To make an Obedience polearm in Diablo 2: Resurrected, you need to spell out the runeword ‘HelKoThulEthFal’ by adding a Hel rune, a Ko rune, a Thul rune, an Eth rune, and a Fal rune to a 5-socket polearm. Remember, you must add them in exactly that order; otherwise, the runeword will not work. Five runes is a lot, but they’re all relatively easy to find, so this might be one runeword recipe where the base is more challenging to obtain than the runes.
You might find a 5-socket polearm early in the game on Nightmare difficulty. For more effective farming, you’re better off on the Secret Cow Level or else the second half of the game on Nightmare difficulty or any Act on Hell difficulty. Or you can use the Horadric Cube or Larzuk to add sockets to a normal polearm. But if you go with that option, it’ll have to be a polearm that will (or in the case of the Cube recipe, at least can) get five sockets. So, no Bardiches or Voulges, nothing before Act II Nightmare, and nothing much later than that either. A Scythe or Poleaxe is probably your safest bet.
Related: How to make an Infinity polearm in Diablo 2: Resurrected
Eth is a very low-level rune that you’ll almost certainly get by chance during a Normal difficulty playthrough. Thul is likely to be dropped on Normal too, but if not, it should show up early in the game on Nightmare. Farm it at the Hellforge on Normal, or The Countess on Nightmare or Hell if you really have to. Hel starts dropping on Act I Nightmare, Ko on Act II Nightmare, and Fal on Act III Nightmare. Hel can be farmed from both the Hellforge and The Countess on Nightmare or Hell. Ko and Fal can also be farmed from the Hellforge on Nightmare or Hell, but is only dropped by The Countess on Hell.
Like most polearm runewords, Obedience is a popular choice for the Desert Mercenary, as it will both dramatically increase the damage he does and dramatically decrease the damage he takes. Obedience’s full range of bonuses is as follows:
- 30% Chance To Cast Level 21 Enchant When You Kill An Enemy
- 40% Faster Hit Recovery
- +370% Enhanced Damage
- -25% Target Defense
- Adds 3-14 Cold Damage 3 Second Duration (Normal)
- -25% To Enemy Fire Resist
- 40% Chance of Crushing Blow
- +200-300 Defense
- +10 To Strength
- +10 To Dexterity
- All Resistances +20-30
- Requirements -20%
