Low Level Runewords D2

Posted : admin | On 05-03-2021

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Rune Words Index | Original Rune Words | 1.10 Rune Words | 1.11 Rune Words

One of the best low/mid level runes imo is Stealth for your merc armor (ShaelUmPulLum) and Spirit(TalThulOrtAmn) for your own shield/weapon (if you are a caster). Duress(ShaelUmThul) is another good choice for merc armor that's fairly easy to get. Make sure you put it into an ethereal armor as merc armor does not degrade. – l I Nov 29 '11 at. Diablo 2 Runewords are the combination of different runes to create an effect that forms the words. They work in the following way. In Diablo 2, items used for Runewords must be gray text items, normal, exceptional, or Elite. Low Quality, Superior, and Ethereal can be used. Magical, Rare, Set, Crafted, or Unique items cannot be used.

Original Rune Words	Allowed Items	Rune Order	Completed Stats
Ancient's Pledge	3 Socket Shields	Ral + Ort + Tal	+50% Enhanced Defense Cold Resist +43% Fire Resist +48% Lightning Resist +48% Poison Resist +48% 10% Damage Goes To Mana
Black	3 Socket Clubs/Hammers/Maces	Thul + Io + Nef	+120% Enhanced Damage 40% Chance Of Crushing Blow +200 To Attack Rating Adds 3-14 Cold Damage - Cold Duration 3 Seconds +10 To Vitality 15% Increased Attack Speed Knockback Magic Damage Reduced By 2 Level 4 Corpse Explosion (12 Charges)
Fury	3 Socket Melee Weapons	Jah + Gul + Eth	+209% Enhanced Damage 40% Increased Attack Speed Prevent Monster Heal 66% Chance Of Open Wounds 33% Deadly Strike Ignore Target's Defense -25% Target Defense 20% Bonus To Attack Rating 6% Life Stolen Per Hit +5 To Frenzy (Barbarian Only)
Holy Thunder	4 Socket Scepters	Eth + Ral + Ort + Tal	+60% Enhanced Damage -25% Target Defense Adds 5-30 Fire Damage Adds 21-110 Lightning Damage +75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds +10 To Maximum Damage Lightning Resistance +60% +5 To Maximum Lightning Resistance +3 To Holy Shock (Paladin Only) Level 7 Chain Lightning (60 Charges)
Honor	5 Socket Melee Weapons	Amn + El + Ith + Tir + Sol	+160% Enhanced Damage +9 To Minimum Damage +9 To Maximum Damage 25% Deadly Strike +250 To Attack Rating +1 to All Skills 7% Life Stolen Per Hit Replenish Life +10 +10 To Strength +1 To Light Radius +2 To Mana After Each Kill
King's Grace	3 Socket Swords/Scepters	Amn + Ral + Thul	+100% Enhanced Damage +100% Damage To Demons +50% Damage To Undead Adds 5-30 Fire Damage Adds 3-14 Cold Damage - 3 Second Duration +150 To Attack Rating +100 To Attack Rating Against Demons +100 To Attack Rating Against Undead 7% Life Stolen Per Hit
Leaf	2 Socket Staves* (Not Orbs)	Tir + Ral	Adds 5-30 Fire Damage +3 To Fire Skills +3 To Fire Bolt (Sorceress Only) +3 To Inferno (Sorceress Only) +3 To Warmth (Sorceress Only) +2 To Mana After Each Kill + (2 Per Character Level) +2-198 To Defense (Based On Character Level) Cold Resist +33%
Lionheart	3 Socket Body Armor	Hel + Lum + Fal	+20% Enhanced Damage Requirements -15% +25 To Strength +10 To Energy +20 To Vitality +15 To Dexterity +50 To Life All Resistances +30
Lore	2 Socket Helms	Ort + Sol	+1 To All Skill Levels +10 To Energy +2 To Mana After Each Kill Lightning Resist +30% Damage Reduced By 7 +2 To Light Radius
Malice	3 Socket Melee Weapons	Ith + El + Eth	+33% Enhanced Damage +9 To Maximum Damage 100% Chance Of Open Wounds -25% Target Defense -100 To Monster Defense Per Hit Prevent Monster Heal +50 To Attack Rating Drain Life -5
Melody	3 Socket Missile Weapons	Shael + Ko + Nef	+50% Enhanced Damage +300% Damage To Undead +3 To Bow and Crossbow Skills (Amazon Only) +3 To Critical Strike (Amazon Only) +3 To Dodge (Amazon Only) +3 To Slow Missiles (Amazon Only) 20% Increased Attack Speed +10 To Dexterity Knockback
