Last edited by Vespian; 2021-09-21 at 06:16 PM.
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the stash system, the potion system, the points and class skill system all had plenty flaws, and if you do 2 mins of research you can find numerous other flaws in the games design, so it was far from being the pinnacle of aRPG design it was just a decent game in its time, doesnt hold a candle to the current aRPGs that are available.
Last edited by kenn9530; 2021-09-21 at 10:03 PM.
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Vanilla D3 wasn't superior lol. It wasn't as bad as people are making it out to be, but they certainly missed the mark in a lot of key areas. The game was way to linear in gearing design with items being way to rare. D2 used a lot of base items for rune words, crafting, etc, all the while implementing set items and uniques. D3s major problem was that unique and set items completely sucked and there was no "budget" versions of items to go and farm.
D2 was the pinnacle of aRPG and with mod support it was better than PoE while PoE was still getting off it's feet. As much as I disagree with direction they've taken PoE recently, it's still the front runner (IMO) in regards to how an aRPG should be built.
Also while I enjoyed Vanilla D2 for what it was, the game really wasn't complete from a fun perspective and grinding perspective until LoD came out. Playing Vanilla D2 was pretty bland IMO. Synergies in a later patch also made way more builds playable and basically made the game a lot more fun, even if they were pretty simplistic.
The big faults of D2 was rune words basically being most of the end game over everything else and your entire inventory being filled with charms. If I had to pick one, it was probably charm design TBH.
Claiming something is the pinnacle means there is nothing better, if there was nothing better there would be more ppl playing D2 of which only the hardcore players still play it, PoE and D3 beat it by miles of being a better game. Not played lost ark either yet since waiting on the west release but that game also is better than D2.
D2 is an old game with old systems, its a decent game but doesnt hold up to whats available now.
Vanilla D3 you had to put effort into the game to get anywhere and it was challenging, you would struggle to push into act 2 on the hardest difficulty in bad gear. D2 just as linear but there is far less options, you just farm certain bosses and areas depending on what item you want.
Last edited by kenn9530; 2021-09-21 at 10:17 PM.
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STAR-J4R9-YYK4 use this for 5000 credits in star citizen
It's not mutually exclusive.
Diablo 2 isn't the most popular game, but in terms of an ARPG design, someone can absolutely say it's the pinnacle of the genre since even current ARPG's have not actually topped its gameplay. Games like PoE just taken the formula and added to it, but it has never actually surpassed Diablo 2 in terms of game design.
Citizen Kane is a pinnacle of movies. Have you even watched Citizen Kane? I bet you haven't. I bet your friends haven't either. More people have watched Star Wars the Last Jedi than Citizen Kane, it doesn't make the Last Jedi a better movie for it.
Last edited by Triceron; 2021-09-21 at 10:24 PM.
D2s gameplay is just average its not bad its not great, its hardly amazing gameplay like you think it is, PoE, Lost Ark, and other aRPGs have much better gameplay so yes many games have far surpassed D2s so called pinnacle gameplay.
Its impossible to claim anything is the pinnacle of anything, there is always something better that comes along eventually, for a short while something may be the best but it gets old and passes the torch.
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As with the other classic games ... why the hell do you want them changed?
You got modern follow-ups for them .. Diablo 3 and in a few years Daiblo 4. Or plenty of other similar titles.
Then you're shifting goalposts.
First you say pinnacle is best of the best and how D2 isn't the best because it isn't popular.
I explain how the best of the best doesn't have to be popular.
Now you're saying it's impossible to claim anything as pinnacle because something new always comes along.
Well that hasn't changed Citizen Kane being considered a pinnacle of movie making, has it? It's still up there, regardless of whether new movies come out or if more and more people come into movies having no awareness of its existence. It's still historically and still considered now as the pinnacle of movies.
I'll give you that PoE has certainly grown vast and taken a strong hold in the ARPG genre, but the torch hasn't actually been passed from Diablo 2 to PoE. It hasn't actually surpassed D2's game design. It's popular because the devs still pour content into the game and continue it's support, keeping it relevant.
Just like I'd say Starcraft 2 is still the most popular RTS out there because the devs still continue supporting it and having active tournaments, but if we're talking about the pinnacle of RTS games, it would still be SC1, despite it not being as popular. Much harder to play, way higher learning curve and technical bullshit, but overall it's a MUCH more balanced game that holds up to the test of time, and it does not need continued support in order to remain one of the (if not the) best competitive RTS ever made.
Or let's talk about Puzzle Games. What would you consider to be the pinnacle of Puzzle games? Arguably, I'd personally give that to Tetris or perhaps even Portal 2. Are these popular? Not at all any more. If we're talking about popularity, then Candy Crush beats them both easily. And I'd hardly call Candy Crush the pinnacle of Puzzle games.
