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[Fugu]

Do not play vanilla Diablo 2, really. You'll miss so much content and depth.

Content maybe, but depth is debatable. Nonx doesn't have the insane gear that the expansion does, which makes it substantially more difficult as well as being outright easier for a new player to get into. This is why a lot of people still play nonx.

 

[KKRT00]

Mercs sux, there are no synergies, there are no charms, runes [yeah, they are overpowered, but only if You play on Ladder and You'll get some words only if You grind hard NM+], there's less uniques, no ethereal items, You couldnt have second set of weapons, and two of four acts sucks and You're limited to 640x480 ...

For me LOD made Diablo 2 a real sequel. I was really disappointed with vanilla game.

 

[ccbfan]

Mercs sux, there are no synergies, there are no charms, runes [yeah, they are overpowered, but only if You play on Ladder and You'll get some words only if You grind hard NM+], there less uniques, no ethereal items, You can You second set of weapons, and two of four acts sucks and You're limited to 640x480 ...

For me LOD post 1.10 made Diablo 2 a real sequel. I was really disappointed with vanilla game.

Fixed

Sorry but LOD pre 1.10 was nothing more than D2 with 2 more classes and some new weapons. The weapons themselves were nothing more than stronger versions of the ones from D2.

Post 1.10 was when they started having synergies, useful charms, useful runewords(Remember when Ist was the most valuable rune), useful merc (basically added a whole new dimension to the game), Items that wasn't only with cookie cutter stats.

IMO the jump from 1.09 to 1.10 was greater than the jump from vanilla to LOD

 

[Duki]

1.09 was way more fun than 1.10 tho

 

[TheExodu5]

1.09 was way more fun than 1.10 tho

Sure. Nothing but Buriza/Windforce bowazons and Frozen Orb + TS sorcs with bugged occy rings. Nothing but cow runs.

Post 1.10 has made Diablo a far better game. Ladder play to get away from all the glitched items. No more saving skill/stat points until level 80+.

 

[insert_username_here]

Ahhh Diablo.... Those were the days.

 

[Fugu]

Sure. Nothing but Buriza/Windforce bowazons and Frozen Orb + TS sorcs with bugged occy rings. Nothing but cow runs.

Post 1.10 has made Diablo a far better game. Ladder play to get away from all the glitched items. No more saving skill/stat points until level 80+.

It is strange that you make your argument on the basis of a lack of class variety.

1.09 was the last time that melee classes of any kind were more than just fringe classes. It's almost mind-blowing how bad they are now. Also, the lack of synergies made many more builds viable.

Classes that gained more variety in 1.10:
1.09 Paladins: Zeal.
1.10+ Paladins: Hammers, smite (limited use), zeal (sort of). It's sort of debatable whether or not 1.10 led to the betterment of the Paladin class as it also meant the return of the stupendously dull hammerdin build.

1.09 Necromancers: Fish. Relied heavily on corpse explosion to the degree that 1.09 necromancers were oriented entirely towards getting one kill so that they could use corpse explosion to get all of the others (see bloodimancers).
1.10+ Necromancers: Poison, bone, skeleton, fish, revive. One of the few classes even capable of a hybrid build anymore.

Classes that didn't:
1.09 Sorceresses: Basically any skill. Nova, fireball, blizzard, frozen orb, meteor, firewall (sort of), chain lightning, and lightning were all viable, which is still true now but the lack of synergies means that the amount of possible builds basically amounts to any possible combination of two of the above skills.
1.10+ Sorceresses: All of the above except nova, but build variety hampered greatly by the fact that lightning is a 100-point investment and fire is at least 60.

1.09 Amazons: Bow, java, burrito.
1.10+ Amazons: Java and greatly nerfed compared to 1.09. Bow is possible but well below average, even with amazing gear.

1.09 Barbarians: WW, support, Beserk, sing.
1.10+ Barbarians: Support. Other builds possible but really aren't very good.

1.09 Assassins: Due to the lack of skill synergies and the viability of traps, claws and kicks, there are so many viable 1.09 ways to play a 1.09 assassin that a specific build list would be pointless.
1.10+ Assassins: Traps, kick (limited, requires a specific and fairly rare piece of gear).

