Here is some of the documentation for Darkness Weaves. This should alleviate any questions about the mod (Which seem to be propping up lately)
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HISTORY
Darkness Weaves began as a simple “Ironman” mod to Diablo 2. When the Expansion Pack came out (Lord of Destruction), the move was made to that game type.
Ironman game play stems back to the days of Battle.net and Diablo I. Players who were tired of the madness of battlenet (Cheating, Duping, Town Killing, etc) began playing variations of Diablo. These included games like “Naked Mage” or “Garbage Run”, “Powersweep” etc… Of these, the “Ironman” version was probably the most popular. It leveled the playing field for all and made the game MUCH more challenging and fun to play. It DID require people to be totally honest and fair, and in doing so, promoted gaming groups, clans, guilds and the like. It was a good time for Battle.Net and Diablo.
The first few builds of Darkness Weaves were simple modifications that changed interaction with NPC’s and characters starting equipment. Later, as the mod progressed, it became evident that players could not survive long (Especially in Hardcore) without a little help. New items and item types were added, leveling the playing field. The mod was good, people were happy. But it still lacked.
When the LOD set came out, it got much better, as more modding choices were made available by Blizzard. DWX was born and surprisingly, in the 1.0 version (The NON beta version) there only existed one bug, and it was a tough one to chase down. (Thanks Chris for finally swatting that dreaded monster!)
DWX2 is a new rebuild of DWX. It is D2:LOD specific only and a lot of issues were addressed, redressed and tested. In your hands is a pretty spiffy mod that will challenge your style of gameplay. It’s taken hours and hours of work to re-write DWX. I hope you enjoy it!
RexxLaww
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OVERVIEW
The Ironman style of gameplay is radically different from what you have experienced (unless you have played IM before). You start with nothing.
You can buy nothing. You can repair nothing. Everything you use will come from the ‘land’. Weapons, armor, potions, scrolls etc…
Diablo II’s economic system was one that was woefully lacking. This is remedied by the fact that gold has little to no use in the game. Monsters won’t drop gold. You may find a random pile here or there. That’s okay. If you run with a hireling, you can save all that and revive them when they die. Keep in mind that it will take a LOT of money to revive them and the amount of gold you find, will never be enough. Keep your Merc alive!
Town Portals are non-existent. Every time you want to go to town, you will have to hoof it, or use a waypoint. This will change the way you play the game drastically.
Item/Inventory management skills become a real necessity in DWX2. Your favorite weapon must be carefully used. Once it is gone, it is gone.
For more specific advice, go to the GAMEPLAY below.
All in all, IM style makes the game incredibly challenging. It brings to light some of those skills that maybe you don’t use much. Prayer, Warmth, Find Potion, etc…
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CHANGES
Some of the changes from DWX to DWX2 are:
-->All NPC’s are now accessible. You can now complete all quests. You can drop items off to them, but you will ONLY get 1 GP per item, regardless of its relative worth. Charsi and others can still repair, but you will NEVER have enough gold to do it, unless you spend your entire career making town runs (and with waypoints only, its going to take awhile). If you do that, you probably shouldn’t be playing an IM mod anyhow.
-->A lot of the mundane items were dropped. In their place are some new charms and class specific books. I wont give all the details, since playing it is what the thrill is about.
-->Monsters are now more manageable, but still very tough. Not all monsters require you to kill them. Sometimes its best to just run away and come back later (much later).
-->Some of the more annoying monsters (Cave Leapers, Imps) have been changed, or had their skills modified a bit.
-->There are some new monsters, as well as some of the old favorites. Bandits and Elementals all make their return. Plus a few new surprises.
-->There are hordes of new cube recipes. Hints to these are scattered (in a pretty vague fashion) across your game load screens. Pay attention and see if you can decipher them.
-->Skills received some tweaks from the previous version. Nothing radical, but just some fine-tuning.
