Diablo: The Hell 2

Features:

• Quality, stability, balance, and replayability – the core principles of this mod.

• Based on Hellfire, this mod adds at least 50% more content: 24 core dungeon levels and 21 new quest levels in singleplayer mode. Killing Diablo on level 16 won’t end the game – there will be stairs leading even deeper into levels you’ve never seen before, with greater challenges and greater rewards.

• Upgraded engine: customizable resolutions up to 4K, widescreen support, windowed and borderless modes, fullscreen mode, real-time switching (Alt + Enter), and adjustable framerate (20–10,000 FPS).

• Working multiplayer (via RadminVPN): instanced and segregated loot, auto gold pickup, dungeon sprinting, dynamic difficulty scaling with the number of players in-game. Just make sure all players have the exact same version of the mod.

• All major bugs from Diablo 1 have been fixed.

• A huge amount of new content and upgraded gameplay: item types (base, class-specific, rare, enchanted, unique, and sets), monsters (standard, champions, specials, uniques, quest-based), spells, shrines, color schemes for monsters and levels, expanded monster AI.

• Dark, hellish atmosphere – even more diabolical than the original.

• 6 main classes and 29 subclasses, each with unique gameplay styles: two-handers, multishot/sniper archers, crit builds, summoners, trappers, potion throwers, life/mana regenerators, blockers, damage absorbers, aura builds, itemless builds, and more.

• Extensive customization options to tailor the experience to your personal preferences.

• 8 game modes to choose from: Easy, Normal, Hard, Hardcore, Ironman, Soft Iron, Speedrun, and Nightmare.

• 3 new equipment slots: gloves, boots, and belts. 3 weapon slots that can be cycled during gameplay.

• Expanded inventory: now 10x7 instead of the original 10x4.

• Tons of QoL (quality of life) improvements. New unique gameplay mechanics have been added.

• Restored cut quests from original Diablo. Unique quest zone environments (ice, toxic, blood) and special modifiers: attack/cast slowdowns, penalties, regen modifiers, spell restrictions, and other challenges.

• Hi-Fi stereo remastered music. Did you know original Diablo music was in mono? TH2 upgrades it to high-quality stereo with more dungeon tracks. Total playtime is over 3 hours (compared to ~32 minutes in vanilla).

• Perks and synergies. Leveling up gives you not only stats but perk points, allowing deep customization and truly unique builds. Synergies allow combining the effects of multiple perks to create even greater power.

• Traits and game modifiers. Starting characters can select up to 2 unique traits that alter gameplay. Game modifiers work alongside traits and are unlimited – they allow even more personalization. Together, they elevate build diversity to extreme levels.

• Expanded customizable hotkeys. You can now assign almost any key (not just F5–F8) to your favorite spells – including A–Z! Even better, you can cast instantly by pressing the hotkey (no manual casting).

• Crafting and enchanting. Adria and Griswold can now enhance your items by adding sockets and imbuing new magical properties.

Important! The Hell 2 can be addictive—please don’t overplay it. Limit the time you spend in the game. Over the years, it has been observed that spending too much time playing on high difficulty modes may lead to emotional stress. 3–4 hours per day should be enough to avoid this. Some players have spent 12+ hours a day for months, eventually burning out emotionally.

If you notice rising frustration or fatigue, take a break or switch to a different activity or game. After all, you need to sleep and eat. The developers don’t want to lose dedicated players—your health comes first.

Character Mechanics and Customization Layers

The Hell 2 has several core features that you should understand to truly enjoy the game. The basics are still Diablo, but let’s talk about what makes this experience different—and better.

• "Running" – By default, your character can run. This works outside of combat mode, both in town and in dungeons. You can turn this off by setting JOG to off in the settings, or disable the feature entirely in the config.

• "Combat Mode" – Once you’ve aggroed a monster, you enter combat mode. While in this mode, you cannot run until you leave combat. To exit combat, there must be no active enemies on your level. This applies to both singleplayer and multiplayer, but singleplayer adds another layer...

