Diablo 2 - Bestseller Series for Windows

This review has been divided into 5 parts. This and the remaining 2 reviews will not only discuss the Player-Character's assessment, but they will also review each of the 4 Acts that comprise the gameplay of Diablo II. The first two reviews were prefaced by the general gameplay and GUI. This was followed by an in-depth assessment each respective character. I suggest reading Part 1 "KnuckleWalker" and/or Part 2 "Phalangeso" to help provide a more detailed perspective of this wonderful software game.

Part 1 cut to the heart of why the Barbarian is unmatched in close-quarters battle.
Part 2 paid its respect to the Necromancer and how his association with the dead is being put to good use.
Part 4 will divine the Sorceress and how her mastery of the arcane energies strikes fear in the hearts of her foes.
Part 5 will address why the Amazon's amazing dexterity, complemented by limited magic skills, make her an extremely formidable foe in close-quarters or long-range combat.

I changed my format from the previous 2 reviews. This was done because it became apparent to me that I was recycling data (and a fair amount of it too) at the beginning of each of the first two reviews. I opted to shift the focus instead to the Acts of Diablo II and break them up among the remaining 3 characters. This review will cover Act I and the tasks required to move on to Act II. Then comes the fun part.....the character review of my Paladin "Blessed Palm."

Yes, "Blessed Palm" is also related to "KnuckleWalker" and "Phalangeso." They are all half-brothers, by way of an unnamed warrior father.....


Act I: The Environment

Woodlands is the primary theme for this Act. Grasslands spotted with deciduous trees would be an apt description. Randomly Mother Earth will give those in her charge a drink and grace the planet with rain (and some lightning to boot). Random vessels can be kicked open or unlocked (provided you have keys) to spill their contents for you. These vessels are usually small wooden chests: rectangular with a rounded top, vertically rectangular, box-like and chest-style. Also keep a close eye out for rock stashes. These rocks look like other rocks except their appearance is limited to 3 graphics. Holding your mouse over the rock will tell you whether or not it is a stash. Clicking on a stash never requires a key and will reveal money or items (sometimes both). Until about level 10, I picked up every piece of change I can get my "Blessed Palm"'s on.

Below ground, the theme may be cave-like or dungeon-like. It will depend on which portion of the map you are discovering and clearing of monsters. The monsters will be the same as above ground as will the booty found in chests (no rock stashes ::pout::). Another name for this land is the Western Kingdoms (as in Western Europe).


Act I: The Quests - The Sightless Eye
Act I consists of six quests. The quests may be activated out of order, even completed out of order (sometimes, and not very recommended). However, you cannot move onto Act II until all quests have been successfully completed. How an eyeball that can't see got to be the name escapes me.

If you hit "q" on the keyboard, or click on the "Quest" button from the mini-panel a window will display on the left side of your screen. The quests, when activated will change appearance from recessed and gray to filled and colored. When each respective quest is completed it changes back to a semi-recessed look with a swirl/poof of color.

Den of Evil - whose sigil is crested by a horned skull atop a ring, this quest is the most immediate after leaving the safety of the Roge Encampment (where every new character begins). As you traverse the Blood Moor, keep an eye out for a portal to this "Den of Evil." You can either speak to someone in town to activate this quest or jump right into the Den.

Sisters' Burial Grounds - a Raven with an arrow through it is the sigil. Go to kill Blood Raven, a Boss/Unique Rogue Archer found in the cemetary. Circle the outskirts and kill off as many peons as possible, her bow is quick and has additional magical damage.

The Search for Cain - man imprisoned in a hanging cage for the sigil. You have to find a big ol' tree, take it's scroll to Akara, go back out into the field and active a series of Cairn stones that look like Stonehedge. A red portal opens to Tristram (the original town of Diablo which happened to be overrun). You will end up having to fight Griswold, a "Boss" monster. Griswold was the blacksmith in the original Diablo but has now been cursed and fights alongside with evil.

The Forgotten Tower - search the Black Marsh for the Tower displayed on the sigil. You must descend the 5 levels to fight the BossWoman Corrupt Rogue and her homegirls. You'll have to town portal back to town multiple times as you will be overburdened with items and weapons (magical and non-magical). If you have a new character, I would cash everything in you can get your paws on....

Tools of the Trade - like a bird can really hold that damn hammer on the sigil...! Well, anyway, Charsi the new smith asks you to find a magical smithing hammer. If you are successful (defeating a big Ogre-looking smith), return the hammer and she will...let's say...Super-Size any non-magical/non-socketed item you choose. You'll have to experience it to understand.

Sisters to the Slaughter - Andariel is the last "Boss" monster to fight before progressing to Act II. She is big, tough, ugly, has nice legs though, spits poison at ya and has more than 2 arms. Sounds like a date....call her agent! Before opening her inner chamber and releasing her, clear the room of the Fallen monsters and Shaman first.


Act I: The Monsters
One good point about this newer version of Diablo is that the Monster Manual has been expanded. It is also specific to the land/Act you are campaigning in. The monsters listed below in descending order are of increasing power. I'll skip some and be brief on others.

