Steel: Weapon Rune Word - Diablo 2
Steel is the lowest level weapon Rune Word in the entire game and it is commonly crafted by melee characters at the start of a ladder to help them make it through Normal and Nightmare difficulties. Even once you find a weapon that has a higher damage output than a Steel Rune Word players still sometimes swap to this weapon for bosses because of the Open Wound affix that comes on it.
Keep in mind that all Rune Words you create will retain any pre-existing bonuses found on the item. If you find a 'Superior' piece of armor with +Enhanced Defense, a Superior Weapon with +Enhanced Damage or a Helm/Weapon that has +Skill bonuses for a certain class, all of these will remain on the final Rune Word that is created. It's also possible to 'ebug' a piece of Ethereal Armor that you find which will increase the Defense bonuses by 50%, check out my Ebugging Guide for more information.
Farming High Runes: Out of all locations in the game one stands above the rest for farming specifically High Runes, the Countess during Act 1. The Countess has a guaranteed chance to always drop a High Rune and can even drop more than one. Check out my The Countess Farming Guide for more information.
Required Runes:
Level Req: 13
Other Req: N/A
Slots: Swords, Axes and Maces
+25% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Enhanced Damage
+3 to Minimum Damage
+3 to Maximum Damage
+50 to Attack Rating
50% Chance of Open Wounds
+2 to Mana after each Kill
+1 to Light Radius
