Yet Another Diablo 2 Guide (Yes, that is the real name): Version .1
By Roland Carlos (RCarlos)
E-Mail: rollins31@hotmail.com
Ah, my return to guide writing. Sorry if I seem a little bit sentimental, but
i've been out of it for so long. Anyways, it seems that Diablo 2 is a very
popular game, so I think i'll come back with a bang. A Diablo 2 guide. I'll be
writing this guide as I go through the game, so bear with me. I'll update it as
I see fit.
Table of Contents
1 - Introduction
2 - Version Updates
3 - Author Notes
4 - Controls List
5 - Differences from Diablo
6 - Game Basics
- Shrines
- Items
- Weapons/Armor
- Monsters
7 - The Characters
- Amazon
- Barbarian
- Necromancer
- Paladin
- Sorceress
8 - Character Skills/Spells
- Amazon
- Barbarian
- Necromancer
- Paladin
- Sorceress
9 - Quests
- Act 1
- Act 2
- Act 3
- Act 4
10 - Lists
- Prefixes/Suffixes
- Uniques
- Set Items
- Monsters
- Shrines
- Gems
11 - Multiplayer
12 - Thanks
13 - Legal Junk
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1. Introduction
---------------
The year was 1996. Blizzard had released the acclaimed Diablo. It was a
revolutionary entry into the role-playing genre. Not only did it have excellent
graphics and great gameplay, it won over many fans with its game engine.
Claiming that no game was ever the same, that was true. Dungeon levels were
randomly created, as well as the quests you undertook in your journey. This
gave the game a much greater replayability then the usual role-playing game.
Taking place after the conclusion of the first Diablo, Diablo 2 invites players
into a much bigger world. While the hero of Tristam did emerge triumphant in
defeating Diablo from the labyrinth, he did so at great cost to their own
well-being. After the celebration, Diablo takes over the hero's body and
wanders the world now, as the Dark Wanderer.
The forces of hell are aligned with Diablo and his brothers. Chaos and terror
ensue in the Dark Wanderer's path. The Rogue Monastery is overtaken and the
Sisterhood of Rogues is broken up. A city in the desert, Lut Gholein, finds
itself under attack from the desert and its own sewers. And Tristam, the town
is now a former shadow of its old self, utterly destroyed.
And now salavation may come again. A new hero has come to right the wrongs left
by the minions of Hell. They will fight many battles and travel long distances.
But in the end, the final objective of this trip is to stop Diablo, once and
for all.
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2. Version Updates
------------------
9/8/00 - Version .1: Started the Unique Item List.
8/22/00 - Version .09: Back after my vacation. Necromancer skills up, and a
Amazon vs. Barbarian part to the Multiplayer section. Fixed the gem table (the
addition sign was the problem).
7/20/00 - Version .08: Added the Gems list and the Paladin's skills. Important
Author's Note.
7/18/00 - Version .07: Added the Paladin and Sorceress to Characters, added the
Monsters in game basics, added the Unique item notice in the Uniques list.
7/17/00 - Version .06: Added the Amazon's skills.
7/16/00 - Version .05: Added the shrines, items, and weapons/armor sections to
the game basics.
7/14/00 - Version .04: Finished up on the set items (thanks for the all the
submissions).
7/12/00 - Version .03: Finished up all the quests.
7/8/00 - Version .02: A few more tidbits up. Finished up Act 1 Quests as well
as my Barbarian info. Started on Act 2. Also added the shrines, the control
list, a few more characters and some set items to tide ya over for awhile.
7/4/00 - Version .01: Happy 4th of July. This is the earliest version of the
guide, with the introduction, my notes, some Barbarian info, and a few of the
Act 1 quests up.
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3. Author's Notes
-----------------
Well, not much yet. But i'm going through the game myself, so you'll have give
me some patience if your waiting for a lot of updates. I get my info as the
game presents it, so whenever I get something new, i'll put it up.
No, sadly, I wasn't a beta tester for the game, so I don't have any beta info
(even if you need it).
Hopefully in later versions of the guide, I will get more information up. This
is just a quick preview of what is to come.
A few people asked personally where I am in the game. Far enough. (Just call me
Sir :)
If you want to help or contribute to this guide, by all means, please! Send
an offer (or the info you want to contribute) to the email in the top of this
guide. Thanks in advance.
Oh yeah, praise email will ALWAYS be read :)
I usually play Diablo 2 a lot on single player, but I like to converse and
play multiplayer every once in awhile. Look for any character with the account
"Rollins". On the USWest Realm, I play with my Amazon, DizzyLizzy. On the
USEast Realm, I play with my other Amazon, Dragonablood. Say hey to any of em
if ya see them. (Get a free gem if ya mention my guide! Well...maybe.)
On my vacation, I visited the Phillppines. Run across a local mall there (like
Greenhills if ya are from the Phillppines). Some of the Network Gaming places
offer Diablo 2 on TCP/IP games. They are great fun if you need a quick game to
play. I had a great time myself playing Diablo 2 at Greenhills.
----------------
4. Controls List
----------------
Basic Game Controls:
Esc - Toggles the Esc menu on/off and exits other menus
Left Mouse Button - Performs "smart" actions depending on the situation:
-Click on a spot on the ground to go to that spot.
-Click on a monster to attack it using the skill currently assigned to
the Left Mouse Button
-Click and HOLD on a monster to attack it repeatedly until you release
the button, or the monster is dead.
