Diablo 2 Resurrected Reign Of The Warlock Beginner Tips

Diablo 2 Resurrected has brought a new class for the first time in 25 years: The Warlock. This powerful sorcerer uses demonic, chaotic, and telekinetic magic to lay waste to his foes, and players can already enjoy it with the Reign of the Warlock Expansion.

If players want to learn everything about this new expansion, from all the important changes to what to do first when picking this new class, then they can check out this comprehensive list of Beginner Tips for those who jump into Diablo 2 for the first time, or those veterans returning after a long time.

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By Derek Nichols

The Warlock Class & How To Wield Its Power

The Warlock is a Unique Class that can switch between caster, summoner, or melee combatants by making use of its three skill branches based on demonic power, telekinetic ability, and demon summoning/binding.

Chaos: A combination of debuffs, fire damage, and the new Miasma effect (Lingering Poison) that can wreak havoc upon large groups of enemies. Uses Sigils to apply AoE debuffs.
Eldritch: Imbues weapons with demonic magic and telekinetic power, making use of its passive to wield a Two-Handed Weapon in one hand, and an offhand or shield. Replicates weapons, hurls them around to cause devastating effects, and applies CC on enemies hit with massive force.
Demon: The ability to summon three different types of demons (Goatmen, Tainted, Defiler) and bind almost any Demonkind in the game. Commands demons or consumes them to gain their abilities and buff himself.

Ideally, players would want to focus on one of these skill branches to maximize the Warlock's damage output, so here are a few tips for those learning how to use it:

From Chaos, maximize Ring of Fire, then follow up that branch of abilities to unleash devastating Hellfire on large groups of foes.
The Miasma branch (Chaos) is a lethal combination of DoT and lingering effects that can become truly powerful for high-level encounters, but it takes longer to snowball.
Sigils are really useful since they empower both Miasma and Fire damage, and also apply large area crowd control effects that can help players land other spells.
The Eldritch skill line is all about buffing weapon attacks, and going all out with empowered magic weapons at melee range. But, skills like Echoing Strike, Blade Warp, and Mirage Weapons add cool effects that enhance reach, hitting large numbers of enemies. Plus, it causes Magic Damage, and the Hex branch causes various extra effects like reducing enemy defense, causing targets to explode in a fiery AoE blast, or regaining life and mana per kill.
Demons can be both summoned or bound. Summoned demons act similarly to the Necromancer or Druid's minions, but they will aggressively seek enemies with a much larger range, and can be used as walking bombs thanks to Blood Boil, empowered with Engorge, used as a shield with Blood Oath, or used as a buff source with Consume, which increases the Warlock's speed and life. It can also be used to gain the abilities of Bound Demons, which is absolutely overpowered.

Enhance Your Build With The New Sets

With every new expansion, Diablo games have introduced important changes to buildcrafting, most of which involve adding Items such as Charms, Equipment Sets, Legendary Items and so on. Reign of The Warlock is no exception to the rule, and the following Items have been added to the world-drop pool:

Bane's Garment

A new set usable by all classes, which increases core stats such as Cast Speed Rate, Dexterity, and Maximum Damage, plus provides bonuses to Skills and Magic Item drop chance:

Item	Stats
Bane's Oathmaker (Kris)	+20% Faster Run/Walk +99 to Maximum Damage +3 to Mana after each Kill (active with 2 Items) +30% Deadly Strike (active with 3 Items)
Bane's Wraithskin (Hard Leather Armor)	+50 Defense Magic Resist +30% +25% Faster Hit Recovery (active with 2 Items) +792 to Attack Rating (based on item level) (active with 3 Items)
Bane's Authority (Light Belt)	+10% Faster Cast Rate +20 to Life +15 to Energy (active with 3 Items)

The Complete Set Bonus includes the following effects:

+1 to All Skills
+25% Faster Cast Rate
+80% Enhanced Damage
+15 to Dexterity
40% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

As players might have guessed, this set is great for most Classes, and if players have the luck of finding it early during their new playthrough, it's going to greatly improve their survivability and overall add clearing power.

