What Does LOD Stand for in Diablo?

As a passionate gamer and content creator who has put thousands of hours into the Diablo series since the first game launched in 1996, I‘ve watched the games evolve in incredible ways over the past 25+ years. One of the most impactful evolutions came with 2001‘s Lord of Destruction (LOD) expansion for Diablo 2.

The Game-Changing Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction Expansion

Lord of Destruction took the critically-acclaimed Diablo 2 to new heights by adding a stunning amount of new content. Up through 2001, Blizzard had not released expansion packs for any of their games, so LOD entered uncharted territory.

As a Diablo 2 player during its heyday from 2001-2005, I witnessed firsthand the excitement and reignited addiction that LOD brought to the community. Over 50% of active Diablo 2 players purchased LOD in the first year alone. I was one of them.

Here‘s an overview of the key additions LOD brought to Diablo 2:

Act V – Frozen Bloody Foothills of Mount Arreat

LOD introduced an entirely new act with over 25 new quests and story elements continuing where Act IV left off. The frozen wastelands of Harrogath introduced dangerous new environmental hazards and swarms of yetis, golems, and wraiths to slay.

Fighting through the snowy trails leading up Mount Arreat built ominous tension until the final bloody confrontation with Baal himself at the Worldstone. This epic ending combined with the new places and foes brought much needed freshness after hundreds of previous Diablo 2 hours.

The Druid and Assassin Classes

The two new classes increased the available builds and gameplay styles dramatically:

The Druid specialized in nature and storm magic like tornadoes, vines, molten boulders, and the ability to shift between werewolf and werebear forms. The druid opened up new melee and magic hybrid options.

The Assassin brought deadly martial arts skills, shadow magic, mind control, and traps. She could blink through the shadows, spin rapid kicks, throw supplied charges, and unleash vicious claw attacks. This was unlike anything seen before.

Both classes introduced exciting builds that became mainstays for years to come.

Runewords – Legendary Weapons and Armor

Previous magic items in Diablo 2 had preset properties, limiting long-term potential. LOD shook that up by introducing rune words – legendary gear compiled from specific rune sequences placed into sockets granting completely customizable bonuses.

The sheer number of combinations and possibilities runewords presented gave quality end-game loot depth like never before. Min/maxing and theory crafting of builds utilizing insane runewords is still discussed today.

Here a couple top tier examples many players farm years later::

Enigma

Grief

And farther down the power spectrum granting more achievable stepping stone options:

• Spirit sword/shield granting faster cast, resists, skills etc.
• Insight polearm to keep mana and meditation up

The new runeword items were so powerful the gameplay and meta shifted as players grinded to craft their coveted rune words for builds enabling performance unimaginable pre-LOD.

Uber Tristram and Diablo Clone World Events

Late in LOD‘s lifecycle two secret end-game events emerged challenging only the most prepared heroes:

1. Uber Tristram – Upgraded versions of bosses requiring keys from Pandemonium Event portals
2. Diablo Clone – Alternate reality Diablo spawns when enough Stones of Jordan are sold

These presented intense challenges with huge rewards for the few able to defeat them:

• Uber Diablo and Uber Baal dropped the best loot in the game
• Diablo Clone dropped the Annihilus small charm further boosting stats

They required highly specialized gear, multiple stacked auras in party builds, and tremendous skill/strategy – cementing LOD‘s legacy for elite players in the years after release.

Legacy of Dreams Enables Legendary Build Diversity

Jumping forward to current times in Diablo 3, many LOD rune word principles have been carried forward into Legendary mechanics and items.

Legacy of Dreams Diablo 3 gem in particular embodies this spirit. It provides damage scaling bonuses per Legendary item equipped, just like LOD rune words scaled with runes sockets filled.

I‘ve played various builds leveraging Legacy of Dreams across Necromancers, Witch Doctors and Wizards all able to push into mid-high Torment levels solo without class sets. Like LOD rune words, this enables legendary mix and match opportunities previously unseen!

My favorite example is the Rathma summon Necromancer build utilizingLegacy of Dreams, endless walk set, sanctified visage mask for huge 30-40 billion damage potential from the Skeletal Mage skill coupled with the 50% damage buff.

Closing Thoughts

It‘s incredible looking back at how much Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction evolved the franchise over 20 years ago in 2001. I still have fond memories fighting through Act V with new skills against empowered enemies and later struggles crafting Enigma.

LOD meaningfully advanced every aspect – classes, story, items, difficulty, and end game longevity through the introduction of rune words and intense secret events. This came just when players needed engagement, and a true sequel would still wait 19 long years until Diablo 4 releases.

I‘m thankful I witnessed LOD‘s revolution first-hand which kept the ARPG torch burning for so many years since. I hope this guide provided helpful history and analysis around the iconic LOD expansion from the perspective of a passionate Diablo gamer!

Let me know in comments if you have any other Diablo questions – happy to provide insights into this legendary series.