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The most important items for duping were no longer the most powerful in the game but were the "Jah" and "Ber" runes. A popular choice, for example, was a skill-boosting ring known as the "Stone of Jordan." After runes were introduced in Lord of Destruction, however, duping became even more common. But, at that time, duping was typically reserved for a handful of the best unique items in the game. The biggest difference between runes and the other stat-boosting items is that players could use a cluster of two or three runes - plus a gem - in the Horadric Cube in order to create a higher-tier rune, and when runes were socketed in a certain order, they created a powerful item.ĭuping had been an issue since the original Diablo game, and Diablo 2 before the expansion was certainly no exception. The newly added jewels behaved just like gems, except that they had randomized magical properties, meaning that they could be extremely useful or just something to throw away. And though jewels were an interesting change, they didn't revolutionize the game in nearly the same way that runes did. But that wasn't the only stat-boosting item from Lord of Destruction. Like gems from Diablo 2, runes and jewels were items that, when socketed, provided stat bonuses. Since charms provided a stat boost by simply being in a player's inventory, it became necessary for fans to fill their inventory with them. But Lord of Destruction remains unique because of the unintended consequences that sprung forth from its content, which entirely changed the way Diablo 2 was played. Now, a month out from its 20th anniversary celebration, it feels appropriate to explore exactly what changed when Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction released.īefore charms were introduced, a player's inventory was typically filled with scrolls, potions, and, more often than not, useless junk. At the time, the depth of content that the Diablo 2: Lord of Destructionexpansion added was more or less unheard of.Īt present, Lord of Destruction stands in the company of its contemporaries like Age of Empires 2: The Conquerors or Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne, which both shared the same Herculean task of improving on beloved original games.
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When Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction came out, it saw great praise from critics and skyrocketed to become one of the best-selling games of 2001. If they don't add enough new content or don't dramatically spruce up the game in a significant way, fans can be disappointed. Expansion packs can tend to be more harshly scrutinized in the gaming community compared to base games.
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