Diablo 2: Resurrected takes players back to when grinding or farming were needed to harvest the most valuable and mysterious loot Resurrected offers. Enter Runewords; these are undoubtedly the best way of upgrading items. Combining the right rune with the correct item can grant weapons a massive spike in power beyond what the runes themselves accomplish.

Very few games have achieved the iconic status of Diablo, and with the long-awaited Resurrected remaster launch on the horizon, now is the perfect time to dive back into what made the game such a hit with players. Particularly Runewords, which were reintroduced in the famed Lord of Destruction expansion. Not only did runes revolutionize Diablo 2 by transforming how the hack-and-slasher is played, yet it also persists to be one of the core reasons that compels gamers to return to the sequel. As after all, the feature, unfortunately, did not make a comeback in future installments.

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How to Use Runewords in Diablo 2: Resurrected

To form Runewords, players will need a couple of base runes to start with. These can be combined with gems to create some of the most powerful and complex weapons in Diablo history or left alone to later slot them in and create a Runeword. However, one should note that there are a few necessities for using Runewords:

• The items must be either - Normal, exceptional, or elite. Having said that, low quality, superior, and ethereal can also be used.
• The item must fit the specification - Trying to slot weapon runes into armor will simply not work.
• The item must have the correct amount of slots - There cannot be any slots leftover. For example, combining a two-slot Runeword into a three-slot item with do nothing.
• Runes must be socketed in the correct order - In the order of one, two, and three.

All Compatible Rune Items in Diablo 2: Resurrected

It should come as no surprise that, just like each Diablo 2 class and character, every item has its unique strengths plus weaknesses. Not only that but only the following items and their terms can be matched with a Runeword.

• Body Armor - Armor that is worn on the chest.
• Shield - Any armor used to block, including Necromancer Shrunken Heads and Paladin-specific Shields.
• Hammers - War Hammer, Maul, Great Maul, and exceptional and elite versions.
• Maces - Mace, Morning Star, Flail, and exceptional and elite versions.
• Melee Weapons - Any non-ranged weapon (Sorceress orbs are not considered melee weapons).
• Missile Weapons - Bows and crossbows.
• Weapons - Melee Weapons, Missile Weapons, and Sorceress orbs.
• Helm - Armor worn on the head, including Barbarian Helms, Druid Pelts, and Circlets.
• Club - Clubs and exceptional and elite versions.
• Scepters - Scepter, Grand Scepter, War Scepter, and exceptional and elite versions.

Keep in mind that Maces do not mean all Mace class weapons. When a Mace is labeled in a Runeword recipe, players can use a Mace, Morning Star, Flail, and Exceptional and Elite versions. Likewise, Hammers implies a War Hammer, Maul, Great Maul, or their Exceptional / Elite Versions. Finally, Clubs involve a Club or a Spiked Club and their Exceptional / Elite Versions.

All Runes in Diablo 2: Resurrected

Runes seem to be the most coveted items among Diablo 2 players. These overpowered items can be used in the gem sockets of items to imbue an item with a special ability, with there being thirty-three in total: El, Eld, Tir, Nef, Eth, Ith, Tal, Ral, Ort, Thul, Amn, Sol, Shael, Dol, Hel, Io, Lum, Ko, Fal, Lem, Pul, Um, Mal, Ist, Gul, Vex, Ohm, Lo, Sur, Ber, Jah, Cham, and Zod.

Every Runeword in Diablo 2: Resurrected

For Diablo 2: Resurrected players, it may seem that the amount of great loot to find seems to be endless. However, it will quickly become apparent that an immense quantity of these weapons just isn't up to scratch, especially during boss fights. So, a well-deserved upgrade may come to mind. Luckily, all the listed Runewords are sure to give those rusty hammers and flimsy helms the pack-a-punch pick-me-up they need.

