Every 30 minutes, D2R picks a random zone (like "Catacombs" or "Chaos Sanctuary") and "terrorizes" it. Internally the game calls this system "desecrated zones" - you'll see this term in all the data files.
There are 34 automatic zone groups that rotate on a 30-minute timer with no break between rotations. The rotation uses a seed-based pseudo-random selection and started on 2025-12-05. The full zone list from desecratedzones_hd.json is:
Burial Grounds, Catacombs, Cold Plains, Dark Wood, Blood Moor, Jail, Moo Moo Farm, Tristram, Tower, Monastery
Sewers, Rocky Waste, Dry Hills, Far Oasis, Lost City, Tal Rasha's Tombs, Arcane Sanctuary
Spider Forest, Great Marsh, Flayer Jungle, Kurast, Travincal, Durance of Hate
Outer Steppes, River of Flame, Chaos Sanctuary
Bloody Foothills, Arreat Plateau, Crystalline Passage, Halls, Glacial Trail, Ancients Way, Frozen Tundra, Worldstone Keep
The game also supports 5 "manual" zone groups (one per act) that you can trigger yourself using Worldstone Shards.
In the game files, desecrated = terrorized. They're the same thing. When you see "Desecrated" in a treasure class name like Act 1 (H) Champ A Desecrated, it means "the version of this TC that is used when the zone is terrorized."
When a zone becomes terrorized, monsters in that zone get swapped from their normal treasure class to their "Desecrated" treasure class. For example, a Hell Act 1 Champion normally uses Act 1 (H) Champ A but in a terrorized zone it uses Act 1 (H) Champ A Desecrated instead. The desecrated version includes extra rolls (like worldstone shards).
A desecrated boss is simply an act boss (Andariel, Duriel, Mephisto, Diablo, or Baal) killed while their zone is terrorized. When you kill Andariel in a terrorized Catacombs, she uses her "Desecrated" treasure class instead of her normal one. This desecrated TC includes an extra pick for an Ancient Statue material.
You cannot force a specific boss's zone to be terrorized through the automatic rotation - you have to wait for it, OR you can use a Worldstone Shard to manually terrorize an entire act (which includes the boss's zone).
Heralds are super-powered elite monsters that can spawn in terrorized zones. In RoTW, Heralds are the source of PreCrafted Sunderer Grand Charms (the upgradeable version). In base LoD mode, "Latent" sunderer charms can drop from terrorized zones but these CANNOT be upgraded via cube recipes. Understanding how Heralds spawn is critical.
The data files define two probability values and two caps:
chance_to_gain_herald_token = 2.0) to grant a "herald token."chance_for_token_to_convert_to_herald = 1.0) for a token to convert into an actual Herald spawn.The data files do not specify when the 1% conversion check fires (immediately on token gain, per kill, per tick, etc.), how tier is selected, or what happens to existing tokens when a herald spawns. The max_herald_tokens = 5 cap and max_herald_tiers = 5 count are the only constraints defined in the config.
Per kill: 2% chance to gain a herald token (chance_to_gain_herald_token = 2.0)
Per token: 1% chance to convert to a herald (chance_for_token_to_convert_to_herald = 1.0)
Maximum tokens: 5 (max_herald_tokens = 5)
Maximum tiers: 5 (max_herald_tiers = 5)
The data files define these values but do NOT explain how they interact at runtime. Whether the 1% conversion is rolled per-token, per-kill, or on some other trigger is not specified in the config - that logic is in the game engine.
The data files define these fields and nothing else about the token/herald system. How these values interact at runtime (how tier is determined, what happens to tokens after a herald spawns, whether tokens accumulate or are consumed) is handled by game engine code that is not in the data files.
| Field | Value | Location |
|---|---|---|
max_herald_tokens | 5 | rotw > hell (difficulty config) |
max_herald_tiers | 5 | rotw > hell (difficulty config) |
chance_to_gain_herald_token | 2.0 | rotw > hell > defaults |
chance_for_token_to_convert_to_herald | 1.0 | rotw > hell > defaults |
The data does NOT contain:
The token config is defined at the difficulty level, not per-zone. Individual zone entries contain zero herald-related fields. There are no "reset" or "clear" fields anywhere in the data. More than 5 heralds per game has been confirmed in-game.
The heraldtier stat (ID 367) is a runtime monster stat:
Signed=1, Send Bits=32, fCallback=1Saved = empty (NOT saved to character files - runtime only)stat('heraldtier'.accr) > 3 gates sunderer dropsThe game's expansion history is: Classic D2 -> Lord of Destruction (LoD expansion) -> Reign of the Warlock (RoTW, the latest expansion/DLC for D2R).
max_herald_tokens = 0 and max_herald_tiers = 0 - heralds are DISABLED in base LoDWhen a Herald spawns, the game displays in-game text messages such as "You draw the ire of a herald" and "A herald is hunting you in [zone]". These strings are stored in the game's localization/string tables, which are separate from the data files we extracted. The data files only contain the warning tier system (3/2/1/0 minutes before zone rotation) as DesecratedWarning entries - these are the countdown warnings for zone rotation, not the Herald spawn messages.
