The Butcher and King Leoric
If you have forgotten how difficult your first encounters with the Butcher and Skeleton King were, a game of Ironman Diablo will quickly refresh your memory! Be sure your party is ready before opening the Butcher's door. Clear the entire level first, then use the "stairs" trick to kill him. (in case you're not familiar with the stairs trick, I'll post it up here tomorrow).

As you know, the Skeleton King is roaming free on level 3, unlike the Butcher who is contained until you choose to release him. King Leoric also won't get caught in the stairs like the Butcher. This makes him a more difficult kill then ol' Fat Boy. If your party isn't ready for Leoric, the best advice is to go on to level 4 as soon as you discover him. The party will become stronger after clearing level 4 (hopefully), and can then return to level 3 to deal with Boney. Holy Bolt is an excellent spell choice. If Holy Bolt isn't an option, remember, he IS a skeleton, so blunt weapons work better.

Know your job!
Sorcerers get all the books, Rogues get anything +DEX, etc. In regular Diablo games, you need to have a well rounded character because you never know when your Warrior might need to cast a few spells to get out of trouble, or when your Sorcerer will need to bust some skulls. In Ironman, focusing on your classes strengths will increase the overall effectiveness of the party.

In general, the party will fare much better if everyone is well aware of what is expected of them, and what the other players can/can not do.

Do your job!
Rogues and Sorcerers should use their range to kill monsters before they reach the party. The warriors primary responsibility should be to beat off any monsters who close the gap, while the Rogue and Sorcerer continue to assault the oncoming horde.

Stretching Your Life
Ironman games play very differently from normal games. Normally, it's OK to rush into a group of monsters and start hacking away as long as you be sure not to let yourself die. When the dust settles, you restock your belt and move on. That is a huge mistake in Ironman games! Players who do this become a burden to the rest of the party who must keep healing him, etc. There's always more than one way to clear a room full of monsters. The trick is choosing the one that minimizes the chances of taking heavy damage.

Stick Together
Everyone needs to move together as a group to keep from being overwhelmed. Not only will you have help fighting the monsters near you, but the other players will divert some of the monsters attention away from you.

Horde Potions
Horde as many potions as you can early on. You'll be better off hanging on to those potions and scrolls of healing for deeper levels.

Equipment Repairs
Warrior repairs equipment for the party. Yes, stuff wears down and eventually breaks after repeated repairs. If you're lucky enough to come across a Religious shrine, have one member of the party hold as much worn equipment as possible before using the shrine.

Identifying Magical Items
Scrolls of Identify are now invaluable, instead of merely convenient. Use them sparingly, and only on the most essential equipment. Don't forget Glimmering shrines. Have one person hold as much un-identified equipment as possible before using it.

Gold
The only gold your party uses is the starting gold (100) at the very start of the game before entering dungeon. After that? It's useless. Don't even bother picking it up. The only exception to this is if you are competing in an Ironman Tournament where gold is used as a tie-breaker.

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This page was last updated:   9.