Weapon and Armor Racks?

[anonymite]

I have no idea how these things work. What TC to they drop up to? Do they respond to MF? Can they drop ethereal items (I can't recall getting an ethereal item out of there off the top of my head)?

Specifically, I'm interested in the racks on either side of Meph in the Alvl 85 Durance 3. And even more specifically, I'm trying to find socketed/socketable and ethereal archon plates out of there.

[Oscuro]

I'm sure they can drop ethereal items, and also superior items. Archon plates can drop from the one next to Meph; I have gotten lacquered plates and they are both armo84.

An on-topic side question for the experts: Do armor stands and weapon racks bypass the class-specific item penalty (1/3 chance)? It seems that I get a lot of class specific items from here, such as necro totems, druid pelts, pally shields, and assassin katars.

[RTB]

Racks drop items with Ilvl = area_lvl -1, and won't drop items with a Qlvl higher than that area_lvl -1. Since the Durance lvl 3 is area_lvl 83 you won't find Archon Plates (Qlvl 84) there, while Lacquered Plates (Qlvl 82) can drop from them. Weapon racks also require the weapon to be metal, so no Crystal Swords, Bows, etc.

While racks should still follow rarity rules, you'll often see them drop the same item over and over again if the map stays the same, like in Single Player games.

As for finding Archon Plates off racks, you'll need to hit armor racks in one of the area_lvl 85 lvls. You should find racks in the Disused Reliquary, Mausoleum, Forgotten Temple and the Ruined Fane.