Diablo Wiki - User contributions [en]

Things you should know about Diablo 2

2009-10-27T22:03:52Z

TDurden1937: /* What is NextDelay, and why is it so bad? */

This massive FAQ-like compilation of interesting D2 tidbits was put together by Ernir and posted on the old Battle.net forums. ([http://classic.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=d2-general&t=1312543 Source].) The version here in this wiki is reformatted and has had numerous links added to additional information and images.

=How do Traps and Rainbow Facets work together?=

The -res% and +damage% on [[Griffon's Eye]] and [[Facets]] do not add to trap damage. With the exceptions of Fire Blast and Shock Web, the Assassin Traps are considered minions by the game. Your minions do not benefit from any -res% or +damage% your character has.

Note that Sorceress Hydras benefit from both Fire Mastery and Facets. This exception is explained by T-Hawk:

::The missiles fired by Hydra have a special-case check of their caster's "+% Fire Skill Damage" ability. That's why Hydra works with Fire Mastery and Facets. This check was added in version 1.05; before that, Fire Mastery didn't boost Hydra damage.

=Can immunities be removed?=

Yes, they can. [[Monsters]] immune to a damage type are classified as monsters with 100 or more percentage resistance to the damage type in question. If you lower the monster's resistance below 100%, you can damage the monster.

There are only two things that can remove elemental immunities: The Paladin's Conviction aura, and the Necromancer's Lower Resist curse. Conviction Aura also doesn't affect Poison resistance. The Necromancer curses Amplify damage and Decrepify can remove physical immunity.

All other types of -resist (Facets, Cold Mastery, Griffon's Eye) do NOT have an effect on immune monsters.

Also, all the spells mentioned above work at 20% efficiency when dealing with immune monsters. Example: A hell Doom Knight has 110% Fire resist, meaning it is immune to fire. That Doom Knight is hit by a level 3 Conviction Aura, which under normal circumstances would lower the monster's fire resistance by 40%. However, since the monster is immune, the Conviction aura only works at 20% efficiency, making those 40% in effect only 8%. The calculation is: 110 - 40*0.2 = 102 fire res, making the monster still immune.

This fact makes it much harder to break immunities. There are monsters whose immunities are simply impossible to break. Hell Oblivion Knights, for example, have 180% cold resist. Doesn't matter what you throw at it, it is impossible to break.

Even though you can combine Lower Resist and Conviction (the resist reduction percentages are simply lumped together and the combined number reduced to 20%), any resist >= 145 can not be broken, even with a Level 25 Conviction (-150% Resist All) and a Level 60 Lower Resist (-70% Resist All). Thanks to Technomage-C01 and BIGeyedBUG for pointing that out, and Tommi and Adeyke for the information.

-res from items and other skills are not completely useless when dealing with immune monsters, though, because once the immunity has been broken, these items take effect.

Physical immune monsters are monsters with a physical resistance of 100 or more. This immunity can (as mentioned above) be removed using the curses Amplify damage (which gives -100% physical resist) or Decrepify (which gives -50% physical resist). Again, the same penalties apply to Amplify Damage and Decrepify as to the elemental immunities.

=How do I spend my stat points for build x?=

For 95% of post-1.10 character builds, this is the recommended stat distribution:
* Strength - enough for gear.
* Dexterity - enough for gear or a block rate of 75% should you choose to.
* Vitality - everything else.
* Energy - in most cases nothing. Extremely mana-hungry casters may want to spend some here, but at the cost of the life vitality provides.

Thanks to Posterboy: Major exceptions from this rule include "glass cannon" Bowazons and Energy Shield Sorceresses.

=How do I get to Über Tristram/what do the Keys do/what are the "Übers"?=

* [[Pandemonium Event]] quest details.

Loosely based on a post made by Armaege:

The 1.11 patch added to the game a so called "Pandemonium Event" available ONLY on the realms, in hell difficulty.
To trigger the event, you must collect items called keys. There are three types. The Countess drops the Key of Terror, the false Summoner drops the Key of Hate, and Nihlathak drops the Key of Destruction.

When you have collected three keys, go anywhere in the town of Harrogath in Act 5 and transmute these three keys together in the Horadric Cube. One of three portals will open, to the Furnace of Pain, the Matron's Den, or the Forgotten Sands, in which you will fight Über-Izual, an Andariel-like creature called Lilith and Über Duriel respectively.

Each of these bosses drops one of the Prime Evil's relics, Lilith drops "Diablo's Horn", Über Duriel drops Baal's Eye, and Über Izual drops Mephisto's Brain.

When you have collected all three relics (a.k.a. body parts) you must go back to Harrogath, and transmute the three relics. This will open a portal to Über Tristram, where you will fight improved versions of the Prime Evils all at once - the Übers. Prepare for the hardest fight of your D2 career.

The last of the Prime Evils you kill will drop a large charm called the Hellfire Torch. It gives 3+ to the skill levels of a random character class, 10-20 to all resistances and attributes, a chance to cast Diablo's Firestorm on striking, 8+ to light radius and Hydra charges. This is your reward for all the trouble of collecting keys, relics, and killing the Übers.

The last Über that goes down also drops a "Standard of Heroes", one for each player in the game. These do not do anything, as far as anyone knows. They are trophies, nothing more.

=What does Standard of Heroes do?=

I repeat, there is no known use for the Standard of Heroes small charm. On this matter, I am going to quote the Blizzard forum moderator MicahW.

::''The Standard of Heroes is a trophy you get for having completed the patch 1.11 world event.

And if you don't believe MicahW, Blizzard forum moderator NickJS said this:

::''They are merely trophies. If we ever release a future patch hopefully we implement a "trophy case" to put these in. Available in Maple or Oak. You could have your friends over and show them off!

There is absolutely nothing that suggests it has a function besides looking pretty. All rumours that say otherwise are products of someone's overactive imagination, or a pitiful scam attempt. Why it has a level requirement is unknown.

=How frequently do "the Keys" drop?=

Adeyke had this to say on the matter:

::''Key of Terror has a 1/14 chance of dropping per kill in a 1-player game. Key of Hate has a 1/11 chance, while Key of Destruction has a 1/12 chance
You can get two, three, or possibly even more keys from a single drop.

These keys are nonmagical and your chance to find magic items does NOT have an effect on their drop rate. However, having more players in the game will increase your chances.

Note that even though you can find the keys in Single Player, they do not do anything there. The Pandemonium Event is exclusive to the Realms.

=Why do the Vipers in the Halls of Vaught kill my GOSU char in one hit?=
Explanation by Gta-maloy]:

::A percentage of their charge damage is included in the secondary cloud of poison. The AoE cloud. This means that you could avoid the initial poison from the spear but still get the physical + poison damage of the cloud should you run into it.

::THE CLOUD IS NOT VISIBLE. This is why many people think they get killed by something that isn't really there. The cloud will stay about five seconds AFTER the initial spear's cloud vanishes. If you do not move in this time, the second cloud will not effect you. Getting knocked back will also not trigger the second cloud. You will get poisoned by the viper and get a nice percentage of life taken away from you but it won't be over time.

;;Best thing to do is stand still when they fire or run past them at high velocity. The cloud will only form a second or two after the spear is thrown, this gives more than enough time for a character to run past them. Should you need to stop... stop and don't run or walk until five seconds after all the clouds have gone.

As for whether or not this is a bug; Blizzard forum moderator MicahW made the following statement:

Wheres the fix on those pesky Tomb Viper in Nihlathak place?

::Working as intended.

=How does Über Mephisto's Conviction aura work?=

Exactly like the corresponding Paladin aura. Über Mephisto's Conviction is level 20, and lowers your resistances to fire, lightning and cold by 125%. There are two very popular ways to get around that:

1) Stack your resists. Even though they are "capped" at 75% all resist, anything above 75% still gets counted when your resistances are lowered. If your resists are stacked more than 125% over your max, Mephisto's Conviction will do you no harm.

2) Override the effect of Mephisto's Conviction by using a higher level Conviction aura yourself. Yes, that's right. If the level of your Conviction aura is 21 or higher, Mephisto's Conviction will not affect you. Your hirelings, minions, and party members, however, will still take full penalty from the aura, so this is really a selfish but easy way to get rid of his aura.

Note on overriding Conviction - According to Sol1's and The_Terror_Lord's testing, both auras "work" if the skill levels are equal, meaning both you and Über Mephisto suffer the resistance and defense penalties. You need a higher level aura to override the other.

=Do mercenaries hired at lower levels gain better stats?=

No. No matter what you may have heard until now, the level at which the merc is hired is completely irrelevant. What does matter is the difficulty in which it was originally hired. A merc hired in normal has better stats than the same type of merc hired in nightmare, and a merc hired in nightmare has better stats than the same type of merc hired in hell. You should always hire your mercs in normal unless you need a specific aura from a nightmare act 2 merc.
* [[Mercenaries]] basic information.
* Hugely detailed [[Mercenary guide]] with strategy, skill levels, and tons more information about mercs.

=Can socketed runes poof?=

Yes, they can. Socketing a dupe protects it from "Passive Ruststorm" which is run when you enter and exit games. There is, however, nothing that can be done to save your precious dupes from the wrath of the Full Ruststorm. If your duped Enigma did survive, you were simply lucky, or you were on non-ladder where Full Ruststorm has never been run.

Ortliebj said it best:

::Full Ruststorm v2.5 will delete "dirty" items, even if they are components of other items. Full Ruststorm was last run in August of last year (2nd week, iirc).

::It will also delete items that have been tampered with in attempts to fool the Ruststorm process. In other words, personalizing your Engima won't help, so don't even try it. All eleven different attempts/strategies of which I am aware to try and circumvent this process have failed.

::When a full active Ruststorm is actually run, illegitimate items of types you've never even dreamed about will be deleted and/or invalidated.

If you have had an item disappear from your inventory, it most likely was a dupe that Ruststorm caught.

=What is the "strength bug", and how does it work?=

There are two glitches commonly referred to as the "strength bug".

The first one is rather harmless. When you don't have the base stats needed to equip an item, other players will not see the item, even though they are there and take full effect. This can be quite humorous when a "naked" barbarian stands in the middle of a monster pack and "punches" them to death. Another example is when Amazons throw Lightning Furies with their bare hands. This is not a hack, merely a display issue.

The second glitch is somewhat more serious. This is when you do not have the base OR end stats to equip an item that has +stats, making the item sustain itself. Example:

Your character has 150 strength after all gear, excluding the shield. You want to equip a Stormshield. In order to reach the 156 strength required, you put a charm in your inventory that gives you +6 to strength, giving you 156 strength, enough for Monarchs. You can now equip the shield. This brings your total strength to 186 with the strength bonus from the Stormshield. Now this is where the glitch comes is: You can now remove the charm from your inventory, but the +strength from the shield will still be enough to equip the shield. The shield is now, in effect, supporting itself. This is an extremely dangerous practise, because if you die, you will not be able to reequip all of your gear, so if you die again, you will be left with multiple corpses. Since only one corpse (the one with the most valuable items... in gold) will be transferred to the next game you enter, abusing this glitch to save stat points is an excellent way to lose your gear. Excepted from this are hardcore players, who lose all their gear anyway when they die.

On a related note, using +stats from items to equip other items is not a "glitch". This is perfectly natural. However, doing this can sometimes result in needing to click your corpse multiple times to get all your gear back, and having to pick up and reequip items when you enter a game. The order that items are respawned on your character was provided by Ortliebj:
# Head
# Neck
# Torso
# Right Hand *
# Left Hand
# Right Ring
# Left Ring
# Belt
# Feet
# Gloves
# Inventory (meaning charms, etc.)
* * Right hand from the character's perspective, so glove side and then boot side.

Ruvunal discovered the initial order of item pickup upon corpse retrieval. He tested, verified and updated it after 1.09 and 1.10.

Meaning... if your helm provides you with the stats you need to equip your armor, you will only need to click your corpse once. However, if your armor provides you with the strength you need to equip your helm, you will have to click twice, as the helm is left on the ground the first time you click.

Using +stats CAN cause you to lose items if you are killed the moment you are clicking to pick up your items and the order doesn't match with the strength requirements of the items. This is no where near as dangerous as glitch-equipping your gear, but it is nevertheless something to keep in mind.

Addition pointed out by Bonkshasa - if you have enough room in your backpack to pick up all your items, you won't lose them, even if you are not able to equip them right away. This is rarely the case these days (when PvPing your inventory is full of charms, and in PvM the potions from your belt probably filled up any available space already), but this could very well be the difference between losing your Crown of Ages or keeping it.

Disclaimer: The factual accuracy of the item pickup order is currently under dispute.

=How does the +damage from Grief and Astreon's work? And why does it look so low on the character screen?=

In most cases, the +damage from weapons such as Grief, Astreon's Iron Wand, and Stonecrusher adds directly to the weapon's base damage, meaning it is multiplied by pretty much everything. This is what can easily make a good Grief the most damaging one-hand weapon in the game.

Unfortunately this bonus to the base damage does not show up on the Lying Character Screen, not correctly at any rate. That is simply because it is out of date. I don't think the LCS has been fully updated for LoD yet.

To see your REAL damage, use [http://baronsbazaar.invisionzone.com/ppr PPR's Weapon Damage Calculator].

Note that there are exceptions from this rule. Vengeance, for example, does not seem to use the added +damage as base weapon damage. Mikeandroe performed a series of tests on how the Vengeance damage is calculated, and the results can [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=50089 be found here].

On the other hand, when Smite is used, the +damage is added directly to the shield's base damage. Because the most damaging Paladin shield in the game deals 46.5 average damage, the +damage makes a HUGE difference. This is why Grief and Astreon's IW are so popular (and possibly unbalancing) for Smiters.
The [[Smite FAQ]] by Oramin and Bloodshrike explains Smite in detail.

The Assassin kick attacks do not benefit from +damage in any way. Blade Fury and Blade Sentinel also do not benefit from it, although the display is incorrect. Thanks to BIGeyedBUG for bringing it to my attention, and adeyke for the information.

=How much dexterity do I need to reach max block at level x with shield y with character z?=

[http://baronsbazaar.invisionzone.com/ppr PPR's Block Calculator] can answer that.

=How can I stop monsters from regenerating?=

There are three ways:

The "Prevent Monster Heal" mod. It prevents all monsters except the Pandemonium Übers from regenerating. The Übers have been specifically made immune.

Poison. Monsters do not regenerate while poisoned. Once the poison wears off, however, they start regenerating again.
Open Wounds. Being affected by open wounds automatically sets the monsters' regeneration rate to a negative value.

Also note that these methods only negate natural regeneration. Things such as healing spells, the Prayer aura, healing potions and life leech should still work.

=How can upgraded items get a lower Defense than the item had before?=

Upgrading items does not guarantee higher stats. All it does is take a normal base item to exceptional status, or an exceptional item to elite status. The end stats depend on the stats of the upgraded base item. Vampire Gaze is probably the most famous example.

Grim helms have a defense range of 60-125. All Vampire Gaze Grim Helms have a defense of 252. This is due to the fact that when armors spawn with the enhanced defense mod, the defense is invariably set at max +1. When we are dealing with a Vampire Gaze, the base item's defense of 126 receives a 100% bonus = 252 defense.

However, when the item is upgraded, the base defense is rerolled. The defense range of Bone Visages is 100-157. Which means that a Vampire Gaze with a base item defense of 126 has a very good chance of being turned into a Bone Visage with a lower defense. In case of the worst roll imaginable, your 252 defense Vampire Gaze would go down to 200. Not good.

[http://www.cs.colostate.edu/%7Edeykea/d2armours.html Adeyke's upgrade calculator] shows how upgrading will affect the various unique items.

Note that in the 1.10 patch, ethereal armors would lose their ethereal defense bonus when upgraded, in addition to having their defense rerolled. This is no longer the case, ethereal items now retain their defense bonus (although the hack fix implemented had most unfortunate side effects). Adeyke's page still shows ethereal upgraded items with the same defense as non-ethereal ones, but nevertheless, this has been fixed.

=What level requirement will my upgraded rare item get?=

Syrith had this to say:

::Upgrading rare/unique from normal to exceptional: +5 levels to base req
::Upgrading rare/unique from exceptional to elite: +7 levels to base req
::Upgrading rare/unique from normal to elite: +12 levels to base req

Examples by Daten (slightly modified to represent updated information):

::If the item that will be upgraded has a Level Req. higher than the upgraded base item, it will get +5 Req. Example: Rare Long Sword (Lev 48 Req (the Level is determined by the Mods on the Sword)) upgrade to Rare Rune Sword (Lev 53 Req)

::If the requirements are lower than the Base Item Requirements, the upgraded Item will get: Requirement on upgraded Base Item + 5.

::Rare Sharkskin Boots (Lev 25 Req (Level is determined by the Base Item Requirements)) upgrade to Scarabshell Boots (Lev 56 Req (Scarabshell Boots = 49, +7))

=Can +to Holy Shield spawn on white scepters in 1.10/1.11?=

Yes, they can. They are obscenely rare, but they can. Normally, Holy Shield is not allowed to spawn on sceptres. However, if the game has failed six times in finding an "allowed staffmod" for the sceptre, it picks the one that was rolled last, regardless of whether or not it is on the "allowed list".

If you do not want to take my word for it, here is [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v153/Ernir/bnetmoment/HolyShield.jpg a screenshot of one], provided by Nucularterraist. It was taken in early ladder season three.

It has not been altered in any way. I didn't even crop the image to remove the sophisticated background chat.

=What runes can you get from the Hellforge Quest on each difficulty level?=

* Normal: El - Amn
* Nightmare: Sol - Um
* Hell: Hel - Gul

Notes: You get exactly one rune only per quest completion. There is an equal chance (1/11) of getting each rune available. Having more players in your party when you complete the quest does not increase the number of runes (although you do get more gems). So it is generally a good idea to unparty/leave the game if more than one person needs to complete the quest.

Also note that Gul is the highest rune that can drop from the Hellforge on any difficulty. The runes from Vex-Zod are impossible to get from the Forge. If someone claims they got a rune above Gul from the Forge, that person is either lying or suffers from an overactive imagination. Hephasto the Armorer can drop any rune in the game, but the Forge itself can only drop up to Gul.

* [[Rune Finder Guide by Urlik|Urlik's massive rune finding guide]].
* [[Level_1_Rushing|Level 1 rune rushing guide]].

=My Merc wears an Infinity Polearm, will the -55% Light Res work for my Sorceress/Trapsin/Tesladin?=

No it won't. -x% Elemental Damage (Cold,Fire,Lightning,Poison), as well as +x% Elemental Damage work like Sorceress Masteries. Both modifiers are only applied for attacks dealt by the Player that wears the Item (since Traps and Skeletal Mages are treated as Minons, this won't increase their Damage (see 1.)! Having the Item with the -x%/+x% Damage on the Weapon-Switch won't help either.

+x% Fire/Light/Cold Damage is added to the Sorcs Fire-, Cold- or Lightmastery. A Lightsorc with lev 31 Lightning Mastery (+410%) will only get a tiny damage Boost from a +5% Lightfacet (415%). That's why Cold Sorcs look for +5%/-x% Facets and Fire/Lightsorcs prefer +x%/-5% Facets.

To get back to the original Question: A lot of Builds that rely on Elemental Damage equip their Merc with an Infinity Polearm because of the Conviction Aura, not because of the -x% Lightning Resistance.

The above section was provided by Daten.

=Why do people talk about the "Lying Character Screen", or LCS?=

Because the screen flat out LIES about many important stats. Meaning that the numbers you see on the character screen are not the numbers the game actually uses. I do not think it has had any major updates since 1.06, so things like +damage modifiers, off-weapon ED%, etc. are NOT displayed correctly, if at all.

Gta-maloy] had this to say about it:
::That screen, in many circumstances, only properly shows resistances, the character's level, the experience gained and the damage dealt for the first two levels.

::After that is done, it sucks.

::Once you die, the Anya bug is not listed. (interjection: I, Ernir, will discuss the Anya bug below)

::Masteries and synergies are not properly multiplied together, damage modifiers are completely ignored, the equations used for AR and damage are outdated....

::The chance to block seems alright though

Ortliebj added this:

::It is broken by the time you reach a place called the "Den of Evil".

::There's even an old bug where your name can be displayed incorrectly.

=What is the "Anya bug"?=

Those who have finished the game know that when you have rescued Anya in act 5, Malah gives you a Scroll of Resistance that "permanently" increases your resistances to the elements. But we also know that Malah did not make it past Firebolt casting 101. That shoddy little scroll does not work quite the way it is supposed to.

When the scroll is cast, it does increase your resistances. But when you die, that bonus is lost, even though it does is not displayed on the Lying Character Screen. The bonus is regained when you reenter the game, but for the rest of the game in which you died, your resists are really 10% lower for each Malah scroll you used - up to 30%. That is quite a difference. Your paladin may not have 90% resist all, maybe he has 60% all res.

This is of special concern to duelers, who often die multiple times in each game - and it also means that if you lose to an elemental attack once, you are likely to keep losing.

In turn, hardcore players don't have to worry about this bug at all, for obvious reasons.

=22. What runes can the Countess Drop?=

I will address this very briefly and in the most simple way I can think of. The countess has two separate "ways to drop items". A normal drop, and a special rune drop. The rune drop is what people are looking for when they run the Countess (along with Terror keys). The "normal drop" can give you runes up to Lo in hell difficulty. However, your chances to get a Lo from her are not really any better than from any other monster.

The Rune drop can drop up to Ist in hell. The possibility of getting higher runes from this drop are far greater than from the normal drop. Again, this drop is what you are looking for.

The runes that [[the Countess]] can drop in each difficulty are:

Normal:
* Normal drop - Nef
* Rune drop - Ral

Nightmare:
* Normal drop - Ko
* Rune drop - io (eye-o)

Hell:
* Normal drop - Lo (ell-o)
* Rune drop - Ist

=What level requirement will my crafted item get?=

Gta had this to say:

::For crafted items.....figure out the highest level requirement from all affixes on the item, add ten and add three for every affix other than the set ones.

::So a ring with 6% mana leech (level req of 74) and 4 affixes (including the mana leech, excluding the life leech, str and life provided by the cast) will get +22 (10 from the cast, 12 from teh affixes). There is a rlvl 98 cap, certain charges like Lightning Strike and Freezing arrow can provoke up to rlvl 108...but this is now remedied in 1.11 and brought down to rlvl 98.

=Is there a "cap" on Crushing Blow, Open Wounds, or Deadly Strike?=

The only cap is the logical cap of 100%. You can not get these to go off more than 100% of the time you hit an enemy. Percentages over 100% (Headstriker on a high level char, for example) do not help at all. You have no chance for a double crushing blow, double bleed, 4x damage or whatever you may think that 100%+ may do.

There is a persistent rumor about these being capped at 95%. I guess this originates from the fact that you can usually only deal these out 95% of the time you attack, since the maximum chance to hit with attack-rating based attacks is 95%, but these will still go off 100% of the time you actually hit an enemy.

Short: They are all capped at 100%.

=What does "damage reduced" or "DR" mean?=

The Damage Reduced by x% mod, which is found on items such as Stormshield, Shaftstop, Verdungo's Hearty Cord and Harlequin Crest, reduces the physical damage you take by increasing your physical resistance. This has no effect on any type of magical damage.

Your physical resistance is not displayed on the character screen. Unmodified the resistance is 0%. The beforementioned items (and several more things) can bring this resistance up to 50%. 50% is the cap for physical resistance, both in PvP and PvM.

This resistance works exactly the same as elemental resistances. Example: If you are hit by a physical attack that does 100 damage and you have a total of 20% damage resistance, the damage you take will be 100-(0.20*100)= 80 damage taken.

Note that there is also a mod called "Damage Reduced By X", found on items like Gladiator's Bane and Nature's Peace. Note the lack of the percentage symbol. This reduces the damage you take by a fixed amount, not a percentage of the attack damage.

Example: You are hit by a physical attack that does 50 damage and your total Damage Reduced By 30. The attack's damage would be 50-30 = 20 damage to you.

This type of damage reduction does NOT have a cap. Also, this mod is capable of negating ALL damage you take. If the example above had been with a 25 damage attack, no damage would have been taken at all.

And which type is better? Both. DR% has an advantage when it comes to heavy hits, and DR when it comes to multiple light hits. You decide which you want.

=What is the difference between "Ignore Target's Defense" and "Always Hits"?=

The following section was mostly provided by Posterboy.

"Ignore Target's Defense" is not the same thing as "Always Hits." "Ignore Target's Defense" simply means that the targets defense rating will be set to zero in the To Hit calculation. From the Arreat Summit: "This ability will not work on Unique Monsters, Super Unique Monsters, Hirelings, other players, and Act-end bosses." Player/monster level still plays a part in the equation, and the is a min/max cap of 5%/95% chance to hit.

"Always Hits" means that this attack will bypass the To Hit formula altogether. Guided Arrow, Smite, and most spells are "Always Hits," although some, like Guided Arrow, can be blocked. That means if you had a level 2 Paladin with one point in Smite you can hit a monster like Hell Diablo consistently. Also note that "Always Hits" does not necessarily mean that you will literally always hit because there is still shield blocking, Zon Dodge/Avoid/Evade, and Assassin claw-blocking to consider, not to mention manually dodging an attack.
Note that the Assassin's claw block can block many things that ordinary shields can't.

Range is also a considerable factor when discussing attacks that always hit. Smite, for example, depends on weapon range. If the target is farther away than the weapon range allows, the animation is shown, but the opponent is not hit. This is why skilled melee characters using range 3-5 weapons can often beat Smiters that use a cookie-cutter range 2 Grief Phase Blade.

=How do synergies and +skills work together?=

There are so called "soft" skill points, and "hard" skill points. Hard skill points are the points you gain from leveling up and from quests. Soft skill points are skill points you gain from ANY gear, including charms, weapons, armor, whatever.

When calculating the level of a skill, both the soft and hard skill points are taken into account. However, when calculating how great the skill benefits from synergies, only the hard points you spend in the synergizing skill are counted in for the benefit of the synergized skill.

Example:

You have spent 20 hard points in Blessed Hammer, and 20 points in Blessed Aim. You also have a helmet that gives 2+ to all skill levels. The displayed levels of the skills are now 22 for BH, and 22 for BA as well.
But when the game calculates the benefit Blessed Hammer recieves from Blessed Aim, it applies the benefit from a level 20 Blessed Aim skill to the level 22 Blessed Hammer skill.

Exceptions from this rule include the Necromancer summon masteries and the Sorceress elemental masteries. These are not actual synergies, but rather skills whose only function is to enhance other skills. When the benefit from these is calculated, both hard and soft points are counted. The Druid summon cross-bonuses work that way as well, according to MMAgCh.

=How can I find skillers/what is the first, or best place to find skillers?=

[[Skillers]], or Grand Charms with +to a character skill tab, require an item level of at least 50 in order to spawn. The first area in which all dropped grand charms have an item level of 50+ is the nightmare Great Marsh.

In order to maximize your chances of finding a skiller, you want the item level to be as close to 50 as possible. Why is that? Because when affixes are selected, they are chosen from all available affixes. Having a GC with an ilevel of exactly 50 is the best in this regard because they do have the possibility of getting a skiller, while the possibilities of other affixes are being kept to a minimum.

However, there is an alternate approach. Items dropped from Hell Baal have an item level of 99, and items dropped from Hell Nihlathak have an item level of 95. Grand charms dropped from these two bosses can spawn with very, very high life, namely the 41-45 to life vita suffix. Grand charms that both have +to a skill tab and high life can trade for astronomical values. However, due to the high item level, most any affix can spawn. Your chances of getting a skiller from an ilvl 95+ Grand Charms are very slim, and the chances of getting that Grand Charm to spawn with the desired 40+ life are even slimmer. However, the time and effort needed to aquire these are worth it to some.

There is a way to significantly shorten the amount of time needed to find a skiller compared to just hunting the most likely drop zones over and over. This is referred to as "rerolling" or simply "rolling". This is done by placing a Grand Charm and three perfect gems in the Horadric cube, and transmuting. This will reroll the mods on the charm, but preserving the item level. This means that if you have a Grand Charm with that perfect ilevel of 50, but it has useless mods, you can reroll it into a useful skiller. In effect, it drops the item again at the cost of three perfect gems. Be prepared to spend a lot of perfect gems, but it can be worth it.

Note that this formula works on all magical items, but it is typically used the most on Grand Charms due to the high usefulness of blue Charms compared to the usefulness of blue equippable items.

Footnote: I must admit that I slightly lied about the first place you can get a skiller the first place would be normal Baal. The items he drops have an ilevel of 60, more than enough to get a skiller. But the nightmare Great Marsh is the first area in which every monster has the possibility of dropping a skiller.

A common misconception is that MF increases the chance of getting skillers. That is simply not true. This lies in how MF works, and I direct you to Gta's Guide to all that is items again for explanation.

Good areas to hunt for skillers and rerollable Grand Charms include:
* The nightmare Great Marsh the first place they can drop, the area level is 50.
* The nightmare Flayer Jungle run more often than the Great Marsh due to the number of Flayers, which can all drop ilevel 50 Grand Charms.
* Nightmare Cows there is a very large number of easily killable cows here, and the charms they drop have a decent chance of becoming a skiller.
* Nightmare City of the Damned there is a lot of Wraith-class monsters here.
* Hell Diablo, hell Nihlathak and hell Baal all three (and those three only) have the capability to drop skillers with 41-45 to life.

=How does Magic Find work with minions?=

When a minion or mercenary makes a kill, the minions MF percentage is added to your MF percentage. However, if you make a kill while one of your minions has MF, only your MF is used. It was probably made this way to allow minion characters (Summoners, Trapassins) to hunt for items effectively, while keeping the game as balanced as possible for characters that do not depend on mercenaries or minions for the kill.

=Is there a way to resist "pure" magical damage from other players?=

Pure magical damage, such as the damage from the Barbarians Berserk, the Paladins Blessed Hammer, and the Necromancer bone spells is mostly unresistable. There are some ways to reduce the damage, but no really effective ones. The main methods are:
# There is a mod called "Magic Resistance" on crafted safety shields. This is only 5-10%, though.
# Integer magic absorb. This is found on the runewords Spirit, Oath and Crescent Moon.
# Integer magic damage reduction. This is probably the most effective thing you can do to protect yourself against magical damage. This is found on Dwarf Star rings, the String of Ears Demonhide Sash, and Skin of the Vipermagi Serpentskin Armor to name a few. It wont do much against a 10000+ damage Blessed Hammer directed at your face, but it could mean the difference between surviving 2-3 hammers or 3-4.

These means of course also counteract the magical damage that monsters deal, such as the hell and nightmare guest Viper Bone Spears.

=How come my Blessed Hammers can damage monsters immune to magic?=

It simply lies in the nature of the Blessed Hammer skill to completely ignore the magical resistances of both Demon and Undead class monsters. This is part of what makes Hammerdins (Paladins that use the Blessed Hammer skill) so ridiculously powerful, the ability to pierce the resistances of virtually any monster in the game is unmatched, anywhere. The only monster types that Blessed Hammers can not damage are monsters that are both immune to magic, and of the Animal class.

As of now, there is only one monster that meets both classifications. That is the Wailing Beast in an act 3 hell Kurast Temple. Aside from that single type of monster, Blessed Hammers can damage absolutely everything.

=How does Venom work?=

Poison damage in-game is always listed as X damage over Y seconds. Unfortunately, this isn't how the game calculates it. The damage per second is X/Y. The value you should be concerned about is the damage per frame (aka bitrate), which is X/(25*Y). Most of the time when poison sources are combined (not when Venom is concerned), your bitrates are added, and your durations are averaged. In order to achieve the highest possible bitrate, you want the highest possible poison damage over the smallest possible duration.

Maximizing your final damage output involves getting the highest bitrate possible, and being able to re-apply the poison damage before the duration timer runs out.

The strength of the Assassins Venom skill does not lie in a huge displayed damage number, but rather the short duration, which can be applied multiple times in very short succession. The relatively modest displayed damage is much more effective than it looks. Lets say Venom does 400 damage over 0.4 seconds. That damage is really 1000 damage per second if you manage to constantly keep the poison up (which can be done with a speedy kick attack, for example).

A slightly worse thing about Venom is that it effectively ruins all other sources of poison on your equipment that you may have. If you have Venom active, all poison attacks are scaled down to fit the short duration of Venom. Lets say you have a charm in your inventory that does 100 poison damage over 5 seconds = 20 damage per second. Having Venom active does not actually lower the bitrate of the charm, but rather shortens the duration. When Venom is active, that charm deals 20 damage per second over 0.4 seconds = only 8 total damage for each attack. Most unimpressive.

This is why poison charms and other poison sources work very badly with Venom. If you intend to use Venom, avoid using equipment for the sole reason of added poison damage. It won't hurt you, but it won't help you (much) either.

In order to maximize your Venom damage, do three things:
# Have Venom as high of a level as possible when casting
# Have as much +% Poison Skill Damage on your gear as possible when casting and attacking
# Lower your target's Poison Resistance as much as possible

Thanks to Ilkori for updating this section. Poison is not my forte.

=I am a hardcore player. How can I avoid being killed by malicious players?=

Before we begin, there are two acronyms that need to be understood:

PK: Player killer. It can be used as a verb also; Im going to PK you, noob. The term is not to be confused with actual dueling. Duels are mutually agreed upon. Player Killers dont ask for permission.

TPPK: A number of methods that involve setting up some sort of a deathtrap, going to town, and hostiling another player in rapid succession. The goal is to catch the victim/the PKed by surprise and kill him in the process.

On how to avoid being PKed, I am simply going to quote the celebrated forum troll and TPPKer 2_Much_4_U.

<blockquote>
Wow, okay. First off, don't feel too bad about having some lowbies ganked. Happens all the time.

To help you avoid further happenings, let me run down a couple of things to look for.

1.) Paladins with red armor, red helms, and a two-handed weapon are going to pk you. Especially if you are playing in a Tomb Run game.

2.) Sorcs who tell you to leave town for an enchant could very well be baiting you to set you up for an orb tppk.

3.) Never trust necromancers, no matter what they say their build is.

4.) Level 16 characters of any type who wear Twitchthroe (you can tell they are wearing it if they have dark green, nearly black studded leather graphic armor) are at the very least llds. Some of these people like to pk in pubby games.

5.) Characters with funny, stupid, or hostile names will often be pkers. The mentality of most pks is that you kill for laughs, and a good name such as AnInnocentChild makes a funny screenshot:

''Noob was slain by AnInnocentChild.

6.) Make passworded games and set the character limit to one.

7.) Don't get rushed. Some pro pks like to help people level so the ear is higher when they kill you. Sometimes if you Baal with people they will talk to you, get to know you a little, maybe even befriend you, then they will fire an Ice Blast up your ass.

8.) Set level restrictions on all nightmare level games and above. This won't keep you from getting killed by the pros, but you will avoid sucker clans like IceNine.

9.) Be aware of the pk clans on your realm, know who the most active pks are, and never group with people who can one-shot champion monsters.

10.) Look for people using +damage gear like wands and circlets. You can never be certain that necro is a tppker, but if he has blue leather armor, doesn't display a helm graphic, and carries a plain-colored wand, he is likely using White, +3 PnB circlet, and Vipermagi. Cheap but powerful gear with very little in the way of survivability mods. Pks are built for damage, not for duels, and as such their gear will usually be easily and cheaply replaced.

11.) If you decide, against my advice, to join a pub game, be aware that the good pkers won't attack immediately. Amazons wait until a monster procs amp on you, sorcs wait until you fight a conviction aura'd mob. A good necro will use his bone walls to corral you in, or if you are melee he will wait until you are in the thick of battle and you aren't paying attention to him. Also of note, if the necro has a lot of skeles, mages, and revives, yet they all seem to die fast, he is probably a pk. Experienced nec pks will use the massive lag caused by bone structures and summons to execute you.

12.) Escape up enter is your best friend. I can do it so fast that it looks like disconnect.

13.) Set up your belt to have a full slot of major rejuvs, a full slot of town portals, and two slots of minor rejuvs. Guzzle those potes like kool-aid, they are free after all and will save your life many times.

14.) Buff your cold and poison resist. You can do this by drinking thawing potions and antidote potions. Drink the thaws so a cold sorc can't wtfown you in one shot. Drink the antis so you won't be low on health when you least expect it from poison procing mobs.

15.) Put every point you possess into vitality. You don't need anything else. My untwinked bear druid had more than 1000 life at level 18. Invest in getting lower level life scs, which you can farm on the way to Countess in Normal.

16.) If you are in a game full of tagged people, and they start moving away from you, leave the game.

17.) If a player opens a tp anywhere near you, hit your tp hotkey and leave the area.

18.) Don't start NM until level 45. Don't start Hell until level 80.

19.) Be a nice person. If you piss somebody off, they can easily put a bounty on your head and have someone smoke your ass. Ask Hurricane_Ivan, RazzerFraz, Mithrandirr, Yeti, or any of the many infamous pks just how much their ears have been worth over the years. A successful kill on a rich person's enemy can snag you upwards of a Gul rune, which is worth a lot more in hc than it is in sc.

20.) If somebody follows you around in town, they are most likely weighing you in the balance. Don't be found lacking. They will gauge your gear, how much life they think you have, and what your likely resists are. They won't attack you unless they think they can one- or two-shot you. My personal best has been two people killed with a tornado volley. I have heard of and seen screenshots of five people being killed in a single attack.

21.) Avoid wps, public portals, and starting areas.

22.) Play with friends.

=Where is the "Reziarfg" monster?=

The Reziarfg monster does not exist. If you take a careful look at the spelling of its name, you will see that is in fact the name of Geoff Fraizer, a member of the Blizzard web team, spelled backwards. The monster is a joke, nothing more. It is not found in any game file, not even a hint. If it were there, the experienced modders would have found out long ago. There simply is no monster called Reziarfg in the game.

=What does the chat gem do?=

[[The Chat Gem]] does not have a purpose. It changes colour, and sends messages like Gem Activated, Perfect Gem Activated and Mooooo. Nothing else. People use it as a marker for their channel conversations, but the gem does not affect gameplay in any way whatsoever.

If you like clicking the thing, go ahead. But know that any change you notice is a result of good-old chance.

=What are "Stacked Resists"?=

Under normal circumstances, players resistances to fire, cold, lightning and poison are capped at a maximum of 75%. Using certain items and skills you can boost the maximum resistance cap up to 95%, but no further. Therefore you can not make yourself immune to an element by boosting your maximum resistances up to 100%. When you have hit the final cap allowed by your gear and skills, the resistances will show up in golden letters on your character screen.
Whatever resistances you may have that surpass this cap are not calculated when hit with regular attacks.

However, having resistances above your displayed cap can come in handy. They will play a large role when you are affected by resistances, such as the ones from the Conviction Aura or other players Rainbow Facets. When these resistances come into effect, they start with subtracting from the resists you have over your displayed cap.

Examples:

We have player A, whose items give a total of 150% resistance to fire. 
And player B, whose items give a total of 75% resistance to fire.

Player A is hit by a Fireball that does 200 damage. Player As resistances hit the cap at 75%, and the player takes 25% of the damage = 50 damage. 
Player B is hit by a Fireball that does 200 damage. Player Bs resistances hit the cap precisely at 75%, and the player takes 25% of the damage = 50 damage. 
In this case, the stacked resistances were useless. But when that Fireball also lowers the targets resistances, the situation changes greatly.

Player A is hit by a Fireball that does 200 damage and lowers the players resistances by 50%. The Fireball starts with affecting stacked resistances, bringing them down to a total of 100%. The players resistances still manage to hit the cap at 75%, and the player takes 25% of the damage = 50 damage. 
Player B is hit by the same Fireball that also reduces the players resistances by 50%. The Fireball can now directly lower the resistances in use, bringing the total resistance down to 25%. The player takes 75% of the damage = 150 damage, which is three times the damage player A suffered. Resists can make a HUGE dent in anyones life bowl unless properly countered. The next section will demonstrate this.

If you expect anyone is going to attempt to lower your resists, stacking them is generally a good idea if you wish to live. Cold Sorceresses, Über Mephisto and Avenger Paladins are all infamous for their ability to lower resistances. Dont be caught off guard.

Physical resistance has its own cap too, which is at 50%. But unlike elemental resistances, this resistance is not displayed on the character screen, and is not affected by the nightmare and hell resistance penalties as far as I know. This is what is generally referred to as Damage Reduced %. Stacking this resistance against the Necromancer curses Amplify damage and Decrepify is not advisable due to how difficult it is to gain a respectable amount of this rare resist.

Resistance to pure magical damage (Blessed Hammers, Bone Spells, Berserk) is almost impossible to resist. See section 31 for the reasons. This resistance most likely has a cap, although it is absolutely impossible to hit it.

=What is the effectiveness of resistances compared to +damage%?=

This has been slightly addressed before in sections 2 and 19, but only as side points.

Many seem to think that reducing an enemy's resistances by some percentage is roughly the same as increasing your own damage by that same percentage. This is not true. When the damage is calculated, -resist% "nearly always" come out on top. The effectiveness of -resist% relies completely on the defender's resistance. For example, if a defender has 95% resistance to the damage type in question and no stacked resists, the -5% would DOUBLE the damage output. Also, if the defender has maxed resistance stacked 5% or more over the cap, -5% would do absolutely nothing. The reasons for this are purely mathematical.

For an everyday example, let's assume an attack does 200 damage, and it is applied to a target with 50% resistance to the element in question. The damage output would be 200 * 0.50 = 100 damage.

If that attack also lowered the resistance by 5%, the damage we are looking at is 200 * 0.55 = 110 damage. A 10% increase in damage. Directly increasing damage by 5% would obviously only increase damage by 5%. Oddly enough, in this case -5% > +5% applies.

Examples when resist% do NOT improve your overall damage more than +damage% are few, but they include:

A) When the target already has negative resists. Basically, -x% enemy resist is more effective against a target with positive resists, and +x% skill damage is more effective against a target with negative resists (assuming the same value of x, of course). So in other words, if you had to make a choice between a -5%/+3% facet and a -3%/+5% facet, you should know the resists of your target first and make a choice depending on whether it's positve or negative (after taking Conviction, Lower Resist, Cold Mastery, etc. into consideration.) Thanks to Posterboy for the explanation.

B) When the target already has -100% negative resists, -resist% is completely pointless. You can never reduce someone's resists below -100%.

C) When the target is using Cyclone Armor or Energy Shield. These are applied before resistances, so resist% does nothing at all until the shield has been broken.

D) In many cases, Cold Sorceresses already have more than enough resist% from their Cold Mastery skill, making +damage% more desirable.

E) When the target has enough stacked resists to completely negate your resist%.

=How does the "Eth Glitch" work?=

In Diablo 2 version 1.11 and 1.11b, there is a bug regarding the socketing of ethereal armors. Ethereal armors are assigned a 50% bonus to their base defense rating when dropped. This is normal. What is not normal is the fact that when sockets are added to an ethereal armor using the Horadric Cube, that ethereal defense bonus is applied again. The result is an armor with an absolutely impossible defense rating. Enhanced defense modifiers are then added to that base defense rating, so the difference in end defense is rather huge.

This bug appeared as a side-effect when the 1.10 ethereal armor upgrade bug was fixed (the bug is described in section 14). In order to fix that bug, a defense bonus of 50% was simply crammed into the ethereal unique armor upgrade formula. Unfortunately that fix also affected the ethereal armor socketing formula, making armors now gain a second defense bonus when socketed.

The use of this bug is very controversial, and that is the reason I haven't added this section earlier. The overwhelming number of questions asked about this forced me to make up my mind.

It is not debatable whether this is a "bug" or an "undocumented feature". It is obviously a result of a programming flaw, making it a bug. Ask anyone who has looked at the code, ethereal armors gaining defense when socketed is NOT intentional. Not a chance.

However, the community is split regarding the practical use of this bug. One half argues that since Blizzard hasn't removed the bug, they intend it to stay, and that they need the bugged armors to stay competent when compared to those who do use the bugged armors. The other half considers the use of any ingame bugs to their advantage to be cheating. Personally, I agree with the second group, and suggest that anyone who wants to consider oneself a legitimate gamer to avoid this bug until fixed.

=How do Energy Shield and "Damage taken goes to Mana" work together?=

I didn't add this section until now simply because I do not use the Energy Shield spell on any of my characters, so I have no practical experience with it. It is correct on technical issues, however. Thanks to Gta-maloy] for confirming it.

First of all, the "damage taken goes to mana" mod found on items is NOT the same as the ES damage conversion. "Damage taken goes to mana" modifiers add to your mana pool a percentage of the damage you take.
Example: A character with a "10% damage taken goes to mana" mod is hit with an attack doing 50 damage. 50 health points will be removed from your health pool. 10% of those 50 points will now add to your mana pool.

End result: Life -50, mana +5.

However, when a Sorceress using ES is hit, some of the damage is subtracted from your mana pool instead of your health pool. The percentage of the total damage converted to the mana pool is dependant on your ES level, and it maxes out at 95%, at ES slevel 40. The ratio at which the damage is converted depends on points spent in Telekinesis. The base ratio is 200%, or 2:1. With no points in TK, every health damage point converted spends 2 mana. Each point spent in TK decreases that ratio by 6.25%, bringing it down to 100% = 1:1 at level 16. Notice that the TK bonus is a synergy bonus, only hard points will work.

Which means that if a Sorceress using a level 40 ES with 16 hard points in TK is hit for 100 damage, her mana will absorb 95% of the damage, while the health pool absorbs 5%.

End result: Life -5, mana -95.

If that Sorceress also had 20% damage taken goes to mana from gear, 20% of those 5 points that were actually removed from her health pool would be added to her mana pool. That's one point. Not very impressive.

End result: Life -5, mana -94.

You can see that making an "immortal Sorceress" by combining "damage taken goes to mana" and Energy Shield is impossible.

Miscellaneous information about Energy Shield:

ES is not affected by resistances, it takes 100% damage at all times, no more or less. That can be good, and bad. Its good in the way that you don't have to worry about maxing your resistances as much as most other character types, and enemies that depend on the ability to lower your resistances will be sent home crying. It is bad in the way that you can not raise the resistances of your ES above 0%.

Note that ES does not stop poison damage. The negative regeneration rate from the Open Wounds modifier can not be absorbed either. Be careful when those are around.

And to quote PeterPaulRubens:
:the real bummer of combing DTM and ES is that DTM's mana boost is applied to your mana BEFORE the mana loss from ES is calculated. In other words, your mana can still be reduced to zero by a hit. DTM won't ever save you from having NO mana.

=What makes Anya's Red Portal go away?=

Rather simple. The Red Portal closes when you have killed [[Nihlathak]] AND gotten the [[Halls of Pain]] waypoint. As long as you don't do both, the portal stays.

=Where is the Pit, and why does it drop good items?=

Introduced in 1.10 were several areas with very high area levels. Everything can drop from the champions and unique monsters in these areas. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I can not name a single thing that can not drop in there, excluding things like the 1.11 charms and keys, Annihilus and quest items, of course.

This of course makes the areas very powerful places in which to MF. The Pit is often favoured because:
# It is easy to find. Go to the Outer Cloister waypoint and follow the road that splits to a cave (the other leading to the Black Marsh). That cave is the Pit.
# The monsters in there are relatively easy to kill for most characters.
# Aside from the drops, it offers good experience to characters in their low and mid 80s.
# The area is big, meaning lots of monsters. More monsters mean you can spend more time killing them, not finding the Pit.
# There is a sparkly-chest at the bottom of it.

When item hunting in high level areas, always kill everything.

The AreaLevel 85 areas are:
# The Pit, levels 1 and 2
# The Mausoleum next to Blood Raven. NOT the Crypt. Easy area, but does not have very many monsters.
# The Maggot Lair, level 3 only. Difficult to get to, difficult to navigate. Rarely used.
# The Ancient Tunnels, found in the Lost City. Not very easy to find since there is no road leading up to it, but it doesn't have any cold immunes at all. Cold Sorceresses love it.
# The Sewers in act 3, level 2. Where you find Khalim's Brain. Horrible access, tiny area. I've never heard of anyone using it.
# The Forgotten Temple, The Ruined Fane, and The disused Reliquary. All easily found temples in act 3, but the areas are small.
# The River of Flame. It's a relatively large area, lots of monsters, fine experience. It is however a fairly difficult area for poorly equipped characters, which is probably why it isn't used more often.
# The Chaos Sanctuary. Same as the River of Flame, but with the mercinary-slaughtering Iron-Maiden.
# The Worldstone Keep levels 1-3, and The Throne of Destruction. They are perfect in all regards but one - they are the most difficult normal areas in the game.

This is of course all assuming hell difficulty.

* Complete list of [[Level 85 Areas]], plus strategy info.

=What is NextDelay, and why is it so bad?=

I will simply quote the diabloii.net Assassin FAQ on this matter:

::NextDelay is a property that activates a hidden "hit timer" that limits how often any attack from that group (i.e. all the skills listed here) can damage a single target. This works similarly to the infamous spell timer, which limits how often any spell in that group can be cast. The difference is that the hit timer doesn't prevent you from attacking, it just sets everyone's (includes you, your minions/merc, other players(hostile/neutral/allied), and their minions/mercs) chance-to-hit that monster (with a hit timer attack) at zero until the timer runs out.

Here's a list of skills that are affected by NextDelay, and the lengths of them:

25-Frame Delay (1 second)
* Shock Web
* Blade Sentinel
* Twister
* Tornado

10-Frame Delay (0.4 seconds)
* Volcano (initial eruption)

6-Frame Delay (0.24 seconds)
* War Cry
* Grim Ward

5-Frame Delay (0.2 seconds)
* Fissure
* Volcano (small fireball)

4-Frame Delay (0.16 seconds)
* Multi Shot
* Strafe
* Lightning Strike
* Chain Lightning
* Nova
* Frost Nova
* Poison Nova
* Shock Wave
* Fist of Heavens (Holy Bolts)
* Wake of Fire
* Claws of Thunder (only 2nd and 3rd charge charges have Next Delay. 1st charge does not trigger Next Delay)
* Phoenix Strike (only 2nd Chain Lightning and 3rd Chaos Orb charge have Next Delay. 1st charge does not trigger Next Delay)
* Dragon Flight
* Battle Cry
* Battle Command
* Battle Orders

So, the moment a certain skill from the list damages a monster, it prevents every other skill on the list from hitting the said monster for the original skill's NextDelay duration (whether from you or any other character).

=What is the difference between a damage spell and an attack?=

There is no single, easy way to seperate skills from attacks. In some cases the difference is obvious, as in a Sorceress Fireball is obviously a spell, while a Paladin Zeal is obviously an attack. There are a number of abilities which walk on the edge of the definition by having an attack component and a spell component as well. A few elements that seperate spells from attacks include:
# An attack uses a weapon of some type to calculate its damage, while a spell's damage is based entirely on skill level and skill damage modifiers.
# The time it takes to perform attacks is typically decided by increased attack speed modifiers (IAS), while spells' casting speed is typically decided by faster cast rate modifiers (FCR).
# Most attacks can be blocked with a shield, while spells can not. Exceptions include the Paladin's Smite skill, which can not be blocked even though it is an attack. Also, the Assassin claw block is unique in being able to block some spells.
# Attacks can return mana and life through
# An attack allows leeching, while spells do not.
# Some attacks can set off "procs", spells can not.

It should be noted that the damage type is a bad way to distinguish skills and attacks. For example, War Cry is a spell that deals physical damage, while Berserk is an attack that deals magical damage.

The tricky part is when you have a skill with both an attack and a spell component. In general, these fall into two categories.
# Attack with an additional Spell damage
# Spell that enhances an attack (usually by adding non-physical damage)

For a basic list, there are: Assassin Venom(2) and elemental charge-ups(1), Amazon elemental attacks (bow and spear/javelin) (most are 1), Druid Fireclaws(1)/Rabies(2), Paladin Holy Fire/Freeze/Shock(mostly 2), Sorceress Enchant(2), and Necromancer Poison Dagger(2). The (1) or (2) indicates which cateogry it falls into. The mechanics of each skill is specific, and a few have some odd quirks attached to them.

An even worse case is the Assassin Dragon Tail which falls into a category of its own, since the Fire splash damage actually depends on how much physical kick damage is dealt to the target.

=What is the difference between a ranged and melee attack?=

These two types of attacks are very similar, but have some important differences. Disclaimer - This is intended to help distinguish game mechanics. These distinctions have nothing to do with PvP rules which are based on what players agree on.

The Assassin kicks, Paladin's Smite, and Amazon's Guided Arrow all have some exceptions to the general rules for attacks. Kicks have a different damage formula, Guided Arrow is always-hit, and the Paladin's Smite is always-hit, ignores shield blocking, and follows a different damage formula. There are also a number of odd idiosyncrasies with other skills, such as the ED on Vengeance providing elemental damage, Berserk converting the physical damage to Magic damage, and several attacks having movement involved as part of the attack.

Here's a list of the different abilities and what category they are in. After that is the list of differences between ranged and melee attacks. Anything not listed is the same for both.

Ranged Attacks
* Bow or XBow attacks (except Wereform attacks with a bow/xbow)
* Throw attacks available with javelins, and throwing axes/knives (except potions)
* Assassin's Blade Fury and Blade Sentinal
* Amazon's Bow/Xbow tree
* The physical portion of the Amazon's Plague Javelin, Poison Javelin, Lightning Bolt, and Lightning Fury
* Barbarian's Double Throw (except when using a potion)

Melee Attacks
* The "Normal" attack with anything but a bow or xbow
* Barbarian Combat Skills (except Double Throw)
* Paladin's Sacrifice, Zeal, Vengeance, Charge, and Conversion
- Druid's Wereform Attacks
- Assassin's Martial Arts
- Amazon's Jab, Impale, Fend, and the physical portion of Power Strike, Charged Strike, and Lightning Strike
- Necromancer's Poison Dagger

Differences
# Crushing Blow and Open Wounds work at half-effectiveness with ranged attacks.
# Attack Rating% bonuses listed on some ranged skills are not actually applied (for example all Amazon Bow skills).
# The mod +X damage (Grief, Asteron's) is not calculated in ranged attacks.
# Iron Maiden only affects Melee attacks.
# +% <element> damage applies once to melee and zero to ranged, despite the LCS.

=How does "Absorb" really work?=

The basic idea of absorb is rather simple, it couses portions of attacks that would normally damage you to heal you instead. There are a few points regarding it that cause confusion, however.

There is a difference between percentage absorb and integer absorb. It is basically the same as the difference between DR% and DR (see section 25). Percentage absorb heals you by a fraction of the damage dealt, while integer absorb heals you by a fixed amount. For item examples we have Blackhorns Face with integer absorb, and Dwarf Star with percentage absorb.

Absorb does not save you from one-hit KOs. The damage affects your health pool before absorb is applied. If the attack reduces your life to zero, you will die.

Damage is applied in a predetermined order. It is as follows: 
1) XvX penalty (for example Player vs. Player = -5/6) 
2) Sorceress Energy Shield 
3) Necromancer Bone Armor and/or Druid Cyclone Armor 
4) Integer DR/MDR 
5) Percentage resists (including DR%) 
6) Percentage absorb 
7) Integer absorb

This is relevant, because it helps you decide what type of damage reduction modifier will serve you best. Consult LanderZs damage calculator for further information: http://www.poweradvantage.net/d2dmgcalc.html
# Percentage absorb can never heal you on its own. It is capped at 40%, meaning that even if you have maximum percentage absorb, you will still take damage. Integer absorb does not suffer from this penalty.
# Absorb actually heals you two times the listed amount both to negate the damage and to heal by the same amount.
# The "magic absorb" modifier found on safety shields and Spirit Runewords (for example) only affects "pure" magical damage, such as the Necromancer bone spells. Elemental damages like Fire damage are not affected. This has been tested by Oramin.

Most of the information used in this thread came from Tommi Gustafsson's site, which is now defunct. Most of its content can now be accessed on b_77's site:
http://www.brentmcclintock.net/diablo/index.aspx

=What are "procs" and how do they work?=

"Proc" is a collective word for all sorts of effects that can happen on striking and attacking. If an item you are using contains a line that looks similar to "X% chance to do Y when Z happens", odds are that item contains a "proc". A good example of a proc would be "5% Chance To Cast Level 10 Life Tap On Striking" found on Dracul's grasp.

=A member of my party is using Ondal's Wisdom. Is he stealing my experience?=

No, not at all. It is one of the more persistent rumours, but it is not true. As confirmed by Ortliebj, the "+x% To Experience Gained" modifier found on the staff and the popular Annihilus charm is applied after the experience has been split among the party members. It has no effect on anyone but the user.

The rumour probably originated when players using Ondal's Wisdom were called "leechers" in party games. It would be a reference to the Ondal user's reduced ability to help the party, not an experience stealing modifier.

=What kinds of life bonuses are affected by Battle Orders?=

If you are asking this sort of a question, you have probably heard that not all life is multiplied by Battle Orders and other percentage-based life boosters. This is true.

When it comes to calculating your final life, there are effectively three factors you need to consider. These factors could be called "Boostable life", "Non-boostable life" and "Percentage boosts".
# Boostable life is life gained from spent vitality points, life naturally gained per level up, +life bonuses on items, and life gained from quest rewards.
# Non-boostable life is life gained from "soft" vitality points on items, life gained from life per level bonuses on items and life gained from vitality per level bonuses on items.
# Percentage boosts are the life% bonuses that can (for examples) be seen on the skills Battle Orders, Oak Sage or Lycanthropy, and items such as Doombringer or Jah runes in armor.

For the actual calculation, add together all your boostable life sources, and calculate your life. Then add together all percentage boosts to form a single percentage, and apply it as a bonus to your boostable life. After that, add the non-boostable life.

This information would be best displayed by an equation:
Final life = Boostable_Life * (100% + Boost%)/100% + nonboostable_Life

Mana calculations follow the same equation and mechanics.

=If I create an Iron Golem from an "indestructible" item, will the golem be invulnerable to damage?=

No. Basically, the "indestructible" modifier that can be found on items like Phase Blades or items that have been socketed with a Zod rune has to do with durability. It does not literally mean that the item can not be destroyed.
Iron Golems do not seem to be affected by durability in any way. The Golem's summoning item being indestructible changes nothing for the Golem.

=How are the elemental masteries applied to attacks?=

The following section was written by Oramin.

There are 3 basic rules to determine how Elemental Masteries (e.g. Fire Mastery) increase a character's damage.

# The Elemental Masteries apply to Skills at the time of casting/application to weapons.
# They amplify Melee attacks.
# They do *not* amplify Ranged attacks.

This means that if you were to cast Enchant then Fire Mastery would apply at the time of casting (and this is already shown in your displayed Enchant damage). Holy Shock would also be amplified by Lightning Mastery when the bonus Lightning damage is applied to the weapon.

If you do a Melee attack, the Fire/Lightning damages from Enchant/Holy Shock will be boosted again by whatever the levels of FM/LM happen to be at the time of attack. You get no additional damage if you choose to do a Ranged attack.

Example:

Assume you are a Sorceress with level 20 Fire Mastery, level 20 Enchant, level 20 Lightning Mastery, and a "Dream" helm which gives level 15 Holy Shock. Further assume that you have charms which add 1-100 Lightning damage and 1-100 Fire damage and that you are using an ordinary javelin.

Level 20 Enchant (including the single point in Warmth) does 74-97 damage. 
When we include level 20 Fire Mastery (+163% damage), the displayed damage at the time of casting becomes 196-256. This Fire damage is added to the weapon. The 1-100 Fire damage from the Charms is not Skill based damage so it is not amplified by Fire Mastery when applied to the weapon. The total Fire damage on the weapon is now 197-356.

Level 15 Holy Shock does 1-648 damage. At the time of application to the weapon, the level 20 Lightning Mastery (+278% damage) will amplify it causing 3-2449 Lightning damage to be added to the weapon. The 1-100 Lightning damage from the Charms is not Skill based damage so it is not amplified by Lightning Mastery when applied to the weapon. The total Lightning damage on the weapon is now 4-2549.

Fire damage: 197-356 
Lightning damage: 4-2549

If you were throwing the javelin, the above would be the correct totals.

However, if you do a Melee attack with the javelin instead then Lightning Mastery and Fire Mastery would amplify the damages giving the following damages: 
Fire damage: (197-356) * (1 + 1.63) = 518-936 
Lightning damage: (4-2549) * (1 + 2.78) = 15-9635

Note1: Due to the LCS (Lying Character Screen) you will see Ranged attacks receiving the same amplification as Melee attacks this is *not* correct.

Note2: We were not able to determine precisely how/if FM affects the bonus Fire damage from Explosive Bolts/Arrows but as the inherent damage is negligible, don't worry about it.

=Where can I find wands with charges of Amplify Damage?=

Nowhere. Amplify Damage charges can not spawn as a random affix. The only item in the game that has Amplify Damage charges is the unique Martel de Fer, The Gavel of Pain. It has three charges of level 8 Amplify Damage. If you want a non-Necromancer character to use Amplify Damage, your best option is to get an item that procs (see section 45) the curse.

=What types of +skills work with mercenaries?=

The following quote on how the various types of +skills work when applied to mercenaries was stolen from adeyke:

* +X to all skills works.
* +X to fire skills works for the mercs with fire skills.
* +X to a specific skill the merc already has (e.g. +X to bash (barbarian only) for barb mercs, +X to inferno (sorceress only) for fire iron wolves) also works.
* +X to a specific skill the merc doesn't already have doesn't work. Barb mercs will gain nothing from +X to natural resistance (barbarian only), for example. Mercs also don't use any oskills.
* +X to skill tabs doesn't work for any merc.
* +X to class skills (e.g. +X to barbarian skills, +X to sorceress skills) doesn't work for any merc.

=What decides the Assassin's Trap laying speed?=

The trap laying speed of Assassins is decided like most attack speeds. That means it is affected by things like gear-based increased attack speed (IAS) and the weapon speed modifier (abbreviated WSM, also often called "base weapon speed"). The diablo2.ingame.de [http://diablo2.ingame.de/tips/calcs/weaponspeed.php?lang=english weapon speed calculator] can calculate your trap laying speed.

The Faster Cast Rate modifier (FCR) has no effect on trap laying speed. When Assassins emphasise FCR, it is usually to speed up their casting of Mind Blast, which is affected by the Faster Cast Rate modifier.

=How long do items stay if left on the ground?=

This section belongs to Posterboy, who originally poked the information my way, and Antitrust who re-confirmed it for 1.11 and wrote the contents of the following quote:

* Socketed items, Ethereal items, Equipable White items, Runewords, Keys, Quivers, Potions, Scrolls/Tomes - vanish in 10 minutes
* Runes, Gems, Magic Items (including charms) - vanish in 20 minutes
* Rares, Uniques (including charms), Sets - vanish in 30 minutes
* Gold, Horadric cube (the only quest item I tested) - last for at least 2 hours and 36 minutes (at which point I stopped)

This was tested in Single Player. Results on the realms may be (and I actually suspect that they are) different.

=Does poison cancel Deadly Strike, Critical Strike, or Crushing Blow?=

No, it does not. There seems to be a glitch when it comes to displaying the associated "puffs" when the target is poisoned, but it is purely graphical.

=Acknowledgments=

Big thanks to the posters I have shamelessly exploited and plagiarized in order to make this thread grow:
2_Much_4_U, adeyke, Antitrust, Chaotix, Daten, Gta-maloy], Ilkori, TommiG, Oramin, Ortliebj, PeterPaulRubens and Posterboy.

And thanks to everyone who pointed out missing things and possible additions, bumped this thread, made comments, or just generally helped me in some way whether they know it or not: 
Armaege, BIGeyedBUG, Bonkshasa, Dargad, Derisive, LaughingBuddha, MicahW, MMAgCh, NickJS, Nucularterraist (Nucnuc), Orphan, sambo., Sarrick, Sol1, Technomage-C01, The_Terror_Lord, T-hawk, Veneteaou and WizAdept.

Technomage-C01 deserves special mention for keeping the thread from being munched by the B.Net Gameplay Discussion forum for more than a year and a half. And the most special thanks of all go to Ortliebj for inspiring me to make this thread. Thanks to all of you.

[[category:FAQs]]

Things you should know about Diablo 2

2009-10-27T22:02:52Z

TDurden1937: /* What is NextDelay, and why is it so bad? */

This massive FAQ-like compilation of interesting D2 tidbits was put together by Ernir and posted on the old Battle.net forums. ([http://classic.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=d2-general&t=1312543 Source].) The version here in this wiki is reformatted and has had numerous links added to additional information and images.

=How do Traps and Rainbow Facets work together?=

The -res% and +damage% on [[Griffon's Eye]] and [[Facets]] do not add to trap damage. With the exceptions of Fire Blast and Shock Web, the Assassin Traps are considered minions by the game. Your minions do not benefit from any -res% or +damage% your character has.

Note that Sorceress Hydras benefit from both Fire Mastery and Facets. This exception is explained by T-Hawk:

::The missiles fired by Hydra have a special-case check of their caster's "+% Fire Skill Damage" ability. That's why Hydra works with Fire Mastery and Facets. This check was added in version 1.05; before that, Fire Mastery didn't boost Hydra damage.

=Can immunities be removed?=

Yes, they can. [[Monsters]] immune to a damage type are classified as monsters with 100 or more percentage resistance to the damage type in question. If you lower the monster's resistance below 100%, you can damage the monster.

There are only two things that can remove elemental immunities: The Paladin's Conviction aura, and the Necromancer's Lower Resist curse. Conviction Aura also doesn't affect Poison resistance. The Necromancer curses Amplify damage and Decrepify can remove physical immunity.

All other types of -resist (Facets, Cold Mastery, Griffon's Eye) do NOT have an effect on immune monsters.

Also, all the spells mentioned above work at 20% efficiency when dealing with immune monsters. Example: A hell Doom Knight has 110% Fire resist, meaning it is immune to fire. That Doom Knight is hit by a level 3 Conviction Aura, which under normal circumstances would lower the monster's fire resistance by 40%. However, since the monster is immune, the Conviction aura only works at 20% efficiency, making those 40% in effect only 8%. The calculation is: 110 - 40*0.2 = 102 fire res, making the monster still immune.

This fact makes it much harder to break immunities. There are monsters whose immunities are simply impossible to break. Hell Oblivion Knights, for example, have 180% cold resist. Doesn't matter what you throw at it, it is impossible to break.

Even though you can combine Lower Resist and Conviction (the resist reduction percentages are simply lumped together and the combined number reduced to 20%), any resist >= 145 can not be broken, even with a Level 25 Conviction (-150% Resist All) and a Level 60 Lower Resist (-70% Resist All). Thanks to Technomage-C01 and BIGeyedBUG for pointing that out, and Tommi and Adeyke for the information.

-res from items and other skills are not completely useless when dealing with immune monsters, though, because once the immunity has been broken, these items take effect.

Physical immune monsters are monsters with a physical resistance of 100 or more. This immunity can (as mentioned above) be removed using the curses Amplify damage (which gives -100% physical resist) or Decrepify (which gives -50% physical resist). Again, the same penalties apply to Amplify Damage and Decrepify as to the elemental immunities.

