Diablo 2

I have just started this game and am at level 4 playing as a Paladin. I now have a small figure of a knight in armor in the upper right corner of the screen. I can't find anything in my manual or strategy guide that mentions this. Mousing over has no effect.

Hey Pokey!

You need to repair your armor, go back to town and talk to the blacksmith lady, choose the shopping option, and there will be a button on the window that appears to repair all equipment. Hit it.

Thanks, Schwab. I wouldn't have figured that out. Now that I look under repair in the manual, it is spelled out. I don't remember a blacksmith lady, but will check it out.

I killed Blood Raven, or thought I did since the quest completed and I got a reward, but when I went back to the burial ground to check out the crypt and the mausoleum, she was there again with all her minions. Do I have to kill her a second time to enter these areas? I lost the archer in a battle in Stony Fields.

Hi all,

You have to explore the area when you are there the first time because every time you go back to any area the enemies are there again.

Yes you have to kill Blood Raven and company to be able to explore the area again. Sorry.

If you loose your archer then you have to hire another one to replace her.

Thanks, Magic. I am surprised to learn that, but will either kill her again or dash to the entrances of those places. I had no room in my inventory the first time, so had to return to town.

Is there a waypoint in the Dark Wood? Seems like I've covered all of it and haven't found one yet.

Level 7 now.

A easy way to find out if there is a way point is go to the way point in camp. Stand on it all the way points will be listed. The ones you have you found and turned on will be lite up. The dark ones you either haven't found or did not activate.
The only good thing about fighting Blood Raven again is she'll drop all her goodies again ! ! Of course you also get exp. points again.

I went back and cleaned out Dark Wood again and finally found the waypoint hidden in a corner. Glad I have a way to get back to camp.

Pokey,
I tried playing Diablo 2 again and couldn't get it to work on XP...did you have any problems? Or do anything special?

Ingie

Ingie, I just installed it in XP and it worked. I didn't do anything special.

I've rescued Cain now and ready to head off to the Black Marsh. This game just keeps calling you back.

I cleared out the Black marsh and entered the tower, but in the process I died. I went back to find my body and died again, losing Wirt's leg and a nice shield. I did find my body and got most of my inventory back, but will I be able to get the other items back from the second time I died?

Hi all,

Yes you can get back everything you loose.
You will have to crosses on the map where your bodies are.

You can also save and exit the game then go back and your stuff will be right there next to your chest in town on the ground so you just click on it.

You can do this anytime you die so you don't have to go back to the area if you were surrounded by enemies.

I love that chest which will be with you in any town you will travel to. The stuff is safe in there and don't forget to deposit you coins so when you die you don't loose all the money you had with you. In this game the only thing you really loose is the money and the rest is still there with your body.

Well my assassin is now ready to go into the Monestary. Moving on...hehe.

I like the sorceress and the Necromancer also because they can summon help and don't have to do very much if anything at all hehe.

I also like my very fast Axe with fire,cold and poison damage on it.

Look for slotted items in armor or weapons so you can insert the gems you find or stuff like skeleton head which give you extra damage or ruin stones also.

When I loaded the game this morning, there wasn't anything near my stash. Guess I'll need to buy a new shield. I lost my fancy staff too. My body did reappear in camp when I died in the burial grounds, but not this time. How do I know how many Town Portals I have in my tome? It doesn't seem to open up--or maybe I have to try outside of camp.

I think each type Tomb [Townportal/Identity] holds 20 scrolls each. Can't really remember but if you hold the mouse over the Tomb it may tell you. You may need to have your inventory open.
Wish I could help more.

Hi all,

That is very weird that you didn't have your body with all of your stuff appear in town when you reloaded the game. Hmpt.

Is the stuff in your inventory or do you have the stuff equipped and don't realize it?

When you look in your inventory you can equip more then one weapon. Look above the weapon and you will see a numeral number I and II and click on them to see if the shield is maybe hidden to you?

If not then I am sorry you lost your good stuff.

Another thing to check is to look on the map where you died incase the bodies might still be there?

Hold your cursor over the Tomb and it will let you know how many there are. It only holds 20 of them.

I always have spare armor and weapon in my chest incase I decide to go back to where I died and pick up my stuff and not exit the game.

Well hope this helps and good luck.
See you in my travels.

I checked everyplace but nothing turned up. Oh well, I have enough gold now that I can buy a shield. I did find a couple nice ones, but had no space in my inventory and they had to be identified to equip. I should have dropped some of my stuff.

I finished the Forgotten Tower and am on my way to the monastery. The prayer aura for the paladine is really handy.

Hi all,

Don't worry....you will find even better stuff as you get further into the game.

You can use scrolls to ID the stuff yourself.

My Paladin is way way ahead of my other players and I do like the moves he has. One skill really really makes him fast in hitting his axe..phew.

He may be in the 3rd or so area already but I haven't played him for a long time so don't remember for sure. I'll have to go see what the name of the place is where he is. Hmmm.

I have been just playing my other 3 people to move them along and they are getting some really cool skills now.

I finished the monastery and as a reward for returning the hammer I got some super upgrades to my superior sceptor. I can't use it yet because I'm not quite to level 12. I did find a large shield and this time I had a scroll to identify it. The zeal skill looks like it might be a great one to have and I'm working towards it. I'm going to have to do some leveling up before I attempt the next quest.

Hi,

I checked and my Paladin is level 29 and he is in the final area ready to go after Diablo. I think I will continue with my other people before I have to face that devil. No way right now.

I was playing my Sorceress today and she kept dying in the Monestary....oh well....a little at a time and we will have the hammer.

She is only level 13 ( I think) and not as strong as I would like but will upleavel soon.

Boy love her frostball spell. Pretty good but uses a lot of manna.

My credo with Diablo 2 is: anything that freezes/slows down the enemy will keep you alive. I never played a Paladin all the way to Diablo, but I can tell you with the Sorceress she is very effective with cold based spells. Frost Nova will slow down whole groups of monsters and do a little damage.

Some equipment has the Frost Nova spell on it. It will cast it randomly. When you are attacked.

Finally made it all the way through the jail. So many rooms and I was never sure I was heading the right way. I missed a way point in the first level but found the one in the inner cloister. Safe for the moment, we'll rest up for tomorrow. My paladine is at level 12.

Hi,

Well Thank You Schwab35 for that info and I will keep that in mind.

I think my Sorceress with her freeze spells is the best one so far but the Necromancer with his golems to help is pretty good too.

Way to go Pokey and you are ahead of me because I still keep dying before I get to the Smith with the hammer. Oh well....onward we go.

We will not give up.
We will not give up.
We will hang in there.

I just acquire the Diablo 2 battle chest. That's Diablo, Diablo 2, the expansion for Diablo 2 and the strat guide in one box. I should be back soon

Hi,

Oh what fun....Pib I hope you join us in this game and Welcome.

I just wanted to add that I discovered that by clicking on the letter O key you can give your archer a Helm and Armor for more protection for her.

I have no idea what I was looking for but this came up by pushing all of the letter keys.

I just wanted to share this if you didn't already know this.

Oh and I can't wait until I can use Frost Nova.

I have both Diablo 2 and LOD, the expansion. Should I have installed both instead of just Diablo 2? Would it do anything for my game? I understand that two new characters are available and other small changes, but is it anything significant?

The LOD expansion gives you more graphics options - IIRC, Diablo 2 couldn't do 800x600, where LOD can.

There are also lots more 'unique' magic items, and more things you can put in slotted items.

Finally, there's a whole new chapter, beyond Diablo himself, that's easily as big as each of the earlier chapters - no cheapskate option at Blizzard!

I'm currently playing a level 9 Druid - nice poison vines and rolling meteor spell! I've not got as far as the Monastery yet.

I've finished the game in the past playing as a Barbarian. Though I have to admit that the hack-n-slash dog piling style of the Barbarian suits me better than the stand-offish position of the magic users.

Gremlin

I highly recommend the expansion, it also allows you to keep your hired companion from one city all the way through the other acts and even into nightmare and hell mode, and they level up with you.

I've been making my way through the catacombs after the cathedral. The going is definitely tougher. Big spiders---ugh! I had to do every room in catacomb level 2 before I found the waypoint. Always a relief when that is done. I just leveled to 13. On to catacomb level 3 and eventually the big boss.

