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Diablo II Lord of Destruction Tips & Tricks |
Diablo II - Lord of Destruction
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"LORD OF DESTRUCTION"
Dedicated to Max, my most loyal friend who has at last found peace.
=============================================================================
¦ This walkthrough is copyrighted to Mister Sinister (2005-6) ¦
¦ I don't mind it being lifted in its entireity, but if you do so, please ¦
¦ make sure you give credit to the author (me) and DON'T pass it off as ¦
¦ your own. Thanks ! ¦
=============================================================================
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ INDEX ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
PART ONE BEFORE WE GET STARTED
PART TWO CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTER
PART THREE ACT ONE - THE ROGUE ENCAMPMENT
PART FOUR ACT TWO - LUT GHOLEIN
PART FIVE ACT THREE - THE KURAST DOCKS
PART SIX ACT FOUR - THE PANDEMONIUM FORTRESS
PART SEVEN ACT FIVE - HARROGATH
PART EIGHT HINTS AND TIPS
PART NINE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ PART ONE ¦
¦ BEFORE WE GET STARTED ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
Hi there. Welcome to my Diablo II: Lord of Destruction walkthrough. There
are a few things I would like to clear up before we begin if that's ok.
You might get the impression from reading this walkthrough that I'm intending
for it to be read exclusively by newbies ... I'm not - however, I have
DELIBERATELY made my commentary for Act One flexible enough so that it CAN
be read by newbies, and I (hopefully) explain things clearly enough for them
to be able to pick up the game and run ... however, I think that there are a
few things in there that even a more seasoned player might have not
considered ...
... I hope so, at any rate !! =)
From Act Two (since the acts are kinda formulaic - not BORING - just
formulaic) I have tried to speed up the walkthrough a bit so that people of
any standard can flick through it ...
Also, I should point out that I'm British. I say this because in the past
when I have done walkthroughs, people have commented that some of the terms
I use ... like ... slaphead for example, they just don't understand ...
... you can always e-mail me and I'll explain as best I can ;)
Also, when I give directions in this walkthrough - e.g. Alkor's hut is to
the north-east of your present location, I have tried to take into account
that the maps are always at an angle.
Therefore, imagine tilting the screen as if you were looking down on the
characters before you interpret my directions, or you *might* get a little
confused ;)
Right !! Thanks for letting me get all that out of the way - LET'S GO !! =D
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ PART TWO ¦
¦ CHOOSING YOUR CHARACTER ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
This is obviously THE single most important decision you need to make in
this game. You can only play one character at a time, and as you will see
when we play, a LOT of effort goes into developing your character.
That being said, there are seven characters available to you to pick from.
I won't bore you with their details too much, but my comments on each are as
follows :-
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ AMAZON ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
NOT BAD !! Check out those DUDS !! And the hair !! We like her ... well
fitted armour is SOOOOOOO attractive =./
What's that ? Get to the point ?? Ok ...
The Amazon is a VERY well balanced character to play. She specialises in
both Bow AND Polearm skills, making her good in hand-to-hand AND at range.
She also has a good range of passive skills - i.e. skills which run all the
time in the background without having to be specifically called into play ?
GOOD POINTS :-
* Very well balanced
* Offers a broad set of skills to choose from
BAD POINTS :-
* Lots of attacks costs mana, and given her ROF (Rate of Fire), if you don't
have loads of mana available to you to draw from, you can quickly whittle
down her reserves.
* She's not MEAN enough for my taste.
CLASS-SPECIFIC WEAPONRY :-
* There are certain bows in the game - e.g. Stag Bow, that can ONLY be used
by the Amazon.
* There are certain spears in the game - e.g. the Maiden Spear, that can ONLY
be used by the Amazon; and
* There are certain javelins in the game that can ONLY be used by the Amazon.
===========
CREDIT NOTE
===========
Thanks and credit to Eric Norrie for pointing out that the Amazon has the
second and third class-specific weapons in the above list (I only spotted
the first one)
QUIRKS :-
* Whilst she can use arrows with her bows, the Amazon has the rather
fortunate fallback position of being able to CREATE magical arrows through
the expenditure of mana. This means that she SHOULD never be unable to
fire her bow, if you're able to keep her mana in check.
HIRELINGS :-
Given that the Amazon has both ranged and hand-to-hand skills, she favours
perhaps the greatest variety of choice for a Hireling ...
Rogue Sister - Perhaps my LEAST likely suggestion, as she offers
nothing that the Amazon doesn't already have
skill-wise - SCORE: 1/4
Desert Mercenary - Good choice - his hand-to-hand skills reach MAMMOTH
proportions in terms of the damage they can do if he
is properly equipped, and given that he HAS to get
into hand-to-hand, she can either fight by his side
up close and personal, or back him up with her ranged
skills. PLUS you can use his auras to great effect
if you pick him carefully - SCORE: 2/4
Iron Wolf Mage - The most versatile hireling you can get, as he boasts
both hand-to-hand combat skills, AND ranged
spellcasting abilities. I would suggest that you
might like to look to using him, as he can back up
your Amazon in any given situation. SCORE: 4/4
Barbarian Warrior - The strongest fighter I would say, so my comments are
pretty much as per the Desert Mercenary (bar
Barbarian's Lack of ability to use auras of course).
SCORE: 3/4
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¦ ¦
¦ ASSASSIN ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
OMIGOD !! I tell ya, from the moment she did that first spin-kick at the
character select screen ? I fell in LOVE with the assassin ... I love
assassins as characters anyway ... they are so PRO ! So she was my first
character (and is still my best even today !!)
The Assassin boasts a specialised set of skills, with a broad variety of
martial arts attacks that can be used to great effect if you feel like
getting up close and nasty ... for those of you who are keen to stay away,
you can rely on her traps instead - there are plenty of those to amuse you
too. She ISN'T as versatile a character as the Amazon, but given the fact
that she's just so plain MEAN, I just HAD to play as her first of all.
GOOD POINTS :-
* If you augment her skills intelligently, she can become DEVASTATINGLY
powerful as the levels go on ... PLUS her ability to place traps means
that she can pretty much avoid most difficult situations, by wearing
down her opponents with fire and lightning before they get close enough
to do her any real harm.
* She just looks so MEAN !!!!! =D
BAD POINTS :-
* Whilst she has a load of hand-to-hand skills at her disposal, when I was
playing her I found that - even though they were varied - they weren't
generally as powerful as her traps and, as such, I pretty much wound up
focusing on increasing her trap skills at the expense of her other
abilities.
CLASS-SPECIFIC WEAPONRY :-
* Various hand-held weapons, including the hatchet hands, katar and quhab.
QUIRKS :-
* The Assassin can automatically pick locks ... this means that she need
never carry around keys, and can automatically open locked chests ...
RESULT !!!!! =D
HIRELINGS :-
Given her versatility the Assassin should ideally look to choose a hireling
that reflects her style of play ... if you are a Trap Specialist, you might
like to go for the rogue sister (as I did) to afford you extra protection at
range ... if you focus more on the assassin's hand-to-hand skills, then you
might like to go for the desert mercenary or barbarian for more backup when
you are in the fray ...
As such, my comments are as follows :-
Rogue Sister - This is the hireling that I personally pick when I'm
playing the assassin. I feel that her powerful
long-ranged bow attacks work well in conjunction with
the way I play my assassin - inflicting OPTIMUM
long-range attack damage rather than getting up close
and personal. SCORE: 4/4
Desert Mercenary - Another good choice for the Assassin ... the Desert
Mercenary's Auras can provide her with benefits should
she need to mix it up a little, whilst his
hand-to-hand skills can provide her with enough time
to set up a couple more traps and wipe out some
enemies. However, I personally find that the Desert
Merc's tendency to just run head-first into combat
frustrates my style, as it would be better if he just
held back that little bit longer ??? SCORE: 2/4
Iron Wolf Mage - A well balanced hireling, 'tis true ... if you are
the type of player that chops and changes his/her
style of play to suit the circumstances, and has
spread your upgrade points pretty much evenly across
your skills, then this might well be the hireling to
compliment YOUR style of play. SCORE: 3/4
Barbarian Warrior - Bless him ... I'm sure there is SOMEBODY out there
that would have a 4/4 for the Barbarian Warrior, but
it AIN'T gonna be me sunshine ... I tried using him
with my assassin, but I found that my comparatively
weak hand-to-hand skills (because I'd loaded up so
heavily on traps) meant that I couldn't provide HIM
with the kind of support HE needed when he was wading
up to his neck into trouble ... SCORE: 1/4
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¦ ¦
¦ NECROMANCER ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
Looking mean as you would expect for a death-peddler, the Necromancer
specialises in curses and command of the undead. He is the ULTIMATE when it
comes to mass-troop-management, and at high levels can have a small ARMY of
undead creatures following him around and mauling his enemies into little
bitesize chunks in seconds.
We like him ... but he ISN'T the easiest character to play ;)
GOOD POINTS :-
* Being able to resurrect a small army of undead warriors to do your
bidding means that the Necromancer SHOULD not need to directly involve
himself in physical combat most of the time.
* His curses can weaken your enemies en masse and can dramatically turn the
tide of battle in your favour when used appropriately.
BAD POINTS :-
* Generally weak in hand-to-hand combat, the Necromancer should avoid this
wherever possible.
* His skills are focused predominantly in inflicting pain and agony on his
opponents, which leaves him kinda lacking in the "self-help" skills ...
in MY opinion at least !! :)
CLASS-SPECIFIC WEAPONRY :-
* Certain shields - almost invariably heads (e.g. the Demon Fetish and
Unraveller Head) - are Necromancer specific.
QUIRKS :-
* One of the best combinations that you can have when using your Necromancer
(and I FREELY ADMIT THAT I HEARD THIS FROM SOMEBODY ELSE - Sorry mon ami,
but I can't remember your name !!) is to create a Blood Golem, and then
use the Iron Maiden curse on enemies that the Blood Golem is fighting ...
health is transferred from the Golem to you, and so whilst he's fighting,
you can heal at quite a rate of knots !! :)
HIRELINGS :-
Given that his forté is being able to command huuuuuuuge armies of undead
warriors and curse his enemies to b*llocks, my recommendation is that the
Necromancer focus on somebody that will be able to hang back from the fray,
and give him support ... as such, my comments are as follows :-
Rogue Sister - She's good !! Give her her dues, she's good ...
whilst the Necromancer's army of bad@ss goons is busy
killing things up front, she can provide good ranged
cover, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the
oncoming enemy. SCORE: 3/4
Desert Mercenary - Whilst undoubtedly a powerful hand-to-hand combatant,
he might not be able to get at the thick of the
action if the necromancer's boys have already sunk
their teeth into the enemy and, as such, his
effectiveness is slightly reduced I fear. SCORE: 2/4
Iron Wolf Mage - Perhaps the best match for the Necromancer is the
Iron Wolf Mage, simply because he can provide ranged
support for the Necromancer's minions if they are
swarming over his enemies, and if they FALL he can
take their place, allowing the Necromancer enough
time to create more ... SCORE: 4/4
Barbarian Warrior - Again, bringing up the rear it's the barbarian
warrior ... bless him, and all who follow him. I
fear that the necromancer's powerful magic, whilst
great in the troop-management area, might not lend
itself to working in harmony with the barbarian's in
yer face attitude. SCORE: 1/4
SUGGESTED PLAY TIPS :-
Thanks to Eric Norrie for coming up with a couple of very handy playing
tips with the Necromancer.
