A Guide for The Breath of the Dying Runeword in D2R

Unlike other dungeon-crawling looter games where gamers often complain of having a gear that relies on luck to obtain, the Breath of the Dying Runeword in Diablo 2: Resurrected allows you to literally make your own luck. Though it will cost you some runes to create the Runewords, the items you buy will undoubtedly turn out to be your wisest investment. There are usually many unique, rare, and legendary game sets available if you know how to use this runeword. In this post, we have compiled a comprehensive guide on the Breath of the Dying Rune Word.

What Is the Breath of Dying Runeword?

The Breath of the Dying is simply the most powerful weapon available out there in the Ladder Characters. It is particularly very useful for a melee character but very costly to make due to the Zod Rune requirements. Though there are several powerful options that are available for game characters, the Breath of the Dying is the most frequently used weapon along with the Ethereal Berserker Axe. The main reason behind this is that this one-handed weapon inflicts the greatest Damage per second, and the Zod Rune renders it indestructible. Quick facts about this runeword include:

• Game Level: 69
• Name of weapon: Breath of the Dying Runeword
• Rune order: From left to right
• Number of Sockets: 6
• Items: Weapons

How to Create the Breath of the Dying Runeword

The Breath of the Dying Runeword is made using a certain order that is:

Vex + Hel + El + Eld + Zod + Eth, respectively.

The weapon can only be used in level 69 and can be created using any 6 sockets (Ordinary/Superior quality). You should, however, note that Rare (Yellow), Unique (Brown), Magic (Blue), and Set (Green) items cannot be used as bases for Runewords.

Weapons in Breath of the Dying Rune Word

According to Almar’s Guides, the following weapons can be found in the Breath of the Dying Rune Word:

• · Indestructible
• · 50 percent chance to Cast Level 20 Poison Nova when you eliminate an enemy
• · +60 percent Increased Attack Speed
• · +200 percent Damage to Undead
• · +350 to 400 percent Enhanced Damage
• · -25 percent Target Defense
• · +50 to Attack Rating Against Undead
• · +50 to Attack Rating
• · 7 percent Mana Stolen per Hit
• · Prevent Monster Heal
• · 12 to 15 percent Life Stolen per Hit
• · +30 To All Attributes
• · Requirements -20 percent
• · +1 To Light Radius
• · Chance to be Ethereal (irreparable)
• · Chance to increase maximum durability by +10 percent to +15 percent

Melee Damage and Damage Impact

The Breath of the Dying Rune Word is arguably the most powerful Runeword in the game. It is known to cause heavy melee damage and possibly provide the largest damage impact in Diablo 2: Resurrected. However, the Breath of the Dying is very expensive to make as it requires you to meet the Zod Rune requirements, which is very hard to find in the entire game. Additionally, these base items required to make this weapon are very rare to obtain as they should be of a 6-Socketed ethereal weapon. Since it requires the rarest items in the game, this weapon is certainly ideal for ethereal base items, as they are usually indestructible. Other alternatives to the Breath of the Dying with similar melee damage are the Thunder Maul, Berserker Axe, and Colossus Sword or Colossus Blade. Despite the many Runewords in Diablo II, the Breath of the Dying can be considered the “best weapon in the game.” The main reason behind this is that it includes some amazing features like Mana steal, Life steal, and an impressive 50 percent chance to cast a Poison Nova every time your enemy dies.

The Zod Rune

The Zod Rune is a high Rune that can be socketed into equipment in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. Zod Runes have only two functions, making Ethereal equipment that is indestructible and making the Breath of the Dying Runeword. Moreover, Zod Runes are considered highly valuable in the game since they are hard items to find. They are ranked as the 2nd rarest item in the game after Tyrael’s Might. As mentioned, the Breath of the Dying is made using the following Rune Words; Vex-Hel-El-Eld-Zod-Eth, in that order. This weapon is the most powerful and priciest runewords for melee game characters, mainly because of the rare Zod rune requirements. Nonetheless, the perfect base equipment to use with the Breath of the Dying is the ethereal Berserker Axe, as it has the greatest Damage per second, and its Zod rune requirements make it indestructible.

Weapon Runeword

The Breath of the Dying is the best available Runeword for a number of Builds and Classes in Diablo II: Lord of Resurrection. It is also the highest level weapon available in the entire game and has the only Rune Word that requires Zod rune requirements, which is the rarest and highest rune in the game. This weapon’s Runeword is usually socketed in an indestructible Ethereal Berserker Axe. The Rune Word requirements make it more powerful, and the Berserker Axe offers the weapon with the highest Damage per second for a one-armed weapon. Furthermore, the Breath of the Dying offers a 50 percent damage bonus to cast Poison Nova, which decimates a large number of your enemies with ease. As you create Runewords, you should keep in mind that the Runewords you create will have the pre-existing bonuses retained on the weapon. For example, if you find a Superior Weapon with +Improved Damage or a Superior armor with +Improved Defense that has a skill bonus for a certain class, all of these bonuses will be retained in the final Runeword you create.

Final Thoughts

Though expensive to make, the Breath of the Dying Runeword is arguably the most useful weapon for a melee character. It is also the most powerful weapon in the game due to its rare Zod requirements. While there are many different weapon types in the game, the Breath of the Dying is frequently used with an Ethereal Berserker Axe for improved Damage per second.