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PD2 Best Leveling and Starter Items

PD2 Best Leveling and Starter Items

Find out what are the best Items you use on lower levels to get through the Project Diablo 2 early game content

Project Diablo 2
The Best Leveling/Early Ladder Items

 

Introduction

Good equipment is extremely scarce at the start of a Season and you will be lucky if you get a single Unique drop on day one (and even luckier if that drop will turn out to be useful to you). What you can get quite reliably are Runes, Jewels, and Gems. Because of this, the only reasonable way of getting solid equipment on day one involves crafting (both Crafted Items and Runewords). This guide goes over most of the early-ladder-viable Runewords and Crafted Items that should allow you to start strong in every new Project Diablo 2 Season.  

 

Runewords

Early in the Ladder, Runes are much easier to obtain than specific items, so Low to Mid-level Runewords will be your main source of power during the first few days of a season. Before we give you the list of the best Early Ladder Runewords, let us remind you of some of the basics: 

  • Order of inscribing runes matters! Always double check before putting runes into items to avoid mistakes (this might not cost you a lot early, but putting high-level runes in the wrong order hurts. A lot). 
  • The level requirement of a Runeword is the same as the level requirement of its highest level requirement Rune component. 
  • The number of sockets in an item must match the number of Runes in the Runeword - otherwise, the Runeword won't activate. 
  • You can farm for White Socketed Items by checking trader inventory after re-logging, repeatedly. 
  • The best place to farm Runes early is the 5th floor of the tower in the Black Marsh zone or Act I. The Countess that resides there has a very high chance to drop at least one Rune every time she is defeated. You can farm her repeatedly by simply relogging your character; Just keep in mind that any opened portals will disappear when you relog, so you will have to travel to the tower from the warp point - don't forget to unlock it before starting the farm! 
    • Countess will drop higher Tier Runes on higher difficulty levels! 
  • You will always receive a Rune after completing the Hellforge quest (any kind up to Amn on the normal difficulty). 
  • Completing the Rescue on Mount Arreat quest will always give you three runes - Tal, Ort, and Ral. These runes are used in quite a few low-level Runewords. 

With that done, let's proceed to the list; we will start from the very early game stuff and then proceed to Runewords you should aim to get a bit later (but still in week 1, we'd say): 

Steel (Tir-El) - If you're looking for an early power boost, this Runeword has got you covered. While it's nothing to write home about, remember that it only requires level 13 and consists of just 2 easy-to-get- Runes. It can be inscribed into Maces, Swords, and Axes. 

Steel
  • Defense: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Required Level: 13 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Durability: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Tir + El 
    • 25% Increased Attack Speed 
    • 20% Enhanced Damage 
    • +3 To Minimum Damage 
    • +3 To Maximum Damage 
    • +50 To Attack Rating 
    • 50% Chance Of Open Wounds 
    • +2 To Mana After Each Kill 
    • +1 To Light Radius 

Nadir (Nef-Tir) - This Runeword's main strength is its very low-level requirement of 13 - we can guarantee that you won't find anything better for the Helmet slot around that level. It provides some nice and useful bonuses that will definitely make the leveling process easier. While it also has some downsides, they are rather negligible. Moreover, Nef and Tir are among the most commonly dropped Runes by the Countess. 

Nadir

Note: Nadir was slightly buffed in PD2; It can now roll from +3 to +5 Mana After Each Kill - in LOD it was just +2. 
  • Defense: Depends on base Helmet 
  • Required Level: 13 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Helmet 
  • Durability: Depends on base Helmet 
  • Nef + Tir
    • +50% Enhanced Defense 
    • +10 Defense 
    • +30 Defense vs. Missiles 
    • Level 13 Cloak of Shadows (9 Charges) 
    • +3-5 Mana After Each Kill (varies) 
    • +5 Strength 
    • -33% Extra Gold from Monsters 
    • -3 to Light Radius 

Malice (Ith-El-Eth) - As far as early game Weapons go, this is simply amazing. It is very easy to get and has very low requirements. From our experience, Malice works better when used with faster weapons so we recommend a Flail. 

Malice
  • Defense: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Required Level: 15 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Durability: Depends on base Weapon 
  • 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 
    • +2 Life Gained After Each Hit 

Stealth (Tal-Eth) - This is an almost perfect early game Runeword. It provides you everything you might need to progress quickly - mana regen, faster movement speed, additional stamina, faster cast rate, faster hit recovery, some stats, and resistances. On top of all this, it consists of only two easy-to-get Runes. You simply can't go wrong with this one and should try to get it as soon as you reach level 17. 

