Blizzard Entertainment to Resurrect Diablo II in 2021 for PC and Consoles

[Turmania]

Oh reminds me of the days I spent with my trapsin and getting an enigma armour. I loved this game, still love it today, and will love it in the future as well. ageless.

 

[AnarchoPrimitiv]

Diablo II is the best game ever, and I can't get the original to run in full screen mode no matter what I try (I have to run it windowed), so I'm happy they're doing this, plus it should create a growth in the online community currently playing it which is always nice. My summoning necro can walk hell difficulty alone.... I AM THE LAGOMANCER!

 

[Chrispy_]

So far they said no, they stay the same as the original rates.

Sure you can get away with it if you don't want to have end game rune words like Enigma/BOTD/CTA/Infinity,etc.
After years of playing on Battle net during ladders/seasons, I think my highest was a Vex and everything else was traded on a third party site. 'traded with the forum's own currency that I got from trading there'

Nowadays I prefer to play solo and don't like to trade with others so no end game gear for me thats for sure, thats why I will just play it for the nostaliga then put it down most likely.
Also just becuse its pretty graphics, the 1000.th Baal/Chaos/Pit/Tunnel/Mefi/Andy run wont be any new or more fun.

See, this is a big mistake because the remaster will be aimed at the older generation who are, what, 35+ years old now? The vast majority of people in that age range don't have the abundance of spare time that the younger generation has. Additionally, this remaster isn't the AAA big title that gamers will focus on for months on end like the original D2 and expansion were. It needs to compete with the current AAA games that have evolved to better understand the dopamine-driven need to keep clicking.

I have very fond memories of D2 but its gameplay has not aged gracefully; No respec, no variety, almost nonexistent crafting or character improvements outside of grinding away at the same old tilesets. As a remaster it needs more than just a 16:9 HD graphics update, the gameplay needs to be tweaked to better suit the demographic of modern gamers - and by modern gamers I don't just mean today's kids, I mean the evolved tastes of D2's original audience but 21 years older.

Simply increasing droprates would help, but it's almost unheard of in grinding ARPGs these days that you can't craft/improve gear that provides you an alternative escape from bad RNG other than more grinding.

 

[agatong55]

Let's see if they fuck it up like they did with WC3.

Different staff is working on this game, actually its the team that remade the tony hawk and the crash games, so it should be better than wc3

 

[dinmaster]

i want to point out that vicarious visions are the ones working on this, blizzard brought them into the fold and i feel bad for them because they will go the way of blizzard... They are the only reason this remake will be good. I think blizzard (after they are done with it) should let them do an original game because the trickery they are using to make this happen are awesome and outside the box.

 

[bug]

See, this is a big mistake because the remaster will be aimed at the older generation who are, what, 35+ years old now? The vast majority of people in that age range don't have the abundance of spare time that the younger generation has. Additionally, this remaster isn't the AAA big title that gamers will focus on for months on end like the original D2 and expansion were. It needs to compete with the current AAA games that have evolved to better understand the dopamine-driven need to keep clicking.

I have very fond memories of D2 but its gameplay has not aged gracefully; No respec, no variety, almost nonexistent crafting or character improvements outside of grinding away at the same old tilesets. As a remaster it needs more than just a 16:9 HD graphics update, the gameplay needs to be tweaked to better suit the demographic of modern gamers - and by modern gamers I don't just mean today's kids, I mean the evolved tastes of D2's original audience but 21 years older.

Simply increasing droprates would help, but it's almost unheard of in grinding ARPGs these days that you can't craft/improve gear that provides you an alternative escape from bad RNG other than more grinding.

I agree about the game's audience.
But no variety? Have you ever played a melee sorceress? A dentist? A titan? There's tons of variety in D2, just not the one we're used to these days.

And I really hate it when developers tune their drop rates for multiplayer and then just copy paste the odds to single player, effectively locking you out of the end-game. D2 wasn't that bad in that regard. Sure, I never got an Arkaine's Valor, but I got like 5 Stormshields in return. It got worse when they introduced the runes. But still wasn't as bad as more recent games.

