game Diablo 2 Resurrected {2025.05}
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2025.05.23
I need something new but not too new, fantasy not sci-fi, and maybe more action and less rpg. Seems like time for Diablo.
Going through the blog, updating the big list, checking battle.net, wikis, etc.
The obvious next move is Diablo 3, but I bought and haven't yet played Diablo 2 Resurrected (i.e. Remastered).
Minor note, need to reconcile roman vs arabic numbering in the list and blog - don't want to have to search for Diablo 2 and Diablo II, etc. every time.
Rereading the lore; simple but good enough. Avoiding spoilage for D3 and on.
Where's the Diablo 1 remaster? Some rumors, nothing on horizon.
What does D2 remastered have: graphics toggle old/new, shared stash (so don't need mules?), auto gold pickup... that's it? looks like a few more small updates.
I should check it out before moving on. 30gb! While D3 is only 17gb.
While downloading can check out https://www.reddit.com/r/diablo2resurrected/
I like the advice of go in blind, play however you want, then read about builds and use a respec.
Should I play offline or online?
I don't know how much of this I'll actually play before moving on to D3.
Maybe I can try an alternate to sorcerer? Anything other than sorc feels like a waste of time.
How about trying a fire build? I always used to go cold/lightning.
I was going to just dive in and play a fire sorc but this long download has me reading while i wait...
https://maxroll.gg/d2
https://maxroll.gg/d2/guides/sorceress-leveling
yeah, definitely want to try fire based avoid cold, some lightning for alternate element.
most classes seem boring, but this might be interesting
https://diablo.fandom.com/wiki/Summonmancer
2025.05.24 i think i tried playing summonmancer once but on whatever old system it was things got laggy. should be no problem now. i have to try at least one other character to see how item sharing works.
setup. gamma, keep at middle. corners, already ok.
watch the intro. often interesting how updated graphics are need just to so it can look like how we remember it.
screenshots (print screen) go to \Documents\Diablo II\Screenshots\.
Options Video. Graphic Presets = medium. set to Very High.
NVIDIA DLSS was off by default, still off after changing Presets. leaving it and all other settings alone, for now.
So, offline or online? While looking I find something about Diablo 1, a fan made remaster called DevilutionX. It does look good, but maybe another time.
Offline is the more casual, story based game I'm looking for right now.
After I've tried D3 maybe I can come back this way, try D1 again.
Necro time! Name... got nothing, so uh... Edgar.
I love the music, but I can barely hear Warriv's intro. Turn it down to 60%.
getting some quick build advice
https://diablo.fandom.com/wiki/Summonmancer
https://www.icy-veins.com/d2/summoner-necromancer-build
Raise Skeleton and Skeleton Mastery seem to be most of this build, with no more than a point in most disciplines, with many skipped. I'm playing for fun so I'll probably try more spells than i need.
Strength and Dex just enough for gear, all to Vit, non to Energy.
first impression of Necro, its a bit boring just watching my skeleton running around doing all the work. i like the little bony sounds they make just walking around.
interesting that i can bring my skeleton crew with me into town.
key commands coming back. had to think about sprint for a second (control).
ok, it took a few levels, and a few more spells, to learn that necromancer is boring. even when archers are almost killing me, i'm just trying to stay alive while minions do the work. unless i learn something new about necro i'm done with this class.
anything else before i try fire sorc, and then leave for D3?
i'm reading about fire paladin, frozen bowazon, fury druid, etc.
might as well move unused stuff to Shared in the Stash.
next up is Paladin. seems like Zealot might be best for me
https://diablo.fandom.com/wiki/Zealot_(Build)
i dub thee... Knecht
i finally got around to pressing G for legacy graphics. once again, the modern graphics is how i remember it.
Paladin is not my play style, but it's already more fun than Necromancer. I like the simplicity of just bashing things, but I"m still figuring out Pal 'spells'. It's basically just offense and defense enhancers.
I thought i could always have an aura active, and still use attack spells, but it seems like either or {note: no, i just have it set up wrong, see below}
so for now, keep the Might aura running for regular fighting, and switch to shield bashing (Smite) or increase damage for some small self damage (Sacrifice) when necessary.