1.09 Druids: Werewolf, werebear, werebear/support. The entire elemental tree exists in 1.09 to make necromancers feel better about the fact that level 20 poison nova did 200 damage.
1.10+ Druids: Support, elemental. Elemental is alright I guess, but is like a bowazon in 1.10 in that it is simply not worth the gear investment. Really, the only use of a Druid nowadays is to provide an obscene health boost for the members of the party capable of actually killing things.

What you'll notice is that with the possible exception of the Necromancer (I played one in 1.09 and made it work, so whatever) there were no classes entirely relegated to support in 1.09. 1.10 has two. As well, the fact that most classes are pidgeonholed into a single element to do reasonable damage without great gear makes most classes that don't rhyme with "Borceress" extremely handicapped at dealing with immunes. This shouldn't be a problem but Hell hasn't had its immunities updated in a post-1.09 environment. Giving every monster (except quill rats) an immunity in hell is a mistake when almost every class is relegated to only using one element to attack with.

"Nothing but cow runs" is a legitimate complaint inasmuch as "nothing but baal runs" is a legitimate criticism of 1.10+. And now it takes exponentially more baal runs to level than it took cow runs in 1.09. At least people had to move in a cow run.

I will agree that the itemization was improved in 1.10, but the addition of Enigma was such an unprecedented game-changer that I don't really think Blizzard realized what they were doing. Teleport is such an important skill that making it only accessible for 6 of the 7 classes in non-charges form on an item that has literally no drawbacks but is also made of two high runes that people will never find is a ridiculous blow to balance.
Spirit and insight (as well as lore, but that's older) were great ideas because they gave low-level characters something to do with their runes that didn't suck. Hoto too, because it offered non-Sorceresses a +3 skills weapon. I also even like stuff like Bramble, Harmony and Infinity that offer specific bonuses to configurations that can take advantage of them.

It's also worth noting that the 1.11 runewords are great.

Sorry but LOD pre 1.10 was nothing more than D2 with 2 more classes and some new weapons. The weapons themselves were nothing more than stronger versions of the ones from D2.

I don't understand this complaint. Who uses lances in the expansion pack? Also, nonx is entirely rares-driven and the proportion of gear is much smaller than it is in the expansion.

KKRT: Vanilla has synergies. You can also play it in 800x600 if you have the expansion installed.

 

[Fallout-NL]

For me LOD made Diablo 2 a real sequel. I was really disappointed with vanilla game.

Disappointed? I think it's one of the greatest achievements of mankind, next to Die-Hard and the internal combustion engine.

LoD simply fleshed it out a little.

 

[Fugu]

Disappointed? I think it's one of the greatest achievements of mankind, next to Die-Hard and the internal combustion engine.

LoD simply fleshed it out a little.

Yeah, honestly when people say things like this I have to wonder if they actually played the original Diablo. The jump between them in virtually every regard is mammoth.

 

[LogicStep]

How are the latest patch changes affecting the game? The biggest thing I think is the respeccing right? How does that work and does it make the game that much better? And what about the other changes?

 

[Fugu]

How are the latest patch changes affecting the game? The biggest thing I think is the respeccing right? How does that work and does it make the game that much better? And what about the other changes?

1.13 is a minor patch. It's not really affecting the game compared to 1.12 because the skill changes they made were meaningless. The respecs are a big deal if you fucked up your builds to begin with. Other than that, it hasn't changed much.

The difference between patches before 1.10 and 1.10 is pretty huge, though, as mentioned above.

 

[KKRT00]

Yeah, honestly when people say things like this I have to wonder if they actually played the original Diablo. The jump between them in virtually every regard is mammoth.

I played Diablo 1 [in single player and on LAN] and preordered sequel and after i got it, i got annoyed by many things. I didnt even mentioned that it frozen after openning the seals [three times!].

Diablo 1 had so much better atmosphere and second and third act in sequel was just poor and annoying, mercenaries was useless, most low lvl skills were useless and drop was limited, how was it 'one of the greatest achievements of mankind'?

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

Been playing again and started up on USWest. I'd love to play with the GAF folks though, so I may just move over to USEast.

Anyone have a WWS they'd donate so I can keep going with my amazon?

