[What If] Diablo 2 Expansion after the Remaster

[Easyclassictopkeklel]

So let's say in an ideal world, the Remaster does gangbusters sales and they dedicate a dev team to making a new expansion for D2, kinda like how Age of Empires 2 has had a modern resurgence with their modern expansion packs.

What content would you like to see in a theoretical post-Worldstone shattering expansion?

Which new continent would you like to explore? What new enemies or bosses would you like to see? New features? New Classes?

If they make a lot of money with the remaster they should and will invest it in the future. Like Diablo 4.
People need to stop living in the past. New content for outdated games does not bring back the same feeling like it did back in the days.
Better invest in new games, attracting new and more players.

I loved D2 and will play the sht out of the remaster. But it is just old and pretty boring gameplay to be honest...it's just a perfect mix of nostalgia, atmosphere and familiar content. I will drop it once they release D4 and if it is as promising as the trailer and gameplay made it look.

[kranur]

What about Diablo 1 remaster?

On the same note I never quite understood why they didn't do Warcraft 1 and 2 reforged since those needed a do over much more than W3

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If they make a lot of money with the remaster they should and will invest it in the future. Like Diablo 4.
People need to stop living in the past. New content for outdated games does not bring back the same feeling like it did back in the days.
Better invest in new games, attracting new and more players.

I loved D2 and will play the sht out of the remaster. But it is just old and pretty boring gameplay to be honest...it's just a perfect mix of nostalgia, atmosphere and familiar content. I will drop it once they release D4 and if it is as promising as the trailer and gameplay made it look.

They seem to be incapable of creating any new game. Outside of Diablo 4 and the regualr WoW expansion every 2 years (which hardly brings anything actually new) they have nothing new to show ... even freaking Hearthstone gets a classic version. Guess they have lost all creativity.

[Triceron]

Diablo 2 is out right now to play but hardly anyone plays it, you think that's because it doesn't look pretty enough? The game at it's core is very fun but you get to hell in 1 day and you do ubers in 2/3 days. That's it, all content done. There's no debate in that, within a week most apart from the very few core PvPers will be done with it.

The game will never have any lasting content beyond that without changing Diablo 2 at its core. Diablo 2 has always relied on the brutal RNG to serve as repeatable content. Grinding for high rune drops is not going to be for everyone.

I'm playing Project D2, and it has some fantastic end-game additions like the Ruins of Viz-jun maps you can get which are like random drop 'Rifts' that spice up the end-game. That would be a nice addition to D2, but at the same time it wouldn't really be D2. Project D2 plays like its own expansion, and is tuned as a very modified version of D2, even if you aren't counting the numerous balance changes and the quality of life additions added to the game. Just having more end-game content doesn't actually feel like it's a part of the game, it still feels foreign.

Even if they added Rifts or a new Act to the game, they're only artificially producing content that lasts maybe another month for most players; if even. All the work put into a new Act would only last half a day for most veterans, if you really think about it.

[anon5123]

What about Diablo 1 remaster?

On the same note I never quite understood why they didn't do Warcraft 1 and 2 reforged since those needed a do over much more than W3

The same reason that Megaman 9 and 10 are based on Megaman 2 and 3: They're better than Megaman 1 by a large margin.

[SirBeef]

If they make a lot of money with the remaster they should and will invest it in the future. Like Diablo 4.
People need to stop living in the past. New content for outdated games does not bring back the same feeling like it did back in the days.
Better invest in new games, attracting new and more players.

I loved D2 and will play the sht out of the remaster. But it is just old and pretty boring gameplay to be honest...it's just a perfect mix of nostalgia, atmosphere and familiar content. I will drop it once they release D4 and if it is as promising as the trailer and gameplay made it look.

If DI was not a think, I could get behind them adding content to D2 to bridge the gap between 2 and 3. But DI exists and I'm willing to be VV will be rolled into the D4 team or be put to work on something different, like maybe helping out with that unannounced new IP FPS multiplayer shooter.

[RobertoCarlos]

The game will never have any lasting content beyond that without changing Diablo 2 at its core. Diablo 2 has always relied on the brutal RNG to serve as repeatable content. Grinding for high rune drops is not going to be for everyone.