I normally like to play with laptop nearby for notes, but any glare really disrupts the darkness on screen. I have to switch background to black and almost keep lid down, and shut down lamp.
entering level 2 of Cave... have to stop. reached that point where time has stopped passing.
2025.05.25 load in Pal, is Town Portal to level 2 of Cave still there? I didn't expect to find it, and it is not there. That's fine, there are waypoints. The mobs are back in previously explored areas - that was somewhat surprising. I forget how leveling and grinding works in this game. I though repeating areas was more a multiplayer thing, not a single player offline thing. This is good for grinding.
to keep aura running while using abilities: Right Mouse Button is the aura, Left Mouse Button is the special ability. but this means my LMB attack is always costing mana, vs the 'free' normal attack.
if i'm just grinding, normal attack + my aura is fine.
for challenging fights, i'll want to switch LMB to a special attack, while aura still running on the RMB.
Level 12, I have lots unspent: 50 stat points and 8 skill choices. I've just been using what i got, and waiting to hit a wall before i decide what to spend it on.
Level 13 time to try Zeal. It seems effective, even with minimal skill points. It also runs out of mana fairly quickly in a big fight. Am i just supposed to always be drinking red and blue pots all the time? At least once the mana runs out it's just a regular attack. So I never put points into energy? It should seem useful, but maybe i'm missing something that will be addressed later with equipment... it seems people rely on the natural mana increase of just leveling up, and equipment.
2025.05.26 I don't know how much further I'm going to go with Paladin, but it seems like at least to Andariel. And I'm looking forward to seeing Lut Gholein.
At least character testing is feeding the shared items in the Stash, so my other characters can get an even faster running start. Not that there's much needed in the beginning.
For now, I might as well keep pumping up Sacrifice as my better than normal but not quite needing to go all out attack.
reordering my attack quick buttons to F5 normal F6 Sacrifice F7 Zeal F8 shield bash
My first death (to a frost nova on mob death). Wow, didn't realize how much gold penalty (1900, don't know how much i was carrying). resurrect my hire, 750. find my corpse, pile of 11k gold.
2025.05.27 my biggest problem is equipment. i hope Andariel drops something good.
the game looks so much better at night with almost all lights out. I wonder how it would look on OLED.
you have 2 weapon/shield slots. for my second set i'm going with leach (steal life) and thorn (return dmg).
more and more i find myself playing the tank while ranged hireling does the long distance work. it's interesting to be on the other side, and kind of scary constantly running out of health. time to boost vit.
first encounter with Andariel went poorly. retainer died fast, i died to poison quickly.
after that, not so bad. instead of trying to just shield bash her away from me, i just kept hammering away at her using Sacrifice. went much easier to go on the offense.
found an interesting 2 hand axe; making that my second set for testing. as a tank, i think i'll always need a shield, but i shoudl try it out. later... i really miss the shield. i don't think this will work unless its a really special 2 hander.
I really want to try out Holy Bolt but i don't want to waste a point in it. I'm hoping to find items to let me test out spells. This is true of all classes, so I'm looking to save any items that will help other classes test spells/skills.
Why is a Paladin opening graves and tombs?
2025.05.28 it's time to go to Lut Gholein, one of my favorite areas (Kurast is very close)
I meet Jerhyn, but who I really want to meet is Radament.
Drognan has a scepter that gives +2 to holy bolt. I don't know if its worth 20k; i'm still hoping to find anything with just +1.
As much as I like my rogue retainer, these paladin mercenaries are really good. I can have two auras at once. No need to switch just yet, but maybe when I go back west I'll drop her off at home.
current workflow: in each new area hug the right hand path and move briskly, smacking everything with normal attack (F5, if something tough comes along hit it with Sacrifice F6, if i get crowded switch it Zeal F7, and if something is chasing me push it back with Smite F8. i'm constantly running out of health, and i need something to boost that. sometimes i just stop and convert my mana to health using Prayer (F1, then switch back to boost damage with Might F2. i also sometimes just reload with potions as i find them. if i get i in real trouble i have rejuv potions on the belt, otherwise i back off and manage with regular resources. for now, keep pushing forward to try and max XP and fight better loot.
