Diablo II "LoD" CLASSIC STYLE MOD for v1.10

[nobbie]

The "1.10 LoD Classic Style MOD" got some major changes:


- Added new Horadric Cube recipes that allow to create so-called "TEMPERED ITEMS" (see the ReadMe.txt quote below)


An example of a "tempered" Amulet and Ring (at max. level 99)


- Added Horadric Cube recipes that allow to upgrade the base item types of Set Items to their exceptional/elite types (see the ReadMe.txt quote below)


An upgraded "Death's Guard" sash, which can now carry 16 instead of just 8 potions


- Set items have now an extra drop bonus throughout all game difficulties, so that completing a set is easier

- Item + rune drops have been completely revised for more balance because the drops were too good in some cases, erspecially when you get more Magic Find gear and start doing (superunique) boss runs. Since the quality of rare affixes in the MOD can be partly much better now, this had to be compensated through a lower chance on rare items. The same goes for rune drops, which can be much better in the MOD.

- The Suicide Minions (and their bosses) in Act 5 can now drop items as well

- The Druid's "Spirit Wolf", "Dire Wolf" and "Grizzly", and the Assassin's "Shadow Warrior" and "Shadow Master", were still somewhat too weak and have their resistances boosted

- The ready-to-use level 99 characters got some new decent unique elite upgrades in their stashes for testing, i.e. "Witchwild String" Diamond Bow, "Skystrike" Spider Bow, "Ribcracker" Stalagmite, and more.

- The April Fool's "fun items" (Tyrael's Blessing, Van Helsing's Avatar, Korlic's Hew) have been removed now. The items that can be dropped are now the same again as in the original 1.10 patch.

- Deckard Cain can now be found in the same location in Act 5 as on the realms (near your private stash). The reason for his replacement in single-player was that identifying items through Cain was annoying when he was still in his old location near the Harrogath gate. Cain can't walk around in his new place because the D2 Map Editor does not yet support path editing, but he does turn towards your character if you want something from him :)


Quotes from the ReadMe.txt about the new item additions:

"Tempered Item" Creation Recipes
----------------------------------------

Before the Diablo II "LoD" patch 1.10 was released, there have been some talks about an interesting new item type called "Tempered Items". The Horadric Cube routines for creating these new items have been implemented, but recipes for making them weren't, unfortunately. The "LoD Classic Style MOD" however, makes this new item creation now available for AMULETS and RINGS. A dozen new useful Cube recipes allow to create especially "tempered" amulets and rings, including mods that are particularly hard to come by for young characters in the early stages of the game, i.e. Mana/Life Leech, Mana Regen or Mana. "Tempered Items" are very interesting because they allow detailed customization of items using a pool of recipes. You can "cook up" exactly the item you want for a special purpose, i.e. a Dual-Leech (= Life + Mana Leech) Amulet with Magic Find for your "Magic Find"-Barbarian. More recipes for tempering other item classes (armors, weapons) might be added later, but the abundance of very good items in "LoD" (unique, set, rare and crafted items) and their upgrade options (to exceptional/elite) would make such recipes probably a rather superfluous addition.

"Tempered Items" can be recognized in the game by their DARK GREEN colored (random) item name, which follows the same naming convention as rare items. Before you can "temper" an item with additional mods, the item must be transformed into a basic tempered item using a special Cube recipe. This basic tempered item gets a fixed basic item level requirement, i.e. level 3 for amulets and rings, and it has not yet any magical affixes. After the transformation, you can then use the special tempering recipes to add and increase step by step the magical mods you want on the item. Every temper step currently adds 8 levels to the basic item level requirement, i.e. 2 temper steps add 16 levels to a level 3 amulet, resulting in a level 19 tempered amulet. So, for amulets and rings, you can temper 12 times before you reach an item level requirement of 99 (also see the NOTES). The temper recipes are kept very simple, so that they can be used early on (starting in Act 2 Normal), and they are powerful enough to make upgrades interesting up to the end game (Act 5 Hell).

The following "temper" recipes are currently available:


Tir + Jewel + Magic Ring   -> tempered Ring, basic item level = 3
Tir + Jewel + Magic Amulet -> tempered Amulet, basic item level = 3


El  + Chipped Amethyst + tempered Amulet -> +2-4 Strength
El  + Chipped Amethyst + tempered Ring   -> +30-50 Attack Rating

El  + Chipped Sapphire + tempered Amulet -> +1-3 Cold Damage, 2 Sec. Duration
El  + Chipped Sapphire + tempered Ring   -> +8-12 Mana

El  + Chipped Emerald  + tempered Amulet -> +2-4 Dexterity
El  + Chipped Emerald  + tempered Ring   -> +8-12% Poison Resistance

