Now that Diablo 4 is around the corner, it's time to revisit our all-time favorite action RPG. Diablo 2 Resurrected is by far the best way to experience the once-groundbreaking isometric ARPG, and you can access it on any modern console or PC. If you're used to modding your single-player RPGs and you're playing Diablo 2 Resurrected on the PC, you may want to check out the Diablo 2 Resurrected modding scene via Nexus Mods. If you're unfamiliar, Nexus hosts some of the most popular mods for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4, Stardew Valley, and so forth.
Unfortunately, there's a major caveat when playing a modded Diablo 2 Resurrected save -- you can't play it online. This may make it less worthwhile if you're interested in playing with other players. Additionally, there's little in the way of new content in these mods -- which rebalance rather than expand upon Diablo 2's core gameplay.
If you've already established a main character in online mode, don't expect Diablo 2 Resurrected mods to work in the same playthrough either. These mods will only work in a new character created in base Diablo 2 or Resurrected's offline-only single-player mode.
Now that you've been sufficiently warned -- but hopefully not discouraged -- it's time to look at a few of the best mods for Diablo 2 Resurrected in 2023.
Diablo 2 Resurrected Reimagined
Diablo 2 Resurrected Reimagined isn't quite as much of a reimagining of the standard Diablo 2 experience as Resurrected itself. But it does compile several popular community mods into a single install. This can speed things up rather than force you through the monotony of finding the mods you want and configuring them yourself.
At a glance, the D2R Reimagined mod increases enemy spawn rates, rebalances loot tables, expands your inventory size and stash, makes potion and scroll types more visible, and much more.
The installation process is straightforward. All you need to do is extract the .zip file downloaded from the Nexus website into your Diablo 2 Resurrected directory. After that, send a shortcut for D2R.exe to your desktop, and then open up the properties window for the shortcut you just created. In the Target field, you'll want to add -mod Merged -txt after "F:\Program Files\Diablo II Resurrected\D2R.exe". Don't use quotation marks or add a period after the -mod Merged -txt part.
Diablo 2 Resurrected Mod Manager
If you intend to customize your own experience, you'll want to download the Diablo 2 Resurrected Mod Manager instead of the Reimagined mod mentioned above.
To install the Mod Manager, download the .zip file from Nexus and extract it wherever you want. Navigate to the extracted folder, then install your mods. Extract their respective .zip folders into the "mods" subfolder. Refresh your mods from the Mod Manager interface, then click the boxes to the left of the mods you'd like to install. When you've selected your mods, click the "Install Mods" button to finish installing them.
MercEquip
By default, you can only place basic body armor, helmets, and weapons onto your mercenaries. The MercEquip mod allows you to equip your mercenary companion with armor, a helmet, gloves, a belt, boots, an amulet, and one ring. This is useful to expand your mercenaries' abilities, especially in single-player where you won't have other players running around helping you defeat bosses -- like Duriel, who is notoriously tough for his level range.
CheatyMods
CheatyMods makes several things simpler, and it even includes the ability to spawn a new character with the Horadric Cube already in your inventory. Yet the most useful bits of this mod lay at the bottom of the configuration window, where you can allocate whichever value you'd like into your experience point gain and mana regeneration modifiers. This is especially handy for playtesting different classes since you can rapidly level up by setting your experience point gain modifier to, say, 5x its usual rate.
Increase Monster Density
This mod allows you to expand the rate at which enemies spawn on the field. For one, the Increase Monster Density mod is a good way to add more challenge to your Diablo 2 Resurrected playthrough, but it can also work in tandem with CheatyMods to accelerate the level curve. It also makes the Increase Droprate mod more useful -- both mods together grant you more opportunities to receive rare and powerful loot.
Increase Droprate
The Increase Droprate mod does exactly what it sounds like. It increases the rate at which items of all rarities drop by slain monsters and treasure chests in the world. You can configure drop rates for each class of item from the Mod Manager configuration window. Combining this mod with Increase Monster Density and CheatyMods can help you build up your character much quicker, subverting the need to play with others.
Expanded Stash (16x13)
The basic storage space offered by Diablo 2 Resurrected isn't all that great. By default, there are four windows containing 48 inventory slots; one personal window for the character you're currently playing as, and three windows shared between all the characters in your user profile. Both Expanded Stash mods vastly increase the number of items you're able to store across all characters (bringing it up to seven shared storage windows across all characters!) but it's hard to argue with the 16x13 version, simply because it's the bigger version and it offers the most space.
Stackable Gems
If you've ever had a bunch of gems of various tiers piled up in your inventory or in your stash, you know exactly how much of a nuisance they can be -- especially when you're trying to tell them apart, given how similar their icons are. The Stackable Gems mod fixes this issue by allowing you to place many instances of the same gem into the same inventory slot. The number of gems you're able to stack can be altered in the configuration window within the Mod Manager interface.
And those are the best Diablo 2 Resurrected mods you can download and install in 2023. Unlike other moddable RPGs, there isn't quite as much mod support for Diablo 2 Resurrected, and you won't be able to play online with a modded game -- at least, not via Battle.net servers. Likewise, modding your Diablo 2 Resurrected save to generate more concessions in "normal" gameplay can allow quicker passage through the campaign in single-player mode. Some of these quality-of-life improvements are too good to pass up, especially if you're working your way through Diablo 2 on a time budget.