XP chart says I should be in Normal, Act 2, but it feels slow.
Bashing on Radament is not too hard, but the poison is just non stop, had to withdraw. Some extra anti-poison potions and the two handed axe (lots extra damage against undead) made quick work of it.
A Book of Skill, I don't remember that. And, a Horadric Scroll. Looking forward to getting my cube so I can start transmuting all these gem chips.
The artwork is great overall; really enjoying all the grisly experiments in Radament's lab. Making frequent use of zoom.
I find a Belt of Regeneration to buy; it's only +4 but I'll take what I can get. I prefer to find my equipment, but if there's a function I need...
2025.05.29 saved files are in:
C:\Users\$user\Saved Games\Diablo II Resurrected
i should get into the habit of making a rar from time to time.
book of skill seems non transferable, might as well use it up
How much further to go with paladin? Let's go out into the desert...
I thought poison was bad - lightning kills quick.
starting to find runes.
Feel lazy about having to walk across an entire map to get back to entrance/exit - I still remember being spoiled by teleport. I find my finger reaching for the function key i used to bind it to.
Speaking of sorc, I'm still not finding much of anything to get that character started with.
I can't remember now why I wanted to start a new sorc here at all. Can I just import my old one, visit all the areas, try out all the spells, and just be done with Resurrected?
For now, at least, I'm supposedly trying out other classes I never got around to trying.
Yes, I can import (see reference below). So maybe my old sorc can help out new characters.
Something has improved that I can now have Sacrifice running all the time instead of using sparingly. Maybe it's enough points in Vit, or enough points into Sac that the cost is lower. Level 18 now.
Got cube, what were the formulae again? (https://www.google.com/search?q=horadric+cube+recipes+diablo+2+resurrected)
https://diablo2.io/recipes/
even though i have cube, can't do cow level until finished this difficulty level.
Enjoying seeing characters as they appear in the loading screen with various equipment.
2025.05.30 Not sure what I'm saving items for. Most of the interest is in building up a character, deciding skills and stats, the endless searching for more loot.
It would be nice to have access to higher end stuff, but the buildup is the game.
I"m still often stopping to look at the new artwork, switching back and forth, zooming in.
current workflow: main attack is Sacrifice, aura is Might. keep a hand over potion, sometimes switch on Prayer healing aura. not quite as boring as Necro, but often motionless.
sometimes I'm just sitting there watching the blue ball go down to make the red ball go up. Boring, makes me want to put more points in Prayer. This is exactly like an early Sorcerer putting points in Warmth. You really want to, for current convenience, but everyone advises save your points, you'll get items to help with that later.
retainer is still a bowazon, i think the ranged attack complements my melee, and while still in Normal difficult i can probably just do whatever.
oops, didn't notice my ethereal armor is down to 0, and is doing nothing for my defense. it looks like most workarounds to fix ethereal are closed. there seems to be a way to add a socket, and add a rune of repair of indestructibility; can't tell if it's been patched out of the game. Not a big problem right now, but it might be useful to know later.
Let's try to import. Looking on old computer, I find:
"Z:\Z\personal\software\games\Diablo\2\2012 run\character save\2012.07.13 Daria final .rar"
there's also an entire folder of mules, with names like AMULET, ARMOR, AXE, etc.
it looks i last used this in 2012, got half through Hell/Hell, around level 80, then quit.
cp \D2, 2012 run\2012.07.13 Daria final\Daria.* (7 files) to C:\Users\$user\Saved Games\Diablo II Resurrected\
load in
just like that - she's there. not a great look with that mask.
off mask, save, exit. better, but not as realistic.
It's nice to throw the frozen orb again. They key bindings come back like I just played last week. I visit some places I don't currently have access to - especially Kurast. It's beautiful, of course.
I have some cool items, but not as much as I expected for a character this level. Load in the mules.
let's just start with one, amulet. ok, that works; now all.
wow, that's a lot. i can see why i was starting a spreadsheet on all these items back in 2012.
Despite the large number of mules, it's hard to imagine that consolidating these down would add much value. Having everything named after the class of item is handy.
