Peace Runeword - Why You Want to Slow Missiles and Summon Valkyries to Aid You in Combat (Part 1)

Peace is one of the seven armor Runewords that came out with the 1.11 patch. Each of the seven armor Runewords were designed with one of the seven Diablo 2 Classes in mind. Peace is the armor Runeword designed with the Amazon in mind. It is one of the cheaper armor Runewords among the seven, as all three of the runes required to form it are from common Runes. Also, it is perhaps on the armor that has the most cross appeal to the other classes, more specifically the melee classes, due to the +2 to Critical Strike mod.

Requirements:

3 Socket Body Armor

Runes (in order): Shael + Thul + Amn

The Stats:

Level Requirement: 29

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

4% Chance To Cast Level 5 Slow Missiles When Struck

Slow Missiles is a Skill from the Amazon's Passive and Magic Skill Tree. It is a very useful Skill to have because it slows down any missile attack, whether it be magical or non-magical, by 33% of its original speed, thus making it easier for the Amazon or any of her party members to avoid.

A Level 5 Slow Missiles lasts for 36 seconds, so the best way to use this was to go into a group of ranged attackers, hit them until Slow Missile triggers, catching all of them in its 13.3 yards radius. Alternatively, if playing a ranged attacker, you can also attack from a distance, earning yourself even greater protection against your attacker's deadly volleys.

2% Chance To Cast level 15 Valkyrie On Striking

Valkyrie is a powerful Skill form the Amazon's Passive and Magic Skill Tree. It creates a powerful spear-wielding Amazon, or a Valkyrie, to fight at your side, much like a Mercenary, but stronger.

A Level 15 Valkryrie is very strong, and able to draw out enemy range fire, while dealing out significant damage at close-quarters.

This is a great mod for melee characters as getting a Valkryie is like getting a second stronger Merc. It also works well for an Amazon, unless she has invested more than 15 points in the Valkyrie Skill and its synergistic Skills. If that is the scenario, she might not like it if her own, stronger Valkryrie is dismissed due to this mod triggering. However, with just a 2% chance to trigger On Striking, some Amazons might put up with it, due to the other mods on Peace.

Before Your Account Goes Up in a Pile of Smoke, Make This Diablo 2 Runeword

Smoke is a Runeword for armor that requires just two runes, Nef and Lum. Smoke is an affordable Runeword for beginners, and many players who start a new Ladder character tend to make use of it early on in the game.

Let's have a look at why:

Requirement:

Body Armor with 2 sockets

Runes (in order): Nef + Lum

Required Level: 37

The Stats:

+75% Enhanced Defense

+280 Defense vs. Missiles

All Resistances +50

20% Faster Hit Recovery

Level 6 Weaken (18 Charges)

+10 To Energy

-1 To Light Radius

Runes: Nef + Lum

Nef is a very common rune, and Lum is a semi-rare rune; it's difficult to find, but not so rare that it will leave you gnashing your teeth in frustration for months. This fact makes Smoke a cheap Runeword to make, compared to other Runewords that might require much rarer Runes.

+75% Enhanced Defense

+280 Defense vs. Missiles

These two Defense bonuses are nice, but not the things that gets players all revved up for the Smoke Runeword.

All Resistances +50

This is the most attractive mod from the Smoke Runeword, and the reason why many Diablo 2 players are searching for the Lum Rune.

When you finish the game in Normal difficulty, you can play the game on Nightmare difficulty, and if you finish the game on Nightmare difficulty, it's time to tackle Hell difficulty, the difficulty level that will test just how good of a Diablo 2 player you are.

The penalties to your character's Resistances are -40 for Nightmare Difficulty and -100 for Hell Difficulty. Therefore, when your character begins on his or her journey on Nightmare and eventually onto Hell, you want to make sure that their Resistances are as high as they can be. Without good Resistances, your character would be a sitting duck for even the non-unique monsters.

A +50 to All Resistance is massive in Diablo 2. And the main reason why players get Smoke.

20% Faster Hit Recovery

Good for melee fighters who require more % FHR to break their target breakpoint.

Summary:

While you might need a bit of time to get that LUM Rune, Smoke is a very affordable Runeword to form given the huge boosts to All Resistances. While other Runewords might offer decent Resists and a ton of other cool mods, they also require rarer Runes. For a NEF and a LUM, Smoke gives you a great bang for your buck!

Use The Stealth Runeword in Diablo 2 to Get an Edge Over Everything Around You

Stealth is a Runeword used in body armor and favored by players with low-level characters due to both its low level requirement and the fact that its stats offer something for every class and build out there.

Requirements:

Body Armor with 2 sockets

Runes (in order): Tal + Eth

Required Level: 17

The Stats:

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

Runes (in order): Tal + Eth

TAL and ETH are common runes. ETH is very common and you receive TAL (plus RAL and ORT) as a quest reward in Act V.