Most monsters can, but some are excluded.
CannotDesecrate=1)CannotHerald=1)Act bosses (Andariel, Duriel, Mephisto, Diablo, Baal) have Herald TC columns that are EMPTY - they cannot become Heralds. They have their own special desecrated boss TCs instead.
Heralds come in 5 tiers (stored as indices 0-4 in the data). Higher tiers are dramatically more powerful but also drop dramatically better loot. How the game determines which tier a Herald gets is not specified in the data files - only the stats per tier are defined.
| Index | herald_health_boost_% | herald_damage_boost_% | TC Lvl Boost | Minions | minion_health_boost_% | Mods | Minion Chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | +1000% | +50% | (none) | 6 | +250% | 3 | 1 |
| 1 | +1500% | +100% | +3 | 8 | +375% | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | +2000% | +150% | +6 | 10 | +500% | 4 | 3 |
| 3 | +2500% | +200% | +9 | 12 | +625% | 4 | 5 |
| 4 | +3000% | +250% | +12 | 14 | +750% | 4 | 6 |
Column names match the raw JSON field names. "TC Lvl Boost" = herald_treasure_class_level_boost (absent on tier index 0). "Minion Chance" = the chance field in the minions array. All tiers also have unique_mod_chance_boosts: [{unique_mod: 30, boost: 1, behavior: 1}].
All tiers also get a boost to "unique_mod 30" (a specific modifier).
These are the exact conditions from the treasure class data:
| Condition | Effect | Source |
|---|---|---|
heraldtier > 1 AND < 4 | 1 EXTRA item pick | Herald Extra Item TCs |
heraldtier >= 4 | 2 EXTRA item picks | Herald Extra Item TCs |
stat('heraldtier'.accr) > 3 | Sunderer charms can drop | Sunder Charms TC (line 681) |
The herald tiers are stored 0-indexed (0-4) in the JSON data. The conditions above reference the runtime heraldtier stat value. Whether this stat is 0-indexed or 1-indexed at runtime is not specified in the data files:
heraldtier > 3 means only index 4 (highest tier) can drop sunderersheraldtier > 3 means indices 3 and 4 (top two tiers) can drop sunderersEither way: the lowest tiers cannot drop sunderer charms. The condition gates them behind the highest tier(s).
Sunderer charms are unique grand charms that break ("sunder") a specific type of monster immunity. There are 6, one for each damage type.
You CANNOT create sunderer charms from scratch. In RoTW, PreCrafted sunderer charms drop from tier 4+ Heralds and can be upgraded to Crafted via cube recipes. In base LoD, Latent sunderer charms can drop from terrorized zones but CANNOT be upgraded. The cube recipes do not create new sunderers - they only upgrade PreCrafted drops.
In D2, monsters can be "immune" to a damage type when their resistance to that element is 100% or higher. Normally, resistance-lowering skills (like Lower Resist or Conviction) are divided by 5 against immune monsters, making it nearly impossible to break most immunities.
A Sunderer charm changes the rules: if a monster is immune to the charm's element, the charm reduces that monster's resistance DOWN TO 95%. This doesn't kill the monster for you - it just removes the immunity barrier so your other -resist gear and skills can finish the job.
Each sunderer charm also applies a significant NEGATIVE resistance to YOUR character for that same element. You're trading your own survivability for the ability to damage immune monsters.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Item Code | cm3 (Grand Charm) |
| Item Level | 69 |
| Required Level | 75 |
| Carry Limit | 1 (only 1 base sunderer in inventory at a time) |
| Rarity | 2 |
| Season | firstLadderSeason=2, lastLadderSeason=2 |
firstLadderSeason=2, lastLadderSeason=2 (Season 2 items)disableChronicle=1 (hidden from your holy grail)cond('MonsterTestElite', herald)cs2 (Crafted Sunder Charm) instead of cm3Picks: 1 (one roll) • NoDrop: 23,899 • Total item weight: 101 • Total pool: 24,000
Condition: cond('MonsterTestElite', herald)*(stat('heraldtier'.accr) >3)
Translation: Monster must be a Herald AND herald tier must be > 3 (see Section 3 for tier indexing ambiguity notes)
| Charm | Weight | % per Kill | ~Kills Needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Rupture | 30 | 0.125% | ~800 |
| Flame Rift | 30 | 0.125% | ~800 |
| Crack of the Heavens | 20 | 0.083% | ~1,200 |
| Rotting Fissure | 12 | 0.050% | ~2,000 |
| Bone Break | 6 | 0.025% | ~4,000 |
| Black Cleft | 3 | 0.013% | ~8,000 |
| ANY sunderer | 101 | 0.421% | ~238 |
These rates are FLAT. NoDrop=23,899 is a fixed number, not a formula. Additional players in the game DO NOT affect this NoDrop or increase the drop rate. Magic Find also has NO EFFECT (the Unique/Set/Rare/Magic quality columns on the Sunder Charms TC are ALL EMPTY - these items bypass the quality system entirely).
