From: Deathbringer
Subject: [none]

How to you a get a "Wirt's leg" to get into the secret cow level?

From Deathbringer

Deathbringer,

I never had the chance to meet that young punk named "Wirt," as he died during the recent second invasion of Diablo's forces. I can't say that I'm too regretful about not meeting the little bugger-- he would probably bring my business slightly down! To gain his peg leg, all you have to do is visit Tristram, one of the areas of Act I. On the western side of the area, you will find Wirt's body around the middle of the boundary. Click on it, and out will pop his leg as well as a bit of gold (which you are welcome to bring to my little shop). More information about getting to the Secret Cow Level can be found here.

From: JaMa
Subject: Koreans

Gheed,

I have noticed that on the USWest closed "Battle.Net" server, 1 in 2 players seems to be a Korean. It has been suggested by many that the huge influx of Koreans getting on this realm is causing the recent problems experienced on the weekends. Can you comment on this? Why are these people on our server and not on the Asia server? Is "Battle.Net" doing anything to beef up their connections to account for this? I must also say that it is very irritating to get into a game and all of the other players are saying things like "hung yok woe mae da" which none of the US players understand.

Many of us have spent hundreds of hours getting our characters to a point where they are actually fun to play and don't die all the time (I have a level 60 Necro and a level 53 Amazon) and would really like to be able to get on and play them once in a while.

JaMa

There are many Korean immigrants, as well as those that were born in the United States and Canada, that play on the USWest and USEast Realms. Just because someone begins speaking in a different language does not mean that they are from the native country of that language. If some of the players with a Korean (or other Asian) nationality is, in fact, not located in North America, but is using the USEast and USWest Realms, then that may just be because they have a better connection to the servers. Anyway, you can always politely ask them to use English instead, if they are familiar with our language; otherwise, you can always create or join another game. We do not support any kind of discrimination, but we understand that being in a game where the majority of other players are talking in a different language would be frustrating. Thanks for the e-mail!

From: Alfred
Subject: Diablo II Question

Hi! I would just like to have some elaboration on the NECRO skill tree of CURSES.

Can I cast more than one curse on single unique/boss or a pack of monsters? Or does the latest curse replace the earlier one?

What I mean is: When I cast IRON MAIDEN to a single unique/boss or a pack of monsters, can I follow up with another curse like for example, WEAKEN or AMPLIFY DAMAGE? Please advise, thanks.

Alfred,

Everyone knows how I feel about those damn Necromancers, they've cheated me all the time and I'm sure most have stolen a few caps or daggars while I had my back turned. However, I'm [grumble] always willing to help a Diablo II fan who has questions. Yeah, I know you all love me. Only one of the Necromancer's Curses can be active on any monster at any time. It would be nice if you could use a combination of curses (especially for more difficult monsters), but you cannot. Life Tap and Iron Maiden would be a killer combination with the use of a Golem or other minions if this were a possibility. There are balance issues with allowing players to use more than one skill at a time (for those that last a certain duration), and Blizzard North decided it was best to keep it this way.

From: Alfred
Subject: Diablo II Question

Hi! Its me again, I finished the game with SORC class and with the help of a Diablo II Character Editor program.

My problem is, I cannot access the cow level even though I have finished the game and have placed a tome of town portal and wirt's leg in the horadric cube.

Could using the character editor be the problem?

Hello, hello (again)! Let me start out by saying that cheating in Diablo II makes me sick, besides confusing the inhabitants of the Rogue Encampment. It's a strange thing to see a bunch of level 99 Barbarians (as well as other characters) roaming around the town, and they look quite suspicious. Experimenting with character editors isn't really much of a bad action, but only as long as you are playing single-player. Otherwise, it just ruins the game for other people on IP games or Open Battle.Net. Now, to answer your question: First of all, make sure that you are located in the town of Act I (my home), the Rogue Encampment. After placing the Tome of Town Portal and Wirt's Leg into the Horadric Cube, don't forget to hit the "Transmute" button to actually get the portal to appear. If it still does not appear, go back and slay Diablo again, and repeat the process. If it doesn't work, then shame on you for cheating, anyway. :-)

From: Frederick
Subject: LAN

Hi, my name is Goh Kok Hui and I am working as a manager in a LAN shop in Singapore. I have a problem with Diablo II gamers tries to play multiplayers game through LAN. The guy who is double up as a server always experiences lagging. Is there anyway to solve this problem. Or is there any server software like Counterstrike that I can download. Kindly reply to my personal email at [edited address]. Thank you very much.

Frederick,

Hello from across the seas! Unfortunately, with all of Blizzard Entertainment's games, there were no server software packages released. This is because Blizzard simplified the system by providing the option for TCP/IP games. If you are having trouble with connection speeds across a LAN, be sure to check that you have each computer's IP address assigned correctly. Also, check to see if each person has the latest drivers for their Network Interface Cards (NICs), which you should be able to find on the designers' websites. If any of the computers are running on an operating system like Microsoft's "Windows 95," visit the developer's website to see if there are any connection-related service packages available. Otherwise, maybe it is time to upgrade the person's NIC, depending on what level of quality it is, and how old the card is. We recommend 3Com network cards, though top-of-the-line cards are expensive. The only other thing I can think of, at the moment, is the CPU speed, amount of RAM, and the video card. I would recomment having a Pentium II 400 MHz (or equivalent) computer, equipped with at least 128 MB (Megabytes) of RAM, and a Voodoo 3 2000 video card. Good luck!

