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Guide:Magic Find Guide: Battle.net v1.10, by Darnoc

This massive magic find info guide is specifically tailored to magic finding on the Battle.net realms. (Source. See comments for some minor corrections.)


Diablo II Strategy Guide Info:




The Comprehensive Magic Finding GuideEdit

I just wanted to start out by saying, while it is nice to have as much magic find as possible on your gear, if it slows your ability to kill monsters it is not worth it to have that much mf. While you have a better chance of a killed monster dropping a unique, set or rare, these magical classifications are determined after the base item to be dropped is determined. So, the key to magic finding is to kill as many monsters as fast as possible, while wearing enough magic find equipment to increase the odds of items you want dropped without sacrificing this killing speed. But don’t forget that not having any, or having very low mf, will result in many socketable/white drops that are often more valuable than their unique/magical counterparts that could drop.

Obviously, this guide repeats things stated in previous mf guides; this is simply to maintain a comprehensive view of mf in general. If you have been playing D2 for awhile, you may only be interested in the tc area listing and drop probabilities sections, but for those newer to d2 or just starting this should be an invaluable resource, covering everything for how to build a mfer from any character type, where to go with them and what to wear.


That having been said, I have organized this guide into the following sections:

I. Locations to magic find, items that can be gotten from them, and approximate probabilities of them dropping.

II. Character builds, gear recommendations, where to magic find with them, and mf evaluations.

III. Magic finding gear

IV. Diminishing Returns of magic find

V. What magic finding does not affect


Contents

Locations, Items, and OddsEdit

Locations to Magic Find, Items that can be Gotten From Them & Approximate Probabilities of Them Dropping in Popular MF Areas

Every item and the treasure class they are located in, v1.10 TCS.

As you can see from the Items list, many of the highly sought after items are treasure classes (tc) 81 and above, meaning that while Mephisto(tc 78) can drop some very nice things, he cant drop anything in tc 81 and above. By the way, only use this link for the sections marked 1.10; all the monster/boss treasure class listings are wrong!

So that you don’t tear your hair out simply trying to get to monsters like Baal and Nithilank that drop in these higher treasure classes, there are some very important areas worth listing that are all treasure class 85 in hell; except where noted, champions in these areas are tc 86 and unique monsters in these areas are tc 88(can drop anything in the game):

Act1Edit

The Pit (Tamoe Highland) Cold, Lightning and Fire Immunes. Take the outer cloister wp from the Rogue Encampment. Exit the outer cloister and go back into the Tamoe Highlands; if you follow the path it will split eventually with one fork leading to the pits and one fork leading to the Black Marsh. On rare occasions the pits entrance is not connected to the path, but it is usually still right nearby.

The Masoleum (Burial Grounds)- Lightning Immunes. Take the cold plains wp from the Rogue Encampment. Follow the path; it will split with one fork leading to the Stony Field, and the other fork leading to the Burial Grounds. Enter the Burial Grounds and make sure you enter the Masoleum, not the Crypt(only tc83)..

Act IIEdit

Maggot Lair (Far Oasis)- Poison & Lightning Immunes. Levels 1 & 2 are tc84(bosses here are tc87) while level 3 is tc85. Take the Far Oasis wp from Lut Gholem. Circle the map section until you find the stairs leading into the other section of the Far Oasis; the Maggot Lair is usually not in the section of the Far Oasis where the wp is.

Ancient Tunnels (Lost City) Lightning, Fire, Magic and Poison Immunes. Take the Lost City wp from Lut Gholem. Search all building areas until you find the trap door to the Ancient Tunnels. The location is random, but it is often in the other section of the Lost City area(like the Far Oasis); just follow the edge until you find the stairs.

Act IIIEdit

Sewers (Upper Kurast). Level 1 is tc84(bosses here are tc87) and level two is tc85.

Forgotten Temple (Upper Kurast)- Fire, Lightning, & Cold Immunities.

Ruined Fane & Disused Reliquary (Kurast Causeway) - not too sure about immunities here as I have never mf’ed them personally; not the biggest tc 85 areas really. I saw a post somewhere about these and immunities there; I’ll update this when I find it.

Durance Level 3 -All monsters besides Mephisto(tc78) are tc84; bosses here are tc87 meaning the council and blood lords can drop better things than Mephisto- Uniq council members spawn with varying immunities here though; rest are fire immune.

Act IVEdit

River of Flame/Chaos Sanctuary- Act IV- Poison, Fire, Cold and Lightning immunities exist here. Many people take the River of Flame wp here and just do the second half of the river of flame and into the chaos sanctuary, but then you miss the whole first half of one of the biggest level 85 areas in the game. Take the City of the Damned wp; it is always right next to the entrance of the river of flame entrance, that way you get to go through the whole thing without back-tracking. The river of flame also lacks the Oblivion Knights that curse you with iron maiden in the chaos sanctuary, so its melee friendly! The one downfall to river of flame is that the stranglers, maggot young & grotesque wyrms do not drop items, but there are plenty of venom lords, maw fiends, abyss knights, and grotesques that do so don’t let this discourage you.

Act VEdit

World Stone Keep, Act V (lvls 2 & 3). Fire, Cold, Poison and Lightning immunities exist depending on what monsters spawn here.

Throne of Destruction, Act V - Fire, Cold, and Poison Provided you can get past lightning immune characters in WSK levels 2 & 3, this is where Lightning sorcs and LF Javazons will really shine.

Here is a full listing of the treasure classes of the different areas from Normal to Hell:

Area Levels
Act N NM Hell Level Name
Act 1 1 36 67 Blood Moor
Act 1 2 36 68 Cold Plains
Act 1 4 37 68 Stony Field
Act 1 5 38 68 Dark Wood
Act 1 6 38 69 Black Marsh
Act 1 8 39 69 Tamoe Highland
Act 1 1 36 79 Den of Evil
Act 1 2 36 77 Cave Level 1
Act 1 4 37 69 Underground Passage Level 1
Act 1 5 38 80 Hole Level 1
Act 1 7 39 85 Pit Level 1
Act 1 2 37 78 Cave Level 2
Act 1 4 38 83 Underground Passage Level 2
Act 1 5 39 81 Hole Level 2
Act 1 7 40 85 Pit Level 2
Act 1 3 36 80 Burial Grounds
Act 1 3 37 83 Crypt
Act 1 3 37 85 Mausoleum
Act 1 7 38 75 Tower Cellar Level 1
Act 1 7 39 76 Tower Cellar Level 2
Act 1 7 40 77 Tower Cellar Level 3
Act 1 7 41 78 Tower Cellar Level 4
Act 1 7 42 79 Tower Cellar Level 5
Act 1 8 40 70 Monastery Gate
Act 1 9 40 70 Outer Cloister
Act 1 9 40 70 Barracks
Act 1 10 41 71 Jail Level 1
Act 1 10 41 71 Jail Level 2
Act 1 10 41 71 Jail Level 3
Act 1 10 41 72 Inner Cloister
Act 1 11 42 72 Cathedral
Act 1 11 42 72 Catacombs Level 1
Act 1 11 42 73 Catacombs Level 2
Act 1 12 43 73 Catacombs Level 3
Act 1 12 43 73 Catacombs Level 4
Act 1 6 39 76 Tristram
Act 1 28 64 81 Moo Moo Farm

Act 2 14 43 75 Rocky Waste
Act 2 15 44 76 Dry Hills
Act 2 16 45 76 Far Oasis
Act 2 17 46 77 Lost City
Act 2 18 46 77 Valley of Snakes
Act 2 16 48 79 Canyon of the Magi
Act 2 13 43 74 Sewers Level 1
Act 2 13 43 74 Sewers Level 2
Act 2 14 44 75 Sewers Level 3
Act 2 13 47 78 Harem Level 2
Act 2 13 47 78 Palace Cellar Level 1
Act 2 13 47 78 Palace Cellar Level 2
Act 2 13 48 78 Palace Cellar Level 3
Act 2 12 44 78 Stony Tomb Level 1
Act 2 12 44 79 Halls of the Dead Level 1
Act 2 13 45 81 Halls of the Dead Level 2
Act 2 14 47 82 Claw Viper Temple Level 1
Act 2 12 44 79 Stony Tomb Level 2
Act 2 13 45 82 Halls of the Dead Level 3
Act 2 14 47 83 Claw Viper Temple Level 2
Act 2 17 45 84 Maggot Lair Level 1
Act 2 17 45 84 Maggot Lair Level 2
Act 2 17 46 85 Maggot Lair Level 3
Act 2 17 46 85 Ancient Tunnels
Act 2 17 49 80 Tal Rasha's Tomb
Act 2 17 49 80 Tal Rasha's Tomb
Act 2 17 49 80 Tal Rasha's Tomb
Act 2 17 49 80 Tal Rasha's Tomb
Act 2 17 49 80 Tal Rasha's Tomb
Act 2 17 49 80 Tal Rasha's Tomb
Act 2 17 49 80 Tal Rasha's Tomb
Act 2 17 49 80 Duriel's Lair
Act 2 14 48 79 Arcane Sanctuary