• "Lockdown" (also known as "Vise") – This system prevents you from leaving the level or using town portals to escape combat. To lift the lockdown, you need to either run away far enough from all monsters or defeat them. In boss fights, the lockdown stays active until the boss is killed—there’s no running away. The only difficulty setting where this system is disabled is EASY.

• "Wise Drops 2.0" – This is a new and improved loot and loot-filter system, upgraded from The Hell 1. Now with more classes, there are class-specific items, and you’ll only receive gear that you can use—or that’s at least somewhat aligned with your character’s stats. Weapons now roll four damage values instead of two, and base item types have different roll formulas. Armor includes built-in stats for DFE (damage from enemies), AC, melee damage resistance, arrow resistance, and more. Some items also generate affixes suited for certain class types—such as summoner, melee, thorn, or caster traits.

• "Perks" – One of the most important additions is the perk system. Each time you level up, you gain one perk point. There are 49 perks total. Each perk has requirements, and these can vary depending on your class. Most perks have multiple levels and detailed descriptions. Every 10 perk points give you power roughly equivalent to one high-quality item affix. By level 50, you’ll essentially have the impact of 4–5 additional items’ worth of bonuses. Perks cannot be reset—and never will be.

• "Traits" – When creating a new character, you can select up to two traits that give your character unique identity. Traits don’t simply make your character stronger—they come with both advantages and drawbacks. For example: +CLVL% to magic damage, -CLVL to armor class (CLVL stands for character level). Once selected, traits are permanent, so choose wisely.

  "Gamechangers" – These are a second layer of character fine-tuning available during character creation. There is no limit to how many Gamechangers (GCs) you can pick. Most combinations stack and work together—except for a few that are mutually exclusive (and cannot be selected together).

  "Synergies" – Another level of customization that expands build diversity even further. These are limited in number and are unlocked by pairing certain perks at specific levels (sometimes more than two). Synergies allow players to redirect character development or push a build into a powerful new direction. The possibilities are vast.

  Keep in mind: traits, gamechangers, perks, and synergies are all permanent. Once selected, they cannot be changed. Think before you pick!

  And to truly understand just how deep and complex this mod can be: your class, traits, and gamechangers determine which perks and synergies will be available to you. The game mode (SP/MP) may also unlock or restrict certain gamechangers. Sometimes, even the combination of traits you’ve picked will open up new synergies or grant additional effects.

  Character creation follows this structure: Game mode (singleplayer/multiplayer) > Class > Traits > Gamechangers. This layered system results in astronomical build possibilities—at one point, the developer did the math and estimated over 10 quadrillion or quintillion unique combinations. Let that sink in.

Hotkeys

The Hell 2 introduces a new hotkey system. In CONFIG.INI, you can choose which options you want. By default, it uses the preset hotkeys inherited from The Hell 1 mod, but now you can customize them.

You can use the mouse wheel to scroll through spells assigned to hotkeys.

Note: The standard "S" key no longer opens the spell menu in The Hell 2. This works better now, but it will take some time and practice to get used to it—give yourself time to adapt.

The default hotkey layout is:

• Q - Teleport

• W - Fire Wall

• E - Lightning Wall

• R - Fire Nova

• T - Lightning Nova

• Y - Arcane Nova

• U - Holy Nova

• O - Town Portal

• A - Fire Blast

• S - Ball Lightning

• D - Arcane Star

• F - Stone Curse

• G - Golem

• H - Holy Bolt

• J - Flash

• K - Inferno

• L - Lightning

• Z - Elemental

• X - Force Wave

• B - Bone Spirit

• N - Ring of Fire

• M - Ring of Lightning

• CTRL - Hydra / Ice Hydra

Non-spell hotkeys include:

• I - Inventory

• Enter - Group chat (in multiplayer)

• Alt + Enter - Quick toggle between windowed and fullscreen mode (does not work yet in meta menu)

• C - Character screen

• Esc - Main menu

• Tab - Map (press again to switch to minimap; arrow keys move it around, Shift + +/- changes transparency)

• P - Perk window

• V (or mouse wheel / mb3) - Weapon slot scroll

• Alt + Z - Zoom in/out

Warning: You can assign I, V, C, P to spells, but if you do, these keys will only function as spell hotkeys. For example, if you assign 'I' to a spell, it will no longer open the inventory.

