Difference between revisions of "Difficulty"

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=Level Up Guide=
 
=Level Up Guide=
 +
 +
The magic number when it comes to gaining experience is +/- 5. Monsters within that range of levels, compared to your character's level, are worth 100% of their potential experience.  See the [[Experience]] article for full details and figures.
  
 
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|}
 
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 +
There is no hard and fast rule for what level a character should be in different areas. Experience is best gained when characters are within +/- 5 levels from the monsters, but players need not worry too much about remaining within that narrow band.  If monsters 7 levels higher are worth twice the experience of monsters 1 level higher, then killing the 7 level higher one, even with the 68% penalty, is better on the whole. Also, character levels will increase more rapidly than the monster levels while progressing through an Act, if you play in large games or use the [[Player_Settings#The_Players_X_Command}Players X command]].
  
 +
A useful general guideline for experience gain is that monsters are very near the Ilvl of the level they spawn on. So you can look at [http://strategy.diabloii.net/news.php?id=551#Area%20Levels a chart that shows the levels] for every area in the game, and figure your character should be about that level to get the full experience possible. Here's a quick reference list of the highest level area in each act, in all three difficulty levels:
  
−
There is no hard and fast level a character should be in different areas. [[Experience]] is best gained when characters are within +/- 5 levels from the monsters, but players need not worry too much about remaining within that narrow band. If monsters 7 levels higher are worth twice the experience of monsters 1 level higher, then killing the
+
* Act One, Catacombs 4: Level 12 / 43 / 73.
 +
* Act Two, Tal Rasha's Tombs: Level 17 / 49 / 80.
 +
* Act Three, Durance of Hate 3: Level 25 / 55 / 83.
 +
* Act Four, Chaos Sanctuary: Level 28 / 58 / 85.
 +
* Act Five, Throne of Destruction: Level 43 / 66 / 85.
  
−
Since the game allows up to five levels of difference between Clvl and Mlvl while still giving full experience gain, players can gain the  
+
As even this quick list shows, the level progression is jerky and erratic. There's virtually no way a character could start Act 2 at level 12 and only be level 17 at the end of the act, if that character did any sort of killing. Most characters level up easily past 20 in Act Two, and then very quickly rise into the mid-20s in Act Three, before gaining few levels in Act Four, and then gaining levels at an absurd rate in Act Five, where the experience is vastly more plentiful than in Act Four.
  
 +
Leveling up in Nightmare is more up to individual preference and character design. Many players pass down useful items to their new characters, and as a result leveling speeds blast off past Clvl 30 or 35, when good exceptional weapons become usable. Others avail themselves of friends to "rush" them through the difficulty, moving quickly on to Hell and the better items and huge experience available there.
  
−
 
−
if monsters higher level than that are worth far more experience, less than 100% experience for them might be better than 100% for lower level creatures. Players commonly exceed the experience range when being "rushed" through the lower levels by high level friends, and even with level penalties and penalties to sharing experience with higher level characters, it's possible to level up far faster when "leeching" off the kills of a high level friend.
 
−
 
−
 
−
 
−
 
−
 
−
Since experience scales up with more players in the game (or with the use of the [[Player_Settings#The_Players_X_Command}Players X command]] in single player), it's possible to gain so much experience that your character moves well out of the meatiest portion of the exp gain bell curve.
 
  
 
=Normal Difficulty=
 
=Normal Difficulty=
  
−
New characters begin on Normal difficulty, automatically creating or joining normal difficulty games.  
+
New characters begin on Normal difficulty, automatically creating or joining normal difficulty games. They can not join or create nightmare games, nor will they see them on the game menus on Battle.net.
−
 
 
  
 +
* Once one of your characters finishes Normal Difficulty, you will be able to create [[Hardcore]] characters on that account.
 +
* Once a character finishes Normal difficulty, they will only see Nightmare difficulty games to join on the Battle.net menu. This can be inconvenient if you were hoping to level up a bit more with [[Baal]] runs before moving up to Nightmare, Act One.
 +
* Characters who have finished Normal difficulty gain titles:
 +
** Softcore: Slayer
 +
** Hardcore: Destroyer
  