Act 3 21 49 79 Spider Forest
Act 3 21 50 80 Great Marsh
Act 3 22 50 80 Flayer Jungle
Act 3 22 52 80 Lower Kurast
Act 3 22 52 81 Kurast Bazaar
Act 3 23 52 81 Upper Kurast
Act 3 24 53 81 Kurast Causeway
Act 3 24 54 82 Travincal
Act 3 21 50 79 Spider Cave (Arachnid Lair)
Act 3 21 50 79 Spider Cavern
Act 3 21 51 80 Swampy Pit Level 1
Act 3 21 51 81 Swampy Pit Level 2
Act 3 22 51 81 Flayer Dungeon Level 1
Act 3 22 51 82 Flayer Dungeon Level 2
Act 3 21 51 82 Swampy Pit Level 3
Act 3 22 51 83 Flayer Dungeon Level 3
Act 3 23 52 84 Sewers Level 1
Act 3 24 53 85 Sewers Level 2
Act 3 23 53 84 Ruined Temple (In Kurast Bazaar)
Act 3 23 53 84 Disused Fane (In Kurast Bazaar)
Act 3 23 53 84 Forgotten Reliquary (In Upper Kurast)
Act 3 24 54 85 Forgotten Temple (In Upper Kurast)
Act 3 24 54 85 Ruined Fane (In Kurast Causeway)
Act 3 24 54 85 Disused Reliquary (In Kurast Causeway)
Act 3 25 55 83 Durance of Hate Level 1
Act 3 25 55 83 Durance of Hate Level 2
Act 3 25 55 83 Durance of Hate Level 3

Act 4 26 56 82 Outer Steppes
Act 4 26 56 83 Plains of Despair
Act 4 27 57 84 City of the Damned
Act 4 27 57 85 River of Flame
Act 4 28 58 85 Chaos Sanctum

Act 5 24 58 80 Bloody Foothills
Act 5 25 59 81 Rigid Highlands
Act 5 26 60 81 Arreat Plateau
Act 5 29 61 82 Crystalized Cavern Level 1 (Crystalline Passage)
Act 5 29 61 83 Cellar of Pity (Frozen River)
Act 5 29 61 83 Crystalized Cavern Level 2 (Glacial Trail)
Act 5 29 61 84 Echo Chamber (Drifter Cavern)
Act 5 27 60 81 Tundra Wastelands (Frozen Tundra)
Act 5 29 62 82 Glacial Caves Level 1 (Ancient's Way)
Act 5 29 62 83 Glacial Caves Level 2 (Icy Cellar)
Act 5 37 68 87 Rocky Summit (Arreat Summit)
Act 5 32 63 83 Nihlathak's Temple
Act 5 33 63 83 Halls of Anguish
Act 5 34 64 84 Halls of Death's Calling (Halls of Pain)
Act 5 36 64 84 Halls of Vaught
Act 5 39 60 81 Hell 1 (Abaddon)
Act 5 39 61 82 Hell 2 (Pit of Acheron)
Act 5 39 62 83 Hell 3 (Infernal Pit)
Act 5 39 65 85 The Worldstone Keep Level 1
Act 5 40 65 85 The Worldstone Keep Level 2
Act 5 42 66 85 The Worldstone Keep Level 3
Act 5 43 66 85 Throne of Destruction
Act 5 43 66 85 The Worldstone Chamber

Item Drop ProbabilitiesEdit

Here is a list of the more popular Unique items in the game and the probabilities of finding them in different areas when a character has 300% mf:

The following items can only drop from minions, champions, uniq/super uniq monsters, and bosses in hell; not regular monsters!! River of Flame(RoF), World Stone Keep lvls 1-3, and the Throne of Destruction all have the same drop probability ranges, so they are all listed together. If an item’s drop probability is not listed for Andriel, Meph, Diablo, or Pindle it means that boss cannot drop that item:

Arachnid Mesh: Meph(1/1114), Diablo(1/1144), Baal(1/1156), Nihl(1/8697), Pits(1/27k-1.4mil), CS(1/13k-1.1mil), RoF/WSK/ToD(27k-1.2mil)

Crown of Ages: Baal(1/19k), Pindle(1/25k), Nihl(1/145k), Pits(1/50k-2.6mil), CS(1/50k-2.1mil), RoF/WSK/ToD(1/50k-2.2mil)

Stormlash: Baal(1/6670), Diablo(1/7650), Nihl(1/50k), Meph(1/50k), Pindle(1/80k), Pits(1/159k-8.4mil), RoF/ToD/WSK(1/159k-7.2mil), CS(1/88k-6.8mil)

Tyreal’s Might: Baal(1/173k), Nihl(1/1.3mil), Pits(1/452k-23mil), RoF/ToD/WSK(1/452k-20mil), CS(1/452k-19mil)

The following items can be dropped by at least some regular monsters as well as bosses, champions, uniq, etc in Hell and some can drop in NM or Norm too. If an item’s drop probability is not listed for Andriel, Meph, Diablo, or Pindle it means that boss cannot drop that item:

BK Ring: Andy(1/2656), Baal(h 1/7279;nm 1/7324), Diablo(1/7401), Meph(1/7568), Nihl(norm 1/19k;nm-h 1/20k), Pindle(nm 1/67k; h 1/72k), pits/RoF/CS(1/143k-3.4mil), Cows(nm 1/63k-2.1mil; h 1/67k-2.2mil), WSK/ToD(nm 1/142k-3.3mil;h 1/143k-3.4mil)

Darkforce Spawn: Baal(1/35k), Pindle(1/45k), Nihl(1/264k), Pits(1/90k-4.8mil), CS(90k-3.9mil), Cows(1/91k-29mil), RoF/WSK/ToD(1/90k-4.1mil)

Death Cleaver: Baal(1/15k), Pindle(1/21k), Nihl(1/118k), Pits(1/43k-2.3mil), CS(43k-1.8mil), Cows(44k-13mil), RoF/WSK/ToD(1/43k-2mil)

Deaths Fathom: Baal(1/28k), Pindle(1/39k), Nihl(1/216k), Pits(1/78k-4.1mil), RoF/WSK/ToD(1/78k-3.6mil), CS(1/78k-3.3mil) Cows(1/79k-24mil)

Deaths Web: Baal(1/47k), Pindle(1/65k), Nihl(1/357k), Pits(1/131k-6.9mil), RoF/WSK/ToD(1/131k-6mil), CS(1/131k-5.6mil), Cows(1/132k-40mil)

Earthshifter: Baal(1/31k), Pindle(1/43k), Nihl(1/237k), Pits(1/87k-4.6mil), RoF/WSK/ToD(1/87K-4mil), CS(1/87k-3.7mil), Cows(1/44k-13.5mil)

Gheeds: Andy(1/139), Baal(nm 1/533;h 1/493), Diablo(1/502), Meph(1/513), Nihl(nm 1/1459;h 1/1361), Pindle(1/4903), Pits/RoF/WSK/ToD(1/9744-232k), CS(1/4872-232k), Cows(1/4600-156k)

Griffons: Baal(1/19k), Pindle(1/25k), Nihl(1/145k), Pits(1/50k-2.6mil), RoF/WSK/ToD(1/50k-2.3mil), CS(1/50k-2.1mil), Cows(50k-1.6mil)

Harlequin Crest Shako: Andy(1/752), Meph(1/771), Diablo(1/792), Nihl(nm 1/30k;h 1/6023), Pindle(1/9649), Pits(1/19k-1mil), RoF(1/10k-882k), CS(1/9167-827k), Cows(1/2563-688k)

Heavens Light: Meph(1/3684), Diablo(1/3788), Baal(nm 1/8178;h 1/3824), Andy(1/5029), Nihl(1/28k), Pindle(1/46k), Pits(1/91k-4.8mil), RoF/WSK(1/91k-4.2mil), CS(1/43k-3.9mil), Cows(1/18k-3.2mil), ToD(1/50k-4.2mil).

