Rune Word: Unbending Will (2024)

Last updated on Mar 20, 2022 at 13:47by Azariah10 comments

This page covers the Rune Word Unbending Will in Diablo 2 Resurrected andprovides information on the Runes needed, Bonuses it gives, Base Items to use,and Builds to use it with. It requires Patch 2.4 or later.

The Rune Word Unbending Will requires six runes, Fal Rune, Io Rune, Ith Rune, Eld Rune, El Rune,and Hel Rune placed in that order.Fal is the highest level rune required, making this Rune Word usable from Level41.

The table below shows which area the required runes start dropping fromnormal monsters and containers, any quests, and the Countess Rune drop. TheCountess is found on Level 5 of the Forgotten Tower in the Black Marsh.

• Fal - Act 3 Nightmare, Nightmare & Hell Hellforge, Countess (Hell);
• Io - Act 1 Nightmare, Nightmare & Hell Hellforge, Countess (Nightmare & Hell);
• Ith - Act 3 Normal, Normal Hellforge, Countess (All difficulties);
• Eld - Act 2 Normal, Normal Hellforge, Countess (All difficulties);
• El - Act 2 Normal, Normal Hellforge, Countess (All difficulties);
• Hel - Act 1 Nightmare, Nightmare & Hell Hellforge, Countess (Nightmare & Hell).

El, Eld and Ith runes can drop from the Hellforge quest in Normal, witha 1 in 11 chance of each. Io, Fal and Hel runes can drop from the Hellforgequest in both Nightmare and Hell. This makes the Hellforge quest a good sourceof the Runes for Unbending Will.

For more information about finding and farming Runes, you can refer to ourRune Finding guide using the link below.

We have a video created by MrLlamaSC discussing the new Rune Word Unbending Will.

Like all Rune Words, Unbending Will gives additional bonuses to the onesgranted by the Runes used to make it. If a bonus has (varies), it is set at avalue in the range given when the Rune Word is made. These are all the bonusesUnbending Will gives.

• 18% Chance to cast Level 18 Taunt on striking - Casts theBarbarian Skill Taunt at Level 18, reducing the damage and attackrating of the target by 39%;
• +3 to Combat Skills (Barbarian Only) - Very good increase to skills, but only for Barbarians or Act V Mercenaries;
• +20-30% Increased Attack Speed (varies) - Increases melee attack speed, very helpful bonus;
• +300-350% Enhanced Damage (varies) - Increases physical damage done, very high amount, so very useful;
• +9 To Maximum Damage - Small amount of additional physical damage;
• +50 To Attack Rating - Higher Attack rating means less chance of missing, always helpful;
• +75% Damage to Undead - Small amount of additional damage to Undead monsters;
• +50 Attack Rating Against Undead - Additional boost for hitting Undead monsters;
• 8-10% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies) - Returns Life based on Physical damage dealt. High amount, so very helpful for staying alive;
• Prevent Monster Heal - Stops monsters regenerating. Very helpfulat higher difficulties when monsters have high regeneration rates. Does notwork on Pandemonium Event Bosses;
• +10 to Strength - Useful boost to strength, which can help with requirements, and damage;
• +10 to Vitality - Gives extra Maximum Life and Stamina. Always useful;
• Damage Reduced by 8 - Defensive bonus reducing physical damagetaken. This can be very effective if combined with other items with thisbonus;
• +1 to Light Radius - Increases lit area around the player, but does not have any other effect.
• Requirements -20% - Reduces Stat requirements to equip the item.Helpful in this case, as some base items for this Rune Word have highStrength and Dexterity requirements.

The most important bonuses on this Rune Word are the very high EnhancedDamage and Increased Attack Speed, making this a strong Melee option. The Taunt,Life Steal and Damage Reduction mean taking less damage, and healing life back,increasing toughness. The boost to combat skills is very helpful for Barbarians.

Unbending Will can only be made in grey 6-socket Swords. The following Swordscan have 6 sockets.

• Normal Swords - Crystal Sword, Great Sword;
• Exceptional Swords - Dimensional Blade, Executioner Sword;
• Elite Swords - Phase Blade, Colossus Blade.

These swords can only be found with 6 sockets if they drop in Hell Difficulty.Swords that drop in Nightmare Act 2 or later can have 6 sockets added to themusing the reward from the Act V quest Siege on Harrogath. The Horadric Cuberecipe Ral Rune + Amn Rune + Perfect Amethyst can also be used toadd sockets but it only has a 1 in 6 chance of giving the 6 socketsrequired for Unbending Will.

The high Enhanced Damage bonus applies to the base weapon damage, so it isrecommended to make this Rune Word in Elite weapons, or an Executioner Sword.The other 6 Socket Swords have too low base damage to be useful for this RuneWord.

Barbarians can use any of these Swords one handed, but other characters canonly use the Phase Blade one handed. A Phase Blade would be a lower damageweapon than a Colossus Blade, but it would be very fast and indestructible.

Unbending Will is usable from Level 41 if made in an Executioner Sword. TheElite swords have higher Level requirements - Phase Blade at Level 54 andColossus Blade at 63. If a good melee weapon has not been found yet, and theRunes are available, Unbending Will Executioner Sword could be a big damageboost at Level 41. Usually it would be recommended to wait for the Elite swords,but as the Runes needed are not very rare, making an Executioner Sword if one isavailable, then making an Elite version at later Levels is a good option.

Unbending Will can be used by any Melee based character, but is best for aBarbarian, due to the +3 to Combat Skills. Melee focussed builds like theFrenzy Barbarian Build will find it a good choice.

Unbending Will can also be a great choice for an Act V Mercenary. Patch 2.4changes mean these Barbarians now get benefit from Barbarian only skills,including the +3 Combat Skills found on this Rune Word. The high damage, attackspeed, Life Steal and Taunt will make a strong choice for both the originalBash/Stun and the new Frenzy based Mercenaries.