Medusa's Gaze

Medusa's Gaze is a unique Aegis, a type of shield from Diablo II: Lord of Destruction.

Probably the most interesting feature of this shield is that it has a Lower Resist proc. This can reduce the below-immunity resistances of monsters nearby by 51%, and break immunities below 110 resistance. This can greatly aid elemental attackers with or without Conviction available already, although the extremely high strength requirement and the fact that the proc is activated when struck means that casters should consider their options carefully before trying to make use of this. There are some melee builds that rely on elemental damage, however, which are much more fit to take advantage of this. Melee attackers can also make good use of the Slows Target by 20% mod as well as the life leech bonus.

Medusa's Gaze also has the interesting ability to cast a very high level Nova upon death. This property is similar to the properties of the unique jewels, Rainbow Facets. Perhaps to infuriate others in player versus player, one could equip Medusa's Gaze and other Socketed Items with "Upon Death" Rainbow Facets inserted, causing quite a boom upon death.

Rather arbitrarily, Medusa's Gaze has the potential to give a very large boost to Cold Resist. Although certainly useful against Cold Enchanted enemies in Hell difficulty, it does leave the rest of a player's resistances exposed.

Stats

Medusa's Gaze
Aegis
Defense: 405-453
Required Level: 76
Required Strength: 219
Durability: 92
Chance to Block:

• Paladin: 54%
• Amazon/Assassin/Barbarian: 49%
• Druid/Necromancer/Sorceress: 44%

Paladin Smite Damage: 18 To 28
+150-180% Enhanced Defense
5-9% Life Stolen Per Hit
Slows Target By 20%
Cold Resist +40-80%
10% Chance To Cast Level 7 Lower Resist When Struck
100% Chance To Cast Level 44 Nova When You Die

(Only Spawns in Patch 1.10 or later)

Trivia

This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.

• Presumably, this shield is named for the Medusa of Greek myth, but the shield's bonuses don't have any obvious connection to her. Possibly the resistance to cold and slow effect are meant to be similar to the mirrored shield Perseus used to kill Medusa by turning her own powers against her.

Diablo II Unique Shields

Normal Shields — Pelta Lunata (Buckler) • Umbral Disk (Small Shield) • Stormguild (Large Shield) • Steelclash (Kite Shield) • Swordback Hold (Spiked Shield) • Bverrit Keep (Tower Shield) • Wall of the Eyeless (Bone Shield) • The Ward (Gothic Shield)
Exceptional Shields — Visceratuant (Defender) • Moser's Blessed Circle (Round Shield) • Stormchaser (Scutum) • Tiamat's Rebuke (Dragon Shield) • Lance Guard (Barbed Shield) • Gerke's Sanctuary (Pavise) • Lidless Wall (Grim Shield) • Radament's Sphere (Ancient Shield)
Elite Shields — Blackoak Shield (Luna) • Stormshield (Monarch) • Spike Thorn (Blade Barrier) • Medusa's Gaze (Aegis) • Head Hunter's Glory (Troll Nest) • Spirit Ward (Ward)