It might be useful to add some class specific mules. Can I rename offline chars?
I load in each one, talk to Warriv (so he'll stop hovering over each mule), check inventory, and move whatever possible from the stash over, save and exit. Sorting each item from left to right in order of level, for lack of any other useful criteria.
some items are easy, like rings can only be rings, but there are multiple helmets meant for only one class. do i need to make helmet_barb, helmet_druid, etc?
some good finds for my Paladin to check out from the mule library:
2 Angelic Halo Ring, +6 replenish life
Eye of Etlich amulet, +1 all skills, lifesteal
i'm not changing my Sorceress at all right now. Just doesn't seem right; she earned that stuff, the old fashioned way. All the stuff I've hoarded, spread out amongst the mules - that's fair game.
Curious that everything is such a hurry in the story, but you can Go West with Warriv's caravan. At least using the portals make sense, timewise.
2025.05.31 reloading old saves has set me free of this game.
I've been getting obsessed with playing D2 Resurected as if it was some new game, but being able to play my old Sorceress again reminds me how I was mostly done with this game.
It's also a good reminder that it's the journey, and the process of leveling and building and finding, that is the real game. And maybe I don't need to journey so far this time to get the benefit of this remaster, and then move on.
Having said that, I'll probably still 'finish' my paladin, at least through Normal difficulty, but I don't feel like I have to do it all now. D2 can be something in my back catalogue that I just pick up from time to time when I'm in the mood for that.
check optimal place to be to level table, i should be in act 3 by now. boost Sacrifice, push on.
I just notice the icon in the upper right part of the screen. Looks like armor weapon and shielf but what does it mean?
Time to visit Tal Rash - I forget which fight this is. Getting some anti freeze stuff out.
Almost made it, ran low on potions and stamina, second visit just stand there toe to toe bashing on him. Much different than sorc visits, where I'd litter the room with my corpses.
I still like how you can squish worms in here, but you know you can never get them all, and one or all of them could grow up to be future Duriels.
2025.06.01 still thinking about the Duriel fight. if i had just a little more stamina, and more life, i could have made it one go.
Time to go to Kurast, my other favorite city in D2. Great town vibes, but I don't care for most of the area. I especially don't like all those little dudes running around, constantly getting resurrected.
It's still jarring that only after finished up in Lut Gholein do you actually get to see what happened between Tyrael, Marius, Diablo, and Baal. Beautiful, like all Blizzard cut scenes of the past.
I feel a little bad going into the lairs of all these spiders and killing everything, just for some loot and xp. Are they even evil, or in the service of evil, or are they just animals, trying to live their lives? Even worse, they're hardly even attacking me, considering I'm invading their home.
The lore is thick and fast here with all the names and relics to collect, assemble, use to destroy other relics, so i can go bash on some other demon. Just tell me who *doesn't* need to be sent back to hell.
INteresting that it's not just the graphics that change when you switch back and forth, but the sounds too. (ex: sound of frogs and wild life in town are much quieter and subtler in D2R).
I drink Alkor's +20 life potion. I see I have 62 stat points I'm sitting on. If I threw all that on Vitality the extra life would be quite useful, but I'm still holding out for some special armor or weapon to come along. Skills I'm only hoarding 4 points; I know I need to max Sacrifice as my primary attack right now.
I'm not picking up every potion anymore. I usually don't run out, there's always more potions coming along, and the money is not worth it anymore.
This feels like I'm making faster progress than I ever did with Sorc. It's not any extra equipment, I didn't really get much from the mules. Maybe part of it is that I just run straight ahead and engage everything, where as sorc held back to survive and work remotely.