=How do I spend my stat points for build x?=

For 95% of post-1.10 character builds, this is the recommended stat distribution:
* Strength - enough for gear.
* Dexterity - enough for gear or a block rate of 75% should you choose to.
* Vitality - everything else.
* Energy - in most cases nothing. Extremely mana-hungry casters may want to spend some here, but at the cost of the life vitality provides.

Thanks to Posterboy: Major exceptions from this rule include "glass cannon" Bowazons and Energy Shield Sorceresses.

=How do I get to Über Tristram/what do the Keys do/what are the "Übers"?=

* [[Pandemonium Event]] quest details.

Loosely based on a post made by Armaege:

The 1.11 patch added to the game a so called "Pandemonium Event" available ONLY on the realms, in hell difficulty.
To trigger the event, you must collect items called keys. There are three types. The Countess drops the Key of Terror, the false Summoner drops the Key of Hate, and Nihlathak drops the Key of Destruction.

When you have collected three keys, go anywhere in the town of Harrogath in Act 5 and transmute these three keys together in the Horadric Cube. One of three portals will open, to the Furnace of Pain, the Matron's Den, or the Forgotten Sands, in which you will fight Über-Izual, an Andariel-like creature called Lilith and Über Duriel respectively.

Each of these bosses drops one of the Prime Evil's relics, Lilith drops "Diablo's Horn", Über Duriel drops Baal's Eye, and Über Izual drops Mephisto's Brain.

When you have collected all three relics (a.k.a. body parts) you must go back to Harrogath, and transmute the three relics. This will open a portal to Über Tristram, where you will fight improved versions of the Prime Evils all at once - the Übers. Prepare for the hardest fight of your D2 career.

The last of the Prime Evils you kill will drop a large charm called the Hellfire Torch. It gives 3+ to the skill levels of a random character class, 10-20 to all resistances and attributes, a chance to cast Diablo's Firestorm on striking, 8+ to light radius and Hydra charges. This is your reward for all the trouble of collecting keys, relics, and killing the Übers.

The last Über that goes down also drops a "Standard of Heroes", one for each player in the game. These do not do anything, as far as anyone knows. They are trophies, nothing more.

=What does Standard of Heroes do?=

I repeat, there is no known use for the Standard of Heroes small charm. On this matter, I am going to quote the Blizzard forum moderator MicahW.

::''The Standard of Heroes is a trophy you get for having completed the patch 1.11 world event.

And if you don't believe MicahW, Blizzard forum moderator NickJS said this:

::''They are merely trophies. If we ever release a future patch hopefully we implement a "trophy case" to put these in. Available in Maple or Oak. You could have your friends over and show them off!

There is absolutely nothing that suggests it has a function besides looking pretty. All rumours that say otherwise are products of someone's overactive imagination, or a pitiful scam attempt. Why it has a level requirement is unknown.

=How frequently do "the Keys" drop?=

Adeyke had this to say on the matter:

::''Key of Terror has a 1/14 chance of dropping per kill in a 1-player game. Key of Hate has a 1/11 chance, while Key of Destruction has a 1/12 chance
You can get two, three, or possibly even more keys from a single drop.

These keys are nonmagical and your chance to find magic items does NOT have an effect on their drop rate. However, having more players in the game will increase your chances.

Note that even though you can find the keys in Single Player, they do not do anything there. The Pandemonium Event is exclusive to the Realms.

=Why do the Vipers in the Halls of Vaught kill my GOSU char in one hit?=
Explanation by Gta-maloy]:

::A percentage of their charge damage is included in the secondary cloud of poison. The AoE cloud. This means that you could avoid the initial poison from the spear but still get the physical + poison damage of the cloud should you run into it.

::THE CLOUD IS NOT VISIBLE. This is why many people think they get killed by something that isn't really there. The cloud will stay about five seconds AFTER the initial spear's cloud vanishes. If you do not move in this time, the second cloud will not effect you. Getting knocked back will also not trigger the second cloud. You will get poisoned by the viper and get a nice percentage of life taken away from you but it won't be over time.

;;Best thing to do is stand still when they fire or run past them at high velocity. The cloud will only form a second or two after the spear is thrown, this gives more than enough time for a character to run past them. Should you need to stop... stop and don't run or walk until five seconds after all the clouds have gone.

As for whether or not this is a bug; Blizzard forum moderator MicahW made the following statement:

Wheres the fix on those pesky Tomb Viper in Nihlathak place?

::Working as intended.

=How does Über Mephisto's Conviction aura work?=

Exactly like the corresponding Paladin aura. Über Mephisto's Conviction is level 20, and lowers your resistances to fire, lightning and cold by 125%. There are two very popular ways to get around that:

1) Stack your resists. Even though they are "capped" at 75% all resist, anything above 75% still gets counted when your resistances are lowered. If your resists are stacked more than 125% over your max, Mephisto's Conviction will do you no harm.

2) Override the effect of Mephisto's Conviction by using a higher level Conviction aura yourself. Yes, that's right. If the level of your Conviction aura is 21 or higher, Mephisto's Conviction will not affect you. Your hirelings, minions, and party members, however, will still take full penalty from the aura, so this is really a selfish but easy way to get rid of his aura.

Note on overriding Conviction - According to Sol1's and The_Terror_Lord's testing, both auras "work" if the skill levels are equal, meaning both you and Über Mephisto suffer the resistance and defense penalties. You need a higher level aura to override the other.

=Do mercenaries hired at lower levels gain better stats?=

No. No matter what you may have heard until now, the level at which the merc is hired is completely irrelevant. What does matter is the difficulty in which it was originally hired. A merc hired in normal has better stats than the same type of merc hired in nightmare, and a merc hired in nightmare has better stats than the same type of merc hired in hell. You should always hire your mercs in normal unless you need a specific aura from a nightmare act 2 merc.
* [[Mercenaries]] basic information.
* Hugely detailed [[Mercenary guide]] with strategy, skill levels, and tons more information about mercs.

=Can socketed runes poof?=

Yes, they can. Socketing a dupe protects it from "Passive Ruststorm" which is run when you enter and exit games. There is, however, nothing that can be done to save your precious dupes from the wrath of the Full Ruststorm. If your duped Enigma did survive, you were simply lucky, or you were on non-ladder where Full Ruststorm has never been run.

Ortliebj said it best:

::Full Ruststorm v2.5 will delete "dirty" items, even if they are components of other items. Full Ruststorm was last run in August of last year (2nd week, iirc).

::It will also delete items that have been tampered with in attempts to fool the Ruststorm process. In other words, personalizing your Engima won't help, so don't even try it. All eleven different attempts/strategies of which I am aware to try and circumvent this process have failed.

::When a full active Ruststorm is actually run, illegitimate items of types you've never even dreamed about will be deleted and/or invalidated.

If you have had an item disappear from your inventory, it most likely was a dupe that Ruststorm caught.

=What is the "strength bug", and how does it work?=

There are two glitches commonly referred to as the "strength bug".

The first one is rather harmless. When you don't have the base stats needed to equip an item, other players will not see the item, even though they are there and take full effect. This can be quite humorous when a "naked" barbarian stands in the middle of a monster pack and "punches" them to death. Another example is when Amazons throw Lightning Furies with their bare hands. This is not a hack, merely a display issue.

The second glitch is somewhat more serious. This is when you do not have the base OR end stats to equip an item that has +stats, making the item sustain itself. Example:

Your character has 150 strength after all gear, excluding the shield. You want to equip a Stormshield. In order to reach the 156 strength required, you put a charm in your inventory that gives you +6 to strength, giving you 156 strength, enough for Monarchs. You can now equip the shield. This brings your total strength to 186 with the strength bonus from the Stormshield. Now this is where the glitch comes is: You can now remove the charm from your inventory, but the +strength from the shield will still be enough to equip the shield. The shield is now, in effect, supporting itself. This is an extremely dangerous practise, because if you die, you will not be able to reequip all of your gear, so if you die again, you will be left with multiple corpses. Since only one corpse (the one with the most valuable items... in gold) will be transferred to the next game you enter, abusing this glitch to save stat points is an excellent way to lose your gear. Excepted from this are hardcore players, who lose all their gear anyway when they die.

On a related note, using +stats from items to equip other items is not a "glitch". This is perfectly natural. However, doing this can sometimes result in needing to click your corpse multiple times to get all your gear back, and having to pick up and reequip items when you enter a game. The order that items are respawned on your character was provided by Ortliebj:
# Head
# Neck
# Torso
# Right Hand *
# Left Hand
# Right Ring
# Left Ring
# Belt
# Feet
# Gloves
# Inventory (meaning charms, etc.)
* * Right hand from the character's perspective, so glove side and then boot side.

Ruvunal discovered the initial order of item pickup upon corpse retrieval. He tested, verified and updated it after 1.09 and 1.10.

Meaning... if your helm provides you with the stats you need to equip your armor, you will only need to click your corpse once. However, if your armor provides you with the strength you need to equip your helm, you will have to click twice, as the helm is left on the ground the first time you click.

Using +stats CAN cause you to lose items if you are killed the moment you are clicking to pick up your items and the order doesn't match with the strength requirements of the items. This is no where near as dangerous as glitch-equipping your gear, but it is nevertheless something to keep in mind.

Addition pointed out by Bonkshasa - if you have enough room in your backpack to pick up all your items, you won't lose them, even if you are not able to equip them right away. This is rarely the case these days (when PvPing your inventory is full of charms, and in PvM the potions from your belt probably filled up any available space already), but this could very well be the difference between losing your Crown of Ages or keeping it.

Disclaimer: The factual accuracy of the item pickup order is currently under dispute.

=How does the +damage from Grief and Astreon's work? And why does it look so low on the character screen?=

In most cases, the +damage from weapons such as Grief, Astreon's Iron Wand, and Stonecrusher adds directly to the weapon's base damage, meaning it is multiplied by pretty much everything. This is what can easily make a good Grief the most damaging one-hand weapon in the game.

Unfortunately this bonus to the base damage does not show up on the Lying Character Screen, not correctly at any rate. That is simply because it is out of date. I don't think the LCS has been fully updated for LoD yet.

To see your REAL damage, use [http://baronsbazaar.invisionzone.com/ppr PPR's Weapon Damage Calculator].

Note that there are exceptions from this rule. Vengeance, for example, does not seem to use the added +damage as base weapon damage. Mikeandroe performed a series of tests on how the Vengeance damage is calculated, and the results can [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=50089 be found here].

On the other hand, when Smite is used, the +damage is added directly to the shield's base damage. Because the most damaging Paladin shield in the game deals 46.5 average damage, the +damage makes a HUGE difference. This is why Grief and Astreon's IW are so popular (and possibly unbalancing) for Smiters.
The [[Smite FAQ]] by Oramin and Bloodshrike explains Smite in detail.

The Assassin kick attacks do not benefit from +damage in any way. Blade Fury and Blade Sentinel also do not benefit from it, although the display is incorrect. Thanks to BIGeyedBUG for bringing it to my attention, and adeyke for the information.

=How much dexterity do I need to reach max block at level x with shield y with character z?=

[http://baronsbazaar.invisionzone.com/ppr PPR's Block Calculator] can answer that.

=How can I stop monsters from regenerating?=

There are three ways:

The "Prevent Monster Heal" mod. It prevents all monsters except the Pandemonium Übers from regenerating. The Übers have been specifically made immune.

Poison. Monsters do not regenerate while poisoned. Once the poison wears off, however, they start regenerating again.
Open Wounds. Being affected by open wounds automatically sets the monsters' regeneration rate to a negative value.

Also note that these methods only negate natural regeneration. Things such as healing spells, the Prayer aura, healing potions and life leech should still work.

=How can upgraded items get a lower Defense than the item had before?=

Upgrading items does not guarantee higher stats. All it does is take a normal base item to exceptional status, or an exceptional item to elite status. The end stats depend on the stats of the upgraded base item. Vampire Gaze is probably the most famous example.

Grim helms have a defense range of 60-125. All Vampire Gaze Grim Helms have a defense of 252. This is due to the fact that when armors spawn with the enhanced defense mod, the defense is invariably set at max +1. When we are dealing with a Vampire Gaze, the base item's defense of 126 receives a 100% bonus = 252 defense.

However, when the item is upgraded, the base defense is rerolled. The defense range of Bone Visages is 100-157. Which means that a Vampire Gaze with a base item defense of 126 has a very good chance of being turned into a Bone Visage with a lower defense. In case of the worst roll imaginable, your 252 defense Vampire Gaze would go down to 200. Not good.

[http://www.cs.colostate.edu/%7Edeykea/d2armours.html Adeyke's upgrade calculator] shows how upgrading will affect the various unique items.

Note that in the 1.10 patch, ethereal armors would lose their ethereal defense bonus when upgraded, in addition to having their defense rerolled. This is no longer the case, ethereal items now retain their defense bonus (although the hack fix implemented had most unfortunate side effects). Adeyke's page still shows ethereal upgraded items with the same defense as non-ethereal ones, but nevertheless, this has been fixed.

=What level requirement will my upgraded rare item get?=

Syrith had this to say:

::Upgrading rare/unique from normal to exceptional: +5 levels to base req
::Upgrading rare/unique from exceptional to elite: +7 levels to base req
::Upgrading rare/unique from normal to elite: +12 levels to base req

Examples by Daten (slightly modified to represent updated information):

::If the item that will be upgraded has a Level Req. higher than the upgraded base item, it will get +5 Req. Example: Rare Long Sword (Lev 48 Req (the Level is determined by the Mods on the Sword)) upgrade to Rare Rune Sword (Lev 53 Req)

::If the requirements are lower than the Base Item Requirements, the upgraded Item will get: Requirement on upgraded Base Item + 5.

::Rare Sharkskin Boots (Lev 25 Req (Level is determined by the Base Item Requirements)) upgrade to Scarabshell Boots (Lev 56 Req (Scarabshell Boots = 49, +7))

=Can +to Holy Shield spawn on white scepters in 1.10/1.11?=

Yes, they can. They are obscenely rare, but they can. Normally, Holy Shield is not allowed to spawn on sceptres. However, if the game has failed six times in finding an "allowed staffmod" for the sceptre, it picks the one that was rolled last, regardless of whether or not it is on the "allowed list".

If you do not want to take my word for it, here is [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v153/Ernir/bnetmoment/HolyShield.jpg a screenshot of one], provided by Nucularterraist. It was taken in early ladder season three.

It has not been altered in any way. I didn't even crop the image to remove the sophisticated background chat.

=What runes can you get from the Hellforge Quest on each difficulty level?=

* Normal: El - Amn
* Nightmare: Sol - Um
* Hell: Hel - Gul

Notes: You get exactly one rune only per quest completion. There is an equal chance (1/11) of getting each rune available. Having more players in your party when you complete the quest does not increase the number of runes (although you do get more gems). So it is generally a good idea to unparty/leave the game if more than one person needs to complete the quest.

Also note that Gul is the highest rune that can drop from the Hellforge on any difficulty. The runes from Vex-Zod are impossible to get from the Forge. If someone claims they got a rune above Gul from the Forge, that person is either lying or suffers from an overactive imagination. Hephasto the Armorer can drop any rune in the game, but the Forge itself can only drop up to Gul.

* [[Rune Finder Guide by Urlik|Urlik's massive rune finding guide]].
* [[Level_1_Rushing|Level 1 rune rushing guide]].

=My Merc wears an Infinity Polearm, will the -55% Light Res work for my Sorceress/Trapsin/Tesladin?=

No it won't. -x% Elemental Damage (Cold,Fire,Lightning,Poison), as well as +x% Elemental Damage work like Sorceress Masteries. Both modifiers are only applied for attacks dealt by the Player that wears the Item (since Traps and Skeletal Mages are treated as Minons, this won't increase their Damage (see 1.)! Having the Item with the -x%/+x% Damage on the Weapon-Switch won't help either.

+x% Fire/Light/Cold Damage is added to the Sorcs Fire-, Cold- or Lightmastery. A Lightsorc with lev 31 Lightning Mastery (+410%) will only get a tiny damage Boost from a +5% Lightfacet (415%). That's why Cold Sorcs look for +5%/-x% Facets and Fire/Lightsorcs prefer +x%/-5% Facets.

To get back to the original Question: A lot of Builds that rely on Elemental Damage equip their Merc with an Infinity Polearm because of the Conviction Aura, not because of the -x% Lightning Resistance.

The above section was provided by Daten.

=Why do people talk about the "Lying Character Screen", or LCS?=

Because the screen flat out LIES about many important stats. Meaning that the numbers you see on the character screen are not the numbers the game actually uses. I do not think it has had any major updates since 1.06, so things like +damage modifiers, off-weapon ED%, etc. are NOT displayed correctly, if at all.

Gta-maloy] had this to say about it:
::That screen, in many circumstances, only properly shows resistances, the character's level, the experience gained and the damage dealt for the first two levels.

::After that is done, it sucks.

::Once you die, the Anya bug is not listed. (interjection: I, Ernir, will discuss the Anya bug below)

::Masteries and synergies are not properly multiplied together, damage modifiers are completely ignored, the equations used for AR and damage are outdated....

::The chance to block seems alright though

Ortliebj added this:

::It is broken by the time you reach a place called the "Den of Evil".

::There's even an old bug where your name can be displayed incorrectly.

=What is the "Anya bug"?=

Those who have finished the game know that when you have rescued Anya in act 5, Malah gives you a Scroll of Resistance that "permanently" increases your resistances to the elements. But we also know that Malah did not make it past Firebolt casting 101. That shoddy little scroll does not work quite the way it is supposed to.

When the scroll is cast, it does increase your resistances. But when you die, that bonus is lost, even though it does is not displayed on the Lying Character Screen. The bonus is regained when you reenter the game, but for the rest of the game in which you died, your resists are really 10% lower for each Malah scroll you used - up to 30%. That is quite a difference. Your paladin may not have 90% resist all, maybe he has 60% all res.

This is of special concern to duelers, who often die multiple times in each game - and it also means that if you lose to an elemental attack once, you are likely to keep losing.

In turn, hardcore players don't have to worry about this bug at all, for obvious reasons.

=22. What runes can the Countess Drop?=

I will address this very briefly and in the most simple way I can think of. The countess has two separate "ways to drop items". A normal drop, and a special rune drop. The rune drop is what people are looking for when they run the Countess (along with Terror keys). The "normal drop" can give you runes up to Lo in hell difficulty. However, your chances to get a Lo from her are not really any better than from any other monster.

The Rune drop can drop up to Ist in hell. The possibility of getting higher runes from this drop are far greater than from the normal drop. Again, this drop is what you are looking for.

The runes that [[the Countess]] can drop in each difficulty are:

Normal:
* Normal drop - Nef
* Rune drop - Ral

Nightmare:
* Normal drop - Ko
* Rune drop - io (eye-o)

Hell:
* Normal drop - Lo (ell-o)
* Rune drop - Ist

=What level requirement will my crafted item get?=

Gta had this to say:

::For crafted items.....figure out the highest level requirement from all affixes on the item, add ten and add three for every affix other than the set ones.

::So a ring with 6% mana leech (level req of 74) and 4 affixes (including the mana leech, excluding the life leech, str and life provided by the cast) will get +22 (10 from the cast, 12 from teh affixes). There is a rlvl 98 cap, certain charges like Lightning Strike and Freezing arrow can provoke up to rlvl 108...but this is now remedied in 1.11 and brought down to rlvl 98.

=Is there a "cap" on Crushing Blow, Open Wounds, or Deadly Strike?=

The only cap is the logical cap of 100%. You can not get these to go off more than 100% of the time you hit an enemy. Percentages over 100% (Headstriker on a high level char, for example) do not help at all. You have no chance for a double crushing blow, double bleed, 4x damage or whatever you may think that 100%+ may do.

There is a persistent rumor about these being capped at 95%. I guess this originates from the fact that you can usually only deal these out 95% of the time you attack, since the maximum chance to hit with attack-rating based attacks is 95%, but these will still go off 100% of the time you actually hit an enemy.

Short: They are all capped at 100%.

=What does "damage reduced" or "DR" mean?=

The Damage Reduced by x% mod, which is found on items such as Stormshield, Shaftstop, Verdungo's Hearty Cord and Harlequin Crest, reduces the physical damage you take by increasing your physical resistance. This has no effect on any type of magical damage.

Your physical resistance is not displayed on the character screen. Unmodified the resistance is 0%. The beforementioned items (and several more things) can bring this resistance up to 50%. 50% is the cap for physical resistance, both in PvP and PvM.

This resistance works exactly the same as elemental resistances. Example: If you are hit by a physical attack that does 100 damage and you have a total of 20% damage resistance, the damage you take will be 100-(0.20*100)= 80 damage taken.

Note that there is also a mod called "Damage Reduced By X", found on items like Gladiator's Bane and Nature's Peace. Note the lack of the percentage symbol. This reduces the damage you take by a fixed amount, not a percentage of the attack damage.

Example: You are hit by a physical attack that does 50 damage and your total Damage Reduced By 30. The attack's damage would be 50-30 = 20 damage to you.

This type of damage reduction does NOT have a cap. Also, this mod is capable of negating ALL damage you take. If the example above had been with a 25 damage attack, no damage would have been taken at all.

And which type is better? Both. DR% has an advantage when it comes to heavy hits, and DR when it comes to multiple light hits. You decide which you want.

=What is the difference between "Ignore Target's Defense" and "Always Hits"?=

The following section was mostly provided by Posterboy.

"Ignore Target's Defense" is not the same thing as "Always Hits." "Ignore Target's Defense" simply means that the targets defense rating will be set to zero in the To Hit calculation. From the Arreat Summit: "This ability will not work on Unique Monsters, Super Unique Monsters, Hirelings, other players, and Act-end bosses." Player/monster level still plays a part in the equation, and the is a min/max cap of 5%/95% chance to hit.

"Always Hits" means that this attack will bypass the To Hit formula altogether. Guided Arrow, Smite, and most spells are "Always Hits," although some, like Guided Arrow, can be blocked. That means if you had a level 2 Paladin with one point in Smite you can hit a monster like Hell Diablo consistently. Also note that "Always Hits" does not necessarily mean that you will literally always hit because there is still shield blocking, Zon Dodge/Avoid/Evade, and Assassin claw-blocking to consider, not to mention manually dodging an attack.
Note that the Assassin's claw block can block many things that ordinary shields can't.

Range is also a considerable factor when discussing attacks that always hit. Smite, for example, depends on weapon range. If the target is farther away than the weapon range allows, the animation is shown, but the opponent is not hit. This is why skilled melee characters using range 3-5 weapons can often beat Smiters that use a cookie-cutter range 2 Grief Phase Blade.

=How do synergies and +skills work together?=

There are so called "soft" skill points, and "hard" skill points. Hard skill points are the points you gain from leveling up and from quests. Soft skill points are skill points you gain from ANY gear, including charms, weapons, armor, whatever.

When calculating the level of a skill, both the soft and hard skill points are taken into account. However, when calculating how great the skill benefits from synergies, only the hard points you spend in the synergizing skill are counted in for the benefit of the synergized skill.

Example:

You have spent 20 hard points in Blessed Hammer, and 20 points in Blessed Aim. You also have a helmet that gives 2+ to all skill levels. The displayed levels of the skills are now 22 for BH, and 22 for BA as well.
But when the game calculates the benefit Blessed Hammer recieves from Blessed Aim, it applies the benefit from a level 20 Blessed Aim skill to the level 22 Blessed Hammer skill.

Exceptions from this rule include the Necromancer summon masteries and the Sorceress elemental masteries. These are not actual synergies, but rather skills whose only function is to enhance other skills. When the benefit from these is calculated, both hard and soft points are counted. The Druid summon cross-bonuses work that way as well, according to MMAgCh.

=How can I find skillers/what is the first, or best place to find skillers?=

[[Skillers]], or Grand Charms with +to a character skill tab, require an item level of at least 50 in order to spawn. The first area in which all dropped grand charms have an item level of 50+ is the nightmare Great Marsh.

In order to maximize your chances of finding a skiller, you want the item level to be as close to 50 as possible. Why is that? Because when affixes are selected, they are chosen from all available affixes. Having a GC with an ilevel of exactly 50 is the best in this regard because they do have the possibility of getting a skiller, while the possibilities of other affixes are being kept to a minimum.

However, there is an alternate approach. Items dropped from Hell Baal have an item level of 99, and items dropped from Hell Nihlathak have an item level of 95. Grand charms dropped from these two bosses can spawn with very, very high life, namely the 41-45 to life vita suffix. Grand charms that both have +to a skill tab and high life can trade for astronomical values. However, due to the high item level, most any affix can spawn. Your chances of getting a skiller from an ilvl 95+ Grand Charms are very slim, and the chances of getting that Grand Charm to spawn with the desired 40+ life are even slimmer. However, the time and effort needed to aquire these are worth it to some.

There is a way to significantly shorten the amount of time needed to find a skiller compared to just hunting the most likely drop zones over and over. This is referred to as "rerolling" or simply "rolling". This is done by placing a Grand Charm and three perfect gems in the Horadric cube, and transmuting. This will reroll the mods on the charm, but preserving the item level. This means that if you have a Grand Charm with that perfect ilevel of 50, but it has useless mods, you can reroll it into a useful skiller. In effect, it drops the item again at the cost of three perfect gems. Be prepared to spend a lot of perfect gems, but it can be worth it.

Note that this formula works on all magical items, but it is typically used the most on Grand Charms due to the high usefulness of blue Charms compared to the usefulness of blue equippable items.

Footnote: I must admit that I slightly lied about the first place you can get a skiller the first place would be normal Baal. The items he drops have an ilevel of 60, more than enough to get a skiller. But the nightmare Great Marsh is the first area in which every monster has the possibility of dropping a skiller.

A common misconception is that MF increases the chance of getting skillers. That is simply not true. This lies in how MF works, and I direct you to Gta's Guide to all that is items again for explanation.

Good areas to hunt for skillers and rerollable Grand Charms include:
* The nightmare Great Marsh the first place they can drop, the area level is 50.
* The nightmare Flayer Jungle run more often than the Great Marsh due to the number of Flayers, which can all drop ilevel 50 Grand Charms.
* Nightmare Cows there is a very large number of easily killable cows here, and the charms they drop have a decent chance of becoming a skiller.
* Nightmare City of the Damned there is a lot of Wraith-class monsters here.
* Hell Diablo, hell Nihlathak and hell Baal all three (and those three only) have the capability to drop skillers with 41-45 to life.

=How does Magic Find work with minions?=

When a minion or mercenary makes a kill, the minions MF percentage is added to your MF percentage. However, if you make a kill while one of your minions has MF, only your MF is used. It was probably made this way to allow minion characters (Summoners, Trapassins) to hunt for items effectively, while keeping the game as balanced as possible for characters that do not depend on mercenaries or minions for the kill.

=Is there a way to resist "pure" magical damage from other players?=

Pure magical damage, such as the damage from the Barbarians Berserk, the Paladins Blessed Hammer, and the Necromancer bone spells is mostly unresistable. There are some ways to reduce the damage, but no really effective ones. The main methods are:
# There is a mod called "Magic Resistance" on crafted safety shields. This is only 5-10%, though.
# Integer magic absorb. This is found on the runewords Spirit, Oath and Crescent Moon.
# Integer magic damage reduction. This is probably the most effective thing you can do to protect yourself against magical damage. This is found on Dwarf Star rings, the String of Ears Demonhide Sash, and Skin of the Vipermagi Serpentskin Armor to name a few. It wont do much against a 10000+ damage Blessed Hammer directed at your face, but it could mean the difference between surviving 2-3 hammers or 3-4.

These means of course also counteract the magical damage that monsters deal, such as the hell and nightmare guest Viper Bone Spears.

=How come my Blessed Hammers can damage monsters immune to magic?=

It simply lies in the nature of the Blessed Hammer skill to completely ignore the magical resistances of both Demon and Undead class monsters. This is part of what makes Hammerdins (Paladins that use the Blessed Hammer skill) so ridiculously powerful, the ability to pierce the resistances of virtually any monster in the game is unmatched, anywhere. The only monster types that Blessed Hammers can not damage are monsters that are both immune to magic, and of the Animal class.

As of now, there is only one monster that meets both classifications. That is the Wailing Beast in an act 3 hell Kurast Temple. Aside from that single type of monster, Blessed Hammers can damage absolutely everything.

=How does Venom work?=

Poison damage in-game is always listed as X damage over Y seconds. Unfortunately, this isn't how the game calculates it. The damage per second is X/Y. The value you should be concerned about is the damage per frame (aka bitrate), which is X/(25*Y). Most of the time when poison sources are combined (not when Venom is concerned), your bitrates are added, and your durations are averaged. In order to achieve the highest possible bitrate, you want the highest possible poison damage over the smallest possible duration.

Maximizing your final damage output involves getting the highest bitrate possible, and being able to re-apply the poison damage before the duration timer runs out.

The strength of the Assassins Venom skill does not lie in a huge displayed damage number, but rather the short duration, which can be applied multiple times in very short succession. The relatively modest displayed damage is much more effective than it looks. Lets say Venom does 400 damage over 0.4 seconds. That damage is really 1000 damage per second if you manage to constantly keep the poison up (which can be done with a speedy kick attack, for example).

A slightly worse thing about Venom is that it effectively ruins all other sources of poison on your equipment that you may have. If you have Venom active, all poison attacks are scaled down to fit the short duration of Venom. Lets say you have a charm in your inventory that does 100 poison damage over 5 seconds = 20 damage per second. Having Venom active does not actually lower the bitrate of the charm, but rather shortens the duration. When Venom is active, that charm deals 20 damage per second over 0.4 seconds = only 8 total damage for each attack. Most unimpressive.

This is why poison charms and other poison sources work very badly with Venom. If you intend to use Venom, avoid using equipment for the sole reason of added poison damage. It won't hurt you, but it won't help you (much) either.

In order to maximize your Venom damage, do three things:
# Have Venom as high of a level as possible when casting
# Have as much +% Poison Skill Damage on your gear as possible when casting and attacking
# Lower your target's Poison Resistance as much as possible

Thanks to Ilkori for updating this section. Poison is not my forte.

=I am a hardcore player. How can I avoid being killed by malicious players?=

Before we begin, there are two acronyms that need to be understood:

PK: Player killer. It can be used as a verb also; Im going to PK you, noob. The term is not to be confused with actual dueling. Duels are mutually agreed upon. Player Killers dont ask for permission.

TPPK: A number of methods that involve setting up some sort of a deathtrap, going to town, and hostiling another player in rapid succession. The goal is to catch the victim/the PKed by surprise and kill him in the process.

On how to avoid being PKed, I am simply going to quote the celebrated forum troll and TPPKer 2_Much_4_U.

<blockquote>
Wow, okay. First off, don't feel too bad about having some lowbies ganked. Happens all the time.

To help you avoid further happenings, let me run down a couple of things to look for.

1.) Paladins with red armor, red helms, and a two-handed weapon are going to pk you. Especially if you are playing in a Tomb Run game.

2.) Sorcs who tell you to leave town for an enchant could very well be baiting you to set you up for an orb tppk.

3.) Never trust necromancers, no matter what they say their build is.

4.) Level 16 characters of any type who wear Twitchthroe (you can tell they are wearing it if they have dark green, nearly black studded leather graphic armor) are at the very least llds. Some of these people like to pk in pubby games.

5.) Characters with funny, stupid, or hostile names will often be pkers. The mentality of most pks is that you kill for laughs, and a good name such as AnInnocentChild makes a funny screenshot:

''Noob was slain by AnInnocentChild.

6.) Make passworded games and set the character limit to one.

7.) Don't get rushed. Some pro pks like to help people level so the ear is higher when they kill you. Sometimes if you Baal with people they will talk to you, get to know you a little, maybe even befriend you, then they will fire an Ice Blast up your ass.

8.) Set level restrictions on all nightmare level games and above. This won't keep you from getting killed by the pros, but you will avoid sucker clans like IceNine.

9.) Be aware of the pk clans on your realm, know who the most active pks are, and never group with people who can one-shot champion monsters.

10.) Look for people using +damage gear like wands and circlets. You can never be certain that necro is a tppker, but if he has blue leather armor, doesn't display a helm graphic, and carries a plain-colored wand, he is likely using White, +3 PnB circlet, and Vipermagi. Cheap but powerful gear with very little in the way of survivability mods. Pks are built for damage, not for duels, and as such their gear will usually be easily and cheaply replaced.

11.) If you decide, against my advice, to join a pub game, be aware that the good pkers won't attack immediately. Amazons wait until a monster procs amp on you, sorcs wait until you fight a conviction aura'd mob. A good necro will use his bone walls to corral you in, or if you are melee he will wait until you are in the thick of battle and you aren't paying attention to him. Also of note, if the necro has a lot of skeles, mages, and revives, yet they all seem to die fast, he is probably a pk. Experienced nec pks will use the massive lag caused by bone structures and summons to execute you.

12.) Escape up enter is your best friend. I can do it so fast that it looks like disconnect.

13.) Set up your belt to have a full slot of major rejuvs, a full slot of town portals, and two slots of minor rejuvs. Guzzle those potes like kool-aid, they are free after all and will save your life many times.

14.) Buff your cold and poison resist. You can do this by drinking thawing potions and antidote potions. Drink the thaws so a cold sorc can't wtfown you in one shot. Drink the antis so you won't be low on health when you least expect it from poison procing mobs.

15.) Put every point you possess into vitality. You don't need anything else. My untwinked bear druid had more than 1000 life at level 18. Invest in getting lower level life scs, which you can farm on the way to Countess in Normal.

16.) If you are in a game full of tagged people, and they start moving away from you, leave the game.

17.) If a player opens a tp anywhere near you, hit your tp hotkey and leave the area.

18.) Don't start NM until level 45. Don't start Hell until level 80.

19.) Be a nice person. If you piss somebody off, they can easily put a bounty on your head and have someone smoke your ass. Ask Hurricane_Ivan, RazzerFraz, Mithrandirr, Yeti, or any of the many infamous pks just how much their ears have been worth over the years. A successful kill on a rich person's enemy can snag you upwards of a Gul rune, which is worth a lot more in hc than it is in sc.

20.) If somebody follows you around in town, they are most likely weighing you in the balance. Don't be found lacking. They will gauge your gear, how much life they think you have, and what your likely resists are. They won't attack you unless they think they can one- or two-shot you. My personal best has been two people killed with a tornado volley. I have heard of and seen screenshots of five people being killed in a single attack.

21.) Avoid wps, public portals, and starting areas.

22.) Play with friends.

=Where is the "Reziarfg" monster?=

The Reziarfg monster does not exist. If you take a careful look at the spelling of its name, you will see that is in fact the name of Geoff Fraizer, a member of the Blizzard web team, spelled backwards. The monster is a joke, nothing more. It is not found in any game file, not even a hint. If it were there, the experienced modders would have found out long ago. There simply is no monster called Reziarfg in the game.

=What does the chat gem do?=

[[The Chat Gem]] does not have a purpose. It changes colour, and sends messages like Gem Activated, Perfect Gem Activated and Mooooo. Nothing else. People use it as a marker for their channel conversations, but the gem does not affect gameplay in any way whatsoever.

If you like clicking the thing, go ahead. But know that any change you notice is a result of good-old chance.

=What are "Stacked Resists"?=

Under normal circumstances, players resistances to fire, cold, lightning and poison are capped at a maximum of 75%. Using certain items and skills you can boost the maximum resistance cap up to 95%, but no further. Therefore you can not make yourself immune to an element by boosting your maximum resistances up to 100%. When you have hit the final cap allowed by your gear and skills, the resistances will show up in golden letters on your character screen.
Whatever resistances you may have that surpass this cap are not calculated when hit with regular attacks.

However, having resistances above your displayed cap can come in handy. They will play a large role when you are affected by resistances, such as the ones from the Conviction Aura or other players Rainbow Facets. When these resistances come into effect, they start with subtracting from the resists you have over your displayed cap.

Examples:

We have player A, whose items give a total of 150% resistance to fire. 
And player B, whose items give a total of 75% resistance to fire.

Player A is hit by a Fireball that does 200 damage. Player As resistances hit the cap at 75%, and the player takes 25% of the damage = 50 damage. 
Player B is hit by a Fireball that does 200 damage. Player Bs resistances hit the cap precisely at 75%, and the player takes 25% of the damage = 50 damage. 
In this case, the stacked resistances were useless. But when that Fireball also lowers the targets resistances, the situation changes greatly.

Player A is hit by a Fireball that does 200 damage and lowers the players resistances by 50%. The Fireball starts with affecting stacked resistances, bringing them down to a total of 100%. The players resistances still manage to hit the cap at 75%, and the player takes 25% of the damage = 50 damage. 
Player B is hit by the same Fireball that also reduces the players resistances by 50%. The Fireball can now directly lower the resistances in use, bringing the total resistance down to 25%. The player takes 75% of the damage = 150 damage, which is three times the damage player A suffered. Resists can make a HUGE dent in anyones life bowl unless properly countered. The next section will demonstrate this.

If you expect anyone is going to attempt to lower your resists, stacking them is generally a good idea if you wish to live. Cold Sorceresses, Über Mephisto and Avenger Paladins are all infamous for their ability to lower resistances. Dont be caught off guard.

Physical resistance has its own cap too, which is at 50%. But unlike elemental resistances, this resistance is not displayed on the character screen, and is not affected by the nightmare and hell resistance penalties as far as I know. This is what is generally referred to as Damage Reduced %. Stacking this resistance against the Necromancer curses Amplify damage and Decrepify is not advisable due to how difficult it is to gain a respectable amount of this rare resist.

Resistance to pure magical damage (Blessed Hammers, Bone Spells, Berserk) is almost impossible to resist. See section 31 for the reasons. This resistance most likely has a cap, although it is absolutely impossible to hit it.

=What is the effectiveness of resistances compared to +damage%?=

This has been slightly addressed before in sections 2 and 19, but only as side points.

Many seem to think that reducing an enemy's resistances by some percentage is roughly the same as increasing your own damage by that same percentage. This is not true. When the damage is calculated, -resist% "nearly always" come out on top. The effectiveness of -resist% relies completely on the defender's resistance. For example, if a defender has 95% resistance to the damage type in question and no stacked resists, the -5% would DOUBLE the damage output. Also, if the defender has maxed resistance stacked 5% or more over the cap, -5% would do absolutely nothing. The reasons for this are purely mathematical.

For an everyday example, let's assume an attack does 200 damage, and it is applied to a target with 50% resistance to the element in question. The damage output would be 200 * 0.50 = 100 damage.

If that attack also lowered the resistance by 5%, the damage we are looking at is 200 * 0.55 = 110 damage. A 10% increase in damage. Directly increasing damage by 5% would obviously only increase damage by 5%. Oddly enough, in this case -5% > +5% applies.

Examples when resist% do NOT improve your overall damage more than +damage% are few, but they include:

A) When the target already has negative resists. Basically, -x% enemy resist is more effective against a target with positive resists, and +x% skill damage is more effective against a target with negative resists (assuming the same value of x, of course). So in other words, if you had to make a choice between a -5%/+3% facet and a -3%/+5% facet, you should know the resists of your target first and make a choice depending on whether it's positve or negative (after taking Conviction, Lower Resist, Cold Mastery, etc. into consideration.) Thanks to Posterboy for the explanation.

B) When the target already has -100% negative resists, -resist% is completely pointless. You can never reduce someone's resists below -100%.

C) When the target is using Cyclone Armor or Energy Shield. These are applied before resistances, so resist% does nothing at all until the shield has been broken.

D) In many cases, Cold Sorceresses already have more than enough resist% from their Cold Mastery skill, making +damage% more desirable.

E) When the target has enough stacked resists to completely negate your resist%.

=How does the "Eth Glitch" work?=

In Diablo 2 version 1.11 and 1.11b, there is a bug regarding the socketing of ethereal armors. Ethereal armors are assigned a 50% bonus to their base defense rating when dropped. This is normal. What is not normal is the fact that when sockets are added to an ethereal armor using the Horadric Cube, that ethereal defense bonus is applied again. The result is an armor with an absolutely impossible defense rating. Enhanced defense modifiers are then added to that base defense rating, so the difference in end defense is rather huge.

This bug appeared as a side-effect when the 1.10 ethereal armor upgrade bug was fixed (the bug is described in section 14). In order to fix that bug, a defense bonus of 50% was simply crammed into the ethereal unique armor upgrade formula. Unfortunately that fix also affected the ethereal armor socketing formula, making armors now gain a second defense bonus when socketed.

The use of this bug is very controversial, and that is the reason I haven't added this section earlier. The overwhelming number of questions asked about this forced me to make up my mind.

It is not debatable whether this is a "bug" or an "undocumented feature". It is obviously a result of a programming flaw, making it a bug. Ask anyone who has looked at the code, ethereal armors gaining defense when socketed is NOT intentional. Not a chance.

However, the community is split regarding the practical use of this bug. One half argues that since Blizzard hasn't removed the bug, they intend it to stay, and that they need the bugged armors to stay competent when compared to those who do use the bugged armors. The other half considers the use of any ingame bugs to their advantage to be cheating. Personally, I agree with the second group, and suggest that anyone who wants to consider oneself a legitimate gamer to avoid this bug until fixed.

=How do Energy Shield and "Damage taken goes to Mana" work together?=

I didn't add this section until now simply because I do not use the Energy Shield spell on any of my characters, so I have no practical experience with it. It is correct on technical issues, however. Thanks to Gta-maloy] for confirming it.

First of all, the "damage taken goes to mana" mod found on items is NOT the same as the ES damage conversion. "Damage taken goes to mana" modifiers add to your mana pool a percentage of the damage you take.
Example: A character with a "10% damage taken goes to mana" mod is hit with an attack doing 50 damage. 50 health points will be removed from your health pool. 10% of those 50 points will now add to your mana pool.

End result: Life -50, mana +5.

However, when a Sorceress using ES is hit, some of the damage is subtracted from your mana pool instead of your health pool. The percentage of the total damage converted to the mana pool is dependant on your ES level, and it maxes out at 95%, at ES slevel 40. The ratio at which the damage is converted depends on points spent in Telekinesis. The base ratio is 200%, or 2:1. With no points in TK, every health damage point converted spends 2 mana. Each point spent in TK decreases that ratio by 6.25%, bringing it down to 100% = 1:1 at level 16. Notice that the TK bonus is a synergy bonus, only hard points will work.

Which means that if a Sorceress using a level 40 ES with 16 hard points in TK is hit for 100 damage, her mana will absorb 95% of the damage, while the health pool absorbs 5%.

End result: Life -5, mana -95.

If that Sorceress also had 20% damage taken goes to mana from gear, 20% of those 5 points that were actually removed from her health pool would be added to her mana pool. That's one point. Not very impressive.

End result: Life -5, mana -94.

You can see that making an "immortal Sorceress" by combining "damage taken goes to mana" and Energy Shield is impossible.

Miscellaneous information about Energy Shield:

ES is not affected by resistances, it takes 100% damage at all times, no more or less. That can be good, and bad. Its good in the way that you don't have to worry about maxing your resistances as much as most other character types, and enemies that depend on the ability to lower your resistances will be sent home crying. It is bad in the way that you can not raise the resistances of your ES above 0%.

Note that ES does not stop poison damage. The negative regeneration rate from the Open Wounds modifier can not be absorbed either. Be careful when those are around.

And to quote PeterPaulRubens:
:the real bummer of combing DTM and ES is that DTM's mana boost is applied to your mana BEFORE the mana loss from ES is calculated. In other words, your mana can still be reduced to zero by a hit. DTM won't ever save you from having NO mana.

=What makes Anya's Red Portal go away?=

Rather simple. The Red Portal closes when you have killed [[Nihlathak]] AND gotten the [[Halls of Pain]] waypoint. As long as you don't do both, the portal stays.

=Where is the Pit, and why does it drop good items?=

Introduced in 1.10 were several areas with very high area levels. Everything can drop from the champions and unique monsters in these areas. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I can not name a single thing that can not drop in there, excluding things like the 1.11 charms and keys, Annihilus and quest items, of course.

This of course makes the areas very powerful places in which to MF. The Pit is often favoured because:
# It is easy to find. Go to the Outer Cloister waypoint and follow the road that splits to a cave (the other leading to the Black Marsh). That cave is the Pit.
# The monsters in there are relatively easy to kill for most characters.
# Aside from the drops, it offers good experience to characters in their low and mid 80s.
# The area is big, meaning lots of monsters. More monsters mean you can spend more time killing them, not finding the Pit.
# There is a sparkly-chest at the bottom of it.

When item hunting in high level areas, always kill everything.

The AreaLevel 85 areas are:
# The Pit, levels 1 and 2
# The Mausoleum next to Blood Raven. NOT the Crypt. Easy area, but does not have very many monsters.
# The Maggot Lair, level 3 only. Difficult to get to, difficult to navigate. Rarely used.
# The Ancient Tunnels, found in the Lost City. Not very easy to find since there is no road leading up to it, but it doesn't have any cold immunes at all. Cold Sorceresses love it.
# The Sewers in act 3, level 2. Where you find Khalim's Brain. Horrible access, tiny area. I've never heard of anyone using it.
# The Forgotten Temple, The Ruined Fane, and The disused Reliquary. All easily found temples in act 3, but the areas are small.
# The River of Flame. It's a relatively large area, lots of monsters, fine experience. It is however a fairly difficult area for poorly equipped characters, which is probably why it isn't used more often.
# The Chaos Sanctuary. Same as the River of Flame, but with the mercinary-slaughtering Iron-Maiden.
# The Worldstone Keep levels 1-3, and The Throne of Destruction. They are perfect in all regards but one - they are the most difficult normal areas in the game.

This is of course all assuming hell difficulty.

* Complete list of [[Level 85 Areas]], plus strategy info.

=What is NextDelay, and why is it so bad?=

I will simply quote the diabloii.net Assassin FAQ on this matter:

::NextDelay is a property that activates a hidden "hit timer" that limits how often any attack from that group (i.e. all the skills listed here) can damage a single target. This works similarly to the infamous spell timer, which limits how often any spell in that group can be cast. The difference is that the hit timer doesn't prevent you from attacking, it just sets everyone's(includes you, your minions/merc, other players(hostile/neutral/allied), and their minions/mercs) chance-to-hit that monster (with a hit timer attack) at zero until the timer runs out.

Here's a list of skills that are affected by NextDelay, and the lengths of them:

25-Frame Delay (1 second)
* Shock Web
* Blade Sentinel
* Twister
* Tornado

10-Frame Delay (0.4 seconds)
* Volcano (initial eruption)

6-Frame Delay (0.24 seconds)
* War Cry
* Grim Ward

5-Frame Delay (0.2 seconds)
* Fissure
* Volcano (small fireball)

4-Frame Delay (0.16 seconds)
* Multi Shot
* Strafe
* Lightning Strike
* Chain Lightning
* Nova
* Frost Nova
* Poison Nova
* Shock Wave
* Fist of Heavens (Holy Bolts)
* Wake of Fire
* Claws of Thunder (only 2nd and 3rd charge charges have Next Delay. 1st charge does not trigger Next Delay)
* Phoenix Strike (only 2nd Chain Lightning and 3rd Chaos Orb charge have Next Delay. 1st charge does not trigger Next Delay)
* Dragon Flight
* Battle Cry
* Battle Command
* Battle Orders

So, the moment a certain skill from the list damages a monster, it prevents every other skill on the list from hitting the said monster for the original skill's NextDelay duration (whether from you or any other character).

=What is the difference between a damage spell and an attack?=

There is no single, easy way to seperate skills from attacks. In some cases the difference is obvious, as in a Sorceress Fireball is obviously a spell, while a Paladin Zeal is obviously an attack. There are a number of abilities which walk on the edge of the definition by having an attack component and a spell component as well. A few elements that seperate spells from attacks include:
# An attack uses a weapon of some type to calculate its damage, while a spell's damage is based entirely on skill level and skill damage modifiers.
# The time it takes to perform attacks is typically decided by increased attack speed modifiers (IAS), while spells' casting speed is typically decided by faster cast rate modifiers (FCR).
# Most attacks can be blocked with a shield, while spells can not. Exceptions include the Paladin's Smite skill, which can not be blocked even though it is an attack. Also, the Assassin claw block is unique in being able to block some spells.
# Attacks can return mana and life through
# An attack allows leeching, while spells do not.
# Some attacks can set off "procs", spells can not.

It should be noted that the damage type is a bad way to distinguish skills and attacks. For example, War Cry is a spell that deals physical damage, while Berserk is an attack that deals magical damage.

The tricky part is when you have a skill with both an attack and a spell component. In general, these fall into two categories.
# Attack with an additional Spell damage
# Spell that enhances an attack (usually by adding non-physical damage)

For a basic list, there are: Assassin Venom(2) and elemental charge-ups(1), Amazon elemental attacks (bow and spear/javelin) (most are 1), Druid Fireclaws(1)/Rabies(2), Paladin Holy Fire/Freeze/Shock(mostly 2), Sorceress Enchant(2), and Necromancer Poison Dagger(2). The (1) or (2) indicates which cateogry it falls into. The mechanics of each skill is specific, and a few have some odd quirks attached to them.

An even worse case is the Assassin Dragon Tail which falls into a category of its own, since the Fire splash damage actually depends on how much physical kick damage is dealt to the target.

=What is the difference between a ranged and melee attack?=

These two types of attacks are very similar, but have some important differences. Disclaimer - This is intended to help distinguish game mechanics. These distinctions have nothing to do with PvP rules which are based on what players agree on.

The Assassin kicks, Paladin's Smite, and Amazon's Guided Arrow all have some exceptions to the general rules for attacks. Kicks have a different damage formula, Guided Arrow is always-hit, and the Paladin's Smite is always-hit, ignores shield blocking, and follows a different damage formula. There are also a number of odd idiosyncrasies with other skills, such as the ED on Vengeance providing elemental damage, Berserk converting the physical damage to Magic damage, and several attacks having movement involved as part of the attack.

Here's a list of the different abilities and what category they are in. After that is the list of differences between ranged and melee attacks. Anything not listed is the same for both.

Ranged Attacks
* Bow or XBow attacks (except Wereform attacks with a bow/xbow)
* Throw attacks available with javelins, and throwing axes/knives (except potions)
* Assassin's Blade Fury and Blade Sentinal
* Amazon's Bow/Xbow tree
* The physical portion of the Amazon's Plague Javelin, Poison Javelin, Lightning Bolt, and Lightning Fury
* Barbarian's Double Throw (except when using a potion)

Melee Attacks
* The "Normal" attack with anything but a bow or xbow
* Barbarian Combat Skills (except Double Throw)
* Paladin's Sacrifice, Zeal, Vengeance, Charge, and Conversion
- Druid's Wereform Attacks
- Assassin's Martial Arts
- Amazon's Jab, Impale, Fend, and the physical portion of Power Strike, Charged Strike, and Lightning Strike
- Necromancer's Poison Dagger

Differences
# Crushing Blow and Open Wounds work at half-effectiveness with ranged attacks.
# Attack Rating% bonuses listed on some ranged skills are not actually applied (for example all Amazon Bow skills).
# The mod +X damage (Grief, Asteron's) is not calculated in ranged attacks.
# Iron Maiden only affects Melee attacks.
# +% <element> damage applies once to melee and zero to ranged, despite the LCS.

=How does "Absorb" really work?=

The basic idea of absorb is rather simple, it couses portions of attacks that would normally damage you to heal you instead. There are a few points regarding it that cause confusion, however.

There is a difference between percentage absorb and integer absorb. It is basically the same as the difference between DR% and DR (see section 25). Percentage absorb heals you by a fraction of the damage dealt, while integer absorb heals you by a fixed amount. For item examples we have Blackhorns Face with integer absorb, and Dwarf Star with percentage absorb.

Absorb does not save you from one-hit KOs. The damage affects your health pool before absorb is applied. If the attack reduces your life to zero, you will die.

Damage is applied in a predetermined order. It is as follows: 
1) XvX penalty (for example Player vs. Player = -5/6) 
2) Sorceress Energy Shield 
3) Necromancer Bone Armor and/or Druid Cyclone Armor 
4) Integer DR/MDR 
5) Percentage resists (including DR%) 
6) Percentage absorb 
7) Integer absorb

This is relevant, because it helps you decide what type of damage reduction modifier will serve you best. Consult LanderZs damage calculator for further information: http://www.poweradvantage.net/d2dmgcalc.html
# Percentage absorb can never heal you on its own. It is capped at 40%, meaning that even if you have maximum percentage absorb, you will still take damage. Integer absorb does not suffer from this penalty.
# Absorb actually heals you two times the listed amount both to negate the damage and to heal by the same amount.
# The "magic absorb" modifier found on safety shields and Spirit Runewords (for example) only affects "pure" magical damage, such as the Necromancer bone spells. Elemental damages like Fire damage are not affected. This has been tested by Oramin.

Most of the information used in this thread came from Tommi Gustafsson's site, which is now defunct. Most of its content can now be accessed on b_77's site:
http://www.brentmcclintock.net/diablo/index.aspx

=What are "procs" and how do they work?=

"Proc" is a collective word for all sorts of effects that can happen on striking and attacking. If an item you are using contains a line that looks similar to "X% chance to do Y when Z happens", odds are that item contains a "proc". A good example of a proc would be "5% Chance To Cast Level 10 Life Tap On Striking" found on Dracul's grasp.

=A member of my party is using Ondal's Wisdom. Is he stealing my experience?=

No, not at all. It is one of the more persistent rumours, but it is not true. As confirmed by Ortliebj, the "+x% To Experience Gained" modifier found on the staff and the popular Annihilus charm is applied after the experience has been split among the party members. It has no effect on anyone but the user.

The rumour probably originated when players using Ondal's Wisdom were called "leechers" in party games. It would be a reference to the Ondal user's reduced ability to help the party, not an experience stealing modifier.

=What kinds of life bonuses are affected by Battle Orders?=

If you are asking this sort of a question, you have probably heard that not all life is multiplied by Battle Orders and other percentage-based life boosters. This is true.

When it comes to calculating your final life, there are effectively three factors you need to consider. These factors could be called "Boostable life", "Non-boostable life" and "Percentage boosts".
# Boostable life is life gained from spent vitality points, life naturally gained per level up, +life bonuses on items, and life gained from quest rewards.
# Non-boostable life is life gained from "soft" vitality points on items, life gained from life per level bonuses on items and life gained from vitality per level bonuses on items.
# Percentage boosts are the life% bonuses that can (for examples) be seen on the skills Battle Orders, Oak Sage or Lycanthropy, and items such as Doombringer or Jah runes in armor.

For the actual calculation, add together all your boostable life sources, and calculate your life. Then add together all percentage boosts to form a single percentage, and apply it as a bonus to your boostable life. After that, add the non-boostable life.

This information would be best displayed by an equation:
Final life = Boostable_Life * (100% + Boost%)/100% + nonboostable_Life

Mana calculations follow the same equation and mechanics.

=If I create an Iron Golem from an "indestructible" item, will the golem be invulnerable to damage?=

No. Basically, the "indestructible" modifier that can be found on items like Phase Blades or items that have been socketed with a Zod rune has to do with durability. It does not literally mean that the item can not be destroyed.
Iron Golems do not seem to be affected by durability in any way. The Golem's summoning item being indestructible changes nothing for the Golem.

=How are the elemental masteries applied to attacks?=

The following section was written by Oramin.

There are 3 basic rules to determine how Elemental Masteries (e.g. Fire Mastery) increase a character's damage.

# The Elemental Masteries apply to Skills at the time of casting/application to weapons.
# They amplify Melee attacks.
# They do *not* amplify Ranged attacks.

This means that if you were to cast Enchant then Fire Mastery would apply at the time of casting (and this is already shown in your displayed Enchant damage). Holy Shock would also be amplified by Lightning Mastery when the bonus Lightning damage is applied to the weapon.

If you do a Melee attack, the Fire/Lightning damages from Enchant/Holy Shock will be boosted again by whatever the levels of FM/LM happen to be at the time of attack. You get no additional damage if you choose to do a Ranged attack.

Example:

Assume you are a Sorceress with level 20 Fire Mastery, level 20 Enchant, level 20 Lightning Mastery, and a "Dream" helm which gives level 15 Holy Shock. Further assume that you have charms which add 1-100 Lightning damage and 1-100 Fire damage and that you are using an ordinary javelin.

Level 20 Enchant (including the single point in Warmth) does 74-97 damage. 
When we include level 20 Fire Mastery (+163% damage), the displayed damage at the time of casting becomes 196-256. This Fire damage is added to the weapon. The 1-100 Fire damage from the Charms is not Skill based damage so it is not amplified by Fire Mastery when applied to the weapon. The total Fire damage on the weapon is now 197-356.

Level 15 Holy Shock does 1-648 damage. At the time of application to the weapon, the level 20 Lightning Mastery (+278% damage) will amplify it causing 3-2449 Lightning damage to be added to the weapon. The 1-100 Lightning damage from the Charms is not Skill based damage so it is not amplified by Lightning Mastery when applied to the weapon. The total Lightning damage on the weapon is now 4-2549.

Fire damage: 197-356 
Lightning damage: 4-2549

If you were throwing the javelin, the above would be the correct totals.

However, if you do a Melee attack with the javelin instead then Lightning Mastery and Fire Mastery would amplify the damages giving the following damages: 
Fire damage: (197-356) * (1 + 1.63) = 518-936 
Lightning damage: (4-2549) * (1 + 2.78) = 15-9635

Note1: Due to the LCS (Lying Character Screen) you will see Ranged attacks receiving the same amplification as Melee attacks this is *not* correct.

Note2: We were not able to determine precisely how/if FM affects the bonus Fire damage from Explosive Bolts/Arrows but as the inherent damage is negligible, don't worry about it.

=Where can I find wands with charges of Amplify Damage?=

Nowhere. Amplify Damage charges can not spawn as a random affix. The only item in the game that has Amplify Damage charges is the unique Martel de Fer, The Gavel of Pain. It has three charges of level 8 Amplify Damage. If you want a non-Necromancer character to use Amplify Damage, your best option is to get an item that procs (see section 45) the curse.

=What types of +skills work with mercenaries?=

The following quote on how the various types of +skills work when applied to mercenaries was stolen from adeyke:

* +X to all skills works.
* +X to fire skills works for the mercs with fire skills.
* +X to a specific skill the merc already has (e.g. +X to bash (barbarian only) for barb mercs, +X to inferno (sorceress only) for fire iron wolves) also works.
* +X to a specific skill the merc doesn't already have doesn't work. Barb mercs will gain nothing from +X to natural resistance (barbarian only), for example. Mercs also don't use any oskills.
* +X to skill tabs doesn't work for any merc.
* +X to class skills (e.g. +X to barbarian skills, +X to sorceress skills) doesn't work for any merc.

=What decides the Assassin's Trap laying speed?=

The trap laying speed of Assassins is decided like most attack speeds. That means it is affected by things like gear-based increased attack speed (IAS) and the weapon speed modifier (abbreviated WSM, also often called "base weapon speed"). The diablo2.ingame.de [http://diablo2.ingame.de/tips/calcs/weaponspeed.php?lang=english weapon speed calculator] can calculate your trap laying speed.

The Faster Cast Rate modifier (FCR) has no effect on trap laying speed. When Assassins emphasise FCR, it is usually to speed up their casting of Mind Blast, which is affected by the Faster Cast Rate modifier.

=How long do items stay if left on the ground?=

This section belongs to Posterboy, who originally poked the information my way, and Antitrust who re-confirmed it for 1.11 and wrote the contents of the following quote:

* Socketed items, Ethereal items, Equipable White items, Runewords, Keys, Quivers, Potions, Scrolls/Tomes - vanish in 10 minutes
* Runes, Gems, Magic Items (including charms) - vanish in 20 minutes
* Rares, Uniques (including charms), Sets - vanish in 30 minutes
* Gold, Horadric cube (the only quest item I tested) - last for at least 2 hours and 36 minutes (at which point I stopped)

This was tested in Single Player. Results on the realms may be (and I actually suspect that they are) different.

=Does poison cancel Deadly Strike, Critical Strike, or Crushing Blow?=

No, it does not. There seems to be a glitch when it comes to displaying the associated "puffs" when the target is poisoned, but it is purely graphical.

=Acknowledgments=

Big thanks to the posters I have shamelessly exploited and plagiarized in order to make this thread grow:
2_Much_4_U, adeyke, Antitrust, Chaotix, Daten, Gta-maloy], Ilkori, TommiG, Oramin, Ortliebj, PeterPaulRubens and Posterboy.

And thanks to everyone who pointed out missing things and possible additions, bumped this thread, made comments, or just generally helped me in some way whether they know it or not: 
Armaege, BIGeyedBUG, Bonkshasa, Dargad, Derisive, LaughingBuddha, MicahW, MMAgCh, NickJS, Nucularterraist (Nucnuc), Orphan, sambo., Sarrick, Sol1, Technomage-C01, The_Terror_Lord, T-hawk, Veneteaou and WizAdept.

Technomage-C01 deserves special mention for keeping the thread from being munched by the B.Net Gameplay Discussion forum for more than a year and a half. And the most special thanks of all go to Ortliebj for inspiring me to make this thread. Thanks to all of you.

[[category:FAQs]]

Things you should know about Diablo 2

2009-10-27T21:47:13Z

TDurden1937: /* What does "damage reduced" or "DR" mean? */

This massive FAQ-like compilation of interesting D2 tidbits was put together by Ernir and posted on the old Battle.net forums. ([http://classic.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=d2-general&t=1312543 Source].) The version here in this wiki is reformatted and has had numerous links added to additional information and images.

=How do Traps and Rainbow Facets work together?=

The -res% and +damage% on [[Griffon's Eye]] and [[Facets]] do not add to trap damage. With the exceptions of Fire Blast and Shock Web, the Assassin Traps are considered minions by the game. Your minions do not benefit from any -res% or +damage% your character has.

Note that Sorceress Hydras benefit from both Fire Mastery and Facets. This exception is explained by T-Hawk:

::The missiles fired by Hydra have a special-case check of their caster's "+% Fire Skill Damage" ability. That's why Hydra works with Fire Mastery and Facets. This check was added in version 1.05; before that, Fire Mastery didn't boost Hydra damage.

=Can immunities be removed?=

Yes, they can. [[Monsters]] immune to a damage type are classified as monsters with 100 or more percentage resistance to the damage type in question. If you lower the monster's resistance below 100%, you can damage the monster.

There are only two things that can remove elemental immunities: The Paladin's Conviction aura, and the Necromancer's Lower Resist curse. Conviction Aura also doesn't affect Poison resistance. The Necromancer curses Amplify damage and Decrepify can remove physical immunity.

All other types of -resist (Facets, Cold Mastery, Griffon's Eye) do NOT have an effect on immune monsters.

Also, all the spells mentioned above work at 20% efficiency when dealing with immune monsters. Example: A hell Doom Knight has 110% Fire resist, meaning it is immune to fire. That Doom Knight is hit by a level 3 Conviction Aura, which under normal circumstances would lower the monster's fire resistance by 40%. However, since the monster is immune, the Conviction aura only works at 20% efficiency, making those 40% in effect only 8%. The calculation is: 110 - 40*0.2 = 102 fire res, making the monster still immune.

This fact makes it much harder to break immunities. There are monsters whose immunities are simply impossible to break. Hell Oblivion Knights, for example, have 180% cold resist. Doesn't matter what you throw at it, it is impossible to break.

Even though you can combine Lower Resist and Conviction (the resist reduction percentages are simply lumped together and the combined number reduced to 20%), any resist >= 145 can not be broken, even with a Level 25 Conviction (-150% Resist All) and a Level 60 Lower Resist (-70% Resist All). Thanks to Technomage-C01 and BIGeyedBUG for pointing that out, and Tommi and Adeyke for the information.

-res from items and other skills are not completely useless when dealing with immune monsters, though, because once the immunity has been broken, these items take effect.

Physical immune monsters are monsters with a physical resistance of 100 or more. This immunity can (as mentioned above) be removed using the curses Amplify damage (which gives -100% physical resist) or Decrepify (which gives -50% physical resist). Again, the same penalties apply to Amplify Damage and Decrepify as to the elemental immunities.

=How do I spend my stat points for build x?=

For 95% of post-1.10 character builds, this is the recommended stat distribution:
* Strength - enough for gear.
* Dexterity - enough for gear or a block rate of 75% should you choose to.
* Vitality - everything else.
* Energy - in most cases nothing. Extremely mana-hungry casters may want to spend some here, but at the cost of the life vitality provides.

Thanks to Posterboy: Major exceptions from this rule include "glass cannon" Bowazons and Energy Shield Sorceresses.

=How do I get to Über Tristram/what do the Keys do/what are the "Übers"?=

* [[Pandemonium Event]] quest details.

Loosely based on a post made by Armaege:

The 1.11 patch added to the game a so called "Pandemonium Event" available ONLY on the realms, in hell difficulty.
To trigger the event, you must collect items called keys. There are three types. The Countess drops the Key of Terror, the false Summoner drops the Key of Hate, and Nihlathak drops the Key of Destruction.

When you have collected three keys, go anywhere in the town of Harrogath in Act 5 and transmute these three keys together in the Horadric Cube. One of three portals will open, to the Furnace of Pain, the Matron's Den, or the Forgotten Sands, in which you will fight Über-Izual, an Andariel-like creature called Lilith and Über Duriel respectively.

Each of these bosses drops one of the Prime Evil's relics, Lilith drops "Diablo's Horn", Über Duriel drops Baal's Eye, and Über Izual drops Mephisto's Brain.

When you have collected all three relics (a.k.a. body parts) you must go back to Harrogath, and transmute the three relics. This will open a portal to Über Tristram, where you will fight improved versions of the Prime Evils all at once - the Übers. Prepare for the hardest fight of your D2 career.

The last of the Prime Evils you kill will drop a large charm called the Hellfire Torch. It gives 3+ to the skill levels of a random character class, 10-20 to all resistances and attributes, a chance to cast Diablo's Firestorm on striking, 8+ to light radius and Hydra charges. This is your reward for all the trouble of collecting keys, relics, and killing the Übers.

The last Über that goes down also drops a "Standard of Heroes", one for each player in the game. These do not do anything, as far as anyone knows. They are trophies, nothing more.

=What does Standard of Heroes do?=

I repeat, there is no known use for the Standard of Heroes small charm. On this matter, I am going to quote the Blizzard forum moderator MicahW.

::''The Standard of Heroes is a trophy you get for having completed the patch 1.11 world event.

And if you don't believe MicahW, Blizzard forum moderator NickJS said this:

::''They are merely trophies. If we ever release a future patch hopefully we implement a "trophy case" to put these in. Available in Maple or Oak. You could have your friends over and show them off!

There is absolutely nothing that suggests it has a function besides looking pretty. All rumours that say otherwise are products of someone's overactive imagination, or a pitiful scam attempt. Why it has a level requirement is unknown.

=How frequently do "the Keys" drop?=

Adeyke had this to say on the matter:

::''Key of Terror has a 1/14 chance of dropping per kill in a 1-player game. Key of Hate has a 1/11 chance, while Key of Destruction has a 1/12 chance
You can get two, three, or possibly even more keys from a single drop.