El  + Chipped Ruby     + tempered Amulet -> +8-12 Life
El  + Chipped Ruby     + tempered Ring   -> +8-12% Fire Resistance

El  + Chipped Topaz    + tempered Amulet -> +4-5% Better Chance On Magic Items
El  + Chipped Topaz    + tempered Ring   -> +8-12% Lightning Resistance

El  + Chipped Skull    + tempered Amulet -> +1% Life Leech, +1-2% Mana Leech
El  + Chipped Skull    + tempered Ring   -> +1 Replenish Life, +3-5% Mana Regen

==> Every "temper" step currently adds 8 levels to the basic item level requirement <==


NOTES:

Although "Tempered Item" creation recipes are not (yet) implemented in the original 1.10 patch, the items created with them will be recognized correctly by the 1.10 patch and not deleted if the character is used in the original game.

There is *NO* cap on the item level requirement when tempering items, so be careful that you don't exceed level 99 while upgrading them, or you'll inevitably make your items unusable if their level exceeds the maximum character level of 99!

Set Upgrade to Exceptional/Elite Recipes
-----------------------------------------------

In addition to the original patch 1.10 Cube recipes for upgrading normal rare and unique items to exceptional/elite rare and unique items, the "LoD Classic Style MOD" also provides recipes for upgrading SET items in the same manner. The ingredients for the Set upgrade recipes are identical to those of the original recipes for upgrading normal UNIQUE items to exceptional/elite unique items. The formulas are as follows:


Ral + Sol + Perfect Emerald + Normal Set Weapon = Exceptional Version of Weapon

This formula changes ONLY the base item type from the normal to the exceptional version. For example, a Long Sword is turned into a Rune Sword. It does NOT convert the item to the exceptional set version of the set item. The set item bonuses remain the same; only the item it's based on is upgraded. If the item is socketed, then jewels or runes and their mods will also remain.


Tal + Shael + Perfect Diamond + Normal Set Armor = Exceptional Version of Armor

This formula changes ONLY the base item type from the normal to the exceptional version. For example, a Quilted Armor is turned into a Ghost Armor. It does NOT convert the item to the exceptional set version of the set item. The set item bonuses remain the same; only the item it's based on is upgraded. If the item is socketed, then jewels or runes and their mods will also remain. Armor refers to any sort of armor, including helms, boots, belts, gloves and shields, not just body armor.


Lum + Pul + Perfect Emerald + Exceptional Set Weapon = Elite Version of Weapon

This formula changes ONLY the base item type from the exceptional to the elite version. For example, a Bill is turned into a Colossus Voulge. It does NOT convert the item to the elite set version of the set item. The set item bonuses remain the same; only the item it's based on is upgraded. If the item is socketed, then jewels or runes and their mods will also remain.


Ko + Lem + Perfect Diamond + Exceptional Set Armor = Elite Version of Armor

This formula changes ONLY the base item type from the exceptional to the elite version. For example, a Tigulated Mail is turned into a Loricated Mail. It does NOT convert the item to the elite set version of the set item. The set item bonuses remain the same; only the item it's based on is upgraded. If the item is socketed, then jewels or runes and their mods will also remain. Armor refers to any sort of armor, including helms, boots, belts, gloves and shields, not just body armor.


NOTES:

While these armor/weapon upgrades make sense for many rare items with good mods but weak base items, they're really useful only for selected set or unique items. For example, it wouldn't make sense to upgrade the Long Battle Bow from the Vidala set to a Large Siege Bow, or even a Crusader Bow, because neither the bow itself nor the Vidala set bonuses provide enhanced damage mods that would justify an upgrade. The "Hwanin's Majesty" or "Aldur's Watchtower" expansion sets, on the other hand, can be upgraded to nice sets for the end game in Hell difficulty. Another good tip would be an upgrade of the gloves and sash from the "Death's Disguise" set to exceptional or elite, so that they have better defense values and more space for potions (in the upgraded sash). These two "Death's Disguise" set items alone provide very nice bonuses for any melee or ranged character (see the "Arreat Summit" website for more information).

Although these set upgrade recipes are not (yet) implemented in the original 1.10 patch, the item upgrades created with them are fully compatible with the 1.10 patch, and will not be deleted if the character is used in the original game.

You can download the updated MOD as always here:

1.10 LoD Classic Style MOD


All information about the new additions and changes can be found in the ReadMe.txt files.

Examples of the new items can be found on the ready-to-use level 99 characters.

I would be interested in some feedback about the new additions and changes, so please let me know how they work for you :)

Another MOD upgrade will follow SOON™ when Blizzard makes the stats of the new realm-/ladder-only rune words available (hopefully).


Have Fun! :D