damage bonus.
• Ring 2 - Aspect of Redirected Force, converts block chance into critical strike damage.
• Weapon - Griswold's Opus, increases critical strike damage and provides Lucky Hit benefits.
• Offhand - Aspect of Moonrise, increases base skill damage, attack speed, and movement speed.

Horadric Affixes and Charms Combination 

Diablo 4 In Season 16, Horadric affixes for legendary gear should prioritize buffs to the two set bonuses you're using, focusing on the following affixes:

• Extra damage against Vulnerable enemies
• Zealot Oath skill level bonus
• Damage bonus from the corresponding set bonus

For charms, the following combination is recommended:

• Seal of the Diamond Mind
• Hellfire Torch
• Radiant Fire Charms ×2
• Dauntless Faith Charms ×2
• Fist of Fate

Combat Rotation

In actual combat, first use Zenith to activate the critical hit damage bonus, then apply Vulnerable status with Condemn Aura, and cast Aegis to increase block chance and apply Judgement, triggering the Heaven's Radiant Fire 5-piece set effect.

Subsequently, alternate between Fanaticism Aura and Defiance Aura to maintain Crown of Lucion damage stacks, and continuously use Advance for output. Rally is automatically triggered by Dauntless Faith and requires no manual intervention.

When challenging higher-level Pit, be mindful of Aegis's block coverage and skill cooldowns, and utilize Advance's dash ability to adjust positioning when necessary.

Overall, Advance Zealot Paladin is a worthwhile new build to try in Diablo 4 Season 16, balancing burst damage, mobility, and survivability. If its performance in the live servers is similar to 3.3.0 PTR, it has the potential to become a powerful choice for Paladin in challenging higher-level Pit bosses and speed-farming bosses.

In Diablo 4 Season 15, defeating bosses and elite monsters generally grants Renown, while seasonal content provides additional rewards.

If you use an AFK build and find a location where bosses and elite monsters can spawn endlessly, you can theoretically earn Renown without doing anything. And this is entirely possible.

Dark Citadel

There is a location in Diablo 4 where you can farm endlessly spawning monsters. To get there, first enter Dark Citadel, specifically its first wing, Enclave of Strife.

As you progress through Enclave of Strife, you will encounter a barrier that requires two players to pass, meaning you cannot complete this section alone. You can register your party in the group finder as a team looking for other players to run Dark Citadel with, then wait for someone to join.

Once another player joins, continue clearing Dark Citadel. Further ahead, you will encounter a branching path where the party must split into two groups, with each group clearing a separate route. Eventually, you will reach the wing's treasury. Open the chests there and collect Diablo 4 items inside.

After Reaching the Treasury

Opening the treasury chests is a crucial milestone because, from this point onward, you no longer actually need your teammates.

You can ask your teammates if they are interested in farming Renown indefinitely and invite them to stay, or ask them to leave. Alternatively, if you don't like playing with strangers, you can contact a friend or guild member for help. However, it's best not to kick someone directly from the party.

Keep in mind that simply leaving the party will not work. If you leave after reaching this point, your character will be teleported back to Dark Citadel lobby, preventing you from continuing the process. Therefore, leaving the party is not a viable option for this farming method.

Once you have sorted out your teammates or decided to continue as a group, proceed further. After a while, you will find a gateway. It will appear on your minimap and can also be identified by a circular pattern on the ground. This is where AFK Renown farming takes place.

How To AFK Farm Renown?

Under normal circumstances, once you reach the gateway, you need to kill the continuously spawning elite monsters and collect a certain type of crystal they drop. Once enough crystals have been collected, the gateway becomes active and transports you to the next section of the dungeon. However, this farming method does not require you to activate the gateway.

Instead, simply stay near the gateway without interacting with it. As long as you remain in the area, the game will continue spawning elite monsters to attack you. These monsters grant seasonal Renown when killed.

If you use a build that automatically clears nearby enemies without requiring any button presses, you can simply stand still and AFK while the monsters continuously spawn, die, and generate seasonal Renown.

You can even collect the crystals if you want, as doing so will not affect the farming process. As long as you don't interact with the gateway, it will remain inactive. Just remember not to proceed to the next section of the wing, or the automatic elite monster spawns will stop.

Warlock Solo Wall-Phasing Method

Besides the party-based approach, you can also complete this farming method solo, provided you play a Warlock.

Currently, there is an exploit involving Warlock's Rampage ability or its jumping mechanics. By using Demonic Smash variant of Rampage together with Vanguard Shard and Infernal Fragment, you can use Rampage to pass through walls in the game, including those inside Dark Citadel.

This means players using this Warlock setup don't need to find a party or deal with teammates. Simply use Rampage to pass through the walls one by one until you reach the gateway. Once there, the process is identical to the party-based method: stay near the gateway and let the monsters spawn continuously to farm Renown indefinitely.

However, Warlock does not seem to have a true AFK build at the moment. Although some builds only require a single button press, they are not completely hands-free. If a genuinely AFK Warlock build becomes available, that should be your first choice. Otherwise, you may need to press a few buttons manually to keep farming Renown.

Recommended AFK Builds

This farming method works best with builds that offer genuine hands-free functionality. Here are some recommended options:

• Zero Button Storm Companions Druid
• Minion Necromancer
• Oadin Paladin
• AFK Blizzard Sorcerer

Warlock also has a One Button AFK build that can be automated with a macro. Spiritborn has a similar build, but it requires constant movement, so it is not recommended for this method.

Helltide AFK Farming

Helltide AFK farming is another common solo Renown farming method in Diablo 4 Season 15. You simply need to find a suitable spot and stand there. There are no specific build requirements.

However, Helltides move from one region to another every hour. Once Helltide moves away, Renown farming stops. This means you cannot truly AFK for extended periods, whereas Dark Citadel method allows Renown to keep accumulating continuously.

If you don't want to put any effort into building a dedicated AFK character, Helltide farming is another option.

Higher Renown means more Renown reward caches. These caches are one of the important sources of Diablo 4 Season 15 Prime Evil Shards. Meanwhile, the farming process also generates various additional loot, including keys, gear, Runes, and crafting materials. This way, you can keep earning rewards without wasting any of your time.