Diablo 2: Resurrected
Guides

1. Abyss Summoner Warlock

 

The top pick goes to the Abyss Summoner Warlock. Abyss Warlocks don't require a sunder charm to handle magic immunes which can sometimes be a little difficult to obtain while leveling. Warlocks also have a percentage of their damage taken go to their summons making them very strong defensively and they have multiple minions which helps keep you safe in Hardcore.

Recommendation: Abyss Summoner Warlock

Stats: Enough Strength for gear (low Strength build), enough Dexterity for 75% block with Whitstan's Guard (for Hardcore defenses this shield has the highest block rate in the game by far), all remaining points in Vitality, no Energy.

Build:

20 Abyss

20 Miasma Chain

20 Miasma Bolt

20 Blood Oath (transfers a percentage of your damage taken to your summons)

10 Demonic Mastery (needs to be at least level 10 with plus skills for a second minion)

1 Bind Demon

1 Summon Defiler

1 Consume

1 Sigil: Death

1 Hex: Siphon

1 Levitation Mastery

All remaining points in Enhanced Entropy which makes Abyss have increased area of effect and increased duration.

Note: Sigil: Death is important because it deals high AoE damage which makes this build strong against multiple enemies.

 

2. Trap Assassin (Trapsin)

 

The second place spot goes to the Lightning Trap Assassin. This build is a ranged attacker capable of shooting off screen with as many as 5 lightning traps. The Lightning Trap Assassin is a great choice for anyone playing Hardcore.

Recommendation: Lightning Trap Assassin

Stats: Enough Strength for gear, enough Dexterity for 75% block when using a shield like Whitstan's Guard (a shield with very high hidden block rate), all remaining points in Vitality, no Energy.

Build:

20 Lightning Sentry

20 Fire Blast (Great for lightning immunes and it's also a synergy for Lightning Sentry)

20 Death Sentry

1 Burst of Speed

1 Fade

1 Weapon Block

1 Shadow Master

1 Mind Blast

All remaining points in Lightning Sentry's synergies.

 

3. Bone Spear Necromancer

 

It may surprise you to learn that Bone Spear damage with a White runeword wand does comparable damage to Bone Spirit and it can also hit multiple targets. Not to mention Bone Spear Necromancers have a recastable physical shield with Bone Armor. Synergy skills for Bone Spear also raise your Bone Armor's strength with every point spent.

Recommendation: Bone Spear Necromancer

Stats: Enough Strength for gear, 0 Dexterity (you don't need block when Bone Armor can absorb your physical damage taken), all the rest in Vitality, 0 Energy.

Build:

20 Bone Spear

20 Bone Prison

20 Bone Wall

1 Fire Golem (Fire Golem is optional because Clay Golem has a lower mana cost and has comparable life on Hell difficulty)

1 Amplify

1 Confuse 

1 Bone Armor

5-10 points in Corpse Explosion (Corpse Explosion is a powerful AoE spell when paired with the Amplify curse)

Remaining points in Bone Spirit last because it doesn't synergize Bone Armor.

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4. Whirlwind Barbarian

 

Whirlwind Barbarians have high health, they can stack high magic find, they survive very well with life leech, and they can dish out great damage in multiplayer games with high Crushing Blow which damages enemies for a percentage of their life.

Recommendation: Whirlwind Barbarian

Stats: Enough strength for gear, 0 Dexterity (attack rating comes from Angelic's Ring/Amulet), all other points in Vitality, 0 Energy.

Build:

20 Whirlwind

20 Battle Orders

20 Weapon Mastery

Enough in Natural Resist to top off your resists (5-7 should be enough)

1 Increased Speed

1 Iron Skin

1 Berserk

All remaining points in Shout.

Note: Life leech, mana leech, and Crushing Blow go a long way on this character. I recommend all three because they increase your damage, keep you alive with a two handed weapon, and keep your life and mana pool high for Hardcore.

 

5. Blizzard Sorceress (BlizzSorc)

 

The best Sorceress for Hardcore comes with the ability to freeze mobs and dishes out a great deal of damage.

Recommendation: Blizzard Sorceress

Stats: Enough Strength for gear, enough Dexterity for 75% block with a Whitstan's Guard Shield, all other points in Vitality, 0 Energy.

Build:

20 Blizzard

20 Glacial Spike

1 Teleport

1 Shiver Armor

1 Static

1 Telekenesis

1 Warmth

All remaining points in Blizzard's synergies

A few points in Cold Mastery is enough for PvM Hardcore (not every mob has high cold resistances).

Note: Faster cast rate is important for teleporting through mobs and you should have at least 62% which is the breakpoint. Defense is surprisingly helpful on Sorceress in Hardcore so that mobs miss you while you're teleporting through them with Shiver Armor. 

