How to Import Classic Diablo II (LoD) Saves into D2R

Diablo II: Resurrected can import classic Diablo II: Lord of Destruction characters: place a legacy save in the D2R save folder and the game brings the character forward. That one feature is also the bridge that keeps classic editing tools useful — D2CE edits 1.14d saves directly, and the documented community workflow for tools like Hero Editor depends on it. This guide covers the import itself, where D2CE fits, and the one irreversible warning you must understand before you start.

Back up first

Copy your Saved Games\Diablo II Resurrected folder before you edit. D2CE can also keep a .bak backup per character (Options → Backup Character Before Save). For automatic, versioned backups of the whole folder, see how to back up D2R saves.

What you need

  • A classic Diablo II character save (.d2s) — the workflow D2CE documents is for 1.14d saves, the final classic patch.
  • Diablo II: Resurrected installed, with at least one offline character created so the save folder exists.
  • A backup of the original classic file, kept outside both games’ folders (see the warning below).

Step by step: import a legacy save into D2R

  1. Back up the original 1.14d .d2s first — copy it somewhere neither game will touch. This step is not optional; read the warning in the next section.
  2. Find the D2R folder: C:\Users\<your name>\Saved Games\Diablo II Resurrected\ — see the save file location guide if you have never opened it.
  3. Copy (do not move) the classic .d2s into that folder.
  4. Launch Diablo II: Resurrected and look at the offline character list: the imported character appears there, converted by the game on load.
  5. Load the character, confirm inventory, skills and stash look right, then let the game save — and back up the D2R folder again in its new state.

This is an offline feature. Classic saves have nothing to do with Battle.net characters, and importing does not create an online character — the two remain permanently separate, as explained in can you edit online D2R characters?

Warning: the conversion is one-way

Once D2R loads and re-saves a character, that file is a D2R-format save. Classic tools such as Hero Editor can no longer open the re-saved file — Hero Editor was built for 1.14d and cannot natively read D2R saves at all. Your only way back to classic-tool editing is the untouched original 1.14d backup, or converting the D2R file back down with the dschu012 converter covered in our online editor guide. Keep the original backup permanently.

Where D2CE fits: edit in 1.14d, then import

D2CE is unusual among classic-era editors because its author tested it against both worlds: D2R PTR 2.6 saves and classic 1.14d. It also gained version conversion in v2.16, which exists precisely for moving saves between format versions. A typical workflow:

  1. Open the 1.14d save in D2CE (File > Open), following the D2CE user guide.
  2. Make your edits — stats, skills, waypoints, quests, items — and save, with the .bak backup option on.
  3. Copy the edited save into the D2R save folder and let the game import it.
  4. If the result is wrong, your untouched original and the .bak both still exist in classic format.

For Hero Editor specifically — what it can and cannot open, and the converter workaround for characters that started life in D2R — see Hero Editor can’t open D2R saves: the workaround. For moving a character the other direction or editing without any download, the dschu012 online editor doubles as the community’s D2R-to-LoD converter.

Troubleshooting the import

  • Character does not appear — the file is in the wrong folder, the game was running when you copied it (restart the game), or the save is not a compatible classic version. Re-check the path against the location guide.
  • Character appears but items look wrong — restore the original backup, open it in D2CE, and check for discrepancies before re-importing. Do not repeatedly re-import a suspect file.
  • You edited the D2R copy and now want Hero Editor again — you cannot open the D2R-format file in Hero Editor. Either return to the original 1.14d backup or convert down with dschu012 first.

Current-version caution: the import path described here concerns classic-format saves. It does not make legacy editors compatible with native Patch 3.x / Warlock saves — that separate question is tracked on the compatibility status page.

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