HOZ: Baal(nm 1/2660;h 1/3169), Diablo(nm 1/2685;h 1/3122), Meph(nm 1/3602;h 1/3010), Andy(1/6389), Nihl(nm 1/19k;h 1/23k), Pindle(nm 1/29k;h 1/37k), Pits(1/75k-3.9mil), RoF(nm 1/36k-2.7mil;h 1/42k-3.4mil), CS(nm 1/30k-2.5mil;h 1/35k-3,2mil), Cows(nm 1/29k-2.1mil;h 1/6079-2.6mil), ToD/WSK(nm 1/64k-2.9mil;h 1/75k-3.4mil)

Leviathan: Baal(1/1235), Diablo(1/1759), Nihl(1/9294), Pindle(1/13k), Pits(1/26k-1.4mil), RoF/CS/WSK(1/26k-1.2mil), CS(1/20k-1.1mil), Cows(1/27k-1mil)

Maras: Baal(1/3701), Diablo(1/3763), Meph(1/3848), Nihl(1/10k), Pindle(1/36k), Pits/RoF/ToD/WSK(1/73k-1.7mil), CS(1/36k-1.7mil), Cows(1/33k-1.1mil)

Nightwings: Baal(1/2458), Diablo(1/3501), Nihl(1/18k), Pindle(1/26k), Pits(1/53k-2.8mil), RoF/ToD/WSK(1/53k-2.4mil), CS(1/40k-2.2mil), Cows(1/53k-2.1mil)

Rainbow Facets: Baal(1/3948), Diablo(1/4014), Meph(1/4105), Nihl(1/10k), Pindle(1/39k), Pits/RoF/ToD/WSK(1/77k-1.8mil), CS(1/38k-1.8mil)

Ravenlore: Baal(1/4019), Nihl(1/30k), Diablo(1/32k), Pindle(1/34k), Pits(1/68k-3.6mil), RoF/ToD/WSK(1/68k-3.1mil), CS(1/68k-2.9mil), Cows(1/68k-3.3mil),

Shadow Dancers: Baal(1/19k), Pindle(1/25k), Nihl(1/145k), Pits(1/50k-2.6mil), RoF/ToD/WSK(50k-2.3mil), CS(1/50k-2.1mil), Cows(1/50k-16mil),

Steelrends: Baal(1/19k), Pindle(1/25k), Nihl(1/145k), Pits(1/50k-2.6mil), RoF/ToD/WSK(1/50k-2.3mil), CS(1/50k-2.1mil), Cows(1/50k-16mil)

Templar’s Might: Baal(1/21k), Pindle(1/25k), Nihl(1/163k), Pits(1/56k-2.9mil), RoF/ToD/WSK(1/56k-2.5mil), CS(1/56k-2.4mil), Cows(1/50k-16mil)

The Stone Of Jordan: Andy 1st Kill Bug(nm 1/1616;h 1/2656), Diablo(norm 1/4304;nm 1/7069;h 1/7401), Baal(norm 1/7108; nm 1/7324;h 1/7279), Meph(nm 1/7127;h 1/7568), nihl(norm 1/19k; nm 1/20k;h 1/20k), Pindle(norm 1/40k;nm 1/67k;h 1/72k), Pits/RoF(1/143k-3.4mil), CS(1/67k-3.4mil), Cows(nm 1/63k-2.1mil;h 1/67k-2.2mil), ToD(norm 1/80k-3mil;nm 1/142k-3.3mil;h 143k-3.4mil), WSK(norm 1/80k-1.9mil;nm 1/142k-3.3mil;h 1/143-3.4mil)

War Travelers: Baal(nm 1/1430;h 1/1651), Diablo(nm 1/1462;h 1/1634), Andy 1st Kill Bug(hell 1/1487), Meph(nm 1/1967;h 1/1592), Nihl(nm 1/10k;h 1/12k), Pindle (nm 1/16k; 1/19k), Pits(1/39k-2,1mil), RoF(1/32k-1.8mil), CS(nm 1/16k-1.4mil;h 1/18k-1.7mil), Cows(nm 1/15k-1.1mil;h 1/3665-1.4mil), ToD/WSK(nm 1/34k-1.5mil;h 1/39k-1.8mil)

Windforce: Baal(1/15k), Pindle(1/21k), Nihl(1/118k), Pits/RoF/ToD/WSK(1/43k-2mil), CS(1/43k-1.8mil), Cows(1/44k-13mil)

Wisp Projector: Baal(1/7279), Diablo(1/7401), Meph(1/7568), Nihl(1/20k), Pindle(1/72k), Pits/RoF/ToD/WSK(1/143k-3.4mil), CS(1/71k-3.4mil), Cows(1/67k-2.2mil)

If you are looking for the drop probability of an item not listed here or you want to figure out a probability with a different magic find percentage, download Atma; it has a probability calculator included: http://atma.diabloii.net/


Chest DropsEdit

There is a difference between chest and monster TCs being that (most) monsters may upgrade their TC based on their mlvl which is in turn based on the area level, but chests do not. So the chests in the Pit/Mausoleum are still Act 1 Hell chests even though the monsters around them are upgraded. The chests do at least still drop ilvl 85 items in the Pit/Mausoleum, which is handy in some cases (eg for lower TC, high qlvl uniques).

there are three Chest TCs for each act, a chest will drop from one for the appropriate act and which one (A, B or C) depends on the level of the area relative to the rest of the act. You need to then look up the TC definitions in the text files to work out which equipment TC that corresponds to.

Durance 3 is area_lvl 83, so the racks drop Ilvl 82 items, and also up to Qlvl 82, for both base type and uniques. The highest racks spawn in the lvl85 areas, and they drop Ilvl 84 items. The chest behind Meph can drop up to TC75 and Ilvl 83 items.

  • Act 3 (H) Chest A Act 3 (H) Equip A 72
  • Act 3 (H) Chest B Act 3 (H) Equip B 75
  • Act 3 (H) Chest C Act 3 (H) Equip B 75

This is explained in more detail below..

The following was taken from Warrior of Light’s Item Generation Tutorial.

"From what TC do objects drop items? In TreasureClassEx.txt file there is a group 6, that stores all information about object drops. The name of that TCs is like "Act 5 (H) Chest C".

The TC of the objects, presented in given area, is calculated using Area Id. Please don't confuse this number with Alvl, - it is different value. Area Id is also stored in Levels.txt file, though.

Chest drops don't get TC upgrades.

This is the table used to get highest/lowest id for acts:

2 = act 1 (low)
37 = act 1 (high), actual highest is 39
41 = act 2 (low)
73 = act 2 (high), actual highest is 74
76 = act 3 (low)
102 = act 3 (high)
104 = act 4 (low)
108 = act 4 (high)
109 = act 5 (low)
132 = act 5 (high)

Then it uses this formula to determine the A/B/C class for the tc:

value = (highest - lowest + 1) / 3

if levelid is < lowest+value, A
if levelid is < lowest+(value*2), B
else C

For example, The Pit level 2 has AreaId=16, value=(37-2+1)/3=12, AreaId is not < lowest+value (16<2+12 isn't true), AreaId is < lowest+(value*2) (16<2+24). Pit's chest at level 2 drops from "Act 1 (H) Chest B" TC.

Each chest has (monlvl1/2 + 8)/100 chance to have a lock. It is important, because locked chests usually drop more items (monlvl1 is a field from levels.txt file).

Chests drop items exactly like monsters, except they don't have 6 items cap and they drop from their own TCs. Items quality calculation is also the same with monster's one, except special chests, that have fixed bonuses for dropping unique, set, rare and magic items.


Now we will look at other chests, those that are normal. If a chest is locked it will drop two times, if not — just one time. Note, that a chest TC has 4 picks and 100/142 chance for NoDrop.

For normal chests the game uses normal quality selection method.

Before NoDrop test the game will test the chest for dropping from its TC at all. There is 25% chance for every chest to drop from its TC. Locked chest always drop from their TC (although they still have NoDrop, so they still may don't drop any item).

After that tests it will make two drops from chest TC for locked chests or one for non-locked. If it did't generate at least magic item it will repeat the drops up to 10 times until it will generate at least magic item.

Crates, corpses, jugs, logs, boulders, stashes, cocoons, goo piles, dead guards, caskets, beds and sarcophaguses always drop from chest TC.