These keys are nonmagical and your chance to find magic items does NOT have an effect on their drop rate. However, having more players in the game will increase your chances.

Note that even though you can find the keys in Single Player, they do not do anything there. The Pandemonium Event is exclusive to the Realms.

=Why do the Vipers in the Halls of Vaught kill my GOSU char in one hit?=
Explanation by Gta-maloy]:

::A percentage of their charge damage is included in the secondary cloud of poison. The AoE cloud. This means that you could avoid the initial poison from the spear but still get the physical + poison damage of the cloud should you run into it.

::THE CLOUD IS NOT VISIBLE. This is why many people think they get killed by something that isn't really there. The cloud will stay about five seconds AFTER the initial spear's cloud vanishes. If you do not move in this time, the second cloud will not effect you. Getting knocked back will also not trigger the second cloud. You will get poisoned by the viper and get a nice percentage of life taken away from you but it won't be over time.

;;Best thing to do is stand still when they fire or run past them at high velocity. The cloud will only form a second or two after the spear is thrown, this gives more than enough time for a character to run past them. Should you need to stop... stop and don't run or walk until five seconds after all the clouds have gone.

As for whether or not this is a bug; Blizzard forum moderator MicahW made the following statement:

Wheres the fix on those pesky Tomb Viper in Nihlathak place?

::Working as intended.

=How does Über Mephisto's Conviction aura work?=

Exactly like the corresponding Paladin aura. Über Mephisto's Conviction is level 20, and lowers your resistances to fire, lightning and cold by 125%. There are two very popular ways to get around that:

1) Stack your resists. Even though they are "capped" at 75% all resist, anything above 75% still gets counted when your resistances are lowered. If your resists are stacked more than 125% over your max, Mephisto's Conviction will do you no harm.

2) Override the effect of Mephisto's Conviction by using a higher level Conviction aura yourself. Yes, that's right. If the level of your Conviction aura is 21 or higher, Mephisto's Conviction will not affect you. Your hirelings, minions, and party members, however, will still take full penalty from the aura, so this is really a selfish but easy way to get rid of his aura.

Note on overriding Conviction - According to Sol1's and The_Terror_Lord's testing, both auras "work" if the skill levels are equal, meaning both you and Über Mephisto suffer the resistance and defense penalties. You need a higher level aura to override the other.

=Do mercenaries hired at lower levels gain better stats?=

No. No matter what you may have heard until now, the level at which the merc is hired is completely irrelevant. What does matter is the difficulty in which it was originally hired. A merc hired in normal has better stats than the same type of merc hired in nightmare, and a merc hired in nightmare has better stats than the same type of merc hired in hell. You should always hire your mercs in normal unless you need a specific aura from a nightmare act 2 merc.
* [[Mercenaries]] basic information.
* Hugely detailed [[Mercenary guide]] with strategy, skill levels, and tons more information about mercs.

=Can socketed runes poof?=

Yes, they can. Socketing a dupe protects it from "Passive Ruststorm" which is run when you enter and exit games. There is, however, nothing that can be done to save your precious dupes from the wrath of the Full Ruststorm. If your duped Enigma did survive, you were simply lucky, or you were on non-ladder where Full Ruststorm has never been run.

Ortliebj said it best:

::Full Ruststorm v2.5 will delete "dirty" items, even if they are components of other items. Full Ruststorm was last run in August of last year (2nd week, iirc).

::It will also delete items that have been tampered with in attempts to fool the Ruststorm process. In other words, personalizing your Engima won't help, so don't even try it. All eleven different attempts/strategies of which I am aware to try and circumvent this process have failed.

::When a full active Ruststorm is actually run, illegitimate items of types you've never even dreamed about will be deleted and/or invalidated.

If you have had an item disappear from your inventory, it most likely was a dupe that Ruststorm caught.

=What is the "strength bug", and how does it work?=

There are two glitches commonly referred to as the "strength bug".

The first one is rather harmless. When you don't have the base stats needed to equip an item, other players will not see the item, even though they are there and take full effect. This can be quite humorous when a "naked" barbarian stands in the middle of a monster pack and "punches" them to death. Another example is when Amazons throw Lightning Furies with their bare hands. This is not a hack, merely a display issue.

The second glitch is somewhat more serious. This is when you do not have the base OR end stats to equip an item that has +stats, making the item sustain itself. Example:

Your character has 150 strength after all gear, excluding the shield. You want to equip a Stormshield. In order to reach the 156 strength required, you put a charm in your inventory that gives you +6 to strength, giving you 156 strength, enough for Monarchs. You can now equip the shield. This brings your total strength to 186 with the strength bonus from the Stormshield. Now this is where the glitch comes is: You can now remove the charm from your inventory, but the +strength from the shield will still be enough to equip the shield. The shield is now, in effect, supporting itself. This is an extremely dangerous practise, because if you die, you will not be able to reequip all of your gear, so if you die again, you will be left with multiple corpses. Since only one corpse (the one with the most valuable items... in gold) will be transferred to the next game you enter, abusing this glitch to save stat points is an excellent way to lose your gear. Excepted from this are hardcore players, who lose all their gear anyway when they die.

On a related note, using +stats from items to equip other items is not a "glitch". This is perfectly natural. However, doing this can sometimes result in needing to click your corpse multiple times to get all your gear back, and having to pick up and reequip items when you enter a game. The order that items are respawned on your character was provided by Ortliebj:
# Head
# Neck
# Torso
# Right Hand *
# Left Hand
# Right Ring
# Left Ring
# Belt
# Feet
# Gloves
# Inventory (meaning charms, etc.)
* * Right hand from the character's perspective, so glove side and then boot side.

Ruvunal discovered the initial order of item pickup upon corpse retrieval. He tested, verified and updated it after 1.09 and 1.10.

Meaning... if your helm provides you with the stats you need to equip your armor, you will only need to click your corpse once. However, if your armor provides you with the strength you need to equip your helm, you will have to click twice, as the helm is left on the ground the first time you click.

Using +stats CAN cause you to lose items if you are killed the moment you are clicking to pick up your items and the order doesn't match with the strength requirements of the items. This is no where near as dangerous as glitch-equipping your gear, but it is nevertheless something to keep in mind.

Addition pointed out by Bonkshasa - if you have enough room in your backpack to pick up all your items, you won't lose them, even if you are not able to equip them right away. This is rarely the case these days (when PvPing your inventory is full of charms, and in PvM the potions from your belt probably filled up any available space already), but this could very well be the difference between losing your Crown of Ages or keeping it.

Disclaimer: The factual accuracy of the item pickup order is currently under dispute.

=How does the +damage from Grief and Astreon's work? And why does it look so low on the character screen?=

In most cases, the +damage from weapons such as Grief, Astreon's Iron Wand, and Stonecrusher adds directly to the weapon's base damage, meaning it is multiplied by pretty much everything. This is what can easily make a good Grief the most damaging one-hand weapon in the game.

Unfortunately this bonus to the base damage does not show up on the Lying Character Screen, not correctly at any rate. That is simply because it is out of date. I don't think the LCS has been fully updated for LoD yet.

To see your REAL damage, use [http://baronsbazaar.invisionzone.com/ppr PPR's Weapon Damage Calculator].

Note that there are exceptions from this rule. Vengeance, for example, does not seem to use the added +damage as base weapon damage. Mikeandroe performed a series of tests on how the Vengeance damage is calculated, and the results can [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=50089 be found here].

On the other hand, when Smite is used, the +damage is added directly to the shield's base damage. Because the most damaging Paladin shield in the game deals 46.5 average damage, the +damage makes a HUGE difference. This is why Grief and Astreon's IW are so popular (and possibly unbalancing) for Smiters.
The [[Smite FAQ]] by Oramin and Bloodshrike explains Smite in detail.

The Assassin kick attacks do not benefit from +damage in any way. Blade Fury and Blade Sentinel also do not benefit from it, although the display is incorrect. Thanks to BIGeyedBUG for bringing it to my attention, and adeyke for the information.

=How much dexterity do I need to reach max block at level x with shield y with character z?=

[http://baronsbazaar.invisionzone.com/ppr PPR's Block Calculator] can answer that.

=How can I stop monsters from regenerating?=

There are three ways:

The "Prevent Monster Heal" mod. It prevents all monsters except the Pandemonium Übers from regenerating. The Übers have been specifically made immune.

Poison. Monsters do not regenerate while poisoned. Once the poison wears off, however, they start regenerating again.
Open Wounds. Being affected by open wounds automatically sets the monsters' regeneration rate to a negative value.

Also note that these methods only negate natural regeneration. Things such as healing spells, the Prayer aura, healing potions and life leech should still work.

=How can upgraded items get a lower Defense than the item had before?=

Upgrading items does not guarantee higher stats. All it does is take a normal base item to exceptional status, or an exceptional item to elite status. The end stats depend on the stats of the upgraded base item. Vampire Gaze is probably the most famous example.

Grim helms have a defense range of 60-125. All Vampire Gaze Grim Helms have a defense of 252. This is due to the fact that when armors spawn with the enhanced defense mod, the defense is invariably set at max +1. When we are dealing with a Vampire Gaze, the base item's defense of 126 receives a 100% bonus = 252 defense.

However, when the item is upgraded, the base defense is rerolled. The defense range of Bone Visages is 100-157. Which means that a Vampire Gaze with a base item defense of 126 has a very good chance of being turned into a Bone Visage with a lower defense. In case of the worst roll imaginable, your 252 defense Vampire Gaze would go down to 200. Not good.

[http://www.cs.colostate.edu/%7Edeykea/d2armours.html Adeyke's upgrade calculator] shows how upgrading will affect the various unique items.

Note that in the 1.10 patch, ethereal armors would lose their ethereal defense bonus when upgraded, in addition to having their defense rerolled. This is no longer the case, ethereal items now retain their defense bonus (although the hack fix implemented had most unfortunate side effects). Adeyke's page still shows ethereal upgraded items with the same defense as non-ethereal ones, but nevertheless, this has been fixed.

=What level requirement will my upgraded rare item get?=

Syrith had this to say:

::Upgrading rare/unique from normal to exceptional: +5 levels to base req
::Upgrading rare/unique from exceptional to elite: +7 levels to base req
::Upgrading rare/unique from normal to elite: +12 levels to base req

Examples by Daten (slightly modified to represent updated information):

::If the item that will be upgraded has a Level Req. higher than the upgraded base item, it will get +5 Req. Example: Rare Long Sword (Lev 48 Req (the Level is determined by the Mods on the Sword)) upgrade to Rare Rune Sword (Lev 53 Req)

::If the requirements are lower than the Base Item Requirements, the upgraded Item will get: Requirement on upgraded Base Item + 5.

::Rare Sharkskin Boots (Lev 25 Req (Level is determined by the Base Item Requirements)) upgrade to Scarabshell Boots (Lev 56 Req (Scarabshell Boots = 49, +7))

=Can +to Holy Shield spawn on white scepters in 1.10/1.11?=

Yes, they can. They are obscenely rare, but they can. Normally, Holy Shield is not allowed to spawn on sceptres. However, if the game has failed six times in finding an "allowed staffmod" for the sceptre, it picks the one that was rolled last, regardless of whether or not it is on the "allowed list".

If you do not want to take my word for it, here is [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v153/Ernir/bnetmoment/HolyShield.jpg a screenshot of one], provided by Nucularterraist. It was taken in early ladder season three.

It has not been altered in any way. I didn't even crop the image to remove the sophisticated background chat.

=What runes can you get from the Hellforge Quest on each difficulty level?=

* Normal: El - Amn
* Nightmare: Sol - Um
* Hell: Hel - Gul

Notes: You get exactly one rune only per quest completion. There is an equal chance (1/11) of getting each rune available. Having more players in your party when you complete the quest does not increase the number of runes (although you do get more gems). So it is generally a good idea to unparty/leave the game if more than one person needs to complete the quest.

Also note that Gul is the highest rune that can drop from the Hellforge on any difficulty. The runes from Vex-Zod are impossible to get from the Forge. If someone claims they got a rune above Gul from the Forge, that person is either lying or suffers from an overactive imagination. Hephasto the Armorer can drop any rune in the game, but the Forge itself can only drop up to Gul.

* [[Rune Finder Guide by Urlik|Urlik's massive rune finding guide]].
* [[Level_1_Rushing|Level 1 rune rushing guide]].

=My Merc wears an Infinity Polearm, will the -55% Light Res work for my Sorceress/Trapsin/Tesladin?=

No it won't. -x% Elemental Damage (Cold,Fire,Lightning,Poison), as well as +x% Elemental Damage work like Sorceress Masteries. Both modifiers are only applied for attacks dealt by the Player that wears the Item (since Traps and Skeletal Mages are treated as Minons, this won't increase their Damage (see 1.)! Having the Item with the -x%/+x% Damage on the Weapon-Switch won't help either.

+x% Fire/Light/Cold Damage is added to the Sorcs Fire-, Cold- or Lightmastery. A Lightsorc with lev 31 Lightning Mastery (+410%) will only get a tiny damage Boost from a +5% Lightfacet (415%). That's why Cold Sorcs look for +5%/-x% Facets and Fire/Lightsorcs prefer +x%/-5% Facets.

To get back to the original Question: A lot of Builds that rely on Elemental Damage equip their Merc with an Infinity Polearm because of the Conviction Aura, not because of the -x% Lightning Resistance.

The above section was provided by Daten.

=Why do people talk about the "Lying Character Screen", or LCS?=

Because the screen flat out LIES about many important stats. Meaning that the numbers you see on the character screen are not the numbers the game actually uses. I do not think it has had any major updates since 1.06, so things like +damage modifiers, off-weapon ED%, etc. are NOT displayed correctly, if at all.

Gta-maloy] had this to say about it:
::That screen, in many circumstances, only properly shows resistances, the character's level, the experience gained and the damage dealt for the first two levels.

::After that is done, it sucks.

::Once you die, the Anya bug is not listed. (interjection: I, Ernir, will discuss the Anya bug below)

::Masteries and synergies are not properly multiplied together, damage modifiers are completely ignored, the equations used for AR and damage are outdated....

::The chance to block seems alright though

Ortliebj added this:

::It is broken by the time you reach a place called the "Den of Evil".

::There's even an old bug where your name can be displayed incorrectly.

=What is the "Anya bug"?=

Those who have finished the game know that when you have rescued Anya in act 5, Malah gives you a Scroll of Resistance that "permanently" increases your resistances to the elements. But we also know that Malah did not make it past Firebolt casting 101. That shoddy little scroll does not work quite the way it is supposed to.

When the scroll is cast, it does increase your resistances. But when you die, that bonus is lost, even though it does is not displayed on the Lying Character Screen. The bonus is regained when you reenter the game, but for the rest of the game in which you died, your resists are really 10% lower for each Malah scroll you used - up to 30%. That is quite a difference. Your paladin may not have 90% resist all, maybe he has 60% all res.

This is of special concern to duelers, who often die multiple times in each game - and it also means that if you lose to an elemental attack once, you are likely to keep losing.

In turn, hardcore players don't have to worry about this bug at all, for obvious reasons.

=22. What runes can the Countess Drop?=

I will address this very briefly and in the most simple way I can think of. The countess has two separate "ways to drop items". A normal drop, and a special rune drop. The rune drop is what people are looking for when they run the Countess (along with Terror keys). The "normal drop" can give you runes up to Lo in hell difficulty. However, your chances to get a Lo from her are not really any better than from any other monster.

The Rune drop can drop up to Ist in hell. The possibility of getting higher runes from this drop are far greater than from the normal drop. Again, this drop is what you are looking for.

The runes that [[the Countess]] can drop in each difficulty are:

Normal:
* Normal drop - Nef
* Rune drop - Ral

Nightmare:
* Normal drop - Ko
* Rune drop - io (eye-o)

Hell:
* Normal drop - Lo (ell-o)
* Rune drop - Ist

=What level requirement will my crafted item get?=

Gta had this to say:

::For crafted items.....figure out the highest level requirement from all affixes on the item, add ten and add three for every affix other than the set ones.

::So a ring with 6% mana leech (level req of 74) and 4 affixes (including the mana leech, excluding the life leech, str and life provided by the cast) will get +22 (10 from the cast, 12 from teh affixes). There is a rlvl 98 cap, certain charges like Lightning Strike and Freezing arrow can provoke up to rlvl 108...but this is now remedied in 1.11 and brought down to rlvl 98.

=Is there a "cap" on Crushing Blow, Open Wounds, or Deadly Strike?=

The only cap is the logical cap of 100%. You can not get these to go off more than 100% of the time you hit an enemy. Percentages over 100% (Headstriker on a high level char, for example) do not help at all. You have no chance for a double crushing blow, double bleed, 4x damage or whatever you may think that 100%+ may do.

There is a persistent rumor about these being capped at 95%. I guess this originates from the fact that you can usually only deal these out 95% of the time you attack, since the maximum chance to hit with attack-rating based attacks is 95%, but these will still go off 100% of the time you actually hit an enemy.

Short: They are all capped at 100%.

=What does "damage reduced" or "DR" mean?=

The Damage Reduced by x% mod, which is found on items such as Stormshield, Shaftstop, Verdungo's Hearty Cord and Harlequin Crest, reduces the physical damage you take by increasing your physical resistance. This has no effect on any type of magical damage.

Your physical resistance is not displayed on the character screen. Unmodified the resistance is 0%. The beforementioned items (and several more things) can bring this resistance up to 50%. 50% is the cap for physical resistance, both in PvP and PvM.

This resistance works exactly the same as elemental resistances. Example: If you are hit by a physical attack that does 100 damage and you have a total of 20% damage resistance, the damage you take will be 100-(0.20*100)= 80 damage taken.

Note that there is also a mod called "Damage Reduced By X", found on items like Gladiator's Bane and Nature's Peace. Note the lack of the percentage symbol. This reduces the damage you take by a fixed amount, not a percentage of the attack damage.

Example: You are hit by a physical attack that does 50 damage and your total Damage Reduced By 30. The attack's damage would be 50-30 = 20 damage to you.

This type of damage reduction does NOT have a cap. Also, this mod is capable of negating ALL damage you take. If the example above had been with a 25 damage attack, no damage would have been taken at all.

And which type is better? Both. DR% has an advantage when it comes to heavy hits, and DR when it comes to multiple light hits. You decide which you want.

=What is the difference between "Ignore Target's Defense" and "Always Hits"?=

The following section was mostly provided by Posterboy.

"Ignore Target's Defense" is not the same thing as "Always Hits." "Ignore Target's Defense" simply means that the targets defense rating will be set to zero in the To Hit calculation. From the Arreat Summit: "This ability will not work on Unique Monsters, Super Unique Monsters, Hirelings, other players, and Act-end bosses." Player/monster level still plays a part in the equation, and the is a min/max cap of 5%/95% chance to hit.

"Always Hits" means that this attack will bypass the To Hit formula altogether. Guided Arrow, Smite, and most spells are "Always Hits," although some, like Guided Arrow, can be blocked. That means if you had a level 2 Paladin with one point in Smite you can hit a monster like Hell Diablo consistently. Also note that "Always Hits" does not necessarily mean that you will literally always hit because there is still shield blocking, Zon Dodge/Avoid/Evade, and Assassin claw-blocking to consider, not to mention manually dodging an attack.
Note that the Assassin's claw block can block many things that ordinary shields can't.

Range is also a considerable factor when discussing attacks that always hit. Smite, for example, depends on weapon range. If the target is farther away than the weapon range allows, the animation is shown, but the opponent is not hit. This is why skilled melee characters using range 3-5 weapons can often beat Smiters that use a cookie-cutter range 2 Grief Phase Blade.

=How do synergies and +skills work together?=

There are so called "soft" skill points, and "hard" skill points. Hard skill points are the points you gain from leveling up and from quests. Soft skill points are skill points you gain from ANY gear, including charms, weapons, armor, whatever.

When calculating the level of a skill, both the soft and hard skill points are taken into account. However, when calculating how great the skill benefits from synergies, only the hard points you spend in the synergizing skill are counted in for the benefit of the synergized skill.

Example:

You have spent 20 hard points in Blessed Hammer, and 20 points in Blessed Aim. You also have a helmet that gives 2+ to all skill levels. The displayed levels of the skills are now 22 for BH, and 22 for BA as well.
But when the game calculates the benefit Blessed Hammer recieves from Blessed Aim, it applies the benefit from a level 20 Blessed Aim skill to the level 22 Blessed Hammer skill.

Exceptions from this rule include the Necromancer summon masteries and the Sorceress elemental masteries. These are not actual synergies, but rather skills whose only function is to enhance other skills. When the benefit from these is calculated, both hard and soft points are counted. The Druid summon cross-bonuses work that way as well, according to MMAgCh.

=How can I find skillers/what is the first, or best place to find skillers?=

[[Skillers]], or Grand Charms with +to a character skill tab, require an item level of at least 50 in order to spawn. The first area in which all dropped grand charms have an item level of 50+ is the nightmare Great Marsh.

In order to maximize your chances of finding a skiller, you want the item level to be as close to 50 as possible. Why is that? Because when affixes are selected, they are chosen from all available affixes. Having a GC with an ilevel of exactly 50 is the best in this regard because they do have the possibility of getting a skiller, while the possibilities of other affixes are being kept to a minimum.

However, there is an alternate approach. Items dropped from Hell Baal have an item level of 99, and items dropped from Hell Nihlathak have an item level of 95. Grand charms dropped from these two bosses can spawn with very, very high life, namely the 41-45 to life vita suffix. Grand charms that both have +to a skill tab and high life can trade for astronomical values. However, due to the high item level, most any affix can spawn. Your chances of getting a skiller from an ilvl 95+ Grand Charms are very slim, and the chances of getting that Grand Charm to spawn with the desired 40+ life are even slimmer. However, the time and effort needed to aquire these are worth it to some.

There is a way to significantly shorten the amount of time needed to find a skiller compared to just hunting the most likely drop zones over and over. This is referred to as "rerolling" or simply "rolling". This is done by placing a Grand Charm and three perfect gems in the Horadric cube, and transmuting. This will reroll the mods on the charm, but preserving the item level. This means that if you have a Grand Charm with that perfect ilevel of 50, but it has useless mods, you can reroll it into a useful skiller. In effect, it drops the item again at the cost of three perfect gems. Be prepared to spend a lot of perfect gems, but it can be worth it.

Note that this formula works on all magical items, but it is typically used the most on Grand Charms due to the high usefulness of blue Charms compared to the usefulness of blue equippable items.

Footnote: I must admit that I slightly lied about the first place you can get a skiller the first place would be normal Baal. The items he drops have an ilevel of 60, more than enough to get a skiller. But the nightmare Great Marsh is the first area in which every monster has the possibility of dropping a skiller.

A common misconception is that MF increases the chance of getting skillers. That is simply not true. This lies in how MF works, and I direct you to Gta's Guide to all that is items again for explanation.

Good areas to hunt for skillers and rerollable Grand Charms include:
* The nightmare Great Marsh the first place they can drop, the area level is 50.
* The nightmare Flayer Jungle run more often than the Great Marsh due to the number of Flayers, which can all drop ilevel 50 Grand Charms.
* Nightmare Cows there is a very large number of easily killable cows here, and the charms they drop have a decent chance of becoming a skiller.
* Nightmare City of the Damned there is a lot of Wraith-class monsters here.
* Hell Diablo, hell Nihlathak and hell Baal all three (and those three only) have the capability to drop skillers with 41-45 to life.

=How does Magic Find work with minions?=

When a minion or mercenary makes a kill, the minions MF percentage is added to your MF percentage. However, if you make a kill while one of your minions has MF, only your MF is used. It was probably made this way to allow minion characters (Summoners, Trapassins) to hunt for items effectively, while keeping the game as balanced as possible for characters that do not depend on mercenaries or minions for the kill.

=Is there a way to resist "pure" magical damage from other players?=

Pure magical damage, such as the damage from the Barbarians Berserk, the Paladins Blessed Hammer, and the Necromancer bone spells is mostly unresistable. There are some ways to reduce the damage, but no really effective ones. The main methods are:
# There is a mod called "Magic Resistance" on crafted safety shields. This is only 5-10%, though.
# Integer magic absorb. This is found on the runewords Spirit, Oath and Crescent Moon.
# Integer magic damage reduction. This is probably the most effective thing you can do to protect yourself against magical damage. This is found on Dwarf Star rings, the String of Ears Demonhide Sash, and Skin of the Vipermagi Serpentskin Armor to name a few. It wont do much against a 10000+ damage Blessed Hammer directed at your face, but it could mean the difference between surviving 2-3 hammers or 3-4.

These means of course also counteract the magical damage that monsters deal, such as the hell and nightmare guest Viper Bone Spears.

=How come my Blessed Hammers can damage monsters immune to magic?=

It simply lies in the nature of the Blessed Hammer skill to completely ignore the magical resistances of both Demon and Undead class monsters. This is part of what makes Hammerdins (Paladins that use the Blessed Hammer skill) so ridiculously powerful, the ability to pierce the resistances of virtually any monster in the game is unmatched, anywhere. The only monster types that Blessed Hammers can not damage are monsters that are both immune to magic, and of the Animal class.

As of now, there is only one monster that meets both classifications. That is the Wailing Beast in an act 3 hell Kurast Temple. Aside from that single type of monster, Blessed Hammers can damage absolutely everything.

=How does Venom work?=

Poison damage in-game is always listed as X damage over Y seconds. Unfortunately, this isn't how the game calculates it. The damage per second is X/Y. The value you should be concerned about is the damage per frame (aka bitrate), which is X/(25*Y). Most of the time when poison sources are combined (not when Venom is concerned), your bitrates are added, and your durations are averaged. In order to achieve the highest possible bitrate, you want the highest possible poison damage over the smallest possible duration.

Maximizing your final damage output involves getting the highest bitrate possible, and being able to re-apply the poison damage before the duration timer runs out.

The strength of the Assassins Venom skill does not lie in a huge displayed damage number, but rather the short duration, which can be applied multiple times in very short succession. The relatively modest displayed damage is much more effective than it looks. Lets say Venom does 400 damage over 0.4 seconds. That damage is really 1000 damage per second if you manage to constantly keep the poison up (which can be done with a speedy kick attack, for example).

A slightly worse thing about Venom is that it effectively ruins all other sources of poison on your equipment that you may have. If you have Venom active, all poison attacks are scaled down to fit the short duration of Venom. Lets say you have a charm in your inventory that does 100 poison damage over 5 seconds = 20 damage per second. Having Venom active does not actually lower the bitrate of the charm, but rather shortens the duration. When Venom is active, that charm deals 20 damage per second over 0.4 seconds = only 8 total damage for each attack. Most unimpressive.

This is why poison charms and other poison sources work very badly with Venom. If you intend to use Venom, avoid using equipment for the sole reason of added poison damage. It won't hurt you, but it won't help you (much) either.

In order to maximize your Venom damage, do three things:
# Have Venom as high of a level as possible when casting
# Have as much +% Poison Skill Damage on your gear as possible when casting and attacking
# Lower your target's Poison Resistance as much as possible

Thanks to Ilkori for updating this section. Poison is not my forte.

=I am a hardcore player. How can I avoid being killed by malicious players?=

Before we begin, there are two acronyms that need to be understood:

PK: Player killer. It can be used as a verb also; Im going to PK you, noob. The term is not to be confused with actual dueling. Duels are mutually agreed upon. Player Killers dont ask for permission.

TPPK: A number of methods that involve setting up some sort of a deathtrap, going to town, and hostiling another player in rapid succession. The goal is to catch the victim/the PKed by surprise and kill him in the process.

On how to avoid being PKed, I am simply going to quote the celebrated forum troll and TPPKer 2_Much_4_U.

<blockquote>
Wow, okay. First off, don't feel too bad about having some lowbies ganked. Happens all the time.

To help you avoid further happenings, let me run down a couple of things to look for.

1.) Paladins with red armor, red helms, and a two-handed weapon are going to pk you. Especially if you are playing in a Tomb Run game.

2.) Sorcs who tell you to leave town for an enchant could very well be baiting you to set you up for an orb tppk.

3.) Never trust necromancers, no matter what they say their build is.

4.) Level 16 characters of any type who wear Twitchthroe (you can tell they are wearing it if they have dark green, nearly black studded leather graphic armor) are at the very least llds. Some of these people like to pk in pubby games.

5.) Characters with funny, stupid, or hostile names will often be pkers. The mentality of most pks is that you kill for laughs, and a good name such as AnInnocentChild makes a funny screenshot:

''Noob was slain by AnInnocentChild.

6.) Make passworded games and set the character limit to one.

7.) Don't get rushed. Some pro pks like to help people level so the ear is higher when they kill you. Sometimes if you Baal with people they will talk to you, get to know you a little, maybe even befriend you, then they will fire an Ice Blast up your ass.

8.) Set level restrictions on all nightmare level games and above. This won't keep you from getting killed by the pros, but you will avoid sucker clans like IceNine.

9.) Be aware of the pk clans on your realm, know who the most active pks are, and never group with people who can one-shot champion monsters.

10.) Look for people using +damage gear like wands and circlets. You can never be certain that necro is a tppker, but if he has blue leather armor, doesn't display a helm graphic, and carries a plain-colored wand, he is likely using White, +3 PnB circlet, and Vipermagi. Cheap but powerful gear with very little in the way of survivability mods. Pks are built for damage, not for duels, and as such their gear will usually be easily and cheaply replaced.

11.) If you decide, against my advice, to join a pub game, be aware that the good pkers won't attack immediately. Amazons wait until a monster procs amp on you, sorcs wait until you fight a conviction aura'd mob. A good necro will use his bone walls to corral you in, or if you are melee he will wait until you are in the thick of battle and you aren't paying attention to him. Also of note, if the necro has a lot of skeles, mages, and revives, yet they all seem to die fast, he is probably a pk. Experienced nec pks will use the massive lag caused by bone structures and summons to execute you.

12.) Escape up enter is your best friend. I can do it so fast that it looks like disconnect.

13.) Set up your belt to have a full slot of major rejuvs, a full slot of town portals, and two slots of minor rejuvs. Guzzle those potes like kool-aid, they are free after all and will save your life many times.

14.) Buff your cold and poison resist. You can do this by drinking thawing potions and antidote potions. Drink the thaws so a cold sorc can't wtfown you in one shot. Drink the antis so you won't be low on health when you least expect it from poison procing mobs.

15.) Put every point you possess into vitality. You don't need anything else. My untwinked bear druid had more than 1000 life at level 18. Invest in getting lower level life scs, which you can farm on the way to Countess in Normal.

16.) If you are in a game full of tagged people, and they start moving away from you, leave the game.

17.) If a player opens a tp anywhere near you, hit your tp hotkey and leave the area.

18.) Don't start NM until level 45. Don't start Hell until level 80.

19.) Be a nice person. If you piss somebody off, they can easily put a bounty on your head and have someone smoke your ass. Ask Hurricane_Ivan, RazzerFraz, Mithrandirr, Yeti, or any of the many infamous pks just how much their ears have been worth over the years. A successful kill on a rich person's enemy can snag you upwards of a Gul rune, which is worth a lot more in hc than it is in sc.

20.) If somebody follows you around in town, they are most likely weighing you in the balance. Don't be found lacking. They will gauge your gear, how much life they think you have, and what your likely resists are. They won't attack you unless they think they can one- or two-shot you. My personal best has been two people killed with a tornado volley. I have heard of and seen screenshots of five people being killed in a single attack.

21.) Avoid wps, public portals, and starting areas.

22.) Play with friends.

=Where is the "Reziarfg" monster?=

The Reziarfg monster does not exist. If you take a careful look at the spelling of its name, you will see that is in fact the name of Geoff Fraizer, a member of the Blizzard web team, spelled backwards. The monster is a joke, nothing more. It is not found in any game file, not even a hint. If it were there, the experienced modders would have found out long ago. There simply is no monster called Reziarfg in the game.

=What does the chat gem do?=

[[The Chat Gem]] does not have a purpose. It changes colour, and sends messages like Gem Activated, Perfect Gem Activated and Mooooo. Nothing else. People use it as a marker for their channel conversations, but the gem does not affect gameplay in any way whatsoever.

If you like clicking the thing, go ahead. But know that any change you notice is a result of good-old chance.

=What are "Stacked Resists"?=

Under normal circumstances, players resistances to fire, cold, lightning and poison are capped at a maximum of 75%. Using certain items and skills you can boost the maximum resistance cap up to 95%, but no further. Therefore you can not make yourself immune to an element by boosting your maximum resistances up to 100%. When you have hit the final cap allowed by your gear and skills, the resistances will show up in golden letters on your character screen.
Whatever resistances you may have that surpass this cap are not calculated when hit with regular attacks.

However, having resistances above your displayed cap can come in handy. They will play a large role when you are affected by resistances, such as the ones from the Conviction Aura or other players Rainbow Facets. When these resistances come into effect, they start with subtracting from the resists you have over your displayed cap.

Examples:

We have player A, whose items give a total of 150% resistance to fire. 
And player B, whose items give a total of 75% resistance to fire.

Player A is hit by a Fireball that does 200 damage. Player As resistances hit the cap at 75%, and the player takes 25% of the damage = 50 damage. 
Player B is hit by a Fireball that does 200 damage. Player Bs resistances hit the cap precisely at 75%, and the player takes 25% of the damage = 50 damage. 
In this case, the stacked resistances were useless. But when that Fireball also lowers the targets resistances, the situation changes greatly.

Player A is hit by a Fireball that does 200 damage and lowers the players resistances by 50%. The Fireball starts with affecting stacked resistances, bringing them down to a total of 100%. The players resistances still manage to hit the cap at 75%, and the player takes 25% of the damage = 50 damage. 
Player B is hit by the same Fireball that also reduces the players resistances by 50%. The Fireball can now directly lower the resistances in use, bringing the total resistance down to 25%. The player takes 75% of the damage = 150 damage, which is three times the damage player A suffered. Resists can make a HUGE dent in anyones life bowl unless properly countered. The next section will demonstrate this.

If you expect anyone is going to attempt to lower your resists, stacking them is generally a good idea if you wish to live. Cold Sorceresses, Über Mephisto and Avenger Paladins are all infamous for their ability to lower resistances. Dont be caught off guard.

Physical resistance has its own cap too, which is at 50%. But unlike elemental resistances, this resistance is not displayed on the character screen, and is not affected by the nightmare and hell resistance penalties as far as I know. This is what is generally referred to as Damage Reduced %. Stacking this resistance against the Necromancer curses Amplify damage and Decrepify is not advisable due to how difficult it is to gain a respectable amount of this rare resist.

Resistance to pure magical damage (Blessed Hammers, Bone Spells, Berserk) is almost impossible to resist. See section 31 for the reasons. This resistance most likely has a cap, although it is absolutely impossible to hit it.

=What is the effectiveness of resistances compared to +damage%?=

This has been slightly addressed before in sections 2 and 19, but only as side points.

Many seem to think that reducing an enemy's resistances by some percentage is roughly the same as increasing your own damage by that same percentage. This is not true. When the damage is calculated, -resist% "nearly always" come out on top. The effectiveness of -resist% relies completely on the defender's resistance. For example, if a defender has 95% resistance to the damage type in question and no stacked resists, the -5% would DOUBLE the damage output. Also, if the defender has maxed resistance stacked 5% or more over the cap, -5% would do absolutely nothing. The reasons for this are purely mathematical.

For an everyday example, let's assume an attack does 200 damage, and it is applied to a target with 50% resistance to the element in question. The damage output would be 200 * 0.50 = 100 damage.

If that attack also lowered the resistance by 5%, the damage we are looking at is 200 * 0.55 = 110 damage. A 10% increase in damage. Directly increasing damage by 5% would obviously only increase damage by 5%. Oddly enough, in this case -5% > +5% applies.

Examples when resist% do NOT improve your overall damage more than +damage% are few, but they include:

A) When the target already has negative resists. Basically, -x% enemy resist is more effective against a target with positive resists, and +x% skill damage is more effective against a target with negative resists (assuming the same value of x, of course). So in other words, if you had to make a choice between a -5%/+3% facet and a -3%/+5% facet, you should know the resists of your target first and make a choice depending on whether it's positve or negative (after taking Conviction, Lower Resist, Cold Mastery, etc. into consideration.) Thanks to Posterboy for the explanation.

B) When the target already has -100% negative resists, -resist% is completely pointless. You can never reduce someone's resists below -100%.

C) When the target is using Cyclone Armor or Energy Shield. These are applied before resistances, so resist% does nothing at all until the shield has been broken.

D) In many cases, Cold Sorceresses already have more than enough resist% from their Cold Mastery skill, making +damage% more desirable.

E) When the target has enough stacked resists to completely negate your resist%.

=How does the "Eth Glitch" work?=

In Diablo 2 version 1.11 and 1.11b, there is a bug regarding the socketing of ethereal armors. Ethereal armors are assigned a 50% bonus to their base defense rating when dropped. This is normal. What is not normal is the fact that when sockets are added to an ethereal armor using the Horadric Cube, that ethereal defense bonus is applied again. The result is an armor with an absolutely impossible defense rating. Enhanced defense modifiers are then added to that base defense rating, so the difference in end defense is rather huge.

This bug appeared as a side-effect when the 1.10 ethereal armor upgrade bug was fixed (the bug is described in section 14). In order to fix that bug, a defense bonus of 50% was simply crammed into the ethereal unique armor upgrade formula. Unfortunately that fix also affected the ethereal armor socketing formula, making armors now gain a second defense bonus when socketed.

The use of this bug is very controversial, and that is the reason I haven't added this section earlier. The overwhelming number of questions asked about this forced me to make up my mind.

It is not debatable whether this is a "bug" or an "undocumented feature". It is obviously a result of a programming flaw, making it a bug. Ask anyone who has looked at the code, ethereal armors gaining defense when socketed is NOT intentional. Not a chance.

However, the community is split regarding the practical use of this bug. One half argues that since Blizzard hasn't removed the bug, they intend it to stay, and that they need the bugged armors to stay competent when compared to those who do use the bugged armors. The other half considers the use of any ingame bugs to their advantage to be cheating. Personally, I agree with the second group, and suggest that anyone who wants to consider oneself a legitimate gamer to avoid this bug until fixed.

=How do Energy Shield and "Damage taken goes to Mana" work together?=

I didn't add this section until now simply because I do not use the Energy Shield spell on any of my characters, so I have no practical experience with it. It is correct on technical issues, however. Thanks to Gta-maloy] for confirming it.

First of all, the "damage taken goes to mana" mod found on items is NOT the same as the ES damage conversion. "Damage taken goes to mana" modifiers add to your mana pool a percentage of the damage you take.
Example: A character with a "10% damage taken goes to mana" mod is hit with an attack doing 50 damage. 50 health points will be removed from your health pool. 10% of those 50 points will now add to your mana pool.

End result: Life -50, mana +5.

However, when a Sorceress using ES is hit, some of the damage is subtracted from your mana pool instead of your health pool. The percentage of the total damage converted to the mana pool is dependant on your ES level, and it maxes out at 95%, at ES slevel 40. The ratio at which the damage is converted depends on points spent in Telekinesis. The base ratio is 200%, or 2:1. With no points in TK, every health damage point converted spends 2 mana. Each point spent in TK decreases that ratio by 6.25%, bringing it down to 100% = 1:1 at level 16. Notice that the TK bonus is a synergy bonus, only hard points will work.

Which means that if a Sorceress using a level 40 ES with 16 hard points in TK is hit for 100 damage, her mana will absorb 95% of the damage, while the health pool absorbs 5%.

End result: Life -5, mana -95.

If that Sorceress also had 20% damage taken goes to mana from gear, 20% of those 5 points that were actually removed from her health pool would be added to her mana pool. That's one point. Not very impressive.

End result: Life -5, mana -94.

You can see that making an "immortal Sorceress" by combining "damage taken goes to mana" and Energy Shield is impossible.

Miscellaneous information about Energy Shield:

ES is not affected by resistances, it takes 100% damage at all times, no more or less. That can be good, and bad. Its good in the way that you don't have to worry about maxing your resistances as much as most other character types, and enemies that depend on the ability to lower your resistances will be sent home crying. It is bad in the way that you can not raise the resistances of your ES above 0%.

Note that ES does not stop poison damage. The negative regeneration rate from the Open Wounds modifier can not be absorbed either. Be careful when those are around.

And to quote PeterPaulRubens:
:the real bummer of combing DTM and ES is that DTM's mana boost is applied to your mana BEFORE the mana loss from ES is calculated. In other words, your mana can still be reduced to zero by a hit. DTM won't ever save you from having NO mana.

=What makes Anya's Red Portal go away?=

Rather simple. The Red Portal closes when you have killed [[Nihlathak]] AND gotten the [[Halls of Pain]] waypoint. As long as you don't do both, the portal stays.

=Where is the Pit, and why does it drop good items?=

Introduced in 1.10 were several areas with very high area levels. Everything can drop from the champions and unique monsters in these areas. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I can not name a single thing that can not drop in there, excluding things like the 1.11 charms and keys, Annihilus and quest items, of course.

This of course makes the areas very powerful places in which to MF. The Pit is often favoured because:
# It is easy to find. Go to the Outer Cloister waypoint and follow the road that splits to a cave (the other leading to the Black Marsh). That cave is the Pit.
# The monsters in there are relatively easy to kill for most characters.
# Aside from the drops, it offers good experience to characters in their low and mid 80s.
# The area is big, meaning lots of monsters. More monsters mean you can spend more time killing them, not finding the Pit.
# There is a sparkly-chest at the bottom of it.

When item hunting in high level areas, always kill everything.

The AreaLevel 85 areas are:
# The Pit, levels 1 and 2
# The Mausoleum next to Blood Raven. NOT the Crypt. Easy area, but does not have very many monsters.
# The Maggot Lair, level 3 only. Difficult to get to, difficult to navigate. Rarely used.
# The Ancient Tunnels, found in the Lost City. Not very easy to find since there is no road leading up to it, but it doesn't have any cold immunes at all. Cold Sorceresses love it.
# The Sewers in act 3, level 2. Where you find Khalim's Brain. Horrible access, tiny area. I've never heard of anyone using it.
# The Forgotten Temple, The Ruined Fane, and The disused Reliquary. All easily found temples in act 3, but the areas are small.
# The River of Flame. It's a relatively large area, lots of monsters, fine experience. It is however a fairly difficult area for poorly equipped characters, which is probably why it isn't used more often.
# The Chaos Sanctuary. Same as the River of Flame, but with the mercinary-slaughtering Iron-Maiden.
# The Worldstone Keep levels 1-3, and The Throne of Destruction. They are perfect in all regards but one - they are the most difficult normal areas in the game.

This is of course all assuming hell difficulty.

* Complete list of [[Level 85 Areas]], plus strategy info.

=What is NextDelay, and why is it so bad?=

I will simply quote the diabloii.net Assassin FAQ on this matter:

::NextDelay is a property that activates a hidden "hit timer" that limits how often any attack from that group(i.e. all the skills listed here) can damage a single target. This works similarly to the infamous spell timer, which limits how often any spell in that group can be cast. The difference is that the hit timer doesn't prevent you from attacking, it just sets everyone's(includes you, your minions/merc, other players(hostile/neutral/allied), and their minions/mercs) chance-to-hit that monster (with a hit timer attack) at zero until the timer runs out.

Here's a list of skills that are affected by NextDelay, and the lengths of them:

25-Frame Delay (1 second)
* Shock Web
* Blade Sentinel
* Twister
* Tornado

10-Frame Delay (0.4 seconds)
* Volcano (initial eruption)

6-Frame Delay (0.24 seconds)
* War Cry
* Grim Ward

5-Frame Delay (0.2 seconds)
* Fissure
* Volcano (small fireball)

4-Frame Delay (0.16 seconds)
* Multi Shot
* Strafe
* Lightning Strike
* Chain Lightning
* Nova
* Frost Nova
* Poison Nova
* Shock Wave
* Fist of Heavens (Holy Bolts)
* Wake of Fire
* Claws of Thunder (only 2nd and 3rd charge charges have Next Delay. 1st charge does not trigger Next Delay)
* Phoenix Strike (only 2nd Chain Lightning and 3rd Chaos Orb charge have Next Delay. 1st charge does not trigger Next Delay)
* Dragon Flight
* Battle Cry
* Battle Command
* Battle Orders

So, the moment a certain skill from the list damages a monster, it prevents every other skill on the list from hitting the said monster for the original skill's NextDelay duration (whether from you or any other character).

=What is the difference between a damage spell and an attack?=

There is no single, easy way to seperate skills from attacks. In some cases the difference is obvious, as in a Sorceress Fireball is obviously a spell, while a Paladin Zeal is obviously an attack. There are a number of abilities which walk on the edge of the definition by having an attack component and a spell component as well. A few elements that seperate spells from attacks include:
# An attack uses a weapon of some type to calculate its damage, while a spell's damage is based entirely on skill level and skill damage modifiers.
# The time it takes to perform attacks is typically decided by increased attack speed modifiers (IAS), while spells' casting speed is typically decided by faster cast rate modifiers (FCR).
# Most attacks can be blocked with a shield, while spells can not. Exceptions include the Paladin's Smite skill, which can not be blocked even though it is an attack. Also, the Assassin claw block is unique in being able to block some spells.
# Attacks can return mana and life through
# An attack allows leeching, while spells do not.
# Some attacks can set off "procs", spells can not.

It should be noted that the damage type is a bad way to distinguish skills and attacks. For example, War Cry is a spell that deals physical damage, while Berserk is an attack that deals magical damage.

The tricky part is when you have a skill with both an attack and a spell component. In general, these fall into two categories.
# Attack with an additional Spell damage
# Spell that enhances an attack (usually by adding non-physical damage)

For a basic list, there are: Assassin Venom(2) and elemental charge-ups(1), Amazon elemental attacks (bow and spear/javelin) (most are 1), Druid Fireclaws(1)/Rabies(2), Paladin Holy Fire/Freeze/Shock(mostly 2), Sorceress Enchant(2), and Necromancer Poison Dagger(2). The (1) or (2) indicates which cateogry it falls into. The mechanics of each skill is specific, and a few have some odd quirks attached to them.

An even worse case is the Assassin Dragon Tail which falls into a category of its own, since the Fire splash damage actually depends on how much physical kick damage is dealt to the target.

=What is the difference between a ranged and melee attack?=

These two types of attacks are very similar, but have some important differences. Disclaimer - This is intended to help distinguish game mechanics. These distinctions have nothing to do with PvP rules which are based on what players agree on.

The Assassin kicks, Paladin's Smite, and Amazon's Guided Arrow all have some exceptions to the general rules for attacks. Kicks have a different damage formula, Guided Arrow is always-hit, and the Paladin's Smite is always-hit, ignores shield blocking, and follows a different damage formula. There are also a number of odd idiosyncrasies with other skills, such as the ED on Vengeance providing elemental damage, Berserk converting the physical damage to Magic damage, and several attacks having movement involved as part of the attack.

Here's a list of the different abilities and what category they are in. After that is the list of differences between ranged and melee attacks. Anything not listed is the same for both.

Ranged Attacks
* Bow or XBow attacks (except Wereform attacks with a bow/xbow)
* Throw attacks available with javelins, and throwing axes/knives (except potions)
* Assassin's Blade Fury and Blade Sentinal
* Amazon's Bow/Xbow tree
* The physical portion of the Amazon's Plague Javelin, Poison Javelin, Lightning Bolt, and Lightning Fury
* Barbarian's Double Throw (except when using a potion)

Melee Attacks
* The "Normal" attack with anything but a bow or xbow
* Barbarian Combat Skills (except Double Throw)
* Paladin's Sacrifice, Zeal, Vengeance, Charge, and Conversion
- Druid's Wereform Attacks
- Assassin's Martial Arts
- Amazon's Jab, Impale, Fend, and the physical portion of Power Strike, Charged Strike, and Lightning Strike
- Necromancer's Poison Dagger

Differences
# Crushing Blow and Open Wounds work at half-effectiveness with ranged attacks.
# Attack Rating% bonuses listed on some ranged skills are not actually applied (for example all Amazon Bow skills).
# The mod +X damage (Grief, Asteron's) is not calculated in ranged attacks.
# Iron Maiden only affects Melee attacks.
# +% <element> damage applies once to melee and zero to ranged, despite the LCS.

=How does "Absorb" really work?=

The basic idea of absorb is rather simple, it couses portions of attacks that would normally damage you to heal you instead. There are a few points regarding it that cause confusion, however.

There is a difference between percentage absorb and integer absorb. It is basically the same as the difference between DR% and DR (see section 25). Percentage absorb heals you by a fraction of the damage dealt, while integer absorb heals you by a fixed amount. For item examples we have Blackhorns Face with integer absorb, and Dwarf Star with percentage absorb.

Absorb does not save you from one-hit KOs. The damage affects your health pool before absorb is applied. If the attack reduces your life to zero, you will die.

Damage is applied in a predetermined order. It is as follows: 
1) XvX penalty (for example Player vs. Player = -5/6) 
2) Sorceress Energy Shield 
3) Necromancer Bone Armor and/or Druid Cyclone Armor 
4) Integer DR/MDR 
5) Percentage resists (including DR%) 
6) Percentage absorb 
7) Integer absorb

This is relevant, because it helps you decide what type of damage reduction modifier will serve you best. Consult LanderZs damage calculator for further information: http://www.poweradvantage.net/d2dmgcalc.html
# Percentage absorb can never heal you on its own. It is capped at 40%, meaning that even if you have maximum percentage absorb, you will still take damage. Integer absorb does not suffer from this penalty.
# Absorb actually heals you two times the listed amount both to negate the damage and to heal by the same amount.
# The "magic absorb" modifier found on safety shields and Spirit Runewords (for example) only affects "pure" magical damage, such as the Necromancer bone spells. Elemental damages like Fire damage are not affected. This has been tested by Oramin.

Most of the information used in this thread came from Tommi Gustafsson's site, which is now defunct. Most of its content can now be accessed on b_77's site:
http://www.brentmcclintock.net/diablo/index.aspx

=What are "procs" and how do they work?=

"Proc" is a collective word for all sorts of effects that can happen on striking and attacking. If an item you are using contains a line that looks similar to "X% chance to do Y when Z happens", odds are that item contains a "proc". A good example of a proc would be "5% Chance To Cast Level 10 Life Tap On Striking" found on Dracul's grasp.

=A member of my party is using Ondal's Wisdom. Is he stealing my experience?=

No, not at all. It is one of the more persistent rumours, but it is not true. As confirmed by Ortliebj, the "+x% To Experience Gained" modifier found on the staff and the popular Annihilus charm is applied after the experience has been split among the party members. It has no effect on anyone but the user.

The rumour probably originated when players using Ondal's Wisdom were called "leechers" in party games. It would be a reference to the Ondal user's reduced ability to help the party, not an experience stealing modifier.

=What kinds of life bonuses are affected by Battle Orders?=

If you are asking this sort of a question, you have probably heard that not all life is multiplied by Battle Orders and other percentage-based life boosters. This is true.

When it comes to calculating your final life, there are effectively three factors you need to consider. These factors could be called "Boostable life", "Non-boostable life" and "Percentage boosts".
# Boostable life is life gained from spent vitality points, life naturally gained per level up, +life bonuses on items, and life gained from quest rewards.
# Non-boostable life is life gained from "soft" vitality points on items, life gained from life per level bonuses on items and life gained from vitality per level bonuses on items.
# Percentage boosts are the life% bonuses that can (for examples) be seen on the skills Battle Orders, Oak Sage or Lycanthropy, and items such as Doombringer or Jah runes in armor.

For the actual calculation, add together all your boostable life sources, and calculate your life. Then add together all percentage boosts to form a single percentage, and apply it as a bonus to your boostable life. After that, add the non-boostable life.

This information would be best displayed by an equation:
Final life = Boostable_Life * (100% + Boost%)/100% + nonboostable_Life

Mana calculations follow the same equation and mechanics.

=If I create an Iron Golem from an "indestructible" item, will the golem be invulnerable to damage?=

No. Basically, the "indestructible" modifier that can be found on items like Phase Blades or items that have been socketed with a Zod rune has to do with durability. It does not literally mean that the item can not be destroyed.
Iron Golems do not seem to be affected by durability in any way. The Golem's summoning item being indestructible changes nothing for the Golem.

=How are the elemental masteries applied to attacks?=

The following section was written by Oramin.

There are 3 basic rules to determine how Elemental Masteries (e.g. Fire Mastery) increase a character's damage.

# The Elemental Masteries apply to Skills at the time of casting/application to weapons.
# They amplify Melee attacks.
# They do *not* amplify Ranged attacks.

This means that if you were to cast Enchant then Fire Mastery would apply at the time of casting (and this is already shown in your displayed Enchant damage). Holy Shock would also be amplified by Lightning Mastery when the bonus Lightning damage is applied to the weapon.

If you do a Melee attack, the Fire/Lightning damages from Enchant/Holy Shock will be boosted again by whatever the levels of FM/LM happen to be at the time of attack. You get no additional damage if you choose to do a Ranged attack.

Example:

Assume you are a Sorceress with level 20 Fire Mastery, level 20 Enchant, level 20 Lightning Mastery, and a "Dream" helm which gives level 15 Holy Shock. Further assume that you have charms which add 1-100 Lightning damage and 1-100 Fire damage and that you are using an ordinary javelin.

Level 20 Enchant (including the single point in Warmth) does 74-97 damage. 
When we include level 20 Fire Mastery (+163% damage), the displayed damage at the time of casting becomes 196-256. This Fire damage is added to the weapon. The 1-100 Fire damage from the Charms is not Skill based damage so it is not amplified by Fire Mastery when applied to the weapon. The total Fire damage on the weapon is now 197-356.

Level 15 Holy Shock does 1-648 damage. At the time of application to the weapon, the level 20 Lightning Mastery (+278% damage) will amplify it causing 3-2449 Lightning damage to be added to the weapon. The 1-100 Lightning damage from the Charms is not Skill based damage so it is not amplified by Lightning Mastery when applied to the weapon. The total Lightning damage on the weapon is now 4-2549.

Fire damage: 197-356 
Lightning damage: 4-2549

If you were throwing the javelin, the above would be the correct totals.

However, if you do a Melee attack with the javelin instead then Lightning Mastery and Fire Mastery would amplify the damages giving the following damages: 
Fire damage: (197-356) * (1 + 1.63) = 518-936 
Lightning damage: (4-2549) * (1 + 2.78) = 15-9635

Note1: Due to the LCS (Lying Character Screen) you will see Ranged attacks receiving the same amplification as Melee attacks this is *not* correct.

Note2: We were not able to determine precisely how/if FM affects the bonus Fire damage from Explosive Bolts/Arrows but as the inherent damage is negligible, don't worry about it.

=Where can I find wands with charges of Amplify Damage?=

Nowhere. Amplify Damage charges can not spawn as a random affix. The only item in the game that has Amplify Damage charges is the unique Martel de Fer, The Gavel of Pain. It has three charges of level 8 Amplify Damage. If you want a non-Necromancer character to use Amplify Damage, your best option is to get an item that procs (see section 45) the curse.

=What types of +skills work with mercenaries?=

The following quote on how the various types of +skills work when applied to mercenaries was stolen from adeyke:

* +X to all skills works.
* +X to fire skills works for the mercs with fire skills.
* +X to a specific skill the merc already has (e.g. +X to bash (barbarian only) for barb mercs, +X to inferno (sorceress only) for fire iron wolves) also works.
* +X to a specific skill the merc doesn't already have doesn't work. Barb mercs will gain nothing from +X to natural resistance (barbarian only), for example. Mercs also don't use any oskills.
* +X to skill tabs doesn't work for any merc.
* +X to class skills (e.g. +X to barbarian skills, +X to sorceress skills) doesn't work for any merc.

=What decides the Assassin's Trap laying speed?=

The trap laying speed of Assassins is decided like most attack speeds. That means it is affected by things like gear-based increased attack speed (IAS) and the weapon speed modifier (abbreviated WSM, also often called "base weapon speed"). The diablo2.ingame.de [http://diablo2.ingame.de/tips/calcs/weaponspeed.php?lang=english weapon speed calculator] can calculate your trap laying speed.

The Faster Cast Rate modifier (FCR) has no effect on trap laying speed. When Assassins emphasise FCR, it is usually to speed up their casting of Mind Blast, which is affected by the Faster Cast Rate modifier.

=How long do items stay if left on the ground?=

This section belongs to Posterboy, who originally poked the information my way, and Antitrust who re-confirmed it for 1.11 and wrote the contents of the following quote:

* Socketed items, Ethereal items, Equipable White items, Runewords, Keys, Quivers, Potions, Scrolls/Tomes - vanish in 10 minutes
* Runes, Gems, Magic Items (including charms) - vanish in 20 minutes
* Rares, Uniques (including charms), Sets - vanish in 30 minutes
* Gold, Horadric cube (the only quest item I tested) - last for at least 2 hours and 36 minutes (at which point I stopped)

This was tested in Single Player. Results on the realms may be (and I actually suspect that they are) different.

=Does poison cancel Deadly Strike, Critical Strike, or Crushing Blow?=

No, it does not. There seems to be a glitch when it comes to displaying the associated "puffs" when the target is poisoned, but it is purely graphical.

=Acknowledgments=

Big thanks to the posters I have shamelessly exploited and plagiarized in order to make this thread grow:
2_Much_4_U, adeyke, Antitrust, Chaotix, Daten, Gta-maloy], Ilkori, TommiG, Oramin, Ortliebj, PeterPaulRubens and Posterboy.

And thanks to everyone who pointed out missing things and possible additions, bumped this thread, made comments, or just generally helped me in some way whether they know it or not: 
Armaege, BIGeyedBUG, Bonkshasa, Dargad, Derisive, LaughingBuddha, MicahW, MMAgCh, NickJS, Nucularterraist (Nucnuc), Orphan, sambo., Sarrick, Sol1, Technomage-C01, The_Terror_Lord, T-hawk, Veneteaou and WizAdept.

Technomage-C01 deserves special mention for keeping the thread from being munched by the B.Net Gameplay Discussion forum for more than a year and a half. And the most special thanks of all go to Ortliebj for inspiring me to make this thread. Thanks to all of you.

[[category:FAQs]]

Guide:Rune Finder Guide v1.10, by Urlik

2009-10-27T21:40:34Z

TDurden1937: /* Where are all the Super Objects !?! */

This rune finding guide lists precise odds to find runes from every commonly-sought monster and chest in the game. It was written in 2004 for v1.10, and while the odds and strategies remain accurate, there is no mention of the [[Pandemonium Event|Uber Quests]], and this guide does not cover newer techniques as [[Level 1 Rushing|Level 1 Hellforge Rushing]].

'''Strategy guide info:'''
* '''Version:''' v1.10+
* '''Game type:''' PvP
* '''Character:''' xx
* '''Author:''' Urlik ([http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=178289 Source]. Download the guide in the [http://www.chrisclarke.co.uk/D2stuff/PDFs/Runes_and_Crafted_PDFs/RuneFinderGuide.pdf original PDF form], with prettier tables and graphics.)

=Applicability=

This guide is intended for Diablo II LoD Expansion, patch 1.10 final only.

=What is this guide about?=
The purpose of this guide is very simply to help your characters be more effective
in their rune finding efforts.

=Why did I create this guide?=
To be perfectly honest, I was motivated to create a Rune Finder's Guide out of
frustration in trying to find accurate sources for rune drop information. I'm sure
that many of you have felt the same frustration; especially after patch 1.10 was
released and introduced all those uber new runewords. In addition, a kindred
rune-fanatic named Uzziah held a Rune Race which truly got me started on
working out some drop chance numbers on my own... and it just kept growing and growing.

Eventually, I worked out the math for every rune-dropping source
in the game. Then I did a lot of testing with modded files to confirm certain drop
behaviors from objects as well as "counting" tests in order to determine the
average number of rune drops per area "clear". Revision 2.0 came to be after
Thrugg steered me over to a post by Jarulf, in which Jarulf writes about how
objects drop items with references to relevant snippets of actual game code.

=Why is this guide the definitive source for rune drop information?=

It is, because I don't hide anything from you at all. You can see all the
calculations on the appropriate tabs. I'm quite confident the math is correct.
But if you want to check it for yourself, feel free.

=How does one legitimately get hold of some decent runes?=
Let me count the ways.

# Trade with some lucky bastards who already have the runes you want.

# Run Hell Countess over and over and cube her drops as high as possible.

# Run character after character after character to the hell mode Hell Forge
Quest.

# Repeatedly clear areas in the game where the average number of rune drops
per time spent is high (e.g. Hell Cows).

# Thieve from Sparkly Chests and/or Special Chests over and over with a
teleporting character.

I'll comment on each Strategy

==Trading==
A lot of folks favor this method it seems. But I have to ask them some
questions... Somebody burnt their eyeballs out and crippled their wrist to find those high level runes. Are they really going to be that eager to give them up?
Can there be very many on the market? How do you know the rune is genuine?
Runes don't get the fingerprinting that Doc Tenshi came up with to hamper
cheaters and item dupers... Maybe I'm being too much of a purist, but in my
book a high level rune just isn't the same if it isn't authentic. If you use this
strategy, I recommend dealing with only the most trusted players.
There's nothing quite as satisfying as finding a good rune on your own.

==Hell Countess ad infinitum==

Hell Countess is the best source for runes up to Ist. But she's on the bottom
level of that nasty tower. For best efficiency, a teleporting Sorc is ideal. My Blizz
Sorc keeps a slight distance and TK's the CI+FI Countess while the Merc does
the dirty work with his massive poker. I recommend grabbing ALL rune drops
and cubing them up. I really don't think it will slow you that much. Yes, even pick
up those El's! For reference, in an average of 896 Hell Countess runs at Players
1, you will be able to cube up an Ist with her rune drops, assuming you also have
the required gems. Yes really! And it only takes 512 Ists to make a Zod. For Ist and below, she is by far the best source. Do her! If you have the stamina,
within about 4000 runs (on average) you should be able to cube up to an Ohm.

==Hell Forge Rushing==
Although I have doubts, you may discover that you can be more productive at
finding high level runes by rushing a steady stream of new characters to the hell
mode Hell Forge Quest. To me, this approach defeats the purpose of playing as
a "Rune Hunter" character. I also have a strong suspicion that if you were to
compare ratios of net total rune value per play-hour invested, Rune Hunting
would beat Hell Forge Questing's pants off. I could be wrong. Perhaps we have
the makings of a new type of contest to answer this question once and for all?
The top end for hell mode Hell Forge seems to be a Gul. You need 256 of those
to cube a Zod. Trouble is, the hell mode Hell Forge won't be dropping you
a Gul for each new character you bring to it. On average, you will only get a Gul
9% of the time. That brings us to about 5000 or so new characters
that you need to take all the way to hell mode Hell Forge. Yikes!

==Area Clearing==
This strategy follows the basic law of averages. More monsters means more
drops which means more runes. Start with monsters which have the highest
chance to drop runes among all their drops. Then look for areas where there are
tons of monsters, preferably crowded together, and let the carnage ensue.
Obviously, the more of a killing machine your character is the better. Lightning
Javazon's, Multishot Bowazon's, Windy Druids, Blizzard Sorcs… take your pick.

Try to run at the highest Players X setting you can manage without a significant
reduction in your clearing speed. This is important because if you aren't paying
attention to this metric, you may end up spending more time to earn less runes.
Kinda like working more hours for less money, LOL. Nobody wants to do that!
I contend that the best place for the area clearing strategy is the secret Cow
Level (more on this later). Find your average clearing time over say 3-4 runs at
Players 1. Then try a few runs at Players 2, a few at Players 3, and so on.
Calculate the average time to clear for each Players setting. Plug these times
into Table B below and you'll discover the optimal Players X setting. The same
procedure can be used for other areas too. But for highest accuracy, I first need
to provide you the appropriate "Scale Factors". Unfortunately, I don't have them
all figured out yet, as this is a rather arduous process (see Area Counts sheet in
the Excel version for more info).

I would like to thank MattIs for first pointing out the sensitive relationship between the “Players X” setting and rune drop productivity. Thrugg expanded on this and created a handy efficiency table for the Cow level based on hitpoint
scaling rather than the actual clear times. This is Table A, below. It is likely that
the result of P2 probably won't be any different in Table B for all but the most
powerful characters.

I put some hypothetical numbers in the "Average Time to Clear" column in Table
B for illustrative purposes only.

[[Image:Urlik1.jpg|frame|center]]

Note: In creating Table A, I didn't know how many hitpoints
Cows typically have, so I let "A" represent it.

The conclusion here is that unless your character is doing enough damage to kill
a group of Cows with one "attack" at Players 2 or 3, the most efficient setting for
collecting rune drops is Players 2.

[[Image:Urlik2.jpg|frame|center]]

Now as for objects…that's a different story. Objects don't hit back and they don'tbecome any harder to pop at higher players settings. Thus, it's in your best
interest as a smart Rune Hunter to pop them all at nothing less than Players 8.
Clear the level, raise the Players setting to 8, then go back and pop the objects.
The No_Drop chance is calculated when the object is popped, not when
spawning the level. Incidentally, I believe the same is true when a monster is
killed but I haven't verified this.

==Thieving the Sparkly and Special Chests==
This is a strategy best handled by a fast-casting (63% fast cast or higher), non-
ES, high defense Sorceress. Bringing along a strong Merc for a meat shield is
essential. It would help even more if she fortified the meat shield with other
summonables too (from item bonuses). Set the Players to 8, TP to a Sparkly or
Special Chest in a "known" location as fast as you can. Do not engage any
monsters! Pop the Chest, hit the Alt key to see what dropped, then get the hell
outta there!
If you happened to spot a good rune drop, go back and snatch it up or show off
your pride and honor and fight for your prize!
You can do a lot of runs in a short time with this strategy. My Blizz Sorc ran
Meph's center chest (a Special Chest) about once every 20 seconds 100 times
over with no deaths. Budgeting 15 minutes of each play-hour for replenishing
blue pots, keys, cubing, etc, that comes to about 18 runes per hour for a Sparkly
Chest (or 9 for a Special Chest). Say you collect 100 runes per week (about 5.5
play-hours) in this manner from Bonesaw's Sparkly Chest (at P8)… There is a16% chance that at least one rune will be Ist thru Zod. Sweet!

===Best Single Sources to Find Specific Top 10 Runes===
[[Image:Urlik3.jpg|frame|center]]

For Runes Ist and below, Hell Countess - at Players 1 - is by far the best source.

[[Image:Urlik4.jpg|frame|center]]
* * Zod capable Cast and Missle monsters start spawning in level 81 areas, while Zod capable Melee monsters start spawning in level 82 areas.

For Runes Ist and below, Hell Countess - at Players 1 - is by far the best source.

[[Image:Urlik5.jpg|frame|center]]
* ** Ordinary Objects and Super Objects are fully defined in the text. The rune drop chances shown are the averages.
* *** Although they too "sparkle", the Quest Chests in Act 2 and Act 3 behave like a Type I Object, as far as rune drops are concerned.

