Thank you for the new end game content. I was much more than I expected, and I find it exciting. Hoping for currency tab next time.
However, I did hope that there would also continue to be small improvements to existing elements of the game. Buffs to weak skills to create new build diversity (that was great last time with all the new builds). Sets are one of the pieces of the game that really need a lot of improvements. The effort needed to gather all the pieces of a set and then store them all are just not rewarded for most sets. We’ve had a lot of discussion in General about this topic, so I’d like to post some specific ideas here for consideration. We aren’t aiming for end game sets to be end game best in slot, I don’t think they should be, but competitive- around where Tal Rasha’s set is. Meanwhile I think low level sets ought to be designed to be useable for several acts, not just at the level you can start wearing them.
Arctic Gear:
A set for level 2, Arctic Gear really only suffers from the fact you can’t actually wear it at level 2 because the strength and dexterity requirements are too high.
1: Add -50% Requirements to Arctic Horn (the bow).
2: Add -50% Requirements to Arctic Mitts (the gloves).
3: Replace the +40% Cold Resistance on the Arctic Binding (the belt) with Cannot Be Frozen
4: Replace the Cannot Be Frozen on the set bonus with +40% Cold Resistance
Honestly only the first two changes are really needed. That would make it wearable by the Amazon at level 2, and the set should serve all the way to the end of Act 2. The other change, switching the Cannot Be Frozen and 40% Cold Resistance is more about making the 2-piece bonus of Horn and Binding more attractive to off meta builds like an Enchant Sorceress using a bow.
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Berserker’s Arsenal:
Same problem, it’s a level 3 set that can’t be equipped at level 3. It’s also rather weak compared to even merely magical alternatives found in the shops.
1: Replace the +15 Defense on Berserker’s Headgear (the helm) with +10 Strength.
2: Add -50% Requirements to Berserker’s Hauberk (the body armor)
3: Replace Magic Damage Reduced by 2 on Berserker’s Hauberk with 100% Enhanced Defense
4: Replace 5% Mana Steal on Berserker’s Hatchet (the weapon) with 5% Life Steal
5: Replace Add 5-9 Poison Damage on set bonus with Add 5-9 Magic Damage
6: Replace +75 Defense on the set bonus with 5% Mana Steal
There, now a level 3 Barbarian can wear this set. Replacing the Poison Damage with Magic Damage is more thematic for a set called Berserker. Adding Life Steal to the weapon helps a little bit. Maybe this set can be worn until the end of Act 2, and after that maybe the helm and body armor partial set till late Normal.
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Clegaw’s Brace:
A level 4 set, Clegaw’s is decent except for two issues. First, the gloves have knockback, and knockback usually isn’t good for melee characters. The other is that the requirements for the sword means you can’t equip it at lvl 4.
1: Add -50% Requirements to Clegaw’s Tooth (the sword).
2: Replace Knockback on Clegaw’s Pincers (the gloves) with Hit Blinds Target.
There, Hit Blinds Target serves a similar purpose to Knockback in making it so monsters don’t hit you, but leaving them in range to be hit by your sword. You can now equip this at level 4, and with the crushing blow and the -75% Poison length it’s probably viable halfway through Act 3. I know the gloves with Slow target and knockback are actually really useful to bow users, but this is a set, and the items should work with the rest of the set. Maybe a unique glove that is weak and unused can be given the Slow knockback combo?
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Death’s Disguise:
The gloves and belt are great, one of the best 2 piece set bonuses in the game. But the weapon suffers from one big problem. Its requirements are too high to use at level 6, and by the time you can use it, half of Normal has gone by, and so you have a very limited window in which to use it. There is also a lack of attack rating for late Normal.
1: Add -50% requirements to Death’s Touch (the sword)
2: Add +75 Attack Rating to Death’s Touch
There, now you can use the sword at level 6, and it should last till late Normal.
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Hsarus’ Defense:
A level 3 set that actually isn’t that bad, but it just doesn’t really have anything to make you use it past Act 1. The shield is a little lack luster, maybe it could be buffed to make the set last through Act 2?
Option 1: Troll Option
1: Replace Damage Reduced By 2 on Hsarus’ Iron Fist (the shield) with +3 Smite. (Yes, as an O-skill, I called it the Troll Option you know)!
Would certainly fit the name of the Shield, is level appropriate, etc. Of course, this shield plus Black on weapon switch would probably become standard for any melee character hunting Ubers. Though to be fair, we already have that with Paladins. Is it so horrible that other Melee characters can access it?
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Option 2: Okay I’ll be more serious
1: Replace Damage Reduced By 2 on Hsarus’ Iron Fist (the shield) with +15 Dexterity.
The shield still drops off rapidly, but it could have some niche uses for builds that need more stats to use certain weapons. A low level javazon for example might find this shield useful to upgrade weapons faster.
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Isenhart’s Armory:
It’s not bad… it’s just so bleh is the problem, it needs something to make it interesting and different from the other low level sets. I think the names of the various items should help giving them some pizazz. Probably looking to last through Normal, at least through Act 4. It already has good resistances; it mainly suffers from damage dropping off by the end of Normal.
1: Add +3 Holy Fire to Isenhart’s Lightbrand. (Yes, as an O-skill. That’s 12 to 30 Fire Damage, not going to break anything, and fits the name very well).
2: Add 25% Chance to Cast Level 3 Holy Bolt on Striking. (Another bit of pizzaz that fits the Lightbrand name to make this fun. That’s roughly 30 Holy Bolt damage to demons and undead, so it helps it stay damage worthy in Act 4).
3: Add 5% Mana Steal to Isenhart’s Lightbrand.
4: Add 20% Chance to Cast Level 8 Charged Bolt on Striking to Isenhart’s Lightbrand.
5: Add three piece partial set bonus to Isenhart’s Lightbrand of +25% Deadly Strike.
6: Add +10 Strength to Isenhart’s Case (the body armor).
7: Add 17% Faster Hit Recovery to Isenhart’s Case.
8: Add +60 Attack Rating to Isenhart’s Case.
9: Add three piece partial set bonus to Isenhart’s Case of All Resistances +20%
10: Add +5 Strength to Isenhart’s Horns (the helm).
11: Add +3 to Thorns to Isenhart’s Horns. (Another piece of pizzaz that fits the names of “Horns” you can’t use it with Holy Fire, so it’s doesn’t stack well, it mostly just flash).
13: Add 10% Chance to Cast Level 1 Shout When Struck to Isenhart’s Horns.
14: Add 14% Faster Hit Recovery to Isenhart’s Horns.
15: Replace the two piece partial bonus of All Resistances +8 on Isenhart’s Horns with +10 to Attack Rating per Character Level.
16: Add three piece partial set bonus to Isenhart’s Horns of All Resistances +8
17: Add +3 Defiance to Isenhart’s Parry (the shield).
18: Add 30% Faster Block Rate and 20% Increased Chance of Blocking to Isenhart’s Parry
19: Add 20% Chance to Cast Level 1 Weaken When Struck to Isenhart’s Parry.
20: Add 17% Faster Hit Recovery to Isenhart’s Parry.
21: Add three piece partial set bonus to Isenhart’s Parry of 22% Faster Block Rate.
A lot of changes, but it’s mostly just pizzaz and flash to make people have fun using it. More fundamentally it’s a defensive oriented set that doesn’t have big damage and instead focuses on triggering Chance to Cast. Most characters won’t use this set past Act 4 Normal. The exceptions are a Holy Fire Paladin might use this set through in early Nightmare if he hasn’t found something better yet; and an Enchant Sorceress who might use this through Nightmare because of the resistances and faster block rate.
