Introduction

The guide is divided into 3 sections, dealing with [1] basics and rules of sockets and socketing, [2] socketing at Larzuk, and [3] Horadric Cube socketing recipes (including socketing odds).
Although I have tried to carefully explain every single detail by means of questions, answers, and notes, just ask if something still appears unclear to you once you have read the guide.

I am not infallible, so feel free to notify me of errors or inconsistencies on topic so that they can be dealt with.

Considerate feedback is appreciated.


[1] Basics and Rules of Sockets and Socketing

The Arreat Summit is the place to go if you just want to know the very basics of socketed items,
> http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/socketeditems.shtml

Q: What items can be socketed and how do I get sockets in an item ?
A: Any of the following items are socketable,

• Headgear
• Body armor
• Shields
• Weapons (except throwing weapons)

There are 3 ways to get sockets,

• Have an item spawn with sockets
• Use the Larzuk quest reward on an unsocketed item
• Use an appropriate Horadric Cube recipe on an unsocketed item ("cube socketing") or a magic/rare item ("rerolling" to have a chance at a socket prefix)

Note
In what follows, when I say the 'inherent maximum number of sockets' I mean the overall maximum sockets for the base item ('Sockets' @ the Arreat Summit).
They are obtainable from here > http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/weaponsandarmor.shtml

Not to be confused with 'max sockets' mentioned below which are sometimes less than, sometimes equal to the inherent maximum number of sockets.

Q: How do I know the max sockets that a particular item can have ?
A: Several factors limit the number of sockets, as stated in the rules below.


Rules for Number of Sockets

#1: An item cannot have more sockets than its base item type allows, i.e. the inherent maximum number of sockets.
#2: The internal level, also known as the item level (ilvl), restricts the number of sockets as described below (ilvl tiers).

ilvl tiers
As far as sockets go, item levels are broken down into 3 groups (tiers): 1-25, 26-40, and 41+. Each individual item type has its own unique set of max sockets for each ilvl tier.
For instance, a Crystal Sword has 3/4/6 max sockets, meaning: ilvls 1-25 (max 3 sockets), ilvls 26-40 (max 4 sockets), and ilvls 41+ (max 6 sockets). As it happens, there is a
neat, compiled resource showing the max socket numbers in table form, for each base item type,

Max Sockets Tables
> http://brentmcclintock.net/diablo/guides/socket%20tables.aspx

#3: Item quality (low quality/normal/superior, magic, rare, set, unique, crafted) limits the max sockets that can be added to an item.

• Magic items: 2 sockets
• Rare, set, unique, crafted items: 1 socket
• Low-quality/normal/superior: not restricted in this manner

Note
Magic, rare, set, and unique items that spawn with sockets are not included in #3, as they behave differently. Magic items spawning with the "Artisan's" or "Jeweler's" prefix
as well as rare items spawning with the "Mechanic's" prefix are restricted by the socket numbers appropriate for those affixes (3 or 4 for Artisan's and Jeweler's, respectively,
and 1-2 for Mechanic's). Some crafted items may also receive the "Mechanic's" prefix as a random affix whenever the item type allows that prefix. Finally, certain unique and
set items have sockets as an inherent magic property (e.g. Griswold's Heart has 3 sockets, Griswold's Redemption has 3-4 sockets, and Witchwild String has 2 sockets).

#4: Items found with sockets in Normal and Nightmare, from chests or monster drops, have a limit on sockets set by difficulty.

• In Normal you will not find anything with more than 3 sockets.
• In Nightmare you will not find anything with more than 4 sockets.

Note
To illustrate the difference between spawning with sockets (rule #4) and adding sockets (rule #2), let us suppose we had an ilvl 26 Crystal Sword drop from Normal.
By rule #4 it could never spawn with more than 3 sockets, however by rule #2, if it is unsocketed, you could get 4 sockets (!), either from Larzuk or by means of socketing
the sword in the Horadric Cube.

