A Guide to Classic (1.06b)
Introduction
Patch 1.06b (Classic from now on) was the last patch released before the expansion, back in 2001. Diablo II was a very different game back then, as you will see, and the challenges and rewards it offered have changed a great deal. The main attraction in Classic for new players is the ease of getting SoJs through gambling, but there’s much more to it if you’re willing to devote the time.
Differences between Classic and LoD
Classic Monsters
There’s a bug in Classic that makes monsters have 4 times as much AR as intended, which renders defence almost useless. Monsters have much less life than their LoD counterparts; regular monsters rarely have more than 1000 HP even in Hell, and there’s no such thing as global physical resistance in Hell or the like, so they die relatively quickly. On the other hand your character’s life is going to be significantly lower too, that coupled with the lack of DR and the AR bug means you need to be careful! Getting surrounded frequently ends in a quick death, remember that I told you so when it happens
That being said, there are a few monsters you need to be extra-careful with:
More details about monsters can be found in this guide if you're interested.
As a curiosity, there are certain monster types that won’t spawn as normal monsters, but can spawn as champions/bosses (in Classic champions/bosses in one area didn’t have to be of the same type as normal monsters spawned it seems): you can encounter Warped Ones in the Durance of Hate level 2 (a kind of Fallen, but purple), and Balrogs in the Outer Steppes (a kind of Megademon, like Venom Lords and Pit Lords, but pink).
Horadric cube recipes
Honestly, most of these are useless, but I'll put them here anyways just in case. The most useful one is the 6 pskulls + rare item recipe, which is covered in more detail in the Rare Items section.
Gambling
Gambling is a very important part of the game in Classic, since it’s the most efficient way of getting certain items. Gambling costs are fixed regardless of your character level, and range from about 2500 gold (Caps, Boots and Leather Gloves) to 800k (Ancient Armors). The item level is +4/-5 of your character level (same as in LoD), and you can’t gamble exceptional items (there’s no chance the base item will be upgraded upon buying it, unlike in LoD).
The gambling screen doesn’t refresh every time you talk to a vendor, you need to exit town and reenter for the items to change, so the best targets are Elzix (using the entrance to the Sewers) and Gheed (if your map has the exit to the Blood Moor next to him), or better yet, open a portal to the Cow Level next to Gheed.
When gambling you have a 3% chance for the item to be unique, a 5% chance for it to be a set and a 7% chance for it to be a rare item, the rest of the time it will be magical. If a unique item can’t spawn (because it’s already in the game) you’ll get a rare item with triple durability instead.
Item types with more than one unique (rings and amulets) have a specific order: it goes Nagel -> Manald -> SoJ for rings and Nokozan -> Eye of Etlich -> Mahim Oak for amulets. So if you have a Nagelring and a Manald in your stash you’ll always get a SoJ as your next unique ring, and carrying a Nokozan will grant an Etlich as your next unique amulet.
Another useful tip if you’re not interested in uniques but are looking for good rares instead is keeping the unique version of the items you’re gambling for (be them boots, belts, gloves, rings, amulets...) in the stash, that way 10% of your gambles will be rare (the regular 7% + the 3% that should be unique but can’t spawn because there’s already one in the game).
Gambling is also the best way of getting dual rings: life and mana leech affixes are available from very low levels (both require ilvl 6), so the chance of getting one is better at lower levels (and optimal at levels 1-3) since there are less affixes to choose from. Of course those dual rings probably won't be as good as those gotten at higher levels, since the number of affixes is more limited (you won't get high resistances or str/mana...), but if your goal is just getting a dual ring I'd consider gambling at level 5 (at lower levels your character can't carry the 50k gold it takes to gamble for a ring, and putting it in the stash everytime is a pain).
The chance of gambling a dual ring depending on your clvl is shown in this table made by Spirea, gambles refers to the number of rings gambled on average that getting a dual ring would require:
Rare items
Rare items have the potential to get 4-6 affixes (up to 3 prefixes and 3 suffixes), and use the same affix pool as magical items (there aren’t any magical-only affixes). The affix pool is also much reduced compared to LoD, and some easy to gamble items (amulets, rings, boots, gloves and to a lesser extent belts) can get great affixes and usually have really low level requirements. For details on all the affixes available in the different item types you can check this document.
Take into account that for all affixes that have a range of possible values the maximum value is actually one less, because of the (n-1) bug (so, for example, the Eye of Etlitch should be able to spawn with 3-7% life leech, but because of this bug the range is actually 3-6%).
We all more or less know the massively duped classic items in the realms, but to show you good rares are more common than in LoD here are some examples I found myself: amulet, ring, another ring (that one was a reward for rescuing Cain in NM, imagine my surprise),boots, another boots, belt, another belt.
As you have noticed if you checked the pictures rare items could get two +skill mods at the same time, as long as they are for different classes (3 would also be possible, but I’ve never seen one, to be honest).
The maximum enhanced damage on weapons is 198% (King’s + Merciless), it won’t display the percentage so check the max damage compared to the basic damage of the weapon. Rare weapons can also get really high life (up to 9%) and mana leech (up to 11%). You can’t rely on gambling to get a good rare weapon/armor, so your best chance is the imbue quest if monsters aren’t being kind. For a more indepth information on imbuing different item types you can consult this guide.
To find rare +2 skill amulets there are only three possible sources: Diablo (the only monster ilvl 90), gambling with a character level of 86 or higher, or using a cube recipe: 6 perfect skulls + rare item reroll the rare item with an ilvl of 99, so if you use a rare amulet you can get one with +2 skills. Other gems (except perhaps diamonds) aren't really useful for anything, so save your skulls for the gem shrines you find along the way.
Unique Items
While it's true that rares are generally capable of having better mods than most uniques there are still a few uniques worth looking for, either because of their usefulness at low levels (remember they don't have a level requirement) or because they have mods rare items can't get:
Set and Magic Items
This will be short, since the only interesting set items are Sigon's shield, with +1 skills and increased block, and Death's belt for the cannot be frozen mod.
Magic items aren't much better, since they can get the same affixes as rares there will always be a better rare possible... The only interesting magic item I can think of is a Priest's Scepter of the Magus (+2 pala, 20% FCR), which can be bought from vendors in a reasonable amount of time instead of waiting ages for a rare one to drop with those mods (since scepters can't be gambled for). The same is true for wands with +2 necro and FCR if an Ume refuses to drop, of course.
Magic Find
Magic Find doesn't affect Unique and Superunique monsters, which will always drop a magic item (except in act IV, where they have a 12.5% of dropping a rare item), nor does it affect barrels, chests and other objects. It only affects regular monsters.
The base chance for monsters to drop better quality items increases as the monster's level increase, and is also higher for exceptional items than for their normal counterparts. The increase in drop quality can be seen in these tables made by Jarulf.
It should be noticed that for exceptional items there's actually a decrease in the chance to find rares from 150% and 151%, so if you're looking for these it's better either to set for 150% MF or go past 194%; between 151% and 193% the chances for exceptional rares will be worse. There's no such distinction for normal rares (such as rings and amulets), for these the higher your MF is the better.