To put this in perspective: you need roughly 5,000 kills to spawn ONE Herald, and that Herald has an unknown chance of being tier 4+, and then a 0.42% chance of dropping ANY sunderer. These are genuinely rare items.
Worldstone Shards are consumable items that let you manually trigger a terrorized zone in a specific act. There are 5 types, one per act.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Level | 75 |
| Type | Quest item (ques) |
| Stackable | Yes, up to 15 |
| Inventory | 1x1 |
| Rarity | 14 |
| Cost | 20,000 gold |
| AdvancedStashStackable | Yes (can stack in shared stash) |
| EventItem | terrt (terror token) |
| Usage Condition | (cond('IsDesecratedZonesEnabled')?cond('Difficulty',hell):0) |
Translation: Can ONLY be used if terror zones are enabled AND you are playing in Hell difficulty. If either condition is false, the shard does nothing.
Worldstone Shards drop from the Terrorize Act Consumable Desecrated treasure classes. There are 5 of these TCs (one per act). Each TC has NoDrop=6000 and total item weight=13.
These TCs have a condition of cond('Difficulty', hell). Shards ONLY drop in Hell difficulty.
| Monster Type | Context |
|---|---|
| Champions | One roll as part of their desecrated TC |
| Uniques | One roll as part of their desecrated TC |
| Super Uniques | One roll as part of their desecrated TC |
| Heralds | One of their 7 picks |
| Desecrated Champs | Get an EXTRA consumable roll on top of base |
| Desecrated Uniques | Get an EXTRA consumable roll on top of base |
Regular (white-name) monsters in terrorized zones do NOT drop shards. Only champions, uniques, super uniques, and heralds can.
Each TC: NoDrop=6000, Item weight=13
Chance of ANY shard per roll: 13/6013 = 0.216%
Chance of the favored shard: 5/6013 = 0.083%
Roughly 1 shard per 462 champion+ kills
This rate does NOT change based on:
NoDrop is a flat 6000, not a formula) - additional players in the game do NOT increase shard drop ratesThe 0.216% rate is flat and identical for every eligible monster. You're looking at roughly 1 shard per 462 champion+ kills.
However: Desecrated Champions and Uniques get TWO rolls on the consumable TC (one from their base TC, one from the desecrated wrapper). So desecrated champs/uniques effectively have double the chance (~0.43% per kill) compared to non-desecrated versions.
The game intentionally mismatches which act's consumable TC is assigned to which act's monsters:
| You're In | Monster Uses TC For | You Mostly Get |
|---|---|---|
| Act 1 | Act 3 | Southern Shard (xa3) |
| Act 2 | Act 4 | Deep Shard (xa4) |
| Act 3 | Act 5 | Northern Shard (xa5) |
| Act 4 | Act 2 | Eastern Shard (xa2) |
| Act 5 | Act 1 | Western Shard (xa1) |
This is intentional game design. You collect shards for OTHER acts, which encourages you to play across all acts rather than farming one area forever.
Each TC does favor one shard (weight 5) but also drops the others:
| TC | xa1 | xa2 | xa3 | xa4 | xa5 | Favors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | xa1 |
| Act 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | xa2 |
| Act 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | xa3 |
| Act 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | xa4 |
| Act 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | xa5 |
So if you're farming Act 1, monsters use the Act 3 TC, which means you mostly get Southern Shards (xa3, weight 5) but can get any shard.
Ancient Statues are crafting materials that drop ONLY from act bosses when those bosses are killed in a terrorized zone. They are used to open the Colossal Summit uber portal. (Sunderer charm upgrades use Worldstone Shards, NOT Ancient Statues - see Section 10.)
Primary: Andariel (90%) | Secondary: Duriel (5%)
Only 2 bosses can drop this statue - the most restricted along with ua5.
Primary: Duriel (90%) | Secondary: Andariel (5%), Mephisto (5%)
3 bosses can drop this statue.
Primary: Mephisto (90%) | Secondary: Andariel (5%), Duriel (5%), Diablo (5%), Baal (5%)
Most available statue - 4 out of 5 bosses can drop it.
Primary: Diablo (90%) | Secondary: Mephisto (5%), Baal (5%)
3 bosses can drop this statue.
Primary: Baal (90%) | Secondary: Diablo (5%)
Only 2 bosses can drop this statue - the most restricted along with ua1.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Level | 0 |
| Rarity | 5 |
| Spawnable | NO (spawnable=0, cannot randomly drop from anything) |
| Type | Quest item (ques) |
| Inventory | 1x2 |
| Cost | 20,000 gold |
| EventItem | uberm (uber material) |
| AdvancedStashStackable | Yes |
When Andariel dies in a terrorized zone, she uses her desecrated treasure class. This TC makes multiple "picks" - think of picks as separate dice rolls for loot. ONE of those picks is the Ancient Statue TC.
