💢 | Runewords & Runes for new and returning players

As the title suggests, this guide is intended for new players (and returning ones, yes, but mostly for new ones), I tried to see the game from a new player's perspective. So please restrain from pasting links to your scientific spreadsheets and essays about treasure classes.

Runes are special, rare items which can be inserted into sockets. Theoretically, they can be dropped from any enemy but the higher the rune level is, the more conditions have to be met in order to get them. Such conditions can be location, certain boss, certain act, difficulty.

When they lay on the ground, they will have a bright orange color. They also have a unique sound on drop which is not the easiest to hear.


Tip: enable show items on toggle in the Gameplay settings menu to avoid accidentally missing a rune drop:

Note that with the Warlock Expansion you are able to set filters on shown dropped items, too, so you can ignore trash, reduce visual noise during your runs and concentrate on loot that matters to you.


Each rune will apply the corresponding effect(s) to an item you socket it into. However, there is a more fun (and a quite hidden) way to use them: there are special combinations of runes, which, if inserted into right items and in a right order, will upgrade that item in a very special way, granting that item new powerful properties.

Have a look yourself, here I just inserted 2 Runes: Tir and Nef inside a Cap with 2 sockets. The cap just gained properties of those 2 runes ↴

Now, I know there is a special insertion order for those 2 runes which works on any helmets with exactly 2 sockets and which will grant that Cap some very special properties. I insert them in the Nef - Tir order and voilà, look how different this cap is form the first one! ↴

Note that the second cap not only gained the inserted Runes' properties, it got a bunch of new ones, too.

There is an exhaustive list of those special runes combinations, those are known as "Runewords".

1. Drops / Farming
Runes can be dropped from regular mobs. However, some runes will have higher chances to drop OR will only drop starting from certain difficulty or act / location. For a chance for higher level runes to drop it is mandatory to play on Nightmare or Hell difficulty. Most common locations for dedicated rune farming are:

• ACT 1 - Countess
  (Black Marsh teleport, Find the Tower, Reach Tower Cellar lvl5, she'll be there)
  
• ACT 3 - Council Members
  (Travincal teleport, head North-East. Faster than Countess, since the location is static)
  
• ACT 4 - Hellforge

2. Crafting in Horadric cube
You can craft higher level runes from lower level ones. You will need to get the item called Horadric cube from Act II for this. It's a story-related item, you will get it while doing the 2nd Quest "Horadric Staff Quest ", so don't worry to miss it. If you play on Normal, you will need to find it in the Halls of the Dead (level 3), it will drop form a shiny chest. I've listed important information in the corresponding Runes section (bottom of this guide) - general info on where to find runes and how to craft them.
3. Other methods
Other methods include exchange, buying (for real money) or trading with other players, I won't cover this topic here.

Runewords are special, secret combination of runes socketed into items in a certain order. They are what makes runes truly useful and powerful. The bonuses you get from getting a Runeword instead of inserting just separate runes are truly powerful.

How to find/discover a runeword?

How do you know about runewords? Well, unfortunately, there is no way you can know about those from the game itself. Originally, Battle Chest owners (a special big box edition for the original DII game in early 2000s) would find out about those from the official strategy guide included. Later, those were shared on some websites. Some people looked into the game's code to find out what combination of runes and which make up a "word". Still, there is no "legit" in-game way to find out about those, thus I called them "secret".


What's a ladder runeword?

A ladder Runeword is the one you can craft while you participate in the ladder event. See Steam / Blizzard announcements for Ladder events and Seasons. Note, that in order to complete your chronicle for an online character, you will eventually need to participate in the ladder event. I marked ladder-only items with 🪜.

Keep in mind: online and offline characters have separate chronicles.

In order to create a Runeword, you must decide on an item you'd like to enhance. It can be armor, helmet, weapon or a shield. The process of creating a is easy: just drag and drop runes into the desired item's sockets (= all items which can have sockets). You don't need a horadric cube for that, you can do it in your inventory. Here is an example with the above mentioned Nadir ("NefTir") Runeword:



There are 4 VERY STRICT RULES you have to memorize while creating a runeword:
1. The item must be normal, means it's color must be grey (socketed, ideal) or white (if no sockets but you plan to add them later). Not green (set), not yellow (unique), not blue (magic), not anything but grey / white! Wirt's leg cannot be enhanced with a runeword either. That's the only exception. Some grey items are etheral - means they cannot be repaired. Ignore them while searching for your base.
2. The number of sockets in the item must be equivalent to the amount of sockets needed for the runeword. While this is sort of self-explanatory, it's important to mention, that if there are too many sockets, the runeword will not work. A rune word consisting of 3 sockets won't enhance the item with that runeword's properties, if there are 4 sockets. Inserting runes in 3 sockets and "reserving" 1 socket for a jewel or a gem won't enhance the weapon with the runeword. You will get runes' separate properties instead.

