- Mar 13, 2019
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Info: This is a repost of the original Starting Post of the '1.08 News, Info and Gossip Thread'. For the most part is is an exact copy of the old one posted by GalaXyHaXz so this is all due to him. I had to remove a link to a non-FAM mod he included and I replaced a broken image with one I made myself (rune drops through the patches, I happened to have made my own version of that 
). If anyone still has GalaXyHaXz's original graphic I would add that as well. I know for a fact that a version of it is somewhere in the Anything Goes D2 Lounge, good luck!
If I changed something I enclosed it in *'s so it's obvious it was me. I refrain from putting his original in quotes so that it's easier to read. I also had to redirect some of the tables into the second post because of the 50k character limit for posts!
GalaXyHaXz's Original Post:
Welcome! Here we are with yet another time traveling thread. This place will have all the news, info, and gossip regarding patch 1.08. This initial post will help make the important stuff easier to find.
Grab a drink and take your seat, let's begin!
Sections
1. Introduction
2. Differences
3. Bugs
4. Items
5. Magic Find
6. Farming
7. Builds
8. Tables
9. Resources
1. Introduction
Many often skip 1.08 in their time traveling ventures. Perhaps due to a lack of knowledge or interest. However, if you travel to gain the best loot from every patch, the time-line would look something like this:
Pre-LoD -> 1.07 -> 1.08 -> 1.10a/s -> Current
Today the middle of this time-line will be weeded out and covered in detail. Hopefully the potential gains will be made more apparent then they currently are.
2. Differences
The last patch of the Expansion's beta was 1.08, and like 1.07, it is full of bugs and quirks. Here are the main things to know compared with 1.07 and 1.09 (see patch notes for more):
The Good
- Most unique items are the same as 1.07 (and chance to get a unique is better)
- Racking mechanics work the same way as 1.07
- All items can drop since the TC system was fixed
- All crafting recipes from 1.07 are enabled and fixed (and better than 1.09+)
- The same Runewords exist that are in 1.09
- Rare jewels may get up to six affixes, have standard stats, and drop more frequently *Jewels drop 1,9 times as often as they did in 1.07*
- Elite base items have standard stats and requirements
- Ethereal bonuses work the same as 1.07 (50% MAX ED/Weapons, 50% DEF/Armor)
- Unique/Rare/Set jewelry can be cubed and rolling a Stone of Jordan is much easier than 1.07
- Magic Damage Reduction and Telekinesis work the old way (not nerfed)
- Monsters are capped to two immunities (but Magic Resistant still gives 75%)
- Teleport-healing unique monsters are fixed
- Monsters do not have a global physical resistance
The Bad
- Only Decrepify can break immunities
- A couple skills were nerfed/fixed (Static Field, Lightning Fury, Berserk, etc.)
- Crushing blow was nerfed
- Crafting recipes were fixed to require perfect quality gems
- Magic re-rolling cube recipe is broken *This recipe will set the ilvl of the rerolled item to 1 instead of preserving it (like in modern patches). Useful to get low tier staffmods on some items!*
- Piercing is broken on items (only the skill works)
- Mercenaries level up very slow (slower than 1.07 and 1.09)
- The "multi-buy" Rejuvenation Potions bug was fixed
- Super uniques drop from regular Unique TC (one item only, affects Cow King, Countess, etc.) *This is not a bug, the Super Unique TCs simply weren't introduced until 1.09*
The Ugly
- Magic find works--but in a very odd way
- Boss drops are broken, they always use their Normal TC
- Damage/Resistance affixes for Charms are nerfed
- Crafting recipes are fixed (no magic-only affixes or merged stats)
- Cobalt ring recipe is fixed (no MPK merged with Cold Resist)
- Mercenaries can't leech nor can you belt-shift potions to them (added in 1.09)
3. Bugs
1.08 shares many of the same bugs as 1.07. Here are the main ones to be aware of, some useful and others not (all of these apply to 1.07 too):
- Any character class can dual-wield any weapon/shield *Not FAM according to current rules!*
- Ethereal items with charges can be repaired
- Monsters in Act IV can eat your mercenary's corpse, making them permanently dead
- Keys work from inside the Horadric Cube
- Scrolls/Tomes work from inside the Stash
- Multi-shot Lightning Enchanted (MSLE)
- Converted monsters are bugged when converted back (Conversion/Mind Blast)
- The life of Bosses can overflow at high player settings
- Target Defense % modifier sets target defense to specified amount instead of subtracting it
- Crafted items can roll with a level requirement higher than 99
- Runewords don't save their stats
4. Items
Ahh, yes. One big reason we go back in time. Many already know of the great items to be had from 1.07. They are the same in 1.08, but since all items are capable of dropping, a few can be obtained which were impossible before. Here are the only differences:
Unique
- Wizardspike only has 75% to all resistances instead of 95%
- Highlord's Wrath spawns with Deadly Strike (but still has 30% FRW)
Set
- M'avina's Tenet only has 20% FRW and 5% ML instead of 40% and 10-15% respectively
- Laying of Hands has 50% fire resist instead of absorb
- Naj's Puzzler has teleport charges instead of 30% IAS
The ratio that unique rings Nagelring and Manald Heal spawn was also greatly reduced. This gives a much better change to roll another ring, such as Stone of Jordan instead.