The tables reach up to 300% MF, which is more than the theoretical maximum that any char (except a Barb) can reach if I didn't mess up my calculations. To reach this amount of MF a character would have to wear the following:
Helms: 49% (Tarnhelm)
Weapons: 50% (Gull)
Shields: 20% (Milabrega's Orb)
Armor: 0%
Amulet: 48% (Fortuitous + of Fortune)
Rings: 32% (Fortuitous + of Chance)
Boots: 34%
Gloves: 34%
Belt: 30% (Goldwrap)
Total: 297% MF (327% MF if a barb dual-wields Gulls)
Gem bonuses
Just in case anyone is wondering, since they're not displayed in the gem as such, here are the bonuses for each perfect gem:
A Guide to Classic (1.06b)
by Ragnarod
by Ragnarod
Introduction
Patch 1.06b (Classic from now on) was the last patch released before the expansion, back in 2001. Diablo II was a very different game back then, as you will see, and the challenges and rewards it offered have changed a great deal. The main attraction in Classic for new players is the ease of getting SoJs through gambling, but there’s much more to it if you’re willing to devote the time.
Differences between Classic and LoD
- Acts: there are 4 acts in Classic (this should go without saying, but just in case!).
- Attack Speed (IAS): increased attack speed can be slightly increased (10%), increased (20% and 30%, they are different affixes but displayed in the same way) or greatly increased (40%). The last two affixes can only spawn in melee weapons and scepters, but not bows, wands or staves. Besides weapons only Twitchthroe (10%), Goldwrap (10%) and gloves (10%) have attack speed modifiers.
- Block: it doesn’t depend on dexterity, just on shield block (so a Sigon’s shield has the highest block in the whole game, besides being the only shield with +1 skills). Twitchthroe adds 25% block, even if it's not displayed anywhere.
- Breakpoints: at this point I don't think breakpoints for FCR, FHR and IAS are the same as in LoD, but this is yet to be tested thoroughly.
- Cast Rate (FCR): wands/scepters/staves and some unique items can get fast cast (10%) or fastest cast (20%). There are no casting delays in spells.
- Characters: just the five original characters, so no druid or assassin.
- Crushing Blow: it doesn’t work against bosses or players, halves the monster’s hit points if that damage is greater than the rolled damage that would be dealt by the attack.
- Dying: you don’t recover experience after retrieving your corpse in NM or Hell.
- Enhanced Damage: the game doesn’t display the percentage of enhanced damage in items, you’ll have to check the weapon damage to know how much it is. The only non-weapons with enhanced damage are Biggin's Bonet (40%), Tancred's Skull (10%) and Frostburn (85%).
- Experience: leveling up is quite difficult compared to LoD since there’s not a ‘players x’ command, monsters just don’t yield as much experience and the experience you get depends a lot on your level and the monster level. It’s not uncommon to finish NM in the 30s and Hell in the 40s, which makes for a challenging experience. For a method to replicate the 'players x' command, please check the corresponding part of the guide.
- Gems: they only drop up to Normal quality, and can be upgraded to Flawless/Perfect via Gem Shrines or the Horadric Cube. Gems don't have level requirements, but their bonuses are in most cases lower than in LoD.
- Hellforge Quest: the rewards from the quest are 1 perfect gem, 2 flawless gems and 1 normal gem.
- Hit Recovery (FHR): there’s fast (10%) and fastest (20%).
- Immunities: there are no immune monsters in Classic.
- Items: just normal and exceptional items, no elite items. There aren’t any runes, charms, jewels, crafted or class-specific items either. Only normal items have set/unique versions.
- Leech: leech (both life and mana) isn’t reduced in NM or Hell, you can leech off every monster in the game (skeletons included).
- Maps: the Countess’ Tower and the Durance of Hate maps are of small size in all three difficulties.
- Mercenaries: they can’t be given items to equip, disappear when changing acts, can’t be fed potions, have no auras and are generally useless.
- Open Wounds: monsters bleed in the same way as in LoD, but it deals very low damage.
- Players: there’s no ‘players x’ command.
- Potions: mana potions can’t be bought from vendors.
- Rare items: rares are the best items available in nearly all item slots, and some can rival or surpass even the best uniques available in LoD (more in the Rare section below).
- Rarity: the item rarity progression was normal -> magic -> set -> rare -> unique (rares are actually rarer than sets, unlike in LoD).
- Rejuvenation potions: the 3 rejuvs = full rejuv recipe doesn’t work, although regular monsters can drop full rejuvs, not just champions/uniques.
- Repairing: there’s no ‘repair all’ button (you barely notice it now, but you’ll miss it!), the selling price for items depends on their durability.
- Resistances: without charms resistances are notoriously hard to get, even if the penalty is reduced to -20 in NM and -50 in Hell. Best places to get resistances are rare amulets, gloves, belts, boots, and of course the always popular 3 socket Tower Shield with 3 perfect diamonds.
- Resolution: 800x600 is not available, just 640x480 I’m afraid.
- Run/Walk: increased run/walk in boots can be fast (equivalent to 10%), faster (20%) and fastest (30%).
- Set items: there are no partial set bonuses, and the full set bonuses are usually very weak. Several set items have changed (worse) mods compared to later versions.
- Sockets: weapons and shields can have a max of 1-3 sockets depending of the item type, helms can have 1-2 sockets. Body armor can’t have any sockets though.
- Stash: the stash is smaller in Classic (as in really small, 6x4).
- Synergies: there are none.
- Throwing weapons: they can’t be magical or better (superior is the best they can get).
- Unique items: they have 5x durability and no level requirement (but they’ll get it if you transfer them to LoD), and they can’t drop in a game in which the same unique item is already present (even if it hasn’t dropped in that game, it will drop as a 5x durability rare instead). Their stats are in most cases worse than in their LoD version... and there’s an Azurewrath, but it’s the unique Crystal Sword, don’t get your hopes up.
- Vendors: vendors don’t sell exceptional items, they sell both normal and magical items in all acts and difficulties. You can’t buy multiple scrolls/potions from them while holding shift.
Classic Monsters
There’s a bug in Classic that makes monsters have 4 times as much AR as intended, which renders defence almost useless. Monsters have much less life than their LoD counterparts; regular monsters rarely have more than 1000 HP even in Hell, and there’s no such thing as global physical resistance in Hell or the like, so they die relatively quickly. On the other hand your character’s life is going to be significantly lower too, that coupled with the lack of DR and the AR bug means you need to be careful! Getting surrounded frequently ends in a quick death, remember that I told you so when it happens
That being said, there are a few monsters you need to be extra-careful with:
- Lightning Enchanted bosses: these hurt, even at max resistances! Bolts can be invisible sometimes, you’ll notice when your life starts dropping. As in LoD, lightning bolts also carry cold/fire damage if the monster is cold/fire enchanted.
