Finding Sojs with Magic Find
#1
Okay, I consider myself a D2 veteran, since I've been playing it off and on since it came out, yet I have never once held an Stone of Jorden ring in my inventory or stash. Well, after starting a new account after six months of inactivity, I quickly grew my sorceress to the mid seventies, and after many trades, have gotten my magic find up to around 300%.

I make a lot of boss runs (andariel and meph, specifically) in norm and nightmare to acquire items for starting other characters, including the occasional unique ring or ammy (more rings than ammies.) Now, I've found around five nagel rings and about seven manald rings, and it was my understanding that you need these two rings in your inventory, stash, or wearing them in order for the next unique ring to be the soj.

So why can't I find any?

Every unique ring I get is another nagel or manald. After a while, I noticed that norm meph dropped manalds, and norm andy dropped nagels, so I thought the monster level would affect it. I went and killed nightmare andy and she dropped another nagel ring! What am I doing wrong?
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#2
From the way you spoke, it seems like you are playing Diablo 2 Classic.

In previous versions, (back when there only were 3 unique rings) you would indeed need to have the nagel and the manald on your person to get a stone of jordan to drop. The reason this worked is because a unique could only spawn if it didn't exist anywhere in the game world when its drop occurred. As of now, I don't know if D2C still follows that... probably not, though.

Long story short, the way unique jewelry works is this : A unique ring has a .xxx% chance to be any given specific ring (different rings = different %s). As long as that specific unique ring hasn't been dropped in the current game, it still has a possibility to come up. And THAT means lots and lots of nagels/manalds, since they have the highest percentages.

Edit : Actually, all uniques work in that manner (As long as they haven't dropped yet in the current game, they still have a chance to drop)
Call HCGoodbye(gl,hf,dd)
*dahak_i
USEast HC
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#3
Are you playing LOD or D2 Classic?

The unique drop system is different than what it used to be. Under the old system, only one copy of a unique could exist in a game. Whenever a unique is about to be dropped, the game checks to see if the unique already exists in the game (if somebody is wearing one, in the inventory, on the ground somewhere).

If the unique exists, (I believe this is how it worked) it is instead downgraded to a set of the same item type (and a rare if no such set item exists for the item type). If the unique does NOT exist, then the unique will be created. If there are multiple uniques of the same item type (there were three unique rings in D2 classic, for example), the game will do a check on each of those items when creating a unique. For this reason, players kept a Manald and a Nagel in their inventory to ensure that whenever a unique ring dropped, it had to be a SOJ.

That was the old system. There are now no such limits on unique drops (at least in LOD. I'm not sure if that change was made to D2 classic). But back to your actual question...sorry, I don't know where a SOJ would be most likely to drop (that was a long explanation for an "I don't know"). I've heard that Hell Meph was best for SOJ hunting.

Edit: Damn your fast typing, dahak =P
Lahve and peace!
Lahve and peace!
Lahve and peace!
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#4
What are you doing wrong? Nothing. It's just that the odds of finding a SoJ are so abysmally low that you're going to have a truckload of other unique rings before you ever find that SoJ--if you ever do.

As others have pointed out, the Nagel-Manald-SoJ progression was only valid in Classic D2. It went out the window with LoD, so you can get rid of all those Nagelrings and Manald Heals if you want to--whether you have them or not makes no difference to the odds of the next unique ring being a SoJ.

What's your best bet for finding a SoJ? I offer the following quote from Dii.net's Item Generation Tutorial:

"...your best bet to find an SoJ is to kill monsters that are lvl 39-52, since they can't drop Dwarf Star or Raven Frost, which would cut your odds of a SoJ considerably. You have a 1/31 chance of a unique ring being an SoJ from Normal Diablo (40) or Nightmare Andariel (45), but Normal Baal (60) or Nightmare Mephisto (59), your odds are only 1/51."

Good luck.

-G.
Even the mountains
Last not forever:
Someday they, too, shall
Crumble to dust.
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#5
Ooh, thank you Grisy. Now I can finally get that SoJ that I have NEVER EVER gotten since I bought my first(illegal) copy of D2 way back in 2000... Yes, I finally got a legal version, and I've got a new computer too, so hopefully my brother and I can finally show the minions of Hell the true meaning of "Fear The Brothers" :P

Hmm, time to make a Diablo Mule. :P Would an Bowazon with maximum freeze charms and Freezing arrow do? :D Or maybe I should hold out till I get that Buriza and... LOL, I MUST RESIST THE URGE TO GO LAME! Whew, almost lost it there. :P
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#6
If you are just going to run normal diablo...

