Diablo II: Lord of Destruction

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What's New in the Expansion Set
Details on Expansion Features
Basic Game Controls
Configurable Game Controls
Gameplay Hints, Tips, and Other Information
Multiplayer Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

CPU: Diablo II: Lord of Destruction requires a Pentium-compatible 233 MHz processor or better.

Memory: 32 MB of RAM is required for Single Player mode. 64 MB of RAM is required for Multiplayer mode. Open Battle.net game Creators and TCP/IP game Hosts: 128MB RAM recommended (256MB RAM in games with over 4 players).

Hard Drive Space: Installation of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction occupies a minimum of 1.5 GB of your hard drive space - 950 MB for the Multiplayer installation of Diablo II and another 550 MB for the Expansion Set, itself.

Video: Diablo II: Lord of Destruction requires an SVGA video card and a monitor capable of displaying 800 x 600 pixels at a color depth of at least 256 colors.

3D accelerators compatible with Glide or Direct3D are supported. Diablo II: Lord of Destruction requires 8MB of texture RAM.

Sound: Diablo II: Lord of Destruction requires a DirectX-compatible sound card. Diablo II: Lord of Destruction supports sound cards with 3D positioning and environmental audio effects, like reverberation and occlusion. Be sure to configure your sound driver and position your speakers to get the optimum audio performance from your system.

Operating System: Diablo II: Lord of Destruction is a Windows 95/98/ME/2000/NT/XP game that utilizes Microsoft DirectX. Windows NT 4.0 must have service pack 5 or higher installed. Diablo II: Lord of Destruction will run under DirectX 6.1 or higher, but we recommend updating to DirectX version 7.0a. You may install DirectX 7.0a using the Diablo II: Lord of Destruction Installer.

Windows 2000 and NT 4.0 do not require that you install Microsoft DirectX, as it is already part of the operating system.

If you have difficulty running Windows 95/98 after installing new Microsoft DirectX drivers, please contact Microsoft technical support at:

USA telephone: 1-800-426-9400
For a list of International numbers visit Microsoft technical support at http://www.microsoft.com

WHAT'S NEW IN THE EXPANSION SET?

Diablo II: Lord of Destruction contains a number of new features and exciting enhancements to the original Diablo II:
DETAILS ON SOME OF THE NEW FEATURES IN THE EXPANSION SET

Expansion Characters: After installing Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, you will have the option of choosing between two different "character types"-Standard and Expansion-when creating a new character. (Note: Do not confuse this with the two new character classes- the Druid and the Assassin.) Standard Characters are just like the characters you are used to playing in Diablo II, whereas Expansion Characters are specifically created for use in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. You should be aware of some details before deciding which character type to create: Corpse Recovery: In Nightmare and Hell difficulty settings, whenever your character dies, he or she suffers a loss of gold and experience points. In games of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, if you recover your corpse at the location of its demise, you can regain some of the experience points you lost. If, however, you choose to 'Save and Exit' out of your current game in order to restart and recover your body in town, you will not regain any of your lost experience.

Item Swapping: In Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, you have the ability to swap quickly between two sets of equipped weapon selections (i.e., right- and left-hand inventory slot configurations). To do this, merely open your Inventory screen and equip your character as you normally would. Next, left-click on either of the two tabs denoted by the Roman numeral "II" (or press the W key) to toggle between the two weapon configurations. Now equip your character with an additional two-handed weapon, a weapon and a shield, or (for Barbarians and Assassins) a pair of appropriate one-handed weapons. You can switch between the two weapon configurations at any time by pressing the W key or by clicking on the inactive weapon configuration's tab in your inventory screen (the inactive configuration is the one shaded a darker grey). Note: Your left and right mouse button skill setups are linked to your two weapon configurations. This allows you to customize your skill mouse buttons in order to complement your current weapon configuration. Remember that your character must meet the requirements for any weapons you want to equip. Also, please keep in mind that only your currently selected weapon configuration is actively equipped. Any magical properties of items in your inactive configuration will not affect your character until you make that configuration active. For example, if you are currently using weapon configuration "I," any magical properties of items in configuration "II" have no effect until you make it your active configuration.

Hirable Non-Player Characters ("Hirelings"): Diablo II: Lord of Destruction offers some exciting modifications to hirable NPCs. These computer-controlled hirelings who fight by your side can be hired from specific NPCs in most "towns"-the safe starting points in each Act-or are given free of charge as a reward for completing certain quests. In the original Diablo II, they followed your character around and helped you slay monsters, but you did not interact with them directly. In Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, you can increase their efficiency in combat and assist their development in a number of ways. (Note: These special new features only apply to hired NPCs and retainers acquired as quest rewards. Summoned creatures are not subject to these improvements.) Automap Options: There is now an "Automap Size" selection in the "Automap Options" menu in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. This new option allows you to choose between viewing the map as either the traditional full-screen Automap or the new, scaled-down "Mini Map." The Mini Map is about one quarter the size of the Automap and, when active, is displayed in one of the top corners of the game screen. You can switch this location from left to right by pressing the V hotkey.

