Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band x Stone of Jordan

Hi

Most caster build guides recommend two

Stone of Jordan as BIS.

But I thought that life should be more relevant than mana for most of those builds (all non

Energy Shield builds), especially if they have a Merc with Insight. So

Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band should be better...

Am I wrong on my thoughts or the guides just recommend

Stone of Jordan because it is way easier to find/trade?

They usually say that on a caster you can never have "enough mana", but it's kinda not true. I have some builds that run equally good on some lower-ish mana pools/values.

I guess it's more about the price/acquisition than anything else. That being said, so far from all my gaming I only founded 1 SoJ and 0 BK rings ever (by myself) so I don't really have appropriate data to offer on that matter.

Just to inform, the "easier to find/trade" that I said is based on the trades on the site, there are a lot of WTS SoJ but very little BK (the last time I searched, I found only 1 and it was ladder one)

It’s easier to get life from charms and other gear (charms), mana is just a bit harder to come by. A bunch of caster builds prioritize rare +10FCR rings over SOJ - skills can also be obtained from skiller charms

Don't forget also that life steal does not work with spells. Consequently, BK becomes a +1 skills / +40-50 life ring. While SoJ is a +1 skills / + tons of mana ring. Comparatively much better for casters.
Physical fighters on their side can use any, either preferring mana or life + life steal.

I love wearing this bundle Soj+Bk together
Soj buff mana bk buff life

fredkid wrote: 1 year ago

...all non

Energy Shield builds...

I wouldn't go that far but yes.

When it comes down to it, you have three categories of caster builds (generally referring to anything that prioritizes +skill and uses mana).

1: Couldn't care less about more mana as even base mana is enough to never go oom (e.g. builds that can still make use of mana leech, various

Redemption builds, most Insight users, ...).
2: Mana isn't typically critical but you can go oom after a while, simply from spamming your main attack(s) or worse yet simply by teleporting
3: Mana is critical, be that in terms of mana consumption from skills used, for survival (ES) or both

For category 1, BK is the obvious better choice as life will always beat mana you won't use because you never go oom anyways.
For category 3, SoJ tends to be the obvious better choice as it is one of the easiest ways to (help) solve critical mana issues.

For category 2, you actually need to do some math and/or testing to get it right. Some want one SoJ. Some want two. Some want two and need pts in energy on top. Some may even want something as weird as a few points in Energy but no or just one SoJ regardless.
Plus the whole thing in this category also boils down to "are you willing to pot?". Personally, I refuse to bother with mana potions (not just in D2) so I get all of may builds to the point of perpetual self-sustainability while spamming whatever it is they spam. Someone else with the same general build though may be happy with a

Belt full of mana potions to be used instead. In a case like that, they may very well go with a BK where I would instead use an SoJ.

Simply saying "SoJ wins for casters" is overly generalized and flat-out wrong. Equally, simply saying "BK = life, life > mana so BK > SoJ for everyone!" is also overly generalized and flat-out wrong. As so often, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

I think bk is better on any caster build running Insight, such as a cold sorc who doesn't benefit much from Infinity. Also Bone necro comes to mind if you have an Insight

Iron Golem or hammerdin that doesn't use the -res on Infinity

I think I ended up raising this question, because I have no Infinity yet... so all my casters have a Merc with Insight, and so with just a little "extra mana" items I have no mana problem...

When I try a Merc with Infinity (which is normally the end configuration recommended on most of those guides), I will probably feel the need to have more "extra mana" items...

what spec are you trying to make ?

if its lightning sorc, selfwielding Infinity is the better choice and Insight on merc

Lightning sorc
It's on my plans to test self wielding Infinity (but I still need to get my 2

Ber first... )

Just something minor to add, the life per lvl on a bk ring is not boosted by

Battle Orders. So depending on your life pool after

Battle Orders, you are adding maybe 1-3% life

The way I play the game at least, this is a silly amount to worry about, so I run an SOJ except for the rare situation I want +1 skill and just life leech

That's fair, but if you're at the stage when you're paying multiple jahs for a skiller with life (a measly 20 life on a cold skiller can go for a

Ber), for me a bk band is basically the same cost as an soj with free life

Dromar186 wrote: 1 year ago

That's fair, but if you're at the stage when you're paying multiple jahs for a skiller with life (a measly 20 life on a cold skiller can go for a

Ber), for me a bk band is basically the same cost as an soj with free life

That's exactly the thought that make me create this thread in the first place...

Mana in itself is useful, even with Insight. As a necro, if I spam

Poison Nova or

Bone Spear / Spirit at 125 FCR, I empty my mana globe faster than the regen if I keep using them, so extra mana is quite useful.

I change my Mercenary Insight for Infinity a few days ago, and now I end up using some mana Potions on my

Belt (now sometimes I need...)
So... without Insight...

Stone of Jordan >

Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band...

fredkid wrote: 1 year ago

all non

Energy Shield builds

War Cry Barb is close to unplayable without the manaboost from 2x Soj +

Frostburn