-->The EXP tables got a revisit. The 250 level cap is gone, replaced with the 99 level cap. I hated to do this, but I found that characters were scaling up far too fast and wound up walking over Baal at around level 50. Then in nightmare mode, they only earned paltry experience. Not a problem until you realize that on that track, they would end NM mode at about level 90-110. Then when proceeding to Hell mode, the problem would be intensified greatly. That and the fact that Monster’s begin behaving REALLY badly after their level goes above 99. So out with the new, in with the old. The 250 level Experience Table is great, but not within the scope of this mod.
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GAMEPLAY
This section will deal with some specific game-play techniques that are intricate to playing IM style. You obviously will develop your own style of playing, but if you are new to this mod, or seem to be stuck, read on for a little Designer Insight.
-->RUN! Almost every problem in DWX2 can be handled by running. The only time you will find yourself in serious trouble is when a boss ambushes you with “Holy Freeze” as an Aura, or come up against a pack with of monsters who are ‘Fast’. When in doubt, put distance between you and that pack of monsters. Let them come to you one or two at a time and deal with them. There is no shame in FALLING BACK.
-->Pick up everything. You have an increased backpack. Your stash is larger. If you think you can use it, put it into your pack. Stash it when you get to town. You will need it later, trust me. You will often find yourself running with tons of potions. This is completely normal. Don’t be embarrassed.
-->As much fun as those tiny little charms are, they become a burden when you realize that all of those bonuses don’t really make up for your lack of space in your inventory. Use them, get rid of them, see what they do in your cube.
-->Watch your inventory! Nothing will give you more grief than to have that nice set of armor beat completely off your body by high damage HTH monsters. Keep a set or two in your backpack and when necessary, change it out to reflect the situation. The same goes with weapons. You will undoubtedly find a nice weapon that can inflict massive damage. You will cry when you watch it break because you didn’t use it conservatively. Use regular/magic weapons for standard monster bashing. Use your Uber-Gear when you are about to fight the big boss and his minions. You have two weapons slots, use them. (Amazons get off easy here, as do Sorc’s.)
-->Protect your hireling. If you like to use them, get used to helping them. If you thought you carried lots of potions before, wait till you have to nursemaid them around! And because once dead, they are almost impossible to hire (especially in later acts when they are high level), it is in your (and their) best interest to keep them alive. Remember, you cannot Town-Portal to pull them out of a dangerous situation. If they are in trouble, you had better wade in and rescue them, or hope they weren’t carrying good gear when they go down.
-->Skills. You will come to appreciate the under used skills. Think of new and interesting ways to employ them. Nothing makes a DWX2 party happier than a Paladin with High Level Prayer.
-->Stats. No matter what your class, Vitality becomes very important. Not only for the life, but for the Stamina as well. Enough said.
-->Gems. You will develop your own opinion about them. Save them for higher gems? Or use them and lose them? The choice is yours. Glyphs help offset the pain of this decision.
-->Keep your waypoints in mind. Know where the last one was. If you have to fall back and dash up to town, you are going to have to go down the previous WP and work your way back. Suicide is best accomplished by going back down that portal you just hauled your sorry butt to town with, because nobody likes Physically Immune, Holy Freeze, Extra Fast monsters. NOBODY.
-->When playing in MultiPlayer, make sure you can work as a team. This cannot be stressed enough. It’s pretty sad to see two or three people arguing over a regular, non-magical Claymore in Act I.
-->Even though your Assassin is best when Clawing monsters to death, there might be a time when that Rare Bow you just found can be very effective. Don’t be afraid to try weapons that aren’t the ‘norm’ for your class. Eagle Orbs have low durability, and losing a real nice one because you weren’t paying attention serves you right!
-->Be careful when using the ‘Players X’ command. Although it is tempting, you will regret it when you spawn a horrendous pack of GoreBelly’s and cannot get through them because their HP’s last longer than your weapons and armor.
-->Hardcore. The ultimate way to play IM. Become the master of falling back and potion/item management skills increase tenfold in importance. Be conservative. Especially after you have clawed your way up a few levels.
-->When it comes to inventory management, you should be thinking two or three items ahead. That spiffy gemmed up Crystal Sword is on its last leg and you are about to enter an area that is notorious for no spawning good items. Better go back and work an area for some spares.
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Feel free to add your own gameplay tactics or suggestions here!
Enjoy!