Diablo

Diablo 1 shopping guide: how Griswold, Wirt, Adria, and Pepin work, item level formulas, and the best strategies to gear up fast in Tristram.

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GUIDE ← Diablo I

🛒 Diablo 1 Shopping Guide

Tristram's merchants and how their inventories work in Diablo 1.

Diablo 1's town merchants are more important than you'd think. Their inventories regenerate every time you enter a new dungeon level, and the items they sell scale with your character level. Smart shopping is a key part of the Diablo 1 item database strategy — you can gear up faster through shopping than pure farming in many cases.

⚒️ Griswold — The Blacksmith

Sells weapons, armor, and shields. Also repairs items (preserving max durability, unlike Warrior's Repair skill).

Item Level Formula

ilvl = 2 × clvl

A level 25 character sees ilvl 50 items. Higher clvl = better prefixes/suffixes available.

Sells 6 basic items and 6 premium (magic) items
Premium items can have prefixes and suffixes — shop here for gear upgrades
Inventory refreshes when you enter a new dungeon level
Shopping trick: Enter floor 1, go back to town, check inventory. Repeat. Each re-entry randomizes his stock.
Repairs are expensive but preserve max durability — worth it for good items

🦵 Wirt — The Peg-Legged Boy

The gambler. Sells exactly one item at a time. Pay 50 gold to see what he has — then pay full price if you want it. His item is always magic or unique.

Item Level Formula

ilvl = 2 × clvl (same as Griswold premium)

50 gold to peek — he shows the item identified
If you don't buy, his stock refreshes on next dungeon level entry
Can sell uniques — this is one way to find rare uniques
Expensive but sometimes the only way to get a specific item type
The 50 gold peek fee is per-visit, not per-refresh

🔮 Adria — The Witch

Sells staves, scrolls, potions, spell books, and elixirs. Also recharges staves (cheaper than buying new ones). The primary source of spell books.

Item Level Formula

ilvl = 2 × clvl for staves; spell books based on spell qlvl

Sells spell books — the only reliable way to raise spell levels
Book availability depends on character level (higher level = higher-tier spells appear)
Staves with charges are great for early game — especially Staff of Charged Bolt
Recharge is cheaper than buying a new staff and preserves prefixes/suffixes
Sells elixirs that permanently increase stats (+1 Str/Mag/Dex/Vit) — buy every one you see

💚 Pepin — The Healer

Free full heal every time you talk to him. Also sells potions and scrolls of Resurrect (multiplayer only).

Free healing — always talk to Pepin before going back into the dungeon
Sells Full Healing and Full Mana potions (expensive but powerful)
Sells Scrolls of Resurrect in multiplayer for reviving dead players
Involved in the Black Mushroom quest chain

Shopping Strategy

Always check Griswold's premium items after every dungeon level entry — you might find a King's or Obsidian item
Buy every elixir from Adria — permanent +1 stat points are always worth the gold
Buy spell books you need — spell levels are critical for Sorcerers and important even for Warriors (Stone Curse, Teleport)
Peek at Wirt if you can afford the 50 gold — he occasionally sells uniques
Talk to Pepin before every dungeon run — free full heal is free
Don't waste gold repairing junk — only repair items you'll keep long-term