So yesterday I got sick of all those “BEST ARMOR EVER!” clickbait posts about Diablo 2 endgame. Figured the only way to know was to shove my own Necro, Pally, and Barb through Hell difficulty wearing different setups. Time to get my hands dirty.
The Setup and My Stash of “Treasure”
First thing? Gotta actually get these fancy armors everyone screams about. Spent, no joke, like 45 real-life hours just farming for runes and bases. Countless Mephisto and Lower Kurast runs. My brain felt mushy.
- Fortitude Runeword: That stupid Lo rune! Dropped off some random Council Member, nearly threw my mouse out the window celebrating. Slapped it into a Sacred Armor base. Heavy stuff.
- Enigma Runeword: Found the Jah rune first – crazy luck in the Ancient Tunnels. The Ber? That took weeks. Finally made it in a Mage Plate for my Necro. Teleporting ftw.
- Chains of Honor Runeword: Dol-Um-Ber-Ist. That Um rune was elusive. Found it gambling rings, of all things. Used a Wire Fleece.
- Smoke Runeword: Easy mode. Nef-Lum. Lum dropped like candy. Threw it into a Balrog Skin for my budget Zeal Paladin test.
The Actual Testing Nightmare
Okay, gear in hand. Now for the slog. Took each character through key areas:
- Act 3 Flayer Jungle (swarms)
- Chaos Sanctuary (spell spam central)
- Worldstone Keep (physical damage overload)
Just ran them over and over, paying attention to how fast stuff died, how often I chugged pots, and if I got randomly gibbed.
Where Builds Matter Way More Than Armor
This is where it got messy. What worked for my Necro was garbage for my Barb. Duh, right? But you see the hype, you kinda forget.
- Summon Necro: Enigma was a total game-changer. Tele-stomping my entire skelly army on a boss? Insane. Fortitude? Useless here. CoH was nice, but that teleport… no contest.
- Zeal Paladin: Fortitude felt amazing. That huge Enhanced Damage boost and the resists? Melting stuff. Enigma? Teleporting is fun, sure, but damage felt kinda crap. Smoke kept him barely alive on a budget.
- Whirlwind Barb: This one was tough. Fortitude did huge damage, but in Worldstone I kept getting stunlocked without max resist. Switched to CoH. Did I kill slower? Yeah. Did I die less? Absolutely. Better for HC vibes.
The Messy Truth I Found Out
After all that clicking, death screams, and potion chugging, here’s the bitter pill: There’s NO single “Best in Slot” armor. Stop looking for it.
- Teleport = Enigma. Non-negotiable for most casters/summoners. Breaks the game.
- Smash Face Faster = Fortitude. Physical attackers dream of that % Enhanced Damage.
- Poor & Need All Resists? = CoH. Smoother sailing for some melee builds than Fortitude.
- Literally Broke? = Smoke. You get resistances, but kiss your damage goodbye.
Anyone claiming one armor rules them all probably just copied a guide. Cost matters too – Fortitude needs a Lo, Enigma needs Jah+Ber. That’s months of farming difference for most people. My testing proved you gotta match the armor to the character AND what you’re fighting. No shortcuts. Took me forever to get those runes, but seeing the difference myself? Finally clicked. No more blind hype for me.