 

[Sithaer]

See, this is a big mistake because the remaster will be aimed at the older generation who are, what, 35+ years old now? The vast majority of people in that age range don't have the abundance of spare time that the younger generation has. Additionally, this remaster isn't the AAA big title that gamers will focus on for months on end like the original D2 and expansion were. It needs to compete with the current AAA games that have evolved to better understand the dopamine-driven need to keep clicking.

I have very fond memories of D2 but its gameplay has not aged gracefully; No respec, no variety, almost nonexistent crafting or character improvements outside of grinding away at the same old tilesets. As a remaster it needs more than just a 16:9 HD graphics update, the gameplay needs to be tweaked to better suit the demographic of modern gamers - and by modern gamers I don't just mean today's kids, I mean the evolved tastes of D2's original audience but 21 years older.

Simply increasing droprates would help, but it's almost unheard of in grinding ARPGs these days that you can't craft/improve gear that provides you an alternative escape from bad RNG other than more grinding.

Yea I'm also in the 30+ range '31', started playing D2 when I was in late elementary school.

I think ppl who never played the original and jumps into the remaster after getting used to the drops in more recent games or D3 for example, well I would assume that they wont like it if they try to find everything on their own.
Tho I guess if they changed the droprates the original die hard fan base would complain instead.
From what they said in that interview they are really trying to keep the game as close to the original as possible regarding gameplay.

Btw respec is in the game, can't remember when they added to it but it already existed when I was still playing long ago. 'Craftable respec Token and the mats droped by Hell bosses'

@bug

Yup, thats something I also complained about in the past as I'm mainly a solo player for years now.
I often find myself gimped in such games cause everything is about that multiplayer 'balance'.

 

[ratirt]

It is available for pre-order (https://eu.shop.battle.net/en-us/product/diablo_ii_resurrected), but between battle.net and W3:Reforged, I'm gonna need reviews first.

Good to know. I have W3 reforged and it hasn't lost its fun. The graphics is much better though. My bro plays it whole day long and kids like to watch
If for some reason you expect something new than you will not find it. BTW, do you remember tower defense? The servers have been reactivated from what has my brother told me.

 

[AsRock]

To be fair Diablo 2 is still a very good game.

Well killed it for me was the lack of higher resolution back then and i was more a avid gamer with that game than i am with RDR haha. Having a CRT that could do 1024@85Hz and a game that could only do 800x640 was so sad.

 

[bug]

Good to know. I have W3 reforged and it hasn't lost its fun. The graphics is much better though. My bro plays it whole day long and kids like to watch
If for some reason you expect something new than you will not find it. BTW, do you remember tower defense? The servers have been reactivated from what has my brother told me.

Never liked W3, I don't know what TD is in this context.

 

[ratirt]

No, just stay a while and listen.
This magic wont remake itself, as much as we would both want to.

The framerate in the preview alone will kill it then and there. On top of that, did you notice the MASSIVE stutter in the video when a lot of enemies got struck? Mhm yeah they totally have the same robust engine behind this and it totally isn't just yet another D3 reskin much like D4.

I'm ready for Blizz to prove me wrong, but the last few releases they've done, both remaster and new, are not inspiring any confidence, no matter how hard they think they're pushing that nostalgia button. WC3 made that happen.

View attachment 189614

Actually I disagree with you, I still come back to the game occasionally and replay it. If that is the case you or somebody else, what would have been the issue by replaying it remastered style? Especially if the game changes nothing except graphics mostly and adds some nice features to it. Like items comparison, and shared storage between characters?

@bug
I love it. Do you know what DOTA, League of legends is? I'm sure you do. W3 Tower defense is the predecessor for such games, all other games got the idea from that particular one. Online gaming with others, two teams and footman everywhere

 

[bug]

Well killed it for me was the lack of higher resolution back then and i was more a avid gamer with that game than i am with RDR haha. Having a CRT that could do 1024@85Hz and a game that could only do 800x640 was so sad.

N00b. I was so psyched about D2's 800x600 over original Diablo's 640x480.
And now you made me remember D2 lost the darkness in the original

Yup, thats something I also complained about in the past as I'm mainly a solo player for years now.
I often find myself gimped in such games cause everything is about that multiplayer 'balance'.

