With the Diablo 2 Resurrected Patch 2.6 and Ladder Season 3 launching February 16, a handful of new helmet runewords will be available in the game. In this article, we are going to focus on all new D2R Helm Runewords stats and uses, as well as how to get bases and runes for making/crafting these helm runewords in the game. 

Diablo 2 Resurrected 2.6 Season 3 Helm Runewords Stats, Level & Runes

Firstly, we list the six new helm runewords for D2 Ladder Season 3 & Offline Single-Player play, along with their stats, effects, required character level, and runes. Please note that based on the PTR version, they changed or added one or more stats of some runewords in Diablo 2 Resurrected 2.6 Patch Notes. Once you get the required bases and runes, put the correct runes in a three-socket helm to make the Diablo 2 Ladder runeword you want to get. 

Bulwark (Level 35)

Shael + lo + Sol

+20% Faster Hit Recovery

+4-6% Life stolen per hit

+75-100% Enhanced Defense

+10 to Vitality

Increase Maximum Life by 5%

Replenish Life +30

Damage Reduced by 7

Physical Damage Received Reduced by 10-15%

Cure (Level 35)

Shael + lo + Tal

Level 1 Cleansing Aura when Equipped

+20% Faster Hit Recovery

+75-100% Enhanced Defense

+10 to Vitality

Increase Maximum Life by 5%

Poison Resist +40-60%

Poison Length Reduced by 50%

Ground (Level 35)

Shael + lo + Ort

+20% Faster Hit Recovery

+75-100% Enhanced Defense

+10 to Vitality

Increase Maximum Life by 5%

Lightning Resist +40-60%

Lightning Absorb +10-15%

Hearth (Level 35)

Shael + lo + Thul

+20% Faster Hit Recovery

+75-100% Enhanced Defense

+10 to Vitality

Increase Maximum Life by 5%

Cold Resist +40-60%

Cold Absorb +10-15%

Cannot be Frozen

Temper (Level 35)

Shael + lo + Ral

+20% Faster Hit Recovery

+75-100% Enhanced Defense

+10 to Vitality

Increase Maximum Life by 5%

Fire Resist +40-60%

Fire Absorb +10-15%

Metamorphosis (Level 67)

lo + Cham + Fal

Werewolf strikes grant Mark 180 seconds

Mark of the Wolf:

+30% Bonus to Attack Rating

Increase Maximum Life by 40%

Werebear strikes grant Mark 180 seconds

Mark of the Bear:

+25% Attack Speed

Physical Damage Received Reduced by 20%

+5 to Shape Shifting Skills (Druid only)

+25% Chance of Crushing Blow (No longer attached to Mark of the Bear)

+50-80% Enhanced Defense

+10 to Strength

+10 to Vitality

All Resistances +10

Cannot be Frozen

How to Get the Best Bases for D2R Helm Runewords Fast?

Thanks to Warth3ory, below is the breakdown of how you can get the necessary base items and runes to craft the D2R Season 3 new helm runewords, including Bulwark, Ground, Temper, Cure, and Hearth for early to mid-game. 

In order to roll the new helm runewords in D2 2.6, a three-socket helm is required. There is a 1/3 chance to drop an item with sockets, you can use the cube socket recipe to roll three sockets with a 66.67% chance for eligible helmets. And you can also take it to Larzuk for a guaranteed three sockets. The elite Diadem (TC 87) and the exceptional Tiara (TC 72) are eligible helms, but these helms are found later in the game in Hell due to their quality and treasure classes. If you are a Druid or a Barbarian acquiring a Pelt or Primal base can be done as early as Normal non-terrorized as they only require item level 26 to roll three sockets. 

D2R Helm Runewords Bases

This leaves only three non-Pelt or Primal helmet bases that can be used in the early and mid-game to craft these runewords. Those are the Mask, Great Helm, and Crown. 

There are two vital values about the helm bases in D2R. 

- Quality level: this is directly associated with the monster level, the monster needs to be equal to or greater than the quality level to be eligible to drop from its associated treasure class group. 

- Item level: Ilvl determines the item affixes, including sockets. The three helms in the chart all require item level 41 or higher. So the monster level also needs to be 41 or higher to get three sockets. 

Where to find monsters with a level equal to or higher than 41? You can begin to find this normal starting in Act 5, there is only a handful of monster types such as Abominable, Blood Temptress, Defiled Warrior, and Death Lord to name a few, that meet those requirements, including the Baal waves and Baal himself, but sadly the drop chances are not very friendly. Once you proceed into Nightmare the first area level that exceeds 41 is Forgotten Tower level 4 on your way to the Countess. Therefore, every monster moving forward in this area is eligible to drop base items that can roll three sockets. 

How to Get Runes for D2R Helm Runewords?

When it comes to acquiring D2 runes for these helm runewords, the Countess is a primary key due to her special rune table, which enables her to drop multiple runes. For example, her standard loot table and Nightmare can drop up to Ko rune, and her special rune table is possibly dropping lo rune, a primary rune for these new helmets. When farming Countess, you want to do so on Player 1 as this keeps her standard loot at a higher no-drop percentage increasing the probability of multiple picks from her special rune table. Basically, assuming that you can complete a Nightmare Countess run in approximately three minutes, we should achieve 20 runs in the hour, securing every rune needed to craft the new 2.6 helm runewords. 

Another benefit of Nightmare Countess is that you can get multiple copies of these runes along the way, even getting more than one lo rune, overall, you have an approximate 3.95% chance per run to find a lo rune. If you do not get it, you can also take three Hel runes plus a chipped diamond to craft a lo. 

Drop Rates of Runes for D2R 2.6 Helm Runewords

Shael: 1/9.4

Io: 1/25.3

Sol: 1/8.4

Ral: 1/6.5

Ort: 1/4.3

Thul: 1/6.5

Tal: 1/4.3

Tips for Using Helm Runewords in Diablo 2 Resurrected 2.6 & Season 3

What is the best helm runeword in D2? And how to use them in the game for your character?

These helm runewords are not the most powerful in D2, they still have their niche farming use cases. When you think about the ability to wear Cure when power farming Normal or Nightmare Andariel, she has an immense amount of poison damage and this is a great option and alternative. When you think about the ability to go to Mephisto in Act 3 and his lightning damage,  Ground is a slot option if you don't have anything better. For Temper and areas such as Travincal and Chaos with a lot of fire damage, this also is going to be something great you can toss on as an option and alternative. Then for Hearth, with Act 5, there's a lot of cold damage there. This might be something you want to toss on. Among these level 35 helms, the best one is probably Bulwark, this is truly a mini-Vampire Gaze with the life leech and the physical damage reduction. Whether you want to wear this as a melee character on yourself or put this on a Mercenary, Bulwark is an amazing mid-game option before finding something such as a Rockstopper, a Tal's, a Vampire Gaze, or the coveted Andariel Helm.