You’ll find all sorts of information here regarding the Zealot Career (for Victor Saltzpyre) in Vermintide 2. The Zealot is a frontline brawler who thrives on deaths door. A risky but powerful career that’s actually a lot stronger than most give it credit for! I do not recommend using Zealot until you reach L20.
Zealot Passive Abilities
- Fiery Faith: Power increases by 5% for every 25 health missing to a maximum bonus of 20%.
- Unswerving Strikes: Uninterruptible heavy attacks.
- Heart of Iron: Resist death on taking lethal damage.
Zealot Career Skill – Holy Fervour: Victor charges forward and gains 50% increased attack speed for 5 seconds.
Zealot Talent Tree Summary
I placed the whole Zealot talent tree in “one chunk” so it’s easy for you to VISUALLY spot/theorize synergies versus highlighting them in-game…
| Zealot L5 Talents | |||
| Holy Endurance | Increases stamina regeneration speed by 30%. | ||
| Saint of Battle | Increases critical hit chance by 5%. | ||
| Strong of Will | Reduces stun duration by 35%. | ||
| Zealot L10 Talents | |||
| No Surrender! | Increases Power by 3% for every nearby enemy and stacks up to 5x. | ||
| Flagellant | Damage taken from one attack is reduced to 15 damage or half of its original value whichever is highest. | ||
| Suppress Pain | Reduces damage taken by 25% while below 50% health. | ||
| Zealot L15 Talents | |||
| Shield of Faith | Fiery Faith also increases block and push angle by 10% per 25 health missing. This effect stacks up to 5x. | ||
| Holy Crusader | Fiery Faith also increases power boost of critical hits by 10 per 25 health missing. This effect stacks up to 5x. | ||
| Undying Fervour | Fiery Faith also grants stamina per 25 health missing. This effect stacks up to 5x. | ||
| Zealot L20 Talents | |||
| Holy Cause | Critical hits grant temporary health. | ||
| Righteous Zeal | Kills grant temporary health. | ||
| Purifier | When bosses die, gain health. | ||
| Zealot L25 Talents | |||
| Frother | Reduces the cooldown of Holy Fervour by 30%. | ||
| Pleasure from Pain | Holy Fervour causes Victor to restore 2 health for each successful hit. | ||
| Blessed Frenzy | Increases the duration of Holy Fervour’s attack speed buff to 8 seconds. | ||
Zealot Early Game / Starter Build Template
This is meant to be a “General purpose” build for the Zealot which focuses on the early to midgame. I will be adding more specialized builds which require more heavy item support soon.
Zealot Early Game / Starter Build – Talent Summary
THE ZEALOT TALENT CHOICES ARE VERY HARD TO RECOMMEND for general purposes since a lot of them are good for different scenarios and builds.
| Level | “Best” | Optional |
| 5 | Strong of Will | Saint of Battle |
| 10 | Flagellant / Suppress Pain | No Surrender! |
| 15 | DEPENDS | PLS READ |
| 20 | Righteous Zeal | Holy Cause |
| 25 | Pleasure from Pain | Frother |
Zealot “General Purpose” Build – Talent Choice Discussion
Remember the above recommendations are primarily suited to be good for “most people”, specifically for “early to midgame” when gear drops can’t easily be tailor fit to your needs.
MORE DISCUSSION TO COME AS THE DAYS PASS!
Well that’s about it (FOR NOW) regarding Victor’s Zealot Career path in Vermintide 2. Most people get disheartened at the Zealot since they immediately switch to it at L13 – which is wrong! At higher levels and gear, the Zealot becomes a force of nature that rewards a mix of skill and recklessness!
More Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Guides?
A few comments on your talent choices.
First, I use falchion for fast attacking, high damage and armour penetration. Good against bosses, specials and elites, but also can clear mobs and avoid damage with proper movement. The only area I have trouble is with shielded elites.
L5: You mention “Strong of Will” being optimal because it allows you shrug off more blows and get through mobs easier. I prefer “Holy Endurance” because being able to block more often in boss and special fights is actually a life saver. It doesn’t matter how much stamina you have because boss attacks use all of it almost all the time but having it regen quickly is key.
L10: This is where I get my mob control from. “No Surrender” lets you burn through mobs quickly because in an overwhelming fight it is almost always at max stacks. “Flagellant” helps in boss ans special fights, but I use my block more often than not to survive big hits.”Suppress Pain” is a small survival boost for all fights, though if you have the Natural Bond trait and are playing to maximize Fiery Faith it becomes more useful.
L15: I agree, this is a more difficult choice. I personally chose “Shield of Faith” for wider blocks when ressing and in boss fights. The extra stamina from “Undying Fervour” is great if you block a lot against mobs, though like I mentioned above, boss attacks and some elite attacks take most, if not all of your stamina unless you use a high stamina weapon.
L20: I have no opposing opinions about your talent choices.
L25: I use Holy Fervour for two actions: getting out of an overwhelming mob and burning bosses/specials quickly. For that reason, I would say I agree with your choice of “Pleasure from Pain”. If you find you’re doing well without the extra health regen and want to focus on higher damage, or you find yourself getting overwhelmed by mobs frequently you might be better off with “Frother”.
Yes i also agree on many of your points! Recommendations are ultimately very difficult as it depends on the “timeframe” wherein you get these talents, and your relative skill level or item progression (decked out? random items?). Discussions like these will ultimately help any readers gather from MANY DATA POINTS why and why not they should take certain talent points in what scenarios.