Summary: Diablo 2 Resurrected Season 16 gives the Eternity Runeword a major upgrade, including higher Enhanced Damage, level-scaling Maximum Damage, Increased Attack Speed, and compatibility with bows. Early controlled tests suggest that Eternity could become a serious option for Bowazons, although Grief remains difficult to beat on several melee builds. Here is how it performed against Grief, Breath of the Dying, Faith,
Diablo II: Resurrected Runes and Windforce.
Whirlwind Barbarian: Grief Still Has the Advantage
The first comparison puts two ethereal Berserker Axe Eternity Runewords against Grief Berserker Axes on a Whirlwind Barbarian. The character setup and other equipment remained the same between tests.
Eternity recorded clear times of 9.2, 7.5, and 8.1 seconds. Grief finished the same test in 7.2, 6.3, and 7.2 seconds. The results give Grief a consistent advantage, suggesting that Eternity's improved Enhanced Damage and level-based Maximum Damage are not enough to replace Grief in this particular setup.
A second test compared an ethereal Eternity Archon Staff with Breath of the Dying in the same base. Eternity recorded 12.4, 10.0, and 10.2 seconds, while Breath of the Dying achieved 10.3, 11.0, and 12.3 seconds. These results are much closer, with neither weapon showing a decisive advantage.
Travincal and Berserk: Another Win for Grief
The Travincal comparison used a Berserk Barbarian and tested Eternity against Grief. Eternity's Cannot Be Frozen effect allowed the build to use Laying of Hands for its 350% damage to demons. Grief needed a different source of Cannot Be Frozen, so Lava Gout was used instead.
Eternity recorded 18.5, 19.3, and 16.2 seconds. Grief finished in 18.8, 15.4, and 14.1 seconds. Although one Grief run was slower, its other results were considerably faster. Overall, Grief remained the stronger option in this test.
Bowazon: Eternity Challenges Faith and Windforce
The most interesting results came from the Bowazon comparison. Eternity was tested against Faith and Windforce using the same Multi-Shot and Strafe build.
Eternity cleared the test pack in 6.3, 4.4, and 5.5 seconds. Faith recorded 7.4, 7.0,
buy Diablo II: Resurrected Items and 6.3 seconds, while Windforce achieved 6.1, 7.5, and 7.4 seconds.
These results give Eternity a small overall advantage in this particular test. Its +5 Revive skill also offers additional utility for a relatively fragile Bowazon, allowing the Amazon to summon revived monsters as extra protection.
Fury Druid: Eternity and Breath of the Dying Are Closely Matched
The Fury Druid comparison produced another close result. Eternity finished in 8.3, 9.1, and 9.0 seconds. Breath of the Dying recorded 8.3, 8.4, and 9.1 seconds, while Grief with a Phase Blade achieved 9.3, 10.0, and 9.4 seconds.
Eternity and Breath of the Dying were almost evenly matched, with Grief slightly behind in these runs. This suggests that Eternity could be a competitive two-handed option for Fury Druids, particularly for players who want an alternative to the usual weapon choices.
Is Eternity Worth Using in Season 16?
The results point to different answers depending on the build. Grief remains the safer choice for the tested Whirlwind and Berserk Barbarian setups. Eternity looks competitive with Breath of the Dying on a Fury Druid, while its bow compatibility makes it especially promising for Bowazons.
These comparisons used manually recreated items through Hero Editor in offline PC single-player mode. The builds were not perfectly optimized,
Diablo II: Resurrected Gold and the results came from a limited number of runs rather than comprehensive endgame testing.
For now, Eternity's biggest opportunity may be the Bowazon. Further testing and community theorycrafting will determine whether it can become a long-term alternative to Faith and Windforce.