Andariel's desecrated TC makes several picks. The Ancient Statue TC is one of those picks, but it's not guaranteed to be selected. Think of it like a bag with many items. The Ancient Statue TC is ONE item in that bag, and the bag has other items too (regular equipment, essences, etc). Each pick draws from the bag.
Approximate chance the Ancient Statue pick is selected per kill:
| Boss | Chance per Kill | ~Kills Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Andariel | ~0.79% | ~127 |
| Duriel | ~1.96% | ~51 |
| Mephisto | ~1.23% | ~81 |
| Diablo | ~1.23% | ~81 |
| Baal | ~1.23% | ~81 |
IF the Ancient Statue pick is selected (Layer 1 succeeded), THEN the Ancient Statue TC is rolled. This TC has:
NoDrop = 0 - once you reach this TC, you are GUARANTEED to get a material. Zero chance of getting nothing.The 90% comes from: primary weight (18) / total weight (20) = 90%. The remaining 10% is split between two secondary materials at 5% each.
| Boss | Primary (90%) | Secondary 1 (5%) | Secondary 2 (5%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andariel | ua1 (Andariel's Ancient Statue) | ua2 (Duriel's Ancient Statue) | ua3 (Mephisto's Ancient Statue) |
| Duriel | ua2 (Duriel's Ancient Statue) | ua1 (Andariel's Ancient Statue) | ua3 (Mephisto's Ancient Statue) |
| Mephisto | ua3 (Mephisto's Ancient Statue) | ua2 (Duriel's Ancient Statue) | ua4 (Diablo's Ancient Statue) |
| Diablo | ua4 (Diablo's Ancient Statue) | ua3 (Mephisto's Ancient Statue) | ua5 (Baal's Ancient Statue) |
| Baal | ua5 (Baal's Ancient Statue) | ua4 (Diablo's Ancient Statue) | ua3 (Mephisto's Ancient Statue) |
Chance to get ua1 (Andariel's Ancient Statue) from terrorized Andariel: ~0.79% x 90% = ~0.71% per kill
Chance to get ANY material from terrorized Andariel: ~0.79% x 100% (NoDrop=0) = ~0.79% per kill
Duriel is actually the BEST boss to farm for materials: ~1.96% chance per kill (highest of all bosses)
When you kill a Herald, the game processes its drops through a chain of treasure classes. Here's the complete chain, traced from the actual data.
Example: Act 1 (H) Herald A (TC level 67)
Unique=989, Set=983, Rare=1024, Magic=1024The 7 picks draw from this pool (total weight = 8):
| Item | Weight | Chance per Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Herald Item TC (equipment) | 2 | 25.0% |
| Sunder Charms TC | 1 | 12.5% |
| Herald Item - 1 Extra (tier 2-3 only) | 1 | 12.5% |
| Herald Item - 2 Extra (tier 4+ only) | 1 | 12.5% |
| Terrorize Act Consumable (shards) | 1 | 12.5% |
| Champion Potions | 2 | 25.0% |
With 7 picks and NoDrop=0, you always get 7 things. But the "1 Extra" and "2 Extra" picks are CONDITIONAL:
heraldtier > 1 AND heraldtier < 4 (tier 2 and 3 only)heraldtier >= 4 (tier 4 and 5 only - same tiers that can drop sunderers)So a Tier 4+ Herald effectively gets:
Example: Act 1 (H) Herald Item A
Unique=850, Set=850, Rare=850, Magic=102493.5% of the time you get equipment. 6.5% of the time you get "good" drops:
| Good TC Item | Weight | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Jewelry C (rings and amulets) | 60 | 44.8% |
| Chipped Gem | 4 | 3.0% |
| Flawed Gem | 10 | 7.5% |
| Normal Gem | 14 | 10.4% |
| Flawless Gem | 28 | 20.9% |
| Runes 13-17 (high runes!) | 18 | 13.4% |
The rune table scales by act:
Higher rune tables = access to higher runes.
The Equip Desecrated Herald TCs use a cascading system. Each TC references weapon/armor tables at specific levels PLUS a link to a lower-tier equip TC (with high weight). This means:
This cascade ensures a spread of item levels while making the highest-tier items rare.
| Act | TC Level Range | Equipment Tier | Rune Table |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 67-69 | Act 1 tables | Runes 13 |
| 2 | 70-72 | Act 2 tables | Runes 14 |
| 3 | 73-78 | Act 3 tables | Runes 15 |
| 4 | 81-87 | Act 4 tables | Runes 16 |
| 5 | 90-96 | Act 5 tables | Runes 17 |
Act 5 Heralds are by far the best for loot: highest TC level (90-96), highest rune table (17), and with Tier 5's +12 TC boost they can reach TC level 108 - enough to drop every item in the game.