-Pick up/drop items from/onto the ground, inventory or belt.
-Operate shrines, doors, and chests.
-Interact with the NPCs (talk, trade, gamble, hire, and imbue)
Right Mouse Button - Performs "smart" actions depending on the situation:
-Use the skill currently assigned to the Right Mouse Button a selected
target.
-Drink a selected potion.
-Activate a scroll or tome.
Arrow Keys - Scrolls the automap.
Configurable Game Controls:
H - Toggles the Help screen.
A (or C) - Toggles Character Attributes screen on/off.
B (or I) - Toggles Backpack Inventory screen on/off.
P - Toggles the Party screen on/off.
M - Toggles the Message log on/off.
Q - Toggles the Quest log on/off.
Enter - Opens/closes In-Game Chat overlay.
Tab - Toggles the Automap on/off.
Home - Centers the Automap (if Numlock if OFF).
T - Toggles Skill Tree screen on/off.
S - Toggles mouse button Skill button overlay on/off.
F1 through F8 - Readies (or sets) the associated Left or Right Mouse Button
Skill. Set by opening the Skill menu then place your cursor over the skill you
wish to assign to a hotkey. Press the desired hotkey while the cursor is still
over the skill icon.
~ - Toggles a belt than 1X4 open/closed.
1, 2, 3, and 4 - Uses the item in that belt slot.
Ctrl - Hold down to run.
R - Toggles auto-run mode on/off.
Shift - Hold down while clicking a mouse button to use that skill while
standing in place.
Alt - Highlights all items dropped on the ground.
Spacebar - Cancels all above screens and overlays to return to gameplay.
Numeric Keypad - Voice communication (turn NumLock ON for the following)
0 - Player character says "Help!"
1 - Player character says "Follow me."
2 - Player character says "For you."
3 - Player character says "Thanks."
4 - Player character says "Sorry!"
5 - Player character says "Bye."
6 - Player character says "Die!"
Mouse wheel up - Scrolls up thru all hot-keyed (F1-F8) skills in the Right
Mouse Button slot.
Mouse wheel down - Scrolls down thru all hot-keyed (F1-F8) skills in the Right
Mouse Button slot.
N - Clear text messages.
Print Screen - Save the screen to your D2 directory as "screenshotX.jpg".
Z - Toggle all party member portraits on/off.
--------------------------
5. Differences from Diablo
--------------------------
--------------
6. Game Basics
--------------
Shrines:
Shrines are still around in Diablo 2, but now they are a lot easier to figure
out what they do. Names like Health Shrine and Resist Fire Shrine are better
than Eldritch Shrine and Weird Shrine. Certain shrines also can be used again
(over time) so you can use their benefits over and over. The shrines now don't
directly interfere with your stats. Now shrines either provide bonuses or
health/mana refills.
Most of the shrines do provide positive benefits. So you don't have to worry
about getting in trouble from using one. Players will use the shrines to their
immediate benefits, health shrine when they need it, experience shrine right
before they get into a lot of fighting, gem shrine when they need an upgraded
gem. However, when you reload a game all the shrines will have changed into
different types (other than health and mana shrines, which will stay where they
were the last time you loaded the map).
You may also run across wells in your travels. Wells are very useful since they
give you health, mana, and stamina bonuses. You can use wells as long as there
is some water in it. Wells also refill faster than most shrines, so you can
rely on wells as good sources of health recovery.
Items:
There are a variety of items in Diablo 2 that are not combat equipment. Gold is
no longer placed directly in the inventory. You've been provided with a bag
that holds all your gold without taking any space in your inventory. If you
want to drop or deposit (more on deposit a bit later) gold, click on the gold
pieces in your inventory screen. The amount of gold you can hold is dependent
on your level, the higher your level, the more you can carry.
Gems are somewhat rare, but you will find a few of them during your quests.
While some common enemies do drop them, you find the majority of gems as
rewards from defeating big boss enemies. Gems come in five different grades,
chipped, flawed, normal, flawless, and perfect. The better the grade, the more
powerful the effect of the gem. There are also seven types of gems: amethyst,
diamond, emerald, ruby, sapphire, skull, and topaz. While gems can be sold for
a bit of money and hold a lot of trading power, the best use for gems is to
place in socketed items (discussed in weapons/armor). Gems cannot be bought
from NPC merchants.
Since every class now learns different things than the each other, scrolls are
needed. The town portal spell has been converted into scroll form and identify
scrolls still exist. You can find scrolls all over, from chests or monsters,
but NPC merchants also sell scrolls. Scrolls can be placed into tomes for
storage purposes. Each tome can hold up to 20 scrolls. Its a lot better for
inventory to use tomes if you plan to carry a lot of scrolls. You don't need
identify scrolls as much since Cain provides it for free. But town portal tomes
should always be in your inventory. You never know when you need a quick escape
back to a safe haven.
Potions are the staple for your survival. You should never head into battle
without having at least filled up with healing potions when you were at town.
Healing potions come in five types: minor, light, normal, greater, and super.
Early on, you can only buy the lower types of healing potions, but as you
progress, you can buy better and better potions. However, super healing potions
are only found, not bought. Mana potions cannot be bought and are always found.