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Cathan’s Traps:
One of many sets that suffer from a lack of staff mods, making the set clearly worse than using a staff you can buy from a shop. It also suffers the way many caster sets do of having stats for melee instead of actually supporting casting.
Cathan’s Traps grants +1 to Fire Skills, so it should be targeted not only at a Fire Sorceress, but also potentially a Fire Druid, or even a Fire Trap Assassin (mainly because it fits the name of the set). Because of that I think O-skills instead of Class Only Skills are the way to go. Since it’s a Level 11 set I think we should avoid any skills higher than level 12. And that means it’s not going to be overpowered to grant these O-skills. Powerwise we should be looking to make this work through Normal and very early Nightmare (though with the understanding that Fire Immunes are probably going to need to be dealt with some other way).
1: Add +3 to Blaze to Cathan’s Rule (the staff).
2: Add +3 to Warmth to Cathan’s Rule.
3: Add +3 to Fireball to Cathan’s Rule.
4: Replace +10 to Maximum Fire Damage on Cathan’s Rule with -10% Enemy Fire Resistance (This set is for Casters, you are not whacking stuff with this set).
5: Add a partial set bonus for four items to Cathan’s Rule of 10% Faster Cast.
6: Add a partial set bonus for three items to Cathan’s Visage (the helm) of +3 to Fissure.
7: Add a partial set bonus for four items to Cathan’s Visage of +3 to Cyclone armor.
8: Replace the partial set bonus for two items on Cathan’s Sigil (the amulet) with +3 to Fire Blast. (You don’t need AR since you should not be hitting stuff)
9: Add a partial set bonus for four items to Cathan’s Sigil of +3 to Shock Web. (The token non-Fire Damage).
10: Replace the 6% Life Steal on Cathan’s Seal (the ring) with +5 to Life per a kill. (Caster set, you are not hitting things).
11: Add a partial set bonus for three items to Cathan’s Seal of 10% Faster Cast. (Get us to 30% Faster Cast, an important breakpoint for a Druid).
12: Add a partial set bonus for four items to Cathan’s Seal of +3 to Wake of Fire.
13: Add a partial set bonus for four items to Cathan’s Mesh (the Body Armor) of +25% Poison Resistance.
14: Replace the Set bonus of Add 15-20 Fire Damage with +15% to Fire Skill Damage. (Again, this a Caster set, you do damage with spells).
15: Replace the Set bonus of +60 to Attack Rating with 30% Faster Attack Speed (helps with the Assassin Traps).
With this the set should be useful for Fire Sorceresses, Fire Druids, and to a lesser extent Fire Trap Assassins. However, once you get halfway through nightmare, you start having better options (even a Lore Druid Pelt is better for the Fire Druid, not to mention Flickering Flame). Tal Rasha’s set is significantly better for a Fire Sorceress than this. 15% to Fire Skill Damage sounds like a lot, but 2 points in Fire Mastery equals it, and you lose too many important slots for a Druid or a Trap Assassin to make use of it past early Nightmare. I suppose a Fire Sorceress might use this all the way through Nightmare, but Hell difficulty it’s not really viable. Blaze and Warmth are useful as utility skills, but not really for damage if you aren’t a Sorceress. Fireball, Fissure, and Wake of Fire all have the same issue of dropping off in damage without synergies. So it’s a fun way for a Druid or Sorceress to have access to other character’s Fire spells in early game play, but nothing game breaking later on.
The main objection is that Druid and Assassin Skill are not available in Classic. So just make it so those partial set bonuses simply don’t take effect in Classic. It’s still a better set for a Fire Sorceress witht he other changes.
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Arcanna’s Tricks:
Since Cathan’s Traps are clearly targeted at a Fire Sorceress, Arcanna’s Tricks should be pointed at a non-Fire Sorceress. Let’s bump the set level from 15 to level 18 so we can add Staff Mods granting lvl 18 Spells. I’d suggest 1 utility skill, and 2 damage skills (one each lightning and cold). Arcanna’s Tricks has a lot of Mana regeneration on it, so more Mana intensive spells are possible, or just having a significantly faster cast rate. At lvl 18 we ought to be looking for this set to handle the rest of Normal, and somewhat into Nightmare, so it needs slightly better resistances.
1: Add +3 to Shiver Armor (Sorceress Only) to Arcanna’s Deathwand (the staff).
2: Add +3 to Glacial Spike (Sorceress Only) to Arcanna’s Deathwand.
3: Add +3 to Charged Bolt (Sorceress Only) to Arcanna’s Deathwand. (Alternative could be Nova, but most lvl 18 Lightning Sorceress will still be using Charged Bolt).
4: Replace the 25% Deadly Strike on Arcanna’s Deathwand with 25% Faster Cast. (This a Caster Set, you should not be whacking stuff).
5: Add +3 Teleport (Sorceress Only) to Arcanna’s Head (the helm).
6: Increase the partial set bonus for three items on Arcanna’s Head from 15% Lightning Resistance to 30%.
7: Increase the partial set bonus for three items on Arcanna’s Sign (the amulet) from 20% Fire Resistance to 30%.
8: Add +5 Strength to Arcanna’s Sign.
9: Add -50% Requirements to Arcanna’s Flesh (the body armor). (Cathan’s Traps already has this at lvl 11, Arcanna’s ought to have it too).
10: Add +30% Poison and +30% Cold Resistance to Arcanna’s Flesh.
11: Replace the 5% Mana Steal on the Set bonus with +5 Mana per kill.
The additional Resistances are needed to make this set semi viable into early Nightmare. (Note that even after this buff Arcanna’s is still 50% lower resistances than what Cathan’s Traps grants. You get better skills and more Faster Cast, so it’s probably worth it.) You get access to Teleport, Glacial Spike and Shiver Armor without having to spend prerequisite points, makign this a decent choice for a Charged Bolt Sorceress finishing Normal and starting Nightmare.
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Infernal Tools:
Why… why does a set with a wand, have things like 20% Open Wounds, massive Attack Rating, plus to min damage, etc? You should not be hitting things with a wand! If you are using wand, then you are committed to being a caster, and the bonuses should reflect that. Since this is a level 5 set it shouldn’t have skills above level 6. We should probably seek to make it useful through Normal, but not into Nightmare. That’s means some extra flexibility in the set so while best for a Necromancer, it should also be useful to any caster in the early game. That probably means faster cast, and maybe O-skills but not much in the way of resistances.
1: Add +3 to Dim Vision to Infernal Torch (the wand). (Fits the item name and is useful to low level casters to keep mobs from overwhelming you).
2: Add +3 to Clay Golem to Infernal Torch.
3: Add +3 to Teeth to Infernal Torch.
4: Replace +8 to Minimum Damage on the Infernal Torch with 10% Faster Cast Rate.
5: Replace the two part partial set bonus on the Infernal Torch with 20% Faster Cast Rate.
6: Replace the two part partial set bonus on the Infernal Cranium (the helm) with 15% Faster Cast Rate.
7: Remove the three part partial set bonus on the Infernal Sign (the belt). (It grants half freeze length, but the whole set grants Cannot be Frozen and the set is only 3 pieces!)
8: Replace +20 to Life on the Infernal Sign with -50% Requirements. (You need this if you expect people to wear this at lvl 5).
9: Replace the two part partial set bonus on the Infernal Sign with +20 to Life
10: Replace the 20% Attack Bonus and 20% Open Wounds on the Set bonus with 30% Faster Cast.
11: Replace the +8 Poison Damage, and the 6% Mana Steal on the Set bonus with +5 Mana per a kill.
There, that’s 75% Faster Cast which is massive, but that’s a break point for a Necromancer, and it doesn’t really have anything else besides the Necromancer skill points and Faster Cast. Thus, most casters can make good use of this through normal, but once in Nightmare are going to be better off with plus skill items for their class. A necromancer could continue using this, but a White wand is so much better for a Bone Necromancer, and even a Poison Necromancer who might like the Faster Cast is going to be hurting for resistances if they keep using this set.
