Decided to Farm Cheap Shield Runewords Today
Got tired of chasing those impossible high runes in Diablo 2. Needed something useful without grinding forever. Saw folks talking about cheap, effective shield runewords for early ladder or new chars. Thought, “Yeah, that’s smart.” Time targets were Rhyme and Ancient’s Pledge. Simple stuff, easy runes.
Gearing Up & Plan
Grabbed my level 85 Blizz Sorc – she’s quick for farming. Goal was clear:
- Find White (or Gray) Monarch Shields: 4 sockets, needed for both runewords. Non-Magic, non-Rare. Basic.
- Farm Low Runes: Shael, Eth, Tir, Ral, Ort, Tal. Nothing fancy, just stuff that drops like candy… sometimes.
Figured I’d hit the usual suspects:
- Cows: Swarms of monsters, good for bases.
- Countess (Normal/Nightmare): Queen of low runes. Her special drops.
- Pits & Ancient Tunnels: Lots of Champion/Unique packs, decent chance for sockets.
Emptied my stash tabs near Akara. Ready to fill ’em with junk hoping for sockets.
Alright, Let’s Run This
First stop: Normal Countess. Teleported straight to Tower Level 5. Smacked her down easy.
Her special rune drop? Tir, Eth, Tal. Exactly what I needed for Ancient’s Pledge (Ral + Ort + Tal)! Nice. Grabbed ’em. Did this 5 times super fast. Stacked up multiple sets. Ancient’s Pledge runes? Done.
Next up: Finding a Monarch. Everyone wants this 4os shield base. Jumped into Hell Cows. My Sorc melts them with Blizz. Cleared like five full games. Dropped tons of white/gray monarchs… but guess what? Zero sockets. Zip. Nada. RNG sucks sometimes. Found like seven plain Monarchs. Ugh.
Okay, plan B: Pits & Ancient Tunnels. Focused on Ancient Tunnels – easier for Cold Sorc. Teleported carefully. Found Champion packs, Unique packs. Killed everything. On the third run, boom! A white Monarch drops! Heart skipped a beat. Took it straight to Larzuk in Normal. Quest reward? Guaranteed 4 sockets. Perfect! Rhyme base acquired.
Last piece: The Shael rune for Rhyme (Shael + Eth). Remembered Nightmare Countess loves dropping Shaels sometimes. Fired up a NM game. Tele to Tower Level 5. Killed her. Her special drop? Dol, Io, Shael! Jackpot! Got the Shael on the second try. So easy.
Putting It Together
Had everything piled up:
- Monarch (4os) from Larzuk.
- Shael & Eth runes.
- Plus all those Ral, Ort, Tal sets for Ancient’s Pledge.
First, made Rhyme in the Monarch. Slammed Shael then Eth. Boom! Got that sweet 25% All Res, Cannot Be Frozen, magic find. Massive upgrade for any merc or caster early on.
Then, grabbed a random 3os Bone Shield I found. Stuck in Ral, Ort, Tal for Ancient’s Pledge. Another chunk of resists for any character struggling in Nightmare/Hell. Super helpful for a new Paladin or something.
So, How Did It Go?
This was smooth! Probably spent less than an hour total, especially since runes dropped quick.
- Ancient’s Pledge Runes: Farmed in minutes from Normal Countess. Do NM if Normal drops feel slow.
- Monarch Base: Forget Cows if your luck is bad like mine today. Ancient Tunnels delivered way faster. Boss packs are key. Larzuk socket quest saved me.
- Shael for Rhyme: Nightmare Countess is your best bud. Don’t waste time in Hell for this.
Ended up making two Rhyme Monarchs and three Ancient’s Pledges for future starters. Super cheap, super effective. No more noob shields. Worth every minute! Focus on the right spots, don’t overcomplicate it.