Why is Izual a demon again?

Question

At the end of Act IV, before getting to Diablo, we have to fight a once-again demonic Izual. How did this happen? Didn't we free his soul when we killed him in Diablo 2?

Asked by Kappei

Answer

It's worth remembering that even after defeating Izual in Diablo II, he was never really redeemed - in fact, he took the time to give some extra villainous speeches in spirit form.

Tyrael was a fool to have trusted me! You see, it was I who told Diablo and his brothers about the Soulstones and how to corrupt them. It was I who helped the Prime Evils mastermind their exile to your world. The plan we set in motion so long ago cannot be stopped by any mortal agency. Hell itself is poised to spill forth into your world like a tidal wave of blood and nightmares. You and all your kind...are doomed.

Further, we know that it's extremely difficult to get rid of an angel or demon's spirit just by killing them - Tyrael took a mere twenty years to reform his body after being caught up in the destruction of the Worldstone, while our good friend Diablo and company persistently refuse to stay down.

Though I don't believe it's fully explained how he returned to form - his original fall is mentioned in the Act IV lore books, but I haven't found one detailing his second fall if such a thing exists - it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility that at some point he returned to the Great Evils again, or that Diablo specifically sought him out on his joyride to go smash up the High Heavens.

Answered by Ashel

Check more discussion of this question.

Was Diablo's “resurrection” in Diablo 2 really unavoidable?

Question

At the end of the first Diablo game, the hero pushes Diablo's soulstone in his forehead. If I recall it correctly(many years have passed since I played Diablo) he did that "to contain its evilness".
Was it really necessary, especially given the fact that there is an effective way to destroy the soulstones? Or was it just a small part of Diablo's bigger plan?

Asked by Kappei

Answer

The Soulstones were created by Tyrael to contain each of the Prime Evils - Baal, Mephisto, and Diablo. It seems the original thought was to contain their souls in the Soulstones, so "the hero" was following the plan in Diablo I. You can tell, because of the lore regarding the Binding of Baal (from the Diablo II manual).

Weakened by his exertions, Baal let loose one final strike against Tal Rasha; yet, thankfully, the mage was left relatively unhurt. Unfortunately, the sacred Soulstone that he had been given by the Archangel Tyrael was shattered into several small pieces. Reeling in panic, we pressed our attack and succeeded in temporarily subduing the raging demon.

Knowing that the Soulstone's broken shards would not be enough to contain Baal's powerful essence, Tal Rasha quickly devised a reckless plan to contain the demon forever. With a feverish light in his eyes, he coldly walked over to Baal's writhing form and slit the creature's throat. As Baal's spirit fled the dying body, Tal Rasha chose the largest of the Soulstone's shards and jammed it into the open wound. Just as with Mephisto, Baal spirit was sucked into the golden shard's vacuous recesses and trapped. The shard pulsed and hummed as though unable to hold its terrible content in check. Though we questioned his judgement, Tal Rasha seemed confident that the shard would hold Baal until our task was complete.

So, you can see that Tal Rasha did the exact same thing with Baal, even with accomplices. The main differences being that the Baal's soulstone was damaged, and Tal Rasha's posse knew it wasn't going to hold him. "The hero" thought the Soulstone would hold Diablo. What he didn't know was that the three Prime Evils had been taught how to corrupt the Soulstones by a lesser evil. You learn this as the "new hero" in Diablo II. Per wikipedia:

The player learns of the truth behind the corruption and the story of the soulstones. Diablo released Mephisto (Lord of Hatred) and Baal (Lord of Destruction) from their soulstones, as they were taught long ago how to corrupt them by the fallen angel Izual...

Per the wikia:

The sacred Soulstones were given to the Horadrim by the Archangel Tyrael in order to imprison the Prime Evils that had been set loose upon the world. However, the fallen angel Izual had told the Prime Evils how to corrupt the sacred stones and bend their tremendous power to their will. By doing so the Soulstones no longer acted as a prison but instead strengthened the Evils beyond the boundaries of the realms and even functioned as an anchor into the mortal realm: if the corporeal forms of the Prime Evils were destroyed their spirits remained within the stones, making a rebirth into the world possible.

That sucks, doesn't it? So you can't really fault "the hero". It seems he was just playing from Tyrael's playbook and got the short end of the stick. It wasn't until Diablo II where the "new heroes" learned that the corrupted Soulstones could be destroyed at the HellForge.