- Lightning Enchanted + Multishot bosses: meleeing these is in most cases akin to a death sentence, the number of bolts they spawn gets multiplied by 3. Don’t get close if you can help it, else I hope you have maxed lightning resistance and a few rejuvs at hand. Only bosses with a ranged attack can get multishot, so that limits it a bit, thankfully.
- Teleport bosses: when they’re low on life they’ll start teleporting like mad, healing in the process. Not usually a problem if it spawns alone, but on a monster with Stone Skin (for melee chars) or Magic Resistant (for elemental chars) it can get really frustrating. Even worse is if you get Lightning Enchanted in the mix too.
- ‘Caster’ bosses: all minions of bosses capable of reviving others (Shamans, Unravelers...) and Oblivion Knights will be of their same class, so be ready to face a barrage of elemental attacks and/or endless reviving (since the boss can and will revive his minions, which in turn will revive fallens/undeads present in the area), it can get ugly. Careful with Endungu when you go collect Khalim’s parts.
- Duriel: the massive lag you got when you went down to Tal Rasha’s Chamber is no longer there (probably because of 10 years of improvements in computers), but he’s still dangerous, his Charge will hurt if it lands.
- Council members: especially those down in the Durance of Hate level 3. Most dangerous is Bremm, he’s always Aura enchanted (the aura varies) and Lightning Enchanted, and can spawn with Multishot.
- Mephisto: he hits extremely hard both with his physical attack and with his skull missile, especially in Hell, and has high block on top of that. Be careful, he’ll probably be capable of 1-2 hit killing you in Hell if you’re not playing a Barb.
- Hephasto: speaking of 1 hit kills... He’s always Extra Strong, Cursed and Magic Resistant in Hell, plus two other random mods, so you’ll be having fun running away from him.
- Lord de Seis: if having Oblivion Knights for minions wasn’t bad enough his aura is always Conviction, although it doesn’t seem to lower resistances too much (or perhaps it’s just not shown in the character screen?). Sometimes he and his pack will spawn on top of you when you click the seal too!
- Diablo: high life and block, and the Pink Lightning Bolt of Death really hurts if you’re not at point blank range, either get really close to him or as far away as possible to be safe.
More details about monsters can be found in this guide if you're interested.
As a curiosity, there are certain monster types that won’t spawn as normal monsters, but can spawn as champions/bosses (in Classic champions/bosses in one area didn’t have to be of the same type as normal monsters spawned it seems): you can encounter Warped Ones in the Durance of Hate level 2 (a kind of Fallen, but purple), and Balrogs in the Outer Steppes (a kind of Megademon, like Venom Lords and Pit Lords, but pink).
Horadric cube recipes
Honestly, most of these are useless, but I'll put them here anyways just in case. The most useful one is the 6 pskulls + rare item recipe, which is covered in more detail in the Rare Items section.
- 6 Perfect Skulls + 1 Rare Item = 1 Random Rare Item of the Same Type (ilvl = 99)
- 3 Perfect Gems (of any type) + 1 Magic Item = 1 New Random Magic Item of the Same Type (ilvl = 99)
- 4 Health Potions (of any type) + Ruby (any type) + Magical/Set/Rare Sword (Any type) = Long Sword of the Leech
- 3 Rings = 1 Random Amulet (ilvl=[(3*CharacterLevel)/4]+3)
- 3 Amulets = 1 Random Ring (ilvl=[(3*CharacterLevel)/4]+3)
- 3 Health Potions (Any Grade) + 3 Mana Potions (Any Grade) = 1 Rejuvenation Potion
- 3 Health Potions (Any Grade) + 3 Mana Potions (Any Grade) + 1 Gem (Any Grade) = 1 Full Rejuvenation Potion
- 3 Gems of the Same Type and Grade (lower than Perfect) = 1 Higher Grade Gem of the Same Type
- 6 Gems (Any Grade) and 1 Sword = 1 Socketed Long Sword
- 2 Quivers of Bolts = 1 Quiver of Arrows
- 2 Quivers of Arrows = 1 Quiver of Bolts
- 1 Spear + 1 Quiver of Arrows = 1 Stack of Javelins
- 1 Axe + 2 Daggers = Throwing Axe
- Strangling Gas Potion + any type of Healing Potion = 1 Antidote Potion
- 6 Perfect Gems (1 of each type) + 1 Amulet (any quality) = Prismatic Amulet
- 1 Ring + 1 Emerald (Any Grade) + 4 Antidote Potions = 1 Viridian Ring
- 1 Ring + 1 Ruby (Any Grade) + 4 Exploding Potions = 1 Garnet Ring
- 1 Ring + 2 Topaz (Any Grade) = 1 Coral Ring
- 1 Ring + 1 Sapphire (Any Grade) + 4 Thawing Potions = 1 Cobalt Ring
- 1 Small Shield (magical or better) + 1 Spiked Club (any quality) + 2 Skulls (any quality) = Small Shield of Spikes
- Diamond (any quality) + 1 Staff (any type and quality) + 1 Kris (any type and quality) + 1 Belt (any type and quality) = Savage Bardiche
- Wirt's Leg + A Tome of Town Portal = Secret Cow Level
Gambling
Gambling is a very important part of the game in Classic, since it’s the most efficient way of getting certain items. Gambling costs are fixed regardless of your character level, and range from about 2500 gold (Caps, Boots and Leather Gloves) to 800k (Ancient Armors). The item level is +4/-5 of your character level (same as in LoD), and you can’t gamble exceptional items (there’s no chance the base item will be upgraded upon buying it, unlike in LoD).
The gambling screen doesn’t refresh every time you talk to a vendor, you need to exit town and reenter for the items to change, so the best targets are Elzix (using the entrance to the Sewers) and Gheed (if your map has the exit to the Blood Moor next to him), or better yet, open a portal to the Cow Level next to Gheed.
When gambling you have a 3% chance for the item to be unique, a 5% chance for it to be a set and a 7% chance for it to be a rare item, the rest of the time it will be magical. If a unique item can’t spawn (because it’s already in the game) you’ll get a rare item with triple durability instead.
Item types with more than one unique (rings and amulets) have a specific order: it goes Nagel -> Manald -> SoJ for rings and Nokozan -> Eye of Etlich -> Mahim Oak for amulets. So if you have a Nagelring and a Manald in your stash you’ll always get a SoJ as your next unique ring, and carrying a Nokozan will grant an Etlich as your next unique amulet.
Another useful tip if you’re not interested in uniques but are looking for good rares instead is keeping the unique version of the items you’re gambling for (be them boots, belts, gloves, rings, amulets...) in the stash, that way 10% of your gambles will be rare (the regular 7% + the 3% that should be unique but can’t spawn because there’s already one in the game).
Gambling is also the best way of getting dual rings: life and mana leech affixes are available from very low levels (both require ilvl 6), so the chance of getting one is better at lower levels (and optimal at levels 1-3) since there are less affixes to choose from. Of course those dual rings probably won't be as good as those gotten at higher levels, since the number of affixes is more limited (you won't get high resistances or str/mana...), but if your goal is just getting a dual ring I'd consider gambling at level 5 (at lower levels your character can't carry the 50k gold it takes to gamble for a ring, and putting it in the stash everytime is a pain).
