With Diablo 2: Reign of the Warlock, Blizzard has introduced a new class in its classic hack & slash title. Many are wondering which build to start with, and we provide you with the appropriate answer.
What can the Warlock do? With the release of the Warlock, you have the chance for the first time in 25 years in Diablo 2 to play a new class. With its talents, you have the opportunity:
- to summon demons and sacrifice them or have them fight for you
- to wield abhorrent weapons imbued with magic and throw them at opponents
- to unleash hellfire and the void upon your enemies
This opens up new possibilities in the endgame to successfully climb the ladder. But to do that, you need a powerful build. Therefore, we looked around and wanted to find out which talents can take you far as a Warlock.
Warlock Build – How to set up your build
Early Game (Normal): In normal difficulty, it is first important to level up your character and progress. Here you can try things out, but we recommend the skill “Ring of Fire” (engl. Ring of Fire). This skill in the “Chaos” tree can take you up to the “Hell” difficulty.
With it, you create a ring of fire around you at the push of a button, which deals damage to enemies and knocks them back. While using Ring of Fire, you cannot move, but you don’t need to, as no one can get close to you. You will handle the few fire-immune enemies with your mercenary and the magic attacks from the Chaos tree.
Mid-Game (Nightmare/Hell): In mid-game, in addition to Ring of Fire, you will use the skills Flame Wave (engl. Flame Wave) and Apocalypse (engl. Apocalypse). Both skills complement each other well, as you can alternate between them while one of them is on cooldown, meaning it is not ready.
Apocalypse causes all enemies in the inverted pentagram to burst into flames. Flame Wave, on the other hand, throws a wall of flames in the direction your Warlock is facing, dealing extra damage to all affected enemies. Nice: Apocalypse lowers the fire resistance of your enemies, which is extremely helpful at higher difficulty levels.
When leveling, make sure to max out Ring of Fire and Apocalypse first before leveling Flame Wave. As for your equipment, you should only make sure to carry a two-handed weapon that gives you 3+ points in your fire skills.
Endgame (P7+, Uber Tristram and co.): To get the most out of the Warlock, you should respec your build to “Hailstorm Strike.” Here’s how you should prioritize your points:
- Abhorrent:
- Hailstorm Strike (Max.)
- Mirrored Blades (Max.)
- Blade Teleportation (Max.)
- Optional (an either/or choice)
- Hover Mastery (for more damage)
- Cursing: Corruption (to harm enemies outside of physical damage)
- Optional (an either/or choice)
- Daemon:
- Consumption (Max.) to consume Goat Demon
As for your item values, you should consider the following effects:
- + to Warlock skills or all skills
- + % in spell rate
- + % increased damage
- + % death strike
- + % drained mana per hit
For a weapon, you should choose a Thunder Hammer as a base, as it has the slowest attack speed but deals the highest damage. Since you will throw the hammer at your opponents anyway, the attack speed doesn’t matter – you mainly benefit from the damage.
You can easily use ethereal weapons. The Abhorrent skills trigger effects like mana drain or death strike, but your weapon does not lose durability. So you never have to repair.
These were all the important details you should know to start the new ladders in Diablo 2 when it comes to a build for the Warlock and its progression. Diablo 2 is doing better than ever since its latest update, and this is especially reflected in its player numbers: Diablo 2 celebrates a phenomenal debut on Steam after 26 years, has more players than Diablo 4