Stealth

Note: Stealth was nerfed in PD2. In LOD it gave 25% Faster Run/Walk, Faster Cast Rate, and Faster Hit Recovery!
  • Defense: Depends on base Armor 
  • Required Level: 17 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Armor 
  • Durability: Depends on base Armor 
  • Tal + Eth
    • 10% Faster Run/Walk 
    • 10% Faster Cast Rate 
    • 10% Faster Hit Recovery 
    • +6 to Dexterity 
    • Regenerate Mana 15% 
    • +15 Maximum Stamina 
    • Poison Resist +30% 
    • Magic Damage Reduced by 3 

Leaf (Tir-Ral) - This Staff Runeword is great mainly if you're leveling as a Fire Sorceress (if you are, you should definitely get it). If you're playing as any other Fire-based build (except Fire Bowazon, for obvious reasons), it's worth going for as well, because +2 to Fire Skills is very significant and works with every Fire Skill. 

Leaf

Note: If you use a Staff that grants Skill Levels as a base, its bonuses will remain active after you inscribe the Runeword. Because of this, it's a good idea to look for a Staff with sockets and +Skills that could be used for the Runeword. 
  • Defense: Depends on base Staff 
  • Required Level: 19 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Staff 
  • Durability: Depends on base Staff 
  • Tir + Ral  
    • Adds 5-30 Fire Damage (varies) 
    • +2 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% 

Zephyr (Ort-Eth) - If you plan on leveling as a Bowazon, this Runeword is a must-have. It will increase your mobility, defense, and damage output which should make your journey to the late game a bit easier for some time. 

Zephyr
  • Defense: Depends on base Missle Weapon 
  • Required Level: 21 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Missile Weapon
  • Durability: Depends on base Missile Weapon
  • Eth + Ral  
    • +33-66% Enhanced Damage (varies) 
    • 25% Increased Attack Speed 
    • 25% Faster Run/Walk 
    • +66 To Attack Rating 
    • +25 Defense 
    • -25% Target Defense 
    • Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage 
    • 7% Chance To Cast Level 1 Twister When Struck 

Ancient's Pledge (Ral-Ort-Tal) - This one is up for dispute as it is very specialized - you get just resistances pretty much, but A LOT of them. However, if you're looking for early resistance bonuses you won't get anything better until level 29. Ancient's Pledge is a good choice if you feel like you're lacking survivability against monsters that use magic. 

Ancients' Pledge

Note: You will get all three Runes needed for this Runeword from the Rescue on Mount Arreat quest in Act V. 
  • Defense: Depends on base Shield 
  • Required Level: 21 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Shield 
  • Durability: Depends on base Armor 
  • Ral + Ort + Tal
    • +50% Enhanced Defense 
    • Cold Resist +43%  
    • Fire Resist +48% 
    • Lightning Resist +48% 
    • Poison Resist +48% 
    • 10% Damage Goes To Mana 

Pattern (Tal-Ort-Tir) - A solid early-game Weapon Runeword that will increase your DPS by quite a bit (it adds quite a lot of Fire and Lightning damage, and provides a high Enhanced Damage bonus). It also gives a nice bonus to all resistances, increases your stats, gives you some mana after each kill, and improves your Attack Rating which is quite welcome. 

 

Note: This Runeword is Project Diablo 2-specific and thus is not available in LOD. However, it exists in LOD's game files. 
  • Defense: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Required Level: 21 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Durability: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Tal + Ort + Tir
    • 10% Bonus To Attack Rating 
    • +40-80% Enhanced Damage (varies) 
    • 17-62 Added Fire Damage 
    • +15% Resist All 
    • +6 To Strength 
    • +6 To Dexterity 
    • +30% Faster Block Rate 
    • +2 To Mana After Each Kill 
    • 1-50 Added Lightning Damage 

Holy Thunder (Eth-Ral-Ort-Tal) - This Runeword will only work in Scepters and is tailored for Paladins. If you manage to get a good + Paladin Skills Scepter with 4 sockets, this will last you for a long time, especially if you plan on using the Holy Shock Aura in the end game. 