When it comes to crafting, the biggest one is the caster amulet recipe. FCR was fixed, and +2 skills is also spawnable. This means it is possible to roll an amulet with 25% FCR and +2 skills. Check the crafting recipes in Section 9.
The same runewords in 1.09 also exist in 1.08, but were only enabled on the Realms. You can download RWM to enable them. There is only one minor difference:
- Leaf does not have any defense bonus per Clvl
Keep in mind that runewords are bugged in that their stats reset each game. Therefore, any runewords brought forward will get updated stats. This means a Leaf staff will get the defense bonus if brought forward.
5. Magic Find
Perhaps the biggest misconception of all about 1.08 is that Magic Find is completely broke. That's actually not true. However, it is not really helpful either. I'll try to explain it the best I can, as the formula is rather confusing. Basically it works the same way as in 1.07, except the breakpoints are different. You have to get close to the breakpoints before drops are effected.
Bosses
- ~700% MF will force rares
Super Uniques/Uniques/Champions
- ~7,500% MF will force rares
Regular/Minions
- ~25,600% MF will force rares
- ~3,700% MF will force magics
So essentially the breakpoints were raised to "fix" the issue. As you can see, MF is completely useless for anything except bosses. The most MF you can acquire by legit means will around 800-1,000%. This means you can force rares from Bosses and increase Set/Unique chance. However, boss drops are broken making it generally useless for them as well.
This brings us to the next section. How do we farm items in 1.08?
6. Farming
Farming items is not so simple unfortunately. Due to the fact that both Magic Find and Boss drops are broken, it becomes a mighty feat. Racking is a well known tactic by now, and it works exactly the same way as it does in 1.07. The only exception are certain TC90 items which much be racked in a higher level area. Check the tables in Section 8 to find what areas can drop which item.
Rack Running
One big advantage of 1.08 is that unique odds are 1:800 instead of 1:1000 like in 1.07. The most popular target for racking is Lower Kurast. The map is guaranteed to roll with at least one campfire. The two huts by the campfire contain super chests and a weapon rack, with an armor rack between the huts. Lower Kurast is alvl 8'8, so nearly everything in the game can drop there. For items greater than 88, it is recommended to rack in the Halls of Vaught (alvl 99) where the false paths lead. Racking is a cheap and useful trick, but here's the caveat: Bows/Staffs/Wands can't be racked. The following items are unobtainable in 1.07 because of this:
- Eaglehorn (Crusader Bow)
- Windforce (Hydra Bow)
- Stormspire (Archon Staff)
- M'avina's Caster (Grand Matron Bow)
These however, may drop in 1.08 by monsters and chests. Therefore, we need to find the best source for them.
Scourge Running
Traditionally, "The Secret Cow Level" was the goto place to farm prior to 1.10. However, running the Cows in 1.08 is bad for two reasons:
1) We don't have a players command. So if we want decent drops we have the added hassle of loading up tons of windows and uncovering a new map each game.
2) Cows have a normal chance at dropping magical items. So Magic Find is a must to get decent drops--but that's broken.
With Cows off the list and Boss drops being broken, where do we farm? Super uniques? Pindleskin is usually the standard of this industry, but super uniques only drop one item. This is where regular unique monsters come in.
According to the (fixed) ATMA drop calculator, these monsters have the best chance at dropping Windforce (and most elite uniques):
There is only one waypoint which leads directly to one of the uniques. That would be The Ancients' Way. Unique Frozen Scourges are capable of dropping every item and affix in the game with only one exception: "of Freezing Arrows" suffix (lvl 94) that only Baal and Nihlathak can drop.
The idea is to roll a map in which two or even three Frozen Scourge packs spawn right by the waypoint. We also have the potential for Evil Urns, which can occasionally give us another Scourge pack. Having multiple packs is more efficient than running just a single super unique.
At a rate of 1:322,658 with 2 Frozen Scourge packs per run, it will take about 160k runs average to get a Windforce. With average gameplay of a few hours a day, it would take 3-5 months to find one. This definitely requires a lot of dedication. However, if you compare it to running the cows:
At 500 cows and 3 minutes per run, with 0% MF: it will take almost 5 years playing 5 hours a day! If you ran them on players 5 (add the hassle of TCP/IP and uncovering a new map each game) it would take around 3 years. Cows have such a low chance because TC87 is their highest drop. Monsters capable of dropping TC90 have a much greater chance at dropping TC87. This rule applies to all TCs, the highest one being ultra rare for a given monster.
Cellar Running
Let's face it: running the same target over and over can get repetitive and boring. Rack and Scourge running will undoubtedly get to that point quickly. Although it is not quite as efficient, running the Icy Cellar is a good change of pace. All unique monsters in the Icy Cellar can drop anything in the game. There is also Snapchip Shatter (who can drop anything) and a golden prize chest (which can drop up to TC87).
In this case, it is best to roll the entrance right by The Ancients' Way waypoint. Having one or two Scourge packs beforehand is also a plus. There will always be a Champion pack guarding the entrance. You should only kill them if they are Sourges, but even then they don't drop as good as unique mobs.
