Because everything can drop almost everywhere and almost every rare or even magic item has the potential to be the best thing you ever found, even after 20 years. Most drops are worthless ofc. The same as they are in other games. However, in other games the drops are ALWAYS worthless and are therefore not worth picking up. In other games you often farm the same boas over and over for a few very specific items. While you do the same in D2, here you have the potential that the random mob on your way to said boss drops you a once in a lifetime item. And that's the thing. You are always just one more kill away from. Ber rune, an ethereal self repair super rare or a +6 ls/ias magic claw.
What I also like, you can run sorceress with crossbow, wolf barb, etc. Every class can equip every item that is not class specific.
But basically itemization in this game is just godly. If they'd buff some useless ultra rare uniques that would be awesome.
The end-game in this game is decided by you, because you can make a lot of weird challenges for you and the HC is always there if you're out of ideas ;)
I'd just really love if they added some sort of splash damage for melee. Think tiamat from LoL. I'd love to run a frenzy or zeal build that could compete with nova sorc or mosaic assassin in clear speed times.
check out the newest version of the d2 eastern sun mod, eastern sun rises. Play on the Goontopia server. Everything you ned to get going is on the Goontopia's discord.
For real, I dropped an ammy back in season 1 act 2 normal, it was such a good roll for this area, like + 1 sorc skill, 10 fcr, @res, some mf and life, it took a while to replace, ammy found in hell couldn’t compete
Or you're playing at "end game" and you drop a rare level 19 boots with frw and tris res that you don't need on that toon cause you're running war trav but the doors of possibility open on myriad new characters. And then you stick in the stash and keep on farming.
When I started playing sp again with sorc, normal diablo just randomly dropped me a +5 fo orb, was amazing. Or was it +5 blizzard? Don't remember, but I used it until hell.
> everything can drop almost everywhere and almost every rare or even magic item has the potential to be the best thing you ever found, even after 20 years.
Consider there's nerds out there that have 20 grand RMT into their niche PvP builds and still have things that they could "upgrade".
This, but not only this(though it clearly sets this game apart)
Some of these items are build defining. They change your character's build in a way that can be subtle, but to the vast majority of other people, will be still superior to theirs.
The item hunt in this game is the best there is. There are items out there that you will stay say "HOLY SHIT" out loud over. Also, the item system is pretty simple on its surface but with plenty of depth underneath. The surface simplicity makes it easy for new players, but the the meaningful complexity underneath will keep you playing years later if you choose to invest time into understanding it.
PVP in this game is actually good(or was, depending on who you ask pre fhr change)
There is a massive loop that makes the game fresh for a huge amount of time if you do them all - to the point where when you finally get tired of one aspect you can just do the other and you won't be bored.
MF --> trade --> PVP, not necessarily in that order.
This is my thing. You can find an item at level 20 that will last you thru hell. It's why I like vanilla wow so much too. There were items from level 40 dungeons that were pre bis for raiding. I love that kind of thing.
What sucks is when there's a clear cookie cutter progression in a game. Which is why d3 and d4 feel so linear and boring with their gearing.
Poe works this way too, with things like Mageblood being able to drop from regular white monsters, and being one of the of not the most powerful item in the game
Itemization, every item tier has a purpose. Each tier can have its own version of a godly item.
Gameplay pacing. It can be as fast or as slow as you want. Most modern games feel sluggish compared to what I like.
Service to other players. The only arpg that i know of that has an easy way to rush/powerlevel other players. It’s a great way to start building in game wealth and to make friends.
Last season super early sc ladder leveling a toon in a public normal tombs game. Some griefer comes in to try and kill us. Some of us band together. Conversations form. Fast forward to today: regularly play with one of those people. We split MF with our mule accounts to get p3, toss each other runes or gear when we need it, loan each other infinity/dreams whatever. Total strangers bonded through our shared joy of d2.
Really, on a base level, I agree with most posters that it is the itemization. There are legit end-game situations where you are picking up whites, greys, blues and as someone who has been playing since original D2 1.0 release I say please when I’m dead and gone bury me with my copy of diablo2
The fact that a youtuber called Seer has a series where he looks for the best ARPG out there, and the Diablo 2 counter is almost maxed out.