Memory	4 Socket Staves (Not Orbs)	Lum + Io + Sol + Eth	+3 to Sorceress Skill Levels 33% Faster Cast Rate Increase Maximum Mana 20% +3 Energy Shield (Sorceress Only) +2 Static Field (Sorceress Only) +10 To Energy +10 To Vitality +9 To Minimum Damage -25% Target Defense Magic Damage Reduced By 7 +50% Enhanced Defense
Nadir	2 Socket Helms	Nef + Tir	+50% Enhanced Defense +10 Defense +30 Defense vs. Missile Level 13 Cloak of Shadows (9 Charges) +2 To Mana After Each Kill +5 To Strength -33% Extra Gold From Monsters -3 To Light Radius
Radiance	3 Socket Helms	Nef + Sol + Ith	+75% Enhanced Defense +30 Defense Vs. Missile +10 To Energy +10 To Vitality 15% Damage Goes To Mana Magic Damage Reduced By 3 +33 To Mana Damage Reduced By 7 +5 To Light Radius
Rhyme	2 Socket Shields	Shael + Eth	20% Increased Chance of Blocking 40% Faster Block Rate All Resistances +25 Regenerate Mana 15% Cannot Be Frozen 50% Extra Gold From Monsters 25% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items
Silence	6 Socket Weapons	Dol + Eld + Hel + Ist + Tir + Vex	200% Enhanced Damage +75% Damage To Undead Requirements -20% 20% Increased Attack Speed +50 To Attack Rating Against Undead +2 To All Skills All Resistances +75 20% Faster Hit Recovery 11% Mana Stolen Per Hit Hit Causes Monster To Flee 25% Hit Blinds Target +33 +2 To Mana After Each Kill 30% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items
Smoke	2 Socket Body Armor	Nef + Lum	+75% Enhanced Defense +280 Defense Vs. Missile All Resistances +50 20% Faster Hit Recovery Level 6 Weaken (18 Charges) +10 To Energy -1 To Light Radius
Stealth	2 Socket Body Armor	Tal + Eth	Magic Damage Reduced By 3 +6 To Dexterity +15 To Maximum Stamina Poison Resist +30% Regenerate Mana 15% 25% Faster Run/Walk 25% Faster Cast Rate 25% Faster Hit Recovery
Steel	2 Socket Swords/Axes/Maces	Tir + El	20% Enhanced Damage +3 To Minimum Damage +3 To Maximum Damage +50 To Attack Rating 50% Chance Of Open Wounds 25% Increased Attack Speed +2 To Mana After Each Kill +1 To Light Radius
Strength	2 Socket Melee Weapons	Amn + Tir	35% Enhanced Damage 25% Chance Of Crushing Blow 7% Life Stolen Per Hit +2 To Mana After Each Kill +20 To Strength +10 To Vitality
Venom	3 Socket Weapons	Tal + Dol + Mal	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) +273 Poison Damage Over 6 seconds
Wealth	3 Socket Body Armor	Lem + Ko + Tir	300% Extra Gold From Monsters 100% Better Chance Of Getting Magic Items +2 To Mana After Each Kill +10 To Dexterity
White	2 Socket Wand	Dol + Io	Hit Causes Monster To Flee 25% +10 To Vitality +3 To Poison And Bone Skills (Necromancer Only) +3 To Bone Armor (Necromancer Only) +2 To Bone Spear (Necromancer Only) +4 To Skeleton Mastery (Necromancer Only) Magic Damage Reduced By 4 20% Faster Cast Rate +13 To Mana
Zephyr	2 Socket Missile Weapons	Ort + Eth	+33% Enhanced Damage +66 To Attack Rating Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage -25% Target Defense +25 Defense 25% Faster Run/Walk 25% Increased Attack Speed 7% Chance To Cast Level 1 Twister When Struck

Notes:
*Leaf: Will only work on Staves and not Staff class weapons like wands.

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Returning to our beloved Diablo 2, has brought with it many new teachings & insights. And it is only right to share, that which I have now learnt. This Diablo 2 Guide is the go to resource for all d2 singleplayer related resources, covering an extensive list of tips, strategies, resources, software, mods, builds and items.

