As a high level paladin, I never understand why this shield is so sought after and is worth so much (around 20 sojs on US West).

The only 2 worthwhile mods on this shield which you cannot get on a rare paladin shield are the "cannot be frozen" and "+1 paladin offensive aura" mods. However, the Herald of Zakarum can only have either one of +resists or +dmg mod, whereas a rare paladin shield can have both the +dmg mod and a prismatic mod. Moreover, a typical high end paladin shield would only go for 2-3 sojs as opposed to the 20 sojs of Herald of Zakarum.

So what makes Herald of Zakarum so valuable? It can't be the "+1 paladin offensive aura" mod as the extra dmg is almost negligible when you compare that to a +65% dmg mod on a rare paladin shield. I admit that the "cannot be frozen" mod is awesome but you can easily get a raven frost ring these days with far less.

Please enlighten me on this subject, fellow paladins.

High-defence Rhyme with built-in prismatic mod will surely beat Herald Of Zakarum (having Cannot be frozen mod, as well as faster block, +%block and even +%MF)

And both Shae and Eth are pretty common.

So, it's not worth it, and there's nothing you missed - it's just a nice looking mid-level unique.

Cheers.

-=Jeck Wild=-

*snip*

Here's the shield in question. Lets examine it, shall we?

High defense - MUCH more important to Paladins now. You should easily crack 1000 with a good level Holy Shield. Right now, my Paladin is at 2000 defense in Nightmare, Act 5. He has about a 25% chance to be hit my most enemies. Defense is not as useless as it once was.

50% Faster Block - OHHHHHHH baby. This is one of the best mods you can have on a shield. Virtually removes block lock, and lets you hit a hell of a lot more. Do *not* discount this ability

+2 to Paladin skills - Everyone likes more skills

Attack Rating/Damage to Undead - Undead are fairly common throughout the game, who wouldn't want to deal more damage to them?

+1 Offensive Aura's - I find this offensive. *gags*. Nice mod to have though

+15% chance to block - Again, another nice modification.

Audomods - I would rather have +damage%, but resists are nice too.

This shield is the sort of shield that has it all. A rare Crown Shield with the same stats - you'd be googling over. The reason why this shield is wanted so highly, because of yet, it's the best shield commonly traded. Lets face is - it's a solid shield even in the end of the game. Has everything you could want in a shield, and if you can get the resists elsewhere, I consider it the best option available.

I'm looking for one currently

Maybe it's bugged, does something that isn't listed on the Summit page, or does something "cool" when used with a specific item/skill.

Or like Rand said, maybe it's just pretty good.

Draco

It is a great shield, but why did I trade it?

Well here's what I got:
Dwarfstar (this is HC, high mdr is useful)
Gravepalm (this is undervalued at the moment, high dmg to undead on gloves)
Barb set helm (didn't want it, but seller insisted)
10 perfect emeralds
1 Ko Rune (which became a nice 15/9 dmg reduced/mdr ring)
Mavinas Belt (didn't want, but again seller insisted)

Peoplpe value resists highly in HC, and to get them with plus skills on the same item is a real hughe bonus. For certain builds the def is beneficial, and for most builds the block rate is very important (HC).