Tides Of War adds quite a bit more than just cosmetic changes, however. It also adds quite a few entirely new items. Among these are indestructible armor types, a new type of gem, hammers that do lightning damage natively, and many more. All these new items help to make Tides Of War more interesting, if not a bit more challenging

The lack of challenge (other than the lack of monkeys, which is inexcusable) is my main problem with Tides Of War - it has madly increased drop rates, and massive inventory size, but there is nothing to balance these two bonuses out. Without the added challenge of beefier monsters, Tides Of War is all sugar, without the terrible beatings and pain the mod should incur. Oh and I almost forgot, the mod comes with a handy batch file installer that even backs up save files! That helps quite a bit, especially since a weekly hosing of my characters in mod testing has become almost a tradition for me.

Highs: Mad drop rates, new items, can gamble for gems, I don't look retarded while wearing the formerly stupidest helmets in the game. Easy installer that won't hose your characters.
Lows: Not hard enough, it doesn't feature monkeys, damnit.

   Strategy

Since this is more or less normal Diablo II, ordinary strategy applies.

• Druid: This mod has beefed up a few of the Druid's less-used skills, both Ravens, and the Elemental tree have been enhanced.
• Speed: Running and walking are both much quicker now, so you may want to trade those 30% run/walk speed boots in for something offering a bit more protection or resistance.

Be sure to check out Tides Of War - you'll be glad you did!