Although it offers the best chance in the game, an Act 5 (H) Sparkly Chest (popped at P8) would
require 625,000 runs on average before you see a Zod. Kind of depressing ain't it? I wish you the best of luck. :D

=Best Areas to Find Specific Top 10 Runes=

So, you're probably all wondering...

::''"Where are the best areas in the game to invest my precious time - killing monsters and looting their chests over and over and over again - in order to find some high level runes?"

Well, sadly, no one area will selectively pump out only high level runes.
For any given rune that drops, there is a ridiculously small chance that it will be
high level. In fact, the chance for Ist thru Zod is only 0.1589%. See the section
on "Rune Ratios" for a chart.

Now, that we have cleared that up... The answer is really quite simple. The best
area is the one where your character can find the most runes in the shortest
amount of time. It's preferred though not essential (depending on your rune
goals) that your chosen area be one with sources able to drop up to Zod.
I can't help your character on killing speed. That will depend on his/her class,
gear, and skills (not to mention the aplomb of the driver). But, I can help on
which areas will drop the most runes (on average).

That can be reduced to a math problem by simply counting the number of
"different" rune sources in the area, then multiplying each by the corresponding
chance for that source to drop runes and summing it all together. By repeating
this process a number of times, one can obtain a mean and standard deviation
for the number of runes that will drop in a specific area.

Regretfully, I was unable to complete all of the areas I would have liked for this
release of the guide, but I think I chose some pretty good ones to focus on.
You can see the details of all my tests (so far) on the Tab labeled "Area Counts"
in the Excel version of the guide. Here is a summary of the results:

[[Image:Urlik6.jpg|frame|center]]

The "ranking" of areas will be the same regardless of players setting. Also,
remember that the highest ratio of rune drops per time spent is your goal, not
simply the highest average number of rune drops alone.

'''Best Area to Clear for Finding Zod = Hell Cows'''

There it is folks. :) Good luck!

Probably the best thing about Cows is that they aren't immune to anything. They
are 50% resistant to Physical, Fire, Lightning, and Cold and 33% resistant to
Magic and Poison.

::''“What I do after entering the Red Portal is teleport across the field until Ihit a wall, then with my back to the wall I go crazy on those Moo Moo's!

::''Tee hee.” - Snow Bunny.

How does the River of Flame compare to Cows? As you can see, not even
close… even when wraiths come out to play (which isn't more than 20-25% of thetime, btw). I have a strong suspicion that WSK won't come close either, based on lower wraith count and lower over-all monster count.

Although more tests are required to prove it, the only area in the game that may
have a higher rune drop average is the Arcane Sanctuary. Unfortunately, only
Uniques and Champions in this area can drop up to Zod. Ordinary monsters
(including wraiths) can drop up to Cham. All those Special Chests at the end of
the false paths to the Summoner can only drop up to Lo. The Summoner himself
is the best single source for Gul thru Lo (not counting the 1st time you kill Andy).
Lo is his top end as well. But aside from all this, there are two pesky problems
with Arcane's, both of which hurt your clearing time.

1. The layout of Arcane's is frustrating to navigate -- there are just so many turns
and narrow pathways… You will kill slower as a result.2. When fighting wraiths, be certain that they are hovering over "ground" when
you kill them. If they die while hovering in space (or over lava in RoF), whatever
they would have dropped is lost to the inky depths.

Another area that may be of interest is Sewers L2. This is a level 85 area and it
consistently has three Special Chests on the menu! With a teleporting character,
you can reach it very fast and quickly kill any resistance in there. Unfortunately,
the Special Chests in there can only drop runes up to Ber. But I'm not
complaining too loudly 'bout that… Hehehe.Some other areas with potentially high averages:

* Maggot Lair L1-L3
* Great Marsh
* Flayer Jungle
* Durance 2
* Wilderness areas of Act 5 (Bloody Foothills, Frigid Highlands, ArreatPlateau, and Frozen Tundra).

I single out these areas mainly because of mass quantities of monsters and
chests. And there's always the confirmed presence of Super Objects (plural, if
you catch my drift).

I think one of the best aspects to the area clearing strategy of rune finding is that
your character doesn't have to futz with donning all that anemic MF gear, LOL.
When hunting for runes, MF is not a factor. Kill proficiency and knowing where to
go for the best chances are the only things between you and grabbing a Zod.
I offer up this guide to provide you the knowledge. Now it's up to you to load up
on battle gear and wreak havoc!

To all you HC Players out there, especially the meleer's: BE CAREFUL!

=Objects (Chest TC)=
There are several different inanimate objects in the game (and some animated
ones) that can drop from the Chest TC (with a chance for Runes). In one of his
recent posts, Jarulf did an excellent job of explaining how several of these objects are initialized and operate. Based on the contents of Objects.txt and my
own tests, I have expounded on his explanations. To simply things, I have
grouped those objects that have identical rune drop behaviour, even though they
may differ in other ways.

First, we need to define a couple things: desired quality and a magical+ test. Jarulf writes:

::''A Chest TC drop will use normal calculations to determine the quality of the item. But it can also have as a parameter a desired quality. If it has a desired quality, any item generated will get (if possible) that quality. If it
can't get the desired quality, it can be of a failed quality (e.g. rare instead of unique) or if it is an item that can't be magical (such as a rune or potion) it will be of normal quality.

::''A test for magical+, will check if the FIRST item generated from a ChestTC drop (excluding No_Drop) is of quality: magic, rare, set or unique. Items that can't have magical properties such as runes, potions, gems, keys, etc. are, as already mentioned, considered of normal quality.

==Super Objects==
* Sparkly Chests
* Special Chests

Both have rather complicated drop behaviour… I'll introduce the simpler objects first and then come back to these.

==Type I Ordinary Objects==
These objects use OperateFn 4. They have a chance to be locked and a chance
to spawn a monster. If unlocked, there is a 75% chance to make a single Chest
TC drop (up to 4 items) with no desired quality (MF is applied normally). If
locked, they will always make two Chest TC drops (up to 8 items) with no desired
quality. The chance to be locked is (monlvl1/2 + 8)% and the chance to spawn a
monster is (monlvl1/8 + 5)%, where monlvl1 (from levels.txt) corresponds to each
area on the map regardless of difficulty level. I created Table C below to serve
as a quick reference. These are: Caskets in Arcane's and all "true" ordinary
Chests (anything that looks like a Chest except Quest-Chests, Special Chests,
and Sparkly Chests).

==Type II Ordinary Objects==
These objects use OperateFn 4, but are not lockable. They have a 75% chance
to make a single Chest TC drop with no desired quality. These objects also have
a chance to spawn a monster, just like Type I Ordinary Objects. These are:
Tombs in WSK or in Nil's Temple, Some Rat Nests, some Hidden Stashes in
Act5, some Barrels in Act5, Animated Skull-and-Rock Piles, Hidden Stashes in
any of the Icy Cave areas, Dead Barbarians in Act5, Dead Persons in Act 5,
Burial Chests in Act 5, Object1 and Object2 in Nil's Temple (I have no idea what
these are), and Object1 in Snowy Areas (?) of Act5.

==Type III Ordinary Objects==
Most of these objects use OperateFn 14, which means they make a single Chest
TC drop with no desired quality. These are: Crates, Rogue Corpses (of all
types), Guard Corpses (of all types), most Hidden Stashes, Skull Piles, Jugs,
Skeleton Corpses, Hollow Logs, Loose Rocks, Loose Boulders, Coffins, Stashes,
Pillars, Cocoons, Tristram Bodies, some Rat Nests, Corpses of Villagers, Goo
Piles, Harem Beds, Hung Skeletons, Bone Chests, Hell Fire Braziers, and Pilesof-
Skulls-and-Rocks and some Barrels in Act 5 outdoor areas...
Note: there is a 33.3% chance that the Goo Piles in the Sand Maggot Lair will
have a poison trap.
The remaining Type III Ordinary Objects use OperateFn 1 which means they
make a single Chest TC drop with no desired quality and they have an 18.08%
chance to spawn a monster. These are: Caskets (all areas except Arcane's),
Sarcophaguses, and Act 1 Beds.

==Type IV Ordinary Objects==
All but one of these objects use OperateFn 3, which means they have a 21%
chance to make a single Chest TC drop with no desired quality. These are:
Urns, Large Urns, Baskets (in dungeons), Dead Bodies in Kurast Sewers, Jars,
Rock Piles (in dungeons), and Trapped Souls.
Barrels (Act1-4) use OperateFn 5, which means they have a 21% chance to
make a single Chest TC drop with no desired quality and an 18.08% chance to
spawn a monster. Exploding Barrels never drop anything. No surprise there.
That's it for the Objects that are verified to have a chance to drop runes!
For reference, bookshelves use OperateFn 26, which means they either drop TP
or ID scrolls or books, but never any runes or other items.
Kudos to Jarulf, for his discovery and explanations of a number of Objectfunctions.

==Objects that use un-deciphered Functions==

Armor and Weapon Racks (obviously these would never drop runes), Burning
Trapped Souls (found in Act 4), Stashes in Act 3 Jungles, Evil Urns, Quest
Chests (Act 2 and 3), Tainted Sun Altar, Gidbinn Cauldron, and Hellforge Quest.
These all have not been fully deciphered yet as far as I know.
It's well known that the Hellforge Quest drops 3 gems and 1 rune. In hell mode,
quite often it is a nice rune. Anecdotal evidence from several players suggests
that a Gul rune is the highest possible in hell mode. I do not know the actual
chances for Guls (or other runes) from the Hellforge Quest, but I will try to glean
this info straight from the corresponding Operate function and include it in the
next revision of the guide.

Table C - chance for Object Traps or Being Locked in each Area
[[Image:Urlik7.jpg|frame|center]]
[[Image:Urlik8.jpg|frame|center]]
[[Image:Urlik9.jpg|frame|center]]

Objects are tied to the Act in which they are located for determining drops.
Since we are concerned with rune drops
* Act 1 (H) Objects can drop up to Vex (r26).
* Act 2 (H) Objects can drop up to Lo (r28).
* Act 3 (H) Objects can drop up to Ber (r30).
* Act 4 (H) Objects can drop up to Cham (r32).
* Act 5 (H) Objects can drop up to Zod (r33).

Objects in Level 85 areas, such as The Pit and The Mausoleum are not
upgraded to a higher TC as monsters are. They still only drop as Act 1 Objects.

Objects in The Moo Moo Farm drop as Act 1 Objects, also.

For reference, items that drop from objects will inherit the level of the area that
the object is located in. Act 5 (H) Objects located in level 85 areas are in fact
capable of dropping up to TC87 equipment; the chance is just very small. The
game code does not cap the quality level for equipment drops from objects at
TC66 as I had previously thought. Drop testing has verified this.

==A somewhat cheesy but effective tactic==

Drop testing has verified that it's not necessary to use a Players 8 setting before entering the area the object is located in to gain the benefit of a very low chance
for No Drop. After clearing an area at a manageable Players setting, you can
raise it to Players 8 and then run around and pop all the objects.

Okay, easy part is over… let's talk about those Super Objects.

==Sparkly Chests (Super Object)==
The following explanation is paraphrased from a post by Jarulf...For a Sparkly Chest, the game picks from 6 weighted options for how it will drop as follows:

Option 1 (2% chance). The game will make a Chest TC drop cycle (up to 4 item drops) with a desired quality of unique. If the drop cycle fails a magical+ test, it
will make another Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of unique. If that
cycle also fails a magical+ test, the game will make more drop cycles according
to option 6. Note that option 1 can generate up to 6 unique items if it fails plus up
to an additional 16 unique items from option 6. Gasp!

Option 2 (4% chance). The game will make a Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of set. If the drop cycle fails a magical+ test, it will make another
Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of set. If that cycle also fails a
magical+ test, the game will make more drop cycles according to option 6.

Option 3 (6% chance). The game will make a Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of rare. If the drop cycle fails a magical+ test, it will make another
Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of rare. If that cycle also fails a
magical+ test, the game will make more drop cycles according to option 6.

Option 4 (20% chance). The game will make up to 10 Chest TC drop cycles with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 3 of them pass a magical+ test, the
10 attempts are aborted.

Option 5 (30% chance). The game will make up to 10 Chest TC drop cycles with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 2 of them pass a magical+ test, the
10 attempts are aborted. Then, as long as the number of failed magical+ tests is
6 or less, it will then make a single Chest TC drop cycle with no desired quality,
followed by a number of gold drops equaling 6 minus the number of failed
magical+ tests.

Option 6 (38% chance). The game will make up to 10 Chest TC drop cycles with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 1 of them passes a magical+ test,
the 10 attempts are aborted. It will then make a number of Chest TC drop cycles
with no desired quality equaling 4 minus the number of failed magical+ tests
done so far. Next it makes 5 gold drops, 2 heal potion drops and 2 mana potion
drops.

Note: A Sparkly Chest works the same whether it is locked or not.

==Special Chests (Super Object) vs. Type I Ordinary Objects==
The following explanation is paraphrased from a post by Jarulf...First, the game will check if the chest is locked, and if so, unlock it if you have a
key or are an assassin. Second, the game sets the number of drop cycles from
the appropriate Chest TC to 2 if locked (up to 8 item drops), otherwise to 1 (up to
4 item drops). Next, the game tests for a flag in the initialization routine. Special
Chests always have this flag set. If it is set, there is a 5% chance that the game
will make the desired quality of the drops rare, otherwise (95% chance) the
desired quality will be magic. If the flag is not set there is no desired quality and
the game will pick quality normally, applying MF and so on (Type I Ordinary
Objects). After that, the game will make a random chance to drop at all. 75% of
the time it will drop. The other 25% of the time, it will only drop if the flag is set or
if the chest was locked. Next, the game will make either 1 or 2 actual Chest TC
drop cycles (depending on if it is locked or not), with a possible desired quality as
mentioned above. If the object is a Special Chest AND none of the previous
Chest TC drop cycles (1 or 2) passed a magical+ test, it will make up to 10 more
Chest TC drop cycles with a possible desired quality as mentioned above. As
soon as 1 of them passes a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted.

::Note: Empirical evidence suggests that most Special Chests stay that
way and remain in the same place on the map; however, some may
intermittently switch to behaving like a Type 1 Ordinary Object from run
to run (I observed this in the Maggot Lair). I believe this behaviour is
related to the initialization flag that Jarulf discovered. The conditions for
how and when the flag is set need to be investigated further.

==Quest Chests (pseudo-Type I Ordinary Object)==
It may sparkle like a Sparkly Chest, but a Quest Chest uses different operate and
initialize functions and is actually rather ordinary. Jarulf didn't post about howany of the Act2 and Act 3 Quest Chest functions work, so I am basing their drop
behavior on empirical evidence and drop tests. Quest Chests behave like Type 1
Ordinary Objects in that they can drop up to 8 items if locked or 4 if not. Then
they drop a random number of additional gold piles (there seems to be an upper
limit of 10), plus the quest item of course. The important thing is that as far as
runes are concerned, they behave like a Type I Ordinary Object.

==Where are all the Super Objects !?!==
I'm fairly sure that every "off-shoot" area contains a Sparkly Chest. Cave L2, Underground Passage L2, Pit L2, Mausoleum, Crypt, Stony Tombs L2,
Ancient Tunnels, Icy Cellar, and all 3 red portals to Hell in the outer areas of Act
5, to name some confirmed sightings. Some other locales with a Sparkly Chest
are: Bonesaw's Platform on the Glacial Trail, Snappy's Hideout, and some
serpent surrounded islands in the Great Marsh and Flayer Jungle, among
others...

The deceivingly ordinary-looking Special Chests can always be found in: the
Crypt, the Maggot Lair, at the end of the false paths in Arcane's, in the false Tal
Rasha Tombs, in Sewers L2 (Act 3), a couple spots in Upper Kurast, and of
course the ever popular center chest behind Meph, among other musty and
sunless places.

These Super Objects can be run over and over. They have a better chance (on
average over several runs) to drop runes than any single monster (except
Hell Countess up to Ist).

Don't pass over any objects in Act 5 (H)! They just might contain a Zod.

::''“To dream the impossible dream…” (voice of Luciano Pavarotti)

Note: All the lovely calculations related to rune drop chances from
objects are shown in the Excel version of the guide.

Rune Drop Averages for all Single Sources
Based on the calculations shown in the Excel version of the guide, the following
rune drop averages for all single sources were determined.

[[Image:Urlik10.jpg|frame|center]]

The number of monsters, chests, etc. does not scale up with "Players X" setting.
However, the mean quantity of rune drops for each kill does scale up for most
monster types (and all object types), since the chance for no-drop is driven to
zero. Remember that the highest ratio of rune drops per time spent is your goal,
not simply the highest average number of rune drops alone.

To download the Excel version, point your browser to:
[http://www.flightsofsplendor.com/diabloII/Urlik’s_RFG_v2.xls http://www.flightsofsplendor.com/diabloII/Urlik’s_RFG_v2.xls]

[[Image:Urlik11.jpg|thumb|800px|center]]

[[Image:Urlik12.jpg|thumb|500px|center]]

=Acknowledgments=

'''Jarulf''' - for explaining how the game drops items, how treasure classes work,how to calculate drop chances, and especially how several Objects work.

'''Thrugg'''' - for clarifying the No Drop weight equation for higher “Players X”settings and for pointing out some of the finer details of calculating theCountess's rune drops.

'''Uzziah''' - for organizing a Rune Race which inspired the creation of this guide.MattIs - for pointing out that one's rune drop productivity while area clearing islikely to be optimal at lower rather than higher "Players X" settings.

'''RTB''' - for giving me the password into the Dimension of Numbers. and especially...

'''Jenny''' - for tolerating many of my late night test sessions.Strategies and Tactics

[[category:d2 strategy]]
[[category:d2 item strategy]]
[[category:runes]]

Guide:Rune Finder Guide v1.10, by Urlik

2009-10-27T21:37:12Z

TDurden1937: /* Objects (Chest TC) */

This rune finding guide lists precise odds to find runes from every commonly-sought monster and chest in the game. It was written in 2004 for v1.10, and while the odds and strategies remain accurate, there is no mention of the [[Pandemonium Event|Uber Quests]], and this guide does not cover newer techniques as [[Level 1 Rushing|Level 1 Hellforge Rushing]].

'''Strategy guide info:'''
* '''Version:''' v1.10+
* '''Game type:''' PvP
* '''Character:''' xx
* '''Author:''' Urlik ([http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=178289 Source]. Download the guide in the [http://www.chrisclarke.co.uk/D2stuff/PDFs/Runes_and_Crafted_PDFs/RuneFinderGuide.pdf original PDF form], with prettier tables and graphics.)

=Applicability=

This guide is intended for Diablo II LoD Expansion, patch 1.10 final only.

=What is this guide about?=
The purpose of this guide is very simply to help your characters be more effective
in their rune finding efforts.

=Why did I create this guide?=
To be perfectly honest, I was motivated to create a Rune Finder's Guide out of
frustration in trying to find accurate sources for rune drop information. I'm sure
that many of you have felt the same frustration; especially after patch 1.10 was
released and introduced all those uber new runewords. In addition, a kindred
rune-fanatic named Uzziah held a Rune Race which truly got me started on
working out some drop chance numbers on my own... and it just kept growing and growing.

Eventually, I worked out the math for every rune-dropping source
in the game. Then I did a lot of testing with modded files to confirm certain drop
behaviors from objects as well as "counting" tests in order to determine the
average number of rune drops per area "clear". Revision 2.0 came to be after
Thrugg steered me over to a post by Jarulf, in which Jarulf writes about how
objects drop items with references to relevant snippets of actual game code.

=Why is this guide the definitive source for rune drop information?=

It is, because I don't hide anything from you at all. You can see all the
calculations on the appropriate tabs. I'm quite confident the math is correct.
But if you want to check it for yourself, feel free.

=How does one legitimately get hold of some decent runes?=
Let me count the ways.

# Trade with some lucky bastards who already have the runes you want.

# Run Hell Countess over and over and cube her drops as high as possible.

# Run character after character after character to the hell mode Hell Forge
Quest.

# Repeatedly clear areas in the game where the average number of rune drops
per time spent is high (e.g. Hell Cows).

# Thieve from Sparkly Chests and/or Special Chests over and over with a
teleporting character.

I'll comment on each Strategy

==Trading==
A lot of folks favor this method it seems. But I have to ask them some
questions... Somebody burnt their eyeballs out and crippled their wrist to find those high level runes. Are they really going to be that eager to give them up?
Can there be very many on the market? How do you know the rune is genuine?
Runes don't get the fingerprinting that Doc Tenshi came up with to hamper
cheaters and item dupers... Maybe I'm being too much of a purist, but in my
book a high level rune just isn't the same if it isn't authentic. If you use this
strategy, I recommend dealing with only the most trusted players.
There's nothing quite as satisfying as finding a good rune on your own.

==Hell Countess ad infinitum==

Hell Countess is the best source for runes up to Ist. But she's on the bottom
level of that nasty tower. For best efficiency, a teleporting Sorc is ideal. My Blizz
Sorc keeps a slight distance and TK's the CI+FI Countess while the Merc does
the dirty work with his massive poker. I recommend grabbing ALL rune drops
and cubing them up. I really don't think it will slow you that much. Yes, even pick
up those El's! For reference, in an average of 896 Hell Countess runs at Players
1, you will be able to cube up an Ist with her rune drops, assuming you also have
the required gems. Yes really! And it only takes 512 Ists to make a Zod. For Ist and below, she is by far the best source. Do her! If you have the stamina,
within about 4000 runs (on average) you should be able to cube up to an Ohm.

==Hell Forge Rushing==
Although I have doubts, you may discover that you can be more productive at
finding high level runes by rushing a steady stream of new characters to the hell
mode Hell Forge Quest. To me, this approach defeats the purpose of playing as
a "Rune Hunter" character. I also have a strong suspicion that if you were to
compare ratios of net total rune value per play-hour invested, Rune Hunting
would beat Hell Forge Questing's pants off. I could be wrong. Perhaps we have
the makings of a new type of contest to answer this question once and for all?
The top end for hell mode Hell Forge seems to be a Gul. You need 256 of those
to cube a Zod. Trouble is, the hell mode Hell Forge won't be dropping you
a Gul for each new character you bring to it. On average, you will only get a Gul
9% of the time. That brings us to about 5000 or so new characters
that you need to take all the way to hell mode Hell Forge. Yikes!

==Area Clearing==
This strategy follows the basic law of averages. More monsters means more
drops which means more runes. Start with monsters which have the highest
chance to drop runes among all their drops. Then look for areas where there are
tons of monsters, preferably crowded together, and let the carnage ensue.
Obviously, the more of a killing machine your character is the better. Lightning
Javazon's, Multishot Bowazon's, Windy Druids, Blizzard Sorcs… take your pick.

Try to run at the highest Players X setting you can manage without a significant
reduction in your clearing speed. This is important because if you aren't paying
attention to this metric, you may end up spending more time to earn less runes.
Kinda like working more hours for less money, LOL. Nobody wants to do that!
I contend that the best place for the area clearing strategy is the secret Cow
Level (more on this later). Find your average clearing time over say 3-4 runs at
Players 1. Then try a few runs at Players 2, a few at Players 3, and so on.
Calculate the average time to clear for each Players setting. Plug these times
into Table B below and you'll discover the optimal Players X setting. The same
procedure can be used for other areas too. But for highest accuracy, I first need
to provide you the appropriate "Scale Factors". Unfortunately, I don't have them
all figured out yet, as this is a rather arduous process (see Area Counts sheet in
the Excel version for more info).

I would like to thank MattIs for first pointing out the sensitive relationship between the “Players X” setting and rune drop productivity. Thrugg expanded on this and created a handy efficiency table for the Cow level based on hitpoint
scaling rather than the actual clear times. This is Table A, below. It is likely that
the result of P2 probably won't be any different in Table B for all but the most
powerful characters.

I put some hypothetical numbers in the "Average Time to Clear" column in Table
B for illustrative purposes only.

[[Image:Urlik1.jpg|frame|center]]

Note: In creating Table A, I didn't know how many hitpoints
Cows typically have, so I let "A" represent it.

The conclusion here is that unless your character is doing enough damage to kill
a group of Cows with one "attack" at Players 2 or 3, the most efficient setting for
collecting rune drops is Players 2.

[[Image:Urlik2.jpg|frame|center]]

Now as for objects…that's a different story. Objects don't hit back and they don'tbecome any harder to pop at higher players settings. Thus, it's in your best
interest as a smart Rune Hunter to pop them all at nothing less than Players 8.
Clear the level, raise the Players setting to 8, then go back and pop the objects.
The No_Drop chance is calculated when the object is popped, not when
spawning the level. Incidentally, I believe the same is true when a monster is
killed but I haven't verified this.

==Thieving the Sparkly and Special Chests==
This is a strategy best handled by a fast-casting (63% fast cast or higher), non-
ES, high defense Sorceress. Bringing along a strong Merc for a meat shield is
essential. It would help even more if she fortified the meat shield with other
summonables too (from item bonuses). Set the Players to 8, TP to a Sparkly or
Special Chest in a "known" location as fast as you can. Do not engage any
monsters! Pop the Chest, hit the Alt key to see what dropped, then get the hell
outta there!
If you happened to spot a good rune drop, go back and snatch it up or show off
your pride and honor and fight for your prize!
You can do a lot of runs in a short time with this strategy. My Blizz Sorc ran
Meph's center chest (a Special Chest) about once every 20 seconds 100 times
over with no deaths. Budgeting 15 minutes of each play-hour for replenishing
blue pots, keys, cubing, etc, that comes to about 18 runes per hour for a Sparkly
Chest (or 9 for a Special Chest). Say you collect 100 runes per week (about 5.5
play-hours) in this manner from Bonesaw's Sparkly Chest (at P8)… There is a16% chance that at least one rune will be Ist thru Zod. Sweet!

===Best Single Sources to Find Specific Top 10 Runes===
[[Image:Urlik3.jpg|frame|center]]

For Runes Ist and below, Hell Countess - at Players 1 - is by far the best source.

[[Image:Urlik4.jpg|frame|center]]
* * Zod capable Cast and Missle monsters start spawning in level 81 areas, while Zod capable Melee monsters start spawning in level 82 areas.

For Runes Ist and below, Hell Countess - at Players 1 - is by far the best source.

[[Image:Urlik5.jpg|frame|center]]
* ** Ordinary Objects and Super Objects are fully defined in the text. The rune drop chances shown are the averages.
* *** Although they too "sparkle", the Quest Chests in Act 2 and Act 3 behave like a Type I Object, as far as rune drops are concerned.

Although it offers the best chance in the game, an Act 5 (H) Sparkly Chest (popped at P8) would
require 625,000 runs on average before you see a Zod. Kind of depressing ain't it? I wish you the best of luck. :D

=Best Areas to Find Specific Top 10 Runes=

So, you're probably all wondering...

::''"Where are the best areas in the game to invest my precious time - killing monsters and looting their chests over and over and over again - in order to find some high level runes?"

Well, sadly, no one area will selectively pump out only high level runes.
For any given rune that drops, there is a ridiculously small chance that it will be
high level. In fact, the chance for Ist thru Zod is only 0.1589%. See the section
on "Rune Ratios" for a chart.

Now, that we have cleared that up... The answer is really quite simple. The best
area is the one where your character can find the most runes in the shortest
amount of time. It's preferred though not essential (depending on your rune
goals) that your chosen area be one with sources able to drop up to Zod.
I can't help your character on killing speed. That will depend on his/her class,
gear, and skills (not to mention the aplomb of the driver). But, I can help on
which areas will drop the most runes (on average).

That can be reduced to a math problem by simply counting the number of
"different" rune sources in the area, then multiplying each by the corresponding
chance for that source to drop runes and summing it all together. By repeating
this process a number of times, one can obtain a mean and standard deviation
for the number of runes that will drop in a specific area.

Regretfully, I was unable to complete all of the areas I would have liked for this
release of the guide, but I think I chose some pretty good ones to focus on.
You can see the details of all my tests (so far) on the Tab labeled "Area Counts"
in the Excel version of the guide. Here is a summary of the results:

[[Image:Urlik6.jpg|frame|center]]

The "ranking" of areas will be the same regardless of players setting. Also,
remember that the highest ratio of rune drops per time spent is your goal, not
simply the highest average number of rune drops alone.

'''Best Area to Clear for Finding Zod = Hell Cows'''

There it is folks. :) Good luck!

Probably the best thing about Cows is that they aren't immune to anything. They
are 50% resistant to Physical, Fire, Lightning, and Cold and 33% resistant to
Magic and Poison.

::''“What I do after entering the Red Portal is teleport across the field until Ihit a wall, then with my back to the wall I go crazy on those Moo Moo's!

::''Tee hee.” - Snow Bunny.

How does the River of Flame compare to Cows? As you can see, not even
close… even when wraiths come out to play (which isn't more than 20-25% of thetime, btw). I have a strong suspicion that WSK won't come close either, based on lower wraith count and lower over-all monster count.

Although more tests are required to prove it, the only area in the game that may
have a higher rune drop average is the Arcane Sanctuary. Unfortunately, only
Uniques and Champions in this area can drop up to Zod. Ordinary monsters
(including wraiths) can drop up to Cham. All those Special Chests at the end of
the false paths to the Summoner can only drop up to Lo. The Summoner himself
is the best single source for Gul thru Lo (not counting the 1st time you kill Andy).
Lo is his top end as well. But aside from all this, there are two pesky problems
with Arcane's, both of which hurt your clearing time.

1. The layout of Arcane's is frustrating to navigate -- there are just so many turns
and narrow pathways… You will kill slower as a result.2. When fighting wraiths, be certain that they are hovering over "ground" when
you kill them. If they die while hovering in space (or over lava in RoF), whatever
they would have dropped is lost to the inky depths.

Another area that may be of interest is Sewers L2. This is a level 85 area and it
consistently has three Special Chests on the menu! With a teleporting character,
you can reach it very fast and quickly kill any resistance in there. Unfortunately,
the Special Chests in there can only drop runes up to Ber. But I'm not
complaining too loudly 'bout that… Hehehe.Some other areas with potentially high averages:

* Maggot Lair L1-L3
* Great Marsh
* Flayer Jungle
* Durance 2
* Wilderness areas of Act 5 (Bloody Foothills, Frigid Highlands, ArreatPlateau, and Frozen Tundra).

I single out these areas mainly because of mass quantities of monsters and
chests. And there's always the confirmed presence of Super Objects (plural, if
you catch my drift).

I think one of the best aspects to the area clearing strategy of rune finding is that
your character doesn't have to futz with donning all that anemic MF gear, LOL.
When hunting for runes, MF is not a factor. Kill proficiency and knowing where to
go for the best chances are the only things between you and grabbing a Zod.
I offer up this guide to provide you the knowledge. Now it's up to you to load up
on battle gear and wreak havoc!

To all you HC Players out there, especially the meleer's: BE CAREFUL!

=Objects (Chest TC)=
There are several different inanimate objects in the game (and some animated
ones) that can drop from the Chest TC (with a chance for Runes). In one of his
recent posts, Jarulf did an excellent job of explaining how several of these objects are initialized and operate. Based on the contents of Objects.txt and my
own tests, I have expounded on his explanations. To simply things, I have
grouped those objects that have identical rune drop behaviour, even though they
may differ in other ways.

First, we need to define a couple things: desired quality and a magical+ test. Jarulf writes:

::''A Chest TC drop will use normal calculations to determine the quality of the item. But it can also have as a parameter a desired quality. If it has a desired quality, any item generated will get (if possible) that quality. If it
can't get the desired quality, it can be of a failed quality (e.g. rare instead of unique) or if it is an item that can't be magical (such as a rune or potion) it will be of normal quality.

::''A test for magical+, will check if the FIRST item generated from a ChestTC drop (excluding No_Drop) is of quality: magic, rare, set or unique. Items that can't have magical properties such as runes, potions, gems, keys, etc. are, as already mentioned, considered of normal quality.

==Super Objects==
* Sparkly Chests
* Special Chests

Both have rather complicated drop behaviour… I'll introduce the simpler objects first and then come back to these.

==Type I Ordinary Objects==
These objects use OperateFn 4. They have a chance to be locked and a chance
to spawn a monster. If unlocked, there is a 75% chance to make a single Chest
TC drop (up to 4 items) with no desired quality (MF is applied normally). If
locked, they will always make two Chest TC drops (up to 8 items) with no desired
quality. The chance to be locked is (monlvl1/2 + 8)% and the chance to spawn a
monster is (monlvl1/8 + 5)%, where monlvl1 (from levels.txt) corresponds to each
area on the map regardless of difficulty level. I created Table C below to serve
as a quick reference. These are: Caskets in Arcane's and all "true" ordinary
Chests (anything that looks like a Chest except Quest-Chests, Special Chests,
and Sparkly Chests).

==Type II Ordinary Objects==
These objects use OperateFn 4, but are not lockable. They have a 75% chance
to make a single Chest TC drop with no desired quality. These objects also have
a chance to spawn a monster, just like Type I Ordinary Objects. These are:
Tombs in WSK or in Nil's Temple, Some Rat Nests, some Hidden Stashes in
Act5, some Barrels in Act5, Animated Skull-and-Rock Piles, Hidden Stashes in
any of the Icy Cave areas, Dead Barbarians in Act5, Dead Persons in Act 5,
Burial Chests in Act 5, Object1 and Object2 in Nil's Temple (I have no idea what
these are), and Object1 in Snowy Areas (?) of Act5.

==Type III Ordinary Objects==
Most of these objects use OperateFn 14, which means they make a single Chest
TC drop with no desired quality. These are: Crates, Rogue Corpses (of all
types), Guard Corpses (of all types), most Hidden Stashes, Skull Piles, Jugs,
Skeleton Corpses, Hollow Logs, Loose Rocks, Loose Boulders, Coffins, Stashes,
Pillars, Cocoons, Tristram Bodies, some Rat Nests, Corpses of Villagers, Goo
Piles, Harem Beds, Hung Skeletons, Bone Chests, Hell Fire Braziers, and Pilesof-
Skulls-and-Rocks and some Barrels in Act 5 outdoor areas...
Note: there is a 33.3% chance that the Goo Piles in the Sand Maggot Lair will
have a poison trap.
The remaining Type III Ordinary Objects use OperateFn 1 which means they
make a single Chest TC drop with no desired quality and they have an 18.08%
chance to spawn a monster. These are: Caskets (all areas except Arcane's),
Sarcophaguses, and Act 1 Beds.

==Type IV Ordinary Objects==
All but one of these objects use OperateFn 3, which means they have a 21%
chance to make a single Chest TC drop with no desired quality. These are:
Urns, Large Urns, Baskets (in dungeons), Dead Bodies in Kurast Sewers, Jars,
Rock Piles (in dungeons), and Trapped Souls.
Barrels (Act1-4) use OperateFn 5, which means they have a 21% chance to
make a single Chest TC drop with no desired quality and an 18.08% chance to
spawn a monster. Exploding Barrels never drop anything. No surprise there.
That's it for the Objects that are verified to have a chance to drop runes!
For reference, bookshelves use OperateFn 26, which means they either drop TP
or ID scrolls or books, but never any runes or other items.
Kudos to Jarulf, for his discovery and explanations of a number of Objectfunctions.

==Objects that use un-deciphered Functions==

Armor and Weapon Racks (obviously these would never drop runes), Burning
Trapped Souls (found in Act 4), Stashes in Act 3 Jungles, Evil Urns, Quest
Chests (Act 2 and 3), Tainted Sun Altar, Gidbinn Cauldron, and Hellforge Quest.
These all have not been fully deciphered yet as far as I know.
It's well known that the Hellforge Quest drops 3 gems and 1 rune. In hell mode,
quite often it is a nice rune. Anecdotal evidence from several players suggests
that a Gul rune is the highest possible in hell mode. I do not know the actual
chances for Guls (or other runes) from the Hellforge Quest, but I will try to glean
this info straight from the corresponding Operate function and include it in the
next revision of the guide.

Table C - chance for Object Traps or Being Locked in each Area
[[Image:Urlik7.jpg|frame|center]]
[[Image:Urlik8.jpg|frame|center]]
[[Image:Urlik9.jpg|frame|center]]

Objects are tied to the Act in which they are located for determining drops.
Since we are concerned with rune drops
* Act 1 (H) Objects can drop up to Vex (r26).
* Act 2 (H) Objects can drop up to Lo (r28).
* Act 3 (H) Objects can drop up to Ber (r30).
* Act 4 (H) Objects can drop up to Cham (r32).
* Act 5 (H) Objects can drop up to Zod (r33).

Objects in Level 85 areas, such as The Pit and The Mausoleum are not
upgraded to a higher TC as monsters are. They still only drop as Act 1 Objects.

Objects in The Moo Moo Farm drop as Act 1 Objects, also.

For reference, items that drop from objects will inherit the level of the area that
the object is located in. Act 5 (H) Objects located in level 85 areas are in fact
capable of dropping up to TC87 equipment; the chance is just very small. The
game code does not cap the quality level for equipment drops from objects at
TC66 as I had previously thought. Drop testing has verified this.

==A somewhat cheesy but effective tactic==

Drop testing has verified that it's not necessary to use a Players 8 setting before entering the area the object is located in to gain the benefit of a very low chance
for No Drop. After clearing an area at a manageable Players setting, you can
raise it to Players 8 and then run around and pop all the objects.

Okay, easy part is over… let's talk about those Super Objects.

==Sparkly Chests (Super Object)==
The following explanation is paraphrased from a post by Jarulf...For a Sparkly Chest, the game picks from 6 weighted options for how it will drop as follows:

Option 1 (2% chance). The game will make a Chest TC drop cycle (up to 4 item drops) with a desired quality of unique. If the drop cycle fails a magical+ test, it
will make another Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of unique. If that
cycle also fails a magical+ test, the game will make more drop cycles according
to option 6. Note that option 1 can generate up to 6 unique items if it fails plus up
to an additional 16 unique items from option 6. Gasp!

Option 2 (4% chance). The game will make a Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of set. If the drop cycle fails a magical+ test, it will make another
Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of set. If that cycle also fails a
magical+ test, the game will make more drop cycles according to option 6.

Option 3 (6% chance). The game will make a Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of rare. If the drop cycle fails a magical+ test, it will make another
Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of rare. If that cycle also fails a
magical+ test, the game will make more drop cycles according to option 6.

Option 4 (20% chance). The game will make up to 10 Chest TC drop cycles with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 3 of them pass a magical+ test, the
10 attempts are aborted.

Option 5 (30% chance). The game will make up to 10 Chest TC drop cycles with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 2 of them pass a magical+ test, the
10 attempts are aborted. Then, as long as the number of failed magical+ tests is
6 or less, it will then make a single Chest TC drop cycle with no desired quality,
followed by a number of gold drops equaling 6 minus the number of failed
magical+ tests.

Option 6 (38% chance). The game will make up to 10 Chest TC drop cycles with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 1 of them passes a magical+ test,
the 10 attempts are aborted. It will then make a number of Chest TC drop cycles
with no desired quality equaling 4 minus the number of failed magical+ tests
done so far. Next it makes 5 gold drops, 2 heal potion drops and 2 mana potion
drops.

Note: A Sparkly Chest works the same whether it is locked or not.

==Special Chests (Super Object) vs. Type I Ordinary Objects==
The following explanation is paraphrased from a post by Jarulf...First, the game will check if the chest is locked, and if so, unlock it if you have a
key or are an assassin. Second, the game sets the number of drop cycles from
the appropriate Chest TC to 2 if locked (up to 8 item drops), otherwise to 1 (up to
4 item drops). Next, the game tests for a flag in the initialization routine. Special
Chests always have this flag set. If it is set, there is a 5% chance that the game
will make the desired quality of the drops rare, otherwise (95% chance) the
desired quality will be magic. If the flag is not set there is no desired quality and
the game will pick quality normally, applying MF and so on (Type I Ordinary
Objects). After that, the game will make a random chance to drop at all. 75% of
the time it will drop. The other 25% of the time, it will only drop if the flag is set or
if the chest was locked. Next, the game will make either 1 or 2 actual Chest TC
drop cycles (depending on if it is locked or not), with a possible desired quality as
mentioned above. If the object is a Special Chest AND none of the previous
Chest TC drop cycles (1 or 2) passed a magical+ test, it will make up to 10 more
Chest TC drop cycles with a possible desired quality as mentioned above. As
soon as 1 of them passes a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted.

::Note: Empirical evidence suggests that most Special Chests stay that
way and remain in the same place on the map; however, some may
intermittently switch to behaving like a Type 1 Ordinary Object from run
to run (I observed this in the Maggot Lair). I believe this behaviour is
related to the initialization flag that Jarulf discovered. The conditions for
how and when the flag is set need to be investigated further.

==Quest Chests (pseudo-Type I Ordinary Object)==
It may sparkle like a Sparkly Chest, but a Quest Chest uses different operate and
initialize functions and is actually rather ordinary. Jarulf didn't post about howany of the Act2 and Act 3 Quest Chest functions work, so I am basing their drop
behavior on empirical evidence and drop tests. Quest Chests behave like Type 1
Ordinary Objects in that they can drop up to 8 items if locked or 4 if not. Then
they drop a random number of additional gold piles (there seems to be an upper
limit of 10), plus the quest item of course. The important thing is that as far as
runes are concerned, they behave like a Type I Ordinary Object.

==Where are all the Super Objects !?!==
I'm fairly sure that every "off-shoot" area contains a Sparkly Chest. Cave L2,Underground Passage L2, Pit L2, Mausoleum, Crypt, Stony Tombs L2,
Ancient Tunnels, Icy Cellar, and all 3 red portals to Hell in the outer areas of Act
5, to name some confirmed sightings. Some other locales with a Sparkly Chest
are: Bonesaw's Platform on the Glacial Trail, Snappy's Hideout, and some
serpent surrounded islands in the Great Marsh and Flayer Jungle, among
others...

The deceivingly ordinary-looking Special Chests can always be found in: the
Crypt, the Maggot Lair, at the end of the false paths in Arcane's, in the false Tal
Rasha Tombs, in Sewers L2 (Act 3), a couple spots in Upper Kurast, and of
course the ever popular center chest behind Meph, among other musty and
sunless places.

These Super Objects can be run over and over. They have a better chance (on
average over several runs) to drop runes than any single monster (except
Hell Countess up to Ist).

Don't pass over any objects in Act 5 (H)! They just might contain a Zod.

::''“To dream the impossible dream…” (voice of Luciano Pavarotti)

Note: All the lovely calculations related to rune drop chances from
objects are shown in the Excel version of the guide.

Rune Drop Averages for all Single Sources
Based on the calculations shown in the Excel version of the guide, the following
rune drop averages for all single sources were determined.

[[Image:Urlik10.jpg|frame|center]]

The number of monsters, chests, etc. does not scale up with "Players X" setting.
However, the mean quantity of rune drops for each kill does scale up for most
monster types (and all object types), since the chance for no-drop is driven to
zero. Remember that the highest ratio of rune drops per time spent is your goal,
not simply the highest average number of rune drops alone.

To download the Excel version, point your browser to:
[http://www.flightsofsplendor.com/diabloII/Urlik’s_RFG_v2.xls http://www.flightsofsplendor.com/diabloII/Urlik’s_RFG_v2.xls]

[[Image:Urlik11.jpg|thumb|800px|center]]

[[Image:Urlik12.jpg|thumb|500px|center]]

=Acknowledgments=

'''Jarulf''' - for explaining how the game drops items, how treasure classes work,how to calculate drop chances, and especially how several Objects work.

'''Thrugg'''' - for clarifying the No Drop weight equation for higher “Players X”settings and for pointing out some of the finer details of calculating theCountess's rune drops.

'''Uzziah''' - for organizing a Rune Race which inspired the creation of this guide.MattIs - for pointing out that one's rune drop productivity while area clearing islikely to be optimal at lower rather than higher "Players X" settings.

'''RTB''' - for giving me the password into the Dimension of Numbers. and especially...

'''Jenny''' - for tolerating many of my late night test sessions.Strategies and Tactics

[[category:d2 strategy]]
[[category:d2 item strategy]]
[[category:runes]]

Guide:Magic Find Guide v1.11, by Hrus

2009-10-15T16:56:48Z

TDurden1937: /* Comparison of MF targets for high TC items */

This massively comprehensive guide covers every aspect of magic find gameplay in v1.10 and v1.11. Its advice remains sound for later versions as well.

'''Strategy guide info:'''
* '''Version:''' v1.10+
* '''Game type:''' PvM
* '''Character:''' All
* '''Author:''' Hrus ([http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=412453 Source].)

==Introduction==
The guide is focused especially on Single player game, because the author plays SP only. The author is not a native English speaker, so please excuse the grammar/spelling errors.

The guide was written for patch 1.10/1.11, the differences in item generating between these two patches are negligable: Countess, Summoner and Nihlathak drop the new keys now, so their other drops are slightly reduced. Fangskin drop is bugged in hell difficulty; he drops no items at all.

== Abbreviations==
[[Game Terms|Full list here]].

* MF - magic finding - see definition in the next chapter
* - item property that reads: +X% better chance of getting magic items
* - sum of all MF percentages from all items used by character.
* SP - single player
* D2 - Diablo 2, it usually means Diablo2 with LoD expansion
* TC - Treasure Class - group of item types or other Treasure classes used to determine what items can be dropped by a creature/chest.
* mlvl - monster level
* alvl - area level (sometimes used for affix level too)
* qlvl - quality level - all basic weapon and armor items have their qlvl. Items are organized in groups - Treasure classes. All armors (leather armor, quilted armor, sash, leather gloves, buckler etc.) with qlvl 1-3 are in TC called armo3. Items with qlvl 4-6 (sabre, studded leather armor etc..) are in TC "armo6" and "weap6" etc. There is also another qlvl used when talking about set/unique items.
* GF - item property that reads: +X% more Gold from monsters (aka Gold Find)
* FCR - faster cast rate
* FRW - faster run/walk
* NM - nightmare difficulty
* SoJ - The Stone of Jordan, unique ring
* WP - Waypoint
* WSK - The World Stone Keep area in D2 LoD
* CI - cold immune
* FI - fire immune
* LI - lightning immune
* MI - magic immune
* PI - physical immune (sometimes also poison immune, in this guide I used PoI for poison immune)
* PoI - poison immune
* CB - Crushing Blow
* SF - Static Field - sorceress' skil
* WW - Whirlwind - barbarian's skill

==Basic info==
"Magic Finding" is the activity that results in finding higher magic quality items - especially unique and set items. Maxing the efficiency of finding good set/unique items is the objective of this guide. Thus, this guide doesn't cover how to effectively find runes or items with sockets.

The chance of getting set/unique item depends on:
# monster and its level (or for object/chests area where it is droppped and type of the object)
# MF of player who kills the monster (or +merc MF if he kills the monster)
# the list of unique items already generated in current game (only one unique item of its kind can spawn in the same game)

The number of dropped items is influenced by players in the game; more players cause more dropped items of any magic quality - including unique and set quality.

Now we will go deeper into the game mechanics and explain how the drops are generated.

==Item selection and TCs==
Each monster has a given property called "Treasure Class"(TC), the group of item types and other TCs used to determine which items can be dropped by a creature/chest and respective probabilities. There are 9 TCs for each monster type (see monstats.txt datafile), covering three variations (regular, champion and boss) in all three difficulties (normal, NM, hell). All TCs form a complex system which is described in TreasureClassEx.txt datafile.

The monstats.txt includes these properties (besides many other monster statistics):
{| width="100%" border="1"
! NameStr
! TC1
! TC2
! TC3
! TC1 (N)
! TC2 (N)
! TC3 (N)
! TC1 (H)
! TC2 (H)
! TC3 (H)
|-
| Skeleton
| Act 1 H2H A
| Act 1 Champ A
| Act 1 Unique A
| Act 1 (N) H2H A
| Act 1 (N) Champ A
| Act 1 (N) Unique A
| Act 1 (H) H2H A
| Act 1 (H) Champ A
| Act 1 (H) Unique A
|-
| Devilkin
| Act 1 H2H B
| Act 1 Champ B
| Act 1 Unique B
| Act 1 (N) H2H B
| Act 1 (N) Champ B
| Act 1 (N) Unique B
| Act 1 (H) H2H B
| Act 1 (H) Champ B
| Act 1 (H) Unique B
|-
| Gloam
| Act 3 Wraith A
| Act 3 Champ A
| Act 3 Unique A
| Act 4 (N) Wraith A
| Act 3 (N) Champ A
| Act 3 (N) Unique A
| Act 3 (H) Wraith A
| Act 3 (H) Champ A
|
Act 3 (H) Unique A
|}

* TreasureClass1 - TC of regular monster on normal difficulty
* TreasureClass2 - TC of champion on normal difficulty
* TreasureClass3 - TC of unique monster on normal difficulty
* etc.

For example Devilkin has in column "TreasureClass1(H)" (regular monster, hell difficulty): "Act 1 (H) H2H B".

This TC is defined with all others in TreasureClassEx.txt datafile.

Our "Act1 (H) H2H B" Treasure Class has these important properties: group=7, level=66, picks=1, NoDrop=100, Item1=gld, Prob1=21, Item2=Act 1 (H) Equip B, Prob2=16, Item3=Act 1 (H) Junk, Prob3=21, Item4=Act 1 (H) Good, Prob4=2, where:
* group = TC group
* level = TC level
* picks = number of drop cycles
* NoDrop = probability of no drop
* Item1-10 = TC or item type
* Prob1-10 = probability (frequency) of appropriate TC or item type

In our case, Devilkin will drop:
* no item with probability 100/160, (160 is the sum of all frequencies here)
* gold with probability 121/160,
* an item/TC from TC "Act 1 (H) Equip B" with probability 16/160 (armors and weapons),
* an item/TC from TC "Act 1 (H) Junk" with probability 21/160 (potions, ammo, keys etc.)
* and an item/TC from TC "Act 1 (H) Good" with probability 2/160 (runes,amulets,jewels,charms).

Let's suppose that random routine choosed "Act 1 (H) Equip B" TC. It contains these TCs:
* weap57, frequency 2
* armo57, 1
* weap60, 6
* armo60, 3
* weap63, 14
* armo63, 7
* weap66, 2
* armo66, 1
* Act 1 (H) Equip A, 1530

Let's suppose that the random routine has chosen weap66. Now the game chooses the weapon from TC66 group. The frequencies of basic items are the same in all armo and weap TCs - normal weapons/armors 3, class-specific weapons/armors 1, assassin katars 2, staves/scepters/wands 1. Yes, staves, wands, scepters and class specifics are three times rarer than other normal items.

Weap66 contains these weapons: highland blade, silver edged axe, stalagmite(1/3 prob.), ghost wand(1/3), colossus voulge, stygian pike, flying knife, matriarchal javelin(1/3). Weap66 and armo66 is the highest TC a melee monster in the middle of act 1 (Hell difficulty) can drop.

Now, this is true for patch 1.09. In 1.10, the monsters have upgraded "TC" according to areas where they spawn. All areas have their level - for example Tower Cellar 1 has alvl=75 and Pit 1 has alvl=85 (both in Act 1 Hell). The primary TC of monster is upgraded using following algorithm:
Until the monster level (the same as the area level for regular monsters in 1.10) > actual TC level, upgrade TC to the higher TC in the same TC group.

Example: Our Devilkin from Tower Cellar floor 1 has TC "Act 1 (H) H2H B", it's group 7, lvl71.
* mlvl (75) > TC lvl (66) -> upgrade TC to "Act 1 (H) H2H C" - group 7, lvl 68
* mlvl (75) > TC lvl (68) -> upgrade TC to "Act 2 (H) H2H A" - group 7, lvl 69

Final TC will be "Act 3 (H) H2H B" - group 7, lvl 76 - leading to weap75 and armo75. In the same way, the final TC for Devilkin from the Pit will be "Act 5 (H) H2H C" -group 7, level 85 - leading to weap87 and armo87.

Weap87 and armo87 contain the rarest items in the game (like Corona, Diadem, Sacred Armor, Berserker Axe, Hydra Bow, etc.). Monsters able to drop from these TCs are able to drop any type of item. (In 1.09 the TC90 existed, but all items were moved to TC87 in patch 1.10). Beside the areas like Pit and late Act5 areas, i.e. mosters with "Act 5 (H) *** C" TCs, the monsters which drop from "Act 5 (H) *** B" TCs, are still able to give weap87 and armo87, but with severely reduced probability (~8.5 x lower).

===Monsters that can drop all types of items icluding TC87:===

Low chance TC87:
* regulars in areas lvl 83
* champions in areas lvl 80-81
* minions in areas lvl 80
* bosses in areas lvl 79-80
* hell bovines
* superuniques: Sharptooth Slayer, Dac Farren, Nihlathak
* Baal

High chance TC87:
* regulars in areas lvl 84-85
* champions in areas lvl 82-85
* minions in areas lvl 81-85
* bosses in areas lvl 81-85
* superuniques: Pindleskin, Frozenstein, Snapchip Schatter, Thresh Socket

Note1: Bosses and their minions have mlvl=alvl+3, Champions have mlvl=alvl+2.

Note2: Some monsters have a higher TC than their upgraded TC should be. For example Death Slashers in Arreat Plateau (Hell diff) have "Act 5 (H) H2H B" TC, though the alvl is only 81 and upgraded TC of monsters in areas lvl81 would be only "Act 5 (H) H2H A" - so while Death Slashers can drop TC87 (low chance) in this area, the guest monsters from lower acts can not.

If we take a closer look at TC of different monster types, there are more groups of TC than "H2H" for melee monsters (H2H - melee monsters, the biggest group).
* Wraith - Ghost, Strangler and Gloam type monsters drop only from "Good" (runes, jewelry, gems) and "Magic" (mana pots+scrolls). These have higher chance for "Good" TC than normal monsters, and thus, sought after for dropping runes.
* Miss - missile monsters, like archers, drop less of normal items and more from special Bow TC, that contains only bows. They also drop a lot of ammo.
* Cast - drop slightly less of normal items and have a chance to drop from "Magic" TC like Ghosts
* Cow - drop slightly more from "Good"

All champions drop from the same TC group, Wraith type champion will drop from the same TC as H2H or Cast type champion with the same mlvl.

All random bosses drop from the same TC group, Wraith type boss will drop from the same TC as H2H or Cast type boss with the same mlvl.

Act Bosses and some superuniques as Countess, Griswold, Nihlathak have their own TCs.

Most superuniques, such as Frozenstein, Pindleskin etc. have the similar drop as random bosses, but they drop 2 items instead of one.

Superuniques from Baal's minions have the same drop as champions (in other words they drop crap).

===Objects and chests===
It's not important for this guide to describe the whole process of drop mechanics of chests and other objects. Thus, only few notes:

1) Chests and objects have their own group of TCs. They drop much less equipment and more "junk" and "good" - runes, jewelry, gems, gold, potions. Thus, they are not good for real MFing, they will not drop as much armors and weapons, but they can drop more jewelry.

2) MF works with most of the chests. Only super chests (3 chests in LK around the fire, end-chests in Arcane Sanctuary, the central chest behind Mephisto etc.) have fixed magic quality drops. Magic items will drop 95% of time, rare items will drop 5% of time (yes, all items dropped will be rare); MF is not used. Sparkly chests (like the one in the Pit 2) have also high chance to generate fixed magic quality drop, they can generate even unique or set drops.

3) Defining chest TC is different than defining monster TC - their TC isn't upgraded according to alvl.

==Number of players==

The higher is the number of players, the higher is the number of items dropped by monsters. More precisely - monsters have lower chance to drop no items (this chance is defined in their main TC under NoDrop property). Now, how it works?
We have the total number of players in the game, let's say it's N players. Health and EXP of monsters is enhanced by this formula: HP=HP*(N+1)/2. In 8 player game, monsters have 4.5 higher HP. In off-realm games, you can simulate more players by "/players X" command, where X > N.

But drops are not affected by simply N (all players in the game). The "NoDrop exponent" (or "player bonus") will be counted this way: Players who are a) unpartied with you or b) not close to you (around 2 screens), count only as 0.5 player. You and partied players close to you count as 1 player. Players added in off-realm games by "players X" command count as 0.5 player. The NoDrop exponent will be rounded down if it's not an integer. For example you are killing with your friend who is in your party monsters in the Pit and another player is killing monsters in Ancient Tunnels (it doesn't matter if he is in the party or not). Your NoDrop exponent will be 2 (rounded from 2.5).

This NoDrop exponent (NDE) is used for reducing the NoDrop number from monster TC:
* New NoDrop = ND^NDE/(1-ND^NDE) * SumProb
where
* New NoDrop - NoDrop probability after applying the player bonus
* ND - base NoDrop probability = base NoDrop/base Sum of all probabilities including base NoDrop
* NDE - NoDrop exponent
* SumProb - Sum of probabilities of all TCs in main TC (minus NoDrop)

For example our Devilkin has ND 100, SumProb 60
* using NDE=1 (1 player in game or 2 unpartied players)
* New NoDrop = (100/160)^1/(1-(100/160)^1)*60 = (100/160) / (60/160) * 60 = 100/60 * 60 = 100 (what did you expect in 1 player game, more drops? )
* using NDE=2
* New NoDrop = (100/160)^2/(1-(100/160)^2)*60 = 0.390625 / (1-0.390625) * 60 = 38.4615 = 38 (the new no drop chance is 38/(60+38) )
* using NDE=3
* New NoDrop = 0.2441/(1-0.2441)*60 = 19.3798 = 19 (the new no drop chance is 19/(60+19) )
* using NDE=8 (all players partied, close to killing player)
* New NoDrop = 0.0232/(1-0.0232)*60 = 1.431 = 1 (the new no drop chance is 1/(60+1) )

NOTE: all melee monsters (H2H) have NoDrop 100 and probability sum 160, all Wraith type have NoDrop 75 and probability sum 104, etc.

H2H (Wraith, Miss, Cast etc.) TC is used only for regular monsters and minions. Champions and unique bosses have more complicated TC, all champions will allways drop 2 potions and 1 item/gold pile no matter how much players are in the game. Unique bosses allways drop 4 potions and 1 item. Superuniques without their own TC as Pindleskin, Frozenstein, etc. will allways drop 2 items and 4 potions. For Act bosses and superuniques with their own TC (like Nihlathak, Countess, Izual, Summoner) the effect of player bonus can be different. For example Andariel reach NoDrop = 0 on NDE=5, Mephisto, Diablo and Baal reach NoDrop=0 on NDE=3. In other words it's useless to run Mephisto with higher player bonus than 3 (that's equal to "/players 5" command in SP).

==Magic Quality Selection==
In previous chapters we learned how the items drop and how the number of players in the game affects their quantity. Now we have to learn how the game decides if the item will be unique or set (or rare or magic or normal quality).
The current MF of the player who is giving the killing blow is all that counts. Use it to you advantage especially when killing the act bosses. It's good to have MF items on your weapon switch or even in inventory and equip them before finishing the boss off.

If your mercenary makes the killing blow, the sum of his MF and your MF is used, when your character makes the killing blow, only his MF is used.

The game checks the quality in this sequence: Check for being unique, if failed check for being set, if failed check for being rare, if failed check for being magic, if failed check for high quality item or if the item can't be normal quality (jewelry), generate magic quality item, if the high quality check failed, check for normal quality item, if failed generate low quality item.

Most of us have already heard about [[Magic find diminishing returns|diminishing results of MF]]. What is it?

Let's say that the chance for an item dropped from regular monster to be unique is 1:400 , chance for set is 1:160, chance for rare is 1:100, chance for magic is 1:34 and you have 200 MF total. While for magic quality check, your full MF is used, for unique, set and rare check, the MF is reduced by a specific factor using this formula:

Effective MF = MF*Factor/(MF+Factor)

where Factor=250 for Uniques, 500 for sets, 600 for rares

So with Effective MF in our case is: 250*200/(250+200) = 111 for uniques, 142 for sets, 150 for rares.
Only effective MF is used in appropriate quality checks, so we have a 1/400 * 2.11 chance for item being uniqe, then the chance for set is 1/160 * 2.42, for rare it's 1/100 * 2.50 and for magic it's 1/34 * 3.00 .

Effective MF Table
* A more detailed table [[Magic find diminishing returns|can be found 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
|}

This was very simple and inaccurate explanation of the whole process. Now, if you don't want to go deep into the game mechanics, skip the next part, I will explain the whole Algorithm of unique check.

1) Find the proper line in the ItemRatio.txt datafile. In this file there are lines for normal, exceptional/elite, class-specific normal and class-specific exceptional/elite items. The important properties are Unique, UniqueDivisor, UniqueMin, Set, SetDivisor, SetMin, etc.

In 1.10/1.11, the difference between normal and exceptional/elite items is only in Normal and Normal Divisor, so exceptional and elite items have lower chance to be lower quality.

Simplified ItemRatio table: (without rare, magic, superior and normal properties for D2 LOD)
{| width="100%" border="1"
! Items
! Unique
! UniqueDiv
! UniqueMin
! Set
! SetDiv
! Set Min
|-
| Normal/Exc/Elite Items
| align="center" | 400
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 6400
| align="center" | 160
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 5600
|-
| Class-Specific Items
| align="center" | 240
| align="center" | 3
| align="center" | 6400
| align="center" | 120
| align="center" | 3
| align="center" | 5600
|}

2) BaseChance is the value from Unique column (if we check for unique quality). It's allways 400 (240 for class-specific). In the whole process, the smaller the chance is, the better. So we can see, that class specific items have much better chance to be unique or set.

3) Chance = BaseChance - (mlvl-qlvl)/UniqueDiv
mlvl - monsterlvl of monster dropping the item
qlvl - quality of the base item (for example amulet, ring, jewel and grand charm has qlvl=1, unearthed wand qlvl=86, dagger qlvl=3, hydra bow qlvl=85, small charm qlvl=28, large charm qlvl=14)

So we can see that the chance for item is much better when the monster drops from low TCs, than if it drops items from his highest TC (which contains items around the same qlvl as monster level)

4) Chance = Chance * 128
(Multiplied for extra precision)

5) Chance = Chance * 100/(100+EffectiveMF)
Note - the factor 100/(100+EffectiveMF) is the same as Real MF multiplicator for Uniques from EffectiveMF table.

6) If UniqueMin>Chance then Chance=UniqueMin

7) Chance= Chance - (Chance * UniqueFactor/1024)
Unique Factor is the value from column "Unique" from monster's TC. For example act bosses have high values here, all bosses have also 1024 in Magic column, that means that their Chance is 0 for magic items - they will allways drop at least magic items.

Unique/Set/Rare/Magic factors from TC:
* Normal monsters/minions 0/0/0/0
* Act bosses 983/983/983/1024
* Act bosses quest drop 993/993/1024/1024 (Andariel is 995/995/1024/1024)
* Superuniques 800/800/972/1024
* Uniques and Champions 800/800/800/1024
* Council members 650/800/800/1024
* The Summoner 900/900/972/1024
* Radament 900/900/900/1024
* Griswold, Smith 800/800/800/1024
* Izual, Blood Raven 800/800/972/1024
* Hephasto 800/800/900/1024
* Cow King 850/983/983/1024
* Nihlathak 900/900/900/1024
* Countess 883/883/883/1024

8) The Random Generator picks the number between 0 and (Chance-1). If this number is lower than 128, the unique quality check is successful.

9) Now the game prepares the list of uniques of the particular item type. Most of the basic items have only one unique, some items have two (Lightsabre + Azurewrath, Horizon's Tornado + Stormlash), some items have a lot of uniques (amulets, rings), some items have no unique at all (Colossus Voulge,Crystal Sword etc.).

Now the game checks this list and remove all uniques, that have their "Unique quality lvl" > MonsterLvl.

For example Andariel(NM) dropped a unique ring. NM Andariel's mlvl=49, so every ring with qlvl>49 will be removed from the list. Only 3 rings remain: Nagelring (qlvl=10,rarity=15), Manald Heal(qlvl=15,rarity=15) and Stone of Jordan (qlvl=31,rarity=1). The game then decides randomly between these rings according to their rarities (1 from 31 unique rings from NM Andariel will be SoJ). If the list is empty, the FAILED UNIQUE item will be generated. Failed Unique is the rare item of the same type, that has 3 times higher durability than the normal one.

Note: You can find unique/set qlvls and rarities on d2data.net

10) The Game checks if the unique item wasn't already spawned in this game. If it was, the failed unique item will be generated.

9+) If the check from 8) wasn't successful, the game will do the same algorithm for set quality (Using the Set, SetDiv, SetMin from ItemRatio table, SetFactor from TC table and Set EffectiveMF). If the check for set is successful and there is no possible set for this item type, or mlvl<qlvl of the set item, then Failed Set will be generated. Failed Set is a magic item with double durability. Set items can be dropped more times in the same game.

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

===Head===
* 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.

===Body===
* 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)

===Weapon===
* 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.

===Shield===
* 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.

===Gloves===
* 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.

===Boots===
* 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

===Belt===
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.

===Amulet===
* 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 - *)

===Ring===
* 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)

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

===Maximum Possible Magic Find===
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...

==MF Balance==

We have calculated the maximum possible MF, but I think we all understand that character with 1000 MF will not kill as quickly as character with 0 MF equipped with gear suited for most efficient killing speed. So the character with 0 MF will have more dropped items, but character with high MF will have less items, but they are more likely to be uniques. We need to find the best compromise between high MF and killing speed. The chance for unique item is directly proportional to Effective MF. I think we can leave the set items for now and concentrate only on uniques. In the next table I will sumarize the gain from added MF, focus on column "Real" - this is a real koeficient used in chance for unique formula. For example if the character with 0 MF gets 100 unique items from some amount of dropped items, character with 50 MF will get 141 unique items from the same amount and character with 1000 MF will get 300 items. In the column %gained is the difference between rows in percentages. For example character with 300MF will get 4.89% more unique items than character with 250MF. It does also means that character with 250 MF will get more unique items per the same period of time, if he/she will kill more than 1.0489xfaster than character with 300MF.

