Season 16 Endgame Uniques: Patch 3.4 Buffs Ranked
Eight endgame uniques got Patch 3.4 buffs. Here is our on-paper ranking, who wants each item, what it has to beat, and which ones are still probably not good enough. Everything is a prediction until Season 16 is played.
Ranked on paper, Ethereal Edge is the Patch 3.4 endgame buff most likely to matter, followed by Veil of Steel and Executioner's Justice. Swordguard and Earthshaker are still probably not good enough to change anyone's build.
All eight changes apply to Reign of the Warlock on Online Ladder and Offline. Online Non-Ladder, Classic and Lord of Destruction keep the old stats. Season 16 hasn't launched, so this is a ranking from the numbers, not from play, and it will move once people test things. The changes come from Blizzard's Season 16 announcement, and the before-and-after lines are in our Patch 3.4 notes breakdown.
Best Season 16 Uniques, Ranked
Per-hit figures below use the method from our Eternity breakdown: base weapon average damage, character level 99, midpoint rolls, ethereal bases at +50% base damage.
The Top Three: Ethereal Edge, Veil, Executioner's Justice
Ethereal Edge is an always-ethereal, indestructible Silver-edged Axe. It now rolls +220-260% ED (up from +150-180%), +40% IAS (up from 25%) and +2-198 maximum damage by character level. That works out to about 538 per hit. A Grief on the same ethereal axe lands near 499, or about 599 once its Deadly Strike counts, and an Eternity axe near 727. So it probably doesn't beat the runewords, but it asks for no runes, and it adds +150-200% damage to demons. Barbarians and Paladins on two-handers should want it, and they should expect a Strength check, since the axe base asks for 166.
Veil of Steel gains +2 to all skills, 15-25% physical damage reduction and 20-40% magic resist, on top of +50 to all resistances. It is a very strong defensive helm on paper, but the Spired Helm needs 192 Strength, which most casters will never reach. We compare it line by line in Veil of Steel vs Shako.
Executioner's Justice gets +260-300% ED and +40% IAS, and trades a Decrepify kill proc for a 25% chance of level 13 Amplify Damage. A Glorious Axe averages 92, so a non-ethereal one is about 350 per hit, a fair way behind Grief. An ethereal drop reaches about 524 and makes it competitive. Without an ethereal copy, we'd pick Grief.
Niche Picks: Lava Gout, Grim's Burning Dead, Demonhorn's Edge
Lava Gout is the sleeper. It goes from Half Freeze Duration to Cannot Be Frozen, and the Enchant proc rises from 2% to 5%. Cannot Be Frozen on gloves should give a melee character an answer to freezing without spending a helm, shield or weapon slot, and it keeps +20% IAS and fire damage. It has to beat Chance Guards for a magic find runner and Magefist for a caster, and it probably won't. A Hardcore melee build is the likelier home.
Grim's Burning Dead gets +4 Necromancer skill levels (up from 3), +3-5 to Fire Golem and a 15% chance to reanimate a Burning Dead Archer. The Grim Scythe does about 312 per hit with its fire damage added. The catch is that it is two-handed, so a summoner gives up a shield. It must beat your current weapon and shield together, and the Fire Golem line is only for a fire-themed Necromancer. Worth testing, not a default.
Demonhorn's Edge doubles its IAS to 20% and adds +1 to Barbarian skills. Arreat's Face still gives +2 Barbarian skills, 30% FHR, +20 Strength, +20 Dexterity and +30 to all resistances at level 42. Demonhorn's Edge needs level 61 and brings the IAS and thorns, so unless you are short on IAS we'd keep the Face.
Probably Not Good Enough Yet: Earthshaker and Swordguard
Earthshaker's only change is +3-5 to Fire Claw for Druids. It already had +3 Elemental skills, +30% IAS and a Fissure proc, so the hammer is where it was: about 130 per hit on a Battle Hammer. It has to beat the weapon and shield your Druid already runs, and Fire Claw does nothing for a Fissure build. Only a Druid mixing in shapeshifting cares. A footnote.
Swordguard has the longest list of changes: all resistances at +20-30, Replenish Life, Attacker Takes Damage of 15-25 and more ED. Almost all of it is defense on a weapon with no IAS and no leech. We'd wait for real play before calling it good, and we expect it stays a curiosity.
FAQ
Which Patch 3.4 endgame unique is the best?
On paper, Ethereal Edge for weapon damage and Veil of Steel for defense. Neither is tested yet, and Veil needs 192 Strength. Our item value guide covers how to judge what a buffed unique is worth.
Does Lava Gout's Cannot Be Frozen apply on Non-Ladder?
No. Cannot Be Frozen on Lava Gout is a Patch 3.4 change for Online Ladder and Offline. Non-Ladder keeps Half Freeze Duration.
Is Swordguard worth using after the buffs?
Probably not as a main weapon. It now has real defense, but it still lacks the speed and leech lines melee builds lean on. Try it only if you want a defensive experiment.
Test the Rankings With a Team
Rankings only get settled in play, and endgame content wants a group anyway. The LFG board lists runs for Chaos, Baal and Ubers, and the teams page shows who is recruiting for Season 16.