 

[Mutagenic]

This is my first time playing a Diablo game and have a basic question: when using Prayer, am I not able to toggle it on and off with mouse 2? It continues to drain mana even after I fully heal.

 

[iamblades]

This is my first time playing a Diablo game and have a basic question: when using Prayer, am I not able to toggle it on and off with mouse 2? It continues to drain mana even after I fully heal.

Hotkey it, and just switch to it when you need it, shouldn't be using it during fighting anyway(or not at all after you get redemption or a prayer merc).

 

[TheExodu5]

Well, there are so few people playing now that I think it might be time to open it up to BNet soon.

 

[GiJoccin]

Well, there are so few people playing now that I think it might be time to open it up to BNet soon.

vacation -> big move -> start of 3rd year med school = a lot less playtime for me

 

[Fugu]

Well, there are so few people playing now that I think it might be time to open it up to BNet soon.

Before you do, I'd like to see what everyone's progress looks like.

I'm not really part of the group and as such I had to trade to get my stormshield (none of you are hardcore), but everything else is found.

 

[TheSeks]

Well, there are so few people playing now that I think it might be time to open it up to BNet soon.

Told you this would happen. GAF has no interest in playing old games other than flavor of the week games. But I'm not one to talk, as I haven't played Diablo 2: LoD in a while. I should get back on the horse and finish Hell at least once, but I get tired of dealing with game engine lag (graphics lack up) and Battle.net lag (game locks up, starts stuttering/putting you where you were two minutes ago...).

>>Huge Ass Post about 1.09->1.10

I still feel to this day adding Synergies, while a neat idea: broke the "balance" (not the right word, but variety isn't it either...) of Diablo 2's gameplay. Like I stated before, summonmancers got nerfed HARD in 1.10 because the synergies (IMO) outright suck unless you put 20 mastery 20 skeletons now. Before, it was the clay/blood/fire monster doing damage while the skeletons were a barrier. This isn't a big deal, as it buffed the monsters, but they're still weak given the immunities on NM/Hell that makes attempting to solo the game with skeletons pointless. Physical resistance + skeeletons that are physical = useless. Posion is similar due to posion resistance and IIRC Bone spear/bone magic is physical/magical resistance.

You're right in that they haven't considered resistances in a post-1.10 world, but at the same time the synergies broke the builds and powers of classes.

 

[Zzoram]

I'm still bitter about the Corse Explosion nerf. Having a radius larger than the viewable screen was awesome.

 

[AlimNassor]

Well, there are so few people playing now that I think it might be time to open it up to BNet soon.

That's what I've been doing. I've met a few good people too and gotten a ton of rare runes. I won't be on for a few days because I'm busy and no internet on my PC.

Who else still plays?

 

[TheSeks]

I'm still bitter about the Corse Explosion nerf. Having a radius larger than the viewable screen was awesome.

You can still pop them through walls to pretty good effect, but EVERYONE got nerfed hard and the synergies didn't really bring anything worthwhile to the table to make up for the nerfs. You now have to invest more points than needed into builds to have them even do some damage, and that's not counting the NM/Hell resistances that nerf them even more.

I say 1.10 ruined the game for me, and the only good thing post 1.10 is the 1.12 respect but they fucked that up by not having it be a free respec because again: Diablo 2 (for the time/1999-2000?) wasn't built for synergies and respecs in mind, so "half-ass"ing them/making people work for benefits to these changes outright suck.

 

[coopolon]

That's what I've been doing. I've met a few good people too and gotten a ton of rare runes. I won't be on for a few days because I'm busy and no internet on my PC.

Who else still plays?

I have officially moved on,

I got halfway through nightmare, and I'd never actually beaten the game before so I'm still pretty pleased that I at least got to see all the content. And now I understand why people bitch about Act 3, it's there in nightmare that I started getting bored again.

I also learned something important about myself. I don't enjoy the fast pace it seems is required to enjoy this game after the first run through. Whenever I joined up with people it was always run as fast as you can to the next level, the next level, kill the boss, tp out after picking up just the uniques, run as fast as you can to the next boss, etc. I'm way too slow for all that. I like to clear every level, pick up alll the magics and uniques and look at them, etc. Of course it's probably because everyone else has beaten the game 100 times already.