{| border="1"
! Magic Find %
! Unique MF%
! Real
! % gained
|-
| '''0'''
| align="center" | 0
| align="center" | 1.0
| align="center" | --
|-
| '''50'''
| align="center" | 41
| align="center" | 1.41
| align="center" | 41.0
|-
| '''100'''
| align="center" | 71
| align="center" | 1.71
| align="center" | 21.28
|-
| '''150'''
| align="center" | 93
| align="center" | 1.93
| align="center" | 12.87
|-
| '''200'''
| align="center" | 111
| align="center" | 2.11
| align="center" | 9.33
|-
| '''250'''
| align="center" | 125
| align="center" | 2.25
| align="center" | 6.64
|-
| '''300'''
| align="center" | 136
| align="center" | 2.36
| align="center" | 4.89
|-
| '''350'''
| align="center" | 145
| align="center" | 2.45
| align="center" | 3.81
|-
| '''400'''
| align="center" | 153
| align="center" | 2.53
| align="center" | 3.27
|-
| '''450'''
| align="center" | 160
| align="center" | 2.60
| align="center" | 2.77
|-
| '''500'''
| align="center" | 166
| align="center" | 2.66
| align="center" | 2.31
|-
| '''550'''
| align="center" | 171
| align="center" | 2.71
| align="center" | 1.88
|-
| '''600'''
| align="center" | 176
| align="center" | 2.76
| align="center" | 1.85
|-
| '''650'''
| align="center" | 180
| align="center" | 2.80
| align="center" | 1.45
|-
| '''700'''
| align="center" | 184
| align="center" | 2.84
| align="center" | 1.43
|-
| '''750'''
| align="center" | 187
| align="center" | 2.87
| align="center" | 1.06
|-
| '''800'''
| align="center" | 190
| align="center" | 2.90
| align="center" | 1.05
|-
| '''850'''
| align="center" | 193
| align="center" | 2.93
| align="center" | 1.03
|-
| '''900'''
| align="center" | 195
| align="center" | 2.95
| align="center" | 0.68
|-
| '''950'''
| align="center" | 197
| align="center" | 2.97
| align="center" | 0.68
|-
| '''1000'''
| align="center" | 200
| align="center" | 3.0
| align="center" | 1.01
|}
As you can see, there are very little differences after 500 MF, my own rule for MF characters is "Get MF to 250, then look how to make your runs faster, additional MF comes only if it doesn't slow your MF runs". Concerning this, I'd like to mention that some builds are able to wear very high MF while keeping adequate killing speed, especially in low-player games. These are for example Blizzard sorc and Summoner.

===How to make your MF runs faster?===
1) Improving killing speed - for casters it means more +skills and sometimes more FCR (Hammerdin, Winddruid, Fireball sorc), for physical damage characters it's +damage, AR, IAS. Don't let the merc wear additional MF to make the killing blows, if you kill much faster.

2) Improving movement speed - If you dont't have access to teleport via Enigma or being a sorc, try to get more FRW. FRW has diminishing returns, so don't be insane with this, but I like to have at least 50 FRW on my MF chars, skillers with FRW are my favorites. Still, items with teleport charges - circlets or amulets or Naj's Puzzler (set Elder staff) on switch - can speed up some runs very much. If you are hammerdin, learn to switch to vigor/charge...

3) Survival - It's more important for HC players, but even in SC - death slows you. Get some resistances, +life and life steal if you are physical hitter.

If you feel the need to optimize your MF vs Speed, You have to try the different equipment setups and measure average time of your MF runs. You have to compute your Real MF coefficients ( it's (effective MF/100)+1 ) and compare them with the time spent on your runs.

I want to mention one thing I call "MF Breakpoints". There is a myth that some values of MF are better than the others; this comes from the older patches where the MF mechanics was different. In 1.10/1.11, the only thing that matters is the effective MF. But with increasing MF, your effective MF grows up very slowly. For example, you will have 167 effective MF if you have 504-512MF on your character, 168 effective MF with 513-521MF. So, if you have the inventory filled with some small 7% MF charms, and your total MF is 521, you can change 1 MF charm for another charm (for example with resistances, run/walk or +damage) while having the same chance for unique items.

==MF Targets==

===Mephisto===
[[Mephisto]]
* Lvl (Hell): 87
* Location: Durance of Hate lvl 3, Act 3
* How to get there: From Durance of Hate lvl 2 waypoint, turn allways left
* Drops (Hell): He drops good from TC75 and lower, and very rarely from TC78. He can drop all jewelry.
* TC (Hell): picks 7, NoDrop 15, gold 5, "Act 4 (H) Equip A" 52, "Act 4 (H) Junk" 5, "Act 4 (H) Good" 3
quest TC (Hell): picks 7, NoDrop 15, "Act 4 (H) Equip A" 52, "Act 4 (H) Good" 3
armoTC per dropped item: armo78 1:1957, armo3 1:883, armo 75 1:245, armo72 1:159, armo51 1:151, armo69 1:150 ....
weapTC is around armoTC/2

Drop Analysis: in the column picks in his main TC is 7 - that means that the game would generate 7 items from his TC. But there is a limit for monsters - only 6 items can be dropped. If there is no NoDrop in some of the first 6 picks from Mephisto TC, the 7th item will not be dropped. This game feature is not implemented correctly in known Drop calculators. Atma 5.04e Drop Calculator counts allways 6 picks for ActBosses (it's correct for higher player settings where the NoDrop=0, but it's very inacurate for players 1 setting - when NoDrop occurs, there will be 7th drop, which Atma doesn't count). German drop calculator counts always 7 picks, so it shows much better chance to get unique items than the real chance is. The chance of NoDrop on P1 is 15/80. I don't know how to statistically calculate the number of dropped items with the 7th drop behavior, but I made a little program, that does count number of dropped items according to the game algorithm and then counts average number and it was 5.45. I made a 70 Meph runs on P1 just to be sure this number is correct and ended with 5.48, so I suppose the 5.45 is right. So if you want to find a chance to get a specific item from Mephisto in Atma drop calculator, use per drop option, use players 8 (no drop is 0), and if you multiply the chance with 5.45 multiplikator, you got the right chance for players 1.

(Atma calculates 15/80 no drop (when using players 1) for a single drop and multiply this probability by 6. The number of dropped items in Atma per kill for Mephisto is 65/80*6=4.875 items on players 1)

NoDrop on P2 (/Players 3 command in solo SP) = 2/67, number of dropped items is almost allways 6. (5.82 according to Atma, 5.98 real) This is the player settings on which you should do your runs.
NoDrop on P3 and higher = 0

Now what is the quest drop? It's the drop from actboss, if you kill him for the first time as a part of quest. This drop will not contain gold, junk (scrolls, potions, arrows) and dropped items will be at least rare. Magic items from quest drop are charms (they can't be rare) or failed set items. Also chance to get unique/set is slightly higher. There is a way to get the quest drop on regular basis, but I think it's cheesy. If the game is created by player who has done the quest and the killing player has not done the quest, that player will get quest drop.

Avg. Number of items from Mephisto's quest drop:
* P1 quest, NoDrop=15/70, real items: 5.31, atma items: 4.71
* P2 quest, NoDrop=2/57, real items: 5.97, atma items: 5.78 (/players 3 command in solo SP)
* P3 quest, NoDrop=0

Hell Mephisto is the best source for items under TC78.

NM Mephisto can drop items up to TC57 (TC57 very rarely). He is the monster you should start MFing, if you are starting. He can drop all nice class-specific exceptional uniques and most normal exceptional uniques.
Act bosses should give you slightly more than 1 unique/set item per kill on average.

Killing strategy: If your character is week, cannot tank Mephisto and your Merc dies immediatly, you can do the famous "Moat trick". Basically you teleport back across the moat and stand in the distance where the other side is on the edge of your screen. Mephisto will not use any of his attacks from that long distance and you can safely kill him with your spells. The best time efficient strategy for characters with better gear is tanking him though. Mephisto will not use his ice orb spell if you are close to him. When he hits your merc, he will get enormous physical damage - so equip your merc with PDR and something with slows target (Kelpie snare, Woestave) - he will survive for longer time. You cannot leech from Mephisto on NM and hell difficulty. His resistances (hell) are fire 75, cold 75, lightning 75, poison 75, magic 50, physical 20. If you play on BNet and you have to find entrance all the time, use only teleport for moving if you are sorc. 65% FCR breakpoint should be enough, the monsters will not hit you.

===Andariel===
[[Andariel]]
* Lvl (Hell): 75
* Location: Cathedral lvl4, Act 1
* How to get there: From Cathedral lvl2 WP... no special rules for direction though.
* Drops (Hell): She drops good from TC66 and lower, and very rarely from TC69.
* TC (Hell): picks 7, NoDrop 19, gold 11, "Act 2 (H) Equip A" 19, "Act 2 (H) Junk" 15, "Act 2 (H) Good" 3
quest TC (Hell): picks 7, NoDrop 19, "Act 2 (H) Equip A" 19, "Act 4 (H) Good" 3 armoTC per dropped item (Hell): armo69 1:3956, armo3 1:1627, armo66 1:495, armo 63 1:299, armo51 1:278, armo42 1:252

Drop analysis: As we see Andariel doesn't drop so much from Equip TC as Mephisto, that results in more items from Good TC - more jewelry, gems and runes. He drops alot from Junk TC. On SP, there is a bug which causes her to drop from her quest drop all the time. That causes very good odds for unique items, especially for jewelry. She can't drop Metalgrid, Nature's piece, Wisp Projector and Rainbow Facets though. NM Andariel is the best source for SoJ ring. (In hell she can drop other rings as Ravenfrost and Dwarf Star, which lowers the chance for SOJ. In NM, every unique ring from Andy has 1:31 chance to be the SOJ, In Hell, it's 1:55).

{| border="1"
! PL
! no-drop
! real
! Atma
|-
| p1
| align="center" | 19/67
| align="center" | 4.91
| align="center" | 4.30
|-
| p2
| align="center" | 4/52
| align="center" | 5.89
| align="center" | 5.54
|-
| p3
| align="center" | 1/49
| align="center" | 5.99
| align="center" | 5.88
|-
| p4
| align="center" | O
| align="center" | 6.0
| align="center" | 6.0
|-
| p1q
| align="center" | 19/41
| align="center" | 3.74
| align="center" | 3.22
|-
| p2q
| align="center" | 6/28
| align="center" | 5.31
| align="center" | 4.71
|-
| p3q
| align="center" | 2/24
| align="center" | 5.87
| align="center" | 5.50
|-
| p4q
| align="center" | 1/23
| align="center" | 5.96
| align="center" | 5.08
|-
| p5q
| align="center" | O
| align="center" | 6.0
| align="center" | 6.0
|}

Killing strategy: She has -50 resistance to fire, so fire sorcs are effective here, but any high level character shouldn't have much problems killing her.

Resistances: -50 fire, 0 magic, 66 all other resistances.

===Duriel===
[[Duriel]]
* Lvl (Hell): 88
* Location: Duriel's Chamber, Act 2
* How to get there: If you have done the quest already, you can find out the true tomb sign by getting to Summoner. The sign missing on the ground is the sign of the true tomb. In BNet in 1.11 it's good to kill Summoner anyways, because he can drop one of the new keys.

The only reason why I included him as a target is that he drops jewelry as good as Andariel, but he can drop all rings and amulets and Rainbow facets, so he is the best source for farming them. The best TC he can drop is TC72.

===Diablo===
[[Diablo]]
* lvl (Hell): 94
* Location: Chaos Sanctuary, Act 4
* How to get there: From River of Flame waypoint, you must activate all 5 seals in Chaos Sanctuary and kill all three Seal superuniques.
* Drops (Hell): He drops from TC84 (low chance) and lower
* TC (Hell): picks 7, NoDrop 15, gold 5, "Act 5 (H) Equip A" 52, "Act 5 (H) Junk" 5, "Act 5 (H) Good" 3
quest TC: picks 7, NoDrop 15, "Act 5 (H) Equip A" 52, "Act 5 (H) Good" 3
armoTC per dropped item: armo84 1:1957, armo3 1:925, armo78 1:302, armo81 1:279, armo6 1:220 ...
weapTC is around armoTC/2

Drop analysis: As you can see, his TC is similar to Mephisto's TC, he just can drop higher runes and higher armo/weap TC. He drops the same number of items as Mephisto. But you have to go through the whole Chaos Sanctuary and Seal bosses first. Chaos Sanctuary is lvl85 area, so bosses, minions and champions can drop all items in the game here. It's probably good to kill all bosspacks, if you look for TC87 uniques. Read more about drops from lvl85 areas in the later section.

Then there are three superuniques that you have to kill. They are Lord de Seis, Infector of Souls and Grand Vizier of Chaos. They all have lvl 88 and drop up to TC84 (low chance). As superuniques, they allways drop 2 items, so they can drop something useful sometimes. But they can't drop from TC87 and that makes Act 5 superuniques much better targets. And why their TC is not upgraded according to their monster levels? Random bosses and even regular monsters in Chaos sanctuary can drop from TC87, so why they can't? It's because Treasure classes of superunique monsters are different from normal monsters. Lord de Seis TC on hell is "Act 4 (H) Super C", Infector of Souls and Grand Vizier has "Act 4 (H) Super B". They all have monster level 88.

From TreasureClassEx.txt data file:
* Act 4 (H) Super B 18 84
* Act 4 (H) Super C 18 87
* Act 5 (H) Super A 18 90
* Act 5 (H) Super B 18 93
* Act 5 (H) Super C 18 96
So after TC upgrade, they drop from Act 5 (H) Super A, that does mean TC84 at maximum. Pindleskin is only lvl 86, but his TC is Act 5 (H) Super C, that's why he can drop from TC87 (with high chance), Dac Farren for example drops from Act 5 (H) Super B (TC87 with low chance).

Killing strategy: Melee characters has a lot of problems here because of IM, also A2 merc dies a lot. You will need some resistances here because of Oblivions and their elemental attacks, as well as Ventar's fire attacks and especially Diablo's Lightning hose (it does half lightning, half physical damage) and his Inferno. Resistances: physical 45, magic 0, all other 50

===Baal===
[[Baal]]
* lvl (Hell): 99
* Location: Baal's Throne, Act 5
* How to get there: From WSK lvl2 waypoint head allways right. No rules for WSK lvl3.
* Drops (Hell): He drops from TC87 (low chance) and lower
* TC (Hell): picks 7, NoDrop 15, gold 5, "Act 5 (H) Equip B" 52, "Act 5 (H) Junk" 5, "Act 5 (H) Good" 3
quest TC: picks 7, NoDrop 15, "Act 5 (H) Equip B" 52, "Act 5 (H) Good" 3
armoTC per dropped item: armo87 1:1957, armo3 1:947, armo78 1:267, armo84 1:245, armo6 1:225, armo81 1:198
weapTC is around armoTC/2

Drop analysis: As you can see, his TC is similar to Mephisto's TC, he just can drop higher runes and higher armo/weap TC. He drops the same number of items as Mephisto. Baal can drop all items in the game (of course - no uber quest keys, annihilus, cow set items etc). Again WSK and Baal's Throne are both lvl85 areas. Baal minions superuniques drop as champions (they drop gold or item), so they are not a great source of unique items, but they can drop all unique/set items in the game. Baal would be the best source of all items in the game, if it doesn't take so long to kill his minions. In addition, it's not easy to have a solo character, who easily kills Baal and all his minions and has no problems with various monsters in WSK and the throne.

Good characters are Meteorb, Hammerdin, Lightning zon (only Souls are problem, but their immunity can be broken by lower resist charges), Lightning sorc, Summoner, Blizzard (it's good to use Bonehew corpse explosion charges for 2nd wave).

Baal resistances (hell): magic 0, all other 50. Immunities of his minions: 1st wave: Colenzo - fire, 2nd wave: Achmel poison+magic, minions magic, bone warriors cold, 3rd wave: none, 4th wave: poison, 5th wave: fire.

Killing Strategy: Using slowing methods (Decrepify, Kelpie Snare, Clay Golem) will slow him and he will very rarely cast his annoying spells. Character should have more life than mana to avoid the blood mana curse.

===Pindleskin===
[[Pindleskin]]
* lvl (Hell): 86
* Location: Nihlathak's Temple, Act 5
* How to get there: Go through the Anya's Red Portal. To have this portal activated, you should not take the Halls of Pain waypoint or not kill Nihlathak.
* Drops (Hell): He drops from the TC87 (high chance) and lower.
* TC (Hell): picks -4, "Act 5 (H) Uitem C" 2, "Act 5 (H) Cpot C" 2
armoTC per dropped item: armo 3 1:828, armo78 1:233, armo 87 1:186, armo81 1:157, armo84 1:154, armo51 1:142, armo69 1:132 etc. WeapTC is around armoTC/2

Drop analysis: The negative picks means that when he is killed, the game doesn't choose randomly, but allways choose 2 picks from "Act 5 (H) Uitem C" and 2 picks from "Act 5 (H) Cpot C", where "Act 5 (H) Uitem C" means: pics 1, "Act 5 (H) Equip C" 58, "Act 5 (H) Good" 4. "Act 5 (H) Cpot C" is a Treasure class containing 2 picks of various potions. So he allways drops 2 items and 4 potions. Player settings has no effect on his drop. There are three unique items he can't drop: Arachnid Mesh, Azurewrath and Tyrael's Might. All three have unique qlvl=87 and Pindleskin 's mlvl=86, that's why he can't drop them. He is the best source of unique and set items from TC87. His minions can drop the same items as him, but they drop like normal monsters, so they are affected by no-drop and player settings, they drop more junk and their drops have lower chance being set/unique.

Pindleskin will drop around 1 elite set/unique item per 50 kills. He will drop around 1 unique TC87 per 1000 kills. (Yes, it's nothing easy...)

Let's take a look on minions drop, and let's say we are running Pindleskin for TC87 uniques.

(character with 400 MF, odds for Death Cleaver, ATMA says
* Pindleskin: 1:20,425
* minion:
** P1: 1:1,746,880
** P2: 1:1,069,964
** P3: 1: 862,522
** P4: 1: 764,260 (/players 7 command in SP)

added together Pindleskin+8minions:
* P1: 1:18,678 1
* P2: 1:17,719 1.05
* P3: 1:17,171 1.09
* P4: 1:16,827 1.11

Data in the 2nd column mean how much more uniques you will get against P1. (Or how much faster you have to be on appropriate settings against P1 to get the same number of uniques). This column stays the same for any unique armor/weapon, and it also stays the same for any amount of MF.)

Conclusion: Unless you run Pindleskin for experience, use P1 settings.

Killing strategy: Try to avoid their charges. It can be done by glacial spike (sorceress) or placing a minion between Pindle's pack and you (Valkyrie, Golem)

===Other Superuniques===
Pindleskin is the best superunique for MF because of his high mlvl and easy access. Here is the list of other Act5 Superuniques with standard superunique 2 item drop:

{| border="1"
! Monster
! Mlvl
! TC
|-
| [[Frozenstein]]
| align="center" | 86
| align="center" | TC87 high
|-
| [[Snapchip Shatter]]
| align="center" | 86
| align="center" | TC87 high
|-
| [[Thresh Socket]]
| align="center" | 84
| align="center" | TC87 high
|-
| [[Sharptooth Slayer]]
| align="center" | 84
| align="center" | TC87 low
|-
| [[Dac Farren]]
| align="center" | 83
| align="center" | TC87 low
|-
| [[Bonesaw Breaker]]
| align="center" | 86
| align="center" | TC84
|-
| [[Eldritch the Rectifier]]
| align="center" | 84
| align="center" | TC84
|-
| [[Eyeback the Unleashed]]
| align="center" | 83
| align="center" | TC84
|-
| [[Shenk the Overseer]]
| align="center" | 83
| align="center" | TC84
|}

Where TC87 high means armo87 1:186, TC87 low means armo87 1:1674 per dropped item!

The lower monster level - the longer list of uniques that can't be dropped. Here is the list:
* uqlvl=87: Arachnid Mesh, Azurewrath, Tyrael's Might
* uqlvl=86: Crown of Ages, Mang Song's Lesson, Stormlash, Tomb Reaver
* uqlvl=85: Alma Negra, Andariel's Visage, Arioc's Needle, Arkaine's Valor, Halaberd's Reign, Kira's Guardian, Metalgrid, Rainbow Facet,Shadowkiller, The Cranium Basher, The Gladiator's Bane, The Grandfather, Wolfhowl
* uqlvl=84: Boneshade, Dracul's Grasp, Dragonscale, Griffon's Eye, Hellrack, Medusa's Gaze, Wisp Projector, Wraithflight

[[Nihlathak]] has his own TC: picks 5, NoDrop 19, gold 14, "Act 5 (H) Equip B" 19, "Act 5 (H) Junk" 5, "Act 5 (H) Good" 3, "pk3" 1

He drops a lot of gold, junk, has chance for nodrop and items from "Act 5 (H) Equip B" ~ TC87 low, so despite he drops up to 5 items, he is not better than Pindleskin. "pk3" in his TC is the uber key.

Summary: Eldritch the Rectifier and Schenk the Overseer are worse than Pindleskin, they can't drop a lot of goodies - no TC87 items and a lot of other nice items as Stormlash, Tomb Reaver, Rainbow Facets, Wolfhowl etc. Frozenstein and Snapchip Shatter are far away from waypoints, Thresh Socket has lower monster lvl, so the best is really Pindleskin.

===lvl 85 Areas===
lvl 85 Areas and number of bosspacks:

{| border="1"
! Level
! Min Boss Packs
! Max Boss Packs
|-
| Mausoleum
| align="center" | 4
| align="center" | 5
|-
| Pit Level 1
| align="center" | 6
| align="center" | 8
|-
| Pit Level 2
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 3
|-
| Maggot Lair 3
| align="center" | 4
| align="center" | 5
|-
| Ancient Tunnels
| align="center" | 6
| align="center" | 8
|-
| Forgotten Temple
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 2
|-
| Ruined Fane
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 2
|-
| Disused Reliquary
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 2
|-
| River of Flame
| align="center" | 6
| align="center" | 7
|-
| Chaos Sanctuary
| align="center" | 6
| align="center" | 7
|-
| Worldstone Keep 1
| align="center" | 6
| align="center" | 8
|-
| Worldstone Keep 2
| align="center" | 6
| align="center" | 8
|-
| Worldstone Keep 3
| align="center" | 6
| align="center" | 8
|-
| Throneroom
| align="center" | 4
| align="center" | 5
|}

In these areas, you will not get more uniques and sets than in other areas, but you can get any uniques and sets here. It's because TC of monsters are upgraded with the monster level to the highest possible TC, so monsters here drop from TC87 with high chance. The drop distribution for Devilikin in the Pit is the same as for Death Lord in Throne of destruction.

Here are the list of different TCs for monsters in these areas:

Regular melee monsters:
* "Act 5 (H) H2H C": picks 1, NoDrop 100, gld 21, "Act 5 (H) Equip C" 16, "Act 1 (H) Junk" 21, "Act 5 (H) Good" 2
Bow using regular monsters (like Dk.Archer in Pit or Flesh Archer in Act3 Temples):

"Act 5 (H) Miss C": picks 1, NoDrop 100, gld 18, "Act 5 (H) Equip C" 13, "Act 1 (H) Junk" 18, "Act 5 (H) Good" 2, "Act 5 (H) Bow B" 6, Ammo 3

Regular Caster monsters (like Dark Lords, Demon Sprites, Horror Mages, Grotesques, Hierpophants, Hell Witches, Shamans) :
* "Act 5 (H) Cast C": picks 1, NoDrop 100, gld 18, "Act 5 (H) Equip C" 15, "Act 1 (H) Junk" 18, "Act 5 (H) Good" 2, "Act 5 (H) Magic B" 7

Regular Wraith - type monsters (like Wraith and Strangler)
* "Act 5 (H) Wraith C": picks 1, NoDrop 75, "Act 5 (H) Good" 4, "Act 5 (H) Magic C" 25

Champions (no matter if it is a wraith or melee monster)
* "Act 5 (H) Champ C": picks -2, "Act 5 (H) Citem C" 1, "Act 5 (H) Cpot C" 3.
* "Act 5 (H) Citem C": picks 1, gld 60, "Act 5 (H) Equip C" 37, "Act 5 (H) Good C" 3
* "Act 5 (H) Cpot C": 2 potions.
So champion always drop 2 potions and gold or item (gold with ratio 3:2).

Bosses (no matter if it is a wraith or melee monster)
* "Act 5 (H) Unique C": picks -3, "Act 5 (H) Uitem C" 1, "Act 5 (H) Cpot C" 2
* "Act 5 (H) Uitem C": picks 1, "Act 5 (H) Equip C" 58, "Act 5 (H) Good C" 4
So bosses always drop one item and 4 potions

Minions have the same TC as regular monsters, but their mlvl is higher by 3, in lower lvl areas, their TC would be probably upgraded, but being in lvl 85 areas, there are no higher TC. Though items they drop have slightly higher chance to be higher magic quality, because the algorithm is based on mlvl-qlvl.

Bow TC leads to special TC tree filled with bows only, ammo means arrows or bolts, Magic TC means scrolls and/or mana potions. Good TC means jewelry, gems and runes and Junk TC contains various potions, keys, ammo, scrolls etc. Equip TC contains of course armors and weapons.

'''Note about archers:''' Somebody might come with a "good idea" to hunt Pit archers for a Windforce (TC87), because they have higher chance to drop bows. That's actually not true (at least for Windforce). They drop from "Act 5 (H) Bow B" - that means TC87 bow with low chance. This TC actually lowers the chance of getting Hydra Bow from the main "Act 5 (H) Equip C" TC (TC87 high chance). So they drop less Hydra Bows than melee monsters.

The chance to get unique item differ slightly for different types of monsters according to their type (h2h/cast/miss). And of course champions and bosses have higher chance for unique/set items.

Now let's take our 400MF character and take a look on probability to get Death Cleaver again (ATMA):

Boss: -- 1:40,647
Champion: -- 1:103,028
P1 H2H: -- 1:1,751,293
P1 H2H minion: -- 1:1,738,139
P1 Miss: -- 1:2,155,438
P1 Miss minion: -- 1:2,139,248
P1 Cast: -- 1:1,868,046
P1 Cast minion: -- 1:1,858,631

P2 H2H: -- 1:1,072,667
P2 H2H minion: -- 1:1,064,610
P2 Miss: -- 1:1,320,206
P2 Miss minion: -- 1:1,310,289
P2 Cast: -- 1:1,144,178
P2 Cast minion: -- 1:1,135,584

P3 H2H: -- 1:864,701
P4 H2H: -- 1:766,190
P5 H2H: -- 1:722,408
P6 H2H: -- 1:689,571
P7 H2H: -- 1:678,626
P8 H2H: -- 1:667,680

Because bosses, champions, minions and regulars in lvl85 areas drop from the same "equip" TC (armors and weapons) that includes all other "equip" TC, the rate between number of unique items dropped by bosses/champs/regulars is allways around the same. The only varying thing is the mlvl-qlvl difference used as the base for unique check. Of course regular monsters are only lvl 85, so they can't drop some items.

If we ignore the small difference between H2H, missile and cast monsters and the difference between regulars and minions, we can bring this equation:

1 boss = 2.5 champions = 43 P1regulars = 26 P2regulars = 21 P3regulars = 19 P4regulars

* Note: The rate is different for jewelry.
* Note2: I didn't include higher than P4, because it's not accessible in SP, also it is the same player bonus when you clearing the Pit solo in full game. Higher player bonus also doesn't change the no-drop chance much.
* Note3: Pindleskin drops as 2 alvl 85 bosses (alvl 83 bosses for precision) - he cannot drop the uqlvl87 uniques though.

Set items (MF400, chance for IKSC):
* NBoss: -- 1:15,208
* NChampion: -- 1:38,450
* NP1 H2H: -- 1:639,273
* NP2 H2H: -- 1:391,555
* NP3 H2H: -- 1:315,641
* NP4 H2H: -- 1:279,682

The rate is the same as for unique items (or almost the same).

So which player settings is the best for running lvl85 areas?
With using the previous equation and counting average 150 regulars/minions, 8 bosses and 6 champions in the Pit:

PX -- boss+champ+regular -- drop ratio
* NP1 -- 8+2.4+3.5 = 13.9 -- 1
* NP2 --8+2.4+5.8 = 16.2 -- 1.16
* NP3 -- 8+2.4+7.1 = 17.5 -- 1.26
* NP4 -- 8+2.4+7.9 = 18.3 -- 1.32

So you have to clear P4 Pit in less than 1.32xP1 time to get the same number of unique/sets, and that is not really doable. The best player settings for getting uniques/sets is P1. However if you do these areas not only for u/s, but for all valuable items like runes, charms, socketables, it's probably good idea to increase the player settings little bit. I use the P2 bonus most of the time (/players 3 command).

When we are talking about socketables, we can show, how MF affects number of socketed items for runewords. For simplification, we will count only Berserker Axes from regular monsters in lvl85 areas (mlvl=qlvl, so we will work with the base chance)

Chance for higher magic quality:

{| border="1"
! Magic Find
! Unique
! Set
! Magic
! rest (%)
|-
| '''0%'''
| align="center" | 1:400
| align="center" | 1:160
| align="center" | 1:100
| align="center" | 1.34 ~95%
|-
| '''100%'''
| align="center" | 1:234
| align="center" | 1:87
| align="center" | 1:54
| align="center" | 1.17 ~91%
|-
| '''200%'''
| align="center" | 1:190
| align="center" | 1:66
| align="center" | 1:40
| align="center" | 1.11 ~87%
|-
| '''300%'''
| align="center" | 1:169
| align="center" | 1:56
| align="center" | 1:33
| align="center" | 1.80 ~82%
|-
| '''400%'''
| align="center" | 1:158
| align="center" | 1:50
| align="center" | 1:29
| align="center" | 1.70 ~79%
|}

With 200 MF You get only 8% decrease in number of white (grey) items from regular monsters, while you have 2.11 x better chance for unique items (from all monsters)!

Regular monsters drop uniques with low probability and they can't drop uqlvl 86 and 87 items, so it is a good idea to skip killing them and focus only on bosspacks. Especially on SP, where you can learn where bosspacks spawn on your mapseed and you can make the runs faster when only killing bosspacks. Drop Ratio (for Pits) is 8+2.4=10.4/13.9, that is 0.75 (against P1 fullclear).

===List of lvl85 areas and monsters there:===

Mausoleum: Skeleton (LI), Hungry Dead (LI); contains lots of chests including some superchests and 1 sparkly chest. Also you can include killing Blood Raven, she has special drop (TC66 at maximum)

Pit: Devilkin (FI), Dark Archer (LI), Dark Stalker (CI), Bone Warrior (CI); 1 sparkly chest

Maggot Lair (lvl3): Black Locust (PI), Death Beetle (LI), Rock Worm (PoI), Sand Maggot (PoI), Scarab (LI); contains lots of superchests, and possibly 2 superuniques (Beetleburst in Far Oasis - max TC78, Coldworm the Burrower - max TC84). Lvl 1 and 2 of Maggot Lair are lvl84 areas, where also all uniques can be dropped.

Ancient Tunnels: Embalmed (PoI), Horror Mage (LI), Invader (FI), Plague Bearer (MI); 1 sparkly chest

Kurast Temples: Blood Diver (FI), Bone Scarab (LI), Flesh Archer (CI), Serpent Magus (CI)

River of Flame: Abyss Knight (LI), Blood Maggot (PoI), Grotesque (CI), Maw Fiend (PoI), Pit Lord (FI), Strangler (LI), Urdar (no), Venom Lord (FI); Hephasto the Armorer - special drop up to TC84

Chaos Sanctuary: Oblivion Knight (CI), Doom Knight (FI), Storm Caster (LI), Venom Lord (FI), 3 superuniques (up to TC84), Diablo (up to TC84)

WSK + Throne: a lot of various monsters with various resistances; Baal minions and Baal.

===Which area to run===
It depends on the build. Generally running in the Chaos Sanctuary and WSK is more rewarding because of the final boss, but the monsters there are tougher for most of the builds. The areas not worth to run are Kurast temples (too small) and River of Flame (Stranglers don't drop any equip items, Blood Maggot youngs and Grotesque dogs don't drop any items at all). Sewers lvl 2 is also lvl85 area, but has only 1 bosspack usually, so I didn't include it in the list.

===lvl 84 Areas===
These areas are almost as good as lvl85 areas. Regular monsters here can drop from TC87 (high chance) too. Bosses can drop all uniques including Tyrael's. Only champions cannot drop Tyrael's and regular monsters cannot drop uqlvl=85 uniques. In lvl 83 areas regular monsters drop from TC87 (low chance) and bosses drop like Pindleskin - mlvl=86, TC87 (high chance). For example - Durance of Hate is alvl=83.

List of lvl84:
* Maggot Lair 1,2
* Sewers lvl 1
* Ruined Temple
* Disused Fane
* Forgotten Reliquary
* City of Damned
* Drifter Cavern
* Halls of Pain
* Halls of Vaught

===Not-so good areas for MF===
* Moo Moo Farm: alvl is only 81, drop from TC87 low chance only. However if you are going to run these areas because of runes and charms, it's allways a good idea to add some MF.
* Travincal Council: TC78 is maximum. They drop more jewelry instead of "equip" items. Mephisto is better.
* Areas with lower alvl than 83. Obvious reason - not everything can drop there.

===Targets for getting TC3 items===
This chapter is dedicated to those collectors that have difficulties to get TC3 items. Most of them are not useful, but for example Gull or Death gloves/belt have some use. So why are they so hard to get?
It's because of TC organization. When for example "Act 5 (H) Equip B" TC is used - the games decides to drop between TC78 - TC87 and "Act 5 (H) Equip A", which decides between TC75-TC84 etc. TC87 is checked only once and because of that it's rolled very rarely. And from the other end - TC3 is checked only once too. That's why choosing TC3 is really rare from higher level monsters. The second reason is that a lot of TC3 uniques have high uqlvl, so monsters able to drop only from TC3 (monsters in first areas of Act 1 normal) cannot drop them, because their mlvl<uqlvl.

List of TC3 U/S:
* [u] Pelta Lunata (qlvl 3)
* [u] Rixot's Keen (qlvl 3)
* [S] Arctic Furs (qlvl 3)
* [u] War Bonnet (qlvl 4)
* [u] Felloak (qlvl 4)
* [S] Hsarus' Iron Fist (qlvl 4)
* [u] Gull (qlvl 6)
* [u] Hotspur (qlvl 7)
* [u] The Gnasher (qlvl 7)
* [u] The Hand of Broc (qlvl 7)
* [u] Knell Striker (qlvl 7)
* [u] Bane Ash (qlvl 7)
* [u] Torch of Iro (qlvl 7)
* [S] Infernal Cranium (qlvl 7)
* [S] Death's Guard (qlvl 8)
* [S] Death's Hand (qlvl 8)
* [u] Lenymo (qlvl 10)
* [u] Greyform (qlvl 10)
* [u] Pluckeye (qlvl 10)
* [u] Blinkbats Form (qlvl 16)
* [S] Vidala's Ambush (qlvl 19)
* [S] Sander's Paragon (qlvl 20)
* [S] Tancred's Hobnails (qlvl 27)

target - maxTC - mlvl
* Corpsefire 3 4
* Bishibosh 3 5
* Coldcrow 3 7
* Blood Raven 6 10
* Bonebreaker 3 5
* Rakanishu 6 8
* Treehead Woodfist 6 8
* Griswold 12(6) 8
* The Countess 12 11
* The Smith 12(6) 13
* Pitspawn Fouldog 6 14
* Bone Ash 12 17
* Andariel 15 12
* The Cow King 12(6) 31

Let's go through the list:
* Corpsefire, Bonebreaker and Bishibosh - mlvl 4 and 5 - they cannot drop Gull.
* Coldcrow - she is the best - mlvl 7, can drop Gull, and the most elusive items as Knell Striker, Torch of Iro and bane Ash. She still drop only from TC3, so she is the best target for these items. (around 1.8 x better than quest Andariel)
* Rakanishu, Treehead Woodfist: they drop from TC6 also, they drop Gull around 4times less frequently than Coldcrow.
Griswold, Smith, Countess: very high TC, they are not good.
* Pitspawn Fouldog: high level, so he can drop Lenymo, Greyform and Pluckeye. He is better than non-quest Andariel, but worse than quest Andariel.
* Bone Ash: good access, but high TC makes him very bad target. (5x worse than quest Andariel)
* Andariel: quest Andariel is the best for qlvl8-15 TC3 items.
* The Cow King: He is around the same as quest Andariel (because part of his drop is only TC6), but his level is high enough to drop all TC3. You will need second character to open the Moo moo farm repeatedly.

===Comparison of MF targets for high TC items===

For TC75 and less, the best target is Mephisto, for jewelry the best source is Andariel and Duriel, who can drop all jewelry. That is nothing new. I will compare efficiency of Baal, Diablo, Pindleskin and lvl85 boss for TC78 and higher. I will count drops of Baal's minions into Baal run, and drops of 3 seal superuniques into Diablo runs. I will ignore the minions for all kind of targets. Again character with 400MF will be used. (The ratio will be around the same for all MF amounts)


<table border="1" width="100%">
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Target</th>
<th colspan="2">Stormlash (TC78)</th>
<th colspan="2">Tomb Reaver (TC81)</th>
<th colspan="2">Schaefer's Hammer (TC84)</th>
<th colspan="2">Death Cleaver (TC87)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Odds</th>
<th>Ratio</th>
<th>Odds</th>
<th>Ratio</th>
<th>Odds</th>
<th>Ratio</th>
<th>Odds</th>
<th>Ratio</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Pindleskin</td>
<td align="center">1:74967</td>
<td align="center">1.0</td>
<td align="center">1:9375</td>
<td align="center">1.0</td>
<td align="center">1:50861</td>
<td align="center">1.0</td>
<td align="center">1:20425</td>
<td align="center">1.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Baal (P3)</td>
<td align="center">1:6222</td>
<td align="center">1.2</td>
<td align="center">1:859</td>
<td align="center">11.0</td>
<td align="center">1:5849</td>
<td align="center">8.7</td>
<td align="center">1:14719</td>
<td align="center">1.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Baal's SU</td>
<td align="center">1:377151</td>
<td align="center">0.2</td>
<td align="center">1:47165</td>
<td align="center">0.2</td>
<td align="center">1:255898</td>
<td align="center">0.2</td>
<td align="center">1:102771</td>
<td align="center">0.2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Baal + 5SU</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">1.3</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">12.0</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">9.7</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">2.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Diablo (P3)</td>
<td align="center">1:7134</td>
<td align="center">10.5</td>
<td align="center">1:1223</td>
<td align="center">7.7</td>
<td align="center">1:47259</td>
<td align="center">1.1</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Diablo's SU</td>
<td align="center">1:2516</td>
<td align="center">0.9</td>
<td align="center">1:14150</td>
<td align="center">0.7</td>
<td align="center">1:546573</td>
<td align="center">0.1</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Diablo + 3SU</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">13.2</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">9.5</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">1.4</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Alvl 85 Boss</td>
<td align="center">1:149169</td>
<td align="center">0.5</td>
<td align="center">1:18654</td>
<td align="center">0.5</td>
<td align="center">1:101212</td>
<td align="center">0.5</td>
<td align="center">1:40647</td>
<td align="center">0.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>The Pit (13.9 bosses)</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">6.9</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">6.9</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">6.9</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">6.9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Mephisto</td>
<td align="center">1:46967</td>
<td align="center">1.6</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
<td align="center">--</td>
</tr>
</table>

The number in ratio column means number of unique drops from appropriate TC equal to number of Pindleskin drops. For example for TC87 1 Baal run (including minions) is equal to 2.4 Pindleskin runs (You will get the same avg. number of TC87 uniques from 10000 Baal runs and from 24000 pindleruns). For TC84 Baal run is equal to 9.7 Pindleskin runs etc.

I personally look for TC87 only (because I have most of the items from lower TCs).

My average time per run for Pindleskin is 22 seconds. For Baal it's ~4 minutes, but I usually kill around 3 bosspacks on my way through WSK and throne. So I will add 1.5 to Baal ratio for these 3 bosspacks. So i get 3.9 "pindleskin TC87 drops" per 4 minutes of my Baalrun and 1 "pindleskin TC87 drop" per 22 seconds of my pindlerun. It's 163 "pindleskin TC87 drops" per hour when running pindleskin and only 58.5 "pindleskin TC87 drops" per hour when running Baal. For Pits it's better, I can do full-clear in 4 minutes ~ 103.5 "pindleskin TC87 drops" per hour. However for TC84 I get 163 "pindle TC84 drops" per hour from pindle and (ratio 9.7+1.5=11.2 for my Baal run) 168 "pindle TC84 drops" per hour from baal runs, so they are about the same for me.

It's really easy, just compare the ratio for appropriate TC to time per run. Pindleskin is so good for me, because I don't have a better Pit runner, and because I play SP on my fast PC where setting the new game doesn't take much time. BNet players can't set/join 150 games per hour like me when I am running Pindle, so for them running lvl85 areas will be much more important (It's still clever to start each session with killing pindle).

Note: When I talk about 168 "pindle TC87 drops" per hour, it doesn't mean that I get 168 TC87 items per hour, it means that I get 168 drops, each of them having the same chance for TC87 as Pindleskin has.

Summary: Pindleskin drops items with the same rate as 2 lvl85 bosses. Because Baal drops from TC87 with low probability, he is not a good source for TC87 uniques/sets, running Pindle or lvl85 areas is better. Baal drops about the same number of TC84 uniques as Pindle per time and probably more lower TC uniques per time. Don't be discouraged that you will not see as many uniques from Pindleskin or lvl85 areas, when comes to TC87, they are better. Diablo is bad in drops from TC84 and can't drop from TC87, that's why I don't run him at all.

==MF Builds==
I will not go too deep here, I will just list most efficient builds and add some notes. If I will forget someone's favorite MF build, don't be rude to me. Either I have forgotten or it's only average build and I can't list them all.

===Blizzard Sorc===
20 Blizzard, 20 Cold Mastery, 15+ Glacial Spike, 20 Ice Blast, 15+ Ice Bolt, 1 Static Field, 1 Teleport, 0-1 Warmth

The best build for Mephisto, Pindleskin and Andariel runs. It's because high damage, large area of effect (large monsters as actbosses are hit more) and Cold mastery that lowers cold resistances. The best amount of Cold Mastery is -175 (skill level 32 with items), because it will lower the Mephisto's cold resistances to -100. (monster resistances cannot be lowered to more than -100).

Sorcs need 63% FCR to get fast and safe teleport through areas. You can use "the +skill+FCR" weapon switch for teleporting and lowering boss life and second - MF switch - for killing. You can pack a lot of MF on this character, while still having good killing ability. Because it's 1 element sorc, she will have some difficulties in areas where CI spawns, but she still can run Ancient Tunnels (no CI, alvl=85) effectively. She can also run Baal, but there are CI monsters in the throne sometimes....

===Meteorb Sorc===
20 Meteor, 20 Fireball, 20 Fire Mastery, 20 Frozen Orb, 5+ Cold Mastery, 1 Static Field, 1 Teleport, 1 Warmth

The most universal build. Powerful fire skills and also good FO as backup. She can do Mephisto and Pindleskin almost as fast as Blizzsorc, Andariel maybe even faster (because she is vulnerable to fire) and she can kill effectively in all lvl85 areas and Baal runs.

===Other sorc builds===
Almost all main sorc builds are good MFers. On BNet lightning sorc (using lightning an Chain Lightning as main skills) is very popular - especially if her merc can wear Infinity. Or other kinds of dual sorcs as ChainLightning/FrozenOrb, Blizzard/Fireball or FrozenOrb/Meteor. All sorc use teleport and static field, these skills make wonders...

===Hammerdin===
20 Blessed Hammer, 20 Vigor, 20 Concentration, 20 Blessed Aim, 5+ Holy Shield, 1 Redemption

There are almost no monsters in the game immune or even resistant to their attacks (resistances/immunities of undeads and demons are ignored), so they can be effective in all areas. Even if they don't have static field, their main attack is so strong that good hammerdin can kill bosses fast (they can also use fast weapon with CB or static field on attack on switch and smite to apply CB/SF). To be fast killers, they need more expensive gear as Herald of Zakarum, good amount of +skills and FCR at least 75; they depend more on good gear, but when they have it, they could be godly. (Enigmadins are often better than sorcs, but Enigma is very hard to get). Even without teleport, they can move very quickly with vigor/charge.

===Summoner===
20 Raise Skeleton, 20 Skeleton Mastery, 20 Corpse Explosion, 1 Clay Golem, 1 Golem Mastery, 1 Decrepify, 1+ Dim Vision

They don't need good gear to kill effectively, thus they are popular as starting characters. All they need is bring down the corpse and then blow all monsters with Corpse explosion. That is especially effective on low player settings. This build doesn't need much +skills and FCR, so it can be dressed in full MF. They are also very safe, that could be an advantage in HC. They are slow runners though.

===WW Barbarian===
20 Whirlwind, 20 Mastery, 20 Shout, 20 BO, 1 Natural Resistances, 1 Stone Skin, 1 Increased Speed, 1+ Find Item

Melee characters need a very good weapon to be effective, and some leech, because they get hit more. Barbarians can run quite fast with Inc. Speed and they can also whirlwind through monsters - killing them on move makes the runs faster. They are not fastest killers, but they can "hork" - use their Find Item skill, that gives them effectively 1.4x more drops. They are quite good in Pits.

Frenzy build is also possible - they can move really fast...

===Strafer===
20 Strafe, 20 Penetrate, 20 Valkyrie, 10+Critical hit, passives

They are good only with the best bows in game like Windforce or upped Witchwild String. They also need some IAS and leech which limits their gear choices and they move quite slowly. But IMHO they are cool . They can do good in the Pit and in Chaos Sanctuary. The similar Multishot variant can be also used.

===Trapsin===
20 Lightning Sentry, 20 Death Sentry, 20 Charged Bolt Sentry, 20 Fireblast (optional, it can be Shock Web for more lightning power), 1+ Burst of Speed, 1 Cloak of Shadow

More than average and easy to build. Not so good when killing act bosses. (equip some items with CB on your merc)

===Lightning zon===
20 Lightning Fury, 20 Charged Strike, 10+ Valkyrie, 1+ Pierce, rest to lightning Synergies, optional 1+ Strafe for physical damage.

Good lightning zon dominates non-LI monsters with the strongest group attack in the game (Lightning Fury) and very powerful Charged Strike used against single monsters, but she has hard time against LI monsters. It could be solved by wand of Lower resist on switch or several points in Strafe and good bow on switch. Charged strike is one of the fastest boss killers. Good in Baal runs, also Chaos Sanctuary and Pits. It's the best build for killing cows. Her big disadvantage is slow moving (she has no skill increasing speed) and even if she has teleport, her casting rate is very slow...

==Links==

* [http://home.comcast.net/~tokusanya/110_full_tc.txt List of unique and set items with TC and qlvl]
* [http://strategy.diabloii.net/news.php?id=551#Area%20Levels Area level (Strategy Compendium)]
* [[Item Generation Tutorial|Item Generation Tutorial by Warrior of Light]]
* [http://www.flightsofsplendor.com/diabloII/Pindle_HighTC_Drops.pdf Pindleskin drop analysis by Urlik_Skarsol(PDF)]
* [http://www.flightsofsplendor.com/diabloII/Urlik%27s_RFG_v2.xls Runefinder's guide by Urlik_Skarsol(XLS) - includes deep explanation of chest drops]
* [http://wreckernl.homestead.com/files/1.11.rar all 1.11 *.txt game data files (rar download)]
* [[ATMA|Atma homepage - download Atma with its Drop calculator here. Thank you Hakai_no_Tenshi for this wonderful tool.]]

[[category:d2 strategy]]
[[category:d2 magic find strategy]]
[[category:magic Find]]
[[category:d2 pvm strategy]]

Talk:Rune list

2009-09-20T14:53:30Z

TDurden1937: /* Notes */

==Notes==
The [[Jah]] rune might really be a [[Jo]] rune... --[[User:Leord|Leord]] 18:13, 25 September 2008 (CEST)

This sentence doesn't make sense to me, "In non-ladder, only upgrading with chipped and three stones works, higher than that you must find." Can anyone decipher what it means. --[[User:TDurden1937|TDurden1937]]

==Dol missing?==
Anyone notice that the Dol rune graphic is missing? [[User:IchiroMihara|IchiroMihara]] 01:31, 25 November 2008 (CET)

:: You mean this one? [[Image:R-dol.gif]] Is that one wrong? --[[User:Leord|Leord]] 13:16, 25 November 2008 (CET)

:: It is magically fixed now. I was referring to the fact that it was missing on the Rune Page itself. [[User:IchiroMihara|IchiroMihara]] 19:54, 9 December 2008 (CET)

User:TDurden1937

2009-09-19T16:16:15Z

TDurden1937:

I've been playing D2 and D2LOD for many years and am still learning the ways of the game.

I'm a compulsive gamer and would rather be gaming than most anything else.

Runewords Weapons

2009-09-17T15:13:47Z

TDurden1937: /* To Make a RuneWord */

{{Item navbox|{{Runes}}}}{{runewords}}Weapons selected for runewords are almost always chosen for their damage. Elite weapons of whatever type a character uses best, based on the str/dex requirements, attack speed, range, etc. Ethereal items are the best choices for runewords to be equipped on Mercs, or ones involving the Zod rune. Bowazons generally want to use their class specific bows for the +Bow skill tree bonuses.

=To Make a RuneWord=

# Items used for RuneWords '''must be gray text items''', normal, exceptional, or Elite. Low Quality, Superior, and Ethereal can be used, but you can not use magical, Rare, Set, Crafted, or Unique items, even if they have the correct number of sockets.
# The item must be of the '''correct type'''.
# The item must have exactly the '''correct number of sockets''' (no more).
# You must socket the Runes in the '''correct order'''.

==Weapon Types==

Weapons are divided into various sub-categories by runewords. Be sure you're using a type of weapon that will work with that runeword.

===Maces===

Some runewords work in all weapons, or all melee weapons, or all ranged weapons (bows/xbows). Others are more specific. "Maces" is a term used in the game, but it's deceptive since it only applies to some blunt weapons. The Mace, Morning Star, Flail, and Exceptional/Elite versions of those items are "maces." "Clubs" and "Hammers" are different, when it comes to runeword eligibility, and the Club, Spiked Club, War Hammer, Mauls, and Great Maul, or the excep/elite versions of those weapons will not work with "mace" runewords. Nor will any type of scepter.

{|
! rowspan="2" width="20%" | Runeword
! rowspan="2" width="32%" | Stats
! rowspan="2" | Comments
! colspan="3" | Active In
|-
! 1.11
! 1.10
! 1.09
|-
| '''Black''' ''ThulIoNef'' Thul (10) + Io (16) + Nef (4) Clubs, hammers, maces only. Clvl Required: 23
| +120% Enhanced Damage +200 to Attack Rating +3-14 Cold Damage (3 sec) 15% Increased Attack Speed Knockback 12 Level 4 Corpse Explosion Charges 40% Chance of Crushing Blow -2 Magic Damage +10 to Vitality
| See it[[Black| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Fury''' ''JahGulEth'' Jah (31) + Gul (25) + Eth (5) All Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 65
| +209% Enhanced Damage 40% Increased Attack Speed Prevent Monster Heal 66% Chance Of Open Wounds 33% Chance Of Deadly Strike Ignores Target Defense -25% Target Defense +20% Attack Rating 6% Life Stolen Per Hit +5 To Frenzy (Barbarian Only)
| See it[[Fury| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Holy Thunder''' ''EthRalOrtTal'' Eth (6) + Ral (8) + Ort (9) + Tal (7) Scepters only Clvl Required: 21
| Level 7 Chain Lightning 60 charges -25% Target Defense +60% Enhanced Damage +75 Poison Damage over 7 secs +5% Maximum Lightning Resistance +60% Lightning Resistance +21-110 Lightning Damage +5-30 Fire Damage +3 to Holy Shock 150% Damage vs. Undead
| See it[[Holy Thunder| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Honor''' ''AmnElIthTirSol'' Amn (11) + El (1) + Ith (6) + Tir (3) + Sol (12) All Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 27
| +160% Enhanced Damage +250 Attack Rating +9 Minimum Damage +9 Maximum Damage 25% Deadly Strike 7% Life Stolen per Hit +1 to all skill levels +2 Mana per kill +1 Light Radius Replenish life +10 +10 to Str
| See it[[Honor| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''King's Grace''' ''AmnRalThul'' Amn (11) + Ral (8) + Thul (10) Swords and Scepters only Clvl Required: 25
| +100% Enhanced Damage +150 AR +100 Attack Rating vs. Undead 150% Damage vs. Undead +100 Attack Rating vs. Demons 200% Damage vs. Demons 7% life steal +3-14 Cold damage (3 sec) +5-30 Fire Damage
| See it[[Kings Grace| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Leaf''' ''TirRal'' Tir (3) + Ral (8) Staves (Not Orbs) Clvl Required: 19
| +5-30 Fire Damage +2 mana per kill +3 to Fire Skills +33% Cold Resistance +3 Inferno +3 Fire Bolt +3 Warmth
| See it[[Leaf| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Malice''' ''IthElEth'' Ith (6) + El (1) + Eth (5) Works: All Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 15
| +33% enhanced damage +9 max damage +50 Attack Rating 100% chance of open wounds -100 monster def/hit Prevents Monster Heal -25% target defense Life drain -5
| See it[[Malice| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Melody''' ''ShaelKoNef'' Shael (13) + Ko (18) + Nef (4) Bows and Xbows only. Clvl Required: 39
| +300% Damage vs. Undead +50% Enhanced Damage +10 Dexterity 20% Increased Attack Speed Knockback +3 Bow Skill Tab +3 Slow Missiles +3 Dodge +3 Critical Strike
| See it[[Melody| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Memory''' ''LumIoSolEth'' Lum (17) + Io (16) + Sol (12) + Eth (5) Staves (Not Orbs). Clvl Required: 37
| Lowers Target's Defense by 25% 33% Faster Cast Rate +3 Sorceress Skill Levels +50% Enhanced Defense -7 Magic Damage +20% Max Mana +9 Minimum Damage +10 Energy +10 Vitality +2 Static Field +2 Energy Shield
| See it[[Memory| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Silence''' ''DolEldHelIstTirVex'' Dol (14) + Eld (2) + Hel (15) + Ist (24) + Tir (3) + Vex (26) Works: All Weapons. Clvl Required: 55
| +200% Enhanced Damage 175% Damage vs. Undead +50 to Attack Rating Against Undead 11% Mana Steal Hit Blinds Target (20) Faster Hit Recovery +2 to All Skills All Resistances +75 20% Increased Attack Speed +2 to Mana After Each Kill Hit Causes Monster to Flee 25% Requirements -20% 30% Better Magic Find
| See it[[Silence| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Steel''' ''TirEl'' Tir (3) + El (1) Works: Sword, Axe, Mace Doesn't work: Maul, Great Maul, War Hammer, Barbed Club, Partizan, Dagger type Clvl Required: 13
| +20% Enhanced Damage +3 Minimum Damage +3 Maximum Damage +50 Attack Rating 50% Chance of Open Wounds +1 light radius +2 mana per kill 25% Increased Attack Speed
| See it[[Steel| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Strength''' ''AmnTir'' Amn (11) + Tir (3) Melee Weapons only. Clvl Required: 25
| +35% Enhanced Damage 25% chance of Crushing Blow 7% life steal +2 mana per kill +10 vitality +20 strength
| See it[[Strength| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Venom''' ''TalDolMal'' Tal (7) + Dol (14) + Mal (23) All Weapons Clvl Required: 49
| 288 Poison Damage Over 6 Seconds Hit Causes Monster To Flee 25% Prevent Monster Heal Ignore Target's Defense 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit Level 15 Poison Explosion (27 Charges) Level 13 Poison Nova (11 Charges)
| See it [[Venom| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''White''' ''DolIo'' Dol (14) + Io (16) Wands only. Clvl Required: 35
| Hit causes monster to flee 25% 20% Faster Cast Rate Magic Damage Reduced by 4 +13 to mana +10 to vitality +3 to bone and poison skills +4 to skeleton mastery +2 to bone spear +3 to bone armor
| See it[[White| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Zephyr''' ''OrtEth'' Ort (9) + Eth (5) Bows and Xbows Clvl Required: 21
| 7% Chance to Cast Slvl 1 Twister When Struck +33% Enhanced Damage +1-50 lightning damage Increased Attack Speed (25) -25% Target Defense Faster Run (25) +25 Defense +66 Attack Rating
| See it [[Zephyr| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Beast''' ''BerTirUmMalLum'' Ber (30) + Tir (3) + Um (22) + Mal (23) + Lum (17) Axes, Hammers & Scepters only Clvl Required: 63
| Level 9 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped +40% Increased Attack Speed +240-270% Enhanced Damage (varies) 20% Chance of Crushing Blow 25% Chance of Open Wounds +3 To Werebear +3 To Lycanthropy Prevent Monster Heal +25-40 To Strength (varies) +10 To Energy +2 To Mana After Each Kill Level 13 Summon Grizzly (5 Charges)
| See it [[Beast| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Breath of the Dying''' ''VexHelElEldZodEth'' Vex (26) + Hel (15) + El (1) + Eld (2) + Zod (33) + Eth (5) All Weapons Clvl Required: 69
| 50% Chance To Cast Level 20 Poison Nova When You Kill An Enemy Indestructible +60% Increased Attack Speed +350-400% Enhanced Damage (varies) +200% Damage To Undead -25% Target Defense +50 To Attack Rating +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit 12-15% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies) Prevent Monster Heal +30 To All Attributes +1 To Light Radius Requirements -20%
| See it[[Breath of the Dying| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Brand''' ''JahLoMalGul'' Jah (31) + Lo (28) + Mal (23) + Gul(25) Missile Weapons Clvl Required: 65
| 35% Chance To Cast Level 14 Amplify Damage When Struck 100% Chance To Cast Level 18 Bone Spear On Striking +260-340% Enhanced Damage (varies) Ignore Target's Defense 20% Bonus to Attack Rating +280-330% Damage To Demons (varies) 20% Deadly Strike Prevent Monster Heal Knockback Fires Explosive Arrows or Bolts (15)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Call to Arms''' ''AmnRalMalIstOhm'' Amn (11) + Ral (8) + Mal (23) + Ist (24) + Ohm (27) All Weapons Clvl Required: 57
| +1 to All Skills +40% Increased Attack Speed +250-290% Enhanced Damage (varies)* Adds 5-30 Fire Damage 7% Life Stolen Per Hit +2-6 To Battle Command* +1-6 To Battle Orders* +1-4 To Battle Cry* Prevent Monster Heal Replenish Life +12 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items *1.11b patch only. *+2 to All Skills in 1.10a/1.10s patches. *200-240% Damage in 1.10a/1.10s. *+5-20 Battle Command in 1.10a/1.10s. *+5-15 Battle Orders in 1.10a/1.10s. *+10-13 Battle Cry in 1.10a/1.10s. 
| See it[[Call to Arms| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Chaos''' ''FalOhmUm'' Fal (19) + Ohm (27) + Um (22) Claws only Clvl Required: 57
| 9% Chance To Cast Level 11 Frozen Orb On Striking 11% Chance To Cast Level 9 Charged Bolt On Striking +35% Increased Attacked Speed +240-290% Enhanced Damage (varies) Adds 216-471 Magic Damage 25% Chance of Open Wounds +1 To Whirlwind +10 To Strength +15 Life After Each Demon Kill
| See it[[Chaos| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Crescent Moon''' ''ShaelUmTir'' Shael (13) + Um (22) + Tir (3) Axes, Polearms & Swords only Clvl Required: 47
| 10% Chance To Cast Level 17 Chain Lightning On Striking 7% Chance To Cast Level 13 Static Field On Striking* +20% Increased Attack Speed +180-220% Enhanced Damage (varies)* Ignore Target's Defense -35% To Enemy Lightning Resistance 25% Chance of Open Wounds +9-11 Magic Absorb (varies) +2 To Mana After Each Kill Level 18 Summon Spirit Wolf (30 Charges) *1.10/1.11b patches only. *20% CtC Static Field in 1.10a/1.10s patches. *220-260% Damage in 1.10a/1.10s.
| See it[[Crescent Moon| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Death''' ''HelElVexOrtGul'' Hel (15) + El (1) + Vex (26) + Ort (9) + Gul (25) Swords/Axes Clvl Required: 55
| 100% Chance To Cast Level 44 Chain Lightning When You Die 25% Chance To Cast Level 18 Glacial Spike On Attack
Indestructible +300-385% Enhanced Damage (varies) 20% Bonus To Attack Rating +50 To Attack Rating
Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit 50% Chance of Crushing Blow +(0.5 per Character Level) 0.5-49.5% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level) +1 To Light Radius Level 22 Blood Golem (15 Charges) 
Requirements -20%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Destruction''' ''VexLoBerJahKo'' Vex (26) + Lo (28) + Ber (30) + Jah (31) + Ko (18) Polearms/Swords Clvl Required: 65
| 23% Chance To Cast Level 12 Volcano On Striking 5% Chance To Cast Level 23 Molten Boulder On Striking 100% Chance To Cast level 45 Meteor When You Die 15% Chance To Cast Level 22 Nova On Attack +350% Enhanced Damage Ignore Target's Defense Adds 100-180 Magic Damage 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit 20% Chance Of Crushing Blow 20% Deadly Strike Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Dexterity
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Doom''' ''HelOhmUmLoCham'' Hel (15) + Ohm (27) + Um (22) + Lo (28) + Cham (32) Axes, Hammers & Polearms only Clvl Required: 67
| 5% Chance To Cast Level 18 Volcano On Striking Level 12 Holy Freeze Aura When Equipped +2 To All Skills +45 Increased Attack Speed +280-320% Enhanced Damage (varies) -57% To Enemy Cold Resistance 20% Deadly Strike 25% Chance of Open Wounds Prevent Monster Heal Freezes Target Requirements -20%
| See it[[Doom| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Edge''' ''TirTalAmn'' Tir (3) + Tal (7) + Amn (11) Missile Weapons Clvl Required: 25
| Level 15 Thorns Aura When Equipped +35% Increased Attack Speed +320-380% Damage To Demons (varies) +280% Damage To Undead +75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds 7% Life Stolen Per Hit Prevent Monster Heal
+5-10 To All Attributes (varies) +2 To Mana After Each Kill Reduces All Vendor Prices 15%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Eternity''' ''AmnBerIstSolSur'' Amn (11) + Ber (30) + Ist (24) + Sol (12) + Sur (29) All Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 63
| Indestructible +276% Enhanced Damage +9 To Minimum Damage 7% Life Stolen Per Hit 20% Chance of Crushing Blow Hit Blinds Target Slows Target By 33% Replenish Mana 16% Cannot Be Frozen 30% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items Level 8 Revive (88 Charges)
| See it[[Eternity| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Faith''' ''OhmJahLemEld'' Ohm (27) + Jah (31) + Lem (20) + Eld (2) Missile Weapons Clvl Required: 65
| Level 12-15 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped (varies) +1-2 To All Skills (varies) +330% Enhanced Damage Ignore Target's Defense 300% Bonus To Attack Rating +75% Damage To Undead +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead +120 Fire Damage All Resistances +15 10% Reanimate As: Returned 75% Extra Gold From Monsters
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Famine''' ''FalOhmOrtJah'' Fal (9) + Ohm (27) + Ort (9) + Jah (31) Axes & Hammers only Clvl Required: 65
| +30% Increased Attack Speed +270-320% Enhanced Damage (varies) Ignore Target's Defense Adds 180-200 Magic Damage Adds 50-200 Fire Damage Adds 51-250 Lightning Damage Adds 50-200 Cold Damage 12% Life Stolen Per Hit Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Strength
| See it[[Famine| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Fortitude''' ''ElSolDolLo'' El (1) + Sol (12) + Dol (14) + Lo (28) Weapons & Armor Clvl Required: 59
| 20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when Struck +25% Faster Cast Rate +300% Enhanced Damage +1 To Light Radius 12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana All Resistances +25-30 (varies) +200% Enhanced Defense + To Life (Based on Character Level) +9 To Minimum Damage +50 To Attack Rating 20% Deadly Strike Hit Causes Monster To Flee 25%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Grief''' ''EthTirLoMalRal'' Eth (5) + Tir (3) + Lo (28) + Mal (23) + Ral (8) Swords & Axes Clvl Required: 59
| 35% Chance To Cast Level 15 Venom On Striking +30-40% Increased Attack Speed (varies) Damage +340-400 (varies) Ignore Target's Defense -25% Target Defense +(1.875 per character level) 1.875-185.625% Damage To Demons (Based on Character Level) Adds 5-30 Fire Damage -20-25% To Enemy Poison Resistance (varies) 20% Deadly Strike Prevent Monster Heal +2 To Mana After Each Kill +10-15 Life After Each Kill (varies)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Hand of Justice''' ''SurChamAmnLo'' Sur (29) + Cham (32) + Amn (11) + Lo (28) All Weapons Clvl Required: 67
| 100% Chance To Cast Level 36 Blaze When You Level-Up 100% Chance To Cast Level 48 Meteor When You Die Level 16 Holy Fire Aura When Equipped +33% Increased Attack Speed +280-330% Enhanced Damage Ignore Target's Defense 7% Life Stolen Per Hit -20% To Enemy Fire Resistance 20% Deadly Strike Hit Blinds Target Freezes Target
| See it[[Hand of Justice| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Harmony''' ''TirIthSolKo'' Tir (3) + Ith (6) + Sol (12) + Ko (18) Missile Weapons Clvl Required: 39
| Level 10 Vigor Aura When Equipped +200-275% Enhanced Damage (varies) +9 To Min & Max Damage Adds 55-160 Lightning Damage Adds 55-160 Cold & Fire Damage +2-6 To Valkyrie (varies) +10 To Dexterity
Regenerate Mana 20% +2 To Mana After Each Kill +2 To Light Radius Level 20 Revive (25 Charges)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Heart of the Oak''' ''KoVexPulThul'' Ko (18) + Vex (26) + Pul (21) + Thul (10) Staves & Maces only Clvl Required: 55
| +3 To All Skills +40% Faster Cast Rate +75% Damage To Demons +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit +10 To Dexterity Replenish Life +20 Increase Maximum Mana 15% All Resistances +30-40 (varies) Level 4 Oak Sage (25 Charges) Level 14 Raven (60 Charges) +50% Damage To Undead
| See it[[Heart of the Oak| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Ice''' ''AmnShaelJahLo'' Amn (11)+ Shael (13) + Jah (31) + Lo (28) Missile Weapons Clvl Required: 65
| 100% Chance To Cast Level 40 Blizzard When You Level-up 25% Chance To Cast Level 22 Frost Nova On Striking
Level 18 Holy Freeze Aura When Equipped +20% Increased Attack Speed +140-210% Enhanced Damage (varies)
Ignore Target's Defense +25-30% To Cold Skill Damage (varies) -20% To Enemy Cold Resistance 7% Life Stolen Per Hit 20% Deadly Strike 3.125-309.375 Extra Gold From Monsters (Based on Character Level)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Infinity''' ''BerMalBerIst'' Ber (30) + Mal (23) + Ber (30) + Ist (24) Polearms Clvl Required: 63
| 50% Chance To Cast Level 20 Chain Lightning When You Kill An Enemy Level 12 Conviction Aura When Equipped
+35% Faster Run/Walk +255-325% Enhanced Damage (varies) -(45-55)% To Enemy Lightning Resistance (varies)
40% Chance of Crushing Blow Prevent Monster Heal 0.5-49.5 To Vitality (Based on Character Level) 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items Level 21 Cyclone Armor (30 Charges)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Insight''' ''RalTirTalSol'' Ral (8) + Tir (3) + Tal (7) + Sol (12) Polearms & Staves Clvl Required: 27
| Level 10-17 Meditation Aura When Equipped (varies) +35% Faster Cast Rate +200-260% Enhanced Damage (varies) +9 To Minimum Damage 180-250% Bonus to Attack Rating (varies) Adds 5-30 Fire Damage +75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds +1-6 To Critical Strike (varies) +5 To All Attributes +2 To Mana After Each Kill 23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Kingslayer''' ''MalUmGulFal'' Mal (23) + Um (22) + Gul (25) + Fal (19) Swords & Axes only Clvl Required: 53
| +30% Increased Attack Speed +230-270% Enhanced Damage (varies) -25% Target Defense 20% Bonus To Attack Rating 33% Chance of Crushing Blow 50% Chance of Open Wounds +1 To Vengeance Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Strength 40% Extra Gold From Monsters
| See it[[Kingslayer| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Last Wish''' ''JahMalJahSurJahBer'' Jah (31)+ Mal (23) + Jah (31) + Sur (29) + Jah (31) + Ber (30) Axes, Hammers & Swords Clvl Required: 65
| 6% Chance To Cast Level 11 Fade When Struck 10% Chance To Cast Level 18 Life Tap On Striking 20% Chance To Cast Level 20 Charged Bolt On Attack Level 17 Might Aura When Equipped +330-375% Enhanced Damage (varies) Ignore Target's Defense 60-70% Chance of Crushing Blow (varies) Prevent Monster Heal Hit Blinds Target +(0.5 per character level) 0.5-49.5% Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based on Character Level)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Lawbringer''' ''AmnLemKo'' Amn (11) + Lem (20) + Ko (18) Hammers, Scepters & Swords Clvl Required: 43
| 20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Decrepify On Striking Level 16-18 Sanctuary Aura When Equipped (varies) -50% Target Defense Adds 150-210 Fire Damage Adds 130-180 Cold Damage 7% Life Stolen Per Hit Slain Monsters Rest In Peace +200-250 Defense Vs. Missile (varies) +10 To Dexterity 75% Extra Gold From Monsters
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Oath''' ''ShaelPulMalLum'' Shael (13) + Pul (21) + Mal (23) + Lum (17) Axes, Maces & Swords Clvl Required: 49
| 30% Chance To Cast Level 20 Bone Spirit On Striking Indestructible +50% Increased Attack Speed +210-340% Enhanced Damage (varies) +75% Damage To Demons +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Energy +10-15 Magic Absorb (varies) Level 16 Heart Of Wolverine (20 Charges) Level 17 Iron Golem (14 Charges)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Obedience''' ''HelKoThulEthFal'' Hel (15) + Ko (18) + Thul (10) + Eth (5) + Fal (19) Polearms Clvl Required: 41
| 30% Chance To Cast Level 21 Enchant When You Kill An Enemy 40% Faster Hit Recovery +370% Enhanced Damage -25% Target Defense Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 3 Second Duration (Normal) -25% To Enemy Fire Resistance 40% Chance of Crushing Blow +200-300 Defense (varies) +10 To Strength & Dexterity All Resistances +20-30 (varies) Requirements -20%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Passion''' ''DolOrtEldLem'' Dol (14) + Ort (9) + Eld (2) + Lem (20) All Weapons Clvl Required: 31
| +25% Increased Attack Speed +160-210% Enhanced Damage 50-80% Bonus To Attack Rating +75% Damage To Undead +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage +1 To Berserk +1 To Zeal Hit Blinds Target +10 Hit Causes Monster To Flee 25% 75% Extra Gold From Monsters Level 3 Heart of Wolverine (12 Charges)
| See it [[Passion| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Phoenix''' ''VexVexLoJah'' Vex (26) + Vex (26) + Lo (28) + Jah (31) Weapons & Shields Clvl Required: 65
| 100% Chance To Cast level 40 Blaze When You Level-up 40% Chance To Cast Level 22 Firestorm On Striking Level 10-15 Redemption Aura When Equipped (varies) -28% To Enemy Fire Resistance +15-21 Fire Absorb (varies) +350-400 Defense Vs. Missile (varies) '''Weapons''' Ignores Target's Defense 14% Mana Stolen Per Hit 20% Deadly Strike
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Pride''' ''ChamSurIoLo'' Cham (32) + Sur (29) + Io (16) + Lo (28) Polearms Clvl Required: 67
| 25% Chance To Cast Level 17 Fire Wall When Struck Level 16-20 Concentration Aura When Equipped (varies) 260-300% Bonus To Attack Rating (varies) +1-99% Damage To Demons (Based on Character Level) Adds 50-280 Lightning Damage 20% Deadly Strike Hit Blinds Target Freezes Target +3 +10 To Vitality Replenish Life +8 1.875-185.625% Extra Gold From Monsters (Based on Character Level)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Rift''' ''HelKoLemGul'' Hel (15) + Ko (18) + Lem (20) + Gul (25) Polearms & Scepters Clvl Required: 53
| 20% Chance To Cast Level 16 Tornado On Striking 16% Chance To Cast Level 21 Frozen Orb On Attack 20% Bonus To Attack Rating Adds 160-250 Magic Damage Adds 60-180 Fire Damage +5-10 To All Stats (varies) +10 To Dexterity 38% Damage Taken Goes To Mana 75% Extra Gold From Monsters Level 15 Iron Maiden (40 Charges) Requirements -20%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Spirit''' ''TalThulOrtAmn'' Tal (7) + Thul (10) + Ort (9) + Amn (11) Shields & Swords Clvl Required:25
| +2 To All Skills +25-35% Faster Cast Rate (varies) +55% Faster Hit Recovery +22 To Vitality +250 Defense Vs. Missile +89-112 To Mana (varies) +3-8 Magic Absorb (varies) Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 3 Second Duration (Normal) +75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds 7% Life Stolen Per Hit
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Voice of Reason''' ''LemKoElEld'' Lem (20) + Ko (18) + El (1) + Eld (2) Maces & Swords Clvl Required: 43
| 15% Chance To Cast Level 13 Frozen Orb On Striking 18% Chance To Cast Level 20 Ice Blast On Striking +50 To Attack Rating +220-350% Damage To Demons +355-375% Damage To Undead (varies) +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead Adds 100-220 Cold Damage -24% To Enemy Cold Resistance +10 To Dexterity Cannot Be Frozen 75% Extra Gold From Monsters +1 To Light Radius
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Wind''' ''SurEl'' Sur (29) + El(1) 2 Socket Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 61
| 10% Chance To Cast Level 9 Tornado On Striking +20% Faster Run/Walk +40% Increased Attack Speed +15% Faster Hit Recovery +120-160% Enhanced Damage (varies) -50% Target Defense +50 To Attack Rating Hit Blinds Target +1 To Light Radius Level 13 Twister (127 Charges)
| -
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Wrath''' ''PulLumBerMal'' Pul (21) + Lum (17) + Ber (30) + Mal (23) Missile Weapons Clvl Required: 63
| 30% Chance To Cast Level 1 Decrepify On Striking 5% Chance To Cast Level 10 Life Tap On Striking +375% Damage To Demons +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons +250-300% Damage To Undead (varies) Adds 85-120 Magic Damage Adds 41-240 Lightning Damage 20% Chance of Crushing Blow Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Energy Cannot Be Frozen
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
|}

View all the Runewords, or see them sorted by item type.
* [[Runewords|All Runewords]]
** [[Runewords Armor| Armor]]
** [[Runewords Headgear| Headgear]]
** [[Runewords_Shields| Shields]]
** [[Runewords Weapons| Weapons]]

[[Category:Runes]]

File:RatNestTrap.jpg

2009-09-15T21:02:45Z

TDurden1937: RatNestTrap

RatNestTrap

Runewords

2009-09-13T16:56:02Z

TDurden1937: /* To Make a RuneWord */

{{Item navbox|{{Runes}}}}{{runewords}}'''Runewords''' are a way in Diablo II to use a combination of [[rune]]s in an [[item]] to give it exceptional attributes, beyond what the runes themselves accomplish.