 

6. Werewolf Fire Claws Druid

 

Without high plus skills Hurricane Druid damage is a little low in PvM compared to a Fire Claws Werewolf Druid. Add in Crushing Blow and this character can kill high health mobs and bosses extremely quickly. Not to mention a huge life pool to go with the damage. Note: Werebear was heavily nerfed for Fire Claws so, Werewolf is now the recommended shapeshifting form.

Recommendation: Werewolf Fire Claws Druid

Stats: Enough Strength for gear, 136 dexterity to meet the requirement for a Phase Blade Grief, all the rest in Vitality, 0 in Energy.

Build:

20 Fireclaw

20 Molten Boulder

20 Firestorm

20 Lycanthropy

1 Grizzly

1 Heart of the Wolverine (used for dealing with fire immunes)

Remaining Points in Oak Sage for a life buff

Note: Consider using items with Crushing Blow. It will help with tough fire immunes and is very helpful for fights like Act 5 Baal's minion's and the Ancients. You can also switch into Crushing Blow gear for the most difficult fights in the game.

 

7. Concentrate Barbarian

 

Concentrate Barbarians are excellent at survival. Concentration gives a huge defense buff that stacks with the defense buff from Shout. Battle Orders synergizes with Concentrate which increases your damage and gives you a life bonus.

Recommendation: Concentrate Barbarian

Stats: Enough Strength for gear, 0 Dexterity (attack rating comes from Angelic's Ring/Amulet), the rest in Vitality, 0 in Energy.

Build:

20 Concentrate

20 Battle Orders

20 Mastery

Enough Natural Resist to top off your resists (5-7 should be enough)

1 Increased Speed

1 Iron Skin

1 Berserk

All remaining points in Shout for defenses in Hardcore.

Note: Concentrate Barbarians are recommended for Hardcore Uber runs because once they're geared up they're nearly unkillable.

 

Honorable Mention: Blessed Hammer Paladin (Hammerdin)

 

Blessed Hammer Paladins do the most damage of any class except maybe Warlock and yet they're still challenging characters to complete Hardcore before you have gear. A favorite of many and the most powerful damage dealing class in the game...

Recommendation: Blessed Hammer Paladin

Stats: Enough Strength for gear, enough dexterity for 75% block with Holy Shield, all other points in Vitality, 0 Energy.

Build:

20 Blessed Hammer

20 Concentrate

20 Vigor

16 Holy Shield (with plus skills because at level 16 Holy Shield the next four levels don't offer increased block chance)

1 Redemption (great skill to have for PvM because it gives life and mana replenishment)

Remaining points go in Blessed Aim which is a synergy for Blessed Hammer

Note: After 10 points in Blessed Hammer, Concentrate and Vigor take priority. Five points in Holy Shield early on is recommended at early levels. Paladins also have great mobility with Vigor and Charge if you can't afford the Enigma runeword for Teleport yet.

 

Gearing Guide

Once you have completed the game you can look for the more rare runewords that are difficult to find in Single Player and Hardcore mode. However, these items are a great place to start...

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Weapon:

Will vary based on character and class...

Trap Assassin - +3 to Trap Skills Claws

Bone Spear Necromancer - Use an 8 to Bone Spear White Runeword Wand.

Blizzard Sorceress - Use the Heart of the Oak runeword weapon or The Oculus for magic find.

One Handed Melee Builds - Use a Grief Phase Blade which is the highest damage one handed weapon.

Blessed Hammer Paladin - Use the Heart of the Oak runeword weapon in online play or Wizardspike if you're on a budget.

Abyss Summoner Warlock - Obsession Staff (Zod Ist Lem Lum Io Nef) is the high end option, Heart of the Oak Flail (Ko Vex Pul Thul) is the mid tier option, and Spirit Crystal Sword (Tal Thul Ort Amn) is the budget option.

 

Shield:

All classes (except Paladin) - Whitstan's Guard (the highest block shield that has hidden block rate that goes above the 75% displayed on the shield). A Spirit Monarch (Tal, Thul, Ort, Amn) should be used if you don't need block for +2 to all skill, up to 35% faster cast rate, and solid resistances. If your build requires high strength you can also use a Stormshield for 35% reduced physical damage taken, resistances, and a solid block chance.

Paladin - Herald of Zakarum or an Ethereal Exile (Vex Ohm Ist Dol).

 

Amulet:

Two Handed Melee Builds - Use Angelic Amulet and Angelic Ring for a massive attack rating increase or Metalgrid (with a Raven Frost ring) for high attack rating with high all resistances.

For other builds - Mara's Kaleidoscope is recommended for most build but a faster cast rate amulet is sometimes necessary too.

 

Rings:

Two Handed Melee Builds - Raven Frost for cannot be frozen and attack rating and Angelic Ring and Amulet can be used for life and high attack rating. If you need resistances you can also pair a Metalgrid amulet with a Raven Frost for high attack rating.

For all other builds - Raven Frost, Dwarf Star, and/or Wisp Projector the last of which is great for Oak Sage which increases your life but on some builds you should use rings with life leech and mana leech and/or faster cast rate instead.

