In Diablo II: Resurrected, when you create a “non-expansion” (often called Classic) character, you experience Diablo II mostly as it was before the Lord of Destruction expansion.
Most players choose Expansion characters to access the full range of content. Classic is typically played by those who want the original, more restrictive Diablo II experience.
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No Assassin or Druid
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No Act 5
- Classic characters can only advance through Acts 1–4.
- Act 5 with Baal as the final boss is expansion-only content.
- Since there is no Act 5 you can't socket an item with Larzuk or personalize with Anya.
- The Pandemonium event (involving Uber bosses and obtaining the Hellfire Torch) also does not exist in Classic.
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Limited Items
- No runes or runewords.
- No charms or jewels.
- No elite items.
- Only normal uniques and sets exist.
- Up to exceptional bases for magical and rare items.
- Recipes that require runes or jewels are not possible in classic.
- It’s possible to socket a rare armor with the Stone of Jordan cube recipe.
- No Shared Stash Tabs
- The Classic stash is much smaller than the Expansion stash.
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Skill Differences
- Static Field drops enemies down to 1 health in Nightmare and Hell.
- Whirlwind has the same speed with all weapons.
- Skeletons, Golems, Valkyrie and other summons disappear when switching acts.
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Difficulty
- Normal monsters are the same level as in the Expansion.
- Nightmare and Hell monsters are much lower level compared to the Expansion.
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Mercenaries
- Can't equip them with items.
- Can't heal them.
- Can't resurrect them.
- They can only be used in the act you hired them from. They simply disappear when switching acts.
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Separate Ladder
- If you play online, the Classic Ladder is separate from the Expansion Ladder.
- The Classic ladder is divided into Softcore and Hardcore.