New & Returning Player Hub

You don't have to finish every optional quest every time you make a character, but you should know which rewards still matter after you leave the act.

You don't need every waypoint for the character to be complete, but grabbing them makes life easier. They let you return to quest areas, farming targets and bosses without retracing the entire act.

If you walk past a waypoint in an optional side area, it's not the end of the world. The important ones are the waypoints that save real time or open a useful route: Black Marsh for Countess, Catacombs Level 2 for Andariel, Travincal, Durance of Hate Level 2 for Mephisto, River of Flame for Chaos Sanctuary, and Worldstone Keep Level 2 for Baal are obvious examples.

New skill tiers open at levels 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30. Equipment has level and attribute requirements. Your level also affects experience gain depending on the monsters you are fighting.

You'll see exact recommendations for when to move to the next act or difficulty, but don't treat them like a locked door. A well-built character can move sooner. A first-time or Hardcore character may be much better off staying longer.

As a loose guide, many first characters finish Normal somewhere in the mid-30s to 40 and finish Nightmare around 60-70. If you get to Hell at level 61 with terrible resistances and a mercenary wearing something he found in Act II Normal, the number beside your name isn't the part that needs fixed.

This sounds obvious, but it's one of the biggest differences between a new player and someone who understands Diablo II.

The item with the most defense isn't automatically better. The Rare item isn't automatically better than the blue one. A Unique isn't automatically better than a runeword you made twenty levels earlier.

Ask what the item is doing for you. Maybe you need:

• Faster Run/Walk because getting around feels awful
• Faster Cast Rate because you're one point short of the next cast animation
• Better weapon damage or Attack Rating because your attacks keep missing
• Life or mana leech on a physical build
• Resistances because one elemental attack keeps deleting you
• Cannot Be Frozen because your melee character can barely swing
• +Skills or useful class-specific staffmods
• Faster Hit Recovery because one hit keeps turning into five more

If you know the stat you need but not which equipment can provide it, search the Gear Explorer. If you're comparing FCR, FHR or FBR, check the Breakpoints page before assuming a larger number actually makes the animation faster.

This is probably the most common way a new character becomes weak.

Diablo II usually rewards you for building around one main attack, its synergies and a few utility skills. One point in every interesting skill gives you a full hotbar of attacks that do no damage.

That doesn't mean your leveling build has to be your final build. Some of the best finished skills don't unlock until level 24 or 30, and some feel terrible without the gear that supports them. Level with what works, then use an Akara respec when the character is ready to become the build you actually wanted.

Killing Baal opens the next difficulty. It doesn't mean your character is ready to live there.

Go in and see how it feels. If normal packs take forever or every ranged elemental enemy is dangerous, go back. A few levels, a resistance upgrade or one useful runeword can completely change the experience.

There's no prize for making Hell miserable earlier than necessary.

Pick a leveling skill and actually invest in it. Put enough Strength and Dexterity into equipping the gear you need, then start leaning into Vitality. A few Energy points can make a fresh caster less annoying if you want them; Akara can clean those up later. You don't need to suffer through thirty levels because an endgame guide says the finished build uses zero Energy.

Buy potions. Use them. Diablo II was designed around them, especially early. Get a belt with more rows as soon as you can so you're not opening your inventory every fight.

Movement also matters more than it first appears. A pair of Faster Run/Walk boots may improve the character more than a rare pair with a little extra defense. You spend a lot of Normal running through large maps.

Start paying attention to resistances, particularly fire and lightning. You don't need four perfect 75s for all of Normal, but bosses and ranged elemental enemies will quickly show you when one is too low.

And hire a mercenary. We will get into the gear later, but even a basic mercenary gives enemies another target and adds damage while your own build is still coming together.

You don't need perfect defense rolls. You don't need to cover every slot in Magic Find. You don't need to save every Set item because the name is green. You definitely don't need to clear every corner of every map.

Magic Find is nice once you can add it without making the character miserable. Killing twice as slowly to wear more MF usually isn't an improvement, and Magic Find doesn't increase rune drops anyway.

You also don't need to hoard every white item. Some white items are extremely valuable. Most aren't. We'll sort those out below.

Runewords are useful because they give you a reliable upgrade without waiting for the right unique item to fall out of a monster.

Stealth in a two-socket body armor is one of the easiest early wins. Leaf is excellent for the right fire build if you make it in a valid two-socket staff. Ancient's Pledge or Rhyme can solve early shield problems. Lore gives a useful +Skill helm. Then Spirit and Insight start becoming major goals as you find the correct bases.

The correct base part matters. Having the right runes and the right number of sockets isn't enough if the item type is wrong. A scepter isn't a mace just because it looks like one. A spear isn't a polearm. One extra socket ruins the entire attempt.

