Last Wish

Last Wish is the most expensive runeword in Diablo 2 Resurrected, requiring an astronomical investment of three Jah runes, one Ber, one Sur, and one Mal in six-socket swords, hammers, or axes. This ultimate trophy weapon offers comprehensive utility with Level 17 Might Aura When Equipped, massive Crushing Blow, and defensive procs—but struggles to justify its extreme cost against cheaper, more powerful alternatives.

The Complete Package Problem

Last Wish delivers everything a melee character could theoretically want: +330-375% Enhanced Damage, 60-70% Crushing Blow, Ignore Target's Defense, 6% Chance to Cast Level 11 Fade When Struck, 10% Chance to Cast Level 18 Life Tap on Striking, and Prevent Monster Heal. The Level 17 Might aura adds 200% off-weapon enhanced damage, while the built-in magic find bonus scales with character level up to nearly 50%.

The issue isn't that Last Wish is bad—it's that almost every benefit overlaps with existing best-in-slot gear. Guillaume's Face and Gore Rider already provide substantial Crushing Blow. Dracul's Grasp offers Life Tap plus Open Wounds. Treachery or a simple Fade proc covers resistances. Act 2 Offensive mercenaries provide Might aura. When you factor in these redundancies, Last Wish's effective value diminishes significantly compared to its massive rune cost.

The Grief Comparison

This is where Last Wish's value proposition collapses. Grief costs one Lo rune and absolutely destroys Last Wish in damage output. Grief's flat damage bonus (340-400) gets added directly to weapon damage before percentage multipliers apply, creating absurd damage numbers even in fast, low-damage bases like Phase Blades. Last Wish's percentage-based enhanced damage simply cannot compete, particularly when made in Phase Blade—the preferred base due to the complete lack of innate IAS on the runeword.

Against regular enemies, Grief wins decisively. Against Ubers, Grief still performs better on Smiters, though Last Wish remains competitive for Kicksins (who don't benefit from Grief's +damage) and dual-wielding Barbarians who can pair Last Wish with Grief. The math is brutal: a perfect Last Wish in Phase Blade delivers 116-131 effective damage before multipliers. A perfect Grief delivers 431-435. The three Jah runes alone could create multiple endgame characters worth of gear.

Niche Applications

Uber Kicksins

Martial Arts Assassins using Dragon Talon or Dragon Tail benefit from Last Wish's Crushing Blow and Life Tap without needing Grief's +damage (which doesn't apply to kicks). However, Stormlash often outperforms Last Wish even here, making it a secondary option.

Hybrid Paladins

Fist of the Heavens/Zeal hybrids appreciate Last Wish's magic find bonus and comprehensive stats for farming flexibility. The ability to handle any content without weapon swapping has appeal, though this represents an extremely expensive convenience rather than necessity.

Act 5 Mercenaries

Some players advocate Last Wish for Barbarian mercenaries, where the Might aura, Crushing Blow, and Life Tap create a self-sufficient tank. This is arguably Last Wish's best use case, though the investment remains questionable when Act 2 mercenaries with cheaper gear setups perform comparably.

The Missing Pieces

Last Wish's most glaring weaknesses are the lack of IAS and Attack Rating bonuses. The zero innate IAS forces players into Phase Blade bases (which have terrible base damage) or requires significant off-weapon IAS investment through Fanaticism auras, IAS gear, or both. The absence of AR bonuses becomes problematic against champions, uniques, and bosses when using skills other than Smite, requiring additional AR stacking from other gear slots.

The Hit Blinds Target modifier actively works against you in many scenarios, as blindness curses enemies and prevents Life Tap from applying to blinded targets. This creates frustrating situations where your defensive curse interferes with your sustain mechanic.

Base Selection

• Phase Blade - The overwhelming choice due to indestructibility and fast base speed, compensating for zero IAS on the runeword
• Berserker Axe - Higher damage base for characters with strong IAS sources, particularly dual-wielding Barbarians
• Colossus Blade - Maximum damage potential but requires extreme IAS investment to be viable

The Trophy Weapon Reality

Last Wish exists as D2R's ultimate vanity project—a weapon you make after exhausting every other meaningful progression goal. Three Jah runes and a Ber could instead create Enigma, two Dreams, Faith, and still have change left over. Those items would transform multiple characters. Last Wish transforms your ability to say you own the game's most expensive runeword.

For players with unlimited wealth seeking to min-max magic find hybrid builds or create unique mercenary setups, Last Wish delivers comprehensive stats that look impressive on paper. For everyone else, the opportunity cost is simply too severe. Make Grief. Make it in multiple bases if you want variety. Save those Jah runes for items that will actually change how your characters play, not just how expensive your gear is.