Here's how the four "special" monster types compare in terrorized zones:
Picks=-2 wrapper -> calls standard Champ TC (Picks=-3)Picks=-2 wrapper -> calls standard Unique TC (Picks=-4)Picks=-7, NoDrop=0Unique=989, Set=983, Rare=1024, Magic=1024 (MASSIVE boosts. 989 Unique chance is ~96.6% of max.)| Champion | Unique | Herald | Boss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total item picks | ~4 | ~5 | 7-9 | varies |
| Sunderer charms? | NO | NO | TIER 4+ | NO |
| Ancient Statues? | NO | NO | NO | YES |
| Worldstone shards? | YES(x2) | YES(x2) | YES | YES |
| Boosted quality ratios? | NO | NO | YES(huge) | Boss-specific |
| High rune access? | Standard | Standard | Runes 13-17 | Boss-specific |
| Dedicated equipment? | Standard | Standard | Herald TCs | Boss TCs |
| Item Category | MF Effect? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Sunderer Charms | NO EFFECT | Empty Unique/Set/Rare/Magic columns. Pre-defined items bypass quality roll system. Additional MF does absolutely nothing for sunderer drop rates. |
| Worldstone Shards | NO EFFECT | No quality columns. Shards are fixed items. Additional MF does not help. |
| Ancient Statues | NO EFFECT | No quality columns. Materials are fixed items. Additional MF does not help. |
| Herald Equipment | YES! | Herald Item TCs have quality ratios (Unique=850, Set=850, Rare=850, Magic=1024). Your MF DOES affect the equipment that Heralds drop. But MF does not help with sunderers, shards, or statues. |
| Item Category | Player Count Effect? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Sunderer Charms | NO EFFECT | NoDrop=23,899 is a flat integer, not a formula. Additional players in the game do NOT reduce this NoDrop value. Player count adjustments to NoDrop happen at the PARENT TC level, but the Herald's parent TC already has NoDrop=0. The Sunder Charms TC's own NoDrop is fixed and unaffected by party size. |
| Worldstone Shards | NO EFFECT | NoDrop=6000 is flat. Additional players in the game do NOT increase shard drop rates. |
| Ancient Statues | Maybe at boss TC level | The statue TC itself has NoDrop=0 (guaranteed once reached). Whether the boss's main TC selects the statue pick MAY be influenced by player count at the boss TC level, but the statue sub-TC is unaffected. Additional players do NOT affect statue drop rates from the statue TC itself. |
For sunderers, shards, and statues: stack damage and kill speed, not Magic Find. Additional MF does NOT help with any of these three item categories. Additional players in the game also do NOT affect drop rates for sunderers, shards, or statues. The drop rates are what they are.
Shards are used to craft "pierce" items - equipment with elemental penetration stats. Each shard type corresponds to an element.
Format: Shard + Rune + Perfect Gem + Magic Item = Crafted Pierce Item
Available slots: Amulet, Ring, Helm, Boots, Gloves, Armor, Weapon, Shield, Small Charm, Large Charm
NOTE: NO Grand Charm recipe for poison (xa1 is missing it)
Available slots: All 10 above + Grand Charm (11 total)
Available slots: All 11 (includes Grand Charm)
Available slots: All 11
Available slots: All 11
Available slots: All 11
| Slot | Pierce Value |
|---|---|
| Small Charm | 1 |
| Ring / Large Charm | 1-2 |
| Amulet / Helm / Boots / Gloves | 1-3 |
| Weapon / Shield | 1-4 |
| Armor | 2-8 |
These recipes UPGRADE a PreCrafted sunderer charm (which dropped from a Herald) into a Crafted version with better stats. You CANNOT create sunderer charms from scratch - you must have a PreCrafted drop to upgrade.
Despite the cubemain descriptions saying "Uber Ancient Summon Material", the actual item codes used are xa1-xa5 (Worldstone Shards), NOT ua1-ua5 (Ancient Statues). The Ancient Statues are only used for the Colossal Summit portal recipe below.
NOTE: Requires 6 inputs! 3 different Worldstone Shards (xa3, xa4, xa5) plus the highest rune of any recipe (Mal).
Requires Hell difficulty (min diff=2). Uses op=28 (same portal mechanic as Pandemonium Events). Requires one of EACH act's Ancient Statue material. This is the ONLY recipe that uses the ua1-ua5 Ancient Statues.
Target: Tier 4-5 Heralds in RoTW Hell terrorized zones
In RoTW, PreCrafted sunderer charms only drop from Heralds. In base LoD, Latent sunderers can drop but cannot be upgraded. You cannot craft sunderers from scratch. The cube recipes only upgrade PreCrafted drops into Crafted versions.