 

[mavs]

That's what I've been doing. I've met a few good people too and gotten a ton of rare runes. I won't be on for a few days because I'm busy and no internet on my PC.

Who else still plays?

I'm moseying my way through act 5 hell, one waypoint at a time. Still haven't played outside GAF, and I'm not sure I'll play after I beat Baal.

 

[Sarcasm]

Anybody playing now I am about to start it up and start a new toon.

 

[Fugu]

Told you this would happen. GAF has no interest in playing old games other than flavor of the week games. But I'm not one to talk, as I haven't played Diablo 2: LoD in a while. I should get back on the horse and finish Hell at least once, but I get tired of dealing with game engine lag (graphics lack up) and Battle.net lag (game locks up, starts stuttering/putting you where you were two minutes ago...).



I still feel to this day adding Synergies, while a neat idea: broke the "balance" (not the right word, but variety isn't it either...) of Diablo 2's gameplay. Like I stated before, summonmancers got nerfed HARD in 1.10 because the synergies (IMO) outright suck unless you put 20 mastery 20 skeletons now. Before, it was the clay/blood/fire monster doing damage while the skeletons were a barrier. This isn't a big deal, as it buffed the monsters, but they're still weak given the immunities on NM/Hell that makes attempting to solo the game with skeletons pointless. Physical resistance + skeeletons that are physical = useless. Posion is similar due to posion resistance and IIRC Bone spear/bone magic is physical/magical resistance.

You're right in that they haven't considered resistances in a post-1.10 world, but at the same time the synergies broke the builds and powers of classes.

I disagree that summons got nerfed in 1.10. I would argue that it's the other way around, seeing as skeletons were basically useless in 1.09 due to their uselessly tiny health total. Also, poison nova used to max out at around 300 damage and was therefore completely worthless; bone didn't fare much better.

For the record, bone is magic damage.

 

[TheExodu5]

Well since the GAF community for this died, my friend and I just opened it up to BNet.

I had a bunch of fg from d2jsp from all the Guild Wars gold I had, so I funded myself a lightning sorc. Favorite class/build in the game...shame it's so expensive to be viable:

Griffon's
Maras
Chains of Honor
Eschuta's
Spirit
Bloodfists/Frosties/Chancies
2x SOJs
Arach
Sandstorm Treks
7x Light GCs (to leave enough room to pick up a 2x4 item)
Call to Arms + Spirit switch
Anni
STorch
Infinity + Andy's Visage + (dunno) Act 2 Merc

I'll have fun with D2 for a little while longer, at least until Torchlight 2 comes out. Otherwise, I'm kind of over it. I realize it's a game that really has quite a few flaws...it's really surprising I like it as much as I do. I'm looking forward to Diablo 3 and a much more realistic economy and more viable builds that aren't dependent on heavily duped items.

Anyways, other than my lightning sorc, I figured I would set up a budget smiter to kill Ubers, since I've never tried it. Seems like it's very cheap to set one up. I can farm organ sets with my sorc and bag myself some ubers.

 

[CarbonatedFalcon]

Well, seems like a decent place to make this known as any, but I'm starting to think about/prepare the |OT| for the Diablo 3 and its beta, the latter of which should be coming up fairly soon, especially by Blizzard standards. Now never having played the first two (too young when first released) and not likely to play them now though I do enjoy the genre, I'm not too familiar with the lore, so that would be a point I would appreciate help on for when the final game releases.

So if anyone here would be interested in contributing or collaborating on the |OT| for Diablo 3, send me a PM when you have a chance and we can map something out. Hyped enough for 3 that it would be my first |OT| undertaking, but I'm planning to take cues from some of the best.

 

[KKRT00]

Yeah, Diablo can be sometimes annoying, especially crappy battlenet. I also dont know why i like this game as much as I do, maybe because its fast, dark and still has community.

BTW i'm still playing on USEast, but more casually - i made two new chars, cold sorc for rush and grinding and paladin for fun [and will probably make necro, because i have never played it before]
I dont like playing chars after lvl 50, because it's becoming stupid grind on boss/bosses just to find one piece of equipment and its mostly played solo. Diablo 3 needs many changes in mechanics and player interactions and drop rate zones.
Instanced cities ala Guild Wars 1 for trading, auction house that makes gold prime currency, clan support with shared stash and friends server lists/char statistics is a must!