==The Right Runes==
Look at the [[rune list]] for information on how to get the right runes. For [[weapon]]s you'll want to find the best type of weapon possible, since that's what the bonus damage is based on. Same with [[Armor]] if you are after [[Defense]] and [[shield]]s for blocking percentage. If defense isn't important, look for an item that looks good, has low requirements, and for armor and shields, is not going to slow your running speed.

==To Make a RuneWord==
# Items used for RuneWords '''must be gray text items''', normal, exceptional, or Elite. Low Quality, Superior, and Ethereal can be used, but you can not use [[magic]]al, [[Rare]], [[Set]], [[Crafted]], or [[Unique]] items, even if they have the correct number of sockets.
# The item must be of the '''correct type'''.
# The item must have exactly the '''correct number of sockets''' -- no more.
# You must socket the Runes in the '''correct order'''.

Note: The Runes may fill the sockets in linear order automatically, i.e. in the order 1, 2, 3 . . . For example, trying to place the third Rune of a RuneWord into the third socket while socket 1 and 2 are empty may result in the Rune filling socket 1, contrary to intentions. As mentioned elsewhere, it is possible to remove an item from a socket, but the item is destroyed in the process.

*You can check the '''[[Rune FAQ]]''' for further help.

==Alphabetical List of All Runewords==

{|style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #4D0B0B; background: #2D0606; line-height: 14px; font-size: 10px; color: white; clear:right;"
! rowspan="2" width="20%" style="font-size: 12px;" | Runeword
! rowspan="2" width="32%" style="font-size: 12px;" | Stats
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: 12px;" | Comments
! colspan="3" style="font-size: 12px;" | Active In
|-
! style="font-size: 12px;" |1.11
! style="font-size: 12px;" |1.10
! style="font-size: 12px;" |1.09
|-

| '''[[Ancients Pledge|Ancient's Pledge]]''' RalOrtTal [[Ral]] (8) + [[Ort]] (9) + [[Tal]] (7) Shields Clvl Required: 21
| +43% Cold Resistance +48% Fire/Lightning/Poison Resistance 10% Damage Taken Goes to Mana +50% ED
| Recipe is given by Qual-Kehk as a reward for completing [http://www.diabloii.net/quests/act-five.shtml#q2 the second quest ] in Act Five. Bonuses will stack on top of a Paladin's inherent shield properties.

See it [[Ancients Pledge| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Beast]]''' ''BerTirUmMalLum'' [[Ber]] (30) + [[Tir]] (3) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Lum]] (17) Axes, Hammers & Scepters Clvl Required:
| Level 9 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped +40% Increased Attack Speed +240-270% Enhanced Damage (varies) 20% Chance of Crushing Blow 25% Chance of Open Wounds +3 To Werebear +3 To Lycanthropy Prevent Monster Heal +25-40 To Strength (varies) +10 To Energy +2 To Mana After Each Kill Level 13 Summon Grizzly (5 Charges)
| See it [[Beast| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Black]]''' ''ThulIoNef'' [[Thul]] (10) + [[Io]] (16) + [[Nef]] (4) Clubs, hammers, maces Clvl Required: 35
| +120% Enhanced Damage +200 to Attack Rating +3-14 Cold Damage (3 sec) 15% Increased Attack Speed Knockback 12 Level 4 Corpse Explosion Charges 40% Chance of Crushing Blow -2 Magic Damage +10 to Vitality
| See it[[Black| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Bone]]''' ''SolUmUm'' [[Sol]] (12) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Um]] (22) Armor Clvl Required:
| 15% Chance To Cast level 10 Bone Armor When Struck 15% Chance To Cast level 10 Bone Spear On Striking +2 To Necromancer Skill Levels +100-150 To Mana (varies) All Resistances +30 Damage Reduced By 7
| Useful Necromancer bonuses.
| Yes
| No
| No
|-

| '''[[Bramble]]''' ''RalOhmSurEth'' [[Ral]] (8) + [[Ohm]] (27) + [[Sur]] (29) + [[Eth]] (5) Armor Clvl Required:61
| Level 15-21 Thorns Aura When Equipped (varies) +50% Faster Hit Recovery +100% To Poison Skill Damage +300 Defense Increase Maximum Mana 5% Regenerate Mana 15% +5% To Maximum Cold Resist Fire Resist +30% Poison Resist +100% +13 Life After Each Kill Level 13 Spirit of Barbs (33 Charges)
| See it [[bramble| here]]. 
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Brand''' ''JahLoMalGul'' [[Jah]] (31) + [[Lo]] (28) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Gul]](25) Missile Weapons Clvl Required:
| 35% Chance To Cast Level 14 Amplify Damage When Struck 100% Chance To Cast Level 18 Bone Spear On Striking +260-340% Enhanced Damage (varies) Ignore Target's Defense 20% Bonus to Attack Rating +280-330% Damage To Demons (varies) 20% Deadly Strike Prevent Monster Heal Knockback Fires Explosive Arrows or Bolts (15)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''[[Breath of the Dying]]''' ''VexHelElEldZodEth'' [[Vex]] (26) + [[Hel]] (15) + [[El]] (1) + [[Eld]] (2) + [[Zod]] (33) + [[Eth]] (5) All Weapons Clvl Required:
| 50% Chance To Cast Level 20 Poison Nova When You Kill An Enemy Indestructible +60% Increased Attack Speed +350-400% Enhanced Damage (varies) +200% Damage To Undead -25% Target Defense +50 To Attack Rating +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit 12-15% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies) Prevent Monster Heal +30 To All Attributes +1 To Light Radius Requirements -20%
| See it [[Breath of the Dying|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Call to Arms]]''' ''AmnRalMalIstOhm'' [[Amn]] (11) + [[Ral]] (8) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Ist]] (24) +[[Ohm]] (27) All Weapons Clvl Required:
| +1 To All Skills +40% Increased Attack Speed +200-240% Enhanced Damage (varies) Adds 5-30 Fire Damage 7% Life Stolen Per Hit +1-6 To Battle Command +1-6 To Battle Orders +1-4 To Battle Cry Prevent Monster Heal Replenish Life +12 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
| See it [[Call to Arms|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Chains of Honor]]''' ''DolUmBerIst'' [[Dol]] (14) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Ber]] (30) + [[Ist]] (24) Armor Clvl Required:63
| +2 To All Skills +200% Damage To Demons +100% Damage To Undead 8% Life Stolen Per Hit +70% Enhanced Defense +20 To Strength Replenish Life +7 All Resistances +65 Damage Reduced By 8% 25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
| See it [[Chains of Honor|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Chaos]]''' ''FalOhmUm'' [[Fal]] (19) + [[Ohm]] (27) + [[Um]] (22) Claws Clvl Required:
| 9% Chance To Cast Level 11 Frozen Orb On Striking 11% Chance To Cast Level 9 Charged Bolt On Striking +35% Increased Attacked Speed +240-290% Enhanced Damage (varies) Adds 216-471 Magic Damage 25% Chance of Open Wounds +1 To Whirlwind +10 To Strength +15 Life After Each Demon Kill
| See it [[Chaos|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Crescent Moon]]''' ''ShaelUmTir'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Tir]] (3) Axes, Polearms & Swords Clvl Required:47
| 10% Chance To Cast Level 17 Chain Lightning On Striking 20% Chance To Cast Level 13 Static Field On Striking +20% Increased Attack Speed +220-260% Enhanced Damage (varies) Ignore Target's Defense -35% To Enemy Lightning Resistance 25% Chance of Open Wounds +9-11 Magic Absorb (varies) +2 To Mana After Each Kill Level 18 Summon Spirit Wolf (30 Charges)
| See it [[Crescent Moon|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Death''' ''HelElVexOrtGul'' [[Hel]] (15) + [[El]] (1) + [[Vex]] (26) + [[Ort]] (9) + [[Gul]] (25) Swords & Axes Clvl Required:
| 100% Chance To Cast Level 44 Chain Lightning When You Die 25% Chance To Cast Level 18 Glacial Spike On Attack
Indestructible +300-385% Enhanced Damage (varies) 20% Bonus To Attack Rating +50 To Attack Rating
Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit 50% Chance of Crushing Blow +(0.5 per Character Level) 0.5-49.5% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level) +1 To Light Radius Level 22 Blood Golem (15 Charges) 
Requirements -20%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''[[Delirium]]''' ''LemIstIo'' [[Lem]] (20) + [[Ist]] (24) + [[Io]] (16) Armor Clvl Required:
| 1% Chance To Cast lvl 50 Delirium When Struck 10% Chance To Cast lvl 14 Mind Blast When Struck 20% Chance To Cast lvl 13 Terror When Struck 33% Chance To Cast lvl 18 Confuse On Striking +2 To All Skills +261 Defense +10 To Vitality 50% Extra Gold From Monsters 25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items Level 17 Attract (60 Charges)
| See it [[Delirium|here]]. See it in action [[Delirium2|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Destruction''' ''VexLoBerJahKo'' [[Vex]] (26) + [[Lo]] (28) + [[Ber]] (30) + [[Jah]] (31) + [[Ko]] (18) Polearms & Swords Clvl Required:
| 23% Chance To Cast Level 12 Volcano On Striking 5% Chance To Cast Level 23 Molten Boulder On Striking 100% Chance To Cast level 45 Meteor When You Die 15% Chance To Cast Level 22 Nova On Attack +350% Enhanced Damage Ignore Target's Defense Adds 100-180 Magic Damage 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit 20% Chance Of Crushing Blow 20% Deadly Strike Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Dexterity
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''[[Doom]]''' ''HelOhmUmLoCham'' [[Hel]] (15) + [[Ohm]] (27) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Lo]] (28) + [[Cham]] (32) Axes, Hammers & Polearms Clvl Required:
| 5% Chance To Cast Level 18 Volcano On Striking Level 12 Holy Freeze Aura When Equipped +2 To All Skills +45 Increased Attack Speed +280-320% Enhanced Damage (varies) -57% To Enemy Cold Resistance 20% Deadly Strike 25% Chance of Open Wounds Prevent Monster Heal Freezes Target Requirements -20%
| See it[[Doom| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Dragon''' ''SurLoSol'' Sur (29) + Lo (28) + Sol(12) Armor/Shields Clvl Required: 61
| 20% Chance to Cast Level 18 Venom When Struck 12% Chance To Cast Level 15 Hydra On Striking Level 14 Holy Fire Aura When Equipped +360 Defense +230 Defense Vs. Missile +3-5 To All Attributes (varies) +0.375-37.125 To Strength (Based on Character Level) Increase Maximum Mana 5% (Armor Only) +50 To Mana (Shields Only) +5% To Maximum Lightning Resist Damage Reduced by 7
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Dream''' ''IoJahPul'' [[Io]] (16) + [[Jah]] (31) + [[Pul]] (21) Helms & Shields Clvl Required
| 10% Chance To Cast Level 15 Confuse When Struck Level 15 Holy Shock Aura When Equipped +20-30% Faster Hit Recovery (varies) +30% Enhanced Defense +150-220 Defense (varies) +10 To Vitality Increase Maximum Life 5% (Helms Only) +50 To Life (Shields Only) +0.625-61.875 To Mana (Based On Character Level) All Resistances +5-20 (varies) 12-25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (varies)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Duress''' ''ShaelUmThul'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Thul]] (10) Armor Clvl Required: 47 
| +150-200% Enhanced Defense 15% faster hit Recovery +15% Fire Resistance +45% Cold Resistance +15% Lightning Resistance +15% Poison Resistance +10-25% Enhanced Damage +37-133 Cold Damage +15% Crushing Blow +33% Open Wounds 20% Faster Stamina Drain
| -
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Edge]]''' ''TirTalAmn'' [[Tir]] (3) + [[Tal]] (7) + [[Amn]] (11) Missile Weapons Clvl Required:
| Level 15 Thorns Aura When Equipped +35% Increased Attack Speed +320-380% Damage To Demons (varies) +280% Damage To Undead +75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds 7% Life Stolen Per Hit Prevent Monster Heal
+5-10 To All Attributes (varies) +2 To Mana After Each Kill Reduces All Vendor Prices 15%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Enigma]]''' ''JahIthBer'' [[Jah]] (31) + [[Ith]] (6) + [[Ber]] (30) Armor Clvl Required:
| +2 To All Skills +45% Faster Run/Walk +1 To Teleport +757 Defense + (0.75 Per Character Level) +1-74.25 To Strength (Based On Character Level) Increase Maximum Life 5% Damage Reduced By 8% +14 Life After Each Kill 15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana + (1 Per Character Level) +1-99% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based On Character Level)
| See it [[Enigma|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Enlightenment''' ''PulRalSol'' [[Pul]] (21) + [[Ral]] (8) + [[Sol]] (12) Armor Clvl Required:
| 5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Blaze When Struck 5% Chance To Cast level 15 Fire Ball On Striking +2 To [[Sorceress]] Skill Levels +1 To Warmth +30% Enhanced Defense Fire Resist +30% Damage Reduced By 7
| Sorceress
| Yes
| No
| No
|-

| '''[[Eternity]]''' ''AmnBerIstSolSur'' [[Amn]] (11) + [[Ber]] (32) + [[Ist]] (24)+ [[Sol]] (12) + [[Sur]] (29) All Melee Weapons Clvl Required:
| Indestructible +276% Enhanced Damage +9 To Minimum Damage 7% Life Stolen Per Hit 20% Chance of Crushing Blow Hit Blinds Target Slows Target By 33% Replenish Mana 16% Cannot Be Frozen 30% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items Level 8 Revive (88 Charges)
| See it[[Eternity| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Exile]]''' ''VexOhmIstDol'' [[Vex]] (26) + [[Ohm]] (27) + [[Ist]] (24) + [[Dol]] (14) Shields Clvl Required:
| 15% Chance To Cast Level 5 Life Tap On Striking Level 13-16 Defiance Aura When Equipped +2 To Offensive Auras ([[Paladin]] Only) +30% Faster Block Rate Freezes Target +220-260% Enhanced Defense (varies) Replenish Life +7 +5% To Maximum Cold Resist +5% To Maximum Fire Resist 25% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items
| Paladin Shields only. Inherent Paladin shield bonuses remain active.

See it [[Exile|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Faith''' ''OhmJahLemEld'' [[Ohm]] (27) + [[Jah]] (31) + [[Lem]] (20) + [[Eld]] (2) Missile Weapons Clvl Required:
| Level 12-15 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped (varies) +1-2 To All Skills (varies) +330% Enhanced Damage Ignore Target's Defense 300% Bonus To Attack Rating +75% Damage To Undead +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead +120 Fire Damage All Resistances +15 10% Reanimate As: Returned 75% Extra Gold From Monsters
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Famine]]''' ''FalOhmOrtJah'' [[Fal]] (19) + [[Ohm]] (27) + [[Ort]] (9) + [[Jah]] (31) Axes & Hammers Clvl Required:
| +30% Increased Attack Speed +270-320% Enhanced Damage (varies) Ignore Target's Defense Adds 180-200 Magic Damage Adds 50-200 Fire Damage Adds 51-250 Lightning Damage Adds 50-200 Cold Damage 12% Life Stolen Per Hit Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Strength
| See it [[Famine|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Fortitude''' ''ElSolDolLo'' [[El]] (1) + [[Sol]] (12) + [[Dol]] (14) + [[Lo]] (28) Weapons & Armor Clvl Required:
| '''Both''' 20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when Struck +25% Faster Cast Rate +300% Enhanced Damage +1 To Light Radius 12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana All Resistances +25-30 (varies) +200% Enhanced Defense + To Life (Based on Character Level) '''Weapons''' +9 To Minimum Damage +50 To Attack Rating 20% Deadly Strike Hit Causes Monster To Flee 25% '''Armor''' +15 Defense Replenish Life +7 +5% To Maximum Lightning Resist Damage Reduced By 7
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''[[Fury]]''' ''JahGulEth'' [[Jah]] (31) + [[Gul]] (25) + [[Eth]] (5) All Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 65
| +209% Enhanced Damage 40% Increased Attack Speed Prevent Monster Heal 66% Chance Of Open Wounds 33% Chance Of Deadly Strike Ignores Target Defense -25% Target Defense +20% Attack Rating 6% Life Stolen Per Hit +5 To Frenzy ([[Barbarian]] Only)
| See it [[Fury|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Gloom]]''' ''FalUmPul'' [[Fal]] (19)+ [[Um]] (22) + [[Pul]] (21) Armor Clvl Required:
| 15% Chance To Cast Level 3 Dim Vision When Struck +10% Faster Hit Recovery +170-230% Enhanced Defense (varies) +10 To Strength All Resistances +45 Half Freeze Duration 5% Damage Taken Goes To Mana -3 To Light Radius
| See it [[Gloom| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Grief''' ''EthTirLoMalRal'' [[Eth]] (5) + [[Tir]] (3) + [[Lo]] (28) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Ral]] (8) Swords & Axes Clvl Required:
| 35% Chance To Cast Level 15 Venom On Striking +30-40% Increased Attack Speed (varies) Damage +340-400 (varies) Ignore Target's Defense -25% Target Defense +(1.875 per character level) 1.875-185.625% Damage To Demons (Based on Character Level) Adds 5-30 Fire Damage -20-25% To Enemy Poison Resistance (varies) 20% Deadly Strike Prevent Monster Heal +2 To Mana After Each Kill +10-15 Life After Each Kill (varies)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Hand of Justice]]''' ''SurChamAmnLo'' [[Sur]] (29) + [[Cham]] (32)+ [[Amn]] (11) + [[Lo]] (28) All Weapons Clvl Required: 67
| 100% Chance To Cast Level 36 Blaze When You Level-Up 100% Chance To Cast Level 48 Meteor When You Die Level 16 Holy Fire Aura When Equipped +33% Increased Attack Speed +280-330% Enhanced Damage Ignore Target's Defense 7% Life Stolen Per Hit -20% To Enemy Fire Resistance 20% Deadly Strike Hit Blinds Target Freezes Target
| See it [[Hand of Justice|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Harmony''' ''TirIthSolKo'' [[Tir]] (3) + [[Ith]] (6) + [[Sol]] (12) + [[Ko]] (18) Missile Weapons Clvl Required:
| Level 10 Vigor Aura When Equipped +200-275% Enhanced Damage (varies) +9 To Min & Max Damage Adds 55-160 Lightning Damage Adds 55-160 Cold & Fire Damage +2-6 To Valkyrie (varies) +10 To Dexterity
Regenerate Mana 20% +2 To Mana After Each Kill +2 To Light Radius Level 20 Revive (25 Charges)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Heart of the Oak]]''' ''KoVexPulThul'' [[Ko]] (18) + [[Vex]] (26) + [[Pul]] (21) + [[Thul]] (10) Staves & Maces Clvl Required:55
| +3 To All Skills +40% Faster Cast Rate +75% Damage To Demons +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit +10 To Dexterity Replenish Life +20 Increase Maximum Mana 15% All Resistances +30-40 (varies) Level 4 Oak Sage (25 Charges) Level 14 Raven (60 Charges) +50% Damage To Undead
| See it [[Heart of the Oak|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Holy Thunder]]''' ''EthRalOrtTal'' [[Eth]] (6) + [[Ral]] (8) + [[Ort]] (9) + [[Tal]] (7) Scepters Clvl Required: 23
| Level 7 Chain Lightning 60 charges -25% Target Defense +60% Enhanced Damage +75 Poison Damage over 7 secs +5% Maximum Lightning Resistance +60% Lightning Resistance +21-110 Lightning Damage +5-30 Fire Damage +3 to Holy Shock 150% Damage vs. Undead
| See it [[Holy Thunder|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Honor]]''' ''AmnElIthTirSol'' [[Amn]] (11) + [[El]] (1) + [[Ith]] (6) + [[Tir]] (3) + [[Sol]] (12) All Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 27
| +160% Enhanced Damage +250 Attack Rating +9 Minimum Damage +9 Maximum Damage 25% Deadly Strike 7% Life Stolen per Hit +1 to all skill levels +2 Mana per kill +1 Light Radius Replenish life +10 +10 to Str
| See it [[Honor|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Ice''' ''AmnShaelJahLo'' [[Amn]] (11)+ [[Shael]] (13) + [[Jah]] (31) + [[Lo]] (28) Missile Weapons Clvl Required:
| 00% Chance To Cast Level 40 Blizzard When You Level-up 25% Chance To Cast Level 22 Frost Nova On Striking
Level 18 Holy Freeze Aura When Equipped +20% Increased Attack Speed +140-210% Enhanced Damage (varies) 
Ignore Target's Defense +25-30% To Cold Skill Damage (varies) -20% To Enemy Cold Resistance 7% Life Stolen Per Hit 20% Deadly Strike 3.125-309.375 Extra Gold From Monsters (Based on Character Level)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Infinity''' ''BerMalBerIst'' [[Ber]] (30) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Ber]] (30) + [[Ist]] (24) Polearms Clvl Required:
| 50% Chance To Cast Level 20 Chain Lightning When You Kill An Enemy Level 12 Conviction Aura When Equipped
+35% Faster Run/Walk +255-325% Enhanced Damage (varies) -(45-55)% To Enemy Lightning Resistance (varies)
40% Chance of Crushing Blow Prevent Monster Heal 0.5-49.5 To Vitality (Based on Character Level) 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items Level 21 Cyclone Armor (30 Charges)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Insight]]''' ''RalTirTalSol'' [[Ral]] (8) + [[Tir]] (3) + [[Tal]] (7) + [[Sol]] (12) Polearms & Staves Clvl Required:
| Level 10-17 Meditation Aura When Equipped (varies) +35% Faster Cast Rate +200-260% Enhanced Damage (varies) +9 To Minimum Damage 180-250% Bonus to Attack Rating (varies) Adds 5-30 Fire Damage +75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds +1-6 To Critical Strike (varies) +5 To All Attributes +2 To Mana After Each Kill 23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|- queue

| '''[[King's Grace]]''' ''AmnRalThul'' [[Amn]] (11) + [[Ral]] (8) + [[Thul]] (10) Swords & Scepters Clvl Required: 25
| +100% Enhanced Damage +150 AR +100 Attack Rating vs. Undead 150% Damage vs. Undead +100 Attack Rating vs. Demons 200% Damage vs. Demons 7% life steal +3-14 Cold damage (3 sec) +5-30 Fire Damage
| Nice weapon damage and good mods, for just three common Runes. Could even be a weapon switch to use especially on Demons and Undead. See it [[Kings Grace|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Kingslayer]]''' ''MalUmGulFal'' [[Mal]] (23) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Gul]] (25) + [[Fal]] (19) Swords & Axes Clvl Required: 53
| +30% Increased Attack Speed +230-270% Enhanced Damage (varies) -25% Target Defense 20% Bonus To Attack Rating 33% Chance of Crushing Blow 50% Chance of Open Wounds +1 To Vengeance Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Strength 40% Extra Gold From Monsters
| See it [[Kingslayer|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

|'''Last Wish''' ''JahMalJahSurJahBer'' [[Jah]] (31)+ [[Mal]] (23) + [[Jah]] (31) + [[Sur]] (29) + [[Jah]] (31) + [[Ber]] (30) Axes, Hammers & Swords Clvl Required:
| 6% Chance To Cast Level 11 Fade When Struck 10% Chance To Cast Level 18 Life Tap On Striking 20% Chance To Cast Level 20 Charged Bolt On Attack Level 17 Might Aura When Equipped +330-375% Enhanced Damage (varies) Ignore Target's Defense 60-70% Chance of Crushing Blow (varies) Prevent Monster Heal Hit Blinds Target +(0.5 per character level) 0.5-49.5% Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based on Character Level)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Lawbringer''' ''AmnLemKo'' [[Amn]] (11) + [[Lem]] (20) + [[Ko]] (18) Hammers, Scepters & Swords Clvl Required:
| 20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Decrepify On Striking Level 16-18 Sanctuary Aura When Equipped (varies) -50% Target Defense Adds 150-210 Fire Damage Adds 130-180 Cold Damage 7% Life Stolen Per Hit Slain Monsters Rest In Peace +200-250 Defense Vs. Missile (varies) +10 To Dexterity 75% Extra Gold From Monsters
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Leaf]]''' ''TirRal'' [[Tir]] (3) + [[Ral]] (8) Staves (Not Orbs) Clvl Required: 19
| +5-30 Fire Damage +2 mana per kill +3 to Fire Skills +33% Cold Resistance +3 Inferno +3 Fire Bolt +3 Warmth
| Huge bonuses to fire skills, but probably too high a Clvl requirement to be of that much use. See it[[Leaf| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Lionheart]]''' ''HelLumFal'' [[Hel]] (15) + [[Lum]] (17) + [[Fal]] (19) Armor Clvl Required: 41
| -15% Requirements +20% Enhanced Damage +30% to All Resistances +50 Hit Points +10 Energy +20 Vitality +15 Dexterity +25 Strength
| Just amazing stats on Armor. Resistance, huge bonuses to your stats and hit points, lowered requirements, and even bonus to weapon damage. See it [[Lionheart|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Lore]]''' ''OrtSol'' [[Ort]] (9) + [[Sol]] (12) Headgear (all types) Clvl Required: 27
| +1 to all skill levels +2 Mana per Kill Lowers Damage by 7 30% Lightning Resistance +10 Energy +2 Light Radius
| See it [[Lore|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Malice]]''' ''IthElEth'' [[Ith]] (6) + [[El]] (1) + [[Eth]] (5) All Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 15
| +33% enhanced damage +9 max damage +50 Attack Rating 100% chance of open wounds -100 monster def/hit Prevents Monster Heal -25% target defense Life drain -5
| Total damage isn't that big, but the other bonuses are very useful. See it [[Malice|here]]. Life drain is the opposite of life regeneration, with this you will lose 1 hp about every 2 secodns.
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''[[Melody]]''' ''ShaelKoNef'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Ko]] (18) + [[Nef]] (4) Bows & Xbows Clvl Required: 39
| +300% Damage vs. Undead +50% Enhanced Damage +10 Dexterity 20% Increased Attack Speed Knockback +3 Bow Skill Tab +3 Slow Missiles +3 Dodge +3 Critical Strike
| See it [[Melody|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''[[Memory]]''' ''LumIoSolEth'' [[Lum]] (17) + [[Io]] (16) + [[Sol]] (12) + [[Eth]] (5) Staves (Not Orbs). Clvl Required: 37
| Lowers Target's Defense by 25% 33% Faster Cast Rate +3 Sorceress Skill Levels +50% Enhanced Defense -7 Magic Damage +20% Max Mana +9 Minimum Damage +10 Energy +10 Vitality +2 Static Field +2 Energy Shield
| See it [[Memory|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Myth''' ''HelAmnNef'' [[Hel]] (15) + [[Amn]] (11) + [[Nef]] (4) Armor Clvl Required:
| 3% Chance To Cast Level 1 Howl When Struck 10% Chance To Cast Level 1 Taunt On Striking +2 To Barbarian Skill Levels +30 Defense Vs. Missile Replenish Life +10 Attacker Takes Damage of 14 Requirements -15%
| Barbarian
| Yes
| No
| No
|-

| '''[[Nadir]]''' ''NefTir'' [[Nef]] (4) + [[Tir]] (3) Headgear (all types) Clvl Required: 13
| Level 13 Cloak of Shadows (9 charges) +50% Enhanced Defense +2 mana per kill -3 light radius +30 Defense vs. missile +10 Defense +5 Strength -33% gold from monsters
| See it [[Nadir|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Oath''' ''ShaelPulMalLum'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Pul]] (21) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Lum]] (17) Axes, Maces & Swords Clvl Required:
| 30% Chance To Cast Level 20 Bone Spirit On Striking Indestructible +50% Increased Attack Speed +210-340% Enhanced Damage (varies) +75% Damage To Demons +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Energy +10-15 Magic Absorb (varies) Level 16 Heart Of Wolverine (20 Charges) Level 17 Iron Golem (14 Charges)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Obedience''' ''HelKoThulEthFal'' [[Hel]] (15) + [[Ko]] (18) + [[Thul]] (10) + [[Eth]] (5) + [[Fal]] (19) Polearms Clvl Required:
| 30% Chance To Cast Level 21 Enchant When You Kill An Enemy 40% Faster Hit Recovery +370% Enhanced Damage -25% Target Defense Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 3 Second Duration (Normal) -25% To Enemy Fire Resistance 40% Chance of Crushing Blow +200-300 Defense (varies) +10 To Strength & Dexterity All Resistances +20-30 (varies) Requirements -20%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Passion]]''' ''DolOrtEldLem'' [[Dol]] (14) + [[Ort]] (9) + [[Eld]] (2) + [[Lem]] (20) All Weapons Clvl Required: 43
| +25% Increased Attack Speed +160-210% Enhanced Damage 50-80% Bonus To Attack Rating +75% Damage To Undead +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage +1 To Berserk +1 To Zeal Hit Blinds Target +10 Hit Causes Monster To Flee 25% 75% Extra Gold From Monsters Level 3 Heart of Wolverine (12 Charges)
| See it [[Passion|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Peace''' ''ShaelThulAmn'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Thul]] (10) + [[Amn]] (11) Armor Clvl Required:
| 4% Chance To Cast Level 5 Slow Missiles When Struck 2% Chance To Cast level 15 Valkyrie On Striking +2 To Amazon Skill Levels +20% Faster Hit Recovery +2 To Critical Strike Cold Resist +30% Attacker Takes Damage of 14
| Amazon
| Yes
| No
| No
|-

| '''Phoenix''' ''VexVexLoJah'' [[Vex]] (26) + [[Vex]] (26) + [[Lo]] (28) + [[Jah]] (31) Weapons & Sheilds Clvl Required:
| '''Both''' 100% Chance To Cast level 40 Blaze When You Level-up 40% Chance To Cast Level 22 Firestorm On Striking Level 10-15 Redemption Aura When Equipped (varies) -28% To Enemy Fire Resistance +15-21 Fire Absorb (varies) +350-400 Defense Vs. Missile (varies) +350-400% Enhanced Damage (varies) '''Weapons''' Ignores Target's Defense 14% Mana Stolen Per Hit 20% Deadly Strike '''Shields''' +50 To Life +5% To Maximum Lightning Resist +10% To Maximum Fire Resist
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Pride''' ''ChamSurIoLo'' [[Cham]] (32) + [[Sur]] (29) + [[Io]] (16) + [[Lo]] (28) Polearms Clvl Required:
| 25% Chance To Cast Level 17 Fire Wall When Struck Level 16-20 Concentration Aura When Equipped (varies) 260-300% Bonus To Attack Rating (varies) +1-99% Damage To Demons (Based on Character Level) Adds 50-280 Lightning Damage 20% Deadly Strike Hit Blinds Target Freezes Target +3 +10 To Vitality Replenish Life +8 1.875-185.625% Extra Gold From Monsters (Based on Character Level)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Principle''' ''RalGulEld'' [[Ral]] (8) + [[Gul]] (25) + [[Eld]] (2) Armor Clvl Required:
| 100% Chance To Cast Level 5 Holy Bolt On Striking +2 To Paladin Skill Levels 15% Slower Stamina Drain +5% To Maximum Poison Resist Fire Resist +30%
| Paladin
| Yes
| No
| No
|-
| '''Prudence''' ''MalTir'' [[Mal]] (23) + [[Tir]] (3) Armor Clvl Required:
| +25% Faster Hit Recovery +140-170% Enhanced Defense (varies) All Resistances +25-35 (varies) Damage Reduced by 3 Magic Damage Reduced by 17 +2 To Mana After Each Kill +1 To Light Radius Repairs Durability 1 In 4 Seconds
| -
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Radiance]]''' ''NefSolIth'' [[Nef]] (4) + [[Sol]] (12) + [[Ith]] (6) Headgear (All types) Clvl Required: 27
| 15% Melee Damage Taken Goes to Mana +75% Enhanced Defense Magic Damage Reduced by 3 Physical Damage Reduced by 7 +30 Defense vs. Missiles +33 Mana +10 Energy +10 Vitality +5 Light Radius
| See it [[Radiance| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Rain''' ''OrtMalIth'' [[Ort]] (9) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Ith]] (6) Armor Clvl Required:
| 5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Cyclone Armor When Struck 5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Twister On Striking +2 To Druid Skills +100-150 To Mana (varies) Lightning Resist +30% Magic Damage Reduced By 7 15% Damage Taken Goes to Mana
| Druid
| Yes
| No
| No
|-

| '''[[Rhyme]]''' ''ShaelEth'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Eth]] (5) Shields (All types) Clvl Required: 29
| Cannot be Frozen 40% Faster Block Rate 20% Increased Chance of Blocking Regenerate Mana 15% +25% to all Resistances +25% to Magic Find +50% Extra Gold from Monsters
| One of the more useful, inexpensive runewords. Popular for javazons, sorceresses, necromancers, and others not in need of massive defense.

See it [[Rhyme| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Rift''' ''HelKoLemGul'' [[Hel]] (15) + [[Ko]] (18) + [[Lem]] (20) + [[Gul]] (25) Polearms & Scepters Clvl Required:
| 20% Chance To Cast Level 16 Tornado On Striking 16% Chance To Cast Level 21 Frozen Orb On Attack 20% Bonus To Attack Rating Adds 160-250 Magic Damage Adds 60-180 Fire Damage +5-10 To All Stats (varies) +10 To Dexterity 38% Damage Taken Goes To Mana 75% Extra Gold From Monsters Level 15 Iron Maiden (40 Charges) Requirements -20%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Sanctuary]]''' ''KoKoMal'' [[Ko]] (18) + [[Ko]] (18) + [[Mal]] (23) Shields Clvl Required:
| +20% Faster Hit Recovery +20% Faster Block Rate 20% Increased Chance of Blocking +130-160% Enhanced Defense (varies) +250 Defense vs. Missile +20 To Dexterity All Resistances +50-70 (varies) Magic Damage Reduced By 7 Level 12 Slow Missiles (60 Charges)
| See it [[Sanctuary|here]]
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Silence]]''' ''DolEldHelIstTirVex'' [[Dol]] (14) + [[Eld]] (2) + [[Hel]] (15) + [[Ist]] (24) + [[Tir]] (3) + [[Vex]] (26) All Weapons. Clvl Required: 55
| +200% Enhanced Damage 175% Damage vs. Undead +50 to Attack Rating Against Undead 11% Mana Steal Hit Blinds Target (20) Faster Hit Recovery +2 to All Skills All Resistances +75 20% Increased Attack Speed +2 to Mana After Each Kill Hit Causes Monster to Flee 25% Requirements -20% 30% Better Magic Find
| See it [[Silence|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Smoke]]''' ''NefLum'' [[Nef]] (4) + [[Lum]] (17) Armor Clvl Required: 37
| Level 6 Weaken, 18 charges Faster Hit Recovery (20) -1 to Light Radius +75% Enhanced Defense +50% to all Resistances +280 Defense vs. Missiles +10 to Energy
| See it [[Smoke|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Spirit]]''' ''TalThulOrtAmn'' [[Tal]] (7) + [[Thul]] (10) + [[Ort]] (9) + [[Amn]] (11) Shields & Swords Clvl Required:
| '''Both''' +2 To All Skills +25-35% Faster Cast Rate (varies) +55% Faster Hit Recovery +22 To Vitality +250 Defense Vs. Missile +89-112 To Mana (varies) +3-8 Magic Absorb (varies) '''Shields''' Cold Resist +35% Lightning Resist +35% Poison Resist +35% Attacker Takes Damage of 14 '''Swords''' Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 3 Second Duration (Normal) +75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds 7% Life Stolen Per Hit
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Splendor]]''' ''EthLum'' [[Eth]] (5) + [[Lum]] (17) Shield Clvl Required:
| +1 To All Skills +10% Faster Cast Rate +20% Faster Block Rate +60-100% Enhanced Defense (varies) +10 To Energy Regenerate Mana 15% 50% Extra Gold From Monsters 20% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items +3 To Light Radius
| -
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''[[Stealth]]''' ''TalEth'' [[Tal]] (7) + [[Eth]] (5) Armor Clvl Required: 17
| 25% Faster Casting Rate 25% Faster Hit Recovery 25% Faster run/walk speed -3 magical damage taken +15% Mana Regeneration Rate +30% Poison Resistance +15% Maximum Stamina +6 Dexterity
| See it [[Stealth|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Steel]]''' ''TirEl'' [[Tir]] (3) + [[El]] (1) Works: Sword, Axe, Mace Doesn't work: Maul, Great Maul, War Hammer, Barbed Club, Partizan, Dagger type Clvl Required: 13
| +20% Enhanced Damage +3 Minimum Damage +3 Maximum Damage +50 Attack Rating 50% Chance of Open Wounds +1 light radius +2 mana per kill 25% Increased Attack Speed
| See it [[Steel|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Stone]]''' ShaelUmPulLum'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Pul]] (21) + [[Lum]] (17) Armor Clvl Required:47
| +60% Faster Hit Recovery +250-290% Enhanced Defense +300 Defense Vs. Missile +16 To Strength +16 To Vitality +10 To Energy All Resistances +15 Level 16 Molten Boulder (80 Charges) Level 16 Clay Golem (16 Charges)
|
See it [[Stone|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Strength]]''' ''AmnTir'' [[Amn]] (11) + [[Tir]] (3) Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 25
| +35% Enhanced Damage 25% chance of Crushing Blow 7% life steal +2 mana per kill +10 vitality +20 strength
| See it [[Strength|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Treachery''' ''ShaelThulLem'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Thul]] (10) + [[Lem]] (20) Armor Clvl Required:
| 5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Fade When Struck 25% Chance To Cast level 15 Venom On Striking +2 To Assassin Skills +45% Increased Attack Speed +20% Faster Hit Recovery Cold Resist +30% 50% Extra Gold From Monsters
| Assassin
| Yes
| No
| No
|-

| '''[[Venom]]''' ''TalDolMal'' [[Tal]] (7) + [[Dol]] (14) + [[Mal]] (23) All Weapons Clvl Required: 49
| 288 Poison Damage Over 6 Seconds Hit Causes Monster To Flee 25% Prevent Monster Heal Ignore Target's Defense 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit Level 15 Poison Explosion (27 Charges) Level 13 Poison Nova (11 Charges)
| See it [[Venom|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Voice of Reason''' ''LemKoElEld'' [[Lem]] (20) + [[Ko]] (18) + [[El]] (1) + [[Eld]] (2) Maces & Swords Clvl Required:
| 15% Chance To Cast Level 13 Frozen Orb On Striking 18% Chance To Cast Level 20 Ice Blast On Striking +50 To Attack Rating +220-350% Damage To Demons +355-375% Damage To Undead (varies) +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead Adds 100-220 Cold Damage -24% To Enemy Cold Resistance +10 To Dexterity Cannot Be Frozen 75% Extra Gold From Monsters +1 To Light Radius
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Wealth]]''' ''LemKoTir'' [[Lem]] (20) + [[Ko]] (18) + [[Tir]] (3) Armor Clvl Required: 43
| 100% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items 300% Extra Gold From Monsters +2 to Mana After Each Kill +10 to Dexterity
| Not a lot of bonuses, but a very large one to magic find and gold. Get rich quick. See it [[Wealth| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[White]]''' ''DolIo'' [[Dol]] (14) + [[Io]] (16) Wands Clvl Required: 35
| Hit causes monster to flee 25% 20% Faster Cast Rate Magic Damage Reduced by 4 +13 to mana +10 to vitality +3 to bone and poison skills +4 to skeleton mastery +2 to bone spear +3 to bone armor
| See it[[White| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Wind''' ''SurEl'' [[Sur]] (29) + [[El]](1) Melee Weapons Clvl Required:
| 10% Chance To Cast Level 9 Tornado On Striking +20% Faster Run/Walk +40% Increased Attack Speed +15% Faster Hit Recovery +120-160% Enhanced Damage (varies) -50% Target Defense +50 To Attack Rating Hit Blinds Target +1 To Light Radius Level 13 Twister (127 Charges)
| -
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Wrath''' ''PulLumBerMal'' [[Pul]] (21) + [[Lum]] (17) + [[Ber]] (30) + [[Mal]] (23) Missile Weapons Clvl Required:
| 30% Chance To Cast Level 1 Decrepify On Striking 5% Chance To Cast Level 10 Life Tap On Striking +375% Damage To Demons +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons +250-300% Damage To Undead (varies) Adds 85-120 Magic Damage Adds 41-240 Lightning Damage 20% Chance of Crushing Blow Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Energy Cannot Be Frozen
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Zephyr]]''' ''OrtEth'' [[Ort]] (9) + [[Eth]] (5) Bows & Xbows Clvl Required: 21
| 7% Chance to Cast Slvl 1 Twister When Struck +33% Enhanced Damage +1-50 lightning damage Increased Attack Speed (25) -25% Target Defense Faster Run (25) +25 Defense +66 Attack Rating
| See it [[Zephyr|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|}

==Runeword Categories==

The runewords are listed in separate categories also.

* [[Runewords Armor| Armor]]
* [[Runewords Headgear| Headgear]]
* [[Runewords Shields| Shields]]
* [[Runewords Weapons| Weapons]]

[[Category:Runes]]
[[category:items]]

Guide:Rune Finder Guide v1.10, by Urlik

2009-09-10T15:37:38Z

TDurden1937: /* A somewhat cheesy but effective tactic */

This rune finding guide lists precise odds to find runes from every commonly-sought monster and chest in the game. It was written in 2004 for v1.10, and while the odds and strategies remain accurate, there is no mention of the [[Pandemonium Event|Uber Quests]], and this guide does not cover newer techniques as [[Level 1 Rushing|Level 1 Hellforge Rushing]].

'''Strategy guide info:'''
* '''Version:''' v1.10+
* '''Game type:''' PvP
* '''Character:''' xx
* '''Author:''' Urlik ([http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=178289 Source]. Download the guide in the [http://www.chrisclarke.co.uk/D2stuff/PDFs/Runes_and_Crafted_PDFs/RuneFinderGuide.pdf original PDF form], with prettier tables and graphics.)

=Applicability=

This guide is intended for Diablo II LoD Expansion, patch 1.10 final only.

=What is this guide about?=
The purpose of this guide is very simply to help your characters be more effective
in their rune finding efforts.

=Why did I create this guide?=
To be perfectly honest, I was motivated to create a Rune Finder's Guide out of
frustration in trying to find accurate sources for rune drop information. I'm sure
that many of you have felt the same frustration; especially after patch 1.10 was
released and introduced all those uber new runewords. In addition, a kindred
rune-fanatic named Uzziah held a Rune Race which truly got me started on
working out some drop chance numbers on my own... and it just kept growing and growing.

Eventually, I worked out the math for every rune-dropping source
in the game. Then I did a lot of testing with modded files to confirm certain drop
behaviors from objects as well as "counting" tests in order to determine the
average number of rune drops per area "clear". Revision 2.0 came to be after
Thrugg steered me over to a post by Jarulf, in which Jarulf writes about how
objects drop items with references to relevant snippets of actual game code.

=Why is this guide the definitive source for rune drop information?=

It is, because I don't hide anything from you at all. You can see all the
calculations on the appropriate tabs. I'm quite confident the math is correct.
But if you want to check it for yourself, feel free.

=How does one legitimately get hold of some decent runes?=
Let me count the ways.

# Trade with some lucky bastards who already have the runes you want.

# Run Hell Countess over and over and cube her drops as high as possible.

# Run character after character after character to the hell mode Hell Forge
Quest.

# Repeatedly clear areas in the game where the average number of rune drops
per time spent is high (e.g. Hell Cows).

# Thieve from Sparkly Chests and/or Special Chests over and over with a
teleporting character.

I'll comment on each Strategy

==Trading==
A lot of folks favor this method it seems. But I have to ask them some
questions... Somebody burnt their eyeballs out and crippled their wrist to find those high level runes. Are they really going to be that eager to give them up?
Can there be very many on the market? How do you know the rune is genuine?
Runes don't get the fingerprinting that Doc Tenshi came up with to hamper
cheaters and item dupers... Maybe I'm being too much of a purist, but in my
book a high level rune just isn't the same if it isn't authentic. If you use this
strategy, I recommend dealing with only the most trusted players.
There's nothing quite as satisfying as finding a good rune on your own.

==Hell Countess ad infinitum==

Hell Countess is the best source for runes up to Ist. But she's on the bottom
level of that nasty tower. For best efficiency, a teleporting Sorc is ideal. My Blizz
Sorc keeps a slight distance and TK's the CI+FI Countess while the Merc does
the dirty work with his massive poker. I recommend grabbing ALL rune drops
and cubing them up. I really don't think it will slow you that much. Yes, even pick
up those El's! For reference, in an average of 896 Hell Countess runs at Players
1, you will be able to cube up an Ist with her rune drops, assuming you also have
the required gems. Yes really! And it only takes 512 Ists to make a Zod. For Ist and below, she is by far the best source. Do her! If you have the stamina,
within about 4000 runs (on average) you should be able to cube up to an Ohm.

==Hell Forge Rushing==
Although I have doubts, you may discover that you can be more productive at
finding high level runes by rushing a steady stream of new characters to the hell
mode Hell Forge Quest. To me, this approach defeats the purpose of playing as
a "Rune Hunter" character. I also have a strong suspicion that if you were to
compare ratios of net total rune value per play-hour invested, Rune Hunting
would beat Hell Forge Questing's pants off. I could be wrong. Perhaps we have
the makings of a new type of contest to answer this question once and for all?
The top end for hell mode Hell Forge seems to be a Gul. You need 256 of those
to cube a Zod. Trouble is, the hell mode Hell Forge won't be dropping you
a Gul for each new character you bring to it. On average, you will only get a Gul
9% of the time. That brings us to about 5000 or so new characters
that you need to take all the way to hell mode Hell Forge. Yikes!

==Area Clearing==
This strategy follows the basic law of averages. More monsters means more
drops which means more runes. Start with monsters which have the highest
chance to drop runes among all their drops. Then look for areas where there are
tons of monsters, preferably crowded together, and let the carnage ensue.
Obviously, the more of a killing machine your character is the better. Lightning
Javazon's, Multishot Bowazon's, Windy Druids, Blizzard Sorcs… take your pick.

Try to run at the highest Players X setting you can manage without a significant
reduction in your clearing speed. This is important because if you aren't paying
attention to this metric, you may end up spending more time to earn less runes.
Kinda like working more hours for less money, LOL. Nobody wants to do that!
I contend that the best place for the area clearing strategy is the secret Cow
Level (more on this later). Find your average clearing time over say 3-4 runs at
Players 1. Then try a few runs at Players 2, a few at Players 3, and so on.
Calculate the average time to clear for each Players setting. Plug these times
into Table B below and you'll discover the optimal Players X setting. The same
procedure can be used for other areas too. But for highest accuracy, I first need
to provide you the appropriate "Scale Factors". Unfortunately, I don't have them
all figured out yet, as this is a rather arduous process (see Area Counts sheet in
the Excel version for more info).

I would like to thank MattIs for first pointing out the sensitive relationship between the “Players X” setting and rune drop productivity. Thrugg expanded on this and created a handy efficiency table for the Cow level based on hitpoint
scaling rather than the actual clear times. This is Table A, below. It is likely that
the result of P2 probably won't be any different in Table B for all but the most
powerful characters.

I put some hypothetical numbers in the "Average Time to Clear" column in Table
B for illustrative purposes only.

[[Image:Urlik1.jpg|frame|center]]

Note: In creating Table A, I didn't know how many hitpoints
Cows typically have, so I let "A" represent it.

The conclusion here is that unless your character is doing enough damage to kill
a group of Cows with one "attack" at Players 2 or 3, the most efficient setting for
collecting rune drops is Players 2.

[[Image:Urlik2.jpg|frame|center]]

Now as for objects…that's a different story. Objects don't hit back and they don'tbecome any harder to pop at higher players settings. Thus, it's in your best
interest as a smart Rune Hunter to pop them all at nothing less than Players 8.
Clear the level, raise the Players setting to 8, then go back and pop the objects.
The No_Drop chance is calculated when the object is popped, not when
spawning the level. Incidentally, I believe the same is true when a monster is
killed but I haven't verified this.

==Thieving the Sparkly and Special Chests==
This is a strategy best handled by a fast-casting (63% fast cast or higher), non-
ES, high defense Sorceress. Bringing along a strong Merc for a meat shield is
essential. It would help even more if she fortified the meat shield with other
summonables too (from item bonuses). Set the Players to 8, TP to a Sparkly or
Special Chest in a "known" location as fast as you can. Do not engage any
monsters! Pop the Chest, hit the Alt key to see what dropped, then get the hell
outta there!
If you happened to spot a good rune drop, go back and snatch it up or show off
your pride and honor and fight for your prize!
You can do a lot of runs in a short time with this strategy. My Blizz Sorc ran
Meph's center chest (a Special Chest) about once every 20 seconds 100 times
over with no deaths. Budgeting 15 minutes of each play-hour for replenishing
blue pots, keys, cubing, etc, that comes to about 18 runes per hour for a Sparkly
Chest (or 9 for a Special Chest). Say you collect 100 runes per week (about 5.5
play-hours) in this manner from Bonesaw's Sparkly Chest (at P8)… There is a16% chance that at least one rune will be Ist thru Zod. Sweet!

===Best Single Sources to Find Specific Top 10 Runes===
[[Image:Urlik3.jpg|frame|center]]

For Runes Ist and below, Hell Countess - at Players 1 - is by far the best source.

[[Image:Urlik4.jpg|frame|center]]
* * Zod capable Cast and Missle monsters start spawning in level 81 areas, while Zod capable Melee monsters start spawning in level 82 areas.

For Runes Ist and below, Hell Countess - at Players 1 - is by far the best source.

[[Image:Urlik5.jpg|frame|center]]
* ** Ordinary Objects and Super Objects are fully defined in the text. The rune drop chances shown are the averages.
* *** Although they too "sparkle", the Quest Chests in Act 2 and Act 3 behave like a Type I Object, as far as rune drops are concerned.

Although it offers the best chance in the game, an Act 5 (H) Sparkly Chest (popped at P8) would
require 625,000 runs on average before you see a Zod. Kind of depressing ain't it? I wish you the best of luck. :D

=Best Areas to Find Specific Top 10 Runes=

So, you're probably all wondering...

::''"Where are the best areas in the game to invest my precious time - killing monsters and looting their chests over and over and over again - in order to find some high level runes?"

Well, sadly, no one area will selectively pump out only high level runes.
For any given rune that drops, there is a ridiculously small chance that it will be
high level. In fact, the chance for Ist thru Zod is only 0.1589%. See the section
on "Rune Ratios" for a chart.

Now, that we have cleared that up... The answer is really quite simple. The best
area is the one where your character can find the most runes in the shortest
amount of time. It's preferred though not essential (depending on your rune
goals) that your chosen area be one with sources able to drop up to Zod.
I can't help your character on killing speed. That will depend on his/her class,
gear, and skills (not to mention the aplomb of the driver). But, I can help on
which areas will drop the most runes (on average).

That can be reduced to a math problem by simply counting the number of
"different" rune sources in the area, then multiplying each by the corresponding
chance for that source to drop runes and summing it all together. By repeating
this process a number of times, one can obtain a mean and standard deviation
for the number of runes that will drop in a specific area.

Regretfully, I was unable to complete all of the areas I would have liked for this
release of the guide, but I think I chose some pretty good ones to focus on.
You can see the details of all my tests (so far) on the Tab labeled "Area Counts"
in the Excel version of the guide. Here is a summary of the results:

[[Image:Urlik6.jpg|frame|center]]

The "ranking" of areas will be the same regardless of players setting. Also,
remember that the highest ratio of rune drops per time spent is your goal, not
simply the highest average number of rune drops alone.

'''Best Area to Clear for Finding Zod = Hell Cows'''

There it is folks. :) Good luck!

Probably the best thing about Cows is that they aren't immune to anything. They
are 50% resistant to Physical, Fire, Lightning, and Cold and 33% resistant to
Magic and Poison.

::''“What I do after entering the Red Portal is teleport across the field until Ihit a wall, then with my back to the wall I go crazy on those Moo Moo's!

::''Tee hee.” - Snow Bunny.

How does the River of Flame compare to Cows? As you can see, not even
close… even when wraiths come out to play (which isn't more than 20-25% of thetime, btw). I have a strong suspicion that WSK won't come close either, based on lower wraith count and lower over-all monster count.

Although more tests are required to prove it, the only area in the game that may
have a higher rune drop average is the Arcane Sanctuary. Unfortunately, only
Uniques and Champions in this area can drop up to Zod. Ordinary monsters
(including wraiths) can drop up to Cham. All those Special Chests at the end of
the false paths to the Summoner can only drop up to Lo. The Summoner himself
is the best single source for Gul thru Lo (not counting the 1st time you kill Andy).
Lo is his top end as well. But aside from all this, there are two pesky problems
with Arcane's, both of which hurt your clearing time.

1. The layout of Arcane's is frustrating to navigate -- there are just so many turns
and narrow pathways… You will kill slower as a result.2. When fighting wraiths, be certain that they are hovering over "ground" when
you kill them. If they die while hovering in space (or over lava in RoF), whatever
they would have dropped is lost to the inky depths.

Another area that may be of interest is Sewers L2. This is a level 85 area and it
consistently has three Special Chests on the menu! With a teleporting character,
you can reach it very fast and quickly kill any resistance in there. Unfortunately,
the Special Chests in there can only drop runes up to Ber. But I'm not
complaining too loudly 'bout that… Hehehe.Some other areas with potentially high averages:

* Maggot Lair L1-L3
* Great Marsh
* Flayer Jungle
* Durance 2
* Wilderness areas of Act 5 (Bloody Foothills, Frigid Highlands, ArreatPlateau, and Frozen Tundra).

I single out these areas mainly because of mass quantities of monsters and
chests. And there's always the confirmed presence of Super Objects (plural, if
you catch my drift).

I think one of the best aspects to the area clearing strategy of rune finding is that
your character doesn't have to futz with donning all that anemic MF gear, LOL.
When hunting for runes, MF is not a factor. Kill proficiency and knowing where to
go for the best chances are the only things between you and grabbing a Zod.
I offer up this guide to provide you the knowledge. Now it's up to you to load up
on battle gear and wreak havoc!

To all you HC Players out there, especially the meleer's: BE CAREFUL!

=Objects (Chest TC)=
There are several different inanimate objects in the game (and some animated
ones) that can drop from the Chest TC (with a chance for Runes). In one of his
recent posts, Jarulf did an excellent job of explaining how several of these objects are initialized and operate. Based on the contents of Objects.txt and my
own tests, I have expounded on his explanations. To simply things, I have
grouped those objects that have identical rune drop behavior, even though they
may differ in other ways.

First, we need to define a couple things: desired quality and a magical+ test. Jarulf writes:

::''A Chest TC drop will use normal calculations to determine the quality ofthe item. But it can also have as a parameter a desired quality. If it has a desired quality, any item generated will get (if possible) that quality. If it
can't get the desired quality, it can be of a failed quality (e.g. rare instead of unique) or if it is an item that can't be magical (such as a rune or potion) it will be of normal quality.

::''A test for magical+, will check if the FIRST item generated from a ChestTC drop (excluding No_Drop) is of quality: magic, rare, set or unique. Items that can't have magical properties such as runes, potions, gems, keys, etc. are, as already mentioned, considered of normal quality.

==Super Objects==
* Sparkly Chests
* Special Chests

Both have rather complicated drop behavior… I'll introduce the simpler objectsfirst and then come back to these.

==Type I Ordinary Objects==
These objects use OperateFn 4. They have a chance to be locked and a chance
to spawn a monster. If unlocked, there is a 75% chance to make a single Chest
TC drop (up to 4 items) with no desired quality (MF is applied normally). If
locked, they will always make two Chest TC drops (up to 8 items) with no desired
quality. The chance to be locked is (monlvl1/2 + 8)% and the chance to spawn a
monster is (monlvl1/8 + 5)%, where monlvl1 (from levels.txt) corresponds to each
area on the map regardless of difficulty level. I created Table C below to serve
as a quick reference. These are: Caskets in Arcane's and all "true" ordinary
Chests (anything that looks like a Chest except Quest-Chests, Special Chests,
and Sparkly Chests).

==Type II Ordinary Objects==
These objects use OperateFn 4, but are not lockable. They have a 75% chance
to make a single Chest TC drop with no desired quality. These objects also have
a chance to spawn a monster, just like Type I Ordinary Objects. These are:
Tombs in WSK or in Nil's Temple, Some Rat Nests, some Hidden Stashes in
Act5, some Barrels in Act5, Animated Skull-and-Rock Piles, Hidden Stashes in
any of the Icy Cave areas, Dead Barbarians in Act5, Dead Persons in Act 5,
Burial Chests in Act 5, Object1 and Object2 in Nil's Temple (I have no idea what
these are), and Object1 in Snowy Areas (?) of Act5.

==Type III Ordinary Objects==
Most of these objects use OperateFn 14, which means they make a single Chest
TC drop with no desired quality. These are: Crates, Rogue Corpses (of all
types), Guard Corpses (of all types), most Hidden Stashes, Skull Piles, Jugs,
Skeleton Corpses, Hollow Logs, Loose Rocks, Loose Boulders, Coffins, Stashes,
Pillars, Cocoons, Tristram Bodies, some Rat Nests, Corpses of Villagers, Goo
Piles, Harem Beds, Hung Skeletons, Bone Chests, Hell Fire Braziers, and Pilesof-
Skulls-and-Rocks and some Barrels in Act 5 outdoor areas...
Note: there is a 33.3% chance that the Goo Piles in the Sand Maggot Lair will
have a poison trap.
The remaining Type III Ordinary Objects use OperateFn 1 which means they
make a single Chest TC drop with no desired quality and they have an 18.08%
chance to spawn a monster. These are: Caskets (all areas except Arcane's),
Sarcophaguses, and Act 1 Beds.

==Type IV Ordinary Objects==
All but one of these objects use OperateFn 3, which means they have a 21%
chance to make a single Chest TC drop with no desired quality. These are:
Urns, Large Urns, Baskets (in dungeons), Dead Bodies in Kurast Sewers, Jars,
Rock Piles (in dungeons), and Trapped Souls.
Barrels (Act1-4) use OperateFn 5, which means they have a 21% chance to
make a single Chest TC drop with no desired quality and an 18.08% chance to
spawn a monster. Exploding Barrels never drop anything. No surprise there.
That's it for the Objects that are verified to have a chance to drop runes!
For reference, bookshelves use OperateFn 26, which means they either drop TP
or ID scrolls or books, but never any runes or other items.
Kudos to Jarulf, for his discovery and explanations of a number of Objectfunctions.

==Objects that use un-deciphered Functions==

Armor and Weapon Racks (obviously these would never drop runes), Burning
Trapped Souls (found in Act 4), Stashes in Act 3 Jungles, Evil Urns, Quest
Chests (Act 2 and 3), Tainted Sun Altar, Gidbinn Cauldron, and Hellforge Quest.
These all have not been fully deciphered yet as far as I know.
It's well known that the Hellforge Quest drops 3 gems and 1 rune. In hell mode,
quite often it is a nice rune. Anecdotal evidence from several players suggests
that a Gul rune is the highest possible in hell mode. I do not know the actual
chances for Guls (or other runes) from the Hellforge Quest, but I will try to glean
this info straight from the corresponding Operate function and include it in the
next revision of the guide.

Table C - chance for Object Traps or Being Locked in each Area
[[Image:Urlik7.jpg|frame|center]]
[[Image:Urlik8.jpg|frame|center]]
[[Image:Urlik9.jpg|frame|center]]

Objects are tied to the Act in which they are located for determining drops.
Since we are concerned with rune drops
* Act 1 (H) Objects can drop up to Vex (r26).
* Act 2 (H) Objects can drop up to Lo (r28).
* Act 3 (H) Objects can drop up to Ber (r30).
* Act 4 (H) Objects can drop up to Cham (r32).
* Act 5 (H) Objects can drop up to Zod (r33).