They also come in the five types like the healing potions. A big change from
the first Diablo is that health and mana regeneration is not instant. You will
have to wait for awhile for the full effects of the potion. You can keep track
of the healing on the health/mana orbs. Rejuvenation potions do provide instant
healing, but you have to find them or make them with the Horadric Cube. There
are two types of rejuvenation potions, normal and full. You can place healing,
mana, or rejuvenation potions in your belt for quick hotkey use.
There are also non-healing potions in the game. Stamina potions can be bought,
or found. They are white in color and provide an instant refill to your stamina
bar. Stamina potions are useful when you need more stamina to keep on running.
Thawing potions provide an instant cure to being frozen. They are yellow and
again, can be bought. Antidote potions are black in color and remove the poison
status. Antidotes can be bought. Stamina, thawing, and antidote potions can be
placed in the belt for quick hotkey use.
In Diablo 2, there are also offensive potions. They come in two types,
explosive and poisoning. Explosive potions are thrown and create an explosion
wherever the potion hits. There are three types of explosive potions:
fulminating, oil, and exploding. As the grade of explosive potions goes up, the
explosion gets larger and the damage done is more. Poisoning potions are also
thrown and create poison clouds which poison any enemies that get hit by the
cloud. There are three types of poisoning potions: rancid gas, choking gas,
and strangling gas. As the grade of poisoning potions goes up, the poison
length is longer, as well as the damage done. You can buy most of explosive and
poisoning potions. Explosive and poisoning potions have to be equipped into
your left or right hands. Then you'll have to use the Throw attack to use the
potions.
You can place most items in your private stash, which holds items and gold for
you. This provides a storage place for items which you don't need at the
moment, but maybe later on. You should place gold in the stash so you can avoid
big gold losses when you die in battle.
Weapons and Armor:
You'll always want a weapon to kill with and armor to protect you. Weapons come
in a variety of types, such as daggers, axes, swords, and bows. Usually the
weapon class does not matter, but some class abilities do take the weapon class
into effect (such as the poison dagger skill which needs an equipped dagger, or
the Barbarian's weapon masteries). Some weapons can be equipped with one arm or
two arms. You may have a choice, but you may be forced to equip it in a certain
way.
Armors protect your body. Helmets for your head, gloves for your hands, boots
for your feet, belts to help hold more potions. Shields now have a sucessful
blocking rate, to see how much of a chance you can block an enemy's attack.
The body armor also comes in a variety of types, getting better in defense as
it gets tougher.
Weapons and armor all come with durability ratings. You may find damaged,
crude, or cracked versions of items. This negative prefix usually means the
item has lowered durability, or damage/defense. Sometimes you may also find
superior versions of items. This gives a bonus to durability, damage/defense,
or attack rating for weapons. Weapons and armor also come with strength,
dexterity, and (sometimes) level requirements. You'll have to fulfill all the
needed requirements in order to even equip a weapon or armor. You will get a
visual warning if a weapon or piece of armor is getting low in the durability
area. You should head back to a repairer to get the equipment fixed up back to
full. If a weapon or armor hits zero durability, the weapon or armor will
become inactive (but not broken completely, thankfully). In order to use it,
you have to repair it.
Weapons and armor names are also found in different colors. White is the normal
standard color. Nothing special. A dark gray name means the weapon or armor is
socketed. This means you can place a gem into one of the gem sockets, giving
the weapon or armor special properties. Blue highlighted names signify a
magical weapon or armor. When identified, they usually have a few magical
properties to them. A yellow highlighted name is a rare item. Think of rare
items as pumped up magical items. A rare item will have a lot of magical
properties to it. They also sell for a lot more than blue highlighted items.
A green highlighted item is an important item, even if you don't use it. Green
equipment means that that equipment is part of a set of items. If you are able
to collect a whole set of a set item group, you gain a powerful bonus as well
as the bonuses the individual set item pieces give you. Most people are not
patient enough to kill monsters for set items and they usually trade for them.
Finally, uniques are in a dark gold color. People mix up rares with unique
items. Unique items have a much darker shade than rares. Uniques are much
harder to get now, due to the additions of rare and set items. But still, the
uniques have a lot of powerful properties and you should be thankful if you
get one, even if you don't use it.
From easiest to hardest to get: Normal, socketed, magical, rare, set items, and
uniques.
Monsters:
There's still a lot of them poking around. And there are a lot more types than
in the last Diablo. You got your standard zombies, skeletons, and goblins. But
now you have your cat people, bone mages, and fetishes. Well, the battle to
fight the Lord of Terror wasn't expected to be easy.
Monsters are everywhere, in the wild, dungeons, caves. And you get your
experience from killing them, so you'll want to kill as many as you can.
Normal monsters have their names highlighted in white. You should watch their
health bar to see how much more damage they can take before they die.
If a monster has any special abilities, it will be in white type below the
monster's white bar.
Sometimes you may run across a monster with a blue highlighted name. This is a
champion, a tougher type of a certain monster (if the champion's name was
"Zombie Champion", it would basically be a beefed up zombie). A champion has
more hp, does more damage, but also gives out bigger rewards. You'll usually
find champions in a small group of 3 or 4. Be warned that they are more
dangerous so you should be careful when fighting them.