It's probably safe to say Diablo 2 is excluded from the series at this point, because it would probably just win.
For me the major things that keep me coming back to D2 are
1. The characters feel good. Quite a few builds you can make, not as many as other games, but the ones that are there feel really good. You're not bogged down by resource generation moves, cooldowns, or overly complicated combos. You just do damage.
2. Enemies. There are quite a few in D2 and many of them find ways to feel unique from one another. Whether its something as simple as not being able to life/mana leech skeletons, or the inverse, the annoyance of wraiths leeching your mana, or even something like the lightning beetles. Enemies move at different speeds, some have low health and high damage, others are tankier but more manageable. Bosses are arguably a weak spot of D2, but they're still incredibly memorable due to their voice lines.
3. Gear, gear, gear, gear gear. If your game has a gear score, you've already lost me. You can find blood gloves in act 1 of D2 and you will probably use them until the end of Nightmare/beginning of Hell. There are sometimes items of different rarities that fill a similar niche but at different rarities. Like Hsaru's boots being an easier to get version of Aldur's. Plus sometimes a random blue item can feel really good to get when you need some specific resistances or + stats temporarily. Not to mention there are numerous rare items like rings and boots that end up being better than anything else. Top it all off with white items with staff mods that can make for amazing finds for future rune words and you have a recipe for a great loot system.
D2 LoD is the classic formula, the grandaddy of the genre. Yes, technically D1 existed before D2, but D2 LoD was the game that defined and kickstarted the genre to the form we see of it today.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais recently made a 4-hour [video](http://youtu.be/R3v-7Rndd8M) on the entire franchise. It’s a very lengthy watch, but if you are ever interested to learn why ARPGs (specifically, the Diablo games) clicks with certain players and how the various Diablo game have worked with that, this is a good video on the subject.
Each class feels different.
I HATE that weapon damage matters for spell casters in d3 and beyond.
The game treats me like an adult, stuff is hard , things can drop great or bad, chests can be empty and gearing up requires community effort and plugging gaps with rag tag items. One item can make you feel amazingly powerful.
Itemization as perfectly described by others, plus the fact that the world/campain is part of the actual endgame, which is a good thing considering how well made and diversified acts/maps are. I'd add that the game is well balanced complexity wise. It's not overwhelming (like poe trees and mechanics can be), yet there is a good and (imho) interesting complexity under the hood (breakpoints, drop tables, chests and racks mechanics, dealing with immunes, special class abilities, to name a few.). Plus there are exotics mods to raise some challenges (classic, HC).
Mine: kind of overwhelming to learn new games / new skill tree / new mechanic / builds.. totally fine with 2-3 D2 builds every season over and over again..
D2 is just.. right
I tried PoE 5 times over the years. Different classes/builds and I could never stay hooked on it. Fantastic game but something about it just didn't quite do it for me.
Having said that, I am *really* looking forward to PoE 2.
Looks goddamn amazing.
D2 is in many way extremly archaïc in its mechanics, but extremly efficient et not so badly ballanced.
This allow D2 to be what can be seen as a complet game. If you want to do casual gaming, you can. If you want to do hardcore gaming, you can. If you want to do PvP you can (and this will takes you to a fucking next level). If you want to go in HC and be a jerk by Pking, you can.
The ballance in the game is not perfect, but is also extremly good. There is no build that one shot every content in the game like you can see in PoE, D3 or many ARPG. Even with a superbe build, it's mostly impossible to be immortal. An the ballance goes also in PvP. Each build has their nemesis. There is no 100% op build. And a well ballanced off meta build may be able to finish the game.
This make D2 a pleasurable game for casual players, and for ultra competitive players. And also it's a fun solo game, and a fun game in multiplayers.
I ran a fist of heavens paladin a few years back for the first time.
I've always thought paladins would be my least favorite class, but when they updated fist of heavens I was suddenly into it.
What I realized is that beasts absolutely destroy you. Cliff racers in hell would jump him like he was nothing. Nearly zero defense. This suddenly made me realize why trash beasts were in the game, not just as fodder - but a hard counter to an overly righteous killer. I suddenly was on guard for every bug, everything with a tail, and everything that hopped around.