Repair All: You can now repair all of your outfitted items in a single step. To do this, go to the nearest "blacksmith" NPC (whoever repairs your equipment) and select "Trade or Repair" as you normally would. Blacksmiths still have the usual buttons for buying, selling, and repairing; in Expansion games, they also have an added "Repair All" button. This option allows you to repair all of the items that your character currently has equipped in a single operation. If you move your cursor over this button, the highlighted text shows the cost of this procedure, and pressing the button completes it. Note: The Repair All button only repairs equipped items. Any damaged items that your character is not wearing must be repaired individually.

Fill Tome: By pressing the Shift key while right-clicking on a scroll you want to buy, you automatically purchase enough scrolls to fill the first unfilled Tome of that scroll type in your Inventory.

Item Properties: As you adventure, keep in mind that even the regular magic items you find now have hundreds of new magical properties with many wondrous new effects to help your characters on their brave quests. They are far too numerous to list here, but keep an eye out for new magic item names; their explanations appear in the item's pop-up description. (This text, which explains the properties and requirements of the item, appears when you have your Inventory window open and highlight an item with your cursor.)

Class-Specific Items: Items of this type can only be used by the character class for whom they were designed. In the original Diablo II, there were certain items that anyone could wield, but that had properties only accessible to certain classes (e.g., the Necromancer's wands or the Paladin's scepters). In Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, there are specific items that are only usable by their intended class, possessing special abilities only pertinent to that class. Be sure to pay close attention to the requirements of each item as listed in its pop-up description to see if an item is class specific.

Elite Items: Elite Items are similar to the Exceptional Items found in the original Diablo II, but far more powerful. Exceptional Items are found in the higher difficulties (Nightmare and Hell), having the appearance of items from Normal difficulty games (both in the inventory and on the character), but with different names and substantially increased statistics. Elite items are of an even higher caliber than Exceptional items. Mostly found in Hell difficulty games, they possess new names and proportionately increased statistics, yet still retain the appearance of their corresponding Exceptional and normal versions.

Set Items: Diablo II: Lord of Destruction introduces some exciting new improvements to Set Items. First and foremost, there are many new sets to collect, complete with brand-new bonus abilities. Rumors have been circulating about the many new relics and the powerful magics they grant to those who obtain them. Here are some other facts to be aware of:
Socketed Items: When playing Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, you can now find "Socketed" versions of many more kinds of items, including armor and high-quality, magic, Rare, and even Unique items. Be sure to read the description of a Gem, Jewel, or Rune to see what abilities it imparts to the different item types.

Insertable Items: In addition to the Gems in the original Diablo II, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction provides two new types of items that you can place into an item's empty sockets. Charms: Charms are special magic items that grant magical enhancements without needing to be equipped to do so. Charms provide their abilities simply by being in the "Backpack" section of your character's Inventory. They do not function if placed inside your character's Stash or inside a Horadric Cube (even if that Horadric Cube is located in your hero's Backpack).

Ethereal Items: Any type of armor or weapon, even one with magical properties, can be Ethereal. These items appear translucent in the Inventory, and when equipped, they appear translucent on the character wielding them. Their ethereal nature gives them an improved fundamental ability. However, they have decreased durability and cannot be repaired. Due to their extra-planar origins, Ethereal items often have requirements lower than those of an equivalent item.

Charged Items: Some new magic items grant the use of certain skills to any character. Some of these items have skills that are only triggered under certain conditions, such as striking an enemy or being struck by one. Charged Items allow the wielder to use the skill at will, but only a limited number of times. To engage the skill granted by a Charged Item, left-click your right mouse button Skill Selection (or press the S key). The Charged Item skill is listed near the top of your list of available skills; left-click on its icon to select it. The skill can now be performed by right-clicking on a target. Charged Item skills have a limited number of uses, so be sure to check the item's pop-up description or the lower right-hand corner of the skill icon to see how many charges remain. If any of an item's charges are depleted, you can return to a nearby town and recharge the item by having the local Blacksmith repair it.

Scrolls: In addition to Scrolls of Town Portal and Identify, you might now occasionally come across Scrolls of Knowledge. The sole function of these scrolls is to provide the player with information. Specifically, they are inscribed with "recipes" for the various Rune and Horadric Cube combinations.
BASIC GAME CONTROLS

Esc – Toggles the Esc menu on/off and exits other menus.

Left Mouse Button – Performs "smart" actions depending on the situation:
Right Mouse Button – Use the skill currently assigned to the Right Mouse Button on a selected target, drink a selected potion, or activate a scroll or tome.

