These additions are exciting in themselves-but when coupled with all the innumerable ancillary changes and enhancements in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, the end result promises to be as impressive and as robust as Diablo II was itself. It also appends a fifth and final chapter to the Diablo II saga, during which you'll take on Baal, Diablo's brother, whom you never encountered during the original game. Most obviously, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction includes two all-new character classes, bringing the total in the game to seven. It does this by adding new content and new features suitable for all types of Diablo II players. Like all the best expansion packs, including last year's Age of Empires II: The Conquerors, EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark, and Blizzard's own Starcraft: Brood War, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction attempts to fundamentally improve upon and extend the core aspects of the original game. With that out of the way, let's get into Lord of Destruction. Don't worry-we won't spoil anything along the way. So this update is best suited for those who have been keeping up with the Diablo II expansion pack as closely as possible and relishing the details of the game.

The information in this preview won't replicate what you've already read on GameSpot-for instance, you'll find much more about the assassin and the druid classes in our previous coverage. Based on this, the following pages contain detailed descriptions of the expansion's many new features. GameSpot was fortunate to reserve a place in the beta test and has since extensively played the beta version of the game over Blizzard's service. To this end, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction has recently entered into a beta-testing stage, in which about 2,500 players from around the world will get to try out all the new features in the expansion pack. In the meantime, Blizzard Entertainment is busy polishing its next game to perfection. The official expansion pack to one of last year's best-selling games is scheduled to be available later next month.

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