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Diablo
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Diablo II
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The Graveyard
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Skills
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Skill
Basics
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| Starting Skills |
All 5 player character classes
start with the same 2 basic skills - Attack and Throw.
"Attack" attacks with the equipped weapon (or
weapons, in the case of the Barbarian.) "Throw"
throws a throwing weapon.
Necromancers also start with the "Unsummon" skill to
destroy minions previously summoned by the player. |
| Number of
Skills |
| Each character
class may develop 30 more unique skills. These 30 additional
skills are divided into 3 skill tabs (approximately 10 per
tab). The skills in each tab are arranged into a Skill Tree --
much like a Tech-Tree in a real-time strategy game. |
| Passive and Active Skills |
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. |
| Red Skill
Icons |
| When a Skill
icon is red, the Skill cannot be used - either because of a
lack of Mana, because an item that the skill requires is not
equipped, or because that skill cannot be used in town. |
| Additional Skill Points |
You receive one extra skill
point to distribute each time your character reaches another
level of experience.
Some quests give extra skill points for a reward. These can
only be used one time.
Some items give from 1 to 3 extra skill points. You receive
the skill point only when you have the item or weapon
equipped. These bonus skill points do not allow you to advance
down the skill tree unless you already have a point in that
skill. So a item that gives +1 to Teeth for the Necromancer
does not enable you to place one point into Corpse Explosion
at level 6 until you put at least one point into Teeth. |
| Skill Caps |
There is a
skill level cap of 20. You cannot put more than 20 Skill
points into a specific skill. You can however raise a skill
over the 20 skill point limit by using items that give +1 to
+3 to skills, etc and the Barbarian Warcry Battle Command.
Above the 20 cap, you cannot have more than 30 points into a
single skill which you can get through the use of Items, Skill
Shrines, and the Barbarian's Battle Commands.
You can only put another skill point into a skill for each
character level past the required level for that skill. For
example if a skill requires your character to be level 6 you
have to wait until your character is level 7 before you can
put assign another skill point into that skill. You can
however save up skill points and put one skill point into all
of the skills that open up when your character reaches the
next level in the skill tree (6, 12, 18, 24, 30). For example
if you save all your skill points into level 6 you can put one
point into each of the Level 6 skills. |
|
Basic
Skill Point Spending Strategies
|
| Skill Point Planning |
You receive one skill point
per level, and several quests offer additional skill points.
Your success or failure in battle can greatly be determined by
how you spend your skill points. Careful thought and planning
can save you from backtracking to get to a skill you didn't
notice and can prevent wasted points. Remember that once a
skill point is spent you can never get that point back so it's
important to choose wisely. While you may be able to survive
by just throwing a skill point into whatever, your character
may not be the best it can be. |
| Pick
Several skills to focus in rather than all skills |
| You may be
able to get one skill point into all of the skills on the
skill trees eventually but this may not make the best
character. Generally it's best to focus in several skills
rather than putting some points into all of them. Many skills
and spells become truly powerful as you focus quite a few
points into them. The first three skill points might not be
enough to see the full power of those skills or spells. While
it's great to have a skill for every job, generally you will
have a lot of under powered skills if you spent a point in
everything. Non focused characters may have trouble defeating
the more powerful unique monsters, bosses and difficulty
levels. |
| How to spend your skill
points |
| Come up with a plan. Know
where your next skill point is going to go before you get it.
If you do get a skill point before you're ready, save it until
you know where you can best spend it. Don't be afraid to ask
other people for advice or consult Online guides such as this
for advice and information on what each skill point can do for
you. |
| Live for
today or plan for tomorrow |
Theres two
main ways of spending your skill points.
Just let
me play the game - Spend your points as you get them in
what you feel like it as you go along
In this plan you spend your points as you get them in the
skills that are available at the time. You advance along the
skill tree in a normal fashion. Use lower level skills as
long as you can building them up until a more powerful skill
is available. This is a great plan for the casual gamer. Do
you just want to beat the game on normal and move on to
another character? This is the plan for you.
Use this
plan if:
· You
are first time player
· You
are not a "power" player
· You
don't care about spending skill points in skills you may
only use for a certain period of time
· If
you want your character to be as effective as possible in
the early part of the game.
|
| The Skill Point Hoarder or
Power Gamer Plan |
| Only spend points in what you
will always use, and save skill points for late game skills
such level 18, 24, and 30 skills. This skill point strategy is
for advanced players. You must be skilled enough to get by
without spending your points each level. This strategy is for
the long haul, especially when going for Level 18 and Level 24
skills which may not reach their full power until you've
defeated the game on normal and are on your way into Nightmare
difficulty.
In this plan you only spend a
skill point if it It unlocks a skill you plan to focus in,
such as skill along the tree to your desired final skill. A
skill point is only spent on a skill that you plan on using
for the rest of your character's life even into Nightmare and
Hell difficulty levels. The play as you go plan will still
work on Nightmare and Hell difficulty however it will take you
a while to catch up to the power of the late game skill
builders.
Use this plan
if:
· You
are a power gamer
· You
want a challenge
· You
love optimizing skill points
· You
want to be weak early on but powerful quickly at higher
levels
· You
can't stand spending a skill point on a skill you may
outgrow.
· You
plan on using your character in Nightmare and Hell.
For the power gamer, the
alternative to the play as you go style is to save as many
skill points as possible for later skills. Often the later
skills are the most powerful, but this isn't always the case.
You get by through the lean early levels without spending all
of your skill points by any means possible including using
your friends to help you kill monsters until you reach a high
enough level to unlock your desired skills. The Barbarian,
Amazon, and Paladin have an easier time with this style of
skill point planning because they are dependant on equipment.
The Barbarian can find a good weapons to survive without
spending too many skill points. The Paladin can use a shield
and a good sword or one handed weapon to level up. The Amazon
can find good bows, or rely on Critical Hit, and Javelins to
level up. For the Sorceress and Necromancer, this style of
play can be very challenging. They can use Bows or Cross Bows,
to supplement their skills or survive on staves and wands that
give free skill points.
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