Possessing a slew of useful modifiers, the Call to Arms runeword stands out for one reason: it grants its wielder a +1 to +6 bonus to the Battle Orders skill. Normally a Barbarian-only Warcry, Call to Arms allows any character to use this skill, which will increase their Life, Mana and Stamina by an amount that varies based on the level of the Battle Orders skill being used. That being the case, the +Battle Orders roll on this weapon is the most important feature, with everything else falling safely into the “nice to have” or “irrelevent” category. With enough +Skills (it has to be bonuses to “All Skills”, class or tree specific bonuses will not apply), the Battle Orders from Call to Arms can easily reach sLv10+, granting a 60%~ bonus to affected statistics for around two minutes. This is a non-trivial boost, and it makes Call to Arms a popular weapon for all builds to keep in their alternate weapon slot, swapping to cast Battle Orders, then swapping back to their business weapons.
Other useful modifiers on Call to Arms includes +1 to All Skills (useful enough for boosting Battle Orders), +2 - 6 to Battle Commands (gives +Skills, higher levels only increase duration), +40% Increased Attack Speed, +250% - +290% Enhanced Damage, and 7% Life Leech (if you’re for some reason inclined to actually hit something with this weapon) and +30% Magic Find.
To create Heart of the Oak you’ll need any 5-socket weapon, preferrably one-handed, so you can wield Spirit in the off-hand (the +2 Skills on Spirit will do your Battle Orders good). This limits applicable base weapons to Crowbills, Crystal Swords, Double Axes, Flails and War Scepters, and even then, only specimens with a high enough iLv can drop with enough sockets, so don’t expect one before Hell difficulty. To avoid any Dexterity requirements, Crystal Swords and Double Axes are preferred.
Once you have the base weapon, you’ll need to insert the runes Amn + Ral + Mal + Ist + Ohm, in order. Ohm is easily the rarest and most expensive part of this runeword, and while it’s a high rune, it’s not prohibitively rare to the point where you’ll need an extreme amount of luck to acquire one - finding enough midrunes should allow you to eventually upgrade to Ohm. Mal and Ist are also somewhat valuable, but again, not prohibitively so.
(1 of 2) A decent Call to Arms specimen, with a natural +6 Battle Orders.
A decent Call to Arms specimen, with a natural +6 Battle Orders. (left), While rarely used as an offensive weapon, Call to Arms is still prized for its ability to allow non-Barbarians to use Battle Orders, boosting their Life, Mana and Stamina significantly. (right)
Call to Arms (AmnRalMalIstOhm)¶
Call to Arms Stats
| 5-Socket Weapons | |
|---|---|
| Damage | weapon base |
| Durability | weapon base |
| Required Strength | weapon base |
| Required Dexterity | weapon base |
| Required Level | 57 (or weapon base, if higher) |
- +1 To All Skills
- +40% Increased Attack Speed
- +250% - 290% Enhanced Damage (variable)
- Adds 5-30 Fire Damage
- 7% Life Stolen Per Hit
- Prevent Monster Heal
- +2 - 6 to Battle Command (variable)
- +1 - 6 to Battle Orders (variable)
- +1 - 4 to Battle Cry (variable)
- Replenish Life +12
- 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
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