Eric says :-
"The necromancer doesn't need to be a summoner - in fact he can be an
effective dueling master using Bone Prison and Bone Spirit. He could
also buff up Poison Nova and add that to the mix as well !!"
Thanks also to DarkV0id for coming up with further comments on Mercs for
the Necromancer.
DarkV0id says :-
"I play a pure summoning Necro, and the Offensive Act 2 Merc on Nightmare
comes with a Might aura. When you have 15+ of your own monsters running
around bashing things, the aura DOUBLES all melee damage done by your
own summons by the time the Merc is level 45."
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ IMPORTANT NOTE ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
I was originally quite happy with my above scores for the Necromancer's
Mercenary compatibility, but then I got an e-mail from Cyrus Nunn who
pointed out that the Mercenary is actually a blessing in disguise for the
Necromancer, as his auras can lend support to the Necromancer's troops en
masse - if he has defensive auras, so much the better !! :)
In fact I believe his exact words were :-
"If you get a defensive guy, his spells can turn even ordinary skeletons
into serious meat(less) shields"
I like that !! :)
This has, of course, chucked my scoring totally out of whack, but Cyrus is
right - I had TOTALLY failed to consider it as an option. Therefore I am
going to RE-GRADE the four mercenary's for the Necromancer as follows :-
Rogue Sister now gets 2/4
Desert Mercenary now gets 4/4
Iron Wolf Mage now gets 3/4
Barbarian Warrior now gets 1/4
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ BARBARIAN ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
The undisputed KING of hand-to-hand combat, the Barbarian ROCKS when it comes
to bashing heads together, but his REALLY limited set of distance-based
skills means that he needs either good ranged support to make up for this
shortcoming, or just sack off range altogether and get stuck in there !!
I have to say that there are only 3 characters I have played in Lord of
Destruction that were able to kill Duriel in hand-to-hand combat WITHOUT
DYING EVEN ONCE. The others are the Paladin, and the Amazon.
GOBSMACKED is the word I would choose to describe how I felt when that
happened. ANYHOW ...
GOOD POINTS :-
* His ability to use two single-handed weapons at the same time provides for
TONNES of fun combinations of weapons that can be brought into play, thus
increasing his appeal AND the amount of damage he can inflict.
* He has a WICKED set of passive skills that can increase his effectiveness
with almost any weapon ... AND he has the OH so entertaining Frenzy move
at higher levels (which is REALLY fun to use, trust me !!)
BAD POINTS :-
* As stated above, he is a bit pants in the ranged department ... he has no
real magic skills to speak of - his specialities are warcries and combat
techniques ... nothing so spectacular as a full thunderstorm, or chain
lightning, unfortunately.
* As a result, he has to get in close to harm his enemies, and this means
that he is frequently outnumbered.
CLASS-SPECIFIC WEAPONRY :-
* Helmets, such as the Lion Helm and Fanged Helm, are Barbarian-specific.
QUIRKS :-
* His ability to search the bodies of the fallen for potions should not be
underestimated - it means that (if luck is on your side) you can heal him
back from near death VERY quickly. RESULT !!
HIRELINGS :-
This is a tough one ... the Barbarian is quite specific in terms of his
strengths - i.e. CARNAGE. He lacks the support of a ranged unit, but maybe it
would be better to just give him another hand-to-hand fighter to back him up
... let's have a think ... =./
Rogue Sister - If you want to give ranged support to your barbarian
(as I did when I was playing him), then the Rogue
Sister should not be overlooked. Using her wisely,
and in conjunction with available terrain, means that
you can pick off the pain in the @rse baddies from a
distance - like those who are lightning enchanted -
and thereby reduce the likelihood of your Barbarian
dying in combat. SCORE: 2/4
Desert Mercenary - A good choice, given that he can back you up in
hand-to-hand AND his auras give you an extra edge
whilst you're hacking and slashing away. SCORE: 3/4
Iron Wolf Mage - Whilst he is VERY versatile as a companion, I feel
that the Iron Wolf Mage's versatility when put side
by side with the Barbarian's clear-cut approach to
playing dilutes his effectiveness ... really speaking
I would think that it would be better to have an "all
or nothing" hireling to go with the Barbarian, and
this AIN'T the Iron Wolf Mage ... =./ SCORE: 1/4
Barbarian Warrior - What could be better than a Barbarian and his bro
kicking BUTT ????? Given that they are BASICALLY the
same character, you should find that they play quite
well together, and increase exponentially the amount
of damage inflicted when they are fighting
side-by-side. SCORE: 4/4
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ PALADIN ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
Ah yes, the Paladin. I must admit that when I first saw him I just laughed.
The BOLD way he goes down on one knee ... the shiny armour ... the ...
(spit spit spit) GOODNESS of it all.
BUT, I have been converted to liking him ... his auras are REALLY useful, and
he really surprised me when he managed to best Duriel in hand-to-hand combat
without dying ONCE, taking his place alongside the Barbarian and the
Amazon ...
He's quite a surprise entrant in my opinion, because as with the Barbarian he
is predominantly a close-quarters combatant, BUT he has the advantage of
having auras to support him whilst he's fighting, which can aid not only him
but his party as well ...
.... we like the Paladin :)
GOOD POINTS :-
* His use of auras is GREAT ... he can use them to achieve good results on
his own, AND many of them can be used to aid his party too - this is a
good thing =)
* Whilst his hand-to-hand skills are not on par with the Barbarian in my
opinion, he has the Zeal skill, which is KILLER cool to watch. Stabby
stabby stab.
* His resist fire/ice/lightning auras
BAD POINTS :-
* The lack of ranged skills makes him a largely close-quarters character.
* He looks pants at first ... we just CAN'T like those green and yellow
pants =./
CLASS-SPECIFIC WEAPONRY :-
* Certain large shields (e.g. the Heraldic Shield and Aerin Shield) are
Paladin-specific.
QUIRKS :-
* Paladin Auras can extend beyond your party - e.g. on Act V your aura can
actually protect errant Barbarians as they make their way up the Bloody
Foothills, and so on ... this is kinda kewl !!
HIRELINGS :-
Given the Paladin's strengths being close combat and the use of auras, he can
lend strong support to any hireling he obtains ... however, my comments and
recommendations are as follows :-
Rogue Sister - One of the worst matches with the Paladin, as she runs
around a lot, and this frequently places her OUTSIDE
the range of influence of his auras. SCORE: 2/4
Desert Mercenary - Hmmmmmmmm ... not good I fear ... the Desert Mercenary
has his own auras that he can use to influence the
party, and this may put him at odds with the Paladin
in terms of which aura is in use. SCORE: 1/4
SUGGESTED PLAY TIPS :-
Again, thanks to Eric Norrie for suggesting this tip :-
"Using the Blessed Hammer skill at a high level means you can have
mass amounts of blessed hammers flying around doing ridiculously high
damage".
Something to bear in mind !! ;)
=============================================================================
¦ NEWSFLASH ¦
=============================================================================
I may well have overlooked something with regard to the Desert Mercenary and
the Paladin, which Calvin82390 very kindly pointed out to me by saying that
the auras won't necessarily conflict as, if the Desert Mercenary uses an aura
like Holy Freeze, and the Paladin uses ... say ... a combination of Zeal and
Fanaticism, then the combination will actually work really well instead of
really poorly. I shall leave it to you, our discerning viewers, to decide,
but Calvin is right - if you play it right you can turn what I had expected
to be a thorn into your side into a real kick in the nuts for your enemies !!
Thanks Calvin !!
=============================================================================
Iron Wolf Mage - My hireling of choice for the Paladin, owing (once
again) to his versatility. The Iron Wolf Mage can
attack up close, or fall back to provide long ranged
support for the Paladin. SCORE: 4/4
Barbarian Warrior - Whilst there are instances in which I would think the
Barbarian Warrior WOULD make a great hireling to be
paired up with the Paladin, the Barbarian Warrior as
a hireling is perhaps not as versatile a companion as
the Iron Wolf Mage, from the Paladin's point of view.
SCORE: 3/4
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ SORCERESS ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
The Sorceress ROCKS. Plain and simple. Her mastery of the elements - fire,
ice and lightning - make her a REAL force to be reckoned with in the game and,
whilst she should avoid hand-to-hand combat if at all possible, she can hold
her own in MOST situations at higher levels.
The obvious downside is, as I've just said, that she's VERY weak in
hand-to-hand combat ... but trust me, as with most sorcerer characters, if
you play them well, you can kick BUTT regardless.
GOOD POINTS :-
* Arguably the strongest magic user in the game ... some of her spells
inflict SOOOO much damage it's unreal !! =)
* One of her passive skills (warmth) increases the speed at which she
recovers mana naturally, and that's a BIG bonus if levelled up wisely ...
BAD POINTS :-
* Weak in hand-to-hand combat, as is to be expected really.
* Sounds very bitchy if you try and get her to carry too much stuff at
one time.
CLASS-SPECIFIC WEAPONRY :-
* Certain wands and staves are sorceress specific, e.g. the Eagle Orb.
QUIRKS :-
* Telekinesis should not be overlooked for its usefulness, as it can enable
you to a) pick up items that are lying on the floor in a Jedi Stylee, b)
open/close doors, c) open/close chests and d) push back enemies. It's
VERY versatile and even if you just put one skill point into it, it's
worth having.
HIRELINGS :-
Important to bear in mind when playing the sorceress is that she should NOT
get into hand-to-hand combat if she can avoid it. Therefore, depending on
the PACE at which you play the game, my comments are as follows :-
Rogue Sister - Pretty much the same comments as with the assassin to
be honest with you, I find that when I am playing the
Sorceress I play carefully and deliberately. I don't
just rush around here there and everywhere, because
she DOESN'T have the kind of troop support that the
Necromancer can call into play, so the Rogue Sister
suits my needs best. SCORE: 4/4
Desert Mercenary - If you are diligent and keep an eye on him, he can
work quite well as a companion for the sorceress as,
even though he has a tendency to just barrel straight
into the enemy, he can lend you the protection of his
aura, and you can lend him the protection of your
NEO-THUNDERKISS-BLASTER 3000 !! =D. SCORE: 2/4
Iron Wolf Mage - Almost ranking up alongside the Rogue, owing YET AGAIN
to his versatility, the Iron Wolf Mage can pair up
with the Sorceress very very well indeed. However, I
prefer to have my hirelings using their heads, and
therefore in order to compliment my "keep out of
harm's way with the sorceress" policy, I *really*
don't need the hassle of having to keep an eye on my
hireling, and this boi DOES sometimes just feel the
need to go off on one ... SCORE: 3/4
Barbarian Warrior - Poor, poor little Barbarian ... whilst a REALLY
attentive sorceress could put his strength to good use,
you would have to keep an eye on him 24/7 for fear
he'd get in over his head and this would leave you a)
stretched to keep him alive mana and health potion-wise
and b) having to focus more on him than yourself, and
in my opinion a hireling just shouldn't be causing you
that much concern. Sorry mate. SCORE: 1/4
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ DRUID ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
Finally, we come to the rather peculiar-looking druid. Representing mastery
over nature and the beasts, this lad likes nothing more than to adorn the
corpses of dead animals and march about making cute comments about planting
the dead and other oddities ... he's funny, and I do kinda like him, I must
admit.
