Herald Of Zakarum Ethereal 150-184% ED

Defense: 632-718
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 79
Chance To Block: 72%
Durability: 26
(Paladin Only)

+150-184% 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
+2 To Paladin Skill Levels
+2 To Combat Skills (Paladin Only)

Ethereal

The Herald of Zakarum is a unique Gilded Shield, a type of shield from Diablo II: Lord of Destruction exclusive only to Paladins.

The Herald of Zakarum is probably the best shield option for Paladins that specialize in Combat Skills, such as FoHers, Smiters, or Hammerdins. Combined with other appropriate equipment, the Herald of Zakarum can be an indispensable item of many Paladins' repertoire.

Defensively, the Herald of Zakarum also has quite a few assets. Its large boost to Resistances is particularly useful for Nightmare and Hell difficulties, where resistances are drastically lowered. Additionally, the Herald of Zakarum boasts a very high chance of blocking.

On the other hand, offensively, besides its skill boosts, the Herald of Zakarum may be beaten out by other shields. It does give a boost to Strength, +2 to Combat Skills (+4 four taking into consideration the +2 to all Paladin Skills the Shield gives) and Attack Rating, but otherwise it gives no obvious boost to attack damage.

Still, the Herald of Zakarum is a fairly good paladin shield all around. Since it is the only exceptional unique paladin shield, it is also the easiest to access.

The Herald of Zakarum is generally not considered an ideal item to upgrade to Elite using the Horadric Cube, as the boost to defense does not increase enough to justify the higher level and strength requirements.