Andariel has been defeated. After all the work reaching her, she wasn't that tough. She conveniently came to the catacomb stairs so I could run up and heal easily. On to Act 2 after a good night's rest.

Hi,

Well I had to install Diablo II before it would let me install Lord of Destruction.

Well playing with my Necromancer yesterday I got as far as Andariel and couldn't get her yet so have to uplevel him more before I go back.

Sure do need a lot of Anditode potions to stay alive with her but I have gotten her before in preveious games and will again.

I am going to finish Diablo 2 and then install LOD. I would love to have the larger stash and 800x600. It will give me something to look forward to when I finish the first game.

Trying to level up before going on to act 2. It's hard, lots of hack and slash--little reward. I found that Tristam is a good place to level faster. I've killed Blood Raven several times for good loot. Nearly to level 14.

I believe you can take your current character and convert them to an expansion set character. That would have the advantage of the 800x600 and the larger stash.

That said, I don't know if you can take your current character, convert to an expansion character *and* maintain the information about what quests you've finished.

I finished the Den of Evil. I love the beams of light piercing the dark when it's been cleared. On my way out, I find there's a special totem that makes your fighting better... Oh well, next dungeon I'll know.

Hi,

Still up leveling my Necromancer because I want to use a higher damage Axe I gambled for with the trader in town and I need one more number on my strength to be able to use it. It has 2 fire gems in it so it will be a really nice present for Andariel when I go after her.


Can't wait to be able to summon a Fire Golem. Hmmmm.

In the Cold Plains, level 7 and climbing.

I can't wait till I get the person who can identify items for me. I have the tomb and regularly buy scrolls, but what a bummer. I'm pleased town portal actually allow you to return to the original spot.

I haven't tried gambling with him. If the rewards are good, I'll have to try it.

I've finally leveled to 14, so headed to a new land. I found out that each time I killed Blood Raven, my experience would drop.

Yes you can. It's a full conversion.

Gremlin

After checking into the gamble option, I deduce that it is taking a risk and buying something which is not identified. Most of his inventory I couldn't afford and I wasn't interested in the things I could afford. At the prices he wants, they must have a lot of magic attached.

Later--I did take a gamble on a belt. Paid 3000+ for a belt worth a couple hundred. Bad deal.

The new home area is much larger but I haven't found a healer. Lots of manna shrines but they are not as nice as a healer. Went out in the desert to level up some more. The enemies are tougher but leveling is faster. They also dropped some nice armor.

Edit--finally found the healer. Have done most of the tomb in the desert and am at level 15 and can start the first quest in the sewers now.

Wow, Pokey, you're moving fast, I usually like to be level 17 or 18 before Lut Gholein. Watch out for those fire archer skeletons in the sewers!

The sewer quest is finished. Easy except for the boss. I suspect the next quest won't be so easy. Nearly to level 16.

Hi,

Well the gamble is a random risk. You may get a really nice or even rare item or you may get junk. I have gotten some nice stuff and now and then try to see what I get. Its only money and I don't do it all the time.

I am now level 17 and still not able to get that you know what. She just hits me a couple of times and I am done for. Have to keep trying and I know I got her before so have to do it this time. Jeeze what a pain to keep dying.

Can't beleive you got her at an earlier level Pokey. You must have been luck.

Magic, I just cleared out most of her minions and then she chased me to the stairs. I would get a couple hits in with my superior sceptor with all the upgrades I got in a quest, and then run upstairs to heal. Prayer was a help there. Then I went back down the stairs, a couple hits and repeat. Didn't take that long. Are you using magic? I only used melee.

I am in Dry Hills getting ready for the assault on Halls of the Dead. Also trying to make more use of my different skills by hotkeying them and bouncing between them.

Just finished Blood Raven quest last night. I have to be careful what time I start a new area, it was way too late when I went to bed because I wanted to finish the burial grounds before shutting off the game. Now that I know you'll always start back in town (or town equivalent in this case), it can be kind of important to clear something out once before shutting down.

Mind you, it seems like if I want more experience, I can just head back that way next time and there will be plenty of experience to gain again.

I finished the Halls of the Dead and have the cube. There didn't seem to be any tough boss at the end. I kept looking for one and stumbled over the cube. I lost my best weapons in Dry Hills. Didn't pay attention and died. Rather than leave the game and collect my body. I was determined to show them. I died quickly two times more and wasn't able to recover my superior sceptor with all the great upgrades and a nice crystal sword. Won't try that again.

I checked out the Lost Oasis and found the waypoint. There are lots of clouds of insects. How do I battle them? I only have level 1 fireball.

I figured out the swarm of insects. Done with the maggot lair. Eeeww, glad to be out of there. Not hard but sure a lot of squishy bugs. I was wading in green goo at the end. Just made level 18.

Hi all,

Pokey you can also use melee on the bugs and it will work.

I probably did the same thing you did in getting Andriel the last time I played and will have to do that again. Draw her near the stairs and pound on her and run to heal hehe.

Hope she doesn't heal while I run upstairs.

Sound like you are doing OK too Pib.
Keep up the good work and all of us will make it to the end.

Jeeze...sorry you lost some good stuff Pokey.
I don't understand why you didn't get all of your stuff back if you went back to where you died. The stuff should still be there...I thought.

I have been exiting the game and going back in to get my stuff in Town.

I wonder if those sneaky monsters took it. Hmmm.

I just thought of something funny.
The little guys which I don't remember what they are are saying something that sounds like, "I'm gonna eatcha." LOL and I say to them,"I don't think so." Hehe.

Pib, I've gotten much faster with experience.

Magic, a plain sword didn't hurt the insects, but my axe with poison, fire and cold worked well. I saw my sceptor drop right beside the waypoint, but when I went back, it was gone.

After last night, level 8 and ready to touch the Cairns Stones in order.

And I've found the trigger for the next quest, but may as well finish this one first.

I really messed up this time. I got to the temple of the vipers and cleared it out. Then I started down to the second level and met Fangskin and his many cohorts. I carefully disposed of all except Fangskin and I had him down to the tiniest sliver of life when he killed me. It was quick. Now I have to fight through all the first level again and I am running out of health potions. I tried running past all of them to the second level door but then I don't have a sanctuary to fight Fangskin from.

Fangskin is speed enhanced, he hits very quickly, do you have a Paladin aura that will chill him to slow him down? Or maybe a weapon with that same effect. Always best to slow them down. Also, he has helpers, so try to pull some of them into the hallway to lessen their numbers before facing Fangskin.

In any case, it's actually beneficial to kill the respawns on the other level, you get more XP and different loot will drop, you may get a unique item or two from them.

After many deaths, I finally finished the viper temple. This time I was super careful with Fangskin. There were so many enemies that it was hard to move and I was afraid to get trapped, so I stayed close to the door. Then I neglected to pick up the amulet, but I had a town portal open, so went back for it.

I don't have any aura that would slow him down. I did have a bit of magic effects on my axe.

Hi all,

Well my assassin is moving right along and she is getting closer and closer to Andriel so anytime now (hopefully) she will be done with this area.

She is much stonger then the Necromancer is so maybe she won't take as long to do damage. I hope.

I love her skills like the fire that spreads along the floor to damage enemies but it seems to hurt her too if I am not careful.

Good going on the Viper Temple Pokey. Glad you were able to finish that one.

I will be right behind you but it will take longer since I have 3 people with all of their different skills to move along.

I found Cain and got him back to the encampment. I found the portal in the Black Marsh, but not the tower. I always try to find the portals first. Makes life easier if you should happen to die on the way.

I did die once in the area with Cain, but that was carelessness. Ran straight into the middle, surrounded by enemies then stopped to fight. Not the bright thing to do.

The tiny backpack in Diablo certainly means you either sell stuff very quickly or you just stop picking it up entirely. I've stopped picking up anything that doesn't look special already.

Magic, you have a lot of patience to move four characters along. At least you know where the entrance to the next level of a dungeon is and don't have to search the entire thing. It always seems to be the last room I enter.

Pib, that is my biggest complaint--small inventory. You will get a bigger belt for your potions soon and the cube also adds some extra space. I rarely pick up an item anymore unless it looks valuable. I know I was hanging on to too many weapons.