Example:
this rune word required a bow/crossbow with EXACTLY 3 sockets. Not 4, 5 or 6.

3. The item type must be eligible for a runeword. Mind not only the item type such as helmet / weapon but also the class of the latter. When you create a rune word for a weapon, make sure to double-check what weapon class that is: is it a sword or a mace? A Spear or a Polearm? <-- these two look very similar, so pay close attention to the text description!

To check the class of the item hover on it, and look at the XXXXX Class parameter:

With time, you will memorize all items across difficulties.

There are hidden (yes, again) SUBCLASSES of items. For example, Necromancer's Wand and Sorceress' Orb both belong to "Staff" Class, but there is a Staff item, too which Class corresponds to it's title.


Mace class is another trap. This of "Mace" class as of superclass both Maces (recursive, yes) AND Hammers AND Flails. When making a runeword for a mace class item, refer exactly to the word I used: for example, Heart of the Oak will only work with Flails (I made an explicit note on that one), it WON'T work with hammers, eventhough they belong to Mace superclass. The Hammer subclass items are not eligible to be bases for that runeword. Lawbringer Runeword accepts Hammers, though. Pay very close attention for the Class and Subclass mentioned.

There are character-class-specific items, too. Amazons have "Amazon Spears" and "Amazon Bows", Brabarians and Druids have their special type of helmets, Paladin has "Paladin shields" - those items are strictly reserved for the corresponding classes, other classes can't equip them. Keep that in mind if you share your items across characters or with your mercs.

4. Not only correct item type and correct runes matter, but also the order. While using this guide, refer to title or the image to follow the order. Insert Runes one after another, as indicated. The title and the image double each other, with time you will memorize the Runes' names and won't need a visual reference.

The host item with empty sockets for your Runeword is called "Base".

There are 2 common ways to obtain bases:

• - Find them
  
• - Buy them

tip for buying: exiting and re-entering the city will refresh the traders' items.

As mentioned above, you have to pay attention to several factors, including item type, weapon class, etc. Now you found the perfect item with the right amount of sockets and the correct type. What if you are about to beat Baal on Normal difficulty, do a couple of farm runs and jump to the Nightmare difficulty in a couple of hours? Here you have to decide whether that Runeword worth sticking in a long run.

When you unlock Nightmare and Hell difficulty you will notice new names for the items dropped but visually those items will be identical to those from the previous difficulty. The difference will be the adjusted stats of the items and their required level. See yourself, here is an example of how the weakest helmet would look of different difficulties:


Same applies for other items, including weapons.

Pay close attention to the base item you are going to dedicate for the runeword as you cant undo crafting. If on Hell difficulty you farmed some runes with your 70th lvl character a couple of high level runes, which, per definition, are rarer than low level ones, and you start a new character who farmed a couple of perfect bases on Normal difficulty, it would be a waste stats-wise to share that Normal-difficulty base item with your 70th level character which plays on Hell or Nightmare. Mind the inter-difficulty gap between the quests and acts. Some Act 5 mobs on Normal difficulty won't be significantly weaker than Act 1 mobs on the next, Nightmare difficulty, so if you planned to have fun with your new Runeword for the next couple of acts - go for it, you define what's best and reasonable for yourself.

Yes, and they should! As long as they can equip that weapon and fit the level requirement. Equipping your merc with rune'd weapons / armor pieces won't only let them profit from the effects of a certain rune words but in some cases (as with Auras, for example), will grant effect for the entire party, including summons.

All mercs can equip Helms and Armor. They differ by their stats and types of weapons they can use. Here is a quick overview:


It might appear as counter-intuitive, but yes, you got it right:

• No, Rogue archers can't use Crossbows! (.., - despite being a ranged merc)
  
• No, Iron wolves can't use Staves! (.., - despite being a caster)
  
• No, Barbarians can't use Axes! (.., - despite being ..barbarian?)

