FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


Installation

How do I install Median XL?
Simply make sure your Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction installation is up to date, then find the file named patch_d2.mpq in your install directory and replace it with the one in the mod download. Detailed instructions and information about Macs are inside the download.

Can I still go back to classic LoD?
To install the mod, you need to swap out one file. To go back to classic LoD, swap it back! It is that simple!

Will my classic Lord of Destruction characters work?
No; Median XL has separate characters.

I don't have the Lord of Destruction expansion!
What a bloody shame. No Median XL for you!


Compatibility

Which Diablo 2 version do I need?
You need Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction 1.10, 1.11, 1.12 or 1.13. If Blizzard releases 1.14, it will most likely remain compatible, but check the latest news just to be sure.

What are the system requirements for Median XL?
Any system that runs Diablo 2 reasonably well is compatible with Median XL. Note that the Diablo 2 engine is outdated and will occasionally slow down on even a modern system when too much awesome stuff happens, regardless of system specifications. This is perfectly normal and unavoidable other than by making the mod less awesome.

Does this mod work on a Mac?
Yes, although the installation procedure may be slightly complicated.

Does this mod support PlugY?
Yes, however the skill reallocation feature in PlugY is disabled due to a major bug in PlugY that may cause you to end up with a large number of skill points. Also, PlugY itself has a few glitches that may lead to item loss.

Does this mod support Multires?
Yes.

Does this mod support my illegal/pirated/torrented Diablo II?
I don't know because I didn't steal the game.

Does this mod support maphack/pickit/bots?
Stop cheating and learn to play.


Crashes and errors

Median XL crashes while loading
- You installed a LoD patch while Median XL was already installed.
- You are using -direct -txt or a loader.
- You are using PlugY and it is not installed correctly.
- You are trying to play on battle.net.

Median XL crashes during gameplay
- Your Diablo 2 files were damaged. Yes, this does happen.
- Different mod versions in a multiplayer game.
- You are using PlugY and it has a bug. Contact the creator of PlugY for a solution.
- Your character reached the file size limit for Diablo 2 save files and now it crashes every time it attempts to save the game. This can occasionally happen if you have a lot of socketed items with a large number of modifiers. To fix it, throw out some items or alternatively install PlugY and use its shared stash feature.

Median XL does not save characters properly
- You are using PlugY and it has a bug. Contact the creator of PlugY for a solution.
- Your save folder is read only. This may be due to a permissions problem with recent Windows versions (Vista and up) which zealously protect the Program Files folder. Try running Diablo 2 as administrator.

My characters have disappeared
- A computer or game crash may have corrupted your save file. I hope you have a backup.
- Your file paths may have been redirected by another mod (active or uninstalled). Reinstall Diablo 2.
- Your file paths may have been redirected by Windows. Try running Diablo 2 as administrator. If you already did, try not running it as administrator.

Median XL crashes while travelling between Acts
- Your sound is missing, defective or disabled, causing the Diablo II video player to crash. This is not a Median XL bug.

Median XL gives a 'Bad Inventory Data' or similar error while loading a character
- You are attempting to use a character that is not from Median XL.
- Your character save file has become damaged.
- You are using PlugY and there are invalid items in the shared stash.
- You tried to hack your character and failed epically.
- This may happen after a Median XL version upgrade. Although characters should be compatible between various Median XL releases, new items introduced in later patches are not backwards compatible and the Omega patch is a little more sensitive. Try going back to your earlier version and throwing out some items until your character loads.

The mod does nothing, my game did not change
- Another mod changed your file locations.
- You copied the game to another folder.
- You renamed the Median XL patch_d2.mpq file.
- You have a Mac and did not follow the instructions.
- You have an unpatched (1.07) version of LoD.

None of the runewords work
- Check the requirements on the runeword page.
- Fill all sockets with jewels except the last one, where you put the rune.
- Make sure the item is nonmagical (grey).
- If you were using the third party 'Runeword mod', remove it.

If you checked all this and found nothing, contact me through EMAIL for a solution.


Gameplay

Why can I only put two points into a skill?
Skills start out with a maximum level of 2 that goes up by 1 after each six character levels. In other words, the maximum skill level slowly increases as your character levels up.

Does [this skill] carry [crushing blow/leech/etc.]?
Any skill that deals weapon damage will carry all weapon modifiers. The exceptions are x% Chance to cast level y [Skill] on Attack (as opposed to "Striking"), +x to [Life/Mana] on Striking in Melee and Stun Attack, which only affect melee attacks.

Where do I get teleport?
Some characters have a teleportation skill (amazon: Pounce - assassin: Blink - barbarian: Spirit Walk - necromancer: Bend the Shadows - paladin: Colosseum, Divine Apparition). If you use a different character or you do not have this skill, you can use an item with charges of these skills. The most popular is the runeword staff Pax Mystica, which has charges of Blink. At the end game, the Moon of the Spider reward charm for the Lord Aldric Jitan uberquest grants you the Jitan's Gate skill.

Will the classic LoD runewords work?
The classic LoD runewords have been removed because they would not fit into the new item paradigm.

How do I get those pretty colours like on the screenshots?
Go to your Diablo II folder, find the program 'D2VidTst', run it, let it do its thing for a while and then choose Direct3D mode. This enables coloured lighting in Diablo II. This does not work if you run Diablo II in a window.


Features

What are Hatred, Terror, Destruction difficulty?
These are the new names for Normal, Nightmare and Hell respectively.

What are Crafting Points?
You need Crafting Points to use some cube recipes. The amount of Crafting Points required is listed below the recipe. Find items with +xyz Crafting Points on them and wear those items while performing the recipe.