Other monsters will have dark yellow tinted names which signifies a unique
monster. They are always surrounded by minion monsters. While minion monsters
are not as powerful as champion types, they are a bit tougher than the usual
regular type of a monster. Its always a good idea to take out a unique
monster's minions before going after the unique monster themselves. Be warned,
unique monsters have special abilities, such as "Extra Fast" or "Spectral Hit".
Extreme caution should be taken before fighting unique monsters.
At the end of each Act, there is a powerful boss. These are the most powerful
enemies you will ever face, so you may have to use specific stratgies to take
care of them. You'll find them in the Act walkthroughs.
-----------------
7. The Characters
-----------------
Amazon - The Amazon is the expert at ranged and thrown weapons. You'll want to
use her with such weapons like the javelin, throwing knives, crossbows, and bow
and arrows. She is the best transition character to Diablo 2 from former Diablo
rogue players. Of course, she is better than old rogue in many ways. She can
enchant her bolts or arrows with magical properties that can do such things as
give them an elemental attribute, or even fire multiple arrows/bolts from one
shot. The javelin and spear skills can infuse the javelin with more power and
for both uses, when thrown, or used in melee combat. The Amazon also has access
to magic with can slow missile attacks, create a copy of herself, or even make
a powerful valkyrie to aid in battle. In addition to that magic, her passive
abilties helps to deal extra damage and avoid attacks easier.
You are an Amazon if: Safety first! You'll fire from far away and if they want
to fight they'll come to you. Of course, you have a few tricks up your sleeve
if they do come close.
Barbarian - This character likes to get their hands dirty. If you were a fan
of the warrior from the first Diablo, the Barbarian should be the best fit for
you. Early on, they possess great strength and vitality, so many early level
monsters will be easily handled by the Barbarian. He is usually suited to melee
fighting, but can be made deadly with thrown weapons. He can back up close
combat with Combat Skills (which give him powerful special attacks), toughen up
himself with Combat Masteries (which can raise his power in a weapon, or even
raise some of his own stats), and he can use Warcries when needed (which affect
enemies, as well as friends in various ways).
You are a Barbarian if: You love fighting hand to hand. Heck, you don't need
no spells. Give you a sword and a shield, your set for the day.
Necromancer - The Necromancer isn't the best suited for fighting hand to hand,
so he prefers to use his unholy abilities for holy uses. The necromancer
specializes in command of the undead, so he can raise skeletons from corpses,
create golems, or even turn monsters against their own with his powers. He can
create a powerful army to do his bidding. However, he also has good command
over the powers of poison and bone which will either kill the monsters, or at
least poison them enough that they will die. And his variety of curses will
inflict monsters will various ailments, be it they take extra damage, become
blinded, or even turn fellow monsters of the victim. Truly, he is a force to
be feared.
You are a Necromancer if: A job is better done when someone else does it, and
you get credit. But you can hold your own if it needs your personal touch.
Paladin - A holy warrior of light, the Paladin has no problem lending some of
his own bonuses to fellow allies. He is more of a front line fighter, so you'll
be using powerful weapons and strong armor with him. The Paladin possesses
several Combat skills which he can use to directly damage or kill enemies.
While his Combat skills are very useful, he is best known for his offensive and
defensive auras. He can pass his auras on to nearby friends, so if the Paladin
is getting an attack bonus, or free healing, his friends are also getting the
same attack bonus or healing. He can either crush enemies with his powerful
attacks or assist friends in doing the same objective.
You are a Paladin if: One of good qualities is your charitiable nature. But if
somebody crosses you, they'll pay in one way or another.
Sorceress - The Sorceress is the master of the magics of the world. She has
command of powerful Cold, Fire, and Lightning spells. While you can focus on
a single type of spell, a Sorceress who has knowledge in all spell areas is one
to be feared. Being able to attack an enemy with a variety of spells is always
a good bonus. However, once the Sorceress gets access to high level spells,
monsters will be quickly killed and you won't really need all those old spells.
She is mana drainer, so mana potions will have to be hoarded. If she does run
out of mana, she'll be hard pressed to fight off monsters, as her physical
attacks are subpar compared to other classes. A Sorceress must always be
prepared for anything.
You are a Sorceress if: You never could out fight an enemy, but you could
always freeze, toast, or shock them into nothingness.
--------------------------
8. Character Skills/Spells
--------------------------
Amazon:
Javelin and Spear - This section of the Amazon's skill tree mainly focuses on
the javelin and spear weapon classes. The abilities here will give the
javelin and spear attacks special powers, such as lightning or poison
enchantment. Some of the abilities work for the melee attacks, some for the
thrown attacks. But all are important if you choose for your Amazon to fight
mainly with javelins and spears.
Jab: You can learn this from the beginning. Mana cost is variable.
This Amazon ability allows the Amazon to attack a target enemy multiple times
with her javelin or spear. The multiple attacks mean extra damage, but early on
the damage done is actually lessened. After you've put a few points into this
skill, the damage dealt becomes a bonus, instead of a penalty. A very useful
attack in the early levels. As it grows in skill levels, it gains more damage,
the attack rating for the attack goes up, and the mana cost rises.
Power Strike: You can learn this at level 6. Mana cost is variable.
Power Strike adds a bit of lightning damage to your melee attack. This will
deal extra lightning damage in addition to the main melee attack. This skill
gets very useful in the later levels as the lightning damage dealt increases.
Use this when you need to do more damage than usual (for example, Unique
monsters). As it grows in skill levels, the attack rating goes up, lightning
damage dealt goes up, and the mana cost rises.
