Skill Points – Builds Overview – Characters | Diablo II: Resurrected

Delve into the realm of Diablo 2 Resurrected and uncover intriguing insights about a character’s Skill Points on this captivating page.

Once you have chosen a character, your playstyle becomes more defined, but it is the skill points that truly shape your character’s abilities. Whether your Amazon prefers to rain down a flurry of arrows or unleash lightning javelins, whether your Paladin strikes down enemies with righteous force or hurls a magical storm of hammers from behind a sturdy shield, or even if your Sorceress unleashes fiery, electric, or icy attacks (or a combination of them all) – all of these choices are determined by how you allocate your skill points. In fact, the importance of your gear should be secondary to the allocation of your skill points, and since the distribution of your stat points can be influenced by your gear, it is your skills that truly drive the development of your character.

Skill Point Allocation

You acquire a Skill Point each time your characters progress in levels, enabling you to invest it in one of the abilities on your skill tree. Each character possesses three skill trees comprising ten unique abilities, and each ability can be enhanced by utilizing a Skill Point. The maximum level (sLv) for each ability is 20 (excluding additional levels granted by equipment, shrines, or other abilities such as Battle Orders), and as an ability’s level rises, so do its effects. These effects typically involve increased damage, defense, attack rating, longer durations, larger areas of effect, additional projectiles, stronger or more resilient minions, and so on. The impact of leveling up an ability varies greatly from one skill to another, making it impossible to make precise generalizations. However, it is important to note that increasing an ability’s level also raises its Mana cost, so caution is advised to avoid compromising your offensive capabilities.

You can strive for the ultimate goal of reaching Lv99, but realistically, aiming for Lv85-90 is more attainable. By that point, most character builds should be largely developed. However, if you were to reach the theoretical maximum of Lv99, you would accumulate a total of 98 Skill Points through leveling up. On top of that, there are three quests throughout the game that grant bonus Skill Points: The Den of Evil in Act 1 (+1 Skill Point), Radament’s Lair in Act 2 (+1 Skill Point), and The Fallen Angel in Act 4 (+2 Skill Points). Each of these quests can be completed three times in each difficulty level (Normal, Nightmare, and Hell), resulting in a total of +12 bonus Skill Points. Therefore, a Lv99 character who has completed all quests would have the opportunity to allocate a grand total of 110 Skill Points.

Assuming Lv89 as a reasonable stopping point for most builds gives us a solid foundation of exactly 100 Skill Points to work with when planning end-game strategies. In practice, this means that the majority of builds will focus on maximizing proficiency in around five key skills, allocating any leftover points towards skill prerequisites. In cases where there is a shortage of points, the least essential of the five primary skills will be prioritized. It is important to note that not all builds require the maximum of five skills, and there may be certain skills that, despite their usefulness, do not warrant being maximized due to various reasons. In general, the approach will involve either fully maximizing a skill or allocating a single point and relying on +Skills gear to supplement the rest.

(1 of 2) Summon Skeletons serves as a prime instance of an Active Ability – its execution is imperative for it to yield any impact.

Input: Raise Skeleton is an illustration of an Active Skill – casting the skill is necessary for it to have any impact. On the other hand, Skeleton Mastery is a Passive Skill – allocating points into it will instantly enhance the abilities of your minions.

Active and Passive Skills

Active and passive skills, though distinct in implementation, fall under the umbrella of two skill categories.

The majority of skills are considered active skills. By investing a single point in an active skill, you gain access to its usage, simply by assigning it to a hotkey. However, using active skills often requires the consumption of Mana, and in some cases, additional resources are necessary. For instance, Corpse Explosion necessitates the presence of corpses, while creating an Iron Golem requires a specific base item. Despite the requirement of clicking a button and expending Mana, active skills encompass a wide range of diverse abilities that have little in common with each other.

Meanwhile, there exist passive abilities that bestow enduring enhancements to diverse attributes once the corresponding skill is acquired. Delving into Skeleton Mastery, for instance, augments a Necromancer’s skeletal forces and reanimated minions, while Fire Mastery amplifies the destructive potential of all fire-based incantations cast by a Sorceress. Additionally, Sword Mastery empowers a Barbarian’s prowess by bolstering their raw damage output, enhancing their precision in combat, and elevating the likelihood of executing critical strikes, but exclusively when brandishing swords.

(1 of 3) Each character possesses a trio of skill trees, each housing ten distinct skills. Take the Paladin, for instance, who boasts three skill trees: Defensive Auras,…

Skill Trees

As previously mentioned, every character possesses a trio of ten skills trees, granting them the freedom to allocate their investments across various skills and skill trees. However, it is important to note that certain skills have prerequisites. These skills are typically organized into tiers based on levels – some skills can be acquired at Lv1, while others require reaching Lv6, Lv12, Lv18, Lv24, and finally Lv30. For instance, Ice Bolt becomes available for purchase as soon as you earn a Skill Point, but Ice Blast necessitates reaching Lv6. Shiver Armor requires Lv12, Glacial Bolt requires Lv18, Blizzard requires Lv24, and Frozen Orb remains inaccessible until reaching Lv30.

Additionally, your character’s skill investment potential is determined by the extent to which your character level surpasses the skill’s level requirement. For instance, to allocate a skill point to Frozen Orb, your character must reach Lv30. However, to assign a second point, you must further advance your level, and reaching Lv50 is necessary to fully maximize the potential of Frozen Orb at sLV20.

Although it’s clear that you cannot allocate Skill Points to skills that exceed your current level, there is no compulsion to invest Skill Points upon leveling up. If you desire to reserve Skill Points for future skills deeper into the skill tree, you have the complete freedom to do so. This proves advantageous in situations where you have a simultaneous desire to invest in two skills, such as the Paladin’s Blessed Hammer and Concentration abilities, both of which necessitate reaching Lv18 before any points can be allocated to them.

