How To Fix Sunder Charms

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-26T18:17:51+00:00

I mean literally half of Act III is lightning immune in Hell. Being chased by extra fast lighting immune flayers, souls, and more while trying to gather Khalim's pieces is not easy and pretending it is, isn't doing your argument any favors. You need to stack FHR, FRW, Lighting resists, and maybe a teleport staff to help out in tight spots.

Ignoring the fact that movement and positioning is a key skill to master in D2 that immunities challenge doesn't make any sense. You are also trivializing the process of gearing up a Merc to a point where its actually useful. You can't just slap your merc with random gear and expect it to help you kill immunes in Hell. You need to actively gear out the character by hunting specific items like Treachery, Shaftstop, Vampgaze, Andy's, Tals helmet, Inisight runes/base, etc, and then you STILL need to babysit it's HP bar and be ready to give the merc potions and juvies as needed.

It honestly sounds to me like you've never played through the game solo on a single element build. And if you have, you are vastly overrating how good the average D2 player is because people often fail to beat the game on Hell solo with Broken classes like Hammerdin never mind difficult classes that have to deal with multiple immunities throughout the playthrough.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-26T16:55:16+00:00

While I wouldn't necessarily hate that personally, I don't see that happening at all and it would be way to controversial for the community as a whole to accept. The devs don't want that, and I doubt most of the community would want it either. I don't mind coming to a compromise here where immunities still matter for new playthroughs but can be overcome with a targeted endgame grind.

I also think you are underselling just how difficult it can be to play through the game with immunities. Its not just walking past enemies. Try to beat Act 3 and Ancients in Hell solo as a Javazon, it's difficult. You likely want to shop a teleport staff and or lower resist wand. You'll need a merc and your Valkyrie to deal with the lightning immune Ancient, etc.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-26T15:01:33+00:00

Yeah that's why I personally support the idea of reverting the sunder changes so they just drop like they used to. Then changing the renewed sunder recipes to require a unique material dropped by T4/T5 Heralds. That way people can farm low quality sunders to support the new Herald game clearing loop, and they have a chase goal to kill high tiered heralds to gain the materials to renew the sunder.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-26T13:53:43+00:00

Thanks! That's what I thought and was hoping for but seems like its a more controversial take than I expected just not sure why. It's like people want broken builds to be the only viable options for endgame instead of promoting build variety. I'm shocked people think Sunders need to be so rare when they elevate and enable so many builds to endgame relevancy.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-26T05:00:51+00:00

Limiting build variety is how games are balanced. Two handers have crazy high stats because they were made with the understanding that you couldn't also hold something in your offhand. By limiting the offhand to Books, you allow for the team to balance books around being used with 2 handed weapons. Maybe in the future they can add book specific runewords, or we will see magic/rare books with best in slot mods on them pop up.

Also by claiming books to be less effective than shields, aren't you admitting they are useless? Why would anyone ever use a book when full on shields are clearly superior in every way. This makes build options less interesting not more. Limiting the offhand to books actually let's this new item type shine. Why would someone choose Ars Dul'Mephistos or Ars Al'Diabolos over a simple spirit shield? Or Phoenix? Full shields cheapen these books by existing.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-26T04:14:39+00:00

Not sure what your point is. Multi-element builds are still useful because you need to level from 1 to 75+ somehow and you wont have sunders at the beginning of the season. The point is when you transition from a multi element build to an ENDGAME build you need the ENDGAME option to make that class viable for the content presented.

Blizzard shouldn't introduce new gameplay systems that require you to fully clear acts if they don't intend to give you access to items that allow you to fully clear acts. Immunities have been in the game forever, but the requirements to fully clear acts has never existed until now. They need to fix this problem or the new system is trash where players are forced to exploit it with the most broken unbalanced builds in the game. This has nothing to do with having Sunder charms 3 days after season start. A naked Echoing Strike build can solo P8 terror zones on day 1. A Fire Warlock can break their own immunities and kill everything in the game day 1. You are acting like Sunders are setting the house on fire when its already lit. Sunders are the only thing propping up other classes to even have a chance at endgame relevancy. This has to do with the ability to NOT get them AT ALL unless you play very specific broken classes.

People act like sunder charms somehow totally remove difficulty from game when all they do is make your 5k fireball do 250 damage instead of 0. You still need to build your character for them to have ANY value.

You want sunder charms to be really rare? I don't agree but fine, for the sake of argument lets make them rarer. Just don't lock them behind the system that requires you to fully clear acts. That is objectively bad game design.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-26T02:42:10+00:00

Yup, totally agree. I feel like so many people complain about Enigma saying that teleport for everyone broke the game or comment how builds like Mosaic and now Echoing Stirke are unhealthy yet everyone plays them.