Another Timeless and Ever Expanding Guide – By Faraz Jafari

Tips & Commands

Simple Commands That Will Make Your Life Easier

Ctrl + Left click on an item to sell it. No more drag and drop.

Shift + Right click on scrolls and potions while at the shop to fill up your entire tomb or belt of that particular item.

Shift + Left click on potions in your inventory to auto-place them into your belt.

Shift + numbers 1-4 to give your Mercenary a potion from your belt

/nopickup and you will not pickup items, unless you are holding alt. Ideal for melee characters/builds

/players (1-8) to increase the difficulty of the game in singleplayer while increasing, exp & drop rate (more on this later).

Dont Be Greedy

Counter intuitive, but check this out. You never need to pickup coins, especially during the earlier levels. This saves you a huge deal of time in the long run and you end up leveling and progressing through the acts/levels much quicker. By simply learning what items are valuable you can very quickly increase the size of your stash, without running around like a peasant. Early level items to pickup are: throwing knives, strangling gas/fulmination potion, some blues, golds and uniques. Magic items such as charms, rings and amulets sell well regardless of stats.

Once you’ve overcome the early level poverty, pay attention to the item values and you will no longer have a money flow issue. Well, unless you can’t control yourself when it comes to gambling. Decent drops sell for 10k+ to vendors and only pickup large stacks (around 1k+ mark) from Elite Mobs/Bosses.

Open Chests & Break Jars

Regardless of what stage or difficulty you’re playing at, take the time to open chests, look under rocks and break jars. 40-50% of your magical item drops will be found in these hidden objects. Even more important are those that are near elite mobs and bosses.

Learn Your Runewords & Recipes

Initially an overwhelming task. Getting Acquainted with the Runeswords and Recipes will be part of the process of being geared well for high difficulties (Nightmare & Hell) and surpassing in stats & skills to overcome your enemies. Early on knowing some of the basic Runewords will help out greatly.

Common Early Level Runeswords

Runewords	Item Level	Runes
Steel	Level 13	Tir + El
Nadir	Level 13	Nef + Tir
Malice	Level 15	Ith + El + Eth
Stealth	Level 17	Tal + Eth
Leaf	Level 19	Tir + Ral
Zephyr	Level 21	Ort + Eth
Ancient’s Pledge	Level 21	Ral + Ort + Tal
Holy Thunder	Level 23	Eth + Ral + Ort + Tal
Strenght	Level 25	Amn + Tir
Edge	Level 25	Tir + Tal + Amn
King’s Grace	Level 25	Amn + Ral + Thul
Spirit	Level 25	Tal + Thul + Ort + Amn
Radiance	Level 27	Nef + Sol + Ith
Insight	Level 27	Ral + Tir + Tal + Sol
Lore	Level 27	Ort + Sol

How to Get Ladder Only Runewords in Singleplayer

Make Use of Quest Bonuses

Quest rewards can become very useful if used correctly and can make things much simpler at times. For example, I managed to get this from a Act2 Perfect Falcon Mask using the Act I: Quest 5: Tools of the Trade reward that I had saved up.

Useful Quests:

I: Quest 1: Den of Evil – Free Respecialisation
I: Quest 5: Tools of the Trade – Imbue Normal Item
V: Quest 1: Siege on Harrogath – Add Sockets To a Non-Socketed Item
V: Quest 3: Prison of Ice – Scroll of Resistance for permanent +10% elemental resists

Understand Breakpoints

Explaining the technical side of breakpoints is difficult and unnecessary. All you need to know is that they are different for different classes/damage types. Meaning each class has its own set of unique breakpoints that need to be understood by the player aiming to maximise their gear and potential. They apply to the following values: Faster Block Rate, Faster Cast Rate, Faster Hit Recovery and Increased Attack Speed.

Example: the points needed for a Lightening Sorceress to go from Level 12 (@117 points) Fast Cast Rate to the next @194 points, leaves a gab of 77 points. Which means if your gear is taking you to a hypothetical 187 points, you are failing to hit the next level and therefore wasting your stats. Read more about Breakpoints here.

Damage Resistance

The other key thing to keep in mind, is the priority given to the damage resistances. The general rule of thumbs is Lightening > Fire > Cold > Poison, Lightning being the highest due to it hitting the highest. Each act has its main damage type and your build or class will have its own weaknesses to consider. Example: playing a melee would mean that you’d need to prioritise cold damage resistance more due to the attack speed reduction of freeze effects.

