Obsession Rune Word Guide in Diablo II Resurrected

The Rune Word Obsession requires six runes, Zod Rune, Ist Rune, Lem Rune, Lum Rune, Io Rune,and Nef Rune placed in that order. Zod is the highest level rune required, making this Rune Word usable by Players from Level 69.

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.

• Zod - Act 5 Hell;
• Ist - Act 5 Nightmare, Hell Hellforge, Countess (Hell);
• Lem - Act 3 Nightmare, Nightmare & Hell Hellforge, Countess (Hell);
• Lum - Act 2 Nightmare, Nightmare & Hell Hellforge, Countess (Hell);
• Io - Act 1 Nightmare, Nightmare & Hell Hellforge, Countess (Nightmare & Hell);
• Nef - Act 2 Normal, Normal Hellforge, Countess (All difficulties);

Zod Runes are the highest and 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 Obsession.

Like all Rune Words, Obsession 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 Obsession gives.

• Indestructable - Item does not lose durability, even if it is Ethereal;
• 24% Chance to cast level 10 Weaken when struck - Level 10 Weaken reduces monsters damage by 33% for 35.6 seconds;
• +4 to All Skills - Great bonus for any build, but especially for spell casting and summoning focused builds, where higher skill levels increase damage output;
• +65% Faster Cast Rate - Good bonus for all spell casting builds, reducing the time it takes to cast skills;
• +60% Faster Hit Recovery - If a player takes more than 1/12th of their maximum Life in one hit, hit recovery is triggered, and they cannot take any action for a moment. This bonus speeds up the recovery from this effect;
• Knockback - When a monster is hit by a weapon with this bonus, it is knocked backwards a short amount. It does not work on Bosses;
• +10 to Vitality - Gives extra Maximum Life and Stamina. Always useful;
• +10 to Energy - Increases Mana total and regeneration rate, especially useful for spell casting builds;
• Increase Maximum Life 15-25% (varies) - Great defensive bonus, useful for every build;
• Regenerate Mana 15-30% (varies) - Increases how much mana is regenerated per second. Stacks with other items and skills that provide this bonus. Very helpful for spell casting builds;
• All Resistances +60-70 - Very strong defensive bonus, reducing damage taken from Fire, Cold, Lightning and Poison damage. Does not effect magic or physical damage.
• 75% Extra Gold from Monsters - Monsters drop additional gold. Stacks with other items that have this bonus;
• 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items - Improved chance that monsters will drop Magic, Rare, Set or Unique items. Stacks with other items that have this property, and a very useful bonus for getting good items.

With +4 All Skills, the highest Fast Cast Rate bonus on a single item, extra Energy and Mana regeneration, Obsession is best suited for Spell Casting builds. It has a strong collection of defensive bonuses, increasing life, hit recovery and resists.

Obsession can only be made in a grey 6-socket Staff. There are only 3 staves that can have 6 sockets, War Staff, Rune Staff and Archon Staff. As Obsession has no Enhanced Damage, it does not matter which of these staves it is made in.

Staves can have a +1-3 bonus to up to 3 different sorceress skills. Finding a Staff with useful bonuses could make an even more effective weapon. Checking Staves that drop for useful skills is highly recommended.

If a white War Staff, Rune Staff or Archon Staff with useful skills drops in Normal Difficulty Act V, Arreat Plateau or later, 6 sockets can be added by using the reward from the Act V quest Siege on Harrogath.

The Horadric Cube recipe Ral Rune + Amn Rune + Perfect Amethyst can also be used to add sockets to these Staves but only has a 1 in 6 chance of getting the 6 sockets required for Obsession.

Obsession is usable from Level 69 due to the Zod Rune. This is higher than the Level requirements for any of the base items it can be made in. Due to the high Skills, Fast Cast and strong defensive bonuses, it is usable up to the highest levels and the hardest difficulties.

Any spell caster build can use an Obsession Staff, including Fire Druids, Blessed Hammer Paladins (Hammerdins), Wind Druids, and Bone Necromancers. It is most effective with a Sorceress, because of the additional Sorceress Skills possible on a staff, for example +3 to Blizzard or Chain Lightning, giving a possible +7 to those particular skills.

Before making an Obsession Rune Word, alternative options should be considered.

Zod Runes can be used to make an Ethereal item indestructible. Ethereal weapons have significant additional damage compared to non-Ethereal versions. Finding a recommended Ethereal Unique Weapon and socketing it with a Zod to make it indestructible can create some of the highest damage weapons in the game. The Rune Word Breath of the Dying requires a Zod rune, and so is also most effective when made in an Ethereal base weapon.

Heart of the Oak and a Spirit shield provides similar bonuses for spell casting builds, but requires easier to find Runes to make. A quick comparison of the key bonuses is shown below.

Obsession	Heart of the Oak + Spirit Shield
24% Chance to cast level 10 Weaken when struck
+4 To All Skills	+5 To All Skills
+65% Faster Cast Rate	+65-75% Faster Cast Rate (varies)
+60% Faster Hit Recovery	+55% Faster Hit Recovery
+10 To Vitality	+22 To Vitality
+10 To Energy	+89-112 To Mana (varies)
Increase Maximum Life 15-25% (varies)	Level 4 Oak Sage (25 Charges) - Increases Maximum Life 45% while active
Regenerate Mana 15-30% (varies)	Increase Maximum Mana 15%
All Resistances +60-70 (varies)	Cold/Lightning/Posion Resist +65-75 (varies) Fire Resist +30-40 (varies)
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

For the Sorceress Obsession has the advantage of possible additional bonuses to individual skills. Other Classes do not have that possibility. Heart of the Oak and Spirit provide +1 additional All Skills. The chance to cast Weaken when struck is helpful defensive bonus, although most Spell Casting builds avoid being struck as far as possible. Oak Sage provides a bigger increase to maximum life, but is less reliable, as it can be destroyed. It also has limited charges so would need to be repaired regularly. It is far easier to get all the Runes for Heart of the Oak and Spirit, and a Zod Rune may have more unique uses. Either setup is a strong choice for Spell Caster builds at high level play.