Diablo 2: Resurrectedhas been announced and fans are returning in droves to the classic hack-and-slash game. WhereDiablo 2isdifferent from the later entries, though, is in its sharp difficulty spike and under-explained mechanics.
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Blizzard has confirmed thatDiablo 2: Resurrectedwill be, for the most part, a visual upgrade of the old game, and they will change nothing about its difficulty. It’s a game that doesn’t hold the player’s hand. Forget jumping in the deep end, the wholegameis the deep end. Here are some common mistakes that players should avoid in this action-heavy fantasy RPG.
7Engaging Too Many Mobs At Once
Diablo 3received a lot of criticism for how utterly easy the game was at times. It was a hack-and-slash with hardly any depth or challenge.Diablo 2, however, is a much more nuanced venture. Never mind taking on dozens of enemies to whittle down with area-of-effect attacks;Diablo 2makes simple encounters with two or three enemies incredibly challenging.
It’s a game that shouldn’t be sped through, as each encounter requires different tactics than the last. Players who are patient and take time to slowly progress through the game’s twisting corridors will find it a much easier experience than those who treatDiablo 2like a modern-day game.
6Spending All Your Gold, All The Time…
Gold inDiablo 2is useful for a lot of things, but not when the player doesn’t have any. It’s a trap in many RPGs to spend gold as it is earned on minor upgrades and conveniences. However, at later levels inDiablo 2,things start costing alotof gold. Players who spent it all while leveling up will have a much harder time than those who scrimped and saved.
Repair costs, especially for Runeword items, are exponentially more costly than regular gear. Gambling is a great way to get items, but most often it doesn’t yield a proper return on the gold investment. Mercenaries at later levels cost tens of thousands of gold to resurrect, too,so beverychoosywhen spending gold.
5… But Not Buying Enough Potions Is A Mistake Too
Having said that, there are some things a well-equipped adventurer should carry at all times. Chief among these things are potions. Health potions, mana potions, and other stat-boosting potions can be found at various locations throughout the game (and sometimes on creature corpses). The player should always keep a reserve of these on-hand.
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Dying inDiablo 2is a real pain compared toDiablo 3or similar gameslikePath of Exile. Upon death, the character will drop their gear and the player must make their way back to their corpse to pick it all up again. Having enough money to buy potions after death can help the player get back to their body more reliably.
4Using Skill Points For All Skills
A common mistake, especially for players new to building characters in theDiablo 2skill tree, is to level up all skills equally. While this will keep a character balanced, it doesn’t make them actually anygoodat any one thing.Diablo 2and otherDiablotitlesput a heavy emphasis on maximizing a build, a way of figuring out a niche for your character.
A character who focuses on ranged attacks, for example, will have no use for skills that boost melee abilities. A speedy character will thrive off of a boost to their dodge chance, while a melee character will thrive off of hit chance and short-range abilities.
3Not Using In-Game Hotkeys
Diablo 2by default has few hotkeys already enabled for the player. However, abilities and skills can be bound to whichever keys the player desires,making for faster combatand less clicking on-screen to perform actions. By default, F1 through F8 can be set for skills, numbers 1 through 4 are used for potions, and control enables running.
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There are a number of useful hotkeys that can be enabled in the game’s menus; for example, using ALT to display loot on the ground. By clicking the skill button on the lower-left corner of the screen, the player can choose which skills they want to apply hotkeys to. Just hover over the skill, then press the desired key to use for that skill.
2Trading Items Between Characters
Trading items between characters in the originalDiablo 2was much more difficult than it will be inDiablo 2: Resurrected.To trade items between characters, the player must drop the items on one world, log off, log on with a new character, go to that exact spot within a time limit, and hope nobody else picked up the items.
InDiablo 2: Resurrected, therewill be a Cache systemmuch like the one inDiablo 3that allows characters all on the same account to access the contents therein. So, instead of dropping items on the ground, players will be able to put items into a secure chest. They can then access that same chest later with another character.
1Ignoring The Storyline And Cutscenes
The world of theDiablofranchise is full of awesome moments and compelling lore. Even critics ofDiablo 3appreciated the depth of the narrative and plot.Diablo 2might have more dated graphics (which won’t be an issue in the remaster), but its story is one of the more interesting in the franchise.
Without spoiling anything, just be sure to take the time toabsorb every last bitof information that is given. It’s a game that doesn’t hold the player’s hand, but those who take the time to digest and understand what’s going on will feel far more satisfied with the ending of the game than those who simply speed through it.