The chance of gambling a dual ring depending on your clvl is shown in this table made by Spirea, gambles refers to the number of rings gambled on average that getting a dual ring would require:
Code:
Gambling
Level With all unique rings Without all unique rings
Chance Gambles Chance Gambles
1 0.1803% 555 0.1262% 792
2 0.1803% 555 0.1262% 792
3 0.1803% 555 0.1262% 792
4 0.1727% 579 0.1209% 827
5 0.1652% 605 0.1156% 865
6 0.1557% 642 0.1090% 917
7 0.1463% 684 0.1024% 976
8 0.1362% 734 0.0953% 1049
9 0.1254% 797 0.0878% 1139
10 0.1147% 872 0.0803% 1245
11 0.1034% 967 0.0724% 1381
12 0.0902% 1109 0.0631% 1585
13 0.0769% 1301 0.0538% 1858
14 0.0709% 1410 0.0496% 2014
15 0.0649% 1540 0.0455% 2200
16 0.0608% 1644 0.0426% 2349
17 0.0567% 1764 0.0397% 2520
18 0.0530% 1887 0.0371% 2696
19 0.0499% 2003 0.0350% 2861
20 0.0469% 2133 0.0328% 3048
21 0.0444% 2255 0.0310% 3221
22 0.0438% 2282 0.0307% 3260
23 0.0433% 2310 0.0303% 3301
24 0.0428% 2336 0.0300% 3338
25 0.0423% 2363 0.0296% 3376
26 0.0418% 2390 0.0293% 3415
27 0.0414% 2418 0.0289% 3454
28 0.0411% 2432 0.0288% 3474
29 0.0409% 2445 0.0286% 3494
30 0.0407% 2459 0.0285% 3513
31 0.0402% 2488 0.0281% 3554
32 0.0397% 2517 0.0278% 3596
33 0.0393% 2548 0.0275% 3639
34 0.0388% 2578 0.0272% 3682
35 0.0383% 2609 0.0268% 3727
36 0.0377% 2654 0.0264% 3792
37 0.0370% 2701 0.0259% 3859
38 0.0364% 2750 0.0255% 3929
39 0.0355% 2815 0.0249% 4022
40 0.0347% 2884 0.0243% 4120
41 0.0341% 2935 0.0239% 4193
42 0.0335% 2988 0.0234% 4269
43 0.0329% 3043 0.0230% 4347
44 0.0323% 3095 0.0226% 4422
45 0.0318% 3149 0.0222% 4499
46 0.0314% 3185 0.0220% 4550
47 0.0310% 3221 0.0217% 4602
48 0.0307% 3259 0.0215% 4655
49 0.0304% 3294 0.0213% 4705
50 0.0300% 3329 0.0210% 4756
51 0.0297% 3365 0.0208% 4808
52 0.0294% 3402 0.0206% 4860
53 0.0291% 3440 0.0203% 4915
54 0.0288% 3474 0.0201% 4963
55 0.0285% 3509 0.0199% 5013
56 0.0281% 3560 0.0197% 5086
57 0.0277% 3613 0.0194% 5161
58 0.0273% 3667 0.0191% 5239
59 0.0270% 3702 0.0189% 5289
60 0.0268% 3738 0.0187% 5339
61 0.0265% 3774 0.0185% 5391
62 0.0262% 3811 0.0184% 5444
63 0.0260% 3848 0.0182% 5498
64 0.0259% 3867 0.0181% 5525
> 64 0.0257% 3886 0.0180% 5552Rare items
Rare items have the potential to get 4-6 affixes (up to 3 prefixes and 3 suffixes), and use the same affix pool as magical items (there aren’t any magical-only affixes). The affix pool is also much reduced compared to LoD, and some easy to gamble items (amulets, rings, boots, gloves and to a lesser extent belts) can get great affixes and usually have really low level requirements. For details on all the affixes available in the different item types you can check this document.
Take into account that for all affixes that have a range of possible values the maximum value is actually one less, because of the (n-1) bug (so, for example, the Eye of Etlitch should be able to spawn with 3-7% life leech, but because of this bug the range is actually 3-6%).
We all more or less know the massively duped classic items in the realms, but to show you good rares are more common than in LoD here are some examples I found myself: amulet, ring, another ring (that one was a reward for rescuing Cain in NM, imagine my surprise),boots, another boots, belt, another belt.
As you have noticed if you checked the pictures rare items could get two +skill mods at the same time, as long as they are for different classes (3 would also be possible, but I’ve never seen one, to be honest).
The maximum enhanced damage on weapons is 198% (King’s + Merciless), it won’t display the percentage so check the max damage compared to the basic damage of the weapon. Rare weapons can also get really high life (up to 9%) and mana leech (up to 11%). You can’t rely on gambling to get a good rare weapon/armor, so your best chance is the imbue quest if monsters aren’t being kind. For a more indepth information on imbuing different item types you can consult this guide.
To find rare +2 skill amulets there are only three possible sources: Diablo (the only monster ilvl 90), gambling with a character level of 86 or higher, or using a cube recipe: 6 perfect skulls + rare item reroll the rare item with an ilvl of 99, so if you use a rare amulet you can get one with +2 skills. Other gems (except perhaps diamonds) aren't really useful for anything, so save your skulls for the gem shrines you find along the way.
Unique Items
While it's true that rares are generally capable of having better mods than most uniques there are still a few uniques worth looking for, either because of their usefulness at low levels (remember they don't have a level requirement) or because they have mods rare items can't get:
- Gull (dagger): with 50% MF, it's the only weapon with significant MF (Azurewrath has 10%).
- Spectral Shard (blade): 20% FCR, 50 mana and 10 all res make it a nice caster weapon, the 51 dex it requires is more than a caster would have though.
- Bonesnap (maul): with 91-123 damage and just 69 strength required it makes for a great starting weapon.
- The Iron Jang Bong (war staff): 14-28 damage, an extra 1-25 lightning damage, 50% bonus to AR and +25 defense without any requirements make this perhaps the best weapon available at level 1.
- Soulflay (claymore): 16-39 damage, dual leech and 47 strength required, another good starting weapon.
- Ume's Lament (bone wand): 20% FCR, 40 mana and +2 necro, it was usually preferred over an Spectral Shard since it has no requirements (problem is, unlike the Spectral Shard it can't be gambled).
- Maelstrom (yew wand): 20% FCR, just 13 mana but 40% lightning resistance, perhaps the best of the three but also the hardest to find by far.
- Tarnhelm (skull cap): 25-49% MF and +1 skills make it the best MF helm available.
- Wormskull (bone helm), Undead's Crown (crown): the only two helms with life leech, useful for non-casters.
- Greyform (quilted armor): comes with 5% life leech, easy to gamble and nice for low levels.