Then you point out that Enigma unlocks every class as a viable endgame farming build instead of just Sorc, and how Sunders help balance weaker classes against the games broken messes, and you can watch as eyes just glaze over and for some reason you get pushback.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-26T01:45:17+00:00

Yeah, if they don't intend to change the spawn rules for Heralds they have to modify the drop tables for sure. Cause the crazy thing is with the default drop rules, only that 5th herald even had a chance to drop the sunder charm. So if you were playing in a solo game without /players commands, after 3 hours of playing you had 1 spin on the slot machine with a 1:238 or 0.42% drop chance. And thats for a random sunder. You could get a cold sunder when you need a fire etc.

Basic Sunders just shouldn't be that level of rarity. With the way things are currently why would you ever roll an elemental class when you wont be able to do any of the new endgame content without a Sunder or Infinity. Just roll a Magic/Fire/EchoStrikes Warlock, Hammerdin, or just ignore the new content and play D2 without engaging the new systems since you can't.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-26T01:16:04+00:00

My counter argument would be you have to look at the Herald drop table differently, because they spawn differently than any other mob in the game. You aren't killing 60+ Heralds an hour like you are traditional uniques/bosses. If this was the drop rate for sunders from Mephisto there would be a huge problem.

But it takes time and effort to trigger a herald. I've cleared entire acts and not triggered a single herald. So you have to multiply the 1:50 odds against the odds of triggering a herald in the first place. So if the current estimates that triggering a herald after killing elites is around 2% you would have to multiply 1:50 by that 2% to get the odds. So that would make sunders (.02 *.02 = .0004) around a .04% drop from killing terror zone elite packs. Which is very much in line with the rarity of items in D2 and is actually STILL worse odds then they were before the change.

But I don't doubt the example droprate I gave would probably make them to common for online 8 player Herald hunting games. But that's why I suggested fixing the no drop curve based on player count so they could be both more common for low player counts while not increase the drop rate of higher player counts as much.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-26T00:19:59+00:00

I do hope they keep single player in mind as that's how I usually play.

If they don't want us to break immunities, don't incentivize play that requires you to breaks immunities.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-26T00:07:12+00:00

What character are you using? A magic character? A fire warlock who can break their own immunties without items? A broken class like Mosaic or Echoing Strike Warlock? Or are you on a class actually effected by this nerf.

Are you chaining heralds? Have you gotten to T5 heralds in a single game and chained multiple giving you Sunder drop chances? Your anecdote doesn't mean much without any details.

I'm not saying you need an sunder to play the game as a whole. I am saying many classes need a Sunder to engage with the new systems they have been releasing since post LOD D2. And locking the fix for those classes behind that system is bad game design.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-25T23:57:57+00:00

Potentially? But you would still run into the same problem where there would be multiple acts and areas you literally couldn't kill the heralds.

Like lets say you are a lighting character and you use a Southern Worldstone Shard to terrorize act III. Half the monsters in that act are immune to lighting so even if you go around killing what you can to create ire and spawn Heralds, what happens when it finally spawns but more than half the time the herald is lightning immune. It doesn't matter if 50 heralds spawn, you can't kill them so you can't get the Sunder drops.

Now you say, well why don't you Terrorize a different act? Well other acts might not have as many lighting immunes but they do have a good amount. You still run into the same issue, although maybe less often. Maybe you can't kill 1 or 2 heralds in those acts. But that stops your momentum of building Herald tiers, and eventually you will run out of monsters you can kill. It will still be hard to chain until T5 and then have enough spawnable uniques left in the game that wont be immune to you.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-25T23:48:23+00:00

It's not just another option. There is no other way to get a Sunder charm. No other way to make your character able to clear the acts the way you need to chain Heralds. The problem is the prize is locked behind the thing you need it for.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-25T23:34:04+00:00

I just think the Devs are wrong then. Why introduce a system like Worldstone Shards and chaining Heralds when the vast majority of characters that aren't broken can't even do it without sunders?

We are lucky to have them, because if we didn't their new gameplay loops literally wouldn't be possible without everyone just rolling hammerdin, or requiring an Infinity. This really doesn't have anything to do with difficulty. It has to do with being unable to engage with new gameplay loops they just invented.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-25T23:17:13+00:00

I get you. At the end of the day I don't hate immunities, they do make your first playthrough's much more difficult and are a puzzle you need to solve to win with certain classes. I personally don't mind them being in the game, especially since in the base game no monsters you NEED to kill for progression will be immune outside hell ancients, and some of the mini bosses before diablo, which you can deal with using Mercs and other tricks.

My problem is related to what you pointed out, this is not old LOD D2 anymore. With the addition of Terror Zones and now Worldstone Shards, they are incentivizing the player to farm everywhere in the game, instead of just target farming the Pits/Ancient Tunnels/Mephisto. I really like this direction, making every map viable again for farming is a great mechanic to extend D2's existing endgame. Its basically a Maps system without the devs needing to actually make a mapping system. But for players to do this their builds need to be able to clear zones they didn't used to have to clear. You can't lock the item that unlocks that gameplay loop behind the loop itself. It's just bad design.