Answered by EBongo

Check more discussion of this question.

Is it worth it to repair before selling?

Question

Often times I find loot that has a small amount of durability lost. I tend to "repair all" as my first action when I visit the blacksmith, where I usually sell my stuff. So when I sell stuff, I'm selling it at full durability. Does this get me a higher selling price, or should I just sell it without repairing. Which option nets me more gold?

Asked by EBongo

Answer

Originally, it was important to repair everything before selling it, because you'd make much more money that way.

However, this was later changed in patch 1.8. There's no benefit to repairing items before selling them in the current version.

From the 1.8 patch notes: "Items sold to stores are priced as if they were fully repaired."

Also note that hitting "repair all" does not repair items in your inventory: only the items you have equipped are repaired by the "repair all" button. So you don't have to avoid hitting "repair all" before selling your items either.

Answered by Theodore Murdock

Check more discussion of this question.

Is there a way to shoot a ranged weapon consistently without moving my feet?

Question

I switched to using a bow, and now I find myself constantly running to a few steps away from enemies before shooting them in the face. At my current level it isn't a big deal since I can still tank most of them, but as I face tougher enemies they are often dealing some painful blows. I try to just stand at range and fire, but soon my toon is running back into the fray because I accidentally missed when attempting to click an enemy. Is there a solution to this problem?

Asked by EBongo

Answer

If you hold shift, your character will never take a step, instead being forced to perform whatever action is bound to your mouse when clicking. This is useful for casting spells or attacking at range without risking running directly into the fray.

So... Shift + click.

Answered by StrixVaria

Check more discussion of this question.

My hireling died, what happens to their equipment?

Question

Despite my best attempts, my hireling died. Alas poor meatshield, I knew her well. It does not seem that her equipment dropped when she died. Is it lost forever? If I hire a new hireling will the inherit her equipment?

Asked by EBongo

Answer

Your hireling still has his equipment. You can resurrect your hireling for a fee at any of the NPCs where you would be able to hire a new one, or at Tyrael if you happen to be in Act 4. After resurrection, the hireling will have all the same equipment it had at time of death.

If you hire a new hireling, however, all that equipment will be lost forever.

Answered by StrixVaria

Check more discussion of this question.

What is a good strategy for finding and rerolling charms?

Question

In all my time playing Diablo 2, I've found few very good charms (excluding the uniques). The market seems to be flooded with incredibly good charms - +1 to class skill tree, resistances, life, magic find, you name it. I've heard mention that it is possible to re-roll charms, and I've looked up the formulas. However, I know that level has a lot to do with the possibilities involved in the randomly re-rolled charm.

What is a good strategy for finding and re-rolling charms with the express purpose of creating high-power ("godly") charms for selling?

Asked by Ian Pugsley

Answer

Simple steps
Step 1: If you know what sort of charms you are looking for, you can use the charm affix list. This will give you the item level requirements for your specific charm. If you are looking for both a prefix AND a suffix, take the highest item level. Your character's level must be at minimum 75% of this.
Step 2: Find an area that has monsters that are at least the item's level. For the higher level charms, bosses may be the only option. Area level reference here. As shown, max area level is 85, And even Hell Baal is only level 99. So any item level of 85 or higher can only be found in the Worldstone Keep (Hell) and onwards. eg. One of the suffix`s is Vita, with an item level of 77 or 91. Since the only monster above level 91 is Hell Baal, getting this suffix means any charms he drops are level 91, and have a chance of the higher Vita suffix. Any other monster that drops a Vita charm will have less life (36-40 as opposed to 41-45).
Step 3: Brutally murder any and all monsters that meet these criteria. There may be some collateral genocide. This is usually to your benefit. Hope a charm drops from these monsters.
Step 4: Continue committing genocide until enough charms have dropped. Bonus if you collect lots of gems, too. You'll need them.
Step 5: After identifying charms, see if any provide what you're looking for.
Step 6: Insert charm and three perfect gems into your cube and hit Transmute.
Step 7: Does the charm provide what you wanted? If so, success! If not, repeat step 6.

Item Level

Item level is a hidden stat for every item. It dictates what affixes are possible for the item to have. Whatever items a monster drops are the same level as the monster. eg. Monsters in Worldstone Keep (Hell) are level 85. Therefore, all the magic items they drop are item level 85. Note: This does NOT guarantee that the items they drop will be better than what you currently have. They have a CHANCE of rolling a higher level affix.

