You must be one of those guys that thinks Shako is the best helm in the game. It’s top for PvM, but it falls off in PvP. Which is what Diablo II endgame is.
Right now there are a couple unique items that are endgame, and these are situational, and need to be near perfect to even breathe next to end-game rare/crafted items.
- Crown of Ages (which must be 2os with perfect DR/Res)
- Gore Riders (which must be upped to 213 defense Myrmidon Greaves if you want 100% perfect)
- Arachnid Mesh (mostly used for the 20 fcr to hit breakpoints)
- Stormshield
- 40-15 Verdungo
- 250-20 Raven Frosts
- Hotspurs/Dwarf stars
- 30% Death’s Fathom
- 20-15 Griffon’s Eye (Limited only to certain Lightning builds)
- 60% ED Steelrends
- Perfect upped 220% Shaftstop
- 200% Perfect upped defense Arreat’s Face
- Bloodfists
- Magefists
Sets:
- Angelic Amulet/Ring setup for massive AR/decent life.
There’s probably a couple more out there that aren’t mentioned, but these pop up to the top of my head right now as of this moment.
This is incorrect. First of all, well-rolled Crafted Caster Amulets are the best, since they are the only type which can spawn 19-20% fcr on them, which some builds desperately need to reach breakpoints. Rares are 2nd best.
Rare rings and Blood Rings with 10% Fcr and stats/res/life are unmatched. Sometimes they need AR on them too for BvC’s (barb vs caster).
Circlets/Tiaras/Diadems are absolute endgame and they make everything else fall behind. Even Griffon’s Eye will have trouble catching up to a Circlet with 2+ skills, 20 fcr, str/dex/res/life and 2os. Some of them even have Visionary mod, which you cannot find on any unique helmet in the game.
There are also cases for Druids/Barbs where you will find a Druid Pelt that has 2+ Druid, 10 FHR, 3+ Tornado, 3+ Summon wolf, 2os or a Barb helm with 2+ Barb, +3 Battle Orders, Visionary mod, Life, and 2os. These are top-tier for most situations but they will be swapped out for a 20 FCR circlet if the player wants to switch to certain breakpoints.
You can find Assassin claws with 2+ Skills, 3 Lightning sentry, Fools, Cruel mod, Ias, and Eth. These are top-tier for assassins and are ridiculously expensive.
You can find Eth weapons with 40 Ias, 300+ Ed, fools mod, 2os with repair durability that will $*$@ on even Grief in some situations. These are highly sought-after for that reason.
There are boots in the game with 30% FRW, 10% FHR, and Tri-res, which are also highly-sought after and nothing can compare to them in 90% of situations.
Crafted Blood Gloves which can have 20 IAS/Crush Blow/Life/Str/Dex, or if needed; +2 Bow/Jav skills.
Crafted Caster Belts with smaller fcr amount than Arachnid, but has multiple other useful mods such as FHR/Life/Res.
The thing is with Oath, you need to find a good base for it, and it has to be 4os and Eth for you to get the most effectiveness out of it. You will not find a 4os Eth Small Crescent/Ettin/Berserker Axe on the first day, I guarantee you.
But then again, this is just what Melee is. Melee builds are the most gear-dependent builds in the game by far. If you start out as a Melee character, this is what you have to understand and deal with. As it was your choice.
Did you even read my post? This is exactly what I said about Spirit. See, you and others are crying about Enigma, but Insight and Spirit are far more broken at the core. The fact that you can also make a Spirit in a 45 All res Paladin shield is hilarious.
Now, Spirit has a place in the game because many caster builds rely on it for the 55% FHR and 35% Fcr for breakpoints at this point in the game.
I think they should make Spirit need a different higher rune to make, and make the Fcr range chance to roll 20-35% instead. But they won’t do that and I’m fine with it either way.