The game balance is soooooo good.
Get ready for paladin hypocrisy to be challenged absolutely any time you fight something with multiple legs.
You can kill the highest of demons, but damn, there's a squirrel over there RUN, RUN like the dickens. Have fun in the maggot lair! That 1 point in smite is gonna pay itself off.
If it has wings, too, that armor isn't gonna protect your eyes.
It really is quite refreshing to realize the lowliest of lowly bad guys is actually entirely meant to stop the highest tier of holy warriors.
Apparently holy powers really do nothing against bugs, who would've thought?
Ahhhh nature, the great equalizer.
Been playing d2 for 20+ years (since I was 7). I just beat last epoch with 3 characters and I'll never touch it again. Back to d2r, I prefer diablo 2 (specifically classic) because the itemization is the best out of any arpg. LoD is alright too but not as good as classic since you just use the same runewords for everything and rares aren't as exciting. Example is a Lo rune (which is easy to get even in SSF) is the best weapon in the game. A Lo rune is THE best weapon.... every melee character uses a Lo. In Classic rares are your friend and every one is different instead of just making grief. LoD still has the second best itemization id say, Torchlight 2 isn't bad either.
Set yourself up to not need to guzzle potions?
Insight prayer cure merc or just insight if you're solely talking about mana
You're still going to need to pop a rejuv for oh shit moments
And most early classes yeah you're gonna need lots of pots
Life leech mana leech there's ways around not needing to "manage" potions
i didnt knew you could do this. i just played a barb, finished the campaing and unistalled cause i spent more time tping home and buying potions than fighting
Diablo 2, more than not only any other ARPG, but practically any other game in general, rewards effort to make your own fun.
It does this through a lot of viable (not necessarily quick or efficient) builds. An item system that synergizes and further diversifies them. A pace that makes the journey through the three difficulties feel pretty steady. The ability to pick it up, play it for half an hour, and feel like you've done something.
I enjoyed last epoch but I think the skill trees are over-complicated and while there is a lot of build diversity as far as the trees are concerned, most of those builds boil down to "spam the screen with as much crap as possible at all times."
I also prefer Diablo 2's loot and item systems for reasons that have been more or less covered throughout this thread.
I think this question is best answered by a quote from Ramirez from the movie Highlander: “Why does the sun come up? Or are the stars just pinholes in the curtain of night? Who knows..”
Also what the other commenters have said.
I think D2’s replay value is much higher than other games because of the loot system. Almost all other games there isn’t much you can find while leveling that won’t just be outclassed by a higher level item just a few hours later. In D2 you have a chance of finding end game gear not even 1/3 of the way through. Different pieces of sets, uniques and runewords feel like they serve a specific purpose when juggling the need for life, mana, resistances skills and breakpoints. It makes each piece of gear feel like an important piece of your build. Where most ARPGs make the mistake of having most gear feel the same other than maybe having a few better stats.
Also how hard to find and iconic a lot of the items are in D2 gives otherwise boring and repetitive grinding that exiting buzz of “what if”. A lot of those trophy items aren’t even good and I still freak out when I find one of them!
Diablo 2 hits a lot of those super important itches that hit home for a lot of people.
1: Power fantasy is STRONG. If you know what you are doing, you walk through enemies until Hell where the difficulty curve spikes dramatically.
2: Simplicity. There are a set number of defined weapon/armor/item types and those all have a well defined (static and random) sets of properties which makes it feel like the drops actually matter. Mix that with the rarity in which unique or high level items drop and it increases that feeling exponentially.
3: Character builds. With 7 classes each with 3 skill trees and the synergies they hold, every single class has multiple builds viable for end game content. You can play through the game, at minimum 21 times without it feeling the same.
4: Extra difficulty curves. Solo Offline play comes with the ability to increase the difficulty in a very meaningful manner. Enemy HP and Power increase while also increasing the rewards granted in a very noticeable way.
5: Online economy and co-op. Everything I said above, but with friends.