−
All games begin on Normal difficulty. You can create and join games on the next difficulty level once you have defeated the game on its previous difficulty. You can create and join games on Nightmare difficulty once you have defeated the game on Normal Difficulty. You can create and join games on Hell difficulty once you have defeated the game on Nightmare difficulty. This is the case for each of your characters.
+
Other features of Normal difficulty:
 +
* Death does not bring any experience loss on Normal.
 +
* Unique and Champion Monsters get +90% damage bonus in Normal.
 +
* Hirelings and Summons do 50% damage to [[Act Bosses]] in Normal.
 +
* [[Nihlathak]]'s Corpse Explosion deals 50% damage in Normal.
  
−
Once you have beaten the game on Normal Difficulty, you can create Hardcore Characters.
 
  
−
Level Recommendations
+
=Nightmare Difficulty=
−
If your goal is experience, you may not want to jump into Nightmare difficulty right away after defeating the game on Normal Difficulty. The Monsters in Nightmare start at level 36 and quickly increase in level. You'll find that these monsters have a better chance to hit you and you'll have a harder time hitting them because they are a higher level than you when using Melee attacks. Lowered resistances to monster attacks will also make it more difficult to survive. You will probably not receive as much experience as staying in Act V of Normal Difficulty for a while longer. Also Nightmare has the additional risk of losing experience when you die so you may lose all of the experience you have gained recently with a few deaths on Nightmare Difficulty. It's recommended to immediately complete the Den of Evil quest again on Nightmare Difficulty as soon as you have defeated Normal Difficulty for the reward and then hop back into Act V.
 
  
−
To be safe, stay in Act V as long as you are earning good experience. You can still get good experience in Act V until at least Level 40, and you can stay longer in this area by joining games with more players which will increase the amount of experience a monster gives but will also increase their hit points. You can test the experience in different areas by comparing the amount experience you get within a given time using a watch or stop watch.
+
Nightmare can be accessed once a character defeats [[Diablo]] in ''Diablo II'' and [[Baal]] in ''Diablo II''. This achievement also allows that character to enter the [[Secret Cow Level]] on normal difficult (but not on Nightmare, until Diablo/Baal are defeated on Nightmare difficulty). Only Hell difficulty games are seen on the game join list on Battle.net once Nightmare is finished, which can make joining Nightmare games to level up before moving to hell problematic.
  
−
Note that once you have defeated Normal Difficulty you will only be able to see Nightmare games on your games list for Realm Characters. You can, however, still create Normal Difficulty games. Characters that have defeated Nightmare will only see Hell Difficulty games on their games list for Realm Characters but can create games on any difficulty or join games on any difficulty if you type in the name of the game.
+
Exceptional items will be commonly found in Nightmare. (Some of the lower level types show up in Act Five/Normal.)  Some lower level Elite items will turn up in Act Five/Nightmare. Regular monsters have about a 10% chance to drop something exceptional. Bosses and Champions have about a 20% chance.
  
 +
Experience loss occurs on death in Nightmare. Dying will subtract 5% of the experience required to reach the next level. Characters will never go down a level to this penalty, so if you're going to duel or die a lot, try to do it immediately after leveling up. If a character recovers their corpse in that game, 75% of the lost experience is returned.
  
−
Normal Difficulty
+
Monsters are much improved in Nightmare, gaining more hit points, damage, resistances, and more. See the full stats for every monster in the game in the [[:Category:Monsters]].
 +
* Unique and Champion Monsters gain a 75% damage bonus in Nightmare. (This bonus is compared to what a normal monster of that type does.)
 +
* Monsters that can cast skills gain 3 levels to their magical attacks.
 +
* Random boss monsters gain a second random [[Monster Modifier]].
 +
** Most [[Superuniques]] gain one random modifier to add to their preset properties.
  
