Diablo II: Resurrected

Gosh this looks just as I remember it, which is to say pretty different to how it probably was. And no I'm not going to use the switcher. Not on this TV...

FYI no Necro or assassin in the beta. Not surprised.

Edit: I lied. I used it.

Christ I'm feeling really old right now. But it's not a bad old. Just a...wow, life has given a lot to experience these past 20 years kind of old. Almost...wonderful.

Holy shit this beta went by quick


Lack of targeted multiplayer on console was pretty lame but eh beta.

Lack of servers outside of the US, also lame. But again: beta.

I actually intend to install PoE on my ps5 after the beta is over to see how it feels. I was pretty into the control scheme of the d2r beta with a few notable issues, such as targeting loot. That aside it felt quite smooth. They definitely added a little movement to attacks to help you close gaps when auto attacking.

Mostly I just played one of my favourite off class styles: sword and board dodge-zon. Effective but oh I'd forgotten that damn rubberbanding when you think you've escaped a horde, but were in fact block/dodge locked.

Played a basic fireball sorc after finding the runes for Leaf and Stealth. Crunchy damage never not entertaining.

Was constantly flicking back and forth to admire the ruleset improvements. The GF was watching a bit and was particularly impressed with the Harem in act 2. I really liked the Cathedral in act 1. And Maggot Lair really looks rancid now...

I look forward to the offline lag free version...or Oceanic servers.

All in all, it's as good and bad as I remember. Warts and all, it remains the purest distillation of everything an arpg should be, and very little else.

Kinda disgusted now I heard no mods. What's the point?

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kolyaboo wrote:

Kinda disgusted now I heard no mods.

Now?

NOW?!?

It should have been painfully obvious since 2013 that no Blizzard game will support modding ever again.

Doesn't need mods. More is not always better, although I will agree there is some wiggle room for qol changes.

So this assessment pertains to what I did yesterday, as I said I would: I installed poe on my ps5 and gave it a go.

Control wise it's as good as you could imagine for a controller. But unlike the much simpler d2r, at no point do you forget you are playing a PC game shoehorned into a controller. Managing sockets is a pain. Navigating the passive screen is a pain. Trading with NPCs is a pain. Lack of portal hotkey is really a pain. And yes, lack of one button inventory sort is a pain.

Moreover, the game itself is just a poor substitute for raw D2 arpg fun. There is such a thing as too much and Poe embodies it. It's hard to just enjoy the arpg loop when it's so thoroughly cluttered with things to micro manage.

As for expedition itself, eh I've seen worse league gimmicks but as usual it made the rest of the game way too easy as you powerlevel via it. I was level 10 by ledge. And my only deaths were to early overreach of expedition set up. That was on a melee ranger mind you.

The much vaunted increase in difficulty was there but...it really didn't change the experience. I was still juggling gems and mods and gear before long. It wasn't fun and it wasn't compelling.

Anyway I uninstalled after a few hours and decided to just wait for d2r's next beta.

So getting back to mods: they can be amazing. Median is a great example of that. But I think they're also indicative of a certain yearning for longevity beyond a game's natural life span. They appeal to people who want more than the Devs are willing or able to give.

I don't think d2r needs them for two reasons. Firstly, this is an exercise in nostalgia and the "algia" part literally means "pain"; the whole word means pain for what is lost or gone, and I think to experience that you should do so with as few modifications as possible. Shared stash just does away with muling, which was never a good part of the Diablo 2 experience. Same with item sort -- inventory Tetris isn't part of the core arpg loop imo. But a lot of mods would screw with that loop, and if we learned anything from PoE, it's that the core arpg experience is surprisingly fragile and easily overloaded.

And that's point two: if you want the sort of more that mods add, play PoE or LE or any number of existing D2 mods. The price you pay for that choice is not getting to experience D2 with a facelift and a few sparing QoL changes. It should not be an easy choice because there is no cake and eat it too scenario. Mods would just hasten the inevitable boredom of players as they break an already flawed game over and again for shits and giggles. And the end point of that approach is exactly what happened with PoE: too much of everything diluting the mix.