The only issue with the Icy Cellar is that the variety is mixed up: meaning more immunities. A Sorceress running this area will need to invest into each element to be effective, and other characters too.
Cow Running
Although the cows aren't a great target in 1.08, they are useful for finding Runes. Since there isn't a players command to make super chests viable, the cows take the cake. Runes are very useful for both crafting and runewords. We also need gems and jewels, which the cows drop pretty frequently. It is optimal to run the cows with 5 players in the game, for best killing speed/ratio. Sorceresses and Amazons will excel the most in running them, being able to clear the screen very quickly.
Now that we have our farming targets, it's time to setup a build for running them.
7. Builds
The builds in 1.08 are going to be more similar to 1.09. As the skill balance changed quite a bit from 1.07. While there are a lot of potential builds, I will only be covering one for running the aforementioned areas.
Sorceresses make an ideal candidate for Scourge Running (Scourging) and Cellar Running (Cellaring). Even though Frozen Scourges are always immune to cold, they are capped to two immunities. This means a Lightning/Fire build will be very effective. Fire Wall is very powerful as it was buffed 1.08. The icy caves have lots of walls, so access to Teleport is a must. They are also great in the Icy Cellar, if all three elements are invested into.
"Scourging Sorc" [WIP] (ready around level 83-85)
Skills (not including prerequisites):
- 20 pts. Firewall
- 20 pts. Nova
- 20 pts. Lightning Mastery
- 10 pts. Warmth
- 01 pts. Teleport
- 01 pts. Telekinesis
- 01 pts. Hydra (optional)
- 01-10 pts. Energy Shield (optional)
- Rest into Fire Mastery
Gear:
Helm - Harlequin Crest/Vampire Gaze/Lore (Runeword)
Torso - Vipermagi/Shaftstop/The Spirit Shroud
Weapon - Wizardspike/Chromatic Ire/Memory (Runeword--Firewall Staff)
Shield - Lidless Wall/Gerke's Sanctuary/Rhyme (Runeword)
Gloves - Magefist/Frostburn (ES build)
Belt - String of Ears/Tri-res+Life
Boots - Tri-res Rares/Silkweave
Amulet - MDR+FCR+skills/Tal Rasha's Adjudication
Ring 1 - Stone of Jordan/FCR+Life+Res ring
Ring 2 - Stone of Jordan/Dwarf Star/MDR+FCR ring
Weapon Swap - Lower Resist Wand (Good for magic resistant monsters)
Mercenaries aren't all that great in 1.08. They level up slow, and none except the Barbarians auto-heal. Giving them potions is also difficult. The best choice is to go with an Act V mercenary and focus on life and damage reduction since they can't leech.
Act V Mercenary:
Helm - Harlequin Crest/Vampire Gaze
Torso - Gladiator's Bane/Shaftstop/Lionheart (Runeword)
Weapon - The Grandfather/Bul-Kathos' Sacred Charge
The general tactic to Scourge Running is rolling a stable map. Mobs will usually spawn in the same area every time. There are also Evil Urns in The Ancients' Way, which are worth clicking if nearby for an extra Scourge pack. You want to rush in and kill two to three Scourge packs as quickly as possible. Don't focus on the minions, they have a negligible chance of dropping anything good. Cast Firewall onto the unique Scourge, and then spam Nova to finish them off. If they are immune to fire or lightning, switch and cast Lower Resist to help increase the damage of the element they aren't immune to. Remember that Magic Resistant gives 75% all resistances instead of 40%, so you won't do much damage without Lower Resist.
If it is desired to run the Icy Cellar, then investing a few points into cold skills are recommended. Such as Blizzard or Frozen Orb. When running the Icy Cellar, roll a map with the entrance right by the waypoint. If the entrance is guarded by Scourges, kill them first. Go in, kill all the unique mobs and Snapchip. The golden chest is also worth popping.
I'm not going to go into grave detail regarding Rack Running. Much is already known about the topic. Basically just roll a map until a rack is close to the waypoint capable of dropping the item you want. Running it will churn out a unique faster than with 1.07.
The only thing that effects what a rack will drop are monsters/minions spawning. The number spawned and their location will change what the rack will drop. Therefore, taking a different path to a rack will cause a different number of monsters to spawn, and some may follow you. Keep this in mind if you wish to test a rack for multiple item types. A Sorceress may cast Hydra or Amazon a Valkyrie to change the rack.
When it comes to running the cows, any element will work fine. Cows do not have any resistances, but the Cow King is always immune to lightning. If you want to avoid killing him, using Nova when you get near the pen is a good idea. Elsewhere, Firewall/Blizzard are good to cast into the center of the pack. Then work your way in from the outside with Nova.
8. Tables
Bugged Cube Recipes (allows rolling Unique/Rare/Set quality)
* The chance of rolling a Stone of Jordan is 5x better than in 1.07. The unique ring
ratio for rings qlvl <= 40 was 1:120 for an SoJ in 1.07 and 1:30 in 1.08. The optimal
character level to roll an SoJ is 60 to 80. This gives only Nagelring, Manald Heal,
and Stone of Jordan. Also, the unique chance of 1:800 applies.
