Updated as of 5/2/22
So 2.4 has dropped and overall it’s not bad but some of it needs to be changed back. The most notable change that I will address first is the FHR change. The reason FHR existed was not just for PvM play but also for PvP. Certain classes/builds were adept at placing opponents into Faster Hit Recovery so having optimal frame rate in this particular stat was paramount to do PvP. With the change in 2.4, you’ve all but made the attribute pointless and builds that were built around putting people into FHR are now effectively neutered. The reason FoH had a 1 second cast-delay was also for PvP since the ease at which one can target an opponent with it is extremely easy. I like the Holy Bolt change but yeah… might want to reconsider the cast delay change.
Anyways onto the rest of some tweaks/changes I wouldn’t mind seeing down the line.
Merchants
Add a refresh button for Merchant screen
Gambling has one but not the Trade screen. Doing so would allow players to re-roll the items until they see something they’d like to buy(like a 2-socket armor, 3-socket flail, etc.). This QoL change would speed things along and removes the need to leave town to get a re-roll.
Shields
Shield Change: Kite, Tower and Gothic class Shields(along with their Exceptional variants) now roll with 4 sockets.
Do I even need to explain why this change would be instrumental in leveling the playing field against Paladins? Paladins have enjoyed 4 Socket Shields at all times since every Normal, Exceptional and Elite base can roll up to 4 sockets(not to mention their auto-mods like 45 All Resistance). Every other class, however, has to wait until Elite Shield bases start dropping and hope a Monarch falls. Aegis and Ward Shields also roll with 4 sockets but their Strength requirements are so absurd that no one in their right mind would use them without a runeword yielding at minimum -30% requirements.
So seeing as the Monarch, Aegis and Ward are the Elite base versions of Kite, Tower and Gothic respectively, it only makes sense that the Normal and Exceptional variants also roll with 4 sockets. That way the other classes can utilize a Kite Spirit on switch or utilize a Spirit Shield far earlier in Ladder.
Level 85 areas and more
New Level 85 area: Mausoleum, Frozen River, Hell Cows
Mausoleum currently sits right next to the Crypt and yet the Crypt is the only one to get level 85 treatment. Make Mausoleum great again! As for the Frozen River, it is currently a level 83 area but we have little reason to return once rescuing Anya. Upping it to level 85 would have minimal difference in difficulty since it’s an area people tread lightly in entering from the possibility of facing Souls and other hard-hitting enemies. The other area I have in mind is Hell Cows. They’re currently level 81 despite being exclusive to Post-Game(namely after you’ve defeated Baal). Raising them to at minimum level 85 is only prudent but perhaps down the line maybe we bump them a notch higher?
New Level 90 area: Butcher’s Domain(new)
Butcher’s Domain is something new that is a play on the Secret Cow level recipe. Namely instead of a Tome of Town Portal, you use a Tome of Identify. Along with Wirt’s leg, this recipe opens a portal to a dungeon similar in fashion to the Forgotten Tower. There will be 5 levels of monsters, some of which will be MOOOTITVATED to attack you but others will be special “guest monsters” that yield memories of Diablo 1. At the basement floor(aka level 5), you will find a familiar foe who will rekindle PTSD much like Cynthia does in Pokemon Diamond/Pearl. The foe you will face will be none other than the Butcher, a horrid creature who will field a Charging attack that stuns, burns the very ground he walks on(aka Blaze skill) and has a Holy Fire aura that will burn you to a crisp(better have some Burn Heal… ok I’ll see myself out now). Reward for killing him is TBD.
Class Changes
Necromancer: Revert Bone Skills to pre 2.4 specifications. Change Poison Dagger to Poison Strike(name subject to change) and have it apply to all weapon classes. Poison Damage inflicted from this skill ignores Poison Resistance/Immunity.
Bone Necromancers deal quite a bit of damage naked so increasing their synergy bonus makes them that much stronger, notably in PvP arena. Instead of bumping their synergy damage, they can benefit from another idea I have farther down this list when it comes to PvM or PvE without completely changing or imbalancing PvP as it stands right now.
As for Poison Dagger, its a skill that should be open to any weapon class(including Wands). Since Necromancers are not adept at melee combat, I feel going into melee range and successfully landing a melee Poison attack should be quite lethal. As such the foe’s Poison Resistance is completely ignored and the full damage is applied over 4 seconds.
