The Highest Defense in the History of Diablo 2

powerpower-rg7bk: Ebug armor was great for so many reasons. It made the Prudence runeword was really useful as it added repair durability and insane defense bonuses. Ebug Exile runeword was also supreme as not only did it provide insane base defense as a shield, it also added a defiance aura which further increased defense as a whole.

There is a recipe for adding a socket to a rare or unique item using a SoJ which I recall also invoking the Ebug. Getting a perfect godly affix for 200% ED and defense based on character would be a lot but the Stone runeword should still exceed it in an Ebug base. The other modifiers on that hypothetical armor could be more useful than Stone and socketing it with a Zod would make it useable.

Speaking of Zod, usable and D2 history, an early Etheral armor could have had the Zod bug applied making indestructible. Makes runewords usable in an Etheral base, though not as high as defense as the Ebug. Unfortunately Zod bug and Ebug existed at different times in history.

And just for the mention, the highest Enhanced defense you can get is 355% via one specific armor: the Arctic Furs. Most early game items will have a mix of defense and Enhanced defense but this one item can spawn natively with up to 325%. Socket it and add a Pul rune to bring it to 355%. Only with D2R could you upgrade the base set items which would bring the defense of a perfect double upgraded Arctic Furs to 2129 defense. This is not too far behind a perfect Stone runeword in a non-Eth Superior Sacred armor at 2250 defense. These are the top tier for non-Ethereal defense and this safely usable by the player.

As for the rest of usable Ethereal armors, an upgraded Ethereal Skulder’s Ire with a socketed Pul rune can get up to 2564 defense. Steel Carapace with a socketed Pul rune would be 2929 defense. These are noteworthy uniques as they have the auto repair trait, inherently making Ethereal version long term viable.
radiosityy2074: Tbh I was hoping for an acutal MAX defense you can get on your character and showing how much it affects the enemy hit chance against you. This only shows max defense on a single item...
Bloated_Cow: I was there in 1.0 when the old lore was written
kingkrankSPW: who up watching they shrimp rn?
llVIU: you should definitely follow this up with best def gloves boots belt etc and for each class, and mercenary, then the buffs too like aura pala and barb
phil-l: IMO each 1000 def should give reduce phys dmg by 0.5% or 1%
SuperIronDan: E-Bug comeback would be so nice
Bloated_Cow: This is what I'm here for
graemescott1436: I miss ebug armour, I used to zeal vs zeal a lot and my favourite what ebug prudence
LeeCoins: Ahhh, the good old days. If you ever got drop trade scammed for a torch or anni charm back then, im sorry.
KrisM189: Eth stone was busted back in the day, Eth Glads bane also kinda broken.. peak d2
Dr_Cosmobyte: eBugging should be brought back.
llVIU: 3300 defence on a body plate. I'd like to see that in real life compared to the regular full plate mail armor being 155 defence. So... 20x times thicker armor? Instead of 1 milimeter of plate, you got 20 milimeters of stainless steel... basically a literal walking tank
Garryl367: Isn't it possible to roll items that are both ethereal and superior? Would that allow for an extra 15% enhanced defense (and 1 base defense on the item)? I think that would bring the total up to 5471 defense, although it might be a bit higher depending on how D2 rounds in the various steps. Depending on whether it rounds down or up, that would be 601 base, x1.5 ethereal = 901 or 902, then x1.5 eth bug = 1351 or 1353, then 305% enhanced defense = 5471 or 5480.
llVIU: to me, i think the eth bug armor were in the game maybe 15 years? I think they removed I mean "fixed" it didn't they?
eduardturchyn3197: Is it possible to play these previous patches today and transfer there godly items in ROTW or not?
MegaStarfactor: I would love to see some kind of diablo 2 godly items iceberg that were super bugged(hence super powerful) but no longwr possible to drop/craft because they were patched out

Great video btw
tomlaundry4021: Well done sir
SirCottonman: Deeps rabbit holes? Elmer Fudd liked that.
deaDParrot88: Really cool video
Lovyxia: With all this defense you can truly have a chance to avoid taking damage from some specific enemy attacks while not moving if you're not unlucky! Wow!

These videos are interesting, but I really have a love-hate relationship with this game as I only got into D2 and D2R over a year ago and while I can see what made people fall in love with it I can also not ignore the clunky and weird dated design decisions and engine issues.

The most frustrating part isn't D2 but modern imitators thoughtlessly cloning elements, however, when it is to their detriment. As a piece of software, it really is a cool relic of the past to experience myself and learn from.

(So I hope my snark is seen as the "silly 2000s things" humor I intend and doesn't ruffle any feathers.)
Sysiu: diablo academy
OgD2Barb: That stone has insane defense. If only it was zod bugged ! Sik vid
cocomunga: That’s crazy that Larzuk gives 3 sockets to a crafted armor. That should still be a thing!
KilonBerlin: Cool, I missed the start of LoD largely as I continued to play classic until I made a "break" on 1.09d...
cattycats4: Eth bug Prudence was the playable one 3645 defence with repair
gengeros330: Act 5 music is best music in the game.