Use the Runeword Finder to find something that helps your build, then confirm the base and socket rules through Runeword Bases before you insert anything.

You don't need to farm Normal for days. You want a functioning main skill, some life, a usable mercenary and at least the beginning of a resistance plan.

Normal Baal runs are an easy way to gain levels if you need them. Once Baal is dead, Normal Cows can also be a good place to find early runeword bases. This is where a lot of players look for a Crystal Sword or Broad Sword that can become a four-socket Spirit base.

The item's drop location can affect how many sockets it's allowed to receive. If you're trying to force an exact result, use Area Levels with Runeword Bases before spending your Larzuk reward.

In Normal, Stealth may simply be the first decent armor you can make. In Nightmare, you should know why you're wearing each piece.

A caster may be trying to reach a Faster Cast Rate breakpoint while adding mana, +Skills and resistances. A melee character needs a weapon that actually deals damage, enough Attack Rating to connect and possibly life leech to stay alive. A mercenary may need a stronger weapon so his leech can keep up with incoming damage.

This is where Spirit, Insight, Lore, Smoke, Rhyme, Bulwark, Cure, Ground, Hearth, Temper and the newer Reign of the Warlock options can start filling real holes. Not every one is right for every build, and availability can differ by era, ladder status and patch.

Instead of memorizing a list, open the Runeword Finder and search by the stat or item type you need. Then check Runeword Bases to make sure the item can actually hold it.

Don't farm an area just because a guide lists it. Farm because you're trying to get something out of it.

Nightmare Countess is useful when you need specific low or mid runes. Nightmare Andariel is a good source of jewelry and useful early-to-mid-game uniques. Nightmare Mephisto has a broad group of items that can make Hell much easier. Nightmare Cows give you density and white/gray bases. Nightmare Baal gives you levels.

That's the thought process. If your damage is fine but Hell drops your resistances into the negatives, go look for defensive upgrades. If your mercenary can't stay alive, fix his weapon, leech and resistances. If your melee attacks miss constantly, more Magic Find isn't going to help you.

Fix the thing that's actually stopping you.

Faster Cast Rate, Faster Hit Recovery and Faster Block Rate don't improve every single time the number goes up. They work through class-specific animation breakpoints.

If you go from 40 FCR to 50 FCR but the next breakpoint is 63, you're still casting at the same speed. That doesn't make the extra FCR completely worthless--you may be building toward the next step--but it does mean the item didn't immediately make you faster.

Check the Breakpoints page before breaking up the rest of your gear to chase a number that doesn't cross the next threshold.

People like level 60-70 as a general range, but the character matters more than the number.

Ask yourself:

• Can I kill ordinary Nightmare packs without it taking forever?
• What am I going to do when something is immune to my main damage?
• What will my resistances look like after another 60-point drop?
• Is my mercenary helping, or am I reviving him every two minutes?
• Am I keeping the breakpoint that makes the build feel good?

If those answers are ugly, spend a little more time in Nightmare. One targeted upgrade is often worth more than five levels gained while dying in Hell.

The normal cap for fire, cold, lightning and poison resistance is 75%. Hell applies a -100 base penalty, so that nice 40 Fire Resistance you had in Normal becomes -60 before permanent quest rewards and new gear are counted.

Completing Prison of Ice and using Malah's Scroll of Resistance gives +10 to all resistances in each difficulty, for +30 on a character that completed all three. Don't leave those scrolls unused in the stash.

Fire and lightning are usually the first resistances people feel when they're too low, but the area you're farming still matters. The larger point is that negative resistance makes you take extra damage. A plain-looking ring with life and resistance may keep you alive better than the exciting item that adds another small amount of damage.

This is the part some new players fight against for far too long.

If a random monster is immune to your only damage and it isn't required for a quest, walk around it. You didn't fail. Your build simply isn't made for that monster yet.

When you do need an answer, you have options. Let a properly geared mercenary handle it. Use a second damage type. Apply Lower Resist or another resistance-reducing effect when it can help. Play with someone whose build covers your weakness. Farm somewhere with better immunity matchups. Later, use the correct Sunder Charm with the resistance reduction needed to make it efficient.

A Sunder Charm breaks an immunity, but it doesn't automatically turn that enemy into an easy kill. The monster is still left with very high resistance. You need supporting gear or skills to bring that resistance down farther.

Life is important, but so are positioning, blocking, hit recovery, damage reduction, crowd control and knowing when to leave.

