Another Diablo 2 question

Hi there.

On Maple I always wanted a BW Failadin. On D2, this seems about the same as the Hammerdin, so I think I'll play that. There's a good guide, and fairly current, (from 2007,) on GameFAQs, so I think I am set there.

There's one item I really want to get -- the rune word Enigma, consisting of the runes Jah, Ith, and Ber. I need these on US East Ladder. The guide outlines all the ultra-godly gear for the hammerdin, but I only want this particular item becuase it'll let me cap STR at 50, and that's a lot of points saved. I'll find the rest as part of having fun in the game.

Can someone outline the general cost of these three runes? What should I try to get to trade for them, or buy them? When I played D2 long ago, the unit of currency was the SOJ... how many SOJs would these three runes be? Any help you could give would be appreciated. Thanks!

Currency should still be rated in terms of High Runes. Any rune at Ist or above (some people consider Gul+ because Ist can be gotten from Hell Forge) are generally all considered "High Runes" and are of similar value. Certain ones such as Jah and Ber (Ohm and Vex come to mind as well) are a bit more valued for their common use in several Rune Words. Last I played, Mal were considered about half a HR, and Um were about a quarter of a HR I believe. I recall good OS items as being a simple way of obtaining runes. Something like an E4osCrypticAxe could go for multiple HRs back then. Not sure about now though. If you want to know why, Cryptic Axes spawn at ilvls that made them default at 5 sockets when Larzuk socketed them, and people wanted 4os to make Infinitys, and Insights. The occasional lolPride.

http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/
Under the Diablo 2 Trading Forums, you should be able to find current prices for things and opportunities to purchase. Can't recall a great trading site. This one went through a bit of restructuring since I've played to accommodate Diablo III information.

As for capping at 50 Strength, you need at least 77 Strength to wear an Enigma Dusk Shroud, the lowest Strength requirement Elite Enigma. Otherwise, the only alternative I've ever commonly seen were Breast Plate Enigmas, which I personally frowned upon, but you're free to make that decision yourself. I think it would be much easier to purchase the Enigma itself rather than the runes to make it, especially if duping is still prevalent since the runes have a chance of poofing.

Thank you very much, that was very helpful.

One of the more amateur mistakes in making money in Diablo II is that people seem to always consider that Unique > Set > Rare and everything else is NPC fodder. There are a lot of White/Socketed/Ethereal non-magical items that can be worth holding on to for selling purposes because Rune Words can be made in them, and even the odd blue Magical Item can be worth something if it has the right pre/suffixes, though these are more difficult to identify and find buyers for. You should keep this in mind for when you're playing through games.

Well, as one of my first items I got a small charm that does 1-2 cold damage. No frigging way am I getting rid of that, unless I get another small charm that does more cold damage, and even then I won't NPC it.