Forum:Immortal King questions

So I've been digging around the sets in Diablo II and I came across the Immortal King set. I have a better understanding of the Barbarian now, though I admit freely that I almost never play this character.

So what I'm confused is...why do people discount this set? Forums seem to routinely dismiss it. Flux, renowned on diabloii.net, listed the Immortal King as one of the worst sets in Diablo II, saying that it is "almost good enough"--but not quite.

I'm just not seeing why it's bad here. Let's take a look.

Weapon: Tremendous damage in literally EVERY category, possibly 40% crushing blow, two sockets that you can put Shaels in for that IAS bump. Great. The elemental damage means you won't have to resort to the risky Berserk skill when dealing with physical immunes.

Armor: Fat resistances to all rivalling the best armors in the game, huge defense bonuses (one of the best in the game), plus to combat skills, huge fhr. It's just rare, which I agree is a turn-off, but it's considerably easier to get than Breath of the Dying, which many D2 fans idolize.

Belt: Huge damage reduction, huge defense, decent resists, plus to masteries, huge fhr. Any belt that came with all these stats without set bonuses would easily be one of the best belts in the game, but this belt is not dragged down by the rest of a set that sucks, as far as I can see.

Gloves: This made my eyes pop. MASSIVE dual leech, very large IAS, huge defense, freezes target, big bonus to dex and str. I mean...what else could you possibly want from a pair of gloves?

Boots: 40 run/walk, increased AR, big life and defense, half freeze duration, +2 combat skills, huge magic find (for boots). Not as flashy as some other boots out there but it's certainly not shabby.

Helmet: +magic find, defense, warcries. I'll admit it's not that good, though its two sockets allow it to shore up any other weaknesses it has.

Altogether, including the set bonuses, we have:


 * MASSIVE attack rating (I'm pretty sure the +500 increase stacks for EACH ITEM in the set).
 * +5 all skills, with another +2 Combat skills. It doesn't get much better than this for a barb.
 * 20% damage reduction. Not the best ever, but certainly nothing to sneeze at considering how the cap's 50%.
 * 90 cold, 118 fire, 121 lightning, 100 poison resist. Add one point to natural resistances (with the +5 skills the set gives you plus rings and amulets) and you're set for hell resistances.
 * 50 FHR. That's a 5 frame hit recovery. Any more would be superfluous.
 * Dual 10% leech. The second best in the game, and more than you'll ever need.
 * Big fat bonuses to strength, dexterity, and life.
 * Ring and amulet slots left open for yet more IAS, attack rating, skills, or whatever else you need.

So...how is it bad again? It might not be as good as say, the absolute best unique armors and rune words, I suppose, but I see no crippling weaknesses here that so many other sets are plagued with. The only gripes, I can see would be that its two handed weapon precludes the use of a shield, or that the set uses too many slots (but I mean...look at how good almost every set item is).

I've recently obtained the whole set, and will be attempting to complete the game with it. I'll tell you guys how it goes. In the meantime, please feel free to leave your thoughts below.