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Civerb’s Vestments:
Ah, another set that needs some staff mods. Though that isn’t all, the set seems confused, as the Amulet and Shield appear designed for a caster (Mana and Mana regenerate), while the weapon is actually decent for melee (large +max damage). The question of what staff mods to add now comes. At level 9 I guess it’s only 3 levels away from Zeal, which is the normal Paladin build for low levels. So we could be boring and fit it out for a Holy Fire Paladin (even though Angelic’s is a decent set for this already). However, the very large max damage actually fits rather well with Sacrifice, and the high base defense would support the Defiance aura. So I think this is a good pick for a set that can support an off meta Paladin build through Normal.
1: Add +3 to Sacrifice to Civerb’s Cudgel (the scepter).
2: Add +3 to Defiance to Civerb’s Cudgel.
3: Add +3 to Thorns to Civerb’s Cudgel.
4: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Civerb’s Cudgel of 10% life steal.
5: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Civerb’s Cudgel of 10% life steal.
6: Replace the 40% Mana Regeneration on Civerb’s Icon (the amulet) with +15 Strength
7: Replace the +15 Strength on the set bonus with 25% increased Attack Speed. (Moving the plus Strength to the amulet lets the Paladin wear the set without needing to invest strength. Increased Attack Speed is much more important to a melee paladin than Mana regen - especially since Sacrifice does not use Mana.)
8: Replace the 200% Damage to Undead on the set bonus with 200% Damage to Demons. (Gives the set more staying power outside of undead heavy areas and helps with Act bosses).
9: Add +15% Faster Block Rate to Civerb’s Ward (the shield).
10: Replace 15% Increased Chance of Blocking on Civerb’s Ward with 30% Increased Chance of Blocking
11: Replace the +22 to Mana partial set bonus on Civerb’s Ward with +44 to Life.
The shield was a bit lacking, so I buffed it. You can either play this defensively with Sacrifice and Defiance aura, or you can be more aggressive and use Thorns aura. Should last through Normal I think, though it’ll start to struggle towards the end.
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Milabrega’s Regalia:
Let’s buff the next Paladin set then while Civerb’s is fresh in mind. Milabrega’s is level 17, and at level 18 is when Blessed Hammer, Concentration, Holy Freeze, and Vengeance all become available. The level is right for a set aimed at a Hammerdin, but honestly the set bonuses and color (a nice blue) all suggest this ought to be targeted at a Holy Freeze Paladin. Considering the set level, it should last through Normal and partly into Nightmare, so it needs a lot more resistances, and some additional attack rating. Also, the body armor in this set is terrible and needs major work, while the Shield and Helm are bleh and need buffing as well. It’s sad such a beautiful set isn’t really usable.
1: Add +3 to Holy Freeze (Paladin Only) to Milabrega’s Rod (the scepter).
2: Add +3 to Vengeance (Paladin Only) to Milabrega’s Rod. (This gives some utility for dealing with Cold Immunes).
3: Add +3 to Vigor (Paladin Only) to Milabrega’s Rod.
4: Add two piece partial bonus to Milabrega’s Rod of +200 Attack Rating
5: Add three piece partial bonus to Milabrega’s Rod of 33% Increased Attack Speed.
6: Add -50% requirements to Milabrega’s Robe. (Needed to get it down to the requirements of the other items, and it is called a Robe after all.)
7: Add +5 Strength to Milabrega’s Robe.
8: Add +30% Faster Hit recovery to Milabrega’s Robe.
9: Replace Damage Reduced By 2 on Milabrega’s Robe with +30% Fire Resistance
10: Replace Attacker Takes Damage of 3 on Milabrega’s Robe with +30% Lightning Resistance.
11: Add three piece partial set bonus to Milabrega’s Robe of 20% Increased Attack Speed
12: Add +50% Enhanced Defense to Milabrega’s Diadem (the helm).
13: Add +30% Cold Resistance to Milabrega’s Diadem.
14: Replace +15 Mana on Milabrega’s Diadem with -50% requirements (Calling it a Diadem sounds like it should take a lot less strength to wear).
16: Replace +15 Life on Milabrega’s Diadem with +10 Strength.
17: Replace the two piece partial set bonus of +40% Cold Resist on Milabrega’s Diadem with +200 Attack Rating
18: Add three piece partial set bonus to Milabrega’s Diadem of +20% Faster Hit Recovery
19: Add +30% All Resistances to Milabrega’s Orb (the shield). (This has to compete with Paladin Only Shields you realize).
20: Add 30% Faster Block Rate to Milabrega’s Orb.
21: Add +1 Paladin Offensive Auras to Milabrega’s Orb.
22: Replace three piece partial set bonus of 50% Enhanced Defense on Milabrega’s Orb with +100% Enhanced Defense.
There we go. It took a lot of work but now this set is worth wearing. It suits a Holy Freeze Paladin well into Nightmare.
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Vidala’s Rig:
A level 14 set with a bow. It should last partway through Nightmare, so it needs a little better Lightning Resistance, and some pizzaz fitting names like “Ambush,” “Snare,” and “Barb.”
1: Add 17% Faster Hit Recovery to Vidala’s Ambush (the body armor).
2: Add 25% Chance to Cast Level 9 Dim Vision on Striking to Vidala’s Ambush.
3: Add 10% Life Steal to Vidala’s barb (the bow).
4: Add 20% Chance to Cast Level 9 Taunt on Striking to Vidala’s Barb.
5: Add three piece partial set bonus to Vidala’s Barb of 26% Increased Attack Speed
6: Add Lightning Resist +24% to Vidala’s Fetlock (the boots).
7: Add three piece partial set bonus to Vidala’s Fetlock of 15% Faster Hit Recovery.
8: Add 4% Mana Steal to Vidala’s Snare (the amulet).
9: Add three piece partial set bonus to Vidala’s Snare of +10 Strength.
10: Replace +10 Strength in full set bonus with +20 Mana.
There, that feels like a fun low level set. You hit things, and if they don’t freeze, they are taunted (reducing damage by 20%), while the pack around the target doesn’t see anything due to Dim Vision. Fits the names of “Barb” and Ambush."
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Sander’s Folly:
No wonder this set is called Sander’s Folly, he’s trying to use a wand as a weapon to hit things with. Seriously, large amounts of added cold damage on the wand, increased attack speed on the gloves, life and mana steal. Why, why, why?
Okay, so I think there are two directions this set can go. One is to keep the cold damage flavor that seems to be a big part of this set. Instead of trying to make a wand function in melee, it will be through O-skill Cold Skills. (Similar to Fire Skills from Trangs). The second direction is to make it Necromancer skills only, a set aimed at a Support Necro I guess? Since White wands cover Bone Necros, and Trangs already supports Poison Necros, that seems to be about the only space left. Gloves are level 28, so I guess even level 30 skills are fine to grant. This set should last all the way through end of Nightmare, so improved resistances need to be added.
Option 1: Elemental Necro
1: Add +3 to Decrepify (Necromancer Only) to Sander’s Superstition (the wand).
2: Add +3 to Fire Golem (Necromancer Only) to Sander’s Superstition.
3: Add +3 to Lower Resist (Necromancer Only) to Sander’s Superstition.
4: Replace Add 25 to 75 Cold Damage on Sander’s Superstition with +6 to Glacial Spike.
5: Replace 8% Mana Steal on Sander’s Superstition with +10 Mana per a Kill.
6: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Superstition of +6 to Hurricane.
7: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Superstition of +6 to Warmth.