I'm playing Project D2, and it has some fantastic end-game additions like the Ruins of Viz-jun maps you can get which are like random drop 'Rifts' that spice up the end-game. That would be a nice addition to D2, but at the same time it wouldn't really be D2. Project D2 plays like its own expansion, and is tuned as a very modified version of D2, even if you aren't counting the numerous balance changes and the quality of life additions added to the game. Just having more end-game content doesn't actually feel like it's a part of the game, it still feels foreign.

Even if they added Rifts or a new Act to the game, they're only artificially producing content that lasts maybe another month for most players; if even. All the work put into a new Act would only last half a day for most veterans, if you really think about it.

You could quite easily just fill out act 4 and 5 with more content without sacrificing the precious core. Those acts are tiny compared to the others and we already know act 5 had content cut way back.

A secret diablo 1 level which is the whole d1 dungeon.

But nah that's too hard just update the graphics and call it a day

[Bee76]

I think most people with fond memories of Diablo 2 are pre-synergies

synergies brought even more class diversity. I loved them. Nearly every build was suddenly viable for endgame. Even real strange builds like Ranger, Melee Soso, etc.

[Triceron]

You could quite easily just fill out act 4 and 5 with more content without sacrificing the precious core. Those acts are tiny compared to the others and we already know act 5 had content cut way back.

A secret diablo 1 level which is the whole d1 dungeon.

But nah that's too hard just update the graphics and call it a day

It's not hard, it's just time consuming. Modders have done more to add to the game than that, so it's not a matter of whether it's hard or not at all, more a matter of whether they want to or not.

Same with adding items or RUnewords. They have the systems in place so that they can add more if they choose to, or modify and rebalance any existing items. It isn't a matter of being hard at all. It's a matter of design.

We'll likely never get those type of content additions in a patch because that is not the design goal of Ressurected. They purposefully don't want to touch the gameplay or add additional content, because the players generally aren't asking for changes up front. Again, that is why this topic is about an expansion and not just patch content. If the discussion is just about 'new free content' then yeah, that's never gonna happen regardless.

[RobertoCarlos]

It's not hard, it's just time consuming. Modders have done more to add to the game than that, so it's not a matter of whether it's hard or not at all, more a matter of whether they want to or not.

Same with adding items or RUnewords. They have the systems in place so that they can add more if they choose to, or modify and rebalance any existing items. It isn't a matter of being hard at all. It's a matter of design.

We'll likely never get those type of content additions in a patch because that is not the design goal of Ressurected. They purposefully don't want to touch the gameplay or add additional content, because the players generally aren't asking for changes up front. Again, that is why this topic is about an expansion and not just patch content. If the discussion is just about 'new free content' then yeah, that's never gonna happen regardless.

Well the studio doing the game does not create new content so it certainly could be the limit or skillset of their developers. They just remake the games like this and crash bandicoot with the coding given to them by the bigger studio that doesnt want to make games themselves anymore.

[kiramon]

synergies brought even more class diversity. I loved them. Nearly every build was suddenly viable for endgame. Even real strange builds like Ranger, Melee Soso, etc.

While not wrong, it also limited a lot of things in others way-- but regardless, my whole point was that people remember D2 from 1.09 and junk.

[Triceron]

Well the studio doing the game does not create new content so it certainly could be the limit or skillset of their developers. They just remake the games like this and crash bandicoot with the coding given to them by the bigger studio that doesnt want to make games themselves anymore.

They've never been a part of Blizzard either.

Again, we don't really know what the future is for this studio because they're now formally a part of Blizzard, and their career in doing remakes is likely going to be restricted by this formal integration. What are they to do in the future after this, are they remaking Diablo 1? Remaking Warcraft 1&2? Or could they be freed up to pursue integrated content/DLC for D2 if we consider the potential 'treasure trove' of cut content they're finding now regarding the game?

Most of the content that extends D2 today done by modders isn't changing any of Diablo 2's hard code. VV doesn't have to change anything. All they would have to do to pursue an expansion is literally do what they're doing with the Remaster, and they've already set it up so that they can pursue this in the future.