−
Normal Difficulty is the default Difficulty level. Only by defeating the game on Normal Difficulty level can you unlock higher difficulty levels and Hardcore Mode. You do not lose experience when dying on Normal Difficulty level so it's recommended that you stay and level up there as long as you can. Before you can advance on to Nightmare Difficulty you must defeat Baal on Normal Difficulty.
+
Other features of Nightmare difficulty:
−
 
+
* All player characters suffer a 40% resistance penalty in Nightmare.
−
Unique and Champion Monsters
+
* Hirelings and Summons do 35% damage to Act Bosses in Nightmare.
−
Unique and Champion Monsters gain a 90% damage bonus in Normal.
+
* Freezing, Life/Mana Stealing, Chilling, AI affecting Curses (Confuse, Attract, Dim Vision)
−
 
 
−
Hireling Damage vs Act Bosses
 
−
Hirelings and Summons do 50% damage to Act Bosses in Normal.
 
−
 
 
−
Monster Corpse Explosion
 
−
Nihlathak's Corpse Explosion deals 50% damage in Normal.
 
−
 
 
−
Rewards for defeating Normal Difficulty
 
−
 
 
−
    You can now create and join Nightmare Difficulty games. You will now see Nightmare Games on the games list for Realm Characters.
 
−
 
 
−
    You can now create Hardcore Characters.
 
−
 
 
−
    New Titles
 
−
    Normal Mode: Normal Difficulty: Slayer
 
−
    Hardcore Mode: Normal Difficulty: Destroyer
 
−
 
 
−
Nightmare Difficulty
 
−
 
 
−
Once you have defeated the game on Normal Difficulty only Nightmare Difficulty games will appear on the games list for Realm Characters.
 
−
 
 
−
How do I start or join a Nightmare Game?
 
−
You must first defeat Baal on Normal Difficulty.
 
−
 
 
−
Experience Loss
 
−
When you die in a Nightmare Difficulty game you will lose 5% of your experience. The experience loss (5% in Nightmare and 10% in Hell) is applied to the experience difference from the current level to the next level. So, if you achieved level X at experience 1,000,000 and you would achieve level X+1 at experience 2,000,000, then the penalty is 5% or 10% of (2,000,000-1,000,000), that is, 5% or 10% of 1,000,000.
 
−
 
 
−
Retrieving your corpse where you died in Nightmare and Hell restores 75% of any experience lost at death.
 
−
 
 
−
Player Leveling
 
−
Players will level up faster (from levels 26-50ish) in Nightmare.
 
−
 
 
−
Items
 
−
Players will have a better chance of getting magic enhanced items. Monsters will also have a slim chance (10%) to drop an Exceptional Piece of Armor or Weapon with an increased chance for special Monsters (20%).
 
−
 
 
−
Elite items will start to drop toward the end of Nightmare.
 
−
 
 
−
Unique and Champion Monsters
 
−
Unique and Champion Monsters gain a 75% damage bonus in Nightmare.
 
−
 
 
−
Resistances
 
−
Player and Hireling resistances are lowered by 40 in Nightmare.
 
−
 
 
−
Hireling Damage vs Act Bosses
 
−
Hirelings and Summons do 35% damage to Act Bosses in Nightmare.
 
−
 
 
−
Freezing, Life/Mana Stealing, Chilling, AI affecting Curses (Confuse, Attract, Dim Vision)
 
 
Are cut in 1/2 in Nightmare.
 
Are cut in 1/2 in Nightmare.
 +
* Static Field will not reduce a monster's hit points to less than 33% in Nightmare.
 +
* Nihlathak's Corpse Explosion deals 35% damage in Nightmare.
 +
* After the v1.09 patch, monsters are greatly randomized in Act Five, with a half dozen or more types possible in every area of the Act.
 +
* Some levels are much larger on Nightmare and Hell than on normal. These include the [[Forgotten Tower]] and level 2 of the [[Durance of Hate]].
  
