Best Assassin Runewords - D2R 2.6

This guide collects the top runewords for the Assassin class from beginner / ladder starter levelling RWs to end-game ones. Get a head-start with your Assassin by equipping it with beginner runewords, getting to the end-game, and gearing it up with the top runeword choices.

Lore (Helm base, Ort+Sol)

+1 To All Skills

+10 To Energy

+2 To Mana After Each Kill

Lightning Resist +30%

Damage Reduced By 7

+2 To Light Radius

Lore is a great low level runeword for any class. It is optimal for ladder starts and for levelling up your character, and the runes and base can be acquired early in the game.

Edge (Missile Weapon base, Tir+Tal+Amn)

Level 15 Thorns Aura When Equipped

+35% Increased Attack Speed

+320-380% Damage To Demons

+280% Damage To Undead

+75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds

7% Life Stolen Per Hit

Prevent Monster Heal

+5-10 To All Attributes

+2 To Mana After Each Kill

Reduces All Vendor Prices 15%

Edge is a must-have runeword in order to reduce Vendor prices by 15%. If you gamble items, make sure you do it while wearing an Edge bow.

Call To Arms (Weapons, Amn + Ral + Mal + Ist + Ohm)

+1 To All Skills

+40% Increased Attack Speed

+250-290% Enhanced Damage (varies)

Adds 5-30 Fire Damage

7% Life Stolen Per Hit

+2-6 To Battle Command (varies)*

+1-6 To Battle Orders (varies)*

+1-4 To Battle Cry (varies)*

Prevent Monster Heal

Replenish Life +12

30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Call to Arms or CTA is the ultimate switch weapon for any class, as it grants you the Battle Orders skill, which boosts your life and mana by ~70%. Battle Command is another nice skill provided by the runeword, which adds +1 to all skills. Make sure to buff yourself constantly in order to continuously benefit from the runeword's bonuses.

Plague (Claw/Sword/Dagger base, Cham+Shael+Um)

20% Chance To Cast Level 12 Lower Resist When Struck

25% Chance to Cast Level 15 Poison Nova On Striking

Level 13-17 Cleansing Aura When Equipped +1-2 To All Skills

+20% Increased Attack Speed

+220-320% Enhanced Damage

-23% To Enemy Poison Resistance

+0.3% (0-29.7) Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)

+25% Chance of Open Wounds

Freezes Target +3

Plague is a decent runeword for melee, Claw builds. It is especially useful on Hardcore, since the Cleansing Aura will reduce curse and poison damage duration by almost 80%

Pattern (Claw base, Tal+Ort+Thul)

+30% Faster Block

+40-80% Enhanced Damage

10% Bonus to Attack Rating

Adds 17-62 Fire Damage

Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage

Adds 3-14 Cold Damage

+75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds

+6 Strength

+6 Dexterity

All Resistances +15

Pattern is a great choice for a ladder starter Claw. Whether you play a trapper or a kicker Assa, it provides decent bonuses for levelling. However the runeword is too weak for Hell Difficulty.

Chaos (Claw base, Fal+Ohm+Um)

9% Chance To Cast Level 11 Frozen Orb On Striking

11% Chance To Cast Level 9 Charged Bolt On Striking

+35% Increased Attack Speed

+290-340% Enhanced Damage

Adds 216-471 Magic Damage

25% Chance of Open Wounds

+1 To Whirlwind

+10 To Strength

+15 Life After Each Demon Kill

Chaos is a cornerstone runeword for Whirlwind Assassins. A WW Assa is amongst the most expensive builds, and you will need to invest several High Runes in your character to make it effective. Due to this, Chaos is not a viable ladder starter weapon. However the WW Assa has a very unique playstyle and is a lot of fun to play with, I strongly suggest that you try it sometime.

Last Wish (Sword/Hammer/Axe base, Jah+Mal+Jah+Sur+Jah+Ber)

6% Chance To Cast Level 11 Fade When Struck

10% Chance To Cast Level 18 Life Tap On Striking

20% Chance To Cast Level 20 Charged Bolt On Attack

Level 17 Might Aura When Equipped

+330-375% Enhanced Damage

Ignore Target's Defense

60-70% Chance of Crushing Blow

Prevent Monster Heal

Hit Blinds Target

+(0.5 per character level) 0.5-49.5% Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based on Character Level)

Last Wish is an amazing weapon for Kicker Assassins. While you won't be able to deal huge amounts of physical damage, the Crushing Blow will make you capable of melting Bosses in no time, and the Life Tap will allow for continuous healing.

Grief (Axe/Sword base, Eth+Tir+Lo+Mal+Ral)

5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Venom On Striking

+30-40% Increased Attack Speed

Damage +340-400

Ignore Target's Defense

-25% Target Defense

+(1.875 per character level) 1.875-185.625% Damage To Demons (Based on Character Level)

Adds 5-30 Fire Damage

-20-25% To Enemy Poison Resist

20% Deadly Strike

Prevent Monster Heal

+2 To Mana After Each Kill

+10-15 Life After Each Kill

Grief is the best damage dealing weapon choice for Kicker Assassins due to its +340-400 damage, and the fairly high Increased Attack Speed bonus. If you play softcore, it is a must have item on your Kicker if you want to achieve maximum damage.