#5: If an item already has sockets, you cannot alter the number of sockets. That is, you cannot remove any sockets from the item, nor can you add further sockets to it.

Note
There is just one exception to #5. If the sockets on a magic/rare item stem from the "Mechanic's","Artisan's", or "Jeweler's" prefixes, then that particular prefix can be rerolled
(along with every other affix on the item, of course) using the Horadric Cube (see section [3]).


[2] Socketing at Larzuk

Q: How many sockets does Larzuk add to item X ?
A: Once you have understood the above rules, it's simple and straightforward.

• Larzuk will add sockets only if the item is unsocketed and socketable (see section [1]).
• Larzuk will add the maximum number of sockets possible to a low quality/normal/superior item, be it white or grey (ethereal). The ilvl tiers apply.
• Larzuk will add 1 or 2 sockets randomly (50/50 odds) to a magic item, provided the item allows 2 sockets. Otherwise he will add 1 socket always.
• Larzuk will add 1 socket only to rare, set, unique, or crafted items.
• Larzuk will add the same number of sockets, no matter if you use the quest reward in Normal, Nightmare, or Hell.

Therefore, when socketing low quality/normal/superior items at Larzuk, it pays to remember where you found the item (drop location).


[3] Horadric Cube Socketing Recipes

Q: Where are the Horadric Cube socketing recipes and how do they work ?
A: Right here > http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/cube.shtml

Quoted as they stand (numbered for reference).


Additional remarks to the recipes above,

1)
In short, a waste of 3 Pskulls + SoJ. Larzuk does it for free (alright, you have to kill Shenk first).

2) - 4)
Provided the base item type allows 2 sockets, each recipe adds 1 or 2 sockets randomly (50/50 odds). Otherwise 1 socket. The sockets are not added as a socket prefix; they are
added via the formula itself. Socket prefixes cannot spawn on the items when using these recipes.

Notice that you MUST use the Larzuk quest reward if you wish to add sockets to an unsocketed magic item WITHOUT having the affixes rerolled.

5) - 8)
As stated on the Arreat Summit, these cube formulae will NOT work on low quality or superior items. The item MUST be normal and unsocketed.
The item gets 1-6 sockets randomly, BUT the number of sockets added is restricted by the max sockets possible for that base item with that ilvl. So if the item allows, say at most 4 sockets,
you will not get 5 or 6 sockets. Even if a roll of the dice would return 5 or 6 sockets, you still get 4 sockets. In terms of odds, this necessarily means that you roll 4 sockets with a probability
of 50%, as rolling 4 sockets means '4, 5, or 6 sockets', each with a probability of 1/6.

Note
Some of the odds listed on the Arreat Summit are incorrect. The basis for calculating the socket odds in the formulae 5) - 8) is 6 sockets regardless of the item. So even though headgear
could never get more than 3 sockets, and body armor and shields no more than 4, the base of 6 is still used when determining the odds (see below).

9)
No matter what you may have inserted (gems/jewels/runes), everything will be destroyed with this recipe. You are not free to choose what you want to remove - it's either all or nothing.
'Unsocket' means that only the contents of the sockets are destroyed. The sockets themselves are retained.


Horadric Cube Socket Odds

Recipes 5) - 8) above.

Max 1 socket
1 socket: 6/6 (= 100%)

Max 2 sockets
1 socket: 1/6 (~ 16.7 %)
2 sockets: 5/6 (~ 83.3 %)

Max 3 sockets
1-2 sockets: 2/6 (~ 33.3 %), 1/6 each
3 sockets: 4/6 (~ 66.7 %)

Max 4 sockets
1-3 sockets: 3/6 (= 50 %), 1/6 each
4 sockets: 3/6 (= 50 %)

Max 5 sockets
1-4 sockets: 4/6 (~ 66.7 %), 1/6 each
5 sockets: 2/6 (~ 33.3 %)

Max 6 sockets
1-6 sockets: 1/6 each


The "Ethereal Armor Bug"

Concerning the use of recipes 5), 7), and 8) above, Ernir @ the Battle.net Forums had this to say,
> http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=d2-general&t=1312543&p=1&#post1312543


Just to make it perfectly clear, the bug adds 50% to the defense of the ethereal item, which means the base item defense (non-eth) is actually scaled by a factor of 2.25 (1.5*1.5), a 125% increase.