−
Static Field
+
Characters who finish Nightmare gain new titles.
−
Static Field cannot bring a monster's life lower than 33% in Nightmare.
+
* Softcore: Champion
 +
* Hardcore: Conqueror
  
−
Monsters
 
−
Monsters are more difficult in Act V and Nightmare Difficulties than Normal Difficulty by improving the monsters stats (hit points, defense) and by boosting their AI/behavior. They make decisions more often and move faster. Monster damages generally increase also.
 
  
−
The hit points of Barbarian Soldiers in Act 5 are reduced.
+
=Hell Difficulty=
  
−
Monster levels, hit points, Armor Class, Experience, Damage, Chance to Hit, and Resistances all go up.
+
Hell can be accessed once a character defeats Nightmare [[Diablo]] in ''Diablo II'' and [[Baal]] in ''Diablo II''.  This achievement also allows that character to enter the [[Secret Cow Level]] on Nightmare difficult (but not on Hell, until Diablo/Baal are defeated on Hell difficulty). Only Hell games are now seen on the game join screen. Normal and Nightmare games can be joined, but only by typing in their names manually.
  
−
Monster skill levels go up +3.
+
If you wish to play in those games with a Hell character, ask a friend to spot some game names, or log on with a lower level character and remember (or copy/paste) them. It's often possible to ride out a series of games; if players are creating "CowRuns24" you can safely guess the next one will be "Cowrunz24" and can join or create it yourself.  Large games of this type are very helpful to level up in, since you can often run Baal by yourself and rack up huge experience gains while other players are doing easier and less profitable areas.
  
−
You will start to see more and more monsters with immunities.
+
{| align="right"
−
 
+
! colspan="6" | Experience Penalties
−
Unique Monsters gain one bonus ability.
+
! Clvl
−
 
+
! Exp
−
Nihlathak's Corpse Explosion deals 35% damage in Nightmare.
+
! Clvl
−
 
+
! Exp
−
Monsters populations are more randomized including guest monsters from other acts.
+
! Clvl
−
 
+
! Exp
−
Other
+
|-
−
Many areas will now have much larger maps. The Forgotten Tower, The Catacombs, The Durance of Hate and the Worldstone keep are a few examples of these areas.
+
| 70
−
 
+
| 95.31%
−
Rewards for defeating Nightmare Difficulty
+
| 80
−
 
+
| 48.44%
−
    You can now create and join Hell Difficulty games. You will now see Hell Games on the games list for Realm Characters.
+
| 90
−
 
+
| 5.96%
−
    New Titles
+
|-
−
    Normal Mode: Nightmare Difficulty: Champion
+
| 71
−
    Hardcore Mode: Nightmare Difficulty: Conqueror
+
| 90.63%
−
 
+
| 81
−
Hell Difficulty
+
| 43.75%
−
 
+
| 91
−
Once you have defeated the game on Nightmare Difficulty only Hell Difficulty games will appear on the games list for Realm Characters.
+
| 4.49%
−
 
+
|-
−
How do I start or join a Hell Difficulty level game?
+
| 72
−
You must defeat Baal on Nightmare Difficulty.
+
| 85.94%
−
 
+
| 82
−
Experience Loss
+
| 39.06%
−
When you die in a Hell Difficulty game you will lose 10% of your experience. The experience loss (5% in Nightmare and 10% in Hell) is applied to the experience difference from the current level to the next level. So, if you achieved level X at experience 1,000,000 and you would achieve level X+1 at experience 2,000,000, then the penalty is 5% or 10% of (2,000,000-1,000,000), that is, 5% or 10% of 1,000,000.
+
| 92
−
 
+
| 3.42%
−
Retrieving your corpse where you died in Nightmare and Hell restores 75% of any experience lost at death.
+
|-
−
 
+
| 73
−
Player Leveling
+
| 81.25%
−
Players will level up faster (from levels 51-75ish) in Hell.
+
| 83
−
 
+
| 34.38%
−
Items
+
| 93
−
Players will have a better chance of getting magic enhanced items. Monsters have a 20% chance to drop an Exceptional piece of Armor or Weapon, 40% for special Monsters. They also have a 30% chance to drop an Elite piece of Armor or Weapon, 40% for special Monsters.
+
| 2.54%
−
 