Example: The prefix Serrated is item level 67. This means that any monster at level 67 or higher has a chance of dropping a charm with the Serrated prefix. However, the monster might drop a charm with the Forked prefix, which requires item level 37. This does NOT mean the item's level is 37. The charm's item level is whatever level the monster was. This is important to remember. When re-rolling the charm, it still has a chance of generating the Serrated prefix. Not a high chance, but a chance. Whereas a monster of level 37 can drop the same Forked charm, but has NO chance of generating the Serrated prefix, ever.

Extra explanation

Recipe: 3 Perfect Gems + 1 Magic Item → 1 Random Magic Item of the same type

The item level will match the inputted item, so you already need a charm that's of a high enough level to get the affixes you want. You can look here to find out what the minimum item level your current charms are. (warning, the list is huge) Look above for the explanation on item level.

Once you have a charm you don't want that's a high enough level, it's all a matter of luck.

Simplest example: If you're looking for a +1 to a skill tree, these are all item level 50. There are no other charms that have an item level of 50, so for the best chance of getting the tree you want, you'll have to find a grand charm that gives only +1 to a tree you don't want, and start rolling. The chances of this happening are roughly 10%. For the math (lots of math), go here. These are your best chance for finding + to skills.

Grand Charm Affix List
Note: I`m going to be limiting this list to grand charms only. The other lists can be found at the above affix list link.