- Blinkbat's Form (leather armor): adds 20% fast run/walk, you'll learn to love this armor when you gamble a lot, I promise!
- Twitchthroe (studded leather): 10% IAS, 25% block and +10 to strength and dexterity make this a great armor, probably best one available to bowazons.
- Iceblink (splint mail): this armor is great for melee builds for the Freeze Target mod. The freeze time in seconds = (100 + CharacterLevel*2)/25, so it varies between 4 and 12 seconds depending on your char level. It's reduced to 1/2 in NM and 1/4 in Hell, but still it's a difference maker for melee characters, give it a try if you find one.
- Heavenly Garb (light plate): about 200 defense, +10 all resistances and 25% mana regeneration, nice for low level casters with just 41 strength required.
- Goldskin (full plate mail): +30 all resistances makes this armor a good choice for areas with many elemental attackers, rares have the chance of being better at this though.
- Silks of the Victor: the only armor with +1 skills, it also has 5% mana leech. The 100 strength required might be too high for casters though.
- Wall Of The Eyeless (bone shield): 20% FCR and +5 mana after each kill make this shield a caster favourite.
- The Hand of Broc (leather gloves): 3% dual leech and 20 mana make this very nice starting gloves, they're also the only source of leech in gloves (rares don't spawn with leech).
- Bloodfist (heavy gloves): 40 life and FHR are nice, especially at lower levels.
- Magefist (light gauntlets): 20% FCR and 25% to mana regeneration, these are the gloves of choice for most caster builds.
- Frostburn (gauntlets): 40% extra mana, 85% ED and added cold damage make this nice gloves for both melee and caster builds.
- Treads of Cthon (chain boots): 30% FRW and 50% stamina drain prove truly useful at low levels.
- Lenymo (sash): 30% mana regeneration, 15 mana and +5 all resistances, a nice starting belt.
- Nightsmoke (belt): +10 all resistances, 20 mana and 50% damage goes to mana, this is another nice starting belt.
- Goldwrap (heavy belt): this is the only source of IAS (10%) and MF (30%) in belts, quite useful.
- Stone of Jordan (ring): this ring needs no presentation, does it? +1 skills and some extra mana are always nice, and the 1-12 lightning damage shines when you're starting out, a great ring.
- The Eye of Etlich (amulet): 3-6% life leech, +1 skills and cold damage, a very nice amulet indeed.
Set and Magic Items
This will be short, since the only interesting set items are Sigon's shield, with +1 skills and increased block, and Death's belt for the cannot be frozen mod.
Magic items aren't much better, since they can get the same affixes as rares there will always be a better rare possible... The only interesting magic item I can think of is a Priest's Scepter of the Magus (+2 pala, 20% FCR), which can be bought from vendors in a reasonable amount of time instead of waiting ages for a rare one to drop with those mods (since scepters can't be gambled for). The same is true for wands with +2 necro and FCR if an Ume refuses to drop, of course.
Magic Find
Magic Find doesn't affect Unique and Superunique monsters, which will always drop a magic item (except in act IV, where they have a 12.5% of dropping a rare item), nor does it affect barrels, chests and other objects. It only affects regular monsters.
The base chance for monsters to drop better quality items increases as the monster's level increase, and is also higher for exceptional items than for their normal counterparts. The increase in drop quality can be seen in these tables made by Jarulf.
Code:
Normal items, +0% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.100% 0.502% 0.802% 3.287% 7.942% 21.842% 65.525%
5 0.101% 0.512% 0.828% 3.285% 7.939% 21.834% 65.501%
10 0.101% 0.526% 0.864% 3.284% 7.935% 29.097% 58.193%
15 0.102% 0.540% 0.903% 3.282% 7.931% 29.081% 58.162%
20 0.102% 0.555% 0.946% 3.393% 8.637% 43.184% 43.184%
25 0.103% 0.571% 0.993% 3.391% 8.631% 86.311% 0.000%
30 0.103% 0.588% 1.045% 3.388% 8.625% 86.250% 0.000%
35 0.104% 0.605% 1.103% 3.507% 9.468% 85.213% 0.000%
40 0.104% 0.624% 1.168% 3.504% 9.460% 85.140% 0.000%
45 0.105% 0.644% 1.241% 3.500% 9.451% 85.059% 0.000%
50 0.105% 0.666% 1.323% 3.626% 10.476% 83.804% 0.000%
55 0.106% 0.689% 1.417% 3.622% 10.463% 83.703% 0.000%
60 0.106% 0.714% 1.526% 3.617% 10.449% 83.589% 0.000%
65 0.107% 0.740% 1.653% 3.750% 11.719% 82.032% 0.000%
70 0.108% 0.768% 1.802% 3.743% 11.697% 81.881% 0.000%
75 0.108% 0.799% 1.982% 3.735% 11.672% 81.704% 0.000%
80 0.109% 0.832% 2.201% 3.874% 13.283% 79.700% 0.000%
85 0.109% 0.869% 2.476% 3.862% 13.241% 79.444% 0.000%
90 0.110% 0.908% 2.828% 3.846% 13.187% 79.121% 0.000%
Exceptional items, +0% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.000% 1.006% 0.000% 33.665% 16.332% 48.997% 0.000%
5 0.000% 1.036% 0.000% 33.682% 16.320% 48.961% 0.000%
10 0.000% 1.077% 0.000% 33.707% 16.304% 48.912% 0.000%
15 0.000% 1.122% 0.000% 33.735% 16.286% 48.858% 0.000%
20 0.000% 1.171% 0.000% 33.767% 21.688% 43.375% 0.000%
25 0.000% 1.225% 0.000% 33.803% 21.657% 43.315% 0.000%
30 0.000% 1.285% 0.000% 33.845% 21.623% 43.247% 0.000%
35 0.000% 1.351% 0.000% 33.895% 32.377% 32.377% 0.000%
40 0.000% 1.426% 0.000% 33.953% 32.310% 32.310% 0.000%
45 0.000% 1.511% 0.000% 34.023% 32.233% 32.233% 0.000%
50 0.000% 1.608% 0.000% 34.109% 64.283% 0.000% 0.000%
55 0.000% 1.719% 0.000% 34.216% 64.065% 0.000% 0.000%
60 0.000% 1.849% 0.000% 34.353% 63.798% 0.000% 0.000%
65 0.000% 2.002% 0.000% 34.533% 63.466% 0.000% 0.000%
70 0.000% 2.185% 0.000% 34.779% 63.036% 0.000% 0.000%
75 0.000% 2.408% 0.000% 35.133% 62.459% 0.000% 0.000%