Pinnacle usually refers to the best regarded in terms of design and execution. Diablo 2 is the pinnacle not only because of its design, but because of its execution - it holds up as a timeless game that has near-infinite gameplay value without any new content required. Compared to PoE, imagine if the devs stop tweaking balance or adding content to the game. It'll hold up for a while but really its strengths come from its content, and not as much through its design. It is a high quality game, but arguably not enough to top the level of Diablo 2. It's strength is in its continued content, not in its overall execution. PoE is almost purely action hack and slash that promotes speed running, while Diablo 2 has speed running in it but is built on a completely different goal of having more integrated RPG elements within, making it a much more atmospheric and cohesive experience than simply being purely a loot-based game.
Hopefully PoE2 will address some of those issues and bring back some of the much needed core ARPG design back into the series. Right now, it's purely all-action with almost zero RPG involved.
Last edited by Triceron; 2021-09-21 at 11:05 PM.
You are the one moving goal posts, if something is the pinnacle then it should be the best and most popular, the gameplay is D2 alone is not that great, all other games have vastly superior gameplay.
You are the one claiming D2 is the pinnacle of the genre when it isnt, if you claim something is the pinnacle of something then there should be nothing that can beat it no matter how old it is, but diablo 3 alone has beat D2, in terms of current player levels and popularity and just being a better game overall, if barely anyone plays it then its not the pinnacle of the genre no matter how hard you think it is.
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Not changed. New content.
New content doesn't always equate to changing something. And for those who don't want change, there is always not playing any of the new content.
An example is Age of Empires 2 HD/Remastered having added a new expansion that adds two completely new armies. It's not changing the style or feel of the original games, it's adding new content. And for anyone who doesn't want to play the expansion? They can opt to play the original. It's not like the core systems themselves have changed to play like AoE 3 or AoE4.
- - - Updated - - -
Pinnacle does not mean most popular.
Again, would you consider Candy Crush to be the pinnacle of puzzle games?
Would you call Diablo 3 the pinnacle of ARPGs because it beat D2 in sales?
Last edited by Triceron; 2021-09-21 at 11:12 PM.
Pinnacle means the best, if barely anyone plays it then its not the best is it, so its not the pinnacle of aRPG, you cant claim something is the pinnacle when there is nothing to back it up, D3 sold over 12 million copies you could say currently its the pinnacle of the aRPG genre, or PoE could be the pinnacle of aRPG with its active playerbase that far exceeds D2 even in its prime.
Player numbers do count in determining if something is the best at something or not.
Last edited by kenn9530; 2021-09-21 at 11:17 PM.
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Of course they count.
Now easy question then, would you call PoE the best ARPG ever made? Because I wouldn't. It's a great ARPG, and it's the most widely played ARPG, but I would hardly consider it the best ARPG because it's design is really hap-hazard and overly complicated, and highly dependent on constant updates. In my opinion, it is not the best because its execution is lacking. Diablo 3 is in a similar category, despite it being popular it is not very well executed, and requires the Seasons updates and constant GR pushing to keep it alive. It's not well executed and its design would not last without constant support.
Diablo 2 is a pinnacle of ARPGs because its design is absolutely solid. It is the best ARPG because its design and execution are way better than Path of Exile or Diablo 3, which requires constant updating in order to stay relevant.
Same reason I'd say Citizen Kane is the pinnacle of movies while End Game and all the Marvel movies can sell gangbusters AND be very high quality and entertaining movies; it doesn't make the Marvel movies a pinnacle of movies in general. Yet if we're talking an alternative standard, like the best 'cinematic universe', then Marvel could absolutely be called the Pinnacle of Cinematic Universes.
Last edited by Triceron; 2021-09-21 at 11:25 PM.
D3 is vastly different and superior to D2s gameplay design, D2 just copied and slightly improved from D1 so the design is not even from D2, it didnt create a mold for anything as there were a few aRPGs before the first diablo even released so its just a copy of a copy.
D2 is a decent game but its far from being a pinnacle of anything, its gameplay alone is just acceptable.
Only the cultist fans would claim D2 was the pinnacle of anything, the truth is the game is just average as a game and its gameplay systems were just copied and modified from previous aRPGs.
The best aRPG is the one with the most active playerbase which is probably lost ark currently.
Simple fact is D3, PoE, Lost Ark, Grim Dawn and other aRPGs are far superior in actual gameplay, so claiming D2 is the pinnacle of anything is just lying to yourself.
Last edited by kenn9530; 2021-09-21 at 11:32 PM.
STAR-J4R9-YYK4 use this for 5000 credits in star citizen