Hi all,

Well Pokey...I don't really know where the next level of a dungeon is because every time you start a new game you get a different setup for you town and dungeon areas. They each feel different then the others.

The inventory area really **** for space but at least with Town Portal you can stop and unload when you get to much stuff.

My chest mostly gets gems to use in my equipment, 2 extra Tomes for scrolls, maybe some extra arrows or bolts and just one weapon if I need it. I also deposit my money so I don't loose it when I die.

My Paladin who is near the end of the game has a limit of 160,000 for coins in the chest so he has to carry the extra coins with him.

He has got the best of everything so doesn’t need to buy anything.
He also is alone with no help at this point.
He has no one to hire where he is.

Oh, random maps? That's why no site seems to have real Diablo maps. I would have thought general locations remain the same but that doesn't seem true in this case.

Just reached Jail level 1. So I'm on the way with the last quest of Act 1.

Yes, I have been trying to remember to stash coins in the chest. And at least once, almost immediately thereafter, death would have stolen them all.

Random maps, eh? Then you don't have that advantage. I have just gone through the palace and the cellars and have arrived at the Arcane Sanctuary. The journey through the palace and cellars was strangely easy. My health hardly dropped at all, even fighting masses of enemies. I thought something had gone wrong with my game. I had just changed from sacrifice attack to normal, but don't think that would make much difference. When I got to the Arcane Sanctuary, the difficulty swung to the opposite extreme--insanely difficult. I can hardly move away from the waypoint since there is no room to maneuver on these walkways. I am at level 19 still--may have to go buff up. I think there is a definite shortage of good weapons. I am still using my gemmed axe with 3-11 damage and poison, cold and lightning damage. Even the Haradric staff doesn't seem any more effective.

I have never hired anyone after my free archer died so quickly. It might help me past a difficult spot though.

Any tips for the Arcane Sanctuary? I am so tired of dying every couple minutes. I bought a better sword, 7-17 damage, but when I put my emerald in it, it would not allow any jewels of lesser quality. So I only gained 1 point in poison damage.

There are so many places that you get surrounded by enemies and can't escape.

I keep resurrecting my little rogue archer. She's useful. The assassin goes in to the fray with blades flying. The archer picks off the outer layers of enemies.

I don't think hired help would work here as the walkways are narrow. I did find a walkthrough that goes into great detail about the Arcane Sanctuary.

I am making some progress now. I think I have done two of the four pathways but haven't found the goal yet. I did pick up two uninteresting staffs that turned out to be worth 7000 and 9500 each and only usable by sorceresses, so I sold them and have 50,000 in gold now. I'll have to finish the other two pathways tonight because I don't dare exit the game now.

The Arcane Sanctuary is visually interesting but kind of a pain to get through. Your hired helper will lag behind because of the crazy pathing, you just have to go a little slower than normal as each corner of the map has fairly big fights, and then there is the Summoner, of course

Woohoo, I got the Summoner. He killed me the first time but I got him down to 1/4 health, so I went back to town and bought some more equipment and went back. This time it worked. Made it to the canyon. Enough for today. That was exhausting and I hope there is nothing in the game that is harder.

I am so glad I found him on the third walkway I tried and didn't have to do the one with the teleportals.

Hi all,

Oh Pokey...I am sure Diablo will be harder and that is why I am waiting with my Paladin and playing the other 3 people instead.

I did beat Diablo in the original Diablo game and hope I can do it in Diablo II.


Be careful Pib when you get to level 4 area.
Clear out all the minions first before you open the door to where Andriel is.

There are also some minions in there with her but if you go slow and get what you can before she starts chasing you then you will not have everything attacking you at the same time.

She will keep poisoning you so have plenty of antidotes with you not to mention health potions.

Be ready to run for the stairs if your health goes down and it will go down really fast.

I want you to make it with her because its the greatest feeling when you get her.

She will not heal if you run to the stairs and heal and then go back to get her.

If you die then she heals.

Duriel is dead. Got him on the first try using a few health potions and melee. Of course he was in the last room in the tomb. On to Act 3 tomorrow after a rest.

Hi all,

Well still trying to get Andriel with my last person the Sorceress. She keeps dying and dying. Sigh.

Why does the price of resurrecting your archer keep going higher and higher every time you need to do that? Jeez.

Feels like it taking forever to get this part done.

My Assassin was much stronger then my Necromancer and Sorceress so it didn't take her as long as these other two do.

My cold spell isn't slowing her down very much so will have to try my fire spell to see if maybe that will do the trick.

My Necromancer had the archer and he could summon a clay golem to help distract her but with the Sorceress its just me and the archer who keeps dying so its just me. Hmmm.

Wow Pokey you are moving right along. Glad you got Duriel and you are 2 chapters ahead of me.

How are you doing Pib??? Where are you???

I'll Try to clear some things up. I've been playing this game on and on for over three years now (mostly online).

You can have up to 16 bodies in the game. This means that you can die 16 times with having a body. If you die a 17th time, your first body will parish and it will drop all items on it on to the ground. This could explain why some lost their items.

The price to resurrect your mercenary will go up every time he/she levels up. It will stay fixed at 50.000 gold (somewhere around lvl 80).

Andariel is vulnerable for fire, use that against her. Also as a Sorceress, use Static Field on bosses (lvl 6 or lvl 12 Lightning skill). This will reduce 25% of the boss' health every time you cast it. But you have to be in their faces to cast it though.

When gambling, aim for amulets and circlets. If playing LoD, you might get lucky and even get a set or unique item. Also by playing LoD, if you're an Assassin or Amazon, gamble for gloves. They might have +1 - +3 to a single skilltree.

By installing the expansion, you'll get class specific items. Weapons for Assassin and Sorceress, Helms for Druid And Barbarian, Shields for Necromancer (shrunken heads) and Paladins and Bows and Spears for the Amazon.

Mercenaries for hire:
Act 1: Rogue Scout, uses bows (either cold or fire enchanted) and cast Inner Sight.
Act 2: Desert Mercenary, uses spears, javelins and polearms. These have different (Paladin) auras: Prayer or Blessed Aim or Defiance in Normal and Hell mode. Might or Holy Freeze or Thorns in Nightmare.
Act 3: Iron Wolf, uses swords and shields. Lightning or Cold or Fire spells. He attacks rarely hand-to-hand.
Act 4: None, but Tyrael can resurrect them.
Act 5: Barbarian, uses one-handed or two-handed swords. Can equip Barbarian helms.

I still do not understand how this works. At the most I have died 3 times in a situation. I died, went back and got equipment and died in the same spot. Did it a third time. I never saw more than one body, the one from the first time and I never went more than a few steps. I finally decided I wasn't going to win this way and exited the game. When I went looking for my body, there was one in the Rogue camp. When you exit and return to the game is there only one body? Do you lose the rest? I would really like to understand this so I would stop losing equipment. I hate to risk it anymore, but if I exit the game, all my progress is lost.

I am doing some of the other tombs to level up before going to Act III. I found a very fast sword that kills the enemies much faster. Also I learned that repairing items before selling them really pays off and that town portals can be used over and over if only used in one direction. Really handy when clearing out the tombs. Nearly to level 22.

As far as I can tell, if you die and exit the game, when you return you find one body by the stash with all your equipment but no gold. Any gold in your stash is safe from this effect.

I tried twice to retrieve the body from the dungeon, but generally I died because of overwhelming numbers and that doesn't improve when you go back and don't have your proper equipment. So now when I die, I save and exit, start the game again and just grab the equipment from the body.

I have made it to Act II. Then I had to stop mucking about on the computer so much because of a serious bout of RSI in my right shoulder.

Hi all,

Well yesterday I decided to try the Druid also to see what kind of skills he has.

He can Summon,has Elemental and he can also change into a warewolf or other kinds of creatures. Pretty good.

Will have to see how it goes with him.

Hi all,

Well I love his fire spells. He has one now that acts just like a very big fiery bowling ball and does a lot of damage and is fun to watch it bowl them over hehe.

He can also summon spirit pets that help in the health department or help in the
doing more damage department.

He has cold spells but I will use those with the Sorceress and he will be my fire
expert.

He is at level 9 now and moving right along.
I will then continue with the other 3 people once he catches up with them.

So far I like playing with him and doing different people makes the game more interesting.

