Diablo II Resurrected has been a great success. The remake of the classic game that arrived in 2001 has fulfilled the expectations it had generated, and next April 28th one of the most awaited events will begin, the start of the first ladder or qualification seasona mode in which all players have to start from scratch to climb to the top of the leaderboard. The leaderboard takes into account the maximum level of each character, so in the end many choose to focus on completing the three difficulty levels as quickly as possible, and doing “Baal runs” to the maximum.
About a year ago I shared with you a guide focused on Diablo II that, however, also aimed to help new players to have a base with which to start playing Diablo II Resurrected, and today I want to do the same with a new guide that is going to be focused precisely on the first ladder of this game. I will touch on the most important keys so that you have all the information you need to start in the best possible way, and also so that you can trade and endure the evolutionary process that a season of Diablo II hierarchy usually has.
I remind you that I have been playing Diablo II since its release in 2001. It’s true that I’ve taken breaks, but in the end I’ve come back to play every so often, and I’ve been playing Diablo II Resurrected since it was released, so you can fully trust all the information, and advice, that I’m going to give you below, because the voice of experience speaks to you. As always, I invite you to leave any questions you may have in the comments. If you are going to start playing it and you don’t remember the requirements, take a look at this link.
1.-Diablo II Resurrected and the farming: Your first character will be key
Many players starting out in the world of Diablo II Resurrected are not sure what their first character should be. Some choose to make the one they like the most, and that’s fine, but you should keep in mind that not all characters will allow you to farm equally well. For example, a fanatical dwarf paladin is very versatile and performs very well, but does not farm as well as a sorceress.
Before continuing I remind you, in case you are not clear, what is the concept of farming. It involves repeatedly and continuously killing enemies within specific areas to try to get loot and better items, including unique items, which are a fundamental base in any character, set items, runes and other valuable resources, such as gems and jewels.
Certain enemies are in easily accessible areas, such as the Travincal council, but others require quite a long walk which can end up being tedious if we have to do it on foot with a barbarian, a druid or a paladin. Mephisto is the best example, as the path can be an ordeal not only because of the great repression of hatred in its second level, but also because of the headache of the stygian dolls.
I know what you’re thinking, that you don’t want to farm hard and you’re fine with raising a character. That’s fine, but for this to survive and to be truly functional you’re going to need quality items, and in the end you’ll have to farm to get them. For this reason, my advice is that your first character should be one that allows you to farm even with cheap equipment in Diablo II Resurrected.
The best option in Diablo II Resurrected is undoubtedly, the hybrid fireball/ice orb sorceressas it achieves a considerable amount of damage and allows us to farm in many places without having to worry about immunes. We can also use it to do rush services in normal and nightmare mode even with very poor equipment, which will help us gain resources from the beginning. Maximize ice orb and its synergy, and give a point to cold mastery. Also maximize fireball, its synergies and fire mastery, and add a point to heat, static field and teleport.
2.-Lean on other players and advance in group
Playing Diablo II Resurrected in a group can be of great help to you for three big reasons. The first is that increases the experience gainedbut keep in mind that this is at the cost of making the monsters tougher. Not only will they have more life, but they will also cause you more damage, so be very careful with the “parasite” players, those who don’t really help you kill or do practically nothing, just sneak into the games to “suck” experience. Get rid of them, and don’t waste time.
On the other hand, playing in a group improves the chances of obtaining quality equipment and valuable resourcesincluding high-level runes on higher difficulty levels. If you have friends to start the Diablo II Resurrected ladder with, ideally you should always try to farm together, and share the loot you obtain. If you play alone you can also obtain quality loot, but the chances will be lower.
Finally, also keep in mind that playing in a group can help you get through those areas you were stuck in sooner. For example, the sorceress described above doesn’t perform well until she gets the ice orb skill, which happens at level 30, so you can team up in the previous levels to overcome those areas that are especially difficult for you. Travincal is usually one of them.
However, do not get carried away by enthusiasm and always be sensible. Think that, unless you play with friends, Diablo II Resurrected users tend to be very competitive, and will “kill each other” to get their hands on the loot of value that falls and will not hesitate to go more on their own. Be careful not to die, because you will lose experience, potions and gold, and they may not help you to recover the corpse.
3.-Learn the value of the items in Diablo II Resurrected
I know what you are thinking, that it is impossible to know the exact value of the items when you start a ladder, and yes, you are right because there is no fixed scale, but this does not mean that we can not determine what is valuable and what is not, and to what extent one thing can be more valuable than another.
So, when we started the ladder, during the first month even such basic objects as a four-holed crystal sword or an Icicle can be very valuableas the former is used to make a very useful rare word, “Spirit”, and the latter has everything a sorceress needs. Similarly, items such as Tal Rasha’s armor, the amulet from that set and basic items for progressing and shaping a character capable of playing on hell difficulty are of great value at the beginning of the season.
