Goblin Toe

Goblin Toe unique boots hold a special place in Diablo 2 Resurrected as the highest Crushing Blow boots available to players. These unassuming Light Plated Boots offer an impressive 25% chance of Crushing Blow, making them a budget-friendly powerhouse for physical damage builds tackling high-health enemies and bosses.

Understanding Crushing Blow

Crushing Blow is a combat mechanic that removes a percentage of an enemy's current remaining health with each successful hit. Against normal enemies, melee attacks deal 25% of current health, while against Champions, Uniques, and Bosses, the effect is reduced to 12.5%. This makes Crushing Blow exceptionally valuable against enemies with massive health pools, where the percentage-based damage far exceeds normal physical damage output.

Goblin Toe's 25% Crushing Blow is the highest available on any boots in the game, surpassing even the elite Gore Rider boots which only offer 15% Crushing Blow (though Gore Rider compensates with additional offensive stats like Open Wounds and Deadly Strike).

Best Uses & Builds

Uber Tristram Smiters

Goblin Toe truly shines in Uber Tristram content, where Smiter Paladins rely heavily on Crushing Blow to efficiently defeat the Uber bosses' enormous health pools. When combined with other Crushing Blow items like Guillaume's Face (35% CB) and Dracul's Grasp gloves, players can achieve 90-100% total Crushing Blow chance. For Smiters specifically, Goblin Toe is often preferred over Gore Rider because the Smite skill cannot trigger Deadly Strike, making Gore Rider's primary advantage irrelevant.

Physical Damage Builds

Beyond Smiters, Goblin Toe benefits any melee build fighting bosses and high-health enemies, including Barbarians, Zealot Paladins, and Fury Druids. The boots provide excellent value during mid-game progression before players can afford more expensive endgame alternatives.

When to Upgrade

Goblin Toe can be upgraded through the Horadric Cube using upgrade recipes, transforming them first to Battle Boots (Exceptional) and then to Mirrored Boots (Elite). Upgrading increases defense and kick damage but also raises strength requirements from 50 to 95 (Exceptional) and eventually 163 (Elite). Most players choose to upgrade once their build can meet the higher strength requirements without sacrificing other gear choices.

Eventually, many builds transition to War Traveler boots for magic find farming or Gore Rider for the additional offensive bonuses, but Goblin Toe remains the budget king for pure Crushing Blow efficiency.

Trading Value & Availability

Goblin Toe is readily available and trades for minimal value, typically 5-10 Perfect Gems or low-mid tier runes like Lem or Pul. This accessibility makes them an excellent choice for budget builds and fresh ladder starts. The enhanced defense roll (50-60% ED) has minimal impact on value, as players primarily seek these boots for the Crushing Blow rather than defensive stats.