In the base Diablo 2, end-game builds revolved around certain unique weapons and armor. D2R Ladder Items gave players something else to farm for, not only the runes themselves but the perfect pieces in which to fit them. The most coveted runes can also be used as currency in trading for the best items. In this guide, you will konw how to use runes and how to farm runes.

What are Diablo 2 Runes

A Rune is a type of item introduced in the Lord of Destruction expansion. Runes can be inserted into socketed items to add various modifiers to these items. The specific modifiers added by a given Rune depend on both the type of Rune used and the type of item in which it is inserted (weapon, shield, body armor, or helm). Whereas Runes that have been inserted into an item cannot be recovered, they can be destroyed to free up any busy sockets.

Runes are most notable for their ability to create powerful Rune Words when inserted into the right type of item and in the right order, among other conditions. They are also used in several Horadric Cube transmutations, including crafting and upgrading.

How to Acquire Runes:

Runes can drop off of anything in Diablo 2. From Normal to Hell difficulty, enemies can drop them for killing them. So the best way to assure you’re getting Runes is to get lots of items drops! One tip that worked in the original Diablo 2, and it is a command that shows up in Diablo 2: Resurrected! You can hit “/players X” and change the number of players the game recognizes. The X is 1-8. The more party members you have, the more drops the enemies have, but the harder the game is.

The “Magic Find” stat also doesn’t help! So don’t stress about that. However, Magic Find does help you find Unique/Set items, so I wouldn’t just throw that gear out. If Runes are your only goal, then feel free to just put on your best Killing Gear, and head into the world. So you want to head to areas with high amounts of enemies to defeat. The Secret Cow Level, Flayer Jungle, and most of the Act One Overworld work for this.

The Forgotten Tower boss (Act One, Black Marsh), The Countess is the only monster in the game that has a higher chance to drop runes, so this is a place worth farming. It’s also said that enemies that can’t drop armor or weapons have a better chance to drop runes – since they have to drop something. As far as guaranteed Rune drops, a trio of quests will reward Runes. Forgotten Tower, The Hellforge (Act 4), and Rescue on Mount Arreat (Act Five) have Rune rewards. Rune Quality also increases with level.

Diablo 2: Resurreected - How to use Runes

Crafting runewords is an essential part of the core Diablo 2: Resurrected gameplay if you want to reach the dizzying heights of Hell difficulty. They can be challenging to understand for a beginner and it’s easy to slip up and forfeit your rare runes.

Not only do you need to find the right runes to create your chosen runeword, but you must also make sure you are equipping the runes to the correct item. Some runewords only work in specific weapons or armor. Those pieces must also have the correct amount of sockets. For example, to create Stealth which is Tal + Eth, you need an item with two sockets. No more, no less.

The item you are socketing the runeword into also needs to be of grey or white quality. By this, we mean no magical properties (blue items) and no yellow, gold, or green set items.

Finally, once you have your perfect piece to place your runeword, ensure you place them in the correct order. You only get one chance and if done incorrectly the runes are stuck as they are.

You must be sure you are using the appropriate item for which to place your runeword. Some runewords can only be placed in item categories such as “Body armor” which specifically refers to items worn on your body. A runeword meant for a mace will not work on a hammer. “Melee weapons” does not include bows or crossbows. Orbs are also not melee weapons. The “Insight” runeword only works on polearm weapons

Runewords when crafted have variable stats that determine their quality, just like any other loot drop. The better a base you use, the higher your chance of the best roll possible.

An example of this would be putting a runeword on your mercenaries equipment. For this, we would always suggest using an Ethereal base. Ethereal bases have improved stats with the drawback being that they cannot be repaired, however, mercenary weapons and armor do not lose durability so you get the best of both worlds. Small tricks like this will boost your power.

Runewords can be equipped on any type of character. They will receive the runeword's bonuses unless otherwise stated. That means you can equip, say, a Beast runeword on a Sorceress and give her the ability to turn into a Werebear. This diversifies builds and gives players plenty of options when it comes to fun playstyles.

Learning Runewords and how to use them can take a bit of getting used to. But, if you follow the outlines above, you should be able to get a start with using these powerful and unique craftables to power up your gear. If you decide to play through the game on harder difficulties, learning the way of Runes and Buy D2R Items from IGMeet.com can make your life a lot easier.