It's not even a balance, it's basically turning everything into a trading game (because without sinks for everything, you'd have rampant inflation).

 

[ratirt]

N00b. I was so psyched about D2's 800x600 over original Diablo's 640x480.
And now you made me remember D2 lost the darkness in the original

Oh yeah D1's darkness. Still, it gives me the creeps and my heart starts pounding when you hear The Butcher say "aha fresh meat"

 

[Deleted member 205776]

I still hate them for ruining Warcraft 3. Inb4 this is Dialbo II Reforged

 

[ratirt]

I still hate them for ruining Warcraft 3. Inb4 this is Dialbo II Reforged

How did they ruin Warcraft 3 for you? I played W3 countless hours and I love it.

 

[bug]

How did they ruin Warcraft 3 for you? I played W3 countless hours and I love it.

I believe W3:Reforged is universally considered a botched job (https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020...d-not-the-flavor-of-chaos-we-were-hoping-for/). I wouldn't know, I considered the original a botched job. It wasn't bad, but after the first two, it just felt derivative to me. And I know it spawned the whole MOBA genre, but that's modder's merit, imho.

 

[Vayra86]

Now why did you have to go and put a screenshot of the game here? Now I want to install and play it. :O

I literally just typed in Diablo on start menu and it popped up, I started it and made a screenshot Now I feel the itch, too. Stupid huh

I believe W3:Reforged is universally considered a botched job (https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020...d-not-the-flavor-of-chaos-we-were-hoping-for/). I wouldn't know, I considered the original a botched job. It wasn't bad, but after the first two, it just felt derivative to me. And I know it spawned the whole MOBA genre, but that's modder's merit, imho.

Well... WC3 introduced the whole hero concept into an RTS, and it suited the micro oriented gameplay perfectly.

That was just a huge design win and the MOBA iterated on it.

It's not even a balance, it's basically turning everything into a trading game (because without sinks for everything, you'd have rampant inflation).

While D2 suffered a little bit from that, the game still had so many ways to completely destroy it.

But that in a nutshell is why Grim Dawn is so fantastic. None of that stuff. Short grinds. Big results.

Good to know. I have W3 reforged and it hasn't lost its fun. The graphics is much better though. My bro plays it whole day long and kids like to watch
If for some reason you expect something new than you will not find it. BTW, do you remember tower defense? The servers have been reactivated from what has my brother told me.

Oh man.. many hours were lost in TDs. One even crazier than the other...

 

[Disparia]

I'm looking forward to it, and my order said something about owning D3 content and Necromancer!? Maybe I'll continue playing then... it's actually the D3 trial that got me back into D2 last year. MrLlama, DBrunski, and Sweet Phil were also streaming quite a bit so I just gravitated back to D2 with all the nostalgia. Was able to "finish" the Holy Grail, that is, get all possible drops. Admittingly, it was only 82% legit and the rest were botted, but a decent grinding effort if I do say so myself

The more I think about it, the more I'm looking forward to doing at least one run-through of D3. I have nothing against it, just came out at the wrong time for me. I played Diablo from its release until the release of Diablo II and continued for at least a year after the release of LoD. But without another expansion or installment in the series, the momentum ran out and the pool soured with titles such as Hellgate:London.

 

[bug]

While D2 suffered a little bit from that, the game still had so many ways to completely destroy it.

But that in a nutshell is why Grim Dawn is so fantastic. None of that stuff. Short grinds. Big results.

GD is/was nice, but between the many resists and the abuse of damage spikes, it quickly lost its appeal to me. I wouldn't object to a TQ/TQ:IT remaster though

 

[TumbleGeorge]

Hmm rumors for hardware requirements for resurrected Diablo II
8GB RAM for 768p
16GB RAM for 1080p
For 4k has not published rumors what will be requirements.

 

[bug]

Hmm rumors for hardware requirements for resurrected Diablo II
8GB RAM for 768p
16GB RAM for 1080p
For 4k has not published rumors what will be requirements.