Urns, rock piles, baskets, jars, barrels have 21% chance to drop from chest TC.

Also in the game there is one more type of chests, special chests. They looks like normal, but usually drop more items. For example the special chests are located at the ends of Arcane Sanctuary. Such objects have fixed qualities. 95% of special chests drop magic items only, 5% of them drop only rare items. Of cause this is applied only to items with variable quality, not potions and scrolls.”

As for superchests, Thrugg explains it well, with more detail from Warrior of Light below:

Originally Posted by Thrugg

“The "superchests" are different. Note that they don't all sparkle. This is a bit of a legacy from D2 classic - in D2C the sparkly chests usually meant they were something to do with a quest, like the chest with the eye in it in the Spider Cave. However, non-quest-item sparkly chests (such as the one in Pit level 2) are all superchests, as are all sparkly chests in act 5. But there are many that don't sparkle at all - for example, there is sometimes an old house in the Blood Moor with a chest on the porch which drops lots of stuff (great for a new untwinked char). That is actually a superchest too, even though it doesn't sparkle. Most of the chests in Sewers level 2 are super also.
Superchests go through a more complicated drop sequence. They still drop from the appropriate Chest TC - so you can still predict how high they can drop - but the quality and number of items is handled differently. The superchest will pick a quality, rather like racks or gambles do, with no regard to the player's MF. I believe the numbers are about the same too, ie 1/1000 will be a "unique" drop. The game will then do a drop from the appropriate Chest TC but will try to make every item unique. Bear in mind though that lots of item types don't have unique versions - D2 always chooses type first then quality second - and in that case you will still get non-unique coming out. The chest is also bound by the normal rules of ilvl >= qlvl to drop a unique. Also, the Chest TCs still have no-drop chances, even at p8, and a unique version of nothing is still nothing. It is quite possible many of you have had a unique superchest drop and not realised because no actual uniques came out.
Once it has made its 4 drop attempts, it does do a check to see if it worked. If you don't get a unique the first time it feels sorry for you and tries again - more items, you still get whatever stuff came out in the first drop. If it fails the second time it tries to make up for it by giving you the grand explosion drop - and I'm sure most of you have seen those. It actually loops through the Chest TC over and over again trying to drop magic items like crazy (which usually succeeds, because most item types can be magic).
The same basic procedure applies to set and rare drops too. Sets fail even more often because not many item types have set versions at all. Rares usually succeed the first time though, so when it rolls up "rare" quality you normally get a few rare items and it's done.”

Warrior of Light Posted:

“Sparkling chests have most complicated drops. What is "sparkling" chest? It is chests that have "sparkling" drop mechanics. You may recognize them in the game by quite a loge quantity of items, that they drop. Some sparkling chests are sparkling, like the chest in The Pit Level 2, but some sparkling chests are normal looking.

As Jarulf found, sparkling chests have six options with the fallowing chances:

  • 2% chance of option #1
  • 4% chance of option #2
  • 6% chance of option #3
  • 20% chance of option #4
  • 30% chance of option #5
  • 38% chance of option #6

At option #1 it will do a drop from the respective chest TC trying to generate unique item. However many items, like keys, arrows, gems, runes may only be normal quality. If the game didn't generate at least magic quality item, it will make second drop from the respective chest TC trying to generate unique item. If it didn't generate at least magic item it will go to option #6 process.

At option #2 it will do a drop from the respective chest TC trying to generate set item. If the game didn't generate at least magic quality item, it will make second drop from the respective chest TC trying to generate set item. If it will not generate at least magic item it will go to option #6 process.

At option #3 it will do a drop from the respective chest TC trying to generate rare item. If the game didn't generate at least magic quality item, it will make second drop from the respective chest TC trying to generate rare item. If it will not generate at least magic item it will go to option #6 process.

At option #4 it will do a drop from the respective chest TC trying to generate magic item. It will repeat chest TC drop until 3 magic items will be generated or it will have 10 drop tries.

At option #5 it will do a drop from the respective chest TC trying to generate magic item. It will repeat chest TC drop until 2 magic items will be generated or it will have 10 drop tries.

At option #6 it will do a drop from the respective chest TC trying to generate magic item. It will repeat chest TC drop until 1 magic item will be generated or it will have 10 drop tries. Then it will make up to 4 drops from chest TC with no desired quality, so using normal quality selection algorithm (it means that it uses MF).

That is how sparkling chests generate items. As you see your MF almost not working at all.”


Char Build Evaluations & Where to GoEdit

Character Build Evaluations and Where to Magic Find with Them

Because of the inherent skills of each character type, some characters are more versatile magic finders than other in that they can more easily kill monsters in multiple popular magic finding spots. Based on these common magic-finding spots, I devised a grading scale for the primary builds in each character type.

I came up with these gradings by taking into account:

  • Common monster immunities
  • Physically Immune monsters
  • Oblivion Knight curses, if applicable
  • Treasure class 85 areas, and getting to them

This works by taking the character type’s primary attacks and matching them against significant obstacles to their magic finding in any given area. If, lets say a whirlwind barbarian goes into the chaos sanctuary, it’s only a matter of time before he is cursed with iron maiden, making it a pain for him to efficiently run this area for magic finding purposes. All gradings are assumptive in that you do not have an enigma for the build being discussed.

While there are many different builds out there for each character type, I only included the more popular ones that would be conducive to mfing(plus this part has taken me long enough as it is to put together, and I felt getting the guide finished faster is more important than covering every build); feel free to suggest other mf builds though- they can always be included when I eventually update this guide. Also, if you feel a certain grading is wrong please say so and give a reason why; I have not played every build listed, and I have estimated on some based on the skills and items used, along with perceived threats to the build in certain mf areas.

Here’s a quick synopsis of what the grading means:

Mfing locations: F=cannot run specified location; will have a very difficult time. A= can run specified location very easily; ideal for that build to mf.

Item dependency: F= is extremely item dependant for the specified build to do damage; very hard to equip mf gear without sacrificing damage and killing speed. A= is not item dependant at all; the specified build relies on its skills for the damage it does, and can easily equip mf gear without sacrificing damage and killing speed.

Average mfing speed: F= takes a long time to kill monsters and travel to kill more monsters. A= can kill monsters very fast and takes very little time to travel to kill more monsters.

Investment: F=requires a significant investment in runewords or expensive gear to effectively mf with the specified build. A= requires little gear investment to mf.


AmazonsEdit

Amazons are uniquely positioned, since they are melee, but they avoid the problems with iron maiden due to their ranged attack (I’m not going to bother covering spearzons).

Javazon- Im going to assume you’ll be using lightning fury here. Tarn helm works nicely, but then tals mask, andys, or griffons(if you can afford it) would work well too. It might be best to go with spirit, but splendor is nice if you want more mf and want to save some stat points; lidless and SS works too. More gear dependant than most bowazon builds. Here’s a guide: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=127612

  • Pits: A- Cows: B+ Mephisto: B- River of Flame: C/C+ Chaos Sanct: C/C+ Baal: B+
  • Item dependency: C+/B- Average Mfing Speed: B/B+ Investment:C+
  • Ideal MF Spot: Pits/Baal

Strafezon- Since IAS mostly only affects the first shot of the strafe skill(30-60% ias on a +10 bow is plenty- not worth it IMO to go for the next break points at 89% and 120% IAS), this leaves more slots open to mf gear that would otherwise be taken up by IAS-modded gear. Chances are that you will have maxed Valk, your zon’s armor defense won’t matter too much. Since attack rating is important, many strafers use angelic rings and amulet; I personally use the angelic armor too then to make use of the 50% mf on each angelic ring when mfing pits. Obviously this would be difficult to pull off in other mfing locations, but even then an armor like an upgraded crow caw is usually sufficient if you cannot afford a COH, Fort or Enigma. Gwrap is usually a given (or hwanin’s for can’t be frozen); war travs or a nice pair of 30 frw/fhr/mf boots work. For gloves I’d say craft hit power gloves(knockback) until you get +p&m (+bow skills wont help you much) with leech/mf and ias doesn’t hurt either. For helmets, I’d stick with tal’s mask. Here’s a decent strafer guide, though it’s strongly based on having a windforce (uped WWS works just fine with a harmony on switch for running :goofy: ): http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=175957

  • Pits: A- Cows: B+ Mephisto: B- River of Flame: B Chaos Sanct: B Baal: B-
  • Item dependency: B- Average Mfing Speed: B/B+ Investment:B-
  • Ideal MF Spot: Pits

MSZon- IAS is definitely more important with this build, so not as much room for mf equipment. Crafted knockback gloves with ias/leech/mf would be good(again, go with p&m over bow skills if possible); definitely gwrap too. Steelskull would also be a good thing to have.