Amazon: Address Penetrate + Blessed Aim aura issue.
Back when I played Diablo 2 years ago, Amazons always had an issue with Blessed Aim aura in that whenever that aura is present, it overwrites or takes the place of Penetrate when calculating their Attack Rating as opposed to benefiting from both. If this hasn’t been addressed, I would place it relatively high on my “To Do List”.
Everything else I’ve seen with the Amazon seems solid, although the change to Physical Bowzon skills, notably Guided Arrow, has tipped the scales in PvP a bit too much for my liking.
Barbarian: For the love of god, address Whirlwind bugs. Update Bash, Stun and Whirlwind Combat Skills. Overhaul Combat Mastery tree, Grim Ward and give hard point incentives for Iron Skin, Natural Resistance and Battle Command.
Combat Skill changes
2.4 was a step in the right direction but Whirlwind is still bugged and needs more attention. Whirlwind also needs an update and I think Whirlwind could use the following changes:
1) Remove the %Damage penalty.
Whirlwind starts at -50% on level 1 so I propose that this be removed and instead grants +8% Damage at level 1 and increases in increments of 8%. Therefore level 20 will be +160% as opposed to +102% we have now. It’s not a huge buff but a notable one at that.
2) Give Whirlwind two synergy bonuses in Berserk and Increased Speed.
Berserk synergy would give Whirlwind %Magic Damage to its attack, allowing you to WW down PI enemies without having to switch to Berserk and opening yourself up to its no defense side effect. The Increased Speed synergy would lower WSM requirements on WW breakpoints by 1 per level. So by investing 20 hard points into Increased Speed, you won’t need to have insane Weapon IAS or have a fast based weapon to achieve a certain breakpoint.
SO for example, with 20 Hard points into Increased Speed, a WW Barbarian would need the following for 1-Hand and 2-Hand setups:
Current 1-Hand: 15, 10, -10, -34.
New 1-Hand(with Increased Speed synergy maxed): 35, 30, 10, -14
Current 2-Hand: 15, 0, -10, -30, -60.
New 2-Hand(with Increased Speed synergy maxed): 35, 20, 10, -10, -40
The ramifications of this are quite substantial. A WW Barbarian with 20 into Increased Speed would be able to use Grandfather without the need of putting in a Shael rune to hit the 6 frame breakpoint. Conversely slower 2-H weapons like Bonehew Axe can be utilized and achieve the 4-frame breakpoint with less IAS investment. Even allows for Ethereal utilization 
Now for Bash:
Remove Knockback
Remove +Physical
Base Attack Rating 50%
1% Crushing Blow per hard point
Bash’s biggest drawback is its Knocback. Melee classes already have a difficult time chasing down enemies trying to flee(Fallen/Fetish) but knocking enemies back only means I have to chase them down to strike them again. Removing Knockback would greatly improve Bash’s viability. The +Physical Damage based on level is frankly insignificant and hence was removed. In its place I buffed Bash’s starting Attack Rating(50%, up from 20%) and gave Bash 1% Crushing Blow per hard point invested. This makes Bash an ideal Boss skill.
For Stun:
Skill renamed to Seismic Slam
Skill requires 2-H Weapon
Barbarian slams ground sending AoE shockwave(in similar fashion to Druid Shockwave) forward that damages/slows enemies in area of effect
Skill always hits
Base Damage starts at 5% Weapon Damage plus 5% per level
Slows Enemies 30%
Mana Cost: 4(up from 2)
Receives Synergies from Bash(+5% Damage), Concentrate(+5% Damage) and Grim Ward(+1% Slow)
Stun just felt like a skill that was outclassed by War Cry so I changed it to be an entirely new skill altogether. One skill that I really love from Diablo 3 is Seismic Slam(notably its Cold rune that slows down enemies). So in homage to Diablo 3, Diablo 2’s Seismic Slam requires a 2-H Weapon to work(just as Double Swing and Frenzy require a dual-wield setup). Yet unlike War Cry, Seismic Slam’s damage is entirely based on what weapon you have equipped so if you want to kill enemies, you’re going to want an Elite based weapon.
