Diablo 2 question

With all the talk about Diablo 3 recently, I've been giving some thought to Diablo 2. I played D1 and had a fairly good time although I never finished it. I'm not really much for action games, but I spent a pretty serious amount of time with Dungeon Siege 2, so I'm thinking that perhaps I'm more willing to play a button masher than I used to be. Using DS2 as a reference point when possible, could y'all give me a thought or two?

1) I liked DS2's version of button mashing. I've got decent eye-hand coordination, but games that force me to use it end up being too much like work. I'll click on half a million critters, but it needs to stay reasonably brain-dead. A FPS with stats (Dark Messiah?) is not going to be much fun for me. D1 wasn't a problem. How's D2 compare?

2) I enjoy character development. I'm a spreadsheet gamer thru and thru. DS2 did a fairly good job of allowing different archetypes and different builds within each archetype. Dropping from a party to a single avatar takes away some of that min/max fun, but it seems D2 might offer something for me. Is there fun to be had?

3) I don't do multiplayer, so the joys of battle.net are lost on me. Is there enough game for SP?

My thanks in advance, sages of gamedom.

1) Not much of a difference between D1 and D2 in that category, it's pretty much the exact same.

2) Don't expect much. Character developement is pretty simplistic in D2.

3) That depends on personal preference, if you didn't like D1 enough to finish it then you probably wouldn't finish D2 either. If you're really looking for a good SP experience then look elsewhere.

1) D2 is very similar to D1, largely depend on left and right mouse buttons. You can customized certain keys on keyboard for potions and such.And that's pretty much all, even if you use mouse alone it will be fine, although i'm not sure on higher difficulty levels when there's truckload of enemies crushing down on your head. On easy or normal levels most low level minions can be killed with single click.

2) I engoyed very much character building in Diablo, in fact it's one of the top reasons i like the series. Different characters come with different skills, deep and interesting skill trees, different combat animations, different armors set, plus customizable weapons, random looting, secret levels, etc.

3) I played single player exclusively and the length is more than enough for me. Eventhough D2 contains 3-4 acts only, but each acts are massive. If you poke around for secret areas and hidden loots, i'm sure you need a lot time to finish the game.

If you liked Dungeon Siege 2, then you would definitely like Diablo 2. I love Diablo 2 and still play it. I thought Dungeon Siege 2 was sorta dull. So you should like Diablo 2. You don't have to keep clicking the mouse button repeatedly. You could just hold it down and it does the same thing. Also, single player is great, that way you don't have to worry about getting cut off from a connection, and you can save the game whenever. It's a lot more relaxed.

The best thing about the game are the items. If you equip the right items, your character could become very very powerful. I mean exponentially powerful. I like this game soo much because it makes you feel as powerful as a god. For example, I built an Amazon with Lightning Fury. I was in the temples in Act 2. I entered this dark room filled with skeletons, liches, tons of stuff. I threw down one bolt, it hit the first mob, and spread out into a wave of lightning bolts, the whole room lit up, explosions everywhere, bones flying, bam. The whole room was cleared. It was awesome. It's a great game man. All nighters galore here.

Plus the story was intense. The bosses feel very real and the setting is very mature. The music is great too, imo. And, once you get to the hardest difficulty, hell, which is really hard, you start to get the hardcore items. If you find one that fits your char's template, your power could potentially increase exponentially. It's like there's no boundary to the amount of dmg you can do in this game. It's great. Plus, you could play with your friends on an tcp/ip game. If u're planning on going single. Then I would just buy the war chest, which includes Diablo 1 and 2, plus all the expansions packs, plus the Diablo 2 strategy guide. I would not patch the game. I'd go pre-patch, because most of the classes are very strong, especially the druid elemental tree pre-patch. It's ur call but I'd go prepatch.

Have fun man, and be prepared to get immersed. The first 15 levels feels slow, but once you get the right items and start feeling the power, that's when it gets addictive. Also, there are tons of easter eggs in this game so keep your eye peeled. Alright, have fun and post up your experience here. Laters.

One of the main strengths of Diablo2 is the huge difference in gameplay experience between the classes. A barbarian is all about getting up close and personal and whacking away at the enemies whereas a summoning Necromancer/Druid is more about letting your summons take the brunt of the attack while you stay back and keep your cannon fodder alive/replenished as needed.

