Diablo II

After many of hours and sleepless nights, I've worked my way through Act 1, and am now approaching the end of Act II. I have found out that I have much to learn, as well as figuring out my strategy a bit better.

In Act I you will visit many different lands, and fight all sorts of creatures. You will want to prepare yourself for the first of four grueling conclusions of each act. Don't be surprised when you come across characters from the first Diablo. You remember the first game, don't you?

If not, you soon will. As you work through your different quests in Act 1, you will want to get as much as you can. When you get to the point of traveling to the town of Tristram you will know that you are nearing the end of Act 1.

Here you will save Deckard Cain from certain death by killing Griswold, the village smith from the game. Deckard Cain will then reward you with something back in town. You will know that you are that much closer to the finish of Act I.

Also in Tristram you will find Wirt's leg. This will be used later in the game and offer you a special passage to a secret map once you have killed Diablo in the final Act. If you don't remember Wirt, he was the little boy with the wooden leg on the bridge in the Diablo. Once you get into Act 2, this will be explained more in detail.

Depending on the character that you have chosen, you will want to prepare yourself for the worst on this next venture. This will be the hardest point that you will experience in Act 1. You will be up against Andariel, a huge beastly woman down in the Monastery. She will be equipped with poison and lots of it. (Hint: she doesn't like any of the different elemental attacks.)

You will want to make sure that you have as much protection against poison, not to mention plenty of health on hand. Also prepare yourself with some extra gear in your stash just in case you die, you will need something to get down there and get your body.

You will also want to prepare yourself with plenty of portals. A quick exit is a very good idea. You might want to hot key your portal with your left click button.

Andariel's size is as big as her bite, so use anything to break her down before you attempt to get close to her.

She moves quickly and loves to back you into a corner. Remember escape routes. And don't rely on the one you came in on.

When I read the book that came with the game, they suggested that you kill all the other monsters before you take her on. However, the door flew open and out she came in a fury. At this point, I determined that I had no chance against the other monsters and would have to take them all on at once. There was no turning back at this point.

Act II

After cleansing the area surrounding the Rogue Encampment of evil and killing Andariel, Warriv packs up his goods and heads East, inviting you along. The journey continues as a long and beautiful cinematic plays in between acts. As the exposition ends, you arrive, as ever, dogging the heels of the Dark Wanderer.

The city you shall call home for the next several quests is Lut Gholein, a trading city of seemingly Arabic influence. The surrounding areas juxtapose the lush greens of the Act I with desert expanses and rocky crags. Even the atmosphere seems more intense as you seek to find Tal Rasha's Tomb and slay the next Prime Evil Diablo seeks to free. The Prime Evil in question is no other than Duriel, the Prince of Pain.

Again there are six quests in the act, but some of the quests contain multiple parts that must be completed before being able to move on. The creatures are also much more difficult and you tend to get in over your head much quicker than in Act I. Most creatures in Act II have at least one special attack as well as having better defenses and speed. The unwary adventurer can easily be caught off guard without a healing potion or find themselves cut-off from their portal back to town. Multiple scrolls and potions are highly recommended and a hit-and-run strategy is sometimes necessary.

The final quest takes forever to get through, so if you are short on time, you may want to keep this in mind. Not only is it lengthy, but it is also some of the most difficult battles you have experienced yet in the game. So keep your wits about you and try not to get swamped.

Warning: I have been told of a bug that appears in the last part of the act that you should be aware of. After killing the Summoner, a portal opens to the Valley of the Magi. This is the only way to get to the Valley. Go through the portal and touch the waypoint before saving. Some people have reported that when they saved and quit before going through the portal, the game erased the portal's existence.

I've received letters asking about the placing of the staff in the altar. I recommend killing all the other baddies before opening the door to the boss Duriel, just like I do for any cave or dungeon. Unless you're a masochist, you'll want to face the big guys and their minions without a supporting cast trailing behind you for three rooms. However, no need to fear. Once you've opened the door to Duriel's Lair, you have all the time in the world. Duriel only stays in his cramped room and never comes out to the antechamber. The first thing you should do upon entering the room is to open a portal and then start you attack. Duriel's strikes are quite severe, and combined with his cold attack, you can die very quickly even with thawing potions. Just keep hammering away at him.

Act III

So you made it out of Lut Gholein and Duriel only embarrassed you a half-dozen times.

Groovy.

So what say we get outta this dump and onto Kurast? C'mon, between the dust and the heat my nose is booger-city.

Pulling into Kurast, we see a struggling town in the middle of a swamp. I have really got to talk to my travel agent.

