Diablo II: Lord of Destruction is an expansion pack for the action role-playing game Diablo II. Unlike Diablo: Hellfire, the original game's expansion, this one was created directly by Blizzard North. The expansion and the original game were improved and released again as Diablo II: Resurrected.

Lord of Destruction added two new character classes, new weapons, and a fifth act. It also significantly changed the gameplay of Diablo II, making it better for both single-player and multiplayer experiences.

Features

Lord of Destruction introduces many new features to the main game of Diablo II. These include:

• Two new character classes: the Assassin and the Druid.
• A fifth act set in Mount Arreat and the surrounding areas of the northern Barbarian Highlands. This act includes a new boss named Baal.
• Many new items, such as new weapons and armor. These include 33 different Runes that can be placed into sockets to provide special bonuses. Runewords are specific combinations of runes that give unique bonuses when placed in certain items. There are hundreds of new recipes for the Horadric Cube. Crafted items are similar to rare items but cannot be found in chests or dropped by monsters. They are made using the Horadric Cube and specific materials. Crafted items have 3–4 fixed properties and up to 4 random properties, like rare items. Jewels have the same random bonuses as other items and can be placed into sockets. Unique jewels called Rainbow Facets give special effects for specific elements. Ethereal items are usually stronger than regular items but have lower durability and cannot be repaired. However, if an NPC companion wears them, they do not lose durability. A special rune called "Indestructible" can permanently fix the durability issue for ethereal items. (Some ethereal items have built-in repair abilities.) Charms are items that stay in the inventory and provide passive bonuses. Class-specific items can only be used by certain characters, such as claws for an Assassin. Additional unique and set items, including sets specific to certain classes, are also added.
• A larger stash for storing items, twice the size of the original stash.
• An alternate weapon, shield, or spell setup that can be switched to quickly during gameplay.
• Hirelings can now follow the player through all acts. They can wear armor and weapons, gain their own experience, be healed with potions, and be resurrected if they die.
• The game can now be played at a resolution of 800×600, up from 640×480.

Plot

After the player successfully enters Hell and defeats Diablo in Act IV, they return to the Pandemonium Fortress, where they meet the Archangel Tyrael. Tyrael gives the player an important message and opens a portal to Harrogath, a fortress located on Mount Arreat in the northern Barbarian Highlands. As shown at the end of Act IV, two of Hell’s main evil beings, Diablo and Mephisto, have been defeated, and their Soulstones destroyed at the Hellforge. However, their surviving brother, Baal, has retrieved his own Soulstone from Marius. Baal has gathered an army and attacked Mount Arreat, which is protected by the Barbarians who guard the Worldstone.

Act V includes six quests. The player begins at Harrogath’s stronghold. There are also icy caves in the mountains and dark, hellish underground areas (similar to Hell in Act IV) where extra monsters and experience can be found. After reaching the top of Mount Arreat, the player gains access to the Worldstone Keep.

Many people in Harrogath are at first suspicious of the player, even if the player is playing as a Barbarian. The player must defeat Shenk the Overseer, who is leading an attack in the Bloody Foothills, to end the siege on Harrogath. The player can also save captured Barbarian defenders. Completing these tasks helps the townspeople trust the player, who then receive help or other services.

The player later learns that one of Harrogath’s councilors, Nihlathak, has made a deal with Baal. Nihlathak promised to protect Harrogath in exchange for access to the Worldstone Keep. After rescuing Anya and discovering this betrayal, the player must find and defeat Nihlathak, who is hiding with his followers in the Halls of Vaught.

Before entering the Worldstone Keep, the player must fight The Ancients, three legendary Barbarians who guard the Worldstone. These warriors—Talic the Defender, Madawc the Guardian, and Korlic the Protector—only allow those they consider worthy to pass. After the player succeeds, the Ancients warn that Baal is already inside the Keep and has blocked Tyrael’s presence.

Finally, the player fights Baal in the Worldstone Chamber, after defeating Baal’s followers at the Throne of Destruction. After Baal is defeated, Tyrael appears, praises the player, and opens a portal to Destruction’s End, the game’s conclusion. Because the Worldstone has been corrupted by Baal, Tyrael must destroy it to stop Hell’s power from spreading. The full effects of the Worldstone’s destruction would not be known until twenty years later.

New classes

The Assassin uses a mix of martial arts skills and the ability to set active traps. She can also open locked chests without needing a key. The Assassin is voiced by Carrie Gordon Lowrey.

Her Shadow Disciplines tree includes passive skills (such as Claw Mastery or Weapon Block) and temporary power boosts (such as Burst of Speed or Venom). It also includes spells like Mind Blast, which harm, stun, and confuse enemies. She can summon Shadow Warrior or Shadow Master, which are strong helpers that can also deal damage.