Poison Javelin: You can learn this at level 6. Mana cost is variable.
An excellent Amazon skill which adds poison to the thrown javelin attack. In
addition to hurting the target enemy and poisoning it, the poison javelin will
leave brief poison clouds in its path, also poisoning any enemy which touches
it. Very useful for poison multiple enemies. As it grows in skill levels,
the poison damage goes up and the mana costs rises.
Impale: You can learn this at level 12. Costs 3 mana. Must have learned Jab.
Using this ability will cause the Amazon to do a more powerful melee attack.
However, this is at the cost of the weapon's durability, causing you to repair
the equipped weapon more often than usual. If you want to use this is your
personal choice, some people find Power Strike does the job better. Just
remember you cannot used zero durability weapons, so you may find yourself
without a weapon if you use this ability too many times. As it grows in skill
levels, the attack rating goes up and weapon durability cost goes up.
Lightning Bolt: You can learn this at level 12. Mana cost is variable. Must
have learned Poison Javelin.
An excellent addition to the Amazon's thrown javelin abilities. When you throw
a javelin which this ability, the javelin will turn into a lightning bolt,
lighting the path as well as doing lots of lightning damage to the target. Even
though the mana cost does begin to sap a lot of mana in the higher skill
levels, the high lightning damage done is worth it. As it grows in skill
levels, the lightning damage dealt goes up and the mana cost rises.
Charged Strike: You can learn this at level 18. Mana cost is variable. Must
have learned Power Strike and Lightning Bolt.
When you use this ability, lightning will go off around your character, causing
damage to any enemies that get hit by the charged bolts. Its usefulness is
lessened at longer ranges, since the charged bolts tend to miss enemies far
away. This ability is useful at close range as it is much easier to hit
enemies when they are close up. As it grows in skill levels, the damage dealt
goes up and the mana cost rises.
Plague Javelin: You can learn this at level 18. Mana cost is variable. Must
have learned Lightning Bolt.
Basically an upgrade on the poison javelin. The mana costs are higher, but for
good reason. Like poison javelin, the thrown javelin leaves poison clouds
behind it and also poisons the target enemy. But in addition to that, the
javelin creates a sort of poison explosion, making multiple poison clouds
around where the javelin landed. It is possible to even poison more enemies
than with poison javelin. As it grows in skill levels, the poison damage dealt
goes up and the mana cost rises.
Fend: You can learn this at level 24. Costs 5 mana. Must have learned Impale.
Very useful when you become surrounded by enemies. Fend allows the Amazon to
attack all nearby enemies with her melee attack. It also gives a bonus to the
attack rating and damage dealt, so you can quickly take down more enemies. You
should save this for when you face overwhelming numbers. As it grows in skill
levels, the attack rating and damage dealt goes up.
Lightning Strike: You can learn this at level 30. Mana cost is variable. Must
have learned Charged Strike.
A very powerful attack for the melee attacking Amazon. When you hit a monster
with this skill, chain lightning will attack other nearby enemies to your
first target. This ability can quickly kill a large group of enemies as the
lightning can take care of enemies your not currently fighting. Take care to
watch your mana if you plan to use this a lot, you may quickly run out,
espcially in the later skill levels. As it grows in skill levels, the
lightning bolt and lightning damage goes up, you gain an extra lightning bolt,
and the mana cost rises.
Lightning Fury: You can learn this at level 30. Mana cost is variable. Must
have learned Plague Javelin.
The thrown (and more damaging) version of Lightning Strike. As you throw the
javelin with this ability, it turns into lightning, causing lightning damage to
the target. Also, lightning is spread to the other nearby enemies from the
target, causing extra damage to them as well. It is much easier to kill enemies
with this ability than with Lightning Strike (since you don't have to get in
the enemies face), but watch how many javelins you have left and your mana.
Just like Lightning Strike, this costs a lot of mana for an Amazon. As it grows
in skill levels, the lightning bolt and lightning damage goes up, you gain an
extra lightning bolt, and the mana cost rises.
==================
Passive and Magic -  This is the only part of the Amazon skill tree that does
not focus on a class of weapons. However, this is maybe the most important
section of the Amazon skill tree. You can easily increase the chances for your
Amazon's survival with skills such as Evade and Avoid. The Amazon can also use
skills such as Critcal Strike to deal extra damage to the enemy. There are even
a few good suprises you can find.
Inner Sight: You can learn this from the beginning. Costs 5 mana.
With Inner Sight, enemies affected by it have sparkles over their heads.
Enemies will give off a bit more light when affected, so you can see a bit more
of the area. But the more important part of this skill is that it also
decreases enemy defense. Enemies will lower defense are enemies that you can
kill a lot easier. Use this whenever you come across a hard enemy. As it grows
in skill levels, the length of the effects rises and the enemy defense penalty
goes up.
Critical Strike: You can learn this from the beginning. Passive.
A must-have skill for any Amazon. Critcal Strike is passive, so it is always
active, which is very beneficial for you. The more skill points you put into
Critical Strike, the higher your chances of dealing extra damage to an enemy.
And well, extra damage is NEVER a bad thing (when you do it of course). You
will want to always put a few points into this skill. As it grows in skill
levels, the chance of doing extra damage goes up.
Dodge: You can learn this at level 6. Passive.