8: Replace Attacker Takes Damage of 8 on Sander’s Paragon (the helm) with 20% Faster Hit Recovery.
9: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Paragon of +20% All Resistances
10: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Paragon of +3 to Chilling Armor.
11: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Riprap (the boots) of +20% All Resistances
12: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Riprap of 10% Faster Cast.
13: Replace the 20% Increased Attack Speed on Sander’s Taboo (the gloves) with 20% Faster Cast. (I know some people use these for the IAS, but this is a caster set, it really needs to be Faster Cast instead. I’m sorry you’ll have to use other IAS glove options).
14: Replace the Add Poison Damage on Sander’s Taboo with +1 Cold Skills. (This probably makes these gloves best in slot for a Cold Sorceress, but that’s more to do with the lack of good caster gloves than with them being overpowered, they’re equivalent to Magefist which is a lower level item).
15: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Taboo of +20% All Resistances
16: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Taboo of +3 to Cold Mastery.
17: Replace the +75 Attack Rating on the set bonus with 10% Increased Cold Skill Damage
18: Replace the 4% Life Steal on the set bonus with +2 Life per Kill
This set should probably be enough to get through Nightmare Difficulty for a Necromancer, but once you get to Hell you start running into problems without synergies, and your resistances aren’t as great. It’s also a pretty good set for a Cold Sorceress too but you’re better off with an Orb that gives +3 to Blizzard. Remember O-skills are capped at +3 for native skill users, so that means a Sorceress only gets +3 to Glacial Spike and Warmth. I’m sure a Cold Sorceress would love the gloves, and maybe the three piece partial set bonus for a while. But for everything except the gloves, there is a better choice for the Sorceress. Tal Rasha’s set beats this for a Cold Sorceress. A Wind Druid might like this for a while too, but again there are better choices. I think this pretty much gets replaced after Nightmare. I kind of like it as a quirky set. Might have to remove the + Hurricane if this set is in Classic Diablo.
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Option 2: Support Necro
1: Add +3 to Decrepify (Necromancer Only) to Sander’s Superstition (the wand).
2: Add +3 to Bone Prison (Necromancer Only) to Sander’s Superstition.
3: Add +3 to Iron Golem (Necromancer Only) to Sander’s Superstition.
4: Replace Add 25 to 75 Cold Damage on Sander’s Superstition with 20% chance to cast Level 1 Poison Nova on Killing an Enemy.
5: Replace 8% Mana Steal on Sander’s Superstition with +10 Mana per a Kill.
6: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Superstition of +3 to Summon Resist.
7: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Superstition of +3 to Lower Resist.
8: Replace Attacker Takes Damage of 8 on Sander’s Paragon (the helm) with 20% Faster Hit Recovery.
9: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Paragon of +20% All Resistances
10: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Paragon of +3 to Bone Armor (Necromancer Only).
11: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Riprap (the boots) of +20% All Resistances
12: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Riprap of 10% Faster Cast.
13: Replace the 20% Increased Attack Speed on Sander’s Taboo (the gloves) with 20% Faster Cast.
14: Replace the Add Poison Damage on Sander’s Taboo with +1 to Summoning Spells.
15: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Taboo of +20% All Resistances
16: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Sander’s Taboo of +3 to Golem Mastery (Necromancer Only).
17: Replace the +75 Attack Rating on the set bonus with +3 to Revive (Necromancer Only).
18: Replace the 4% Life Steal on the set bonus with +2 Life per Kill
Probably can be used by a Summoning Necromancer through Nightmare. Feels rather boring though. I don’t know, the other option felt a lot cooler.
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Heaven’s Brethren:
This set needs a lot more than just a few tweaks. The shield has a level of 81. This is end game gear that uses shield, the body, helm, and weapon slot so it better be good. It needs more resistances, more damage, attack rating. And it needs a theme, something that makes it cool and worth using despite not being the meta build.
Looking at it, Dangoon (from the mace Dangoon’s Teaching) is a reference to Dangun the legendary founder of Korea, and all of the pieces are references to Korea history. Dangoon’s mother was a bear who was transformed in a human. So I’m thinking, maybe make this a Werebear set? That would give a thematic tone to it and honor the Korean legends it’s referencing. Since Heaven’s Brethren is made to be a set for all melee characters, I think we can make these O-skills. (I mean Beast already does it).
1: Add +3 Werebear to Dragoon’s Teaching (the mace).
2: Add +3 Lycanthropy to Dragoon’s Teaching.
3: Add +300 Attack Rating to Dragoon’s Teaching.
4: Replace the 10% Chance to Cast level 3 Frost Nova on Dragoon’s Teaching with 25% Chance to Cast level 7 Frost Nova on Striking.
5: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Dragoon’s Teaching of +3 Maul.
6: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Dragoon’s Teaching of +3 Fire Claws.
7: Add +30 Strength to Haemosu’s Adamant. (Lowest Strength requirement item in the set, make it so you can wear the other parts).
8: Add +200 Attack Rating to Haemosu’s Adamant.
9: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Haemosu’s Adamant of +30% Fire Resistance.
10: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Haemosu’s Adamant of +3 Mace Mastery.
11: Replace 10% Chance to Cast Level 3 Weaken on Ondal’s Almighty (the helm) with 25% Chance to Cast Level 6 Battle Cry on Striking.
12: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Ondal’s Almighty of +30% Cold Resistance.
13: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Ondal’s Almighty of +3 Summon Grizzly.
14: Replace the +100 Mana on Taebaek’s Glory (the shield) with -50% Requirements. (The shield desperately needs this to make it wearable, and the melee character this is designed for doesn’t need the mana).
15: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Taebaek’s Glory of +20% chance to Cast Level 6 Shout when Struck.
16: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Taebaek’s Glory of 25% Chance of Crushing Blow.
17: Replace the +3 to Maximum Fire Damage per a Character Level on the set bonus with +3 to Maximum Lightning Damage per a Character Level. (Lightning damage is more suited to a Son of Heaven theme).
18: Add 5% Mana Leech to the set bonus.
There, a defensive oriented, bear themed, end game worthy set. Probably best suited for an actual Werebear Druid, but it can work for any melee character. Certainly not best in slot, but a fun end game set that lots of players would enjoy collecting for the fun aspect despite it not being the most powerful.
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Hwanin’s Majesty:
Hwanin’s Majesty is another reference to Korean legends. Hwanin is the god of the Heavens, and Dangoon’s grandfather (from Heaven’s Brethren Set), so Lighting Damage is thematic. The primary problem with this set is the weapon is a Polearm and not a Spear, so the Amazon can’t use this with any of her Spear skills. It’s even more confusing because the Bill (the base of the weapon) is a European Polearm, while the Spear equivalent base is the Yari (the Japanese name for it, but those types of Spears were used in Korea too). I think someone made a mistake somewhere with this one. I’ll provide two options, one that changes the set bases, and one that continues with using the current bases (even though that limits this set to Barbarians, Druid Shapeshifters, and Charge Paladins). Regardless which way we go, this set also needs more Fire and Lightning resistances, since it needs to last through Nightmare and into early Hell.
Option 1: Amazon Bait
1: Change the base item of Hwanin’s Justice from a Bill to a Yari. (This is roughly the equivalent, the other choice being the War Fork, but Yari is more proper East Asia flavor, and has similar attack speed, with roughly similar requirements).
2: Replace 10% Chance to Cast Level 3 Ice Blast on Hwanin’s Justice with 20% Chance to Cast Level 7 Ice Blast on Striking.
3: Add +3 Impale to Hwanin’s Justice. (Fits with Indestructible)
4: Add two piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Justice of +3 Fend.
5: Add three piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Justice of +3 Lightning Strike.