+
|-
−
Unique and Champion Monsters
+
| 74
−
Unique and Champion Monsters gain a 66% damage bonus in Hell.
+
| 76.56%
−
 
+
| 84
−
Monsters
+
| 29.69%
−
Monsters are more difficult in Act V and Hell Difficulties than Nightmare Difficulty by improving the monsters stats (hit points, defense) and by boosting their AI/behavior. They make decisions more often and move faster. Monster damages generally increase also.
+
| 94
−
 
+
| 1.95%
−
The hit points of Barbarian Soldiers in Act 5 are reduced.
+
|-
−
 
+
| 75
−
Monster levels, hit points, Armor Class, Experience, Damage, Chance to Hit, and Resistances all go up.
+
| 71.88%
−
 
+
| 85
−
Monster skill levels go up +7 in hell.
+
| 25.00%
−
 
+
| 95
−
Unique Monsters gain two bonus abilities.
+
| 1.46%
−
 
+
|-
−
Monsters have more immunities.
+
| 76
−
 
+
| 67.19%
−
There are more Unique Monsters in Hell difficulty.
+
| 86
−
 
+
| 18.75%
−
Nihlathak's Corpse Explosion deals 20% damage in Hell.
+
| 96
−
 
+
| 1.07%
−
Monsters populations are more randomized including guest monsters from other acts.
+
|-
−
 
+
| 77
−
Player Resistances
+
| 62.50%
−
Player and Hireling resistances are lowered by 100 in Hell Difficulty.
+
| 87
−
 
+
| 14.06%
−
Hireling Damage vs Act Bosses
+
| 97
−
Hirelings and Summons do 25% damage to Act Bosses in Hell.
+
| 0.78%
 +
|-
 +
| 78
 +
| 57.81%
 +
| 88
 +
| 10.55%
 +
| 98
 +
| 0.59%
 +
|-
 +
| 79
 +
| 53.13%
 +
| 89
 +
| 7.91%
 +
| 99
 +
| ---
 +
|}
  
−
Life/Mana Stealing
+
The experience loss death penalty is increased to 10% in Hell. Again, this penalty is taken from the experience your character needs to gain the next level, and this loss will never level-down a character, or take away more experience than they've gained towards the next level, so go dueling right after you level up.  Recovering your corpse in that same game returns 75% of the experience lost. (Recovering your corpse in town in the next game gains you nothing in terms of experience, but it beats dying five more times trying to recover your first loss.)
−
Are cut 2/3 in Hell.
 
  
−
Freezing, Chilling, AI affecting Curses (Confuse, Attract, Dim Vision)
+
Leveling up goes very quickly in Hell, until experience penalties start up after level 70. These are not enough to slow down the leveling very much at that point, since the monsters are worth so many experience points. Most players hardly notice the slow down until level 80, but it becomes quite evident after that, and by level 90 gaining each new level is a very slow process, in v1.10+
−
Are cut 3/4 in Hell.
 
  
−
Static Field
+
Item quality continues to increase in Hell, since monsters have much higher odds to drop exceptional and elite items. Items dropped by Hell monsters have a,
−
Static Field cannot bring a monster's life lower than 50% in Hell.
+
* Normal monster: 30% exceptional, 20% elite.
 +
* Boss/champion: 40% exceptional, 40% elite.
  
−
Other
+
Monsters are much improved in Hell, gaining more hit points, damage, resistances, defense, and more. Some even gain new abilities, such as adding elemental damage to their attacks. Their AI improves as well, allowing them to react more quickly and attack more ferociously. Act Five monsters are again randomized in Hell, with many possible monster types in every area. (See the full stats for every monster in the game in the [[:Category:Monsters]].)
−
Many areas will now have much larger maps. The Forgotten Tower, The Catacombs, The Durance of Hate and the Worldstone keep are a few examples of these areas.
+
* Unique and Champion Monsters gain a 66% damage bonus in Nightmare. (This bonus is compared to what a normal monster of that type does.)
 +
* Monsters that can cast skills gain 7 levels to their magical attacks.
 +
* Random boss monsters gain a third random [[Monster Modifier]].
 +
** Most [[Superuniques]] gain a second random modifier to add to their preset properties.
  