The Traps tree includes direct attacks and traps that can be summoned. Traps are fixed objects that attack any enemy in range a certain number of times before breaking. Traps use fire or lightning, and the Death Sentry trap can explode nearby corpses while also shooting lightning. Blade trap skills are ranged attacks that cause physical harm.

The Martial Arts tree includes skills that build up energy and finishing moves. Using a charge-up skill increases energy, up to three times, and the finishing move releases all energy in a strong attack (note that a regular attack also counts as a finishing move). Charge-up skills include attacks like Blades of Ice and Fists of Fire, which add elemental damage to the finishing move, and skills like Cobra Strike, which take life and mana from enemies during the attack. Finishing moves are mostly kicks, such as Dragon Talon, which delivers multiple quick kicks, and Dragon Flight, which teleports to an enemy and kicks them, releasing any stored energy.

The Druid specializes in nature-based magic and shapeshifting, using direct damage spells and summoning helpers. The Druid is voiced by Michael Bell.

The Elemental tree includes magic related to earth and sky. Storm spells include Cyclone Armor, which protects the Druid from weather, and Tornado, a spinning wind that moves randomly and deals heavy damage. Fire spells are more grounded, with abilities like Fissure and Volcano. The strongest Elemental spells are Hurricane and Armageddon, both of which create a storm that follows the Druid and harms nearby enemies.

The Summoning tree allows the Druid to call natural allies. Wolves and grizzly bears are strong melee helpers, while other summons have different abilities. Ravens deal minor damage but can blind enemies and cannot be targeted. Ravens disappear after attacking a set number of times. The Druid can summon will-o'-the-wisp-like spirits that provide effects similar to Paladin auras, increasing damage, healing, or returning damage to enemies. The Druid can also summon three types of vines that poison enemies or absorb corpses to restore life or mana.

The Shape-Shifting tree lets the Druid transform into an animal, greatly increasing their life. The Druid can become a fast Werewolf or a large Werebear. Each form has unique attacks: the Werewolf’s Feral Rage makes the Druid faster with each attack, and the Werebear’s Maul increases the strength of each strike. The Werebear also has more life and armor than the Werewolf. Note that the Druid’s equipment works normally in these forms, but most spells cannot be cast, except for Armageddon and summoning abilities.

Music

The music for Diablo II: Lord of Destruction was recorded in Bratislava, Slovakia, with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. Kirk Trevor, who is part of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, led the recording sessions. The music was composed in September 2000, and this was the first time Matt Uelmen worked with an orchestra. The orchestral recording in Slovakia took place in January 2001.

The music style is modern classical and experimental, using elements of Wagner's style.

• The track "Fortress" from Act V was inspired by various operatic scores, including Pelléas and Mélisande by Claude Debussy. It includes a direct musical reference to a phrase from "Scene 1: Je ne pourrai" in Act I of Debussy's work.
• The track "Ice Caves" from Act V was inspired by parts of Bernard Herrmann's Vertigo and a section of Carl Orff's Trionfo di Afrodite.
• The track "Ancients" from Act V includes a direct quote from the Prelude to Act I of Richard Wagner's Tristan and Isolde.
• The track "Siege" from Act V was inspired by parts of Mars by Gustav Holst and includes a direct quote from that piece.

Critical response

In the United States, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction reached the top spot on NPD Intelect's computer game sales rankings for June 2001. It stayed in first place in July and August but dropped to second place in September due to The Sims. The game ranked sixth in October and had sold 576,143 units in the United States by the first week of November. At that time, GameSpot's writer Desslock wrote that Lord of Destruction had "sold well and continue[s] to do so," and said its success showed "there's probably never been a larger demand for RPGs." It fell to 19th place on NPD Intelect's chart for November and was not in the top 20 for December. However, Lord of Destruction became the fourth-best-selling computer game in the United States in 2001, with 859,743 units sold and $29.2 million in revenue.

Lord of Destruction received a "Silver" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), which means it sold at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

By July 26, 2001, global sales of Lord of Destruction had passed 1 million units, and more than 2 million units had been distributed. These numbers made it the fastest-selling expansion pack for a computer game at that time.

According to Metacritic, Lord of Destruction received "generally favorable" reviews. GameSpot gave it an 8.2 out of 10, IGN gave it an 8.8 out of 10, and GameSpy gave it an 88 out of 100. The game also won an award from IGN magazine for being in the top 50 most important games of all time because of its online multiplayer features.

Within the Diablo II community, the expansion caused some debate when Blizzard updated the original game, making Nightmare and Hell difficulties harder than before. Some players believed this change encouraged them to buy the expansion to access new items and abilities needed to face the updated challenges.

At the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Lord of Destruction was nominated for "PC Role-Playing Game of the Year," but the award went to Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. It was also nominated for best expansion pack by Computer Gaming World, GameSpy, GameSpot, and RPG Vault, but lost these awards to Throne of Bhaal and Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge. However, the game won Computer Games Magazine's award in this category. The editors wrote, "Add-on developers take note—the bar has been raised."