Bonus Tips from Diablo 2 Elder

Tools of the Trade rewards should be saved for later in the game. The item is tagged to your char level so if you use it at 80 you will get amazing level 80 items instead of a low-level items you will move on from quickly.
Skip optional areas (typically the dungeons and caves like the Swampy Pit in Act 3). Unless you need the level, it’s best just to skip it as you will level up normally in the story.
In Hell difficulty, some of these “useless areas” turn into the best places to farm, such as The Pit in the Tamoe Highlands. These areas are ‘level 85’ areas, which gives access to the best drops when magic finding.
The Countess drops more runes on players 1, so farm her @ P1.
Chests have better drops when you’re on a higher player difficulty. The Hell difficulty Lower Kurast superchests are arguably the best place in the game to find high runes, especially if your character can consistently run P8.

Leveling

Quicker Leveling In Singleplayer

Leveling in singleplayer was a pain during the noob days and one reason I always went for the Battle.net games. However, after learning about the /players 8 command which simultaneously increases monster difficulty, exp gain and drop rate. Leveling has become a breeze.

It is quite common to hit level 20 by the time you finish Act I. Not to mention you’ll be better geared because of the increase in drop rates and have a stronger build. Only the best builds can move through the /players 8 (hard mode) effortlessly so plan ahead and keep your wits about you. Otherwise try raising difficulty to /players 3, 5 or 7 to still get drop rate bonus.

Mercenaries

The go to Mercenaries seem to be the Act II ones due to their useful Auras (Pray, Defiance & Might). However, each Mercenary can still be utilised to cover for the weaknesses of your build and should be chosen based on this factor as you advance and improve on your strategic thinking.
Resources to checkout are:
General Mercenary Stats
Extensive Mercenary Guide

Character Guide

Don’t go a certain class, because of a build. Choose your class based on their playstyle and find the best build for what you want to achieve. All classes are powerful when speced/geared correctly and will have at least one variation that will enable them to play on /players 8, Nightmare & Hell difficulty.

The most viable classes for self-funded Singleplayer characters seem to be; the Paladin, Sorcerer, Assassin, Amazon and Necromancer. But this does not mean that the others cannot and will not be capable. We have yet to hit the limits of the capabilities of classes/builds and a little curiosity and experimentation might leads us to a new generation of playstyles.

Diablo 2 Builds

This is something that I am slowly working out for myself. Attaining variations of different class builds is quite easy to achieve. However, assuming you want to play Singleplayer and want to self-fund your character and also play through all three difficulties. These are the builds that I hear can achieve this result:

Summon Necromancer

Duel Element Sorceress

Zealot Paladin

Low Level Sorc Runewords D2

Trapsin Assassin

Javazon Amazon

Currently experimenting and working on my own Diablo 2 builds. These solutions were based on the help of the Diablo 2 Reddit and Facebook community. So do join if you are interesting in being in touch with others with a similar interest.

Crafting & Runewords

Crafting

It is important to know thy cooking recipes. Something I am just getting to understand myself. Checkout these resources:

Mods & Software

Diablo 2 is now almost two decade old and these mods can help.

Hero Editor – Which still works with the latest versions of the game.
MultiRes – Increase the resolutions offered by the game.
PlugY – A game variation that provides you with a shared and expandable stash.
GoMule – Allows items to be stored and transferred between singleplayer.
Runeword App – Gives you real time information on all that you need to know.

Consider checking out these online Diablo 2 mod communities.

Project Diablo 2 – A mod for and by passionate Diablo 2 fans. Aimed at maintaining the Lord of Destruction experience and provide consistent ladder resets while improving on the game as if development never ceased
Path of Diablo – A private server aimed at increasing build diversity and replayability with as few changes to the original experience as possible. Ladders happen every four to five months and always includes a content & balance patch which helps keep the game fresh and exciting.

News & Updates

Diablo has recently been receiving new updates (current build 1.14d) and will continue to do so with the help of the Blizzards Classic Team.
Furthermore, Diablo 2 could be next to be remastered.

Conclusion

Look, playing the game so many years after its best years is a love affair and having others to share and experience that with just makes it way more enjoyable.
Make sure join the Diablo 2 Facebook and Reddit community.

And come hangout with your Diablo 2 Streamers on Twitch. There is more of us playing Diablo 2 than we had initially released.

More Relevant Posts:
Warcraft 3 – Why I’ve Returned To The Game
The Witcher 3 – Best Skills Guide
The Best PC Games of All Time

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