Physical Sword & Board Righteous Fervor Oppressor
An Oathkeeper+Necromancer sword-and-board frontliner centered on Righteous Fervor's retaliation damage and Shattering Smash's shield attack, reinforced by Spectral Binding and Spectral Wrath. The author (RSnoomak) describes it as a "2-3 button" build with "very high sustain" from high life leech, armor, and Resilience.
Righteous Fervor
The author posted video proof of defeating the Ravager of Flesh (1:25), Lokkar, Mogdrogen, and Callagadra on v1.2.1.6. It handles SR 30-31, though the guide recommends pulling one or two enemies at a time in Hardcore rather than tackling 3-enemy packs. The "Crate" secret celestial fight is explicitly called "nearly suicide in HC" and near-impossible, and is excluded from this build's claimed scope.
Beginner ★★★★☆
Gear need ★★☆☆☆ (few required items — beginner-friendly)
Skills & Priorities
6An Oathkeeper skill that replaces your default attack. It deals weapon-referenced Physical and Burn damage, and builds up charge stacks with each hit that progressively boost its damage multiplier — the build's main attack. Bind the Assassin's Blade devotion's Assassin's Mark proc here (100% chance on crit).
An Oathkeeper passive weapon-pool skill (WPS) — not an independently activated skill. While wielding a one-handed melee weapon and shield, it has a 12-30% chance to trigger automatically off Righteous Fervor (the default-attack replacer), hopping in with a melee hit plus a forward shockwave that both land on the main target.
An Oathkeeper active shield-throw attack, used as a supplementary attack. Bind the Dire Bear devotion's Maul proc here (20% chance on attack).
An Oathkeeper active mobility skill for closing the gap into engagement range. Bind the Ulzaad, Herald of Korvaak devotion's Ulzaad's Decree proc here.
A Necromancer passive that boosts flat health, Offensive Ability, and flat damage — the foundation of both this build's survivability and damage.
A Necromancer passive that boosts damage while shredding enemy resistance.
Devotion Route (In Order)
13- 1.The cited guide's text lays out a route ("Pink Crossroad -> Jackal -> Yellow Crossroad -> refund Jackal/Pink -> Turtle -> Blue Crossroad -> Sailor's Guide -> Purple Crossroad -> Empty Throne -> refund all Crossroads -> Dire Bear [proc to Brutal Shield Slam] -> Hammer -> Ulzaad [proc to Vire's Might] -> Assassin's Blade [proc to Righteous Fervor] -> ... -> Vire, the Stone Matron -> refund Hammer -> Purple Crossroad -> Azrakaa") that has an internal contradiction: refunding Hammer (which grants Ascendant +4) after completing Vire, the Stone Matron (which requires Ascendant 12) would drop the running Ascendant total below 12, violating the already-completed Vire's maintained requirement (a forum reply on the thread flags exactly this refund step). Brutal Shield Slam is also not a mastery skill -- it's an item skill granted by a specific component (Serrated Shell) -- and isn't part of this build's regular skill kit. So this build keeps the guide's Ulzaad -> Vire's Might and Assassin's Blade -> Righteous Fervor bindings, independently rebinds Dire Bear's proc to Aegis of Menhir instead, and uses a redesigned route with zero refunds (Hammer is kept permanently instead of refunded; Azrakaa is dropped as it would exceed the 55-point budget). 1 point in Crossroads (Ascendant).
- 2.Complete Empty Throne (4pt / requires Ascendant 1, already met by the running total; grants Ascendant +5).
- 3.1 point in Crossroads (Order).
- 4.Complete Tortoise (5pt / requires Order 1, already met by the running total; grants Order +2, Primordial +3).
- 5.1 point in Crossroads (Primordial).
- 6.Complete Sailor's Guide (4pt / requires Primordial 1, already met by the running total; grants Primordial +5).
