Diablo II

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Diablo II is an ARPG game based in a dark fantasy setting developed by Blizzard North and released globally by Blizzard Entertainment on 29 June 2000.

The game is set in the fictional world of Sanctuary, centred around a group of anonymous heroes who are trying to catch up and stop the Prime Evil known as Diablo before he frees his brothers and destroys the mortal realm.

Diablo II was one of the most popular games of 2000. Major factors that contributed to Diablo II's success include its addictive gameplay and access to the free online play service, Battle.net.

The game was conceptualized and designed by David Brevik and Erich Schaefer, whom with Max Schaefer acted as Project Leads on the game. The main production roles were handled by Matthew Householder and Bill Roper.

An official expansion pack, entitled Diablo II: Lord of Destruction also developed by Blizzard North, was released on 29 June 2001. A sequel called Diablo III was announced to be in production on June 28, 2008 at WWI 2008 in Paris, but will be developed by Blizzard Entertainment, since Blizzard North has dissolved.

Gameplay

Diablo II is built around Acts that progresses the narrative story line of the game, with each act following a predetermined path and list of quests, with small selection of optional quests.

The player assumes the role of a hero from one of five different character classes, fighting monsters through wilderness areas and dungeons in order to level-up their character and gain better items. The game uses real-time combat and the player sees the character from an isometric viewpoint. Players also have the option of hiring one NPC hirelings that accompanies the player and attack nearby enemies. A powerful boss monster awaits the player at the end of each Act. Item drops, monster attributes, and most dungeon layouts are randomly-generated by Diablo II. The game also continues the use of randomised affixes from Diablo I.

After completing the four Acts in the game, there are two additional sequential difficulty levels, letting the player go through all three before reaching the max level at 99. These are: Normal, Nightmare, and Hell. On higher difficulties, monsters are stronger, experience is penalized on dying, and the player's resistances are handicapped. A character retains all abilities and items between difficulties, and may return to a lower difficulty at any time through a waypoint system.

Players can also create a hardcore character, as opposed to a normal (popularly called "softcore") character. A normal character can be resurrected if killed and resume playing, while a hardcore character has only one life. If killed, the character is permanently dead and unplayable, and all items and equipment on that character will be lost.

Character classes

Diablo II allows the player to choose between five different character classes: Amazon, Necromancer, Barbarian, Sorceress, and Paladin. Each character has different strengths and weaknesses and sets of skills to choose from, as well as varying beginning attributes.

The five classes. From left to right: the Amazon, Necromancer, Barbarian, Sorceress, and Paladin.

The Amazon hails from the islands of the Twin Seas, near the border of the Great Ocean. The class is based on Greek mythology Amazons. She is similar to the Rogue of Diablo I as they use ranged weaponry and use both strength and magic. The Amazon also uses javelins and spears. Many of her passive skills are defensive in nature, especially Dodge, Avoid, and Evade. The Amazon is voiced by Jessica Straus.

The Necromancer is a death-themed caster, being Priests of Rathma from the Eastern jungles. His Summoning spells allow him raise skeletons, create golems, and resurrect dead monsters to fight alongside him. He also uses poison and "bone" skills, to cause damage to enemies. His Curses also afflict the enemy with debuffs. The Necromancer is voiced by Michael McConnohie.

The Barbarian is a powerful melee fighter from the steppes of Mount Arreat. He is an expert at frontline combat, able to absorb great punishment like a "tank", and is the only class capable of dual-wielding weapons. His skills allow him to specialise in different types of weapons, increasing his resistances, speed, and defence. He can also use ancient Barbarian Warcries and combat techniques to buff himself and others as well as dealing with any foes quickly and violently. The Barbarian is voiced by David A. Thomas.

The Sorceress hails from a rebellious mage clan of female-only Sorceresses who have wrested the secrets of magic use from the male-dominated clans. She wields the elements of ice, lightning and fire spells, using mostly offensive spells. Her Cold Skills can freeze enemies solid and bypass resistances, but do less damage than lightning or fire. The Sorceress's Teleport spell allows her to instantly travel to a new destination, making her very difficult to hit. As such she is a "glass cannon", dealing much damage, but can't take much in turn. The Sorceress is voiced by Liana Young.

The Paladin is a crusader from the Church of Zakarum, fighting for the glory of the Light. The Paladin's combat skills range from fanatical attacks to heavenly thunderbolts and blessed auras. The auras can incre damage, or resist magic attacks, or boosting defence. The Paladin's auras will buff all party members, making him very useful for multiplayer. The shield is another Paladin speciality, and he is the only character that can use it as a weapon. The Paladin also have very powerful anti-undead skills. The Paladin is voiced by Larry B. Scott.

In the expansion, the Druid and Assassin classes were released.

Monsters and Items

Affixes and Quality

Multiplayer

3 Versions and expansion pack 3.1 Spawn 3.2 PlayStation 3.3 Expansion 3.4 Re-releases 4 Resources

Reference