With Blizzard's impressive Diablo II: Resurrected remaster out in the wild (our review here) it's no doubt been a lot of fun re-playing and diving back into this classic. In addition to the impressive new visuals it was a chance to try out a few different builds and ideas based on the wealth of information that has been floating around for decades.

And with that get a renewed look at just why it's still on of the most impressive slices of action-RPG gaming ever made. And with that, alongside the review, the cool people over at Kotaku Australia gave me the opportunity to put together a massive guide. One that focuses on the new stuff, how great it is to play with controller, whilst diving all seven classes with a look at some of the easiest builds to put together. Plus, explaining what Runewords are all about.

My two current fave builds to play are the Fiery Trap Assassin and the Hammerdin (Paladin + Blessed Hammer), as detailed in the guide.

Assassin - The Fiery Trap Master

---

Otherwise known as the Trapsin this is all about focusing on the Shadow Disciplines tab where the Assassin can easily be the dispenser of fiery fury. Screen-filling stuff that does serious damage to groups and bosses on that first Normal playthrough. As a mostly hands-off way to play, you’ll mostly be running around and dropping sentries as your main damage dealer. It’s a great build for beginners and fans of speed. The Assassin’s ‘Burst of Speed’ takes care of that with a huge buff to both Attack Speed and Walk/Run Speed -- making circling enemies and running to and fro a breeze. With ‘Wake of Fire’ doing all of the work and ‘Fire Blast’ used as a main attack when needed.

Early Skills to Obtain: Claw Mastery, Weapon Block
Main Skills to Max: Wake of Fire, Fire Blast
Synergy Skills: Wake of Inferno, Burst of Speed
Attribute Focus: Vitality as much as possible, Strength and Dexterity to keep up with item requirements, and a small amount into Energy.
Item Stats to Look For: Increased Defense and Damage, Faster Cast Rate, Bonuses to Assassin Skills, Life, Resistances, Bonus Mana.

Paladin - The Hammerdin

---

The Hammerdin is one of the most popular builds in Diablo 2 because it takes an already powerful class and turns them into an Area of Effect (AoE) beast. A beast that relies on the power of what is good and right and light. It revolves around the Blessed Hammer skill, almost exclusively, with the downside being that you won’t be able to spec into that until you reach Level 18. The good news is, with the Might Aura you can easily survive and thrive until this point and simply respec once you get access to Blessed Hammer. How it all works is pretty simple, floating hammers will spiral outwards from the Paladin and do damage as they plough through anything in their path. As they’re a little small it takes a bit getting used to their trajectory. That, and walls are the Hammerdin’s worst enemy. Powerful Skill Synergies take this build to the next level, and seeing as the damage type is Magic, enemy resistances won’t be a problem.

Early Skills to Obtain: Might, Smite
Main Skills to Max: Blessed Hammer, Concentration
Synergy Skills: Blessed Aim, Vigor
Defensive Skills: Holy Shield, Resist Fire, Resist Cold, Resist Lightning
Attribute Focus: Vitality as much as possible, Strength to keep up with Item Requirements, Dexterity to hit 75% Block Chance, a little into Energy.
Item Stats to Look For: Increased Defense and Damage, Faster Cast Rate, Increased Block Chance, Bonuses to Paladin Skills, Resistances, Bonus Mana, Mana Regen.

It's a pretty extensive look at the game that was a lot of fun to put together so be sure to head to Kotaku for the Kostaku-powered Every Tip You’ll Ever Need For Diablo 2: Resurrected!