 

[mavs]

I'll have fun with D2 for a little while longer, at least until Torchlight 2 comes out. Otherwise, I'm kind of over it. I realize it's a game that really has quite a few flaws...it's really surprising I like it as much as I do. I'm looking forward to Diablo 3 and a much more realistic economy and more viable builds that aren't dependent on heavily duped items.

Anyways, other than my lightning sorc, I figured I would set up a budget smiter to kill Ubers, since I've never tried it. Seems like it's very cheap to set one up. I can farm organ sets with my sorc and bag myself some ubers.

It has flaws, but the progression is still masterful. In the early game, every new point makes a huge difference and each skill tier changes how you play the game. Later on items have an equally huge impact on your play. You almost constantly feel like your abilities are changing.

 

[Lothars]

to me the reason Diablo 2 holds up today is because of the feeling of the game, Torchlight has the same feeling but I still feel that Diablo 2 still holds up to this day, It's not a perfect game but it's one game that I keep going back to.

 

[KKRT00]

It has flaws, but the progression is still masterful. In the early game, every new point makes a huge difference and each skill tier changes how you play the game. Later on items have an equally huge impact on your play. You almost constantly feel like your abilities are changing.

I dont really feel that way, i quite often dont invest points till i wont get to certain skill, or till i wont have more than 5. Its probably because there wasnt respec earlier, and i used to play as long as i could on lower skills or without spending almost anything.

 

[Duki]

diablo 2 holds up because you dont actually have to play diablo 2 to get a high level character

if it werent for rushes the game would be boned in terms of community by now

 

[TheSeks]

diablo 2 holds up because you dont actually have to play diablo 2 to get a high level character

if it werent for rushes the game would be boned in terms of community by now

This is true. Have someone rush you through Act 4 Diablo/5 Baal at level 1 Normal/NM to Hell. Then do the Act 5 Entry to Baal's mid-boss three bosses area to get to level 86 in one go, isn't it? I forget the glitch rush.

 

[Wolf Akela]

Been playing LoD with some friends over TCP/IP since I don't like Bne deleting my chars. We just got to nightmare.

I was going Mageazon with max Immol/Freezing Arrow/Valk, some Strafe/Decoy and +1 to passives, but Immolation Arrow's delay started to really get to my nerves. It didn't help that I just got a great bow where I could hit for like 100-200 which makes Immolation Arrow look even weaker next to Strafe.

I respec'd so now I have (with buffs from equips/charms like +skills)

Lv ~45

Lv19 Strafe
Lv3 Freezing Arrow
Lv17 Valkyrie
Lv2 passives
Lv2 prereqs

45 Str
200 Dex
40 Vit
25 Ene

Still deciding if I should respect later to remove Vit and just go glass cannon.

I got a pretty high level since I farmed Pindleskin with players 8.

 

[KKRT00]

So, anyone does need a rush through normal? I'm on IRC and will playing/be available probably for the next 3 hours.

 

[Fugu]

I think that Diablo 2 is still kicking largely because of how visceral and responsive it is, as well as because of how well-distributed the loot is. It also helps that Battle.net was, when Diablo 2 was released, well ahead of its time.

Just hit 90, almost got PK'd in the process. Things are getting slow...

Been playing LoD with some friends over TCP/IP since I don't like Bne deleting my chars. We just got to nightmare.

I was going Mageazon with max Immol/Freezing Arrow/Valk, some Strafe/Decoy and +1 to passives, but Immolation Arrow's delay started to really get to my nerves. It didn't help that I just got a great bow where I could hit for like 100-200 which makes Immolation Arrow look even weaker next to Strafe.

I respec'd so now I have (with buffs from equips/charms like +skills)

Lv ~45

Lv19 Strafe
Lv3 Freezing Arrow
Lv17 Valkyrie
Lv2 passives
Lv2 prereqs

45 Str
200 Dex
40 Vit
25 Ene

Still deciding if I should respect later to remove Vit and just go glass cannon.

I got a pretty high level since I farmed Pindleskin with players 8.