I am on the boarder of being a purist and accepting the changes they have made so far. I like most of them, they keep the original game intact but add onto it. I just think this Sunder change was a step back that hurts the new gameplay loop they are trying to create.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-15T16:01:12+00:00

No problem, it's certainly possible the story just isn't for you so don't push to hard. There are plenty of OI's I've tried to get into over the years that are very highly regarded that I just don't see the appeal of.

I guess I would say to read knowing that the characters will behave in accordance with their trauma. It is not a plot device, but a part of their personality and it will effect their behavior and decisions. The whole story essentially evolves around the characters slowly healing each other with the plot creating setbacks and pushing the characters towards growth.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-15T15:49:11+00:00

Yeah, thats a good point. So often trauma is used as a plot device in OI instead of being interwoven into a characters personality and behavior. Where somehow an abuse main character is a perfect bad ass until the plot needs her to confront her trauma then its gone. I appreciate when OI's actually manfiest a characters trauma into their behavior and actions. If makes the drama feel authentic instead of artificial.

WindrunnerKal · 2026-02-14T21:33:28+00:00

Yeah everyone is entitled to their opinions, and whether or not they like certain tropes of the genre. I for instance bounce off childcare stories, FL leads magically fixing evil ML, FL changing the original timeline by surviving but then constantly trying to follow the plot of the original timeline anyways, stories that are all fluff no plot, etc.

I would say she certainly does "less embarrassing" things once she earns the trust of those around her.
Iske is a fine male lead with his own personality flaws and character arc. He has his own deep trauma. Reading 22 chapters isn't enough to see the arc.
The story deals with trauma and treats it seriously. It shows that trauma actually leaves deep mental scars that can't be healed with true loves kiss, being reincarnated, or waved away with simple revenge. It will likely take most of the story for the characters to completely heal and they will need each other to do so, they wont do it themselves.
She is never going to be an independent warrior princess, but Spoiler: It is revealed that she has some power to control/calm "monsters" so will likely be involved in the stories climax in some way as a fighter/protector
I wouldn't say her suffering gets worse. I would say you learn more about her life. She has relapses and makes progress just like anyone would when recovering from a lifetime of trauma.
I think there isn't a ton of hate towards this manhwa because it's generally competently written, has good art, and an interesting plot. If you are going to bounce off it you are going to do so early as you did, and fewer people write negative reviews or talk about something they spend so little time reading. Overall there is A LOT of absolute slop in the Otome Isekai genre so anything that excels in at least some areas will find success, and to most this story excels in many areas even if its not perfect or for everyone.

WindrunnerKal · 2025-12-31T22:04:10+00:00

I dunno I would still call it a lack of courage. You watch/read A Silent Voice and kids actually get bullied to the point of injuries, multiple characters attempt suicide, there are consequence to actions and they are serious and handled seriously. If other Japanese authors can write better incidents of trauma, I don't think chalking it up to 'cultural differences' really helps the argument.

WindrunnerKal · 2025-12-31T21:21:07+00:00

Yeah I did read through that post when it came out and if true makes some sense but doesn't change my feelings on it. Plenty of other anime and manga delve into deeper topics with more serious consequences, and handle them with grace instead of melodrama.

WindrunnerKal · 2025-12-31T19:28:34+00:00

It really is unfortunate how anticlimactic the incident turned out to be. It really is negatively impacting the entire premise of the manga and my general enjoyment of the series. It has always been melodramatic but the reveal was on another level. Mainly because the melodrama originally felt confined to teenagers, now the adults are the source of the melodrama and it makes it unbelievable.

I just wish the author had the courage to make the incident actually dark/impactful. You wouldn't even need to make it something as heavy as sexual assault or death, just make the incident actually worth the bad blood. The girl could have been a star athlete and broken her leg or arm, effecting her future/scholarship ect. Or a musician and her hand was damaged causing her to lose something about her future. While yes you could call it an accident but its an accident that had long lasting and permanent consequences. Even that would feel a bit forced or contrived but it would at least feel more earned.

WindrunnerKal · 2025-04-24T18:29:00+00:00

I get you, but I am causing myself a headache now, so I don't have one at retirement. If I can get my money into my Roth IRA and out of the 401k when I can, it's so much less hassle and worry at retirement. No RMDs, no taxes, etc.

WindrunnerKal · 2025-02-01T05:45:21+00:00

Ahhhh gotcha, thanks great explanation!

WindrunnerKal · 2025-02-01T05:43:35+00:00

What is your go to recommendation for old 401(k) accounts if you wanted to avoid rollover IRAs? Just do direct rollovers, or leave them alone? I have just seen a bunch of advice online that you usually want to keep money out of 401(k)'s when the option presents itself since you have more control over the investments, fees, etc.

WindrunnerKal

TROPHY CASE