Item Sets

The idea of an Item Set is that 2 or more items, together, have properties that are greater than simply the sum of their parts.

Prior to that expansion Item Sets were only considered to be non-craftable armor that matched by look and name. these have been listed under Legacy Item Sets for reference but, when combined, they offer no additional benefits.

The Blackrock Detector Event Set from the Mad Mage Event is not listed because unlike other item sets it offers no benefit when complete.

Certain sets, listed below as "Event Item Sets," spawned differently than the others. Specifically, most spawned as part of the Spring Cleaning 2008 event, whereas the Virtue Set mostly spawned (and continues to spawn) as Virtue Artifacts, or as rewards from promotional tokens.

When you Equip a complete Item Set it will change color and you will receive a message The magic of your armor combines to assist you! One will receive this message even when the set is a weapon-set rather than an armor set.

Item set Pieces can be found on named monsters in a Mondain's Legacy dungeon, Doom Gauntlet Monsters and from Champions at Champion Spawns.

The Mondain's Legacy sets, conventionally, each have at least one rare piece that spawns only from Peerlesses, or from the boss monsters of the Doom Gauntlet, or from Champions. In the case of the weapon sets, both pieces are considered rare and should only spawn from those sources. In the case of one set, the pieces spawn only from one creature.

In the vast majority of cases, the set pieces spawn on the creature's corpses, like normal loot, rather than in the character's backpack, like Artifacts.

The convention for displaying a set's properties after the set has been assembled has changed considerably since sets were introduced. Originally, when the set was assembled, each piece displayed its own properties, and it was up to the player to do the math and find out what the set's final, combined properties were. The "event sets" outlined below, however, mostly follow a newer convention which is less confusing. The set, when assembled, will show only the set's combined properties.

Event Item Sets

Each piece of a set spawns at a different rate. There are common pieces and uncommon pieces for each Set. Prior to the upgrade to Swoop, reports indicate the odds for finding a Set Item was 1/300. As for assembling a Set on your own, the world may never know.
It's been alleged that some pieces are associated with particular monsters (other than the Monstrous Interred Grizzle Set); any information on this aspect of Item Sets would be appreciated.
Typically, Armor Sets have some pieces that are available from "normal" named Mondains Legacy monsters and some pieces that are considered "rare" and are available only from the Peerless Monsters, or from the Gauntlet Monsters in Doom, or from Champions at Champion Spawns. During the Mad Mage/Blackrock Detector event, these items also appeared on the corpses of the ethereal forms of the Shadowlords.
The 2 weapon sets called the Juggernaut Set and the Marksman Set, are found from Peerless, or from Doom Gauntlet only.
The table below of select Item Sets indicates the relative supply of the individual pieces.

With the exception of the Blackrock Detector set, all of the pieces in the weapon sets mentioned above are considered "rare."