Why in god's name do you have so much dex?

 

[Wolf Akela]

Glass cannon! I'm only playing softcore anyway. I think I still have 10 points left to distribute in case I need some STR.

 

[AlimNassor]

Man, Meterorb sorcs are fun but hard to fund :/ no idea how to even get the equips when I'm OHKOed by diablo.

 

[ccbfan]

I'm trying to make a Fury WW.

Anyone got a ribcracker for trade?

 

[KKRT00]

I've got amazing luck today.
I found Oculus on diablo minion
and two items for bow amazon:
http://strony.aster.pl/kakarotto/snap02250.jpg
http://strony.aster.pl/kakarotto/snap02251.jpg

 

[ch0mp]

I still feel to this day adding Synergies, while a neat idea: broke the "balance" (not the right word, but variety isn't it either...) of Diablo 2's gameplay. Like I stated before, summonmancers got nerfed HARD in 1.10 because the synergies (IMO) outright suck unless you put 20 mastery 20 skeletons now. Before, it was the clay/blood/fire monster doing damage while the skeletons were a barrier. This isn't a big deal, as it buffed the monsters, but they're still weak given the immunities on NM/Hell that makes attempting to solo the game with skeletons pointless. Physical resistance + skeeletons that are physical = useless. Posion is similar due to posion resistance and IIRC Bone spear/bone magic is physical/magical resistance.

You're right in that they haven't considered resistances in a post-1.10 world, but at the same time the synergies broke the builds and powers of classes.

Amplify damage breaks physical immunity.

Agree about the synergies. Having to waste 40 points in other skills to make your main spell useful took a lot of variety out of the game.

 

[Nostalgic Nightmare]

Ok so I dug this out again after not playing for years and years.
I have a few questions.

1. Right now im leveling a barb (solo only play) and just made it to Act 3. When I took out Duriel at the end of act 2, he dropped a few nice 2H axes but I sold them . Up until now, without a real build strategy, I use a 1h axe and a shield. I have been looking to try a whirlybarb but it seems i need a 2H. Is it possible to re-farm Duriel again to get those drops or is it totally up to random/magic find? I.E im screwed and need to start over

2. Is it possible to play this solo only and still go through the different modes? Right now I think im lvl 21, but have never beat this game. Is it worth playing solo once you beat it on normal?

3. I have yet to have the act 1 BS imbue an item for me. Any recommendations?

thanks

 

[echoshifting]

Ok so I dug this out again after not playing for years and years.
I have a few questions.

1. Right now im leveling a barb (solo only play) and just made it to Act 3. When I took out Duriel at the end of act 2, he dropped a few nice 2H axes but I sold them . Up until now, without a real build strategy, I use a 1h axe and a shield. I have been looking to try a whirlybarb but it seems i need a 2H. Is it possible to re-farm Duriel again to get those drops or is it totally up to random/magic find? I.E im screwed and need to start over

2. Is it possible to play this solo only and still go through the different modes? Right now I think im lvl 21, but have never beat this game. Is it worth playing solo once you beat it on normal?

3. I have yet to have the act 1 BS imbue an item for me. Any recommendations?

thanks

1) You can re-farm Duriel and he'll have better drops than a normal monster would, but the first pop is always the best. You are probably better off just heading for Mephisto and hoping to pick up a 2Her along the way, especially since you won't be able to start on a WW build until after Act IV.

2) It's possible to play through it solo and I've always really enjoyed it. There are a couple things you can't do solo...or, at least, in a game off b.net. For example there are certain rune words only available in b.net ladder games...this goes for some of the most powerful magic items in the game, too, but only a handful. Finally, the uber-quests aren't available in offline mode, either, and consequently the drops associated with it aren't either.

Now, that said. None of this really matters for solo mode because Hell is fucking hard now, and if you're playing without hacking in any of the high-end gear to beat it, it could be a long, long time before you get to the point where you would care about this stuff. It used to be that you could solo through it relatively painlessly with a decent build but that's no longer true. You are better off playing in an environment where you at least have access to help from others if you get frustrated...but, then again, this is advice I personally would not take. Just know that clearing Hell by yourself could be a grueling experience, and for some builds it is simply out of reach (not sure on WW barb). Mods are your friend...and you CAN get mods which unlock the rune words, items and quests which are only supposed to be available to ladder characters. But I've never done any of them with an offline character without first hacking in a bunch of good gear to help me clear Hell.

