Strategies Bug Bytes Warnings Ladder Rankings Technical Help Sanct. Other Uniques Unique Weapons Unique Class Specific nique items in Diablo II are much as they were in Diablo. Uniques can have more modifiers than normal magical items, but are not all of tremendous quality. There are good ones, great ones, and many others that while useful at lower levels, can't compare to really top quality Rare items.
Unique shields have the most beautiful graphics of any items yet found in the game.
Every one of them has a customized unique appearance, and all are great. The larger canvas of a shield appears to give the Blizzard artists more room to work, and with that comes more inspiration. Almost all Uniques in Diablo II were improved in v1.08. Only Paladin's have the Smite skill, so only they see this damage. It's only of importance to other characters when considering a trade.