What Are Scrolls For in Diablo 2?
In Diablo 2, scrolls serve a crucial and unique purpose: they allow you to cast a specific spell once, without expending any of your character’s mana. Unlike other spells that require you to learn them and spend mana points to use, scrolls are consumable items that offer a one-time application of their designated spell effect. The two most common and important scrolls you’ll encounter in Diablo 2 are the Scroll of Identify and the Scroll of Town Portal, each playing a pivotal role in your adventure. Essentially, scrolls are disposable magic tools that provide immediate, but limited, access to powerful spells.
Identifying Unidentified Items: The Scroll of Identify
The Scroll of Identify is arguably one of the most essential items in Diablo 2. Throughout your journey, you’ll find a multitude of unidentified items – weapons, armor, jewelry, and more – that appear with a question mark in their description. These items are unusable until their properties are revealed. This is where the Scroll of Identify comes in.
How to Use a Scroll of Identify
To use a Scroll of Identify, simply right-click it in your inventory (on PC) or use the equivalent button on your gamepad. This will change your cursor to a question mark. Then, click on the unidentified item you wish to reveal. The item’s stats, attributes, and requirements will be displayed, and you’ll be able to equip or sell it. After use, the scroll is consumed and disappears from your inventory.
Identifying items is crucial because many valuable and rare items are found unidentified. Unidentified items sell for significantly less than identified ones. This process not only allows you to equip potentially powerful items but also to earn the most gold from selling loot.
Instant Travel: The Scroll of Town Portal
The Scroll of Town Portal provides a simple, yet incredibly useful function: it instantly opens a portal to town. This spell is indispensable for quickly returning to a safe location to restock supplies, repair equipment, sell loot, or access your stash. In the dangerous world of Diablo 2, having instant access to town is a lifeline, allowing you to quickly escape precarious situations.
Strategic Use of Town Portals
The ability to quickly create a Town Portal is not only useful for safe returns, but also for strategic purposes, such as:
- Healing: If you run out of health potions or are close to death, a Town Portal is a quick escape to get healed.
- Resupplying: Need more potions? Run out of arrows? A Town Portal gets you to the vendors quickly.
- Saving Time: Instead of walking all the way back to town, use a Town Portal to immediately jump back.
- Group Play: Town Portals are also useful for multiplayer games, allowing quick transport for yourself and your party members to get back together, making co-op efficient.
- Escape Route: If you are overencumbered or if your inventory is full and you have too much to leave behind, a Town Portal is the best option.
The Tome: A Convenient Scroll Holder
While scrolls are useful individually, they occupy valuable inventory space. To solve this problem, the game provides Tomes. The Tome of Identify and the Tome of Town Portal can hold up to 20 scrolls each, freeing up valuable inventory space while still providing instant access to these essential spells. You use a tome in the same way you use a scroll – by right-clicking and then clicking on an item or location.
Maximizing Scroll Use
Effectively using scrolls involves balancing your inventory, buying them strategically, and understanding their cost versus benefit. Always consider the space constraints in your inventory. It’s often beneficial to stock up on scrolls and tomes in town before heading out on an adventure, but remember that there is no need to identify every item. Certain low-value items like bolts or potions should be sold without identification.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Scrolls in Diablo 2
1. Do I Need to Identify Scrolls?
No, you do not need to identify scrolls themselves. Their function is inherently known; the Scroll of Identify reveals item properties, and the Scroll of Town Portal creates a portal to town.
2. How Do I Use a Tome?
Tomes function similarly to scrolls. Right-click the Tome in your inventory, and an arrow will appear. Then, click on the unidentified item (if using the Tome of Identify) or the area you wish to create a portal to (if using the Tome of Town Portal). The tome will expend one scroll per use.
3. Do Scrolls Take Up Inventory Space?
Yes, each individual scroll and the tome occupies one or two inventory slots respectively. Managing your inventory space wisely is a crucial part of playing Diablo 2.
4. Should I Always Identify Items Before Selling?
Yes, absolutely. Unidentified items sell for significantly less than their identified counterparts. Identifying items, except for the most common ones, will yield much higher gold returns when selling to vendors.
5. Can I Buy Scrolls and Tomes?
Yes, you can purchase Scrolls of Identify and Scrolls of Town Portal, along with their respective tomes, from various vendors in town. They are usually cheap to buy, and it’s a good idea to always stock up before venturing out.
6. What Happens if I Read an Elder Scroll in Diablo 2?
You do not find Elder Scrolls in Diablo 2. This question refers to The Elder Scrolls games, which are a separate series.
7. Is There a Scroll of Resistance in Diablo 2?
There isn’t a Scroll of Resistance but there is a quest reward that provides increased resistances. This quest can be completed three times (once for each difficulty), but the bonus disappears if your character dies.
8. Can I Remove Gems from Sockets Using Scrolls?
No. Removing gems from sockets requires the Horadric Cube, a separate item that you will obtain during the game.
9. How Does the Horadric Cube Work?
The Horadric Cube is used for transmuting items and creating new ones through specific combinations. It cannot be used to identify items.
10. Is Loot in Diablo 2 Truly Random?
Yes, Diablo 2 uses a sophisticated system of random generation to determine loot drops, ensuring no two playthroughs are exactly the same.
11. What is the Point of Ethereal Items?
Ethereal items gain a bonus to their damage or defense but have reduced durability, reduced requirements, and cannot be repaired normally. They can be very powerful, but they are also more prone to breaking.
12. Can I Sell or Salvage Items?
You can sell your items to vendors for gold or you can use them to trade with other players. Diablo 2 does not include a salvage system, which is a concept found in other games.
13. Are Tomes Worth Using?
Yes, the Tomes of Identify and Town Portal are very beneficial because they allow you to carry up to 20 scrolls in just two inventory slots. This is far more convenient than carrying 20 individual scrolls.
14. How Do I Get More Inventory Space?
Aside from using Tomes, the Horadric Cube provides a 4×4 grid for additional storage. However, the standard inventory size is relatively small.
15. What Other Spells Are Available as Scrolls?
The Scroll of Identify and the Scroll of Town Portal are the only scrolls you will find in Diablo 2. They are both the primary scrolls.
In conclusion, scrolls are essential consumable items in Diablo 2, granting access to indispensable spells like item identification and town portals. By understanding their function, using them wisely, and making good use of tomes, you’ll significantly improve your ability to progress and thrive in the game’s challenging world.