Quest Locations

In singleplayer, there are special locations called quest zones. They are unique in certain ways.
While in a quest zone, you cannot save your game.

You also cannot create a portal or use stairs until the area is cleared of monsters. This lockdown is called the "Vise."
Note that the "Vise" lockdown is disabled in Easy mode.

When the lockdown is lifted, you will hear a horn sound. This means you can create a portal and use stairs again.
Another feature of these zones is temporary character alteration. While you are in such areas, you may receive penalties. These can affect life/mana regeneration, DFE, AC, attack/cast speed, resistances, accuracy, and may even prevent you from casting certain spells.

Game Modes

TH2 offers 8 different game modes. Fire arrow traps deal 75% less damage in all modes below Hard.

1. Easy. A softer version of Normal mode, designed for those who found Normal too difficult. The Vise mechanic is disabled (you can leave quest dungeons before clearing them, and exit combat via portals and stairs). Monster AI is less aggressive, and your character takes 20% less damage from monsters.

2. Normal. Classic rules from The Hell 1. Level lockdown in singleplayer. No saving or exiting in quest zones. This is the main mode of the mod.

3. Hard. For those seeking greater challenge. Monster AI is set to maximum aggression, monsters have more tricks to intimidate players, deal 20% more damage, and have 50% more hit points.

4. Hardcore. Same as Normal, but with one key difference: if you die, that’s it. The game won’t allow you to load your save; instead, you only get the option to “kill hero” from the menu. In other words, permanent death.

5. Ironman. A well-known mode among Diablo 1 community veterans but not widely. It’s a high-difficulty mode with specific rules. Not all are enforced directly by game mechanics, but the actual TH2 Ironman rules are:

• What’s not forbidden is allowed.

• Using game files to avoid death or restore characters is forbidden.

• Spending the starting 200 gold is allowed.

• No stash usage.

• No returning to town unless Uber Diablo is defeated.

• After defeating Uber Diablo, you can start a new game on NEXT difficulty and spend acquired gold on town services.

• You can proceed to the next dungeon level only after killing all monsters and activating almost all dungeon objects (up to 5 items left allowed).

• Saves allowed only every 4 dungeon levels, after clearing the last level (the game will notify you when saving is available).

• Farming by replaying levels is forbidden.

• Killing Uber Diablo on Doom difficulty ends the game.

Positives: +25% experience, bosses drop 2 identification relics and repair oil. For old-school Diablo 1 IM players: yes, these rules differ from D1 and that’s fine—it’s a different game with different rules. Tournaments are held quarterly.

6. Soft Iron. Since some players disliked saving every 4 levels and permadeath in Ironman, this mode was added with these features.

7. Speedrun. A variant of Nightmare mode. You can save ONLY after killing the final boss. Tournaments held quarterly.

8. Nightmare. The ultimate challenge, essentially roguelike gameplay. Unlike Ironman, you cannot save at all until Uber Diablo is killed. This mode grants +50% experience. Future updates will add more roguelike features to increase difficulty. Some shrines have special effects. Stat increases are randomized. Monsters can land critical hits—be careful!
   It is not recommended to use glass cannon builds in quest zones, as your main goal there is to survive—not to die.

Regeneration

In the original Diablo, only monsters could regenerate hit points. In The Hell 2, players can regenerate too — both health and mana.

One regeneration point gives you 20/64 hit points per second, which means about 3 regeneration points equal roughly 1 HP per second. The same applies to mana. Increase your magic, and mana regenerates faster. The same goes for health.

Additional rules for regeneration:

• It depends on your chosen class.

• It changes significantly based on the player’s status:

  • Standing still regenerates fastest (+100%).

  • While attacking, health regen is reduced by 75%, mana regen by 50%.

  • While casting, health regen is reduced by 50%, mana regen by 75%.

  • Walking is the default speed.

  • Blocking/weakened states reset regeneration to zero.

• Perk points for regeneration do NOT affect the modifications based on player status — that’s their main benefit.

Finally, quest levels also modify regeneration speed. Not all quests, but some. Each affects it differently:

• Glacier levels reduce both health and mana regen, possibly causing negative regeneration.