Pulled out of their rears, most likely. There's no way you need double the RAM just for moving up to FHD.

Plus, Blizzard titles have always been well optimized, system requirements would be the least of my worries (even if this will not end up as a 100% Blizzard title).

 

[Chrispy_]

I agree about the game's audience.
But no variety? Have you ever played a melee sorceress? A dentist? A titan? There's tons of variety in D2, just not the one we're used to these days.

Yeah, swordceress, melee necro and Ele Druid all played to endgame on Hell. There was variety but you were locked into a build for dozens of hours with no way to correct spec mistakes and punished for trying out stuff that didn't work (the only option was to kill the character entirely and start again from the beginning).

in that interview they are really trying to keep the game as close to the original as possible regarding gameplay.

Btw respec is in the game, can't remember when they added to it but it already existed when I was still playing long ago. 'Craftable respec Token and the mats droped by Hell bosses'

It was added in 1.13 over ten years after the game's release and five years after my friends and I moved on having exhausted vanilla, LOD, hardcore leagues, and Nez mod.
To respec you had to farm endgame bosses on hell difficulty for four reagents which had a 1-in-15 drop chance - so typically 60 endgame boss kills.

As good as it is that a respec option was put into the game given its inflexible mechanics, it was a decade late and does nothing to encourage experimentation with builds whilst levelling.

 

[Frick]

See, this is a big mistake because the remaster will be aimed at the older generation who are, what, 35+ years old now? The vast majority of people in that age range don't have the abundance of spare time that the younger generation has. Additionally, this remaster isn't the AAA big title that gamers will focus on for months on end like the original D2 and expansion were. It needs to compete with the current AAA games that have evolved to better understand the dopamine-driven need to keep clicking.

I have very fond memories of D2 but its gameplay has not aged gracefully; No respec, no variety, almost nonexistent crafting or character improvements outside of grinding away at the same old tilesets. As a remaster it needs more than just a 16:9 HD graphics update, the gameplay needs to be tweaked to better suit the demographic of modern gamers - and by modern gamers I don't just mean today's kids, I mean the evolved tastes of D2's original audience but 21 years older.

Simply increasing droprates would help, but it's almost unheard of in grinding ARPGs these days that you can't craft/improve gear that provides you an alternative escape from bad RNG other than more grinding.

Honestly I think the lack of crafting is good. It's supposed to be hard to have excellent equipment, and for single player you don't have to grind for those sets and uniques. And the reason why D2 is good is because it has a great mix of form and function. The world and ambiance is good, but the mechanics are so fine tuned and excellent running around and killing things is just fun, and there is plenty of variety in characthers so you can likely find something you think is fun.

 

[Sithaer]

Yeah, swordceress, melee necro and Ele Druid all played to endgame on Hell. There was variety but you were locked into a build for dozens of hours with no way to correct spec mistakes and punished for trying out stuff that didn't work (the only option was to kill the character entirely and start again from the beginning).


It was added in 1.13 over ten years after the game's release and five years after my friends and I moved on having exhausted vanilla, LOD, hardcore leagues, and Nez mod.
To respec you had to farm endgame bosses on hell difficulty for four reagents which had a 1-in-15 drop chance - so typically 60 endgame boss kills.

As good as it is that a respec option was put into the game given its inflexible mechanics, it was a decade late and does nothing to encourage experimentation with builds whilst levelling.

Well true it wasn't for leveling experiments, more like fixing your end game build's errors or if you changed your mind.
It was better than rolling a new char thats for sure, even with all those boosting options on B net.

End game builds did have variety tho, I had some odd builds for fun like WW Sin and a 200% 'cap in the game' Faster Cast rate Light Sorc that was borderline impossible to controll but mad fun to play. 'with infinity on merc so it was strong too'.

But ye fun times,I mainly played in 1.07/1.09 singleplayer and B net after 1.10. Played some single mods too like Eastern Sun and Median.
That actually makes me wonder how will this Resurrected version affect modding.

 

[lexluthermiester]

No LAN play co-op? No thank you. Blizzard get a fraking clue! People enjoy LAN parties! Even in the pandemic(which will not last forever).