Gather round, my groveling gamblers and customers, from all colors and creeds except that unnerving grayness of death. I'll regale you with the conclusion to my little tale of how I lost the last of my vast fortunes at that lowly, fixed Amazon casino.
Down on the Amazon Isle of Philios I was on my way on yet another fair and successful evening in terms of both gold and attention from the fairer sex, when all began to turn sour. Having enough of two smaller venues for quite strong, tasty beverages and winning one while losing another drinking contest with those lovely ladies, after great consideration I declined their insistent offer to play strip poker in order to maintain a certain level of dignity, and instead moved on to a new location.
The soft glow of candles in the luxiously adorned windows of a venue ahead on my entourage's stumbling walks through the local beach town that evening attracted my eyes and desire in tow. I was joined by a couple earnest and stunningly beautiful "caretaker" Amazons doubling as bodyguards, of course without showing any sign of that fact in their suggestive stylish holiday wear, as well as a couple lads from the "old days" when I was a young, strapping vendor just learning the "ropes" of the trade. They, too, were spending the days- supposedly- away from the dangers of a demon invasion and in the more pleasurable of locales on the world of Sanctuary. They were only too happy to catch up with Gheed and my fair Amazonian "friends" (did you really think Pepin the Healer was really that innocent?) as I leave no night without a measurable level of intrigue.
It was at this cursed casino where the unthinkable happened: In the midst of our merry times that I only too slowly began to notice that my winnings were switfly disappearing over games of this particular establishment's versions of Roulette d'Arreat, Six Pences, and a curious house-only device referred to curiously as "Ball of Skee."
Distracted by the antics of my friends and assistants and that mystical on-stage nude divination going on to the side, I also failed to notice the prices on the vittles and vitals (ales) lists as well as the hidden hourly fees for "private entertainment" or what was laughably explained to me later as the watchful eye of more than one young virgin of disarming looks to deliver my "every need." This appeared to be reduced to the waitresses delivering me and my entourage a new alcohol of choice as soon as we'd reached the halfway point in my previous one. As for their virginal state, I have my doubts, but for any other word I would not describe them as "disarming" except in terms of gold.
In all the truth the establishment simply billed the full charge back to my hotel, thus it was not until a sobered morning that I saw the damage in result. To think the resort would not take it all on credit, claiming something about an unstable banking climate... And after my years of patronage? That would not be the end of it... But that's all I can tell for now.
I'm not quite understanding this whole concept of mods. How do they change diablo, is it similar to morrowind in which it simply adds a quest without altering the main quest, like adding a door to another cave for example... or does it permanently alter the game? Any other information would be highly appreciated.
Please reply, if ur going to, to
[omitted]
Thanx
Rizla
Well to start, "mods" comes from the word "modifications" and indicates that the game is being changed in some way. However, generally in mods for Diablo II the main quests aren't altered in the most basic sense. The goals you accomplish are the same, it's just the many factors therein, like the foes you face and the tools (items) you have to battle them that change.
The more ambitious mods like Median XL actually add quests to the game, in this particular case referred to as uberquests. In addition to the countless changes and additions mods make to the game's collection of items, monsters, graphics, character attributes, and skills they can also add new levels. That's what make mods so great: They expand upon the game, offering not only varied but wholly new experiences and challenges to the player.
From: ben
Subject: ask gheed
hi,
i was wondering if you could tell a way to stop the monsters coming back to life. what i mean is that everytime i kill a load of monsters so that i can get to duriels chamber, which i have found, i can't get there because all the monsters come back to life when i quit the game. is there a way to stop the monsters coming back to life?
also i want to know a way in which to kill duriel is there like a certain strategy that can be used for when u r a barbarian of lvl. 21 it is very hard.
also i know where the chamber is and in a previous game i have put the staff of lazurus thigny in the orifice but when i left my game that time, which i had to do as my computer crashed, is there a way in which i can recobver the staff or sumfing. also in another game i have with a necromancer i am in the same situation but my game did not crash i just turned it off and now the vchamber ain't open and i do not have the staff. could u help me with these three things. cheers.
from ben
Ben,
Well the game isn't going to stop respawning monsters when you exit the game and return in another session. There's nothing you can do about that. That's just part of how the game works.
However, those pesky undead creatures that come back to life and those resurrected minions can certainly be permanently set to rest. For the former case, freeze them solid and shatter them into pieces- That does the trick every time. As for those minions who keep on getting up because of their overlooking shaman, you of course must kill the shaman itself.
You can't recover the staff if you've put it in the orifice, but the good news is that ocnce you've placed it there that chamber will be open in a game that you create. It won't, however, be open in a game instance created by a player who hasn't ventured that far. So, next you simply need to create a game yourself and the way will be open.
Now where's that gold? This advice isn't for free, ya know!
From: Tom
Subject: Ask Gheed
Alright. I just have a question on the fact that every time you get onto your Diablo 2 file, certain items are there. Then, every time you leave the main area for trade and go into the wilderness, then come back, new items appear. Do some people know the order of the items in the store? Could you briefly tell me the order of some of the items, and when they appear in gambling places. By that, I mean, could you identify the items for me so I know which ones to buy to get the rare items?