Anyway...

In Act III you better prepare to dig your heels in and do a lot of fighting.

I mean a ton of fighting.

The sheer numbers of enemies are staggering and make grown men weep. You must kill them all.

By the way, did I mention there are one or two battle in this Act? I thought so.

One of the most common questions I hear about Act III is "How do I activate Quest 1?". You must venture outside of town and then first unique creature or champion you kill should help you. Many people couldn't figure this out. Personally, I never had this problem, as I just charged headlong into the forest and started my slaughter. I went straight to the Arachnid Lair and cleaned it out, facing down a unique spider at the end whose name escapes me. It was probably something like "Snot-Butt the Eternally Grumpy". After picking up my mess, I noticed a Jade Figurine on the ground. I went straight back to town without changing clothes, covered in giant spider venom and viscera. And my hair was a mess too. I took the figurine to Meshif and the exchange was as follows:

Meshif: Yo, man! Seriously, dude, you smell awful. Is that giant spider viscera all over you? Dude, that is wrong on so many levels! Why don't you take a bath, man?
Me: Back off, dock-jockey. I don't see you out there fighting the forces of evil!
Meshif:: Heck no! I'm up in here trying to get my chat on with Asheara. Knowhatimsayin?
Me: I hate you. Here's your stupid statue. I hope you die of ringworm.

Ok, maybe it wasn't exactly like that, but, between my cold medicine and staying up all hours of the night playing D2, I've become a little delusional. Now pass me the remote so I can paint me tree.

[Editor's Note: Jon was found passed out, drooling on his keyboard. The rest of the articles was written several hours later after he woke himself in a fit of shrieking]

That's much better. Anyway, The other quests are fairly straightforward. Find the Blade of the Old Religion. Create a magic flail with a dead sorcerer's brain, eye, and heart that you must first find. Destroy a magic artifact with the flail. Kill a whole lot of creatures. How many and what kind? Good question.

Repeat after me: I hate Flayers and Soul Killers. I hate their shamans even more. If I ever lay chance to yell at the guy who designed them, I will scream myself hoarse. The first rule of Diablo Clan is: You do not talk about Diablo Clan!

Sorry. I got a bit carried away. But my point remains that those little ankle-biters are the most annoying thing I have come across in the game. That's right. Those buggers are tied in my book with the Battle.net server problems. Not only are they fast, they run away. They swarm. There's a million of them. They have missile attacks. Their shamans can actually do some damage. Even using my 24th level Amazon, I still am sent running after only a few minutes of hacking away. I've lost tens of thousands of gold pieces to those pint-sized pugilists and I want blood. So fair warning to those not yet in Act III. Annoyance awaits you at every turn. Oh yeah and sometimes it really sucks trying to get around in the swamp.

So what is our mantra for Act III, kids?

Parties : Good
Solo: Bad

Act IV

Finally, I've reached Act IV. I set sail to The Pandemonium Fortress knowing that I am nearing Diablo, but keeping in mind that I have a long battle ahead of me.

Preparing for the worst, I find myself back up against those flying ghosts, this time red in color, as well as large monsters and plenty of those disgusting maggots that surround you.

Now onto your first quest of Act IV, The Fallen Angel. When you reach The Fallen Angel, it will be very obvious. When you come across a rock formation surrounded by minions, this will be your first clue. They will be fighting and surrounding you at close range. This is mainly because they have short attack range, so it's best to use the hit-and-run defense.

These minions are very strong and put up quite a fight so make sure that you don't get blocked in, otherwise you won't have a chance. Take on the minions first before the Fallen Angel and you will have a much better chance. The Fallen Angel is equipped with a lot of resistance, but his only attack is hand-to-hand combat. The main weapon for the Fallen Angel is the sword.

Once you have killed the Fallen Angel you will receive 2 free skill points and hear more of the storyline. When you receive these skill points you are going to want to keep in mind that most of the creatures that you come across from here on out will be immune to fire! You then will be directed back to town to receive your next quest from Tyrael, the archangel back in town.

The second quest is to find The Hellforge to destroy Mephisto's Soulstone. This is a very straightforward mission: Seek and destroy! Seek out the forge and destroy the boss (very similar to the sixth quest in Act I).

Hephasto is the boss that you will have to fight to get to Mephisto's Soulstone. He will give you a hammer which you will use to smash the Soulstone. Once you have smashed the stone, you will be rewarded with a large amount of high quality gems.

You will then hear those words that you have been waiting so long to hear, Time to face Diablo!
-Charon
-Webmistress

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