*minor correction: since rings/amulets have a qlvl of 1 the actual chance of getting a unique ring in 1.08 with this recipe is 1 in 799 (=800-1), also the chance at an SoJ used to be 1 in 121 for a ring of ilvl 39 to 52 and this chance is now 1 in 31*
Max Sockets per Item Type
Unique Item Typos
* Before you seek out to find a certain unique item, take note of these typos. Certain items will have incorrect or missing stats because of these.
Rune Drop Rates (All Versions) *original image not available anymore, I made a new one*
9. Resources
(Files)
Fixed 1.07/1.08 drop calculator for ATMA
(Documents)
1.08 Crafting Recipes/Runewords (.doc)
(Guides)
Crafting Mini-Guide for Rare Jewels by @WoRG
(Links) *TODO: create PDF versions of these pages in case archived-links go down
). If anyone still has GalaXyHaXz's original graphic I would add that as well. I know for a fact that a version of it is somewhere in the Anything Goes D2 Lounge, good luck!If I changed something I enclosed it in *'s so it's obvious it was me. I refrain from putting his original in quotes so that it's easier to read. I also had to redirect some of the tables into the second post because of the 50k character limit for posts!
GalaXyHaXz's Original Post:
Welcome! Here we are with yet another time traveling thread. This place will have all the news, info, and gossip regarding patch 1.08. This initial post will help make the important stuff easier to find.
Grab a drink and take your seat, let's begin!
Sections
1. Introduction
2. Differences
3. Bugs
4. Items
5. Magic Find
6. Farming
7. Builds
8. Tables
9. Resources
1. Introduction
Many often skip 1.08 in their time traveling ventures. Perhaps due to a lack of knowledge or interest. However, if you travel to gain the best loot from every patch, the time-line would look something like this:
Pre-LoD -> 1.07 -> 1.08 -> 1.10a/s -> Current
Today the middle of this time-line will be weeded out and covered in detail. Hopefully the potential gains will be made more apparent then they currently are.
2. Differences
The last patch of the Expansion's beta was 1.08, and like 1.07, it is full of bugs and quirks. Here are the main things to know compared with 1.07 and 1.09 (see patch notes for more):
The Good
- Most unique items are the same as 1.07 (and chance to get a unique is better)
- Racking mechanics work the same way as 1.07
- All items can drop since the TC system was fixed
- All crafting recipes from 1.07 are enabled and fixed (and better than 1.09+)
- The same Runewords exist that are in 1.09
- Rare jewels may get up to six affixes, have standard stats, and drop more frequently *Jewels drop 1,9 times as often as they did in 1.07*
- Elite base items have standard stats and requirements
- Ethereal bonuses work the same as 1.07 (50% MAX ED/Weapons, 50% DEF/Armor)
- Unique/Rare/Set jewelry can be cubed and rolling a Stone of Jordan is much easier than 1.07
- Magic Damage Reduction and Telekinesis work the old way (not nerfed)
- Monsters are capped to two immunities (but Magic Resistant still gives 75%)
- Teleport-healing unique monsters are fixed
- Monsters do not have a global physical resistance
The Bad
- Only Decrepify can break immunities
- A couple skills were nerfed/fixed (Static Field, Lightning Fury, Berserk, etc.)
- Crushing blow was nerfed
- Crafting recipes were fixed to require perfect quality gems
- Magic re-rolling cube recipe is broken *This recipe will set the ilvl of the rerolled item to 1 instead of preserving it (like in modern patches). Useful to get low tier staffmods on some items!*
- Piercing is broken on items (only the skill works)
- Mercenaries level up very slow (slower than 1.07 and 1.09)
- The "multi-buy" Rejuvenation Potions bug was fixed
- Super uniques drop from regular Unique TC (one item only, affects Cow King, Countess, etc.) *This is not a bug, the Super Unique TCs simply weren't introduced until 1.09*
The Ugly
- Magic find works--but in a very odd way
- Boss drops are broken, they always use their Normal TC
- Damage/Resistance affixes for Charms are nerfed
- Crafting recipes are fixed (no magic-only affixes or merged stats)
- Cobalt ring recipe is fixed (no MPK merged with Cold Resist)
- Mercenaries can't leech nor can you belt-shift potions to them (added in 1.09)
3. Bugs
1.08 shares many of the same bugs as 1.07. Here are the main ones to be aware of, some useful and others not (all of these apply to 1.07 too):
- Any character class can dual-wield any weapon/shield *Not FAM according to current rules!*
Place a weapon/shield in Slot I and make sure that Slot II is empty. Switch to Slot II and place a weapon/shield on the same side that is empty in Slot I. Right as the item is being placed, press the hot-key for switching weapons. If done correctly, the item will be placed in the empty side of Slot I.
* This will not work for Barbarians or Assassins dual-wielding claws. This may also crash the game or corrupt the character. Use at your own risk!
* This will not work for Barbarians or Assassins dual-wielding claws. This may also crash the game or corrupt the character. Use at your own risk!
Although the repair hammer doesn't work, the repair all button does. Use it if you wish to repair such item.
If you have good gear on your hireling, it might be a good idea to guard the corpse. In some cases, it may be better to just Save/Exit to prevent the loss.
Place a few key stacks in your Cube and never take up inventory space again!