Dodge is another passive skill, so this is always in effect. With Dodge, your
chances of avoiding an enemy attack goes up. There are a few requirements to
this skill however, you have to be standing still and it has to be a melee
attack. Still though, this is another excellent passive skill. You could always
as much help as you can get. As it grows in skill levels, the chance of
avoiding a melee attack while not moving goes up.
Slow Missiles: You can learn this at level 12. Costs 5 mana. Must have learned
Inner Sight.
While this is not a very useful skill in single player, it may be shine in
multiplayer. What Slow Missiles does is slow attacks from ranged enemies. This
basically makes them easier to handle since your not getting pounded by arrows,
fireballs, or whatever as much. Most Amazon usually use ranged attacks, so it
might not be worth it to put a lot of points in Slow Missiles. However, if you
run across a hard bunch of ranged monsters (maybe a Unique ranged attacker with
its minions), Slow Missiles might get some use then. As it grows in skill
levels, the length of the effect goes up.
Avoid: You can learn this at level 12. Passive. Must have learned Dodge.
Similar to Dodge, this increases your chances of avoiding a ranged attack.
While its somewhat easy to that (just move out of the way), you may need it
when your busy with another enemy and some ranged attacker is pinging you from
behind. You still will want to put some points into this skill, just not as
much as Dodge (and later on, Evade). As it grows in skill levels, the chance
of avoiding a ranged attack increases.
Penetrate: You can learn this at level 18. Passive. Must have learned Critical
Strike.
With Penetrate, your attack rating for ranged attacks will go up. This works
with Critical Strike, so when you have enough points in both these skills, you
have a better ranged attack rating and a chance to do extra damage. If you
choose to be a melee Amazon (not that unusual, some Amazon opt for other
weapons), this may not be useful at all. But if your one who uses bows,
crossbows, or thrown javelins, this is one of those required skills. As it
grows in skill levels, the attack rating for ranged attacks goes up.
Decoy: You can learn this at level 24. Mana cost is variable. Must have learned
Slow Missiles.
What Decoy does is create a duplicate of the Amazon. This is very useful when
you need to distract enemies away from your real self. However, the decoy will
not attack, so it is only useful for drawing attention away from yourself.
In addition to a Mercenary, this will confuse a lot of enemies and leave you
unbothered to kill them. The decoy will only last for a few seconds (at least
until you put a lot of skill points into it), so use the time wisely. The mana
cost is also very high, but it lessens as the skill level goes up. As it grows
in skill levels, the length of the decoy rises and the mana cost lowers.
Evade: You can learn this at level 24. Passive. Must have learned Avoid.
The third in the set of missing enemy attack skills, the special property of
Evade is that you have a chance of avoiding attacks while moving. Basically
you can cover all the bases when this skill is in effect, you avoid attacks
when standing still and attacks when moving. This is more useful when you have
to run by a few enemies, but if you usually run into a clearings, you might
want to put more points into Dodge and Avoid. As it grows in skill levels, the
chance of avoiding attacks while running goes up.
Valkyrie: You can learn this at level 30. Costs 25 mana. Must have learned
Decoy and Evade.
Using Valkyrie creates a person to fight for you. Basically think of her as a
mercenary you can create for mana. However, she is more powerful than most
mercenaries, as she possesses more hp and has attack and defense bonuses. She
does not possess the extra abilities (such as cold or fire attacks) most
merecenaries have, but she can hold her own in battle. At the very least, she
also is another distraction for enemies, so using her in addition to Decoy will
leave you free from enemy attacks. As it grows in skill levels, the life of
the Valkyrie, her damage, attack rating, and defense bonuses will go up.
Pierce: You can learn this at level 30. Passive. Must have learned Penetrate.
With Pierce, you have a chance of hitting multiple enemies with one attack.
However, it will also pass on to your special attacks as well. So while this
is a good bonus to your normal attack, special attacks may end up hitting the
wrong target. As it grows in skill levels, the chance of the attack passing
through an enemy goes up.
================
Bow and Crossbow - With this section of the skill tree, you can enhance the
attacks of your bows and crossbows. Giving them an additional fire or cold
attack is always a good thing. You can even attack multiple enemies with a
single shot. You should consider big development with this skill if you decide
to stay with a bow or crossbow.
Magic Arrow: You can learn this at the beginning. Mana cost is variable.
This is a staple skill for the beginner player (to Diablo 2, not just to the
Amazon class). Most early players don't stock up on arrows enough, so if they
don't pick them up or buy them, they will run out eventually. Magic Arrow will
create an arrow out of mana, giving you a fighting chance, even if you don't
have any bows or bolts in your inventory. It also gives a minor damage bonus.
The mana cost is very low (it eventually gets into the decimals and later on
becomes a free skill!) and it also never misses the target. While you may want
to use this skill early on, you should stock up on arrows for other more
powerful abilities later. As it grows in skill levels, the damage bonus goes
up and the mana cost lowers.
Fire Arrow: You can learn this at the beginning. Mana cost is variable.
Another skill useful in the early levels. Fire Arrow enchants the fired arrow
with fire, so it deals normal and fire damage to the target enemy. Good
against weak enemies, but you'll pass this up for more powerful skills later
in the skill tree. As it grows in skill levels, the fire damage dealt goes
up and the mana cost rises.
Cold Arrow: You can learn this at level 6. Mana cost is variable.