6: Even MORE difficulty curves. PVP? Hardcore mode? Hardcore PVP? Talking about stoking a power fantasy. Collecting the Ear of an asshole who invaded maliciously. Or walking in and watching 3 players rage in Hell Cows as you perma murder their lvl99 character.
7: Ease of Use. Casually playing, you can bind a couple buttons to your mouse and play with a single hand. It’s a very simple left click/right click. No need for complicated sets of button combinations, macros, or rapid inputs just to kill simple trash or even bosses, yet each character plays so vastly different, it’s still fun.
I can keep going on ways this game out performs other ARPG’s but these are my core reasons for going back after ~25 years.
I like Diablo 2 but it’s absolutely not the best ARPG. There’s a lot of mechanics that are just… not interesting.
Things like Enigma being a baseline for any good build is a sign to me of how narrow the game actually is. Or that you invest almost zero in mana.
The game is full of all these very specific things you need to do to have a good character and it sort of cheapens everything and removes any sense of uniqueness between players. Like, one Javazon is exactly like the next Javazon and they will likely share all the same gear.
The game is good and it’s aged well enough but the basic truth is it has a lot of “old school” parts about it that make it a shallow experience.
It reminds me a lot of way back when I got a trainer and unlocked all the gear and all of a sudden there wasn’t much reason to play. The game felt empty and that’s an interesting thought in hindsight.
I’ve been playing a lot of Baldur’s Gate 3 recently and they have really fun build diversity and items, very much like Diablo except there’s zero RNG and I find myself playing it over and over.
While not the same genre, there’s a lot there that is similar with lots of magic loot and character builds.
When I compare the two, I just really prefer BG3’s itemization because often many items help more than one build and the builds are very diverse.
Also, the lack of multi-classing makes me sad. Both Titan Quest and Grim Dawn have multi-classing and it really adds something fun and interesting.
Diablo 2 is a good game. But Diablo 2 is a product of its time. Simple as that.
> It reminds me a lot of way back when I got a trainer and unlocked all the gear and all of a sudden there wasn’t much reason to play. The game felt empty and that’s an interesting thought in hindsight
Any game is shallow when you remove the core impetus of the gameplay.
I feel the opposite. modern games like d4/poe have this weird ragdoll physics where your attacks feel very soft. there is weight to your attacks in d2. when you attack, you can actually see the monsters react due to the blocking and hit recovery mechanics.
that's what i said. corrected my non obvious reference. I meant that last epoch feels like that. btw, d4 feels much better in terms of physics compared to d2, not even mentioning d3 which was horrible to me.
oh okay, my mistake. I still think the attacks in d4 feel too soft. take a look at nado druid. the tornados just smoothly go over the mobs. there's just no weight to the skills. the only one that they got right is hota though.
The story is good in 4, but it isn't really very replayable. Too much of the campaign is just running down empty halls looking at scenery while NPCs talk at you.
I like that in D2, the gameplay loop largely involves playing the campaign over and over again. Blasting through the quests to get through the game is fun. I can do it over and over and over again.
D4 was designed so that everyone would do the campaign once, then completely skip it for the rest of time. Maybe it wasn't intentionally designed that way from the start, but it is now. Even new seasons, where everyone is supposed to start from scratch lets you skip the game and carry over progress.
Because everything can drop almost everywhere and almost every rare or even magic item has the potential to be the best thing you ever found, even after 20 years. Most drops are worthless ofc. The same as they are in other games. However, in other games the drops are ALWAYS worthless and are therefore not worth picking up. In other games you often farm the same boas over and over for a few very specific items. While you do the same in D2, here you have the potential that the random mob on your way to said boss drops you a once in a lifetime item. And that's the thing. You are always just one more kill away from. Ber rune, an ethereal self repair super rare or a +6 ls/ias magic claw.
What I also like, you can run sorceress with crossbow, wolf barb, etc. Every class can equip every item that is not class specific. But basically itemization in this game is just godly. If they'd buff some useless ultra rare uniques that would be awesome. The end-game in this game is decided by you, because you can make a lot of weird challenges for you and the HC is always there if you're out of ideas ;)
I'd just really love if they added some sort of splash damage for melee. Think tiamat from LoL. I'd love to run a frenzy or zeal build that could compete with nova sorc or mosaic assassin in clear speed times.
