Difficulty - Revision history

Onderduiker: Updated links, added spaces

2021-04-23T22:25:31Z

Updated links, added spaces

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Elegantly: Fixed broken reference links

2021-03-15T22:01:04Z

Fixed broken reference links

Elegantly: Fixed broken reference link

2021-03-15T21:59:19Z

Fixed broken reference link

Onderduiker at 23:10, 25 February 2013

2013-02-25T23:10:47Z

Onderduiker at 23:04, 5 October 2012

2012-10-05T23:04:53Z

Onderduiker: Prime Evil -> Evil

2012-08-04T17:43:01Z

Prime Evil -> Evil

Onderduiker: /* Skill */ Indented curse list

2011-11-06T11:30:56Z

Skill: Indented curse list

Naj: text fix

2011-11-06T06:47:54Z

text fix

Onderduiker: Created page with '{{Game nav}} {{Intro}} *New characters always start in Normal difficulty: Nightmare difficulty can only be played by each character after that character has completed Normal, and...'

2011-11-01T19:22:07Z

Created page with '{{Game nav}} {{Intro}} *New characters always start in Normal difficulty: Nightmare difficulty can only be played by each character after that character has completed Normal, and...'

New page

{{Game nav}}
{{Intro}}
*New characters always start in Normal difficulty: Nightmare difficulty can only be played by each character after that character has completed Normal, and Hell difficulty can only be played after completing Nightmare.
*Prior to patch 1.13 it was necessary to complete Normal with at least one character to access Hardcore mode. This is no longer the case.
*After completing Normal, only Nightmare games will be displayed on the games list for Realm characters; after completing Nightmare, only Hell games will be displayed. However, Normal and Nightmare games can still be created, and games in any difficulty level can be joined by typing the game name.
*Title are awarded for completing each difficulty level, depending on the game mode:

{{Text table}}
|-valign=top align=center
!width=67 align=left rowspan=2|Game
!width=67 align=left rowspan=2|Title
!colspan=3|Normal
!colspan=3|Hardcore
|-
!width=67|Normal
!width=67|Nightmare
!width=67|Hell
!width=67|Normal
!width=67|Nightmare
!width=67|Hell
|-valign=top
!rowspan=2|Expansion
!Male
|Slayer
|Champion
|Patriarch
|{{Warn|=Destroyer}}
|{{Warn|=Conqueror}}
|{{Warn|=Guardian}}
|-
!Female
|Slayer
|Champion
|Matriarch
|{{Warn|=Destroyer}}
|{{Warn|=Conqueror}}
|{{Warn|=Guardian}}
|-valign=top
!rowspan=2|Classic
!Male
|Sir
|Lord
|Baron
|{{Warn|=Count}}
|{{Warn|=Duke}}
|{{Warn|=King}}
|-
!Female
|Dame
|Lady
|Baroness
|{{Warn|=Countess}}
|{{Warn|=Duchess}}
|{{Warn|=Queen}}
|}

*Difficulty levels are completed by defeating [[Baal (boss)|{{Ub|=Baal}}]] in [[Act 5]] of Expansion games, and by defeating [[Diablo (boss)|{{Ub|=Diablo}}]] in [[Act 4]] of Classic games.
|}

==Basic==
{{Difficulty}}
|-
!align=left|[[Freeze length]] and [[Cold Damage|cold length]] 1
|1||1/2||1/4
|-
!align=left|[[Life Stolen]] and [[Mana Stolen]] 1
|1||1/2||1/3
|-
!align=left|[[Experience]] loss upon [[death (Basic)|death]] 2
|0||5%||10%
|}

1 Player and [[mercenary]] only 
2 Percentage of difference between minimum experience required for current level and next level. Players cannot lose a level.