  • Pits: A- Cows: B+ Mephisto: B- River of Flame: B Chaos Sanct: B Baal: B-
  • Item dependency: B- Average Mfing Speed: B/B+ Investment: B-
  • Ideal MF Spot: Pits

Hybridazon- Gear choice for this build can be difficult since you’ll need fcr for LF(I’m assuming you’ll be using LF since it’s the most popular jav skill) and IAS for MS(though not as much for strafe) Best bet is a Splendor shield(some will ditch splendor for spirit or an ss, I’ll leave it up to you to decide if it’s worth the stat point investment) with your titans; I’d still go travs/rare frw-fhr-mf boots, but when it comes to gloves, it’s a tough choice- I’d go with crafted p&m gloves with knockback-mf-leech, but if you need the fcr magefists of course work well. Tarn helm, shako, andys, tals mask all work well- again it is up to you. You’ll prolly want a tgods with this; though gwrap or razortail are nice too. Here’s a decent hybrid build guide: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=328187

  • Pits: A Cows: B+/A- Mephisto: B- River of Flame: B Chaos Sanct: B Baal: B+
  • Item dependency: C/C+ Average Mfing Speed: B/B+ Investment: C/C+
  • Ideal MF Spot: Pits


AssassinsEdit

Since this character is the one I’ve played the least in my D2 career, I had to do more research on their mf-running potentials than any other character type. As with many other character classes, without an enigma assassins’ mf speed is a lot slower(though burst of speed helps), hence them having a bit more gear dependency than many other character builds.

Kicksin/wwsin: For mf purposes, a pure kicksin or wwsin will have troubles, since they will be more gear dependant to efficiently kill monsters; many of the builds I’ve seen suggest wearing more than one piece of the Natalya set, which take up crucial mf slots. I don’t see you getting much more than 150% mf with these builds and still effectively kill monsters.

  • Pits: C Cows: C Mephisto: D- River of Flame: C-Chaos Sanct: F Baal: D-
  • Item dependency: D Average Mfing Speed: D/C Investment+

Phoenix Striker: Since the number of charges controls which elemental attack is used, this character is the only martial arts build that is somewhat decent for mfing. Of course, your Phoenix Striker would have to be lvl 90+ to be decent, and is still pretty item dependant. You could probably get up to 200-250% or so mf without too much work; I’d say gwrap, steelskull, and a good pair of rare or crafted crushing blow gloves with ias/leech/+skills/mf, would be ideal.

  • Pits: C+ Cows: C Mephisto: D River of Flame: C Chaos Sanct: D- Baal: D-
  • Item dependency: DAverage Mfing Speed: C-/C Investment:C

Trapsin- Trappers have the easiest time mfing of any assassin builds, since the damage they do is basically skill dependant. For trappers, a goldwrap will definitely help, and I’d suggest using a good mf% steelskull over the more expensive shako, since IAS affects trap throwing speed, not FCR as many people think; also crafted caster gloves with +skills/ias/magic find would be best for a mf trapper. Trappers run into the same problems as sorcs and javzons though, since a one element trap build will limit where you can mf. Here is a good mf Trapsin guide I found with variations posted in replies below it, so you can customize your mf trapsin to what you want: http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/for...howtopic=54223

  • Pits: C+ Cows: B Mephisto: C+ River of Flame: C Chaos Sanct: C- Baal: C+
  • Item dependency: B Average Mfing Speed: C+ Investment:B-
  • Ideal MF Spot: Cows/pits/maggot lair

BarbariansEdit

While barbs can potentially hold the greatest amount of mf since they can dual-wield weapons and the find item skill gives you a chance to get an item from a normal monster(non-end boss), they are quite gear dependant since their damage is usually physical; and a barb attacking with 2x Ali Baba’s alone isn’t going to be able to kill much in hell.

WWbarb: IK Wwbarbs are prolly the more cheaper ones that are still effective, with the most expensive item being the armor. The only problem is that the only mf is derived from the helm basically(up to 88% with 2 ptopazes), and IK takes up so many spots, leaving only jewelry slots open, which you’ll prolly want to fill with angelics for ar. With a gheeds and some mf charms, you could probably get your mf up in the 200’s without too much trouble. Here’s a good IK WWbarb guide: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=164067

Of course, if you have a bit more to spend on you’re WWbarb, you can do better, but I’ll let you decide if it’s worth it to take this route. Remember that WW speed is not affected by off-weapon ias, so fast weapons are a must. You’ll definitely want a shako and war travelers for this one, if you can live without the goreriders; also crafted crushing blow gloves with mf/good leech or laying of hands (depending on demon prevalence where you choose to mf) work sufficiently in place of the more expensive steelrends. Angelics, or other non-mf rings/ammys are still pretty necessary for the jewelry spots; though if you craft a nice amulet, it might work in place of maras or highlords. Here’s a Non-IK WWbarb guide: http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/mouran/wwguide.html

  • Pits: B+ Cows: B+/A- Mephisto: C+/B- River of Flame: B Chaos Sanct: D Baal: C-
  • Item Dependency: D/C- Average Mfing Speed: C+/B- Investment:C-B
  • Ideal MF Spot: Cows

Bezerker: Since the Bezerk skill transfers physical damage into magical damage, this makes this build more viable for running the Chaos Sanctuary since Iron Maiden and mana drain cannot affect you, and you can kill physical immunes too; only problem is your defense is set to zero for the duration of the frenzy, but you can still block if using a shield. Still pretty gear dependant, but lets you go mf in areas where other barbs normally can’t. A gwrap, IK helm(2topazed), war travs(if you can live without gores), good crafted crushing blow gloves with Ias/leech/resists/mf, and skullders or chains of honor would be good for armor, if not enigma. Here’s a good Bezerker guide: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=180236

  • Pits: C+ Cows: C+ Mephisto: C River of Flame: B- Chaos Sanct: B Baal: C+/B-
  • Item Dependency: C- Average Mfing Speed: C-/C Investment:C+
  • Ideal MF Spot: Chaos Sanct.

Frenzybarb: This barb build is all about speed; Frenzy increases run/walk and attack speed with each successful hit, meaning faster mfing speed(you might want to try using the runeword passion in a 4os phase blade or zerker; I hear the +1 zeal works well you have frenzy going; remember frenzy only lasts 6 seconds). Since you want as many swings as fast as possible, IAS/mf gear is best, so gwrap, steelskull, war travs or gores, and draculs, laying of hands, or good crafted crushing blow gloves with ias/leech/mf. Ash Housewares wrote a good guide for Frenzy barbs: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=182586

  • Pits: B- Cows: B- Mephisto: C+ River of Flame: B Chaos Sanct: D+ Baal: C-
  • Item dependency: C- Average Mfing Speed: B/B+ Investment:C
  • Ideal MF Spot: Pits

DruidsEdit

Probably the most unique character on Diablo, especially as it is on of 2 new characters added for the LoD expansion. I will just be covering the three primary builds for this character.

