05-03-2006, 01:15 PM
Well, here's the basics of what's new since 1.0x:
- Skill Changes: Many skills now give passive bonuses to other skills based on the number of "hard" (not item-granted) points you have in them. The relative power of many skills has been drastically altered, as has the power balance between different character builds.
- Item Changes: A smattering of new "static" gear and a TON of new runewords have been added - although some of the runewords are only valid either on closed Battlenet or a mod.
- Monster Changes: Monster stats have been upgraded right across the board. They're faster, stronger, tougher, and generally meaner. Basically, you NEED those upgrades to skills and gear to stand a chance outside of Normal difficulty.
- Battlenet Changes: Characters are now divided into "Ladder" and "non-Ladder". Non-ladder play is a bit easier, but you don't have access to some of the newer runewords and whatnot.
- World Event: Realm-only, unless you find a mod like PlugY that enables it for single-player. I'm pretty sure it's ladder-only, too. Essentially, from time to time in Hell difficulty the screen will shake and you get the message "Diablo Walks The Earth". After this point, the next superunique monster (Rakanishu, Corpsefire, or any other non-boss unique that shows up in a predictable place) that you come close enough to "activate" will be replaced by a souped-up version of Diablo. This guy can be anywhere from manageable to unbeatable depending on what sort of character you're playing. If you kill him, you usually find yourself with a unique small charm, the Annihilus, with bonuses that make it well worth the battle.
- Uber Tristram: Also Realm-only, and DEFINITELY ladder-only. This is an extremely involved side quest that requires even more attention to character choice than the Diablo Clone. This Thread at the Amazon Basin covers most of the gory details.
The Basin forum is also jam-packed with experienced D2 players, some of which (like adeyke and myself) also hang out here. Digging through that place with the help of the built-in search engine (YMMV with that) can get you all the info you ever wanted on the game.
- Skill Changes: Many skills now give passive bonuses to other skills based on the number of "hard" (not item-granted) points you have in them. The relative power of many skills has been drastically altered, as has the power balance between different character builds.
- Item Changes: A smattering of new "static" gear and a TON of new runewords have been added - although some of the runewords are only valid either on closed Battlenet or a mod.
- Monster Changes: Monster stats have been upgraded right across the board. They're faster, stronger, tougher, and generally meaner. Basically, you NEED those upgrades to skills and gear to stand a chance outside of Normal difficulty.
- Battlenet Changes: Characters are now divided into "Ladder" and "non-Ladder". Non-ladder play is a bit easier, but you don't have access to some of the newer runewords and whatnot.
- World Event: Realm-only, unless you find a mod like PlugY that enables it for single-player. I'm pretty sure it's ladder-only, too. Essentially, from time to time in Hell difficulty the screen will shake and you get the message "Diablo Walks The Earth". After this point, the next superunique monster (Rakanishu, Corpsefire, or any other non-boss unique that shows up in a predictable place) that you come close enough to "activate" will be replaced by a souped-up version of Diablo. This guy can be anywhere from manageable to unbeatable depending on what sort of character you're playing. If you kill him, you usually find yourself with a unique small charm, the Annihilus, with bonuses that make it well worth the battle.
- Uber Tristram: Also Realm-only, and DEFINITELY ladder-only. This is an extremely involved side quest that requires even more attention to character choice than the Diablo Clone. This Thread at the Amazon Basin covers most of the gory details.
The Basin forum is also jam-packed with experienced D2 players, some of which (like adeyke and myself) also hang out here. Digging through that place with the help of the built-in search engine (YMMV with that) can get you all the info you ever wanted on the game.