River of Flame Farming Guide

The River of Flame is one of the most iconic and stunning sceneries in Diablo 2 Resurrected. It is often overlooked as a farming spot because everyone looks at The Chaos Sanctuary in Act 4, but it can be just as lucrative. It is a maximum level zone, which means you can find every single item in the game! Elite Groups are your main target in this area for high end Unique and Set Items such as Tyrael's Might to complete your Holy Grail.

Compared to other max level areas such as Pit and Ancient Tunnels, the River of Flame is a lot more challenging but has the added advantage of a Waypoint in the area. Monsters have a lot more Life and their Resistances are pretty high. Enigma and in some cases Infinity become very important because of this.

Why farm the River of Flame?

The River of Flame is an Area Level (alvl) 85 zone in Diablo 2 Resurrected. Elite Packs in this area can drop every Set and Unique item in the game, making them incredibly valuable to farm.

Killing high monster density frequently rewards you with High Runes (up to Zod Rune) and Charms as well.

How do I find the River of Flame?

The River of Flame can be accessed from 2 Waypoints:

• The River of Flame Waypoint.
• The "City of the Damned" Waypoint which is always next to the entrance to the River of Flame.

Tips & Tricks

Farming Routes

The River of Flame is a massive area, and it is never good to clear it completely. Elite Groups are your main target in this area and due to their spawn mechanics there are 2 routes in this area.

Bridge

The main route is to farm the Elite Groups on the bridge between the River of Flame Waypoint and The Chaos Sanctuary, which you can use as a connected farming area.

Start At City of the Damned

Slightly more counter-intuitive is to enter through the City of the Damned Waypoint, which is located directly next to the entrance to the River of Flame. From here you kill any Elite Group until you get to the River of Flame Waypoint. Choosing this route allows you to find some Super Chests and to kill Hephasto the Armorer. Beware of him, he packs a punch! This route allows you to farm City of the Damned before you enter the River of Flame for a change in scenery.

Maximize Magic Find

Super high level Unique and Set Items are the main reason to farm any max level area. Optimizing the "Better Chance of Getting Magic Items" Stat increases your chance of finding them. Make sure to keep up your kill speed and survivability, or the Magic Find you stacked will be for nothing!

Super Chests

The River of Flame has 2 map tiles that contain Super Chests:

• Layout 1: Contains 2 Super Chests
• Layout 2: Contains 1 Super Chest

These Chests drop high amounts of items, especially on a high player count (/players 7). In Single Player, you can find a map layout where Layout 1 spawns next to the Waypoint and farm some High Runes (Up to Cham Rune). Don't try to target farm these in Multiplayer, as they don't always spawn.

Layout 1

Build Recommendations

To farm the River of Flame efficiently usually requires some very high-end gear. Items like Enigma, and /or Infinity are often mandatory. We do NOT recommend farming this area without them!

• Amazon - Lightning Fury
  • The Javazon is the pinnacle of damage on the Amazon. To kill every Elite Group she relies on a Mercenary with Infinity as Abyss Knights are Immune to Lightning. Any other monster is easy pickings for her, even without it.
  • Without Enigma, she faces some mobility problems.
• Assassin - Lightning Sentry
  • The Trapsin can kill everything in the River of Flame, even without Infinity, however due to the rather high Life of monsters, it is a massive boost when you get it.
  • Burst of Speed grants great mobility at all times, making Enigma not as important
• Barbarian - Berserk
  • When it comes to Elite hunting, no build on the Barbarian is as efficient as the Zerker. When properly equipped, this guy just jumps onto a boss, uses howl, and basically one-shots the boss.
  • Find Item adds a chance for additional drops from the boss. This increases farming efficiency of any Barbarian build by around 30%.
• Druid - Hurricane Tornado
  • The can all, do all build of the Druid is well suited for farming the River of Flame by absorbing a lot of damage with arctic armor. With a high Life pool through Oak Sage and summons to tank melee attack damage, he has little to fear.
  • With Physical and Cold Damage, this build is capable of killing every monster in the area.
• Necromancer - Bone Spear / Summon
  • The Necromancer can negate a lot of the Physical Damage with his bone armor, making him a safe choice for the River of Flame.
  • While the Bone Spear Necromancer snipes away at Elite Groups from a safe distance, the Summoner teleports right on top of any Boss.
  • Corpse Explosion grants massive Area of Effect damage for additional clear speed.
• Paladin - Blessed Hammer
  • The Hammerdin is the best build for farming the River of Flame. Even before Enigma this character can shred this area like nobody else. His high mobility from Charge, Vigor, and Staff of Teleportation make him only marginally slower than the Sorceress in getting there in the early game.
  • He also has Blessed Hammer which deals additional damage to almost everything that is in the River of Flame on its own. Between the benefit of having Auras and buffs for you and your team, this is an excellent character for your farming.
• Sorceress - Lightning
  • Until you have a Mercenary with Infinity all Sorceress builds frequently face monsters that are Immune to their damage. Don't farm the River of Flame without it!

Summary

• The River of Flame is a lot more challenging compared to other max level areas. Be sure that your Character is up for the task at hand!
• Choose your route before you start farming the River of Flame. Either only farm the bridge between the Waypoint and The Chaos Sanctuary, or enter from the City of the Damned and clear it until the Waypoint.
• Focus your efforts on Elite Groups, they are the reason why you are here.
• Maximize your Magic Find without compromising your damage and / or survivability.
• Open up the Super Chests when you come across them! They can throw up to a Cham Rune at you.

Credits

Written by Teo1904
Reviewed by Raxxanterax