Check the Blizzcon deep dive. They said they retooled the itemization systems because limits were hard-coded in before. Now they have the flexibility of adding new content. However, the structure of Remaster thus far is limited to being a remaster alone, no addition of content. They are CHOOSING to stick to the original design and not add any changes, new content or aggregious Quality of Life improvements for this specific remaster. A potential new expansion would work around this because you can add any number of changes or quality of life improvements without affecting the core audience. It's basically DLC for anyone who wants it.

I mean, we're all aware that they *can* add new content. It's not that they can't because their studio doesn't know how, or that because they have some technical limit in the way preventing them. They choose not to change it because D2R by design is meant to be a 1:1 remake, untouched. You're fabricating an argument that this comes from a technical or limited skillset, which is untrue since we already know they have been able to change the code to allow new items to be added to the game whereas even modders aren't able to do this since it's been hardcoded into the game. Modders can only change data tables, while D2R opens up a lot more allowing potential mods in the future to expand far more.

It's a question whether the executives would consider having VV continue developing for Diablo 2R more than anything, and as many people have said the resources may simply be better applied to other games like Diablo Immortal or D4 if we're talking about new content. I simply don't personally agree since I see D2R as a completely separate and mutually exclusive product from DI and D4; and with VV formally added to Blizzard there is a slight potential for them to continue with D2 content in a way that a small team like Hearthstone's can pump stuff out at a gradual pace without affecting a mainline game series like WoW or Overwatch.

Again, an expansion for a game they're already remaking is not a new game at all. It's literally what they're doing right now but applied to some extra new content which players like you are already expecting (such as Diablo 1 zone) and the freedom to actually go out and create it. This won't happen in a Patch because the budget for this remake is already set and limited, and any prospects of future content has to depend on the sales, success and overall demand for continued content.

This is like how Blizzard has been polling what content to pursue for Classic WoW. TBC is the natural successor because people polled highly for it; but just the same the prospect of continuing any Classic material at all is due to the success of Classic itself. If Classic itself did poorly, then Blizzard would just sweep it under the rug much like Reforged and Heroes of the Storm is being treated right now.

[Fitsu]

The game will never have any lasting content beyond that without changing Diablo 2 at its core. Diablo 2 has always relied on the brutal RNG to serve as repeatable content. Grinding for high rune drops is not going to be for everyone.

I'm playing Project D2, and it has some fantastic end-game additions like the Ruins of Viz-jun maps you can get which are like random drop 'Rifts' that spice up the end-game. That would be a nice addition to D2, but at the same time it wouldn't really be D2. Project D2 plays like its own expansion, and is tuned as a very modified version of D2, even if you aren't counting the numerous balance changes and the quality of life additions added to the game. Just having more end-game content doesn't actually feel like it's a part of the game, it still feels foreign.

Even if they added Rifts or a new Act to the game, they're only artificially producing content that lasts maybe another month for most players; if even. All the work put into a new Act would only last half a day for most veterans, if you really think about it.

Yeah i'm playing Project Diablo 2 and feel that the changes to that are what Diablo 2 needs. I actually feel like I need end-game gear for ubers/Dclone and have a reason to progress my gear into maps.

Mind I still don't see it lasting more than a couple weeks, but that's just ARPGS in general now even PoE with all it's complexitity doesn't last more than 2-3 weeks.

[NewKidinSql]

I no longer believe in Blizzard. After what they did with Warcarft Refordes, I'm pretty sure their Diablo will crap.
I am currently playing Project Diablo 2 and I can bet the money it will ultimately be a better game.
Of course I am waiting and happy to make a mistake because I love D2 in every version. Good luck

[shadowroguetbc]

I no longer believe in Blizzard. After what they did with Warcarft Refordes, I'm pretty sure their Diablo will crap.
I am currently playing Project Diablo 2 and I can bet the money it will ultimately be a better game.
Of course I am waiting and happy to make a mistake because I love D2 in every version. Good luck

Just a reminder if you didn’t know, but blizzard isn’t actually the company working on th D2 remaster, it’s a company that has done a lot of reworks and has done very good in the past. Unless you mean them working on something beyond the d2 remake

[SirBeef]

Just a reminder if you didn’t know, but blizzard isn’t actually the company working on th D2 remaster, it’s a company that has done a lot of reworks and has done very good in the past. Unless you mean them working on something beyond the d2 remake

Actually they are since VV was rolled into Blizzard and are now on the Diablo team. If you think they weren't working with the Diablo team prior to being rolled into Blizzard, you are mistaken.