Prefixes      Attributes                                  lvl 
=============================================================
Stout         +3-5 to Defense                               1 
Stout         +6-9 to Defense                               7 
Stout         +10-12 to Defense                            12 
Burly         +13-15 to Defense                            17 
Burly         +16-22 to Defense                            22 
Burly         +23-30 to Defense                            27 
Stalwart      +33-40 to Defense                            32 
Stalwart      +44-50 to Defense                            37 
Stalwart      +60-100 to Defense                           42 
Red           +1 to Minimum Damage                         15 
Sanguinary    +2 to Minimum Damage                         45 
Bloody        +3 to Minimum Damage                         75 
Jagged        +1 to Maximum Damage                          7 
Forked        +2 to Maximum Damage                         37 
Serrated      +3 to Maximum Damage                         67 
Rugged        +12-24 Maximum Stamina                        1 
Rugged        +25-36 Maximum Stamina                        7 
Rugged        +37-50 Maximum Stamina                       21 
Bronze        +6-12 to Attack Rating                        1 
Bronze        +13-27 to Attack Rating                       7 
Bronze        +28-42 to Attack Rating                      13 
Iron          +43-57 to Attack Rating                      19 
Iron          +58-72 to Attack Rating                      25 
Iron          +73-87 to Attack Rating                      31 
Steel         +88-102 to Attack Rating                     37 
Steel         +103-117 to Attack Rating                    43 
Steel         +118-132 to Attack Rating                    49 
Fine          +10-20 to Attack Rating
              +1-3 Maximum Damage                          15 
Fine          +21-48 to Attack Rating
              +4-6 Maximum Damage                          22 
Sharp         +49-76 to Attack Rating
              +7-10 Maximum Damage                         29 
Lucky         +1-4% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items   21 
Lucky         +5-7% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items   38 
Lucky         +8-12% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items  55 
Lizard's      +3-7 to Mana                                  1 
Lizard's      +8-13 to Mana                                 7 
Lizard's      +14-20 to Mana                               13 
Snake's       +21-26 to Mana                               19 
Snake's       +27-33 to Mana                               25 
Snake's       +34-39 to Mana                               31 
Serpent's     +40-46 to Mana                               37 
Serpent's     +47-52 to Mana                               43 
Serpent's     +53-59 to Mana                               49 
Shimmering    All Resistances +3-6%                      8-13 
Shimmering    All Resistances +8-12%                    14-34 
Shimmering    All Resistances +13-15%                      35 
Azure         Cold Resist +7-15%                            1 
Lapis         Cold Resist +16-20%                          10 
Cobalt        Cold Resist +21-25%                          20 
Sapphire      Cold Resist +26-30%                          30 
Crimson       Fire Resist +7-15%                            1 
Russet        Fire Resist +16-20%                          10 
Garnet        Fire Resist +21-25%                          20 
Ruby          Fire Resist +26-30%                          30 
Tangerine     Lightning Resist +7-15%                       1 
Ocher         Lightning Resist +16-20%                     10 
Coral         Lightning Resist +21-25%                     20 
Amber         Lightning Resist +26-30%                     30 
Beryl         Poison Resist +7-15%                          1 
Viridian      Poison Resist +16-20%                        10 
Jade          Poison Resist +21-25%                        20 
Emerald       Poison Resist +26-30%                        30 
Fletcher's    +1 to Bow & Crossbow Skills (Amazon Only)    50 
Acrobat's     +1 to Passive Skills (Amazon Only)           50 
Harpoonist's  +1 to Javelin & Spear Skills (Amazon Only)   50  
Burning       +1 to Fire Skills (Sorceress Only)           50 
Sparking      +1 to Lightning Skills (Sorceress Only)      50 
Chilling      +1 to Cold Skills (Sorceress Only)           50 
Hexing        +1 to Curses (Necromancer Only)              50 
Fungal        +1 to Poison & Bone Skills (Necro Only)      50 
Graverobber's +1 to Summoning Skills (Necromancer Only)    50  
Lion Branded  +1 to Combat Skills (Paladin Only)           50 
Captain's     +1 to Offensive Auras (Paladin Only)         50 
Preserver's   +1 to Defensive Auras (Paladin Only)         50 
Expert's      +1 to Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)         50 
Fanatic       +1 to Combat Masteries (Barbarian Only)      50 
Sounding      +1 to Warcries (Barbarian Only)              50 
Trainer's     +1 to Summoning Skills (Druid Only)          50 
Spiritual     +1 to Shapeshifting Skills (Druid Only)      50 
Natural       +1 to Elemental Skills (Druid Only)          50 
Entrapping    +1 to Traps (Assassin Only)                  50 
Mentalist's   +1 to Shadow Disciplines (Assassin Only)     50  
Shogukusha's  +1 to Martial Arts (Assassin Only)           50 
Septic        +5 Poison Damage over 3 seconds               1 
Foul          +15 Poison Damage over 4 seconds             12 
Toxic         +50 Poison Damage over 5 seconds             27 
Pestilent     +100 Poison Damage over 6 seconds            42 
Snowy         Adds 1-(2-3) Cold Damage (1 second Duration)  9 
Shivering     Adds (2-4)-(4-8) Cold Damage (1 second Dur)  15  
Boreal        Adds (5-7)-(9-15) Cold Damage (1 second Dur) 30 
Hibernal      Adds (8-13)-(16-25) Cold Damage (1 sec Dur)  45 
Ember         Adds 1-(2-3) Fire Damage                      5 
Smoldering    Adds (2-3)-(4-7) Fire Damage                 15 
Smoking       Adds (4-7)-(8-19) Fire Damage                28 
Flaming       Adds (8-18)-(20-36) Fire Damage              43 
Static        Adds 1-(4-5) Lightning Damage                 7 
Glowing       Adds 1-(6-17) Lightning Damage               14 
Arcing        Adds 1-(18-44) Lightning Damage              29 
Shocking      Adds 1-(45-79) Lightning Damage              44 Suffixes      Attributes                                  lvl
=============================================================
Balance       12% Faster Hit Recovery                       1 
Frost         Adds 1 to 2 Cold Damage - 1 sec Duration      5 
Icicle        Adds 2 to (3-4) Cold Damage - 1 sec Duration  8 
Glacier       Adds 3 to (5-7) Cold Damage - 1 sec Duration 15 
Winter        Adds (4-6) to (8-11) Cold Damage - 1 sec Dur 23  
Flame         Adds 1 to 2 Fire Damage                       3 
Fire          Adds (1-2) to 3 Fire Damage                   8 
Burning       Adds (2-3) to (4-7) Fire Damage              14 
Incineration  Adds (4-7) to (8-14) Fire Damage             22 
Shock         Adds 1 to (2-3) Lightning Damage              4 
Lightning     Adds 1 to (4-7) Lightning Damage              7 
Thunder       Adds 1 to (8-21) Lightning Damage            15 
Storms        Adds 1 to (22-33) Lightning Damage           22 
Blight        Adds 6 Poison Damage Over 3 Seconds           1 
Venom         Adds 15 Poison Damage Over 4 Seconds          6 
Pestilence    Adds 25 Poison Damage Over 5 Seconds         14 
Anthrax       Adds 50 Poison Damage Over 6 Seconds         21 
Craftsmanship +1 to Maximum Damage                          1 
Quality       +2 to Maximum Damage                         41 
Maiming       +3-4 to Maximum Damage                       71 
Inertia       7% Faster Run/Walk                           19 
Greed         10-20% Extra Gold From Monsters               1 
Greed         21-30% Extra Gold From Monsters               7 
Greed         31-40% Extra Gold From Monsters              19 
Dexterity     +3-4 to Dexterity                             1 
Dexterity     +5-6 to Dexterity                            14 
Life          +5-10 to Life                                 1 
Life          +11-15 to Life                                9 
Life          +16-20 to Life                               19 
Sustenance    +21-25 to Life                               31 
Sustenance    +26-30 to Life                               45 
Sustenance    +31-35 to Life                               61 
Vita          +36-40 to Life                               77 
Vita          +41-45 to Life                               91 
Strength      +3-4 to Strength                              1 
Strength      +5-6 to Strength                             14 

