The PTR for Patch 2.5 of Diablo 2 Resurrected has just been announced! It introduces a new feature - the Terror Zones. These zones deliver more Experience farming variety for the community instead of endless Diablo, Nihlathak and Baal kills to reach that allusive Level 99! The List of Bug Fixes is EXTENSIVE, make sure to check the official post linked above to see them all! Our Experience Calculator is already outfitted to calculate the increase in Monster Level's effect on your farming efficiency.
Terror Zones
Terror Zones are a new game-option, that is OPTIONAL, that increases Monster Levels (mLVL) in randomly chosen zones for up to an hour! These zones are selected from a specific list, per Act. The game-creator's Character Level determines what Monster Level the enemies in the Terror Zone have. There are limits for mLVL per difficulty and the amount the monster's level increases by depends on the monster's type:
Normal
Base: +2 levels up to level 45
Champion: +4 levels up to level 47
Unique: +5 levels up to Level 48
Nightmare
Base: +2 levels up to level 71
Champion: +4 levels up to level 73
Unique: +5 levels up to level 74
Hell
Base: +2 levels up to level 96
Champion: +4 levels up to level 98
Unique: +5 levels up to level 99
Example: A Level 40 Character creates a game in Normal difficulty.
The monsters in the Terror Zone have the following Levels:
- Base: Level 42
- Champion: Level 44
- Unique: Level 45
Notes:
- The Monster Level does not go below the Terror Zone's original levels.
- When the game creator leaves, another player is chosen to determine the Monster Levels.
List of Areas
Here is the list of Areas that can be randomly selected as Terror Zone's:
| Act | Areas | |||
| Act 1 | Blood Moor, Den of Evil Cold Plains, The Cave Burial Grounds, The Crypt and Mausoleum Tristram Dark Wood Black Marsh The Forgotten Tower (All Levels) Jail (All Levels) Cathedral and Catacombs (All Levels) The Secret Cow Level (Moo Moo Farm) | |||
| Act 2 | Sewers (All Levels) Rocky Waste, Stony Tomb Dry Hills, Halls of the Dead (All Levels) Far Oasis, Maggot Lair (All Levels) Lost City Valley of Snakes and Claw Viper Temple (All Levels) Harem and Palace Cellar (All Levels) Arcane Sanctuary Tal Rasha's Tombs | |||
| Act 3 | Spider Forest and Spider Cavern Flayer Jungle and Flayer Dungeon (All Levels) Lower Kurast Kurast Bazaar, Ruined Temple, and Disused Fane Kurast Sewers (All Levels) Travincal Durance of Hate (All Levels) | |||
| Act 4 | Outer Steppes and Plains of Despair River of Flame Chaos Sanctuary | |||
| Act 5 | Bloody Foothills Frigid Highlands Glacial Trail Crystalline Passage and Frozen River Arreat Plateau Nihlathak's Temple, Halls of Anguish, Halls of Pain, and Halls of Vaught Ancient's Way and Icy Cellar Worldstone Keep, Throne of Destruction, and Worldstone Chamber (All Levels) | |||
Item Drop Changes
Since monsters have a higher mLVL they can also drop higher level Uniques, Sets and Base Items they couldn't previously drop! As long as the Game Creator is at least Level 85, even a lowly Base monster's mLVL is 87 and able to drop every item in the game! As long as they have the correct Treasure Class to do so.
Messaging
To make this feature as transparent as possible, a number of visuals are added. You cannot miss it!
- Monsters receive a unique icon next to their name.
- On-screen text and messaging
- Special audio cues
- In-game text on the auto-map
Level 99 Race Changes
With the addition of Terror Zones, there are many ways in which the race to Level 99 can DRASTICALLY change. There is a lot of theory-crafting and testing that is needed to figure out the best way to capitalize on the changes, but here is a list of preliminary ideas to keep in mind.
- The Game Creator has to be of a high enough level to maximize the Monster's Level.
- Monster's still grant 100% of their Experience at Character Level -5 (Level 98 Character vs Level 93 Monster), BUT monster's grant more Experience the higher level they are.
- Partying up increases the amount of Experience a monster gives, and the highest Level Character gets the most Experience per kill.
- Any Character build that can kill Players 8 difficulty monsters without the help of a party will get MUCH higher amounts of Experience than you would normally get.
Maxroll D2R Team
We are happy to see more change to Diablo 2 Resurrected. The Terror Zones drastically change the approach to reaching Level 99. Check them out on the PTR and give your feedback! We look forward to exploring these zones to their full extent.