Here’s an example, when I started playing Diablo II Resurrected tal Rasha’s armor was even sold for a Ber rune, a real folly since it is now worth one Ist rune. By your reckoning, a Ber rune is now worth between 30 and 34 Ist runes. The same happened with other items such as “The Chaco” or the “Herald of Zakarum”, which also have very high prices at the beginning of the ladder, and which are gradually falling as supply catches up with demand.
If you have doubts and you always miss part of this simple rule: the items that are good and basic to advance and shape a good character in difficulty hell will always have a great value at the beginning of the ladder. Basic runes that are used in useful rune words also have a considerable value at the beginning, although this is quickly reduced.
Why is this so important? Well, because trade is one of the main pillars of Diablo II Resurrected, and because if you do not know the prices of each item well you will end up selling them. This will slow you down, because you will you will need to farm longer to get the items you need. Last but not least, keep in mind that there are items that have a lower value at the beginning of the ladder, but later on they increase significantly.
This is also due to the game of supply and demand, but also to the reality of Diablo II Resurrected itself. When we start, we need to assemble the character’s basic equipment for the character to survive on Hell difficulty, and once done the demand for these drops and there is greater demand for other more “premium” items, such as “Rainbow Facets”, enhanced damage jewels and high runes.
4.-Diablo II Resurrected: Farming and leveling up
Another very important thing that you must be clear about in Diablo II Resurrected is that you will not level up equally fast on all maps in the game, nor in the same conditions There are areas where you can level up more quicklyand therefore the ideal is to repeat them with several players until we reach the maximum recommended level for that area.
- Up to level 15: the ideal is to make runs to Tristan (portal in the Stony Field).
- Up to level 24: we must make runs in tombs (act 2, in Cañón de los Magos).
- To reach level 25 we do the mission of “The Ancients” (act 5).
- Up to level 40: the ideal is to make runs to Baal (normal difficulty).
- We move on to nightmare. I recommend you try to advance as quickly as possible to reach Baal, because there you can make runs to Baal and reach level 70 in a very short time.
- From here, we continue to make runs to Baal but in hell difficulty.
Note that from level 90 on it will take longer and longer to level upand that going, for example, from level 92 to level 93 can cost more than all the time we have invested in reaching level 80. Once you reach that point you must have a lot of patience if you want to continue climbing to reach the top of the hierarchy.
Knowing the best places to farm is also very important. This will largely depend on the character you have created and how fast you can get to each of them, but I would prioritize these six places:
- Andariel (act 1, catacombs level 4).
- Moat (act 1, mini dungeon in Tamoe Highlands).
- Abandoned Tunnels (act 2, mini-dungeon in Lost City).
- Council of Travincal, in act 3.
- Mephisto (act III, Repression of Hate level 3).
- Pindleskin, act 5, Temple of Nihlathak. It is reached directly through the portal opened by Ania.
By doing all these areas you will have chances to to get even the highest level items of Diablo II Resurrected, and the most coveted ones.
5.-Learn to trade and try to sell everything you can
If anything has become clear to me is that the first month, or at most the first two months, after the start of the ladder we should try to sell as much as we can. At that time is when there is a greater demand for objectsand when things as basic as a “Viper Wizard’s Skin” armor can reach unbelievable prices.
Try to keep only what is strictly necessary to be able to continue farming, and sell everything you can, even if you will need it later. Here’s an example of what I did when I started playing Diablo II Resurrected, I needed a Tal Rasha armor to complete the set of my sorceress, and Pindleskin threw me one after doing many runs in a row I could have kept it, but I sold it because its value was still very highand I took an Ohm rune from it. I sold that Ohm for 7 Ists runes, and a month and a half later I bought a Tal Rasha armor for one Ist.
Similarly, I also you should avoid selling those objects that at the beginning of the ladder will not have the value they really deservebecause they are not in high demand and because almost nobody can pay what they cost. Very hard to get elite bases, such as an aetheric shield to make  “Exile,” and  “Rainbow Facets” are two good examples. It is better to wait until there is a greater demand, and then sell them at a more “interesting” price and according to their real value.
Lastly, keep in mind that the market is going to be very uncontrolled at that timeand if you play your cards right you can find some very interesting changes. There are still people who get lost in the changes from major to minor runes, and that can play in your favor, but also against you. Let me give you another example, at the time I got a Jah rune, which is the most valuable rune in Diablo II Resurrected, for two Lo runes, and I also got a Lo for a Vex and three Ists, very good changes for me.
For reference, one Pul rune equals two Lem; one Um equals one Pul and one Lem; one Mal equals one Um and one Pul, although you can ask for a Lem to be added, and one Ist is worth Mal + Um + Pul. That is the basis of the economy in Diablo II Resurrected, and it will be maintained in the ladder. From there, we enter the high runes, whose value is generally maintained following the criteria I have given you, with the exception of the South rune, which is usually changed by Lo + Vex, and the Jah rune, which is not worth Ber + South, but Ber + Ohm or Ber + Lo if you are very lucky.