So anybody else still playing?
How are you doing and where are you and what kind of person or persons are you playing?

My Palladin been hanging out at the end of act 2 trying to raise my level. I've cleared all the tombs. I do love those gorillas out in the desert. They are slow and easy to hit and give quite a bit of experience. I hit level 23 last night and am moving on to act 3 today.

You don't get many skill points in this game, so I am being careful how I assign them--pick just a few skills and try to get to a higher level in each skill.

I made it to the second part of Act II but have been having a gaming break while my shoulder rests a bit. Diablo at least, is completely moused based, games that combine mouse and keyboard do evil things to my posture.

My assassin is a very good character. We've been practicing Wave of Fire trap and that clears a room so nicely for you!

Hi,

I know what you mean Pib about clearing out a room because my fire spells do a lot of damage and seem to spread out to get a lot of them at the same time. Love it.

I am now in the Monastery with my Druid and just got the hammer and going on down now to Andariel next.

This should be interesting with my fire spells since Deckard Cain said that she doesn't like fire.

I have been using mostly my crossbow with 2 fire gems and one poison gem and my fire spells to get everything and loving it.

I think I may have used that fire trap with my assassin and it helps a lot.

I like the gorillas too and no you don't get more than 1 skill point at a time. Choose wisely is the best policy.

I usually pick just one or two areas depending which one will give me more damage next.

I have the horadic cube and so on to the next place.

I seem to spend a lot of effort tracking down teleport spots. I learnt in Sacred that you should try and find them all. It saves much time. Especially in a game where you can't save your current location.

Choosing skills wisely is a key to almost every rpg. Just some of them are even more limited then others!

When you die, al your equipment will stay on your corpse. The items in your belt will go into your inventory. If your inventory is full, they will drop to the ground.
When you died, did you use other equipment before getting your corpse back ? If so, that explains why you lost some equipment. The game won't let you pick up any more equipment from your corpse while being equipped with something else. If you exit and come back later, only the last corpse will be saved.

Okay, I guess that answers the question I had a about numerous corpses. There is only one.

I am in the Spider Forest now and I definitely prefer the desert to this. I finally found the waypoint but haven't located the next area yet.

I think lots of people try various character classes, but it is a rare and brave soul who does that simulataneously! I think I would just get perpetually confused about which one was meant to do which attack.

My assassin is either close or at level 20. We've made it to the end of Act II, but boy is that one tough monster at the end. He's very fast and puts cold spells on you.

Well, I'm still kind of lost in the Spider Forest. It is so hard to find your way around. I did finally stumble on to the Great Marsh, but haven't found the Flayer Jungle, which is where I need to go next.

I finally finished Act 2 and am looking for the Flayer Jungle. The Spider Forest is a bit twisty.

Level 22 I think. Building my gold reserves after needing to resurrect my companion lots of time for the end of Act 2. Then again, she died so I didn't have to.

I just made myself fiend stalker boots from info from the strat guide. Cool, very very cool. Only possible if you are playing the expanded game version though, it requires a rune and a jewel.

If you see my poor body lying around the entrance to the Flayer Jungle, would you give it a proper burial? I worked so carefully to get to that entrance, when I was surprised by a band of powerful enemies, of a type I hadn't seen, who killed me in a couple seconds. I have restarted many times, but the enemies seem even thicker now and I don't know that I have the patience to hack through them again. Tried running with stamina potions--didn't work. I hate this jungle and I don't like the way Diablo 2 penalizes you on death.

The Flayer Jungle is accessed through the Great Marsh.

Flayers are nasty, so many of them and so tiny! If you're a paladin you'll want a good shield to block some of the damage and maybe the Thorns aura to reflect damage.

PIB, I hate that Duriel fight and always expect to have to resurrect my companion numerous times.

As an assassin, I opened a teleport to town, then laid down some fire traps, then teleported out again. My companion would actually fight Duriel while I did that. I'd hit the teleport and resurrect my companion. Rinse, lather repeat.

I have found everything needed from the Flayer Jungle. I'm off to the next place.

Diablo is pretty cool usually but dying isn't fun. I learnt to put all my money in my stash any time it gets above 1000 gold. Not to mention turning on every waypoint no matter how much searching it takes to find the things.

I'm still back by the Great Marsh waypoint. Seems like since I died, everything has gotten much harder. I bought the best sword and shield, but they are not helping much. I do use thorns for the hulks and fire resistnce for the shamans. I wish they were all hulks--I would do much better. Once I killed so many of thm on the log bridge to the waypoint that I couldn't get across the log. Had to restart the game. Is the Flayer Jungle waypoint far from the entrance? I hope not.

I was wondering two things. One was had you checked your equipment because at the village you can get some serious upgrades to stuff. I find it annoying that I have to visit two people, the one guy who can repair stuff and the mercenary captain who has gloves/boots/belts and other armor and weapons.

The other is do you have a hireling? I have kept the rogue/archer from chapter one and having a hireling can help with those horrible odds.

Can't tell you where the jungle waypoint is. Random maps, remember.

I finally got a good item from gambling! The gold worth of the weapon isn't as high as what I gambled, but the actual damage done by it was higher than an item I had recently bought. My assassin is truly deadly with her claws.

IMO, the best hireling for me was the guys from Lut Gholein, with a good polearm weapon they do a whole lot of damage.

I have the best sword and shield available. I did try hiring a mercenary, but he lasted less than 10 minutes. I'll get a longer lived one next. They don't seem to do much damage.

I am in the Flayer Jungle now. Hope I can stay alive till I find the waypoint.

When you look at the character sheet, what are your resistances like? It's getting important to ensure that your resistances to fire/cold/lightning are at least 20% or more by now.

Did you equip your mercenary? You can give them better helmet, armor and weapons.

And it's not just sword and shield either. You should double check your helmet, armor, boots, gloves, rings and amulet. I keep hoping to find some more stuff that's both useful for my character and has sockets (I have a lot of runes/jewels/gems now) but magic items or ones with sockets are all good.

I didn't think to equip my mercenary. Will try that. I have the best equipment I can get. I am doing everything to get my resistance up. Gems are really in short supply.

...I don't know how to tell what equipment he has or how to change it.

Right-click the picture of your hireling. That will bring up their character sheet and inventory window. Hirelings in Act III can specialize in fire or cold. I'd take cold, that can slow monsters quite nicely.

Did you install just Diablo 2 or the expansion as well?

Nope, right clicking the picture doesn't work. I have just Diablo 2. I just lost my best hireling. He did 4-10 damage fire. Will take the one for cold now. I found the blade I'm looking for but left it alone till I find the waystation.

Drat, I'm sorry, I've been misleading you because this is only stuff you can do when the expansion is installed and you are using an expansion character.

Most of it has been very useful, especially the hireling using cold. Much easier to hack the flayers when they are frozen.

My hireling sometimes uses cold arrows, which is why I know cold is good.

Do you have any good ways of taking out some in a group from a distance? Exploding potions or choking gas?

Yes, the cold is working really well. Finally found the waypoint at the very end of the jungle. Now to go back and get the blade. Don't want to shutdown and have all those things come back again.

...I just checked and it looks like I have to come back to the same area to get the brain, which means do it tonight or leave the game running all night. There are so many things about this game that I don't like.

Could be worse. Sacred regenerates monsters while you are still there, in 10 minutes realtime, they are back up to full numbers. Then again, Sacred does remember your location properly so you don't have to run back to a cave from a village when starting the game for the day. That is annoying.

I have Kalim's brain. Now I can turn the computer off and go to bed. The witch doctor must not have been tough. I saw him once but don't recall killing him.

I have never had any luck with the thrown potions. I decided not to try ranged weapons either because I would get confused trying to change weapons quickly.

Hi all,

Sounds like you are doing great.
Did you know that you can also use the letter O to get your hireling's inventory? You can.

I give them armor and helms that are hand-me-downs or one I find that I can't use but tried to give them weapons and they say that they can't use them. Hmmm.

I just wondered why it is that you find these huge charms that take up half of your
Inventory?? Wish they were smaller.

Well still in Chapter II with all my people and heading to the Dry Hills now with all
of them.

Got a long way to go before I am where you guys are.

I probably should just play one or two but its hard to chose since I like the different
skills they have so will have to continue the way I am for now.