In game terms, the Druid is the SECOND best troop management character,
playing second fiddle to the Necromancer ... however, the druids support
troops are, I believe, marginally more powerful than the Necromancer's (with
the possible exception of the Necromancer's Golems), and so the two even out
pretty well.
The Druid also has a good, varied command over magic and the elements.
Finally he has reasonable hand-to-hand skills ... all in all a good all-
rounder, without being a MASTER of anything ... except the beasts ...
but you know what I mean :)
GOOD POINTS :-
* Can command multiple troops at the same time - e.g. ravens, wolves, dire
wolves, spirits, etc.
* Possesses a variety of skills from reasonable hand-to-hand combat skills,
to varied magic abilities, to troop management skills. A good character
for a newbie.
BAD POINTS :-
* His lack of total mastery of any one aspect of the game ... he's more a
jack of all trades is our druid ...
* His ranged magical skills, whilst reasonable, are not as effective as I
would have liked them to be =./
CLASS-SPECIFIC WEAPONRY :-
* Some headwear, e.g. the Griffon Headdress and Wolf Head, are specifically
for the Druid.
QUIRKS :-
* His ability to polymorph into either wolf or bear adds not only a physical
combat aspect to his character, but the wolf is quicker, and can be used to
get out of trouble, if you're in need of an out ;)
HIRELINGS :-
As he is quite a versatile character, the choice of a hireling will depend
largely upon your personal style of play, but I would make the following
suggestions :-
Rogue Sister - Good choice ... since the Druid CAN have multiple
units under his command at any one time, you might
find that the addition of a strong ranged unit is of
assistance to you. SCORE: 2/4
Desert Mercenary - Probably a BETTER choice, as the Desert Mercenary can
not only lend support to the front-line troops of the
Druid, but his auras can assist as well ... SCORE: 3/4
Iron Wolf Mage - Ideally though, wouldn't you be better with somebody
that was REALLY versatile ? Somebody that could
provide you with ranged cover to supplement your own
skills, OR get down and dirty in hand-to-hand ? If so,
then the Iron Wolf Mage is your boi ... SCORE: 4/4
Barbarian Warrior - Bringing up the rear, it's our trusty old friend the
Barbarian Warrior. I really DON'T have anything
against this guy - honest !! It's just that he has a
tendency to be a bit ... um ... direct ? And this can
leave HIM in situations in which he's fending off
attacks from all sides, and it can leave YOU in
situations where you are bailing him out, when you
SHOULD be able to just get on with looking after
yourself !! SCORE: 1/4
So there we have it !! My comments on the characters that you have to choose
from in the game.
I hope you found them of interest, and regardless of which one you've picked,
I'm sure you'll be KICK@SS !! So let's begin ...
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ PART THREE ¦
¦ ACT ONE - THE ROGUE ENCAMPMENT ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
Your journey begins at the Rogue Encampment. As you will quickly learn,
your path to find "the Dark Wanderer" is obstructed by Andariel - the Demon
Queen (one of the Lesser Evils of Hell and a follower of Diablo), who has
corrupted many of the Rogue Sisters, and blocked the path to the East behind
the Dark Wanderer.
It would appear that if you are to have any hope of following the Dark
Wanderer east, you will first have to help the rogues by liberating their
Monastery.
HURRAH.
So ... first off, I would suggest that you mill about the town for a little
while to get your bearings ... introduce yourself to the shopkeepers and chat
with the townsfolk ... you will find that depending on the character you have
chosen, some people react to you ... a little differently than others ... for
example, if you chose the Necromancer, Gheed takes an INSTANT dislike to you -
if you chose the Sorceress then you will find that Akara is VERY happy to
meet you, and so on.
Anyhow, for your information, a breakdown of the townsfolk is as follows :-
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT ONE - TOWNSFOLK ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
AKARA - Leader of the Rogue Camp - she is a kind lady dressed in a purple
hooded robe, in the southeastern corner of the rogue camp. Akara
gives you several of the quests in the First Act of the game, and
sells the all important TOWN PORTAL SCROLLS you will be needing ;)
KASHYA - Leads the Rogues into Battle - she has little time for those she
sees as interlopers but, as you will find, her confidence can be
won through good deeds. Kashya will be responsible for providing
you with your first Hireling as the First Act progresses.
WARRIV - A travelling merchant who gets about quite a bit ... recently he
seems to have been outfitting the rogues with gear he obtains from
the desert city of Lut Gholein. Unfortunately of late he has been
unable to leave the Rogue Encampment as his path through the
Monastery has been blocked by Andariel's untimely arrival.
CHARSI - Charsi is the resident Blacksmith in the Rogue Camp. She can repair
your gear, and is quite skilled at fashioning new and interesting
items in her shop.
GHEED - A true merchant, Gheed is interested in precious little except his
profit-margin. You can "gamble" with Gheed - basically this is
where you buy an UNidentified item from him (usually for quite a
high price), and then find out it's UTTER CR@P !!
There ... now that I've given you the official line for each of the townsfolk,
here is MY view on each of them :-
AKARA - SOUND. Akara will replenish your life AND mana every time you visit
her, so if you have run out of potions but have a town portal scroll?
USE IT, go back to the town and visit Akara, and she will heal you
100%, free, no questions asked. WE LOVE HER.
KASHYA - Aside from the fact that she gives you your first Hireling (which,
in my humble opinion, is actually the best Hireling in the game -
the Rogue Archer), Kashya is, I feel, an overly opinionated waster.
She does NOTHING but gripe and whinge about your performance, and if
I could throttle her ? I would !!
WARRIV - Bless him ... he's in a bit of a fix isn't he ... nevermind ... we'll
freeload on his wagon once we've beaten the sh!t out of the minions
of Andariel ... Lut Gholein sounds like the happenin' place to be :)
CHARSI - She's pretty cool ... very friendly, but if you're anything like me
you won't really wind up using her that much ...
GHEED - Ah yes, Gheed. What's the saying ? There's always one pr!ck in
every bunch of roses ? Gheed is, in my opinion, useless. I would
NEVER gamble with him - especially when you see the prices he's
charging ... 50,000 GP for a RING !?!?!??!?! SHEESH !!!
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ FLIPPING THIS AROUND ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
If you are looking for :-
Healing Potions - then you should go to - Akara
Mana Potions - then you should go to - Akara
Town Portal Scrolls - then you should go to - Akara
Identify Scrolls - then you should go to - Akara
Thawing Potions - then you should go to - Akara
Antidote Potions - then you should go to - Akara
Stamina Potions - then you should go to - Akara
Keys - then you should go to - Akara
Weapons and Armour - then you should go to - Akara, Charsi or
Gheed
Anything to do with Hirelings - then you should go to - Kashya
Someone to heal you - then you should go to - Akara
Someone to gamble with - then you should go to - Gheed
Someone to repair your gear - then you should go to - Charsi
You may also notice as you are walking around that there is (just to the
northeast of Warriv) a chest labelled "your stash". This is exactly what it
is. Basically it's a storage box for you to keep extra money and items in,
as you WILL find that you don't have enough space in your regular inventory
to carry all your items in. The stash ROCKS !! =D
HINT: ALWAYS deposit your cash into your stash, as you can a) draw on it
instantly, and b) you won't lose any if/when you die ;)
If you wind up filling your stash ? Drop excess gold on the floor in town
before you go back into the wilderness, for the same reasons ... just make
sure you remember to pick it up BEFORE you save and exit, or it (along with
anything else that you left lying around on the floor) will be WAPORISED !!
Also, you might notice to the east of Kashya that there is a waypoint ?
Basically because the Acts in Diablo II and LOD are so HUGE the game designers
came up with a quick system of teleporting back and forth between significant
points in the levels ... these are called WAYPOINTS and, once activated, they
will remain "on" for the rest of the game. You can even teleport between
different waypoints in different acts if you like =)
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT ONE - MAP ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
For your convenience, here is a VERY rudimentary but functional map of Act
One, geographically.
ROGUE ENCAMPMENT
¦
V
BLOOD MOOR --> THE DEN OF EVIL; THE HOLE;
THE CAVE
¦
V
COLD PLAINS --> BURIAL GROUNDS; THE CAVE
¦
V
STONY FIELD --> UNDERGROUND PASSAGE
¦
V
DARK WOOD
¦
V
THE HOLE <-- BLACK MARSH
¦
V
TAMOE HIGHLAND
¦
V
MONASTERY GATE
¦
V
OUTER CLOISTER
¦
V
BARRACKS
¦
V
JAIL
¦
V
INNER CLOISTER
¦
V
CATHEDRAL
¦
V
CATACOMBS
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT ONE - QUEST ONE ¦
¦ DEN OF EVIL ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
Once you've spoken with Akara you will find that she has kindly given you your
first quest - The "Den of Evil". Basically, she wants you to go and clear out
an underground hideout in the area just outside the Rogue Camp, as she is
concerned that the denizens of that hideout are likely to pose a threat to the
safety of the camp in the near future.
NO WORRIES LUV - I'll get right on it !!
So ... leaving the rogue encampment for the first time you will find that you
have access to oodles more options. Basically, there are many things you
CAN'T do in town. Here's a quick run-down.
1) You will NEVER be attacked whilst you are in town.
2) You CANNOT attack anybody whilst you are in town.
3) You cannot use most of your skills whilst you are in town.
Basically you have to think of town as a stopping point that you can use to
replenish your supplies, hire and fire mercenaries, upgrade or sell items,
etc., etc.
OUTSIDE the town you can use all your special skills, kill practically
anything that moves, and so on.
Explore the area around the rogue camp and you will find it's inhabited by,
as you would expect, low-level baddies ... slow-moving zombies, little
porcupine-thingies that shoot their quills at you, imps (remember them from
the first game ?? Bless 'em !!) and other iddy-biddy bad guys.
This would be a good time to bring up the whole concept of levelling up.
Skip this bit if you're a veteran of the Diablo Games ... basically experience
points (xp) are gained for every kill you, or one of the members of your team
(when you have a hireling or minion working for you) perform. When you have
gained enough xp you will level up. When you level up in this game you will
gain :- 5 Statistics Points, and 1 Skill Point. Statistics Points are used
to increase one or more of your character's basic statistics - strength,
dexterity, vitality and energy. Your health and mana increase as your
vitality and energy increase. Your SKILLS are peculiar to your character
and come in three "schools" ... each character has access to three sets of
skills, and by the time you've completed the game you should be conversant
with pretty much all of them. Allocating a point to a statistic will
increase your level of power in that statistic ... allocating a point to a
skill will cause that skill to increase by one level.
