Mid-lvl runewords/set/uniques for questing Normal/NM

[Gynli]

There are more than plenty of resources for looking at what people have used to finish the game;
but less than minimal for what people have used to progress through.

As for me, since I've mostly played casters;
my usual progression starts with running normal countess for 8x tir's.
I move onto the universal favorite - insight and rhyme for the unlimited source of mana and the easy CBF.
I only see other equip slots as a source of resists, skills, and fcr.

However, I know much less about a melee char set up, and I got curious.

Given the ease and the likelyhood of acquiring mid-tier runewords and s/u's;
what are your favorite items for you and your merc as you are progressing through normal/nm and early hell?

 

[bodry]

For starting Normal: Hsarus, Sigon, Death's and Tancreds set. Also I love unique Normal axes like Deathspade, Bladebone and Rakescar.
At the end of Normal I like to be able to use Bonesnap, Steeldriver. These are retardedly OP, if you upgrade them twice, they can get you through even Hell.
For Nightmare: Ribcracker, Butcher's Pupil (upgrade these after you meet the elite requirements to complete Hell).
A little bit harder to obtain is Honor runeword in Naga. Supercheap weapons too with really good requirements.

Elite unique weapons are all good enough imo to complete the game. But sometimes its easier to upgrade that beautiful high roll Ribcracker or create an etheral Oath Small crescent.

Ps.: I'm fan of axe and maces, as you can see. They work much better than swords most of the time.
Around late nightmare try to reach certain IAS breakpoints too. Up until nightmare Act 4 it doesn't really matter because of low monster HP. After that you need to optimise your gear to get the best performance out of it.

For mercenary: Honor normal Spear/Polearm until lvl27 (I think) where I ugrade to Insight and change the base up until Hell (Partizan in nightmare, Tresher, Cryptic axe in hell). Then change to end gear Reapers/Insight/Infinity.

 

[zticazzy]

As long as I spend my skill points carefully, my untwinked chars can reach the end of normal easily, and every S/U found in the process is just icing on the cake. Sometimes I make "Steel" and "Malice" if I'm lucky enough to find the runes (I rarely farm them though).
At the end of Normal/beginning of nightmare things start to get complicated, so I farm NM countess to obtain Amn and Tir for Strenght, which is usually my first source of crushing blow (25%). Other RWs I try to make are Black for more CB, Ancient's Pledge for resists, Rhyme for CBF, Lore for LR and +1skills, Smoke for resists on armor.
Once I have some CB, I start to farm NM Andy / Meph to get nice-damaging weapons and S/U with DS and CB to stack. Goblin Toe boots, Butchers and Coldsteels are easy to get and very valuable in this phase. Then I keep killing Meph / Baal until I am relatively wealthy and I feel ready to progress to hell.

@bodry welcome back pal, long time no see!

 

[bodry]

Got the itch, you know. Thanks.

 

[maxicek]

One of the best melee items for NM and into Hell is Oath in an Ethereal Small Crescent - its equip panel at clvl49 IIRC.

I also have a few 'mini Fortitudes' Gothic Plates stuffed with damage jewels.

 

[Gynli]

I guess I'll continue this instead of starting a new thread.

I have a bear druid currently farming NM meph for guilliam's, gore, and tiamats.
I am using a rogue merc, and plan to progress through hell using Hunger as main skill.
This requires, high elemental damage, crushing blow, and weapon with lots of on-weapon ias - preferably one handed.
Azurewrath was suggested in the sticked guide, but I'd rather not farm for one, and it also has a very high lvl requirement.

Are there any weapons lootable from NM meph/The Pit that this build could use?
I'm currently considering farming Hell Countess for Crescent moon on Phaseblade if no other suitable weapons are available.

 

[japanzaman]

Seeing as how anything can be looted from the pits, the short answer to your question is "yes".

Crescent moon can be nice for the static field proc and has some decent mods on it- but it may be a little low on the damage side for hell in a phase blade. If you are willing to farm a bit in countess, you can farm a Death runeword if you are patient enough, and good bases will drop in the pit with a low MF setup. This would be the best choice, but it can take a while to farm all those runes with your character class.

Obedience may be another option if you don't mind losing a shield- it has some insane mods for the runes you have to invest and some nice defense stats to make up for the lost shield. Oath is another nice runeword and you can put it in an ethereal item too. If you can get a decent ethereal base, Oath may be the best choice for this point in the game for you considering you don't need to cube up any runes except the Mal to get it.