Strategy:
chance_to_gain_herald_token = 2.0)heraldtier > 3 condition (required for sunderer drops). How the game determines tier is not specified in the data files.Priority order (if you want a specific charm):
| Charm | Share If One Drops | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Rupture or Flame Rift | 29.7% each | Easiest |
| Crack of the Heavens | 19.8% | Moderate |
| Rotting Fissure | 11.9% | Hard |
| Bone Break | 5.9% | Very Hard |
| Black Cleft | 3.0% | Near Impossible |
Target: Champion and Unique packs in Hell terrorized zones
Strategy:
Target: Act bosses killed in terrorized zones
Strategy:
| Boss | Drop Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Duriel | ~1.96% | Highest rate, but long entrance |
| Mephisto | ~1.23% | Fastest boss to farm (short run) |
| Diablo | ~1.23% | Strong but slower to reach |
| Baal | ~1.23% | Strong but slowest to reach |
| Andariel | ~0.79% | Lowest rate - worst for statues |
Each boss has a 90% chance to drop their own statue, but a 10% chance to drop a neighboring act's statue instead. No boss drops all 5:
| Boss | Primary (90%) | Secondary (5% each) |
|---|---|---|
| Andariel | ua1 (Act 1) | ua2 (Act 2), ua3 (Act 3) |
| Duriel | ua2 (Act 2) | ua1 (Act 1), ua3 (Act 3) |
| Mephisto | ua3 (Act 3) | ua2 (Act 2), ua4 (Act 4) |
| Diablo | ua4 (Act 4) | ua3 (Act 3), ua5 (Act 5) |
| Baal | ua5 (Act 5) | ua4 (Act 4), ua3 (Act 3) |
ua3 (Mephisto's) is the most available - 4 of 5 bosses can drop it. ua1 (Andariel's) and ua5 (Baal's) are the most restricted - only 2 bosses each.
You need ALL 5 materials for the Colossal Summit portal. Since no single boss drops all 5, you must farm at least 3 different bosses. Minimum coverage: Andariel (for ua1) + Mephisto (covers ua2/ua3/ua4) + Baal (for ua5).
Chests, barrels, urns, stashes, and all other "poppable" objects are NOT higher level in terrorized zones. They drop the exact same loot regardless of whether the zone is terrorized or not.
The terrorize system only modifies monsters:
boost_level = 2, capped at 96 in Hell)Poppable objects use a completely separate loot system:
Don't waste time popping chests in terrorized zones hoping for better loot. The chests don't know (or care) that the zone is terrorized. Focus on killing monsters - they're the ones with boosted drops.
This section explains the most confusing mechanics in plain language.
The data files define two values: a 2% chance per kill to gain a "herald token," and a 1% chance for a token to "convert" into a Herald. There is a cap of 5 tokens (max_herald_tokens = 5) and 5 tiers (max_herald_tiers = 5).
The exact mechanics of how these interact - when the conversion check fires, how tier is chosen, what happens to tokens after a Herald spawns - are handled by the game engine and are not defined in the data files. We only have the raw config values.
Yes. The "5" in max_herald_tokens is NOT a cap on how many Heralds can spawn. More than 5 Heralds in a single game has been confirmed in-game. The data files contain no field that limits total Herald spawns per game.
The token config is defined at the difficulty level, not per-zone. Individual zone entries contain zero herald-related fields, and there are no "reset" or "clear" fields anywhere in the data. This suggests tokens are not tied to a specific zone, but the exact persistence behavior is not specified in the config files.
Two gates have to pass:
stat('heraldtier'.accr) > 3 must be true. With 0-indexed tiers (0-4), this means only the highest tier(s) can drop sunderers. Lower-tier Heralds CANNOT drop a sunderer no matter what.NoDrop=23,899 vs item weight 101. That's a ~0.42% chance. You'll kill roughly 238 eligible Heralds before getting one on average.No. See Section 12. Chests, barrels, and other poppable objects are completely unaffected by terrorization. Only monsters get boosted drops.
No. All three of these bypass the Magic Find system entirely. They use flat-weight treasure classes with no Unique/Set/Rare/Magic quality columns. Stacking 500% MF does literally nothing for these drops. Player count also has zero effect.
Lord of Destruction (LoD) was the original expansion for D2. Reign of the Warlock (RoTW) is the latest expansion/DLC added to D2R on top of LoD.
For terrorized zones, both modes get the same base features: zone rotation, +2 monster levels, +25% XP, worldstone shard drops.
Key differences in RoTW Hell:
In base LoD mode:
max_herald_tokens = 0)These messages come from the game's localization files (string tables), which are separate from the data files analyzed in this document.
Not impossible. The data files do not specify that you need to kill lower-tier Heralds before higher-tier ones can spawn. Your first Herald could have met the heraldtier > 3 condition. If it did and you won the 0.42% sunderer drop, that's very lucky but not ruled out by anything in the data.
