Diablo 2 Resurrected: Everything You Need to Know

Diablo 2: Resurrected is coming today - the remake of Blizzard's classic action RPG will be released on September 23rd. The original version was released in 2000, and Resurrected made a ton of improvements to bring the game into the modern era. The open beta weekend is in August, so you may already have had a chance to experience the game.

As such, you can expect it to generally be less friendly to players than Diablo 3--if that's your only exposure to the series so far. Here are some basic tips, based on our experience with the original game and the Resurrected beta, that will help you get started in the world of Diablo 2 -whether it's your first time playing or someone who has been playing the game for years stopped playing and forgot the joys of Scrolls of Identify, Baalruns, and those damn cows.

Pick a good starter class

The first decision you have to make at the start is choosing a class, and unfortunately the game explains as little as possible about what it feels like to play as one of them. In addition to a brief description, you can also make your choice based on the appearance of the individual classes. While you can always introduce more new characters, once you've made up your mind you can't change classes, so any time you spend with a character is free if you choose to play something different. (Thank goodness you can use the new shared loot boxes to move items between characters - you no longer have to start a session, put everything in town, stop and then come back with another character to move items).

Some sessions are more suitable for newbies than others; As you can probably imagine, Sorceress relies heavily on spell casting and mana, and is relatively weak, which makes her a more difficult solo character to begin with(although once you've acquired her teleport skills, she can be a real life saver). Paladins, on the other hand, can take more hits and heal themselves without potions, while Necromancers can summon a whole range of servants who not only do damage, but above all disperse and absorb enemy attacks to keep you alive.

From a purely entertaining standpoint, this is a completely subjective decision, although there's a reason the Barbarian was a recurring character when Diablo 3 released - a character who Blizzard believed had room for improvement. The limited amount of information on the character creation screen does not suggest this, but there are a number of class builds and completely different ways to play with a given class. Don't worry, here is a quick guide to Diablo 2: Resurrected career styles that will help you find the perfect class.

Full aggro

Those who love to fight are in luck, as most of the playable characters in Diablo 2: Resurrected are aggressive, relentless fighters. Almost all classes have a very personal style and a structure that has been tried by fans.

If you prefer a play style that tears apart enemies like a human weapon, then the Barbarian, Amazon, and Paladin are your best choices. The first two have almost exclusively stabbing builds that focus on giant swords and axes or bows and spears, respectively. Paladins have some cleric-like abilities, but the bulk of their play style is also attacking demons. Holy crusaders and so on.

Assassins and Druids can also have hatred, but their style is a little more complex and difficult. Assassins, while powerful, are also very soft, so move around carefully and find the right equipment to protect them. Likewise, Druid's Werewolf and Werebear builds love to use to startfist-fights, but be careful about your health and status.

Utilitarian

While many people prefer to rush into battle, others prefer to fight safely. For party lovers and manipulative tools, the Paladin and Assassinare the best candidates. The Paladin has a whole range of buff abilities, and if done right, they can become a self-healing, defensive cleric rather than a ferocious holy warrior.

Likewise, even if it is more difficult to implement, the Assassin can play it safe and set up a complex system of traps to play around the enemy instead of jumping on them. They are also suitable for people who want to play with other players from the start, so are more suitable for parties.

Mage carry

Necromancers, Druids, and Sorcerers are all professions that take magic very seriously. Yes, the Sorcerers is the queen of witches, but the other two also have their advantages as glass cannons in the second row. If you want to escape your enemies and create huge fire balls or corpse explosions, this is the class for you. The Necromancer allows you to focus on his bonespells or poison, all of which have to do with corpses. With the druid, he prefers the elements, just like the Sorceress.

One thing to be clear about is that you either have to get usedto running away a lot to protect yourself from enemies, or you have to rely on mercenaries to compete for you - or you play with one friends.

Army

While it may seem like a niche playstyle, it's common in Diablo games. Just like the Witch Doctor in Diablo 3, both Druid and Necromancer canbuild huge summoned armies. If you build a summoner Necromancer you will get an army of skeletons and golems, if you build a summoner Druid you will get anarmy of crowns, wolves and spirits to fight with you. It really depends on which creatures you want to lead you to victory over Diablo.

Be smart about what you pick up

You will come across a ton of loot in the game, but not all of it is worth picking up. You can sell anything in town, but returning it repeatedly can quickly become tedious and will cost you a small amount in the form of a Scroll of Town Portal. So it is better if you spend your time picking up the more valuable items. The items specific to a particular profession -wands, sacred globes, sceptres, barbarian helmets, etc. - are good choices, as are rings / amulets and items that provide a skill point for a profession. Focus on these things rather than screws or other low value items that take upa lot of space to maximize your income and reduce the number of trips to town.

Prepare for grinding

Diablo 2 doesn't have the ending you'd expect from a modern game, and you'll likely spend a lot of time dealing with bosses that you'll have to fight repeatedly for better D2R items. But even before you get to that point, you may fall short. Then you need to gain experience points (and hopefully get some good items) by repeating certain parts of the game.Tristram, the Countess, the Catacombs in Act 1, the graves in Act 2, the Council in Act 3, and so on are all fertile ground to gain XP faster than usual; be prepared to go through it several times.