What are Uberquests?
Uberquests are the ultimate challenge of Median XL. They involve special difficult monsters and bosses to kill. Most have a special unique reward for beating them on Destruction difficulty... See the UBERQUESTS MENU for more information.

What are Challenges?
Challenges reward you for completing difficult tasks under special limited rules. See the CHALLENGES MENU for more information.


Strategy and tactics

What is the best class?
The best class is the class you like the most.

Physical damage kills me easily!
Defence rating and defensive skills (like the amazon's Defensive Harmony and the sorceress' Warp Armor) are much more important in Median XL than in classic LoD. By contrast, life and blocking are less important. Note that in Diablo II your defence is ignored when you run, so hit 'R' to enter walk mode. In Median XL, walk mode is much faster and more comfortable.

Elemental damage kills me easily!
Improve your resistances. It is important to have 75% resistance to every element before Act 3 Hatred. As for poison damage, the Poison Length Reduced by xx% modifier is very useful. In the end game, you should be able to find items with a bonus to maximum resistances, allowing you to increase your resistances to 90% or 95%.

My weapon attacks don't do enough damage!
Aside from the obvious solution of getting a better weapon, you can also invest into skills that increase your damage or put points into strength or dexterity. Unlike in classic LoD, the strength and dexterity bonuses make a noticable difference at high levels, especially if you have no skills that add +% damage (bowazon). The description of the weapon tells you how much damage you gain at your current strength or dexterity value.

My spells don't do enough damage!
The +x% to [Element] Spell Damage modifiers are plentiful and powerful. Get some of these bonuses and you will notice a significant difference. Aim for +200% in your chosen elements by the end game. Also make sure to put some points into energy to benefit from the spell damage synergy. The spell description of affected spells tells you how much of a damage bonus you gain at your current energy value.

How many elements do I need?
Regular enemies can only have one natural immunity, so two elements is fine. The exception is Titan resist auras (solution: kill the Titan first). Physical immunity does not appear on any enemy by default but has a small chance to spawn on any random enemy in Destruction difficulty. Also, the Fauztinville uberquest contains monsters that are immune to multiple elements, and heroic bosses are very hard to kill without a large number of elements at your disposal.

Can I remove immunities from enemies?
You can use various skills and items to remove an immunity off an enemy: the amazon's Spellbind, assassin's Phase Bomb, druid's Mythal, necromancer's Bane or the paladin's Colosseum ability or certain class-specific items with the Mega Impact modifier. These attacks only work at 1/5 effectiveness if the target is immune. Items with -x% to Enemy [Element] Resistance do not break immunities by themselves, but can be used to further reduce an enemy's resistance after the immunity has been removed with Phase Bomb. Note that if an enemy is completely immune to all elements, this is usually an uberquest enemy and there is a trick to killing it. Consult the description of the uberquest.

My minions die all the time!
Many items carry the +x% Bonus to Summoned Minion Life modifier. Focus on these items and your minions will get much stronger.

My minions die all the time to elemental damage!
Focus on items with +x% Bonus to Summoned Minion Resistances. At skill level 5 and up, minions have 75% base resistance in Hatred difficulty, 25% in Terror and -25% in Destruction. The maximum amount of minion resistances on items you can have is +75%, meaning your minions can be elemental immune in Hatred and Terror but not Destruction.

[This enemy] is invulnerable!
Uberquest enemies usually have a special trick to them. Some bosses are protected by a shield when their minions are nearby. Others can only be damaged after you kill a minion. Some enemies are simply unkillable and should be avoided. Consult the documentation for the uberquest for more information.


Issues

Are there any belts with more than 2 rows?
Due to a Diablo II engine limitation, additional rows are hardcoded to the classic LoD belt types.

My sacred belt has one one row!
Due to a Diablo II engine limitation, belts that do not have the 'belt' itemtype (ie. ones with the 'sacred belt' itemtype) have only one visible row. The other row exists, but is not accessible. Filling up your belt with shift-click and using potions with the number keys does work, though.

My gems are not upgraded by a Gem Shrine!
Due to a Diablo II engine limitation, the new gems are not considered gems in some parts of the game.

Is it normal that an uberboss or heroic boss spawns as a champion pack?
Diablo II likes to force spawn champions even when explicitly asked not to, or when a given monster is excluded from the champion pool. Restart the game and try again.


Multiplayer

Can I play Median XL with other people?
Median XL officially supports TCP/IP multiplayer and open battle.net. It does not work on closed battle.net ('realms') because a realm game runs on the server and all your computer does is display the graphics. Blizzard's servers do not have Median installed.

Does Median XL have a realm?
Since the Vivendi vs. BnetD lawsuit, realm emulation is considered illegal. For this reason, I do not provide an official realm for Median XL. Certain third parties may offer Median XL realms, but these are not supported by Modsbylaz and may use lower quality hacked versions of the mod.

You didn't answer the question...
I heard the D2 Maniacs realm is free of cheaters and offers the official version of Median XL. Note that I do not own or take part in this realm; any questions should go to the realm owner.

How do I find other Median players?
The Pandemonium section on the official FORUM allows players to find each other and play online together.

TCP/IP or open battle.net doesn't work!
Make sure that all players in the game have the same version of Diablo II LoD, the same version of the mod and that either noone or everyone is using PlugY (if you don't know what PlugY is, you're not using it).

I checked all that and it still doesn't work!
Median XL does not interfere with your ability to play multiplayer. This is not a Median XL problem. If a router or LAN is involved, Diablo II may display an incorrect IP address; consult a site like www.whatismyip.com to obtain your public IP. If this fails, please consult the official Blizzard support pages on www.battle.net.


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