Not being able to save more often so you don

I just cleared out Lower Kurash. Hmm, the monsters weren't too bad and there was some nice stuff. You have to enter every building in the ruin to get it all, but that was worth a lot of gold. I was teleporting every few minutes, but my stash is bulging now!

VHLMagic,
the hireling from Act 1 can only use bows. The hirelings from act 2 use spears and javelins. The hirelings from act 3 also have specific weapons.

And yeah, it will take a very long time to complete 4 games vs players who only do one at a time.

I'll be heading to Kurast today. Nice to hear it has some good stuff. I haven't picked up anything in quite a while. I could sure use some gems. Of course your game probably has diffferent stuff. I regretted getting that free hireling. Shouldn't have talked to her. I lost my great cold one and got a poorer one using fire. I finally went back and hired a cold one, but not as great as the first. If I keep hiring, will the list run out--no more available?

Can't help with the hirelings, in the expansion you can give them healing potions and you can pay to resurrect them. So I have the same one I started with she's leveled with me through the game.

As for the stuff I picked up in lower Kurash, there were lots of potions (horadic cube recipe; three healing potions - three mana potions = one restore potion), a large charm, chipped skull, lots of fairly valuble weapons and armor. Maps are random, but I'll bet you'll get plenty to sell and stuff your stash with cash.

Pokey,

Looking back through the thread, I see that you do have the expansion for Diablo 2. Can I suggest that you go ahead and install it and upgrade your character? You won't lose any progress, and the larger stash and better hireling interaction alone would make it worthwhile. Plus there are far more magic items and set pieces to find.

The only reason I could see for having a non-expansion character would be if you are joining friends in an unexpanded BattleNet game.

Pib, I'm considering it. It makes me a bit nervous because I read that there are things that some did not like about it and it adds difficulty. How big is the inventory? Mine is 40 spaces. I could do without a bigger stash. My hirelings are doing well, though I just lost another.

I am in Lower Kurash now. Hurray, the waypoint was right at the entrance!

Anyone know what might have happened to my hireling? We were walking around lower Kurast in the vicinity of the waypoint. All creatures had been killed and we were at full health. He would sometimes walk around the other side of a house or in it. I walked to the waypoint to teleport back and noticed that he was missing. I heard nothing and it was only about a minute since I checked. I'm perplexed--maybe I mssed something like a trap.

Go back and check for him. Especially if you still have his portrait showing. Sometimes they get stuck in places. Just bactrack until you find them. :]]]]
If he was dead you would NO longer have the portrait of them.

His portait was gone. It just happened so suddenly and we were in a cleared area of the village.

Hummmmm.... He's dead if his portrait is not there. Sorry I have no clue as to why if no one attacked him.
Maybe he ran into a ambush. They do sometimes wonder off and get into trouble.

Did the ruined temple in the Kurast Bazaar and got the tome. Time to rest up for tomorrow.

Hi all,

In my Sorceress game I kept loosing so many hirelings that it was down to about 4 left. Don't know if the list starts over with new people or you just don't have any more to hire.


I will have to see what happens when I play with her again.

I finally got it that they need the same type of weapons so my hireling from the second area has a better spear now and looking for higher damage ones as we go along.

I tried to give them healing potions and they said that they can't use that. I will try again but usually just wait it out once we clear out an area for them to heal before we go on.

The archers in the first area just healed themselves. Wonder why we don't get healing spells and have to keep using potions.

Did you know that if you keep clicking on gamble that you get to see different items evey time you click??? You do and I have gotten a lot of rare items by doing that. Its rare if it is in yellow letters.

If you have the expansion, drop a healing potion on their portrait, not in their inventory! My archer does heal herself, but sometimes she needs a bit extra. I drop a potion on her portrait and she says "thank you"

You can tell if a gambled item is going to be gold? Thanks, that is a very very useful tip.

When I lost my last hireling, I found that I could rehire him. He only gets 3-8 damage though. My best got 4-10 and he hasn't shown up on the list again. I find that the amount of life is more important. We have become quite a team. I keep him close and he freezes the enemies as they come close and I hack them and usually get no damage. Occasionly he will cast repeatedly and actually kill something by himself.

I'm going to check out that gambing trick.

Found the sewers but couldn't find the bit of Khalim I needed. So I'll need to clean out the sewer again. Urk, I hate this bit of Diablo.

That and the fact that I should check *every time* I return to town and see if the vendors have some new cool piece of equipment that I simply must have. I like it better if vendors only get new stuff once a day or once every couple of days. These guys get new shipments way too often.

I did the sewers and got Kalim's heart. Nothing very tough in there. Now to figure out where I need to go next.

Another hireling just died mysteriously. He was standing on the Kurast Bazaar waypoint and didn't seem to know how to get past the low wall surrounding it. I walked on a bit, figuring he would finally figure it out and his portrait disappeared. Maybe you just can't get too far from them.

I found the way to Upper Kurast. Going after the flail.

We've reached Travincal but are in a furious battle to enter the gate. Meteors and things are raining down and I can't even tell where they are coming from. We raced in and out of the gate many times but there are a lot of them and don't think we've made much of a dent.

That's a very tough area, Pokey, there are about 3 named enemies there, try pulling one away from the others, and fire resistance is helpful, as I'm sure you've seen.

I have the Flail. Luckily it was on the first council member. Now to go back and get the rest of them and search for a stopping place for the night.

....We got to the second level of the Durance of Hate and found the waypoint. A good place to stop. Tomorrow...Mephisto!

Hi all,

Oh Thanks Pib and I will try the healing potion on the portrait thing if needed.

No you don't get to see what kind of item you gamble on until you pay for it first.

Its a chance you have to be willing to take and I have gotten a few rare items by taking that chance.

Boy I am running out of room in my inventory in one of my games because of all the charms that I found.

I cannot carry much stuff found to sell so have to use Town Portal a lot.

I was playing my Necromancer yesterday and so far I think I like the Druid and his skills the best.

His Firestorm spell really does a lot of damage.

Oh and I am playing the expansion Pib.

VHLMagic, Now let's see, you can do things with your hireling and play a Druid...somehow I knew you had an expansion game going!

I hear you about the inventory thing. Only about 1/3 my inventory is available so I use portals a lot. Most of the used space is charms and the Horadic cube (which is also stuffed to the brim).

I love watching the Assassin use Dragon Claw. She is fast and deadly with two claw class weapons. Both of her weapons were lucky gambles! They aren't worth that much gold but they have gold names and have a lot of good magic. Now that I have as much gold in the stash as it will hold, I gamble away my extra on a regular basis.

I think I'm in a tough battle here. I killed Sparkfist but it cost two mercenaries and now there are no more that cast cold, which is what will work best against Mephisto. Two council champions to go before I get to him.

I did find some nice armor with a defense of 161.

Yep, I'm finding the opponents may be tougher as I go up in level, but the rewards are better as well.

Found the lever in the sewer and have all of Khalim but the flail. Stopped when I found the teleporter in Upper Kurash.

Also, the other day, I finally found and turned on the mini-map option. So much better! (Sorry Pokey, expansion only) Now I can leave the map up and not have it interfer with battle.

Any thoughts on how my Paladin can defeat Mephisto? I can't get near him without his lightning spell nearly killing me. I tried a bow and the same thing happened. I can't seem to be out of his range and still use the bow. Any hirelings die almost immediately and are no help.

I am maxed out on lightning resistance but sometimes he gets me with cold and I can't run.

You should probably stock up on thaw, restore, heal and mana potions. Make sure that you have your belt well stocked.

And good luck, Diablo 2 boss monsters are way tougher than the other opponents.

Wish I could help, but I never played a Paladin that far into the game. What I usually do, though, is do some damage, then run down the left side of that big room, he wont follow you all the way down. Heal up there and go back...you should also have your town portal down there ready to use. If he's freezing you, use the thaw potions from your quickslot, like Pib suggested.

It was a grueling battle, but I finally got him. I went after him with melee and a lot of potions. I found that he will go all the way to the stairs to the second level, which worked for me. I could just beat on him and run up the stairs to heal. It took quite a few potions and I made a mistake of using a portal back to town for more. He healed up while I was gone! I came back with nearly a whole inventory full of different potions, though he seemed to use mainly poison. I did a lot better the second round and didn't use many of the potions. Nice to be in Pandemonium Fortress and Act IV.