Holy Thunder
  • Defense: Depends on base Scepter 
  • Required Level: 21 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Scepter 
  • Durability: Depends on base Scepter
  • 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 
    • +10 To Vitality 
    • Lightning Resistance +60% 
    • +5 To Maximum Lightning Resistance 
    • +3 To Holy Shock (Paladin Only) 
    • Level 7 Chain Lightning (60 Charges) 

Spirit Weapon (Tal-Thul-Ort-Amn) - An extremely powerful early ladder weapon runeword. It requires 4 runes, making it a bit harder than average to assemble, but it's definitely worth it - especially if you're playing as a caster. Spirit will make your character much stronger both offensively (+Skills, Faster Cast Rate, 3 types of additional damage, extra Mana), and defensively (Life Steal, Magic Absorb, and Vitality). Also, it has -25% to Requirements so you can put it into a Weapon you wouldn't be able to equip otherwise. 

Spirit Weapon

Note: Spirit was nerfed in PD2 - in LOD, it gave +2 to all Skills which made it ridiculous. 
  • Defense: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Required Level: 25 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Durability: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Tal + Thul + Ort + Amn 
    • +1 To All Skills 
    • +25-35% Faster Cast Rate (varies) 
    • +25% Faster Hit Recovery 
    • 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 
    • -25% Requirements 
    • +11-22 To Vitality (varies) 
    • +59-82 To Mana (varies) 
    • +3-8 Magic Absorb (varies) 

Spirit Shield (Tal-Thul-Ort-Amn) - In some cases (if you're Paladin, mainly*), you might want to put the Spirit Runeword into a Shield instead of a Weapon. These two variants give largely the same bonuses, but there are some differences. The main benefit of Shield instead of a Weapon is the very high bonus to Resistances you'll get by doing so. 

Spirit Shield

*Paladins have much easier access to Shields with 4 Sockets, thanks to their class-specific shields. Other classes have to rely on Monarch (elite Kite Shield) that has a high strength requirement. 
  • Defense: Depends on base Shield 
  • Required Level: 25 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Shield 
  • Durability: Depends on base Shield 
  • Tal + Thul + Ort + Amn 
    • +1 To All Skills 
    • +25-35% Faster Cast Rate (varies) 
    • +25% Faster Hit Recovery 
    • +250 Defense Vs. Missile 
    • +11-22 To Vitality (varies) 
    • +59-82 To Mana (varies) 
    • Cold Resist +35% 
    • Lightning Resist +35% 
    • Poison Resist +35% 
    • +3-8 Magic Absorb (varies) 
    • Attacker Takes Damage of 14 
    • Requirements -25% 

Myth [Barbarian Only] (Hel-Amn-Nef) - This is a great option for every mid-level Barbarian, especially if you roll +2 All Barbarian Skill Levels. Just keep in mind that it's almost purely offensive and you'll have to get defense and resistance from the rest of your gear. 

Myth
  • Defense: Depends on base Armor 
  • Required Level: 25 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Armor 
  • Durability: Depends on base Armor 
  • Hel + Amn + Nef
    • 3% Chance To Cast Level 1 Howl When Struck 
    • 10% Chance To Cast Level 1 Taunt On Striking 
    • +1-2 To Barbarian Skill Levels (varies) 
    •  +30 Defense Vs. Missile 
    • Replenish Life +10 
    • Attacker Takes Damage of 2 to 3 per level (varies) 2-3 to 198-297 (varies) 
    • Requirements -15% 
    • +1-3 Mana After Each Kill (varies) 

Strength (Amn-Tir) - A simple but effective melee-focused Runeword that will not only increase your Damage but also allow you to equip better gear faster (thanks to +20 Strength it grants). It will also increase your survivability by quite a bit, thanks to 7% Life Steal and +10 Vitality. It is also one of the easiest-to-make Runewords for its level range, so it should get bonus points if you don't like farming. 

Strength
  • Defense: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Required Level: 25 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Durability: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Amn + Tir  
    • 65-95% Enhanced Damage (varies) 
    • 25% Chance Of Crushing Blow 
    • 7% Life Stolen Per Hit 
    • +2 To Mana After Each Kill 
    • +20 To Strength 
    • +10 To Vitality 

Insight (Ral-Tir-Tal-Sol) - This quite powerful Weapon Runeword is surprisingly easy to make as you get two of its component Runes (Ral and Tal) from the Rescue on Mount Arreat quest in Act V. It's great especially for builds that rely on Weapon Damage (WW Barb, Shapeshifter Druid, etc.). It also gives a nice bonus to Magic Find, +5 to all attributes, and greatly improves Attack Rating which matters for some builds. 