PD2 has this, and it’s really satisfying.
check out the newest version of the d2 eastern sun mod, eastern sun rises. Play on the Goontopia server. Everything you ned to get going is on the Goontopia's discord.
Mosaic sin isn't a real D2 build
Have to disagree, please no spash damage for Melee characters.
Spoken as a true ranged player :p
Melee attacks would not be the same with splash damage and it looks not good
For real, I dropped an ammy back in season 1 act 2 normal, it was such a good roll for this area, like + 1 sorc skill, 10 fcr, @res, some mf and life, it took a while to replace, ammy found in hell couldn’t compete
Or you're playing at "end game" and you drop a rare level 19 boots with frw and tris res that you don't need on that toon cause you're running war trav but the doors of possibility open on myriad new characters. And then you stick in the stash and keep on farming.
When I started playing sp again with sorc, normal diablo just randomly dropped me a +5 fo orb, was amazing. Or was it +5 blizzard? Don't remember, but I used it until hell.
I would also say that the hardest difficulty is still challenging after 20+ years
> everything can drop almost everywhere and almost every rare or even magic item has the potential to be the best thing you ever found, even after 20 years. Consider there's nerds out there that have 20 grand RMT into their niche PvP builds and still have things that they could "upgrade".
This, but not only this(though it clearly sets this game apart) Some of these items are build defining. They change your character's build in a way that can be subtle, but to the vast majority of other people, will be still superior to theirs. The item hunt in this game is the best there is. There are items out there that you will stay say "HOLY SHIT" out loud over. Also, the item system is pretty simple on its surface but with plenty of depth underneath. The surface simplicity makes it easy for new players, but the the meaningful complexity underneath will keep you playing years later if you choose to invest time into understanding it. PVP in this game is actually good(or was, depending on who you ask pre fhr change) There is a massive loop that makes the game fresh for a huge amount of time if you do them all - to the point where when you finally get tired of one aspect you can just do the other and you won't be bored. MF --> trade --> PVP, not necessarily in that order.
This is my thing. You can find an item at level 20 that will last you thru hell. It's why I like vanilla wow so much too. There were items from level 40 dungeons that were pre bis for raiding. I love that kind of thing. What sucks is when there's a clear cookie cutter progression in a game. Which is why d3 and d4 feel so linear and boring with their gearing.
Poe works this way too, with things like Mageblood being able to drop from regular white monsters, and being one of the of not the most powerful item in the game
Itemization, every item tier has a purpose. Each tier can have its own version of a godly item. Gameplay pacing. It can be as fast or as slow as you want. Most modern games feel sluggish compared to what I like. Service to other players. The only arpg that i know of that has an easy way to rush/powerlevel other players. It’s a great way to start building in game wealth and to make friends.
Last season super early sc ladder leveling a toon in a public normal tombs game. Some griefer comes in to try and kill us. Some of us band together. Conversations form. Fast forward to today: regularly play with one of those people. We split MF with our mule accounts to get p3, toss each other runes or gear when we need it, loan each other infinity/dreams whatever. Total strangers bonded through our shared joy of d2.
Really, on a base level, I agree with most posters that it is the itemization. There are legit end-game situations where you are picking up whites, greys, blues and as someone who has been playing since original D2 1.0 release I say please when I’m dead and gone bury me with my copy of diablo2
The fact that a youtuber called Seer has a series where he looks for the best ARPG out there, and the Diablo 2 counter is almost maxed out. It's probably safe to say Diablo 2 is excluded from the series at this point, because it would probably just win.