Hi all,

Hey Pib....do you mean the map that you press the letter M to get? It is faint enough to see through as you walk all over the place????

If this isn't the one then which one is it?

My map covers the whole screen so I don't think of it as a mini map.

Well played my Necromancer yesterday and he is ready to go into the Valley of the Magi so will now continue with the others to get them to that point.

Wow Pokey you are really moving right along.

Yes, if you are playing expansion, you can go to the options screen and set it as mini map. It's smaller and moves to the right corner. While the normal one is see through, I was finding it annoying. This one is much better for me.

Pokey isn't just poking along!

If Pokey left a tiny bit of Mephisto to regenerate, he is mine tomorrow. I found the last portal in Act 3 and will go in to meet my doom.

Mephisto is tough. Sparkfist is too. the others you don't need to worry about.

I'd like a minimap. I do toggle the brightness of the map so it doesn't interfere as much.

After ACT IV you'll have to install the expansion to go on. Then you can set the mini-map option.

Disaster! I just lost nearly all my good stuff. I died on the Plain of Disaster and figured I had a spare helmet and shield, so I would try a run in and grab my body. I thought I could only lose those two pieces, but I ended up losing my great plate armour. gaunlets, boots, belt and worst of all, my rings. I went from an attack rating of 550 to 163. My mistake was getting to my body and grabbing it only to die again. I can buy some replacement armor and equipment but I can't replace those great rings. I am hating this save system even more.

I also found that I can't use my shield since it has a requirement of 76 strength and I only have 70. I do have a helmet that has a -20% requirements. I don't understand why I shouldn't be able to use the shield.

Hi all,

Oh Thank You Pib. I will have to go see if I can set my map to mini because it is annoying with the other one.

The same thing happened with one of my chain mail chest pieces. I must have been wearing something that brought up the numbers so I could wear it but when I died and picked up the same armor again, I couldn't wear it until the numbers went up again. I may have changed my rings or weapon or something to change the numbers.

Sometimes this same type of thing happens when you are a certain level but you still can't use the skill even though it has your level number. Hmmm.

Well my Druid almost got the Summoner in the Sancuary area but died before he could so have to work our way back to try again. Sigh.

I found that if I equipped a sword that had a +9 strength, that let me use the shield. Then I unequip the sword and replace it with another, I can keep the shield even though I don't meet the requirememts. Sneaky.

What does -20% requirements mean?

Hoping to find some magic items to replace the ones I lost. I hadn't died in a long time--since the Great Marsh and forgot how it worked. If you go out to claim your body, make sure you have enough space in your inventory to hold all the equipment. It isn't equipped automatically.

Pokey, I'm not sure on this but I think the -% requirement allows you to equip other stuff at a lower requirement for strength/dexterity etc.

BTW, I don't really recommend ever going back for your corpse if you die, just remember to keep most of your cash in your stash and just "save and exit game" when you die to spawn back in town with all your stuff. Going back to your corpse is almost certain death.

Schwab, that's what I thought, but I am at 70 strength, have a helmet with -20% reqirements and am not allowed to use a shield with a requirement of 76.

I agree. I won't be going back for my body again. I assumed something which wasn't true and paid for it.

I defeated Izual. He chased me from the Plain of Despair to the fortress, so I fought him on the stairs, going up to heal when needed.

Whew, what a morning. Took out Mephisto in one go, then removed Izual as well. I seem to be much lower in restore potions. I had several full restores before Mephiso and none after.

As an assassin, my best strategy is a) use traps to clear the area of lesser but annoying enemies.

Then for the main dude the left and right clicks are for dragon claw and cobra strike. A couple of cobra strikes then a dragon claw to replenish life and mana.

Now where is the waypoint in the city of the damned? There are some tough opponents just inside the door.

That's the waypoint I am looking for. I heard it is close to the entrance.

In my game, it's right next to the entrance to the next level. Convenient, they killed me close to Hellforge but I hadn't found a waypoint on that level yet. So it's good I don't have to fight my way through the city to go back.

I think that there is a mob of 30-40 monsters waiting at the forge. Be ready for another epic battle when you get there.

I haven't found it yet and I have done half of this area. I keep running back to the stairs, but a couple big tough things chased me all the way down and I had to portal back to the fort for a breather. I don't think I dare try using that portal to go back. They are probably waiting for me.

Yeah, you can tell it's finale time. The opposition is getting bigger badder and meaner than ever.

Soul stone destroyed. They tell me it's time for Diablo himself.

I'm only level 26, I feel too puny to deal with the biggest demon of them all!

[add]I was right, I can't even get to the things I have to destroy to summon Diablo[/add]

Level 28 - I have summoned Diablo. I have died for my sins. Now I'll have to work my way back from the start of the area...hopefully the seals are still opened though.

I'm still at the entrance to the River of Flame, hanging around the waypoint gaining experience so I can use a gold label weapon that requires 76 strength. I just reached level 27. Did some gambling and got two good rings to help my resistance.

Let me put it this way. Everything up to the waypoint at River of Flame needs to be only mildly difficult (pay attention to those hit points!) before you're ready to move into Diablo's territory. They've really pumped up the action for that last assault. I've only died once from Diablo, but multiple times from just going to the Citadel and trying to go for Diablo. Then I go somewhere else for a bit for more training.

The monsters are frequently in large groups in this last bit. And you must open 5 seals to open Diablo's seal. Three of the 5 seals introduce large groups of demons with a pretty hefty demon in charge.

I destroyed the soulstone at the forge. Took me all day yesterday to go from the River of Flame waypoint to the forge. I died many times and had to redo all the areas I had already done. Very slow slogging and not much fun. Sounds like it only gets worse in the next section with no waypoint. Did you have to do the seals again? Of course I'm sure all the monsters reappeared to be killed again.

There is a waypoint just before you start the final assault. However, it is a long haul in with many monsters on the way. Yes, you have to open the seals ever time. I've only seen Diablo once, and died multiple times. It is getting to be no fun though. Fight fight - heal - fight fight - oops dead. Repeat. And expensive, the hirelings costs 16000 a shot to bring back now.

Ack! That doesn't sound like much fun. Diablo may not have to worry about me. I don't think I will last much longer. Too bad, it could have been a great game with a few changes. Right now it is just a chore. I am at the entrance to the Chaos Sanctuary.

Without the expansion, you can't even get help from hirelings.

I'm not going to try any more serious assaults until the weekend. It takes too long since you must do the lot in one game with no exits. I'll build my sadly depleted cash reserves up by doing smaller runs on the upper levels of Act IV.

and I'll mostly be playing Vampire: Bloodlines or Morrowind. I need a change.

Then again, someday I will take out Diablo, and that is going to be such a buzz.

I cleared out most of the sanctuary with my new weapon but then hit a corner and about 20 enemies surrounded me in a flash. I don't think I have much interest in trying again, at least for now.

I find it helpful when dealing with the boss to have ready portal skill. Open portal the moment you enter the room. Now switch to other combat skills and hope you can get to the portal when you need to.

Remember those heal potions and drink them! Restore potions give you a fast boost.

I think Duriel was pretty easy for the Paladin. I just used melee, a fast sword and a couple healing potions. He went down fast. Must be harder for other characters.

I found some Boss tips on this site:

Diablo 2 tips

Hi,

OK....I was wrong hehe.
2 of my guys, the Necromancer and Druid have finally made it to Act III. Yeah!!!!

Now for my 2 ladies the Assassin and the Sorceress have to make it yet.

The Assissin is building up her Fire Trap and Strength so hope she will be able to get him soon.

Now that I know I can make it if I keep at it I feel better. Whew.

I am sure my feeling better won't last for very long though.

Why is it always the case in these games where the big (really big) bad guy has a ton of help and there you are (whimps) trying to get him with maybe 1 or 2 whimpy helpers.

You would think that by the time you got to him that you would be able to handle him and his minions....but nooooooo....you have to struggle just to get rid of him. Jeez.

When I make it that far I will consider my game pretty much done. If I get Diablo then wonderful...and if not then hey I really gave it my best shot.

I got Diablo in the first original game and with any luck I will get him again in this game.

Magic, good to hear that you are moving again.