As you increase in level you will notice that the number of xp you require to
reach the next level increases too ... by a larger margin than the previous
level. It's all very obvious, and that is one of the reasons I LOVE this
game so ... the interface is a simple point-and-click one ... the plot is
immersive, and the mechanics are logical and simplistic. BUT IT'S STILL SO
ADDICTIVE !!!!! I LOVE IT !! =)
So ... what I'm trying to say is that you might level up once or twice before
you get to even START your first quest ... so always use your xp points
wisely. Once allocated, they cannot be removed ;)
Also, on one of your trips back to the town, I would strongly suggest that
you avail yourself of the opportunity to purchase either some more Town Portal
scrolls, OR a Tome of Town Portal. Basically the difference is that a Tome of
Town Portal can hold up to 20 Town Portal scrolls, thereby saving you space
whilst you're carrying them. Town Portal is NOT a spell that can be learned
in Diablo II: LOD - unlike in the first Diablo title.
If you go too far in the Blood Moor you will encounter Flavie - a Rogue who
is patrolling the entrance to the second area. She will tell you to turn back
and complete Akara's quest before venturing further into the wilderness. No.
You can't kill her. Go on ... hang your head and turn around ... go on ... I
won't tell ;)
HINT: If you start to take damage from bad guys in the immediate area, you can
always lure them back towards Flavie and she will try and help you out by
attacking them with her bow and arrow.
Eventually you will come upon the Den of Evil. It's represented by a purple
and pink blip on your map (press TAB to overlay your map onto the screen at
any time, and TAB again to get rid of it), and you can go down and start your
first quest whenever you're ready !!
It's a VERY easy quest to complete ... there are (give or take) some 40 bad
guys in the Den of Evil, and your mission is to kill each and every one of
them. Pay particular attention to the "Shamen" characters, as they can
resurrect imps of their corresponding type - e.g. Dark One Shamen can
resurrect Dark Ones. Therefore, the Shamen should be your primary targets in
any group that they are a part of.
Having said that, it's NOT that difficult a quest, and you WILL know when you
have succeeded ;)
You are then told to return to Akara to collect your reward. You can either
walk back to the town on foot or, if you've taken my advice and purchased
some Town Portal scrolls, you can simply warp your way back to the town.
Either way, go back and see Akara.
Akara is SO chuffed that you've sorted out her little problem, that she gives
you A NEW SKILL POINT !! WOOOOOOOHOO !! =D
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT ONE - QUEST TWO ¦
¦ SISTERS' BURIAL GROUNDS ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
Next you should go and speak to Kashya, who is eagerly waiting to give you
your second quest - Sisters' Burial Grounds. Basically Andariel has
resurrected one of the Rogue Sisterhood's highest ranking warriors - a close
personal friend of Kashya - Blood Raven. Blood Raven passed away in a tragic
toaster accident a few weeks back and, now that she has been brought back to
life she has started begun amassing an army of undead warriors in the Sisters'
Burial Grounds just off the Cold Plains AS YOU DO. There are THREE ways out
of the Cold Plains. Firstly through the Sisters' Burial Grounds; secondly
through the Stony Field; or finally through the Waypoint system. Do not go
to the Stony Field yet. If you get to the Stony Field ? You've gone too
far ;)
A couple of quick hints about manoeuvering around and about the map. First
off, if you are looking to get from A THROUGH B to C as quickly as possible -
e.g. from the Rogue Camp through the Blood Moor to the Cold Plains ? Then I
would suggest that you skirt around the edge of the area to find the passage
to the next area. It will be quicker as you won't waste so much time
engaging the HORDES of bad guys that obstruct your path, and the chances of
you dying are generally lessened too ............ RESULT !! =D
This is also a good time to bring up the concept of False Lairs, too ... so
bear with me ...
MANY areas in the game have false lairs in them ... the purpose of these
levels is to 1) throw you off-track, 2) increase the game's longevity (need
they bother ? I'm hooked already !!), and 3) provide you with the chance to
get better weapons and up your xp if you like ... in the Cold Plains you will
find something called "The Cave" - you don't NEED to go into this cave if you
don't want to ... it's entirely up to you. Each false lair contains a golden
chest at the end of it, and each golden chest is jam-packed with goodies ...
from gold to potions to magic/unique/set items (we'll get to those later).
Right ... so ... as you enter the Sisters' Burial Grounds you will notice
that you receive a Quest update. It's time to WHOOP @SS !! Again, your
mission here is quite a simplistic one - all you have to do is kill Blood
Raven. HOWEVER, this is not AS simplistic as it may at first appear, as
Blood Raven has the ability (remember Kashya's original briefing ?) to raise
the dead ! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees that's right ... SO ...
depending on which character you have opted for, this can prove to be
quiiiiite interesting. ALSO, as Blood Raven is a fallen Rogue Sister, she is
equipped with a bow and arrow (as it seems are so many of the rogues), and
can fire flaming arrows at you that do quite a bit of damage, so BE CAREFUL.
There are two false lairs in the burial grounds should you wish to explore
them - the Mausoleum and the Crypt.
I would suggest concentrating your attacks on Blood Raven herself as, once
she has fallen, she will let out several large bursts of energy which will
kill almost all of the zombies and other undead warriors in the Burial
Grounds - and CERTAINLY the ones in your immediate vicinity. Also, the longer
you leave Blood Raven alive, the more zombies and skeletons you will wind up
having to fight, as she will continue to resurrect them during the fight ...
She isn't a stupid opponent, however, as she will try and lead you INTO
groups of zombies and other undead fighters if you chase her ... you must
try and outsmart her ... and always keep an eye out for her arrows, as they
ARE quite damaging.
Once Blood Raven has fallen, you will be told to return to Kashya for a reward.
I *personally* always visit both false lairs in the Burial Grounds - just to
gain xp and goodies ... I don't waste my time with the ones out in the
wilderness, but these I make a special exception for.
When you return to Kashya, you will be rewarded with ................... your
first Hireling !!
YEY !!
Hirelings ROCK. You can only ever have one Hireling working for you at a
time, and they come in several different fruity flavours. In THIS Act your
Hireling will be one of the rogue sisterhood. They all look the same, but
they can either have fire or ice enchanted arrows, and they have the ability
to cast amplify damage on their arrows periodically as well ...
In MY humble opinion the Rogue is the BEST Hireling you can get in Diablo II:
LOD, but I am of course willing to accept that opinion in this regard is
quite sharply divided.
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ HIRELINGS ¦
¦ THE ROGUE SISTER ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
Now would, of course, be a great time to bring up a few points about hirelings.
A hireling is a follower - a subordinate character that follows you around
and provides you with backup as and when you need it. There are FOUR
different hirelings in Diablo II: LOD, and I will detail each one as and when
we come to it.
Your first hireling, the Rogue Sister, is an archer and, as such, can be
equipped with a bow to increase her damage at range. She cannot use any
"amazon specific" bows, however, nor can she equip any crossbows, but she
doesn't need arrows, as she has an infinite supply. She can also wear one
piece of general headwear - again, nothing specifically for another class -
e.g. no griffin headdress or lion helm for her ... and she can wear one piece
of body armour as well.
Your first Hireling is given to you automatically upon completion of the
second quest in Act One and, as such, you don't have the option of picking
her from the outset. However, if you go to Kashya and examine the list of
hirelings available, you will see that they have different skills ... some
can create fire arrows, other can create ice arrows, for example. You can
replace your hireling with another one for a fee should you wish or,
alternatively, you can buy another hireling with yours dies (or, if you're
happy with her, you can resurrect her).
PLEASE NOTE that if you swap Hirelings, anything your OLD hireling was
carrying is dismissed immediately. Therefore, it might make financial sense
(depending on what he/she is carrying) to sell off their items before
switching your hireling ...
Another thing about the Rogue Sister is that she (regardless of her
particular skills) has a chance of casting amplify damage when she is
attacking.
The POINT I am trying to make is that you should ALWAYS look to pick your
hireling with care, as he or she will be with you for a long time ... IDEALLY
for the duration of your character's game life !!
Since your hireling will naturally take damage as they fight, you will want
to heal them periodically. To do this, drag and drop a potion from your
inventory onto your hireling's portrait and they will heal an appropriate
amount of damage.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
HINT FROM BABYROAR & DIANE
Babyroar & Diane have been in touch with me to point out that you can also
hold the SHIFT button and click on whatever potion you want, and this will
tell the game you mean for it to be given to your hireling instead of kept
for yourself. Thanks guys !! ;)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT ONE - QUEST THREE ¦
¦ THE SEARCH FOR CAIN ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
To obtain your third quest you should go and see Akara again. Your third
quest in Act One is entitled "The Search for Cain". Remember Deckard Cain
from Diablo ? That doddering old geezer that identified your wares at a cost
and gave you loads of "sage counsel" (aka useless ramblings) ?? Well as the
last living Horadrim he seems to have attracted quite a bit of attention, both
wanted AND unwanted these days ... and Akara, bless her, thinks that you
should go and seek him out.
Why not ????? ONWARD !!
I will do this quest in three bite-size chunks for you, since we're still
newbies right ??
Okay ... here we go ...
FIRSTLY make your way through the Cold Plains to the Stony Field. Find and
activate the Waypoint first and foremost. Then look around for an exit from
the Stony Field called "The Underground Passage" - it will either be set into
the face of the mountain on one of the edges, or it will be somewhere in the
open ... if whilst you are hunting around you find a large group of stones
set into the ground ? Those are the Cairn Stones and will become of
significance in a little while ... they are protected by Rakanishu and a load
of his little minions ... WATCH OUT FOR RAKANISHU AS HE IS LIGHTNING ENCHANTED
... basically this means that every time he is physically wounded, he emits a
charged bolt spell ... going against him in hand-to-hand can mean your death
if you're not careful ;)
Anyhow ... you don't NEED to do anything with the Cairn stones yet - you need
to move on and find the Underground Passage. Once you have found it, make
your way through it. You may as well kill off all the baddies you find to make
sure you get oodles and oodles of that lovely xp, and then leave through the
exit that leads to the Dark Wood.
SECONDLY find and activate the waypoint in the Dark Wood, and then find the
Tree of Inifuss. It's a HUGE tree that's protected by a load of Brutes led by
Treehead Woodfist - a captain ... once you have secured the area, walk up to
and touch the Tree of Inifuss to obtain a scroll. Town Portal or use the
waypoint, and take this scroll back to Akara.
Akara will tell you that she has deciphered the runes on the scroll, and that
it pertains to the Cairn Stones.
THIRDLY you need to get back to the Cairn Stones in the Stony Field, so either
go back through the Town Portal you used to get to town and then warp back to
the Stony Field via the waypoints, or just go direct to the Stony Field from
the waypoint in the town ... EITHER WAY I would STRONGLY suggest that you take
at least one Town Portal Scroll with you before you go.
Once you are there, you need to find the Cairn Stones and either touch them in
the order that Akara has indicated on the scroll she translated for you ? Or
just do what I do and punch them in a more or less random order until they all
glow.
