Many players in Diablo 2 consider Shields a very useful equipment to have. When you wear a shield, you get a % to block all of an attack’s damage. Some builds may not require a shield, like Assassins who can wear two claw weapons but increase points in the Weapon Block Skill and still be able to block, or Barbarians who have high Defense due to their armor and Iron Skin skill and prefer to dish out the damage using two-handed weapons or a weapon in each hand. For most other builds however, a Shield is something that might be the different between life and death.
Requirements:
A Shield with 3 sockets
Runes (in order): Ko + Ko + Mal
The Stats:
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
+20% Faster Block Rate
20% Increased Chance of Blocking
+130-160% Enhanced Defense
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+20 To Dexterity
All Resistances +50-70
Magic Damage Reduced By 7
Level 12 Slow Missiles (60 Charges)
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
Each time you get hit, there are several frames of animation where your character cannot move, block or perform any other action. With the boost from % FHR mod, this reduces the frames for the hit animation, which is good because you can recover quicker from a blow. The 20% boost to FHR is a nice boost for melee fighters who require more % FHR to break their target breakpoint.
+20% Faster Block Rate
The same thing regarding frames of animation applies to Blocking as well. Therefore, with more + % FBR from items, you will reduce the frames of animation involved in a successful block, thus freeing you from getting caught in block-lock.
20% Increased Chance of Blocking
The chance of your character blocking an attack depends on several factors, but generally, you can improve your chance of blocking by investing points in Dexterity to keep it at the maximum level (75%). There are Skills that improve your Block chance as well (ie. Holy Shield, a Paladin Skill), and shield with the ICB modifier will help up your chance of blocking.
+20 To Dexterity
A good mod for a shield, since it improves your Chance of Blocking.
All Resistances +50-70
Massive boosts to All Resistances make Sanctuary a viable option for a Shield if your character is going to tackle the legions of tough monsters on Hell Difficulty. A near-perfect (65% and above bonus) or perfect Sanctuary will be a very desired armor for any Diablo 2 player. Sock it with an UM Rune for a +22% to All Resistances.
Summary:
Sanctuary is a good Runeword for a shield. There might be other more attractive options for players out there, but a shield with Sanctuary in it can be a good placeholder for players who take their chance of blocking (most players) and Resistances (all players!) seriously.