 

Helm:

Melee - Arreat's Face (for Barbarians), Jalal's Mane (for Druids), Vampire Gaze (for damage reduction), Harlequin Crest (aka: Shako).

Casters - Harlequin Crest (aka: Shako) or a +2 Circlet, Coronet, or Diadem with 20% faster cast rate.

 

Armor:

In multiplayer you will generally want to work up to using runewords like the best in slot Fortitude, Chains of Honor, and Enigma runewords. The extreme budget Smoke Runeword for all resistances +50% is a good start, Vipermagi (Um'd) for +1 to all skills, all resistances +50%, and 30% faster cast rate, or Gloom for all resistances +45% and high defense are all great budget options. Shaftstop is strong defensively for its 30% reduced physical damage taken and life if you use high resistance items in other slots. 

 

Belt:

String of Ears - Has physical damage taken reduction and life leech for melee builds that benefit from life leech.

Verdungo's Hearty Coil - Has reduced physical damage taken and Vitality when you don't need life leech.

Arachnid's Mesh or Gheed's Wager - These have faster cast rate for builds that need faster cast rate.

Thundergod's Vigor - Gives +3 to Lightning Fury, +3 to Lightning Strike, Strength, Vitality, lightning absorb, and increased maximum lightning resistance.

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Gloves:

Increased attack speed gloves or leech gloves like Dracul's, 20% faster cast rate gloves, gloves with 20% faster attack speed and increases to skill trees, Chance Guards for 40% magic find, or optionally you can use budget gloves with resistances and magic find.

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Feet:

Run walk boots with three resistances and faster hit recovery is a high end option.

War Traveler boots should be used for magic find.

Crushing blow boots like Gore Riders or Goblin Toe for melee builds.

 

Mercenaries:

Act 2 Mercenaries are recommended for every Hardcore build. For Act 2 mercenaries use the following equipment in Hardcore:

Helm: Tal-Rasha's Helm, Vampire Gaze, or Andariel's Visage.

Weapon: Insight Runeword for a low rune cost which gives very high mana regeneration, Blackleech Blade which gives the Weaken curse, Infinity for the Conviction aura which lowers enemies' resistances and defense, or Reaper's Toll for its Decrepify curse on hit.

Armor: Ethereal Fortitude is best in slot for your mercenary or the budget Duriel's Shell can be used for all resistances.

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Tips:

1. Act bosses target the character or npc who is closest to them. This means if your mercenary can't survive Mephisto, you can move closer to the boss than your mercenary and he will target you instead.

 

2. Baal's Act 5 minions can be skipped which is great for repeat magic find runs. Simply lead them a short ways out of Baal's room and then run back to the portal that Baal enters to skip them.

 

3. If you become overwhelmed by Baal's minions in Act 5, consider taking them to the side of the room and using the poles to let a few through to single them out while your mercenary is tanking them. This will also take you out of range of Baal's Decrepify curse.

 

4. Antidote Potions and Thawing Potions not only cure poison and chill, they also have the added effect of raising your poison resistance or cold resistance by 50 and your maximum poison resistance or cold resistance by 10 for a medium duration. This works great for Andariel, Radament, The Summoner, Duriel, and Act2 Baal's Minions and also works for your mercenary.

 

5. Baal summons a copy of himself which makes him much more difficult to defeat. The copy of Baal has a chance at disappearing when you go to town using a town portal and return to the Worldstone Chamber.

 

6. Mephisto can be easily killed by bringing him to the river and teleporting to the other side of the river. He will stand defenseless at the right range allowing you to easily unload your abilities on him without risk of dying. This is great for repeat magic find runs.

 

7. Some of the best items in Hardcore are bought from vendors. The merchants commonly have some very useful items when you know where to find them. Merchants items include: 3 to Warcries weapons, 3 to Trap Skills claws, 3 to Shadow Mastery claws, 100 health belts with a resistance, gloves/boots with magic find and a resistance, a +3 to Bone Spear wand to make White Runeword, or even a strong Cruel modifier weapon with a nice second modifier. To find these items all you will need to do is reset the merchants inventory by leaving town and re-entering. A three socketed flail purchased from Fara in Act 2 socketed with 3 Orts makes an excellent weapon early in the game. Resistance/magic find gloves and boots are available and semi-common from Elzix as early as Act 2 Normal. A good starting weapon near the beginning of the game is a 3 socketed scepter socketed with 3 chipped gems. The scepter weapon base can be purchased from Akara in Act 1 Normal.

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8. Eight player Hardcore on single player adds difficulty if you ever feel like you want to add to the challenge. Strong survival builds are needed for a more difficult version of Diablo 2. Whirlwind Barbarians, Fury Druids, and Fire Claws Druids are highly recommended with high crushing blow when playing on the 8 player setting in Hardcore.

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