2025.06.02 i think the primary work loop is to advance to the next portal and stop. seems to take 1-2 hours.
i used to constantly be putting a pinky on CTRL to run faster but it seems i am running fast all they time now. is there a toggle? can't find it. maybe this is my natural speed now - always running. i think i have a lot of stamina equipment.
for some time now, the reason i go back to town is not running out of potions, but running out of space. my inventory fills up with unidentified, it's time to go back to town. yet another reason i mostly don't pick up potions now. Also not even picking up Light potions, only Greater. i don't have much use for rejuvenation potions, as i don't need mana - but are they instant? that might be useful.
horrible cracking sound and my attack icon turns red. my ethereal war sceptre finally died.
finally ran into an area i shouldn't have. tons of enemies, overwhelmed.
at least all this stuff i'm hoarding helps with corpse recovery, i can make a whole outfit of recent stuff.
which is helping shape my hoarding work flow. i should keep a backup set in my personal stash, demote other items to public stash, place interesting items in public stash, and when it gets full, start loading in the mules. i can see why i'm collecting Necro stuff; i might go back to that. i don't know why i'm collecting every class of weapon. maybe i'll play other classes later. i think i'm just collecting for the sake of it.
Sometimes its convenient to chip away at a minor boss's minions from a distance. In the sewer, I sometimes can't even find a path to the boss. I wonder if it might be worth carrying a ranged weapon. Especially something that freezes and shatters minions to reduce their number permanently against resurrection .
2025.06.03 Mephisto is a bit of a dud. Off to Act IV. I leave the Pandemonium Fortress for another day.
2025.06.04 time to talk to Tyrael. why must i face the prime evils alone? why can't "heaven" help? and where is god in all this? where is satan? the top guys on each side are never even hinted at.
i love it when Jamella draws in the air.
2025.06.06 Shared Stash full; time for some mule offloading.
starting to re-org mules. trying new template, can't start with special character? wanted to create _mule_weapon_mace, but doesn't allow. probably why i was using uppercase lowercasenames a decade ago for mules. seems the best i can do right now is WEAPON_mace.
i need to start a section for CLASS_class items.
sitting on 5 skill choices, i can 'finish' Sacrifice, moving it from 17 to 20. i can save further points for the offensive aura Fanaticism.
i got some nice armor (defense 330, been using 122) from the stash, but i need 74 strength. I have 65 saved up, spend 20. Disappointing it doesn't increase my damage that much. and 5 more in vit.
also found something nice in stash for my bowazon retainer, an armor with defense of 260.
switching my regen amulet to a life stealing one, not sure which is better over time. the +1 to skill is nice, improves sacrifice from 2% self damage to 1%.
It doesn't feel weird to raid the stash for shared items, but even though my sorceress has some really nice personal items, it doesn't feel right to take them off of her, even just to borrow them. not to anthropomorphize them, but to respect the grinding up a character does to become what they are. the tools they keep are part of that character, not my new character. but anything cast aside is fair game.
we'll see if i change my tune if i get stuck in the game, but it doesn't seem necessary or desirable.
It takes minutes of pounding away at Izual, but I'm in no real danger.
my mephisto soulstone is missing. seems like a common bug. yep, cain gives you another one.
2025.06.07 checking the level up guide for my clvl 27, act 4, good. i should stay here until clvl 31.
wow, diablo knocked me out in 3 hits. what's his deal?
he's got a lot going on. holy freeze might help.
i've used a dozen town portals so far, barely got him down to about 2/3 health. i guesss i can keep pushing, but its boring. i could go get some runes for fire resistance and put two in a socketed helm, but that sounds even more boring than what i'm doing now. in some ways this is more boring than duriel.
reading about hammerdin, that would be interesting right now, but maybe not long term.
oh shit, he regenerated - i thought that wasn't supposed to happen. i see i spent too much time away (~5m).
at this point i might as well back off and seek some fire protection, maybe level up some more.
at elast corpse recovery is easy. i see a bunch of stuff is missing from the ground. the loss of corpses would be bad for a necro char. new tip: once you get started on a boss don't take a break.
i need
https://diablo2.io/monsters/diablo-t4312.html
lightning and fire resist.
i could try a weapon that gives me Resist Fire +1 (so no Fire Resistance 75%, instead of 20). My Lightning Resistance is 0%. I have ring for 24 and 17, amulet for 11, rune for 3, giving me Lightning Resistance 55%.
this is already noticeably paying off against demons that use inferno.