80 0.000% 2.688% 0.000% 35.681% 61.631% 0.000% 0.000%
85 0.000% 3.046% 0.000% 36.627% 60.327% 0.000% 0.000%
90 0.000% 3.523% 0.000% 38.591% 57.886% 0.000% 0.000%
Normal items, +50% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.148% 0.741% 1.185% 4.864% 7.755% 21.327% 63.980%
5 0.148% 0.756% 1.224% 4.862% 7.751% 21.315% 63.944%
10 0.149% 0.776% 1.277% 4.859% 7.745% 28.398% 56.796%
15 0.150% 0.797% 1.334% 4.856% 7.739% 28.375% 56.749%
20 0.150% 0.819% 1.397% 5.018% 8.420% 42.098% 42.098%
25 0.151% 0.842% 1.466% 5.014% 8.411% 84.115% 0.000%
30 0.152% 0.866% 1.543% 5.010% 8.403% 84.026% 0.000%
35 0.153% 0.892% 1.627% 5.182% 9.215% 82.931% 0.000%
40 0.153% 0.920% 1.722% 5.177% 9.203% 82.825% 0.000%
45 0.154% 0.949% 1.829% 5.171% 9.190% 82.707% 0.000%
50 0.155% 0.980% 1.949% 5.354% 10.174% 81.389% 0.000%
55 0.156% 1.013% 2.087% 5.347% 10.155% 81.242% 0.000%
60 0.156% 1.049% 2.246% 5.338% 10.134% 81.076% 0.000%
65 0.157% 1.087% 2.430% 5.531% 11.349% 79.446% 0.000%
70 0.158% 1.128% 2.649% 5.519% 11.318% 79.228% 0.000%
75 0.159% 1.172% 2.911% 5.505% 11.282% 78.971% 0.000%
80 0.159% 1.219% 3.229% 5.705% 12.812% 76.874% 0.000%
85 0.160% 1.271% 3.628% 5.684% 12.751% 76.506% 0.000%
90 0.161% 1.327% 4.139% 5.658% 12.674% 76.042% 0.000%
Exceptional items, +50% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.000% 1.333% 0.000% 44.773% 13.473% 40.420% 0.000%
5 0.000% 1.373% 0.000% 44.793% 13.459% 40.376% 0.000%
10 0.000% 1.427% 0.000% 44.820% 13.438% 40.315% 0.000%
15 0.000% 1.485% 0.000% 44.851% 13.416% 40.248% 0.000%
20 0.000% 1.550% 0.000% 44.886% 17.855% 35.710% 0.000%
25 0.000% 1.620% 0.000% 44.927% 17.818% 35.635% 0.000%
30 0.000% 1.699% 0.000% 44.974% 17.776% 35.552% 0.000%
35 0.000% 1.786% 0.000% 45.029% 26.592% 26.592% 0.000%
40 0.000% 1.884% 0.000% 45.095% 26.510% 26.510% 0.000%
45 0.000% 1.995% 0.000% 45.175% 26.415% 26.415% 0.000%
50 0.000% 2.120% 0.000% 45.273% 52.607% 0.000% 0.000%
55 0.000% 2.265% 0.000% 45.395% 52.340% 0.000% 0.000%
60 0.000% 2.432% 0.000% 45.553% 52.015% 0.000% 0.000%
65 0.000% 2.629% 0.000% 45.760% 51.610% 0.000% 0.000%
70 0.000% 2.864% 0.000% 46.046% 51.090% 0.000% 0.000%
75 0.000% 3.148% 0.000% 46.458% 50.393% 0.000% 0.000%
80 0.000% 3.499% 0.000% 47.099% 49.402% 0.000% 0.000%
85 0.000% 3.940% 0.000% 48.204% 47.856% 0.000% 0.000%
90 0.000% 4.503% 0.000% 50.478% 45.019% 0.000% 0.000%
Normal items, +100% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.196% 0.980% 1.566% 6.419% 7.570% 20.817% 62.452%
5 0.196% 1.000% 1.617% 6.415% 7.564% 20.802% 62.405%
10 0.197% 1.026% 1.687% 6.410% 7.557% 27.707% 55.415%
15 0.198% 1.054% 1.763% 6.405% 7.548% 27.677% 55.354%
20 0.199% 1.082% 1.845% 6.616% 8.205% 41.026% 41.026%
25 0.200% 1.113% 1.936% 6.610% 8.195% 81.946% 0.000%
30 0.201% 1.145% 2.037% 6.603% 8.183% 81.831% 0.000%
35 0.202% 1.179% 2.148% 6.827% 8.964% 80.680% 0.000%
40 0.203% 1.215% 2.273% 6.818% 8.949% 80.542% 0.000%
45 0.204% 1.254% 2.413% 6.809% 8.932% 80.389% 0.000%
50 0.205% 1.294% 2.570% 7.045% 9.876% 79.010% 0.000%
55 0.205% 1.338% 2.752% 7.032% 9.853% 78.820% 0.000%
60 0.206% 1.385% 2.961% 7.018% 9.826% 78.605% 0.000%
65 0.207% 1.434% 3.202% 7.266% 10.986% 76.905% 0.000%
70 0.208% 1.487% 3.489% 7.246% 10.946% 76.623% 0.000%
75 0.209% 1.545% 3.832% 7.223% 10.899% 76.292% 0.000%
80 0.210% 1.606% 4.248% 7.477% 12.351% 74.108% 0.000%
85 0.211% 1.674% 4.770% 7.441% 12.272% 73.632% 0.000%
90 0.211% 1.746% 5.439% 7.396% 12.172% 73.035% 0.000%
Exceptional items, +100% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.000% 1.663% 0.000% 55.658% 10.670% 32.010% 0.000%
5 0.000% 1.713% 0.000% 55.671% 10.654% 31.962% 0.000%
10 0.000% 1.779% 0.000% 55.689% 10.633% 31.898% 0.000%
15 0.000% 1.852% 0.000% 55.711% 10.609% 31.827% 0.000%
20 0.000% 1.932% 0.000% 55.736% 14.110% 28.221% 0.000%
25 0.000% 2.020% 0.000% 55.766% 14.071% 28.143% 0.000%
30 0.000% 2.118% 0.000% 55.801% 14.027% 28.054% 0.000%
35 0.000% 2.226% 0.000% 55.843% 20.965% 20.965% 0.000%
40 0.000% 2.348% 0.000% 55.894% 20.879% 20.879% 0.000%
45 0.000% 2.485% 0.000% 55.957% 20.779% 20.779% 0.000%
50 0.000% 2.641% 0.000% 56.036% 41.323% 0.000% 0.000%
55 0.000% 2.820% 0.000% 56.137% 41.043% 0.000% 0.000%
60 0.000% 3.028% 0.000% 56.270% 40.702% 0.000% 0.000%
65 0.000% 3.272% 0.000% 56.449% 40.279% 0.000% 0.000%
70 0.000% 3.562% 0.000% 56.702% 39.736% 0.000% 0.000%
75 0.000% 3.913% 0.000% 57.076% 39.011% 0.000% 0.000%
80 0.000% 4.344% 0.000% 57.672% 37.984% 0.000% 0.000%
85 0.000% 4.883% 0.000% 58.723% 36.394% 0.000% 0.000%
90 0.000% 5.562% 0.000% 60.930% 33.508% 0.000% 0.000%
Normal items, +150% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.243% 1.223% 1.954% 7.950% 7.386% 20.311% 60.933%
5 0.244% 1.244% 2.008% 7.946% 7.380% 20.294% 60.883%
10 0.245% 1.281% 2.106% 7.937% 7.369% 27.021% 54.041%
15 0.247% 1.313% 2.195% 7.929% 7.360% 26.986% 53.971%
20 0.247% 1.345% 2.289% 8.274% 7.986% 39.929% 39.929%
25 0.249% 1.388% 2.417% 8.262% 7.971% 79.713% 0.000%
30 0.250% 1.426% 2.535% 8.252% 7.958% 79.579% 0.000%
35 0.251% 1.464% 2.663% 8.627% 8.700% 78.296% 0.000%
40 0.252% 1.515% 2.838% 8.611% 8.679% 78.107% 0.000%
45 0.253% 1.560% 3.002% 8.596% 8.659% 77.930% 0.000%
50 0.254% 1.608% 3.187% 8.699% 9.584% 76.668% 0.000%
55 0.255% 1.669% 3.442% 8.676% 9.551% 76.408% 0.000%
60 0.257% 1.724% 3.687% 8.655% 9.520% 76.158% 0.000%
65 0.257% 1.780% 3.965% 9.060% 10.617% 74.320% 0.000%
70 0.258% 1.855% 4.368% 9.023% 10.562% 73.933% 0.000%
75 0.260% 1.922% 4.773% 8.988% 10.507% 73.550% 0.000%
80 0.260% 1.992% 5.253% 9.418% 11.868% 71.209% 0.000%
85 0.261% 2.085% 5.988% 9.351% 11.759% 70.556% 0.000%
90 0.262% 2.169% 6.778% 9.283% 11.644% 69.863% 0.000%