You must keep an active Scroll/Tome in the character's inventory, then cast Town Portal/Identify from the spell icon.
The classic. Beware of monsters with this property. If playing Hardcore, you may want to Save/Exit. Have as much Lightning Resist/Absorb as possible and a few Rejuvs handy. Monsters will shoot out stacked lightning bolts that dish out tons of damage.
Beware if a converted monster has an aura. When converted back, they will retain it long enough to end you if you're not careful. On the plus-side, monsters are bugged to only have one hit-point when converted back!
In some cases with games of seven or eight players, bosses in Hell will die very quickly due to their life not scaling up properly.
This is extremely useful for the Eth Rune (-25% Target Defense). This property works for all monsters and even players, and was a frowned upon PvP tactic back then. Using weapons with an Eth Rune can help tremendously if you're lacking Attack Rating.
This is usually caused by the two suffixes "of Freezing Arrows" (94) and "of Lightning Strike" (90) on gloves. It can also happen to amulets that roll a +2 skills prefix (90).
*At least in modern patches the Charges have a significantly lower level requirement for the class that possesses the respective skill, so even if e.g. a Paladin would see gloves with 'Freezing Arrow Charges' as having a required lvl of over 99 the same thing would not apply to an Amazon. This is most likely true in 1.07-1.09 as well. Testing required!*
*At least in modern patches the Charges have a significantly lower level requirement for the class that possesses the respective skill, so even if e.g. a Paladin would see gloves with 'Freezing Arrow Charges' as having a required lvl of over 99 the same thing would not apply to an Amazon. This is most likely true in 1.07-1.09 as well. Testing required!*
A useful side effect of this is that each time you make a new game, runewords will reset their stats. This means runewords with charges will have a random number rolled. You can take advantage of this to get free charges! On the contrary, repair costs can be ridiculous and you will have to repair each game.
4. Items
Ahh, yes. One big reason we go back in time. Many already know of the great items to be had from 1.07. They are the same in 1.08, but since all items are capable of dropping, a few can be obtained which were impossible before. Here are the only differences:
Unique
- Wizardspike only has 75% to all resistances instead of 95%
- Highlord's Wrath spawns with Deadly Strike (but still has 30% FRW)
Set
- M'avina's Tenet only has 20% FRW and 5% ML instead of 40% and 10-15% respectively
- Laying of Hands has 50% fire resist instead of absorb
- Naj's Puzzler has teleport charges instead of 30% IAS
The ratio that unique rings Nagelring and Manald Heal spawn was also greatly reduced. This gives a much better change to roll another ring, such as Stone of Jordan instead.
When it comes to crafting, the biggest one is the caster amulet recipe. FCR was fixed, and +2 skills is also spawnable. This means it is possible to roll an amulet with 25% FCR and +2 skills. Check the crafting recipes in Section 9.
The same runewords in 1.09 also exist in 1.08, but were only enabled on the Realms. You can download RWM to enable them. There is only one minor difference:
- Leaf does not have any defense bonus per Clvl
Keep in mind that runewords are bugged in that their stats reset each game. Therefore, any runewords brought forward will get updated stats. This means a Leaf staff will get the defense bonus if brought forward.
5. Magic Find
Perhaps the biggest misconception of all about 1.08 is that Magic Find is completely broke. That's actually not true. However, it is not really helpful either. I'll try to explain it the best I can, as the formula is rather confusing. Basically it works the same way as in 1.07, except the breakpoints are different. You have to get close to the breakpoints before drops are effected.
Bosses
- ~700% MF will force rares
Super Uniques/Uniques/Champions
- ~7,500% MF will force rares
Regular/Minions
- ~25,600% MF will force rares
- ~3,700% MF will force magics
So essentially the breakpoints were raised to "fix" the issue. As you can see, MF is completely useless for anything except bosses. The most MF you can acquire by legit means will around 800-1,000%. This means you can force rares from Bosses and increase Set/Unique chance. However, boss drops are broken making it generally useless for them as well.
This brings us to the next section. How do we farm items in 1.08?
6. Farming
Farming items is not so simple unfortunately. Due to the fact that both Magic Find and Boss drops are broken, it becomes a mighty feat. Racking is a well known tactic by now, and it works exactly the same way as it does in 1.07. The only exception are certain TC90 items which much be racked in a higher level area. Check the tables in Section 8 to find what areas can drop which item.
Rack Running
One big advantage of 1.08 is that unique odds are 1:800 instead of 1:1000 like in 1.07. The most popular target for racking is Lower Kurast. The map is guaranteed to roll with at least one campfire. The two huts by the campfire contain super chests and a weapon rack, with an armor rack between the huts. Lower Kurast is alvl 8'8, so nearly everything in the game can drop there. For items greater than 88, it is recommended to rack in the Halls of Vaught (alvl 99) where the false paths lead. Racking is a cheap and useful trick, but here's the caveat: Bows/Staffs/Wands can't be racked. The following items are unobtainable in 1.07 because of this:
- Eaglehorn (Crusader Bow)
- Windforce (Hydra Bow)
- Stormspire (Archon Staff)
- M'avina's Caster (Grand Matron Bow)
These however, may drop in 1.08 by monsters and chests. Therefore, we need to find the best source for them.