Fallen & Fallen Shaman: by far the most numerous and the most annoying of all monsters of Act I. The Shaman can raise their dead minions to continue to fight. Cowardly in nature, these goblin-like creatures (of which there are many variations/colors/levels of power) will run if witness to a brethren being struck down. Always sprint to the Shaman and kill them first...or you may find yourself in trouble as a low-level character! Sometimes luring the peons out of the resurrect range of a Shaman and then killing them will help save your hide and your potions.

Spike Fiend: a medieval porcupine with a clubbed tail.

Zombie

Wendigo: range from Gargantuan Beast, Brute, Yeti, Crusher and up to a Wailing Beast. No special magical resistances, they hit hard....and they smell bad too! Imagine an ugly Donkey Kong and that's what they look like.

Corrupt Rogue, Archer or SpearWoman: from the original Diablo, these evil Archer Sisters have been converted and revel in death. They like the group-thing...so be wary when you see one of 'em comin'...

Skeleton, Skeleton Archer, Skeleton Mage

Goatman : a carryover from Diablo I, these creatures have the lower body of a satyr and the upper-body of a Minotaur. I don't know why they call them Goatmen...?!?! They can carry hand-held weapons or ranged weapons. They sound like Goat-boy from Saturday Night Live when they attack too ::snicker::

Blood Hawk

Tainted : hulking demons that retreat when damaged and spit orbs of lightning. They look like they have halitosis.

Giant Spider
Wraith

Fetish : you'll run across the Ratman version in Act I. They weil wicked-looking butcher knives and are about 3 feet tall. They'll slice your you-know-what if you're not careful. Don't get surrounded unless you are sure you have good armor, a good attack rating and a few group-attack skills/spells.

Vampire : Firewalk! Remeber it. If you're strolling along in the Aracane Sanctuary and all of a sudden every step ignites flames beneath your toes...these demons are responsible. Sprint and kill immediately! You may have to retreat and prepare before each attack though.

Flying Scimitar
Blood Hawk Nest
Gargoyle Trap


These are the peon monsters, even the more powerful ones. And pale in comparison to the "Boss" monsters. This is my term, as these special monsters appear in each Act and in every game, usually in the same place. There is one "Boss" for each type of monster listed above (except Flying Scimitar, Blood Hawk nest and Gargoyle Trap which are inanimate). These monsters are off-colored to it's sisters/brethren. They hit harder, often have magical resistances and should be handled with care...


Part 3 - The Paladin
Raised in Westmarch to be a Holy Warrior (oblivious to the existence of his half-siblings), Blessed Palm has taken up the righteous sword of vengeance to smite down the forces of darkness. The Paladin appears to be an upgrade from the Fighter in Diablo I.

Defensive Auras
Auras are cool in that each will have a different graphical representation around your character. The portion of the aura visible to the naked eye is around the feet and ankles. Some auras appear to have clockwise or counter-closewise motions, some will have an inward path that appears to begin at the feet and travels upward, some will reverse and flow outward. Colors will change, as will the other physical characteristics of the aura. A few of these auras use mana, some to do not. Some are just for you, while others are truly radius-based and will affect allies with in a defined distance from you.

Prayer- by far, one of the more useful for low-level Paladins. This specific form of prayer regenerates lost life/hit points of you and your party at the cost of spiritual energy (mana).

Resist Fire- when focused, Blessed Palm can reduce natural and magical fire damage to himself and those he is allied with (provided they are within his radius of influence).

Resist Cold- same as above except for cold. This also reduces freeze effect duration.

Resist Lightning- same as Resist Fire except it applies to Lightning.

Defiance- calling on his Deity, Blessed Palm manifests a protective matrix that boosts the party's defensive capabilities.

Cleansing- discipline has developed the ability to speed the process of ridding oneself (and those within your immediate sphere of influence) of unwanted toxins and poisons.

Vigor- I have ignored this power completely. Being able to run faster for longer and recover stamina quicker is of no value to me. I find it more important to develop powers/skills/abilities that can assist me in battle....

Meditation- similar to Vigor except it speeds recovery of spiritual energy instead of life force.

Redemption- an upgrade from Prayer, this blessing given on slain monsters allows for true redemption and forgiveness. An added benefit (always a bennie in there somewhere eh?) is that hit points and mana are recovered. It's kinda hard to use this in the middle of a fight too! You have to activate the aura, hold the mouse over the desired corpse to feed off of (oops, did I say that?) and then select how many points you want to focus on the actual redeeming process. The result is immediate, unlike Prayer that has to be done over time (while running, between fights or in town). I think this power is border-line vampiric in nature and reminds me of something Phalangeso (my Necromancer) would do if given the chance.

Salvation- "....may the Light protect me...." This power boosts resistances to the elements of Fire, Cold and Lightning. I think it sucks that Poison isn't included here, as heavy doses of poison can drain all your potions (unless you have Cleansing or an antidote potion). I don't exaggerate when I say that the monsters which use poision can get 'cha if the doses are compounded and you aren't prepared!