Once they are all glowing, you will know you have succeeded ... and lo and
behold !! A RED Town Portal appears in the centre that leads you directly to
TRISTRAM !!!!! =D
Saddle up, and prepare yourself to administer an @ss-whuppin ...
Go through the portal to Tristram, and CLEAN HOUSE BAYBEEEE !! You are
looking for Deckard Cain - HE is your objective, and once he has been freed
you can leave Tristram and need never come back ... Deckard Cain is located
in the centre of town in a Gibbet (a big hanging cage).
I always deal with Tristram the same way ... from the Town Portal, which is
in the top right of Tristram, I work my way down to the bottom on the right
side of the area, taking out any Goatmen, Skeletal Archers AND Griswold, who
you will see has been cursed and transformed into an undead warrior now ...
bummer - I used to quite like him too !! ... and then along the bottom of the
map from right to left, where I search Wirt (remember him ? The Peg-Legged
Boy ?)'s body for gold and Wirt's Leg (the significance of which will become
apparent later).
Then I work my way up the left hand side of the map, and then across the top
of the map to the middle, where I descend into the centre of town and take
out the skeletal archers and champions in the area (usually there are 2-3
captains plus Griswold and some champions/possessed/fanatics in Tristram).
Once the area has been pacified, I free Cain.
As soon as you release Deckard Cain he will town portal back to the Rogue
Encampment, and you are requested to go and speak with both him AND Akara.
Town portal back to the Rogue Camp yourself, Skeletor Stylee, and then have a
word with Cain and Akara.
Deckard Cain is so grateful to have been released from his captivity that he
offers to identify any unidentified items you uncover on your travels ...
.... clears throat ...
... puts on a big booming voice ...
... F-R-E-E O-F C-H-A-R-G-E ...
I mean REALLY how cool !! SELL ALL THOSE IDENTIFY SCROLLS - you no longer
need them ... think of the SAVINGS !! $£$£$£$£$£$£
We like Cain - he's just gone up in our estimations ...
Akara will thank you for releasing Cain, and provide you with an already
identified magic ring, which is ALSO cool 'coz in your average game you
probably won't have picked up any jewellery yet ... so ANY ring she gives you
will be better than nothing !!
The quest completed, we move on.
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT ONE - QUEST FOUR ¦
¦ THE FORGOTTEN TOWER ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
The next quest that you can undertake is one which you yourself must
activate. To cut a long story short (because I am sure you are getting
tired of my ramblings aren't you ??), there is a Tower located in the Black
Marsh - an area just beyond the Dark Wood. You will know when you have
found as a purply/pink box will appear on your mini-map (by now you are
doubtless familiar with this - it represents a way up or down from where you
are), and a HHEEAAUUUUUGE black tower will be visible on the map ... OR,
failing that, you can pre-empt this quest by finding a book called the
"Moldy Tome" in the Stony Field. If you find it and read it (grizzly, I
know), you will acquire this quest.
Again, it's not TOO taxing in terms of its complication level - basically
you have to hack 'n slash your way through the FIVE levels of the Tower (and
no smarty-bum, that DOESN'T include the entry level), until you get to the
bottom level ... as soon as you get to that level, you will receive an update
to your quest, which is now to "dispose of the evil countess" ... so it's
time to put your pants outside your trousers Superman style, and GO GO GO !!
The Countess is located in a large room at the back of the fifth floor of the
Tower, and she is surrounded by minions ... you should prepare yourself to
fight Goatmen, Ghosts and fallen Rogue Sisters ... not to mention Zombies,
Skeletons and the like ...
The Countess is quite fast, but in all honesty most characters don't seem to
have that much trouble whupping her @ss ;) She can create the odd wall of
fire though, so watch your feet !!
She is also Fire Enchanted, which means that when she dies she creates a
corpse explosion that will do damage to you if you are standing too close to
it.
Once the Countess has been slain, watch in awe as she turns into mist and
opens a chest in the middle of the room.
.... yes friends, not since Mary Poppins' Carpet Bag have we seen so many
items inserted into a single chest ... but are we complaining ??? HEEEEELL
no ... it's all good - grab the loot and SCRAM !! =)
This is your reward for completing the fourth quest - nobody in Town will
give you anything ....... tight-fisted !?!?"U£)"$£&$&"(!£"+$*£"$!"s
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT ONE - QUEST FIVE ¦
¦ TOOLS OF THE TRADE ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
Fifth quest you can get from Charsi. It's a quest to find and return an item
she seems to DESPERATELY want called the Horadric Malus. Basically it's a
big mallet-type-thingy that she uses to forge weapons ... she says that if
you can get it for her, she will help you by strengthening your armour.
The Malus is being protected (as you would expect) by a guy called "The
Smith" ... remember the Butcher from Diablo ? Same type of dude ... big,
ugly, fat, sweaty ... kinda reminds me of my high-school science teacher ...
only cuter =./
Anyhow ... in order to FIND the Malus (which is stored in the Barracks), you
will need to fight your way past the Black Marsh through the Tamoe Highland,
and up to the Monastery Gate.
Once you have reached the gate you will have to fight your way through and
into the Outer Cloister, and then into the Barracks. Be careful, as the
Smith is no wimp, and there are quite a few minor baddies lurking around
him ... if I were you, I would make every effort to take out as many of the
little guys as possible - ESPECIALLY (as ALWAYS) the shamen who have a really
nasty habit of resurrecting their fallen comrades ... AND any captains in the
area as they boast better items (almost always at least one magic, set,
socketed or unique item), and do more damage if they hit you ... before you
try and take on the Smith.
If you stumble upon him and he starts to knock you about ? DO THE SMART
THING AND RUN !!
Fall back to a more stable position and wear him down ... use your head ...
Once the Smith has fallen, grab anything he drops and then leg it to where he
was and pick up the Horadric Malus.
Once you reunite Charsi with the Malus she tells you that she will imbue one
of your items with magical powers.
Now ...
.... let me explain something to you here ...
.... this may sound REALLY cool ? And it CAN be ? But it can also be
REALLY limiting.
Charsi *WILL* imbue any one item with magical powers, PROVIDED that item :-
1) Doesn't already have any magical powers
2) Isn't a set item
3) Isn't a unique item
4) Isn't a socketed item (whether it has gems/runes in it or not).
.... see what I mean ?
At this stage she can make you a MEAN pair of Horadric Socks ... or the
Horadric Sash of Jock-Itch, but that's pretty much it ...
If I were you, I would get her to imbue an item that you are NOT liable to be
looking to upgrade in the near future - a belt/gloves/boots ... probably not
a weapon, as you're most likely to swap that for something else ... OR heed
my note, below.
NOTE: You don't HAVE to have her imbue anything yet ... you could wait until
you get something really special, and then come back ... for example, if you
wait until you're strong enough to carry and wear a Plated Belt ? THEN you
might want to come back to her and have it imbued ...
.... come to think of it, I might do that with MY next character !! =./
Anyhow ... ONWARD !!
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT ONE - QUEST SIX ¦
¦ SISTERS TO THE SLAUGHTER ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
The sixth and final quest in Act One you pick up from Deckard Cain. After
you have completed the Horadric Malus quest for Charsi, he gives you the
Sisters to the Slaughter quest, where your objective is :-
(Queue Fanfare)
To Find And Slay The Demon Queen Andariel
(End Fanfare)
Riiiiiiight ... so ... armed with your Horadric Booties of Worthlessness or
whatever you've got, now is the time to find that biatch and make her PAY for
all the trouble she's caused the rogue sisters during her stay here.
.... yeah ...
.... bitch ...
Talk to Deckard Cain about this quest to gain more information - basically
he will tell you a VERY very useful thing about Andariel, which is that she
does not like fire.
Excellent !! So now we know that we REALLY need to have some type of
flame-based attack so as to make sure we whup her butt, right ?
RIGHT !!
Go back to the Barracks, and then fight your way down and into the Jail.
Activate the waypoint in the Jail, and then fight your way through (it's
three levels deep) and into the Inner Cloister. From the Inner Cloister
enter the Cathedral, and from there (be careful of the Captain who's standing
at about the centre who can poison you quite badly - you'll know him 'coz he
glows bright green) ;) fight your way into the Catacombs, and then down down
down, activating the waypoint on your way to the fourth level of the
catacombs, which is Andariel's level.
.... hee hee ... didn't you just love the way I crammed all that into those
four little lines up there, when we ALL know that it's going to take you AGES
to do it all ??
Don't worry ... I'll wait ...
.... g'wan girl ... kick sum @ss !! I'll have a little nap ...
All done ? Right ...
As you will have noticed, when you arrive on the Catacombs Level Four, your
quest is auto-updated. This is the place alright - it's time to take on your
first Lesser Evil !!
Level Four is divided up into THREE rooms. The room you are in is safe at the
moment - there are no bad guys there. The NEXT room - room 2 - contains LOADS
and loads of villains ... mostly shamen and their lesser kin, zombies, and so
on. Possibly even some mis-shapen.
Before you go into room 2 ? Do yourself a favour and follow Mister Sinister's
BASIC rules to beating bosses :-
1) Cover your butt. Create a Town Portal in the first room. You don't need
to use it, but this way, if you die ? Which you might well, you won't
need to walk back from the last waypoint to where you are - you can just
jump back through the portal, grab your corpse and keep on fighting.
2) If you do die ? Make sure you create ANOTHER town portal to replace the
first one as soon as you arrive back in the midst of the action.
3) If you die, the hireling dies ... but if the hireling dies first, you
obviously do not automatically die. This means that your DARLING
hireling CAN be used as cannon fodder if you need to get clear. Your
life is more important - weemember dat Liu Kang.
Now ... armed with this knowledge (and having just created a Town Portal),
move forward and into the second room.
Clear out this room IN ITS ENTIREITY. Do NOT attempt to enter the third room
until you have, or you are just making a rod for your own back.
Once the second room has been cleaned up, enter the third room.
This room is shaped like a large ... um ... hang on a sec ...
(confers with colleagues)
Space Rocket ... with thrusters ... and everything ...
.... effectively it looks like this :-
-----
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ x ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
-------- --------
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ --- ¦
-----------------------
^
¦
Way In
Andariel is directly ahead of you - at the x. She won't see you just by you
opening the door and, if you're VERY careful and keep that hireling of yours
in check, you should be able to clean out the left and right sections of this
third room before you take on Andariel.
When she finally comes to you ? Draw her back into the second room. There
is a large pit in the middle that you can run around like a little girly-mon
if you need to (and you most likely will need to).
Andariel's thing is POISON ... she loves to poison you ... she can fire either
a single string of poison gas at you (which moves like a snake towards you),
or a big cloud of poison gas that spirals out from her in several different
directions at once.
If you get into hand-to-hand with her, she WILL smack you one ... your best
bet is to play to her weakness - FIRE. If you have any fire-based magic,
flaming arrows, that sorta thing ? Use it like it's going out of fashion ...
your rogue hireling (assuming she is still with you) can be sacrificed as
cannon fodder if things start to get REALLY tough, as I mentioned above.
Also, MOST important in this room ... WATCH OUT FOR THE FLAMES THAT WON'T GO
OUT ... I will illustrate this with a real example.