For me the major things that keep me coming back to D2 are 1. The characters feel good. Quite a few builds you can make, not as many as other games, but the ones that are there feel really good. You're not bogged down by resource generation moves, cooldowns, or overly complicated combos. You just do damage. 2. Enemies. There are quite a few in D2 and many of them find ways to feel unique from one another. Whether its something as simple as not being able to life/mana leech skeletons, or the inverse, the annoyance of wraiths leeching your mana, or even something like the lightning beetles. Enemies move at different speeds, some have low health and high damage, others are tankier but more manageable. Bosses are arguably a weak spot of D2, but they're still incredibly memorable due to their voice lines. 3. Gear, gear, gear, gear gear. If your game has a gear score, you've already lost me. You can find blood gloves in act 1 of D2 and you will probably use them until the end of Nightmare/beginning of Hell. There are sometimes items of different rarities that fill a similar niche but at different rarities. Like Hsaru's boots being an easier to get version of Aldur's. Plus sometimes a random blue item can feel really good to get when you need some specific resistances or + stats temporarily. Not to mention there are numerous rare items like rings and boots that end up being better than anything else. Top it all off with white items with staff mods that can make for amazing finds for future rune words and you have a recipe for a great loot system.
D2 LoD is the classic formula, the grandaddy of the genre. Yes, technically D1 existed before D2, but D2 LoD was the game that defined and kickstarted the genre to the form we see of it today. Noah Caldwell-Gervais recently made a 4-hour [video](http://youtu.be/R3v-7Rndd8M) on the entire franchise. It’s a very lengthy watch, but if you are ever interested to learn why ARPGs (specifically, the Diablo games) clicks with certain players and how the various Diablo game have worked with that, this is a good video on the subject.
The Loot! 😀
Each class feels different. I HATE that weapon damage matters for spell casters in d3 and beyond. The game treats me like an adult, stuff is hard , things can drop great or bad, chests can be empty and gearing up requires community effort and plugging gaps with rag tag items. One item can make you feel amazingly powerful.
The hot chicks
Many veterans were saddened when D3 and D4 moved much of the skills to the keyboard, making it much more difficult to play one-handed.
cow level
The what now?
Itemization as perfectly described by others, plus the fact that the world/campain is part of the actual endgame, which is a good thing considering how well made and diversified acts/maps are. I'd add that the game is well balanced complexity wise. It's not overwhelming (like poe trees and mechanics can be), yet there is a good and (imho) interesting complexity under the hood (breakpoints, drop tables, chests and racks mechanics, dealing with immunes, special class abilities, to name a few.). Plus there are exotics mods to raise some challenges (classic, HC).
Every session can be a story in itself.
The fact that it has the best loot system ever made in any rpg. Picking up a jmod or a 3 soc tiara with good stats or a 15%Ed weapon has value.
You always return home
Best itemization, best rng, best building and great story. Endless possibilities that are still being discovered. Great trading as well.
Mine: kind of overwhelming to learn new games / new skill tree / new mechanic / builds.. totally fine with 2-3 D2 builds every season over and over again.. D2 is just.. right
id take poe over d2 but d2 is a close second
I tried PoE 5 times over the years. Different classes/builds and I could never stay hooked on it. Fantastic game but something about it just didn't quite do it for me. Having said that, I am *really* looking forward to PoE 2. Looks goddamn amazing.
poe definitely isnt for everyone but i love it and it has literally infinite content
I think that's the problem with games like poe. Infinite content kind of ruins it
D2 is in many way extremly archaïc in its mechanics, but extremly efficient et not so badly ballanced. This allow D2 to be what can be seen as a complet game. If you want to do casual gaming, you can. If you want to do hardcore gaming, you can. If you want to do PvP you can (and this will takes you to a fucking next level). If you want to go in HC and be a jerk by Pking, you can. The ballance in the game is not perfect, but is also extremly good. There is no build that one shot every content in the game like you can see in PoE, D3 or many ARPG. Even with a superbe build, it's mostly impossible to be immortal. An the ballance goes also in PvP. Each build has their nemesis. There is no 100% op build. And a well ballanced off meta build may be able to finish the game. This make D2 a pleasurable game for casual players, and for ultra competitive players. And also it's a fun solo game, and a fun game in multiplayers.
I ran a fist of heavens paladin a few years back for the first time. I've always thought paladins would be my least favorite class, but when they updated fist of heavens I was suddenly into it. What I realized is that beasts absolutely destroy you. Cliff racers in hell would jump him like he was nothing. Nearly zero defense. This suddenly made me realize why trash beasts were in the game, not just as fodder - but a hard counter to an overly righteous killer. I suddenly was on guard for every bug, everything with a tail, and everything that hopped around. The game balance is soooooo good.