6: Add -30% requirements to Hwanin’s Splender (the helm).
7: Add +10 Strength to Hwanin’s Splender.
8: Add +1% Attack Rating Per Character Level to Hwanin’s Splender.
9: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Splender of 40% Lightning Resistance.
10: Add a three piece partial set bonus of 10% Chance to Cast level 5 Thunder Storm When Struck to Hwanin’s Splender.
11: Add +30 Strength to Hwanin’s Blessing (the belt).
12: Add 25% Faster Hit Recovery to Hwanin’s Blessing.
13: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Blessing of 5% Mana Steal
14: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Blessing of +20% Increased Attack Speed
15: Add +40% Fire Resistance to Hwanin’s Refuge (the body armor).
16: Add +15 Strength to Hwanin’s Refuge.
17: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Refuge of 30% Faster Hit Recovery.
18: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Refuge of +30% to All Resistances
19: Add +3 Lighting Mastery to the full set bonus. (Yes, this is big for a Lightning Strike Amazon, but remember this is competing with an Infinity Spear, and Infinity Spear still wins).
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Option 2: Not for Amazons
1: Replace 10% Chance to Cast Level 3 Ice Blast on Hwanin’s Justice with 20% Chance to Cast Level 7 Ice Blast on Striking.
3: Add 30% Chance of Crushing Blow to Hwanin’s Justice
4: Add two piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Justice of 20% Chance of Casting Level 14 Chain Lightning on Striking.
5: Add three piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Justice of +3 Zeal.
7: Add 20% Increased Attack Speed to Hwanin’s Splender.
8: Add +1% Attack Rating Per Character Level to Hwanin’s Splender.
9: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Splender of 40% Lightning Resistance.
10: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Splender 10% Chance to Cast level 5 Thunder Storm When Struck to Hwanin’s Splender.
11: Add +30 Strength to Hwanin’s Blessing (the belt).
12: Add 25% Faster Hit Recovery to Hwanin’s Blessing.
13: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Blessing of 5% Mana Steal
14: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Blessing of +20% Increased Attack Speed
15: Add +40% Fire Resistance to Hwanin’s Refuge (the body armor).
16: Add +25% Increased Attack Speed to Hwanin’s Refuge.
17: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Refuge of 30% Faster Hit Recovery.
18: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Hwanin’s Blessing of +30% to All Resistances
19: Add +3 Lighting Mastery to the full set bonus. (Not usable by an Amazon, but it helps with the Chance to Cast Spells, and maybe a Holy Shock Charge Paladin could get some use out of it).
There you go. I’d really prefer Option 1, since this set was clearly supposed to be for a Spearazon, but for some strange reason they made the weapon a Polearm instead of a Spear.
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Naj’s Ancient Wisdom:
Naj’s is almost there, but not quite. At Level 78 it is an end game set, and ought to be used by either a Fire Sorceress or a Fire Druid. It can’t even come close to competing in plus skills for a Fire Druid, so I guess it needs to compete in Faster Cast? Though still inferior to the alternatives, it should be possible to compete in that way.
1: Upgrade Naj’s Circlet to Naj’s Diadem, or at least Tiara. It’s so very out of sync with the rest of the set level requirements. Or at least increase the level requirement to match the bonuses, because it needs to have level 70 worthy bonuses to fit with the set.
2: Add +1 to All Skill to Naj’s Circlet.
3: Add 25% Faster Cast to Naj’s Circlet . (Yes, this could make it best in slot for some non-lightning casters that need to hit the highest break point. That’s fine, Griffen’s Eye really shouldn’t be used by non Lightning characters.)
4: Replace the 12% Chance to Cast Level 5 Chain Lighting on Naj’s Circlet with 12% Chance to Cast Level 10 Thunder Storm When Struck.
5: Replace the Adds 25-35 Fire Damage on Naj’s Circlet with +15 Dexterity
6: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Naj’s Circlet of Adds 25-35 Fire Damage.
7: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Naj’s Circlet of -20% Enemy Fire Resistance
8: Replace the Adds 4-65 Lightning Damage on Naj’s Puzzler (the staff) with +20 Strength
9: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Naj’s Puzzler of Adds 4-65 Lightning Damage.
10: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Naj’s Puzzler of All Resistances +30%
11: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Naj’s Light Plate of +30 Faster Cast.
12: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Naj’s Light Plate of +30% Faster Hit Recovery.
13: Remove the +20 Strength from the full set bonus.
14: Replace the +15 Dexterity on the full set bonus with +35% Faster Cast.
Several of these changes are just switching which benefits are on the items and which are set bonuses in ways that make the set more flexible. Still not as good Faster Cast as you can get with HotO and Spirit, and leaves the Sorceress just barely able to reach the final breakpoint, but allows the Druid to get there relatively easily. This is probably the right place for this set, as while not the best for a Fire Caster, it’s probably 3rd or 4th best.
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Orphan’s Call:
This set is interesting in that the various pieces aren’t that bad, but they just don’t work together as a set at all. Probably the main weakness is the shield, because it lacks Resistances. It’s very good at blocking and so can suit some Sorceresses, but it’s not really good enough for the melee character this set is designed for. The belt is also rather lackluster other than being dual leech, and even the gloves are weak considering the lack of resistances. Looking at the set as a whole, while parts of it are good for various melee characters, probably only a Javazon, and maybe a defense focused Fury Druid will work well for the entire set. Lack of resistances being the major issue. A minor issue is the +Strength being on the highest strength items instead of the lowest.
1: Add +15 Strength to Magnus’ Skin (the gloves).
2: Add 3 to Mana After Each Kill to Magnus’ Skin.
3: Replace Fire Resist +15% on Magnus’ Skin with Fire Resist +30%
4: Add two piece partial set bonus to Magnus’ Skin of Cold Resist +30%.
5: Add three piece partial set bonus to Magnus’ Skin of +15 Dexterity.
6: Add four piece partial set bonus to Magnus’ Skin of +2 to Javelin and Spear Skills.
(Note that all of these bonuses can roll on a decent rare set of gloves).
7: Add +15 Strength to Whitstan’s Guard (the shield).
8: Add All Resistances +20% to Whitstan’s Guard.
9: Replace Half Freeze Duration on Whitstan’s Guard with Cannot Be Frozen.
10: Add two piece partial set bonus to Whitstan’s Guard of 5 to Mana After Each Kill.
11: Add three piece partial set bonus to Whitstan’s Guard of +22% Faster Hit Recovery.
12: Add four piece partial set bonus to Whitstan’s Guard of +30% Faster Block Rate.
13: Add +15 Strength to Wilhelm’s Pride (the belt).
14: Add 24% Faster Hit Recovery to Wilhelm’s Pride.
15: Replace Cold Resist +10% on Wilhelm’s Pride with Lightning Resist +30%
16: Add two piece partial set bonus to Wilhelm’s Pride of Poison Resist +30%
17: Add three piece partial set bonus to Wilhelm’s Pride of +60 Life.
18: Add four piece partial set bonus to Wilhelm’s Pride of All Resistances +20%.
19: Add two piece partial set bonus to Guilluame’s Face of +1% Attack Ratting Per Character Level.
20: Add three piece partial set bonus to Guilluame’s Face of +10 Attack Rating Per Character Level.
21: Add four piece partial set bonus to Guilluame’s Face of +15 Dexterity.
22: Remove +20 Strength from full set bonus
23: Remove +10 Dexterity from full set bonus
24: Replace All Resistances +15% on full set bonus with All Resistances +45%
Moved the plus Strength and Dex to the lower requirement items. Belt is a lot better with resistances, and the shield is a lot better with resistances too. More importantly there are now partial set bonuses that make this attractive to use as a whole set for a Javazon.