Additionally, certain abilities possess additional skill prerequisites. This is essentially the fundamental purpose of categorizing them within a hierarchical tree. Let’s take the example of the Sorceress’s Cold Skills tree: in order to acquire Chilling Armor (Lv24), you must first obtain Shiver Armor (Lv12), which, in turn, necessitates the acquisition of Ice Blast (Lv6) and Frozen Armor (Lv1). Simply investing a single point in a skill is sufficient to meet the criteria and grant you the freedom to progress further down the tree towards other abilities. Fortunately, the skill trees are equipped with helpful arrows that indicate these skill requirements. Therefore, whenever you find yourself uncertain, just follow the arrows!

Synergies

Builds thrive on synergies, an enchanting element that was not originally woven into the fabric of the game. Surprisingly, Blizzard used to compel us to create fresh characters every few weeks in the past, leaving us amused (By the way, respeccing was unheard of during that era. How thrilling!).

Input: Anyways, certain skills have a strong connection to other skills, where understanding one skill can enhance another. This commonly manifests as a bonus of +X% damage per sLv for a different skill, but there are also other advantages. The specific benefits that a synergy provides, as well as the associated skills, are indicated on each skill’s page. In some cases, investing in a primary offensive skill and its synergies becomes the central focus of a build, if not the entire build strategy. This synergy is so crucial to builds that they are often named after the key skill itself – like Hammeradin or Blizzard Sorceress.

(1 of 3) The Blizzard spell reaches its peak potential when leveled up to sLv20, unleashing a devastating wave of damage.

In order to highlight the profound impact that synergies have on the effectiveness of a skill, let’s take a look at the Blizzard skill, which serves as the cornerstone of the Blizzard Sorceress build. To acquire Blizzard, a level 24 skill, one must first obtain Glacial Spike (level 18) and Frost Nova (level 6), the former of which also requires Ice Blast (level 6) and Ice Bolt (level 1). Ice Bolt, Ice Blast, and Glacial Spike all act as synergies for Blizzard, providing a bonus of +5% Cold Damage for every skill level invested. As a result, even before unlocking Blizzard, its base damage of 45-75 is already amplified to 51-86.

Investing additional Skill Points into the Blizzard spell not only amplifies its damage (along with its Mana cost…) But also enhances its effectiveness. At sLv10, it already inflicts a significant 241-286 damage. However, once fully upgraded to sLv20, it unleashes a formidable 655-711 damage range. Although this may seem impressive, it fails to leave a lasting impression on formidable adversaries in the treacherous Hell difficulty. On the other hand, by maximizing the potential of Ice Bolt, Blizzard’s destructive power skyrockets to an astonishing 1197-1299 damage, without any increase in Mana consumption! Furthermore, pushing Ice Blast to its limits elevates Blizzard’s devastation to an astonishing 1738-1887 damage. And finally, by mastering Glacial Spike, Blizzard attains a respectable potency, boasting a devastating 2280-2476 damage range.

Illustration of Blizzard Synergies.

Skill Points Invested	Blizzard Damage
Blizzard sLv1	45-75
Blizzard sLv10	241-286
Blizzard sLv20	655-711
Ice Bolt sLv20	1197-1299
Ice Blast sLv20	1738-1887
Glacial Spike sLv20	2280-2476

Input: How crucial are synergies? They hold about a 75% weightage in terms of a Blizzard Sorceress’s damage output, as illustrated in this instance.

Rewritten It is important to remember that only the hard points allocated to skills, which refers to the skill’s base sLv before any gear with +Skills, contribute to synergies. While having +10 Skills can be beneficial, it does not directly impact synergies.

Speaking of that very matter…

Various forms of skill bonuses exist, encompassing items that bestow enhancements to particular, distinct skills.

+Skills Gear

Finally, let’s delve into the realm of temporary skill enhancements. More often than not, these enhancements are derived from various pieces of equipment. Take, for instance, the illustrious Harlequin Crest, Mara’s Kaleidoscope, The Oculus, Skin of the Vipermagi, a Spirit shield, Stone of Jordan, and Arachnid Mesh – all prime examples of gear that magnify one’s skills. These skill-boosting attributes are commonly found on circlets, amulets, and gear specifically tailored for certain classes such as Amazon bows, Assassin claws, Barbarian helmets, Druid pelts, Necromancer totems, Paladin shields, and Sorceress orbs. However, one must not forget that these enhancements can also be discovered within the realms of runewords, set items, and unique gear in various other equipment slots. Given the immense power that +Skills gear can bestow upon its wearer, it should come as no surprise that some pieces of +Skills gear hold significant value.

Besides gear, charms can also contain +Skills. The exclusive small charm, Annihilus, and the exceptional large charm, Hellfire Torch, both offer +Skills (Annihilus boosts +1 To All Skills and Hellfire Torch provides +3 Skills to a random character type). Additionally, magical grand charms may occasionally have +Skills (albeit limited to a specific skill tree; however, for Blizzard Sorceresses, +1 Cold Skills is nearly as valuable as +1 All Skills).

Let’s explore the extent of influence that +Skills items have. To illustrate, imagine we enhance our character in the Blizzard example by equipping them with +10 Skills. Now, let’s observe the havoc this boost can wreak…

Snowstorm at Level 30 – A Glorious Illustration.

Skill Points Invested	Blizzard Damage
Blizzard sLv1	45-75
Blizzard sLv10	241-286
Blizzard sLv20	655-711
Ice Bolt sLv20	1197-1299
Ice Blast sLv20	1738-1887
Glacial Spike sLv20	2280-2476
Blizzard sLv30	4480-4716

Skills hold immense significance.