Scourge Running
Traditionally, "The Secret Cow Level" was the goto place to farm prior to 1.10. However, running the Cows in 1.08 is bad for two reasons:
1) We don't have a players command. So if we want decent drops we have the added hassle of loading up tons of windows and uncovering a new map each game.
2) Cows have a normal chance at dropping magical items. So Magic Find is a must to get decent drops--but that's broken.
With Cows off the list and Boss drops being broken, where do we farm? Super uniques? Pindleskin is usually the standard of this industry, but super uniques only drop one item. This is where regular unique monsters come in.
According to the (fixed) ATMA drop calculator, these monsters have the best chance at dropping Windforce (and most elite uniques):
Code:
(Unique)
1 : 322,658 Hell Lord - [H] Abaddon - {mlvl 93}
1 : 322,658 Frozen Scourge - [H] Drifter Cavern - {mlvl 93}
1 : 322,658 Frozen Terror - [H] Frozen River - {mlvl 93}
1 : 322,658 Blood Temptress - [H] Icy Cellar - {mlvl 93}
1 : 322,658 Death Brigadier - [H] Icy Cellar - {mlvl 93}
1 : 322,658 Frozen Abyss - [H] Icy Cellar - {mlvl 93}
1 : 322,658 Death Lord - [H] Infernal Pit - {mlvl 93}
1 : 322,658 Hell Lord - [H] Pit of Acheron - {mlvl 93}
1 : 322,658 Frozen Scourge - [H] The Ancients' Way - {mlvl 93}
(Super Unique)
1 : 322,658 Frozenstein - [H] Frozen River - {mlvl 93}
1 : 322,658 Snapchip Shatter - [H] Icy Cellar - {mlvl 93}
1 : 322,658 Pindleskin - [H] Nihlathak's Temple - {mlvl 93}
1 : 322,658 Colenzo the Annihilator - [H] Throne of Destruction - {mlvl 93}
1 : 322,658 Lister the Tormentor - [H] Throne of Destruction - {mlvl 93}There is only one waypoint which leads directly to one of the uniques. That would be The Ancients' Way. Unique Frozen Scourges are capable of dropping every item and affix in the game with only one exception: "of Freezing Arrows" suffix (lvl 94) that only Baal and Nihlathak can drop.
The idea is to roll a map in which two or even three Frozen Scourge packs spawn right by the waypoint. We also have the potential for Evil Urns, which can occasionally give us another Scourge pack. Having multiple packs is more efficient than running just a single super unique.
At a rate of 1:322,658 with 2 Frozen Scourge packs per run, it will take about 160k runs average to get a Windforce. With average gameplay of a few hours a day, it would take 3-5 months to find one. This definitely requires a lot of dedication. However, if you compare it to running the cows:
Code:
1 : 90,866,526 Hell Bovine - [H] The Secret Cow Level - {mlvl 90}At 500 cows and 3 minutes per run, with 0% MF: it will take almost 5 years playing 5 hours a day! If you ran them on players 5 (add the hassle of TCP/IP and uncovering a new map each game) it would take around 3 years. Cows have such a low chance because TC87 is their highest drop. Monsters capable of dropping TC90 have a much greater chance at dropping TC87. This rule applies to all TCs, the highest one being ultra rare for a given monster.
Cellar Running
Let's face it: running the same target over and over can get repetitive and boring. Rack and Scourge running will undoubtedly get to that point quickly. Although it is not quite as efficient, running the Icy Cellar is a good change of pace. All unique monsters in the Icy Cellar can drop anything in the game. There is also Snapchip Shatter (who can drop anything) and a golden prize chest (which can drop up to TC87).
In this case, it is best to roll the entrance right by The Ancients' Way waypoint. Having one or two Scourge packs beforehand is also a plus. There will always be a Champion pack guarding the entrance. You should only kill them if they are Sourges, but even then they don't drop as good as unique mobs.
The only issue with the Icy Cellar is that the variety is mixed up: meaning more immunities. A Sorceress running this area will need to invest into each element to be effective, and other characters too.
Cow Running
Although the cows aren't a great target in 1.08, they are useful for finding Runes. Since there isn't a players command to make super chests viable, the cows take the cake. Runes are very useful for both crafting and runewords. We also need gems and jewels, which the cows drop pretty frequently. It is optimal to run the cows with 5 players in the game, for best killing speed/ratio. Sorceresses and Amazons will excel the most in running them, being able to clear the screen very quickly.
Now that we have our farming targets, it's time to setup a build for running them.
7. Builds
The builds in 1.08 are going to be more similar to 1.09. As the skill balance changed quite a bit from 1.07. While there are a lot of potential builds, I will only be covering one for running the aforementioned areas.
Sorceresses make an ideal candidate for Scourge Running (Scourging) and Cellar Running (Cellaring). Even though Frozen Scourges are always immune to cold, they are capped to two immunities. This means a Lightning/Fire build will be very effective. Fire Wall is very powerful as it was buffed 1.08. The icy caves have lots of walls, so access to Teleport is a must. They are also great in the Icy Cellar, if all three elements are invested into.