From: Strider
Subject: Magma Daemon!

Hey Gheed,

I was wondering how many people like me really, really want Blizzard to put the Magma Demon back into Diablo II through the Expansion Pack. They were the most beautiful monsters to slaughter in the original Diablo. (o0oh... the colours... ~:0) If there are enough people who think like me, how's the best way to ask Blizzard Entertainment? Start a petition? If so where and how? Thanx. I'm sure you have the diplomacy to answer that question.

-- Strider

Strider, Magma Demons... I've never had the chance to see one myself, but from the stories I've heard from migrating heroes, they sound like quite a fearsome opponent. Of course, my friends from PlanetDiablo know Diablo I back and forth (and back again... need I say more?), and tell me that they agree with you on the point of their... err... "beauty." The bright magma-style design of these monsters, encased in what I would describe as crusty earth that you would find in some wasteland provided a nice effect in the Caves of Diablo I. However, Blizzard North decided only to transfer a few types of monsters onto Diablo II, so that the game would be similar to the original, but include plenty of new environments and experiences.

I have doubts that they could be persuaded to include Magma Demons in the Expansion Set, as they wouldn't exactly be appropriate with the surroundings-- a mountainous area with some underground dungeons. If you are interested in suggesting this idea anyway, you could do several things; first of all, get in contact with many other people that strongly agree with you, and have them all write letters to Blizzard Entertainment. A petition for this sort of thing would probably not provide the sentiment for your goal, but it may be worth a try, as long as you can get a good majority of the people playing on Battle.Net to sign it.

From: Eric
Subject: Geek's Questions for Gheed:

Hey, Gheed

I have questions that I couldn't get good answers to, or else I get conflicting answers. Can you set the record straight on these? This is my list of:

Geeky questions for Gheed

1. Does a monster cursed with Iron Maiden who hits an Iron Golem be affected by both the curse and the thorns? How about Iron Maiden and Paladin's Thorns?

2. Does a Barbarian equipped with a sword and a club get the benefit of both combat masteries during Double Swing? I've heard both 'yes' and 'no', and I can't tell.

3. If a Necromancer were to revive Wert's skeleton, would it limp?

4. Do you sell a copy of Jarulf's Guide to Diablo II? Who else would?

5. Do the Necormancer's skeletons scale up in hit points and damage in Nightmare or Hell the same way Bone Wall does? They seem whimpy, and I'm wondering why they don't seem to improve even with mastery.

6. Are there differences in available unique items or quests playing single-player vs. multi-player? If you can't tell, I still have some old Diablo1 mentality. I don't want to miss out on good stuff, but team playing is more fun.

7. Why the hell do strategy guide writers talk about equipping your character with certain unique items when I can't ever find that cobination of uniques? Are they nuts? I'll hit level 99 before I get them, and I might as well get an item set!

Well anyway, your insight is welcome.

Eric,

It's nice to have all you enthusiastic fans! Your questions are welcome, as they might just help a good majority of other players with similar questions. Below are my corresponding answers:

1. Since these effects come from different skills, they will stack and end up dealing more damage to the monster. If you have Iron Maiden inflicted upon a certain monster, who goes to attack your Iron Golem, it will receive not only the percentage of returned damage from Iron Maiden, but also the added thorns effect from the Golem.

2. Since the Masteries are all passive skills, they will always effect the amount of damage you deal (as well as other attributes), even if you are using a skill like "Double Swing." It would be annoying if you only would benefit from none of the Masteries you put skill points into, or just one. But, this is not the case.

3. Well, you did spell "Wirt" incorrectly, but I won't bother you about that. ;-) People have been pondering this question since the release of Diablo II. However, we suspect that since you end up taking Wirt's peg leg, he wouldn't be able to walk at all (until he got a new one). He'd have to hop.

4. Jarulf's Guide to Diablo I is available for free, but as far as we know, he has not made one for Diablo II. There would be copyright issues if someone were to sell a guide such as this, without working out the business details with Blizzard Entertainment, anyway.

5. Skeletons prove to be quite useless when you reach later parts of Diablo II, even on Normal difficulty. Their hit points do not end up being extended no matter what difficulty level you are playing on, so if you are looking to beef them up, Skeleton Mastery is your only option. I'm always willing to help fans of PlanetDiablo with any questions or problems, but I can't stand all these Necromancers and Barbarians playing on Battle.Net all the time! What happend to my ladies? Bring on back the Amazons and Sorceresses!

6. You are not limited at all when playing Single-Player mode, as to the items that can pop out into the game. However, your chance for getting better and rarer items increases when in Multi-Player mode, especially when there are at least a few other players in the game with you. All of the quests in Diablo II are available in both single-player and multi-player, to every character class, all the time (unless you have already completed them all).

