Resurgence is a Diablo II: Lord of Destruction modification that focuses on promoting build diversity, class balance and having a challenging end-game while preserving the original atmosphere of Diablo.
Like many who have enjoyed Diablo 2 from its very launch, I was looking for something a little more. You'll look no further than what D2 Resurgence has to offer than just your regular vanilla nostalgia fill. The character build diversity and balance of each class was something I've strongly been waiting for as well as new items. Not only can you try those weird builds that nobody ever used in vanilla D2, but there are a few new skills to some classes as well.
New unique items in the game were added to compete with runewords for more balance as well as new Elite Sets. Heck, even rare items were re-vamped and are quite powerful in the game. Each class now has new Class-Specific Items that can drop. Amazons have new gloves, Assassins have new Boots, Barbarians have new 1 and 2 hand axes, Druids have new 2 hand staffs, Necromancers have new Armors, Paladins have new Helms, Sorceresses have new Rings.
The re-designed crafting system is great and fairly straightforward. No more waiting hundreds of hours of crafting to get a decent roll. There is a new charm system that allows you create your own charms specific to your desire. "Charm components" drop from monsters, then you can cube these charm components in conjunction with a blank charm that drops from specific monsters in the game. Simply collect the charm components with stats you enjoy most and cube them with the blank charm to add the stat on the charm.
I like the fact that you have an increased stash size and can kill King in Cow as many times as you want and still retain the ability to re-make the Cow Level. All Boss game drops are equivalent to a Quest Drop EVERYTIME you farm them (First Time Kill, Bug Drop). Those type of drops are great considering you don't have to make an Alternative Character for Bug Questing in game. Also, you are able to receive XP from the beginning of the area that you are in regardless of how far other players are in that same area. In the vanilla version, you had to be within at least 2 screens to receive XP.
All mercenaries in all acts now have an Aura specific to their type. Act 1 Rogue Mercenaries now have an Aura that gives increased Attack Rating %, Deadly Strike %, and Increased Attack Rate %. Act 2 Mercenaries should still have the same Auras before I believe. Act 3 Iron Wolf Mercenaries now give off an Elemental Pierce Aura specific to the type of Element you choose (Cold, Fire, Light). Act 5 Barbarian Mercenaries now give an Aura that adds Enhanced Damage % and Enhanced Defense %.
The game really kicks it up a notch when you start getting into Hell mode, more specifically Act 5. The monsters and mobs have damage increased in Act 5 and a lot of them can even one-shot you if you are under-geared for the area. Once you have completed Act 5 there's still plenty of gearing needed to reach end game status so you can compete in the new area added in the game called "The Killing Fields." This area is a massive and I mean MASSIVE map full of the hardest mobs in the game, be very cautious if you play Hardcore Mode like me.
Many players who enjoy Diablo 2 so much but don't have as much time to farm the game may enjoy the ability to buy Rune and Gem Extractors to cube the specific Rune needed to make a specific runeword. Act 4 vendors in Hell only sell these Extractors as well as an item called a "Catalyst". This catalyst is a record keeper of how many runes or gems you cube with it to obtain an "Essence" number. These Essence numbers will allow you create and choose which Rune/Gem you want to make in the cube. Each extractor has an essence number which is required to make the item.
The online community is excellent and very helpful if you are struggling in the game. Game Admin/Moderators are very helpful and quick to fix issues that occur as well. Overall I believe this mod may very well be the best I've seen when it comes to a challenging Hack n Slash, it's everything I and mostly everyone else has been waiting for.
Great mod. Very clean
The only minus is that is a little unbalanced, it's perfect Diablo mod. I've never seen such customization for diablo 2 mod and it's just insane how well crafted it its.
Constantly evolving mod with new content being added often. Balance changes coming with every new ladder. Dev team does an incredible job to make build diversity wide while also keeping endgame zones challenging for all.