"Scourging Sorc" [WIP] (ready around level 83-85)
Skills (not including prerequisites):
- 20 pts. Firewall
- 20 pts. Nova
- 20 pts. Lightning Mastery
- 10 pts. Warmth
- 01 pts. Teleport
- 01 pts. Telekinesis
- 01 pts. Hydra (optional)
- 01-10 pts. Energy Shield (optional)
- Rest into Fire Mastery
Gear:
Helm - Harlequin Crest/Vampire Gaze/Lore (Runeword)
Torso - Vipermagi/Shaftstop/The Spirit Shroud
Weapon - Wizardspike/Chromatic Ire/Memory (Runeword--Firewall Staff)
Shield - Lidless Wall/Gerke's Sanctuary/Rhyme (Runeword)
Gloves - Magefist/Frostburn (ES build)
Belt - String of Ears/Tri-res+Life
Boots - Tri-res Rares/Silkweave
Amulet - MDR+FCR+skills/Tal Rasha's Adjudication
Ring 1 - Stone of Jordan/FCR+Life+Res ring
Ring 2 - Stone of Jordan/Dwarf Star/MDR+FCR ring
Weapon Swap - Lower Resist Wand (Good for magic resistant monsters)
Mercenaries aren't all that great in 1.08. They level up slow, and none except the Barbarians auto-heal. Giving them potions is also difficult. The best choice is to go with an Act V mercenary and focus on life and damage reduction since they can't leech.
Act V Mercenary:
Helm - Harlequin Crest/Vampire Gaze
Torso - Gladiator's Bane/Shaftstop/Lionheart (Runeword)
Weapon - The Grandfather/Bul-Kathos' Sacred Charge
The general tactic to Scourge Running is rolling a stable map. Mobs will usually spawn in the same area every time. There are also Evil Urns in The Ancients' Way, which are worth clicking if nearby for an extra Scourge pack. You want to rush in and kill two to three Scourge packs as quickly as possible. Don't focus on the minions, they have a negligible chance of dropping anything good. Cast Firewall onto the unique Scourge, and then spam Nova to finish them off. If they are immune to fire or lightning, switch and cast Lower Resist to help increase the damage of the element they aren't immune to. Remember that Magic Resistant gives 75% all resistances instead of 40%, so you won't do much damage without Lower Resist.
If it is desired to run the Icy Cellar, then investing a few points into cold skills are recommended. Such as Blizzard or Frozen Orb. When running the Icy Cellar, roll a map with the entrance right by the waypoint. If the entrance is guarded by Scourges, kill them first. Go in, kill all the unique mobs and Snapchip. The golden chest is also worth popping.
I'm not going to go into grave detail regarding Rack Running. Much is already known about the topic. Basically just roll a map until a rack is close to the waypoint capable of dropping the item you want. Running it will churn out a unique faster than with 1.07.
The only thing that effects what a rack will drop are monsters/minions spawning. The number spawned and their location will change what the rack will drop. Therefore, taking a different path to a rack will cause a different number of monsters to spawn, and some may follow you. Keep this in mind if you wish to test a rack for multiple item types. A Sorceress may cast Hydra or Amazon a Valkyrie to change the rack.
When it comes to running the cows, any element will work fine. Cows do not have any resistances, but the Cow King is always immune to lightning. If you want to avoid killing him, using Nova when you get near the pen is a good idea. Elsewhere, Firewall/Blizzard are good to cast into the center of the pack. Then work your way in from the outside with Nova.
8. Tables
Bugged Cube Recipes (allows rolling Unique/Rare/Set quality)
* The chance of rolling a Stone of Jordan is 5x better than in 1.07. The unique ring
ratio for rings qlvl <= 40 was 1:120 for an SoJ in 1.07 and 1:30 in 1.08. The optimal
character level to roll an SoJ is 60 to 80. This gives only Nagelring, Manald Heal,
and Stone of Jordan. Also, the unique chance of 1:800 applies.
*minor correction: since rings/amulets have a qlvl of 1 the actual chance of getting a unique ring in 1.08 with this recipe is 1 in 799 (=800-1), also the chance at an SoJ used to be 1 in 121 for a ring of ilvl 39 to 52 and this chance is now 1 in 31*
Code:
1 Perfect Gem of Each Type + 1 Amulet -> Prismatic Amulet (6-36% each Resistance, 12-72% for Poison)
1 Ring + 1 Ruby (any quality) + 1 Exploding Potion -> Garnet Ring (6-36% Fire Resistance)
1 Ring + 1 Sapphire (any quality) + 1 Thawing Potion -> Cobalt Ring (6-36% Cold Resistance)
1 Ring + 2 Topaz (any quality) -> Coral Ring (6-36% Lightning Resistance)
1 Ring + 1 Emerald (any quality) + 1 Antidote Potion -> Viridian Ring (6-36% Poison Resistance)Max Sockets per Item Type
Code:
Item Type Ilvl Range
1-25 26-40 41+
Shield 3 3 4
Body Armor 3 4 6 No body armor specifies more than 4os
Scepter 3 5 6
Wand 2 2 2
Staff 5 6 6
Bow 3 4 5
Axe 4 5 6
Club 3 4 6
Sword 3 4 5
Hammer 3 4 6
Knife 2 3 3
Spear 3 4 4
Polearm 3 4 4 Max 4os is good for Infinity/Insight
Crossbow 3 4 6
Mace 3 4 6
Helm 2 2 3
Assassin Claw 2 3 3
Sorceress Orb 0 0 0 Bugged at no sockets
Necromancer Head 0 0 0 Bugged at no sockets
Paladin Shield 3 4 4
Barbarian Helm 2 3 3
Druid Pelt 2 3 3
Circlet 1 1 1 Bugged at 1os until 1.10
Amazon Bow 3 4 5
Amazon Spear 3 4 4Unique Item Typos
* Before you seek out to find a certain unique item, take note of these typos. Certain items will have incorrect or missing stats because of these.