7. With characters of lower levels, it is very, very hard to find Unique items. Once you reach late areas of Hell difficulty, and after gambling for these certain items many, many times, you will eventually end up with what you are looking for. All you have to do is keep in mind that this will take hundreds of hours of your time, developing your characters and finding/gambling/etc. for these items. Having great items makes the game easier, even on Hell difficulty, but it does take a huge amount of work to end up with the "best" equipment. Just keep coming back to the Rogue Encampment with all the gold you earn in later difficulty levels, and you'll have... some sort of chance... of gaining what you would like. (Of course, I'll receive a huge profit, but that shouldn't stay on your mind) :-) More information on gambling can be found here. Remember, I only take money orders in gold pieces, and I do not accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or anything similar.

From: Ashmael the Barbarian
Subject: Gheed, gheed, bo beed,

...banana fanna fo feed. So there are these "gambling" (aka throwing your money away in hopes of scoring something good when most of the time you'll just pay an exorbitant amount for a +2 light radius back scratcher of frailty so Gheed can pay off his twenty seven BMWs) shops in all of the major cities and I was wondering if it was a franchise deal, or can I just start up my own? And then I said to myself, "Self, Gheed seems to know an awful lot about an awful lot, so perhaps he's the one behind these shady goings ons." Then I decided that I'd better stick to adventuring, it's much safer. I mean, after all the people you've ripped off I'm surprised you haven't been found dead in an alley with the aforementioned +2 light radius back scratcher of frailty stuffed down your throat. In pieces, of course (it being frail and all). But, business is business, as they say. So, I was travelling with this bunch of uncouth adventurers, slaying this, slaughtering that, when I realized that I'm not sure how this whole "experience" thing works. If I'm a hardened veteran (34th level barbarian) and am in a party with some wet behind the ears necro (5th level), how is the split handled? How close do we have to be for him to gain from my expertise? If he's standing nearby while I slaughter twenty or so of those bothersome little devilkin, what does he gain? Give me the skinny. The low down. The straight dope. I assume there's some complex formula involved, so please speak in simple terms for my slow barbarian brain. No jokes or else this here !#%&@ +2 light radius back scratcher...er, I mean, I would appreciate no jests at my expense concerning my mental capacity. Anyhoo, I've also often wondered if an item that has 'damage reduced by 2' also reduces magic damage (similar to 'magic damage reduced by 2')? Help me, Gheed. I know I may groan and grumble when I hand you a sack of gold in exchange for a shoehorn, but you have a family to feed (27 BMWs...) and I understand. Putting on boots is easier than ever and I have plenty of light to scratch by....

-Ashmael the Barbarian

Ashmael,

I am outraged! How did you hear about my 27 new BMW vehicles? I have a secret garage-lair that I've told nobody about, where I store these treasures... it's nice to have a larger-than-healthy amount of customers buzzing around my shop. All I'm doing is taking the large weight of gold pieces off these poor (physically, soon to be financially) characters, and... uh... "storing" it for them, in my array of large chests. I even provide you with wonderful items imbued with... err... powerful magic effects that can increase your visibility by +2! And, what do you all do to thank me? Nothing! All I hear is, "$%@ing Gheed! He stole another 500K gold from me... arrg! I want my unique Full Plate Mail!" No appreciation from anyone, whatsoever! You'd think that I was stealing [pause] from them, but I'm just a perfect angel... well, what can you expect? There have been several attempts at my life, but everyone knows I'm quite the cunning tradesman! Escape is just around the corner, so I have no fear of continuing my business. How monstrous are these near-assasins, anyway? I have my humble little set of cars to... err... feed and wash, besides waxing.

The amount of experience you receive from monsters depends on your character's level compared to the monsters you are battling. Each monster has its own level, and when you are within five levels of that, you receive the most experience points for slaying it. When exceeding five character levels, either five below the monster, or five above, the experience points you receive are greatly reduced, and as the difference increases, you receive less and less. This is a balancing factor in Diablo II, and an important one. I can't provide you with the specifics, but this should give you a general idea-- only fight the monsters that are a balance of challenging as well as an ease to deal with.

From: Devin
Subject: Nature of the Soulstones

Hey Gheed!

If Mephistos and Diablo's soulstones could only be destroyed on the HellForge... then how did Archbishop Lazurus free Diablo by destroying the soulstone on the floor of the dungeon in ill-fated Tristram. (You might want to dust off the original Diablo manual for this one.) Good luck on this one.

Devin

You discuss a good point, Devin. However, examining the Diablo I manual, as well as the events that occur in Diablo II, we've come to the conclusion that you are mistaken. The fallen Angel Izual aided the three Prime Evils when the soulstones were being designed-- he informed the Three of the deepest secrets of these Stones, those designed to be their prisons for all eternity. The Diablo I manual states that Lazarus mutters a bit of an ancient language before shattering Diablo's Soulstone-- probably an incantation for a spell that would unlock the ability to destroy the Stone anywhere. I hope this clears things up for you.

"Ask Gheed" is a weekly column, updated Fridays.
Write Gheed here about anything you have on your mind.