Arrow Keys – Scrolls the Automap.


CONFIGURABLE GAME CONTROLS

A (or C) – Toggles Character Attributes screen on/off.
B (or I) – Toggles Backpack/Inventory screen on/off.
O – Toggles Hirable Inventory screen on/off.
W – Toggles between primary and secondary weapon/shield configurations.
P – Toggles the Party screen on/off.
M – Toggles the Message log on/off.
Q – Toggles the Quest log on/off.
H – Brings up the Help overlay.

T – Toggles Skill Tree screen on/off.
S – Toggles mouse button Skill menu overlay on/off.
F1 through F8 – Readies (or sets) the associated Left or Right Mouse Button Skill.
unassigned - Eight more skill hotkeys that operate like F1 – F8. You must assign them in the Control Configuration screen.
Mouse wheel up – Scrolls up through all hotkeyed (F1-F8) skills in the Right Mouse Button slot.
Mouse wheel down – Scrolls down through all hotkeyed (F1-F8) skills in the Right Mouse Button slot.
~ - Toggles a belt larger than 1x4 open/closed.
1, 2, 3, and 4 – Uses the item in that belt slot.

Enter – Opens/closes In-Game Chat overlay.
Ctrl – Hold down to run.
R – Toggles auto-run mode on /off.
Shift – Hold down while clicking the left or right mouse button to use that skill while standing in place.
Alt – Highlights all items dropped on the ground.
Z – Toggle all party member portraits on/off.

Tab – Toggles the Automap on/off.
V – Toggles the MiniMap location between upper-left and right corners.
Home - Centers the fullscreen Automap (if NumLock is off). F9 – Centers the Automap on the player.
F10 – Toggles Automap fading on/off.
F11 – Toggles party member display on/off in Automap.
F12 – Toggles player/NPC name display on/off in the Automap.

Numeric Keypad – Voice communication (turn NumLock on for the following)
0 – Player character says, "Help!"
1 – Player character says, "Follow me."
2 – Player character says, "For you."
3 – Player character says, "Thanks."
4 – Player character says, "Sorry!"
5 – Player character says, "Bye."
6 – Player character says, "Die."
7 – Player character says, "Retreat!"

Print Screen – Saves the screen to your Diablo II directory as "screenshotX.jpg."
Spacebar – Cancels all the above screens and overlays to return to gameplay.
N – Clears all text messages from the screen.


GAMEPLAY HINTS, TIPS, AND OTHER INFORMATION

General Help
Press the H key to view the Help overlay.

In-Game Multiplayer Chat Commands
Press Enter to bring up the chat overlay at the bottom center of the screen. (You will see a flashing "_" cursor.) Type your message and hit 'Enter'. Everyone in your game (who allows it) sees your message in the top left corner of their screen. Bring up your message log by pressing M in order to see the complete history of messages you've received in your game. Below are some examples of the different commands available during gameplay:

![your message]
Prints the message over your head, like a word balloon, so that only the players near you can see your message. The message lasts a few seconds.

/msg [*accountname] [message]
Sends the message to the player with the Battle.net account 'accountname' anywhere on Battle.net – in any chat channel or any game – including Diablo, Warcraft, and StarCraft.

/msg [charactername] [message]
Sends the message to the person using the character named 'charactername' anywhere on a Diablo II Battle.net Realm.

NOTE: The up arrow recalls the previous 8 messages you typed. Use it when you want to repeat the same message or edit a message slightly before sending it again.

The Battle.net Chat Channel
In Diablo II Chat Channels, characters appear at the bottom of the screen. If more people are in the Chat Channel than fit on the screen, scroll the list of characters by clicking on one of the triangular scroll arrows.

The Chat Window appears on the left side of the screen. Along its right edge is the Chat Window scroll bar. Below the Chat Window are your Text Box and six buttons for commonly used chat commands – Send, Whisper, Emote, Squelch, Unsquelch, and Help.

Send – Chat with other players in the Chat Channel
  1. Click inside your text box and type your message.
  2. Press the Send button to post your message to everyone in the chat channel.
Whisper – Chat privately with other players in the Chat Channel
  1. Click inside your text box and type your message.
  2. Left-click on the character to highlight it with an aura.
  3. Press the Whisper button to send your message to only the highlighted character.
Emote – Lets you perform an "action" in the chat channel.
  1. Click inside your text box and type an action. [jumps up and down]
  2. Press the Emote button.
  3. The message will appear after your name. [Your character-name] jumps up and down.
Squelch – Block messages from a character.
  1. Left-click on the character to highlight it with an aura.
  2. Press the Squelch button.
Unsquelch – Allow messages from a character.
  1. Left-click on the character to highlight it with an aura.
  2. Press the Unsquelch button.
Help – Display the Diablo II chat help text.

