Natural Defiance vs. Exile Defiance

[Any1]

Also, never forget the awesome power of Holy Shield and its ability to increase blocking %.  If you choose to go "natural Defiance" over the Exile, then you can get a goodly increase to your shield's defense rating as well (610% Defense). 

But as long as we're on the topic of multiple auras active, how about this idea:  your character has the Exile equipped, which gives him a Defiance aura of slvl 13-16.  You use conviction/vengence or fanatacism/zeal as your actual character build.  And to supplement this defensive concentration, you get a Holy Freeze merc from Nightmare/Act 2.  Your enemies will be swinging slower, meaning less attacks on you over time.  When they do attack, they have to do an attack calculation against your high defense and then get past your maxed blocking shield.  Talk about crowd control. 

The net result of this is, you have a defensive bonus of 190~220% from the Defiance; your shield is maxed blocking from even a few points in Holy Shield; and your enemies are drastically slowed by your mercenary.  To top it off, your offensive power is undiminished from skill point diffusion. 

Does this sound reasonable?  If there are others out there with specific experience, please pitch in!  I'd like to hear it.    Specifically, how do I calculate the monster probabilities to hit the character, given a monster attack rating and the player's defense? 

To maximize on the defiance, though, you'd have to concentrate on the higher-defense gear.  The Leviathan (1514-1722), Steel Carapace (1618-1785), and Templar's Might (1622-1923) have the highest defence ratings of the Elite Unique armors; notable rune words are: 

Enigma-- (+750~775 Defense)
in average Sacred Armor this gets you:  1318

Gloom-- (+200~260% Enhanced Defense)
in average Sacred Armor this gets you:  1412

Stone-- (+250~290% Enhanced Defense)
in average Sacred Armor this gets you:  1574

Of course, your gear choices are going to be limited by concerns outside of Defense Rating--gekko pointed them out well.  Good Leech, FHR, resists, Damage Reduced by and MRD gear are all important properties to have in a defensive character, and gear choice has to take this into account.  Specifically, you'll be loving your MDR and resists when you're pinned by a crowd and some Ghoul Lord lights you up with a firewall or meteor.  :-(

I'm currently building a classic defiant (using only his Defiance aura).  Over the years, I've managed to acquire a Leviathan (it actually inspired the Defiant) and can scrape together some various High-defense gear.  If anybody is interested, I'll chronicle his development (albeit, in the Armory rather than the Workshop.) 

Hope this helps!

Max Holy shield is a given, of course.

In 1.09D I had Defiant Avenger that used a Holy Freeze merc. I remember standing in a pack of 20+ Hell Bovine and not even blinking.

I already have a Slinger (throwing Paladin), a Hammerdin, a Ranger, a Frost Zealot, and an Avenger in 1.10. I try to have as little in common between my builds as possible. Hence, the Defiant Vindicator.

I'm still undecided about the arnor. I definitely don't have the runes to make an Exile and a high-end armor runeword. All my builds are based on what I've found myself. These days there are so many duped rune-words and runes going around, that trading for one is pretty pointless, IMO. I do have two Leviathans and a Templar's Might (+1 OA). We'll have to wait and see.

Thanks for your advice.