2025.06.08
creating some class only mules. format is CLASS_classname, ex: CLASS_sorcerer
this is for any and all items that say 'class only' right at the top of the item.
or, if the item is so heavily weighted to one class there's no point in putting it in the general pool.
it has some line item benefits for a class, but it is still generally useful, it goes in the generic of that item.
ex: an amulet that does not say 'class only', but the only real useful attribute is to a specific class
this is of course assuming that the top line 'class only' tag prevents use by other players - assuming so.
items are sorted left to right by item level, even if lower item is better
sometimes Zeal (hit many) makes more sense than Sacrifice (hit 1x hard), like when surrounded by lesser mobs and summons.
the different auras are making more sense to me, but i'm still not sure what my best combat config should be.
finally, i find an item with Blessed Hammer skill - so i don't have to pay 200k gold just to try out a skill that's not even in my build path.
did i miss adding this belt with lightning -21? now fire and lightning resist both 75.
Diablo so much easier now, i think i only used half a dozen town portals. i can even tank a red lightning bolt at point blank range, though it costs me all my health. learning his pattern, you can just outrun, mostly tank the fire, and smack away.
already looking forward to Harrogath.
what loot did i get amongst all these yellow items?
so many little quality of life improvements, not sure how many of these existed last time i played. enjoying holding shift over an item to make direct comparison, even with retainer items. my retainer gets a Hellclap war bow. i get some better boots, with some lightning resist and +gold +magic find.
watch cut scenes. that's the end of marius, and the end of the leader? of harrogath.
these short movies look beautiful, and seem interesting, but they bear less and less scrutiny over time. did Baal really need to interrogate marius and have him hand over his soulstone, when he could have just taken it? if they made it part of the lore, that the stone has to be freely given, that would have made it interesting.
and that guy they send out to dump exposition (obviously the only point of this exercise) and get killed messily by Baal is bad, but why do they also extend the bridge to the enemy? it wasn't even needed for king exposition to walk out and make his last stand; he stayed in front of the front door.
Malah sells Greater Healing potions, which is all i use now. She has some nice paladin weapons, but at 500-700k, i'm not spending all my money just to try a skill i don't have.
if there's such a good protective warding on the town, why are rando barbarians outside fighting in a disordered way? why not just stay inside? other than to be there as a distraction for me.
this town is a good addition to the story, but its not layed out nearly as carefully as other towns. i talk to half the townspeople before i even find Cain, and even then i have to piece together the story. which is fine, but it hasn't been that kind of game.
while it is cool to amass a growing army of barbs, it would be better if they just went home. at least the rescue mission makes sense.
this first intro area is enormous. the mobs aren't tough but they are many and the damage adds up. time to switch from resist gear to life gear.
stash crowded, going through gear. every item has to have a reason to stay in my Personal Stash (usually resistance or freeze protection), or it gets demoted to Shared Stash, to be distributed to mules. decluttering, just like real life.
what is this portal to Abadon, why can't I enter? there's another one, Acheron. don't seem related to active quests.
I'm trying not to get stuck grinding, and just focus on the task at hand. It seems like if you just do that, the levels come along as needed.
After Diablo I can now see the end to this. Finish my Normal paladin, then leave for a while, maybe coming back some other time to do an Amazon, and maybe a fire sorc.
2025.06.10 i can go in the hell portal, but you have to be in the right spot. takes a bit of clicking.
i find a crossbow i like. trying it out, could be interesting.
some of the mobs in here are tough enough to get us killed.
2025.06.13 offload some gems. i should get into the habit of doing some offloading every time i play.
i really enjoy Evil Urns. interesting to see what pops out.
this is kind of ridiculous, i'km sitting on 70 stat points and 10 skill points. but i'll just keep going; until i get stuck on something why worry.
2025.06.14 finishing the Nihlithak and Anya story is nice and all, but its a lot of back and forth through mazes, and then to find the next portal so i can pick up from there next time. still, it's nothing as complicated as drawing pen and paper maps one square at time like the old days.