Horazon's Splendor

A new set based on the lost Legacy of Horazon, which is deeply linked to the Warlock Lore and how he constructed his sinister power from banned knowledge books and partially destroyed Vizjerei text. Horazon's Splendor maximizes the Warlock's Power, and it should be one of the main goals for players trying this class:

Item	Stats
Horazon's Countenance (Demonhead)	+1 to Warlock Skills 99% Bonus to Attack Rating 10–20 to Strength Magic Damage Reduced by 7–10 Increase Maximum Life 5% (active with 2 items) +15 to Strength (active with 4 items)
Horazon's Dominion (Russet Armor)	+2 to Demon Skills (Warlock Only) 75–100% Enhanced Defense 75–100 to Mana Cold Resist 15–25% Lightning Resist 15–25% Fire Resist 15–25% Poison Resist +25% (active with 2 items) +15 to Vitality (active with 4 items)
Horazon's Hold (Demonhide Gloves)	95–150 to Attack Rating Adds 140-270 fire damage +10% Chance of Crushing Blow 10–15 to Dexterity 30–40 to Life +30% Increased Attack Speed (active with 2 items) 7% Mana stolen per hit (active with 3 items) 7% Life stolen per hit (active with 4 items)
Horazon's Countenance (Mirrored Boots)	+30% Faster Run/Walk 10–15 to Strength 10–15 to Dexterity Magic Resist 20–30% Cannot Be Frozen Requirements -30% +10% Faster Run/Walk (active with 2 items)
Horazon's Secrets (Occult Codex)	+2 to Eldritch Skills (Warlock Only) +30% Faster Hit Recovery 20% Increased Chance of Blocking 20–30 to Vitality 30–50 to Life Poison Length Reduced by 75% (active with 2 items) -25% to Enemy Fire Resistance (active with 3 items) +15 to Energy (active with 4 items)

The full set bonus includes lots of critical effects that greatly enhance the Warlock's abilities and allow it to become even more overpowered:

+3 to Warlock Skills
+350% Enhanced Damage
+30 to Enchant
+300 Defense
+20 to Dexterity
+30 to Energy
All Resistances +50
100% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Learn All About The New Runewords

With the Reign Of The Warlock Expansion, Diablo 2 Resurrected has introduced five new Runewords that are related to the Warlock and potential builds players can create using them:

Name	Formula	Item	Stats
Authority	Hel Rune Shael Rune Ral Rune	Any Body Armor	2% Chance to cast level 10 Psychic Ward when struck 10% Chance to cast level 15 Miasma Chain on striking +2 to Warlock Skills +20% Faster Hit Recovery +40-60% Enhanced Damage Fire Resist +30% Requirements -15%
Coven	Ist Rune Ral Rune Io Rune	Any Helmet	5% Chance to cast level 10 Sigil: Lethargy when struck +1 to All Skills +20% Faster Cast Rate 30-50% Enhanced Defense +10 to Vitality Fire Resist +30% 1-5 Life after each Kill 26-40% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Void	Thul Rune Zod Rune Ist Rune	Any Dagger	Indestructible +2 to All Skills +40% Faster Cast Rate Adds 3-14 cold damage 10-15% to Magic Skill Damage 1-3 to Abyss 8-12 to Strength 30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items Level 4 Decrepify (35/35 Charges)
Vigilance	Dol Rune Gul Rune	Any Shield, Grimoire, Voodoo Head, Auric Shield	5% Chance to cast level 10 Ring of Fire when struck +10% Faster Run/Walk +30% Faster Block Rate 75-100% Enhanced Defense 20-40 to Life Replenish Life +7 20-40 to Mana +5% to Maximum Poison Resist Fire Resist 25-35%
Ritual	Amn Rune Shael Rune Ohm Rune	Any Dagger	13% Chance to cast level 1 Sigil: Death when struck +40% Increased Attack Speed +250-320% Enhanced Damage 200-260% Bonus to Attack Rating 150-250% Damage to Demons 7% Life stolen per hit Slain Monsters Rest in Peace 3-5 Life after each Kill

With these new formulas, players can access a wide array of stats for their characters, and the potential for buildcrafting is amplified (especially for those who choose the Warlock as their new characters). It is highly recommended that players experiment with these Runewords to reach new heights of power to face the many challenges introduced with Reign of the Warlock.

Use The New Stash System To Organize Loot

One of the highly-requested changes has finally come to D2 Resurrected: A new Stash System. Now, every tab on the stash can be destined to a variety of items, from regular loot and equipment, to Materials, Gems, and Runes.

Plus, Runes, Materials, and Gems now stack (up to 99) which grants players a lot of leeway to hoard valuables, something that had become a torture for players who loved gathering valuables, and enhancing buildcraft in the process, since players can hold on to their Runes and Gems for longer periods of time until they can maximize their effects by combining them with the right items.

Players should take advantage of this to avoid loot-creeping and to make use of resources in a more efficient way. Plus, the new