[shadowroguetbc]

Actually they are since VV was rolled into Blizzard and are now on the Diablo team. If you think they weren't working with the Diablo team prior to being rolled into Blizzard, you are mistaken.

Yes but if you read into it, the same people at VV who have made really great reworks were basically doing all the important work for the d2 remake. It even says blizzards role was mainly the bnet integration. Yeah sure VV got moved over to blizzard but that doesn’t mean these people have now magically become shit at their job, they said they just moved them over because they also want this team to work on d4 development as well.

Sure, blizzard can always fuck anything up if they put their hands in it too much and try to fuck with it, but that could happen regardless of who is the parent company of VV

[RobertoCarlos]

The one thing you can guarantee with blizzard/studio's under their wing who will all receive the same messages from the top is that they like to make money,

So its in their best interest to make the game good. HOPEFULLY they learned something from warcraft 3 reforged, but that remains to be seen. I wont be getting my hopes up high for any project but I'll still have an open mind and hope for the best.

That said I do have serious worries for this project. Because its pretty much a 1 for 1 remake with nothing added, and the game badly needs more content or changes otherwise its just a 2 week play through and forget.

[Stardrift]

I no longer believe in Blizzard. After what they did with Warcarft Refordes, I'm pretty sure their Diablo will crap.
I am currently playing Project Diablo 2 and I can bet the money it will ultimately be a better game.
Of course I am waiting and happy to make a mistake because I love D2 in every version. Good luck

Vicarious Visions is working on D2. I think Blizz has learned their lesson, but even so cannot apply it since Activision had to send in the guys who do remasters properly to get the job done.

Check out their amazing work on the Crash Bandicoot N.Sane trilogy. That's the standard you're going to see with D2. Quote me if I'm wrong.

[Shigma]

As a big diablo fan, i am indeed a bit worried about game's longevity. Yeah, i will buy it and play on release for quite a while and will have a blast for sure (I know exactly where im getting into).

But... what worries me, is: After how much diablo 2 changed from 1.10 and on, if the game still works online and keeps rolling is because of bots.

Yeah, for as stupid as it sounds, without bots doing constant runs (Trist, tombs, cows, diablo, baal, etc...), a while after the start, its going to be a pain. And the longer the game goes on, the worse it will be. Sure, early on this won't be a problem, but try to play D2 now. There's still quite a lot of people playing, but bots are the main sustain for runs.

I'm by no mean trying to support bots, but the way the game works right now... well, its gonna have a big impact. Let's see how it ends. I do hope i'm wrong tho.

[Coldkil]

As a big diablo fan, i am indeed a bit worried about game's longevity. Yeah, i will buy it and play on release for quite a while and will have a blast for sure (I know exactly where im getting into).

But... what worries me, is: After how much diablo 2 changed from 1.10 and on, if the game still works online and keeps rolling is because of bots.

Yeah, for as stupid as it sounds, without bots doing constant runs (Trist, tombs, cows, diablo, baal, etc...), a while after the start, its going to be a pain. And the longer the game goes on, the worse it will be. Sure, early on this won't be a problem, but try to play D2 now. There's still quite a lot of people playing, but bots are the main sustain for runs.

I'm by no mean trying to support bots, but the way the game works right now... well, its gonna have a big impact. Let's see how it ends. I do hope i'm wrong tho.

I actually had quite the opposite experience. Due to bots and trade seasons are just a race that expires in no time. Meanwhile i just played offline and farmed stuff for years at my pace without many issues, and the game lasted forever for me.

The mindset is that i don't need the best item. I want to hunt for the best items. When i get those, the hunt is over and the game aswell. If i buy those, the game stops before actually starting (but it's only my opinion).