Objects in Level 85 areas, such as The Pit and The Mausoleum are not
upgraded to a higher TC as monsters are. They still only drop as Act 1 Objects.

Objects in The Moo Moo Farm drop as Act 1 Objects, also.

For reference, items that drop from objects will inherit the level of the area that
the object is located in. Act 5 (H) Objects located in level 85 areas are in fact
capable of dropping up to TC87 equipment; the chance is just very small. The
game code does not cap the quality level for equipment drops from objects at
TC66 as I had previously thought. Drop testing has verified this.

==A somewhat cheesy but effective tactic==

Drop testing has verified that it's not necessary to use a Players 8 setting before entering the area the object is located in to gain the benefit of a very low chance
for No Drop. After clearing an area at a manageable Players setting, you can
raise it to Players 8 and then run around and pop all the objects.

Okay, easy part is over… let's talk about those Super Objects.

==Sparkly Chests (Super Object)==
The following explanation is paraphrased from a post by Jarulf...For a Sparkly Chest, the game picks from 6 weighted options for how it will drop as follows:

Option 1 (2% chance). The game will make a Chest TC drop cycle (up to 4 itemdrops) with a desired quality of unique. If the drop cycle fails a magical+ test, it
will make another Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of unique. If that
cycle also fails a magical+ test, the game will make more drop cycles according
to option 6. Note that option 1 can generate up to 6 unique items if it fails plus up
to an additional 16 unique items from option 6. Gasp!

Option 2 (4% chance). The game will make a Chest TC drop cycle with adesired quality of set. If the drop cycle fails a magical+ test, it will make another
Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of set. If that cycle also fails a
magical+ test, the game will make more drop cycles according to option 6.

Option 3 (6% chance). The game will make a Chest TC drop cycle with adesired quality of rare. If the drop cycle fails a magical+ test, it will make another
Chest TC drop cycle with a desired quality of rare. If that cycle also fails a
magical+ test, the game will make more drop cycles according to option 6.

Option 4 (20% chance). The game will make up to 10 Chest TC drop cycleswith a desired quality of magic. As soon as 3 of them pass a magical+ test, the
10 attempts are aborted.

Option 5 (30% chance). The game will make up to 10 Chest TC drop cycleswith a desired quality of magic. As soon as 2 of them pass a magical+ test, the
10 attempts are aborted. Then, as long as the number of failed magical+ tests is
6 or less, it will then make a single Chest TC drop cycle with no desired quality,
followed by a number of gold drops equaling 6 minus the number of failed
magical+ tests.

Option 6 (38% chance). The game will make up to 10 Chest TC drop cycleswith a desired quality of magic. As soon as 1 of them passes a magical+ test,
the 10 attempts are aborted. It will then make a number of Chest TC drop cycles
with no desired quality equaling 4 minus the number of failed magical+ tests
done so far. Next it makes 5 gold drops, 2 heal potion drops and 2 mana potion
drops.

Note: A Sparkly Chest works the same whether it is locked or not.

==Special Chests (Super Object) vs. Type I Ordinary Objects==
The following explanation is paraphrased from a post by Jarulf...First, the game will check if the chest is locked, and if so, unlock it if you have a
key or are an assassin. Second, the game sets the number of drop cycles from
the appropriate Chest TC to 2 if locked (up to 8 item drops), otherwise to 1 (up to
4 item drops). Next, the game tests for a flag in the initialization routine. Special
Chests always have this flag set. If it is set, there is a 5% chance that the game
will make the desired quality of the drops rare, otherwise (95% chance) the
desired quality will be magic. If the flag is not set there is no desired quality and
the game will pick quality normally, applying MF and so on (Type I Ordinary
Objects). After that, the game will make a random chance to drop at all. 75% of
the time it will drop. The other 25% of the time, it will only drop if the flag is set or
if the chest was locked. Next, the game will make either 1 or 2 actual Chest TC
drop cycles (depending on if it is locked or not), with a possible desired quality as
mentioned above. If the object is a Special Chest AND none of the previous
Chest TC drop cycles (1 or 2) passed a magical+ test, it will make up to 10 more
Chest TC drop cycles with a possible desired quality as mentioned above. As
soon as 1 of them passes a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted.

::Note: Empirical evidence suggests that most Special Chests stay that
way and remain in the same place on the map; however, some may
intermittently switch to behaving like a Type 1 Ordinary Object from run
to run (I observed this in the Maggot Lair). I believe this behavior is
related to the initialization flag that Jarulf discovered. The conditions for
how and when the flag is set need to be investigated further.

==Quest Chests (pseudo-Type I Ordinary Object)==
It may sparkle like a Sparkly Chest, but a Quest Chest uses different operate and
initialize functions and is actually rather ordinary. Jarulf didn't post about howany of the Act2 and Act 3 Quest Chest functions work, so I am basing their drop
behavior on empirical evidence and drop tests. Quest Chests behave like Type 1
Ordinary Objects in that they can drop up to 8 items if locked or 4 if not. Then
they drop a random number of additional gold piles (there seems to be an upper
limit of 10), plus the quest item of course. The important thing is that as far as
runes are concerned, they behave like a Type I Ordinary Object.

==Where are all the Super Objects !?!==
I'm fairly sure that every "off-shoot" area contains a Sparkly Chest. Cave L2,Underground Passage L2, Pit L2, Mausoleum, Crypt, Stony Tombs L2,
Ancient Tunnels, Icy Cellar, and all 3 red portals to Hell in the outer areas of Act
5, to name some confirmed sightings. Some other locales with a Sparkly Chest
are: Bonesaw's Platform on the Glacial Trail, Snappy's Hideout, and some
serpent surrounded islands in the Great Marsh and Flayer Jungle, among
others...

The deceivingly ordinary-looking Special Chests can always be found in: the
Crypt, the Maggot Lair, at the end of the false paths in Arcane's, in the false Tal
Rasha Tombs, in Sewers L2 (Act 3), a couple spots in Upper Kurast, and of
course the ever popular center chest behind Meph, among other musty and
sunless places.

These Super Objects can be run over and over. They have a better chance (on
average over several runs) to drop runes than any single monster (except
Hell Countess up to Ist).

Don't pass over any objects in Act 5 (H)! They just might contain a Zod.

::''“To dream the impossible dream…” (voice of Luciano Pavarotti)

Note: All the lovely calculations related to rune drop chances from
objects are shown in the Excel version of the guide.

Rune Drop Averages for all Single Sources
Based on the calculations shown in the Excel version of the guide, the following
rune drop averages for all single sources were determined.

[[Image:Urlik10.jpg|frame|center]]

The number of monsters, chests, etc. does not scale up with "Players X" setting.
However, the mean quantity of rune drops for each kill does scale up for most
monster types (and all object types), since the chance for no-drop is driven to
zero. Remember that the highest ratio of rune drops per time spent is your goal,
not simply the highest average number of rune drops alone.

To download the Excel version, point your browser to:
[http://www.flightsofsplendor.com/diabloII/Urlik’s_RFG_v2.xls http://www.flightsofsplendor.com/diabloII/Urlik’s_RFG_v2.xls]

[[Image:Urlik11.jpg|thumb|800px|center]]

[[Image:Urlik12.jpg|thumb|500px|center]]

=Acknowledgments=

'''Jarulf''' - for explaining how the game drops items, how treasure classes work,how to calculate drop chances, and especially how several Objects work.

'''Thrugg'''' - for clarifying the No Drop weight equation for higher “Players X”settings and for pointing out some of the finer details of calculating theCountess's rune drops.

'''Uzziah''' - for organizing a Rune Race which inspired the creation of this guide.MattIs - for pointing out that one's rune drop productivity while area clearing islikely to be optimal at lower rather than higher "Players X" settings.

'''RTB''' - for giving me the password into the Dimension of Numbers. and especially...

'''Jenny''' - for tolerating many of my late night test sessions.Strategies and Tactics

[[category:d2 strategy]]
[[category:d2 item strategy]]
[[category:runes]]

Barbarian FAQ

2009-09-09T14:09:46Z

TDurden1937: /* How does +demon damage from items such as Laying of Hands work? */

=Basic Terms and Abbreviations=

* 8/09 - Patches. In 0.8 many items had different mods.
* "Andy"/"Lil D"/"Meph"/"Big D" - The 4 act bosses.
* "AR": Attack Rating.
* "Arreats","Face": Arreat's Face unique slayer guard.
* "BO" - Battle Orders.
* "CCS/B" - Cruel Colossus Sword/Blade. Sometimes CCBQ for "of Quickness" suffix.
* "CS" - Chaos Sanctuary
* "D2C": Diablo 2 Classic
* "D2X": Diablo 2 Expansion
* "Def", "AC": Defense Rating. Sometimes Damage Reduced.
* "DMG": Damage.
* "Doom": Doombringer
* "Dual": Dual leech (mana and life leech) or dual stat - (str and dex)
* "FAQ": Frequently Asked Questions.
* "FWIW": For what it is worth
* "FYI" : For Your Information - another abbreviation.
* "Gaze", "Vamp": Vampire Gaze unique grim helm
* "GF", "Grandpa": Grandfather unique colossus blade
* "HP's": Hit Points (life)
* "HC" : Hardcore mode
* "IAS": Increased attack speed
* "IK": Immortal King set
* "IMHO": In My Humble Opinion
* "IMO": In My Opinion.
* "Ironbarb" : A variant of the barbarian.
* "ITD": Ignore target defense
* "J/K", "j/k": Just kidding
* "LA" - Leap Attack
* "LEB": Lightning Enchanted Boss
* "LL": Life leech
* "LOH": Laying of Hands set bramble mitts
* "LOL": Laughing out loud
* "MDR": Magic Damage Reduced
* "MF", "MFing": Magic find(ing)
* "ML": Mana Leech
* "MSLEB": Multishot Lightning Enhanced Boss
* "OMG": Oh My God!
* "PDR", "%DR" : Physical Damage Reduced
* "PI": Physical Immune
* "PK" : Player killing
* "PvM": Player vs. monster
* "PvP": Player vs. player
* "ROFL": Rolling on the floor laughing
* "LSabre/Sabre" - Lightsabre unique phase blade
* "S/S": Sword/Shield
* "Shaft": Shaftstop unique mesh armor
* "SoJ": Stone of Jordan
* "Singers": Singing Barbs - a variant class
* "STFU": Be quiet please
* "Storm": Stormshield unique monarch shield
* "WC": Warcry the Level 30 Warcry
* "WF": Windforce unique Hydra Bow
* "WW": Whirlwind

=Masteries=

A strong part of the barbarian is in his mastery skills. Most of them are useful and self explanatory.

==What is the best Mastery?==

There is NO best weapon, so no best mastery. Every weapon has it's own advantages and disadvantages. Each is specialized for a different role.

Maces pack a lot of power but are slow. Maces are great for MF runs though, since the IK maul (a mace class weapon) totally dominates act bosses and demons. A Silence runeword in a Thundermaul is also very effective. If used by a pure berserker barb, you can gain extremely high damage. The 1-handed maces can be good for Frenzy characters, but generally not well suited for a whirler as the slower speed and lower range go against them.

Polearms are great weapons because of their decent damage and a range of 5. Great if you want to whirl, also great if you don't. Polearms do require a larger investment in both dexterity and strength than other weapon classes so you end up with fewer points available to put into vitality. Some may argue it's a worthwhile tradeoff to get the cool scythe look...

Axes are a good mix of swords and maces, having great damage, decent speed, and lower requirements. For some reason they lack the popularity of other masteries which is strange, as both 1-handed and 2-Handed varieties are excellent. The berserker axe (elite war axe) has better 1-handed stats than most 2-handed swords in 1-H mode. A small note, Axes DO NOT have the 150% to demons extra bonus damage. REGARDLESS of what sources said they do, extensive testing has proven that this extra bonus is non-existant or not enabled.

Swords, however, are the most versatile weapon's class due to the fact that they have a good damage/speed ratio, and have a usual range of 3. You can also use a shield for added protection with any sword. Sword users are extremely spoiled since they have so many choices with a huge assortment of magical, unique, and set items available. The final advantage that sword users have available to them is the 3 chipped gem horadric cube recipe. (more on this later).

The worst weapon class for a barbarian is the spear class. Some have speculated that this was Blizzard's revenge on all the lance barbarians that dominated D2C... Even though they possess high damage, the higher class spear weapons lack the speed and durability of other weapons. A far cry indeed from the pre D2X days. The lower classes of spears are much faster, but then their damage stats are a little lacking.

Throwing mastery is (obviously) for the ThrowBarb. It's an extremely fun subclass rapidly gaining in popularity so don't be so quick to dismiss them as an underpowered variant subclass. There are basically two different sorts. Javelin-type, and axe/knife type. The main difference is the Javelin type travels further (has longer range), but flies at a slower rate. Where the axe/knife has sorter range, but moves faster in the air, making them at times harder to dodge. Last thing ! Throwing mastery will only apply to the THROWN damage portion of the weapon. So if you want to melee with a throwing axe, throwing mastery bonus will NOT apply. (You need axe mastery).

==Why should I max a Mastery?==

This is asked quite often, and it does seem tempting to save yourself some points in masteries and throw them elsewhere. But your damage and AR both increase at a constant rate (+5% damage, +8%AR - no diminishing returns), so points here are never wasted. A golden rule is "Damage is King".

==What is the mastery bug and why is Deadly Strike useless?==

This was proven in an earlier version of 1.09. Basically, when a barbarian has points into a specific mastery, then uses a corresponding weapon, he will automatically do double damage each time he hits. We believe this is an automatic critical hit of 100%, so regardless of what the skill description says, your barb will do double damage each time. This might be considered a bug, but it's effect's aren't that severe. The thing it affects most is deadly strike items. Deadly Strike = Chance to do double damage as well, just like critical hits. In D2X, critical strike and double strike WILL NOT STACK (regardless of what some sources state, this will never actually happen. No Quad Damage for you !). Since barbarians are automatically doing double damage, DS items will never get a chance to activate, so on barbs they are effectively useless.

==Iron Skin vs Shout==

Age old debate, and the answer is presonal preference. Where IS is passive, and always in effect, Shout needs to be casted, and at the beginning it has a rather low duration. But, if you are going for defence route, maxing Shout first is a much better choice as the duration and % defence bonus gets very large at high levels. A high level Shout + Low IS gives much better defence than High level IS, low level Shout (similar but remember at low levels shout lasts a pathetic duration). Specific builds only.

==How many points do I need in Increased Speed and Natural Resists?==

Both of these skills are very similar, having large diminishing returns later on. You'd only need 5-9 points in Natural Resist, beyond that isn't recommended as the diminishing returns factor is too high. Increased Run/Walk is open to debate, but for PvM builds, it is more of a luxury then anything. In PvP it is a different matter, some argue that maxing is worth is as there is nothing better for a barb to put his points in, but other like to put it at 10 and let those charms with faster run/walk do the job. The choice is ultimately up to the player, but again Increased Speed has very sharp diminishing returns after level 10.

==How does Increased Speed work?==

By modifying your character's base speed (hence the faster run, even when naked). Other run/walk items are mainly additive and both suffer from diminishing returns later on. Increased speed no longer needs to be maxed, however.

=Combat Skills=

Just your average bread-and-butter everyday skills of mass destruction :) A barbarian has a number of unique and powerful combat skills at his disposal.

==Whirlwind vs Everything Else, which is better?==

At first glance, most people look at Frenzy or Leap Attack or something else, note the large % to damage and AR and lower mana cost, and compare to WW' "wimpy" bonus. Naturally, this is on paper only, and WW doesn't look very impressive on paper. However, in-game, WW is the most powerful combat skill, able to shred single monsters and crowds in a blink, and capable mass leeching, turning a barb from a near-dead warrior to a fresh instrument of destruction. Why is this ? WW is an Area-Of-Effect skill that allows a barbarian to hit single or multiple targets many times. Thus, his damage potential is incredible, where Leap Attack or Frenzy only deal 1 or 2 hits at a time. Admittedly, at early levels, the -% damage can be a pain, but this skill is well worth the effort. Recent testing has revealed that the number of hits landed with your WW is only increased by IAS on your weapon. Any additional IAS from gloves/armor etc. will affect all of your other attacks *EXCEPT* WW. On a side note, a faster weapon is generally considered better for WW, as it can greatly increase the damage output, through landing more hits than a slower weapon. Also, a longer weapon range will also greatly increase the effectiveness of your WW, as you can hit many creatures or a single creature more times due to the range. WW is also the best PvP skill at a barbarian's disposal, due to it's uninterruptibility and AoE. It makes him the king of melee combat, and rightly so :) Of course the other skills are still very powerful and the basis of many variants.

==Do I need to max Leap Attack?==

Leap attack is more of a utility skill nowadays. It is very hard to use due to aiming (monster might move out of range, for example), and only affects a single target. Unless playing a variant, Leap Attack is fine with just 1 point, for mobility enhancement purposes. (Leaping over ditches, through grates, across rivers, etc.). Very handy for escape. It's useful in places like the Chaos Sanctuary, the oblivion knights there like to cast Iron Maiden, but LA is considered a range attack so it won't be affected.

==How does Frenzy work?==

Frenzy needs 2 weapons (so no frenzying with a war pike). Frenzy will increase your possible Run/Walk Speed, Attack Speed, damage +% and AR +% with each point invested. This means that for each successful frenzy hit, your speed/attack speed will increase until you hit the cap. Then so long as you get another successful frenzy hit in during the next 6 seconds, you will stay at the speed cap. This skill combines VERY well with many other skills available to the barbarian. Frenzy + Berzerk = Huge killing speed and power in Hell. Frenzy + Double Swing = as many as 6 swings per second (good with high elemental damage weapons, like Baranar's Star, especially against physical immunes). Frenzy + WW = almost "old school D2C" style WW, but maxing both isn't a good idea - it sounds good, but in practice you will find yourself using one much more than the other, essentially wasting 20 points.

==Do I need points in Berserk? 0 defence doesn't look appealing... ==

Well, in D2X, berserk is INCREDIBLE. No, you can't leech. Your defence drops to zero as well. But berserk is probably among the most damaging single attacks in game. Firstly, it is pure magical. Only a few monsters in the game can resist it, or are immune. Secondly, it adds an immense AR and damage bonus, a maxed berserk with a fast, high damaging 2-handed weapons = 1-2 hits kills, even on hell mode 8 player games. 5-10K or even more berserk damage is very achievable, and extremely deadly. Of course, whether you max it or not will depend on your barb build and whether you like the skill or not. But 1 point is essential, as you can EASILY take down PI monsters with it. It should be noted that since berserk is pure magic damage, skills like Iron Maiden, Spirit of Barbs and Thorns will not affect it.

==Shouldn't I use a shield with berserk?==

Actually, many players dislike the use of a shield when berserking. Since your defence drops to zero, blocking might look like a good way of protection, but it causes more problems. Firstly, potentially lower damage. What takes you 2 hits now might take 3-4 to die. Secondly, enemy chance to hit is directly based on your defence and blocking. Basically, it will check your defence first, then if it bypasses defence, it will check blocking. Since berserk = Nil defence, all attacks will automatically end up to your shield. This will cause Blocklock, and it's not a good thing to be blocklocked while surrounded by a horde of monsters. Also, notice that little stun around your barbarian's head ? This little thing, (first covered in an Assassin guide) if around your head, will cause subsequent attacks to make your barb go into STUNLOCK (hit-recovery animation, most often seen if your barb takes a big hit). Being both blocklocked and having a good chance to be stunlocked isn't a good thing at all.

==Does Lifetap work with Berserk?==

It's been tested and the answer is no. Probably due to the fact that berserk = magic damage. (You can leech with Lifetap on some skills like Smite, probably because it is still physical damage).

==Concentrate, an overlooked skill?==

Concentrate was improved a lot in D2X. It now has a nice little damage bonus (along with the original uninterruptible/defence adding attribute). It's very good at early levels, before your big combat skills (Zerk, WW,Frenzy). It is also the main skill of the "Ironbarb" build, which focuses on massive defence via Shout, Iron Skin and Concentrate. In addition, it will bypass blocking animation (uninterruptible), but this is a double edged sword, as it can be good and bad.

==I'm planning a Throwbarb, how many points do I need in Double Throw?==

As many as you can, preferably maxing if possible. Double Throw can give a very high AR, reaching 9-10K is possible, and effective. You want to make sure every shot counts, especially in PvP.

==Leap or Leap Attack?==

Leap Attack. It is 100000000% times better than Leap as it can be used to attack and has unlimited range (level 1 Leap is more like a hop, or small jump.). Leap does have a knockback radius, but it is very small, and not much use.

==What can a barb dual wield?==

All swords (even the 2-handed ones), all 1-handed axes and maces, and all throwing weapons. All daggers/wands/scepters as well, but only a few of them are worth doing so.

==How does Dual-wield work and what advantages are there?==

Well, the patch description is typically vague, and testing is limited severely by your weapons and their respective speed/range. Thus one result with one combo of weapons might be totally different from another set of weapons. Anyway, testing seems to indicate more hits, but this seems to be an "averaged" amount. You can see this clearly when using a slow weapon in one hand (like Schaefar's Hammer) and a faster weapon in the other hand (like Baranar's Star). So the main advantage is that you can potentially get more hits in. Whether or not it is up to you. Choice between 1 hard hitting weapon, or two slightly faster but less damaging ones?

==How can I whirl better?==

Contrary to popular belief, it's not as easy as the stereotype makes it out to be. Of course, clicking on one side of the crowd works, but there are much better techniques to use. You don't have to just click whirl stop click whirl stop, holding down your mouse button and "sweeping" and area is MUCH better, and good against tough foes or ones that take a long time to die (Cow level/Izual comes to mind). You can leech much better with this and it leaves very little time for the enemy to hit you (and even if they do, you are probably whirling/killing/leeching). Another popular use is the "short-whirl" a whirlwind that is literally short in length. It typically goes just a bit further than your warcries under your barb. A good player can make use of a short whirl with a longer range weapon by "keeping them at arms reach", and there are many uses for this in dueling too. Against tougher foes, short whirls can quickly make mincemeat out of them, while leaving your barb with little damage. Practice make perfect, as they say.

==Explanation of whirlwind IAS.?==

Recent research into post 1.08 whirlwind has brought up a number of interesting factors. For one, all external (non weapon) IAS WILL NOT APPLY TO WHIRLWIND. Only IAS from the weapon matters. This has been tested several times, so is proven to be a fact. Secondly, whirlwind does seem not adhere to traditional IAS tables. Upping the amount of hits whirlwind gives out is solely based on a system we call "break points", which work at specific IAS points. Max WW hits also seems to be capped according to your weapon range (which does make sense), so no 10 hit whirls with a hammer, for example.

'''Note :''' Applies to single opponents only. Mostly helpful if you are into dueling. Also, we do not know how this factors in with dual wielding whirlwind.

Second Note : I'm sure I will get bombarded with messages from mathematically inclined gamer, saying "you can't modify a weapon's base speed !" which is true. But for simplicity's sake, we'll use "speed" as in 10 base speed + 20 Shael = -10 speed. Butchering the maths I know, but makes it a little easier to understand.

Anyway, for 2-handed swords, first break point is at -10 speed (getting to first break point seems to raise your average hits), and it seems getting to -35 speed seems to give the maximum potential hits (around 5, rarely 6).

For other 2-handed weapons, first break point is at -30, second at -60. Thus most other 2-handed weapons are unable to get to the 2nd BP without a speed mod. (another reason towards the large bias of swords).

==Can I whirl faster?==

NO. WW speed is fixed, although you can go slower if chilled (sometimes resulting in many more hits due to slower movement). Frenzy + WW APPEARS to make you whirl faster, but this is just a desynch/display bug (like sorcs casting "2" orbs in succession - again, display error). In fact no amount of run/walk speed will affect WW speed. Yes, I know Talic whirls fast. But he's special. We're not.

=Warcries=

The most interesting part of a barbarian's skills. A barbarian's already-powerful abilities can be enhanced further with his excellent array of warcries.

==Can Warcries Stack?==

Most definitely ! You might see Shout, BattleOrders, and BattleCommand simultaneously on some barbarians, a very powerful combination. Plus, they work with your party members, people love Barbarian BO :) They work on enemies too, so you can Warcry AND BattleCry enemies and both will be in effect. Not all warcries stack like this (Taunt/Howl will override Battlecry, for example), but most will stack with Warcry.

==Shout vs Iron Skin?==

Heh, see above, but if you are going defence route, maxing Shout first is a much better choice than Iron Skin. Duration and defence% bonus is excellent at high levels. Note that Shout will help a party though.

==Why does my Battle Orders warcry keep resetting my health?==

This is usually caused by a lower level of BO being casted and overlapping with your currently higher level BO. For example, you cast Battle Command, then BO, but when you refresh your warcries, you forget to cast your BCom before your BO. This results in your current life/mana to be reset to your base levels. It also is caused by people casting a lower level of BO on yours, and can get very annoying, and sometimes dangerous (losing 1K HP's in the middle of a battle, for example).

==Why use Taunt and attract monsters to you?==

Taunt is useful at times, but those are selected times. A good example is if you scatter a pack with Howl/Grim Ward, then bring a couple back with Taunt to pick them off at your leisure. Crowd Control :) The other use is on ranged attackers. When some ranged attackers get taunted, they immediately stop firing and walk towards you, then fire. Thin of it as overriding their hit-and-run AI. Ranged attackers are usually weak in close combat, so this is very effective on enemies that like to hit and run (Flayers in Act 3 and Demon Imps in Act 5 are good examples). Some builds can benefit from Taunt's ability to pick things off like this. The range of taunt should be mentioned - it is slightly offscreen. Taunt can also be used to select a specific target, so you can use it to pick off dangerous/annying things first. Beware some things cannot be taunted (eg Oblivion Knight, champions, bosses, etc).

==Does Battlecry deserve maxing?==

Battle Cry is effective for some builds, but there is no point to max it. The radius is the most disappointing part, as it barely goes past your character. It's mostly used as a one-point-wonder skill against the hard hitting foes (eg Hell Duriel, Hell Ancients, Fanaticism + Extra Strong Boss). However, it is a good choice for a barbarian that uses warcries (yes, not only can you stack warcries on yourself, you can stack them on enemies too !), or a build that is always close to the enemy. In these cases, battle cry might be worth investing in - MUCH less damage taken and on the plus sides helps your to-hit chances by lowering their defence (by a large amount). Don't bother with this in PvP, unfortunately the radius is a great inhibitor. If you are close enough to BCry, you are also close enough to unleash a WW. Note that Battlecry seems to work on all monsters. Even the Act bosses.

==Is Find Potion Useless?==

No. Even with just one point you can use it in hell mode to get rejuvenation potions (pots are affected by difficulty, the higher the difficulty the better the potions). It's especially handy in HC mode where a rejuvenation can spell the difference between life and death.

==How does Find Item work?==

Find Item works on all bosses except for the Act bosses regardless of their attributes. It also works on any of the other monsters in the game. The only exception is those cases where there is no corpse via things such as shattering, corpse explosion and redemption. (You CAN USE FI on Fire Enchanted Monsters that explode, however.) The chance of getting an item is based solely on the level of the Find Item skill, however the if an item is "found" then your normal MF will apply to determine what sort of item it is. FI deserves 5-10 points, it has VERY sharp diminishing returns after that. You can also use the "Heart Carver" rondel or a +3 warcries weapon to boost it up.

==If I max Battle Command do I get +20 skills?==

No. This skill only gives a +1 skill bonus. Other points only increase the duration. Most people leave it alone or put 1 point to boost up their warcries, even though BComm's duration runs out, the bonus it gives to other warcries will not run out until the actual warcry itself runs out.

==Is there a use for Grim Ward and Howl?==

Yes, crowd control. You can use the aforementioned Grim Ward + Taunt Tactics. Grim ward is excellent for some classes, which apply the "daisy chain" (Taunt some over, kill, grim ward, scare the rest, move to next location and taunt, GW again, to set up a system to GW's. If you are good, your GW's should box monsters in and keep them fleeing until killed, or provide a safety net to break up larger crowds). GW is excellent in the cow level. Howl is often a prerequisite and not used after that, but sometimes you can use it to great affect. For example, if you are getting the cow leg, you can howl and scare away all of Rakanishu's minions and clear a path to the red portal. It's very situational, however, and suffers from a small factor - it's dependant on your level. If you are too low level, howl will not work. Also, note that some things cannot be scared away, but this can work to your advantage at times (isolating a boss, for example).

==Please explain Warcry==

Warcry is a premier crowd control skill. For best applications we advise maxing it, with a few +skill charms you can get a 6+ second stun length in all difficulties. That's right, the stun is not reduced by difficulty. The good part is monsters, when stunned with warcry, don't do anything. They just sit there and wait for you to smash them. The bad part is the radius is a tad small. However, that is ok, as you can go into a crowd and stun everything around you. Some monsters cannot be stunned 100% of the time, notably stuff like "special" monsters like Champions/Uniques. You can stun them, but not all the time, perhaps 50%. The rest they shrug off. Which is ok, as you can pick off a boss and then focus on his minions. This is the primary skill of the singer barb. Please note warcry is NOT affected by the cast timer, hence a singer with a fast cast rig works extremely well.

=Other Barbarian Questions=

==What is the best Barbarian Build?==

The eternal question... there isn't one. But the most popular is this -

The cookie cutter build/template:

20 in Mastery of choice
20 Whirlwind
20 BO
1-20 Berserk
1-5-9 Natural resistance
1-5 Find Item
1 in all prerequisites
Enough base Str to use your weapon
Enough base Dex to use your weapon (or to keep blocking at 75%)
Rest into Vitality
Never any into Energy (mana leech does the job)

Should be complete at level 80 or so, this is your typical PvM MF barb, it is extremely biased towards sword users due to it’s versatility for PvM, MF, dueling and the availability of good swords. For example you can hold a cruel high powered sword in one hand, and 2 alibaba's for weapon switch for that MF last killing blow bonus. Or hold a heart carver or two to boost your FI, or a sword + shield combo for PvP, etc.

But we state again, all barbs can be effective. A list of more specialised barb builds are:

* Variants of the masteries (eg pole/mace/axe barbs),
* Throwing barbs (yes, don't laugh, they are effective !)
* Berserker barbs (warcry + berserk)
* "Singing" barbs (which use warcries-only),
* Frenzy barbs, (the dual weilders),
* Ironbarbs (the brickbarbs), which focus on massive defence and resists, and use the concentrate skill.
* Hybrid barb (recently perfected by forum members, involving usually a barb that specialises in throwing AND melee combat.)

Some key things in regards to your items are :

* High damage weapon (crucial, as this is your source for damage, and the only way for a barb to kill). Also, high damage = more leech.
* Leech (both mana and life leech should aim for at least 5%/5%+ to be effective in hell mode)
* PDR gear (more of a luxury item, but it makes a huge difference to your staying power). Needed in PvP.
* MF gear (obviously for a MF - orientated barb) more is nice, a good level to shoot for at the beginning is 200%+ and work your way up.
* Resistances (since roughly half the attacks in the game are elemental, it's a very important thing to keep your resists close to max as possible.

Since this is the template it's quite easy to figure out which direction you want to take your barb. For example a PvP specialist might want have less base str/dex and make the rest up with items. He wouldn't need points into find item either, etc. Again, it's impossible to build a barb that is the "best" and dominates everything. He can kill fast in PvM, but some are faster. He offers stiff competition in PvP, but against some other classes he can be pasted. Most people agree specialisation is the key.

And we have the other end of the spectrum here.

==Barbs are boring! What fun and interesting variants to try?==

Well, no one says you have to be cookie cutter. There are several non-ww builds, all have been refined and proven to be combat effective in the world of Diablo 2. Small list of variants:

* Frenzybarb : 2 weapons, and zip around the map like crazy. Extremely fun.
* Pure berserker : Sacrificing defence for killing power. The warcry for stun length while you bash them in with a high damage weapon.
* Thrower : Where this was once a crappy subpar-submerged-subclass, it is no longer. A Throwing barbarian is one of the most unique variants in the game. Where a normal barb does melee... he throws. People laugh until they realise he is just as powerful as they are. Then it's usually "Hey, that's pretty COOOL". Note that there is even a variant of the subclass called the Hybrid (throwing-melee combat) and they are sometimes even more effective. Also, both of these are one of the few surprises in the PvP scene.
* Ironbarb : Did you like the lil Defiant paladin in D2C ? Well, you'll love the Ironbarb. For the patient people, his killing power isn't as high, but as a defensive character he is pretty much king. Like the thought of walking around in the cow level without nary a scratch ? 30K defence + Max resists + Max block + PDR anyone ?
* Singer : Another strange, but very amusing subclass. This one is mainly about fun, but not to say he's useless. Of course his killing power can't match your average WW barb, but he is incredible support. Rapid stun ability and party support, hey, who's going to argue with level 35+ BO ?

==What is the 3 chipped gem recipe?==

Ingredients:

* 3 chipped gems of any kind, YES chipped skulls work too.
* 1 sword of any kind/type.
* 1 horadric cube

Put the 3 chipped gems into the Horadric cube, add the sword, and press the "transmute" button.
This will result in the same sword with:

* 3 open sockets (if available, some swords don't support 3 sockets. They may have 2 as a maximum.)
* New prefix and/or suffix, up to level 66 (this is *Completely Independent* of your character level. You can use level 1 or level 99.). The modifications are RANDOMIZED, so any modification under level 67 can be occur. The cruel(prefix- 201-300 Enhanced Damage) modification is level 51.
It is possible to get BOTH a prefix AND a suffix. i.e.: Cruel XXX-Sword of quickness.
* Recent research has determined that not all swords can get the cruel prefix. It depends on both the level of the sword itself and also the level of the monster that dropped it. (thanks to Statistics forum). Only the following swords can be made into cruel from this recipe :

1-handed : Conquest, Cryptic, Mythical
2-handed : Champion, Colossus Sword, Colossus Blade
(You can buy all (except the conquest/cryptic) from Larzuk the blacksmith in act 5. (in Hell Mode) Just buy any one, since the mods get rerolled with the recipe. Do not transmute a Cruel sword if you have one, since the recipe will randomise the mods.

These cruel swords are extremely popular, since they have 3 sockets that are automatic. This results in many combinations, for example you could put 2 x Shael runes to boost speed and an Ohm rune to further increase damage.

==When you cube an ethereal sword with the 3 chip recipe, does it stay ethereal?==

No it doesn't. The 3 chip recipe will always produce a magic sword regardless of what type the sword has before you cubed it. Additionally, any runes, jewels, or gems that where socketed before cubing will be lost. So forget any Ethereal cruel 3 socketed colossus blades of quickness please :)

==Does defense matter?==

It depends on the type of defence. For one thing, defence as in resists definitely helps. But defence as in Defence Rating, well not as one might initially think. See, the difference between 1000 and 2000 defense rating is almost nothing. Roughly 1/3 of the monsters in the game don't take your defence into account. However, defence is far from useless. The key is specialising in it. It's no use to say "throw a few points in Shout" as that will be a barely noticeable difference. However, lets say max Shout, well, you could end up with much higher defence rating, which will make a large difference in the PvM (and sometimes PvP scene). With an Ironbarb, who is defence orientated, focusing not only on defence rating, but also other factors such as resists, block, and getting equipment to add to these will vastly increase his effectiveness as a Tank/Brick character, able to defend against all that is thrown at him. Last thing is it is semi-useful in PvP, but it's sad to see it negated by one little thing. The bugged ETH rune.

==What is the ETH bug?==

The ETH bug you might have heard of, refers to the low level rune, ETH. It's function is bugged right now, as it acts like an ITD attack in PvM AND PvP. Normally, true ITD (such as granted by the Jah rune) WILL NOT WORK IN PvP. ETH right now does. Despite what it's description says (-25% target defence) it automatically bypasses any sort of defence in a PvP situation. If you are skeptical, feel free to test with a high defence barb (without a shield) and a lower level barb with an ETH'ed weapon (preferably as low AR as possible). Theoretically the lower level barb should require a few passes to hit the high defence barb (as the description reads "-25% target defence", assuming that each hit lowers your opponent's defence), but this does not hold true. So pumping Shout/IS for PvP situations right now is useless, since many barb duelers use a Cruel 3-socket swords involving an Eth rune. Hopefully this will be fixed, but don't hold your breath.

==How can I improve my to-hit? Will ITD help me?==

ITD only works against normal monsters. It's not autohit but does increase your chances a lot.

The to-hit equation is as follows -

Chance to Hit for Melee Attacks: 100 * AR / (AR + Ddef) * 2 * alvl / (alvl + dlvl)
where AR = Attack Rating; alvl = Level of Attacker; dlvl = Level of Defender; Ddef = defense of defender.

If you possess ITD then DDef = 0, nil, zero. As you can see it's not automatically 95% chance to hit, since you still have to factor in level difference. True ITD does NOT work in PvP.

Back to AR, generally a higher AR will serve you better, but notice that level difference plays a part too. A level 50 barb in hell mode will have trouble regardless of how much AR he has. You can raise your AR by acquiring items that give to +AR. This works much better than pumping dex.

==How much leech do I need?==

Remember that leech is directly related to the amount of damage that is dealt out. More damage will equal more leech. Most barbarians eventually acquire a high damage cruel weapon, or an elite unique weapon so in most csaes 7-10% mana/life leech is good enough to keep your life/mana globes full. In some areas it is better to have more life leech so there is less risk of dying, such as in the cow level.

Those 50% lifeleech barbs you might have seen/heard of are pretty much built for PvP. Remember where we said above you can build a barb 2 ways ? This one is the antibarb-barb focusing on much lower life and higher damage and life leech. With a good setup, getting 5K damage 1-handed isn't out of the question, and combined with 50% lifeleech makes short work of other barbs. Lower life is acceptable as having that much leech (as well as the usual 75% block/damage reduction) will keep your barb alive. Not recommended for the average player, mainly due to the items needed.

==What is the best Mercenary for a Barbarian?==

Since a barb tends to be a front line melee specialist, he should look for something for crowd control or more damage. 2 clear choices are the NM mercs of act 2. They must be hired in NM as in other difficulties their auras are different, and not as useful. 2 clear choices - Offensive, which gives a might aura, and defensive, which gives holy freeze. Might is the most commonly used since it will boost your damage a lot. Holy freeze is another choice for some, who prefer the crowd control ability. At high levels, it definitely can't be ignored. You should give your merc some form of life leech to keep them alive. You can even give them some items such as vamp gaze/shaftstop as this would increase their survivability by a large amount. However, few people could afford this. Also, in some places it is actually better to let your merc off dead, especially in the cow level or against bosses where they usually crumple and fail quickly.

==How can I increase my damage? ==

Besides the obvious choice of getting a more damaging weapon, there are other ways to increase your damage, by a large amount. You can socket enhanced damage jewels in your helm/shield/armour. A 150% enhanced damage armour might add upwards of 500 extra damage, perhaps even more. Those "fine/sharp" charms which have max damage can alse have the same effects. But you'll need a lot to see a difference. The unique boots "WarTraveller" also have the mod "adds 15-25 damage" which can increase your damage by a couple of hundred, handy for those who PvP. +Skill items can also raise your damage, but doing so is not recommended. Rare cases involve barbs pumping their str, but again, it's not recommended you do this unless you have a specific build in mind. The other choices should give you a much better result. Of course, you can always have the friendly paladin/druid boost your damage with their Auras and Spirits in a team game. Also, remember although Damage is King, Speed Kills Too.

You can calculate your '''Total Damage''' with this formula (since ED in other items such as armours/helms do not work the same way as they do in weapons) :

Minimum Damage = (Weapon Minimum Damage + (+x To Minimum Damage)) * (1 + StatsBonus + (+x% Enhanced Damage) / 100)

Maximum Damage = (Weapon Maximum Damage + (+x To Maximum Damage)) * (1 + StatsBonus + (+x % Enhanced Damage) / 100)

+x % Enhanced Damage = all non weapon ED (like in armour/helm/shield etc) and skills (like Might, Heart of Wolverine)

'+x To Minimum/Maximum Damage' = all non weapon +min/max damage. Like from charms.

You calculate your Weapon Minimum/Maximum damage with this formula :

'''Weapon Damage''':

Weapon Minimum Damage = (Base Minimum Damage+1) * (1+ (+x % Enhanced Damage)/100) + (+x to Minimum Damage)

Weapon Maximum Damage = (Base Maximum Damage+1) * (1+ (+x % Enhanced Damage)/100) + (+x to Maximum Damage)

+x % Enhanced Damage and +x to Minimum/Maximum Damage = The mods on the weapon.

'''Statsbonus''': Remember more strength increases damage, however some weapons are affected differently.

Maces: 1.10 x str / 100
Daggers, Throwing Weapons (and Assassin Claws) : (0.75 x str + 0.75 x dex) / 100
Bows/ Xbows : dex / 100
Other Weapons : str / 100

==I plan on dual wielding Lightsabres. Will I be immune to lightning?==

Getting to 50% absorb will make redundant all normal lightning attacks. However to get the healing effect, you have to take into consideration your resistances and other Lightning Absorb gear (Thundergods/Blackhorns mask for example). First the game calcuates the damage (after MDR and resists). Then absorb comes into play. With twin lightsabres, in most cases it will nullify any damage as absorbing 50% damage = half the attack deals damaged, but the other half is absorbed so essentially you take zero damage. To get healed you must be wearing another absorb item, with this the damage absorbed would be higher than the damage being dealt out, so it would add to your health instead of subtracing it, and in essence "heal" you. Also, absorb does not always fully prevent damage, and definitely does not prevent death. If you are on very low health, chances are you could die (if the final damage is greater than your barb's life, for example). Note some other skills can affect absorb rates (Conviction, Lower resist), and in PvP play, using a full absorb rig against an elemental damage user is frowned upon. What's the use of fighting if they can't hurt you ?

==How does +demon damage from items such as Laying of Hands work?==

In 0.9 the +damage bonus is added on to the base damage of your weapon. Thus, it makes killing Act bosses MUCH easier. Useful for a MF barb, if you sacrifice Chance guards for LoH, you could kill Meph or Baal in roughly half the time it normally takes a non LoH user. This means your runs are faster which in the long run maximises your chance of getting items. A small sacrifice in MF results in much shorter runs. Also the reason why mace barbs and the IK maul work well in MF runs.

==How do I get awesome items?==

Well, it's not like we were magically bestowed with them... Everyone has (usually) worked for their items, and some were playing at the very start of the game. It's not too hard nowadays to get good items, but lot of MF, trading and of course Luck was involved, though. Try to do MF runs, and complete quest rewards which sometimes lead to a nice surprise. Single player barbs might have more trouble, try asking for help in the Single Player forum, and for barb related matters, state they are single player as most advice given out is biased towards to multiplayer/closed realm side of the game.

[[Category:Barbarian]]

Talk:Guide: Diablo Clone Hunting v1.10, by Camintoi

2009-09-07T14:50:56Z

TDurden1937:

Greetings - Perhaps a clarification might be needed as to whether DC can be found in the LOD expansion. I hope so as I prefer this expansion to D2 although D2 is still the Scheibe.

TDurden1937

Magic

2009-08-24T16:45:52Z

TDurden1937: /* Item Quality: Magic */

'''Magic'''/'''Magical''' in [[Diablo II]] can mean one of the following:

==Damage: Magical==
Magic damage is the opposite of [[physical]] damage, where in some sort of spell or magic item is used to induce damage to a player or a [[monster]].

==Item Quality: Magic==
Magical items are one quality level higher than [[Normal]] and can have at most one [[prefix]] and one [[suffix]].

More information can be found on the [[item quality]] page. The magical quality levels are [[Normal]], [[Magic]]al, [[Rare]], [[Set]] and [[Unique]].

[[Category:Items]]
[[Category:Game terms]]

Runewords

2009-08-22T16:30:22Z

TDurden1937: /* To Make a RuneWord */

{{Item navbox|{{Runes}}}}{{runewords}}'''Runewords''' are a way in Diablo II to use a combination of [[rune]]s in an [[item]] to give it exceptional attributes, beyond what the runes themselves accomplish.

==The Right Runes==
Look at the [[rune list]] for information on how to get the right runes. For [[weapon]]s you'll want to find the best type of weapon possible, since that's what the bonus damage is based on. Same with [[Armor]] if you are after [[Defense]] and [[shield]]s for blocking percentage. If defense isn't important, look for an item that looks good, has low requirements, and for armor and shields, is not going to slow your running speed.

==To Make a RuneWord==
# Items used for RuneWords '''must be gray text items''', normal, exceptional, or Elite. Low Quality, Superior, and Ethereal can be used, but you can not use [[magic]]al, [[Rare]], [[Set]], [[Crafted]], or [[Unique]] items, even if they have the correct number of sockets.
# The item must be of the '''correct type'''.
# The item must have exactly the '''correct number of sockets''' (no more).
# You must socket the Runes in the '''correct order'''.

Note: The Runes will fill the sockets in linear order automatically, i.e. in the order 1, 2, 3 . . . For example, trying to place the third Rune of a RuneWord into the third socket while socket 1 and 2 are empty will result in the Rune filling socket 1, contrary to intentions. As mentioned elsewhere, it is possible to remove an item from a socket, but the item is destroyed in the process.

*You can check the '''[[Rune FAQ]]''' for further help.

==Alphabetical List of All Runewords==

{|style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #4D0B0B; background: #2D0606; line-height: 14px; font-size: 10px; color: white; clear:right;"
! rowspan="2" width="20%" style="font-size: 12px;" | Runeword
! rowspan="2" width="32%" style="font-size: 12px;" | Stats
! rowspan="2" style="font-size: 12px;" | Comments
! colspan="3" style="font-size: 12px;" | Active In
|-
! style="font-size: 12px;" |1.11
! style="font-size: 12px;" |1.10
! style="font-size: 12px;" |1.09
|-

| '''[[Ancients Pledge|Ancient's Pledge]]''' RalOrtTal [[Ral]] (8) + [[Ort]] (9) + [[Tal]] (7) Shields Clvl Required: 21
| +43% Cold Resistance +48% Fire/Lightning/Poison Resistance 10% Damage Taken Goes to Mana +50% ED
| Recipe is given by Qual-Kehk as a reward for completing [http://www.diabloii.net/quests/act-five.shtml#q2 the second quest ] in Act Five. Bonuses will stack on top of a Paladin's inherent shield properties.

See it [[Ancients Pledge| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Beast]]''' ''BerTirUmMalLum'' [[Ber]] (30) + [[Tir]] (3) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Lum]] (17) Axes, Hammers & Scepters Clvl Required:
| Level 9 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped +40% Increased Attack Speed +240-270% Enhanced Damage (varies) 20% Chance of Crushing Blow 25% Chance of Open Wounds +3 To Werebear +3 To Lycanthropy Prevent Monster Heal +25-40 To Strength (varies) +10 To Energy +2 To Mana After Each Kill Level 13 Summon Grizzly (5 Charges)
| See it [[Beast| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Black]]''' ''ThulIoNef'' [[Thul]] (10) + [[Io]] (16) + [[Nef]] (4) Clubs, hammers, maces Clvl Required: 35
| +120% Enhanced Damage +200 to Attack Rating +3-14 Cold Damage (3 sec) 15% Increased Attack Speed Knockback 12 Level 4 Corpse Explosion Charges 40% Chance of Crushing Blow -2 Magic Damage +10 to Vitality
| See it[[Black| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Bone]]''' ''SolUmUm'' [[Sol]] (12) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Um]] (22) Armor Clvl Required:
| 15% Chance To Cast level 10 Bone Armor When Struck 15% Chance To Cast level 10 Bone Spear On Striking +2 To Necromancer Skill Levels +100-150 To Mana (varies) All Resistances +30 Damage Reduced By 7
| Useful Necromancer bonuses.
| Yes
| No
| No
|-

| '''[[Bramble]]''' ''RalOhmSurEth'' [[Ral]] (8) + [[Ohm]] (27) + [[Sur]] (29) + [[Eth]] (5) Armor Clvl Required:61
| Level 15-21 Thorns Aura When Equipped (varies) +50% Faster Hit Recovery +100% To Poison Skill Damage +300 Defense Increase Maximum Mana 5% Regenerate Mana 15% +5% To Maximum Cold Resist Fire Resist +30% Poison Resist +100% +13 Life After Each Kill Level 13 Spirit of Barbs (33 Charges)
| See it [[bramble| here]]. 
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Brand''' ''JahLoMalGul'' [[Jah]] (31) + [[Lo]] (28) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Gul]](25) Missile Weapons Clvl Required:
| 35% Chance To Cast Level 14 Amplify Damage When Struck 100% Chance To Cast Level 18 Bone Spear On Striking +260-340% Enhanced Damage (varies) Ignore Target's Defense 20% Bonus to Attack Rating +280-330% Damage To Demons (varies) 20% Deadly Strike Prevent Monster Heal Knockback Fires Explosive Arrows or Bolts (15)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''[[Breath of the Dying]]''' ''VexHelElEldZodEth'' [[Vex]] (26) + [[Hel]] (15) + [[El]] (1) + [[Eld]] (2) + [[Zod]] (33) + [[Eth]] (5) All Weapons Clvl Required:
| 50% Chance To Cast Level 20 Poison Nova When You Kill An Enemy Indestructible +60% Increased Attack Speed +350-400% Enhanced Damage (varies) +200% Damage To Undead -25% Target Defense +50 To Attack Rating +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit 12-15% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies) Prevent Monster Heal +30 To All Attributes +1 To Light Radius Requirements -20%
| See it [[Breath of the Dying|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Call to Arms]]''' ''AmnRalMalIstOhm'' [[Amn]] (11) + [[Ral]] (8) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Ist]] (24) +[[Ohm]] (27) All Weapons Clvl Required:
| +1 To All Skills +40% Increased Attack Speed +200-240% Enhanced Damage (varies) Adds 5-30 Fire Damage 7% Life Stolen Per Hit +1-6 To Battle Command +1-6 To Battle Orders +1-4 To Battle Cry Prevent Monster Heal Replenish Life +12 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
| See it [[Call to Arms|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Chains of Honor]]''' ''DolUmBerIst'' [[Dol]] (14) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Ber]] (30) + [[Ist]] (24) Armor Clvl Required:63
| +2 To All Skills +200% Damage To Demons +100% Damage To Undead 8% Life Stolen Per Hit +70% Enhanced Defense +20 To Strength Replenish Life +7 All Resistances +65 Damage Reduced By 8% 25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
| See it [[Chains of Honor|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Chaos]]''' ''FalOhmUm'' [[Fal]] (19) + [[Ohm]] (27) + [[Um]] (22) Claws Clvl Required:
| 9% Chance To Cast Level 11 Frozen Orb On Striking 11% Chance To Cast Level 9 Charged Bolt On Striking +35% Increased Attacked Speed +240-290% Enhanced Damage (varies) Adds 216-471 Magic Damage 25% Chance of Open Wounds +1 To Whirlwind +10 To Strength +15 Life After Each Demon Kill
| See it [[Chaos|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Crescent Moon]]''' ''ShaelUmTir'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Tir]] (3) Axes, Polearms & Swords Clvl Required:47
| 10% Chance To Cast Level 17 Chain Lightning On Striking 20% Chance To Cast Level 13 Static Field On Striking +20% Increased Attack Speed +220-260% Enhanced Damage (varies) Ignore Target's Defense -35% To Enemy Lightning Resistance 25% Chance of Open Wounds +9-11 Magic Absorb (varies) +2 To Mana After Each Kill Level 18 Summon Spirit Wolf (30 Charges)
| See it [[Crescent Moon|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Death''' ''HelElVexOrtGul'' [[Hel]] (15) + [[El]] (1) + [[Vex]] (26) + [[Ort]] (9) + [[Gul]] (25) Swords & Axes Clvl Required:
| 100% Chance To Cast Level 44 Chain Lightning When You Die 25% Chance To Cast Level 18 Glacial Spike On Attack
Indestructible +300-385% Enhanced Damage (varies) 20% Bonus To Attack Rating +50 To Attack Rating
Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit 50% Chance of Crushing Blow +(0.5 per Character Level) 0.5-49.5% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level) +1 To Light Radius Level 22 Blood Golem (15 Charges) 
Requirements -20%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''[[Delirium]]''' ''LemIstIo'' [[Lem]] (20) + [[Ist]] (24) + [[Io]] (16) Armor Clvl Required:
| 1% Chance To Cast lvl 50 Delirium When Struck 10% Chance To Cast lvl 14 Mind Blast When Struck 20% Chance To Cast lvl 13 Terror When Struck 33% Chance To Cast lvl 18 Confuse On Striking +2 To All Skills +261 Defense +10 To Vitality 50% Extra Gold From Monsters 25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items Level 17 Attract (60 Charges)
| See it [[Delirium|here]]. See it in action [[Delirium2|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Destruction''' ''VexLoBerJahKo'' [[Vex]] (26) + [[Lo]] (28) + [[Ber]] (30) + [[Jah]] (31) + [[Ko]] (18) Polearms & Swords Clvl Required:
| 23% Chance To Cast Level 12 Volcano On Striking 5% Chance To Cast Level 23 Molten Boulder On Striking 100% Chance To Cast level 45 Meteor When You Die 15% Chance To Cast Level 22 Nova On Attack +350% Enhanced Damage Ignore Target's Defense Adds 100-180 Magic Damage 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit 20% Chance Of Crushing Blow 20% Deadly Strike Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Dexterity
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''[[Doom]]''' ''HelOhmUmLoCham'' [[Hel]] (15) + [[Ohm]] (27) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Lo]] (28) + [[Cham]] (32) Axes, Hammers & Polearms Clvl Required:
| 5% Chance To Cast Level 18 Volcano On Striking Level 12 Holy Freeze Aura When Equipped +2 To All Skills +45 Increased Attack Speed +280-320% Enhanced Damage (varies) -57% To Enemy Cold Resistance 20% Deadly Strike 25% Chance of Open Wounds Prevent Monster Heal Freezes Target Requirements -20%
| See it[[Doom| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Dragon''' ''SurLoSol'' Sur (29) + Lo (28) + Sol(12) Armor/Shields Clvl Required: 61
| 20% Chance to Cast Level 18 Venom When Struck 12% Chance To Cast Level 15 Hydra On Striking Level 14 Holy Fire Aura When Equipped +360 Defense +230 Defense Vs. Missile +3-5 To All Attributes (varies) +0.375-37.125 To Strength (Based on Character Level) Increase Maximum Mana 5% (Armor Only) +50 To Mana (Shields Only) +5% To Maximum Lightning Resist Damage Reduced by 7
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Dream''' ''IoJahPul'' [[Io]] (16) + [[Jah]] (31) + [[Pul]] (21) Helms & Shields Clvl Required
| 10% Chance To Cast Level 15 Confuse When Struck Level 15 Holy Shock Aura When Equipped +20-30% Faster Hit Recovery (varies) +30% Enhanced Defense +150-220 Defense (varies) +10 To Vitality Increase Maximum Life 5% (Helms Only) +50 To Life (Shields Only) +0.625-61.875 To Mana (Based On Character Level) All Resistances +5-20 (varies) 12-25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (varies)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''Duress''' ''ShaelUmThul'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Thul]] (10) Armor Clvl Required: 47 
| +150-200% Enhanced Defense 15% faster hit Recovery +15% Fire Resistance +45% Cold Resistance +15% Lightning Resistance +15% Poison Resistance +10-25% Enhanced Damage +37-133 Cold Damage +15% Crushing Blow +33% Open Wounds 20% Faster Stamina Drain
| -
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Edge]]''' ''TirTalAmn'' [[Tir]] (3) + [[Tal]] (7) + [[Amn]] (11) Missile Weapons Clvl Required:
| Level 15 Thorns Aura When Equipped +35% Increased Attack Speed +320-380% Damage To Demons (varies) +280% Damage To Undead +75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds 7% Life Stolen Per Hit Prevent Monster Heal
+5-10 To All Attributes (varies) +2 To Mana After Each Kill Reduces All Vendor Prices 15%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Enigma]]''' ''JahIthBer'' [[Jah]] (31) + [[Ith]] (6) + [[Ber]] (30) Armor Clvl Required:
| +2 To All Skills +45% Faster Run/Walk +1 To Teleport +757 Defense + (0.75 Per Character Level) +1-74.25 To Strength (Based On Character Level) Increase Maximum Life 5% Damage Reduced By 8% +14 Life After Each Kill 15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana + (1 Per Character Level) +1-99% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based On Character Level)
| See it [[Enigma|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Enlightenment''' ''PulRalSol'' [[Pul]] (21) + [[Ral]] (8) + [[Sol]] (12) Armor Clvl Required:
| 5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Blaze When Struck 5% Chance To Cast level 15 Fire Ball On Striking +2 To [[Sorceress]] Skill Levels +1 To Warmth +30% Enhanced Defense Fire Resist +30% Damage Reduced By 7
| Sorceress
| Yes
| No
| No
|-

| '''[[Eternity]]''' ''AmnBerIstSolSur'' [[Amn]] (11) + [[Ber]] (32) + [[Ist]] (24)+ [[Sol]] (12) + [[Sur]] (29) All Melee Weapons Clvl Required:
| Indestructible +276% Enhanced Damage +9 To Minimum Damage 7% Life Stolen Per Hit 20% Chance of Crushing Blow Hit Blinds Target Slows Target By 33% Replenish Mana 16% Cannot Be Frozen 30% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items Level 8 Revive (88 Charges)
| See it[[Eternity| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Exile]]''' ''VexOhmIstDol'' [[Vex]] (26) + [[Ohm]] (27) + [[Ist]] (24) + [[Dol]] (14) Shields Clvl Required:
| 15% Chance To Cast Level 5 Life Tap On Striking Level 13-16 Defiance Aura When Equipped +2 To Offensive Auras ([[Paladin]] Only) +30% Faster Block Rate Freezes Target +220-260% Enhanced Defense (varies) Replenish Life +7 +5% To Maximum Cold Resist +5% To Maximum Fire Resist 25% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items
| Paladin Shields only. Inherent Paladin shield bonuses remain active.

