Thorns of the Invoker

Thorns of the Invoker is a Crusader class set in Diablo III.

The set requires a character level of 70, and, while technically it can be worn by any class, specifically boosts Crusader skills.

The set is named after Vizjerei invokers who used this armor to protect themselves against the demons they summoned. Lore-wise, this armor got into Crusader Order when Olenna bested an invoker in battle and made her an apprentice, purifying a set of such armor in process.

This set is sometimes called the set, as it focuses on Thorns attribute. As of patch 2.3.0, Smart Loot only drops it for Crusaders, even though technically it can be used by any class.

Pieces
The set consists of six pieces, all of which can be adapted for any class, and all six are required to complete it. Set Bonuses:
 * Burden of the Invoker (Pauldrons)
 * Crown of the Invoker (Helm)
 * Pride of the Invoker (Gloves)
 * Renewal of the Invoker (Pants)
 * Shackles of the Invoker (Bracers)
 * Zeal of the Invoker (Boots)
 * damage now hits all enemies in a 15-yard radius around the Crusader. Each time an enemy is hit with Punish or Slash, or an attack is blocked, Thorns damage is increased by 90% for 2 seconds stacking up to 10 times. (2 pieces)
 * Take 50% less damage for 20 seconds after casting Bombardment (4 pieces)
 * The attack speed of Punish and Slash are increased by 100%, and these skills deal 67,500% of effective Thorns damage to the first enemy hit (6 pieces)

The first bonus causes a splash of Thorns around the Crusader, not around the target (which coincidentally lines up with the Bane of the Trapped area of effect). The Thorns damage buff stacks up to 10 times (not refreshing earlier stacks). Blocking an attack also grants a stack, so a high blocking percentage is beneficial and maximizing block chance is advised.

Multiple casts of Bombardment only refresh the second bonus; it does not stack. The Bombardment procs from Belt of the Trove do trigger the damage reduction, so equipping the belt effectively grants permanent damage reduction in combat.

For the purpose of the last bonus only (67,500% damage hit), unlike most other instances of Thorns, the Elemental Damage of the additional damage type becomes Physical and can be increased by any effect that boosts Physical damage (such as +X% Physical skill damage).

All Invoker items are guaranteed to roll Thorns damage as a secondary attribute. Heart of Iron, Sanguinary Vambraces, Vo'Toyias Spiker and Hack, as well as Boyarsky's Chip, work well with this set.

Development
Originally, this set was intended to be (and, as of 2.4, finally is) the Crusader class set.

In August 2015, Wyatt Cheng confirmed that the developers were planning to rework this set, using non-trivial findings and bonuses, possibly related to Crusader class skills. He stated that something related to Thorns would be part of the Invoker's set for sure, and Thorns will not benefit from critical hits. Other ring/amulet stats could synergize well with thorns, and the set can directly reference Crusader skills, such as, Justice, Blessed Shield, , Consecration, Laws of Justice, Laws of Hope and Bombardment, to make this set Greater Rift capable.