Kanai’s Cube can be a little box of wonders. In fact, its ability to extract legendary skills alone is perhaps one of the greatest features to hit Diablo III since launch! In this guide, we’ll look at 10 powers that you might want to consider. Some are great for grinding, others for slaying hordes of monsters, and a few of them are just fun to play around with! So here’s my personal 10 favorite legendary skills to equip!
Pro Tip: extracted skills always roll the highest possible stats for that item regardless of what the item itself had!
10. Bovine Bardiche (Weapon Slot)
- Pros: Summons a herd of menacing armed cows to fight for you for a short period of time, which can greatly improve your damage output!
- Cons: There are better (more consistent) ways to increase damage output
The Bovine Bardiche is one of the sillier weapons in Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. This weapon was added to honor the Secret Cow Level, and was typically unused because there are numerous weapons that could summon much stronger allies to fight beside you. And the fact that they only had a chance of being summoned meant that it was not worth your time to equip. With Kanai’s Cube, however, this weapon’s legendary ability can see the light once more – provided you have nothing better to use…
9. Odyn Son (Weapon Slot)
- Pros: I love lightning! It’s the best invention since the rock! Also, the damage is always fun!
- Cons: Chain lightning isn’t actually that great…
There is a certain proverb I like to pass around:
Give a man a hammer, and he shall smash the skull of his enemies. Give a man a chain lightning hammer AND HE SHALL REIGN SUPREME WHILE SMITING ALL HIS ENEMIES WITH RIGHTEOUS THUNDER AND LAUGH AT THE PITIFUL CORPSES OF THE SLAIN!
The simple fact is: everyone loves chain lightning. If you don’t, there’s something seriously wrong with you. However, Diablo III‘s Odyn Son has such terrible damage that it was almost never a viable weapon in any build ever. While using the Kanai’s Cube for other weapon abilities can certainly boost your damage output a lot better than this chain lightning effect can, wouldn’t you just feel that much better if you had it anyway?
Yes… yes, you would.
8. In-geom (Weapon Slot)
- Pros: Reduces your skill cooldowns for 10 seconds 15 seconds after killing an elite pack!
- Cons: Very few classes can make proper use of this amazing skill…
In-geom is one of those niche weapons that needs to be equipped by the right character at the right time to make all the difference. That said, using a Monk with the Dashing Strike ability can be a fast and fun way of clearing Nephalem or Greater Rifts, provided you have this ability in tow. Since the weapon itself doesn’t always have the greatest stats (seeing as it is a one-handed weapon), wouldn’t you feel better if you had a two-handed weapon with this ability in tow? I would.
7. Custerian Wristguards (Armor Slot)
- Pros: Gathering gold gives you 1:1 experience!
- Cons: This isn’t really useful without the Boon of the Hoarder legendary gem…
While getting free experience points while gathering gold sounds like a good deal, the Custerian Wristguards are not a good piece of armor to wear… ever. Their stats typically lie at the lower end of the spectrum, and the ability isn’t really worth the sacrificed damage, toughness, or healing.
However, that’s what Kanai’s Cube is there for! Since this ability can be used with your newly made characters as well (provided you have already extracted the power) it can be really useful for getting to level 70 fast! With Boon of the Hoarder, you can even use this while power-leveling your Paragon Levels.
6. Leoric’s Crown (Armor Slot)
- Pros: Double gem buffs!
- Cons: No real in-battle buffs…
Ever since the buff to Leoric’s Crown it has become one of the most commonly used legendary powers in the game for leveling up characters. Why? Because it doubles the effect of any gem you have in your head slot. This means that your 41% bonus experience from your Flawless Royal Ruby helmet slot becomes 82%!
This can cause insane degrees of leveling up for your characters, or it can be used to double any other helmet gem you can think of. Once again, this isn’t one of the best armor buffs you can use, but it can be very… very useful. I will use this if I don’t have any better buffs to use, especially if you picked up this item for free at level 18 by killing the Skeleton King in Campaign mode.
