Item quality

There are five main levels of item quality in terms of magical abilities: Normal, Magical, Rare, Set and Unique.

The Quality Levels

Unique & Set Items

Uniques and Set items have preset mods, though the values of these mods may vary somewhat. A given item might spawn with somewhere between +100-150% damage, for instance. Uniques are golden named items, and there is just one unique per item type, in most cases. Uniques are usually very good items, but are seldom the best possible item of that type. They often usually special items though, with mods not possible to find on magical or rare items.

Set Items

Set items have green names and are like weaker Uniques (usually). Each set item is of various use on its own, but their real value comes when you wear the whole set at once, since additional bonuses then accrue. Even wearing just two or more items in a set will often deliver a hidden set bonus.

Rare & Magical Items

Rares are essentially magical items with more possible modifiers. While magical items can have at most one prefix and one suffix, rares can have up to three each, though they do not spawn multiple modifiers from the same family. You won't get two or three prefixes that add cold resistance on the same item, for instance. You can sometimes find rares with stacking mods when a prefix and suffix that add the same property occur on the same rare. Cruel and Kings both add % damage, for instance.

Normal (Superior) Items

Superior items are of higher quality than their normal counterparts, but are usually less powerful than magical items. Superior items are able to gain the following bonuses:

Superior Armor and Shields

   Either or both of the following modifiers can exist on an item:

               +5-15% Enhanced Defense
               Increase Maximum Durability 10-15%

Superior Weapons

   Either one or two of the following modifiers can exist on an item. However, %Enhanced Damage and +Maximum Damage can not exist together on the same item.

               +5-15% Enhanced Damage
               Increase Maximum Durability 10-15%
               +1-3 Attack Rating
               +1 Maximum Damage

Superior socketed items that have rolled the 15% Enhanced Defense or Damage modifier are sought after by players because these bonuses are retained on the item when it is used to create a runeword and added to the runeword's bonuses. The other possible bonuses of Superior items are generally considered to be moot.

certain items can have these superior bonuses. they can stack with runewords.

Amazon Weapons: +1-3 Javelin and Spear skills or +1-3 Bow and Crossbow skills

Assassin Katars: +1-3 to each of up to three different Assassin skills

Barbarian Helms: +1-3 to each of up to three different Barbarian skills

Druid Pelts: +1-3 to each of up to three different Druid skills

Necro Heads: +1-3 to each of up to three different Necromancer skills Adds 2-7 Poison Damage Over 3 seconds [1] Adds 5-14 Poison Damage Over 3 seconds [15] Adds 13-18 Poison Damage Over 4 seconds [25] Adds 20-50 Poison Damage Over 4 seconds [33]

Paladin Shields: All Resistances +5-10 [1] All Resistances +8-15 [18] All Resistances +16-30 [28] All Resistances +25-35 [39] All Resistances +35-45 [50] +15-30 Attack Rating, +10-20% Enhanced Damage [10] +31-60 Attack Rating, +21-30% Enhanced Damage [18] +61-80 Attack Rating, +31-40% Enhanced Damage [30] +81-100 Attack Rating, +41-50% Enhanced Damage [42] +101-121 Attack Rating, +51-65% Enhanced Damage [50]

Sorceress Orbs: +1-3 to each of up to three different Sorceress skills +1-5 Life [1] +6-10 Life [11] +11-20 Life [27] +21-30 Life [43] +31-40 Life [59] +41-60 Life [75] (Magic orbs only) +1-5 Mana [3] +5-10 Mana [12] +11-20 Mana [23] +21-30 Mana [34] +31-40 Mana [45] +41-60 Mana [56] +61-80 Mana [67] (Magic orbs only)

Scepters: +1-3 to each of up to three different Paladin skills

Staffs: +1-3 to each of up to three different Sorceress skills

Wands: +1-3 to each of up to three different Necromancer skills