Diablo 2 Remaster Rumors

[Seifa]

I'm somewhat scared.... My diablo 2 experience is single player with ladder only items and runeword added via text file and launch line command, a muling tool to move items between characters and save uniques on my hard drive because i'm a hoarder...

So i believe this remaster will be integrated with battlenet as BW:R and WC3R are now and so my single player gameplay will die.
Now let's think about Plugy, that doesn't work on the latest patch, Median XL, Path of Diablo: i don't think Blizzard will allow those mods to exist if Diablo 2 will be integrated in battlenet and requires a log in.

After seeing how classic WC3 was handled, i'm not holding my hopes ups.

[Triceron]

I'm somewhat scared.... My diablo 2 experience is single player with ladder only items and runeword added via text file and launch line command, a muling tool to move items between characters and save uniques on my hard drive because i'm a hoarder...

So i believe this remaster will be integrated with battlenet as BW:R and WC3R are now and so my single player gameplay will die.
Now let's think about Plugy, that doesn't work on the latest patch, Median XL, Path of Diablo: i don't think Blizzard will allow those mods to exist if Diablo 2 will be integrated in battlenet and requires a log in.

After seeing how classic WC3 was handled, i'm not holding my hopes ups.

If Classics Team isn't working on this and aren't integrating it into Bnet, it might be possible that this is kept a separate game and they learn their lessons to leave original D2 alone. One can only hope.

[Bane-Thunder-God]

Diablo 2 with better graphics - YES
Diablo 2 optimized for higher resolution and new systems - NO THANKS

This.

While i wait for Diablo 4, I would absolutely kill for a Diablo 2 with better graphics, Gief to me now!!!

[Garretdejiko]

So, how many layers of outsourcing this will have?

[Dkay]

After what happened with Warcraft 3 i couldn't care less about anymore remakes/remasters from blizzard.

This.
I totally agree.

[zEmini]

If we ignore War3 Reskinned, then the few changes I would like to see in D2

1. 100 Level Cap, because fuck you
2. Readdress immunities. Either add new enemies that are immune (like golems or elementals) so it makes sense, or just give us highly resistant monsters. This has always been such a cock block of artificial difficulty. It breaks immersion more than not being able to fly your dragon in wow.
3. All skills open from the start. Let us spec in them early without prereqs.
4. Let us explore the old cathedral in Tristram
5. Inferno Difficulty where monsters are ALL the highest level in Hell Mode Act V plus 1.
6. Maybe some new content in Act IV. There really isnt' a whole lot of Hell to explore in the Diablo games.

[Myrryr]

Didn't they say that Diablo 2 will never get a remaster because:

a) they lost the source code long ago, and

b) the game itself was hardcoded with a maximum resolution of 800x600 and with larger resolutions a bunch of it just doesn't work, like enemy pathing and AI.

Considering that there's a D2 mod that came out last year that bumps it's resolution up to 1280, it's clearly a solvable problem.

[Triceron]

Considering that there's a D2 mod that came out last year that bumps it's resolution up to 1280, it's clearly a solvable problem.

Yeah but it does exactly what Brevik explained it would. Nothing was solved, it just allows you to see monsters idling at the edge of the screen before they aggro you.

[HailToTheKing]

If they remove my ability to play OG D2 I will fucking kill myself.

[taishar68]

why would you play a d2 remaster instead of grim dawn?it is simply superior in every way

In your opinion.

This is a slippery slope...

I agree with the sentiment that we should have better balance to make builds more viable, but at the same time we already have that with balance mods, and the end result is always that they end up feeling too different from the original Diablo 2.

Also, stuff like 'clicking on gold' is a matter of not understanding how Diablo 2 is actually played and failing to learn the nuances. If you want an efficient source of gold, you pick out any Elite-rank Armor or 2-slot Class-specific item like Wands and Orbs with many +skills. Those will automatically sell for 35k max gold at Vendors, and you can make a few hundred thousand every trip. There's no reason to pick up gold in Diablo 2, kinda like there's no reason to break every barrel you come across or kill infinite spawn minions that yield 0 EXP, or max out an ability like Warmth. You just have to understand and accept this is part of the game.

Wait, you didn't max out Warmth? Next thing you'll tell me is you didn't max out Increased Stamina.

I'm somewhat scared.... My diablo 2 experience is single player with ladder only items and runeword added via text file and launch line command, a muling tool to move items between characters and save uniques on my hard drive because i'm a hoarder...