Shapeshifter: Has many attacking skills similar those of a paladin; remember that most elemental skills do not work with an SS build(I believe fissure is the only one you can activate while transformed, but you can prebuff with hurricane and cyclone armor before you transform). With a SS Druid ias is your friend, so gwrap, steelskull/andys and crafted cb gloves with ias/mf and good leech are quite helpful. Highlords, wisp, and ravenfrost will probably be necessary in many of the more popular mf areas, since you’ll hafta get up close to monsters. War travs or good fhr/frw/mf boots work if you want to get away from goreriders. Here’s a good SS guide: http://students.washington.edu/akrin...lf/skills.html

  • Pits: B- Cows: B- Mephisto: B+ River of Flame: B- Chaos Sanct: C- Baal: C
  • Item dependency: C+ Average Mfing Speed: B- Investment: C+
  • Ideal MF Spot: Pits/Meph

Windy: Probably the most popular druid build and very damaging; the hurricane/tornado combo is pretty killer, especially with a bear to tank for you. A good circlet with fcr/mf/+skills would be great, otherwise a shako or tarn helm would work fine. For gloves, magefists would work well, or a good pair of crafted caster gloves. Even though the tornado skill does physical damage, I am pretty sure that leech and crushing blow do not work with it since it is casting-based so cb/kb gloves are out of the question. Tals belt or hwanins are good options here, and a pair of mf/nagel rings and a mf ammy work well on this build, along with war travs/rare frw/fhr/mf boots. Here is a good windy guide: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=238126

  • Pits: B Cows: B+ Mephisto: B+ River of Flame: B+ Chaos Sanct: B+ Baal: B
  • Item dependency: B Average Mfing Speed: B Investment:B
  • Ideal MF Spot: Chaos Sanct/Baal

Summoner: Not the most popular druid build, but still has good mf potential as an alternative to a necro summoner; keep in mind that you cannot have multiple types of vines, wolves and a bear, or multiple types of spirits, so your basically limited to five minion types including ravens and a merc. As for equipment, it really depends on what your planning for your druids secondary skills; I’d suggest looking at the gear recommendations for windy and SS druid builds depending on the skills you choose. Here is a good Druid Summoner guide: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=212232 Pits: B Cows: B Mephisto: C+ River of Flame: B- Chaos Sanct: C/C+ Baal: C Item dependency: C - B Average Mfing Speed: C- Investment:C - B- Ideal MF Spot: Pits/Cows

NecromancersEdit

Necromancers have much the same problem that sorcs do: whether or not to use their set. I think it looks cool to turn into a blood lord and the set bonuses are nice, but you’ll need to decide on your own whether to go this way or to choose a different setup. You can still have decent mf if you socket the trang items with ptopazes, but you get a lot more obviously if you go with only partial set gear or none at all. Here’s a thread comparing gear trade-offs on this topic in terms of a summoner-based build: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthrea...8&page=1&pp=20

Poisonmancer: A very under-played character build, especially when it comes to mfing; good potential for mfing though. The guide I have linked below suggests using a gull with blackbogs on switch for the +skills, but personally I’d go with a fleshripper with gull on switch; each one has its advantages so take a look at the weapons for yourself before you decide. Your other major choice is whether to go with trang gloves/belt/shield, or with gwrap/chancies/splendor or rhyme; of course homunculus, boneflame, darkforce are all good possibilities as well. Shako is pretty much a standard here, though tarn (good paired w/blackbogs), guillames or steelskull(better with fleshripper) are always an option too. For jewelry and boots it is also somewhat dependant on what weapon you choose; either way I would suggest a ravenfrost, but with a flesshripper equipped I would go with highlords and a mf ring, while with blackbogs a mf/+skills ammy and mf ring would be best. As for boots, war travs/frw fhr mf boots would work in either situation, but you might want gores if you go with a fleshripper. Obviously these gear choices are also very dependant on how much you plan on using poison dagger. Here is a good mf poisonmancer guide: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=251045

  • Pits: B- Cows: B- Mephisto: B+ River of Flame: B Chaos Sanct: C- Baal: C
  • Item dependency: C- Average Mfing Speed: B- Investment:C/C-
  • Ideal MF Spot: Meph/Baal

Bonemancer: I’m sure most everyone who has played d2 for awhile has played this build at one point; lots of fun but somewhat gear dependant. Obviously you will want to pick up a pair of marrowwalks for the synergy bonus; if you don’t know about this bug, just remember not to put any points in bone prison and you’ll be fine. Shako or tarn work nicely, unless you can get your hands on a +skills/fcr circlet. You’ll prolly want trang gloves, or at least magefists; belts can be tough- there’s always arachs or a crafted caster belt, trang if you so desire, or a tals belt, all depends on what you want to accomplish. Shields you still have many options as listed in the above builds; again depends on if you’re focusing on mf or if you want more +skills. For jewelry you’ll have to decide between crafted/rare caster ring/ammy and mf ones; either way I’d still suggest a raven. Here is a good bonemancer guide; it’s PvP, but just add curses and its all set for PvM: http://soulesschild.hiveports.com/necguide/

  • Pits: B+ Cows: B+ Mephisto: B+ River of Flame: B+ Chaos Sanct: B+ Baal: B+
  • Item dependency: C Average Mfing Speed: B Investment:C/C+
  • Ideal MF Spot: Baal/Chaos

Summoner: Obviously there are many different hybrid builds when it comes to summonmancers; if you take a look at the sticky thread in the necro forum you’ll se what I mean. I will focus on recommendations for a general summonmancer so as to not confuse anyone. Summonmancers are the most common type of necro mf build; the low gear dependency is a bonus too. This give you a good deal of room to work with maxing mf; I don’t know how many summonmancers I saw running baal at the beginning of season 3- great way to start out. Shako or tarn of course, matched with a rhyme shield, trang or homm/darkforce. For boots you’ll want war travs, marrows, or frw/fhr/mf boots. Jewelry leaves you open to wearing solid mf items, but you can throw on a raven if you’re worried. Gull or alibaba should be a given unless you planning on going commando. Now I haven’t recommended armors for builds really for the obvious reasons, but definitely look at trang armor for the +skele skills especially if you can’t afford the more expensive runewords. With a little work, you should easily be able to get over 400% mf on this build. This is the closest to a pure summonmancer guide I could find: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=349093

  • Pits: B+ Cows: B+ Mephisto: B River of Flame: B+ Chaos Sanct: B+ Baal: B+
  • Item dependency: B+ Average Mfing Speed: B- Investment:B
  • Ideal MF Spot: Chaos/Baal

PaladinsEdit

Definitely one of the strongest characters out there, but now that their auras are available to any character through runewords, they aren’t nearly as powerful as they were back in classic. I’ll really have to hold myself back in this section from recommending an enigma, but I think I can manage

Avenger: Nice melee pally build, especially since you don’t have to worry about physical immunes because of the build’s focus around the vengeance skill. Rather gear dependant as all pally builds are, but if you do thing right you can still reach a decent mf %. Tals mask works very well, though vamp gaze or andys are good alternatives; shako is a possibility, but it leaves you lacking a bit on leech, if you’re going to get leech from some other slot stick with guillames then. You’ll most likely want a hoz or SS with a rhyme on switch; I guess a dragonscale could be an interesting option as well for this build. A raven is definitely a necessity here, coupled with a rare/crafted leech/mf ring; for an ammy, you’re open to a rare/craft, maras, seraphs, or metal grid. Gloves could be laying of hands, but I don’t think that the edmg % to demons enhances melee elemental dmg, so besides a pair of crafted cb gloves, soul drainers, draculs, or lavagouts would be best. Avenger guide: http://strategy.diabloii.net/news.php?id=510 Pits: B- Cows: B- Mephisto: C+ River of Flame: C+ Chaos Sanct: D+ Baal: C Item dependency: C- Average Mfing Speed: C+ Investment:C Ideal MF Spot: Pits/Cows

Hammerdin: Prolly the most popular build in the game, and it isn’t unusual to stumble into a baal run game where the majority of the characters participating are this build. Do I really need to make gear recommendations for this build? There’s obviously the cookie-cutter arachs/sojs/shako/hoz/maras/magefists/war travs(I’ll leave it to you to figure out the armor to use at this level of investment). If you don’t feel like making an expensive one though, try tarn or a fcr/mf circlet w/o +2 skills, magefists, a crafted caster belt or tals belt, SS/splendor, fcr/mf rings, war travs or frw/fhr/mf boots, and a +skills/mf ammy; a najs puzzler/spellsteel to get you out of bad locations is good on switch too. The hammerdin guide: http://strategy.diabloii.net/news.php?id=502

  • Pits: B+ Cows: B+ Mephisto: B River of Flame: B+ Chaos Sanct: A- Baal: A-
  • Item dependency: C+ Average Mfing Speed: B/B+ Investment:C - B
  • Ideal MF Spot: Chaos Sanct/Baal

Tesladin: As with most elemental-based character builds, a single element attack will have its limitations in hell so I suggest using a backup skill with this build type. The main advantage of building a tesladin over a dream or auradin is the lesser gear dependency. As with most other melee character builds, guilliames is going to be a standard unless you really need leech from this gear slot, or you want to max out with a griffon. If your not going to use gores, then go with travs or frw/fhr/mf boots; for gloves draculs or crafted cb gloves are both good. Shields leave you some room here; the top choices would be hoz, ss, and sanctuary with a rhyme on switch. Lastly, belts are dependant on how much leech you still need; if not then go with gwrap, if so then find a good nos coil. Highlords with raven and a carrion or leech/mf ring are best for jewelry. This is prolly the one build that excels with the crescent moon rw, though depending on the backup skill you choose, other weapons will be a better fit. As with most of the melee builds, it is more item dependant, so don’t expect to get over 300% mf without significantly sacrificing dmg and killing speed. Here’s a guide: http://strategy.diabloii.net/news.php?id=505

