A copy of the official Diablo II: Frequently Asked Questions, written by Blizzard Entertainment. This will answer all your common questions surrounding the game and its development. Last updated: Thursday, October 7th. General | Beta | Multiplayer and Battle.net | Hardware | Items | Skills, Corpses and Hireables 1. General What is the ESRB rating for Diablo II? What is the release date for Diablo II? How many CD-ROMs will Diablo II occupy? Will Diablo II require a 3D-accelerator card? How much will Diablo II cost? Can I preorder through the Blizzard On-Line store? Why are the screenshots more than 256 colors? Can your character run in Diablo II? Is there a way to quickly find dropped items? Is there a way to attack without constantly clicking the mouse button? Will there be shrines in Diablo II? Are there customizable hotkeys? Are there any plans for multiple language versions of Diablo II? Can you send me some pictures/updates through e-mail? Will there be a demo? Do I need the original Diablo to play Diablo II? What are some of the new features of Diablo II? What character classes will be in Diablo II? Are there other NPCs other than the ones listed on the website? Will I be able to play the Warrior, Sorceror or Rogue from Diablo? Will there be any way to use my old Diablo character in Diablo II? Does Diablo II feature randomly generated dungeons? Will Diablo II include cheat codes? Can I have a list of all the skills/items/weapons/armor in the game? 2. Beta Will there be a beta test? What is the exact date of the beginning of the beta test? Will 1000 random people be enough to stress test the battle.net servers? Are any cinematics included in the beta? Can I be a beta tester? Will previous beta testers have a better chance of getting in the Diablo II beta test? What are the requirements for the Diablo II beta test? Can I participate in the beta with a Macintosh? 3. Multiplayer and Battle.net Will there be a monthly fee associated with Diablo II and battle.net? What is a "open" character? What is a "closed" character? Can an open character play on battle.net? What is the maximum number of players supported in a battle.net game? Will I be able to save a multiplayer Diablo II game on battle.net? Given the size of Diablo II, how will I be able to finish Diablo II on battle.net? What if I am disconnected? What if I die and get disconnected before I manage to retrieve my corpse? What is hardcore mode? Can a hardcore player get ressurected by another hardcore character? Do I get anything special for playing in hardcore mode? How will the Diablo II battle.net ladder work? Can I group with other players in a party? Do I share experience with those in my party? Can I join multiple parties? Do all the quests work in multiplayer as well as in single player in Diablo II? What will Blizzard do about cheating? 4. Hardware and Operating Systems What are the system requirements for Diablo II? What are the benefits of using a 3D card in Diablo II? What does Diablo II look like without a 3D card? Which 3D graphics cards are compatible with Diablo II's 3D enhancements? Which graphics libraries are supported? Which sound cards are supported? What 3D Sound options will Diablo II support? Are there any other peripherals that Diablo II includes support for? Is there a Macintosh version in the works? Is there a Linux version planned? What about the Playstation, Dreamcast, Dolphin or Nintendo 64? 5. Items Will any character class be able to wield two weapons at once? Will all the characters be able to use any weapon/armor? If I am wielding a two-handed sword, will my character on screen reflect this? What are socketable items? Who can repair durability? Will bows require arrows? Are there crossbows in Diablo II? How can I find Arrows and Bolts? Will there be belts with more than 4 slots? With 16 slots on a belt, what hotkeys are used for the belt? Will I be able to rotate items in my inventory? Is there a place to store excess items? Does gold require space in my character's inventory? Will unique items be easier to find in Diablo II? 6. Skills, Corpses and Hireables How many skill points and attribute points will I recieve per level? What are Active skills? What are Passive skills? What are Mastery skills? Do I get any skills to start off with? Are there restrictions to what skills I can learn? What are auras? Will I drop all my items when I die in Diablo II? How do I pick up items from my corpse? Can I allow other players to loot my corpse? Do Hireables and Summonables fight to the death? Will NPCs heal my Hireables and Summonables? Will Hireables and Summonables follow me through portals? 