Make a sorc with max static and any other skill.

You'd be able to wipe diablo out (and anything else in normal) in just a few seconds.

Smithy
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#7
I am playing LoD; I just thought that the ring succession thing was carried over (I kind of got the idea after the first few drops.) Too bad I can't convert my sorc back to the regular and then go on mf runs. So, what are chances of all the unique rings dropping from each boss, and what are the chances to find the ammys?

Also, how would this work with gambling?
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#8
From Diabloii.net:

Quote:Nagel Ring CD2 Rarity: 483.9/1000
D2X Rarity: 283/1000
Item level: 10
Clvl req: 7

Manald Heal CD2 Rarity: 483.9/1000
D2X Rarity: 283/1000
Item level: 20
Clvl req: 15

The Stone of Jordan CD2 Rarity: 32.3/1000
D2X Rarity: 18.9/1000
Item level: 39
Clvl req: 29

Unique Rings in D2X

Dwarf Star Rarity: 188.7/1000
Item level: 53
Clvl req: 45
Raven Frost Rarity: 188.7/1000
Item level: 53
Clvl req: 45

Bul Kathos Wedding Band  Rarity: 18.9/1000
Item level: 66
Clvl req: 58

The Constricting Ring Rarity: 18.9/1000
Item level: 95
Clvl req: 95

and amulets...

Quote:Nokozan Relic CD2 Rarity: 571.4/1000
D2X Rarity: 285.7/1000
Item level: 14
Clvl req: 10

The Eye of Etlich CD2 Rarity: 142.9/1000
D2X Rarity: 71.4/100
Item level: 20
Clvl req: 15

The Mahim-Oak Curio * CD2 Rarity: 285.7/1000
D2X Rarity: 142.9/1000
Item level: 34
Clvl req: 25

Unique Amulets in D2X:

Saracen's Chance Rarity: 71.4/1000
Item level: 55
Clvl req: 47

The Cat's Eye Rarity: 71.4/1000
Item level: 58
Clvl req: 50

Crescent Moon Rarity: 71.4/1000
Item level: 58
Clvl req: 50

Atma's Scarab Rarity: 71.4/1000
Item level: 60
Clvl req: 60

The Rising Sun Rarity: 71.4/1000
Item level: 73
Clvl req: 65

Highlord's Wrath Rarity: 71.4/1000
Item level: 73
Clvl req: 65

Mara's Kaleidoscope * Rarity: 71.4/1000
Item level: 80
Clvl req: 67

Now, someone had a spreadsheet, did they not, as to which treasure classes were dropped by which monsters? I lost all of my old favorites a long time ago, so I can't find it.

Nonetheless, these stats alone should give you a decent idea as to which bosses are most likely to drop particular items.
But whate'er I be,
Nor I, nor any man that is,
With nothing shall be pleased till he be eased
With being nothing.
William Shakespeare - Richard II
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#9
Contricting Ring is currently not a valid drop.
--Lang

Diabolic Psyche - the site with Diablo on the Brain!
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#10
Chaerophon, the page you got that from at diabloii.net is not very accurate for the relative rarities of the unique rings and amulets. As already noted it even has The Constricting Ring listed, which was never enabled to drop.

Here is a listing that I posted there earlier that had parts included in the item generation on their site.


When the game spawns a unique or set item that can have more than one possible outcome the game will use this procedure.

Total up the rarity of all items that have a required spawning level (the level column in setitems.txt or uniqueitems.txt) equal or less than the ilvl of the being generated. It will then randomly select one of the items from the list based on their rarity values. This makes the chance for any particular item to be rarity/total_rarity. If there are no items that can be spawned at that ilvl then the game will downgrade the item by the following:
Set->magical with x2 durability
Unique->rare with x3 durability
If the game selects a unique that has already spawned, then it will be downgraded also. There is no filtering of the already spawned items.

This most often comes into play with rings and amulets as these 2 base items have the most alternate possibilities.