  • Pits: B- Cows: B- Mephisto: C+ River of Flame: C+ Chaos Sanct: D+ Baal: C
  • Item dependency: C- Average Mfing Speed: C+ Investment:C
  • Ideal MF Spot: Pits/Cows

Zealot: My current favorite character, as well as my closing build from season 2. It’s amazing the amount of damage this character can do with a good setup; my season 2 zealot was up at 13k dmg zeal with a merc active, but this required a significant gear investment to reach this. Main problem is that sometimes you want to only hit one monster while the zeal skill wants to hit every monster within range. Guillames, gores or travs, highlords, raven, carrion or leech/mf ring, LoH or draculs, hoz-SS-Sanctuary with rhyme or spirit on switch is pretty good; personally I use LoH vs draculs, and I just have a lifetap wand on switch so I get life tap when I need it. Gwrap works well, or nos coil if you need leech. Again, item dependant but man can this build rock the WSK and ToD, not to mention baal; and don’t expect over 300% mf once again. Here’s a good guide, and remember a point in smite, point in vengeance, and a point in vigor works wonders: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=356928

  • Pits: A- Cows: A- Mephisto: B- River of Flame: A- Chaos Sanct: C- Baal: C
  • Item dependency: C- Average Mfing Speed: B Investment:C - B-
  • Ideal MF Spot: Pits/Cows

Smiteraka vindicators: Smiters have seen a boost in popularity with the integration of 1.11 since they can kill the ubers single-handedly, while before they were more of a rarity used primarily as dclone hunters. They do have the potential for mfing too, since they can bring down bosses fast. Much of the same equipment suggestions as those for the zealot, but you’ll want to be more picky with your shield to max the smite dmg, remember that leech doesn’t work with smite so life per kill is your friend here from items like draculs, and Gores can be replaced with up’ed gtoes or travs if you don’t need the cb. You might also want to consider a cats eye over highlords since deadly strike does not work with smite either if you don’t need the +skills. Guide: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=301191

  • Pits: B- Cows: C+ Mephisto: B- River of Flame: C+ Chaos Sanct: C- Baal: C-
  • Item dependency: C Average Mfing Speed: C+ Investment:C
  • Ideal MF Spot: Pits/Cows

SorceressesEdit

Sorcs are the least gear dependant mf character in the game due to their skill-based attacks and inherent ability to teleport. Single tree sorcs, while are very powerful, are limited to where they can mf in hell due to the varying immunities from one spot to another. This has led to the rise in popularity of hybrid sorc builds that use skills from two different element trees that have few or no synergizing skills. While it is possible to have a 3-skill sorceress, they invariably cannot produce enough damage to effectively mf in hell since they will lack mastery skill points.

For gear in general, many people prefer the tals set, though the complete tals set isn’t for everyone( http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=151250 ) Otherwise, an eschuta’s is quite nice(though wiz spike, ondals, or a +3 skill/20% fcr orb works) with a gull or ali baba on switch; if you can put up with the random teleing, an Occy works too. For a helm, shako, tarn helm, griffon’s/nightwings(if you can afford it), or a magic circlet with a combination of mf, + skills, or fcr(especially if you are lucky enough to get 2 sockets in it from larzuk- ptopazes or facets). For gloves chanceguards, magefists or a decent pair of crafted casters works well with good mana regen/mf/str or dex, for shields a lidless with splendor on switch is good; for boots you’ll want war travs, or rare/magical boots with frw/fhr/mf. Nagels, or rare fcr rings with mf work well, though magic rings can go up to 40% mf(tough to find). Amulets are more of a personal preference; magical amulets can go to 50% mf, but a +3 skills/30-35% mf magic amulet is more useful, crafted/rare amulets with + skills/good fcr/mf, or a maras, or eye of etlitch is always an option. A skulders is pretty standard for armor, though a vipermagi works nicely or just a 4os lightweight armor with ptopazes.

Meteor/Orb Sorc- The most popular two tree sorc build; while a combination of skills allows a greater variety of possible mf locations, they have a greater item dependency and require more in gear investment to make them effective. A nightwings and eschutas would definitely help increase damage. Take a look at this guide: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=254070

  • Pits: B Cows: B/B- Mephisto: A- River of Flame: C- Chaos Sanct: C+ Baal: C
  • Item dependency: A Average Mfing Speed: A- Investment:C+
  • Ideal MF Spot: Mephisto/Pits

Lightning/Blizz(or orb) Sorc- This is a build I’ve actually been trying out recently; not a bad combination of skills. An eschutas and nightwings are pretty necessary to get a good amount of damage, but it isn’t too hard to get over 300% mf on them still. Here is a Chain/Orb guide that can be modified for Lightning/Blizz easily: http://strategy.diabloii.net/news.php?id=562

  • Pits: B Cows: B/B- Mephisto: A- River of Flame: C Chaos Sanct: C+ Baal: B
  • Item dependency: A Average Mfing Speed: A- Investment:C+
  • Ideal MF Spot: Mephisto/Baal

Bliz/Blast Sorc- The most popular single tree build for sorceresses; does have problems in most of the tc 85 areas though. The ancient tunnels is the only tc 85 area lacking cold immunes that is worth mfing. Here’s a good guide for them: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=263549

  • Pits: D Cows: B/B- Mephisto: A River of Flame: D Chaos Sanct: C Baal: C-
  • Item dependency: A Average Mfing Speed: A Investment:B+
  • Ideal MF Spot: Mephisto/Ancient tunnels

Light/Chain Sorc- Probably the best character to mf with on Baal runs (besides maybe a hammerdin with enigma). Only rarely does unique monster spawn with lightning immunities, and lightning really knocks down monsters fast; you just have to make it to the throne first. Check out this guide: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=368816

  • Pits: A+ Cows: B/B- Mephisto: A River of Flame: D Chaos Sanct: C Baal: A
  • Item dependency: A Average Mfing Speed: A Investment:B+
  • Ideal MF Spot: Baal/Pits

Meteor/Ball Sorc- While fire sorcs can obtain the highest amount of damage of any sorc, there are far too many fire immune monsters in hell to make this build very viable there; of course if you’re hunting for sojs at nm andy this would be perfect. Since I couldn’t find anything better, here’s a brief overview for a fire sorc guide: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=404466

  • Pits: D Cows: B/B- Mephisto: A River of Flame: D Chaos Sanct: D Baal: D
  • Item dependency: A Average Mfing Speed: A Investment:A-
  • Ideal MF Spot: Mephisto/Nm Andriel

Magic Find GearEdit

Because I’m getting lazy and don’t feel like retyping something that’s already been done, I figured Hrus wouldn’t mind if I repost his mf item list from his single player mf guide; of course there are about 30 things I added that were not listed on his list, most prominently that mercenary mf will add on to your character's mf when the merc gets a kill- very helpful on boss runs.

EquipmentEdit

Here is the list of sugestions for MF equipment you can use.

HeadEdit

  • 3-socketed helm 3xPTopaz (72MF - **): Great Helm, Mask, Crown and their exceptional and elite version, Bone Visage, Tiara and Diadem and class-specific helms can get 3 sockets. They can get 3 sockets only if ilvl >= 40 for normal helms, ilvl>=25 for class-specific helms.
  • Artificer's Tiara of XXX 3xPTopaz (72 MF - **): can get life bonus, FRW, FCR, Teleport charges with the prefix
  • Artificer's Tiara of Luck 3xPTopaz (26-35+72MF - 107 MF - **): great MF, but no other mods
  • Rare Tiara 2xPTopaz (35+48MF - 83MF - ****): with very rare combination of affixes like Felicitous (+5-10% MF), Mechanics (2 sockets), of Fortune (+16-25% MF), and it can get 3 more affixes like +2 skills, FCR, FRW or Teleport charges, +life)
  • Tarnhelm (25-50MF, 49-74 MF with PTopaz - ***): +1 skills and good MF, great starter helm.
  • Harlequin Crest (50MF, 74 MF with PTopaz - *****): +2 skills, great MF, great life and mana bonus, 10% DR, it's the king.
  • Stealskull (30-50MF, 54-74 MF with PTopaz - ***): good MF, 5% LL and ML and 10%IAS, good for physical attackers.
  • Tal-Rasha's Horadric Crest (0MF, 24 with PTopaz - **): no MF, but together with 2 pieces from this set it gets +65%MF as partial bonus. Great 10%LL and ML, life and resistance bonus, good for physical attackers.
  • Immortal King's will (25-40MF, 73-88 MF with PTopazes - ***): Good for barbarian.