Even so, Seismic Slam has a secondary effect in that any enemies that survive the shockwave will be slowed. Meaning even if you don’t damage enemies much, the skill will have use as a CC mechanism. This slow can be enhanced with points into Grim Ward(which might clue you in to what I have in mind) and will stack with other sources of %Slow(Eternity runeword anyone?)
Barb Mastery changes
As for Combat Masteries, this page really needs an overhaul. For starters, Blade, Axe, Mace, Spear and Polearm Mastery should be condensed into one skill: Melee Mastery. In their place, I add Shield Mastery, Bow Mastery, Ferocity and Recovery. I also buff Throwing Mastery with respect to Attack Rating.
Melee Mastery: Encompasses all Weapon classes used to deal Melee damage. Grants %Damage, +Attack Rating, %Attack Rating and %Critical Strike. The integer buff to Attack Rating is new and modest(+25 per level, hence +500 to Attack Rating at level 20).
Throwing Mastery: +Attack Rating bonus added. +25 per level, hence +500 to Attack Rating at level 20.
Barbarian Attack rating at times can be a bit wanting. Adding an integer bonus to Attack rating will make %Attack Rating bonuses from Mastery+Skills that much stronger and reducing the urgency for +Attack Rating on gear.
Shield Mastery: Grants +Block Chance and Faster Block Rate for the Barbarian. For Barbarians opting to Sword and Board, this Mastery is for you.
Bow Mastery: Bow Barbs are a niche thing but this Mastery grants a special combat buff to using Bows and Crossbows. It has Critical Strike and Pierce like on Throwing Mastery but does not have replenishment(since you’re using Arrows/Bolts… those are easy to replenish).
Ferocity: Grants an inherent Attack Speed buff for the Barbarian. This mastery is especially useful for Non-Frenzy builds like Concentrate/Berserk and can help achieve higher breakpoints. Starts off relatively strong with 5% on level 1 but has diminishing returns the higher you go.
Recovery: Grants an inherent bonus to Faster Hit Recovery. Definitely a 1-point wonder but a very useful one.
Iron Skin: +1% Physical Resistance per hard point
Effectively mirrors the Assassins’ Fade skill. 20 Hard points = 20% Physical Resistance
Natural Resistance: +0.5 Max Resistance per hard point
Effectively mirrors Paladin’s Resist auras but also applies to Poison Resistance. 20 Hard points = 85 cap on all Resistances.
Warcries
Grim Ward can now be placed anywhere.
Limit of 5 Wards at a time, duration reduced to 20 seconds
Grim Ward now slows enemies 30% and radius of effect remains unchanged
Receives synergy from Seismic Slam(+1% Slow)
The primary reason people don’t use Grim Ward is because it requires a Corpse to be placed. The first and most obvious QoL change this skill could receive is to remove that requirement and instead treat it like an Assassin trap where upon it has a limit of 5 Wards at a time. Placing a 6th Ward before one of the previous 5 expires instantly destroys the oldest Ward(similarly to how Assassin Traps work). The next major reason Grim Ward isn’t used is because it fears nearby enemies. Barbs have a tough time chasing enemies down as it is so having yet another Fear element is a no-go for me and frankly encroaches on the Barb’s Howl Skill. Instead, it now Slows nearby enemies 30% and its radius of effect is determined by its skill level. This slow effect can be enhanced with hard points into Seismic Slam so one can easily surmise that if these changes were made that Grim Ward would be a pivotal item in the Barbarian’s toolkit.
Battle Command +Skill bonus is now determined by invested hard points. Outline below:
0-4 hard points: +1 Skills
5-9 hard points: +2 Skills
10-14 hard points: +3 Skills
15-19 hard points: +4 Skills
20 hard points: +5 Skills
Battle Command currently is a de facto 1-point wonder. There is literally no incentive to invest more points since all you increase is the buff’s duration. Yet if a Barbarian invested a considerable amount of hard points, I feel the Barbarian and anyone lucky enough to be partied with him should be rewarded for doing so.
Path of Diablo has already done this but limited it to +3 if memory serves. In any case, a Barbarian only has 110 skill points to work with so not all Barbarian builds will have the flexibility to plop 20 into Battle Command. While that makes certain builds more party friendly than others, it does not make those builds instantly better than a Frenzy Barbarian(who is still a godly melee character).
