Diablo II: Resurrected – Fire Claws Bear Build Guide

Glossary of Terms

• IAS – Increased Attack Speed

• FHR – Faster Hit Recovery

• F – Frames (1 second = 25 frames)

• Fire Facet – Unique Rainbow Facet Jewel (Fire)

• 4R – All Resistances

• Charm – “Board” refers to a Grand Charm

• Dual Leech – LL = Life Leech, LM = Mana Leech

• SC – Small Charm

• USC – Unique Small Charm: Annihilus

• UGC – Unique Grand Charm: Gheed’s Fortune

• Shael Blade – 6-socket Phase Blade with six Shael runes (Rune #13)

I. Gear-Building Concepts

For wealthy players:

Mercenary must carry Infinity.
Except for monsters with 120%+ Fire Resistance, Fire Immunity can be broken.
Therefore, focus on increasing Fire skill damage.

For non-wealthy players:

Since the merc uses Reaper’s Toll, enhance Fire Claws damage while also improving physical damage.
Maul has no synergy skills boosting its damage, but at level 22, full charged Maul grants +280% ED, making hybrid Fire + Physical a good choice.

Keep your resistances maxed.
If you cannot reach full 4R, keep Fire Res and Lightning Res maxed for safety.
If you cannot reach FHR 86 breakpoint, 54 is acceptable; no need to force gear just to hit 86.

II. Attribute & Skill Allocation

Attributes

• Strength: enough for gear

• Dexterity: enough for gear

• The rest into Vitality

Skills

• Max Fire Claws

• 1 point in all Shapeshifting prerequisites, including Shock Wave

• All remaining points into Fire Claws synergy skills

Explanation: After patch 1.10 removed charge-up bugs, only hard-points give synergy bonuses, so this maximizes Fire Claws damage.
Survivability is not an issue because late-game gear can reach ~level 20, ~4000 life, and >6000 defense.

III. Common High-End Gear Analysis

Helm

• Jalal’s Mane: +4 Shapeshifting Skills total, 30 FHR, 30 All Res.

• Alternatively: 2-socket Druid helms with +3 Werebear, +Shapeshifting, +Fire Claws.

Weapon

Prioritize fast weapons because Fire Claws relies on attack speed and needs Firestorm shield synergy.

• Phase Blade with 6×Shael reaches 4-frame attack (requires 110 IAS).

• Griswold’s Caddy with 4×Shael reaches 5-frame, with much higher physical damage.

Armor

Choosing between Chains of Honor and Enigma:

• Enigma TP is useless for the Bear form, but +2 skills & 45% FRW matter.

• CoH: +2 skills, 65 All Res, making it extremely strong.
  Their performance on Fire Claws Bear is nearly identical. For general use, Enigma is more universal.

Shield

Phoenix causes Firestorm, which has ~0.5s casting delay, preventing Fire Claws attacks during that window—reducing clear speed.
For a fast-killing Fire Bear, that is inefficient.

Regarding Block shields (Pally shields with base block%), calculation shows:

Expected hit recovery time:

• Block shields ≈ 7.4–7.5 frames

• Monarch ≈ 8.4–8.6 frames
  Difference: ~1 frame advantage.

But Jeweler’s Monarch of the Colossus provides +60 life and 4 sockets.
With 4 Fire Facets, damage is significantly higher—making it the better option.

Gloves

• Magefist: +1 Fire Skills benefits Fire Claws.

• Upgrade to Crusader Gauntlets.

Belt

• Verdungo’s: DR, FHR, +40 life (multiplied by Werebear).

• Arachnid Mesh: +1 All Skills → maximize damage.

• TGod’s: keep one for Lightning absorption.

Boots

• Gore Rider: standard for physical melee; upgrade for better effectiveness.

Amulet & Rings

• Mara’s Kaleidoscope: +2 skills, +30 All Res → best choice.

• Rare +3 Shapeshifting amulets must include life since +skills + all res cannot coexist due to prefix limits.