−
Rewards for defeating Hell Difficulty
+
Other features of Hell difficulty:
 +
* [[Nihlathak]]'s Corpse Explosion deals 20% damage in Hell.
 +
* Character resistances take a 100% penalty in Hell.
 +
* Hirelings and Summons do 25% damage to Act Bosses in Hell.
 +
* Life/Mana Stealing are cut to 2/3. (Many hell monsters, especially Superuniques, have additional penalties to leech.
 +
* The duration of freezing, chilling, AI affecting Curses (Confuse, Attract, Dim Vision) is cut to 1/4.
 +
* The Sorceress' Static Field spell will not lower a monster below 50% of its hit points.
 +
* Some levels are much larger on Nightmare and Hell than on normal. These include the [[Forgotten Tower]] and level 2 of the [[Durance of Hate]].
  
−
    New Titles
+
Characters who finish Hell gain new titles.
−
    Normal Mode: Hell Difficulty: Patriarch, Matriarch
+
* Softcore: Patriarch/Matriarch
−
    Hardcore Mode: Hell Difficulty: Guardian
+
* Hardcore: Guardian
  
  
 
[[category:basics]]
 
[[category:basics]]

Revision as of 12:49, 10 June 2008

There are three difficulty levels in Diablo II; Normal, Nightmare, and Hell. The difficulty levels are essentially identical; characters replay the same acts and quests on each. The difference comes from increased monster hit points and damage, some changes in monster variety and skills, and heaps of new, higher level equipment.

Though the difficulty levels are the same game x3, they were clearly not just tacked on to extend the game's longevity; Diablo II was designed with them in mind, and the knowledge that most players would hardly get to experiment with their highest level (30) skills before finishing the game for the first time. This is less true in D2X than D2, since characters commonly level from 30ish to the low 40s in Act Five, leveling that took place in Nightmare, before the Expansion. Still, most characters don't start to round into their final forms until Nightmare, since they have all of their skills by then and can start to max out the most useful ones. Even Nightmare is kind of a training mission for some, and for experienced players, Hell is the only difficulty level that really matters. There the top items can be found, characters can unleash their true powers with maxed out points in several synergistic skills, and the monsters are powerful enough to provide more of a challenge.


Level Up Guide

The magic number when it comes to gaining experience is +/- 5. Monsters within that range of levels, compared to your character's level, are worth 100% of their potential experience. See the Experience article for full details and figures.

Under Clvl 25
Mlvl / Clvl Exp gain
>10
10
9
8
7
6
1 to 5
-5 to 0
-6
-7
-8
-9
-10
<-10 		5%
5%
15%
36%
68%
88%
100%
100%
81%
62%
43%
24%
5%
5%

There is no hard and fast rule for what level a character should be in different areas. Experience is best gained when characters are within +/- 5 levels from the monsters, but players need not worry too much about remaining within that narrow band. If monsters 7 levels higher are worth twice the experience of monsters 1 level higher, then killing the 7 level higher one, even with the 68% penalty, is better on the whole. Also, character levels will increase more rapidly than the monster levels while progressing through an Act, if you play in large games or use the [[Player_Settings#The_Players_X_Command}Players X command]].

A useful general guideline for experience gain is that monsters are very near the Ilvl of the level they spawn on. So you can look at a chart that shows the levels for every area in the game, and figure your character should be about that level to get the full experience possible. Here's a quick reference list of the highest level area in each act, in all three difficulty levels:

  • Act One, Catacombs 4: Level 12 / 43 / 73.
  • Act Two, Tal Rasha's Tombs: Level 17 / 49 / 80.
  • Act Three, Durance of Hate 3: Level 25 / 55 / 83.
  • Act Four, Chaos Sanctuary: Level 28 / 58 / 85.
  • Act Five, Throne of Destruction: Level 43 / 66 / 85.

