Released back in 2000, Diablo 2 made a splash. It was played in computer clubs, on the network and just at home alone. Even after passing on maximum difficulty, there was always something to do in it because of the almost unlimited leveling ability.
System requirements
If you decide to play Diablo 2 (Russian version) today, then don’t worry. It runs on any computer. The only problem may be compatibility with the operating system, but all this can be solved by setting the appropriate checkmark in the properties of the shortcut.
In extreme cases, you can use the VirtualBox program to create a virtual hard disk and install Windows XP on it. In this case, the game will start without any complaints.
Gameplay
From the point of view of modern terminology and slang, the game "Diablo 2" is a typical "grindilka". That is, you have to crush hordes of monsters left and right for the sake of experience and a chance to get more powerful artifacts.
As for skills, there are big "development trees" here, but you can only bring two active skills to the active panel. However, not everything is so bad. You can assign shortcut buttons to individual skills and change them in battle.
The only thing is that the Paladin and Necromancer classes have auras, which can be activated only by bringing them to the active panel. Thus, these characters have only one available slot for attacking skills.
Cities and plot
In "Diablo 2" the passage of the entire plot may take you about several days. And the point is not so much in the number of various tasks, but in the abundance of dungeons and locations. In total, the game is divided into 4 acts, which include quite large worlds.
- Act One - "Vagrant Camp". This is the neighborhood of the town of Tristram from the first part. You have to complete a series of tasks that serve more to enhance the player’s skills than to reveal the storyline. By the way, this is the only city in which you can not perform any of the tasks. It is enough to run along the road to the monastery and go down to the catacombs. By killing the main demon there, you will end the act.
- The second city is Loot Golein. An oasis in the desert. If you missed tasks in the first city, you will have to return, because here quests are given only in turn, and some of them cannot be completed without Deckard Cain, whom we save at the beginning of the game. In this act, we learn what exactly is happening and why the demons broke free.
- The third location is Docks of Kurast. You will have to break through the jungle and its inhospitable inhabitants. In "Diablo 2" the passage of this particular part may seem the most difficult due to some features of many opponents. Here we come to grips with evil face to face. By the way, the final boss will not be so difficult, compared to the final of Act 2.
- The final act is the "Tower of Babel". Bastion of Angels. You have to go through 7 circles of hell and defeat the devil himself. There will not be so many quests here, but the location is not much less than the previous ones.
Mercenary system
Each time you open a new act, you get the opportunity to hire an assistant. Unfortunately, you cannot take more than one mercenary, so you have to choose which one is more useful to you.
- In the first act, you can hire an archer. It deals damage at a distance and, depending on the specialization, may apply some skills. For example, highlighting or blinding enemies. A rather useless mercenary, but in the beginning it will do.
- In the desert, things are much better with mercenaries. Local warriors fight in close combat with a spear, but at the same time they have auras that strengthen defense or attack.
- In the tropical jungle a donkey magic regiment. Local mercenaries possess powerful magic. The power of spells and their number increase with the level of mercenaries.
Unfortunately, no one can be hired in hell. But this is good. Some mercenaries (like the ice mage from Kurast) in Diablo 2 make the walkthrough too easy.
Classes
How without it? In Diablo 2, there are many ways to send an adversary to the other world. You can always choose the path that you like best.
- Barbarian. Brute force in its quintessence. All skills are aimed at melee and increase your own attack power and armor. By the way, the only class that can get over obstacles. If you are shot at, for example, from the opposite bank of the river, you can easily jump to the enemy.
- Amazon. Master of ranged weapons and spears. One of the simplest classes is simply because you do not need to learn absolutely all the skills, literally five will be enough. Of the minuses, the need for ammunition (arrows) should be noted.
- Enchantress. It has a very powerful magic of three schools - fire, lightning and ice. However, it is very weak in health and does not cause physical damage. So, when playing on increased difficulty, her skills may be useless. Since in hell, almost all monsters are immune to at least two types of attack.
- Paladin. Universal enough. It has a number of magical attacks, not tied to a specific element, as well as a large number of reinforcing auras.
- Necromancer. Summons golems, ghosts and skeletons. Able to curse enemies, and also attacks with poison and pure magic, like a paladin. Of the minuses - a corpse is definitely needed to summon the skeleton. And on a high difficulty, organizing one without additional help is quite difficult.
Items
In "Diablo 2" the passage is inextricably linked with the acquisition of new and powerful equipment. All items in the game are divided by quality, but at the same time, the best quality does not always mean great utility. The quantity of additional characteristics depends more on this parameter, but not their usefulness for the current character.
- White things. They can be used in a Horadric cube for transformation. They do not have any additional parameters.
- Gray. Items with cells for precious stones. Also do not have bonuses.
- Magical (blue). They have 1-2 additional characteristics. Meet very often.
- Rare (yellow). 3-4 parameters in excess of the basic provided. Almost always drop from elite monsters.
- Unique (gold). Items with their own name. They have fixed parameters and are extremely rare.
- Set (green). If you wear items that belong to the same set, they will give a bonus, depending on the number of things from the set.
- Essential (transparent). This bonus can be found on all things mentioned above. These items cannot be repaired, but they have increased characteristics.
Lord of destruction
This add-on can be called “Diablo 2: full version” with good conscience, since it’s difficult to call the game complete without it. The official add-on, released in 2001, brings a lot to the game. Firstly, these are two new classes:
- Druid. Owns elemental magic and is able to summon beasts. At the same time, it’s not devoid of melee capabilities, since it can turn into a wolf and a bear.
- Assassin. Master of high-speed close fights. He wears a pair of brass knuckles. At the same time, it has the ability to block blows, like a shield. And performing combos, he can use elemental magic and make up for his own lives.
In addition to the introduction of 2 classes, this modification adds another act, which in size is not less than the first three. On Mount Arreat, you will have to break through the besieging hordes of monsters and defeat the last supreme demon - Baal.
Another interesting feature of Diablo 2 is fashion. They were released based on the "Lord of Destruction" and completely changed the mechanics of the game.
Additions
In Diablo 2, the mods are very diverse, but we will turn our attention to only two.
The first of these is Ressurection. He completely changes the balance of the characters. Shuffles skill branches, and also changes the animation of skills. If you have a character created in LoD, you can import it here, but the reverse process will not be possible. The same applies to the second mod - "Diablo 2: Bunches of Wrath."
This modification may be more confidently called a supplement. It introduced a lot of new weapons, new types of stones that had to be melted into things with the help of a cube, and also the most interesting - the ability to craft.
With the help of the Horadric cube, a player can not only completely change the characteristics of the current item, make holes in it and improve it, but also create the rarest (orange) equipment, which in terms of characteristics will be better than any other that you could find in the game.
Also in "Diablo 2: Clusters of Wrath" there is a secret level, which can be reached from the first city. And this is not about the notorious "barn." If you can go through a long network of dungeons, then you will get to the Easter Egg - Ancient Diablo, which looks exactly like the final boss in the first part.
Guides
Based on the many changes that developers regularly made, the same number of character leveling guides are created. Please note that the game is quite old, and the latest update to version 1.14 a was released on March 10, 2016, which means that there is practically no actual guide.
The best choice for anyone, even a novice player, will be self-pumping. The fact is that to screw up a character, making it completely useless, is almost impossible, which means that going through the game without prompts will be much more interesting. So, in the game "Diablo 2" you definitely will not need guides.