3) My recommendation would be to not waste it. Wait until you are higher level and you find the perfect elite item for your spec and bring it back to normal mode to have it imbued. You only get three of those per character, ever, and the higher level you are when you have it done, the more high-end mods you will have access to for the imbue...but then again, it's easy to shuffle up rare mods now, so I dunno. And you could always bring her a 2H weapon to imbue if you'd like to start using it immediately. Your call. imho these days it isn't half as important as the Act V "add socket" reward.

 

[The Frankman]

It's not that I don't want to play, the whole thing is it's supposed to be in groups. Every time I have logged in and tried to find people no one on GAF is around.

 

[hyduK]

Reading this thread....nostalgia kicking in....must not go back.

Seriously, this game is the single most addictive thing I've ever experienced. Whether it be pre-1.10 cow runs/pindleskin/meph/rushing for forge/etc., or post-1.10 Baal/Sanctuary/random cave runs. Hell, even just sitting in trade games (or using the forums) for hours (days even) at a time was amazing.

 

[Nostalgic Nightmare]

Great information

Thanks so much.

I will attempt to solo all the modes because I just like punishment.
Hopefully I can get things back on track without the gear, but Duriel is a total bitch to fight even with a merc.

 

[echoshifting]

Thanks so much.

I will attempt to solo all the modes because I just like punishment.
Hopefully I can get things back on track without the gear, but Duriel is a total bitch to fight even with a merc.

You're quite welcome. I've played so much Diablo II and read so much about it that I am happy for the opportunity to put that experience to use. ;p

Glad to hear you are going to keep pushing on in the mode you've chosen. If you think you might use a mod later on, even if it's just to unlock that high-end stuff in the offline mode, make sure to backup your save files before you launch the modified .exe, just to be safe. Those mods usually run fine with any kind of save but sometimes they'll obliterate your character. In fact if I were you, if you think this is something you might be interested in down the road, I'd go ahead and install the mod now so you can be sure.

The nice thing about single player is that, in addition to being able to backup your saves, you can always clone a character you feel you've earned if you lose it via a character editor. Character editors are also really, really nice for inventory management once your stash is swimming with set items and such.

Have fun! I might jump back in myself. It would be fun to clear it a time or two one more time before Diablo III arrives and renders it obsolete. I have never, ever been able to go back to Diablo 1. Diablo II deserves a heartfelt farewell. For some reason I've never played it heavily modded. Can anyone recommend a good one with deep changes that can be played solo?

 

[Nostalgic Nightmare]

I read that Median XL was great. Even some of the D3 staff plays it.
http://modsbylaz.hugelaser.com/

Maybe I should just do that then, like you said. Backup my existing toon, and then install the mod. Just for the inventory alone that would be fantastic, because I have no idea how to mule so to speak.

On the other hand I kind of want to beat it as it was, before modding only for the fact that I have yet to beat the game. maybe once I do that Ill start over.

Thanks again

 

[echoshifting]

I read that Median XL was great. Even some of the D3 staff plays it.
http://modsbylaz.hugelaser.com/

Maybe I should just do that then, like you said. Backup my existing toon, and then install the mod. Just for the inventory alone that would be fantastic, because I have no idea how to mule so to speak.

On the other hand I kind of want to beat it as it was, before modding only for the fact that I have yet to beat the game. maybe once I do that Ill start over.

Thanks again

You don't need to install a mod to manage your inventory, just a character editor. When I was trying diligently not to cheat, I used to use maxfreak's hero & item editor to extract item files from my characters; that way I could just squirrel them away in a desktop folder until I needed them, and I knew that when I wanted them they would have the exact same modifiers they dropped with. The hoarder/collector in me reaped much joy from this.

But! If you want to play it as it was...remember that inventory management and choosing between what to keep and what to scrap was always part of the game's intended "fun," so it's TECHNICALLY still cheating. ;p

Thanks for the link, I hadn't heard of that one, and I like the sound of playing a mod the D3 staff is fond of.