This is of course all imho and YMMV. But if your core argument is d2r isn't updated enough or flexible enough, you are I think almost premeditated in your rejection of what it actually represents...and bitter that you already have what you are asking for but don't like the baggage that comes with it.

^Diablo 2 would've died completely decades ago if not for mods. And D2R will die pretty soon after the initial launch hype because for that exact reason. It needs mods, to have any longevity at least. It doesn't for profits, I suppose.

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kolyaboo wrote:

Kinda disgusted now I heard no mods. What's the point?

Diablo 2 (closed battlenet/blizz servers) was always about the interaction between PvP/Trade/PvM farm.

This trio was the magic formula that enticed players for over a decade and made it highly addictive, it's puzzling that arpg- developers including Blizzard themselves ( although it seems they now seek redemption in D4 PvP) failed to grasp this simple, yet highly effective interaction.

Thus for many nostalgia-seeking D2 players returning, this is likely what they want to relive(no other online-arpg has ever managed to recreate this experience successfully )

"

wierdzodi wrote:

"

kolyaboo wrote:

Kinda disgusted now I heard no mods. What's the point?

Diablo 2 (closed battlenet/blizz servers) was always about the interaction between PvP/Trade/PvM farm.

This trio was the magic formula that enticed players for over a decade and made it highly addictive, it's puzzling that arpg- developers including Blizzard themselves ( although it seems they now seek redemption in D4 PvP) failed to grasp this simple, yet highly effective interaction.

Thus for many nostalgia-seeking D2 players returning, this is likely what they want to relive(no other online-arpg has ever managed to recreate this experience successfully )

I think people overestimate PvP, but I only have anecdotal evidence.
However, of all the people I know who played D2, no one was into PvP, myself included.

I've also played D2 for about 10 years without a gameplay mod. I only installed Plugy for the huge shared stash.
And still I think I won't get D2R, because if I want nostalgia, then I go all the way and install plain D2 and LOD.
However, mostly I rather go D1, which thanks to DevilutionX runs natively without a hassle.

I already made clear I wouldn't bother with D2R were I not intending to play on console with close friends in a very casual sense. And that alone sort of precludes mods. Not to mention the sort of game breaking trading that defined the endgame for a lot of people...and in a not insignificant way laid the foundation for Path of Exile.

Anyway nuff said. Unlike a lot of former and soon to be former Exiles, I really do prefer d2r over any other ARPG and I'm simply delighted over this fact. It's nice when one's expectations are met and then exceeded. I knew it looked nice but I was genuinely hesitant as to whether it'd feel right...especially on controller.

Is that purely a financial decision Therion? D2+LoD alone is basically what d2r is. Heck you can even play Vanilla and disable LoD altogether. But I agree that it is not a cheap nostalgia trip. Obviously I think it's worth it but eh...curious why you'd opt out when what you say you'd choose is straight up inferior.

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Foreverhappychan wrote:

Is that purely a financial decision Therion? D2+LoD alone is basically what d2r is. Heck you can even play Vanilla and disable LoD altogether. But I agree that it is not a cheap nostalgia trip. Obviously I think it's worth it but eh...curious why you'd opt out when what you say you'd choose is straight up inferior.

Financial decision... yes and no.
On the one hand, I have no idea what D2r will cost and unless it's more than a sold game usually costs, I don't really care.
But I do not intend to "support" Blizzard, so no matter the cost, I'm hesitant to pay it.
Moreover, I can play D2 and LoD any time I like with my old copies and enjoy real nostalgia, dated graphics and all.
Another reason is that I'm not sure it will run on Linux, whereas the original D2 does.
So... if it runs on Linux and some friends are getting it, I'll probably cave in and get it as well.

Btw, I agree with most things you said above about Diablo 2 having just the right mix for an arpg and that many other games are "too much", especially PoE (which I still like playing - probably "so much I want to try" is a subset of "too much").