• Raven Frost: essential for melee.

• If using Shael Blade (low physical damage), dual-leech is ineffective—use BK ring for +skills & life.

• For Gris Caddy, use dual-leech ring.

Off-hand

• Heart of the Oak + Phoenix
  Shael Blade’s poor physical damage makes Phoenix useful for sustain.

Charms

• Shapeshifting GCs to increase Fire Claws damage & survivability.

• Use charms to fill missing 4R and FHR (54 or 86).

Mercenary

• Nightmare Offensive merc (Might aura) for more damage.

IV. Non-Wealthy Gear Analysis

Helm

Still Jalal’s Mane.

Weapons

• 3-socket Tomb Reaver with 3×Shael → 5-frame attack.
  Charged Maul damage: 1.3k–6k.

• Griswold’s Caddy with 4×Shael → Maul damage 1.4k–1.9k.

Armor

• Ormus’ Robes: +15% Fire Damage

• Arkaine’s Valor: high defense, +2 skills, 30 FHR

Shield

• 4-socket shield with 4 Fire Facets for high damage

• Spirit: +2 skills, big res, big FHR—great transitional option.

Gloves

• Magefist for Fire Claws

• Laying of Hands / Lava Gout for IAS

• Crafted gloves with 20 IAS, 10 CB, 6 LL, +20 life also viable

Belt

Same as high-end.

Boots

Gore Rider.

Amulet & Rings

Highlord’s, Raven Frost, dual-leech.

Off-hand

Dual Spirits to increase Shapeshifting levels.

Charms

Fill 4R and reach FHR 86 if possible.

Mercenary

Nightmare Offensive merc for better damage.

V. Non-Wealthy Equipment Combos

5-Frame, Shield Version

• Helm: Jalal’s (socket Fire Facet)

• Weapon: Griswold’s Redemption (4×Shael)

• Armor: Valor (socket Fire Facet)

• Shield: 4-socket shield with 4 Fire Facets

• Gloves: Magefist

• Belt: Arachnid / Verdungo’s

• Boots: Gore Rider

• Jewelry: Highlord’s + Raven Frost + dual-leech

• Off-hand: Spirit sword + Spirit shield

• Charms: USC + UGC + Torch + 7 Shapeshift/Life GCs; rest fill 4R & FHR

Merc: Nightmare Offensive

• Reaper’s Toll (Shael)

• Treachery / Duriel’s Shell / Gladiator’s Bane (socketed)

• Guillaume’s Face (15 IAS)

5-Frame Two-Handed Version

• Helm: Jalal’s (socket Fire Facet)

• Weapon: Eth Tomb Reaver (3×Shael)

• Armor: Valor (15 IAS jewel)

• Shield: None

• Gloves: Lava Gout / Laying of Hands

• Belt: Arachnid / Verdungo’s

• Boots: Gore Rider

• Jewelry: Highlord’s + Raven Frost + dual-leech

• Off-hand: Spirit sword + Spirit shield

• Charms: USC + UGC + Torch + 7 Shapeshift/Life; fill 4R and reach FHR 86

Merc: Nightmare Offensive

• Reaper’s Toll (Shael)

• Treachery / Duriel’s / Gladiator’s Bane

• Guillaume’s (15 IAS)

VI. Combat Tips

1. For 4-frame Shael Blade Bear, against many Fire Immunes:
   Use Shock Wave to stun, let merc kill. Re-cast Shock Wave to maintain stun.
   Against bosses: multiple Shock Waves may be needed.
   After clearing, switch to off-hand for Redemption aura to recover.

2. For Gris Caddy / Tomb Reaver Bears, physical damage is decent, plus Reaper’s Toll helps.
   Against large Fire Immune groups, switch to Maul.
   For dangerous enemies (Fanaticism aura), Shock Wave first; once merc procs Decrepify, it’s safe.

3. Against Gloams, use S-shaped movement to avoid lightning, then close in and kill.
   If cautious, switch to TGod’s before engaging.