Very useful arrow skill. When an enemy is hit with the Cold Arrow, it take
extra cold damage and turn blue. While the enemy is blue, they will move slower
and attack slower as well. You can use this to take care of a powerful enemy.
You can even use this skill in escape, run a bit, fire at the chasing enemy in
order to gain more ground. As it grows in skill levels, the cold damage dealt,
length of freezing and mana cost goes up.
Multiple Shot: You can learn this at level 6. Mana cost is variable. Must have
learned Magic Arrow.
An excellent skill for monster crowd control. Each time you fire an arrow with
Multiple Shot, it will turn into extra arrows. So with only one arrow, you can
get a whole bunch. The extra arrows will hit extra enemies, so you can easily
kill enemies in a group. This will keep you from having to focus solely on one
enemy, while the others move toward you. As it grows in skill levels, the
amount of arrows fired goes up and the mana cost rises.
Exploding Arrow: You can learn this at level 12. Mana cost is variable. Must
have learned Fire Arrow and Multiple Shot.
Another good crowd control skill, this time you'll take it out from the inside.
When the exploding arrow hits, an explosion will be created around the target
area, causing fire damage to any enemy hit by it. Use this when you become
faced by a large group of enemies. As it grows in skill levels, the fire damage
dealt goes up and the mana cost rises.
Ice Arrow: You can learn this at level 18. Mana cost is variable. Must have
learned Cold Arrow.
Like Cold Arrow, this deals extra cold damage to an enemy. But unlike Cold
Arrow, this will freeze an enemy directly, stopping them in their tracks. A
frozen enemy is very easy to take down since it can't fight back. Also, if you
can kill an enemy while it is frozen, it will shatter and leave no corpse (very
useful when an enemy can revived). The frozen time is very brief so make good
use of it. As it grows in skill levels, the cold damage dealt, the frozen time
and mana cost goes up.
Guided Arrow: You can learn this at level 18. Mana cost is variable. Must have
learned Cold Arrow and Multiple Shot.
Guided Arrow is basically a homing missile. When you fire an arrow with Guided
Arrow it will automatically track the nearest enemy, even if they are not in
the usual straight line of the arrow. The arrow will even move itself in order
to hit an enemy. You'll use this when you need to blindly fire into a room to
just can't seem to get a steady lock on a quick enemy. As it grows in skill
levels, the mana cost rises and the damage dealt goes up.
Strafe: You can learn this at level 24. Costs 11 mana. Must have learned Guided
Arrow.
Strafe fires multiple arrows like Multiple Shot, but will attack any enemies on
screen, no matter where they are. This allows you to damage any number of
enemies even if they are on the top or bottom of the screen. You can only
damage a certain number of enemies per each skill level, so for the really
large groups, you'll have to put a lot of points into Strafe. As it grows in
skill levels, the damage dealt goes up and the number of enemies attacked goes
up.
Immolation Arrow: You can learn this at level 24. Mana cost is variable. Must
have learned Exploding Arrow.
The Immolation Arrow does a whole lot of damage. First, you deal the normal
damage with the fired arrow. Second, you deal extra fire damage to the targeted
enemy. Third, it will create an explosion, dealing damage to any enemy which
is hit by it. Fourth, the explosion creates a fire which will burn for a time,
hurting any enemy which stands in it. You can easily kill a single enemy and
quickly hurt other enemies in a group. A must-have for high level Amazons. As
it grows in skill levels, it deals extra explosion and fire damage, the length
of the fire goes up, and the mana cost rises.
Freezing Arrow: You can learn this at level 30. Mana cost is variable. Must
have learned Ice Arrow.
An upgrade of the Ice Arrow, but also costs more mana. It will freeze the
target enemy but also will freeze enemies near the target. This allows you to
stop a good number of enemies by freezing them in their tracks. The extra
damage dealt is also a good bonus, so you can hurt enemies to near death. A
mercenary or Valkyrie can take care of the frozen enemies while you hit them
with Freezing Arrows. As it grows with skill levels, it deals extra damage and
the mana cost rises.
==========
Barbarian:
Combat Skills - These mainly help in combat. They are mostly powerful attacks
that give more damage than usual. You'll want to use these skills when you want
something dead. And quick.
Bash: You can learn this from the beginning. Costs 2 mana.
This attack deals a powerful blow to a monster which deals additional damage
and knocks the target back a bit. You'll want to use this when you need a bit
of breathing space. As it grows in skill levels, it gains more damage, more
attack rating and more damage bonus.
Leap: You can learn this at level 6. Costs 2 mana.
This skill does not do any damage (not yet anyway), but is useful in getting
around. This lets the Barbarian jump around. He can jump over objects and
enemies as well. If you do land near enemies, this does not hurt them, but does
push them away a bit. As it grows in skill levels, you gain more length in the
jump.
Double Swing: You can learn this at level 6. Costs 2 mana.
If you have a weapon wielded in each hand, this is the skill for you. When
used, you will swing both weapons at the same time causing extra damage. This
is very useful for strong monsters, as repeated Double Swings with chop it down
quickly. As it grows in skill levels, the attack rating goes up.
Stun: You can learn this at level 12. Costs 2 mana. Must have learned Bash.