1. General What is the ESRB rating for Diablo II? Diablo II's rating is currently pending, but we anticipate that the game will be rated "M". For more information on the ratings, please see the ESRB Website. What is the release date of Diablo II? We are working hard for a pre-Christmas 1999 release, however we won't release any game until it meets Blizzard's high standards. How many CD-ROMs will Diablo II occupy? We estimate that Diablo II will require 4 CD-ROMs. Will Diablo II require a 3D-accelerator card? Diablo II will not require 3D acceleration hardware, however, those with supported graphics cards will experience additional visual enhancements. How much will Diablo II cost? Can I pre-order through the Blizzard On-Line Store? We have not determined the pricing for this product, and so, we are not taking orders for Diablo II at this time. It will be available through our On-Line Store. Why are the screenshots more than 256 colors? While a 256-color SVGA video card is the minimum video requirement for Diablo II, Diablo II is capable of displaying a higher color depth when running with Direct3D, OpenGL or a Glide-capable video card. Can your character run in Diablo II? Yes, however, this is limited by your character's stamina. Is there a way to quickly find dropped items? Yes, you can press and hold the ALT key to highlight the items dropped on the ground. Is there a way to attack without constantly clicking the mouse buttons? Yes. If you hold down the mouse button, the highlighted target will be constantly attacked. Will there be Shrines in Diablo II? Yes. Are there customizeable hotkeys? Yes, you will be able to customize your keyboard layout. Are there any plans for multiple language versions of Diablo II? Yes, we plan to localize Diablo II for major international markets, including Europe and Asia. Can you send me some pictures/updates through e-mail? No, we receive far too many requests to handle each personally. We will be working hard to keep the official Diablo II website updated, however, and encourage you to check back regularly. Will there be a demo? Yes. We are not sure if we will have the demo ready before the official release of Diablo II, however. Please check the Blizzard website for an official announcement as Diablo II nears completion. Do I need to have the original Diablo to play Diablo II? No. Diablo II is an entirely new game and does not require the original Diablo to play. What are some of the new features of Diablo II? There are too many new features in Diablo II to do them justice in this FAQ. Please see our Game Features page. What character classes will be in Diablo II? There are a total of five character types in Diablo II. They are the Amazon, Barbarian, Paladin, Necromancer and Sorceress. For more information, please look at our Characters page. Are there other NPCs other than the ones listed on the website? Yes, the NPCs shown on the website are from Act I. Each of the 4 acts will have new NPCs and monsters. Will I be able to play the Warrior, Sorcerer or Rogue from Diablo? While the original 3 character classes from Diablo are not included as player classes in Diablo II, you may see a few familiar faces on your travels. Will there be any way to use my old Diablo character in Diablo II? No. The new characters use a completely new skill system for spellcasting and combat. It is not possible to import the original Diablo characters. Does Diablo II feature randomly generated dungeons? Yes. Not only are dungeons randomly generated, but the wilderness areas as well. Will Diablo II include cheat codes? No. Can I have a list of all the skills/items/weapons/armor in the game? Since we're still in development, we don't have a final list of everything that's going into the game. Besides, part of the fun in Diablo II is discovering a particular item or weapon, and we don't want to give away too much. 2. Beta Will there be a beta test? What is the exact date of the begining of the beta test? Yes. We don't have an EXACT date. Our best guess is the end of October. Will 1000 random people be enough to stress test the b.net servers? We think so. Keep in mind that we will have other testers who are not randomly chosen, like members of the press. Are any cinematics included in the beta? We have a preview trailer for Diablo II as the intro cinematic. Can I be a beta tester? With some luck, perhaps. Typically, Blizzard randomly chooses its beta testers from a list gathered during an online sign-up period. As above, if Blizzard sponsors an open beta, we will announce it well in advance. Will previous beta testers have a better chance of getting into the Diablo II beta test? No priority is given to past beta testers. Since it is a random process, everyone who signs up has the same chance of being chosen. What will be the requirements for the Diablo