Insight

Note: This is a top choice for an Act II Mercenary as well. The reason for this is very simple - you want the Meditation Aura, but you don't necessarily want to use Insight yourself. 
  • Defense: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Required Level: 27 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Durability: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Tal + Thul + Ort + Amn 
    • Level 12-17 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 

Honor (Amn-El-Ith-Tir-Sol) - A very powerful, but hard-to-make early-game Weapon Runeword. If you get lucky and find all the required runes, you should definitely go for it. It will provide you with +1 All Skills, a lot of Attack Rating, a flat boost to Damage, 10 Strength, Whopping 25% chance for a Deadly Strike, and a nice Life Leech on top of all this. 

Honor
  • Defense: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Required Level: 27 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Durability: Depends on base Weapon 
  • Amn + El + Ith + Tir + Sol 
    • +160% Enhanced Damage 
    • +1 To All Skills 
    • +9 To Minimum Damage 
    • +9 To Maximum Damage 
    • +250 To Attack Rating 
    • 25% Deadly Strike 
    • 7% Life Stolen Per Hit 
    • Replenish Life +10 
    • +10 To Strength 
    • +1 To Light Radius 
    • +2 To Mana After Each Kill 

Lore (Ort-Sol) - While a bit harder to get as it requires Runes you can't simply get from the Countess, this Runeword is still worth going for. The best thing about this Runerowd is the +1 Skills bonus, which will most likely be the first one you will get. On top of skill levels, you also get nice damage reduction, high lightning resistance, and some extra mana. 

Lore
  • Defense: Depends on base Helmet 
  • Required Level: 27 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Helmet 
  • Durability: Depends on base Helmet 
  • Ort + Sol
    • +1 to All Skills 
    • 5-10 to Energy (varies) 
    • Lightning Resist +30% 
    • Damage Reduced by 7 
    • +1 to Mana After Each Kill 
    • +2 to Light Radius 

Rhyme (Shael-Eth) - This Runeword makes the Ancient's pledge not worth going for, as it's better in almost every way (it gives a bit fewer resistances, but that's it). It gives you +25 to all Resistances and provides the most important bonus of them all - Cannot Be Frozen. On top of that, it gives you a high Magic Find bonus, more Gold from monsters, and a +40 Faster Block Rate. There's no doubt about it, Rhyme is a BiS early game shield and you should go out of your way to get it. 

Rhyme
  • Defense: Depends on base Shield 
  • Required Level: 29 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Shield 
  • Durability: Depends on base Armor 
  • Ral + Ort + Tal
    • 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 

Peace [Amazon Only] (Shael-Thul-Amn) - This is an amazing offensive Runeword, but it's available for Amazon only. If you're playing as one, you won't find anything better (for Damage output, at least) for dozens of levels. 

Peace
  • Defense: Depends on base Armor 
  • Required Level: 29 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Armor 
  • Durability: Depends on base Armor 
  • Shael + Thul + Amn 
    • 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 

Note: The next few Runewords are harder to get (as they require higher tier Runes), but you should be able to farm for them without too much of a problem, once you beat the game on Normal and proceed to higher difficulty levels, where higher tier Runes are more common. 

Smoke (Nef-Lum) - A great mid-tier defensive Runeword that will provide you with a lot of defense, Resistances (up to 45, which is massive), and some much-needed Energy. Moreover, the faster hit recovery you'll get from it is likely to save your life on more than one occasion. This Runeword is almost necessary once you reach Nightmare, where having ~45-50 All Resistances is simply necessary if you want to progress at a good pace. 

Smoke
  • Defense: Depends on base Armor 
  • Required Level: 37 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Armor 
  • Durability: Depends on base Armor 
  • Nef + Lum
    • +75% Enhanced Defense 
    • +280 Defense vs. Missiles 
    • All Resistances +30-45 (varies) 
    • 20% Faster Hit Recovery 
    • Level 6 Weaken (18 Charges) 
    • +10 To Energy 
    • -1 To Light Radius 

Splendor (Eth-Lum) - An extremely powerful Shield-only Runeword that is a mush-have for every caster build (if you're after optimal equipment, of course). The bonuses you get from Splendor are simply amazing; it improves your drops, makes your mana regenerate 15% faster and increases your mana pool by a bit, grants +1 to all your Skills, offers up to 35% Faster Cast Rate, and boosts your defenses by quite a bit. If you're looking for an item that will greatly increase your power AND substantially improve your drops, there's no other option at this level range. 