See the flames in the second room that are always burning ? Like the ones
near to that rogue that's staked to the spear in the ground ? You know you
take damage from those, right ??
Well, last time I fought Andariel, I was doing REALLY really well ... I was
playing a Paladin and took her on in hand-to-hand whilst my rogue was pinging
her with flaming arrows from afar. GREAT! I thought ... I killed her in
hand-to-hand with practically no health left and let out a sigh, and then I
realised (all too late, 'coz my Paladin died in near slow-motion to my eyes)
that I had been fighting her whilst standing in a set of flames that weren't
going out ...
.... in what can only be described as David Timing, as Andariel died, SO DID
MY PALADIN. This wasn't the end of the world, as I had created a Town Portal
in Room 1, so I just came back through it and picked up my corpse ... but do
you know what REALLY annoyed me ?? APART from my own stupidity ?????
I didn't get ANY experience points for killing Andariel, because the game
felt that as she died, I was dead too, and corpses obviously can't gain any
more xp.
I was GUTTED !!!!!!!!!
So PLEASE don't make the same mistake I did.
Now my son ... daughter ... whoever you are ... GO KICK THAT B!ATCH'S
@SS !!!!!!!!!!! =D
Once you have killed her, a town portal will be created for you to return to
the Rogue Encampment, and you will be congratuled by the Townsfolk. Once
you have healed, id'd, sold off and upgraded your weapons/armour, etc., it's
time to talk to Warriv and take the caravan outta here, which you can now
do, as he can travel out of the Rogue Encampment through the Monastery.
WELL DONE !! YOU HAVE JUST COMPLETED ACT ONE !!!!!
Now relax and watch the cutscene, as we follow the path of the Dark Wanderer,
who it would appear is already ahead of us ...
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ PART FOUR ¦
¦ ACT TWO - LUT GHOLEIN ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
.... sooooooo ... the Dark Wanderer has beaten us to Lut Gholein eh ... what
a BUMHEAD !! He's probably already rented all the best movies and been to all
the local bars ... that SOD !!
*sigh*
Lut Gholein is a city located in the desert and, as such, there are plenty of
desert-stylee villains you will encounter ... BUT FEAR NOT !! I am here ...
(cheesy, I know ... sorry ...)
At the start of Act Two you are approached by Jehryn - the ruler of the city.
Hear what he has to say ... basically he will give you a low-down on the
peeps in the City, which I will also do (with my own comments), and then
direct you towards Atma to pick up your first mission.
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT TWO - TOWNSFOLK ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
The Official Line ...
JEHRYN - Jehryn is the keeper, if you will, of Lut Gholein ... he is
responsible for looking after the city, and has hired Greiz and
his mercenaries to help him do so. Jehryn cares deeply about the
safety of the townsfolk, and the keeping of the peace in his port
city.
MESHIF - Captain of a ship that travels all over the place and, from time
to time, between Lut Gholein and the Eastern City of Kurast
(although Meshif hasn't been back there in quite a few years it
would appear). Meshif is a good man who's heart lies with the
open seas.
ATMA - The owner of the Tavern in Town, Atma is much loved by the
townsfolk, and tragically lost both her husband and her son to the
monster that lurks in the Lut Gholein sewers - the Radament.
GEGLASH - A drunkard who frequents the Tavern, Geglash is reputed to have
been quite a warrior in his day, but too many ales have dulled his
senses, and now he is about as much use as Farnham was in Diablo.
LYSANDER - A potion peddler in the Town Centre, Lysander is a little cranky,
but his shop is well worth a visit should you need to pick up some
healing potions ;)
DROGNAN - A wizard who resides just outside the town square, Drognan sells
scrolls and magical items to you during the second Act. He is
well versed in arcane lore, and knows much about the events that
unfold as the Act progresses.
FARA - Fara is a Paladin who was trained in Kurast in her youth. She
runs a weapon shop in the town centre, and you will doubtless be
visiting her often, to stock up on weapons and sell those you have
brought with you. Fara has a strong set of principles, and will
come across to you as being unbending in her beliefs.
ELZIX - Keeper of the "Desert Rain" - an inn in the city. Elzix used to
lead a band of ruffians in his youth that terrorised the city for
a time, but now in his old age, and having suffered serious wounds
during his youth, he has settled into the life of an innkeeper.
Elzix can be gambled with ...
GREIZ - Greiz is the leader of a band of mercenaries that has been hired
to help police Lut Gholein and keep the peace. He is having a
tough time, but his mercenaries are managing to hold things
together.
WARRIV - Now that he is able to move back and forth between Lut Gholein
and the Rogue Encampment, Warriv is perfectly happy to take you
back there should you wish to go back and visit your old friends
at any time ...
CAIN - Deckard Cain has come with you from the Rogue Encampment, and is
still quite happy to identify items for you at no cost
(WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!)
Now for my comments on these plebs ...
JEHRYN - Jehryn is a nice guy, but there is one point on this level where
he actually made me laugh out loud (I'll tell you when you get to
it).
MESHIF - Friendly enough, and you WILL need him to get outta here so don't
tread on his toes JUST yet ;)
ATMA - Poor lassy ... ever since she lost her husband and son in that
tragic beetroot-mincing incident last year she just hasn't been
the same :( Seriously tho, I do quite like Atma, and I did enjoy
doing the first quest, just to placate her :)
GEGLASH - A drunken wastrel that I have no time for.
LYSANDER - Grumpy, but funny - I like Lysander :)
DROGNAN - The COOLEST guy in Lut Gholein, Drognan just ROCKS !! He's old,
but he still kicks BUTT, and his subtle understated way of saying
things makes me chuckle.
FARA - Ordinarily I can't be doing with goody goody characters - they
make my SKIN crawl. Fara, however, has a logical approach to
things that makes her that little bit aloof, so I kinda warmed to
her after a while. Also, she can heal your health and mana for
free, so we have to give her big luv for dat.
ELZIX - Think of him as Gheed Mark II. Elzix is another rip-off merchant
that I have absolutely NO time for ... he's just a pain in the
@rse basically !!
GREIZ - Cold and aloof, Greiz is just a man doing his job ... he is ALSO
the keeper of the OH SO COOL Desert Mercenary Hirelings ...
WARRIV - Whilst I think it's really sweet of Warriv to offer to take you
back to the Rogue Encampment in his caravan, there isn't REALLY
any need, as you can get back to it via the waypoint system.
Therefore, he is now superfluous and can be disposed of. HURRAH !!
=D
CAIN - Deckard Cain is useful, even though his accent drives me up the
wall after a while. His ability to identify any unidentified
items in your inventory free of charge is DEFINITELY a cool thing
to have =)
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ FLIPPING THIS AROUND ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
If you are looking for :-
Healing Potions - then you should go to - Fara
Town Portal Scrolls - then you should go to - Drognan
Identify Scrolls - then you should go to - Drognan
Thawing Potions - then you should go to - Lysander
Antidote Potions - then you should go to - Lysander
Stamina Potions - then you should go to - Lysander
Keys - then you should go to - Lysander
Weapons and Armour - then you should go to - Fara, Drognan,
Elzix
Anything to do with Hirelings - then you should go to - Greiz
Someone to heal you - then you should go to - Fara
Someone to gamble with - then you should go to - Elzix
Someone to repair your gear - then you should go to - Fara
Someone to id your items - then you should go to - Cain
* Nobody sells Mana Potions in Lut Gholein
It should now be quite obvious to you that your first port (no pun intended)
of call when you arrive in a new area should be to visit all the merchants
and see who they are, what they do, and look to pick up any quests and
information you can from them.
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT TWO - MAP ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
Here is a VERY rudimentary but functional map of Act Two, geographically.
----<--- LUT GHOLEIN
¦
¦ ¦
¦ V
¦
¦ ROCKY WASTE --> STONY TOMB
¦
¦ ¦
¦ V
¦
¦ DRY HILLS --> HALLS OF THE DEAD
V
¦ ¦
¦ V
¦
¦ FAR OASIS --> MAGGOT LAIR
¦
¦ ¦
¦ V
¦
¦ LOST CITY --> ANCIENT TUNNELS
¦
¦
¦
¦
--------> PALACE --> HAREM
¦
V
PALACE CELLAR
¦
V
CANYON OF THE MAGI <-- ARCANE SANCTUARY
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ HIRELINGS ¦
¦ THE DESERT MERCENARY ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
As you will see when you speak to Greiz, he is the hireling-guy in Lut Gholein
and he has a bunch of "desert mercenaries" working for him.
The Desert Mercenary is the second of the four hirelings that you can pick up
in Diablo II: LOD, and I HAVE to say that many people do really favour using
this hireling at the expense of the others ...
The Desert Mercenary can be equipped with a helmet, one piece of body-armour,
and a polearm or spear-class weapon, such as a halberd or glaive. He cannot
use anything that is "Amazon only", but at higher levels he does do PLENTY of
damage.
Also, the Desert Mercenary's BEST feature is his ability to use auras that
enhance the performance of the GROUP - i.e. NOT just himself ... I cannot
say his whole list of auras by rote, but I do know that they include
(depending on the difficulty setting you are playing on and what his
speciality is - e.g. defense/offence) thorns and defiance.
My comments with regard to choosing the right type of desert mercenary for
you are the same as for the rogue sister ... pay close attention to his
speciality - is it offence or defence that you are interested in ?? before
you pick him.
=============================================================================
¦ NEWSFLASH ¦
=============================================================================
With regard to the Desert Mercenary, I have been approached by Louis
Nassraway, who has the following advice to give :-
"You should REALLY give the Act2 merc some more credit (expecially the
nightmare difficulty defensive 1 (holy freeze aura). This merc has got
to be the BEST 1 for the sorc. Try doing this and you'll know why I
say it. http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/runewords.shtml#new
find the Insight rune word. Get a nightmare difficulty Act2 defensive
merc and give him a (POLE ARM NOT SPEAR (I made that mistake once = \)
and you will never need a mana pot again... seriously. The runeword
gives a 12-17 meditation aura.. I mean at lvl 1 that aura almost has
as much mana regen as a lvl 20 warmth! Then he has his holy freeze
aura too which makes him do more dmg (holy freeze gives cold weapon
damage to the user) and he slows the enemys so they take longer to hit
(?) and they take longer to get to you.
There's another way to do that merc that makes him insanely powerful.
First, either get the normal or hell difficulty defensive merc. Then
give him Bramble runeword armor (lvl 15-21 thorns). Then give him Doom
runeword weapon which gives a Holyfreeze aura and tons of damage. Then
give him a vampgaze for helm or a tals helm (vamp is better but tals
is cheap)
And here's one I just thought up that would be expensive too and don't
know how good it would be. First get an Act2 nightmare difficulty
defensive merc. Then give him Dream runeword (goes onto helm) for a
lvl 15 holy shock. Then give him a weapon with "Hands of Justice" rune
word (lvl 16 holy fire). And then give him the bramble for armor.
Thats 4 Auras on 1 merc (3 of them add elemental damage to his attack
too)."