II Beta test? Pentium-compatible 200 mhz or higher 32 MB of RAM DirectX compatible SVGA card 600 MB of available HD space 28.8k modem or above Quad-speed CD-ROM Internet Connection Keep in mind that these are requirements only for the beta version of Diablo II, and not necessarily the final requirements for the final retail version of Diablo II. Can I participate in the beta with a Macintosh? No. 3. Multiplayer and Battle.net Will there be a monthly fee associated with Diablo II and battle.net? No. What is an "open" character? An open character is a character that can be played at home and/or over non-battle.net servers. Open characters are not secured characters and are not protected by Blizzard from cheats and hacks. Blizzard protects "closed" characters from cheats and hacks. What is a "closed" character? A closed character is one that is created and can only be played on battle.net servers. This ensures the integrity of the character. Can an open character play on battle.net? Yes, however, open characters can never play with closed characters or vice versa. What is the maximum number of players supported in a battle.net game? 8 is the current maximum of players in a battle.net game. Will I be able to save a multiplayer Diablo II game on battle.net? No. How will I be able to finish Diablo II on battle.net if you don't save my game? Our battle.net servers save your Diablo II character, as well as any waypoints visited or quests your character has completed. You may create a new game on battle.net and continue close to the point at which you left off. What if I am disconnected? If you are disconnected, the game will remain for several minutes, giving you a chance to return to the game if you were accidentally disconnected. After that, the game is removed from Battle.net. What if I die and get disconnected before I manage to retrieve my corpse and the game has been removed? Your corpse contains your items and follows you from game to game, allowing you to retrieve your items at a later time. What is hardcore mode? Hardcore mode is a more challenging style of gameplay on battle.net, recommended only for experts. In Hardcore mode, you live only once, meaning that if you die, your character can no longer be used. Can a hardcore player be resurrected by another hardcore character? No. Do I get anything special for playing in hardcore mode? Your name in battle.net will be a different color from normal players. Hardcore players will also be ranked on a ladder. How will the Diablo II Battle.net ladder work? We have some ideas for ranking criteria, but haven't made a final decision. Can I group with other players in a party? Yes. Do I share experience with those in my party? Yes. Can I join multiple parties? No. Do all the quests work in multiplayer as well as in single-player in Diablo II? Yes. What will Blizzard do about cheating? We realize that cheating was a serious problem in the original Diablo when playing public games on Battle.net. Eliminating cheating in Diablo II is one of our highest priorities. In particular, our new client-server model will ensure greater integrity of games and characters. 4. Hardware and Operating Systems What are the system requirements for Diablo II? At this point in the development process it is too early to get the final minimum requirements for Diablo II, but we always try to create games that have highly accessible minimum requirements. As soon as the minimum system requirements have been decided, they will be posted on the official Diablo II website. What are the benefits of using a 3D card in Diablo II? Realistic perspective mode Improved transparency effects Improved lighting/shadowing effects, such as colored lighting and smoother transitions between light and dark areas. Atmospheric effects Possibly faster frame-rate. What does Diablo II look like without a 3D card? It looks great and includes substantial graphic improvements over the original Diablo. Diablo II uses a completely new graphics engine with true transparency, line-of-sight lighting/shadowing effects, pixel-by-pixel shading, and a character component system for both player characters and monsters. Which 3d graphics cards are compatible with Diablo II's 3D Enhancements? Any card that is fully compliant with Direct3D, OpenGL or Glide should be compatible with Diablo II. Which graphics libraries are supported? Diablo II will support DirectX, Direct3D, OpenGL and the Glide API. Which Sound cards are supported? Any sound card supported by DirectX should work with Diablo II. What 3D sound options will D2 support? We will be supporting DirectSound, Creative Labs's EAX as well as Aureal's A3D. Are there any additional peripherals that might enhance my gaming experience with Diablo II? We include support for the Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer, mapping certain keyboard commands to the 5-button mouse. Is there a Macintosh version in the works? Yes, we are planning on a Macintosh version of Diablo II. Is there a Linux version planned? What about the Playstation, Dreamcast, Dolphin or Nintendo 64? While Diablo II is currently under development for Windows 95/98/NT and Macintosh OS, we are always examining our options to bring our titles to multiple platforms. If Diablo II is to be developed for other systems, we will be sure to announce it on our website. 