Duress

Duress is a versatile mid-tier runeword in Diablo 2 Resurrected created with Shael + Um + Thul in any 3-socket body armor. Designed for physical damage dealers, it combines offensive power with solid defensive stats, offering 15% crushing blow, 33% open wounds, and strong resistances at an affordable price point.

Physical Damage Power

Duress excels at amplifying physical damage through percentage-based mechanics. The 33% chance of open wounds causes bleeding damage over time, which is particularly effective against bosses and high-health targets like Uber Diablo. The 15% chance of crushing blow removes large chunks of enemy health based on their maximum HP, making it valuable for quickly eliminating tough enemies. Combined with +10-20% enhanced damage and adds 37-133 cold damage, Duress provides respectable offensive capability for the cost.

Defensive Versatility

Beyond offense, Duress offers excellent survivability with +150-200% enhanced defense, +40% faster hit recovery, and impressive resistances: cold resist +45%, lightning resist +15%, fire resist +15%, and poison resist +15%. The high cold resistance is particularly valuable for Hell difficulty, and the faster hit recovery helps prevent stunlock from enemy attacks. The -20% slower stamina drain adds minor quality of life.

Best Uses & Builds

Act 2 Mercenaries

Duress is exceptionally popular for Act 2 mercenaries due to its combination of crushing blow and open wounds, which help them kill bosses faster. The faster hit recovery and cold damage add defensive utility by preventing stunlock and chilling enemies. It serves as an excellent bridge between budget options like Treachery and endgame Fortitude.

Physical Melee Builds

• Barbarians - Frenzy, Whirlwind, and Berserker builds benefit from crushing blow and open wounds, though cold damage can interfere with horking corpses
• Paladins - Zealots and Smiters appreciate the crushing blow for Ubers, especially before acquiring Chains of Honor
• Amazons - Physical Bowazons can use Duress effectively, though it sits between Lionheart and Fortitude in damage output
• Druids - Fury Druids leverage the crushing blow for boss killing

Cold Damage Consideration

The adds 37-133 cold damage can be problematic for builds that rely on corpse mechanics, particularly Barbarians using Find Item (horking). Frozen corpses cannot be horked, making Duress less ideal for gold-finding or item-finding Barbarians. This is a major reason many players upgrade to Fortitude once available, though Duress remains excellent for mercenaries who don't need corpses.

Best Bases

For characters, use light elite armors like Archon Plate or Mage Plate to minimize strength requirements. For mercenaries, always use ethereal elite armors like Ethereal Archon Plate to maximize defense, as mercenary armor doesn't lose durability.

Budget & Progression

Duress is remarkably affordable—all three runes are obtainable in early Hell difficulty, with Um being the highest at level 47. It serves as an excellent mid-game armor that bridges the gap between early runewords and endgame options like Fortitude. Even after upgrading your character's armor, Duress remains valuable for mercenaries throughout the game.