Splendor
  • Defense: Depends on base Shield 
  • Required Level: 37 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Shield 
  • Durability: Depends on base Armor 
  • Eth + Lum
    • +1 To All Skills 
    • +20-35% Faster Cast Rate (varies) 
    • +20% Faster Block Rate 
    • +60-100% Enhanced Defense (varies) 
    • +10 To Energy 
    • Regenerate Mana 15% 
    • 50% Extra Gold From Monsters 
    • 15-30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (varies) 
    • +3 To Light Radius 

Memory (Lum-Io-Sol-Eth) - If you're playing as a Sorceress, this powerful Staff Runeword is a perfect choice. It not only increases all your Skills by 3 but also grants +3 additional levels of Energy Shield on top of that. Moreover, it increases your max mana by 20% and gives a whopping +33% Faster Cast Rate which is simply massive. 

Memory
  • Defense: Depends on base Staff 
  • Required Level: 37 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Staff 
  • Durability: Depends on base Staff 
  • Lum + Io + Sol + Eth   
    • +3 To Sorceress Skill Levels 
    • 33% Faster Cast Rate 
    • +9 To Minimum Damage 
    • -25% Target Defense 
    • +3 To Energy Shield (Sorceress Only) 
    • +2 To Static Field (Sorceress Only) 
    • +10 To Vitality 
    • +10 To Energy 
    • Increase Maximum Mana 20% 
    • Magic Damage Reduced By 7 

Harmony (Tir-Ith-Sol-Ko) - This runeword should give you quite a substantial damage boost at mid-levels. It's a very solid choice for any Bowazon Build that utilizes Valkyrie as a personal Tank. It is also quite good as a Merc weapon if you've decided to hire Act I mercenary, thanks to its innate Vigor Aura. 

Harmony
  • Defense: Depends on base Missle Weapon 
  • Required Level: 39 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Missile Weapon
  • Durability: Depends on base Missile Weapon
  • Tir + Ith + Sol + Ko  
    • Level 10 Vigor Aura When Equipped 
    • +200-275% Enhanced Damage 
    • +75% Damage To Demons 
    • +9 Minimum Damage 
    • +9 Maximum Damage 
    • Adds 55-160 Fire Damage 
    • Adds 55-160 Lightning Damage 
    • Adds 55-160 Cold Damage 
    • +2-6 Valkyrie 
    • +10 To Dexterity 
    • Regenerate Mana 20% 
    • +2 Mana After Each Kill 
    • +2 To Light Radius 
    • Level 20 Revive (25 Charges) 

Lionheart (Hel-Lum-Fal) - This is a great but harder-to-get alternative to Smoke (as it requires a Fal Rune and three Runes in total). It provides fewer Resistances but more than compensates for it with extra Life, defense, and stats. If you'd like to have a great all-around armor at mid-levels, you should definitely try to get this one. 

Lionheart
  • Defense: Depends on base Armor 
  • Required Level: 41 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Armor 
  • Durability: Depends on base Armor 
  • Hel + Lum + Fal
    • +80-110% Enhanced Damage (varies) 
    • Requirements -15% 
    • +10-25 To Strength (varies) 
    • +10 To Energy 
    • +10-20 To Vitality (varies) 
    • +10-15 To Dexterity (varies) 
    • +50 To Life 
    • All Resistances +20-30 (varies) 

Wealth (Lem-Ko-Tir) - If you're after better drops, you will love this one. This Runeword forgoes stats that can actually make your character stronger and replaces them with incredibly high Magic Find and Extra Gold stats. While it won't increase your power directly, it will certainly improve your odds of finding powerful items during your drop runs. 

Wealth
  • Defense: Depends on base Armor 
  • Required Level: 43 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Armor 
  • Durability: Depends on base Armor 
  • Lem + Ko + Tir
    • +10 to Dexterity 
    • +2 to Mana After Each Kill 
    •  300% Extra Gold from Monsters 
    • 100% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items 

Principle [Paladin Only] (Ral-Pul-Eld) - This is an extremely powerful Paladin-only Runeword. +2 Skills it gives is simply amazing and you get a free Holy Bolt with each attack to boot! It also gives a lot of Life and some resistances, making it an all-rounder for its level range. Also, the bonus Damage to undead and Demons is relevant in surprisingly many locations, so don't neglect these bonuses when looking at this Runeword. 