• The domain of Andariel causes players to suffer reduced health regeneration.

• Sunless Island actually increases mana regeneration.

Spells

In TH2, there are several types of magical damage: fire, lightning, arcane, cold, acid, physical, and holy.

• Fire spells are generally the most diverse and powerful, while holy spells deal the least damage, making undead the worst enemy type for pure casters. Of course, this is an average — depending on your gear, things can change drastically.

• Spells can be damaging, controlling, or intended for personal use.

• Spell damage, projectile speed, and other characteristics depend on the spell’s formula and are unique to each spell.

• Damage can be increased by character level, magic stats, certain affixes that boost specific spells or elemental damage types affecting the spell. Some classes can deal critical hits with spells or elemental damage. See the "Classes" section for more details.

• Summoner class sets have long durations. This is designed to make them focus on fighting monsters by controlling their pets, rather than being a mage subclass that also summons minions.

Spells List

• Fire bolt, Charged bolt, Holy bolt, Rancid Bolt, Ice Bolt – standard low-level damage spells. Holy bolt knocks targets back on hit.

• Arcane star – damaging spell dealing arcane magic damage. For those who think spell damage can only be fire or lightning — now you know better.

• Inferno, Lightning – attack targets 20 times per second for the duration of the spell.

• Chain lightning – available only to Elementalist if activated via perk. Automatically strikes monsters with lightning; number of strikes depends on perk levels.

• Healing – heals you, effectiveness depends on base vitality.

• Reflect – grants layers that negate incoming melee damage from monsters. More layers gained as your base vitality grows; +50 per extra layer.

• Fire wall, Lightning wall + Rings of fire/lightning – non-damaging spells used for crowd control.

• Elemental – self-targeted offensive spell dealing physical damage. Does not affect undead.

• Force wave – physical crowd control spell.

• Bone spirit – reduces a percentage of the target’s current hit points. Does not damage undead.

• Nova spells – very powerful spells, but trigger a cooldown on cast to prevent spamming.

• Fury – spell that works differently per class. Modifies battle stats. Grants a triple strike (except for Assassins).

• Fire blast – main offensive fire spell. Deals splash damage (100% damage).

• Ball lightning – high damage spell without splash damage.

• Freezing Ball – primary cold damage spell for the Elementalist class.

• Acid Ball – primary acid damage spell for the Warlock class.

• Hydra / Ice Hydra – similar to Guardian from Diablo 1, but the number of Hydras is limited by spell level. Hydras summoned by the Hydromancer use different spells and target vulnerable monsters.

• Golem – deals physical damage that monsters cannot resist. Teleports near its master when too far away.

• Stone curse – petrifies enemies making them immune to all damage. Golems do not attack cursed monsters. Some monsters are immune to Stone curse. Certain traits and skills allow damage to monsters petrified by Stone curse.

• Flash – magic damage spell. Deals insane damage at very high spell levels.

• Mana shield – converts damage to mana at 100%, but with a changing damage multiplier. Starts at 200% damage at spell level 1 and rapidly decreases with spell level increase. Some perks and synergies reduce damage amplification from Mana shield. Note: Paladins start with 100% damage from Mana shield.

• Summon-type spells – used exclusively by Summoner classes. These spells summon minions that fight on your side, similar to Golems but with different behavior. All deal physical damage that monsters cannot resist (bosses take 50% resistance as usual). Summoners also get the Unsummon skill by default to dismiss a summoned creature. Summoned creatures stay near their master out of combat, but engage fully in battle. After combat, they return to their standard AI and return to their master.

Additional Game Information

• Everything you equip on your character and use in inventory/belt.

• Let’s look at the main differences between Diablo 1 (D1) and The Hell 2 (TH2).

• Item breakage occurs when current durability reaches 1, after which maximum durability starts to decrease. When it hits 0, the item breaks and is destroyed.

• Item availability depends on your class, base attributes, dungeon level, and difficulty mode. All items become available (as drops) only by the time you start playing in Doom mode.

• Like in Diablo 2, Shift + Leftclick transfers health/mana/holy potions to the belt, including the leftmost free belt slot.

