How can I maximize my Magic Find?

Question

What should I wear to maximize my Magic Find? What specific items are ideal for a Magic Find-optimized build? Does any one particular class have better class-specific items with increased Magic Find?

Answer 1

As of patch 1.0.4 the maximum Magic Find is now capped at 300%. The only exception is Nephalem Valor which can bring the total Magic Find to 375%.

Pre-patch info:

Here is an attempt at a max-possible magic-find percentage:

Gear slots:

• Amulet slot: 40%
• All other slots except weapon: 11 * 20% = 220% (head, shoulders, torso, wrists, hands, waist, legs, feet, 2x rings, offhand) (Note: ring are limited to 18)
• Helmet gem slot: 31% (Radiant Star Topaz)
• Follower amulet slot: 40% * 20% follower bonus ratio = 8%
• Follower ring and offhand slots: (2 * 18% + 20%) * 20% follower bonus ratio = 11%
• Nephalem Valor: 75%
• Shrine of Fortune: 25%

Total: 410%

Notable Legendaries with magic find. Note you can equip followers with them too:

• Sun Keeper (up to 50%)
• The Grand Vizier (up to 45%)

Classes:

• No class has an advantage because magic find does not appear on magic items. It does appear on off-hands, which all classes can wield.
• To my knowledge, no class has abilities that affect magic find. If Blizzard implemented this, it would massively skew class distribution, as everyone would play that class for the advantage.
• Barbarians do have a related ability, Threatening Shout w/ Grim Harvest, but I believe this just makes monsters drop more things on average, without affecting the quality of the drops.

Overall, to maximize profit, I think you would do better optimizing for your class's DPS stats, and adding in as much gold find and magic find as you can without hurting your kill rate or survivability.

Answer 2

You should always wear items with the highest % magic find you can.

Magic Find is an affix just like anything else, and since the vast majority of Diablo III loot is random, so too is the Magic Find you will, well, find.

Discounting the legendary items (the only class-specific items with pre-defined stats), because they are hard to come by, we are left with the entire array of basic items useable by any class that can have the +magic find affix.

Now, scanning the list of magical affixes that are floating around (like this one), there are two separate (but identically named) affixes, one for Amulets, and one for Ring/Armor/Offhand (Essentially, everything but weapons). So right there is a big clue that no class gets better magic find for its class specific items - because everyone's class-specific armor is still armor, they share the potential for the lower-magnitude "Find Magic %".

So if you want to wear the highest % magic find you can, and no exclusive items are better at that, what else is there left to do?

Well, the thing about % magic find is that it's taking up an affix on your items... which means any item with % magic find on it is makes your character less powerful than an equivalent item which rolled +damage or +armor instead. If your character is dying, you're not finding any items, so to maximize your chance to find items, you want to find the sweet spot between your maximum % magic find and your "not dying to monsters" state.

Finally, once you hit level 60, seek out Rares and Champions for Nephalem Valor. Nephalem Valor is a stacking buff of % magic find, and there's no penalty to it (though if you change spells you lose the buff).

NOTE: As of 1.0.4 magic find is no longer averaged across a party.

If you have low magic find, find a buddy.

If you have high magic find, go solo.

Magic Find is averaged across a party. If you've got 300% magic find, and your partner's got a measely 10%, you guys are at at effective 155% magic find.