Sorceress: I have changes for all 3 trees.
Fire
Fire Bolt now pierces. Hydra Fire Bolts now pierce, remove Fire Ball synergy and increase Fire Bolt synergy to 6%.
Fire Bolt is seldom used in lieu of Fire Ball, Meteor or other Fire spells. So as to encourage more use of this level 1 spell, having it pierce would give it more viability. This change also affects Hydra since it’s projectiles happen to be Fire Bolts. As a result they’ll be far stronger at dealing with hordes of enemies than they do now. Additionally, having Fire Ball as a synergy makes no sense so to compensate I increased Fire Bolt’s synergy to maintain damage output. The net result is that anyone wishing to utilize Hydra now only needs 60 skill points as opposed to 80 to fully maximize its potential.
Cold
Ice Bolt now pierces. Glacial Spike radius increased to 4 yards, damage scaling increased 25%. Remove Blizzard and Frozen Orb as synergies to Frozen Nova. Instead add Frozen Armor(+10%), Shiver Armor(+10%) and Chilling Armor(+10%) as Frozen Nova synergies. Frozen Orb’s Ice bolts now pierce, increase Ice Bolt synergy to 3% and add Chilling Armor as a synergy(+3%).
Like with Fire Bolt, Ice Bolt is rarely utilized by players. Having it pierce ought to give players a reason to use it. Just as Fire Bolt affected Hydra, so too does Ice Bolt affect Frozen Orb’s Ice Bolts. Orb’s projectiles now pierce enemies but the synergy to Ice Bolt is increased and I added a 2nd synergy in Chilling Armor to promote Cold Armor skill investment. Glacial Spike is often overlooked in favor of Ice Blast because it’s simply more efficient in terms of damage/mana. So I felt that Glacial Spike needed to have its AoE increased modestly while also scaling its damage a bit so that it competes with Ice Blast. I mean a level 18 skill should pack some punch should it not?
Finally Frozen Nova is getting a big overhaul from me. Despite the damage buff in 2.4, it never made sense to me for Frozen Nova to have Blizzard and Frozen Orb as synergies. Instead I opted to have the 3 Cold Armor spells since anyone using Frozen Nova will be getting up close and personal with the enemy. As such the need for a strong Cold Armor is quite necessary and given that all 3 Cold Armor spells are maxed in a Frozen Nova setup, players may simply choose which one they like the most.
Lightning
Thunder Storm radius increased to 13.3 yards and now emits a Nova when striking an enemy, damaging all enemies near the target. This Nova damage is amplified by Nova(+10%)
The skill Thunder Storm to me has always been an underwhelming level 24 skill. I mean its nice that it automatically attacks a nearby foe but even with the 2.4 changes, it’s still a 1 point wonder in many people’s eyes. Yet if Thunder Storm did AoE damage like Fist of Heavens, then maybe people would consider giving Thunder Storm a hard look in a Nova ES build. I also increased its radius of effect to 13.3 yards, matching that of Conviction aura. If a Light Sorceress wields Infinity, Thunder Storm will hit anything within its sphere of influence. Note that T-Storm’s Nova Damage has no effect on the initial target, only enemies around it(hence it has no impact in PvP save for Team duels).
Paladin: Scale back Holy Aura damage. Holy Bolt will no longer affect Magic Immune monsters. Sanctuary aura is applied on Ranged attacks. Blessed Aim aura now grants 1% Deadly Strike per level or +Attack Rating per level. Vigor aura grants 1% Faster Hit Recovery per level. Concentration aura now affects Teeth, Bone Spear, Bone Spirit, Holy Bolt, Fist of Heavens(Holy Bolt portion) and Psychic Hammer at 50% Efficiency.
Paladins didn’t need any more of a reason to use their Holy auras but buffing them only makes them that much stronger. Reverting back to old values is what I’d like to see. The change to Holy Bolt mimics the change to Blessed Hammer awhile back so if anyone gets upset over this… eh too bad. Learn to defeat Wave 2 differently. If Bone Necromancers have to follow the rule, so should Holy Paladins.