Principle

Note: In LOD, the Gul Rune was used for this instead of Pul. 
  • Defense: Depends on base Armor 
  • Required Level: 45 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Armor 
  • Durability: Depends on base Armor 
  • Ral + Pul + Eld
    • 100% Chance To Cast Level 5 Holy Bolt On Striking 
    • +2 To Paladin Skill Levels 
    • +50-80% Damage to Undead (varies) 
    • 50-100 Life (Varies) (varies) 
    • 15% Slower Stamina Drain 
    • +30% Enhanced Defense 
    • Fire Resist +30% 
    • +50-80% Enhanced Damage to Demons 

Rain [Druid only] (Ort-Mal-Ith) - A Druid Class Runeword that is amazing for any Druid build but truly excels in the Summoning variants. One of its notable features (other than +Skills, of course) is a very high Mana bonus that will take care of your resource-related problems. 

Rain
  • Defense: Depends on base Armor 
  • Required Level: 49 
  • Required Strength: Depends on base Armor 
  • Durability: Depends on base Armor 
  • Ort + Mal + Ith
    • 5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Cyclone Armor When Struck 
    • 5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Twister On Striking 
    • +1-2 To Druid Skill Levels (varies) 
    • +100-150 To Mana (varies) 
    • Lightning Resist +30% 
    • Magic Damage Reduced By 7 
    • 15% Damage Taken Goes to Mana 
    • +1 to Summoning Skills (Druid Only) 

 

Crafted Items

Project Diablo 2 has introduced substantial changes to Crafting. In PD2, you can use ANY item of the specific type (in LOD it was a specific item) as a base of the recipe. This means Blood Gloves can be made with any Magic-quality Gloves, Caster Helm can be made with any Magic-quality Helm, etc. Moreover, in PD2, you can upgrade crafted items (this uses the same recipes as rare items). All of this is done with your favorite item - the Horadric Cube. 

Crafted Items have three to four fixed attributes, in addition to attributes of the base magic weapon used in creating them. Also, you can't predict what level will they require as that depends on the unidentified base weapon used in the recipe; this means that you might not be able to use your crafted item immediately - keep this in mind when crafting. There are 4 Crafted "sets" and each one consists of 9 pieces (Boots, Belt, Ring, Gloves, Shield, Armor, Weapon, Amulet, and Helm: 

  • Blood - Focused around melee offensive power. 
  • Caster - Focused around magic offensive power (which involves Faster Cast Rate that makes these stand out from other Crafted Items). 
  • Hit Power - Mainly focused around defense and proc chances. 
  • Safety - Mainly focused around defense and resistances. 

Crafting is RNG-heavy as you simply can't predict what attributes and level requirement the end product will have. However, you can choose which item type to craft based on the three Fixed Attributes every Crafted Item has. Most of the time, the end results of crafting won't be anywhere near as powerful as Runewords or Unique Items, but they should still come in handy during the first few days of the Ladder. Below we present you our choices of worthwhile early-game Crafted Items. 

Caster Items

Caster Shield (Shield + Jewel + Eth Rune + Perfect Amethyst) - This recipe is worth your consideration if you need some extra mana and Faster Cast Rate

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +(10-20)% Increased Chance Of Blocking 
  • (20-30)% Faster Cast Rate 
  • +(10-20) To Mana 
Caster Ring (Ring + Jewel + Amn Rune + Perfect Amethyst) - This creates a solid Ring that will greatly improve your mana pool and regeneration. If you're having mana-related problems, this will definitely come in handy. 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +(5-10) To Energy 
  • Regenerate Mana (4-10)% 
  •  +(10-20) To Mana 
Caster Amulet (Amulet + Jewel + Ral Rune + perfect Amethyst) - Just like the Caster Ring, Caster Amulet will fix your mana problems. Moreover, it will give you some Faster Cast Rate