Tom,
The selection of my wares that you can witness (the glory of) resets each time all players leave the Rogue Encampment, and the same goes for other vendors and in each of the five towns. If players remain in the town, the inventory of a vendor will reset after four minutes that the vendor has been left idle (unbothered by adventurers).
The items you see in my shop each time you look change as you progress through the game based on your character level. As you advance you unlock access to even better equipment, items with higher item levels. However, boast as I might, my wares are also limited by the town in which I reside and the difficulty level you've chosen to explore. I can't boast the same selection of items that you can find in Act II and beyond, no matter what character level you reach.
But remember, gambling at my shop is always and forever the only way to get the very best equipment.
From: keith
Subject: Ask Gheed
how do you talk to other game players when they are in a different game??? what does sqealch do???
Every now and then I feel the kindness in my golden heart to answer a n00b question.
It appears that you're on Battle.net. Well my fine customer, you can "talk" to other players when they're in a different game by using the /msg username message command.
Squelch, on the other hand, allows you to block all text from another player in the game instance whether from normal chat or private message.
From: Andy
Subject: Ask Gheed
Just wondering if there was a way to increase my private stash; gold, space to store items. Also does it make sense to waste my inventory on holding all those charms? Every time I get items i have to use a scroll of town to cash in that item then go back and forth like that because my inventory is all full.
Thanks for your help!
A new player who is loving it.
Andy,
You can't increase the size of your stash except by installing the Lord of Destruction expansion set. That size stash is the maximum you're gonna get, in addition to the space in your character's inventory and the Horadric Cube. However, you may be able to take advantage of mueling, the act of using other characters just as a storage mechanism for your overflowing goods.
Of course, what you should be doing is selling that junk at my shop and gambling for much better treasures.
Charms can be quite valuable for boosting your resistance levels, skill levels, and chance to find magic items. However, you may want to cut back as much as possible or carry only small charms so as to free up space for your loot.
From: Kevin and Zomb
Subject: Ask Gheed
Hi Gheed,
What's the best mod around there in the wide DIABLO II modding Galaxy?
What do you think?
Best regards
Kevin and Zomb
K & Z,
Gheed always appreciates what some refer to as "vanilla" Diablo II: Lord of Destruction but I refer to as "pure" gaming glory.
However, I recommend two mods of choice. Median XL is the most popular mod today with quite a wide range of features, while the enhanced version of Eastern Sun follows as another great option. Check them out!
From: Shane
Subject: new stuff in d2
whats with the new keys and organs? what do they do
and how do you use them?
Shane,
On the lands referred to by legend as the Battle.net Realms, one can go to a place called Uber Tristram to defeat the most powerful versions of the Prime Evils and their minions, more powerful than ever before. This is referred to as the Pandemonium Event.
The Countess in Act I drops the Key of Terror, while the Key of Hate is in the Arcane Sanctuary. Finally, the Key of Destruction is available in the Halls of Vaught and dropped by Nihlathak. These monsters do not always drop the keys, so it may take multiple runs; plus, you'll need three sets of them.
Once you have three sets of the three keys, go to Act V and transmute them one by one in the Horadric Cube, after you've completed each level. This will open a portal to the lair of one of three foes: Lilith, Uber Duriel, or Uber Izual. You must defeat all three to collect the three organs: Diablo's Horn, Baal's Eye, and Mephisto's Brain. I certainly don't see the incentive of carrying around these evil-enchanted, disgusting masses of goo.
Nonetheless, you need those three organs to get to Uber Tristram. Transmute them in the Horadric Cube while in Act V to generate the portal to get there. Be prepared to face the most fearsome monsters ever: Pandemonium Diablo, Uber Baal, and Uber Mephisto.
All this effort brings you a sweet reward: The unique charm Hellfire Torch.
Hellfire Torch Large charm Required Level: 75
+10-20 To All Attributes
+10-20 to All Resistance Levels
+3 to [randomly selected character] Skills
25% Chance to Cast slvl 10 Firestorm on Striking
Level 30 Hydra (10 charges)
+8 to Light Radius
From: Andrea
Subject: Ask Gheed
Items that reduces a percentage of damage sums one another?
For example Shaftstop (30%) and Rockstopper (10%) gives a reduction of 40%?
Andrea,
Yes, damage reduction does stack like that. For example, if you had both Shaftstop and Rockstopper, your total physical damage reduction percentage would be 40% and if you were to take 1000 damage, the damage you could receive would then be 600. Note that this only affects physical damage and not elemental or magic damage.
Interestingly, reduction of damage received is calculated in this order:
Energy Shield
Bone Armor and Cyclone Armor
DR and MDR (damage reduction and magic damage reduction)
Ask Gheed is a weekly column dating back to Planet Diablo's early days. It's recently been revitaliized to answer all your questions on the Diablo series, from the original through and beyond the third game!
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