NOTE: When your cursor is placed over a character in the Chat Channel, the Battle.net account name, Realm, and character level appears above the character portrait.

Chatting with players who are not in your chat channel
Use the Battle.net /msg command as follows:
  1. Click inside your text box and type: /msg [*accountname] [message] or /msg [charactername] [message]
  2. Press Enter.
Example: /msg Necroman Join my DII game named CryptRun. Password is Hogwarts.
This sends the message to the person using the character 'Necroman' anywhere on the Diablo II Battle.net Realms.

Example: /squelch [*accountname] OR /unsquelch [*accountname]
This allows you to Squelch and Unsquelch players outside the Diablo II chat channel.

Visit http://www.battle.net/chat/commands.shtml or press the Help button for a full list of current Battle.net commands.

Creating or joining a Battle.net game
The Control Window appears on the right side of the screen along with the five command buttons – Create, Join, Channel, Ladder, and Quit. Press the appropriate button to bring up the corresponding dialog box in the Control Window.

Create – Press this button to Create a game. Enter the Game Name (required). To create a private game, enter a Password. Whisper the password and game name to others in the Chat channel when you invite them to join your game. You may enter a Game Description. You may change the Maximum # of Players from the default number, 4. You may check the box next to the Character Difference setting and change it from the default number, 4. When Character Difference is checked, characters whose levels differ from yours by more than the setting cannot join your game. Finally, press the 'Create Game' button.

NOTE: If you forget the Game Name or Password while in a game, simply press Tab to bring up the Automap and look in the upper right corner.

Join – Press this button to Join a game. Enter the Game Name and Password, if you know them. Otherwise, select a game from the list below the Game Name field. The number of players and the list of characters in the selected game appears. Use the vertical scroll arrows, if needed. When you've selected a game, press the Join Game button.

NOTE: If you Exit a game and no one is left in it, the game continues for several minutes, allowing you to rejoin the game in the event that your computer was disconnected from the Internet. However, you must remember the name of your game and enter it into the Game Name field. It does not appear in the list of games you may join.

Channel – Press this button to bring up the Channel screen. Enter the chat Channel Name or select a chat channel from the list below the Channel Name field. Press the OK button.

Ladder – Press this button to bring up the Ladders screen. Select the Hardcore or Standard ladder. Characters are ranked in the ladders by their experience. Select the Overall or By Class options to display the ladder in that manner.

Quit – Press this button to quit the Chat channel and return to the Character Selection screen.

Using the Esc Menu
Press the Esc key to bring up the menu. Press Esc again to return to the game. Click on a menu entry to cycle through the settings. Click on a slider to move the skull to that setting. If an option is dimmed, it cannot be adjusted in the current graphics/sound mode or another option setting has disabled it.

The Esc Menu has the following structure:
Using the Mini-Panel
Press the mini-panel toggle button (located in the center of the control panel at the bottom of the screen) to raise and lower the mini-panel at the bottom center of the screen. Click on the mini-panel buttons (in order from left – Character, Inventory, Skill Tree, Party Screen, Automap, Message Log, Quest Log, and Exit Menu) to bring up the appropriate screen or overlay.

Using Ctrl – Running
Press and hold 'Ctrl' to run. Running outside towns uses Stamina. Be careful not to let your Stamina run out if you are being chased. If your Stamina reaches zero, your character begins walking instead and cannot run. If that happens, you must release 'Ctrl' and stand still for a few seconds to begin recovering Stamina. After your Stamina has started increasing, you may walk and continue to recover Stamina. This recovery continues until it reaches your character's maximum.

NOTE: You may also run by tapping the 'R' key to toggle auto-run mode on. Tap it again to go back to walking mode.

Using Alt – Highlighting Items on the Ground
Press and hold 'Alt' to highlight any items (weapons, armor, potions, scrolls, gold, etc.) that you can pick up from the ground. The name of the item class appears above the item in the following color code:

White = Normal Item
Grey = Non-magical Socketed or Ethereal Items
Blue = Magic Item
Green = Set Item
Yellow = Rare Item
Gold = Unique Item

Click on the name (or the item, itself) to pick it up.

Using Shift – Standing and Attacking
When you want to attack with the left or right mouse button skill without moving to the target of the attack, hold the 'Shift' key down.

Information on Monsters
When you move your cursor over a monster, you see the monster's name or class. Behind the name in red appears the monster's hit-point bar graph, showing how much of the monster's life remains. The name of the monster is color-coded. White text indicates a standard monster type, blue a champion, and gold a unique monster or boss.