5. Items Will any character class be able to wield two weapons at once? Only the Barbarian will be able to use two weapons at once. Will all the characters be able to use any weapon/armor? As long as the character can meet the requirements for the weapon/armor, the character may equip it. If I am wielding a two handed sword, will my character on screen reflect this? Yes. For Diablo II, we have increased the amount of weapons that are reflected upon your character. What are socketable items? Socketable items are user modifiable. Placing a gem gives the item a beneficial magic effect. The rarity of the gem determines the strength of the effect. Who can repair durability? Blacksmith NPCs can repair items. Be warned, the cost of repairing worn down magic items is quite high. Will bows require arrows? Yes. Are there crossbows in Diablo II? Yes, we have four different types of crossbows. Crossbows require Crossbow Bolts in order to be used. How can I find arrows and bolts? You can purchase arrows and bolts from your local friendly arms dealer or by converting certain monster parts. Will there be belts with more than 4 slots? Yes. A character without a belt only has 4 slots. Depending on the type of belt, you can have up to 16 items on your belt. With up to 16 slots on a belt, what hotkeys are used for the belt? 1 - 4 will control the 4 slots you see on screen. As you use items from the belt, the items above that slot will fill the slot that was just used. Will I be able to rotate items in my inventory? No. Is there a place to store excess items? Yes. We have a chest in town called "Your Stash", which you can use to store items and gold for later use. Does gold require space in my character's inventory? No, however, there is a limit to the amout of gold a character may carry. Will unique items be easier to find in Diablo II? Probably not. If anything, unique items will probably be more difficult to find, further emphasizing their uniqueness. There is also a new class of rare items to fill the gap between regular magic items and unique items. 6. Skills, Corpses and Hireables How many skill points and attribute points will I receive per level? A character recieves 1 skill point and 5 attribute points per experience level. What are Active skills? Active Skills need to be readied and require mana to use. Some auras do not require mana. What are Passive skills? Passive Skills do not cost mana, and do not need to be readied in the active skill buttons to have effect. What are Mastery skills? Masteries are Passive Skills that increase proficiency in a given field. For instance, the Barbarian's Weapon Masteries increase his damage and attack rating with certain weapons. Do I get any skills to start off with? All characters start with Attack, Kick, Throw and Convert. Attack, Kick and Throw are active skills, but require no mana. Are there restrictions to what skills I can learn? Yes. Skills are restricted by class, level and prerequiste skills. What are auras? Auras are active Paladin skills. A Paladin can only have one aura active at a time. Some Aura effects are shared among party members and hirables. Most auras do not cost mana when readied. Will I drop all my items when I die in Diablo II? Yes. However, instead of dropping to the ground where anyone could then pick it up, your items will remain on your corpse. Any gold you are carrying at the time of death drops to the ground. How do I pick up items from my corpse? You walk over to your corpse and click on it. Items will automatically try to equip themselves. If an item cannot be equipped (e.g. you are already equiped with a weapon in that slot), it is placed in your inventory. If there is not enough space in your inventory, it drops to the ground. Can I allow other players to loot my corpse? Yes. Do Hireables and Summonables Fight to the death? Yes. Will NPCs heal my Hireables and Summonables? Yes. Will Hireables and Summonables follow me through portals? Hireables will go everywhere with you, as long as you don't die or leave the Act. Some Summonables (though not all) will follow through staircases, portals and waypoints.