why do you hate items that make it possible to do endgame things faster than snail speed? maybe you want to spend 2 hours in uber trist, or 30 minutes fighting d clone…but the rest of us like being able to do it before the cows come home. d2 doesnt really have anything thats OP. insight is great for mana, but it’s a junk weapon with no leech when compared to whats available. even ariocs needle is better than insight, but what makes inishgt so favored is the utility it provides for the player. just like infinity on a lightning sorc, or beast on a barb(or necro, or druid summoner). runewords are not overpowered, they are endgame items that make doing the endgame content possible. personally I would have slapped a midrune in the insight rune list…but it’s too late, the decision was made. all they can do now is just add a sup’d up insight type, that gives the meditation aura, life leech, and +X dmg, maybe throw some cb on it too. this new insight would definitely be made using mid runes and a low high rune. why re-invent the wheel though? and insight isnt actually all that OP anyway…so what, you dont have to buy mana pots, big whoop lol…thats just QoL choice that costs you dps in order to save some gold on mana pots
I guess you’d call me one of those casuals then because while I did eventually trade my way up to a Faith in the original Diablo II in D II R I’m still using some of those uniques like the Buriza And as far as Diablo II VS D II R I think in spite of what Blizzard/Buzzard claims it isn’t quite the same game as the original no
Completely missing the point
I dont want to kill things slowly, I want items that drop to matter and not to go straight into the bin just because they are not a runeword - rares and uniques should be more competitive
ok, that makes sense. it actually wouldnt be difficult to implement either. I mean, just slap +100 dmg on doom bringer and suddenly it’s relevant lol! do this with Shaefers hammer, and add a +dmg roll to the list of rolls for rare items tht way it’s possible to get ED, fools, and +X dmg all on a melee weapon.
For casters on the other hand, where the competition is hoto, this can be tricky…but I think taking the suicide branch, making it +2 instead of 1 and granting +20 or even +15 all res would make it relevant too. as for armor? give Arkaine’s Valor a hefty damage reduction, we’re talkin this:
Damage reduced by 30%
Damage reduced by 35
Magic damage reduced by 30
+25 to all resistances
…suddenly Arkaine’s valor is back on the map again.
I think it can be done, it just needs be done carefully, so that uniques are comparable but not superior to runewords. this would provide solid cheaper options without ruining the whole point of runewords and the place of HRs in the economy
110 % agree sadly is not 
you need too play 1.09 for unique too be good 50/50 with rune word
It’s all because they made a ton of overpowered and unbalanced runewords in 1.10.
Check it for yourself:
https://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Runeword_Weapons
17 runewords above lv 60
10 runewords between lv 50-60
Then take low level runewords like Honor and King’s Grace: how many uniques with same lv requirement can compare to them? Basically no one.
Also, do I’ve to point out how Leaf is incredibly easy to get and absolutely way stronger than everything else?
My sorceresses use Leaf up until they get a 4s sword for Spirit, in nightmare difficulty.
So a lv 19 runeword made with incredibly cheap runes and a base you can buy in shop with +[1-3] to useful skills has almost no contender. Sure, there may be, but by the time you get them, you’ll be already in hell difficulty, with Spirit sword/The Occulus/Eschuta’s Temper.
Personally I don’t understand why they made so many weapons runewords, many of them are also kind of overlapping.
Also do I have to say anything about Grief? Also Last Wish should have needed a Zod, this would give more purpose both to Zod rune and to Last Wish runeword.
I mean…
1 hour into the game, Uniques aren’t trash.
5 hours into the game … still no.
10 hours… no.
15 hours…no.
30 hours… no.
60 hours… still no…
120 hours… nope.
240 hours… okay maybe most the uniques are starting to be completely useless because hopefully, you’re already fully decked out in uniques. So I guess you could say, not even at 240 hours are uniques useless.
480 hours - at this point you’re farming for the cherries, not the sundae. So the point seems a bit hyperbole.