Stackable Items
Some items can have a quantity greater than one. Examples include: tomes of identify and town portal, keys, and all items that can be thrown or shot by a bow -- arrows, bolts, throwing knives, javelins, exploding potions, etc. Using a stackable item reduces its quantity by one. When the quantity of a projectile reaches zero, the item is gone. Empty tomes can be refilled with scrolls.

You may consolidate stackable items of the same type (like quivers of arrows) by picking up one stack and dropping it onto another stack. The quantities in both stacks combine to form one stack, unless the resulting stack's quantity exceeds the maximum. In that case, you are left with two stacks, one holding the maximum number of the item, and the other hold any remainder.

NOTE: You cannot split a stack into two stacks.

Scrolls
There are only two types of scrolls in Diablo II - Scrolls of Town Portal and Scrolls of Identify. Scrolls of Knowledge have been added to Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. Several scrolls of the same type may be held within a single tome. In Act I Akara sells scrolls and tomes from her Miscellaneous inventory tab.

Right-click on the Town Portal scroll (or tome) to open up a portal near the player. Left-click on the Portal to return to the town located in that Act. The portal remains active until you re-enter it within the Act's town and return to the place from which you cast it.

Right-click on the Identify scroll (or tome) to change the cursor into a tilted question mark. Move the point of the cursor over an unidentified item in your inventory and Left-click to identify it.

Right-click on a Knowledge scroll to read it.

Using the Belt
Pressing one of the 4 belt hotkeys uses the item in the corresponding belt hot-slot – 1, 2, 3, or 4. Only scrolls or potions of health, mana, stamina, thawing, and antidote can be placed in the belt. Pressing the belt hotkey either drinks the potion or casts the spell contained on a scroll.

Wearing a sash, or larger belt, expands the basic 4-slot belt by adding 1 or more extra rows of 4 slots. You can access the extra rows by moving the cursor over the 4-slot belt in the control panel. When an item in a belt hot-slot is used, any items held in the storage slots above the (now empty) hot-slot drop down one slot to refill it. For maximum convenience you should arrange items of the same type vertically. You can also use the '~' key to toggle larger belts fully open and closed.

Skills
All Character Classes start with the same 2 basic skills – Attack and Throw. Necromancers, Amazons, Druids, and Assassins also start with the "Unsummon" skill to dismiss minions previously summoned by the player.

Each character class may develop 30 more unique skills. These 30 additional skills are divided into 3 skill tabs. The skills in each tab are arranged into a Skill Tree -- much like a Technology Tree in a real-time strategy game.

There are two general classes of skills – Passive and Active. Active skills require you to explicitly cast or use them. Passive skills are not cast, but have implicit or automatic effects. Masteries (a type of Passive skill) are in effect whenever the item or skill to which the Mastery applies is used. The Paladin's Auras (another type of Passive skill) are in effect whenever readied as the right mouse skill button. Aura skill button icons are golden.

All Active skills except Attack, Throw, Unsummon and Sacrifice use Mana. Most Passive skills do not use Mana. The Mana cost and other information about a skill is shown when you move the cursor over the skill icon. When a Skill icon is red, the Skill cannot be used. This is due to either a lack of Mana, or because an item that the skill requires is not equipped.

The different skill tabs are as follows: NOTE: Equipping a throwing weapon readies the Throw Skill in the left mouse skill button. When you've thrown the last one of a stack of throwing weapons, the skill (along with the weapon) you had been using before is restored to the left mouse skill button, (unless the weapon was a bow or crossbow).

Assigning and Using Skill Hotkeys
You may assign 16 hotkeys to automatically ready skills for the left or right mouse buttons. Bring up the Skill buttons (left-click on the left-hand or right-hand skill icon), then move the cursor over each skill and press one of the 16 hotkeys – 'F1' through 'F8' – to assign the hotkey to that skill. When finished, press 'S' or the Spacebar.

NOTE: Some skills cannot be assigned to the left mouse button. Any skill can be assigned to the right mouse button.

Interaction with NPCs
Click on an NPC. If a text menu pops up, you can interact. Select 'Talk' to hear the NPC introduction, gossip, or quest information. Select 'Trade' to buy, sell, or repair items. (See below.) In Act I, for example, Gheed allows you to 'Gamble' by offering an inventory of unidentified magic items – premium-priced, however. Kashya lets you 'Hire' or 'Resurrect' a mercenary after completing a certain quest for her. (See below.) Charsi can 'Imbue' an item with rare magical properties after you complete her quest.

Trading with NPCs
Click on one of the NPCs (Akara, Gheed, or Charsi in Act I). Select 'Trade' from the pop-up menu. Your Inventory appears on the right side of the screen, while the NPC's Inventory appears on the left. Across the top of the NPC inventory are 4 inventory tabs – Armor, Weapons, Magical, and Misc. If there are no items in that tab, the tab label will not appear until someone sells the NPC an item of that type. NOTE: When an equipped item's durability is low, a color-coded player icon appears in the upper right corner of the screen. Items displayed in yellow have low durability. Items in red have 0 durability and cannot be used (have no effect) until repaired. Bring up your Inventory and sweep your cursor over your equipment to inspect its durability.

