The Best Ways to Back Up D2R Saves: Local, External and Cloud Compared
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Every editing guide on this site starts with the same instruction — back up first — because a D2R save is a single local file (.d2s per character, plus the shared stash .d2i) in your Saved Games\Diablo II Resurrected folder. Lose it to a bad edit, a corrupted write or a dead drive and the character is gone. There are three legs to a proper backup habit; the strongest setup combines at least two of them.
Leg 1: Manual copies and the D2CE .bak (free, built in)
The baseline costs nothing. Copy the whole save folder to a dated folder before you edit, and turn on D2CE’s built-in protection: Options → Backup Character Before Save keeps a .bak copy per character each time the editor saves. Manual copies are immediate and free, but they depend on you remembering, they keep only the versions you remembered to make, and they usually live on the same drive as the original — which is why they are a leg, not the whole stool.
The step-by-step version of this workflow is our walkthrough: how to back up D2R saves.
Leg 2: External SSD snapshots
Copying dated snapshots of the save folder to an external SSD adds the two things manual copies on the same drive lack: separation from the PC’s internal drive, and room to keep many generations of snapshots without thinking about space — a full D2R save folder is small, so even a modest portable SSD holds years of dated copies. The habit is simple: plug in, copy the folder with today’s date, unplug. The drive only protects you while the copies on it are recent, so pair it with a routine (before every editing session is a good trigger).
See portable external SSDs on Amazon (affiliate link).
Leg 3: Cloud versioned backup
Cloud backup is the automated, off-site leg: point a backup service at your save folder once and new copies are kept as you play and edit, including earlier versions you can roll back to after a bad edit — the scenario our guide to restoring a corrupted D2R save walks through. pCloud is the service linked from this site: it offers automatic backup of chosen folders and sells lifetime plans alongside subscriptions, so a one-payment option exists for readers who do not want another monthly bill attached to a save folder.
See pCloud (affiliate placeholder to the pCloud homepage; check current plans and prices there).
The three legs compared
| Method | Cost model | Automation | Version history | Off-site? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual copies + D2CE .bak | Free | None — you copy by hand; .bak is automatic per save in D2CE | Only the copies you made, plus one .bak per character | No — usually the same drive |
| External SSD snapshots | One-off drive purchase | None — copy when you plug in | As many dated snapshots as you keep | Only when the drive is stored elsewhere / unplugged |
| Cloud backup (pCloud) | Subscription, or lifetime plan (one payment) | Automatic, continuous | Versioned — earlier versions can be restored | Yes |
Our recommendation: local + cloud combined
Use the free leg always (folder copies plus the D2CE .bak), then add one of the other two — and ideally both. Local copies restore fastest after a bad edit; the cloud leg is the one that survives a dead drive, a stolen laptop or a folder deleted in both places. Local + cloud combined means the two most common disasters — “I edited the only copy” and “the drive died” — are both covered, for the price of one habit and, at most, one plan.
Make one dated copy of Saved Games\Diablo II Resurrected now, before you open any editor. Then set up the walkthrough in how to back up D2R saves so the next copy makes itself.