Blizzard Announces Diablo II Expansion Set

Today, Blizzard announced the Diablo II expansion pack, which is being shown at ECTS in London. The expansion pack has actually been in development for several months now, as the Blizzard North designers were working on it while finishing up Diablo II. This time, your nemesis isn't the Lord of Terror. It's his brother, Baal, who is attempting to corrupt the Worldstone artifact so that the forces of Hell can invade the mortal realm.

The expansion pack will be packed with new features, including two new character classes, the assassin and the druid. In addition, there will be a new act set in the Barbarian Highlands. Not only will you be able to play these new acts with the five original characters and the two new characters, but you will also be able to take the new classes through the original Diablo II acts.

Other enhancements include new monsters; interactive environments such as siege towers; thousands of new weapons, armor, and items, including class-specific ones; new recipes for the Horadric Cube; and increased storage space in your character's stash.

Says Blizzard president Mike Morhaime, "The success of Diablo II has been overwhelming. We look forward to increasing the gameplay and depth of Diablo II through the introduction of new character classes and areas to explore."

The current release date for the Diablo II expansion is the first half of 2001 for both the PC and Mac version. We'll have impressions and more information from the ECTS showfloor in the next few days.