NOTE: To buy or sell multiple items click on the corresponding Trading Mode buttons near the bottom of the NPC inventory. This sets the cursor into buy or sell mode. Left click on each item in turn for the mode you selected. To change modes click on one of the three Trading Mode buttons. Click on the "Close" button to exit.

Hiring and Controlling Mercenaries
In Act I Kashya hires out mercenary Rogues after you have completed a certain quest for her.

Click on Kashya to bring up her menu. If "HIRE" appears on her menu, click on it. Select a mercenary to hire. Press "OK." A Rogue appears near you with her icon in the upper left corner. Above the icon is the Rogue's Health bar. The Rogue follows you and automatically shoots arrows at any monsters or hostile players nearby. You cannot harm your mercenaries and they cannot harm you or your party members.

Mercenaries cost gold to hire. Mercenaries are very loyal and fight to the death. They follow you through portals, waypoints, and acts.

Trading with other Players
To request a trade with another player, click on that player while in town together. (You cannot trade outside town.)

A dialog box pops up that says "Waiting for Other Player," along with a "Cancel" button. The player you selected will see a dialog box containing "Agree to Trade?" and "OK/Cancel." You can wait until the other player clicks on "OK" or "Cancel," or you can retract your invitation by clicking on "Cancel.".

If the other player accepts and clicks on "OK," then the Player Trading Screen comes up. On the right side of the screen is your Inventory. On the left is the Trading Block. The top half of the block contains what the other player is offering for trade. The bottom half is your offer.

Move items between your Inventory and your half of the Trading Block, while your trading partner does the same. You may adjust the amount of gold in your offer by clicking on the "Gold" button in your half of the Trading Block.

When you are satisfied with the deal, click on the check mark. The other player agrees in the same manner. When the other player's check mark turn green, he/she has agreed to the trade.

You may cancel a trade by clicking on the "Cancel" button at the bottom of the screen or by pressing the Esc key.

Forming Parties with other Players
Press the P key to bring up the Party screen. You see a list of all the players in the game and your current relationships to them. Names appearing white are Neutral, green are in your Party, and red are Hostile. Next to each available player's name is the Party button with one of the following labels:

INVITE: Press this button to invite the player to join your party.
CANCEL: After inviting the player (but before acceptance), you may withdraw the invitation by pressing this button again.
ACCEPT: The player has invited you to join a party. Press this button to accept the invitation.

If no button appears, then the player is not available – because that player is already a member of another party. You may not invite them until they leave their current party. Of course, they could invite you to join theirs.

Once in a party you may leave it by pressing the LEAVE button at the top of the party screen. If you leave a party of more than two players, the other players remain in that party. Once you leave a party, you may form or join another.

To the right of each player's Party button are 4 smaller buttons – each of which can be ON or OFF. The first one is the Neutral/Hostile button. When the button shows crossed swords, you are Hostile to the associated player. The second one is the Allow/Prevent Corpse Looting button. NOTE: Corpse Looting is allowable only for Hardcore characters. The third is the Include/Exclude from Chat button. When you Exclude a player, that player cannot hear or see any verbal communication coming from you. The last is the Squelch/Unsquelch button. When you Squelch a player, you cannot hear or see any communication coming from that player.

NOTE: When you press your Party or Hostility buttons, the target player receives an appropriate message about your action.

Party Relationships
Each player has two possible relationships with all other players in the game -- Neutral (the default) and Hostile. Changes to your relationships are made in the Party screen. (Press 'P' to bring it up.) Here is how the settings work: NOTE: You receive a message whenever players change their relationship settings with you.

Gold
The Gold button appears on the Backpack (Inventory) screen. Press it to select an amount of gold to either drop or offer in trade with another player. The amount of gold you can carry is determined by your character's level – 10,000 gold per level.

Your Stash
In a central location in each town (near the bonfire in the Rogue camp in Act I) is a large chest. This is your private Stash. Click on it to open it. You may exchange items between your Character Inventory and your Stash. You may also deposit into your Stash a maximum amount determined by your character's level. Merchants will deduct gold from your Stash for purchases that exceed the amount of gold you are carrying. Click on the exit button or press 'Esc' or Spacebar to exit.

NOTE: Don't leave items lying on the ground any longer than necessary. Regular items disappear in about 15 minutes. Magic, Rare, Set, and Unique items disappear after lying on the ground for about 1 hour.

