Obedience: Weapon Rune Word - Diablo 2

Oath is one of the best budget Rune Words in the game that you can get your hands on as a melee fighter or as an Act 2 Mercenary weapon. It has extremely high +% Enhanced Damage and also comes with a high chance to cause Crushing Blow. For those unaware, Crushing Blow deals percentage based damage depending on the monster's current HP. When fighting bosses or enemies with a lot of HP Crushing Blow is amazing.

There are various other bonuses on this weapon that will boost your damage but the other one worth mentioning is the Chance to Cast Enchant when defeating an enemy. A Level 21 Enchant will last over 600 seconds and will give you almost +100 Fire Damage with each attack as well as a bonus of Attack Rating right around 200%.

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: Hel -- Ko -- Thul -- Eth -- Fal
Level Req: 41
Other Req: Ladder Only
Slots: Polearms Only

30% Chance To Cast Level 21 Enchant When You Kill An Enemy
+40% Faster Hit Recovery
+370% Enhanced Damage
-25% Target Defense
Adds 3-14 Cold Damage (3 Seconds Duration,Normal)
-25% To Enemy Fire Resistance
40% Chance of Crushing Blow
+200-300 Defense (varies)
+10 To Strength
+10 To Dexterity
All Resistances +20-30 (varies)
Requirements -20%