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Diablo II Review
Sunday, August 20, 2000
Gameplay
(Cont.)
Your
skill points are assigned to the various different skills that
each
character has. Each skill can be assigned up to a maximum of 20
points,
each further point increasing its effectiveness. For example, if a
Necromancer had 2 points in Raise Skeleton, he could raise two
skeletons
from the dead, while if he had 3 points in it, he could raise
three. Or,
let's say that a Paladin had 1 point in "Thorns", which
harms enemies when
they attack you. If another point is placed into this skill, its
effectiveness would rise from 250% damage inflicted back upon
monsters up
to 290%.
You no longer "learn" spells. Spells are treated in the
same way as skills,
requiring at least one point to be placed into them for them to
become
available.
Diablo II has five different character classes for play. Let's
take a brief
look at them:
Barbarian:
The master of hand-to-hand combat. He has many skills that enhance
his
combat effectiveness, such as Frenzy, Berserk, and Concentrate. He
starts
out the strongest physically, but has a small amount of mana. He
can also
use a skill called "Find Potion" which, when used on a
corpse, grants a
chance that a mana, health, or rejuvination potion will pop out.
This class
is for the player who wants to run wildly into combat, constantly
downing
health potions, and proceeding to hack everything into pieces.
Paladin:
A holy warrior, sent to send Diablo and his demonic hordes
straight back to
hell. His primary skills are "auras" that usually
detract from mana when
they are active. They affect all members of your party, making the
Paladin
a necessity for any multiplayer group. He can dish out a lot of
punishment
as well as take a fair share of it himself, though not as much as
the
Barbarian. Some of his skills, such as "Meditation" and
"Prayer" allow him
to regenerate Mana and health points for his entire group.
Continue
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