Gems and Socketed Items
Items whose names appear in grey text have one or more sockets. The sockets are visible when highlighting the item in your inventory. You can place various types and grades of gems into the sockets to enhance a socketed item's abilities. There are five grades of gems - chipped, flawed, standard, flawless, and perfect. Gems cannot be removed from a socket once placed into it. Touching a gem shrine upgrades one gem (randomly chosen from the character's inventory) to the next higher grade.
Jewels and Runes may also be placed into empty item sockets. Jewels have fixed magic properties, while Runes may be part of a set which must be inserted in the proper order for bonus effects.

Magic, Rare, Set, and Unique Items
The names of Magic, Rare, Set, and Unique Items appear in blue, yellow, green, and gold text, respectively. Leveling Up and Allocating Stats and Skill Points
When a character levels up by earning enough experience points (from killing monsters), the "New Stats" and "New Skill" buttons appear at the bottom left and right corners of the screen. When in a safe situation, click on the buttons to bring up the Character Attributes and the Skill Tree to allocate the points.

Each time you level up, you may distribute 5 attribute points among your 4 attributes – strength which effects damage, dexterity which effects the ability to hit and avoid attacks, vitality which effects life, and energy which effects Mana. Click on the "+" button next to an attribute to increment that attribute.

Each time you level up, you may add 1 point to an available skill. The skills available to you must satisfy both a player level requirement and any skill prerequisites higher up on the tree. Click on all 3 tabs and sweep your cursor over the available skills (appearing in bright white) to review their descriptions and detailed effects before making your selection.

Waypoints
In Act I the Rogue encampment contains one Waypoint. Others can be found outside the towns scattered throughout the Acts. When you encounter other Waypoints, click on them to activate them. Once a Waypoint has been activated, you may travel instantly from it to any other Waypoints you've activated.

Shrines and Wells
There are shrines and wells outside the towns. Each has a descriptive name that appears when you move the cursor over the shrine. To activate one of these mystic places, Left-click on it to trigger the effect. Shrine effects wear off after a period of time. Only one shrine at a time can affect a player – the one most recently touched. Wells and most shrines can be used more than once – after a period of time they recharge.

Using the Automap
Press Tab to toggle the Automap on or off. When the Automap is displayed, use the arrow keys to scroll it around. To re-center the fullscreen Automap, just toggle it off and on again. The Automap is colored-coded as follows: In Act I follow the path out of the Rogue camp into the wilderness. You may want to "scour" the landscape so that you don't miss anything important. Along with rivers, paths, walls, fences, houses, cliffs, and the like, major landmarks appear – caves, shrines, wells, waypoints, and quest areas.

Quests
The Quest Log button pops up in the lower left corner of the screen when the state of a quest changes. Click on it to bring up the Quest Log and review your quests.

The Quest Log button always appears when beginning or completing a quest. Some quests are given by NPCs – others by happening upon an important part of the quest.

The creator of a game determines which quests appear in a game. When a player character creates a game, only those quests that have not been completed by that character can be active in that game.

If a character joins a game containing an active quest that has already been completed by that character, then that character cannot earn an additional reward for assisting in the quest completion. Further, the NPCs will not discuss such a quest with a character that has already completed it.

If a character has completed a quest that includes a boss monster and/or special area and then starts a new game, the boss and/or location of the quest is generally placed in the game. However, the quest is not activated and the reward is not given a second time.

For most quests, when completed by a player who is a member of a party, the other party members receive some portion of the reward. Uncooperative or malicious players can interfere with your successful completion of some of the quests. You may exit, create a new game (with a password to keep out the riff-raff), and try the quest again.

Character Saving/Loading and Corpses
Periodically, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction automatically saves your character as you play. Your character is also saved when you choose "Save and Exit Game" from the 'Esc' Menu.

The state of the Automap and the random world layout is saved in Single Player games, but not when playing on Battle.net or in other Multiplayer games.

If you die and leave a game without retrieving your corpse, at the beginning of your next game with that character your corpse is placed within the town of that Act.

The character save data includes Character Attributes, Inventory, Skills, Skill Hotkeys, Control Configuration, Waypoints Activated, the character's Corpse (if there is one), the list of completed Quests, and the contents of the character's Stash.

NOTE: Only you (and those you permit) may loot your corpse.

What Happens When Your Character Dies
Your character loses a percentage of the total gold both carried and stored in the Stash. The percentage is equal to your character level -- but not to exceed 20%. After deducting the death penalty from the gold your character is carrying, the rest falls to the ground in a pile. If the penalty uses up the gold being carried, the remainder of the penalty is deducted from the Stash.

However, in Single Player the death penalty will not take away all your gold. No gold is taken from the Stash and 500 gold per character level is exempt from the death penalty. For example, if a level 10 Single Player character with 5,000 gold dies, no gold is lost.