If you see a term in this document you don't recognize, check here first.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| D2R | Diablo II Resurrected - the remastered version of Diablo II. |
| D2 | Diablo II - the original game (2000). |
| LoD | Lord of Destruction - the first expansion pack for Diablo II. Added Act 5, runes, runewords, and the Assassin/Druid classes. |
| RoTW | Reign of the Warlock - the latest expansion/DLC for D2R, added on top of LoD. Adds terrorized zones, heralds, sunderer charms, worldstone shards, and the Colossal Summit. This is NOT the same as "Classic" or "non-expansion." |
| Classic | The original Diablo II with no expansions installed. No Act 5, no runes, no runewords. The expansion chain is: Classic D2 -> LoD -> RoTW. |
| Ladder | Seasonal competitive mode where all characters start fresh. Some items and features are ladder-only initially. |
| Non-Ladder | Standard play mode. Not seasonal. |
| Hell | The hardest of the three difficulties (Normal / Nightmare / Hell). Monsters have higher resistances and immunities. Heralds only spawn in RoTW Hell. |
| DLC | Downloadable Content - additional game content sold or patched in separately. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Champion | A monster spawned as part of a "champion pack" - they glow blue and have boosted stats. Champions always appear in groups of 2-4 with the same random modifier (like "Ghostly" or "Berserker"). They have their own treasure class for drops. |
| Unique (monster) | A monster with a randomly-generated name that spawns with a pack of minions. NOT the same as a "unique item." Unique monsters glow gold/yellow and have 2-3 random modifiers (like "Extra Strong" or "Cursed"). Also called "boss packs" by the community. |
| Super Unique | A named monster that always appears in the same location with the same name (like "The Countess" or "Pindleskin"). They have fixed modifiers and their own dedicated drop tables. |
| Elite | A general term for Champions, Uniques, and Super Uniques - basically any non-normal monster. |
| Herald | A super-powered elite monster exclusive to RoTW Hell terrorized zones. Comes in 5 tiers with massive stat boosts. The source of PreCrafted (upgradeable) sunderer charm drops. See Sections 2-3. |
| Minions | The regular monsters that spawn alongside a Unique monster or Herald. Herald minions get significant HP/damage boosts. |
| Immunity | When a monster's resistance to a damage type reaches 100% or higher. The monster takes zero damage from that element. Resistance-lowering skills are divided by 5 against immune monsters. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Grand Charm | A type of charm. Charms provide passive bonuses just by sitting in your inventory (you don't equip them). Grand charms are the largest (1x3 slots). Sunderer charms are unique grand charms. |
| Carry Limit | How many of a specific item you can hold. Sunderer charms have a carry limit of 1 - you can only have one of each type in your inventory at a time. |
| Consumable | An item that is used up when activated. Worldstone Shards terrorize a zone when used, and Ancient Statues are consumed in cube recipes. |
| Horadric Cube | The crafting interface in Diablo II. You place items inside and hit "Transmute" to combine them into new items according to specific recipes. |
| Rune | Small stone items with symbols that can be inserted into socketed equipment to form Runewords, or used as crafting ingredients. Runes have a specific order (El, Eld, Tir... Zod) with higher runes being exponentially rarer. |
| Perfect Gem | The highest quality tier of a gem (Chipped -> Flawed -> Normal -> Flawless -> Perfect). Used as crafting ingredients in sunderer upgrade recipes. |
| Stash | Your shared storage across characters. Some items like Worldstone Shards can stack in the stash but not in your personal inventory. |
| Latent | The original LoD-era sunderer charm from Ladder Season 2. Available in base LoD terrorized zones. Has the same sunder effect and penalty range as PreCrafted, but CANNOT be upgraded via cube recipes. If you're playing base LoD (non-RoTW), this is the version you can find. |
| PreCrafted | The RoTW version of a sunderer charm that drops from Heralds. Has a random range on its penalty (e.g., -90 to -70 cold res). Can be upgraded to Crafted via cube recipe. RoTW-exclusive. |
| Crafted | The upgraded version of a sunderer charm created through a cube recipe using a PreCrafted charm. Locks the penalty at its best value and adds bonus affixes. RoTW-exclusive. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| TC (Treasure Class) | A loot table that defines what items a monster can drop. Each monster has TCs assigned based on difficulty, act, and whether they're normal/champion/unique. When a monster dies, the game rolls its TC to decide drops. |
| ilvl (Item Level) | A hidden number on every item that determines what affixes can roll on it and what unique/set items it can become. Usually equals the monster level that dropped it. |