Code:
Arm of King Leoric - No % for Bone Prison when struck (spawns 5% instead of 10%)
Black Hades - 1 socket instead of 2
Blade of Ali Baba - Supposed to have 3 sockets (Tulwar max is 2)
Buriza-Do Kyanon - 1% Pierce
Butcher's Pupil - No param for indestructible
Demon Machine - 1% Pierce
Eaglehorn - Has indestructible mod (no affect on bows)
Ginther's Rift - Doesn't auto repair
Guardian Angel - No FBR specified (spawns with 5% instead of 30%)
Harlequin Crest - No Mana per Clvl
Highlord's Wrath - No Deadly Strike per Clvl (fixed in 1.08, applies to 1.07 only)
Hone Sundan - 1 socket instead of 3
Iron Pelt - No Defense per Clvl
Kuko Shakaku - 1% Pierce
Lidless Wall - Spawns with Poison Absorb per Clvl (disabled mod)
Maelstorm - No FCR or Mana or Half Freeze Duration (param only)
Messerschmidt's Reaver - No % Max Damage or Thorns (both per Clvl)
Nosferatu's Coil - No ilvl/qlvl, IAS is only 3% (spawns with 5% instead)
Peasent Crown - No FRW specified (spawns with 5% instead of 15%)
Razortail - 1% Pierce
Ribcracker - No Mana per Clvl
Stormrider - Spawns with level 30 Charged Bolt on Hit (intentional?)
Stormspire - No Mana per Clvl
Todesfaelle Flamme - No % for Fire Bolt on Hit (spawns with 5% instead of 10%)
Treads of Cthon - No base defense bonus
Veil of Steel - No Vita per ClvlRune Drop Rates (All Versions) *original image not available anymore, I made a new one*
9. Resources
(Files)
Fixed 1.07/1.08 drop calculator for ATMA
(Documents)
1.08 Crafting Recipes/Runewords (.doc)
(Guides)
Crafting Mini-Guide for Rare Jewels by @WoRG
(Links) *TODO: create PDF versions of these pages in case archived-links go down
Diabloii.Net Home Page (July 2001)
Arreat Summit Home Page (August 2001)
Unique Items (1.07/1.08):
Arreat Summit Mirror (Some links are 1.09+ only)
Set Items (1.08):
Arreat Summit Mirror (All 1.09+ links apply)
Horadric Cube Recipes (1.07/1.08):
Diablo ii.Net Mirror (Classic Recipes) *The 1.08 versions of the 1.09 recipes are listed in Section 8
Diablo ii.Net Mirror (Expansion Recipes)
Crafting Recipes (1.07):
Diabloii.Net Mirror
Crafting Recipes (1.08):
Arreat Summit Mirror (Some links are 1.09+ only)
Bood | Caster | Hitpower | Safety | Deadly
Weapons (Realm-Only)
Rings | Amulets | Helmets | Armor | Gloves | Belts | Boots | Shields (Class Recipes, Realm-Only)
Runewords (1.08):
Diabloii.Net Mirror (Realm-Only)
Arreat Summit Mirror (Realm-Only)
Affixes (1.08/1.09):
Diablo ii.Net Mirror
Arreat Summit Mirror
Monster Levels+Info (1.07/1.08/1.09):
Diablo ii.Net Darkness Mirror
Arreat Summit Home Page (August 2001)
Unique Items (1.07/1.08):
Arreat Summit Mirror (Some links are 1.09+ only)
Set Items (1.08):
Arreat Summit Mirror (All 1.09+ links apply)
Horadric Cube Recipes (1.07/1.08):
Diablo ii.Net Mirror (Classic Recipes) *The 1.08 versions of the 1.09 recipes are listed in Section 8
Diablo ii.Net Mirror (Expansion Recipes)
Crafting Recipes (1.07):
Diabloii.Net Mirror
Crafting Recipes (1.08):
Arreat Summit Mirror (Some links are 1.09+ only)
Bood | Caster | Hitpower | Safety | Deadly
Weapons (Realm-Only)
Rings | Amulets | Helmets | Armor | Gloves | Belts | Boots | Shields (Class Recipes, Realm-Only)
Runewords (1.08):
Diabloii.Net Mirror (Realm-Only)
Arreat Summit Mirror (Realm-Only)
Affixes (1.08/1.09):
Diablo ii.Net Mirror
Arreat Summit Mirror
Monster Levels+Info (1.07/1.08/1.09):
Diablo ii.Net Darkness Mirror
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