A Cursed, Extra Strong pack with Might or Fanaticism isn't a normal pack anymore. Dolls, souls and large groups of ranged enemies can kill a character that feels perfectly safe everywhere else. If one hit puts you into hit recovery and the rest of the pack keeps you there, check whether you can reach a better FHR breakpoint. If you keep dying while running into the middle of everything, more damage may not be the answer.

In Hardcore, stop and identify the danger before committing. In Softcore, remember that Hell deaths cost experience. Repeating the same bad approach can erase most of the progress from the run.

There's no single best farming route for every build.

A Blizzard Sorceress, Javazon, Hammerdin, Warlock and Hork Barbarian all have different strengths. The right area is one with worthwhile drops that your character can clear quickly and safely. A theoretically perfect area isn't perfect for you if half the monsters are immune and every run takes fifteen minutes.

Use Area Levels to compare useful zones and understand which item bases can drop there. Then judge the route by how your character actually performs, not by where somebody else's fully geared build farms.

Runewords go into normal-quality equipment: white when it's unsocketed, and gray when it has sockets or is ethereal.

You can't make a runeword in a blue Magic item, yellow Rare, green Set item, gold Unique or orange Crafted item.

The number of sockets also has to match the runeword exactly. You can't put a three-rune runeword into a four-socket base and leave one empty. The item type needs to match, the socket count needs to match, and the rune order needs to match.

Check Runeword Finder before the first rune goes in.

While you're leveling, the most useful base is often not the rarest one. It's the one that completes your next upgrade.

That may be:

• Two-socket light armor for Stealth
• A two-socket helm for Lore
• A two-socket staff with useful fire skills for Leaf
• A two- or three-socket shield for an early defensive runeword
• A four-socket sword for Spirit
• A four-socket polearm, staff, bow or crossbow that is valid for Insight in your era
• A three-socket armor for Treachery, Hysteria, Enigma or another planned runeword
• A four-socket armor for Fortitude or another four-rune option

Don't keep six copies of each unless you have a reason. Once the runeword is made, your needs change.

Some base families are commonly used or traded, so they are worth slowing down long enough to inspect:

• Unsocketed or four-socket Monarchs for Spirit
• Phase Blades, Berserker Axes and other popular weapon bases with useful socket counts
• Elite ethereal polearms and spears for mercenary runewords
• Light elite armors with three or four sockets, useful defense and manageable Strength requirements
• Paladin shields with strong built-in resistance rolls
• Class-specific bases with useful skills: Necromancer wands and heads, Druid pelts, Barbarian helms, Sorceress staves, Amazon bows and spears, Assassin claws, Paladin scepters, and Warlock grimoires or daggers
• Superior bases with meaningful enhanced damage, enhanced defense or durability rolls

Ethereal deserves its own mention. Ethereal weapons deal more base damage, and ethereal armor has more defense and lower requirements, but the item can't normally be repaired. Mercenary equipment doesn't lose durability, so ethereal weapons and armor are often ideal there. For your own character, an ethereal item usually needs Indestructible, self-repair, replenishment or a very specific plan.

The maximum sockets on a base can be limited by its item level, which normally comes from the monster or object that dropped it. That's why one Crystal Sword can get four sockets from Larzuk while another gets six.

If you know exactly where the item dropped, use Area Levels to understand its likely item level. Then check Runeword Bases to see the socket cap. If you're considering a repeatable socket recipe instead, confirm it through Cube Recipes.

Don't guess with a base you care about. This is exactly the kind of mistake the tools are there to prevent. Recipes will randomly roll the sockets where Larzuk will guarantee the max. Know the difference.

Frequently used early and mid runes include Tal, Eth, Tir, Nef, Ral, Ort, Thul, Amn, Sol and Shael. With the new stash tab, its easy to just grab them and stash them.

Keep the runes for the runewords and recipes you're actually likely to use. Ral stays useful for Caster crafting and repairs. Hel can remove socketed contents. Other low and mid runes repeatedly show up in useful runewords. High runes should never be inserted or cubed because you vaguely remember the recipe.

Use the Runeword Finder to pick your actual targets and save them to Favorites. Then enter what you have into the Rune Upgrade Calculator to see what your pile can become and how close you are to the next useful rune.

And remember: Magic Find doesn't increase rune drops. For rune farming, clear speed, monster density, survival and a short route matter more.

Three Ral runes can become one Ort. That doesn't automatically make it a good trade.

If you need Rals for crafting and already have several Orts, you just turned useful materials into something you didn't need. The cost gets much worse as you move up the rune chain.

Cube when the result completes a runeword, when you have a real surplus or when the Rune Upgrade Calculator shows that the conversion moves your plan forward. Don't cube just to make the stash look cleaner.