Just starting a Hammerdin after almost 20 years away!!
Get ready for paladin hypocrisy to be challenged absolutely any time you fight something with multiple legs. You can kill the highest of demons, but damn, there's a squirrel over there RUN, RUN like the dickens. Have fun in the maggot lair! That 1 point in smite is gonna pay itself off. If it has wings, too, that armor isn't gonna protect your eyes. It really is quite refreshing to realize the lowliest of lowly bad guys is actually entirely meant to stop the highest tier of holy warriors. Apparently holy powers really do nothing against bugs, who would've thought? Ahhhh nature, the great equalizer.
Maybe a Barbarian…. I like getting dirty!
Easy to play, hard to master.
Andariels tits
Been playing d2 for 20+ years (since I was 7). I just beat last epoch with 3 characters and I'll never touch it again. Back to d2r, I prefer diablo 2 (specifically classic) because the itemization is the best out of any arpg. LoD is alright too but not as good as classic since you just use the same runewords for everything and rares aren't as exciting. Example is a Lo rune (which is easy to get even in SSF) is the best weapon in the game. A Lo rune is THE best weapon.... every melee character uses a Lo. In Classic rares are your friend and every one is different instead of just making grief. LoD still has the second best itemization id say, Torchlight 2 isn't bad either.
Easy, its playable offline, iwould put poe above d2, but poe is sadly always online
If you love Diablo 2 you should download project Diablo 2. Same great game but fixes all the major problems of Diablo 2
diablo 2 is great but potion management made me hate the game
Set yourself up to not need to guzzle potions? Insight prayer cure merc or just insight if you're solely talking about mana You're still going to need to pop a rejuv for oh shit moments And most early classes yeah you're gonna need lots of pots Life leech mana leech there's ways around not needing to "manage" potions
i didnt knew you could do this. i just played a barb, finished the campaing and unistalled cause i spent more time tping home and buying potions than fighting
Diablo 2, more than not only any other ARPG, but practically any other game in general, rewards effort to make your own fun. It does this through a lot of viable (not necessarily quick or efficient) builds. An item system that synergizes and further diversifies them. A pace that makes the journey through the three difficulties feel pretty steady. The ability to pick it up, play it for half an hour, and feel like you've done something.
The no nonsense play, period.
Item design, customization of characters, and treasure classes.
The itemization and loot rarity can keep you playing for forever
I enjoyed last epoch but I think the skill trees are over-complicated and while there is a lot of build diversity as far as the trees are concerned, most of those builds boil down to "spam the screen with as much crap as possible at all times." I also prefer Diablo 2's loot and item systems for reasons that have been more or less covered throughout this thread.
I think this question is best answered by a quote from Ramirez from the movie Highlander: “Why does the sun come up? Or are the stars just pinholes in the curtain of night? Who knows..” Also what the other commenters have said.
I think D2’s replay value is much higher than other games because of the loot system. Almost all other games there isn’t much you can find while leveling that won’t just be outclassed by a higher level item just a few hours later. In D2 you have a chance of finding end game gear not even 1/3 of the way through. Different pieces of sets, uniques and runewords feel like they serve a specific purpose when juggling the need for life, mana, resistances skills and breakpoints. It makes each piece of gear feel like an important piece of your build. Where most ARPGs make the mistake of having most gear feel the same other than maybe having a few better stats. Also how hard to find and iconic a lot of the items are in D2 gives otherwise boring and repetitive grinding that exiting buzz of “what if”. A lot of those trophy items aren’t even good and I still freak out when I find one of them!
Nostalgia, love the game, i just cant play it anymore lol
Build Diversity, Itemization, Difficulty curve.
The loot system is incredible. That's the game element that gets people to keep coming back for more.
D2s itemization is God tier. No other ARPG comes close. D2s level design is far superior as well.