5. Death Watch Mantle (Armor Slot)
- Pros: 35% chance to do 950% damage every time you get hit is no laughing matter… unless you’re a sadist, then you can laugh at the corpses of your enemies! MUAHAHAHA!
- Cons: Pretty much only useful for characters that can take a hit…
Death Watch Mantle is another fun, but situational item. While it does insane amounts of damage, the low chance is somewhat of an issue for frailer characters. However, don’t let the 35% chance fool you: you will get hit a lot, and 1-in-3 chances is pretty darn good considering how many times you get hit without noticing. That 950% damage can also spell doom for many common spawns, so consider this if your character can take a few hits without a problem.
4. Elemental Damage Prevention Amulets (Jewelry Slot)
- Pros: Don’t take damage, and heal from specific elemental attacks from Elite groups of creatures!
- Cons: None…
There’s pretty much no legitimate reason to not use an amulet ability that heals you instead of damaging you when you encounter an Elite mob. Personally, I like to use an arcane damage prevention one since those tend to be the trickiest to deal with (at least in my opinion). However, any elemental damage prevention amulet will do. These include: Countess Julia’s Cameo, Mara’s Kaleidoscope, Talisman of Aranoch, The Star of Azkaranth, and the Xephirian Amulet.
Oh yeah, did I mention that the Kanai’s Cube buff can stack with elemental immunities from other amulets? More reason to do it!
3. Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac (Jewelry Slot)
- Pros: Insane cooldown reduction for DPS characters!
- Cons: Game gets easier…?
Once more, an item that has no real downside. The commonly known Zodiac Ring is one of the most useful rings in the game, and having it on a Kanai’s Cube slot means you can use set rings instead of this legendary. There’s almost no reason not to do so since it quite literally lowers your cooldowns for free! Just remember: this only reduces the cooldown of one skill at a time, so make sure you use it on a character that is constantly using a skill that spends your resources. This would be perfect for a strafe build on a Demon Hunter or a whirlwind build on a Barbarian.
2. Hexing Pants of Mr. Yan (Armor Slot)
- Pros: As long as you keep moving you’ll do 25% increased damage!
- Cons: Virtually useless for spellcasters…
Hexing Pants of Mr. Yan is a strange item. It allows you to do an extra 25% damage whenever you are moving, but it lowers your damage by 20% if you stand still. This leaves it nearly completely useless for the two spellcaster classes since most of their abilities involve you planting your feet firmly into the ground. That said, the ability is extremely useful for Barbarians, Demon Hunters, and Monks who can take full advantage of this ability. I will certainly consider this if you want to do farming runs or just play with one hand for a while.
1. The Furnace (Weapon Slot)
- Pros: Chance to deal 6% of the enemy’s current health as fire damage!
- Cons: Are you blind? 6% of their health… every time it procs!
The Furnace has been a favorite among high-level Greater Rift runners ever since it was discovered. By having a chance to take off a significant portion of the enemy’s health each time it procs, there’s virtually no build that cannot benefit from this item. That said, it’s a tough item to come by.
However, if you use the “upgrade rare item” recipe that the Kanai’s Cube offers on a Two-Handed Mace, you’re almost guaranteed to get this item on the first few tries. Consider this at all times if possible, otherwise, opt for something you think would fit your personal build… Like chain lightning!
Honorable Mention – Ring of Royal Grandeur
- Pros: You need one less item to get a set bonus, plus the item is kind of weak on its own, even if it’s an ancient quality one.
- Cons: You could be using anything else in this slot…
Another item that is often sought, but rarely wanted in a build is the Ring of Royal Grandeur. While its ability is amazing, its stats are generally terrible.
With Kanai’s Cube you can bypass this weak item and just get its ability, but with so many other great options it’s only really worth it if you’re planning on mixing up the bonuses from several different sets. Consider this item with extreme prejudice. Some bonuses are just not worth the trouble…
That’s all folks!
Do you have any personal favorites for the Kanai’s Cube slots? Did I miss something you think should be on this list? Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!