As even this quick list shows, the level progression is jerky and erratic. There's virtually no way a character could start Act 2 at level 12 and only be level 17 at the end of the act, if that character did any sort of killing. Most characters level up easily past 20 in Act Two, and then very quickly rise into the mid-20s in Act Three, before gaining few levels in Act Four, and then gaining levels at an absurd rate in Act Five, where the experience is vastly more plentiful than in Act Four.

Leveling up in Nightmare is more up to individual preference and character design. Many players pass down useful items to their new characters, and as a result leveling speeds blast off past Clvl 30 or 35, when good exceptional weapons become usable. Others avail themselves of friends to "rush" them through the difficulty, moving quickly on to Hell and the better items and huge experience available there.


Normal Difficulty

New characters begin on Normal difficulty, automatically creating or joining normal difficulty games. They can not join or create nightmare games, nor will they see them on the game menus on Battle.net.

  • Once one of your characters finishes Normal Difficulty, you will be able to create Hardcore characters on that account.
  • Once a character finishes Normal difficulty, they will only see Nightmare difficulty games to join on the Battle.net menu. This can be inconvenient if you were hoping to level up a bit more with Baal runs before moving up to Nightmare, Act One.
  • Characters who have finished Normal difficulty gain titles:
    • Softcore: Slayer
    • Hardcore: Destroyer

Other features of Normal difficulty:

  • Death does not bring any experience loss on Normal.
  • Unique and Champion Monsters get +90% damage bonus in Normal.
  • Hirelings and Summons do 50% damage to Act Bosses in Normal.
  • Nihlathak's Corpse Explosion deals 50% damage in Normal.


Nightmare Difficulty

Nightmare can be accessed once a character defeats Diablo in Diablo II and Baal in Diablo II. This achievement also allows that character to enter the Secret Cow Level on normal difficult (but not on Nightmare, until Diablo/Baal are defeated on Nightmare difficulty). Only Hell difficulty games are seen on the game join list on Battle.net once Nightmare is finished, which can make joining Nightmare games to level up before moving to hell problematic.

Exceptional items will be commonly found in Nightmare. (Some of the lower level types show up in Act Five/Normal.) Some lower level Elite items will turn up in Act Five/Nightmare. Regular monsters have about a 10% chance to drop something exceptional. Bosses and Champions have about a 20% chance.

Experience loss occurs on death in Nightmare. Dying will subtract 5% of the experience required to reach the next level. Characters will never go down a level to this penalty, so if you're going to duel or die a lot, try to do it immediately after leveling up. If a character recovers their corpse in that game, 75% of the lost experience is returned.

Monsters are much improved in Nightmare, gaining more hit points, damage, resistances, and more. See the full stats for every monster in the game in the Category:Monsters.

  • Unique and Champion Monsters gain a 75% damage bonus in Nightmare. (This bonus is compared to what a normal monster of that type does.)
  • Monsters that can cast skills gain 3 levels to their magical attacks.
  • Random boss monsters gain a second random Monster Modifier.
    • Most Superuniques gain one random modifier to add to their preset properties.

Other features of Nightmare difficulty:

  • All player characters suffer a 40% resistance penalty in Nightmare.
  • Hirelings and Summons do 35% damage to Act Bosses in Nightmare.
  • Freezing, Life/Mana Stealing, Chilling, AI affecting Curses (Confuse, Attract, Dim Vision)

Are cut in 1/2 in Nightmare.

  • Static Field will not reduce a monster's hit points to less than 33% in Nightmare.
  • Nihlathak's Corpse Explosion deals 35% damage in Nightmare.
  • After the v1.09 patch, monsters are greatly randomized in Act Five, with a half dozen or more types possible in every area of the Act.
  • Some levels are much larger on Nightmare and Hell than on normal. These include the Forgotten Tower and level 2 of the Durance of Hate.