As an additional death penalty, in Nightmare and Hell difficulty levels your character loses some experience, but will not drop down to a lower character level. However, if you retrieve (loot) your own corpse where it died, you recover some of the lost experience.

If your character currently has no corpse, one is created and your equipped items stay on your corpse. BEWARE! If your character already has a corpse, equipped items simply fall to the ground along with gold where anyone could pick them up. Unequipped items always remain in your inventory.

Press the Esc key to be reincarnated in the Act town. Your reborn character holds the unequipped portion of the recently deceased's inventory. This is a good time to consider visiting your Stash to make a withdrawal of some spare equipment.

When you find your corpse, click on it to loot it of all equipped items. Only you (and those you permit) may loot your corpse.

If you exit a game without looting your corpse, it will be placed in town in the next game you create or join.

NOTE: If your character was created "Hardcore," it is never reincarnated – you simply find yourself as a ghost in the Battle.net chat channel.

MULTIPLAYER DIABLO II: LORD OF DESTRUCTION

Battle.net
Battle.net is an Internet gaming service provided by Blizzard Entertainment which allows players to meet up, challenge other players, join games, and compete in a worldwide ranking system, all without paying any special connection charges.

In order to use Battle.net, your computer must have the TCP/IP protocol installed, and must provide TCP/IP support for 32-bit applications. If you connect to the Internet using Windows Dial-up Networking, and browse the web with Netscape Navigator version 2.0 or higher or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0, then you probably already have the correct TCP/IP software installed. However, if you connect to the Internet with a proprietary dialer or browse the web with Netscape 1.x or another 16-bit web browser, then it is likely that your system is not configured to support 32-bit applications. In this case, you should contact your Internet Service Provider to obtain updated software.

"I can chat with other users, but I can't join a game."
In order to play in a multiplayer game, your system must be able to receive packets of game data (technically, UDP and TCP packets) from other players. Some service providers don't allow incoming data of this type, or don't provide users with a unique Internet address to which packets can be sent. If you are unsure whether your provider is blocking this type of connection, please contact them for more information. If you are trying to play Diablo II through a computer that is directly connected to the Internet through your employer or other organization, you should be aware that some companies block certain types of incoming data to their networks. To play multiplayer games on Battle.net, you may have to ask your network administrator to allow incoming UDP and TCP packets on port 6112.

"Players are crashing my game while we are playing!"
It has come to our attention that certain users are taking advantage of security flaws in Windows 95 and NT to crash other users in the Battle.net games. Microsoft has released fixes for these flaws for both Win95 and NT. The fixes prevent most, but not all of these programs from being used on you. Search Microsoft's web site at http://www.microsoft.com/search/default.asp for both "Out-of-Band" and "Invalid ICMP Datagram Fragments". Also check Microsoft's web site at http://www.microsoft.com for any new security fixes.

For more information on using Battle.net, ask your clan leader, or another guild member.

America Online
To connect to Battle.net through AOL, you will need to use the 32-bit Windows 95 AOL client software. If you are unsure as to whether you already have this, please contact AOL directly.

Local Area Network
Diablo II supports multiplayer gaming over IPX compatible networks. If your computer is connected to a local area network, but you are not sure whether it is IPX compatible or not, ask your network administrator.

"I have IPX but I can't join a game, or people can't see my game to join it."
Diablo II will not play across network segments. If you are not sure whether your network is segmented or not, contact your network administrator. You should also verify that all computers on the network are using the same frame type. You can change the frame type that a computer uses in the Windows 95/98 Network control panel or in the Windows NT Network control panel.

For Windows 95/98/ME
  1. Click on the Start Menu
  2. Choose Settings
  3. Select Control Panel
  4. Double Click on Network
  5. Double click on "IPX SPX Compatible Protocol"
  6. Choose the Advanced Tab
  7. Select "Frame Type" from "Property" area. Make sure the setting in the "Value" area matches all settings on other computers
For Windows 2000/NT/XP
  1. Click on the Start Menu
  2. Choose Settings
  3. Select Control Panel
  4. Double Click on Network
  5. Select Protocols
  6. Highlight "NWLink IPX/SPX Compatible Protocol"
  7. Select Properties. Make sure the Frame Type is the same for all computers on the network


Modem and Serial Connections
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction supports only TCP/IP connections for multiplayer games, but neither direct modem nor serial (null-modem) connections.

Of course, you may use a modem to connect to an ISP (Internet Service Provider). You can play a Realm character by connecting to and logging on to Battle.net or you can play an Open character by selecting the OTHER MULTIPLAYER option and then selecting OPEN BATTLE.NET or TCP/IP.

If you select a TCP/IP game, the game server runs on one player's computer. This player must tell the other players (perhaps via an instant messaging service like ICQ) the IP address to enter when attempting to connect with the server.