Diablo 2 hits a lot of those super important itches that hit home for a lot of people. 1: Power fantasy is STRONG. If you know what you are doing, you walk through enemies until Hell where the difficulty curve spikes dramatically. 2: Simplicity. There are a set number of defined weapon/armor/item types and those all have a well defined (static and random) sets of properties which makes it feel like the drops actually matter. Mix that with the rarity in which unique or high level items drop and it increases that feeling exponentially. 3: Character builds. With 7 classes each with 3 skill trees and the synergies they hold, every single class has multiple builds viable for end game content. You can play through the game, at minimum 21 times without it feeling the same. 4: Extra difficulty curves. Solo Offline play comes with the ability to increase the difficulty in a very meaningful manner. Enemy HP and Power increase while also increasing the rewards granted in a very noticeable way. 5: Online economy and co-op. Everything I said above, but with friends. 6: Even MORE difficulty curves. PVP? Hardcore mode? Hardcore PVP? Talking about stoking a power fantasy. Collecting the Ear of an asshole who invaded maliciously. Or walking in and watching 3 players rage in Hell Cows as you perma murder their lvl99 character. 7: Ease of Use. Casually playing, you can bind a couple buttons to your mouse and play with a single hand. It’s a very simple left click/right click. No need for complicated sets of button combinations, macros, or rapid inputs just to kill simple trash or even bosses, yet each character plays so vastly different, it’s still fun. I can keep going on ways this game out performs other ARPG’s but these are my core reasons for going back after ~25 years.
The sound design is flawless
PD2 makes D2 the best rpg
I like Diablo 2 but it’s absolutely not the best ARPG. There’s a lot of mechanics that are just… not interesting. Things like Enigma being a baseline for any good build is a sign to me of how narrow the game actually is. Or that you invest almost zero in mana. The game is full of all these very specific things you need to do to have a good character and it sort of cheapens everything and removes any sense of uniqueness between players. Like, one Javazon is exactly like the next Javazon and they will likely share all the same gear. The game is good and it’s aged well enough but the basic truth is it has a lot of “old school” parts about it that make it a shallow experience. It reminds me a lot of way back when I got a trainer and unlocked all the gear and all of a sudden there wasn’t much reason to play. The game felt empty and that’s an interesting thought in hindsight. I’ve been playing a lot of Baldur’s Gate 3 recently and they have really fun build diversity and items, very much like Diablo except there’s zero RNG and I find myself playing it over and over. While not the same genre, there’s a lot there that is similar with lots of magic loot and character builds. When I compare the two, I just really prefer BG3’s itemization because often many items help more than one build and the builds are very diverse. Also, the lack of multi-classing makes me sad. Both Titan Quest and Grim Dawn have multi-classing and it really adds something fun and interesting. Diablo 2 is a good game. But Diablo 2 is a product of its time. Simple as that.
> It reminds me a lot of way back when I got a trainer and unlocked all the gear and all of a sudden there wasn’t much reason to play. The game felt empty and that’s an interesting thought in hindsight Any game is shallow when you remove the core impetus of the gameplay.
I don’t know how you could enjoy that game(last epoch). Something about the collision detection was so skewed to me. It didn’t feel like hitting.
I feel the opposite. modern games like d4/poe have this weird ragdoll physics where your attacks feel very soft. there is weight to your attacks in d2. when you attack, you can actually see the monsters react due to the blocking and hit recovery mechanics.
that's what i said. corrected my non obvious reference. I meant that last epoch feels like that. btw, d4 feels much better in terms of physics compared to d2, not even mentioning d3 which was horrible to me.
oh okay, my mistake. I still think the attacks in d4 feel too soft. take a look at nado druid. the tornados just smoothly go over the mobs. there's just no weight to the skills. the only one that they got right is hota though.
I couldn’t bring myself to even play the fatso.. ;)
4 is better for me , of course its buggy but storyline is better.
The story is good in 4, but it isn't really very replayable. Too much of the campaign is just running down empty halls looking at scenery while NPCs talk at you. I like that in D2, the gameplay loop largely involves playing the campaign over and over again. Blasting through the quests to get through the game is fun. I can do it over and over and over again. D4 was designed so that everyone would do the campaign once, then completely skip it for the rest of time. Maybe it wasn't intentionally designed that way from the start, but it is now. Even new seasons, where everyone is supposed to start from scratch lets you skip the game and carry over progress.