For many Blizzard fans, Diablo 2 remains an iconic PC title for action RPG players when it released 21 years ago in 2000. Continuing the story set in motion from the original Diablo, this sequel expanded upon the world of Sanctuary, taking players outside the small confines of Tristram and showing new lands like Aranoch and Kurast. For as popular as Diablo 2 was at the time, it wouldn’t be until 2012 when Blizzard would bring back the series with Diablo 3.
That fond remembrance of Diablo 2 is likely a big reason why fans were so excited to start hearing rumors swirling around a potential remastered version. Thankfully, the news turned out to be true as the recently absorbed Vicarious Visions is working on Diablo 2: Resurrected which brings the classic PC game into the modern era. While gameplay remains largely the same as how players remembered it in 2000, Resurrected brings overhauled graphics, 4K resolution, cross-progression, as well as new conveniences such as a shared stash and automatic gold pick up.
Thankfully, Diablo 2: Resurrected also brings back all seven of the classic character classes, each with an updated look. Here’s the rundown on each class and what they’re capable of.
While the original Diablo featured the Rogue class, Amazon’s in Diablo 2 were established as being part of the rival clan. Hailing from the islands of the Twin Seas, the Amazon is adept at long range, favoring bows, spears, and javelins over traditional swords.
Skill Trees
- Bow and Crossbow – Skills in this tree give the Amazon new specialized arrows to fire including fire arrows, freezing arrows, and more. It also contains Strafe, which hits multiple enemies in quick succession, Multiple Shot, as well as Guided Arrow.
- Passive and Magic – Featuring more survival based skills, many of the abilities here help the Amazon dodge attacks and increase damage output. Amazon’s also get limited magic abilities such as the Valkyrie summon or creating a decoy which pulls aggro away from the player.
- Javelin and Spear – The final tree, similar to the Bow and Crossbow tree, is designed to make Spears and Javelins more effective. Many of the skills make these weapon types more effective, as well as offer elemental style attacks with poison, or electricity.
Added in the Lord of Destruction expansion, the assassin class is a member of an ancient Vizjerei order originally founded to hunt down mages. Assassins are close quarters combat experts, using martial arts, traps, and shadow discipline to take out their enemies. Better yet, they can open locked chests without actually needing a key. Diablo 3 Demon Hunter players experienced just a bit of what made the Assassin class unique.
Skill Trees
- Martial Arts – The skills in this tree focus on melee combat with charge-up skills and finishing moves. Charge-up skills add a charge for each successive hit while a finishing move uses these charges for a powerful effect. Better yet, Assassin’s can combine different charge up attacks, producing a variety of different effects when triggered by a finishing move. Many of these skills work well with or require claw-based weapons.
- Shadow Disciplines – Many of the skills in this tree augment the abilities of the Assassin including allowing greater changes to block enemy attacks and increasing skill with claw weapons. The Assassin also gets limited magic skills like attacking enemies with mental energy, summoning a copy of themselves to fight alongside the player, or fading out to avoid damage.
- Traps – The final tree is for setting traps down on the battlefield that automatically trigger when enemies approach. These include traps that launch fireballs, summon blades surrounding the player, firing electricity, and more.
Even though the Barbarian may look a bit different in Diablo 2: Resurrected, they remain the traditional tank class of the Diablo series. Barbarians hail from the Steppes of Mount Arreat, the location of Act 5 in the Lord of Destruction expansion campaign. A frontline fighter, this class can dish out damage as well as take it. They’re also the only class capable of dual wielding weapons.
Skill Trees
- Warcries – Similar to a passive spell, Barbarians shout out to receive a bonus to a variety of modifiers that can also impact teammates like damage, lowering enemy damage, or even taunting enemies to attack the player. This tree also includes three corpse skills which use the dead to find additional potions, items, or placing a totem to ward off enemies.
- Combat Skills – These are the main offensive abilities for Barbarians, including iconic moves like Leap Attack, Whirlwind, and Berserk.
- Combat Masteries – This tree helps the player become more effective with different types of weapons. Adding points into the skills here increase the damage and attack rating of a weapon type, while also increasing health, damage resistance, and speed.
The other class added within the Lord of Destruction expansion, Druids hail from the forests surrounding the land of Scosglen. As their name implies, Druids utilize nature based magic to call forth volcanoes, tornadoes, and other damaging spells. In addition, they’re able to shape shift into various creatures and can summon animals to their side for additional help.
