All credits go to GalaXyHaXz. I only enabled the ability to make Hardcore
characters without having to beat the game. The "Patch.txt" referenced
below has been moved into the MOD.txt.

- fearedbliss

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Diablo II - Lord of Destruction : Beta Patch 1.07.41 (1.41)
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Contents:

 1. Introduction
 2. Installing
 3. Gameplay
 4. Resources
 5. Legal

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1. Introduction
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What is the D2X beta? Is it some hack for 1.07?

The answer is no. This patch is from the "Battle.net Beta", and they have
been conducted ever since the first Diablo. Battle.net was a last minute
addition to Diablo, and Blizzard wasn't sure how well the servers would
hold up. Therefore, in late 1996 they announced and released the Battle.net
Beta CDs to around 1,000 applicants (of which they received over 250,000).
This test only ran for a few weeks, and contained an earlier version of the
game. The sole purpose was to fix as many problems before the retail
release. This same process was repeated in April 2000 for Diablo II, and
April 2001 for the Expansion.

Does it matter since the D2X beta is no longer playable?

As the Battle.net Betas were designed to stress the servers, Single Player
was never possible. Luckily, a courteous beta tester uploaded scans of the
Battle.net Beta CDs. Because of this, some work was done to enable the
missing functions of the D2X beta. Once this was accomplished, Single
Player and TCP/IP made their way into the D2X beta! (See section 4 for more
information about this)

What makes the D2X beta special?

The retail Expansion disc comes with patch 1.07. However, there are many
revisions of 1.07 that were created during the Expansion's development.
The Battle.net Beta server was immediately patched to 1.44 after launch,
which is the same patch as 1.07 (hereby referred as 1.07.44). The servers
received a few patches which slowly phased in the changes that made 1.08.
The actual Battle.net Beta CDs, however, came with patch 1.41 (hereby
referred as 1.07.41). This patch was never playable during the test. Nor
was it playable after. 1.07.41 is only a few weeks older than 1.07.44,
however, a lot can change when a team of full-time developers are working
to meet a deadline. A lot changed indeed, 1.07.41 is full of imbalances,
bugs, and other game changes which had been revised in 1.07.44. Therefore,
this patch is special because it contains content which no one ever had
the chance to experience previously.

What is different about the D2X beta vs. 1.07.44?

The core of the game's balance is entirely different. Skills are more like
their D2C counterparts; monsters have different stats; many items have
different stats; some items can spawn which were later taken out of the
game; Act V has noticeable remnants from development. There are too many
changes to list them all. However, this patch was quite different than the
1.07.44 everyone has become accustomed to. Weary time-travelers will
likely take great interest in the fruits of this patch previously hidden
away.

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2. Installing
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In order to avoid copyright issues, all of the Battle.net Beta's content
has been repacked into a patch file. Not to worry though, as the game will
be exactly the same. A normal Diablo II installation with the Expansion is
required. There are two options for installing the Battle.net Beta Patch:

 1) Copy all files from the "1.07.41" directory of this archive into the
    Diablo II installation directory and overwrite.
    *Administrator rights may be required.
 2) or, Copy the "1.07.41" directory into the version switcher directory
    currently setup with Diablo II.

If performing option 1, then the game may be executed as normal from the
directory or shortcuts. If performing option 2, then select "1.07.41" from
the version switcher to execute.

Everything is pre-patched to be playable on Single Player or TCP/IP. The
original game was restricted to Battle.net only however. The game is also
patched to allow multiple instances, run without the CD, and allow the
creation of Hardcore characters without having to beat the game. To run the
game without the CD, follow these steps (if they have not been done yet):

 1) Insert the "Diablo II Expansion" disc. Select "Upgrade Installation"
    from the installer.
 2) Once finished, copy the file "D2XMUSIC.MPQ" from the CD root into the
    Diablo II installation directory.
    *Administrator rights may be required.

To uninstall the Battle.net Beta Patch if a version switcher was not used,
follow these steps:

 1) Remove the file "Patch_D2.mpq" from the Diablo II installation
    directory.
    *Administrator rights may be required.
 2) Manually download a Diablo II patch from Blizzard's website. Execute
    and let the patch upgrade the game to the desired version.

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3. Gameplay
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As previously mentioned, the balance of the game is much different than
both the retail Expansion and Classic. There may be some annoying bugs or
balance issues, while some may be helpful. Twinking is only possible with
characters made in Classic patches 1.06(b) and before. Therefore, starting
from scratch will usually be the course of action. 1.07.41 is a fair amount
more difficult than 1.07.44 due to the balance issues. However, there are
some nice rewards for the weary adventurers.

Acts I through IV will be much more similar in style and play to that of
Classic. With monsters being close to the same, and the broken drop system
prohibiting most of the new items from spawning, Classic characters will
have a similar experience. The game will be slightly more challenging. If
going untwinked however, the difficulty may be much greater.

Act V has the most notable gameplay changes. Playing through will be
similar to 1.07.44. However, there are leftovers from the Expansion's
development as is apparent in Harrogath. Some monsters will be a fair
amount more difficult, and this will require skill and time to best the
challenges which await. Other areas are easier, and may be pursued to gain
experience and items.

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4. Resources
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Within the "Extra" directory included in this archive, there are two files:

 Changes.asm -> Contains a list of all modifications made to enable the D2X
                beta to run offline. Also notes a few other small changes
                to optimize the game for modern gameplay.
 Patch.txt ->   Contains the official patch notes of the Battle.net Beta as
                released by Blizzard. There appear to be two revisions, of
                which one adds a few changes made by 1.07.44. These have
                been denoted as "later added" or "changed" in the notes.

These are also some helpful websites which contain information and reports
about the D2X beta (subject to go offline in the future):

https://gamespy-archives.quaddicted.com/sites/www.planetdiablo.com/expansiond2/beta/index.html
https://diablo2.judgehype.com/betatest/
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-ii-lord-of-destruction-beta-report/1100-2716772/
http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/05/08/new-diablo-ii-lord-of-destruction-screens
http://www.dos486.com/d2beta/
http://sirian.warpcore.org/diablo2/beta/d2xbeta.html

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5. Legal
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All of the Battle.net Betas are copyrighted (C) by Blizzard Entertainment.
Blizzard has ownership of the Diablo series and all Betas released under
them. This archive is provided with the intention that the end user legally
owns a copy of Diablo II and its' Expansion. The purpose of this archive is
to extend the life and content of the game for which was legally paid for
and acquired. There is no intention to steal any copyrighted material
created by Blizzard North, and all material in this archive is unusable
for gaming or any connection to the Battle.net service without ownership of
Diablo II and its' Expansion.