Even within each character class is the possibility for diversity. I'm currently replaying the game as a Druid but unlike the first time where I used his elemental magic and his shape-shifting skills I'm putting all my skill points in his summoning tree and it is a completely different experience compared to the last time I played as a Druid.

A word of caution though: It might be less than optimal to play as a Paladin in a single player game. The game itself is identical in singleplayer and multiplayer but quite a few of the Paladin's skills are party buff skills that are most successfully applied in multiplayer game sessions.

I know I'm having just as much fun now as I did back then (once I got past the initial shock of seeing what 10 year old graphics ACTUALLY look like instead of how I remembered it )

@ fB: My summoning Druid (Crowcaller)was one of my favorite builds, along with the trapmistress Assasin.

dte, if you like spreadsheet gaming, you should have no problems with D2. There are only two real themes to the game, character builds and loot. I think you'd have a blast with the many different shapes and forms of the Barbarian, knowing your preference for mano a mano action.

To get a feel for what the joy of various skill trees can provide, there's a comprehensive list of classes, skills etc as well as everything else over at The Arreat Summit, or you could cast your eyes over the Strategy Compendium at diabloii.net(now diabloiii.net) but unfortunately they've not brought it on site since their shift to diabloiii.net--I'd watch for it to eventually reappear though as it's an excellent guide to the meat of how to do builds. The Strategy Forums are still there.

The real problem with single player D2 is the loot. AS Thartanian notes, when you get to the higher difficulties, you can find items of godlike power--which of course you desparately need just to stay alive. A lot of options in the killing/leveling/dealing with Nessie-like bosses and mobs come from particular armor or weapons sets, rune words, etc. Getting the right stuff equipment-wise for the higher difficulties is almost impossible without some ability to make item runs with a specialized char and store your loot for the others. I used a LAN setup and a muling program called ATMA to mimic the item drop opportunities you'd get by running with a group in multiplayer, trading etc.

All this sounds a bit daunting perhaps, but believe me, once you're firmly addicted it's the only logical outcome.

What's the deal with the harder difficulties? Is it like DS2 where you have to win the game at the lower levels to unlock the harder ones? Is your character persistent like DS2 (mercenary= lvls 1-40, veteran= 41-70, elite= 71-100) or do you start over each time except the critters and loot follow a steeper curve?

And yes, chances are good I'm looking at a barbarian. I'd tinker with all the classes just to see what they can do, but odds are good my "for real" run would involve a preponderance of blunt force trauma.

I shouldn't be doing this. I've got waaay too many games on my shelf already to add another one, but this seems to be the type of game I want these days for whatever reason.

1) Depends a lot on your build. Some are just as brain dead in the clicking department as D1, some aren't. But there isn't a high micro-movement-click-master requirement in any case. And the "hold button to keep swinging" improvement made in D2, over the click for each swing in D1, makes a big difference.

2) I think this is a key area where D2 shines. Each class has at least 2 viable and interesting sub-classes depending on your skill selections, and some have 3 or more. And the play styles differences from one to the other, and from class to class, are very well designed. Combine this with the customization possibilities via equipment, and you've got a lot of fun to be had. It won't be on the level of Wizardy 8, but should do an adequate job of scratching that spreadsheet gamer itch of yours.

3) Plenty of game in the SP. Plenty. Especially if you have the drive to climb the difficulty ladder (Nightmare and Hell are each BIG jumps up) or can stomach Hardcore, which is a thrill all it's own.

Dang. I thought I'd put D2 behind me forever. Now you guys are making it even harder to keep from digging the discs up since the D3 announcement...

dteowner said:

What's the deal with the harder difficulties? Is it like DS2 where you have to win the game at the lower levels to unlock the harder ones? Is your character persistent like DS2 (mercenary= lvls 1-40, veteran= 41-70, elite= 71-100) or do you start over each time except the critters and loot follow a steeper curve?

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Yes on the unlocking. You keep the same character at whatever level you managed to get him/her. Normal is a fairly easy monster killing fest with some disproportionately difficult bosses occasionally(like mmm,...Diablo.) In Nightmare, your resistances are reduced by x percent(50?) and monsters have more hit points and do more damage.In Hell, your resistances go below 0 and monsters are immune to many kinds of damage you've habitually used to kill them. If you're using a sorc, and depended on solely fire spells, you will now have to figure out how to kill things that are immune to fire, etc. For a melee char, the Physical Immunes are the real challenge, but fortunately there's a skill or two even for the Barb that does magic damage, and you can also rely on your equipment/weapons and even a bit on your hireling, though not in boss fights as they insta-die.