Chipped and flawed gems are needed for some rune upgrades and utility recipes. Perfect gems are used for crafting, rerolling and trading.

Perfect Amethysts are especially useful for Caster crafts. Perfect Rubies go into Blood crafts. Perfect Skulls are used in Rare-item recipes. The other gems still have jobs, so keep a reasonable supply until you know which recipes you actually use.

The Crafting page shows the guaranteed bonuses for Blood, Caster, Hit Power and Safety items. Cube Recipes covers gem and rune upgrades, sockets, item upgrades, rerolls and the rest of the useful formulas the game never puts into a proper recipe book.

Reign of the Warlock's dedicated stacking tabs make rune and gem storage much less painful than it used to be. You should still avoid keeping piles of things with no purpose. In older eras, shared-stash space disappears even faster, and mules can easily turn into their own full-time job.

Here's the rule I would use: if the item is easy to replace, has no planned use and has no meaningful trade value, let it go.

When you find a Charm, Jewel, or Rare piece of gear that looks interesting but you're not sure why, check it before selling. Use the Item Valuation page to get an idea if it's worth the effort to try and trade. Quickly paste or upload a screenshot to extract the affixes into the Quick Value Checker.

After Siege on Harrogath, Larzuk can add sockets to one eligible item.

For a normal unsocketed base, he adds the maximum number allowed by that base and its item level. A Magic item gets one or two sockets when possible. Rare, Set, Unique and Crafted items get one. Superior normal items can't use the standard cube socket recipes, so Larzuk is usually how you socket them.

Use Larzuk when the result is known and gives you a major upgrade, when a valuable superior base can't go into the cube, or when one socket meaningfully improves a strong Unique or Rare item.

Save him when you don't know the item's level, the base is easy to replace, a random cube result would be fine, or the finished item is about to be replaced anyway.

Before you hand anything over, check Runeword Bases. The painful Larzuk mistakes usually begin with "I thought this would get four sockets." Early normal difficulty dropped Broad Swords, I'm talking to you.

Charsi turns one eligible nonmagical, unsocketed weapon or armor into a Rare item. The result is random. Most of the time, it won't be amazing.

If you're playing your first character and imbuing a weapon or class-specific item might help you get through the game, use it. That's not wasting the reward. You used a Normal quest reward for a gamble hoping to make Normal or Nightmare easier.

If you want to save it for the standard late-game gamble, use a white Diadem. Diadems can roll the full high-level affix pool even when a low-level character imbues them. High-level class-specific bases can also be interesting because they can roll skill combinations you can't simply gamble from a vendor.

Just don't build your plans around the result. The imbue is one free shot at a good Rare, not a guaranteed jackpot.

Completing the Den of Evil gives you one full stat-and-skill reset from Akara in each difficulty. If you don't use one, it stays available in that difficulty. After those three are gone, you can eventually make a Token of Absolution from essences dropped by Hell act bosses.

Use a respec when your leveling build has done its job, your skill points are spread too thin, old equipment left you with wasted attributes, or a major item or patch changes what you want the character to be.

Don't respec into a build that requires a level or item you still don't have. And don't rebuild the whole character because one random immune monster annoyed you.

Before you click the button, make sure you have a build in mind (or already have a guide ready to go). Akara gives every attribute and skill point back at once, and it's very easy to get halfway through rebuilding before realizing you forgot a prerequisite or skill from a tree you weren't looking at. The amount of times I've respecced my Sorc only to forget teleport amazes me.

A mercenary does nothing for you while he's dead. His gear determines whether he stays alive long enough to provide the aura, damage or utility you hired him for.

Weapon damage matters because it increases his kills and the life he gets back through leech. Attack speed can mean more damage and more frequent leech if it reaches the right breakpoint. Resistances and damage reduction keep him from disappearing to the first elemental pack. Faster Hit Recovery helps stop one hit from becoming a full stun-lock.

This is also why an Insight in a weak base eventually stops being enough. The Meditation aura may still be useful, but if the mercenary deals no damage, his life leech can't keep him alive. Moving the same runeword into a stronger base can be a bigger upgrade than changing the runeword itself.

Ethereal gear is ideal for many mercenaries because their equipment doesn't lose durability. The extra weapon damage improves leech, and the extra armor defense comes without the normal repair problem.

Keep the mercenary near your level, feed him potions (Shift + Potion key) during dangerous fights and reposition him when he's standing somewhere stupid. If you keep reviving him, stop paying the fee long enough to figure out why he's dying.

Use the Runeword Finder and the filter for "Mercenary Core" to see the best runewords for your Merc, then confirm the exact base through Runeword Bases. The best mercenary runeword in the game is useless if your mercenary can't equip the item you made it in.