- Bloodfist - Unique Heavy Gloves  
 
This is one of the finest items for new players in the game. Not only does it give you a very handy life boost, but it also speeds up your attack speed and your hit recovery, meaning you will kill and recover from hits faster. If you can trade for a pair of these, do so, or if you run Normal Baal or Mephisto a few times, you have a fair chance of getting these.  
 
- The Centurion (Unique Hard Leather Armour)  
 
- Twitchthroe (Unique Studded Leather)  
 
Both of these armours are excellent for starting characters to have, however they can be somewhat hard to find, now that gambling for uniques has been turned off. Again, the best sources for finding normal unique and set items are Baal and Mephisto runs on Normal. You should do these with a bit of Magic Find (using topazes in socketed armour/helms) or from other items to make them more worthwhile.  
 
- Biggin's Bonnet (Unique Cap)  
 
This is probably the best headgear for an early character to wear, with bonuses to life/mana, as well as other useful boosts, combined with a very low character level requirement. This cap can often be very useful up until Acts 2/3 if you haven't found anything better.  
 
- Pelta Lunata (Unique Shield)  
 
An excellent starting shield, for either melee or spellcaster characters, this shield can be difficult to find, as it is somewhat popular with low level duelers or Player-Killers. However, any monster from Cold Plains onward has the potential to drop it, so if you find one, hold onto it, and put it to good use.  
 
- Angelic Wings (Amulet) and Angelic Halo (Ring)  
 
Although the bonuses from the Amulet are pretty ordinary, the main reason it is used is that the Amulet, when worn with another piece of the Angelic Set confers a bonus of +75 life, a phenomenal boost for a level 12 character. The amulet isn't that easy to find, but someone may have it on a mule if you ask nicely. Although you can get this bonus from any angelic set item, wearing it with the ring is best because the ring gives you a huge boost to your Attack Rating, which is very handy at low levels as well.  
 
- Arctic Furs (Quilted Armour)  
 
This is an excellent armour for any starting character, and will give excellent service throughout Acts 1 and 2 normal. By act 3 though, you should be looking for something better.  
 
- Cathan's Seal (Ring)  
 
Excellent amount of Life Steal from early on, especially with magical 6% life leech rings having a lvl requirement in the 30's. Fairly commonplace as well.  
 
- Civerb's Icon (Amulet)  
 
Good amulet for a spellcaster to have early on, especially to help in the troublesome problem of running out of mana.  
 
Death's Guard (Sash)  
 
This is a handy item to have in your stash if you hate being frozen, however the fact it only has 2 slots will rapidly become an inconvenience. Note also that it does not work monsters with Holy Freeze, such as Duriel.  
 
Death's Hand (Leather Gloves)  
 
This is a great item for act 1 beginners, mainly for the purpose of dealing with Andariel and her poison attack. It's also good to keep on throughout Act 2, but after that you'll probably want to ditch it as not many monsters use poison after that.  
 
Hsaru's Iron Heel (Chain Boots)  
 
Handy boots to have early, especially with fire being the element you encounter most in the early acts.  
 
Hsaru's Iron Stay (Belt)  
 
Nice life and resist bonus, and it also has 3 slots, which is very useful early on, saving you less trips back to town.  
 
Infernal Cranium (Cap)  
 
Extremely nice headgear, and comparable with Biggin's Bonnet in usefulness, although for different reasons. Resistance bonus is good, and the 20% damage will help refill your mana quickly if you are in combat.  
 
Isenhart's Case (Breastplate)  
 
This is one of the most hated items in the game, as Mephisto often drops it on Normal and Nightmare when players are looking for much better items. However, it is an excellent armour for new characters, and its abundance makes it much easier for you to get your hands on one.  
 
Vidala's Fetlock (Light Plated Boots)  
 
This item is a godsend for low level characters without much stamina, as it basically means they can run all the time without running out of stamina (unless you plan on running from the Rogue Encampment to the Outer Cloister without stopping)  
 
Also, when you've finished with a low level item and have found something better, don't just sell the old one and move on. Either mule it and save it for another new character later on, or give it away to someone else for their use. It's often a good idea to keep a mule equipped with low level gear to outfit new characters in, and help speed their levelling early on.