When you use this skill the enemy will be stunned. This will freeze the enemy
for a few seconds and allow you to run, fight other enemies, or just hit it
unopposed. A good tactic is to keep using stun on an enemy and freeze it over
and over. As it grows in skill levels, the attack rating and length of the stun
raises.
Double Throw: You can learn this at level 12. Costs 2 mana. Must have learned
Double Swing.
Like Double Swing, this will throw two weapons at the same time. This only
works if you have a thrown weapon in each hand. This is useful only if you are
a big thrown weapon user. If not, you should not use many points in this skill.
As it grows in skill levels, the attack rating goes up.
Leap Attack: You can learn this at level 18. Costs 9 mana. Must have learned
Leap.
Basically an upgrade on Leap. With this version of it, you can jump farther
(when you compare equal levels to Leap) and do an attack when you land (with a
damage bonus). However, this does cost more mana, so you should only use this
for jumping in and out of battles. For casual jumping (like over rivers or to
other platforms), regular Leap is recommended. As it grows in skill levels, the
jumping length and damage bonus goes up.
Concentrate: You can learn this at level 18. Costs 2 mana. Must have learned
Stun.
A very useful skill when surrounded by enemies. With Concentrate, your attack
will not be stopped by an enemy hit. So you can focus more on hacking your way
through a group of monsters. Of course, you will still take damage, but at
least you can quicken the pace of getting outta there. It also gives a small
bonus to your attack and defense rating. As it grows in skill levels, the
attack rating and defense rating goes up.
Frenzy: You can learn this at level 24. Costs 3 mana. Must have learned Double
Throw.
Facing a tough champion or unique monster? Frenzy is the way to go. As you hit
a monster with the Frenzy attack, the next attack will be faster. It will keep
getting faster and faster until the monster is either dead, or you move onto
another monster. This is useful as this will quickly kill a tough monster,
provided you can hit it (it does not gain in speed for a miss).
As it grows in skill levels, the length of the Frenzy bonus and the attack
rating go up.
Whirlwind: You can learn this at level 30. Mana cost is variable. Must have
learned Leap Attack and Concentrate.
This is literally a whirlwind. Click on where you want to go and the Barbarian
will go there, attacking monsters in a whirlwind along the way. This is a quick
way to get through a whole bunch of enemies blocking you, as this will chop
them down to size quickly. However, in the first few skill levels of Whirlwind,
the damage bonus is actually a penalty! So, until you get to level 5 in
Whirlwind, you do less damage in Whirlwind. Afterwards, you start to do extra
damage. As it grows in skill levels, the mana cost, damage bonus, and attack
rating go up.
Berserk: You can learn this at level 30. Costs 5 mana. Must have learned
Concentrate.
Using this skill gives the Barbarian a quick attack rating and magic damage
bonus. So this is useful when you need every bit of help you can in killing
monsters, as you have a better chance of hitting them. But be warned, as you
add points into this skill, the duration of Berserk goes down. As it grows in
skill levels, the attack rating and magic damage bonus go up, but the length
of the Berserk goes down.
================
Combat Masteries - The weapon masteries increase the usefulness of weapon
classes greatly. However, due to the lack of skill points out there, you should
usually focus on one weapon art mainly. Most tend to use swords, so sword
mastery is a good choice. However, it is your choice to what weapon class you
want to use. The other skills in this set help with increasing certain aspects
of the Barbarian, such as Stamina and Defense.
Sword Mastery: You can learn this from the beginning. Passive.
As you raise the level of this skill, you gain more attack rating and damage
for sword class weapons.
Axe Mastery: You can learn this from the beginning. Passive.
As you raise the level of this skill, you gain more attack rating and damage
for axe class weapons.
Mace Mastery: You can learn this from the beginning. Passive.
As you raise the level of this skill, you gain more attack rating and damage
for mace class weapons.
Polearm Mastery: You can learn this at level 6. Passive.
As you raise the level of this skill, you gain more attack rating and damage
for polearm class weapons.
Throwing Mastery: You can learn this at level 6. Passive.
As you raise the level of this skill, you gain more attack rating and damage
for throwing class weapons.
Spear Mastery: You can learn this at level 6. Passive.
As you raise the level of this skill, you gain more attack rating and damage
for spear class weapons.
Increased Stamina: You can learn this at level 12. Passive.
As you put points into this skill, you gain percent bonuses to your current
stamina total. This is useful if you do a lot of running, as it raises your
stamina total greatly when more points are put into it.
Iron Skin: You can learn this at level 18. Passive
As you put points into this skill, you gain percent bonuses to your current
defense total. Obviously, this is useful, as it keeps you from dying. You can
never have enough defense.
Increased Speed: You can learn this at level 24. Passive. You must have learned
Increased Stamina.
As you put points into this skill, you gain percent bonuses to your current
walking/running speed. The percent bonus is only a little bit each level, so
you may have to put a lot of points into this skill, if you really need the
extra speed. You'll want this if you need a quick retreat, or a quick way to
catch those coward enemies.
Natural Resistance: You can learn this at level 30. Passive. You must have
learned Iron Skin.
As you put points into this skill, you gain percent bonuses to your resistances
from magical attacks (fire, cold, lightning, poison). This is very useful. Many
of the monsters in the last parts of the game have specialized elemental
attacks. Having a resistance to it can decrease the damage you take from that
monster and make it easier to take down.
========
Warcries - These abilities of Barbarian directly affect other creatures. Some