Are Most Uniques Supposed To Be Trash?
Only if you’ve played for way more than your 50 dollars should have allotted.
As a bowazon, Hellrack and Blood Raven’s Charge make me cringe. Add an extra socket to Hellrack and IAS/fire skills to Blood Raven’s or something.
A lot of underused uniques should have small buffs like this.
And maybe second tier (rarer) uniques of various existing unique bases should be introduced, much like Templar’s Might vs Tyrael’s Might.
give classic a try.
you’ll be wearing that twitchthrow and raven
When you power level to 80+
You bypass most of the items, normal and nightmare uniques become bad
As well as anything that doesn’t help your spec etc
That’s why most seem bad
Try fresh ladder hardcore
All those uniques have a purpose and place
It’s easy to sit here after the fact but runewords should never have been what they are imo. They should have given basic bonuses and been allowed to go in any item , magic , rare or unique , instead they went the nuclear option.
All that work creating such cool items just to make the same mistake. The updates to unique items killed off a lot of rare items , the update to runewords killed off a huge amount of unique items, Blizzard being Blizzard they never learn from their mistakes. It’s why I cringe when Blizzard say “lessons learned” what lesson ? what have you learned 
Its a shame that so many slots are runewords, but that’s what the game became and it will stay that way most likely.
My criticism is not aimed at V V its aimed at Old/New Blizzard, I think they did a pretty good job bring D2R back, little rough on my pc but still happy over all.
Nope that’s still the case
Even playing single player or fresh ladder
Most Unique items are useless and have zero attraction unless you know nothing and just “Unique must be better because unique”
Also, even those who are not trash are useless because you find them once every 1000playthrough
The General’s Tan Do Li Ga is extremely underrated.
This is exactly why i Sold all my MF to the merchant. I deleted all the low level mules that i had and kept 3 characters… Now With 0 MF i actually find that the elite items that you seek will still drop regardless if you have mf or not.
So far i got a 2 socket coa just clearing the throne with my zealot, and i also got a Eth 2 skill 200+ ed Alma Negra (its I level 99) because Baal dropped it for me with 0 mf.\
Mf just creates more garbage to pick up in this game. Thats how alot of people know that drop rates have changed. They really changed the rune drops though… I think they want to make runes the absolute currency, which is a huge mistake because items can just as good as runewords.
But without a pvp scene in this game, because of all the nerfs (fhr,Stun) Non of these new kids and the other people on this forum that are pushing an AGENDA to ruin this game, I suppose we will be stuck with these trash new drop rates that this group of people have employed in this game.
Extremely bad you mean
Unique need a rework to give a feeling of excitement again when they drop
They also need a rework to make them last longer and be endgame viable
what do you ask? do you want all items to scale or all items to be uber god mode level 85 and nothing in between?
Tan Do Li Ga + Steel Flail is strong enough to beat NM as a whirlwind barb. Well, you also need 3 piece Sigons and a Manald. On that character I also used Greyform, which was pretty much BiS at that point in the game.
it’s awesome. used this on my kick sin for leveling until i could make a spirit long sword. helped a ton on early mana issues too.
There is already the upgrade recipe that exists
It just needs some love
That would keep everything from early to endgame and everything in between like you say
I’ve found a few uniques that are so far (for me) the most powerful items I’ve ever found. The Amazon’s Koku Shakaku bow, even when first found, does heinous damage. It’s +3 to Zon skill levels, and improved damage with immolation arrows are awesome. After upgrading, the immolation arrows do over 2K damage. It’s default attack of explosive arrows that don’t use mana is great too.
And still one more level of upgrading, if I can ever find the runes for that.
Bartuc’s bloody talons for the Assassin are wicked good as well. They do over 1K per hit, and I now have two of them for the Zin to dual wield. They also still have an upgrade level to go. You high level guys with uber characters may scoff, but as a lower level player, I am ecstatically happy to have found these items…