Grief is a very powerful runeword for swords and axes, both for PvM and PvP players. Melee characters will find their damage output greatly improved by this runeword. It is a very popular choice among Smite Paladins, for reasons discussed below.
This runeword is only available for ladder characters.
Requirements:
A sword or ax with 5 slots
Runes (in order): Eth + Tir + Lo + Mal + Ral
Statistics:
35% chance to cast level 15 poison on hit
+30-40% increased attack speed
Damage +340-400
Ignore target’s defense
-25% Target Defense
+(1.875 per character level) 1.875-185.625% damage to demons (based on character level)
Adds 5-30 Fire Damage
-20-25% to enemy poison resistance
20% Mortal Blow
Prevent monster healing
+2 mana after each kill
+10-15 health after each kill
Here’s the breakdown:
35% chance to cast level 15 poison on hit
Like all poison damage, the total damage dealt, or even the damage dealt per second, is secondary to what most players see as the real benefit of dealing poison damage: the ability to reduce the regeneration rate of poisons. monsters to zero for a short time. In Hell mode, where monsters are exponentially tougher and have faster regeneration rates, the chance to reduce that rate to 0, with a 35% chance to hit, is a nice little extra ability to have. However, it is tied to your attack rating: the better you can hit monsters, the more chance you have for Venom to activate.
+30-40% increased attack speed (varies)
Less than the +60% IAS offered by the Breath of the Dying runeword, but unlike BOTD, you can place the Grief runeword on a phase sheet (explained below), allowing you to break the maximum breakpoint also.
Damage +340-400 (varies)
This mod is the main attraction of Grief Runeword.
Instead of a percentage increase to your weapon damage, it adds an absolute amount to your weapon damage. What this means is that since the +300-400 damage is not affected by weapon damage, you can use this Runeword on a Phase Blade, a weapon that has lower damage compared to the highly prized Berserker Axe. , but it is a faster weapon. This makes it much easier to break the maximum break point while dealing very good damage.
Note: This damage mod is one of the few that works with the Paladin’s Smite ability, which explains why the Grief runeword is so popular with strikers.
Ignore target’s defense
This ability does not work on champions, uniques, bosses, or players. Smite’s paladins will also find this ability useless, as Smite automatically hits his target.
-25% Target Defense
The penalty to Target Defense is halved against major enemy types, as is the Ignore Target’s Defense ability described above.
+(1.875 per character level) 1.875-185.625% damage to demons (based on character level)
Most of the important monsters in the game are demons, so having this ability is useful. But the increased damage to demons doesn’t work with the paladin’s Smite ability.
Adds 5-30 Fire Damage:
An embarrassingly small amount of damage…not one of the highlights.
-20-25% to enemy poison resistance (varies)
This is less useful than you think. Due to the immunity mechanic in the game, this usually subtracts only about 5% of the poison resistance.
20% Mortal Blow
Not only do you get the pure damage of the +340-400 mod mentioned above, but you also get 20% Mortal Strike as icing on the cake! Use a Highlord’s Wrath and a couple of Gore Riders for a Deadly Strike build, and it will significantly increase your average damage output.
Prevent monster healing
Does not work on boss monsters or players.
Resume:
A note on Grief: the pure bonus damage is not shown on the character screen, but you will definitely see your character dealing a much higher amount of damage compared to what is listed there.
There are some mods on Grief Runeword that are relatively useless, but in terms of damage output, this Runeword is a boon for Smiters or any melee character that enjoys dealing high amounts of damage (basically everyone!).