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Tancred’s Battlegear:
Tancred’s doesn’t need to just be good enough at level 20 (which is when you can first wear it) but needs to last for a good time afterwards, which means at least halfway through Nightmare. It needs at least 20 to 30 more All Resistances. Furthermore, look at the individual item bonuses, they are terrible compared to what you can get from rare items at level 20. +75 AR on the weapon? That’s a level 12 affix. The amulet is even worse. The set bonuses are nice, but that’s not enough to overcome the terrible individual items affixes. It also needs something to make it special compared to other sets, so let’s look at the name for some inspiration.
Tancred is a Norman name, the most famous branch of the family conquered Sicily and became its King. And the most famous individual of that branch was the crusader Tancred, Prince of Galilee. So, we are probably looking at a Paladin oriented set, but should be useable by a Barbarian or an Enchant Sorceress. One of the more famous stories about Tancred is how he offered sanctuary to a group during the sack of Jerusalem, and how he was angered when that sanctuary was violated. He was also one of the first to enter Jerusalem during the sack. Tancred means “well-thought” which to me suggests Concentration. The set also seems focused around defensive things like Slow Enemy, so maybe see if we can continue to build on that.
1: Add Prevent Monster Heal to Tancred’s Crowbill (the axe)
2: Add +3 Axe Mastery to Tancred’s Crowbill
3: Add 7% Life Steal to Tancred’s Crowbill
4: Replace the +75 Attack Rating on Tancred’s Crowbill with +120 Attack Rating.
5: Replace the two piece partial set bonus of 20% Increased Attack Speed on Tancred’s Crowbill with +25% Increased Attack Speed.
6: Replace the three piece partial set bonus of +20 Mana on Tancred’s Crowbill with -30% Target Defense
7: Add a four piece partial set bonus to Tancred’s Crowbill of +5 Concentrate. (O-skill for the barbarian Combat Skill).
8: Add -30% Requirements to Tancred’s Spine (the body armor).
9: Add 20% Chance to Cast Level 6 Slow Missile When Struck to Tancred’s Spine.
10: Add 80% Enhanced Defense to Tancred’s Spine.
11: Replace +15 Strength on Tancred’s Spine with All Resistances +20%
12: Add three piece partial set bonus to Tancred’s Spine of 30% Faster Hit Recovery.
13: Add four piece partial set bonus to Tancred’s Spine of +3 Sanctuary. (An O-skill more for flavor than anything, though it would give a Barbarian an option to deal with physical immunes besides Berserk).
14: Add 10% Faster Hit Recovery to Tancred’s Skull (the helm).
15: Add 1% Bonus to Attack Rating Per Character Level to Tancred’s Skull.
16: Replace 10% Enhanced Damage on Tancred’s Skull with 80% Enhanced Damage.
17: Add three piece partial set bonus to Tancred’s Skull of +15 Strength.
18: Add four piece partial set bonus to Tancred’s Skull of +3 Concentration. (O-skill for the Paladin aura).
19: Add All Resistances +10% to Tancred’s Weird (the amulet).
20: Add 50% Chance to Cast Level 4 Confuse When Struck to Tancred’s Weird.
21: Add +9 Strength to Tancred’s Weird
22: Add four piece partial set bonus to Tancred’s Weird of +14% Increased Attack Speed.
23: Add 80% Extra Gold From Monsters to Tancred’s Hobnails (the boots).
24: Add 25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items to Tancred’s Hobnails.
25: Add 20% Chance to Cast Level 6 Burst of Speed When Struck to Tancred’s Hobnails.
26: Add +0.5 Defense Per Character Level to Tancred’s Hobnails.
27: Add four piece partial set bonus to Tancred’s Hobnails of 20% Faster Hit Recovery.
28: Add +1 All Skills to the full set bonus.
There, that will be a fun set allowing a Paladin to mess around using Concentrate, or a Barbarian using Concentration Aura, or an Enchant Sorceress, who will probably like the defensive nature of the set. The IAS and FHR were carefully chosen to meet specific Paladin, Barbarian, and Sorceress breakpoints, since I think those are the three most likely characters to use this set. You end up with 20% All Resistances in Nightmare, so it should probably last through the first half of Nightmare for the Barb or Paladin, and maybe all the way for an Enchant Sorceress.
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Cow King's Leathers:
The Cow King’s Leathers got buffed in 2.4 and is now very close to being a good mid level set. The main weakness is that the helm and body armor are rather weak compared to alternatives despite the good set bonus. Particularly since the set is dependent on getting hit.
1: Add 24% Faster Hit Recovery to the Cow King’s Hide (body armor).
2: Add Poison Length Reduced by 75% to Cow King’s Hide
3: Change Chance to Cast Chain Lightning When Struck on Cow King’s Hide to on Striking
4: Add 2 sockets to the Cow King’s Horns (helm)
5: Add +1% to Attack Rating per Character Level to Cow King’s Horns
The Faster Hit Recovery, Poison Length Reduced, 2 sockets, and +AR per Character Level are all modifications that are already available on rares with the same or lower level requirements. In other words those mods are not adding anything new that isn’t already available to players at that level. Faster Hit Recovery works well with the set bonus Chance to Cast Static when Struck. Attack Rating helps the melee build this set is obviously aimed at. While the 2 sockets are flavorful (one for socket per a horn) and allows the player to add either Perfect Topazes for magic find, or a Ral and Ort rune for resistances. Changing the Chain Lightning to On Striking instead of When Struck gives some better control over when it is used and basically adds a slight area of effect to your attack (on average 9 lightning damage to six targets per an attack).
That’s pretty much all you need for this set to become a useful set for Nightmare.
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The Disciple:
Similar to the Oprhan’s Call set, the Disciple doesn’t seem to really gel as a set. It doesn’t help that the boots really aren’t that good, and the belt and body armor are lack luster. As Elite items at level 65 this set needs to be end game gear. It appears to be aimed at a combat class, but all the elite items with low strength requirements suggest either an Amazon or an Enchant Sorceress. The name Disciple seems to suggest a caster, either a Sorceress or a Paladin (with the glove, belt and amulet names leaning Paladin, and the body armor and boots leaning Sorceress). Thus, I’m going to lean towards a Elementalist Combat character, probably an Enchant Sorceress, but also viable for a Paladin or an Amazon.
1: Add -50 Requirements to Credendum (the belt).
2: Add 20% Chance to Cast Level 7 Fist of the Heavens on Striking to Credendum.
3: Add two piece partial set bonus to Credendum of 24% Faster Hit Recovery.
4: Add three piece partial set bonus to Credendum of +60 Life.
5: Add four piece partial set bonus to Credendum of +10 Attack Rating Per Character Level
6: Add five piece partial set bonus Credendum of -20% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
7: Add Fire Resist +30% to Rite of Passage (the boots)
8: Add 15% Chance to Cast Level 6 Meteor on Striking to Rite of Passage
9: Replace +25 Maximum Stamina on Rite of Passage with +10 Dexterity
10: Replace Half Freeze Duration on Rite of Passage with Cannot Be Frozen. (Alternatively, allow Half Freeze Duration to stack and thus become Cannot Be Frozen).
11: Upgrade Base of Rite of Passage to Wymhyde Boots (the Elite version). (This brings the boots in line with all the other parts of the set).
12: Add two piece partial set bonus to Rite of Passage of 22% Faster Hit Recovery.
13: Add three piece partial set bonus to Rite of Passage of +5 Mana After Each Kill.
14: Add four piece partial set bonus to Rite of Passage of +5 Attack Rating Per Character Level
15: Add five piece partial set bonus Rite of Passage of -20% to Enemy Fire Resistance
16: Add 24% Faster Hit Recovery to Dark Adherent (the body armor).