Note
Since recipes 5), 7), and 8) do not work with low quality or superior items, there is no such thing as a "low quality/superior eth bugged armor". Low quality and superior items must be socketed at Larzuk,
but unlike the Horadric Cube, Larzuk cannot glitch the defense of ethereal armor pieces.


Rerolling to get Sockets
The following formulae have to do with rerolling items. Unlike the formulae 1) - 9) above, they do not guarantee sockets, but they can potentially result in socket prefixes and are therefore included here
for the sake of completeness.


The Arreat Summit is wrong about 'Character Level 84' in formula 13. It should read 86, as gambled items have ilvls ranging from clvl - 5 to clvl + 4, and the +2 <char> skills prefix requires at least ilvl 90
to spawn on a magic amulet (same goes for rare and crafted amulets).


Acknowledgments

I cannot claim to have discovered any of the rules that govern how sockets and socketing apply to items. I wrote this guide to collect all information in one place, thus making it easily accessible.
Here are the main sources of information which I have shamelessly exploited during the process of writing,

The Arreat Summit - item pages
> http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/

Sockets and Socketing by posterboy (posted by Bob_the_Evil @ the Battle.net Forums)
> http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=d2-general&t=1353173&p=1&#post1353173

Brent McClintock's max sockets tables
> http://brentmcclintock.net/diablo/guides/socket%20tables.aspx

Faelwen old boy, you have way too much time on your hands [or a very boring job?]

It's all good stuff.

Someone put it in my head back in ladder3 or something .... that you will have more chance of 2 sockets in magic item (say nice gambled 3skill/20fcr Tiara/Diadem) with Larsuk at Hell. But according to what you have to say .... then it is always 50/50 chance. Doesnt matter if you use Larsuk.. norm, nigthmere or Hell. Which btw.. makes perfect sence to me. I guess some things just sit too fast in you and I always use Hell Larsuk ... to get better chance!!! I am too superstitious i guess!!

Nice guide. Maybe litle bit complicated to newbies but other than that.... suddenly a sticky.. :-)

The Larzuk quest is exactly the same in all difficulties, so yes, 50/50 for magic items, 1 or 2 sockets.

There is only one exception to the 50/50 rule, which is when the item is restricted to 1 socket in the first place, either by type of item or ilvl of the item. Those restrictions should still apply as normal, resulting in only 1 socket always.

Yea... ty for replay AyeCaramba. I will start now to change my habbits.. :-) To prove the theory right. Btw.. Can you pm me some links about TC for bosses. Been wondering where is the best chance of finding Tal armor!!

note: 3x pskull + stone of jordan for socketing a rare item is useful in classic where there is no larzuk quest

subnote: there isnt much worth putting in a socket in classic (i suppose a pskull would be the best)

Thanks for the heads up, lads.


Merely too much time during my summer holidays, I should think. Might as well put a little effort into a couple of guides.

You tell me what boredom tastes like.

@Majin: True. I only write guides for LoD, since I do not play classic myself, and most people seem to play LoD as well.

This post was edited by Faelwen on Jul 23 2008 01:53pm

^^

you have a much better chance of 1-3 socs on magic helms from gambling or finding then usen soc quest. Btw that guide is way to long lol. Cool that you took the time to type it out but dont forget the majority of people that checks the forum out or is a member will just keep posting the same questions over and over about this topic.

A for effort

True, that always happens whenever I try to collect most information in one place - it tends to build up and ends up exceeding what I originally planned.

But then, at least we can point people in one direction instead of several.

This post was edited by Faelwen on Aug 30 2008 06:11pm