Answered by fbueckert

Check more discussion of this question.

What to socket Aldur's Rhythm with?

Question

I found a 3 socket Aldur's Rhythm during my game play last night, and it is a vast improvement over the weapon I was using.

I am running a Zeal Paladin, on closed Battle.net, at Nightmare difficulty Act 3, and I am hoping that it will help me up to Hell difficulty. Based on those threads from players using this weapon in Hell I feel like I've gotten a great weapon earlier than normal.

I read suggestions about adding 3 Shael runes to make the increased attack speed as high as possible, however, the calculator I found showed my number of attacks (Zeal) would increase from 4.16-4.46 for the 3 rune upgrade. Gaining 1 attack every 3 seconds doesn't seem like a huge damage gain.

Others suggest adding Amn runes or 3 Perfect Skulls to bump the life/mana leech. At present potion guzzling is a bit of a problem, but I may only need to find one good armor to solve that problem for a while. This doesn't seem like the worst choice, however the weapon does already have 10% Life Stolen Per Hit and 5% Mana Stolen Per Hit.

Other thoughts I've had include using Eth for the -25% to target defense, Mal for prevent heal, and perhaps Dol for 25% monster flee.

Given these circumstances, what are solid options that will be useful through the Nightmare Acts 4,5 and into Hell?

Asked by Stephen

Answer

First of all, realize that the complete Aldur's set is a druid only set, so whatever you use with it will become useless later on since you are a paladin.

Second, the weapon may be a vast improvement, but it is not worth spending a lot of mid-high runes on since its simply not that good.

Third, for zeal weapons, you want to consider the base weapon speed, the faster the better. Aldur's Rhythm with a base weapon speed of 10 is rather slow. A popular yet fairly easy to get zeal weapon would be something like Stormlash.

So given these, I would just avoid socketing the weapon altogether, or if you must, put in Ber runes (really expensive, and a huge waste imo), since crushing blow is very nice to have.

For cheaper solutions, just stick in some ptopaz for a little kick in the lightning damage department.

Oh, and if you do have a mal rune, I'd save it for the Grief runeword* its the ultimate weapon for a zeal pally.

Eth for the -25% to target defense, Mal for prevent heal perhaps Dol for 25% monster flee.

If you are having trouble hitting monsters, get yourself a piece of the angelic set the AR boost will solve all your hitting problems, a lot of people like to wear the amulet + 1 ring. And you ABSOLUTELY do not want monster flee, you are a melee style fighter, why do you want monsters to run away from you?

*Ladder Only

Answered by yx.

Check more discussion of this question.

Is there any way to calculate or estimate DPS?

Question

Coming back to the game after a long time, I see the damage range of weapons, and the fact that they have different attack speeds. Based on my experience with other games, it is easier for me to compare how good weapons are based on damage per second (DPS). Some simple assumption, like that I have 100% hit rate is fine with me if that makes it easier. After looking around a little I can't find an easy way to compare damage/speed between multiple weapons.

Asked by EBongo

Answer

Yes. There are a number of damage calculators out there. This covers both the damage side and attack speed sides of the coin at once.

Alternatively, for more complex questions, such as factoring in werewolf attack speed, Zeal, Jab etc, I refer you to Thisfor a good list, if slightly dated.

The reference bible I used to use when playing D2 was This.

For an more recent compilation, This provides a reasonably thorough (at least as of 1.11) compendium.