Exceptional items, +150% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.000% 2.001% 0.000% 66.316% 7.921% 23.762% 0.000%
5 0.000% 2.067% 0.000% 66.313% 7.905% 23.715% 0.000%
10 0.000% 2.142% 0.000% 66.313% 7.886% 23.659% 0.000%
15 0.000% 2.223% 0.000% 66.325% 7.863% 23.589% 0.000%
20 0.000% 2.334% 0.000% 66.313% 10.451% 20.902% 0.000%
25 0.000% 2.433% 0.000% 66.317% 10.416% 20.833% 0.000%
30 0.000% 2.542% 0.000% 66.339% 10.373% 20.746% 0.000%
35 0.000% 2.693% 0.000% 66.330% 15.488% 15.488% 0.000%
40 0.000% 2.830% 0.000% 66.345% 15.413% 15.413% 0.000%
45 0.000% 2.983% 0.000% 66.390% 15.314% 15.314% 0.000%
50 0.000% 3.202% 0.000% 66.392% 30.407% 0.000% 0.000%
55 0.000% 3.404% 0.000% 66.435% 30.161% 0.000% 0.000%
60 0.000% 3.635% 0.000% 66.543% 29.822% 0.000% 0.000%
65 0.000% 3.979% 0.000% 66.594% 29.427% 0.000% 0.000%
70 0.000% 4.309% 0.000% 66.739% 28.953% 0.000% 0.000%
75 0.000% 4.698% 0.000% 67.082% 28.221% 0.000% 0.000%
80 0.000% 5.313% 0.000% 67.415% 27.272% 0.000% 0.000%
85 0.000% 5.934% 0.000% 68.175% 25.891% 0.000% 0.000%
90 0.000% 6.670% 0.000% 70.484% 22.846% 0.000% 0.000%
Normal items, +200% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.291% 1.463% 2.321% 9.461% 7.205% 19.815% 59.444%
5 0.292% 1.493% 2.397% 9.453% 7.197% 19.792% 59.376%
10 0.293% 1.527% 2.515% 9.441% 7.185% 26.346% 52.693%
15 0.295% 1.573% 2.612% 9.430% 7.174% 26.305% 52.611%
20 0.296% 1.608% 2.748% 9.963% 7.762% 38.812% 38.812%
25 0.297% 1.660% 2.865% 9.949% 7.748% 77.481% 0.000%
30 0.299% 1.701% 3.035% 9.931% 7.730% 77.304% 0.000%
35 0.300% 1.759% 3.178% 10.023% 8.474% 76.266% 0.000%
40 0.301% 1.805% 3.390% 10.001% 8.450% 76.053% 0.000%
45 0.303% 1.871% 3.569% 9.981% 8.428% 75.849% 0.000%
50 0.304% 1.919% 3.831% 10.576% 9.263% 74.107% 0.000%
55 0.305% 1.994% 4.062% 10.549% 9.232% 73.858% 0.000%
60 0.306% 2.053% 4.416% 10.511% 9.190% 73.523% 0.000%
65 0.308% 2.138% 4.726% 10.598% 10.279% 71.951% 0.000%
70 0.309% 2.206% 5.213% 10.547% 10.216% 71.510% 0.000%
75 0.311% 2.305% 5.651% 10.499% 10.154% 71.080% 0.000%
80 0.311% 2.378% 6.350% 11.131% 11.404% 68.426% 0.000%
85 0.312% 2.492% 7.015% 11.058% 11.303% 67.820% 0.000%
90 0.313% 2.582% 8.153% 10.934% 11.145% 66.873% 0.000%
Exceptional items, +200% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.000% 2.024% 0.000% 97.976% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
5 0.000% 2.085% 0.000% 97.915% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
10 0.000% 2.151% 0.000% 97.849% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
15 0.000% 2.259% 0.000% 97.741% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
20 0.000% 2.338% 0.000% 97.662% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
25 0.000% 2.469% 0.000% 97.531% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
30 0.000% 2.565% 0.000% 97.435% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
35 0.000% 2.727% 0.000% 97.273% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
40 0.000% 2.848% 0.000% 97.152% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
45 0.000% 3.054% 0.000% 96.946% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
50 0.000% 3.210% 0.000% 96.790% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
55 0.000% 3.481% 0.000% 96.519% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
60 0.000% 3.691% 0.000% 96.309% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
65 0.000% 4.064% 0.000% 95.936% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
70 0.000% 4.362% 0.000% 95.638% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
75 0.000% 4.910% 0.000% 95.090% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
80 0.000% 5.365% 0.000% 94.635% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
85 0.000% 6.249% 0.000% 93.751% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
90 0.000% 7.033% 0.000% 92.967% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
Normal items, +250% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.339% 1.707% 2.719% 10.946% 7.024% 19.316% 57.949%
5 0.340% 1.732% 2.783% 10.939% 7.017% 19.297% 57.892%
10 0.342% 1.777% 2.903% 10.923% 7.005% 25.684% 51.368%
15 0.343% 1.824% 3.033% 10.906% 6.991% 25.634% 51.268%
20 0.344% 1.870% 3.168% 11.691% 7.539% 37.694% 37.694%
25 0.346% 1.922% 3.324% 11.670% 7.522% 75.217% 0.000%
30 0.347% 1.978% 3.496% 11.647% 7.503% 75.029% 0.000%
35 0.349% 2.037% 3.686% 11.726% 8.220% 73.981% 0.000%
40 0.351% 2.099% 3.899% 11.698% 8.195% 73.757% 0.000%
45 0.352% 2.166% 4.139% 11.667% 8.168% 73.509% 0.000%
50 0.353% 2.231% 4.398% 12.575% 8.938% 71.506% 0.000%
55 0.355% 2.306% 4.706% 12.532% 8.900% 71.201% 0.000%
60 0.356% 2.386% 5.061% 12.484% 8.857% 70.856% 0.000%
65 0.358% 2.472% 5.474% 12.547% 9.894% 69.256% 0.000%
70 0.359% 2.564% 5.961% 12.482% 9.829% 68.805% 0.000%
75 0.361% 2.662% 6.543% 12.406% 9.754% 68.275% 0.000%
80 0.362% 2.769% 7.252% 12.438% 11.026% 66.153% 0.000%
85 0.363% 2.883% 8.135% 12.325% 10.899% 65.395% 0.000%
90 0.364% 3.006% 9.265% 12.182% 10.740% 64.442% 0.000%
Exceptional items, +250% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.000% 2.537% 0.000% 97.463% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
5 0.000% 2.585% 0.000% 97.415% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
10 0.000% 2.687% 0.000% 97.313% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
15 0.000% 2.798% 0.000% 97.202% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
20 0.000% 2.920% 0.000% 97.080% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
25 0.000% 3.055% 0.000% 96.945% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
30 0.000% 3.204% 0.000% 96.796% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