| alvl (Area Level) | The level of the zone you're in. Determines monster levels for most monsters and what TCs poppable objects use. Terrorized zones boost monster levels but do NOT change the area level. |
| mlvl (Monster Level) | The level of a specific monster. Affects what TC the monster uses for drops and what ilvl its dropped items get. In terrorized zones, monster levels get +2. |
| MF (Magic Find) | A stat on your gear that increases the chance of dropped items being Magic/Rare/Set/Unique quality. Does NOT affect sunderer, worldstone shard, or ancient statue drops at all. |
| NoDrop | A weight value in a treasure class that represents the chance of getting nothing from a roll. Higher NoDrop = lower chance of getting an item. The Sunder Charms TC has NoDrop=23,899 vs item weight 101. |
| Drop Weight | How much of the total TC weight a specific item takes up. Higher weight = more likely to drop. Cold Rupture has weight 30 out of 101 total = 29.7% if a sunderer drops. |
| Picks | How many times the game rolls a treasure class. A TC with Picks=41 makes 41 separate loot rolls. Negative picks (like -1 or -2) add extra rolls to the parent TC. |
| Poppable | Any interactable object that can "pop" to give loot - chests, barrels, urns, stashes, dead rogues, etc. These are NOT monsters and are NOT affected by terrorization. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Sunder | Breaking a monster's immunity to a damage type. A sunderer charm reduces an immune monster's resistance down to 95%, removing the immunity so other skills can further lower it. |
| Pierce | The game's internal term for sunder. The property "pierce-immunity-cold" means "break cold immunity." The value 300 is the strength of the pierce effect. |
| Resistance Penalty | In Hell difficulty, your character takes a -100 penalty to all resistances. Combined with the sunderer's own penalty (e.g., -70 cold res), this makes survivability challenging. |
| Resistance Floor | The lowest your resistances can go: -100. Even with multiple penalties stacking, you can't go below -100 resistance. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Desecrated | The game's internal name for "terrorized." When you see "Desecrated" in data files, treasure class names, or monster properties, it means "terrorized." They are the same thing. |
| Zone Group | A predefined set of areas that get terrorized together. For example, "Catacombs" includes all 4 Catacombs levels. There are 34 automatic groups and 5 manual (one per act). |
| Rotation | The automatic 30-minute cycle that picks which zone group gets terrorized next. Uses a seed-based pseudo-random selection. |
| Manual Terrorize | Terrorizing a zone yourself by using a Worldstone Shard from the Horadric Cube. Terrorizes the entire act, not just one zone group. |
| Token | Part of the Herald spawn system. The data defines chance_to_gain_herald_token = 2.0 (2%), chance_for_token_to_convert_to_herald = 1.0 (1%), and max_herald_tokens = 5. How these values interact at runtime is not specified in the data files. |
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
D2R | Diablo II Resurrected |
LoD | Lord of Destruction (expansion) |
RoTW | Reign of the Warlock (latest expansion/DLC) |
TC | Treasure Class (loot table) |
MF | Magic Find |
ilvl | Item Level |
alvl | Area Level |
mlvl | Monster Level |
HP | Hit Points (health) |
DLC | Downloadable Content |
ELI5 | "Explain Like I'm 5" - simplified explanations |
CASC | Content Addressable Storage Container - Blizzard's file format for storing game assets |
xa1-xa5 | Item codes for the 5 Worldstone Shards (one per act) |
ua1-ua5 | Item codes for the 5 Ancient Statues (one per act boss) |
cm3 | Item code for the Grand Charm base type |
cs2 | Item code for the Crafted Sunder Charm type |
| File | Relevant Content |
|---|---|
TreasureClassEx.txt | Lines 44-53: Terrorize consumable + statue TCs Line 681: Sunder Charms TC Lines 1092-1119: Desecrated champ/unique TCs Lines 1153-1201: Equip/Good Desecrated Herald Lines 1202-1243: Herald Item + Extra TCs Lines 1244-1258: Top-level Herald TCs |
UniqueItems.txt | IDs 401-409: Base sunderer charms IDs 426-437: PreCrafted + Crafted variants |
misc.txt | xa1-xa5: Worldstone Shards ua1-ua5: Ancient Statues (Uber Ancient Summon Materials) um1-um6: Uber Ancient Upgrade Materials cm3: Grand Charm base type cs2: Crafted Sunder Charm base type |
monstats.txt | Cols 100-101: CannotDesecrate/CannotHerald Cols 247-266: Desecrated/Herald TC assignments |
SuperUniques.txt | TC Desecrated columns for all super uniques |
cubemain.txt | 66 pierce crafting recipes (shards) 6 sunderer upgrade recipes (use xa1-xa5 Worldstone Shards, NOT ua1-ua5 statues) 1 Colossal Summit portal recipe (uses ua1-ua5 Ancient Statues) |
desecratedzones_hd.json | Herald tier definitions (5 tiers) Token system (2% gain, 1% convert) Zone groups (34 automatic, 5 manual) RoTW vs base LoD config differences Difficulty scaling |
desecrated.json | /terrorized (/tz) chat command definition |
magicprefix.txt | Crafted pierce affixes (Gelid, Incendiary, Magnetic, Virulent, Breaching, Mystical) |
difficultylevels.txt | ResistPenalty: 0//-40//-100 by difficulty ResistFloor: -100 (all difficulties) |