So i believe this remaster will be integrated with battlenet as BW:R and WC3R are now and so my single player gameplay will die.
Now let's think about Plugy, that doesn't work on the latest patch, Median XL, Path of Diablo: i don't think Blizzard will allow those mods to exist if Diablo 2 will be integrated in battlenet and requires a log in.

After seeing how classic WC3 was handled, i'm not holding my hopes ups.

This was my experience with D2 as well, but sadly I lost all my old characters (84% grail!), and while I have a current copy it's not the same anymore.

I think the QoL changes that would make it an absolute smash would be a shared stash a la D3, and more space a la PlugY. I'd love a Charm holder, or if they were all 1x1, but then they'd need to normalize the affixes and that sounds problematic.

I seriously think the best way to give us an updated D2 would be to allow a new game mode in D3 that plays like D2, because D3 is visually awesome and it already has all the QoL we'd want, but instead give us a real loot hunt, rework treasure classes for certain areas and bosses to recreate the old feel of Meph/Pindle/Baal runs.

Lastly, a few people were commenting on runewords, dupes, cookie cutter builds, etc...for those of you who played on Bnet more or less exclusively and lived in a world of Enigmas for all, you can beat the game, and do succesful MF/XP runs, with way less than that; you may not be as efficient, but it isn't impossible.

[Triceron]

Wait, you didn't max out Warmth? Next thing you'll tell me is you didn't max out Increased Stamina.

Man, it's been so long since I played a Barb I forgot that was even a thing.

I mean, I don't think I would mind if they somehow added more functionality to those ignored abilities the same way they did Synergies, just to promote some use for off-kilter build, the way Blessed Hammer synergizes off Blessed Aim and Vigor without actually using the Auras.

But thing is, Barb already has so many passive skills to choose from that it doesn't really need that kind of synergy, it was practically built that way from the get-go.

[Daedius]

After seeing Warcraft 3 reforged, fans of Diablo 2 seem scared of what a remaster would be like.

I imagine it'd get the Starcraft Remaster treatment, which would be going HD basically with widescreen support... and not what WC3 Reforged did.

[Malacrass]

Blizzard managed to ruin an almost unrivaled reputation within a few years, truly an achievement.

It's so hardcore, really. 10 years ago I would have drooled over this "rumor", now all I feel is unease.

[taishar68]

Man, it's been so long since I played a Barb I forgot that was even a thing.

I mean, I don't think I would mind if they somehow added more functionality to those ignored abilities the same way they did Synergies, just to promote some use for off-kilter build, the way Blessed Hammer synergizes off Blessed Aim and Vigor without actually using the Auras.

But thing is, Barb already has so many passive skills to choose from that it doesn't really need that kind of synergy, it was practically built that way from the get-go.

Yeah, a new Synergy pass would not be unwelcome either, but I'm also cool with the game as is, warts and all.

[deenman]

In your opinion.



Wait, you didn't max out Warmth? Next thing you'll tell me is you didn't max out Increased Stamina.



This was my experience with D2 as well, but sadly I lost all my old characters (84% grail!), and while I have a current copy it's not the same anymore.

I think the QoL changes that would make it an absolute smash would be a shared stash a la D3, and more space a la PlugY. I'd love a Charm holder, or if they were all 1x1, but then they'd need to normalize the affixes and that sounds problematic.

I seriously think the best way to give us an updated D2 would be to allow a new game mode in D3 that plays like D2, because D3 is visually awesome and it already has all the QoL we'd want, but instead give us a real loot hunt, rework treasure classes for certain areas and bosses to recreate the old feel of Meph/Pindle/Baal runs.

Lastly, a few people were commenting on runewords, dupes, cookie cutter builds, etc...for those of you who played on Bnet more or less exclusively and lived in a world of Enigmas for all, you can beat the game, and do succesful MF/XP runs, with way less than that; you may not be as efficient, but it isn't impossible.

well grim dawn is the closest to d2 there is...and it just has more of it in a modern frame,what does d2 do better than grim?ladder?thats not gameplay

[Kokolums]

I seriously think the best way to give us an updated D2 would be to allow a new game mode in D3 that plays like D2, because D3 is visually awesome and it already has all the QoL we'd want, but instead give us a real loot hunt, rework treasure classes for certain areas and bosses to recreate the old feel of Meph/Pindle/Baal runs.