Offensive Auras
These auras are, as a group, easy to distinguish from Defensive Auras. Most will use a golden light of differing patterns to identify themselves. Again, most do not use mana. I

Might- one of the first skills I developed, and with good reason too! Blessed Palm can draw on his spiritual conviction to bolster the strength of himself and those in his party. You'll know when your allies have been affected as they will also manifest the Might aura around their feet.

Holy Fire- damaging monsters in your sphere at given intervals worked pretty well on groups of weak monsters, like Fallen (little imp-people...remember?) but became almost completely ineffective for Blessed Palm on stronger monsters later on in the game. I would not spend more than one skill level on this power, but it will help you keep your character alive while he is still green.

Thorns- similar to Phalangeso's Iron Maiden curse, this aura reflects increasing amounts of damage back to the attacker. Develop the skill to open the pathway to more powerful abilities.

Blessed Aim- ....heavenly hits Batman, I can't miss with this one! (sorry 'bout that...what came over me?) This is useful when facing numerous, well-armored nasties. Decreases the frequency of swinging and hitting air. Yes, it is a group-thang!

Concentration- [thinking to myself in battle] "don't bother me...can't you see I'm trying to kill your boss???" Concentration boosts damage. But, the most important affect is the increased ability to not have the attack on the desired target interrupted by others.
Example: Your surrounded by, let's say... 20 Vampires of any variety. The boss-lady is who you want to take out first 'cause she hits the hardest and lasts the longest. You sprint over using Ctrl+right mouse click while this aura is activated. You thrash her severely 'bout the head and neck until well tenderized while the cronies try to keep you off-balance with their attack. Normally you would find yourself swinging and missing or not doing as much damage because of the volume of loving attention from the monsters. This ability re-balances the scales of battle, providing Blessed Palm with the focus to direct righteous justice upon a specific vessel of evil.

Holy Freeze- this semi-cold aura slows monsters down in a given radius. Blessed Palm likes to activate the aura and when monsters have slowed down he will switch to Zeal which allows him to hit multiple monsters during one melee and boost his chance to hit.

Holy Shock- an upgrade from Holy Fire, this power draws latent electricity from beneath each monsters feet to shock the sh*t out of 'em. The aura looks pretty cool too...

Sanctuary- kinda like Off! for the Undead minions. Causes damage and forcibly removes them from around you at the same time. You'll still have to manually dispose of their bosses though.

Fanatacism- this one is contagious and extremely effective in battle. Fanatacism increases Attack Rating as well as the speed of your party's attack. Work toward getting it!

Conviction- bathed in an eerie green light, this aura weakens your foes, rendering them easier to destroy in the name of the Light! Defense and Resistances are lowered. Useful, I think, during a campaign with others. Fanatacism is still more effective, personal epinion that is...


Combat Skills
One big hint for any Paladin is that you can have an aura hot-keyed for your right-mouse button while having these Combat Skills activated for your normal left-mouse buttons. Example: Holy Freeze Aura activated while using Smite to stun your way to the boss monster....

Sacrifice- at the cost of your life force, smack 'em harder up-side their heads! A warning, you do lose life depending on how much damage is being amplified. Overkill can be just as detrimental to your life as it is to the recipient of your wrath.

Holy Bolt- one of the few spells that can be cast, projection-like, on monsters. Only affects the undead. Pretty effective when developed. It does not go through monsters so make a clear path or manuever yourself if your target is far away.

Smite- a back-hand bash with your shield, Smite also stuns your opponent silly (little stars do swirl around their head while their knees wobble beneath them). Blessed Palm likes to Smite and then Zeal attack while they are stunned....

Zeal- religious fervor is manifested in the ability to either hit multiple targets in one melee or strike one opponent multiple times. This is definitely worth developing. I recommend getting a weapon that steals mana (and life if possible) as multiple hits for one melee keep your spiritual energy from draining so fast.

Charge- sprints toward a monster out of range (usually the boss monster) and bashes when within range. Increased damage and attack rating apply even if you have a two-handed weapon....

Vengeance- the earth is charged to aid you in your battle as every hit now includes Fire, Lightning and Cold damage. Attack rating increase is a percentile.

Blessed Hammer- a spiraling war hammer damages all nearby monsters as it spins around. It eventually dissipates, but before it does, it destroy more than you will initially believe...

Conversion- I find it amusing that the Paladin can hit someone so hard he knocks "religion" into them. This ability can convert a struck monster for a given time period to fight by your side. Remnants of some crusadic ideals....?

Holy Shield- a semi-passive power in that it can boost defense, smite and blocking stats on any shield. I say semi-passive because it doesn't have to be maintained to be effective. Once the shield has been imbued, the spell doesn't wear off unil the points of the skill have been worn out.

Fist of the Heavens- direct intervention is how I would describe this power. Shocking support from up on high....pretty spectacular light show and very heavy damage (even heavier for undead).

In review Part 1, I stated that the Paladin replaced the Fighter from Diablo I. I really believe this to be true as the Paladin still seems to have a bit of an edge over the other characters in battle like the Fighter did in Diablo I. Nonetheless, Blessed Palm will march on against the armies of darkness....weilding Faith as his shield, Vengeance as his sword and Wisdom as his helm. A Paladin is one of the brighter points of light in the Lands of Diablo....

Have fun!