Mist Rune Word Guide in Diablo II Resurrected

The Rune Word Mist requires five runes, Cham Rune, Shael Rune, Gul Rune, Thul Rune, and Ith Rune placed in that order. Cham is the highest level rune required, making this Rune Word usable by Players from Level 67.

The table below shows which area the required runes start dropping from normal monsters and containers, any quests, and the Countess Rune drop. The Countess is found on Level 5 of the Forgotten Tower in the Black Marsh.

• Cham - Act 4 Hell;
• Shael - Act 5 Normal, Nightmare Hellforge, Countess (Nightmare & Hell);
• Gul - Act 1 Hell, Hell Hellforge;
• Thul - Act 4 Normal, Normal Hellforge, Countess (Nightmare & Hell);
• Ith - Act 3 Normal, Normal Hellforge, Countess (All difficulties);

Cham Runes are the second highest, and second rarest Rune, and cannot drop from the Countess or Hellforge. This makes getting the runes for this Rune Word more challenging. For more information about finding and farming Runes, you can refer to our Rune Finding guide using the link below.

We have a video created by MrLlamaSC discussing the new Rune Word Mist.

Like all Rune Words, Mist gives additional bonuses to the ones granted by the Runes used to make it. If a bonus has (varies), it is set at a value in the range given when the Rune Word is made. These are all the bonuses Mist gives.

• Level 8-12 Concentration Aura When Equipped (varies) - Gives the Concentration Paladin Aura, boosting physical damage;
• +3 to All Skills - Great bonus for any build, especially for skill dependent builds where higher skill levels increase damage output;
• +20% Increased Attack Speed - Increases attack speed, very helpful bonus;
• +100% Piercing Attack - This bonus applies to bolts, arrows, thrown Javelins and throwing weapons. It has no effect on spells or melee attacks. This makes the arrow/bolt pass through a target, so it can also hit targets behind it. This is a very powerful bonus, especially with skills or items that have an area of effect, like Cold Arrow and Exploding Arrow;
• +325-375% Enhanced Damage (varies) - Increases physical damage done, very high amount, so very useful;
• +9 To Maximum Damage - Small amount of additional physical damage;
• +20% Bonus to Attack Rating - Higher Attack rating means less chance of missing, always helpful;
• Adds 3-14 Cold Damage - Small amount of additional Cold damage;
• Freeze Target +3 - Freezes normal monsters for a short time, unless they are cold immune or Freeze immune. Very good defensive bonus;
• +24 to Vitality - Gives extra Maximum Life and Stamina. Always useful;
• All Resistances +40 - Great defensive bonus, reducing damage taken from Fire, Cold, Lightning and Poison damage. Does not effect magic or physical damage.

Mist gives the wielder and all allies the Concentration Aura. This gives 165-225% (Depending on the Level) Additional Enhanced Damage. This and the high built-in Enhanced Damage bonus give a very large Damage increase. The +100% Piercing Attack can also increase damage with each Arrow or Bolt able to hit multiple monsters.

Skills or items with an area effect can get a large damage increase from piercing attacks, as the additional hits can trigger additional area effects. An Exploding Arrow fired into a group of closely packed monsters can cause monsters to be hit by overlapping explosions as the arrow pierces. A monster in the middle of the pack can be hit by the explosion from the hit on the monster in front, and the explosion of the arrow hitting it, and again by the explosion from the arrow hitting the monster behind, doing 3 times as much damage as a single explosion. Using skills like this, with 100% chance of pierce and a high Attack Rating can devastate groups of monsters.

The large bonus to all resists is very helpful for a bow or crossbow using build, as they cannot use a shield, which is often a good source of resists.

Mist can be made in any grey 5-socket bow or crossbow, including Amazon bows. Due to the high Level requirement of the Cham Rune, it is recommended to make Mist in an Elite Bow or Crossbow, to make the most of the high Enhanced Damage Bonuses.

The following Elite Bows and Crossbows can have 5 sockets.

• Elite Amazon Bows - Matriarchal Bow, Grand Matron Bow;
• Elite Bows - Shadow Bow, Diamond Bow, Crusader Bow, Ward Bow, Hydra Bow;
• Elite Crossbows - Colossus Crossbow, Demon Crossbow.

The Crusader Bow, Hydra Bow, and Colossus Crossbow can have up to 6 sockets. If a white one of these bows is found, the Horadric Cube recipe Ral Rune + Amn Rune + Perfect Amethyst could be used to add 1-6 sockets, but only has a 1 in 6 chance of giving the 5 sockets required for Mist. The other bows and crossbows listed above have a maximum of 5 sockets, which can easily be added using the reward from the Act V quest Siege on Harrogath.

Possibly the best base items to use are one of the Amazon Bows, as these can have up to +3 Bow and Crossbow skills on the item. This would combine with the +3 to All Skills to give +6 to Bow and Crossbow Skills. This would limit the use of the bow to Amazons, and Act 1 Mercenaries, who from Patch 2.4 can now use Amazon only Bows.

Mist is usable from Level 67 due to the Cham Rune. This is higher than the Level requirements for any of the base items it can be made in. Due to the high damage potential for this Rune Word, it is usable up to the highest levels and the hardest difficulties.

While Mist in a non-Amazon bow could be used by any character or build, Mist is most effective made in an Amazon Bow with an Amazon build. The combination of high damage, up to +6 Bow and Crossbow Skills boost and 100% chance to pierce will work well for any build using Strafe, Multiple Shot or Exploding Arrow. It would also work well with Cold Arrow, but the Rune Word Ice would be a better choice for a build focusing on that skill.

Mist can also be a good choice for an Act 1 Rogue Scout Mercenary. The Concentration Aura will be shared with the player, and the high damage and pierce will make them effective. The high resists and Freeze Target will help keep them alive. Changes in Patch 2.4 mean that Act 1 Mercenaries benefit from Amazon Only skills, meaning up to +6 to Bow skills from Mist in an Amazon Bow.

Important alternatives to consider are Faith and Pride. A Faith Bow gives a Level 12-15 Fanaticism Aura, +1-2 All Skills and similar damage to Mist. It does not have the Piercing Attack of Mist, but it gives a much higher chance to hit, due to large Attack Rating boosts, and Ignores Target's Defense. A strong option might be to use Mist on an Act 1 Rogue Scout Mercenary, and Faith on an Amazon, to get the benefit of both Auras.

Using a Cham Rune to make Pride may be a better choice. Pride can be used with an Act 2 Desert Mercenary to give a Level 16-20 Concentration Aura, 8 Levels higher than Mist. This could combine with the Desert Mercenary's own Aura, for example Might to give a much higher damage boost than Mist.