Upon further reflection, I opted to remove my initial suggestion of having Sanctuary aura affect Demons. This was done to mimic the 2.4 change to Holy Bolt but I feel that would be way too strong for physical builds, notably a Sanctuary Zealer to basically mow down everything, especially if they’re Undead/Demon. That being said, I do want Sanctuary aura to apply to Ranged Attacks. Makes no sense that it works for Melee but not Ranged.
Blessed Aim aura is solid as is if push came to shove but I’ve always felt that Blessed Aim needed something extra and initially I came up with a bonus to Deadly Strike. The other idea that I liked via feedback was granting an integer buff to Attack Rating(like that given from Angelic set) which is then amplified by Blessed Aim’s %Attack Rating and any additional %Attack Rating from skills. Integer Attack Rating has considerable impact on a character’s Attack Rating overall so either of these additions would be solid to see. Keep in mind that whatever buff this aura gets is also applied to any Unique pack that spawns with it.
Vigor Aura is a seldom seen aura, generated only by Paladins or the obscure Amazon/Rogue Mercenary with Harmony runeword. When exploring how to buff Vigor, I had 3 options. First option treated it like Extra Fast mod on mobs, hence I buffed Attack Speed but that would turn it into an Offensive aura as opposed to Defensive. The other option that I turned down was Increased Block Chance/Increased Block Rate but not all classes/builds utilize Shields. Therefore I settled on my third option of buffing Hit Recovery and a modest buff at that. Yet given 2.4 change to FHR… sigh
Finally Concentration Aura currently affects all Physical builds/skills at 100% face value. Only 1 non-Physical Skill in Blessed Hammer benefits at 50% Efficiency. Why this is the case I’ll never know but it’s this buff that catapults Hammerdin into S+ tier. I say that exclusive status needs to end and that Bone Necromancers, Vindicators(aka FoH Paladins) and the often ignored Shadow skill Psychic Hammer need a bit of love from Concentration.
Assassin: Double the Magic Damage on Psychic Hammer and compensate by removing Physical Damage and adding a casting delay(.4 seconds). Add following synergies to Psychic Hammer: Mind Blast(15%), Shadow Warrior(+15%) and Shadow Master(+15%). Mind Blast also receives a synergy bonus from Psychic Hammer(+5%).
Psychic Hammer, as it stands right now, is one of the best low leveling duel skills in the game(if not the best). Yet from a PvM/PvE perspective, Psychic Hammer is awful and this change would make it viable from a PvM/PvE perspective by creating what I would like to coin the Shadow Assassin or Hammersin. Dropping the Hammer to deliver indiscriminate justice(sorry… wrong game and class… lol).
Where I am weary though is what effect this would have on PvP since Mind Blast is a favorite of Assassins for the stun and the 2.4 change for FHR has all but neutered the Assassin hardcore. Anyways, I know for a fact this idea would work rather well in PvM/PvE since both Psychic Hammer and Mind Blast can handle any foe in the game(save for running into that super rare PI/MI unique monster) but turning Psychic Hammer to pure Magic could have considerable impact on the PvP aspect(and that’s with a casting delay). Yet if implemented, a Hammersin could do at least 2k Magic Damage(considerably more if under effects of Concentration aura).
Druid: Carrion Vines now replenish life(+1 per level) and receives synergy from Solar Creeper(+10% Mana Regeneration). Solar Creepers now regenerate mana(10% per level) and receives a synergy from Carrion Vine(+1 Replenish Life). Spirit of the Barbs grants 1% Open Wounds per level or applies a unique curse that reduces Physical Resistance by 1% per level.
So far so good on Druid changes, specifically on Fire skills now dealing more Physical damage. Yet one area that still needs attention is on the Druid’s Vines and Barbs Spirit. More often than not when I play Druid, the only thing I summon is either Oak Sage or Heart of Wolverine. Even as a Summoner I ignore the vines since they typically don’t provide much benefit if I’m careful. With the following change, summoning vines can provide a useful benefit besides their normal function.
As for Spirit of the Barbs, the change to Thorns will probably hurt this Spirit more than it helps. That said this Spirit should offer something more than just fixed return damage. The first idea I have is a chance to apply Open Wounds whenever an enemy attacks. Higher the skill level, the greater the chance to do so. The other idea was to apply a unique curse that reduces enemy Physical Resistance, allowing the Druid or any Summoned minion to deal more Physical damage.
