Lord of Destruction FAQ

	Lord of Destruction :: Articles & Previews | Info. | Requirements | FAQ | Fansite Chat

• How much will Lord of Destruction cost?
• The Diablo II Expansion has an expected street price of $30.
• When will the Diablo II Expansion be available?
• The Diablo II Expansion set is slated for a 1st half 2001 release for Windows® 95/98/2000/NT and Macintosh formats.
• What exactly is new about the Diablo II Expansion?
• Two new character classes each with 30 unique skills/spells, the ability to play the new character classes through the original four acts of Diablo II, new monster types (including Bosses, Uniques and Subordinates), interactive environments (such as Siege Towers, Town Walls and Fortified Battlements), thousands of new weapons, armor and magical items (including class-specific Quest items), new recipes for the Horadric Cube, and increased storage space in your Stash.
• Have you finalized the name for the Diablo II Expansion?
• No, but when we have finalized the name for the Expansion set it will be announced on our website at www.blizzard.com or www.battle.net
• Will there be a change in the system requirements for the Expansion set?
• No. If you can play Diablo II on your system, you will be able to play the Expansion set.
• Will the Expansion set have three difficulty levels?
• Yes, we will maintain 3 difficulty levels throughout the Expansion set, as well. It is important to understand that the Expansion is fundamentally an extension of the current storyline (Act V), meaning it will be more difficult than Act IV and will ramp up accordingly with each difficulty level.
• Will there be a Beta For the Diablo II Expansion?
• We have traditionally held beta tests for our products and find the testing and feedback from our customers invaluable in shipping our games. We anticipate having some sort of beta test for the Diablo II Expansion set, although the specifics have yet to be determined.
• How many new music tracks and cinematic sequences will be in the Expansion set?
• There will be 2 new cinematic sequences, as well as all new music for Act V. Although we do not have the exact timing of these new pieces as of yet, we are sure that players will be happy with all aspects of the Expansion set.
• Will players who do not have the Expansion set be able to see those new classes in their games?
• People who only have Diablo II will be able to see the two new character classes represented in their basic armor, much as the basic Warrior is used to represent the original Diablo in the chat room. Expansion and standard characters will not be able to play in the same game, however, which is similar to the restrictions between Starcraft and Brood War games.
• Will players with the Expansion set be able to play in games with Diablo II players?
• This is still being looked at by the development team as this distinction between character types can be very confusing to the player. While we would like people with the Expansion to be able to create or play standard characters and then create and join standard Diablo II, we may need to totally seperate them. Also, it is likely that in any case, if you take a Diablo II character into an Expansion game, that character becomes an Expansion-based character and cannot create or join in any standard Diablo II games.
• When you take your Diablo II character into an Expansion game, is your character permanently converted?
• Yes. Because your character may pick up Expansion-only items, you cannot interact with characters that do not have access to that artwork. You will be required to “convert” your character prior to using him in the Expansion, however, so your choice will be an informed one.
• Will all characters have new skills, or just the Druid and Assassin?
• Only the Druid and Assassin will have new skills, as this is the only fair way to deal with existing characters. There are abundant new features in the Expansion set that will benefit all of the character classes, however.
• Will the Expansion set include any balance changes to existing character classes?
• Unless there is a serious bug or an exploitable problem, we do not like to make balance changes. We understand that players have invested a great deal of time in their characters, and we do not want to nullify their efforts. The Assassin and Druid will be balanced to fit into the existing game balance and Act V will be balanced to accommodate the original character classes.
• Will players receive another title for killing Baal?
• Yes.
• Will there be Exceptional Uniques and Set Items?
• Yes. Also, we are altering the set-piece rules to make them more fun. For example you may get a bonus for only having 2 items in a particular set of 4 items.
• Will you be changing the number of existing sockets on existing items?
• Yes. Many items that previously were not allowed to be socketed will now contain sockets. Items that only had a few sockets may have more.
• Will there be items with more than three sockets in the Expansion set?
• Yes! In fact, not only can there be more than three sockets per item, there will be socketable magic, rare, and unique items. There will also be some new, exciting options for socketing items that will greatly expand this aspect of the game.
• Will the Class Specific items be better than anything that is out there already, including Rare and Unique items?
• The Class specific items are another basic type of item. For example, a Katar is similar to a short sword, but only Assassins can use them. We are still designing what kinds of extra attributes these items will have and how they are acquired.
• How many types of character specific items will there be per character?
• At least three per character, not including variations. There will most likely be more, and we will keep adding them until we run out of time in the development schedule.
• Can you describe some of the new class specific items?
• Class-specific items are an exciting new addition to Diablo II. The Barbarian will have new types of Helms. The Paladin will have new Shields. The Amazon will get new Gloves. The Sorceress will gain a new item type known as Orbs that can be carried in place of a weapon. The Necromancer will have different forms of totems to carry instead of a shield. The Druid will wear various animal Pelts in place of helmets. Finally, the Assassin will wield hand-to-hand weapons based around her martial arts skills.
• Can other classes use the Assassin’s Katar or Claw?
• No. These are some of the class-specific items in the Expansion set that are only useable by the Assassin.
• What will the Orbs of the Sorceress actually do?