Lastly, a few people were commenting on runewords, dupes, cookie cutter builds, etc...for those of you who played on Bnet more or less exclusively and lived in a world of Enigmas for all, you can beat the game, and do succesful MF/XP runs, with way less than that; you may not be as efficient, but it isn't impossible.

The main attraction of D2 was battle.net. Gamers logged onto Battle.net and met their clan mates. Maybe they played some Starcraft, some Diablo, some Diablo 2, some Warcraft 3.

When you understand this, then you understand how the evolution of Diablo should go.

1. There should be seamless integration between WoW and D4 to mimic how players could hop between games on bnet.
2. You shouldn't have "WoW guilds". You should foster Blizzard guilds that play all of Blizzard games.
3. Make a neutral space (like the Nexus) where people can interact as characters from each of their games. A D2 barb can inspect a WoW demon hunter.
4. Observer games in Starcraft were a hit. Allow people to observe games in the Blizz interface directly but add full ability to clikc on objects / people and chat.
5. Replays were a hit with Starcraft. Add the ability to make replays in D4 and WoW.
6. leaderboards in D2 were a hit. Add leaderboards to the new interface to rank players by difficulty completed, level, experience, class, and new factors like number of challenges completed (what those challenges are could be anything).
7. All of this can be expanded to include a D2 remaster.

[taishar68]

well grim dawn is the closest to d2 there is...and it just has more of it in a modern frame,what does d2 do better than grim?ladder?thats not gameplay

You could be right, I'm just saying it is your opinion. It could be any number of trivial things that make people prefer one game over the other, even just the fact that are comfortable with the story of D2 and aren't interested in a different one. Just playing devil's advocate really, no harm intended.

[Triceron]

well grim dawn is the closest to d2 there is...and it just has more of it in a modern frame,what does d2 do better than grim?ladder?thats not gameplay

Diablo 2 does the Diablo universe better than Grim Dawn does.

I mean, Grim Dawn is always gonna be Grim Dawn. POE is always gonna be POE. If you want Diablo 2 universe, then you have to play Diablo 2. Even D3 doesn't do the Diablo universe justice compared to 2 IMO; it lacked a lot of the atmosphere and grittiness that comes from everything in the game; from the graphics to the sound design to the base gameplay mechanics. Everything was a complete package, and not something you can just separate into chunks and say 'X game did this better so there's no reason to play an old game'.

[deenman]

Diablo 2 does the Diablo universe better than Grim Dawn does.

I mean, Grim Dawn is always gonna be Grim Dawn. POE is always gonna be POE. If you want Diablo 2 universe, then you have to play Diablo 2. Even D3 doesn't do the Diablo universe justice compared to 2 IMO; it lacked a lot of the atmosphere and grittiness that comes from everything in the game; from the graphics to the sound design to the base gameplay mechanics. Everything was a complete package, and not something you can just separate into chunks and say 'X game did this better so there's no reason to play an old game'.

this is completly redundant,ofc NOTHING will do the d2 universe like d2 itself lol,my point is that grim dawn is the closest to d2 in its gameplay,systems and even grittiness

[Triceron]

this is completly redundant,ofc NOTHING will do the d2 universe like d2 itself lol,my point is that grim dawn is the closest to d2 in its gameplay,systems and even grittiness

You mean asides from D2 itself.

And that's the whole topic of this isn't it? A Diablo 2 Remaster.

Grim Dawn is a great game, but Grim Dawn only does Grim Dawn the best. I don't play Grim Dawn because it's like D2, I play it because it's a fun game on its own. But it really isn't Diablo 2. Diablo 2 is the reason I still play Diablo 2.

The gameplay is already set and familiar. I know what items to get, I know what Runes and Runewords to hunt for, I'm familiar with the Legendaries and how it excites me when I see a good one drop. That is all gameplay. That is all immersion. Grim Dawn can have fun mechanics, but it isn't an analog to D2, just as D3 or PoE wouldn't be D2.

If I wanted to play Grim Dawn, then I'd just go and play Grim Dawn and talk about it on Grim Dawn forums, right?

I mean I had the same talks with people back in the Torchlight days, and they even have the music composer from the original Diablo series. That was way before Grim Dawn and PoE but the same arguments were made, and people just missed the point of it all. It's not about mimicing grittiness or capturing the same core mechanics. It's about the full package.