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→Playing Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
<div style="float:right; text-align: right; background-color: #1A0303; padding:2px 4px 4px 4px; color:white;">(Page 11)</div>'''Hirable Non-Player Characters (“Hirelings”):''' Diablo II: Lord of Destruction offers some exciting modifications to hirable NPCs. These computer-controlled hirelings who fight by your side can be hired from specific NPCs in most “towns”—the safe starting points in each Act—or are given free of charge as a reward for completing certain quests. In the original Diablo II, they followed your character around and helped you slay monsters, but you did not interact with them directly. In Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, you can increase their efficiency in combat and assist their development in a number of ways. (Note: These special new features only apply to hired NPCs and retainers acquired as quest rewards. Summoned creatures are not subject to these improvements.)
{|align="right" style="clear:right; margin: 0 0 5px 10px;"
|<center>Excerpt from the journal of Elder<br>Aust of Harrogath</center>
3rd day of Montaht, Lauds<br>
<br>
My dearest Elora,<br>
It’s been ten long years since you were taken from Anya<br>
and me. In my mind’s eye, I still see your beautiful face<br>
and remember the happier days of our time together.<br>
It comforts me to write and think that, somehow, you<br>
are reading this yourself. It may not be long before I<br>
join you in the afterlife.<br>
Our peoples’ time here in Harrogath is drawing to an<br>
end. Recently, our seer, Caldra, has been afflicted with<br>
terrifying visions of our doom. Last night, the whole<br>
village awoke to her screams. When I reached Caldra’s<br>
cottage, our daughter, Anya, was already there,<br>
comforting her. During the night, the seer’s raven hair<br>
had turned stark white. She was delirious when I<br>
entered the room, howling senselessly and tearing out<br>
her hair in bloody clumps.<br>
It took us some time to calm her—but even then, she<br>
seemed only a shadow of her former self. She wouldn’t<br>
respond to any of us directly, instead staring into some<br>
unseen world beyond our own. The healer, Malah, came,<br>
but her attempts to cure Caldra were futile. Our<br>
tortured seer was not sick of body—she had quite<br>
clearly gone mad.
|}
:* '''Attributes and Experience:''' Hirelings in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction come with their own set of attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Health, Damage, Defense, and Experience. As hirelings kill monsters, they gain experience points. When they gain enough experience points to reach a new level, their attributes automatically improve. You can also improve their attributes by equipping them with better equipment (see below). Keep in mind that hirelings aren’t just paid mercenaries—they are co-adventurers. They fully share experience for their kills with you and your party, and they receive a smaller share of experience for monsters that you or your party members kill.
:* '''Equipment:''' You can now furnish your hirelings with equipment such as armor, helms, and weapons. Your hirelings must meet all strength, dexterity, and level requirements for the item, and any weapons must be compatible with the hirelings’ weapon type, as represented by what you see them carrying. (For instance, the Rogue hirelings in Act I can be equipped with a War Bow, but not a Short Sword, whereas the Town Guard hirelings in Act II can be equipped with a Voulge, but not a Crossbow.) To equip your hireling, simply left-click on the appropriate button on your Mini-panel or press the O key to bring up the Hireling Inventory and Information screen. Then place items in the corresponding slots as you would in your own Inventory screen.