Spirit (Sword base, Tal+Thul+Ort+Amn)

+2 To All Skills

+25-35% Faster Cast Rate

+55% Faster Hit Recovery

Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage

Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 3 Second Duration

+75 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds

7% Life Stolen Per Hit

+250 Defense Vs. Missile

+22 To Vitality

+89-112 To Mana

+3-8 Magic Absorb

Spirit is an optimal switch weapon choice in case you also wear an Enigma or a Teleport Charged amulet and want to get to Bosses quickly. It provides a huge deal of FCR and mana, and also boosts your faster hit recovery by a great deal, making you able to reach fairly high faster hit recovery breakpoints.

The runeword is also useful for Trapsins due to its +2 to All Skill levels.

Heart of the Oak (Mace/Staff base, Ko+Vex+Pul+Thul)

+3 To All Skills

+40% Faster Cast Rate

+75% Damage To Demons

+100 To Attack Rating Against DemonsAdds 3-14 Cold Damage, 3 sec.Duration

7% Mana Stolen Per Hit

+10 To Dexterity

Replenish Life +20

Increase Maximum Mana 15%

All Resistances +30-40

Level 4 Oak Sage (25 Charges)

Level 14 Raven (60 Charges)

Similarly to Spirit, HOTO is amongst the best switch weapon choices for teleportation. It is also an optimal weapon of choice for Trappers, especially if you look for balance between offensive and defensive capabilities. The +3 All skills will boost your damage by a huge margin, and the 30-40% all resistance helps reach the 75% resistance caps on Hell Difficulty.

Enigma (Body Armor base, Jah+Ith+Ber)

+2 To All Skills

+45% Faster Run/Walk

+1 To Teleport

+750-775 Defense

+ (0.75 Per Character Level) +0-74 To Strength (Based On Character Level)

Increase Maximum Life 5%

Damage Reduced By 8%

+14 Life After Each Kill

15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana

+ (1 Per Character Level) +1-99% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based On Character Level)

Enigma is the best Trapper Assa armour, period. You will be able to teleport, making you able to reach Bosses very quickly. It also adds +2 to All skills, which greatly boosts your damage. The Damage Reduction, Max Life bonus, defense bonus are nice additions, while the +45% FRW also boosts your movement speed and makes the gaming experience a lot more fun.

Duress (Body Armor base, Shael+Um+Thul)

+40% Faster Hit Recovery

+10-20% Enhanced Damage

Adds 37-133 Cold Damage 2 sec. Duration

15% Chance of Crushing Blow

33% Chance of Open Wounds

+150-200% Enhanced Defense

-20% Slower Stamina Drain

Cold Resist +45%

Lightning Resist +15%

Fire Resist +15%

Poison Resist +15%

Duress is an amazing armor choice for Kicksins and WW Assassins. It is the best armor for offensive qualities due to the Crushing Blow and Open Wounds Bonuses. It also has great defensive abilities, such as the +resists and the high enhanced defense, with which you can have good survivability against physical damage dealing attacks.

Chains of Honor (Body Armor base, Dol+Um+Ber+Ist)

+2 To All Skills

+200% Damage To Demons

+100% Damage To Undead

8% Life Stolen Per Hit

+70% Enhanced Defense

+20 To Strength

Replenish Life +7

All Resistances +65

Damage Reduced By 8%

25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Chains of Honor, or COH is the second best Trapper Armor behind enigma. If you need +All resistances to reach the 75% caps while not compromising on your damage at all, it is your best choice. If you do not want to teleport, or prefer running, it is the best armor choice.

Stealth (Body Armor base, Tal + Eth)

Magic Damage Reduced By 3

+6 To Dexterity

+15 To Maximum Stamina

Poison Resist +30%

Regenerate Mana 15%

25% Faster Run/Walk

25% Faster Cast Rate

25% Faster Hit Recovery

Stealth is a great ladder starter and low level armor. The base and the runes are easy to acquire, and the 25% FRW, FCR and FHR will make a big difference in your ability to level up quickly.

Treachery (Body Armor base, Shael+Thul+Lem)

5% Chance To Cast Level 15 Fade When Struck

25% Chance To Cast level 15 Venom On Striking

+2 To Assassin Skill Levels

+45% Increased Attack Speed

+20% Faster Hit Recovery

Cold Resist +30%

50% Extra Gold From Monsters

Treachery is a cheap yet very useful armor for Assassins. Once again, you will not need to compromise on damage due to the +2 Assa Skills, while the 45% IAS helps reach high breakpoints.

Smoke (Body Armor base, Nef + Lum)

+75% Enhanced Defense

+280 Defense Vs. Missile

All Resistances +50

20% Faster Hit Recovery

Level 6 Weaken (18 Charges)

+10 To Energy

-1 To Light Radius

Smoke is another awesome ladder starter / low level runeword, which boosts your defensive capabilities by a big margin. If you play hardcore, it is your best levelling choice in order to stay alive.

Spirit (Shield base, Tal+Thul+Ort+Amn)

+2 To All Skills

+25-35% Faster Cast Rate

+55% Faster Hit Recovery

+250 Defense Vs. Missile

+22 To Vitality

+89-112 To Mana

Cold Resist +35%

Lightning Resist +35%

Poison Resist +35%

+3-8 Magic Absorb

Attacker Takes Damage of 14

A Spirit Shield is the best option for Trapper Assassins in case you want to boost your defensive capabilities against physical attacks. It is the ideal shield for Hardcore, but will also make you able to teleport fast in an enigma based build. Wearing it with HOTO is the ultimate Trapsin setup.

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