*[[Resistance]] penalty for player and mercenary is -40 in Nightmare and -100 in Hell (-20 and -50 respectively in Classic). This applies to the following:
**[[Fire Resist]]
**[[Lightning Resist]]
**[[Cold Resist]]
**[[Poison Resist]]
**[[Poison Length Reduced]]
**[[Mana damage]] [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=83268&view=findpost&p=916690]
**[[Stamina damage]] [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=83268&view=findpost&p=916690]
 

==Skill==
*[[Static Field]] cannot continue to be cast on targets with <= 33% life in Nightmare and <= 50% life in Hell (this only applies to Expansion, not Classic).
*[[Curses]] altering AI have duration reduced by 1/2 in Nightmare and 1/4 in Hell. This only applies to the following:
*[[Dim Vision]] (including [[Hit Blinds Target]])
*[[Terror]] {{Warn|=(not displayed by skill description)}}
*[[Confuse]]
*[[Attract]]
 

==Item==
*Better chance of magic, rare, [[set]] and [[unique (item)|unique]] items dropping in Nightmare and Hell.
*Exceptional [[item type]]s can drop in late Normal, while Elite item types can drop in late Nightmare.

{{Difficulty}}
|-
!align=left|Exceptional drop chance (normal)
| ||10||20
|-
!align=left|Exceptional drop chance (special)
| ||20||40
|-
!align=left|Maximum [[socketed|sockets]] 1
|3||4||6
|}
1 Only applies to items which are already socketed, not items which can be socketed.

*30% chance of Elite item types being dropped by normal monsters in Hell, increasing to 40% for special monsters. [http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/basics/difficulty.shtml]
 

==Ally==
*[[Townsperson|Townspeople]] sell some different armor and weapons. They can also sell Exceptional [[item type]]s in Nightmare and Exceptional and Elite item types in Hell.
*[[Pet]] stats can increase in Nightmare and Hell.

{{Difficulty}}
|-
!align=left|Pet skill level
| +0|| +3|| +7
|-
!align=left|[[Freeze length]] and [[Cold Damage|cold length]] 1
|1||1/2||1/4
|-
!align=left|[[Life Stolen]] and [[Mana Stolen]] 1
|1||1/2||1/3
|}

1 [[Mercenary]] only

*Mercenaries hired in Nightmare have lower stats than those hired in Normal, while those hired in Hell have lower stats than those hired in Nightmare.
*[[Resistance]] penalty for mercenary is -40 in Nightmare and -100 in Hell (-20 and -50 respectively in Classic). This applies to the following:
**[[Fire Resist]]
**[[Lightning Resist]]
**[[Cold Resist]]
**[[Poison Resist]]
**[[Poison Length Reduced]]

{{Difficulty}}
|-
!align=left|Mercenary damage vs [[Prime Evil]]s
|50%||35%||25%
|}

*Percentage also applies to percentage Life Stolen: for mercenary attacking Prime Evil in Hell, <4% is reduced to 0%, 4-7% is reduced to 1% and so on. [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=84727&view=findpost&p=936088]
*Barbarian allies in [[Act 5]] have reduced life. [http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/basics/difficulty.shtml]
 

==Quest==
{{Difficulty}}
|-
!align=left|[[The Search for Cain]] reward
|Ilvl {{0|0}}7 {{Mb|=Ring}}
|Ilvl 30 {{Rb|=Ring}}
|Ilvl 60 {{Rb|=Ring}}
|-
!align=left|[[Blade of the Old Religion]] reward
|Ilvl 21 {{Rb|=Ring}}
|Ilvl 35 {{Rb|=Ring}}
|Ilvl 75 {{Rb|=Ring}}
|}

*In Expansion games, level < 20 characters cannot complete the [[Rite of Passage (quest)|Rite of Passage]] quest in Normal, and thus cannot complete Normal: for the same reason, level < 40 characters cannot complete Nightmare and level < 60 characters cannot complete Hell. Unhelpfully, the quest log does not reveal this until the Ancients have already been defeated once (although the level requirements are mentioned in the patch notes for 1.08). This does not apply to Classic, since there is no [[Act 5]].
 

