Myth is a Runeword that is created in Body Armor and is considered a cheap Runeword due to the fact that the highest Rune required is Hel, which is a semi-rare Rune, and the other two Runes are both common Runes. With the +2 to barbarian skill levels, it’s evident that this Runeword armor was designed with the barbarian in mind; other classes will find that Myth offers them very little in terms of benefits.
Requirements:
3 plug body armor
Runes (in order): Hel + Amn + Ship
The stats:
Level Requirement: 25
3% chance to cast Level 1 Howl when hit
10% chance to cast level 1 taunt on hit
+2 to barbarian skill levels
+30 Missile Defense
Replenish Life +10
Attacker takes 14 damage
Requirements -15%
3% chance to cast Level 1 Howl when hit
Howl is one of the barbarian’s many war cries. Causes monsters to retreat and run away from the character (note: does not work on players).
This is a good mod for barbarians who are in danger of being assaulted by a large group of monsters. If this triggers, the barbarian will get a breather and can consider turning around and coming back later if the mob is too tough.
10% chance to cast level 1 taunt on hit
Taunt is another of the barbarian’s war cries. Forces monsters (and does not affect players) to engage in close combat with the barbarian, making it useful against spellcasting monsters or long-range missile attackers.
It also slightly reduces the target’s damage output and attack rate. A level 1 taunt reduces both the target’s damage output and attack rating by 5%. This may not seem like much, but it’s safe to say that everything counts on Diablo 2’s Inferno difficulty. Also, with the conditional trigger set to 10% on hit, this mod will trigger a lot, as barbarians are a body-happy class. to body
+2 to barbarian skill levels
This mod, and the affordable price to create Myth Runeword, is what makes the armor attractive to barbarians.
Replenish Life +10
Replenish Life will increase the Myth user’s life recovery rate. This can be increased dramatically if they are using or have equipped other items that have the Replenish Life mod, as the effects stack.
Summary:
Given its low price and low level requirements, Myth pays off with its +2 to barbarian skill levels. However, the lack of all-resistance buffs really hurts it, although one could argue that a barbarian can overcome that by putting points into his natural resistances ability (which adds permanent bonuses to each of his elemental resistances). All in all, Myth is definitely an affordable and viable placeholder armor until something better comes along.