35 0.000% 3.371% 0.000% 96.629% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
40 0.000% 3.557% 0.000% 96.443% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
45 0.000% 3.769% 0.000% 96.231% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
50 0.000% 4.010% 0.000% 95.990% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
55 0.000% 4.287% 0.000% 95.713% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
60 0.000% 4.610% 0.000% 95.390% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
65 0.000% 4.992% 0.000% 95.008% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
70 0.000% 5.448% 0.000% 94.552% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
75 0.000% 6.005% 0.000% 93.995% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
80 0.000% 6.701% 0.000% 93.299% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
85 0.000% 7.594% 0.000% 92.406% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
90 0.000% 8.783% 0.000% 91.217% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
Normal items, +300% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.387% 1.943% 3.086% 12.413% 6.848% 18.831% 56.493%
5 0.389% 1.975% 3.168% 12.401% 6.839% 18.807% 56.422%
10 0.390% 2.035% 3.325% 12.376% 6.823% 25.017% 50.034%
15 0.392% 2.098% 3.499% 12.350% 6.805% 24.952% 49.904%
20 0.393% 2.131% 3.602% 13.453% 7.311% 36.555% 36.555%
25 0.394% 2.201% 3.808% 13.420% 7.289% 72.889% 0.000%
30 0.396% 2.275% 4.039% 13.382% 7.264% 72.643% 0.000%
35 0.399% 2.322% 4.190% 13.462% 7.963% 71.665% 0.000%
40 0.400% 2.404% 4.472% 13.417% 7.931% 71.376% 0.000%
45 0.402% 2.493% 4.795% 13.365% 7.894% 71.050% 0.000%
50 0.404% 2.549% 5.011% 13.443% 8.733% 69.861% 0.000%
55 0.405% 2.648% 5.420% 13.379% 8.683% 69.464% 0.000%
60 0.407% 2.756% 5.903% 13.305% 8.625% 69.004% 0.000%
65 0.408% 2.815% 6.212% 14.612% 9.494% 66.459% 0.000%
70 0.409% 2.936% 6.859% 14.505% 9.411% 65.879% 0.000%
75 0.411% 3.069% 7.659% 14.375% 9.311% 65.176% 0.000%
80 0.413% 3.152% 8.226% 14.413% 10.542% 63.254% 0.000%
85 0.414% 3.304% 9.406% 14.225% 10.379% 62.273% 0.000%
90 0.415% 3.469% 10.989% 13.976% 10.164% 60.987% 0.000%
Exceptional items, +300% magical items
mlvl unique rare set magic superior normal low
1 0.000% 3.054% 0.000% 96.946% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
5 0.000% 3.123% 0.000% 96.877% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
10 0.000% 3.274% 0.000% 96.726% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
15 0.000% 3.355% 0.000% 96.645% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
20 0.000% 3.533% 0.000% 96.467% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
25 0.000% 3.732% 0.000% 96.268% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
30 0.000% 3.842% 0.000% 96.158% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
35 0.000% 4.084% 0.000% 95.916% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
40 0.000% 4.363% 0.000% 95.637% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
45 0.000% 4.519% 0.000% 95.481% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
50 0.000% 4.871% 0.000% 95.129% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
55 0.000% 5.288% 0.000% 94.712% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
60 0.000% 5.528% 0.000% 94.472% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
65 0.000% 6.086% 0.000% 93.914% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
70 0.000% 6.783% 0.000% 93.217% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
75 0.000% 7.200% 0.000% 92.800% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
80 0.000% 8.226% 0.000% 91.774% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
85 0.000% 9.623% 0.000% 90.377% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%
90 0.000% 10.529% 0.000% 89.471% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%It should be noticed that for exceptional items there's actually a decrease in the chance to find rares from 150% and 151%, so if you're looking for these it's better either to set for 150% MF or go past 194%; between 151% and 193% the chances for exceptional rares will be worse. There's no such distinction for normal rares (such as rings and amulets), for these the higher your MF is the better.
The tables reach up to 300% MF, which is more than the theoretical maximum that any char (except a Barb) can reach if I didn't mess up my calculations. To reach this amount of MF a character would have to wear the following:
Helms: 49% (Tarnhelm)
Weapons: 50% (Gull)
Shields: 20% (Milabrega's Orb)
Armor: 0%
Amulet: 48% (Fortuitous + of Fortune)
Rings: 32% (Fortuitous + of Chance)
Boots: 34%
Gloves: 34%
Belt: 30% (Goldwrap)
Total: 297% MF (327% MF if a barb dual-wields Gulls)
Gem bonuses
Just in case anyone is wondering, since they're not displayed in the gem as such, here are the bonuses for each perfect gem:
- Amethyst: +58 AR in weapons, +10 strength in helms, +17 defense in shields.
- Diamond: +68% ED against undeads in weapons, +30 AR in helms, +19 all resistances in shields.
- Emerald: +20 poison damage over 3 seconds in weapons, +10 dexterity in helms, +29 poison resistance in shields.
- Ruby: +6-9 fire damage in weapons, +24 life in helms, +29 fire resistance in shields.
- Sapphire: +3-7 cold damage (and +3 seconds cold duration) in weapons, +24 mana in helms, +29 cold resistance in shields.
- Skull: 4% life leech and 3% mana leech in weapons, +5 replenish life and 19% mana regeneration in helms, attacker takes 7 damage in shields.
- Topaz: +1-14 lightning damage in weapons, 24% MF in helms, 29 lightning resistance in shields.
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