Why do attacks miss in Diablo 2 Resurrected?

If Diablo 2 Resurrected is your first time playing the classic ARPG from Blizzard, then some of the game's systems might be a bit confusing. As players start out on the Rogue Encampment, especially as a melee character, they will notice attacks missing. 

Without a clear remedy and no in-game tutorials providing clarity on the system, beginners won't know if half their attacks showing "miss" is a bug in Diablo 2 Resurrected, or part of general gameplay.

In this guide, we explain why attacks miss in Diablo 2 Resurrected, and how you can decrease your chances of both melee and ranged attacks missing.

Why do attacks miss in Diablo 2 Resurrected?

In the original Diablo 2, there was visual recognition when an attack was missed.

To make the game more accessible to a new generation, Diablo 2 Resurrected has an option in the gameplay settings to enable the "attack miss indicator".

This change was made to Diablo 2 Resurrected because "players weren't getting the right level of feedback for when they were missing enemies in melee" according to Blizzard.

Check out this new feature to see attacks missing in Diablo 2 Resurrected below.

So why do you see all these missed attacks, especially at the start of the game, or while fighting against bosses?

It all comes down to a mathematical formula, which is: "Chance To Hit = 200% * {AR / (AR + DR)} * {Alvl / (Alvl + Dlvl)}" according to Diablo 2 archive. 

• AR = Attacker's Attack Rating
• DR = Defender's Defense rating
• Alvl = Attacker's level
• Dlvl = Defender's level

Simply put, on your character screen, the Attack Rating stat will show a "chance to hit" percentage when selecting an enemy. It can't be higher than 95% or lower than 5%.

So what does this all mean...because maths is hard? Well, you should increase your characters attack rating as you progress through the game. Players shouldn't attempt to fight well above their weight, in PvE or PvP.

This is simply due to your chance to hit dropping significantly when facing enemies much higher level than your character. It works both ways, as you will also always hit a lower-level enemy.

How to decrease miss chance

• Use items that increase Attack Rating, including sets with bonuses to the stat.
• Increase your character's Dexterity stat either with stat points or items.
• Fight on your level. By this, we mean don't fight enemies much higher level than you.
• Use skills with increased Attack Rating. An early example is the Barbarian's Bash skill.

If you've gone and messed up your build completely, and you want more Dexterity right away, you can always reset your stats and skills with our guide below.

• Read more: How to reset skills and stats in Diablo 2 Resurrected

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