I got Diablo in the first game and didn't think it was that hard, but this Diablo is totally different. At least you could have a save to start from in the first game. I worked for hours to get from the last waypoint to the next bunch of monsters and in a misstep died in a couple seconds. I didn't even get to see Diablo. I don't know if I have the heart to try again. If I do, it will have to be an early start, because I can't shut the game down until Diablo is dead. I've played a lot of hard games and was always able to finish them, but I have my doubts about finishing this one.

Have you tried going after Diablo with your Paladin?

The game wouldn't be much of a challenge without this, would it?

Gremlin

Hip Hip, Horaay!!! Hip Hip, HORAAYYYY!!!

After many many attempts, I have finally defeated Diablo. It was only the second time I've ever summoned him, usually died somewhere on the path to releasing Diablo.

It cost me all of my restore potions, all of my mana potions and almost all of my healing potions.

I still have shakes from the adrenaline rush from fighting Diablo. Wow, it feels great to have finally taken him out.

Woo Hoo, I beat him too. He killed me the first time but I got my reserve equipment and went after him again without exiting the game. I used a hit and run attack. It took a long time and almost all my health potions--I was getting worried, but he is a goner.

It was the second time I did the sanctuary and the first time I met up with Diablo.

Show off! I made the sanctuary several times and it definitely took two tries to take down Diablo.

But we've made it. Celebrate, then install the expansion and head for Act v

Quest 2 == complete. Unfortunately wasn't paying enough attention and died trying to find the waypoint in the next area and so I'll get to clear parts of the Frigid Plains - again.

Hmm, picking up much much nicer gear though. Gold reserves of 300,000 and climbing quickly now. Act IV was a bit stingy with drops so it's good to be picking up reasonable stuff again.

I completed the first quest. I wish I had more gold. I haven't been finding anything that is worth much and only have 70,000. It didn't help when I bought a gold belt worth 22,000 that claimed to give enhanced defense of 36% but I only got the 6 extra points that the basic defense of the belt gave. I evidently don't understand this. Why was it so expensive? I also had to replace some of my equipment I lost to Diablo and didn't recover.

Be careful doing the second quest. There are three mini-boss monsters that you have to take care of. They do drop some nice stuff. Which means that you can kill them, save and exit, jump back in and kill them again.

I started Act 5 with a similar amount of gold. But I hadn't lost equipment - I kept exiting and reloading which meant I had to clear out the area around Diablo again - and again - and again.

I have a hoard of goodies to place in sockets, I just wish I had more equipment that had sockets. I upgraded a claw weapon to something wicked with the bonus slots from the smith.

No way I was going to exit the game before I got Diablo. My reserve equipment was good enough to finish him off and then I grabbed nearly all my good stuff off my body before the game ended. I had done the same thing earlier in the Sanctuary and it worked out.

If you exit the game after killing the minibosses, don't you have to kill everything again--or are you near a waypoint?

Do you have charms or amulets that give you better loot? Those charms are ridiculously large for any value they give.

Actually, I have a large number of smaller charms (one square) which are reasonably effective, but I do still have two larger ones that give me some effects that I don't have any other way.

I don't have backup equipment, there's too many gemstones, runestones and jewels in my stash to save equipment. So I have to retrieve my equipment to go on.

And yes, if you exit the game at any point, you have to fight everything again. I did have to make 3 tries at the second quest because if you try to release the barbarians before killing all the mini-bosses, you can't finish the quest. Save, exit and return and everything is reset.

I just look at that as extra experience points. Have you found any set items yet (name is green). The first two I found didn't fit well with an assassin, but the third was some reasonable armor.

Hi,

Well still at it with my Sorceress and just about to give up with her and move on but somehow I just can't give up on her and keep trying and trying.

My favorite place to beef up is the Arcane Sanctuary because we can get most of them with our freeze spell and crossbow.

As far as the mini boss goes...my problem is that she is just not fast enough to get him and he keeps getting in the way of the Town Portal when we want to escape.

Well somehow she WILL do it

Whew, that was enough for one evening. Found the waypoints in Arreat Plateau and the Crystalline Passage. Cleared an optional area found behind a portal in the Arreat Plateau and recieved excellent goodies for my efforts.

Did you know that there is a "Cow" level given as a bonus??? Needing a travel Tome and ?????

Accessing the secret Cow level requires that you finish the whole game on Normal difficulty level first (including the expansion); the entire spoiler is found here:

ARREAT SUMMIT COW LEVEL INSTRUX

I did it once, it's pretty funny

I'm glad you mentioned this. I read a suggestion to go back to Act 3 and get a hireling, but saw no way to do it. Now that I look more closely, I see the act numbers at the top of the waypoint list. I don't think this was available without the expansion. I'm going back and get one with a cold spell to freeze those annoying imps.

Shenk would be a good one to rekill, since he is close to the waypoint I'm starting at.

Completed quest 2 and freed the barbarians. Anyone tried hiring them? I wonder how effective they are. Do they use only melee? My cold hireling from act 3 is doing so well I hate to fire him.

I had known about using the portals to go back to previous acts. I had used a portal to take me back to act 3 at one point so I could do some easy stuff as a break from trying to get into Diablo's santuary.

As for how the barbarians are as hirelings, I don't know. I still have my rogue from act 1. She's leveled up with me the whole game, but it's getting quite expensive to resurrect her! Hmm, I should check her equipment, I have plenty of gold for upgrades now. Though her bow is excellent, I've tried a few replacements but this one has better stats for her. Pokey, don't forget that now you can right-click their portrait and give them equipment!

And I am prepared for the secret cow portal. I have the key ingredient in my stash waiting for end of game.

Pokey, my sorceress used the barbarian hireling for a change of pace, he can equip 1 or 2 handed swords (but no shield). He was allright, but if yours is doing well, no need to switch.

I see we are coming to the icelands with cold resistant monsters, so I'll probably switch to the barbarian or a hireling with fire spells. I'm not getting any good loot, usually a few potions and maybe a so-so weapon. No jewels at all yet.

So the three mini bosses you defeated in the Frigid Plains dropped nothing good? Bad luck, I usually got at least one reasonable weapon/armor piece that sold for a respectable amount of cash (after repairing it). It may help that I had to take two of them out a couple of times because I needed to restart the area 'you can't finish this quest'.

Do try the portals in each of these areas, there is a chest loaded with gold and goodies at the end of the run. Fairly small and straight-forward to clear out.

Jewels and runes are rare drops, I haven't had a jewel drop in quite some time. You should be getting nice gemstones (emerald, diamond, ruby, sapphire, topaz) at least some of the time though.

I meant gems that you put in sockets. What are jewels? I've never seen any.

Jewels are another thing to put in sockets. Unlike gems, they tend to have 1 or two effects no matter what class of item you put them in (a jewel may give you +2 dexerity once placed in a socket). Gems have different effects in weapon vs armor vs shield. Jewels tend to have gold edges with a gemstone like center.

Jewels and runes were introduced in the expansion (I think) so it's not surprising you haven't hit any jewels yet.

We made it to the Crystalline Passage waypoint before quitting for the night. My cold hireling died so I went with the barbarian and he is doing okay, though I miss the freezing, which makes it easy finish off the monsters. The hireling was killing most of them himself.

Is the extra gold over 150,000 supposed to be safe next to the stash as long as you pick it up when you exit the game? I left a pile and noticed later that it was gone. I am finding better stuff now and more gold.

I believe that nothing in the game is safe if you leave it on the ground. You must still be under level 30 though. I did a lot of buffing and am level 32 - my stash holds 800,000 gold now! It was weird how fast the cash levels went up just at level 31.

How do you keep that much gold when the stash limit is 150,000? I am just about to hit level 30. Looking forward to using Salvation.

My stash suddenly jumped from 150,000 to 200,000 to 800,000. I don't know why it did that last increase, I was expecting the 150,000 to 200,000 when I hit level 30. But the jump to 800,000 wasn't expected at all. I have about 400,000 in there now.

[add] just to be clear. In the post above, my stash has a limit of 800,000. I have just barely gotten above 400,000.[/add]

Congrats, Magic!!! Well done.

Apparently, at level 30 in the normal game, your stash holds 200,000 gold. But once you move on to Act V, it seems to jump by 50,000 per level, not per 10 levels. So I've had

800,000 gold at 31
850,000 at 32 and now
900,000 at level 33 (Hmm, that may be off by a level, I have to check the game again). Now that is a very impressive stash cash limit. And I'm no where near filling it up.