Thanks very much Louis for those very cool tips - definitely food for
thought :) :)
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT TWO - QUEST ONE ¦
¦ RADAMENT'S LAIR ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
The first quest you pick up in Act Two is called Radament's Lair. You pick
it up from Atma at the tavern just to the northeast of Deckard Cain. Atma
tells you her tragic tale of woe, which, out of respect to her, I won't take
the p!ss out of. Basically there is a demonic creature living in the sewers
under Lut Gholein that has begun to terrorise the populous, and kidnap people
from the City, dragging them down into the sewers where it devours and
mutilates them. Both Atma's husband and her son have fallen to the Beast,
and she is DESPERATE to see it slain. She pleads with you to help her, and
I think you should.
In fact ? You don't really have that much of a choice ... but it's worth
it - trust me !!
The Radament, as this beast is called, is actually a Horadric Ancient - an
embalmed Horadric Mage who has somehow been respawned and has violated his
sacred crypt to wreak havoc on the living.
You must make your way into the Lut Gholein sewers and destroy it. There
are TWO ways to get into the sewers - you can either take the ladder beside
Greiz, or you can take the stairs beside Meshif. I always take the ladder,
but it's entirely up to you.
Whichever way you go, you will wind up on the Sewers Level 1.
There are THREE levels to the sewers, and you should be aware that there is
a waypoint that you should really activate on the second level of the sewers.
The sewers are infested with predominantly zombies, skeletons and the OH so
annoying skeletal archers. If you find yourself out in the open being pinged
by flaming arrows ? RUN AWAY !! Fall back to a secure area - like around a
corner or something, and pick off your enemies as they come to you ...
So - basically all you need to do is make your way all the way down to the
third level of the sewers and search out and slay the Radament.
I should point out that the Radament is a PAIN in the @RSE because he has the
ability to resurrect fallen undead warriors, AND raise new ones, to fight for
him. Focus your attention on the Radament as, even though he is quite
strong, if you just spend your time killing his minions, you will never get
around to attacking him directly !!
(Same rules as for Blood Raven then, basically !!)
Once the Radament has fallen, open the chest near him and you will receive
LOADS of goodies, PLUS the Horadric Scroll !!!!! (Um ... what is that ??
GO SEE CAIN !!) =D
When you are back in Lut Gholein, first off you should speak with Atma who
will thank you for slaying the Radament, AND tell you that by way of a
reward, she has spoken with the townsfolk on your behalf, and they have
agreed to reduce the price of their wares for you. This is good as it means
that Drognan, for example, will now start selling you Town Portal Scrolls
at 90 gp per scroll, instead of the regular 100 gp you're probably used to ...
This can't be a bad thing as you are bound to need a lot of these scrolls on
this act !! ;)
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT TWO - QUEST TWO ¦
¦ THE HORADRIC STAFF ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
Next up you should go and speak to Deckard Cain who will give you the second
quest on Act Two, entitled "The Horadric Staff". Basically he tells you that
the Scroll you have just brought him details how to create a Horadric
Staff - a device you will be requiring in order to gain access to Tal Rasha's
Tomb, where Tal Rasha struggles to keep Baal - the Lord of Destruction - in
check.
Just to recap in case you were having trouble with the plot thusfar, the Dark
Wanderer has arrived in Lut Gholein ahead of you, and is seeking Baal, whom
he has identified as his brother. Baal is locked in eternal combat with the
Mage 'Tal-Rasha', and the Chamber that is the arena for their battle is
located SOMEWHERE in the vast expansive desert.
Essentially you will require three items to create a Horadric Staff :-
1) A Horadric Cube
2) A Horadric Staff's Shaft Piece (aka the Staff of Kings)
3) A Horadric Staff's Head Piece (aka the Viper Amulet)
Once you have all three items you can place the shaft and the head piece into
the cube, and transmute them. Don't worry - we'll get to all this in a bit ;)
So !! Armed with the knowledge you must now set off to find yourself a
horadric cube.
Q. Why couldn't Cain be satisfied with the Horadric fluffy dice we had
Charsi make us during the First Act ??
WHO KNOWS !?!?!
Nevermind eh.
You need to leave Lut Gholein through the main gate and head out into the
desert to start this second quest. Head through the Rocky Waste to the Dry
Hills, and activate the waypoint there BEFORE you go into the Halls of the
Dead to look for the Horadric Cube.
You might find a place called the Stony Tomb in the Rocky Waste. This is
just a sub-level, similar to the Hole or the Pit - you can go there and
clean it up if you like, but this isn't necessary in order to proceed with
the quest so I won't go into it in any great detail.
I will go straight on to the Halls of the Dead.
Once you have entered the Halls of the Dead, be aware that it is also three
levels deep, and that there is, as with the sewers, a waypoint on the second
level.
Again this level represents a regular cleanup job - however you will
doubtless note that there are plenty of Horadric Ancients and other nasty
things kicking about that intend on causing you harm, and so I would
strongly suggest re-checking your weapons and armour before you head down
there. You don't want to be caught short !! ;)
Once you have found the golden chest on the third level down of the Halls of
the Dead, you will have found yourself the Horadric Cube.
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ HORADRIC CUBE ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
This is one of the COOLEST items you can get in the game and you MUST keep it
in your stash AT ALL TIMES. Basically you should think of the Horadric Cube
as a melting pot. You throw in items, and use the cube's "transmute" function
to turn them into other items.
Examples (and please note that this is NOT an exhaustive list) include :-
1) Three gems of an identical type become one gem of the next type up
(chipped > flawed > normal > flawless > perfect). This also works for
skulls.
2) Three healing potions (needn't be the same strength) + Three mana potions
(again, any strength or combination of strengths will do) become one light
rejuvination potion.
3) 3 light rejuvination potions become 1 FULL rejuvination potion (WELL
WORTH IT !!)
4) Quest items can be assembled in the Horadric Cube - like the Horadric
Staff and Khalim's Will (later in the game).
ALSO, you can just place items into the cube for storage reasons, as it only
takes up 4 points in your stash, but it can hold many more points worth of
items inside it ...
!!! THE HORADRIC CUBE ROCKS !!!
Right ... anyhow ... now that you have the cube and have spent a wee while
transmuting all those lovely little gems you've been picking up, AND cleared
up your stash a little, it's time to go find the shaft portion of the Horadric
Staff - the Staff of Kings.
In order to do this you must travel through the Dry Hills and into the Far
Oasis (again, please activate the waypoint there before proceeding). This
time you are looking for a way down into the *shivers* Maggot Lair.
IMPORTANT : DO NOT ENTER THE LOST CITY, so do NOT go down any tunnels that
lead from the Far Oasis - I'll explain why in a bit ;)
The Maggot Lair is ANOTHER three-level structure, but this one DOESN'T have a
waypoint located inside it, which is cool 'coz it's not INSANELY difficult ...
unless you encounter scarabs inside it, and then you're screwed basically ...
=./
ANYHOW !! =)
Make your way down to the third level and find and slay Coldworm the Burrower
to obtain the Horadric Staff's shaft portion.
Hints for this level are as follows :-
1) Stock up on antidote potions, as you are going to need them when you come
up against Coldworm the Burrower. You should be aware that poison cannot
kill you unless it is accompanied by impact ... what I mean is that if you
have 100% health and you are hit by an arrow that does 20 points of damage
to you (leaving you with 80 health), even if the poison does ... say ...
120 points of damage over 10 seconds or something, you won't die. You
WILL be reduced to 1 point of health, but you cannot die in this fashion.
HOWEVER. YOUR HIRELING MOST DEFINITELY CAN DIE IN THIS WAY, SO BE
CAREFUL !!
You CAN die if you have ... say ... 10 health left, and a poison bomb
hits you, the bomb doing 20 points of damage and the poison doing 120
points of damage, as the INITIAL IMPACT of the blast will kill you ...
hokay ?
2) Coldworm has THE most effective poison attack I have ever seen ... it
lasts for AGES and is MEGA bad when compared against Andariel's
comparatively pathetic poison attacks ...
3) Swarms look and sound far more menacing than they are - it's just 'coz
there are so many insects that it looks like you're going to get your
butt kicked ...
4) If you see Scarab Beetles, RUN AWAY unless you are playing the Paladin
and/or have good lightning resistance. Scarab Beetles are semi-lightning
enchanted in that they will EITHER emit a charged bolt upon death, OR
with each hit - depends on the type of impact I think.
5) It is worth exploring the maggot lair as there are several rooms that
branch off that contain powerful magic items ... so I would suggest you
take the time to have a proper look around before you kill Coldworm.
Once you have slain Coldworm the Burrower, take the Staff of Kings and go
and see Cain again.
Cain will give you a good pat on the back and tell you that you are now well
on your way to being able to create a Horadric Staff, and that all you now
need is the head piece ...
Place the Staff of Kings into your Horadric Cube (or carry it if you prefer)
for safe-keeping, and let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOO !! =D
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT TWO - QUEST THREE ¦
¦ TAINTED SUN ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
The next thing you need to do in your quest for the Horadric Staff is to go
back to the Far Oasis and through it and into the Lost City.
.... you remember ... that place I told you NOT to go into earlier ?? Well
here's why ...
Almost as soon as you enter the Lost City, you will witness an eclipse, and
everything goes REALLY dark, making it tough to see where you're going, who's
in the area and what's lying on the floor (most importantly).
You will have just acquired the third quest - "Tainted Sun", and are told to
visit Drognan to ascertain what has caused this sudden eclipse.
Drognan will tell you that he believes it to be the work of Claw Vipers, and
advises you to go and find their temple and put a stop to WHATEVER they are
doing down there ...
.... sounds like a plan !! Let's do it ... the Horadric Staff thingamajig
can wait ...
So ... go THROUGH the Lost City (activating the waypoint there) and into the
Valley of Snakes.
The Valley of Snakes as an area is miniscule, as you've probably noticed if
you've gone around the edges like I suggested back in Act One ?? There is
really only one structure worth looking at in the Valley of Snakes, and it's
that very impressive set of stairs leading down into the desert sands, with
the two snakes standing proudly one on either side of it ...
.... which we're about to take ... so ... down we go !!
You'll be pleased to note that the Claw Viper Temple is only TWO levels deep,
although once again there is no waypoint to activate, but I would make a
suggestion.
When you find the way down to Level 2 ? Create a Town Portal at the TOP of
the stairs, as the second level is really compact and there are a few nasty
boys in there to contend with ...
.... same suggestion as I offered when you were fighting Andariel ;)
So ... when you go down to the second level you enter an area that looks like
this :-
----------------
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ----------
¦ ¦
¦ y x ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ----------
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
----------------
x = the stairs leading back up to the first level.
y = the altar
You need to get around to the Altar and activate it to complete the third
quest. HOWEVER, don't just go charging in because to the south of y is a
bunch of snakes led by a lightning-enchanted purple claw viper called
Fangskin.
BE V-E-R-Y CAREFUL. As you will most likely already be aware from having
fought them on the first floor (and perhaps elsewhere), Claw Vipers,
Salamanders and their kin can shoot from a fair distance away, DIRECTLY into
combat range ... this isn't good ;)
.... of course, if you do die it's not the end of the world as you've already
heeded my advice and created a town portal in the vicinity that you can use
to get straight back into the fray, non ??? ;)
Once you have activated the altar you will be rewarded with the completion of
the THIRD quest, and the Viper Amulet (which is actually the head piece of
the Horadric Staff !!)