Sets
Sets: Sets may now roll Ethereal provided the parameters for doing so are met.
It’s always bugged me that Sets were exempt from rolling Ethereal and its time for that to end. Sure Gloves, Belts and Boots that roll as Ethereal are going to be undesirable for main characters but that’s a small price to pay for the chance of getting a Helm, Armor or Weapon with 50% more Defense/Damage respectively. As one would expect, items such as IK Maul and Aldur Boots are exempt(since they roll Indestructible).
Mercenaries
Act 2: Add 3 new Hell Difficulty variants. Combat would grant Sanctuary aura, Offensive would grant Concentration aura and Defensive would grant Vigor aura.
Having Hell Difficulty repeat the same auras from Normal Difficulty always bugged me. Initially when deciding on what auras these three new variants would have, I had Fanaticism, Conviction and Salvation but that would be totally broken that it wouldn’t survive the cut. As such I settled on Sanctuary aura(which would make Act 2 Merc strong in a lot of areas, particularly against Undead PI’s), Concentration aura(no more need for Pride and obvious pick for Bone Necro’s if change to Concentration aura is adopted), and Vigor aura would finally allow non-Enigma players to move around faster.
Act 3: Now benefits from +Sorceress skills and can wield Paladin Shields.
This does not include Sorceress Orbs/Staves since their equipment outfit is 1-H Sword/Shield. Anything else that rolls with Sorceress mods though is fair game(like Visceratuant).
As for Paladin Shields, the flexibility granted is enormous. Its true they won’t benefit from +Paladin mods but all Paladin shields, be it Normal, Exceptional or Elite bases can have up to 4 sockets. This would allow for the use of early Spirit Shields and late-game Spirit/Phoenix runeword use on Elite Paladin Shields that require far less Strength to equip(which is an area Act 3 Merc’s struggle at since getting to 156 Strength for Spirit Monarch is a pain even for the main classes… much less Act 3 Mercenary). If adopted, part of me would wish the Fire variant had Hydra instead of Enchant since Dragonscale Shield would look so nice on one. Oh and don’t forget the +All Resist mods that roll on normal Paladin Shields.
Act 5: Frenzy variant can dual-wield 2-H Swords. Add Throwing Barbarian Mercenary. Utilizes Throwing class Weapons and the following Skills: Double Throw, Throwing Mastery and Shout. Strength and Dexterity stats are flipped on this variant(favorint Dexterity over Strength).
I don’t see it mentioned anywhere in 2.4 but I hope the Frenzy variant can dual-wield 2-H Swords. It’d allow for more flexibility in what items/runewords can be equipped on him. Not to mention my selfish desire to have 2 x Last Wish in Ethereal Colossus Blades…
The Throwing Mercenary may look familiar since I base this off of Madwc or the Ancient we face prior to Baal. Since the template for the Mercenary is already in the game, adding this shouldn’t be too difficult. Basically casts Shout to boost his and everyone’s Defense while lobbing his Throwing Weapons at nearby foes. The Throwing variant’s stats will favor Dexterity over Strength so as to ensure he can equip Throwing Weapons and deal adequate Range damage.
Runewords
Before I get to my new submissions I want to comment on Obsession. Its a solid runeword but it just feels like its lacking one key ingredient to make it competitive with other set-ups: -Enemy Resistance. If Obsession rolled with -30% Enemy Resistance it would really make Fire and Lightning caster players think hard about using it since at the end of the day all that raw power means jack if we can’t pierce enemy resistance. Cold builds, notably Cold Sorceresses do not have to worry about Resistance and hence will go with Death Fathom/Spirit. But for those with Fire, Obsession would certainly look appealing instead of Hoto/Phoenix or Eschuta/Phoenix. Ditto Light builds with Crescent Moon/Spirit(Obviously Infinity would win outright but that’s primarily for PvP). Anyways… onto the new runewords.
