Rating: 
Summary: Very Good but missing a few things
Review: No mention of recommended point distribution into character attributes or recommended weapons of choice for that character. Lots of coverage of skills and weapon properties. Good quest walkthroughs. Overall, I recommend, but you may want to read some more strategies online to round out the experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Why?
Review: Ok, if you really want to find hellp on something like thisjust look to the net. The only nice things are the comparison tablesand those weren't that great except for the fact that they are in a book and not on the net.
Rating: 
Summary: Must Have For Any Hardcore DiabloII Fan
Review: Simply put, this strategy guide is the most complete, most in-depth, and most detailed guide I have ever read. As you leaf through the pages your first time you will notice the amount of raw information it holds. Bart Farkus, from Brady Games, covers almost all aspects of the game, written in a very clear and concise manner. His coverage includes all five character classes, (Amazon, Paladin, Necromancer, Sorceress, Barbarian) their abilities, strengths and weaknesses. This info will definitely optimize your style of game-play, as you will quickly learn what kind of situations to retreat from and regroup, or if you should push ahead and attack. The guide also includes a complete bestiary, items list, and guide to all weapons. These sections will outline and help you define what kind of items you will want to use. If you are unsure of what pairings to use, for example sword with mace, or dagger with javelin, this will definitely help you find the best weapon selection for your unique character. Not to mention which gems go best or worse with other gems. As you read deeper into the book, explanations of shrines, armour, spells and abilities also appear. If you're ever caught in a game not knowing what the spells or shrines do, as I often forget, then grab the guide and in less than a minute you'll understand. Detailed instructions for completing every quest, and killing each boss are also included. It may not be a good idea to read this section, you might like the surprise of finding out how each is to be solved, but this is for emergencies when you've played hours and still cannot beat the boss. Bart Farkus was recently interviewed, and the following facts are things you might want to consider about his experience and in purchasing this guide: -Bart has written a large collection of strategy guides for many different genres of games. -Bart had spent about 25 full days at Blizzard Headquarters to play the game, and ask questions about it with the QA department. -Bart has gathered many strategies and opinions from people from Blizzard themselves on the best strategies and tactics. With this background in writing extensive strategy guides, I think the DiabloII Official Strategy Guide (Official Guide) is a must have for any hardcore DiabloII fan.
Rating:
Summary: Honest Advice
Review: The book is in short, incomplete. I was very pleased with the extensive section on the skill trees for each of the five classes. This is the most important aspect of the game, and an appropriate amount of the book was dedicated to it, unfortunately all other areas of the game are described in an abridged fashion. The quest descriptions were complete in the sense that all prudent information was given, but strategy was for the most part ignored. The lists of Unique items is difficult to read and lacks complete information about each item. I firmly believe that all people will notice the sizable amount of information lacking in the book and will op for the internet as their base of information regarding Diablo II.
Rating:
Summary: Lackluster at best
Review: The Diablo II guide adequately covers all aspects of the game, if a list of how to complete the quests, and what the skills do is what you call adequate. The main problem with this book is that it is not a "strategy" guide, since there is virtually no strategy in it at all. No help is given in the sense of tips for how to create a good character - no information at all on how to best allocate experience and skill points. The multiplayer strategies are about five pages of stuff I already knew. The guide gives you a basic overview of the game, but the original Diablo strategy guide is far superior.Blizzard should have written the guide themselves, or got a better publisher like Sybex, who always do good guides, to do it. The worst part is that in the introduction, Mr. Farkas readily atmits that he only ever got to play the game during his two visits to Blizzard North. How can you write a strategy guide if you've hardly even played the game?
Rating:
Summary: Seriously lacking in "strategy" and as a "guide"
Review: The Diablo II Strategy Guide has almost no strategy, nor is it a guide. It's nothing but a regurgitation of spell tables and damage, as well as a set of tables on the unique weapons and magic items. Nothing more. This book is lacking the following: 1) Character building strategies. Which skills mesh well with others? What combat strategies work best with each class and various skill sets. Examples: a Sorceress concentrating in Ice proficiencies works much differently than one concentrating in Lightning proficiencies. Similarly, an Amazon choosing the bow over the spear develops much differently, yet we get no hint from the author regarding this. This could have taken many pages and provided useful hints, but instead the author takes the easy way out, mentioning which skills seem to be liked by the Blizzard team and nothing more. 2) Creature descriptions, especially in comparison to the Strategy Guide written for the first Diablo, are severely lacking, but conveniently all available on Blizzard's own website. 3) Better descriptions of quests. The Guide's "hints" usually consist of "go here, fight this, and get this." Well, DUH! That's exactly what the villagers tell you in the game. 4) A better understanding of the Horadric Cube, the game's item transmogrifier device. 5) A comprehensive listing of areas that you can adventure in, as well as hidden areas. 6) Information on the "Cow Level," which now actually exists. Simply put, don't let the shiny cover hypnotize you into purchasing this book. It's not worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Helpful but not perfect,
Review: The Diablo II strategy guide was had some interesting facts on everything in the game. Very little was left out, and so it was helpful. If you're a strategy guide type person this is worth it's money. However, I wish I wouldn't have bought it because it spoils some of the fun in the game.
Rating:
Summary: I wish there were more hints
Review: The hints weren't that good. And the book didn't provide me with very many spoilers. It seemed to be a more detailed version of the manaual as oppose to an actual strategy guide
Rating:
Summary: Something for stupid people
Review: The only thing I found useful in this guide was the list of items. Everything else in the guide has either been outdated, or is just some crap opinion from some guy saying that "It would be powerful if you did this..." and it's really only something useful in a single player game when you're just messing around. I suggest to anyone that plays Diablo2, to just enjoy the game and look up anything they need to know about items on websites. All the other info in this book is pretty much useless, and becomes your own knowledge within a week of playing on your own anyways!
Rating:
Summary: good companion to the game
Review: This book is a very good companion when playing the pc game diablo2. It's colored maps are detailed with contents where items are located in a area. The charts show which skills are useful and how over time they will increase in power. I recommend using this book
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