From: Alexander "N_Ferno"
Subject: RE: A Simple Question

Dear Gheed,

Apparently someone woke up on the wrong side of the Rougue Encampment this morning? Or perhaps the sale of your over-priced wares have been dimishing due to the heavy competition of Elzix in Lut Gholein (you have to love that trap door)? Regardless, I take offense to your lecture of an answer to my question of "Why Korea?" I was not questioning their right to play on battle.lag, nor was or am I upset at their prolification on battle.lag.

The question was meant to refer to the fact their are nearly as many Koreans playing Diablo II as there are Americans (if not more, I have no numbers). And even in the far off land of Sanctuary, I am sure that you have heard of the staggering sales of Starcraft in that country. I belive that I even remember seeing photos of potato chip bags with Starcraft images on the bag and get togethers with people dressed in Starcraft attire! And this puzzles me...

Why, You ask? Well, if you take a look at our little "global village" here on earth there are an immense number of countries. Some have more money, some have more area, some are dense with population, and one is smitten with Blizzard Entertainment. So I ask again, why Korea? Where does this love for computer gaming come from? Not that it is an astonishment to me, but rather it sparks my curiosity. What factors into this desire to game?

I would greatly appreciate you replying to this question in your column. It will clear my name from an untrue association with racism, and clear your name of being quick to point your greedy little finger. Well, it might not clear the greedy part...

-N_Ferno (Fire Wall sorc extraordinaire)

Alex,

Coming out-of-character for a moment, I am deeply sorry for wrongly accusing you. It's just that I have experienced so many god-awful, American (though I am American as well) players on Battle.Net who whine and whine about Koreans playing on "their" Realms -- even to the point of claiming that they don't belong there. Again, I sincerely apologize; next time, just be more specific on an issue that includes the possibility of unjust racism. "Why Korea?" leaves one to guess what you're asking. But thanks for clarifying. Now, onto your real topic:

The success of Blizzard Entertainment's games in Korea is astounding. StarCraft has sold more copies there than any other country (I think; maybe second to the U.S.), and continues to top sales in Korea; I read, recently, that over 40,000 copies are sold on average, per month in Korea alone. There is a television station dedicated to StarCraft in Korea, and the large StarCraft tournaments held there feature hugely popular Korean pop stars, as well as many other extravagant features. Diablo II is doing very well over there too, but it doesn't seem to be nearly as popular as StarCraft, yet. The actual reason why these games are so incredibly popular in Korea baffles me, I suppose they are just a very unique culture who found extreme interest in StarCraft, and it went from there...

From: Alteima
Subject: question for you...

Almighty Destroyer of my Gold Reserves,

If I have Energy Shield active, absorbing 30% of damage into mana instead of life, and Nightsmoke equipped, absorbing 50%, how do the two abilities stack? Do they stack at all? The percents can't just be added since Energy Shield can get up to 60% or higher. And what's the big idea giving me all those +1 light radius rings and skull caps of the fox when I've spent millions of dollars on you? If you don't start coughing up some decent items, then I'll have to withdraw my "services" as well. :) For awhile, anyway.

-Alteima
Lv42 Sorceress

Altemia,

I'm not completely certain on this one, so just bear with me. There are a few possibilities I can think of. If the percentages can directly add up, then the effect would just be cut off at 100 percent. I doubt that. What makes more sense, however, is that the percentages average themselves, beginning with Energy Shield's effect. This means that you take the current effect of Energy Shield (30%) and then add Nightsmoke's effect (50%) as a percentage of Energy Shield's effect. Mathematically: 30% + (50% x 30%) = 45% or 0.30 + (0.50 x 0.30) = 0.45

Again, I'm not completely certain if what I stated above is correct, but the second guess seems the most probable.

From: Soulix
Subject: Male and Female?

Hey Gheed, hows the business going? Thanks for all rares/uniques... anyway I have a simple question. How come there is no choice of Male and Female for each class? I love my Amazon but I wish she could be a he --- or a "Ranger"... how come Blizzard did not use this in Diablo? Catch ya later, I'll be back with a sack of gold for those stones :)

-Soulix 62 Barb, Matix 35 Amazon [US West]

Soulix,

My, that is an interesting topic, one that I had not expected. This is a tough one, but there are certain logical reasons why there aren't male and female equivalents of each character class in Diablo II. Amazons are historically female warriors, not male; the Barbarian is probably the nearest equivalent of a male Amazon. Paladins are a reverse example; normally, you would only use that name for a male warrior of medieval times. Barbarians aren't necessarily just male, and a female form could have been created. I suppose that a Necromancess would be possible, but that name is just funky. Besides, I'd hate to have to despise any women. :) Including a Sorcerer in Diablo II would raise some eyebrows, since that class was in Diablo I; also, the character classes of Diablo II are supposed to be more powerful, able to stand against Diablo for the final test.

The largest reason why male and female versions of each character class weren't created is probably the time it takes to create all the animations with all the item types for each character class. Plus, you have to finalize a design for each character, and overall, creating the character classes for Diablo II took a huge amount of time and work. For your query about a Ranger, an Amazon can be a ranger if she is designed as a Bowazon.

From: veryrootable
Subject: howdy ho from the land down under

hey,

well, my question is rather short and sweet: as you pointed out, at level 2 and above, the valkerye has various benefits bestowed upon her per point put into her, including attack and defence bonuses. what i want to know is, what determines how much ACTUAL damage she does? as we all know, 100% of 0 is 0, so obviously she has some form of BASE damage that those bonus percentages is calculated upon. also, is her base damage related to what weapon you have/what damage YOU do/or what level she/you are, and what is that base damage? hmm, so much for short and sweet :) anyway, an answer would be much appreciated.

thanks.

dame veryrootable

veryrootable,

I am shocked to find out that I can't seem to find any specifics about your question. However, I've heard from lounging Amazons around my shop, that their Valkyries are generated with virtual clones of their weapons. As for the armors they have equipped, they could also be a copy of what you are using, or could be simply randomly generated items with item level 25 plus 3 levels per slvl in Valkyrie. (slvl = skill level -- number of points you have in a skill.) So, the amount of damage they deal is most likely the range of damage your weapon has (including any bonuses from other items or auras, etc.), plus the extra percentage that you get when you have a Valkyrie of level 2 and beyond. And there you have it.

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