Permafrost(3 Socket Helm): Sol + Ohm + Pul
Level 4-8 Resist Cold aura when equipped(varies)
+3 To Cold Skills
-10-15% to Enemy Cold Resistance(varies)
Damage Reduced By 7
+30% Enhanced Defense
Attacker Takes Damage of 15
Can Not Be Frozen
+5% To Maximum Cold Resist
Poison Length Reduced by 50%
Capricious(3 Socket Helm): Pul + Lum + Lo
Level 4-8 Resist Lightning aura when equipped(varies)
+3 To Lightning Skills
-10-15% to Enemy Lightning Resistance(varies)
+30% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Energy
Regenerate Mana 15%
Magic Damage Reduced by 5
+5% To Maximum Lightning Resist
Poison Length Reduced by 50%
First two are basically contemporaries to Flickering Flame, only that each one grants their respective element. This ought to even the playing field that Act 3 Fire variants currently have an advantage in. Also would bolster Act 1 Cold Arrow with Permafrost.
Devotion(4 Socket Shield): Jah + Ber + Hel + Dol
10% chance to cast level 20 Fade when struck
Level 16-20 Prayer aura when equipped(varies)
+100-150% Enhanced Defense(varies)
+1 To All Skills
20% Faster Cast Rate
+50 To Life
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
Damage Reduced by 8%
Replenish Life +7
Requirements -15%
+3 to Light Radius
Devotion is a new Shield runeword I devised that fills two particular roles. 1) It grants Prayer aura, the first runeword to do so that could potentially see use on not only Paladins but perhaps other casters provided they’re able to cover the constant mana cost Prayer has. 2) It covers up a huge hole Act 3 Mercenaries have in recovery. Since Act 3 can’t rely on Life Leech and Life Tap, we’ve basically resorted to using Phoenix(which isn’t cheap) or pumping them full of potions. By placing Prayer on an Act 3 Merc, they can replenish their life over time while being significantly easier to equip thanks to that Hel rune.
Tabernacle(5 Socket Missile Weapons): Eth + Ohm + Mal + Sur + Nef
Level 16-20 Sanctuary aura when equipped(varies)
40% Increased Attack Speed
+80-100% Enhanced Damage(varies)
+40% Piercing Attack
-25% Target Defense
Slows Target by 33%
Hit Blinds Target
Prevent Monster Heal
Knockback
Sanctuary aura has always been the realm of Melee characters until now. Tabernacle will give Bowzons or anyone crazy enough to wield a Bow to send the Undead back to the Burning Hells. Attacks pierce enemies(with Pierce Skill at level 7 or above. Is 99% at level 6), allowing you to hit multiple foes. Surviving foes are blinded, slowed, and knocked back. Sanctuary aura provides further knockback protection if they’re Undead. Might not compare to Faith or even Mist in the raw damage department but Tarbernacle holds its own on utility and crowd control.
Veracity(5 Socket Weapons): Mal + Shael + Sur + Shael + Cham
15% Chance To Cast Level 15 Lower Resist on striking
Level 20 Blessed Aim aura when equipped
40% Increased Attack Speed
+270-330% Enhanced Damage(varies)
Prevent Monster Heal
Hit Blinds Target
Freezes Target +3
All Resistance +30-40(varies)
A new runeword that grants Blessed Aim which admittedly could be stacked on a Frenzy Barb for some sweet level 40 Blessed Aim action. Suitable for physical and elemental builds thanks to its Lower Resist proc.
Monster Bonuses
New Monster Bonus: Horde
Unique Monsters who spawn with this have their minion count tripled. If a Unique spawns with 5 minions, they’ll instead have 15.
New Jewel Prefix/Suffix
New Jewel Prefix/Suffix: Apprentice and Magus
Apprentice: +7-10% Faster Cast Rate
Magus: +7-10% Faster Cast Rate
Apprentice is a new Prefix mod that will grant Faster Cast Rate and may spawn on rare and magic jewels. Magus is a new Suffix and will only spawn on Magic Jewels, hence you can get a +20% Faster Cast Rate Magic Jewel to socket into your gear.
Sorry dude… They’ve got… I cant even call it their B team, working on this game… their F team? It sure feels like Blizzard hired a bunch of Bethesda dropouts at a discounted price or something, then put them on the d2r project so they’d KILL d2r so badly that nobody would be left on it and they could just close the servers and use em for games that make them more money. I dunno… I’m just fed up with them.