17: Add 5% Chance to Cast Level 20 Thunder Storm When Struck to Dark Adherent.
18: Replace 25% Chance to Cast Level 3 Nova When Struck on Dark Adherent with 25% Chance to Cast Level 22 Frost Nova on Striking. (Matches CtoC on the Runeword Ice).
19: Replace Fire Resist +24% on Dark Adherent with Cold Resist +50%
20: Add two piece partial set bonus to Dark Adherent of +40 to Mana
21: Add three piece partial set bonus to Dark Adherent of +5 Mana After Each Kill.
22: Add four piece partial set bonus to Dark Adherent of +1% Attack rating Per Character Level.
23: Add five piece partial set bonus Dark Adherent of +15% to Cold Skill Damage
24: Add +20 Strength to Telling of Beads (the amulet) and raise required level to 58.
25: Add +60 Life to Telling of Beads.
26: Replace Cold Resist +18% on Telling of Beads with Lightning Resist +50%.
27: Add two piece partial set bonus to Telling of Beads of Replenish Life 10.
28: Add three piece partial set bonus to Telling of Beads of +20 Dexterity.
29: Add four piece partial set bonus to Telling of Beads of +16% Faster Hit Recovery
30: Add five piece partial set bonus Telling of Beads of +20% Increased Attack Speed
31: Replace 10% Chance to Cast Level 3 Holy Bolt on Striking on Laying of Hands (the gloves) with 20% Chance to Cast Level 3 Holy Bolt on Striking
32: Add two piece partial set bonus to Laying of Hands of +10 Dexterity
33: Add three piece partial set bonus to Laying of Hands of Add 24 to 34 Poison Damage over 2 Seconds.
34: Add four piece partial set bonus to Laying of Hands of Level 4 Zeal (300 Charges).
35: Add five piece partial set bonus Laying of Hands of Level 4 Strafe (300 Charges).
36: Replace the +100 to Mana on the full set bonus with +100 to Life.
I’ve included the set bonus charges on the gloves in the expectation that repairing them without the set bonus won’t charge you for recharging them. Heck, I’d hope that you can recharge them just by removing the set bonus and then adding them back. If that doesn’t work then I guess you could just give O-skill +1 Zeal and O-skill +1 Strafe. Basically, this set favors either Frost/Fire Maiden, Enchant Sorceress, and maybe a FoH/Holy Shock Paladin. Might be best in slot for an Enchant Sorceress, but not for the others, though very competitive. I think it’s fine to have an end game set that is best in slot for the Enchant Sorceress, considering how niche that character is.
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Aldur’s Watchtower:
Aldur’s suffers from several problems. The most obvious is the weapon, which lacks both the damage for a Shapeshifter, and the faster cast needed for a Elementalist. However, the helm also suffers from the lack of staff mods. The armor gives plus 1 to Elemental and Shapeshifting skills, and the entire set gives +3 to Druid Skills. Compare that to the +2 to all skills available on body armor Runewords, the potential +2 to all skills on a helm in addition to +3 to certain specific skills, and the possible +2 to Druid Skills on a Rare Mace. Basically that’s +4 from Aldur’s compared to the +9 potentially available on comparable alternatives (and that doesn’t even try to compete with a Heart of the Oak runeword).
How would I fix this set? Well it’s obviously aimed at either an Elementalist or a Shapeshifter. Probably a Shapeshifter/Wind Druid hybrid.
1: Add +3 Summon Grizzly to Aldur’s Stony Gaze (the helm). A Grizzly is useful a Druid caster, it’s also useful to a Shapeshifter, and to a Summoner.
2: Add +3 Hurricane to Aldur’s Stony Gaze. Even if not synergized a Hurricane can always be useful for the chill effect.
3: Add +3 Cyclone Armor to Aldur’s Stony Gaze. Cyclone Armor is pretty much always useful no matter your build.
4: Move the 350% Enhanced Damage from the Set bonus to Adlur’s Rhythm (the weapon) directly, and reduce it to 250%, replacing the second partial set bonus for wearing three items. Always better to have the damage directly on the weapon.
5: Replace the first partial set bonus (for wearing two items) on Aldur’s Rhythm with 30% Faster Cast.
6: Replace the third partial set bonus (for wearing four items) on Aldur’s Rhythm with +2 Druid Skills.
7: Change the base for Aldur’s Deception to Chaos Armor (the Exceptional version) instead of Shadow Plate (the Elite version). All the other pieces are Exceptional, let the player wear it all at the same time instead of having to wait till lvl 71 to wear the armor.
8: Replace the first partial set bonus (for wearing two items) on Aldur’s Stony Gaze with 20% Faster Cast.
9: Replace the second partial set bonus (for wearing three items) on Aldur’s Stony Gaze with +200 Attack Rating.
10: Replace the third partial set bonus (for wearing four items) on Aldur’s Stony Gaze with 20% Faster Block Rate.
11: Replace the second partial set bonus (for wearing three items) on Aldur’s Advance (the boots) with 20% Crushing Blow.
12: Replace the third partial set bonus (for wearing four items) on Aldur’s Advance with 20% Faster Hit Recovery.
13: Replace the first partial set bonus (for wearing two items) on Aldur’s Deception (the body armor) with 20% Faster Hit Recovery.
14: Replace the second partial set bonus (for wearing three items) on Aldur’s Deception with +150% Defense.
15: Replace the third partial set bonus (for wearing four items) on Aldur’s Deception with +50 to Life.
Tried to make it so the first partial Set bonus applies to casters, the second to melee, and the third to both. The above I think would make Aldur’s a very useful set for both Shapeshifters and Elementalists, and even a Summoner, well into Hell difficulty. Viable for the whole game but not quite best in slot for any of the builds. (Aiming for something like Tal Rasha’s in terms of power level).
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Griswald’s Legacy:
It’s not bad, but it lacks staff mods, and it could use some added flexibility in the types of Paladin builds it supports (ie make it so Caster builds can use it too).
1: Add +3 to Holy Shield (Paladin Only) to Griswald’s Redemption (the scepter).
2: Add +3 to Redemption (Paladin Only) to Griswald’s Redemption.
3: Add +3 to Vigor (Paladin Only) to Griswald’s Redemption. (These are 3 utility Paladin skills that every Paladin can benefit from and save some points on prerequisites, but doesn’t lock the set into one type of Paladin).
4: Replace the +200% Damage to Undead on Griswald’s Redemption with +300 Attack Rating. (Will move to elsewhere, because it’s off weapon damage even though it’s on the weapon, better to move it and have the weapon have built in what an Elemental Zealot needs, which is AR.)
5: Replace the +65% Faster Block Rate on Griswald’s Honor (the shield) with +2 to Paladin Skills. (Faster Block Rate is pointless on a Paladin only shield, especially at this level, because Holy Shield sets your block rate to 2, and it can’t get any faster. Replace the useless affix with something useful that can spawn on Rare shields at this level.)
6: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Griswald’s Honor of 35% Faster Cast.
7: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Griswald’s Honor of 200% Enhanced Damage
8: Add a four piece partial set bonus to Griswald’s Honor of +300 Attack Rating
9: Replace +2 Defensive Auras on Griswald’s Heart (body armor) with +2 Offensive Auras
10: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Griswald’s Heart of 20% Faster Cast.
11: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Griswald’s Heart of 30% Faster Hit Recovery.
12: Add a four piece partial set bonus to Griswald’s Heart of +100% Enhanced Defense.
13: Add +1% Attack Ratting Per a Character Level to Griswald’s Valor (the helm). (This is the Visionary affix that can spawn on helms at level 25).
14: Replace the two piece partial set bonus of +2 to Offensive Auras on Griswald’s Valor with +2 to Defensive Auras.