BodyEdit

  • 4-socketed armor 4xPTopaz (96MF - **): Gothic plate, Full Plate Mail and Ancient Armor, their exceptional versions and all elite armors can have 4 sockets. They have to be at least ilvl 25. The good early choice is Gothic plate because it's not as rare as Ancient armor (both are medium armors, Full Plate Mail is heavy armor). Better choice is some of light elite armors, but you can't get them so early.
  • Jeweler's armor of XXX (96 MF - ***): +Life is the prefered 2nd mod here.
  • Wealth armor LEM-KO-TIR (100MF - ***): +300% more gold, ideal for gold find characters.
  • Skullder's Ire (1.25MF/clvl, 92*1.25+24PT~ 139MF - *****): +1 skills, defence and great MF. The king.
  • Tal Rasha's Guardianship (88 MF, 112MF with PTopaz - ****): great resistance bonus and possible partial set bonus 65%MF with 2 other pieces.
  • Enigma (1 MF/clvl - *****): +2 skills, teleport skill and good MF, it's a dream for everyone, if only the runes were easier to get (I mean legit runes)

WeaponEdit

  • 6 socketed weapon 6xIST (180 MF - **): IST is not a cheap rune, this is overkill.
  • Gull (100 MF, 130 MF with IST - ***): cool dagger, isn't it?
  • Blade if Ali-baba (1MF/clvl~90MF + 60 with 2 ISTs - 150MF - ****): Great MF and 2 sockets. You can use MF jewels with Emerald (+3-7% MF) prefix and/or of Prosperity (+5-10% MF) suffix (both are possible). These are not as rare as IST runes. Ali-Baba blade have also nice gold find bonus, but it's slow and does low damage, so it's not a good idea trying to kill something with this weapon.
  • The Occulus (50MF, 80MF with IST - ****): The best for sorceress, FCR and +3 skills and resistances are all great mods.

ShieldEdit

  • 4socketed shield 4xIST (100 MF - **): this is overkill, the first non-pally shield that can have 4 sockets is monarch - it requires 156STR!
  • Rhyme shield (25MF - ****): It gives resistances, good blocking and CBF. Good candidates are Luna, Hyperion, Troll Nest.
  • Milabrega's Orb (20MF, 45MF with IST - *): It gives MF, but nothing else.

GlovesEdit

  • Magical/rare gloves of Fortune (16-25MF - **?): Easy to get (at vendors in 2nd Act, normal), rare gloves can get very nice mods...
  • Chance Guards (25-40MF - ****): The best MF for gloves slot, also high GF.

BootsEdit

  • Magical boots of Luck (26-35MF - *): Good MF, but it can't get FRW.
  • Rare/crafted boots of Fortune (16-25MF - *?): With the right mods, especially 30%FRW and resistances, these can by very good.
  • War Travelers (30-50MF - *****): Very good boots with 25% FRW and great MF, also +damage is good for some builds.
  • Tancred Boots (0 MF - **): With the amulet from this set, you get partial bonus of 78MF and 30% FRW
  • Vidala's Fetlock (0 MF - *): With the amulet from this set, you get partial bonus 50MF, it has also 30% FRW

BeltEdit

Goldwrap (30MF - ***): Good MF and IAS which can be very good for some characters. Tal-Rasha's Fine Spun Cloth (10-15MF - **): Good with other 2 pieces of set.

AmuletEdit

  • Fortuitous amulet of Luck (37-50MF - *): The best MF, but nothing else

magical amulet of Luck (26-35MF - **?): Good amulet when having good prefix like +2 skills or +3 skilltree rare/crafted amulet of Fortune (16-25MF / 21-35MF - ***?): When having the right mods as +2 skills, resistances, FCR, it can be very good.

  • Tancred's Weird (0MF/78MF - **)
  • Vidala's Snare (0MF/50MF - *)

RingEdit

  • Fortuitous ring of Fortune (27-40MF - ****): The best MF
  • Nagelring (15-30MF - ***)
  • Stone of Jordan (0MF - ***): No MF but +1 skills greatly improves killing speed for most MF builds
  • Ravenfrost (0MF - ***): Being slowed is very annyoing for non-teleporting characters. If you can't get CBF elsewhere, it's a must)

CharmsEdit

  • Gheed's charm (25-40MF - *****): Great MF, GF and reduces vendor prizes
  • Small charm of Luck (6-7MF - ***)

Maximum Possible Magic FindEdit

Just for curiosity, let's calculate the maximum possible MF (lvl 99 character-dual wielding barbarian)

  • Head - Artificer's Tiara of Luck 3xIST (110)
  • Body - Skullder's Ire with IST (148)
  • Weapons - 6xIST (2x180)
  • Gloves - Chance Guards (40)
  • Boots - War Traveler (50)
  • Belt - Goldwrap (30)
  • Amulet - Fortuitous Amulet of Luck (50)
  • Ring - Fortuitous Ring of Fortune (40)
  • Ring - Fortuitous Ring of Fortune (40)
  • Charms - Gheed's Fortune (40) + Small charms of luck (37*7)
    • Total: 1167 Magic Find

Now if You calculate in an act 3 mercs mf if he gets the kill with the barb..

  • Skullder's Ire w/Ist(148)
  • Artificer's Tiara of Luck w/3x ist(110)
  • 6s phase blade w/6x ist(180)
  • 4os monarch w/4x ist(100 mf)
    • 1167 = 1705% MF!

For building the MF character from scratch, I have some tips for you. Don't bother with MF or runs at lower levels. Just get to NM, look for 3-socketed helms, 4-socketed armors and Perfect topazes while questing. Get some decent level in normal Baal questing. Your first real MF target should be NM Meph. You can get fast to him and he is not so tough. He drops almost all exceptional uniques and has best chance for finding items like War Traveler or Skullder's Ire at that level. If you have found some good equipment, move to Hell Mephisto. He can give you all elites up to TC75 (TC78 if you are really lucky) and all jewelry. If you have found most of the items he can drop, it's time to move to any other type of run to get those items from TC78-87. Baal, Pindleskin or level 85 areas...


Magic Find Diminishing ReturnsEdit

MF diminishing returns.

This table is perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind when setting up your Magic Find equipment. If you are looking for Uniques, notice how little improvement you get from 300% on. There's no point in sacrificing half your equipment to pure MF% stuff to go from 300% to 500%, if it slows your killing speed and makes you die constantly, since you're only gaining 42% effectively for Uniques.

Of course if you can survive and still go fast, then every % is worth it.

Thanks to Jarulf for unearthing these stats.

See a more detailed list here.


Magic Find Rare Find Set Find Unique Find
50 46 45 41
100 85 83 71
200 150 142 111
300 200 187 136
400 240 222 153
500 272 250 166
750 333 300 187
1000 375 333 200

In addition to these stats, various monsters have their own internal odds for dropping item quality (Rare/Set/Unique/Magical Items). For example Act Bosses have a much better chance to drop Sets and Uniques and Rares than normal monsters do. You could have 1000% MF and you'd still have very very low odds of getting anything Unique from a normal monster, but would have good odds from a normal boss, and very good odds from Mephisto.

Here is a mf drop calculation example to show how mf is applied to a boss drop; this process is explained in much more detail in Hrus single player mf guide.

Say Baal dropping a uniq Unearthed Wand, when you have 167 MF:

  • Base chance = 400
  • chance - (ilvl - qlvl)/divisor = 400 - (99-86)/1 = 387
  • Multiply for precision: 387 * 128 = 49536
  • MF chance = 49536 * 100 / (100 + 100) = 24768
  • Compare against unique min cap of 6400, it is higher so no effect
  • Boss chance = 24768 - (24768 * 983 / 1024) = 24768 - 23776 = 992
  • Final chance is 128/992 = 12.9% (pretty good chance really).


Things That MF Do No EffectEdit

MF% does not effect:

  • Uber Key Drops
  • Rune Drops
  • Specific Item Types Dropped
  • What Unique Item Types Can Drop In A Given Area

Real Life

  • Non-Diablo games
  • How Cool You Are
  • How 1337 Your Characters Are
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