To make a Crescent Moon sword in Diablo 2: Resurrected, you need to add a Shael rune, an Um rune, and a Tir rune to a 3-socket sword, in that order, to spell the runeword ‘ShaelUmTir’. You can also make the Crescent Moon runeword using an axe or a polearm as a base, but the sword is the most popular choice.
Crystal Swords are great for runewords, and these start dropping as early as the Tamoe Highland during Act I on Normal Difficulty. The Secret Cow Level is also a great place to look for socketed Crystal Swords. You’re generally better off looking for a 3-socket Crystal Sword on Normal difficulty, as on Nightmare and Hell, the 4-socket and 6-socket versions become more common, and those are no good for this runeword recipe. If you find a normal Crystal Sword, then remember you can add sockets using either the Horadric Cube or Larzuk in Act V. If you’d rather create a two-handed Crescent Moon sword, then pretty much any socketed two-handed sword you find on Normal difficulty should have three sockets.
Related: Diablo 2: Resurrected – what are resistances and how do they work?
Tir runes start dropping very early, possibly as early as Act II on Normal difficulty, and can be obtained from the Hellforge on Normal difficulty and The Countess on any difficulty. Shael runes also sometimes drop on Normal difficulty, but only on Act V. It’s more common on Nightmare difficulty, and can be obtained from the Hellforge on Nightmare, and from The Countess on Nightmare or Hell. Um is a harder rune to get. It won’t drop at all until Act IV on Nightmare difficulty. It can be obtained from the Hellforge on Nightmare or Hell, and from The Countess on Hell only.
Crescent Moon is an ideal runeword for any character wielding a lot of lightning because it weakens enemies’ lightning resistance. So if you’re focussing on Holy Shock with your Paladin, or if your Sorceress has a lot of high level lightning spells, then it’s well worth getting. Its full range of bonuses is as follows:
- 10% Chance To Cast Level 17 Chain Lightning On Striking
- 7% Chance To Cast Level 13 Static Field On Striking
- +20% Increased Attack Speed
- +180-220% Enhanced Damage
- Ignore Target’s Defense
- -35% To Enemy Lightning Resist
- 25% Chance of Open Wounds
- +9-11 Magic Absorb
- +2 To Mana After Each Kill
- Level 18 Summon Spirit Wolf (30 Charges)
