Setting up Diablo 2 Mods

If your a mod player and you want to play some of the hottest Diablo 2 mods out there, such as Median XL and Zy-El, here's how to set up the game on how to handle mods.

Sure, you've heard and seen Diablo 2 mods before, but how do you play them?

There's a set-up process involved with mods, and they can be set up three different ways.

Before we can get involved with the two different ways, we need to make sure we have the right version of Diablo 2 to run the mod. It may not matter to you, but the way that the game works in different versions has a lot to do with how several of the aspects of the mod work. I've compiled a list of mods here, and their respective version. Note that all of these mods are for the Expansion only.

- D2MultiRes: 1.12a only
- PlugY: 1.09, 1.10, 1.11, and 1.12 (Latest version only)
- Median (All versions): 1.10 and above
- Back to Hellfire: 1.10 only
- Eastern Sun 3.00: 1.11b
- Zy-El: 1.09 only
- Battle for the Elements: 1.10 only
- Immersion (All versions): 1.10 and above
- Rebirthe (All versions): 1.10 and above
- Dominus Rex: 1.10 only
- FAITH: 1.09d only
- Day of Death: 1.10 only
- All other mods: It should list on the mod homepage what version it is for.

Part I: .mpq Switchout

This part of the tutorial will teach you how to install Median XL, using just a one file switchout.

Upgrade your game to the 1.10, 1.11, or 1.12 patch if you haven't already.

Next, download Median XL. You can find it here:

http://www.moddb.com/mods/median-xl/downloads/median-xl-199d-latest-version

Before we do anything, lets back up our Patch_d2.mpq file in our Diablo directory.

So, go to My Computer -> Local Disk (C:) -> Program Files -> Diablo II.

Note: This path may vary depending on your installation settings.

In this folder, you will find a file named Patch_d2.mpq. Copy it and paste it into a different folder. That way, if the mod dangerously affects your game, you can switch back without issues, or the need to reinstall

.

Alright! Now we're making some progress! Now, all we need to do is extract the Patch_d2.mpq from the Median download, and put it in the Diablo II directory.

That's all you need to do.

Part II: .txt based Mods

In this next part, I will be teaching you how to install a TXT based mod. For this demonstration, I will be using the mod Rebirthe.

Make sure your patch version is 1.10 or above before continuing.

Download the Rebirthe mod here:

http://www.moddb.com/mods/rebirthe/downloads/rebirthe-004

Now, extract the Rebirthe folder in the .zip into your Diablo II directory.

OK, cool. Next, copy and paste a shortcut for Diablo II. In this new shortcut, Right Click -> Properties.

First, we edit the 'TARGET:'. Add a -direct -txt outside the quotes of your TARGET:. Next, the 'START IN:' line. Change it to something like "C:\Program Files\Diablo II\Rebirthe". Hit Apply.

Your good to go! This will work for any mod with an added directory.

Part III: .vbs scripts

Some mods, such as Battle for the Elements, have Visual Basic scripts to run. You will need a Visual Basic Runtime in order to run these mods. All you will need to do is extract the files into your Diablo II directory, and run the .vbs file.

Part IV: PlugY

Some mods will also ask you to install "PlugY". What is PlugY?

PlugY is a set of External .dlls and a new .exe to run the game. It features such things as Unlimited Stash space, Shared Stash space, World Event and Pandemonium event in singleplayer, Multiple Instances of D2, Skill/Stat point reallocation, as well as the ability to go to the Secret Cow Level after the Cow King has been killed.

You can find it here:

http://phrozenkeep.planetdiablo.gamespy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=53027

I believe I have covered everything.