Diablo 2: Resurrected is now available on PC and consoles, and it brings the classic action-RPG to modern platforms--the consoles being the most notable of the bunch, given the original was only ever available on PC. And while it has gotten a visual overhaul and some other quality-of-life improvements, it's a largely faithful remake of a two-decade-old game. As such, you can expect it to generally be less friendly to players than Diablo 3--if that's your only exposure to the series thus far, prepare for Resurrected to tell you a whole lot less, kick your teeth in, and then make you walk--not run--away because you've run out of stamina.
Fortunately, this being largely faithful means there are plenty of existing resources to help guide you through the many complex elements of Diablo 2, be it the complexities of the Horadric Cube, Runewords, or character builds. Here, we're taking a look at some essential tips that will help ease you into the world of Diablo 2 based on our experience with the original game and time spent with Resurrected so far--it should be useful whether you're a first-time player or someone who just hasn't picked up the game in years and forgot all about the joys of Scrolls of Identify, Baal runs, and those damn cows.
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Now Playing: Diablo 2: Resurrected - 11 Tips You Need To Know
Table of Contents [hide]Pick a good starter classMake a plan with your class and stick to itBe mindful of your staminaDeath is serious businessPrioritize your targetsBuy a Tome of Town Portal and Tome of Identify earlyBe smart about what you pick upPrepare to grindHire a mercenary for helpSocketed items and Runewords are powerfulUse the Horadric Cube
Some classes are better-suited for newcomers than others; Sorceress is heavily dependent on spellcasting and mana, as you'd imagine, and is relatively frail, making it a more challenging character to play solo at the start (although her teleport ability is a real life-saver once you get it). On the other hand, Paladins can take more of a hit and can heal without potions, while Necromancers can summon an army of minions who will not only dish out damage, but more importantly, distract and absorb enemy attacks, helping to keep you alive.
From a pure entertainment perspective, this is an entirely subjective choice, though there's a reason Barbarian was the one returning character in Diablo 3 at launch--Blizzard thought there was real room for improvement with that one. The limited amount of information on the character creation screen doesn't allude to this, but there are numerous class builds and radically different ways of playing as any a given class.
Spend your attribute points wisely, tooWhile you're free to mix and match skills as you wish, it's generally best to make a plan and invest accordingly. You have a limited number of skill points to allot, meaning you won't be able to acquire everything in the skill tree. And even if you do invest heavily in a particular skill, that may dictate what other skills you should choose due to skill synergies, which you can see listed when hovering over a skill. For instance, the basic Raise Skeleton skill for Necromancers gets a bonus from Skeleton Mastery and Summon Resist, making those important skills for a summoner to choose.
Resurrected features a respec system, so you aren't entirely locked into the choices you make, but there are limitations on it (you'll earn some respec opportunities for free as you play, while subsequent ones require gathering certain resources). As a result, don't plan on being able to freely experiment to the same degree that you can in Diablo 3.
In order to recover your loot, you'll need to make your way back to your corpse and pick it up. Without any armor, you'll be extremely vulnerable, so keeping backup items in your stash for these cases is a smart move, though be aware that you'll need room in your inventory to pick up your previous items. If you're venturing into a tough fight, it's also wise to open a town portal before starting, which will save you the frustrating walk all the way back to where you died. Luckily, if you do die again before recovering your corpse, you'll just drop additional corpses; this isn't a case where you have only a single chance to get your gear back. You can also save yourself some potential trouble by storing gold in your stash, ensuring you won't need to recover your corpse to get it back.
The exception to all of this is Hardcore mode, where a single death spells the end--all of your progress is lost upon death.
Once you enlist the help of Deckard Cain, the need for Scrolls of Identify will be dramatically reduced, as he'll be able to identify items en masse whenever you return to town. But you'll want access to town portals throughout the game.
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You can only have one mercenary at a time, so you'll want to make sure you choose one that complements your class. Pay attention to their skills when looking to hire one; a rogue with Cold Arrow (which slows enemies but deals less damage) might be less useful to you if you're a Sorceress who's already slowing down enemies or a Necromancer with summons who will divert enemies' attention.
Once you have a mercenary, make sure to equip them with gear to increase their effectiveness. Also of note is that ethereal items, which can't be repaired, are useful with mercenaries due to the fact that merc-equipped items don't lose durability.
That's where Runewords come in. Like the various gems you'll find, runes can be placed into sockets for beneficial effects. But if specific runes are inserted into items in a particular order, you'll activate a Runeword, which activates extremely important effects that go beyond what the individual runes would normally provide. For instance, Enigma provides +1 to Teleport--a Sorceress-only skill that Enigma makes available to, say, Paladins, enabling something like the deadly Hammerdin build to reach its full potential.
You can find Runeword lists online from the original game, but a crucial thing to note is that they are only compatible with items that have gray text; for example, magical items, which are designated by their blue text, don't support Runewords. However, the stats of the item are still relevant for making the most of a Runeword, so don't be too quick to throw runes into the first item with sockets that you happen upon.
In the early game, farming Countess in Act 1 is a good way to acquire runes. This will help to build some of the lower-level Runewords, such as Stealth (Tal + Eth; provides a boost to movement speed, mana recovery, and other things) or Leaf (Tir + Ral; provides a variety of useful skills for Sorceress).
Resurrected is releasing amid the ongoing Activision Blizzard discrimination lawsuit and SEC investigation, which you can read all about in our timeline of events.