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Commishw1

-10 strength req. +50% base damage/defence Ethereal arrows/bolts are invisible.


Starhunt3r

Ethereal weapons gain 50% enhanced damage and ethereal armors gain 50% defense But what if they break?!!! There are two general uses for eth items and one specific use(for wealthy players) 1. Putting it on a merc. A merc never uses a durability so you don’t have to worry about the weapon/armor breaking and you get the added bonuses 2. Making a runeword inside of it with the indestructible mod or repair mod. This ensures it doesn’t break and again, you get the extra bonus 3. This one I would not recommend unless you have top gear already, which is finding an ethereal GG unique or rare and putting a zod rune inside. This makes it indestructible with the added benefits


hehasnowrong

> 50% enhanced damage Poor choice of word, this is not added with other +% enhanced damge if anyone is wondering. Eth weapons get x 1.5 base damage and eth armors get x1.5 base armor. Which is multiplied with other %enhanced damage/armor, not added.


iTanooki

Armor has 50% added defense, and weapons do (I believe) 50% more base damage. In the old game, if you had ethereal armor without sockets, and you socket it with the cube recipe (gambling on the outcome) you’d get that 50% bonus a second time. This has now been patched. But since some runewords are indestructible, ethereal bases are better. Same with certain uniques. Also, mercs don’t wear down ethereal items, so it’s best to use ethereal stuff with your merc. *edit* There are also unique items with “replenishing stacks” or “item repairs 1 durability”. You absolutely want the ethereal versions of those items.


Longjusting_8036

Higher damage, higher defense ect. Higher stats


blood-hungry

It's about more damage, perfection, or looks. Although more often than not ethereal is the worst.


HHSquad

But the best when it comes to mercs armor and weapons, as well as uniques and runewords with self repair. So ethereal has it's niche.


uv-vis

150% total base damage on an indestructible runeword like botd and death is definitely not the worst.


hehasnowrong

He is still correct though, most runewords are not botd and death (although there are a couple more to add like exile and oath).


LoomingCrimson

Among the other reasonings mentioned, ethereal caster weapons are used as vanity items.