NEAT !! =D
Now you need to go back to Lut Gholein and see Cain, who will tell you exactly
what I just have, and also confirm that you now need to assemble (or
'reunite', as he so quaintly puts it) the shaft with the head piece in the
Horadric Cube.
Do so now, and transmute the two pieces to make the Horadric Staff - your key
to entering Tal-Rasha's Burial Chamber !! =D
You will find that you HAVEN'T yet completed the second quest, however, as
your final chore in that quest is to physically lug the Horadric Staff into
Tal-Rasha's Burial Chamber, which we are obviously not yet ready to do ...
LARGELY because we haven't a scoobies where it is !!
Hmmmmmmmmmm ... =./
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT TWO - QUEST FOUR ¦
¦ ARCANE SANCTUARY ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
In order to obtain the fourth quest on Act Two you need to go and speak with
Drognan. He will tell you that he believes he has uncovered a way to
ascertain the correct burial chamber of Tal-Rasha ... the Arcane Sanctuary !!
The Arcane Sanctuary was the residence of the ancient Summoner, Horazon.
Horazon used to keep beasts that he summoned as his slaves within the
Sanctuary, and from his position he kept eye on many of the most significant
events that unfolded in the world of man ... he would most DEFINATELY have
been watching when the Horadric Mage Tal-Rasha chose to embody the spirit of
Baal and, if you're lucky, you MIGHT find reference to the location of the
Tomb of Tal-Rasha in Horazons Journals ...
.... Drognan tells you that the Palace is the site of an ancient Vizjerei
Tower, and that there should be a way to get into the Arcane Sanctuary from
within the Palace.
He also suggests that you go speak with Jehryn. Do that now, please.
(waits whilst you haul @ss across town).
Ah Jehryn. It's been a long time ... how are you old friend ??
(whips out his Jehryn glove puppet and wibbles it about a bit)
What's that ??? You've got a problem ????? What's that then ???????
(wibble wibble wibble)
Oh my !! That IS a problem ...
(takes off glove puppet because he suddenly realises you are watching him).
Ahem ... Yeeeeeess ... sorry about that ...
(kicks glove puppet out of sight).
So yeah ! Jehryn made me laugh out loud when you speak to him this time
around ... I was like .... oh REALLY how generous of you to let all those
terrified little Harem Girls come into the safety of your big palace you
little pornking.
I mean REALLY !!!!!!! =O Does he think we're stupid or what !?!?!
Jehryn's tale of woe (IF you can call it that) is that when the troubles
began in the city, he allowed the Harem Girls to join him and his guards (for
a tea party I'm sure) in the Palace.
HOWEVER, one night his guards heard screaming from the palace cellar, and
went down to find the Harem girls being mercilessly slaughtered by a bunch of
demons that had started pouring forth from a mysterious rift in the cellar.
His guards fought the demons back into the cellar and barracaded them in, but
more kept pouring forth from this rift and things got to a stage where
Jehryn's men couldn't cope on their own ...
THIS is when he decided to hire Greiz, to keep the peace.
AND with that in mind ? It's time to go down into the Cellar and see what's
cooking !!
Now, the Palace Cellar (before we go any further) is LARGELY static in its
layout, so whilst the things I'm going to point out to you may move about a
little bit ? They are invariably very near to where I'm going to tell you
they are, so you should be able to find them no problem.
Since I've not done a numbered list for a little while ? Now might be a
good time ...
This is how to get through the Harem and Palace Cellar levels as expediently
as possible.
1) Enter the Palace
2) Descend into the Harem
3) Work your way to the bottom left hand corner of the Harem Level 2 and
descend into the Palace Cellar.
4) Activate the waypoint just south of the CENTRE of the Palace Cellar 1
level.
5) Descend to the Palace Cellar level 3 - the way down is in the bottom left
hand corner of the Palace Cellar Levels 1 & 2.
6) Make your way to the CENTRE of the third level, and activate the portal
to the Arcane Sanctuary.
Once you are in the sanctuary, activate the waypoint !!
The OTHER way of dealing with the Harem level is just to clear out room by
room. It's kinda satisfying because there are quite probably going to be
some demons in there that you've not yet encountered - like Dune Beasts and
Marauders ... but there are SHEDLOADS of archers and spellcasters in the
Harem and the Palace Cellar, so please make sure you are prepared !!!!! :)
Once you have entered the Arcane Sanctuary you will see that BROADLY speaking
it looks like this
-----
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
--------- ---------
¦ X ¦
--------- ---------
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
-----
X marks the spot where you enter the Arcane Sanctuary from the Palace Cellar.
Let me just point out one thing here.
THREE of the points (picked entirely at random, so I cannot help you
unfortunately) contain GOOD things at the end - usually three chests loaded
with gold, gems and magic items. That's three chests, PER stalk of my cross.
THE FOURTH POINT is the resting place of ... not Horazon himself ... OH no ...
but a Vizjerei Mage that came to Lut Gholein a while back, looking for the
Arcane Sanctuary. Drognan knows him.
This FALSE Summoner has EXTREMELY powerful ranged attacks, so WATCH OUT for
him, as he will be able to kill you from afar, very Very VERY quickly.
It doesn't matter which order you attempt the stalks in, but here are a few
pointers for you :-
A) On the stalk with the teleportation pads, don't worry if you seem to
teleport to a place that you can't quite work out whether you should be
in or not ... just keep on going - it'll all turn out right.
B) When you get to the end of a good stalk you have three options ... either
1) fight your way back down the stalk using the side you DIDN'T use to
come up this stalk; 2) go back down the way you came up, thus avoiding
confrontation with any baddies (as you must have killed them to get here);
3) Town Portal back to Lut Gholein and then use the waypoint to get back
to the centre of the Arcane Sanctuary and try another stalk.
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT TWO - QUEST FIVE ¦
¦ THE SUMMONER ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
C) When you receive new quest information ? FALL BACK IMMEDIATELY as it
means you have found the stalk that contains the False Summoner. Now,
Sinister says you should fall back to a safe location, and create a town
portal just in case. The False Summoner attacks with a variety of VERY
powerful magic attacks - predominantly curses, Glacial Comet, and Wall of
Fire ... DO NOT stand on his wall of fire as you will die VERY quickly -
it does MEGA damage !! If you can get up close and personal you should
find that the false summoner falls to your blade(s) quickly, as he is
very weak in hand-to-hand ... it's just at range that he is a bumhead ...
Once you have slain the false summoner, read Horazon's Journal and you will
learn that there are SEVEN tombs out in the desert, and that ALL are touted
as being the "true" tomb of Tal-Rasha.
However, only ONE of these tombs is the true tomb ... the other six are false
tombs designed to help keep the location of the true tomb secret.
HOWEVER, fortunately for you ? Horazon knows the symbol of the TRUE tomb, and
he will inscribe it for you into your quest screen (so you don't need to copy
down the symbols of the six false tombs onto a piece of paper like I did when
I first got here - what a muppet eh !!) - you just need to either press 'Q' on
the keyboard, or click on the Quest button and highlight the sixth quest on
this act to see the symbol of the true tomb of Tal Rasha.
You will doubtless note that you have also created a red Town Portal when you
opened the Journal, which you should go through now.
=============================================================================
¦ ¦
¦ ACT TWO - QUEST SIX ¦
¦ THE SEVEN TOMBS ¦
¦ ¦
=============================================================================
As soon as you get through the Town Portal, head upwards and activate the
waypoint ... then go back to town and sell your goodies for cold, hard,
keesh.
The layout of the Canyon of the Magi (into which you have come from the
Arcane Sanctuary) is as follows :-
--------------------------
1 2 3 \
4 \
¦
¦
¦
5¦
¦
¦
X ¦
6¦
¦
¦
¦
7¦
¦
* X marks the waypoint - you start this portion of the game just south of
the waypoint, at the Town Portal that you used to get here from the Arcane
Sanctuary.
* 1-7 mark the locations of the 7 "Tombs of Tal-Rasha". Bear in mind that
only one of these seven tombs is the TRUE tomb, and that the symbol for
this tomb is in your quest screen.
If you want to check the symbol that represents a particular tomb ? Look on
the smashed pillars at the entrance to the tomb ;)
I MUST POINT OUT that it is a very good exercise in xp-gaining AND item-
pickups to clear out the six false tombs before attempting the real one ...
this is because each false tomb has a golden chest at the end of it, and we
ALL know how cool those can be :)
HOWEVER, in ONE of those tombs (it's almost always in one of the fake tombs,
although I'm sure it COULD conceivably be in the real tomb from time to time)
you will find a Horadric Ancient called "Ancient Kaa".
When you find Ancient Kaa, fall back ... he is VERY very powerful, and
normally lightning enchanted, so again, unless you're a Paladin with kick@ss
lightning resistance ? Don't even GO there !! ;) Fortunately in most
instances you can trick Ancient Kaa into following you back out and into
areas that you have already explored, and you can then actually trap him in
... say ... a room that you've been in before ? And then leave him there and
go off and finish exploring that particular level.
ANYHOW ... enough of the six false tombs, onto the REAL one.
The exact layout of the true tomb varies ... but in one of the rooms you will
find, inset into the floor, a circle with a point in the centre into which
you can insert an item.
Find this point, and then insert the Horadric Staff into it. When you
choose to let it do its thang, each of the points around the outside of the
circle will light up in turn, and then a HUGE blast of lightning will strike
the wall to the north-west of the circle, and the way to Tal-Rasha's Burial
Site will be opened for you.
STOP !!!!!
Make 3,000% sure that you fully heal, AND (and this is MOST important) create
a Town Portal in THIS room BEFORE you go any further, ok ?
So ... leaving an open town portal behind you, IN THIS ROOM, you may descend
to your next big battle.
.... which ISN'T with Tal-Rasha OR Baal, as you might have been led to
believe ? It's with ...
----------- ---- ---- ----------- ----- -------------- -----
¦ \ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ \ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ----- ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ------ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ -------- ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ----- ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ -------- ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ------- ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ \ ¦ ¦ ¦ -------- ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦\ \ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ------ ¦ ¦ ------- ¦ ¦ ¦ \ \ ¦ ¦ ¦ -------- ¦ ¦-------
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ \ \ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ \ \ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
-----------/ --------------- ---- ---- ----- -------------- ------------
That's right ... DURIEL. And he is P!SSED !!!!!
(So would I be if I looked like that ... I mean DAMN !!!!!)
Duriel is kinda like a gigantic bug on rollerblades ... he moves REALLY really
quickly, and he can slow you down by virtue of an aura he has ... although you
can't really see it because it is under his blubberbutt. Basically it's
identical to the Paladin's "Holy Freeze" aura ?
He does MEGA damage in physical range, and he has been responsible for killing
my characters more times than ANY other creature in Diablo II: LOD., with the
possible exception of Diablo himself.
I HATE Duriel with a passion, and I have found that the surest way to wear him |
