Diablo II: Lord of Destruction for Windows

Diablo II expansion patch

Diablo II: Lord of Destruction is a game utility developed by Blizzard North. This app serves as an expansion pack for the hack-and-slash action-RPG Diablo II. It adds content to the game in the form of two new characters, new weapons, and an addition to the fifth act. It also revamped the gameplay for both solo and multiplayer campaigns.

Unlike the original Diablo's expansion pack, Diablo: Hellfire, Lord of Destruction is a first-party expansion. Moreover, the plot it offers is so good that it could be a standalone game. However, it is a bit on the shorter side.

What's new in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction?

Diablo II: Lord of Destruction is the second expansion of Diablo II that offers a great follow-up to the original game. It comes with a deeper and more interesting story than what you may expect from game expansion. Here, things are not good as the brother of Diablo, Baal, is causing havoc. Players then need to destroy the World Stone in Mount Arreat, an all-new map and home to the Barbarians.

The Diablo II expansion also included various other changes to the original hack-and-slash game aside from a new act. The most notable is the addition of two new playable classes: The Assassin and The Druid class. More than that, there are also new types of items and magical properties that you can combine. You can now even dig deeper and customize your character the way you want it.

There are a lot of items included in this expansion pack. It opens up a lot of farming and building possibilities. Whether you’re crafting new recipes or upgrading your weapons and armor, the new items and combinations will help you set up stronger builds. Additional items include:

• 33 new Runes, which are stones that contain words and additional effects when socketed into the right item.
• Hundreds of new Horadric Cube recipes.
• Jewels that can be inserted into sockets to achieve additional bonus effects.
• Ethereal weapons and armor are stronger than their standard versions but cannot be repaired.
• Charms that add passive bonuses by simply being in your inventory.

Additional quality-of-life changes

Lord of Destruction also made changes to the interface and how it plays. You can now access an onscreen mini-map of the game's full-screen map overlay. There are also convenient hotkeys for buying multiple types of common items. Moreover, players can now switch between equipment mid-game. Best of all, it now lets you play in 800x600 resolution, up from 640x480. 

Whereas Hirelings are limited to only a single Act in the base game, Lord of Destruction allows you to bring them across the entire game. They can also be equipped with armor and weapons and level up alongside the player. They can even be resurrected when killed. In terms of storage, the stash has been expanded to twice its original size.

Should you play it?

Diablo II: Lord of Destruction is a fantastic addition to an already impressive game. The expansion offers tons of new content, including a new storyline, two new playable classes, and hundreds of new items and skills. It also made improvements on the interface, allowing players to complete the quest with ease. It even lets you play at a higher resolution. If you are a Diablo fan, this is a must-play.