Here is a list of the 1.09 rings and amulets (set and unique). The Item Level is the minimum ilvl need to spawn that item. The rarity is the relative rarity of the item. The total rarity is the total of the rarities up to that particular ilvl. To find the total rarity look for the highest Item Level that does not go above the ilvl you checking against and use that to calculate the chances in the formula rarity/total_rarity.

Code:
Set Rings         Item Level        rarity      total rarity
Cathan's Seal     15                7           7
Angelic Halo      17                3           10

Set Amulets       Item Level        rarity      total rarity
Civerb's Icon     13                7           7
Cathan's Sigil    15                7           14
Angelic Wings     17                7           21
Vidala's Snare    19                7           28
Arcanna's Sign    20                1           29
Iratha's Collar   21                7           36
Tal Rasha's Adj.  26                1           37
Tancred's Weird   27                7           44
Telling of Beads  39                1           45

Unique Rings      Item Level        rarity      total rarity
Nagelring         10                15          15
Manald Heal       20                15          30
Stone of Jordan   39                 1          31
Dwarf Star        53                10          51
Raven Frost       53                10          51
Bul Katho's W.B.  66                 1          52

Unique Amulets    Item Level        rarity      total rarity
Nokozan Relic     14                20          20
Eye of Etlich     20                 5          25
Mahim-Oak Curio   34                10          35
Saracen's Chance  55                 5          40
Crescent Moon     58                 5          50
The Cat's Eye     58                 5          50
Atma's Scarab     60                 5          55
Highlord's Wrath  73                 5          65
The Rising Sun    73                 5          65
Mara's Kaleid.    80                 5          70


From this you can see where numbers came from that Grayloch quoted.

EDIT: as usual, I spend 3 times as long trying to get a table on these forums and it will still come out like c***. Not worth any more of my time to fix.
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#11
The new fad on USEast is Constricting Rings. Yuck. <_<

Something very ironic is that everyone calls them "con rings".
A plague of exploding high-fives.
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#12
nt
But whate'er I be,
Nor I, nor any man that is,
With nothing shall be pleased till he be eased
With being nothing.
William Shakespeare - Richard II
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#13
As usual, I should have left it to someone who REALLY knew what they were talking about :) I would think that my data may suffice in this case, but for definitive answers, there are infinitely more qualified people to be responding. I only know the mechanics up to a point :) Thanks Ruvanal.
But whate'er I be,
Nor I, nor any man that is,
With nothing shall be pleased till he be eased
With being nothing.
William Shakespeare - Richard II
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#14
Don't feel bad Chaerophon, I get corrected all the time by Ruvanal. :) Hey Ruvanal, how's the patch coming? Out of QA yet? j/k

I just wanted to say that I just found the stupidest ring I've ever seen, and it couldn't have come at the stupidest time! It actually dropped in the Halls of Pain - I thought, great, another perfect Nagel. Instead, it read:

The Stone of Jordan
Char Level Requirement: 29

My third in as many years. Build is a MFing zon, 380ish MF. Truly pathetic. I think I'll put it in a safe place. :)
Conner

God Bless our American Troops!
A better way to pay for the War than Oil
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#15
Now this baffles me. I've played D2 since it came out, literally, the day it came out, and have NEVER (repeat) NEVER EVER found a SOJ! I have found a few Bul Kathos in my characters lives, every other unique ring many many times, every unique amulet, windforces, storm shields, tals armors, but NEVER a SOJ. Now am I just the unluckiest person in the diablo world or did blizzard intentionally make SOJ's as rare as ZOD's when they found out people were buying tons of them from the gambling screen way back before 1.04? I just find it strange I've never found one before.
"The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from the self." -Albert Einsetin
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#16
Join the club. Get this, I've NEVER found a unique ring nor amulet. Best I have is a whole bunch of Cathan's Seals and a handful of Angelic Haloes. As for amulets, Civerb's, Angelic, and that's pretty much it. I'm not asking for SoJs to rain from the sky, but if they're going to make Horadric Cube formulas with these items, I would at least expect them to drop SOMETIME.
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#17
I'll take those two above comments that I play way way way way way way WAY too much I guess. Unique rings and ammys drop all the time for me, but I've NEVER found a Bul Kathos Ring on my own. By all the time, of course, I mean about once every 100 games. :) Also, the more you play, the more junk you'll collect, so the theory of relativity is at play here... Games Played is proportional to number of uniques you will locate.
Conner

God Bless our American Troops!
A better way to pay for the War than Oil
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