1. Change? No, once you inserted the runes / created a runeword, you can't take the runes back / change it. Just pay close attention to the order while inserting runes and you're good.

2. Sockets? Yes but no. Memorize as a rule that it's better to FIND OR BUY a base item rather than add a socket. You can add sockets ONCE per difficulty (just as with respec online) to an item as a quest reward from an Act 5 NPC but you don't know* the amount of sockets he's gonna add, so it's unreliable gambling. A better idea is to pick potential bases and drop them in the shared tabs of your stash

*You can't know it unless you have a PhD in DII:R/LoD but there are ways to predict. If you've found a super-mega-perfect superior white elite item with 1 (one) drawback: it has no sockets, google for "Larzuk socket prediction" or "calculator", it should mention item lvl, location, monster level, treasure class. But again, for your own sanity and fun: only google if that's really THE item you wanted, otherwise you'll be fine just finding or buying them. Source: trust me, bro.

tip: use CTRL+F to find the desired effect / characteristic

The pictures of items featured below are not exactly the items you need to find. I added those for a quick visual reference, so you can see whether it's a helmet, armor, weapon, shield etc. For example, I chose horned helm for "Helms" because I like how it looks, feel free to use crown / cap / skulled helm whatever helm you want there.

Already mentioned but again: Pay a close attention to weapon class before inserting runes into your base item: some spears might look like polearms, and some scepters might seem to be maces.

Auras do stack for you and party members.

Originally posted by Common Sense:

Starting with level ~30 Runewords and generally with rarer runes, please pay very close attention to the runes required and the order. In case of doubt / for double-checking, consider consulting https://diablo2.io/runewords/

Works with Claws class-weapons, including Katars

"Wand" is a subclass inside "Staff", so don't worry when you see your wand is a "Staff", the word will work. Not to be confused with Sorceress' Orb which is also a subclass of "Staff". Make sure you are using Necromancer's --Wand-- here.

*in older versions of the game *Hustle* is a runeword for both Armor and Weapon.
In RotW: Armor Hustle is called Hysteria. Weapon Hustle is called Mania

*in older versions of the game *Hustle* is a runeword for both Armor and Weapon.
In RotW: Armor Hustle is called Hysteria. Weapon Hustle is called Mania

Swords, Axes, Polearms. NO MACES, ignore the grey text in the image.

*Claw class, including Katars

⚠️ NON-LADDER ONLY ⚠️

Mace* here: NOT HAMMERS. No warhammers, giant hammers / other hammers
ONLY following mace-subclasses:

• Flails
  
• Knouts
  
• Scourges

- all 3 are the same weapon, which differ in their quality (normal - exceptional - elite). It's a thingy with a spiked ball attached to the wooden handle by a chain. If you choose a mace Class, make sure it's either of the 3 I mentioned. Not hammers:


Flail is recommended as it's the cheapest one on required specs. You do not aim for the physical damage while equipping this, it's about other properties it grants, so there is no real need to get the elite or even exceptional item for this Runeword.

If you choose Staff class for this, any would do.

Pay attention: only Paladin-specific shields (small round ones & long triangular ones)

⚠️ PALADIN-SHIELDS ONLY ⚠️

works on ARMOR and SHIELDS

*If you choose Amazon Spear as the Base, make sure your char is actually Amazon, other classes can't use Amazon spears.

* Helms, Shields, Books and other off-hand items

*Claws, including Katars

Note that mentioned farm locations are not a guarantee for a rune to drop. These simply have a higher %drop chance. All runes can drop from various mods in various locations. It's rather Treasure Class and Difficulty to take into consideration than just location. I do not cover treasure class concept in this guide. The list below is meant for a quick horadric cube recipe reference.

Sources for information:

https://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/
https://www.purediablo.com
https://diablo.fandom.com
https://www.icy-veins.com
https://www.reddit.com/
https://diablo2.io
own in-game experience

Screenshots and images including improvised icons in runewords images by me, feel free to use, if you need to.

this guide was written by a human ❤️ 🧠 *
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/AI-FREE

* only exception: the individual icon-images for the Runewords were created with the help of AI I trained on ~20 D2's quest icons, prompts + edits by me, feel free to use them