I Hope that helps. There is so much good information out there on D2, as it has been around so long and was so popular, that I didn't think it constructive to reinvent the wheel and write down formulae here :)

Answered by Cor_Blimey

Check more discussion of this question.

Does loot despawn/disappear after a certain amount of time?

Question

As mentioned in this question, inventory size is an issue in Diablo II. So far, I don't plan on playing with others, so for me loot whoring is not an issue.

Given this, I am interested to know if dropped loot ever despawns and if so under what circumstances. In other words, if I've got a book of Town Portal scrolls can I just keep loot running over and over until I've picked up and sold all of the dropped loot? If I'm playing solo - is inventory size really an issue, or just more of an inconvenience?

Asked by EBongo

Answer

Items despawn depending on their quality:

Regular items and gold disappear after exactly 10 minutes.

Magic items will disappear after 20 minutes.

Rare, Set, Crafted, and Unique items will disappear after lying on the ground for 30 minutes.

If you pick up the item (and drop it), it resets the timer.

Source

Answered by Krazer

Check more discussion of this question.

Do respawned enemies give experience?

Question

In the early game of Diablo II I seem to be constantly facing these pesky Demon Shamans that endlessly respawn/resurrect nearby fallen demons. I recall there are similar enemies later in the game that respawn different type of enemies. I observe that the respawned versions don't seem to ever drop loot. Am I getting experience for killing these respawned enemies, or, to add insult to injury literally - are they just a waste of time?

Asked by EBongo

Answer

DiabloWiki provides a good explanation:

For resurrected monsters, (by shamans (e.g., Fallen, Mummies, and Fetishes))you only get experience from killing a monster the first time.

For monsters produced by monster generators (e.g., Foul Crows, Zombies, and Imps), they are worth experience, but very little and do not drop any items. However, The generators themselves are worth good experience.

For Reanimated horde zombies, they are worth full experience and may drop items when they resurrect themselves. Each kill counts for the full amount.

Additionally, Monsters killed by another, under Convert, Confuse, or other related skills, award their experience to the character who cast the spell on them.

Answered by Krazer

Check more discussion of this question.

Do Halbu and Jamella have any lore?

Question

Halbu and Jamella, the vendors in the Pandemonium Fortress, are quite mysterious characters, with very few spoken lines and just two purposes: repairing/vendoring and giving quests.

On their wiki pages there aren't any useful informations about them, so I was just wondering: has there ever been any Word of God about their lore? Are they just there to be useful? This always seemed odd to me, especially considering the deep lore that's always been a distinguishing trait of Blizzard's games...

Asked by Kappei

Answer

Halbu and Jamella appear to be a warriors chosen by Heaven to fight Hell, as Tyrael mentions that many mortals have journeyed to the Pandemonium Fortress. Perhaps their near silence is a result of their prolonged and never-ending battle against the Burning Hells.

Thats what I've gathered from my Diablo 2 strategy guide from ages ago and relistening to Tyreal talk :P, plus the wiki i found says the exact same thing. :)

Answered by Kirkalirk

Check more discussion of this question.

How can I turn off the bot spam messages?

Question

Diablo 2's multiplayer has been a wasteland of spam messages for years—bots who enter, post long, green, gigantic messages, and leave. I've asked several party members about how to stop this and they said I can only try to squelch them from the party menu if I'm fast. Is there truly no other way? How have power users dealt with this nuisance for years?

¹

Is there any way to stop all incoming messages, like a kill switch? If not, is there any way to at least minimize the message area's size so it only takes up a fraction of the screen? Is there any way to block these users from entering? (Perhaps blocking new users or just any new party members even before the party limit? Will that even matter?) Is the idea to play on private with people found in other games, just to avoid the spam? What else can I do to avoid these messages?

Asked by sean

Answer

The other answers are helpful and deserve upvotes for making the bot experience better, but there's a direct solution for turning off the bots: the /ignorepersist ignorelist.

In the final D2 patch (1.13d), you can filter out common bot phrases by making a list of such phrases with /filtermsg <phrase>

After filtering your first phrase, an "ignorelist" file shows in your D2 file directory, where you can just append a dump of common bot phrases (they're long, so I'll link out: list, list).

This feature is toggled with the /ignorepersist command.¹

I'll add screenshots later tonight.

Answered by sean

Check more discussion of this question.

Where do I find my 26 character CD key?

Question

I recently opened my dusty box of old games and was excited to find my original CD keys for Diablo II and Diablo II Lord of Destruction. A helpful person on this site pointed out that I could enter my keys on battle.net and download a modern version of the game compatible with my OS. I did that, but now when the installer asks me for my CD key it mentions a 26 character key, and the key on my CD case is not nearly that long. I'm looking at the case and it's clearly a 16 digit sequence. Do I pad that with zeros, or is there somewhere else I can find the key I need?

Asked by EBongo

Answer

You can log in to battle net and go to

https://us.battle.net/account/management/

(eu or us shouldn't matter)

Click on Diablo II, you'll be taken to the page with the key(screenshot is in Italian, but that shouldn't be a problem):

Answered by Kappei

Check more discussion of this question.

Will the version of Diablo 2 included with the Collectors Edition of Diablo 3 run on modern Mac OS X?

Question

The collectors Edition of Diablo 3 includes a 4GB USB drive preloaded with Diablo 2 and Lord of Destruction.

Will this version of the game run on a modern Intel Mac running OS X 10.7 without modifications, virtualisation or other third party software?

I have read that Blizzard stopped supporting Diablo 2 on the Mac after Apple removed Rosetta from the OS, but does this also mean they would send out copies of Diablo 2 that won't run on a Mac?

Asked by Jasarien

Answer

No. The included Diablo II + LoD is no different than their latest version online, which works with Mac OS 10.3.9 through 10.6 Snow Leopard (and Windows 2000 through Windows 7).¹

Blizzard has no plans to support 10.7 Lion and above.^{2 3}

So, yes, the Collector's Edition USB soulstone ships without modern support. (I may add that D2 runs just fine in Parallels and Boot Camp on a MacBook Air.)

Mac OS 10.6.8 remains the only Mac OS able to run both Diablo II and Diablo III natively.

Answered by sean

Check more discussion of this question.

Is there a way to see loot on the ground?

Question

I could swear there is a way to see loot on the ground with a "name bubble". Often times it drops behind something on screen and in big fights I just forget where it dropped. Many items blend in the with the background and while I can hunt with the mouse, I'm sure I'm missing stuff. Is there a way to see all the loot that is on the ground at any given time?

Asked by EBongo

Answer

Hold alt to show the names of all the loot on the screen.

From here, you can even click on the names that appear to pick the items up, so you don't have to hunt with your mouse in the general area on the ground to find the loot.

Answered by StrixVaria

Check more discussion of this question.

Do charm bonuses ever max out?

Question

How many charms can I carry at once, and if I can fill my inventory, do the charm benefits reach a limit after carrying a certain amount? If not, can I theoretically fill my inventory with Annihilus charms?

Asked by sean

Answer

The Annihilus charm is a Unique charm, so no, you can't fill your inventory with those, since you can only carry one of each at any time. Other than that, for the other charms there's no limit other than your inventory capacity. That's why charms are considered very valuable items: in a limited space they give you powerful bonuses.

Some links with confirmations of the stacking properties:

DiabloWiki
A Gamespot forum discussion
An IncGamers forum discussion

Regarding the limits, you get a cap only for skills that have a cap (for example elemental resistances are maxed out at 100%); others, such as Magic find, have no cap, so you can hoard as many MF charms you can, but they have diminishing returns; others instead, as the +skill ones, have no cap at all, so for those the sky's the limit!(or, more realistically, you backpack)

Answered by Kappei

Check more discussion of this question.

Is there a way to increase inventory size in Diablo II?

Question

I have owned Diablo II for a long time. That said, I have never actually given it the time that it deserves. I figured with the release of D3 coming quickly I would sit down and give it the old college try.

When I play games that involve collecting items dropped from slain enemies I must gather it all! This bandit has a worthless plate in his inventory? Thank you! So because of this I am having trouble with inventory management.

I understand that inventory management is "part of the game", but to that end I have too many potions and scrolls that as I start clearing a dungeon I can't pick up everything. It really bothers me to leave behind a sword or a belt. I just have so many potions and scrolls that I cannot pick up very much.

Is there any legitimate (not against ToS or EULA) way to increase my inventory space so I can carry more items?

Asked by Adanion

Answer

No. Without third party mods, there is no way to increase the size of your inventory or your stash.