==Area==
*Area levels increase in Nightmare and Hell, as does size for some areas:
**[[Crypt]]
**[[Mausoleum]]
**[[Tower Cellar Level 1]], [[Tower Cellar Level 2|2]], [[Tower Cellar Level 3|3]] and [[Tower Cellar Level 4|4]]
**[[Durance of Hate Level 1]] and [[Durance of Hate Level 2|2]]
 

==Monster==
*Monster level, [[MonLvl#Defense|defense]], [[MonLvl#Attack Rating|attack rating]], [[MonLvl#Life|life]], [[MonLvl#Damage|damage]], [[MonLvl#Experience|experience]], [[resistance]] and [[Chance of Blocking|chance of blocking]] can all increase in Nightmare and Hell.
*[[Drain effectiveness]] and [[chill effectiveness]] can decrease in Nightmare and Hell.
*AI improves in Nightmare and Hell: decision making can be quicker, and special abilities can be used more frequently.

{{Number table}}
|-style=text-align:center
!width=67 align=left|Monster
!width=115 align=left|Stat
!width=187|Normal
!width=187|Nightmare
!width=187|Hell
|-
!align=left colspan=2|Skill level
| +0|| +3|| +7
|-valign=top
!align=left rowspan=3|[[Champion]]
!align=left|% Base life
|300||250||200
|-
!align=left|+[[% Attack Rating]]
|67||56||49
|-
!align=left|+[[% Damage]] 1
|90||75||66
|-
!align=left|[[Possessed]]
!align=left|% Base life
|600||500||400
|-valign=top
!align=left rowspan=3|[[Berserker]]
!align=left|% Base life
|75||62.5||50
|-
!align=left|+% Attack Rating
|270||225||198
|-
!align=left|+% Damage 1
|270||225||198
|-
!align=left colspan=2|[[Unique (monster)|Unique]] bonuses
|1||2||3
|-valign=top
!align=left rowspan=2|[[Extra Strong]]
!align=left|+% Attack Rating
|90
|75
|66
|-
!align=left|+% Damage 1
|135
|112
|99
|-valign=top
!align=left rowspan=2|Minion
!align=left|+% Attack Rating
|45
|37
|33
|-
!align=left|+% Damage 1
|67
|56
|49
|-
!align=left colspan=2|[[Super Unique]] and [[boss]] 2 bonuses
| +0|| +1|| +2
|}

1 +% Damage is halved then rounded down when applied to melee physical damage of Champion and Unique [[Willowisp]]s and their minions due to a now undocumented change in 1.13. [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=82541&view=findpost&p=909715] [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=82846&view=findpost&p=911578] [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=82940&view=findpost&p=913069] 
2 Only applies to [[Griswold (boss)|{{Ub|=Griswold}}]], [[Radament (boss)|{{Ub|=Radament}}]] and [[Nihlathak (boss)|{{Ub|=Nihlathak}}]].

*Minions of Unique and Super Unique monsters with the following bonuses have damage of the relevant type added to their attacks in Nightmare and Hell:
**[[Cold Enchanted]]
**[[Fire Enchanted]]
**[[Lightning Enchanted]]
**[[Mana Burn]]
**[[Poison Enchanted]]
*The explosions of Fire Enchanted Unique monsters and dying [[Bone Fetish]]es apply a reduced percentage of base life as damage in Nightmare and Hell. However, since base life increases in Nightmare and Hell this normally still results in them applying more damage in absolute terms (just not as much as they would if percentages weren't reduced). [http://phrozenkeep.hugelaser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=44834] [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=80995&view=findpost&p=892186] [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=80995&view=findpost&p=923345] [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=80995&view=findpost&p=892256]
*Number of random Champion and Unique monsters in each area increases in Nightmare and Hell.
*Population in [[:Category:Areas (Act 5)|Act 5 areas]] is more random in Nightmare and Hell: monsters are selected from a larger pool which includes monster types from earlier Acts.
 