Required Level: 17

Your character can start wearing armor equipped with the Stealth Runeword at the low level of 17. Body armor equipped with the Steal Runeword is very often better compared to the other armors that are available for players around that level.

Poison Resist +30%

A boost to Poison Resist stands this Runeword in good stead due to the fact that the Final SuperUnique of Act 1 is Andariel, whose successful attack not only deals good physical damage, but poisons for quite a high amount of damage as well.

A +30% boost to Poison Resist makes it easier to kill Andariel on Normal Difficulty, before moving on to Act 2.

Regenerate Mana 15%

This is a good mod for all casters, or physical fighters who might not have enough mana to use their skills.

25% Faster Run/Walk

Faster Run/Walk is a mod that makes your character run or walk faster. It is an important mod for PvM (a player mainly concentrating on the game, ie. Players vs. Monsters), as it allows you escape from monsters who prove too powerful for you. It is an even more important mod for PvP (Players dueling with other Players), where being faster allows you to close the distance between yourself and the enemy that is hurling death at you from a far distance (the usual scenario is of melee characters chasing down casters)

25% Faster Cast Rate

This mod is very useful to casters, because it reduces the amount of frames that happens when a caster casts their magical spells and attacks. The less frames required to cast a spell, the less time it takes to cast that spell!

25% Faster Hit Recovery

Good for melee fighters who require more % FHR to break their target breakpoint.

Summary:

Stealth is an attractive Runeword because it is easy to make, it can be used early in the game, and offers something for everybody. What's not to like?

To Make More Chaos in Hell, Use This Chas Runeword in Diablo II

Assassins are the only class that is able to use the Chaos Runeword, for the sole reason that is a Runeword that only works with Claws, which are the weapons that only Assassins can use. Assassins who decide to use the Chaos Runeword are usually called WWsins, with the WW being an abbreviation of Whirlwind, the Barbarian Skill that is granted by this Runeword, and which is used extensively by the Assassins in question. This is a very good build for highly experienced Diablo 2 players who engage in PvP (Player vs Player) play and who have mastered how to utilize the Whirlwind skill to the best of its abilities.

Requirements:

A Claw (Assassin Only) with 3 sockets

Runes (in order): Fal + Ohm + Um

Result:

Level Required: 57

9% Chance To Cast Level 11 Frozen Orb On Striking

11% Chance To Cast Level 9 Charged Bolt On Striking

+35% Increased Attack Speed

+290-340% Enhanced Damage

Adds 216-471 Magic Damage

25% Chance of Open Wounds

+1 To Whirlwind

+10 To Strength

+15 Life After Each Demon Kill

9% Chance To Cast Level 11 Frozen Orb On Striking

11% Chance To Cast Level 9 Charged Bolt On Striking

Both of these have a good chance of triggering when the Assassin is dishing out damage while her Whirlwinds.

+35% Increased Attack Speed

Great mod, making it easier for the Assassin to reach the maximum breakpoint. Assassins usually have an easier time of reaching maximum breakpoints because their class-specific weapons, Claws, are very fast weapons in the hands of an Assassin.

Adds 216-471 Magic Damage

This is attractive for Assassins because only a Crafted Safety Shield provides Magic Resistance, and only a small amount at that...nothing else provides Magic Resistance.

25% Chance of Open Wounds

Open Wounds is a type of physical damage that results in a steady loss of hit points, similar to Poison. However, Open Wounds stacks with Poison, so both of these mods can drain life from a target at the same time. The steady loss of hit points caused by Open Wounds lasts for 8 seconds. Just like Poison, targets inflicted with Open Wounds will not regenerate Life.

Open Wounds is less effective against champions and unique monsters, and the potential damage loss is halved.

+1 To Whirlwind

This is the crowning glory of the Chaos Runeword and the main reason why Assassins would want to wear a Claw with the runeword in it.

Whirlwind is one of the Barbarian's Combat Skills. An Assassin who wears a Claw weapon with the Chaos Runeword in it, will be granted one level of this wonderful Skill.

What does Whirlwind do?

Basically Whirlwind causes your character (Barbarian or Assassin) to spin across from where he/she started to a point which you have clicked before the character executed the Whirlwind. When a character is in Whirlwind, nothing can stop his/her Whirlwind as it is uninterruptable. It also casts almost instantly so use these two factors to escape from stunlock. Your Assassin will be able to continuously whirlwind a target, even if she takes damage. Even if did take enough damage to kill her, she will only die at the end of the Whirlwind!

Once an Assassin has mastered the Dance of Death and is able to whirl around another player in a shape similar to a triangle, she is well on her way to being a very good WWsin and a deadly player in the PvP (Player vs. Player) game.

Summary:

WWsins usually use two Claw weapons: one with the Chaos Runeword, for the Whirlwind attack, and one with the Fury Runeword, for the huge boost to their Attack Rating.