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +(5-10)% Faster Cast Rate 
  • Regenerate Mana (4-10)% 
  • +(10-20) To Mana 
Caster Weapon (Weapon + Jewel + Tir Rune + perfect Amethyst) - One of the best Crafted Items. This recipe will give you Faster Cast Rate, some mana, and +1 to All Skills, which makes it compete with some Runewords. The problem is, you'll never know what level the end result will require. 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +1 To All Skills  
  • (10-20)% Faster Cast Rate 
  • +(10-20) To Mana 


Blood Items

Blood Belt (Belt + Jewel + Eth Rune + perfect Ruby) - A solid improvement to a belt that improves your damage output thanks to the chance for open wounds, and increases your survivability thanks to some extra Life and Life Leech. 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • pen Wounds (10-20)% 
  • (3-6)% Life Stolen Per Hit 
  • +(10-20) To Life 
Blood Ring (Ring + Jewel + Sol Rune + Perfect Ruby) - If you need some additional Strength and Survivability, this is a rather good option. 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +(5-10) To Strength 
  • (1-3)% Life Stolen Per Hit 
  • +(10-20) To Life 
Blood Armor (Armor + Jewel + Thul Rune + Perfect Ruby) - An interesting defensive option for melee builds. It will increase your survivability quite substantially if your DPS is high enough. 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +(3-6) Life After Each Kill  
  • (3-6)% Life Stolen Per Hit 
  • +(10-20) To Life 
Blood Amulet (Amulet + Jewel + Amn Rune + Perfect Ruby) - Just like other Blood Items, the Amulet provides some extra Life and Life Leech. Unlike other Blood Items, however, it also gives +10% Faster Run/Walk. 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • 10% Faster Run/Walk 
  • +(2-4) Life After Each Kill 
  • +(10-20) To Life 

 

Hit Power Items

Hit Power Amulet - (Amulet + Jewel + Thul Rune + Perfect Sapphire) - This Amulet will prove to be very useful in some builds - the ones that lack Attack Rating, specifically. If you're running a ShapeShifter Druid, you'll find this one quite useful. 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +(150-250) To Attack Rating 
  • 5% Chance To Cast Level 4 Frost Nova When Struck 
  • +10% Faster Hit Recovery 
Hit Power Boots (Boots + Jewel + Ral Rune + Perfect Sapphire) - An interesting defensive choice for melee builds. These Crafted Boots actually provide quite a lot of defensive power. 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +(25-50) Defense vs. Melee 
  • 5% Chance To Cast Level 4 Frost Nova When Struck 
  • +10% Faster Hit Recovery 
Hit Power Armor (Armor + Jewel + Nef Rune + Perfect Sapphire) - While this won't ever be as powerful as mid-level Armor Runewords, it can roll up to +40% Faster Hit Recovery, which is nice. 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +(25-50)% Enhanced Defense  
  • 5% Chance To Cast Level 4 Frost Nova When Struck 
  • +(20-40)% Faster Hit Recovery 


Safety Items

Safety Armor (Armor + Jewel + Eth Rune + Perfect Emerald) - This is a surprisingly powerful budget defensive option. It can roll up to 20% Damage Reduction and halves the Freeze Duration (which is nowhere near as good as Cannot Be Frozen, but beggars can't be choosers). 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +(20-60)% Enhanced Defense 
  • Half Freeze Duration 
  • Damage Reduced By (10-20)% 
Safety Weapon (Bow/Crossbow + Jewel + Sol Rune + Perfect Emerald) - This works ONLY with bows and crossbows and is actually a very good choice for Bowazon builds during the early Ladder. 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +(70-140)% Enhanced Damage 
  • Magic Damage Reduced By (2-5) 
  • Damage Reduced By (2-5) 
  • +(10-20)% Increased Attack Speed 
Safety Shield (Shield + Jewel + Nef Rune + Perfect Emerald) - Just like the Safety Armor, the Safety Shield provides Damage Reduction, which is extremely powerful. Unlike the Armor, however, it works with ALL sources of damage! 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +(20-60)% Enhanced Defense 
  • Magic Resistance +(5-10)% 
  • Damage Reduced By (10-20)% 
Safety Boots (Boots + Jewel + ort Rune + Perfect Emerald) - If you're looking for some additional defense, you might want to consider these boots; they might not be over the top powerful, but they will get the job done on day one. 

Fixed Attributes: 

  • +(20-60)% Enhanced Defense 
  • Fire Resist +(10-20)% 
  • Magic Damage Reduced By (2-5) 
  • Damage Reduced By (1-4) 

 

END NOTE

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