==Reference==
*[http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/basics/difficulty.shtml Difficulty Levels] (Arreat Summit)
*[http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=82940 1.13 LIVE -- LADDER RESET] (General Diablo II Discussion)
*[http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=82846 1.13b PTR is Live] (General Diablo II Discussion)
*[http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=82541 Patch 1.13 Realm is alive] (Technical Discussion)
*[http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=83268 Energy Shield, Damage Taken Goes To Mana, Mana Burn] (Technical Discussion)
*[http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=84727 Rounding Down Leech] (Technical Discussion)
*Nefarius, [http://phrozenkeep.hugelaser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=44834 Monster Death Damage] (Phrozen Keep)
*Onderduiker, [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=80995 Monster Bonuses, Death Damage and Corpse Explosion] (Technical Discussion)

@@ Line 57: / Line 57: @@
-*Difficulty levels are completed by defeating [[Baal (boss)|{{Ub|=Baal}}]] in [[Act 5]] of Expansion games, and by defeating [[Diablo (boss)|{{Ub|=Diablo}}]] in [[Act 4]] of Classic games.
+*Difficulty levels are completed by defeating [[Baal|{{Ub|=Baal}}]] in [[Act 5]] of Expansion games, and by defeating [[Diablo|{{Ub|=Diablo}}]] in [[Act 4]] of Classic games.
 |}
@@ Line 186: / Line 186: @@
 ==Monster==
-*Monster level, [[MonLvl#Defense|defense]], [[MonLvl#Attack Rating|attack rating]], [[MonLvl#Life|life]], [[MonLvl#Damage|damage]], [[MonLvl#Experience|experience]], [[resistance]] and [[Chance of Blocking|chance of blocking]] can all increase in Nightmare and Hell.
+*Monster level, [[MonLvl#Defense|defense]], [[MonLvl#Attack Rating|attack rating]], [[MonLvl#Life|life]], [[MonLvl#Damage|damage]], [[MonLvl#Experience|experience]], [[resistance]] and chance of [[block]]ing can all increase in Nightmare and Hell.
 *[[Drain effectiveness]] and [[chill effectiveness]] can decrease in Nightmare and Hell.
 *AI improves in Nightmare and Hell: decision making can be quicker, and special abilities can be used more frequently.
@@ Line 256: / Line 256: @@
 <span style=font-size:90%><sup>1</sup> +% Damage is halved then rounded down when applied to melee physical damage of Champion and Unique [[Willowisp]]s and their minions due to a now undocumented change in 1.13. [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=82541&view=findpost&p=909715] [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=82846&view=findpost&p=911578] [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=82940&view=findpost&p=913069]<br>
-<sup>2</sup> Only applies to [[Griswold (boss)|{{Ub|=Griswold}}]], [[Radament (boss)|{{Ub|=Radament}}]] and [[Nihlathak (boss)|{{Ub|=Nihlathak}}]].</span>
+<sup>2</sup> Only applies to [[Griswold|{{Ub|=Griswold}}]], [[Radament|{{Ub|=Radament}}]] and [[Nihlathak (boss)|{{Ub|=Nihlathak}}]].</span>

@@ Line 274: / Line 274: @@
 *[http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=82846 1.13b PTR is Live] (General Diablo II Discussion)
 *[http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=82541 Patch 1.13 Realm is alive] (Technical Discussion)
-*[http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=83268 Energy Shield, Damage Taken Goes To Mana, Mana Burn] (Technical Discussion)
+*[https://www.theamazonbasin.com/forums/index.php?/forums/topic/120188-energy-shield-damage-taken-goes-to-mana-mana-burn/ Energy Shield, Damage Taken Goes To Mana, Mana Burn] (Technical Discussion)
-*[http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=84727 Rounding Down Leech] (Technical Discussion)
+*[https://www.theamazonbasin.com/forums/index.php?/forums/topic/121588-rounding-down-leech/ Rounding Down Leech] (Technical Discussion)
 *Nefarius, [http://phrozenkeep.hugelaser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=44834 Monster Death Damage] (Phrozen Keep)
 *Onderduiker, [https://www.theamazonbasin.com/forums/index.php?/forums/topic/118104-monster-bonuses-death-damage-and-corpse-explosion/ Monster Bonuses, Death Damage and Corpse Explosion] (Technical Discussion)