There are a few tricks you can do, however, to take creative advantage of some game mechanics. Try carrying the Horadric Cube with you, which has a 3x4 area inside it but only takes up a 2x2 area in your inventory. You can also equip items you're not using. This works best with weapons, since you can swap to the unused weapon set, equip the item, then swap back to the weapon you actually want to use.

Another trick is that you can open your inventory and pick up an item off the ground even if your inventory is full. If you quit the game while this item is replacing your cursor, the next game you join will still have that item available to you. You can use this in a multiplayer game to ninja an important item even if your inventory is full.

Even with these minor space savers, you still won't be able to pick up everything. You'll just have to learn to live with leaving some items on the ground. They're not all worth grabbing.

Answered by StrixVaria

Check more discussion of this question.

Maximizing item value runs

Question

I've started gambling items in order to get better gear. As expected, this is a very expensive endeavor, and I run out of gold in short order. To this end, I am attempting to maximize my playing so I pick up the items that are worth the most. I am aware that items that improve class skills, such as wands, orbs, and scepters, are worth a lot of gold when vendored. I also pick up all magic items as well. The problem is, many magic items only sell for 200-300 gold, while taking up alot of space in my inventory.

I have attempted to search for a list that shows how affixes modify the base item value, but all my searches just bring up websites offering to sell me items for real cash.

So, my question is two-fold: does anyone have any tips on how to bring back only the most valuable items, magical or otherwise? And does anyone have a list of how affixes modify the base price?

Asked by fbueckert

Answer

Unlike Diablo 1, magic attributes do not significantly add to the value of the item, instead the base type is more relevant.

As you first pointed out; Wands, Sceptres, Staves and Orbs are worth gold based on the "character level" of the skills on them. For example, an orb with +3 Firebolt will be worth significantly less than an orb with +3 Frozen Orb. When you pick up caster weapons, throw away weapons without a level 24 or level 30 skill level.

Body Armor is also generally worth a lot more than weapons. In normal armor, look for full plate or ancient armor and any "Exceptional" or "Elite" armor will usually hit the gold cap. See all the armors here.

Finally, make sure your selling everything in Hell difficulty, as your Act (in normal) and Difficulty affect your maximum value. Act 1 normal is 5000g maximum, Hell difficulty (any act) is 35000g.

It might also be worth making a "Gold Find Barbarian" character just for farming gold. This involves creating a barbarian with the "Find Item" skill who destroys everything in the "Travincal" (act 3) zone. The council members there drop significant gold, and drop even more gold with "Find Item" cast on their corpse.

Answered by Resorath

Check more discussion of this question.

What is the cow level and how do I get there?

Question

I've heard that after all of the rumors surrounding a "cow level" in the original diablo (which never actually existed), an actual cow level was put into Diablo 2.

What exactly do I have to do to reach this cow level? When I get there, what will I find?

Asked by Mr Smooth

Answer

It's a secret level filled with mooing cows on par with end-game enemy difficulty. They drop unique, set, and magic items, and their King drops a rare item. It's more of a fun Easter egg than something to take advantage of.

1. Get Wirt's Leg on Wirt's corpse in the north while rescuing Cain from Tristam.

2. Finish the game, and return to Act 1 on the same difficulty.

3. In the Rogue Encampment, combine Wirt's Leg and a Town Portal Tome in the Horadric Cube.

4. Enter the red portal to Moo Moo Farm. If you want to return on the same difficulty in the future, don't kill the Cow King.

Video:

Answered by sean

Check more discussion of this question.

What consequences did the destruction of the Worldstone bring?

Question

At the end of Diablo 2

Tyrael destroys the Worldstone to prevent its corruption.

Has there been any official word about the consequences of that action? Or the lives of the people of Sanctuary has not been affected by it?

Asked by Kappei

Answer

to quote the diablo wiki, it seems like nobody knows for sure but we might see that in diabo 3:

The full effects of destroying the Worldstone are yet to be revealed. Many speculate that Tyrael has somehow been corrupted by Baal or the corrupted Worldstone. All should be revealed in Diablo III. Even the characters in Diablo II aren't sure of what will happen now that it is destroyed, or even if it had to be destroyed in the first place. The Prophecy stated that the Worldstone would be corrupted, but apparently never actually said anything about it having to be destroyed.

maybe some beta-testers of diablo 3 (more than the open beta with level-13-limit) could give more information - but i'm almost sure this would be against the terms of use of the beta, so thats unlikely to happen.

Answered by oezi

Check more discussion of this question.