• Weapon switch hotkey is V (or mouse wheel click).

• Instead of scrolls, the game now uses stones called relics.

• Magic books may have character level requirements.

• Blunt weapons deal 0.5x damage to beasts, 1.5x to undead, and 1x to demons.

• Sharp weapons deal 1.5x damage to beasts, 0.5x to undead, and 1x to demons.

• Bows, staves, axes, and unarmed attacks are considered neutral: deal 1x damage to all types.

• Some items can increase your damage or armor class.

• Most of your damage with melee or ranged weapons comes from base damage. This damage boost depends on the type or combination of equipped weapons, and varies by class and weapon type. See the "Class" section for more details.

• When you hover your mouse cursor over a monster, a status menu appears at the top of the screen showing the monster’s hit points. The poisoned portion of the monster’s HP is marked beige. An icon below the HP bar in the center shows the monster type: blue skull = undead, small skull = beast, large horned skull = demon. To the sides of these monster type icons are the monster’s vulnerabilities: left side shows fire, lightning, arcane; right side shows stone curse, cold, acid. Below that are boss modifiers and monster curse fields.

Affixes

If you find an item that is unidentified, identifying it will reveal which affixes it has. For example, the description might be: "Pink ponyhide of rainbow." The item is a ponyhide. The prefix is "pink," and the suffix is "of rainbow." Affixes can be either flag-type or cumulative. Cumulative affixes stack, while flag affixes do not.

Classes

There are 29 classes. Each has its own set of attributes (minimum and maximum stats), perks, and traits. The items used by each class can differ significantly from those used by others. Some spells differ, and certain classes have access to different spells. Fury effects vary widely among classes. As the mod evolves, more features and class distinctions will be integrated.

1. Warrior: Master of blocking, with a maximum block chance of 80%. To reach that, they need base DEX and STR. Achieving 80% requires the Tuck Tails perk or a unique item that increases block chance. Has decent damage, mostly based on strength for base damage. Although the Warrior lacks dual-wield or two-handed weapon specialization, they don’t lack damage as often assumed. The Warrior is a slow and predictable type. Uses one-handed weapons + shield and crossbows for ranged attacks (when needed). Has access to some unique base items, like armor and shields.

2. Inquisitor: Deals slightly less physical damage than the Warrior, with lower critical chance and damage. Their damage is neutral against all monster types (the sword/hammer rule does not apply), but they compensate with high elemental weapon damage (acid/hammer do not deal extra damage to them). Elemental attacks can also crit.

3. Guardian: A large, strong two-handed fighter among warrior subclasses. Has many unique items, including super-heavy duel plate armor. Does not use a shield but can successfully block melee hits. Can use perks that reduce damage taken, turning them into a walking fortress.

4. Templar: A warrior subclass dealing increased damage to undead (+20%) and holy elemental damage. Has access to a unique line of kite shields.

5. Archer: Standard archer, fast and deadly. Uses triple shot under fury effect, significantly increasing damage.

6. Scout: Specializes in elemental arrows, with lower physical damage and no physical crits. But elemental damage is doubled, making them very effective in their niche.

7. Sharpshooter: A fighter who specializes in single shots rather than multi-shot archery. Deals a high amount of critical hits and has increased critical damage. However, attack speed is lower.

8. Trapper: Uses traps that function like turrets. There are fast traps (arrows) and slow traps (bolts).

9. Mage: A classic caster class. Mages have a larger mana pool, a unique perk called "Serenity" that passively grants experience, and can deal critical hits with spells at a moderate casting speed.

10. Elementalist: Gains access to cold spells and modified spells. Has less mana than a Mage but can land critical spell hits more frequently.

11. Demonologist: A summoner class specializing in demons. Like all summoners, has a 5-second cooldown on all offensive spells and freely uses crowd control and mobility spells. Has low mana, weak mana regeneration, weak defensive gear, but strong minions. Gains access to perks that improve minion stats. Can use special summoner items that generate affixes boosting minions’ attributes.

12. Necromancer: Grants access to undead minions that differ significantly from Demonologist’s minions. Has items that provide better defensive stats.

