In Diablo II: Resurrected (D2:R), a guide to Runewords is provided. It will explain how to use Runewords, what types of gear will accept them, how to create Buy Diablo 2 Resurrected Items, and provide comprehensive lists of all known Runewords, among other things. D2:R's full Expansion mode, which includes the Lord of Destruction (LoD) expansion, makes runewords available only to players who are playing the game in its full Expansion mode. They are inaccessible to Classic players who do not wish to make use of the LoD expansion.
Runewords must be carefully crafted and inserted into armor. Runes must be inserted into the correct type of gear and in the correct order in order for the Runeword to be created and bonuses to be granted. There is no going back; once the Runes have been placed, there is no way to remove them without destroying all of your Runes. Blizzard will not restore your equipment or Runes because you made a clerical error! If you require additional information about individual Runes, including how to obtain {anchor}, upgrade them, remove {anchor}, and farm them, please refer to our separate guide: Runes: Acquisition, Upgrade, Removal, and Farming.
What exactly are Runewords?
Runes all have fantastic extra properties that you can use to enhance the performance of socketed gear. However, combining specific Runes in a specific order results in the creation of a Runeword, which adds a variety of additional features to the gear item, resulting in a significant improvement in overall quality. Runewords can be inserted into the following types of non-magic equipment: Chest armor, Head armor, Weapons, and Shields.
Some Weapons Runewords are only applicable to specific types of weapons. These will be discussed in greater detail above the tables of Runewords for this particular piece of gear.
Runeword Regulations
Runewords can only be used by players who have the LoD expansion installed. Runewords are inaccessible to classic players who prefer to play without the Lord of the Rings expansion. Runewords are only effective in non-Magic socketed equipment. Runewords do not work with magic, magic rare, set, or unique gear, even if the gear has the appropriate number of sockets. Using Runewords is a great way to improve the quality of non-magical items and turn {anchor} into something truly amazing. Only grey-text gear items with sockets can accept Runewords of any quality, including Ethereal (Normal, Exceptional, and Elite). The only exception to this rule is the item Wirt's Leg, which is not magical and frequently has sockets, but does not work with Runewords because it is not magical and does not have sockets.
The runewords used must correspond to the type of gear being used. If you use a Runeword for a weapon, it will not work if you use it on a piece of armor. When a specific weapon type is required, things become more complicated. A Spear and a Polearm are similar in appearance, but they are two distinct weapon categories, and a Polearm Runeword will not function in a Spear.
Runewords are available in a variety of lengths ranging from 2 to 6 Runes and must exactly match the number of sockets. Runewords can only be used in items with the same number of sockets as the number of words in the Runeword -- for example, a Diablo 2 Resurrected Gold Switch can only be used in an item with 3 sockets. It is not possible to create a Runeword by placing a shorter runeword into a gear item with a larger number of sockets. Due to the mismatch in socket numbers, if you attempt to use the three-item Runeword JahIthBer into a four-socketed Chest piece, you will only receive the individual properties of the three component Runes (Jah, Ith, and Ber), rather than a Runeword as a whole. A player cannot use multiple short Runewords on a single piece, nor can they add something like a Hel rune to reduce the number of items needed.
The runewords must be placed in the correct order. Double-check that you have the correct runes and that you have inserted them in the exact order that they appear on the screen. For example, if you are attempting to create JahIthBer, you must drop Jah first, followed by Ith, and finally Ber. When they arrive at the interface, they'll be dropped into the appropriate sockets. If you drop Ber (the final rune) into the first socket, it will still fall into the first socket by default, resulting in the destruction of your Runeword. The fact that the runes are automatically dropped into the correct slots is a nice failsafe to ensure that you don't accidentally drop the runes into the wrong socket, however, means that it is critical to insert {anchor} in the exact order of the word.
In some cases, a Runeword may be used to increase the required cLvL (character level) of a piece of equipment. A Runeword has a cLvl that is determined by the highest level rune that is used to construct the word. Take, for instance,JahIthBer has a cLvl of 65 because its highest level rune, Jah (#31), has a base cLvl of 65, despite the fact that its lowest level rune, Ith (#6), has a cLvl of 15. While it is unlikely that you will have Runes that are significantly higher level than your character, it is possible to use a Runeword that is significantly higher level than your character and inadvertently render a piece of equipment unusable for a period of time.
Purchasing Socketed Gear
Non-magic socketed gear is not difficult to come by -- regular farming will suffice. Finding the correct gear type with the exact number of sockets for the Runeword you want to use is the difficult part. This is one instance in which Magic Find is in your favor. If you're looking for socketed gear, you'll want to get the lowest Magic Find score possible.
Socketing is only available on chest armor, helmets, shields, and some weapons. Thrown weapons, for example, cannot be socketed. The number of sockets a piece of equipment will typically have is proportional to its iLvl (item level). Items with a higher level of ilvl are more likely to have more sockets.
