NiteFox explained it well. The reason why the odds are better in NM is that there are fewer possible base item drops than in Hell. For instance, you can't get all those qlvl 20+ (or so) base items since the monsters on 2/NM are all around mlvl 16-20 (except Butch). Another thing that makes dlvl 2 so special is that it has an abundance of unique monsters which have 1/6 probability of dropping a unique item (if and only if the base item is of a suitable type, which makes this probability a bit smaller in reality). In total, there are 9 possible unique monsters:
- Rotfeast the Hungry & Soulpus (zombies)
- Pukerat the Unclean & Bladeskin the Slasher (fallen ones with spear/sword)
- Boneripper & Bonehead Keenaxe (skeleton axe & corpse axe)
- Deadeye (skeleton archer)
- Shadowbite (scavenger)
- Butcher
So that's 20 possible monster types on dlvl2, 7 of those have unique monsters. There is always Butcher. Now go find the damn thing.
NiteFox: for some of you unlucky ones it's HoS, for us lucky bastards ;) it's the Rift Bow.
- Rotfeast the Hungry & Soulpus (zombies)
- Pukerat the Unclean & Bladeskin the Slasher (fallen ones with spear/sword)
- Boneripper & Bonehead Keenaxe (skeleton axe & corpse axe)
- Deadeye (skeleton archer)
- Shadowbite (scavenger)
- Butcher
So that's 20 possible monster types on dlvl2, 7 of those have unique monsters. There is always Butcher. Now go find the damn thing.
NiteFox: for some of you unlucky ones it's HoS, for us lucky bastards ;) it's the Rift Bow.
"My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fibre, and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes."
-- Ford Prefect
-- Ford Prefect