• Orbs will enhance her ability to cast spells. They will have a variety of attributes that may raise damage, grant resistances, enhance a particular skill or even enhance an entire Tab of skills!
• How will there be 1000s of new weapons? Will there be that many new class items or does that mean more new suffixes/prefixes, and the new Exceptional Set/Unique items?
• There will be new prefixes, new suffixes, new item types, new class specific items, new set items and new quest items. When you combine the new possibilities this brings to random item generation, it will provide players with a stunning new array of weapons and armor to wield.
• Some fan sites list skill trees for the Druid and the Assassin. Is this information correct?
• Since we are constantly evaluating and changing skills and spells for the new character classes, chances are excellent that rumors and inferred information on the fansites are already obsolete.
• Will I have to play through the game again to access the new Expansion Act?
• No, you can take your existing character directly to Act V if you have already defeated Diablo. This is true for each difficulty level you have completed.
• Will you be changing the resolution from 640x480?
• Due the large amount of pre-rendered artwork - backgrounds, Character, and monsters - we found this resolution provides us with the optimum balance between hard-drive install size, system requirements and number of CDs. As the Expansion is an extension of the original game, we will not be changing the resolution.
• Will the Battle.net Interface look different than Diablo II?
• The interface may undergo some cosmetic changes, but we expect the functionality to remain consistent.
• How much more room will be available in the Stash?
• Currently we are doubling the existing size of the Stash. Since we will be making enhancements to set-piece items, we want to make sure you can carry a whole set, among other things.
• Will there be new Shrine types?
• Yes, there will be new shrines in the Expansion set. One, for example, would restore durability to all your items.
• Will there be new “recipes” for the Horadric Cube?
• Yes. We intend to make the Horadric Cube much more useful throughout the entire game in the Expansion set.
• What is the process for entering Act V?
• After you kill Diablo, Tyreal will appear and, after setting the stage for the continuing storyline, will open a Portal for your character.
• Will the Vendors in Act V sell new items?
• While we are not creating any new basic item classes, the vendors in Act V will sell the best equipment from Act III and IV.
• Will the level cap be raised beyond 99?
• We do not plan to raise the level cap at this point.
• Will there be new quests, if so how many?
• Yes, there will be six (6) new quests in Act V.
• How big is Act V in comparison to the rest of the game?
• The fifth act is roughly the size of Act I or II (but not as big as Act III or as small as Act IV) from Diablo II.
• Will Natalya be an NPC in Act IV?
• Although Natalya herself will not be an NPC in the game, we thought it would be nice to show you that Assassins existed in our world concept even when Diablo II came out.
• Does Baal look the same in game as he does in the Teaser cinematic?
• Yes and No. Baal is undergoing a metamorphosis, much as the Wanderer did in Diablo II, and this is represented in his evolving look in the cinematic sequences and the game.
• Does the Druid or Assassin have any passive skills?
• Yes. The Assassin has a few passive skills that mostly involve martial arts and melee combat. The Druid has a summoning-related mastery.
• Will the Druid be proficient at melee combat?
• Although the skills of the Druid tend towards creature summoning and elemental attacks, his shape-shifting abilities will provide a number of interesting melee options.
• Does the Druid have the ability to heal?
• The Druid can use his “Cycle of Life” spell to summon a living vine that consumes corpses and then transfers some of that energy to the Druid as health.
• What will set a Summoning Druid apart from a Summoning Necromancer?
• The Druid is different in that he interacts more with his minions. He engages in melee combat more than the Necromancer, so the Druid is a bit more balanced in that direction. Also, the Druid summons creatures from the wilderness while the Necromancer requires corpses to create his minions.
• How will the Assassin’s traps work?
• The Assassin places the traps on the ground and then focuses on either luring or driving enemies into her snare. Some are direct damage traps while others spray out numerous smaller traps.
• Will the Assassin’s traps be visible to other players?
• Yes, but they are camouflaged and sometimes hard to spot unless you are paying attention. It is important to keep a sharp eye peeled when engaging in PvP play against this character.
• Does the Assassin know Kung Fu?
• The Assassin will employ various martial art styles in melee combat.
• Will there be an invisibility spell for the Assassin?
• No.
• Will the Gem in the chat room be used in the Expansion set?
• Although it’s working well now, we plan to make enhancements to maximize it’s potential.
• Will the Expansion set introduce trading in the chat rooms?
• We are not going to support chat room trading between characters. While it would be a great feature, a host of problems and design challenges occur (such as what if you don’t have enough space) that actually make trading within the game the easiest means to exchange items.
• Will there be Guild Halls in the Expansion set?
• We made a decision not to include in-game Guild Halls in the Expansion, but at the same time we wanted to include what we thought were the greatest benefits from the original Guild Hall concept. This includes a bigger stash size and a few other things that we want to make available to ALL players of Diablo II, and not just those core gamers who seek out Guild affiliations. We know that guilds are an important part of our community and we are not dismissing their importance. We are instead trying to reach as many Diablo II players as possible with the widest amount of fun new content as we can. The goal of the Expansion is to make it a great addition for new and experienced players as well.
• Will the Expansion include Arenas?
• At this time Arenas are not a part of the Expansion set.