• Ancient's Pledge - Shields - 3 sockets, Ral + Ort + Tal.
• Beast - Axes, scepters, hammers - 5 sockets, Ber + Tir + Um + Mal + Lum.
• Black - Clubs, hammers, maces - 3 sockets, Thul + Io + Nef.
• Bone - Body armor - 3 sockets, Sol + Um + Um.
• Bramble - Body armor - 4 sockets, Ral + Ohm + Sur + Eth.
• Breath of the Dying - Weapons - 6 sockets, Vex + Hel + El + Eld + Zod + Eth.
• Call to Arms - Weapons - 5 sockets, Amn + Ral + Mal + Ist + Ohm.
• Chains of Honor - Body armor - 4 sockets, Dol + Um + Ber + Ist.
• Chaos - Claws - 3 sockets, Fal + Ohm + Um.
• Crescent Moon - Axes, swords, polearms - 3 sockets, Shael + Um + Tir.
• Delirium - Helms - 3 sockets, Lem + Ist + Io.
• Doom - Axes, polearms, hammers - 5 sockets, Hel + Ohm + Um + Lo + Cham.
• Duress - Body armor - 3 sockets, Shael + Um + Thul.
• Enigma - Body armor - 3 sockets, Jah + Ith + Ber.
• Enlightenment - Body armor - 3 sockets, Pul + Ral + Sol.
• Eternity - Melee weapons - 5 sockets, Amn + Ber + Ist + Sol + Sur.
• Exile - Paladin shields - 4 sockets, Vex + Ohm + Ist + Dol.
• Famine - Axes, hammers - 4 sockets, Fal + Ohm + Ort + Jah.
• Fury - Melee weapons - 3 sockets, Jah + Gul + Eth.
• Gloom - Body armor - 3 sockets, Fal + Um + Pul.
• Hand of Justice - Weapons - 4 sockets, Sur + Cham + Amn + Lo.
• Heart of the Oak - Staves, maces - Ko + Vex + Pul + Thul.
• Holy Thunder - Scepters - 4 sockets, Eth + Ral + Ort + Tal.
• Honor - Melee weapons - 5 sockets, Amn + El + Ith + Tir + Sol.
• King's Grace - Swords, scepters - 3 sockets, Amn + Ral + Thul.
• Kingslayer - Swords, axes - 4 sockets, Mal + Um + Gul + Fal.
• Leaf - Staves - 2 sockets, Tir + Ral.
• Lionheart - Body armor - 3 sockets, Hel + Lum + Fal.
• Lore - Helms - 2 sockets, Ort + Sol.
• Malice - Melee weapons - 3 sockets, Ith + El + Eth.
• Melody - Missile weapons - 3 sockets, Shael + Ko + Nef.
• Memory - Staves - 4 sockets, Lum + Io + Sol + Eth.
• Myth - Body armor - 3 sockets, Hel + Amn + Nef.
• Nadir - Helms - 2 sockets, Nef + Tir.
• Passion - Weapons - 4 sockets, Dol + Ort + Eld + Lem.
• Peace - Body armor - 3 sockets, Shael + Thul + Amn.
• Principle - Body armor - 3 sockets, Ral + Gul + Eld.
• Dear Prudence - Body armor - 2 sockets, Mal + Tir.
• Radiance - Helms - 3 sockets, Nef + Sol + Ith.
• Rain - Body armor - 3 sockets, Ort + Mal + Ith.
• Rhyme - Shields - 2 sockets, Shael + Eth.
• Sanctuary - Shields - 3 sockets, Ko + Ko + Mal.
• Silence - Weapons - 6 sockets, Dol + Eld + Hel + Ist + Tir + Vex.
• Smoke - Body armor - 2 sockets, Nef + Lum.
• Splendor - Shields - 2 sockets, Eth + Lum.
• Stealth - Body armor - 2 sockets, Tal + Eth.
• Steel - Swords, axes, maces - 2 socketsTir + El.
• Stone - Body armor - 4 sockets, Shael + Um + Pul + Lum.
• Strength - Melee weapons - 2 sockets, Amn + Tir.
• Treachery - Body armor - 3 sockets, Shael + Thul + Lem.
• Venom - Weapons - 3 sockets, Tal + Dol + Mal.
• Wealth - Body armor - 3 sockets, Lem + Ko + Tir.
• White - Wand - 2 sockets, Dol + Io.
• Wind - Melee weapons - 2 sockets, Sur + El.
• Zephyr - Missile weapons - 2 sockets, Ort + Eth.

Best Low-Level Runeword Combinations in Diablo 2: Resurrected

Since many of Resurrected's best loot requires many hours of gameplay and a lot of work on the player's side, regardless of which Diablo 2 class they choose. Here are the four best early Runeword combinations that players can achieve without sinking in too much time.

• Malice (IthElEth) - Ith + El + Eth and a melee weapon with three sockets (level 15 to use).
• Nadir (NefTir) - Nef + Tir and headgear with two sockets (level 13 to use).
• Steel (TirEl) - Tir + El and a base sword, mace, or axe with two sockets (level 13 to use).
• Stealth (TalEth) - Tal + Eth and armor with two sockets (level 17 to use).

Diablo 2: Resurrected releases September 23, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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