And yes, chances are good I'm looking at a barbarian. I'd tinker with all the classes just to see what they can do, but odds are good my "for real" run would involve a preponderance of blunt force trauma.

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D2 abounds with juicy weapons of BFT--like these maces.

I shouldn't be doing this. I've got waaay too many games on my shelf already to add another one, but this seems to be the type of game I want these days for whatever reason.

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Like I said in another thread, D2 is a process game. I enjoy that for mindless slaying and winding down purposes. You can easily lose days in this game, but I always come out feeling better, so it's a good trade-off for me.

@ chamr: Know what you mean. i don't even have D2 installed on this rig, but I'm starting to get a tad antsy....

I've taken a Necromancer to level 80+ three times. Damn Battle.net and their delete your characters if you don't log in for 90 days thing.

Single-player is fun, fine, quick, and easy. I love the story, I love the cutscenes (all angels in my D&D game share design traits with Tyriel!), and I love how each class feels different.

Taking things online is the only way to truly get the most out of a build... I've played lots of builds that don't even MATURE before level 60, and really hit their stride in the low 70s (Xen Maximus, my paladin in every game since Quest for Glory II in the 80s, for example).

But single player you don't need to get the most out of a build. You just need to make them all explode. Literally, if you go Necromancer.

Interesting, Wiki, Margerette ! At last I can see all uniques on 1 page !

Aside ... I don't remember the term "character build" being used much more outside this game ...

Is this an D2-only phenomenon ?

Because "character builds" can be in principle done with every role playing game ...

magerette said:

..Getting the right stuff equipment-wise for the higher difficulties is almost impossible without some ability to make item runs with a specialized char and store your loot for the others. I used a LAN setup and a muling program called ATMA to mimic the item drop opportunities you'd get by running with a group in multiplayer, trading etc.

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if youre gonna play single player, i can highly recommend also using the PLUGY module, which give you a lot of the multiplayer/ladder features, and on top of that an infinite shared stash!

Aside ... I don't remember the term "character build" being used much more outside this game ...

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its a fairly common term these days ..wow etc.
a build is basicly just a choice of specific skills and items that aims at making your character as poweful as possible in a specific way.

imo, d2 is one of the most replayable games out there, hence why so many still play it still after what, 7 years?
it seems to be somewhat spit on here and on other "hardcore" rpg forums tho.
but if you liked ds2 you'll probably love d2 ..ds2 was somewhat bland as pointed out earlier.
if you're into loot and randomized content you cant go wrong.

Cool info ... I just installed it on my HP Mini-Note to see how it does on a 8.9" screen

txa1265 said:

Cool info ... I just installed it on my HP Mini-Note to see how it does on a 8.9" screen

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What is it with you and tiny screens?

fatBastard() said:

What is it with you and tiny screens?

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Well you know what they say about guys with tiny screens.....

Your humour is hilarious !

I think that's one of the several reasons why I like this board ...

If you like playing with builds the amazon basin has some guides that'll give you some ideas.

Nice, thanks.

I never knew there were terms like the "Slowazon".

Acording to diablofans.com The sales of previous Diablo games increased considerablely after the announcement of Diablo 3. Impressive for an old game.

Following the announcement of Diablo III at the 2008 Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals, merely 9 days ago, Gamasutra reports that sales of the seven-year-old RPG hack 'n slash game Diablo II Battle Chest has risen considerably on last week's worldwide sale charts.

The Diablo II Battle Chest took the lead on North American PC sales as the #1 in the Top 5 Sales. On the United Kingdom charts, the Diablo II Battle Chest received the 4th spot.

At this rate, Game Stores around the world will be out of stock of any remaining copies. If your area already is out of stock and you wish to get your hands on Diablo II and Lord of Destruction expansion, your only option at this point is to head to the Blizzard Store to purchase a digital download of the game.

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I think the nearest Best Buy saw this coming. They've had a display of Battle Chests out for a month or so. Of course, now that I'm actually interested in the game, they'll probably all be gone by the time I get back to "the big city".