With the awesome new drop rates of runes in the new patch, I decided I wanted to start playing some D2 again. However, of course I want to figure out where these runes can actually drop from, and being that I don't want to be wasting my time with killing monsters that can only drop up to Cham (:P), I dug into the game files. This is what I've found. I've pieced this together from what I've read regarding how the game work, but I do not know if I've missed a vital detail that disproves all of this. I'm fairly certain it's correct though.
Zod runes only drop from the treasureclass 'Runes 17'. This treasureclass in turn is only used by the 'Act 5 (H) Good' , which belongs to a large group of treasureclasses. 'Act 5 (H) Good' is level 85, while the next in line, 'Act 4 (H) Good', is lvl 82. Treasureclasses of the same group "trade places" with each other to match the monster level as closely as possible. Since monster levels in Nightmare and Hell are exactly the same as area levels (with the exception of bosses), that means that only monsters that appear in an area that is lvl 84 or higher will be able to drop Zod runes. This gives us the following list:
Surprisingly, that's it. As I said, some monsters are termed as bosses by the game, and are not bound by this limit. Not all of these possess a level equal to 84 or higher, but those that do are the following:
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-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
PlugY for Diablo II allows you to reset skills and stats, transfer items between characters in singleplayer, obtain all ladder runewords and do all Uberquests while offline. It is the only way to do all of the above. Please use it.
Supporting big shoulderpads and flashy armor since 2004.
Hmm, thought everyone knew that The Pit was probably the best area to get high runes in :D. I've still never seen a high rune in the 10 years I've played though.
The highest rune I ever got was an Um and that was from hell forge I believe.
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Hmm, thought everyone knew that The Pit was probably the best area to get high runes in :D. I've still never seen a high rune in the 10 years I've played though.
I always wondered why. There's no difference between these areas, so what is it then that makes the pit so good? Are the monsters easier there? Is it easier to reach?
PlugY for Diablo II allows you to reset skills and stats, transfer items between characters in singleplayer, obtain all ladder runewords and do all Uberquests while offline. It is the only way to do all of the above. Please use it.
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There are several iLvl 85 areas in the game: The Pit is one of them. iLvl 85 areas (in Hell only) can drop any item in the game.
85 Pit Level 1
85 Pit Level 2
85 Mausoleum
85 Maggot Lair Level 3
85 Ancient Tunnels
85 Sewers Level 2 (Kurast)
85 Forgotten Temple
85 Ruined Fane
85 Disused Reliquary
85 River of Flame
85 Chaos Sanctuary
85 The Worldstone Keep Level 1
85 The Worldstone Keep Level 2
85 The Worldstone Keep Level 3
85 Throne of Destruction
85 The Worldstone Chamber
84 Maggot Lair Level 1
84 Maggot Lair Level 2
84 Sewers Level 1 (Kurast)
84 Ruined Temple
84 Disused Fane
84 Forgotten Reliquary
84 City of the Damned
84 Drifter Cavern
84 Halls of Pain
84 Halls of Vaught
83 Underground Passage Level 2
83 Crypt
83 Claw Viper Temple Level 2
83 Flayer Dungeon Level 3
83 Durance of Hate Level 1
83 Durance of Hate Level 2
83 Durance of Hate Level 3
83 Plains of Despair
83 Frozen River
83 Glacial Trail
83 Icy Cellar
83 Nihlathaks Temple
83 Halls of Anguish
83 Infernal Pit
To answer your question: the Pit is very easy to clean out because it usually does not involve gloams or other similar nasties. It's also easy to reach: a stone's throw from the Outer Clositer WP.
And there's a pretty treasure chest at the end.
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Zod runes only drop from the treasureclass 'Runes 17'. This treasureclass in turn is only used by the 'Act 5 (H) Good' , which belongs to a large group of treasureclasses. 'Act 5 (H) Good' is level 85, while the next in line, 'Act 4 (H) Good', is lvl 82. Treasureclasses of the same group "trade places" with each other to match the monster level as closely as possible. Since monster levels in Nightmare and Hell are exactly the same as area levels (with the exception of bosses), that means that only monsters that appear in an area that is lvl 84 or higher will be able to drop Zod runes. This gives us the following list:
Act I
Act II
Act III
Act IV
Act V
Surprisingly, that's it. As I said, some monsters are termed as bosses by the game, and are not bound by this limit. Not all of these possess a level equal to 84 or higher, but those that do are the following:
If a monster is not one of the above bosses, spawns in an area outside of those I have listed, or is a Champion monster, then it cannot drop a Zod.
(And yes, I do know that the area links in the wiki are currently not very good. But they will be :whistling:)
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
The highest rune I ever got was an Um and that was from hell forge I believe.
Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
To answer your question: the Pit is very easy to clean out because it usually does not involve gloams or other similar nasties. It's also easy to reach: a stone's throw from the Outer Clositer WP.
And there's a pretty treasure chest at the end.