- 7.Complete Dire Bear (6pt / requires Ascendant 5, Primordial 5, met by the running total of Ascendant 6, Primordial 9; grants Ascendant +1, Primordial +1). Bind its Maul proc to Aegis of Menhir (Shattering Smash is a passive weapon-pool skill and can't hold a devotion proc).
- 8.Complete Hammer (3pt / requires Ascendant 1, already met by the running total; grants Ascendant +4).
- 9.[Core] Complete Ulzaad, Herald of Korvaak (6pt / requires Ascendant 8, Primordial 6, met by the running total of Ascendant 11, Primordial 10; grants Ascendant +2, Eldritch +2). Bind its Ulzaad's Decree proc to Vire's Might.
- 10.[Core] Complete Assassin's Blade (5pt / requires Order 1, already met by the running total; grants Ascendant +3, Order +2). Bind its Assassin's Mark proc to Righteous Fervor.
- 11.Complete Eel (3pt / requires Primordial 1, already met by the running total; grants Primordial +5).
- 12.Complete Panther (4pt / requires Order 1, already met by the running total; grants Order +2, Primordial +3).
- 13.Complete Vire, the Stone Matron (6pt / requires Ascendant 12, Primordial 18, met by the running total of Ascendant 16, Primordial 18; grants no affinity, but delivers a strong permanent Armor and Physical damage bonus as the endgame capstone). This lands at 49 of the 55-point budget, including 3 Crossroads points (Ascendant, Order, Primordial), with zero refunds needed anywhere. The last 6 points are left as flexible/optional investment.
Gear
- ▸Levels 1-20: gear up with Bernard's Slightly-Chewed Buckler (shield), Milton's Casque (helm), and guaranteed early drops like the Putrid Necklace and Slith Primal Ring. Chase the shield that drops after defeating Warden Krieg at level 20.
- ▸Levels 20-30: chase the Skinner Family Seal, Balthazar's Crest, and Cronley's Signet. Levels 30-40: chase the Aetherscorched Cleaver, Fleshwarped Pauldrons, the Mark of Harvoul (Tomb of Korvaak), and Solael-Sect Legguards.
- ▸Levels 40-50: push Cult of Bysmiel reputation to craft the Endurance relic. Levels 50-60: chase Bargoll's Root and Legion Greaves.
- ▸Endgame uses either the Stonefather or Siegebreaker setup. The guide describes both as cheap, with no "crazy greens" needed, achievable through campaign farming and monster totems, with no Celestial-exclusive drops required (totem farming does include some random legendary drops, not purely target-farmable infrequents).
- ▸Build around Stonewall Defender (craftable yellow-tier gear) and Plagueguard Grips.
- ▸Around levels 80-90, chase Wendigo Glare from Malmouth/Barrowholm (Respected+ reputation).
Playstyle & Notes
- ▸Keep landing Righteous Fervor hits to build up its charge stacks for more damage; Shattering Smash triggers automatically off those attacks at random.
- ▸Close the gap with Vire's Might and fill gaps with Aegis of Menhir.
- ▸The author calls it a "2-3 button" build with "very high sustain" from life leech, armor, and Resilience — a "righteous man using dark arts," not a screen-wide AoE nuker but a frontline brawler.
Levels 1-20: patch elemental resistance with Wardstones. Levels 30-40: the guide flags anything below 60% Chaos resistance as risky for Blood Grove. Levels 70-80: cap Chaos resistance and watch for Zaria's resistance-shred. Levels 80-90: stack further resistance via a reputation-reward chest piece.
The early game, especially before level 35, is notably slow. As an unflashy tank archetype, the author notes leveling requires patience. Oathkeeper has some of the slowest early mastery support of any class. The "Crate" secret celestial fight is "nearly suicide in HC" and effectively out of scope.
Farm the Warden Krieg lab riftgate, Pine Barrens/Blood Grove/Prospector's Trail (Fleshwarped Pauldrons), Gruesome Harvest/outer Homestead (leveling gear), East Necropolis (around level 55), and Malmouth/Barrowholm (Wendigo Glare, Respected+ reputation).