Enigma Runeword - D2R 2.6

Enigma is undisputedly the most game-warping item in Diablo II Resurrected. Most builds use Enigma by default and the remaining ones would probably perform better if they switched over. The Teleport skill is unbelievably powerful in both PvM and PvP and it completely changes the nature of the game.

But even when setting aside its primary function, the supporting cast of stats on Enigma puts most of its competitors to shame. Enigma provides the single largest strength boost of all body armors (up to 74 at level 99), the highest Faster Run/Walk, the highest +All Skills and the fourth highest magic find on a body armor (behind Skullder's Ire, Wealth and a 4-socket Ist'ed Armor) - although these options are not very practical. It even provides 8% physical damage reduction and Increase Maximum Life 5% (which usually equates to somewhere between 50-80 life depending on the class using it).

The biggest downside to Enigma is the high cost of the Runeword. Both Hellforge and Hell Countess are unable to drop Ber or Jah runes so they must be acquired through natural farming or trade. On Single Player, Sur and Ber runes can be farmed in Players 8 Lower Kurast superchests at a reasonable rate (approximately one every 2000 runs on a 6-chest map) and these can be cubed up to create a Jah. The same strategy is not viable online since the map seed is randomised each game and you cannot create games too rapidly.

The high cost of Enigma is not confined to the Runeword itself. Since Enigma does not come with resists, these stats need to be acquired up via other item slots. Quite often, when the best-in-slot weapon for a given class also comes with no resists (Grief, Crescent Moon, Death's Web etc.), this means that +5 All Resistances Small Charms will be necessary and this can greatly increase the cost of the build.

Strength

The strength bonus that Enigma provides allows you to put more points into vitality. Statistically, Enigma grants more life than almost any other armor in the game.

Teleport Analysis

It is difficult to quantify the exact value of the Teleport Skill but it is quite likely that many builds would opt to use Enigma even if it didn't come with any other bonuses. In PvP, the ability to reposition your character at will is invaluable; but even in PvM, it greatly increases the speed and efficiency of farming and levelling:

Enigma is at its weakest when doing short linear runs with preset maps. Examples include Travincal Council, Pindleskin, Shenk and Eldritch. Arguably, the ability to teleport is not strictly necessary for these routes and having a high amount of Faster Run/Walk would be equally effective. However, on any run which does not have a fixed map layout (most of the maps in the game); and on maps with tiles that lead to obstacles, doors and dead ends, Enigma is in a class of its own. For example:

Teleporting past River of Flame during Chaos Run (Saves 15-20 seconds per run)

Teleporting to Throne in Baal Run (Saves 30-60 seconds per run)

Teleporting to Durance 3 - Mephisto (Saves 30-60 seconds per run)

Full Normal to Hell Rush (Saves 20-40 minutes)

It would be a conservative estimate to say that the ability to teleport increases the efficiency of most PvM runs by about 50%. In that case, you could approximate the value of this skill by comparing it to +Skills or % Enhanced Damage. For instance, a standard Zeal Paladin has around +1300% Enhanced Damage (Sum of Strength, Skills and Auras) before selecting a body armor. An increase of 50% would be equivalent to +650% Enhanced Damage. This is of course an extreme simplification but it serves to illustrate why teleporting is so valuable.

Another major benefit of teleporting is the ability to reposition for attacks. Many AOE abilities are directional and benefit immensely from proper positioning. For instance, Blessed Hammer hits monsters which are directly above or to the right of the Paladin on its first revolution when cast, but will miss smaller units that are below or to the left. Therefore, Hammerdins will typically try to "telestomp" on top of monsters or slightly below them to ensure an almost instantaneous hit. Another good example is the spell Bone Spear which deals damage in a straight line. Necromancers will want to teleport "backwards" away from an advancing line of monsters to ensure the maximum number of hits.

Finally, the ability to teleport enables players to specifically hunt unique monsters. This play-style allows melee characters to compete with AOE spellcasters in terms of farming and levelling. The best example is the Fast Chaos Barbarian which is designed to complete a full run of Chaos Sanctuary in one minute. This involves teleporting to the seals, casting Howl to disperse the minions and then focusing on the Seal Bosses and Diablo.

A similar strategy is also used as an alternative to stacking magic find. Players may choose to equip high damage items and increase the number of players in the game which increases the number of items that monsters drop. This makes unique hunting a very strong and viable method of magic finding, especially for monster level 85+ zones.

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