Skill Trees
- Elemental Skills – Utilizing the forces of nature, this skill tree gives players access to both offensive and defensive elemental attacks. The two branches are broken into wind and fire skills which help deal with groups of enemies or protect the player with defensive skills like Cyclone armor.
- Shape Shifting – As expected, these skills allow the player to transform into a werewolf or werebear. Other skills in this tree enhance the effects of the shapeshift such as giving poison to wolf attacks or a stun for the Werebear. Players can also increase the time they’re transformed by putting points into the Lycanthropy skill.
- Summoning – The final Druid tree is the path of pets. Many skills in this tree summon animal helpers and unlike the Necromancer, the Druid can have a big group of helpers. This includes living vines, ravens, wolves, and even a grizzly bear. Secondary skills in this tree also provide ways for the player to regenerate health and mana.
Similar to a Sorceress, Necromancers are spell users focused on death and decay rather than the elements. A member of the Priests of Rathma from the Eastern Jungles, this class is another pet class, able to summon a skeleton army as well as powerful golems. They also specialize in poison attacks, summoning bone structures, and cursing their enemies.
Skill Trees
- Summoning – The bread and butter tree of any Necromancer is summoning. Here, Necromancers can learn to resurrect skeleton warriors and mages as well as a variety of Golems from fire to iron to blood. In addition, this tree has passive skills which improve the quality of the summoned creatures, increasing health, defense, and damage.
- Poison and Bone – More of a pure spellcasting tree, Necromancers can learn defensive magic like summoning Bone Armor, trapping enemies in a Bone Prison, or building a bone wall to stop enemies advancing forward. In addition, there are a number of offensive spells here like summoning a bone spear to pierce enemies, causing corpse explosions, and firing a poison nova outward from the Necromancer.
- Curses – The final Necromancer tree are curses, essentially spells that debilitate and weaken enemies. While none of them do direct damage, players have a lot of control over whjat they can cast, from increasing damage against an enemy, adding life steal, lowering their resistances, causing fear, or reflecting damage taken back at the enemy.
As a member of the Knights of Westmarch, these holy warriors are adept at melee combat and using faith based abilities to aid them against the enemies of the light. Originally, these warriors were part of the Church of Zakarum, before its eventual corruption at the hands of one of the Prime Evils, Mephisto the Lord of Hatred. A very popular Diablo 2 class thanks to the Paladin’s signature abilities known as auras.
Skill Trees
- Defensive Auras – Primarily defensive abilities, the majority of these skills are auras which can be toggled on to increase defense, resist certain elemental damage, increase speed, or redeem corpses for Health and Mana. This tree also features two skills which can heal party members as well as regenerate mana.
- Offensive Auras – While similar to the defensive auras in terms of usage, these are mainly focused on improving combat abilities and damaging enemies. Players have access to things like Thorns which return a percentage of damage to the attacker, damaging enemies with elemental attacks, and more. It’s also worth noting that none of these skills use mana.
- Combat Skills – These skills augment the Paladin’s offensive abilities, giving them access to a number of holy spells. Abilities include Fist of the Heavens calls down a lightning strike that spawns Holy Bolts along the ground. Conversion gives the player a chance to charm an enemy and have them fight for the player for a short amount of time.
Originally part of a coven of female witches, the Sorceress excels at elemental magic. A glass cannon of sorts, this class fights from range and isn’t particularly good at melee combat, which likely rings true for the Sorceress’ return in Diablo 4. They can’t take too many hits and players will need to have plenty of mana potions on hand, though they can deal a considerable amount of damage very quickly.
Skill Trees
- Fire – As expected, these spells deal with flames and fire and represent the most damaging attacks that the Sorceress has access to. In addition to fire balls, fire novas, and meteor strikes, Warmth can be used to increase the rate of mana regeneration.
- Lightning – The Lightning tree calls forth electric-based attacks such as Nova and Chain Lightning, and features spells that have the highest damage potential, though the maximum and minimum damage ranges can vary which leads to more inconsistencies. This tree also features the Teleport skill, Telekinesis for picking up things far away, as well as Energy Shield for improved defense.
- Cold – The final tree for the Sorceress is better used for enemy control than pure damage thanks to many skills ability to slow and freeze enemies. Damaging spells include the Frozen Orb that spins outward freezing everything it touches, Frost Nova for a quick 360 degree blast of chilling air, as well as summoning a blizzard over a large area. Players can also utilize cold armor which improves defense and freezes enemies that hit the Sorceress.
Diablo 2 Resurrected is currently in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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