Characters who finish Nightmare gain new titles.

  • Softcore: Champion
  • Hardcore: Conqueror


Hell Difficulty

Hell can be accessed once a character defeats Nightmare Diablo in Diablo II and Baal in Diablo II. This achievement also allows that character to enter the Secret Cow Level on Nightmare difficult (but not on Hell, until Diablo/Baal are defeated on Hell difficulty). Only Hell games are now seen on the game join screen. Normal and Nightmare games can be joined, but only by typing in their names manually.

If you wish to play in those games with a Hell character, ask a friend to spot some game names, or log on with a lower level character and remember (or copy/paste) them. It's often possible to ride out a series of games; if players are creating "CowRuns24" you can safely guess the next one will be "Cowrunz24" and can join or create it yourself. Large games of this type are very helpful to level up in, since you can often run Baal by yourself and rack up huge experience gains while other players are doing easier and less profitable areas.

Experience Penalties Clvl Exp Clvl Exp Clvl Exp
70 95.31% 80 48.44% 90 5.96%
71 90.63% 81 43.75% 91 4.49%
72 85.94% 82 39.06% 92 3.42%
73 81.25% 83 34.38% 93 2.54%
74 76.56% 84 29.69% 94 1.95%
75 71.88% 85 25.00% 95 1.46%
76 67.19% 86 18.75% 96 1.07%
77 62.50% 87 14.06% 97 0.78%
78 57.81% 88 10.55% 98 0.59%
79 53.13% 89 7.91% 99 ---

The experience loss death penalty is increased to 10% in Hell. Again, this penalty is taken from the experience your character needs to gain the next level, and this loss will never level-down a character, or take away more experience than they've gained towards the next level, so go dueling right after you level up. Recovering your corpse in that same game returns 75% of the experience lost. (Recovering your corpse in town in the next game gains you nothing in terms of experience, but it beats dying five more times trying to recover your first loss.)

Leveling up goes very quickly in Hell, until experience penalties start up after level 70. These are not enough to slow down the leveling very much at that point, since the monsters are worth so many experience points. Most players hardly notice the slow down until level 80, but it becomes quite evident after that, and by level 90 gaining each new level is a very slow process, in v1.10+

Item quality continues to increase in Hell, since monsters have much higher odds to drop exceptional and elite items. Items dropped by Hell monsters have a,

  • Normal monster: 30% exceptional, 20% elite.
  • Boss/champion: 40% exceptional, 40% elite.

Monsters are much improved in Hell, gaining more hit points, damage, resistances, defense, and more. Some even gain new abilities, such as adding elemental damage to their attacks. Their AI improves as well, allowing them to react more quickly and attack more ferociously. Act Five monsters are again randomized in Hell, with many possible monster types in every area. (See the full stats for every monster in the game in the Category:Monsters.)

  • Unique and Champion Monsters gain a 66% damage bonus in Nightmare. (This bonus is compared to what a normal monster of that type does.)
  • Monsters that can cast skills gain 7 levels to their magical attacks.
  • Random boss monsters gain a third random Monster Modifier.
    • Most Superuniques gain a second random modifier to add to their preset properties.

Other features of Hell difficulty:

  • Nihlathak's Corpse Explosion deals 20% damage in Hell.
  • Character resistances take a 100% penalty in Hell.
  • Hirelings and Summons do 25% damage to Act Bosses in Hell.
  • Life/Mana Stealing are cut to 2/3. (Many hell monsters, especially Superuniques, have additional penalties to leech.
  • The duration of freezing, chilling, AI affecting Curses (Confuse, Attract, Dim Vision) is cut to 1/4.
  • The Sorceress' Static Field spell will not lower a monster below 50% of its hit points.
  • Some levels are much larger on Nightmare and Hell than on normal. These include the Forgotten Tower and level 2 of the Durance of Hate.

Characters who finish Hell gain new titles.

  • Softcore: Patriarch/Matriarch
  • Hardcore: Guardian
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