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
-{{Text table}}
+{{Text table}} width=100%
 |-valign=top align=center
-!width=67 align=left rowspan=2|Game
+!width=13% align=left rowspan=2|Game
-!width=67 align=left rowspan=2|Title
+!width=12% align=left rowspan=2|Title
 !colspan=3|Normal
 !colspan=3|Hardcore
 |-
-!width=67|Normal
+!width=13%|Normal
-!width=67|Nightmare
+!width=12%|Nightmare
-!width=67|Hell
+!width=12%|Hell
-!width=67|Normal
+!width=13%|Normal
-!width=67|Nightmare
+!width=12%|Nightmare
-!width=67|Hell
+!width=13%|Hell
 |-valign=top
 !rowspan=2|Expansion
@@ Line 73: / Line 73: @@
 |0||5%||10%
 |}
 <span style=font-size:90%><sup>1</sup> Player and [[mercenary]] only<br>
 <sup>2</sup> Percentage of difference between minimum experience required for current level and next level. Players cannot lose a level.</span>
@@ Line 110: / Line 109: @@
 | ||20||40
 |-
-!align=left|Maximum [[socketed|sockets]] <sup>1</sup>
+!align=left|Maximum [[socket]]s <sup>1</sup>
 |3||4||6
 |}
@@ Line 191: / Line 190: @@
-{{Number table}}
+{{Number table}} width=100%
 |-style=text-align:center
-!width=67 align=left|Monster
+!width=10% align=left|Monster
-!width=115 align=left|Stat
+!width=15% align=left|Stat
-!width=187|Normal
+!width=25%|Normal
-!width=187|Nightmare
+!width=25%|Nightmare
-!width=187|Hell
+!width=25%|Hell
 |-
 !align=left colspan=2|Skill level

@@ Line 150: / Line 150: @@
 {{Difficulty}}
 |-
-!align=left|Mercenary damage vs [[Prime Evil]]s
+!align=left|Mercenary damage vs [[Evil]]s
 |50%||35%||25%
 |}
-*Percentage also applies to percentage Life Stolen: for mercenary attacking Prime Evil in Hell, <4% is reduced to 0%, 4-7% is reduced to 1% and so on. [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=84727&view=findpost&p=936088]</span>
+*Percentage also applies to percentage Life Stolen: for mercenary attacking Evil in Hell, <4% is reduced to 0%, 4-7% is reduced to 1% and so on. [http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=84727&view=findpost&p=936088]</span>
 *Barbarian allies in [[Act 5]] have reduced life. [http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/basics/difficulty.shtml]
 <br>

@@ Line 91: / Line 91: @@
 *[[Static Field]] cannot continue to be cast on targets with <= 33% life in Nightmare and <= 50% life in Hell (this only applies to Expansion, not Classic).
 *[[Curses]] altering AI have duration reduced by 1/2 in Nightmare and 1/4 in Hell. This only applies to the following:
-*[[Dim Vision]] (including [[Hit Blinds Target]])
+**[[Dim Vision]] (including [[Hit Blinds Target]])
-*[[Terror]] {{Warn|=(not displayed by skill description)}}
+**[[Terror]] {{Warn|=(not displayed by skill description)}}
-*[[Confuse]]
+**[[Confuse]]
-*[[Attract]]
+**[[Attract]]
 <br>

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 *Prior to patch 1.13 it was necessary to complete Normal with at least one character to access Hardcore mode. This is no longer the case.
 *After completing Normal, only Nightmare games will be displayed on the games list for Realm characters; after completing Nightmare, only Hell games will be displayed. However, Normal and Nightmare games can still be created, and games in any difficulty level can be joined by typing the game name.
-*Title are awarded for completing each difficulty level, depending on the game mode:
+*Different titles are awarded for completing each difficulty level, depending on game mode: