Phoenix: Weapon Rune Word - Diablo 2

Phoenix is a popular Rune Word for Shields but not so much for weapons. It comes with a built in Redemption Aura which will help restore your Mana/Health so long as there are corpses nearby for it to claim. For obvious reasons this aura does not play nice with Necromancers who need corpses for Minions or Corpse Explosion.

The -% Enemy Fire Resistance will be helpful too for anyone who uses primarily fire abilities; it's worth noting that the negative resists only benefit the wielder of the weapon. If you put it on your Mercenary, you will not benefit. Firestorm is also seen as a downside on Phoenix because each time it procs it triggers a cast animation which prevents you from being able to attack for the duration.

All in all you'll mostly want to avoid putting Phoenix into a weapon as it's much better suited for a shield. In fact, when put into a shield the Phoenix Shield Rune Word has the highest +% Enhanced Damage of any shield in the entire game which makes it a popular choice for some builds.

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: Vex -- Vex -- Lo -- Jah
Level Req: 65
Other Req: Ladder Only
Slots: Weapons and Shields

Both
100% Chance To Cast level 40 Blaze When You Level-up
40% Chance To Cast Level 22 Firestorm On Striking
Level 10-15 Redemption Aura When Equipped (varies)
+350-400% Enhanced Damage (varies)
-28% To Enemy Fire Resistance
+350-400 Defense Vs. Missile (varies)
+15-21 Fire Absorb (varies)

Weapons
Ignores Target's Defense
14% Mana Stolen Per Hit
20% Deadly Strike

Shields
+50 To Life
+5% To Maximum Lightning Resist
+10% To Maximum Fire Resist

 

 

Weapon for a Fire Sorceress or Druid due to the -Enemy Fire Resistance.