15: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Griswald’s Valor of +0.25 Fire Absorb Per Character Level.
12: Add a four piece partial set bonus to Griswald’s Valor of +0.25 Lightning Absorb Per Character Level.
There, now the set can be used by casters as well as zealots. Still not best in slot for most builds, but competitive. Similar in power level to Tal Rasha’s for a Sorceress.
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M'avina's Battle Hymn:
Suggestions taken from DarkHelmet’s thread on class sets.
For M’avina, her set lacks in two key areas: 1) Flexibility and 2) No Pierce. The set effectively pigeonholes you into going Freezing Arrow and does nothing to enhance the other skills in the Bowzon tree. Furthermore, it lacks 100% Pierce that you can get from Uniques/Runeword set-ups.
1: Add a five piece partial set bonus to M’avina’s True Sight of 33% Pierce
2: Add +1 Amazon Skills to M’avina’s Caster (the bow)
3: Add -25% Target Defense to M’avina’s Caster
4: Add a five piece partial set bonus to M’avina’s Caster of +100% Enhance Damage
5: Add a two piece partial set bonus to M’avina’s Embrace (the body armor) of 30% Faster Hit Recovery
6: Replace the three piece partial set bonus of 30% Faster Hit Recovery on M’avina’s Embrace with -20% Enemy Lightning Resistance. (Supports the Nova proc on Caster).
7: Add a four piece partial set bonus to M’avina’s Embrace of +15% Lightning Skill Damage.
8: Add a five piece partial set bonus to M’avina’s Embrace of 20% Damage Reduction
9: Replace Half Freeze Duration on M’avina’s Icy Clutch (gloves) with Cannot Be Frozen
10: Add a two piece partial set bonus to M’avina’s Icy Clutch of -20% Enemy Cold Resistance.
11: Add a three piece partial set bonus to M’avina’s Icy Clutch of 20% Increased Attack Speed.
12: Add a two piece partial set bonus to M’avina’s Tenet (belt) of Adds 131-252 Fire Damage
13: Add a three piece partial set bonus to M’avina’s Tenet of -20% Enemy Fire Resistance
14: Add a five piece partial set bonus to M’avina’s Tenet of 20% Fire Skill Damage.
Now it will support a Frost Bowazon, a Fire Bowazon, or even a physical bowazon.
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Immortal Kings:
Only thing really that needs to change here is to add Staff Mods to the helm. That and allow two handed weapons to hit 4 frames on whirlwind attack. Maybe additional sockets for the Maul.
1: Add +3 Whirlwind to Immortal King’s Will (the helm).
2: Add +3 Berserk to Immortal King’s Will.
3: Add +3 War Cry to Immortal King’s Will.
4: Increase the number of sockets in the Immortal King’s Stone Crusher to four.
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Natalya's Odium:
Another class set that suffers from the lack of Staff Mods. It’s clearly designed for a Martial Arts Assassin but has a distinct lack of Attack Rating. Ignore Target Defense is not good enough because you need to deal with bosses. Resistances are actually really good, suggesting this could be used with Burst of Speed instead of Fade. Might be nice to give it some use for a trap assassin.
1: Add +3 Venom (Assassin Only) to Natalya’s Mark (the claw).
2: Add +3 Shadow Master (Assassin Only) to Natalya’s Mark.
3: Add +3 Mind Blast (Assassin Only) to Natalya’s Mark.
4: Replace Ignore Target Defense on Natalya’s Mark with -100% Target Defense
5: Add two piece partial set bonus to Natalya’s Mark of 36% Faster Block Rate
6: Add three piece partial set bonus to Natalya’s Mark of +8 to Attack Rating Per Character Level
7: Add four piece partial set bonus to Natalya’s Mark of +2 to Martial Arts Skills
8: Add two piece partial set bonus to Natalya’s Soul (boots) of +20% Crushing Blow
9: Add three piece partial set bonus to Natalya’s Soul of +15% to Cold Skill Damage
10: Add four piece partial set bonus to Natalya’s Soul of 20% Faster Hit Recovery
11: Add two piece partial set bonus to Natalya’s Totem (helm) of +2 to Trap Skills
12: Add three piece partial set bonus to Natalya’s Totem of -15% Enemy Lightning Resistance
13: Add four piece partial set bonus to Natalya’s Totem of +15% to Lightning Skill Damage
14: Add two piece partial set bonus to Natalya’s Shadow (body armor) of 30% Faster Hit Recovery
15: Add three piece partial set bonus to Natalya’s Shadow of -15% Enemy Fire Resistance
16: Add four piece partial set bonus to Natalya’s Shadow of +15% Fire Skill Damage
The staff mods added here are support skills, and so don’t particularly lock the player into one type of build. The life leech and mana leech do however strongly suggest this is for a martial arts build. Hence the Crushing Blow on the boots (but less than Goblin Toe). Increase to Fire, Cold, and Lightning damage and reduction to enemy resistances actually support an elemental Martial Arts build more than a trapper, though a trapper can make some use of it, hence the +2 to Traps on the helm. Replacing the Ignore Target Defense with -100% Target Defense makes this set much more useable against champions and uniques. The added Attack Rating helps with bosses (who are not fully affected by minus Target defense). The Faster Block works with either a shield or with dual claws.
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Trang-Oul's Avatar:
Trang’s is actually a really good set, its main problem is that it gives you the Vampire faster cast rates. Fix that issue and it would be much more popular, though even with that fix it lacks faster cast, and could use a lot more. It also lacks staff mods on the totem.
1: Let the wearer use the Necromancer Faster Cast Rate table.
2: Add +3 to Lower Resist (Necromancer Only) to Trang-Oul’s Wing (shield).
3: Add +3 to Fire Golem (Necromancer Only) to Trang-Oul’s Wing.
4: Add +3 to Poison Nova (Necromancer Only) to Trang-Oul’s Wing.
5: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Trang-Oul’s Wing of 25% Faster Cast Rate.
6: Add a five piece partial set bonus to Trang-Oul’s Wing of 20% Faster Block Rate.
7: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Trang-Oul’s Scales (body armor) of 20% Faster Block Rate.
8: Add a four piece partial set bonus to Trang-Oul’s Scales of 20% Faster Cast Rate.
9: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Trang-Oul’s Girth (belt) of 25% Faster Hit Recovery.
10: Add a four piece partial set bonus to Trang-Oul’s Girth of 10% Faster Cast Rate.
11: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Trang-Oul’s Guise (helm) of +20 Dexterity
12: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Trang-Oul’s Guise of +15% Faster Cast Rate.
13: Add a four piece partial set bonus to Trang-Oul’s Guise of -20% Enemy Fire Resistance.
14: Add a two piece partial set bonus to Trang-Oul’s Claws (gloves) of +15% Faster Block Rate.
15: Add a three piece partial set bonus to Trang-Oul’s Claws of +10 Dexterity.
16: Add a four piece partial set bonus to Trang-Oul’s Claws of +10% Lightning Resistance.
17: Replace the 20% Life Steal in the full set bonus with +20 to Life After Each Kill. (This is a caster set, so Life Steal is not helpful).
Added staff mods are basically in theme with this set. Fire and Poison. Even if the Necromancer Faster Cast table is not fixed, at least the added faster cast will help mitigate the issue. The other main addition was in the form of a faster block rate and dexterity since walk run speed being the same is a major benefit of the full set. Leaving a notable absence of Fire Resistance, that’s so that this set is not very attractive to a non Necromancer Caster wearing four pieces and using a Spirit Shield. Note that adding the fifth piece that can only be used by a Necromancer fixes this issue since the totem has +45% Fire resistance and the Full Set bonus gives +50% All Resistances.
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