Level 34, i can stay in Normal Act 5 for half a dozen more levels, though i'm only two portals from the end.
let's recheck the build guides: maxroll says max Zeal first (oops), icyveins suggest Holy Fire - what?
either way, its time to switch from Might to Fanaticism, and start boosting that and Zeal.
oh that's weird - game let me buy Fanaticism up to level 5 but it's still grayed out because Required Level 35. and yet it seems to be working? is it just the next level, is it because i'm in town, seems neither. let's just get to 35... and its not gray anymore, looks normal.
past the guardians, very cool, i should look up the story. more dungeons to get to Baal.
with a little preparation (dropping lots of healing potions on the ground outside the fighting area) not a problem.
now, for Tyrael's forced reboot of the Earth.
i do what the game says, enter the portal and end the game. did i miss anything back in harrogath? can i go back. loading in, choose difficulty Normal, back in Harrogath.
Strangely, Cain has nothing to say, but the townspeople do.
Baal's drops weren't that great. two weapons have slightly better damage, with tradeoffs (how valuable is 'prevent monster heal' anyway?). guess i'll keep one of each weapon with an interesting effect until i can figure it out.
of course i'm going to go to Nightmare difficulty, at least to try it out. also, according to chart, at level 37 going to Nightmare is optimal xp.
wow, even regular mobs hit quite hard in Nightmare. almost died to some zombies, how embarrassing.
what am i doing - i forgot to hit the cow level in Normal. as soon as i finish out this level, i'll wrap up for the day and head there next time.
2025.06.16 load in Normal, off to Tristram to get a leg and an empty book of town portal.
2025.06.30 short break; back. cow level again? Normal, Stony Field, Tristram, leg, book.
plan: play until level up (to 39) then stop. next time, see how much xp to clear cow level.
oops, ran out of cows. go to Nightmare Act 1 to finish.
* SECTION BELOW HERE IS FLOATING, WILL FIX WHEN SWITCH CLASS *
PALADIN BUILD - CURRENTLY ACTIVE
Paladin
reference
https://diablo.fandom.com/wiki/Paladin
https://www.icy-veins.com/d2/paladin-class-and-builds
skills
Offensive Aura
Defensive Aura
Combat Skills
Zeal (combat skill: multi attack, costs mana)
build=Zealot (early to mid career)
https://www.icy-veins.com/d2/zealot-paladin-build
https://maxroll.gg/d2/guides/zeal-paladin
stat goals STR and DEX as needed for equipment, rest to VIT
progression Sacrifice -> 20 (will synergize Zeal later), then Zeal, Fanaticism
end goal using both at same time:
Zeal (attack many)
Fanaticism (off aura: +dam +att.speed +att.rating)
synergy: Sacrifice (boost Zeal)
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REMINDER
* when switching characters remember to take equipment from hireling
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QUESTIONS
SAVE FILES { yes you can back up and restore even old LOD files }
https://www.google.com/search?q=diablo+2+resurected+save+files
Where are my save files, and can I archive and restore them so I can 'rewind' a character?, and move between installs?
https://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo_2_Resurrected/comments/ptxtr8/how_do_we_import_characters_from_the_original/
https://us.support.blizzard.com/en/article/286060
ETHEREAL { not many ways to hold on to these }
ethereal item repair any exception? using cube?
seems like giving to mercs is their only best use
IMBUE { ? }
what to do due with Imbue
CHAR RENAME { seems no }
https://www.google.com/search?q=d2r+can+you+rename+character
CUBE RECIPES
anything that can help advance?
RUNES
https://diablo2.io/runewords/
GOD? SATAN?
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FUTURE / TO DO
get OLED monitor, especially try dark areas
MISC / REFERENCE
OFFLINE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bwn1TVCzqs (Why EVERYONE Should be Playing Offline - Diablo 2 Resurrected)
LEVEL
https://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Guide:Diablo_2_Level_Up_Guide_v1.10 {is this too old?}
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/article/23725427/diablo-ii-the-story-so-far
https://diablo2.io/recipes/ "It shows the latest data from Resurrected v2.8 (where indicated), and otherwise uses data from Diablo 2 v1.14 LoD"
https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/d2r/t/take-a-tip-leave-a-tip/2555
RESPEC
you get one per Act, or there's a command line to do it at will
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https://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/
https://www.purediablo.com/diablo-2
GOALS
2025.06 complete Normal with Paladin
then...
? Amazon
? Necromancer
? Druid or barb ? Prob not
? Fire sorc
