Chains of Honor Runeword - D2R 2.6

Chains of Honor

Dol + Um + Ber + Ist

4 Socket Body Armor

Patch 1.10 Runeword

+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 occupies a rather awkward position among the body armor choices. While it undoubtedly has very good stats, it is not particularly cheap to make and is not a best-in-slot item except for very niche builds. Its stats are more caster-oriented but it also inexplicably comes with 8% Life Stolen Per Hit and bonus damage to Demons and Undead.

So where does Chains of Honor fit in? For characters that rely on enhanced damage, Fortitude is far superior to Chains of Honor. Almost every non-sorceress caster wants to use Enigma. So this leaves a very narrow demographic of sorceress builds and a few odd shapeshifter builds which might consider it. It is also worth noting that a Skin of the Vipermagi socketed with an Um rune gives +50 All Resists and often outclasses Chains of Honor at a much lower price. However, the most apt comparison can be made between Chains of Honor and Enigma since these armors provide similar bonuses.

Chains of Honor is mainly valuable under the following conditions:

1.     The weapon slot does not contribute any resistances (Crescent Moon, Eschuta’s Temper, Rare or Magic Orbs)

2.     The build does not require FCR from the armor slot (Skin of the Vipermagi)

3.     The user is unwilling to carry +5 All Resistances Small Charms in the inventory.

Chains of Honor is sometimes used as a mercenary armor for characters designed to clear Uber Tristram. Uber Mephisto’s conviction aura raises the resistance soft cap to 300 so the resistances are actually necessary to prevent your mercenary from being instantly killed. As a side bonus, the +2 All Skills will boost the power of an Act II mercenary’s aura. The recommended setup is:

Helm: Ethereal Kira’s Guardian + 15 All Resistances / 15 IAS Jewel

Weapon: The Reaper’s Toll / Infinity / Faith etc.

Armor: Ethereal-Bugged Chains of Honor Sacred Armor

If you'd rather skip farming you can quickly buy gear at Rpgstash's D2R Store.