See it [[Exile|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Faith''' ''OhmJahLemEld'' [[Ohm]] (27) + [[Jah]] (31) + [[Lem]] (20) + [[Eld]] (2) Missile Weapons Clvl Required:
| Level 12-15 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped (varies) +1-2 To All Skills (varies) +330% Enhanced Damage Ignore Target's Defense 300% Bonus To Attack Rating +75% Damage To Undead +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead +120 Fire Damage All Resistances +15 10% Reanimate As: Returned 75% Extra Gold From Monsters
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Famine]]''' ''FalOhmOrtJah'' [[Fal]] (19) + [[Ohm]] (27) + [[Ort]] (9) + [[Jah]] (31) Axes & Hammers Clvl Required:
| +30% Increased Attack Speed +270-320% Enhanced Damage (varies) Ignore Target's Defense Adds 180-200 Magic Damage Adds 50-200 Fire Damage Adds 51-250 Lightning Damage Adds 50-200 Cold Damage 12% Life Stolen Per Hit Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Strength
| See it [[Famine|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Fortitude''' ''ElSolDolLo'' [[El]] (1) + [[Sol]] (12) + [[Dol]] (14) + [[Lo]] (28) Weapons & Armor Clvl Required:
| '''Both''' 20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when Struck +25% Faster Cast Rate +300% Enhanced Damage +1 To Light Radius 12% Damage Taken Goes To Mana All Resistances +25-30 (varies) +200% Enhanced Defense + To Life (Based on Character Level) '''Weapons''' +9 To Minimum Damage +50 To Attack Rating 20% Deadly Strike Hit Causes Monster To Flee 25% '''Armor''' +15 Defense Replenish Life +7 +5% To Maximum Lightning Resist Damage Reduced By 7
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''[[Fury]]''' ''JahGulEth'' [[Jah]] (31) + [[Gul]] (25) + [[Eth]] (5) All Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 65
| +209% Enhanced Damage 40% Increased Attack Speed Prevent Monster Heal 66% Chance Of Open Wounds 33% Chance Of Deadly Strike Ignores Target Defense -25% Target Defense +20% Attack Rating 6% Life Stolen Per Hit +5 To Frenzy ([[Barbarian]] Only)
| See it [[Fury|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Gloom]]''' ''FalUmPul'' [[Fal]] (19)+ [[Um]] (22) + [[Pul]] (21) Armor Clvl Required:
| 15% Chance To Cast Level 3 Dim Vision When Struck +10% Faster Hit Recovery +170-230% Enhanced Defense (varies) +10 To Strength All Resistances +45 Half Freeze Duration 5% Damage Taken Goes To Mana -3 To Light Radius
| See it [[Gloom| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Grief''' ''EthTirLoMalRal'' [[Eth]] (5) + [[Tir]] (3) + [[Lo]] (28) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Ral]] (8) Swords & Axes Clvl Required:
| 35% Chance To Cast Level 15 Venom On Striking +30-40% Increased Attack Speed (varies) Damage +340-400 (varies) Ignore Target's Defense -25% Target Defense +(1.875 per character level) 1.875-185.625% Damage To Demons (Based on Character Level) Adds 5-30 Fire Damage -20-25% To Enemy Poison Resistance (varies) 20% Deadly Strike Prevent Monster Heal +2 To Mana After Each Kill +10-15 Life After Each Kill (varies)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Hand of Justice]]''' ''SurChamAmnLo'' [[Sur]] (29) + [[Cham]] (32)+ [[Amn]] (11) + [[Lo]] (28) All Weapons Clvl Required: 67
| 100% Chance To Cast Level 36 Blaze When You Level-Up 100% Chance To Cast Level 48 Meteor When You Die Level 16 Holy Fire Aura When Equipped +33% Increased Attack Speed +280-330% Enhanced Damage Ignore Target's Defense 7% Life Stolen Per Hit -20% To Enemy Fire Resistance 20% Deadly Strike Hit Blinds Target Freezes Target
| See it [[Hand of Justice|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Harmony''' ''TirIthSolKo'' [[Tir]] (3) + [[Ith]] (6) + [[Sol]] (12) + [[Ko]] (18) Missile Weapons Clvl Required:
| Level 10 Vigor Aura When Equipped +200-275% Enhanced Damage (varies) +9 To Min & Max Damage Adds 55-160 Lightning Damage Adds 55-160 Cold & Fire Damage +2-6 To Valkyrie (varies) +10 To Dexterity
Regenerate Mana 20% +2 To Mana After Each Kill +2 To Light Radius Level 20 Revive (25 Charges)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Heart of the Oak]]''' ''KoVexPulThul'' [[Ko]] (18) + [[Vex]] (26) + [[Pul]] (21) + [[Thul]] (10) Staves & Maces Clvl Required:55
| +3 To All Skills +40% Faster Cast Rate +75% Damage To Demons +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit +10 To Dexterity Replenish Life +20 Increase Maximum Mana 15% All Resistances +30-40 (varies) Level 4 Oak Sage (25 Charges) Level 14 Raven (60 Charges) +50% Damage To Undead
| See it [[Heart of the Oak|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Holy Thunder]]''' ''EthRalOrtTal'' [[Eth]] (6) + [[Ral]] (8) + [[Ort]] (9) + [[Tal]] (7) Scepters Clvl Required: 23
| Level 7 Chain Lightning 60 charges -25% Target Defense +60% Enhanced Damage +75 Poison Damage over 7 secs +5% Maximum Lightning Resistance +60% Lightning Resistance +21-110 Lightning Damage +5-30 Fire Damage +3 to Holy Shock 150% Damage vs. Undead
| See it [[Holy Thunder|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Honor]]''' ''AmnElIthTirSol'' [[Amn]] (11) + [[El]] (1) + [[Ith]] (6) + [[Tir]] (3) + [[Sol]] (12) All Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 27
| +160% Enhanced Damage +250 Attack Rating +9 Minimum Damage +9 Maximum Damage 25% Deadly Strike 7% Life Stolen per Hit +1 to all skill levels +2 Mana per kill +1 Light Radius Replenish life +10 +10 to Str
| See it [[Honor|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Ice''' ''AmnShaelJahLo'' [[Amn]] (11)+ [[Shael]] (13) + [[Jah]] (31) + [[Lo]] (28) Missile Weapons Clvl Required:
| 00% Chance To Cast Level 40 Blizzard When You Level-up 25% Chance To Cast Level 22 Frost Nova On Striking
Level 18 Holy Freeze Aura When Equipped +20% Increased Attack Speed +140-210% Enhanced Damage (varies) 
Ignore Target's Defense +25-30% To Cold Skill Damage (varies) -20% To Enemy Cold Resistance 7% Life Stolen Per Hit 20% Deadly Strike 3.125-309.375 Extra Gold From Monsters (Based on Character Level)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Infinity''' ''BerMalBerIst'' [[Ber]] (30) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Ber]] (30) + [[Ist]] (24) Polearms Clvl Required:
| 50% Chance To Cast Level 20 Chain Lightning When You Kill An Enemy Level 12 Conviction Aura When Equipped
+35% Faster Run/Walk +255-325% Enhanced Damage (varies) -(45-55)% To Enemy Lightning Resistance (varies)
40% Chance of Crushing Blow Prevent Monster Heal 0.5-49.5 To Vitality (Based on Character Level) 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items Level 21 Cyclone Armor (30 Charges)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Insight]]''' ''RalTirTalSol'' [[Ral]] (8) + [[Tir]] (3) + [[Tal]] (7) + [[Sol]] (12) Polearms & Staves Clvl Required:
| Level 10-17 Meditation Aura When Equipped (varies) +35% Faster Cast Rate +200-260% Enhanced Damage (varies) +9 To Minimum Damage 180-250% Bonus to Attack Rating (varies) Adds 5-30 Fire Damage +75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds +1-6 To Critical Strike (varies) +5 To All Attributes +2 To Mana After Each Kill 23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|- queue

| '''[[King's Grace]]''' ''AmnRalThul'' [[Amn]] (11) + [[Ral]] (8) + [[Thul]] (10) Swords & Scepters Clvl Required: 25
| +100% Enhanced Damage +150 AR +100 Attack Rating vs. Undead 150% Damage vs. Undead +100 Attack Rating vs. Demons 200% Damage vs. Demons 7% life steal +3-14 Cold damage (3 sec) +5-30 Fire Damage
| Nice weapon damage and good mods, for just three common Runes. Could even be a weapon switch to use especially on Demons and Undead. See it [[Kings Grace|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Kingslayer]]''' ''MalUmGulFal'' [[Mal]] (23) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Gul]] (25) + [[Fal]] (19) Swords & Axes Clvl Required: 53
| +30% Increased Attack Speed +230-270% Enhanced Damage (varies) -25% Target Defense 20% Bonus To Attack Rating 33% Chance of Crushing Blow 50% Chance of Open Wounds +1 To Vengeance Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Strength 40% Extra Gold From Monsters
| See it [[Kingslayer|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

|'''Last Wish''' ''JahMalJahSurJahBer'' [[Jah]] (31)+ [[Mal]] (23) + [[Jah]] (31) + [[Sur]] (29) + [[Jah]] (31) + [[Ber]] (30) Axes, Hammers & Swords Clvl Required:
| 6% Chance To Cast Level 11 Fade When Struck 10% Chance To Cast Level 18 Life Tap On Striking 20% Chance To Cast Level 20 Charged Bolt On Attack Level 17 Might Aura When Equipped +330-375% Enhanced Damage (varies) Ignore Target's Defense 60-70% Chance of Crushing Blow (varies) Prevent Monster Heal Hit Blinds Target +(0.5 per character level) 0.5-49.5% Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based on Character Level)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Lawbringer''' ''AmnLemKo'' [[Amn]] (11) + [[Lem]] (20) + [[Ko]] (18) Hammers, Scepters & Swords Clvl Required:
| 20% Chance To Cast Level 15 Decrepify On Striking Level 16-18 Sanctuary Aura When Equipped (varies) -50% Target Defense Adds 150-210 Fire Damage Adds 130-180 Cold Damage 7% Life Stolen Per Hit Slain Monsters Rest In Peace +200-250 Defense Vs. Missile (varies) +10 To Dexterity 75% Extra Gold From Monsters
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Leaf]]''' ''TirRal'' [[Tir]] (3) + [[Ral]] (8) Staves (Not Orbs) Clvl Required: 19
| +5-30 Fire Damage +2 mana per kill +3 to Fire Skills +33% Cold Resistance +3 Inferno +3 Fire Bolt +3 Warmth
| Huge bonuses to fire skills, but probably too high a Clvl requirement to be of that much use. See it[[Leaf| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Lionheart]]''' ''HelLumFal'' [[Hel]] (15) + [[Lum]] (17) + [[Fal]] (19) Armor Clvl Required: 41
| -15% Requirements +20% Enhanced Damage +30% to All Resistances +50 Hit Points +10 Energy +20 Vitality +15 Dexterity +25 Strength
| Just amazing stats on Armor. Resistance, huge bonuses to your stats and hit points, lowered requirements, and even bonus to weapon damage. See it [[Lionheart|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Lore]]''' ''OrtSol'' [[Ort]] (9) + [[Sol]] (12) Headgear (all types) Clvl Required: 27
| +1 to all skill levels +2 Mana per Kill Lowers Damage by 7 30% Lightning Resistance +10 Energy +2 Light Radius
| See it [[Lore|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Malice]]''' ''IthElEth'' [[Ith]] (6) + [[El]] (1) + [[Eth]] (5) All Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 15
| +33% enhanced damage +9 max damage +50 Attack Rating 100% chance of open wounds -100 monster def/hit Prevents Monster Heal -25% target defense Life drain -5
| Total damage isn't that big, but the other bonuses are very useful. See it [[Malice|here]]. Life drain is the opposite of life regeneration, with this you will lose 1 hp about every 2 secodns.
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''[[Melody]]''' ''ShaelKoNef'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Ko]] (18) + [[Nef]] (4) Bows & Xbows Clvl Required: 39
| +300% Damage vs. Undead +50% Enhanced Damage +10 Dexterity 20% Increased Attack Speed Knockback +3 Bow Skill Tab +3 Slow Missiles +3 Dodge +3 Critical Strike
| See it [[Melody|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''[[Memory]]''' ''LumIoSolEth'' [[Lum]] (17) + [[Io]] (16) + [[Sol]] (12) + [[Eth]] (5) Staves (Not Orbs). Clvl Required: 37
| Lowers Target's Defense by 25% 33% Faster Cast Rate +3 Sorceress Skill Levels +50% Enhanced Defense -7 Magic Damage +20% Max Mana +9 Minimum Damage +10 Energy +10 Vitality +2 Static Field +2 Energy Shield
| See it [[Memory|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Myth''' ''HelAmnNef'' [[Hel]] (15) + [[Amn]] (11) + [[Nef]] (4) Armor Clvl Required:
| 3% Chance To Cast Level 1 Howl When Struck 10% Chance To Cast Level 1 Taunt On Striking +2 To Barbarian Skill Levels +30 Defense Vs. Missile Replenish Life +10 Attacker Takes Damage of 14 Requirements -15%
| Barbarian
| Yes
| No
| No
|-

| '''[[Nadir]]''' ''NefTir'' [[Nef]] (4) + [[Tir]] (3) Headgear (all types) Clvl Required: 13
| Level 13 Cloak of Shadows (9 charges) +50% Enhanced Defense +2 mana per kill -3 light radius +30 Defense vs. missile +10 Defense +5 Strength -33% gold from monsters
| See it [[Nadir|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Oath''' ''ShaelPulMalLum'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Pul]] (21) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Lum]] (17) Axes, Maces & Swords Clvl Required:
| 30% Chance To Cast Level 20 Bone Spirit On Striking Indestructible +50% Increased Attack Speed +210-340% Enhanced Damage (varies) +75% Damage To Demons +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Energy +10-15 Magic Absorb (varies) Level 16 Heart Of Wolverine (20 Charges) Level 17 Iron Golem (14 Charges)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Obedience''' ''HelKoThulEthFal'' [[Hel]] (15) + [[Ko]] (18) + [[Thul]] (10) + [[Eth]] (5) + [[Fal]] (19) Polearms Clvl Required:
| 30% Chance To Cast Level 21 Enchant When You Kill An Enemy 40% Faster Hit Recovery +370% Enhanced Damage -25% Target Defense Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 3 Second Duration (Normal) -25% To Enemy Fire Resistance 40% Chance of Crushing Blow +200-300 Defense (varies) +10 To Strength & Dexterity All Resistances +20-30 (varies) Requirements -20%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Passion]]''' ''DolOrtEldLem'' [[Dol]] (14) + [[Ort]] (9) + [[Eld]] (2) + [[Lem]] (20) All Weapons Clvl Required: 43
| +25% Increased Attack Speed +160-210% Enhanced Damage 50-80% Bonus To Attack Rating +75% Damage To Undead +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage +1 To Berserk +1 To Zeal Hit Blinds Target +10 Hit Causes Monster To Flee 25% 75% Extra Gold From Monsters Level 3 Heart of Wolverine (12 Charges)
| See it [[Passion|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Peace''' ''ShaelThulAmn'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Thul]] (10) + [[Amn]] (11) Armor Clvl Required:
| 4% Chance To Cast Level 5 Slow Missiles When Struck 2% Chance To Cast level 15 Valkyrie On Striking +2 To Amazon Skill Levels +20% Faster Hit Recovery +2 To Critical Strike Cold Resist +30% Attacker Takes Damage of 14
| Amazon
| Yes
| No
| No
|-

| '''Phoenix''' ''VexVexLoJah'' [[Vex]] (26) + [[Vex]] (26) + [[Lo]] (28) + [[Jah]] (31) Weapons & Sheilds Clvl Required:
| '''Both''' 100% Chance To Cast level 40 Blaze When You Level-up 40% Chance To Cast Level 22 Firestorm On Striking Level 10-15 Redemption Aura When Equipped (varies) -28% To Enemy Fire Resistance +15-21 Fire Absorb (varies) +350-400 Defense Vs. Missile (varies) +350-400% Enhanced Damage (varies) '''Weapons''' Ignores Target's Defense 14% Mana Stolen Per Hit 20% Deadly Strike '''Shields''' +50 To Life +5% To Maximum Lightning Resist +10% To Maximum Fire Resist
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Pride''' ''ChamSurIoLo'' [[Cham]] (32) + [[Sur]] (29) + [[Io]] (16) + [[Lo]] (28) Polearms Clvl Required:
| 25% Chance To Cast Level 17 Fire Wall When Struck Level 16-20 Concentration Aura When Equipped (varies) 260-300% Bonus To Attack Rating (varies) +1-99% Damage To Demons (Based on Character Level) Adds 50-280 Lightning Damage 20% Deadly Strike Hit Blinds Target Freezes Target +3 +10 To Vitality Replenish Life +8 1.875-185.625% Extra Gold From Monsters (Based on Character Level)
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Principle''' ''RalGulEld'' [[Ral]] (8) + [[Gul]] (25) + [[Eld]] (2) Armor Clvl Required:
| 100% Chance To Cast Level 5 Holy Bolt On Striking +2 To Paladin Skill Levels 15% Slower Stamina Drain +5% To Maximum Poison Resist Fire Resist +30%
| Paladin
| Yes
| No
| No
|-
| '''Prudence''' ''MalTir'' [[Mal]] (23) + [[Tir]] (3) Armor Clvl Required:
| +25% Faster Hit Recovery +140-170% Enhanced Defense (varies) All Resistances +25-35 (varies) Damage Reduced by 3 Magic Damage Reduced by 17 +2 To Mana After Each Kill +1 To Light Radius Repairs Durability 1 In 4 Seconds
| -
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Radiance]]''' ''NefSolIth'' [[Nef]] (4) + [[Sol]] (12) + [[Ith]] (6) Headgear (All types) Clvl Required: 27
| 15% Melee Damage Taken Goes to Mana +75% Enhanced Defense Magic Damage Reduced by 3 Physical Damage Reduced by 7 +30 Defense vs. Missiles +33 Mana +10 Energy +10 Vitality +5 Light Radius
| See it [[Radiance| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Rain''' ''OrtMalIth'' [[Ort]] (9) + [[Mal]] (23) + [[Ith]] (6) Armor Clvl Required:
| 5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Cyclone Armor When Struck 5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Twister On Striking +2 To Druid Skills +100-150 To Mana (varies) Lightning Resist +30% Magic Damage Reduced By 7 15% Damage Taken Goes to Mana
| Druid
| Yes
| No
| No
|-

| '''[[Rhyme]]''' ''ShaelEth'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Eth]] (5) Shields (All types) Clvl Required: 29
| Cannot be Frozen 40% Faster Block Rate 20% Increased Chance of Blocking Regenerate Mana 15% +25% to all Resistances +25% to Magic Find +50% Extra Gold from Monsters
| One of the more useful, inexpensive runewords. Popular for javazons, sorceresses, necromancers, and others not in need of massive defense.

See it [[Rhyme| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Rift''' ''HelKoLemGul'' [[Hel]] (15) + [[Ko]] (18) + [[Lem]] (20) + [[Gul]] (25) Polearms & Scepters Clvl Required:
| 20% Chance To Cast Level 16 Tornado On Striking 16% Chance To Cast Level 21 Frozen Orb On Attack 20% Bonus To Attack Rating Adds 160-250 Magic Damage Adds 60-180 Fire Damage +5-10 To All Stats (varies) +10 To Dexterity 38% Damage Taken Goes To Mana 75% Extra Gold From Monsters Level 15 Iron Maiden (40 Charges) Requirements -20%
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Sanctuary]]''' ''KoKoMal'' [[Ko]] (18) + [[Ko]] (18) + [[Mal]] (23) Shields Clvl Required:
| +20% Faster Hit Recovery +20% Faster Block Rate 20% Increased Chance of Blocking +130-160% Enhanced Defense (varies) +250 Defense vs. Missile +20 To Dexterity All Resistances +50-70 (varies) Magic Damage Reduced By 7 Level 12 Slow Missiles (60 Charges)
| See it [[Sanctuary|here]]
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Silence]]''' ''DolEldHelIstTirVex'' [[Dol]] (14) + [[Eld]] (2) + [[Hel]] (15) + [[Ist]] (24) + [[Tir]] (3) + [[Vex]] (26) All Weapons. Clvl Required: 55
| +200% Enhanced Damage 175% Damage vs. Undead +50 to Attack Rating Against Undead 11% Mana Steal Hit Blinds Target (20) Faster Hit Recovery +2 to All Skills All Resistances +75 20% Increased Attack Speed +2 to Mana After Each Kill Hit Causes Monster to Flee 25% Requirements -20% 30% Better Magic Find
| See it [[Silence|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Smoke]]''' ''NefLum'' [[Nef]] (4) + [[Lum]] (17) Armor Clvl Required: 37
| Level 6 Weaken, 18 charges Faster Hit Recovery (20) -1 to Light Radius +75% Enhanced Defense +50% to all Resistances +280 Defense vs. Missiles +10 to Energy
| See it [[Smoke|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Spirit]]''' ''TalThulOrtAmn'' [[Tal]] (7) + [[Thul]] (10) + [[Ort]] (9) + [[Amn]] (11) Shields & Swords Clvl Required:
| '''Both''' +2 To All Skills +25-35% Faster Cast Rate (varies) +55% Faster Hit Recovery +22 To Vitality +250 Defense Vs. Missile +89-112 To Mana (varies) +3-8 Magic Absorb (varies) '''Shields''' Cold Resist +35% Lightning Resist +35% Poison Resist +35% Attacker Takes Damage of 14 '''Swords''' Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 3 Second Duration (Normal) +75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds 7% Life Stolen Per Hit
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Splendor]]''' ''EthLum'' [[Eth]] (5) + [[Lum]] (17) Shield Clvl Required:
| +1 To All Skills +10% Faster Cast Rate +20% Faster Block Rate +60-100% Enhanced Defense (varies) +10 To Energy Regenerate Mana 15% 50% Extra Gold From Monsters 20% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items +3 To Light Radius
| -
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| '''[[Stealth]]''' ''TalEth'' [[Tal]] (7) + [[Eth]] (5) Armor Clvl Required: 17
| 25% Faster Casting Rate 25% Faster Hit Recovery 25% Faster run/walk speed -3 magical damage taken +15% Mana Regeneration Rate +30% Poison Resistance +15% Maximum Stamina +6 Dexterity
| See it [[Stealth|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Steel]]''' ''TirEl'' [[Tir]] (3) + [[El]] (1) Works: Sword, Axe, Mace Doesn't work: Maul, Great Maul, War Hammer, Barbed Club, Partizan, Dagger type Clvl Required: 13
| +20% Enhanced Damage +3 Minimum Damage +3 Maximum Damage +50 Attack Rating 50% Chance of Open Wounds +1 light radius +2 mana per kill 25% Increased Attack Speed
| See it [[Steel|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[Stone]]''' ShaelUmPulLum'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Um]] (22) + [[Pul]] (21) + [[Lum]] (17) Armor Clvl Required:47
| +60% Faster Hit Recovery +250-290% Enhanced Defense +300 Defense Vs. Missile +16 To Strength +16 To Vitality +10 To Energy All Resistances +15 Level 16 Molten Boulder (80 Charges) Level 16 Clay Golem (16 Charges)
|
See it [[Stone|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Strength]]''' ''AmnTir'' [[Amn]] (11) + [[Tir]] (3) Melee Weapons Clvl Required: 25
| +35% Enhanced Damage 25% chance of Crushing Blow 7% life steal +2 mana per kill +10 vitality +20 strength
| See it [[Strength|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Treachery''' ''ShaelThulLem'' [[Shael]] (13) + [[Thul]] (10) + [[Lem]] (20) Armor Clvl Required:
| 5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Fade When Struck 25% Chance To Cast level 15 Venom On Striking +2 To Assassin Skills +45% Increased Attack Speed +20% Faster Hit Recovery Cold Resist +30% 50% Extra Gold From Monsters
| Assassin
| Yes
| No
| No
|-

| '''[[Venom]]''' ''TalDolMal'' [[Tal]] (7) + [[Dol]] (14) + [[Mal]] (23) All Weapons Clvl Required: 49
| 288 Poison Damage Over 6 Seconds Hit Causes Monster To Flee 25% Prevent Monster Heal Ignore Target's Defense 7% Mana Stolen Per Hit Level 15 Poison Explosion (27 Charges) Level 13 Poison Nova (11 Charges)
| See it [[Venom|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''Voice of Reason''' ''LemKoElEld'' [[Lem]] (20) + [[Ko]] (18) + [[El]] (1) + [[Eld]] (2) Maces & Swords Clvl Required:
| 15% Chance To Cast Level 13 Frozen Orb On Striking 18% Chance To Cast Level 20 Ice Blast On Striking +50 To Attack Rating +220-350% Damage To Demons +355-375% Damage To Undead (varies) +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead Adds 100-220 Cold Damage -24% To Enemy Cold Resistance +10 To Dexterity Cannot Be Frozen 75% Extra Gold From Monsters +1 To Light Radius
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Wealth]]''' ''LemKoTir'' [[Lem]] (20) + [[Ko]] (18) + [[Tir]] (3) Armor Clvl Required: 43
| 100% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items 300% Extra Gold From Monsters +2 to Mana After Each Kill +10 to Dexterity
| Not a lot of bonuses, but a very large one to magic find and gold. Get rich quick. See it [[Wealth| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-

| '''[[White]]''' ''DolIo'' [[Dol]] (14) + [[Io]] (16) Wands Clvl Required: 35
| Hit causes monster to flee 25% 20% Faster Cast Rate Magic Damage Reduced by 4 +13 to mana +10 to vitality +3 to bone and poison skills +4 to skeleton mastery +2 to bone spear +3 to bone armor
| See it[[White| here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| '''Wind''' ''SurEl'' [[Sur]] (29) + [[El]](1) Melee Weapons Clvl Required:
| 10% Chance To Cast Level 9 Tornado On Striking +20% Faster Run/Walk +40% Increased Attack Speed +15% Faster Hit Recovery +120-160% Enhanced Damage (varies) -50% Target Defense +50 To Attack Rating Hit Blinds Target +1 To Light Radius Level 13 Twister (127 Charges)
| -
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''Wrath''' ''PulLumBerMal'' [[Pul]] (21) + [[Lum]] (17) + [[Ber]] (30) + [[Mal]] (23) Missile Weapons Clvl Required:
| 30% Chance To Cast Level 1 Decrepify On Striking 5% Chance To Cast Level 10 Life Tap On Striking +375% Damage To Demons +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons +250-300% Damage To Undead (varies) Adds 85-120 Magic Damage Adds 41-240 Lightning Damage 20% Chance of Crushing Blow Prevent Monster Heal +10 To Energy Cannot Be Frozen
| Ladder Only
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-

| '''[[Zephyr]]''' ''OrtEth'' [[Ort]] (9) + [[Eth]] (5) Bows & Xbows Clvl Required: 21
| 7% Chance to Cast Slvl 1 Twister When Struck +33% Enhanced Damage +1-50 lightning damage Increased Attack Speed (25) -25% Target Defense Faster Run (25) +25 Defense +66 Attack Rating
| See it [[Zephyr|here]].
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|}

==Runeword Categories==

The runewords are listed in separate categories also.

* [[Runewords Armor| Armor]]
* [[Runewords Headgear| Headgear]]
* [[Runewords Shields| Shields]]
* [[Runewords Weapons| Weapons]]

[[Category:Runes]]
[[category:items]]

Quests Act Five

2009-08-21T19:03:00Z

TDurden1937: /* Quest Five: Rite of Passage */

{{template:quests}}Act Five was added to the game with the expansion, and moves the action to the snowy northern mountain stronghold of the Barbarian clans. Their city has been beseiged by Baal's forces, and your hero must pursue the Lord of Destruction up sacred Mount Arreat and stop him from seizing the power of the mighty Worldstone. Good luck with that.

=Act Five: The Harrowing=

The quests in the Expansion are much like the ones in Diablo II, but have some more variety, and some very cool quest rewards. There aren't any that add a skill point or stat point, but you gain resistance, some very nice items, and experience. All of them are basically on you way through the Act, and there aren't any that are totally out of the way, though not all of them are mandatory. And none are of the "insert quest items into Horadric Cube" variety, like you know from Acts Two and Three.

==Quest One: Stop the Siege==

* '''Quest Name: '''Stop the Siege
* '''Triggered By:''' Reaching Act Five
* '''Given by: '''Larzuk the Blacksmith
* '''Location: '''Bloody Foothills
* '''Reward: '''Larzuk will socket an item of your choice; discounted prices in town.
* '''Quest Priority:''' Not mandatory, but has a nice reward and Shenk is on your way.

This first quest in the Act is about as straight-forward as a quest can be. You must find Shenk the Overseer, and kill him.

When you first enter town, if you approach Larzuk the Blacksmith. He will have the "!" over his head, and if you click on him he gives you his introduction speech, and then offer the following:

<blockquote>''"If you're here to defeat Baal, you must prove it!"

''As we speak, Harrogath is under siege by Baal's demons. Catapults rain death just outside the town walls.

'' Baal himself travels up the sacred mountain, having left in charge here one of his most vicious generals, Shenk the Overseer. A ruthless taskmaster, he lashes his own minions into suicidal frenzies on the battlefield.

''If you wish to prove yourself to us, destroy the monster, Shenk, that commands those infernal catapults outside Harrogath. If you manage to do this, return to me."''</blockquote>

Your mission accepted, you set out into the Bloody Foothills. Shenk is always found near the end of the long, rectangular level. If you already had the Frigid Highlands waypoint and wanted to go right to Shenk, you could just take that waypoint, and then run back into the Bloody Foothills, and Shenk would be right there.

[[Image:Quests-a5-q1-shenk.jpg|frame|Shenk, overseeing.]]There isn't any great strategy needed to kill Shenk, he's just a bigger, stronger Overseer. The first of his kind you see, but you'll see dozens more in the levels to come. He is surrounded by a few dozen minions, and he will lash several of them each time into an explosive rage, but with the ledges around him and the narrow stairs, you can take them on one or two at a time, or get to a corner and devastate them with any ranged attack. Sorceresses and Bowazons love the Bloody Foothills. Shenk has a decent amount of hit points, but doesn't hit that hard, so you shouldn't have too much trouble on any difficulty level if you can avoid the charging explosive minions.

Upon Shenk's death, dozens of catapult shots rain down on the area. This doesn't do anything in terms of damage to you, but it's colorful and fun to see, if it doesn't cause you incredible machine lag, especially if Shenk spawns with the multiple shots modifier (only applicable in Nightmare and Hell difficulty).

'''Reward:''' After Shenk is dead, when you next return to town Larzuk will offer to add a socket(s) to an item, and will discount his prices to you. The socketing quest is just like the imbue quest in Act One, you can wait and do it as much later as you want to, and it will remain an option when you click Larzuk until you use it.

The quest adds the maximum number of sockets possible to the item you choose to socket. You can only use this quest reward once on a given item.

Sockets added:
* '''Normal Items:''' From 1-6, the max allowed for that particular item. Check our Items section for the exact number for every type of armor and weapon.
* '''Magical Items:''' One or two sockets, randomly. In the beta they could get up to three, but this was turned down as Bliz felt it was overpowered.
* '''Rare/Set/Unique/Crafted Items:''' One socket only. (Crafted get up to 3 in the beta, but this is a bug that will be fixed.)
* '''No Sockets Added:''' RuneWord items, items that have already been socketed, item types that can't have sockets added at all, are not allowed to be placed into the selection box.

==Quest Two: Rescue on Mt. Arreat==

* '''Quest Name:''' Rescue on Mt. Arreat
* '''Triggered by:''' Entering the Frigid Highlands.
* '''Given by:''' Qual-Kehk
* '''Location:''' Frigid Highlands
* '''Reward:''' Ability to hire Barbarian Mercs and Tal, Ral, Ort runes.
* '''Quest Priority:''' Not mandatory, but has a nice reward.

This one is a little more involved than the first quest. You must scour the Frigid Highlands and find fifteen captive Barbarian NPCs. They are held captive in wooden-fenced pens in groups of five, and when you find them you need merely knock the lock off the gate, and they will stream out and vanish into a portal that appears for them.

[[Image:Quests-a5-q2-pen-portal.jpg|thumb|300px|Setting the Barbarians free.]]Yes, you'll probably get ''Warcraft II'' flashbacks.

The three pens are always somewhere in the middle of the Frigid Highlands, not over by the sides of the area, and generally not visible on the mini map from the sides either, until you get close to them. The pens are easily spotted once you get near though, as large white rectangles. You'll always spot one on the minimap first and then close in on it, advancing slowly since there are monsters every step of the way in this area.

The Frigid Highlands (and all the other early surface areas of Act Five) is about as large as the first two surface areas of Act Four put together, so this one usually requires some looking.

None of the Barbarian pens are guarded by any greater concentration of monsters than you find anywhere else in the fortified walls areas of Act Five, so don't expect any massive dangerous battles. There are also at least 15 and probably more random wandering Barbarian NPCs around this area, but they are content to do their own thing and don't need rescuing.

As you free each bunch, the quests menu pops up telling you to "Free ten more warriors", and then "Free five more warriors".

When you return after freeing all 15 of the Barbarians, go to Qual-Kehk for your reward. He will have the usual "!" over his head, and will tell you:

<blockquote>''"Thank you for rescuing my men. They have spoken well of your bravery in battle. Perhaps there is hope for us after all.

''If you wish, you may hire some of my mercenaries that you saved. And please... take this set of runes. I had been saving them for a socketed shield, but I think you'll make better use of them.

''Be sure to set them in the right order for their fullest effect."''</blockquote>

The Runes you receive are Tal, Ral, and Ort. None of them do a whole lot on their own, each adds elemental damage of one type to a weapon, and 30% resistance to it to a shield, so all three in an item and you'd have all but cold damage/resistance covered. But if you put all three into a three-socket shield in the correct order (Ral, then Ort, then Tal), you get a special better bonus, and a Rune Word item.

[[Image:Quests-a5-q2-reward.jpg|frame]]'''Ancients Pledge''' 
'''RalOrtTal'''
* +43 or 48% Resistance to each Element
* 10% damage taken goes to mana
* +50% DR

You get the same three runes for this quest every time (so you'll have three sets by the time you do all difficulty levels with a given character). The actual order to set them in isn't specifically said, but they appear in your inventory in order, top to bottom, just how they should look in the shield. Whether you would know to get a three socket shield and socket it with these three Runes in the proper order if you were seeing it for the first time in the game and didn't know about Rune Words is debatable. This is the first RuneWord most characters will see in a game, check here for full details about Runic Items.

This reward can be placed in a Paladin-shield, and the inherent bonuses to Resistance or Damage/Attack Rating will be preserved in the RuneWord, yielding a much larger total bonus than any other class can receive.

==Quest Three: Prison of Ice==

* '''Quest Name: '''Prison of Ice
* '''Triggered by: '''Entering Arreat Plateau (surface area #3)
* '''Given by: '''Malah
* '''Location:''' Frozen River
* '''Rewards:''' +10 to all resistance, Rare (usually) class-specific item.
* '''Quest Priority:''' Not mandatory, but very nice rewards.

Malah tells you about this quest with a long speech. By the time you get this quest you've noticed that Nihlathak has been gone from town for some time, and you have no one to gamble with. Malah says:

<blockquote>''"Here is a matter which I hesitate to share, but I believe you are the only one who can help me now. Anya, the young alchemist and daughter to one of our slain leaders, has been missing for some time. She is a strong, crafty woman with a spirit like no other.

''One night, just before your arrival, I overheard her and Nihlathak arguing about her father's death. The next morning she was gone. Nihlathak has his own tale as to where she went and why. Don't believe him! I fear he is at the root of her disappearance. Please, if you can, search for Anya and bring her back to us. She'll know what to do about Nihlathak."''</blockquote>

[[Image:Quests-a5-q3-anya-thawed.jpg|frame]]You can talk to all of the NPCs about this quest, and they all echo her comments, basically saying that Anya is missing, and that they suspect Nihlathak.

If you go to the Frozen River level and then come back to town, the NPCs have gone past suspicious, and call Nihlathak a "snake" and saying that he's "slipped through our fingers". He's actually been gone since around the time you got Quest Two, but never mind that.

Once you find her, she tells you that Nihlathak did this to her, and to tell Malah what's happened to her. When you return to town Malah is eager to talk and she gives you a thawing potion she's prepared.

You return to Anya and click on her, and when you do a huge plume of blueish-white smoke rises up like a geyser. After a few seconds Anya walks out the left of the smoke, and shortly after it vanishes. She casts a town portal (that you can't use) and vanishes back to town.

When you return to town you should talk to both Malah and Anya. Both give you very good rewards for your actions, so this is an essential quest to complete for the rewards, even if you don't need to do it to finish the Act.

[[Image:Quests-a5-q3-scroll.jpg|frame|+10 to all.]]'''Reward:''' From Malah you get a scroll that permanently adds +10% to all of your resistances. Do this on all three difficulties and you will have +30% to all, making up most of the increased resistance penalty in the Expansion. Like the other +quest items (potion of life, book of skills) you can only get this reward once per difficulty level, so don't bother trying to mule the scroll or get two of them.

In addition to the resistance scroll from Malah, Anya gives you a Rare, class-specific item for your character class. A sorceress gets a Rare orb, a Druid a rare animal pelt, etc. The Amazon gets either a Javelin, Spear, or Bow, but it's not tied to what you are using, so good luck with that.

Another benefit to rescuing Anya is that you can now gamble again. Nihlathak lets you gamble when you first reach Act Five, but he vanishes soon after and you have no way to gamble until you bring Anya back. (You can take a waypoint to a different act to gamble, if you can't wait for Anya.) You also need Anya to buy throwing potions from.

'''Tip:''' Be sure you find the Crystalline Passage Waypoint, or even go on and find the Frozen Tundra Waypoint, before you enter the red portal Anya opens for Quest Four. There is no waypoint in the Frozen River, and if you don't find the Crystalline Passage WP before you go down, you will probably go right back to town and on to Quest Four, and when you portal back from the Quest Four dungeon, you'll have a long walk all the way from the Arreat Plateau waypoint through the Crystalline Passageway back to where you were.

Think of it like Act One. You need to find the Dark Woods Waypoint before you go back to town with the Scroll of Inifuss, since you'll then go to the Field of Stones and Tristram, and probably end up having to run all the way from the Field through the Underground Passageway to get back to the Dark Woods. If you do this in the next game you'll have to clear it as you go, which is annoying.

==Quest Four: Betrayal of Harrogath==

* '''Quest Name: '''Betrayal of Harrogath
* '''Triggered by:''' Rescuing Anya (Quest Three).
* '''Given by: '''Anya
* '''Location: '''Red Portal to Nihlathak's Temple, then down into a three level dungeon.
* '''Rewards: '''Your name on an item from Anya.
* '''Quest Priority:''' Not required, and extremely deadly on Nightmare and Hell. We recommend you skip it past Normal, especially if you are Hardcore. Another reason not to finish this quest is that once you do, Anya won't open the red portal in a game you create on that difficulty level. Since it's always worth a quick trip to the zombie garden to kill Pindleskin, this is a bad thing.

When you rescue Anya in Quest Three, she returns to town and is found to the south of town center in front of a large building. When you first return her to town after rescuing her in Quest Three, she gives you three speeches in a row.

[[Image:Quests-a5-q4-red-portal-sml.jpg|frame]]The first is about the game plot, how her father was one of the dead Council of Elders, and how the thought of vengeance against Baal is all that keeps them going. The second leads into the Rare Class-specific item she gives you for the Quest Three reward. Then she gives you the fourth quest with a long speech:

<blockquote>''"Nihlathak told me he struck a deal with Baal to protect Harrogath. In exchange for the demon's mercy, the misguided fool plans to give Baal the Relic of the Ancients, our most holy totem!

''Doing so would allow Baal to enter Mount Arreat unchallenged by the Ancients. I tried to stop Nihlathak, but he imprisoned me in that icy tomb. Nihlathak must be stopped before he dooms the whole world. As much as I would love to strangle the life out of him, I'm afraid I haven't the strength. You must go to his lair through this portal I've opened, kill him, and then bring back the Relic of the Ancients. Stop Nihlathak from destroying what we have striven for eons to protect."''</blockquote>

[[Image:Quest-a5-q4-nihlathak-sml.jpg|frame|right]]As the speech ends she opens up the portal you see here. You must go through the portal to a special quest area that you can't reach any other way. This quest is not required to finish the Act, and the reward isn't very big, so you can skip it if you want, though it's an interesting quest area and advances the plot quite a bit.

Once you get past the very popular (to kill) Pindleskin and down into the dungeon, you descend three levels through the Halls of Anguish, Halls of Pain, and Halls of Vaught. (Fred Vaught is one of the background artists on D2X.) In one of the four points of the Halls of Vaught, you'll find Nihlathak, on a raised dais surrounded by Minions. They charge and aren't hard to slaughter, but things become quite interesting once a few Ice Minions go down since Nihlathak then unleashes his Corpse Explosion skill, which can be deadly. Nihlathak himself isn't hard to kill, once you get a bead on him, though he can teleport which might slow the proceedings a bit.

Once you've killed him you have no choice but to return to town, either by a town portal, by going back up to level two and taking the waypoint there (if you bothered to find it) or by walking back up three levels and taking the red portal. Back in town Anya has the "!" overhead, and when you talk to her it's not all good news:

<blockquote>''"You have stopped Nihlathak, but he didn't have the Relic! He must have already given it to Baal. Now, Baal will not be tested when he reaches Arreat's summit.

''I do thank you for trying though. Please, allow me to honor your courage by magically inscribing your name onto an item of your choosing. It's the least I can do."''</blockquote>

[[Image:Quests-a5-q4-customized.jpg|frame]]This isn't a valuable quest reward, but it's very cool. It works like the Imbue quest, you click the option seen here, and Anya opens up a box that you can drop your item into. You then get it back with your character's name added before the item's name. Yes, it works on Wirt's Leg as well.

'''Tip:''' Extreme caution was recommended on this quest prior to v1.09, since Nihlathak's corpse explosion was absurdly deadly on hell difficulty; capable of dealing well over 1000 damage with a radius larger than the visible screen. In those early days of D2X, the skill scaled up just like the Necromancer's did, based on the hit points of the monsters Nihlathak was blowing up.

'''Ice Spawn'''
* Normal: 155-194 hit points.
* Nightmare: 880-1100 hit points.
* Hell: 1974-2467 hit points.

Corpse Explosion does 60-100% of the monster's hit points damage with each Corpse Explosion, of which 50% is physical and 50% is fire damage. This was 1184-2467 damage per CE on Hell, until Nihlathak's CE damage was twinked down to the point it could largely be ignored in v1.09.

Plot Point: Earlier in the Act, one of Nihlathak's town gossips foreshadows his turn to evil.

<blockquote>''"The demon hordes have grown powerful beyond measure, aided by our foolish mistakes. But I may have found a way to correct those mistakes."''</blockquote>

==Quest Five: Rite of Passage==

* '''Quest Name:''' Rite of Passage
* '''Triggered by:''' Reaching the Ancient's Way triggers Qual-Kehk to speak of it. Or you can go straight to the Arreat Summit and click on the altar.
* '''Given by:''' Qual-Kehk
* '''Location:''' Arreat Summit
* '''Reward:''' Bonus to your Experience. Normal: 1.4 million, Clvl 20 required. Nightmare: 20 million, Clvl 40 required. Hell: 40 million, Clvl 60 required. This bonus is not cut like experience from monster kills when you are past Clvl 75, so this quest is always a huge boost, but if you can save it (borrow a portal to the Worldstone Keep) until you are Clvl 80 or 85 it's even more valuable.
* '''Quest Priority:''' Not mandatory if you can get a portal inside the Worldstone Keep from another player, otherwise you must defeat the Guardians to get in. The reward is enormous though, so we recommend you do it.

Once you advance to the Ancient's Way, the last ice caves level in the game, and then return to town, Qual-Kehk will be eager to talk:

<blockquote>''"Every time I hear of you, warrior, your deeds become more legendary. But take heed. You are approaching the very summit of Mount Arreat. I have never dared venture there. It is sacred -- our most holy place. The legends say it is guarded by the Ancient Ones, who block the path of all who are unworthy. Your reputation here does not matter...It will be the Ancients who determine your worthiness.

Good luck."''</blockquote>

You don't need to talk to Qual-Kehk or anyone about this, you can just advance through the Ancient's Way to the Arreat Summit, and do it. This quest seems straightforward, but has a very tricky element to it you see in no other quest in all of Diablo II.

'''Quest Prompt:''' Travel through the Ancient's Way to find the Ancients at the Arreat Summit.

Aside from the quest, the Arreat Summit is probably the most impressive area in the entire game. The screenshots don't do it justice, the amazing part is walking along the edge with the landscape far far below. It's awesome with perspective mode, which the game automatically turns on there, your 3D card permitting (the option for it in the Options menu is grayed out at this point) for the ground moves much slower than the edge of the cliff you are walking along giving a nice illusion of depth. It has to be seen in motion to be appreciated.

The Summit is a small area, not much larger than two screens end to end in 800x600 mode. The center is the raised circle with the three statues, and there are pillars around it in a large circle with some open snowy ground outside of that, with cliffs bounding the area on all sides and a barred stairway to the far right. In the center on the dais you see these three statues, each with a unique name and stats. Click to see more about [[Madawc]], [[Korlic]], and [[Talic]]

{|
| [[Image:Quests-a5-q5-madawc.jpg]]
| [[Image:Quests-a5-q5-korlic.jpg]]
| [[Image:Quests-a5-q5-talic.jpg]]
|-
| Throwing Axes, 
ranged attacker.
| Melee and leap attack, 
huge axe weapon.
| Sword and shield, 
melee and Whirlwind.
|}

The altar highlights when you point and it, and when you click a long speech is heard with three voices speaking in harmony.

<blockquote>''"We are the spirits of the Nephalem, the Ancient Ones. We have been chose to guard sacred Mount Arreat, wherein the Worldstone rests. Few are worthy to stand in its presence; fewer still can comprehend its true purpose.

''Before you enter, you must defeat us."''</blockquote>

Recall that Nihlathak stole a relic and gave it to Baal, allowing him to enter the Worldstone Keep without having to face these guardians. When the speech ends, the action begins.

[[Image:Quests-a5-q5-ancients.jpg|frame]]The statues come to life, and they are all Barbarians (of course) in glowing red armor. Yellow flaming light radiates from them, and they are very impressive in action. As you see in the screenshots, they use Warcries to boost themselves, and they all have skills. You'll see Leap Attacks, Bashes, and even very fast Whirlwinds, which don't look like much in a screenshot, but are amazing to see in action, with the streaks of light left behind. The small shot on the right here is of one mid-WW.

You must kill them all, and when they are beaten they explode in a huge burst of yellow flames, and return to statue form. There is another long speech about how Baal must be defeated, and the dire consequences for the world if he's not destroyed.
Death animation

So what's the tricky part?

If anyone in the party casts a town portal during the battle, the Guardians immediately vanish and return to statue form. And you have to click on the altar to fight them again, with full regenerated hit points and new random mods, until you kill them all. The stairs down to the Ancient's Way are barred once you reach the summit as well, so portals are the only way out.

This isn't so hard in normal, but prior to being nerfed in v1.09, all three of the ancients spawned with 3 different magical modifiers each time, which stacked with their usual high resistance. It was not uncommon for each of them to have 2 or more immunities, making them extremely difficult to kill without a party of mixed damage types. They also dealt much more damage in v1.08, and dealing with three big damage, very fast bosses at the same time in a small area that could not be an area too small to retreated from was pretty nasty.

It was (and remains) possible to use the town portal trick to your advantage. If they spawn with very difficult mods, simply cast a Town Portal and they will all vanish back to statue form. This makes a nice escape possibility for Hardcore characters.

This is a very unique quest and prior to v1.09 it was the hardest battle in the entire game. In v1.09 and later, the guardians' damage has been toned way down, they get fewer boss modifiers, and their resistances are capped so they don't spawn with multiple immunities. It's a much fairer fight, but quite a bit less interesting as well.

'''Tips:''' You can't leave for town during the battle, so be sure you stock up on potions. It's not a bad idea to scatter some around the area before the fight, so you can run and pick them up during the action, reloading your belt more quickly than you could by opening the inventory window. Also, be sure you have enough Town Portals to not run out if you need to cast one to avoid death.

Be sure you check out the Guardians' stats early in the fight in Nightmare and Hell, and if one or more of them have very difficult or impossible mods, respawn them by casting a Town Portal.

'''Reward:''' Huge experience bonus! 1.4m on normal, 20m on Nightmare, and 40m on Hell. There is a Clvl requirement to get the reward though, you must be Clvl 20 on Normal, 40 on Nightmare, and 60 on Hell to get it. So no partying with bigger characters to get there quickly and get a huge bonus. The bonus experience is not cut by your Clvl exp penalty if you are over Clvl 75, so it's best to save the quest reward on Hell as long as possible. Skip past the Guardians with a portal to the Worldstone waypoint, and never do them for the quest until level 98, if you can wait that long. The huge 40m exp bonus gets more valuable the longer you wait, since it's easy to earn 40m exp at lvl 70 or 75, or 80. By 90 it takes longer, by 95 the monsters are hardly yielding any experience at all, and by the high 90s, when it takes multiple Baal runs to budge the exp bar, 40m is more than you can earn in many hours of monster killing.

==Quest Six: Eve of Destruction==

* '''Quest Name:''' Eve of Destruction
* '''Triggered by:''' Defeating the Ancients (Quest Five)
* '''Given by: '''Qual-Kehk, or when you reach the Throne of Destruction level.
* '''Location:''' Throne of Destruction.
* '''Rewards: '''Baal's item drop, complete the Act, view final cinematic, gain a title.
* '''Quest Priority:''' Mandatory to finish the Act and advance to the next difficulty level.

[[Image:Quests-a5-q6-throne.jpg|frame]]This one is about as straight-forward as a quest can be; you just move down through the three levels of the Worldstone Keep, (there is a waypoint on level two) then through the Throne of Destruction level to a final room where you see Baal, but can't attack him yet.

Baal is up on a throne (hence the level name) here, and laughs constantly. Once you have killed all the random monsters in the room, the fun begins. He laughs and laughs (yes, it makes you want to kill him) and after a few seconds emits a glowing ball of yellow lightning. It flies up into the air and crashes down somewhere in front of the steps, and there appears a SuperUnique boss with his pack of minions.

Once you kill off that pack, their bodies vanish but leave a lot of blood, Baal laughs constantly, and then spawns another huge glowing orb which crashes down and releases a bunch of monsters. This happens five times, different and more powerful monsters each time, with the fifth bunch Baal's Minions, monsters that are seen nowhere else in the game.

Baal's Guardians, in order of appearance. Note that the packs appear in order of the acts of the game; Fallen are an Act One monster, Greater Mummies are from Act Two, and so on.
* [[:Image:Quests-a5-q6-boss-colenzo.jpg|Colenzo the Annihilator]] -- Fallen Shaman
* [[:Image:Quests-a5-q6-boss-achmel.jpg|Achmel the Cursed]] -- Greater Mummy
* [[:Image:Quests-a5-q6-boss-bartuc.jpg|Bartuc the Bloody]] -- High Council
* [[:Image:Quests-a5-q6-boss-ventar.jpg|Ventar the Unholy]] -- Balrog
* [[:Image:Quests-a5-q6-boss-lister.jpg|Lister the Tormenter]] -- Baal's Minions

One major issue with these packs is the computer lag when they load. Early in the beta it was very bad, with several seconds of lag on your end as your computer loaded in the monster graphics. If you were right where they appeared, you could be killed before you were able to move at all. This was improved in v1.08, and the lag was backloaded, so it came up after each battle, when Baal was laughing and vanishing the corpses. After v1.09 the lag was largely removed, and these days, thanks to computers in 2008 being so much more powerful than they were in 2001 when the game was new, the lag in this area isn't an issue.

After you kill all the packs Baal laughs some more, then vanishes down the portal behind his throne. You follow him down and enter a small room with the enormous Worldstone looming in the middle of the area. It's very graphically impressive. Baal is less so, and dies very quickly if there is any Static Field in the area. He doesn't attack that quickly, but does have some interesting spell effects not seen anywhere else in the game, and can even duplicate himself.

Once Baal is down and his death animation, the orbiting spirits light show ends, Tyrael descends from overhead and hovers. And glows, and pontificates in his usual pompous fashion.

<blockquote>''"I am impressed, mortal. You have overcome the greatest challenge this world has ever faced and defeated the last of the Prime Evils. However we are too late to save the Worldstone. Baal's destructive touch has corrupted it completely.

''Given enough time, the Worldstone's energies will drain away and the barriers between the worlds will shatter -- the powers of Hell will flood into this...Sanctuary...and eradicate your people and everything you've labored to build.

''Therefore I must destroy the corrupted Worldstone before the powers of Hell take root. This act will change your world forever -- with consequences even I cannot foresee. However it is the only way to ensure mankind's survival.

''Go now, mortal. I have opened a portal that will lead you to safety.

''May the Eternal Light shine upon you and your descendants for what you've done this day. The continued survival of mankind if your legacy. Above all else, you have earned a rest from the endless battle."</blockquote>

[[Image:Quests-a5-q6-congrats.jpg|thumb|250px|New Congratulations Render]]Once Tyrael has delivered this rather unsettling message, he opens a red portal. The screen shakes and keeps shaking worse and worse, and chunks of crystal keep spinning by, moving up or down. When you click on the portal you pop to the new Congratulations screen, and after that view the final cinematic. In it Tyrael does indeed destroy the WorldStone, which is somewhat of a surprise. Many people suspected from the Act Five info during the beta (which did not include the new Cinematics) that it wasn't really Tyrael, and was instead a trick of Baal's, or by one of the other Lesser Evils, such as Belial, to get control of the Worldstone themselves. Apparently the game plot was much more straight-forward than some of us suspected.

If you've already killed Baal, Tyrael doesn't appear, and you don't get the red portal.

==Titles==

Characters gain new titles in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction for defeating Baal. Converted characters may already have the Normal or Nightmare title, based on how for they had gotten in Diablo II.

{|
! Softcore Characters
! Char Gender
! Title
|-
| Normal
| Male or Female
| Slayer
|-
| Nightmare
| Male or Female
| Champion
|-
| Hell
| Male/Female
| Patriarch/Matriarch
|}

{|
!Hardcore Characters
! Char Gender
! Title
|-
| Normal
| Male or Female
| Destroyer
|-
| Nightmare
| Male or Female
| Conqueror
|-
| Hell
| Male or Female
| Guardian
|}

[[category:quests]]

Cube Recipes

2009-08-20T16:11:19Z

TDurden1937: /* Magical Item Creation */

{{Item navbox}}The '''Horadric Cube''' is a quest item you must have to complete the main quests in Act Two and Act Three. However it's much more than just a quest item, it has a ton of other cool features that make it useful throughout the entire game.
* See the [[Crafting Cubing and Socketing Guide]] for very detailed information and strategies on all in-game item improvement recipes and techniques.

==Cube Operation==
[[Image:horadric-cube.gif|frame]]To use the Horadric Cube, simply drag and drop items on it. They will automatically be positioned within the cube, assuming there's enough free space for them to fit. To open the cube, right click on it, then click and drag to move items between the cube and your inventory. Dropping the cube will instantly move everything from the cube to your inventory, with anything you lack space for dropping to the ground. The cube can be held in your inventory or your town stash. To convert items in the cube, click the transmute button, visible only when the cube is open. If invalid items are in the cube or the recipe is not possible for some reason, your character will say, "I can't do that."

* Items will be Identified by Cain while inside the Horadric Cube.
* Only one Horadric Cube can be picked up by the same character, and it's impossible to place one cube inside another one.
* Cubes can be passed down to characters who have not found one yet, such as "mule" characters who want them for extra storage.
** If a cube is lost, a new one can be retrieved from level 3 of the Halls of the Dead, in Act Two, or If you dont have one when The Council is killed, ( Act 3, Quest 5 ) another one will drop.
* The Horadric Cube is required to create [[Crafted Items]], as well as the following recipes.

This page lists all working recipes for the Horadric Cube. New recipes are frequently added in patches, and the function of some existing recipes are tweaked for better game balance.

==Secret Cow Level==
[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]]Wirt's Leg + A Tome of Town Portal --> Red Portal to the Secret Cow Level
* The recipe must be performed in the Rogue Camp (Act One Town).
* A character must first defeat Diablo (in D2C) or Baal (in D2X) on that difficulty level to open the portal.
* Characters who have received credit for killing the Cow King on that difficulty level may not open the portal (but may pass through it if someone else does).

See the [[Secret Cow Level]] page for more details.

==Pandemonium Event==
See the [[Pandemonium Event]] page for details on these recipes and the quest they are part of.
* These recipes must be executed in Harrogath (Act Five Town) in a Hell difficulty game on the Battle.net Realms. They do not work in single player.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]]Key of hate + Key of Terror + Key of Destruction --> Red Portal to either the Matron's Den, Furnace of Pain, or Forgotten Sands. (Which of the 3 portals opens is random, but they will not repeat if opened in the same game.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]]Baal's Eye + Diablo's Horn + Mephisto's Brain --> Red Portal to Uber Tristram

==Upgrade Recipes==
One of the most useful features of the cube is its ability to upgrade simple items into more powerful ones. Gems, runes, potions, and various other small objects can be combined and improved in the cube.

===Gems===
[[Gem]]s can be upgraded from chipped all the way to perfect. Three of the same kind and quality will yield one of the same kind of the next higher quality. This works for '''all seven types of gems'''. Skulls included. For example:
* 3 chipped topaz --> 1 flawed topaz
* 3 flawed topaz --> 1 topaz
* 3 topaz --> 1 flawless topaz
* 3 flawless topaz --> 1 perfect topaz.

===Runes===
Much like gems, [[rune]]s can be upgraded to higher quality, burning three to create one of the next type. Check the [[Rune list]] for full details.
* 3 El Runes --> 1 Eld Rune
* 3 Eld Runes --> 1 Tir Rune
* 3 Tir Runes --> 1 Nef Rune
* 3 Nef Runes --> 1 Eth Rune
* 3 Eth Runes --> 1 Ith Rune
* 3 Ith Runes --> 1 Tal Rune
* 3 Tal Runes --> 1 Ral Rune
* 3 Ral Runes --> 1 Ort Rune
* 3 Ort Runes --> 1 Thul Rune

That was as far as Runes could be upgraded until the v1.10 patch added the following recipes. (They do not work in v1.09 or earlier patches.)
* 3 Thul Runes + 1 Chipped Topaz --> 1 Amn Rune
* 3 Amn Runes + 1 Chipped Amethyst --> 1 Sol Rune
* 3 Sol Runes + 1 Chipped Sapphire --> 1 Shael Rune
* 3 Shael Runes + 1 Chipped Ruby --> 1 Dol Rune

Higher level runes can also be upgraded, but only in v1.10 and later and only by single-player, realm, or ladder characters.
* 3 Dol Runes + 1 Chipped Emerald --> 1 Hel Rune
* 3 Hel Runes + 1 Chipped Diamond --> 1 Io Rune
* 3 Io Runes + 1 Flawed Topaz --> 1 Lum Rune
* 3 Lum Runes + 1 Flawed Amethyst --> 1 Ko Rune
* 3 Ko Runes + 1 Flawed Sapphire --> 1 Fal Rune
* 3 Fal Runes + 1 Flawed Ruby --> 1 Lem Rune
* 3 Lem Runes + 1 Flawed Emerald --> 1 Pul Rune
* 2 Pul Runes + 1 Flawed Diamond --> 1 Um Rune
* 2 Um Runes + 1 Topaz --> Mal Rune
* 2 Mal Runes + 1 Amethyst --> Ist Rune
* 2 Ist Runes + 1 Sapphire --> Gul Rune
* 2 Gul Runes + 1 Ruby --> Vex Rune
* 2 Vex Runes + 1 Emerald --> Ohm Rune
* 2 Ohm Runes + 1 Diamond --> Lo Rune
* 2 Lo Runes + 1 Flawless Topaz --> Sur Rune
* 2 Sur Runes + 1 Flawless Amethyst --> Ber Rune
* 2 Ber Runes + 1 Flawless Sapphire --> Jah Rune
* 2 Jah Runes + 1 Flawless Ruby --> Cham Rune
* 2 Cham Runes + 1 Flawless Emerald --> Zod Rune

A handy way to remember which gems are required for the upgrades past Ort is by using the acronym TASRED. As in, "Don't taze me, dude." ("[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taser Tasered]" is the correct spelling, but that would repeat the "E".) Each gem except the skull: Topaz, Amethyst, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, Diamond, is used, in repeating order and increasing quality. So Thul is T (to make Amn), Amn is A(to make Sol), Sol is S (to make Shael), etc.

===Potions===
Any quality of healing or mana potion can be used in the following recipes. Any type of gem (including skulls) can be used as well.

* 3 health potions + 3 mana potions + 1 chipped gem --> 1 partial rejuvenation potion
* 3 health potions + 3 mana potions + 1 normal quality gem --> 1 full rejuvenation potion
* 3 partial rejuvenation potions --> 1 full rejuvenation potion

==Runeword Preparation Recipes==
[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Hel Rune + Scroll of Town Portal + Any Socketed Item --> Remove items from sockets
* Removes the jewels, gems, or runes from the sockets in an item.
* The items in the sockets are destroyed, and all bonuses granted by those items are removed.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Eld Rune + 1 Chipped Gem + Low Quality Weapon --> Normal Quality Weapon of same type
* ilvl = 1
** This recipe is useful to upgrade a low quality weapon to normal quality. It can then be used in other recipes to add sockets, in preparation for turning it into a runeword.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 El Rune + 1 Chipped Gem + Low Quality Armor --> Normal Quality Armor of same type
* ilvl = 1.
** This recipe is useful to upgrade a low quality armor to normal quality. It can then be used in other recipes to add sockets, in preparation for turning it into a runeword.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Tal Rune + 1 Thul Rune + 1 Perfect Topaz + Normal Body Armor --> Socketed Body Armor of same type
* This recipe adds 1-4 sockets to the armor, making it potentially useful for a [[Runeword]].
* The game always rolls for up to 6 sockets with this recipe. The amount of sockets is then capped to the maximum amount that particular item can have. Armor that can only have up to 2 sockets would therefore have a 1/6 chance of 1, and a 5/6 chance of 2.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Ral Rune + 1 Amn Rune + 1 Perfect Amethyst + Normal Weapon = Socketed Weapon of same type
* This recipe adds 1-6 sockets to the weapon, making it potentially useful for a [[runeword]].
* The game rolls for up to 6 sockets with this recipe. If a weapon can not have 6 sockets, then the number is capped to the maximum for that particular item after the roll. A weapon with 3 sockets maximum would have 1/6 chance for 1, 1/6 chance for 2, and 4/6 chance for 3.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Ral Rune + 1 Thul Rune + 1 Perfect Sapphire + Normal Helm --> Socketed Helm of same type
* This recipe adds 1-3 sockets to the helm, making it potentially useful for a [[Runeword]].
* The game always rolls for up to 6 sockets with this recipe. The amount of sockets is then capped to the maximum amount that particular item can have. A helm type that only allows 2 sockets would have a 1/6 chance of 1, and a 5/6 chance of 2.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Tal Rune + 1 Amn Rune + 1 Perfect Ruby + Normal Shield --> Socketed Shield of same type
* This recipe adds 1-4 sockets to the shield, making it potentially useful for a [[Runeword]].
* The game always rolls for up to 6 sockets with this recipe. The amount of sockets is then capped to the maximum amount that particular item can have. A shield that can only have 3 sockets will have a 1/6 chance of 1, 1/6 chance of 2, and 4/6 chance of 3.

==Item Upgrades==
Various recipes to upgrade the quality of uniques and rares. Will not work on crafted items or runewords. These recipes do not alter the modifiers on items; they merely upgrade the base item type, from normal to exceptional, or exceptional to elite, enabling greater damage or higher defense.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 3 Perfect Skulls + 1 Rare Item + Stone of Jordan --> Add 1 Socket To a Rare Item
* Only one socket will be added.
* Will not add a socket to an item that already has one.
* Does not work on items that can not have sockets, such as throwing items, boots, gloves, belts, etc.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Ral Rune + 1 Sol Rune + 1 Perfect Emerald + Normal Unique Weapon --> Exceptional Version of Weapon
* v1.10 and later only.
* This recipe upgrades the item type of the weapon without changing the stats, and is useful to increase the weapon's damage.
* Ethereal items, as well as socketed items can be upgraded without changing their nature.
* Level requirements, as well as strength and dexterity requirements, will increase corresponding to the exceptional version of the item.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Tal Rune + 1 Shael Rune + 1 Perfect Diamond + Normal Unique Armor --> Exceptional Version of Armor
* v1.10 and later only.
* This recipe upgrades the item type of the armor without changing the stats, and is useful to increase the armor's defence.
* Ethereal items, as well as socketed items can be upgraded without changing their nature.
* Level requirements, as well as strength requirements, will increase corresponding to the exceptional version of the item.
* Works on all types of armor, not just body armor. Helms, boots, belts, etc.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Lum Rune + 1 Pul Rune + 1 Perfect Emerald + Exceptional Unique Weapon --> Elite Version of Weapon
* v1.10 and later only.
* '''Ladder characters''' and single player characters only.
* This recipe upgrades the item type of the weapon without changing the stats, and is useful to increase the weapon's damage.
* Ethereal items, as well as socketed items can be upgraded without changing their nature.
* Level requirements, as well as strength and dexterity requirements, will increase corresponding to the elite version of the item.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Ko Rune + 1 Lem Rune + 1 Perfect Diamond + Exceptional Unique Armor --> Elite Version of Armor
* v1.10 and later only.
* '''Ladder characters''' and single player characters only.
* This recipe upgrades the item type of the armor without changing the stats, and is useful to increase the armor's defense.
* Ethereal items, as well as socketed items can be upgraded without changing their nature.
* Level requirements, as well as strength requirements, will increase corresponding to the elite version of the item.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Ort Rune + 1 Amn Rune + 1 Perfect Sapphire + Normal (Basic) Rare Weapon --> Exceptional Rare Weapon
* v1.10 and later only.
* This recipe upgrades the item type of the weapon without changing the stats, and is useful to increase the weapon's damage.
* Ethereal items, as well as socketed items can be upgraded without changing their nature.
* Level requirements, as well as strength and dexterity requirements, may increase corresponding to the exceptional version of the item.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Ral Rune + 1 Thul Rune + 1 Perfect Amethyst + Normal (Basic) Rare Armor --> Exceptional Rare Armor
* v1.10 and later only.
* This recipe upgrades the item type of the armor without changing the stats, and is useful to increase the armor's defense.
* Ethereal items, as well as socketed items can be upgraded without changing their nature.
* Level requirements, as well as strength requirements, may increase corresponding to the exceptional version of the item.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Fal Rune + 1 Um Rune + 1 Perfect Sapphire + Exceptional Rare Weapon --> Elite Rare Weapon
* v1.10 and later only.
* This recipe upgrades the item type of the armor without changing the stats, and is useful to increase the weapon's damage.
* Ethereal items, as well as socketed items can be upgraded without changing their nature.
* Level requirements, as well as strength and dexterity requirements, may increase corresponding to the elite version of the item.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Ko Rune + 1 Pul Rune + 1 Perfect Amethyst + Exceptional Rare Armor --> Elite Rare Armor
* v1.10 and later only.
* This recipe upgrades the item type of the armor without changing the stats, and is useful to increase the armor's defense.
* Ethereal items, as well as socketed items can be upgraded without changing their nature.
* Level requirements, as well as strength requirements, may increase corresponding to the exceptional version of the item.

==Repairs and Recharges==
[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Ort Rune + Weapon --> Fully Repaired Weapon
* v1.10 and later only.
* This recipe will fully repair an item without visiting the NPC blacksmith. This is useful to avoid a trip to town, or to repair some weapons that have astronomical repair costs, due to irregularities in how the game determines the price for repairs.
* Does not work on ethereal items.
* Charges on an item are not replenished.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]]1 Ral Rune + Armor --> Fully Repaired Armor
* v1.10 and later only.
* This recipe will fully repair an item without visiting the NPC blacksmith. This is useful to avoid a trip to town, or to repair some armors that have astronomical repair costs, due to irregularities in how the game determines the price for repairs.
* Does not work on ethereal items.
* Charges on an item are not replenished.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Ort Rune + 1 Chipped Gem (any kind) + Weapon --> Fully Repaired and Recharged Weapon
* v1.10 and later only.
* This recipe will fully repair and recharge an item without visiting the NPC blacksmith. This is useful to avoid a trip to town, or to repair some armors that have astronomical repair costs, due to irregularities in how the game determines the price for repairs or recharges.
* Will not repair (but will recharge) ethereal items.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Ral Rune + 1 Flawed Gem (any kind) + Armor --> Fully Repaired and Recharged Armor
* v1.10 and later only.
* This recipe will fully repair and recharge an item without visiting the NPC blacksmith. This is useful to avoid a trip to town, or to repair some armor that have astronomical repair costs, due to irregularities in how the game determines the price for repairs or recharges.
* Will not repair (but will recharge) ethereal items.
* Works on every type of armor: boots, gloves, belts, etc.

===Foraging Recipes===
Useful tricks to quickly turn junk into something you need right then and there, usually to save a trip back to town. Any quality or type of item may be used in the following recipes.
* 2 Quivers of Bolts --> 1 Quiver of Arrows (random quantity)
* 2 Quivers of Arrows --> 1 Quiver of Bolts (random quantity)
* 1 Spear + 1 Quiver of Arrows --> 1 Stack of Javelins (non-magical, random quantity)
* 1 Axe + 1 Dagger --> A stack of throwing axes (non-magical, random quantity)
* 1 Strangling Gas Potion + 1 Healing Potion --> 1 Antidote Potion

==Recycling Recipes==
These useful recipes allow methodical players to turn their junk into treasure, with enough attempts and some good luck on the item generation roll.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 3 Magic Amulets --> 1 Magic Ring
* ilvl = int(.75 * clvl).
** The ring is created at 3/4 of the level of the character who rolls it. A level 80 character could make a lvl 60 ring, for instance. Refer to the list of [[prefixes]] and [[suffixes]] to see what mods are possible at every given level.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 3 Magic Rings --> 1 Random Magic Amulet
* ilvl = int(.75 * clvl).
** The amulet is created at 3/4 of the level of the character who rolls it. A level 80 character could make a lvl 60 amulet, for instance. Refer to the list of [[prefixes]] and [[suffixes]] to see what mods are possible at every given level.
** +2 to a character's skills is a lvl 90 modifier, so can not be achieved with this recipe (level 99 char = ilvl 74 amulet)
*** +3 to a given skill mods are lvl 60, and can be achieved with this recipe, providing the rings and the character are fairly high level.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 6 Perfect Skulls + 1 Rare Item --> 1 Random Low Quality Rare Item of the same type
* ilvl = int(.4 * clvl) + int(.4 * ilvl)
** This recipe rerolls the rare item, resetting all the modifiers. The item level is lowered, but can still be fairly high, if the item and the character rolling it are high level. (Level 80 character and level 80 item would turn into 32 + 32 = ilvl 64.)
**Note that the cube is only 12 spaces in size, and with 6 perfect skulls there's no room for 2x4 items such as large bows/xbows, polearms, spears, etc.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Perfect Skull + 1 Rare Item + Stone of Jordan --> 1 High Quality New Rare Item of the same type
* ilvl = int(.66 * clvl) + int(.66 * ilvl)
** This recipe rerolls the rare item, resetting all the modifiers. The item level can remain quite high, or even increase, allowing higher level modifiers to occur.
** Example: a level 80 character with a lvl 80 item = 52.8 + 52.8 = 105.6. This would allow any modifier in the game to spawn on the item.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 3 Perfect Gems (of any type, including Skulls) + 1 Magic Item --> 1 New Random Magic Item of the Same Type
* The magic item is rerolled, with all stats reset. The ilvl is the same, so it's as if the same monster dropped it again.
* All magical items can be used, including charms, jewels, and jewelry.

==Magical Item Creation==
The most useful item creation is to make [[Crafting Recipes|Crafted Items]], which are listed on a separate page. The following recipes are oddly-inventive, but are only of use to low level characters, since the items aren't very powerful.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 4 Health Potions (of any type) + Ruby (any type) + Magical Sword --> A Magic Sword of the Leech
* ilvl = 30. (Quite low.)
** The sword must be magical, and this recipe will reset the stats, always granting "of the Leech" suffix (4-5% Life Stolen Per Hit).
** There is a chance of getting a random prefix as well.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 6 Perfect Gems (1 of each type) + 1 Amulet (Magic) --> Magic Prismatic Amulet
* ilvl = 50.
** The amulet will always have the Prismatic prefix (All Resistances +16-20).
** There is a chance at getting a suffix as well.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Magic Ring + 1 Perfect Emerald + 1 Antidote Potion --> 1 Jade Ring
* ilvl = 30.
** Creates a ring with the Jade prefix (21-30% poison resistance).
** A random suffix may occur as well.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Magic Ring + 1 Perfect Ruby + 1 Exploding Potion --> 1 Garnet Ring
* ilvl = 30.
** Creates a ring with the Garnet prefix (21-30% fire resistance).
** A random suffix may occur as well.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Magic Ring + 1 Perfect Topaz + 1 Rejuvenation Potion --> 1 Coral Ring
* ilvl = 30.
** Creates a ring with the Coral prefix (21-30% lightning resistance).
** A random suffix may occur as well.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Magic Ring + 1 Perfect Sapphire + 1 Thawing Potion --> 1 Cobalt Ring
* ilvl = 30.
** Creates a ring with the Cobalt prefix (21-30% cold resistance).
** A random suffix may occur as well.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Magic Shield (any type) + 1 Spiked Club (any quality) + 2 Skulls (any quality) --> Magic Shield of Spikes
* ilvl=30.
** Rerolls the mods on a given type of shield, yielding a magic shield with the "of Spikes" suffix (Attacker Takes Damage of 4-6).
** A random prefix may occur as well.
** Can be used on any type of shield, including Paladin and Necromancer class items, which may spawn with their usual bonus properties.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 1 Diamond + 1 Staff + 1 Kris + 1 Belt --> Savage Polearm Class Weapon
* ivl = 50.
** Creates a polearm class weapon with the Savage prefix (66-80% Enhanced Damage).
** May spawn with a random suffix as well.
** The polearm type will randomly choose from a Bardiche, Battle Scythe, Bill, Halberd, Lochaber Axe, Partizan, Poleaxe, Scythe, Voulge, or War Scythe.

==Low Quality Item Rerolls==
These can be used multiple times on the same weapon, which allows one to re-do the roll if the new weapon is not of the desired quality or has only one socket.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 3 Chipped Gems + 1 Magic Weapon --> Socketed Magic Weapon
* ilvl = 25.
** This recipe rerolls the stats on a magical weapon, setting it with new, random modifiers and 1-2 sockets.
** Magical weapons that can not have sockets, such as throwing weapons, will spawn with new modifiers but no sockets.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 3 Standard Gems + 1 Socketed Weapon --> 1 Socketed Magic Weapon
* ilvl = 30
** This recipe rerolls the stats on the weapon, creating a new magical version of the same weapon, with random [[modifiers]] and 1-2 sockets.
** Any type of gems may be used, but they must be normal (between flawed and flawless) in quality.
** Magical weapons that can not have sockets, such as throwing weapons, will spawn with new modifiers but no sockets.

[[Image:Cube-convert.gif]] 3 Flawless Gems + 1 Magic Weapon --> Socketed Magic Weapon
* ilvl = 30
** This recipe rerolls the stats on the weapon, creating a new magical version of the same weapon, with random [[modifiers]] and 1-2 sockets.
** Magical weapons that can not have sockets, such as throwing weapons, will spawn with new modifiers but no sockets.

[[Category:Horadric Cube]]