13. Beastmaster: The last of the summoners. Has a special set of minions. The difference mainly lies in their AI. Otherwise, everything else is typical summoner features.

14. Warlock: Has acid spells. Increased mana regeneration is a key feature. Does not deal critical damage with spells.

15. Monk: A fast fighter specializing in staff strikes that hit multiple targets. Deals slightly more damage to demons (+20%) and less to beasts.

16. Kensei: Like the Guardian, can block in melee and uses the same type of melee weapons. For ranged combat, uses fast bows. Not a strength-based character—main focus is on dexterity.

17. Shugoki: Uses halberds and bows. Has an increased stun threshold, a large health pool, and very low magic.

18. Shinobi: A class that plays and feels closer to warriors but based on dexterity. So far, this is the main difference from others, besides having completely unique gear.

19. Rogue: One of the two classes in the game that use dual weapons. Fast with huge damage potential but fragile—requires careful play. Uses ranged spells if unable to close the distance. Otherwise, a very fast, mobile, and efficient class.

20. Assassin: Master of critical damage, deals double acid damage, and wields unique weapons called "Claws." Uses only the "claws + shield" combat style. Employs spells for ranged attacks.

21. Iron Maiden: A class that uses the thorn/spikes effect as its main offensive strategy. It takes time to find and gear this class properly, but once done, it truly shines. Uses rapid-fire crossbows for ranged combat.

22. Bombardier: Throws grenades that explode or create destructive puddles on the ground. That’s basically its gimmick. Deals fire, lightning, acid, or arcane damage. Has limited defensive potential; best to stay mobile and avoid getting cornered. This class lives by dodging enemies while they bleed out chasing it.

23. Savage: A class without critical hits but with very strong and consistent damage.

24. Executioner: A tanky class with huge HP and high Strength. Uses single weapon + no shield style or an axe; can use a crossbow in tough situations. Can also fight barehanded. Has a unique assortment of headgear and armor. Highest health regeneration in the game. Very high stun threshold. Very low armor and damage resistance. Possibly the most unique perk set. Can block in melee but with a very low max chance (15%).

25. Berserker: A fast axe-wielder. Essentially a standard axe fighter who specializes in Fury, which gives him more toughness in combat.

26. Thraex: Armor-piercing gladiator type. Can use swords against undead without penalty.

27. Murmillo: Slow attack speed, very high defense. The most durable gladiator.

28. Dimachaerus: Another duelist. Uses a crossbow for ranged combat.

29. Secutor: A gladiator with fast health regeneration. Uses heavy armor. Regeneration speed improves with level and Fury.

Stash

In the TH2 mod, Jillian provides stash services. Stashes are not shared between players. By default, she offers one stash tab, but you can buy more tabs for gold.

Configuration
Customize the game by changing settings in the config.ini file. You can find it in the TH2 directory. All lines have comments and should be easy to understand.

Resolution
The mod supports resolutions from 800x600 up to 3840x2160 (4K). However, it is strongly recommended to play at 1056x594 (or 1440x810 with zoom). This is the best way to experience the intended atmosphere. At least, do not go above 1280x720. The game is not texture-based; all graphics are pixels. This means higher resolution does not improve image quality—it only increases the field of view.

You can toggle fullscreen mode on and off by pressing "Alt + Enter" in-game (not in the meta-menu, but during gameplay). Note: launching the game in fullscreen mode may take some time and might cause a black screen for about a minute—you just need to wait (this might be fixed in the future).

When you run TH2 in windowed mode, you cannot move the game window while in the meta-menu. You can move, minimize, or maximize the window only when you are in actual gameplay (when your character is in Tristram or dungeons).

Let's review your options regarding window mode (setting fullscreen on/off). There are four modes: 1) on, 2) off, 3) winon, 4) winoff. What’s the difference?

Windowed modes (winoff, off) and borderless window (winon) provide better rendering support with higher frame rates (the game looks smoother). Fullscreen mode (on) provides better performance.

"Winoff" and "off" are basically the same. The difference is: "winoff" with Alt+Enter toggles borderless window (and vice versa), while "off" with Alt+Enter toggles fullscreen mode. Recommended modes are "winoff" or "winon".