But is there anything to buy with all that gold? I haven't seen anything good since Act 3. I haven't found anything worth switching to either.

I rescued Anya and then found the Glacial Trail waypoint. Time to enter Anya's red portal. I'm finally getting some gold--nearly 200,000. It costs a lot to resurrect the barbarian, though he's only died once so far. I wish there was a hot key to give him potions and not have to fumble around finding one and putting it on his icon.

I find that the smith and Anya sometimes have good equipment that's quite expensive. And now I have enough gold in reserve to gamble more often.

I expect that fighting Baal is going to cost me dearly, when I get there.

I didn't think to check with Anya.

What is that Scroll of Resistance Malah gave me? I don't know what to do with it and it takes a lot of space in the inventory. Looks like a one shot deal.

It is. Just right click to gain a bonus to resistance. I don't think there is any reason not to go ahead and do it immediately.

Unlike choosing an item to get sockets from the smith. That one you want to be very careful with and choose a good item.

Thanks. I still haven't got sockets placed in an item. I don't have any great rune or gem to put in it.

Found the waypoint in Hall of Pain and quitting for the night. Of course it was the last room I looked in. Level 31 now.

I found it doesn't always pay to repair an item before selling. I found a stick worth 25,000 and it cost 26,000 to repair---but after repairing, it brought only 25,000.

I can't sell anything for more than 25,000 gold ever. So if it's close to that already, I don't bother.

Rescuing Barbarians should have netted you three runes to place in a socketed shield. Mind you, to get the full effect, you need a) a shield with exactly three sockets and b) place those runes in exactly the right order.

I did place the three runes in order in my socketed shield. I haven't used it much because I have been using salvation with my two handed weapon.

How is your assassin doing? I haven't left the second floor waypoint yet. It was easy to that point but will get harder.

I won't be repairing anything that is close to 25,000 again--if I even find any.

Finally found the waypoint in the Frozen Tundra. Died once doing the extra level you can find in the Frozen Tundra. Found the entrance to the Ancient Way, but it was too late and I didn't feel like searching for the waypoint.

And, yeah, a shield is pretty useless for an assassin, since if you've taken her down the martial arts path, it's best to have duel claw class weapons. I have a really lovely sword to swap to, but she's just too good with those claws.

Hi all,

Well having fun running around in Act III and getting way better stuff to sell.

Money is piling up faster then it has up to now.

Wish they didn't have this maze like jungle to try and figure out which way to go but we are slowly finding our way around.

My assissan is using Isenhart's sword and breast plate and doing pretty good and also using firestorm to clear the way.

Enjoy the money piling up. I went through quite a lot of it in Act IV.

Your Assassin obviously doesn't depend on a combination of Cobra Strike and Dragon Claw. Swords don't work with moves like that.

Well, people, I found and unlocked the last waypoint in Diablo 2. Finished all quests barring the last one. Have 700,000 in cash to spare - should be useful if we die (and die and die and die). The Ancients didn't give me too much grief, but I died fairly soon after from carelessness.

I finished off Nihlathak last night after battling his endless horde of minions. When we got him down to just two--he kept summoning them--we rushed him and survived. Off to the Frozen Tundra now.

I don't understand some of the enhancements on weapons. I think "leech" means that the character gains that much life or mana per hit. What does "life stolen per hit" mean? Looking to get a better weapon for my hireling. I tried one earlier and he said he couldn't use it even though he had all the requirements in strength and dexterity and level. I don't understand why he couldn't use it.

Edit--I think I understand now. Life stolen is a percentage of the total life and is just damage to the enemy, no leeching.

Hirelings are quite specific in weapon abilities. The one I keep can only be equipped with a bow. Not even a crossbow, just a bow. So depending on which hireling you've settled on, that determines the weapons they are allowed to use.

I thought Life Stolen was pretty much the same as Leech? I mean, you steal something, it's yours

Hi,

Well played with my Necromancer yesterday and he can now summon 3 regular skeletons, 1 skeleton mage, Iron Golem and the hireling makes 6 helpers to do the dirty work for me hehe.

We will soon have an army working for us.

Will have to see how this goes as he gets to the end boss. Hmmm.

He also found 2 different set items where my other people only found 1 or 2 pieces of the same set.

Baal? Who's Baal? Oh yeah, he's that demon I killed tonight. Act V on normal has been completed! My character is known as Slayer Nicarra now.

Well, he did kill me once, but I did the run from the teleporter on to Baal and recover the body. You can go back and forth through a portal, he doesn't trap them like Diablo is known to do. In the end, I would lay down a lot of fire traps, then back away till they stopped. Go back and lay down fire traps....

And yes, if you run toward the entry, Baal doesn't seem to follow and you can heal.

The Strat guide says use your best ranged attacks, he gets nasty when you get close.

But doesn't he heal up if you leave and return? Mephisto did. It is going to have to be melee for me and the barbarian. That is about all we do unless I go hire a fire or cold mercenary. I'll have to check his resistances. I do recall that he is resistant to physical attack. We may have a problem.

I assume you drop both sets of weapons that you have equipped if you die.

No, he doesn't heal, or at least not fast. Portal at the ready is a recommended part of the strategy.

You drop all equipment when you die, yes. As an assassin, I put a skill point into shadow master so I can have both a rogue and a copy assassin at the same time. Useful for trying to retrieve your goodies. Basically, the equipment run really was, go resurrect my hireling (almost 20000 gold a pop now), teleport back, call up shadow master, run to Baal's realm, create a portal close to the edge of Baal's realm, run to body and back through portal. Now check, repair and distribute potions in belt. Portal back and fight. Repeat as necessary (only once for the equipment run for me).

I've reached the last waypoint. Worried too much about keeping my barbarian alive against the ancients and died myself. Next time I just let him die and did it myself. Not too hard.

If I choose another hireling rather than resurrect my barbarian, will he still be available later?

No, Pokey, once you replace your hireling, you cant get the old one back (as far as I know)

Thanks, I was concerned about that. Don't want to lose my barbarian, though I wish he had a cold spell.

Keep checking, you may be able to get him a weapon with a cold spell. If the spell is Frost Nova, he'll occasionally freeze the group for you.

The barbarian kept dying against that last strong bunch in the throne room. I traded him for a hireling with a cold spell after taking all his equipment. It was so much easier with the cold spell, but I may go back to a barbarian. I haven't seen any great weapons lately. Luckily when I died against that tough bunch, I was able to buy a pretty good sword and armor. Cash isn't a problem now.

Does cold work against Baal?

I'm pretty sure my Sorceress successfully cast some icy spells against Baal, but Static Charge did most of the damage.

I think I have a big problem. I barely got to Baal when he made a clone of himself. I have died many times and running out of gold. I was able to dash in last time and pick up my original equipment, but I don't think I have dented Baal much. I was using the barbarian. Maybe I'll try the cold hireling again.

Do I have to kill both or will the copy die when Baal does?

You might want to go all the way back to Act 1 and get a rogue (they are archers) and make sure the bow does cold damage (cold and poison both is better). Archers will stand back which makes them a little better.

The copy dies with Baal. Just make sure you are killing the real Baal and not the copy. According to all the cheats, the words Baal and Demon line up perfectly when you have the cursor over the copy. Demon is indented just a bit when it's the real Baal.

Good luck.

Aha, I see what you mean. I was hacking on the wrong Baal, but I made an impression. If this one dies, will he make another?

I did it!!

All by myself. The hirelings wern't any help at all. I killed one Baal and it must have been the copy, though the name looked indented. Then I killed the other. Don't know if there were any more around. My heart was thumping.

That was quite a grandiose ending.

Doesn't it feel good to have done it? Did you try the secret cow level? Unfortunately, I forgot to and then started the next level of difficulty.

Yes, I feel so relieved to have finished. It will be nice to play a game with real saves so if I do something dumb, I have a chance to correct it rather than live with it. Great game otherwise.

I am going to try the cow level today.

Yeah, the save feature is very tough to live with. but some of the character classes are pretty cool. The online char I made is a druid - so far the skills I've picked are pets and shapeshift. A werewolf with a small army of pets makes for an amazing force.