Curious as to Peoples thoughts on end game.
As a Precursor to this, I grew up playing D2, and LOD. I played for 7 years while the game was at its best, through the introduction of Rune words, uber diablo, ect…
If anyone has played Diablo 3, or Path of Diablo, that is not where I am going with this. If you like that set up, feel free to voice your opinion. Although I do enjoy Randomized dungeon/ boss set ups with decent loot. The sad part is the base game is then ignored for something else. I loved Andy Runs, Mephy Runs, and Baal Runs. I have always loved having to fight a boss for the best possible chance at loot. I also understand that having to kill Mephy 60 times with no legendary drops, can be frustrating.
I think the game should be released just as it was originally, but I would not be opposed to down the road, new options, updates, or expansions. (yaa yaa, I know D4 is coming… Well winter was coming and we saw how that ended… and after D3 My hopes have diminished)
What does everyone Like for End Game content? Instanced (aka Rifts)? Randomized? Repetitive like Baal Runs?
IMO it would be best to preserve the game as much as possible as the original. Diablo 2 is a timeless classic, lets keep it the way we remember.
Mods will come. Hopefully Blizzard enhances the ability to mod the game further down the road, enabling better mods than were possible with the original game.
If I want to run the rift treadmill, I’ll launch D3. 
Item hunting
Level 99
Ubers
PVP
D2 has tons of end game, all depends on your goals and what you want to accomplish each ladder season or with each character.
D2R will have the best endgame… it is simply what you make of it.
Loothunt, epic builds, niche builds, crafting, ubers, keys, boss runs, pvp and of cores TRADING
I hope they never ever make any adjustments like the braindead stuff you have in D3. Leave D2R for people that make their own endgame… and all people that can’t… go to D3 or maybe D4
Cheers!
IMO, random infinite dungeons bring some renewal but not “end-game”.
Neither infinite difficulty.
This way, chosen in D3, seems wrong.
I think there’s simply no “end” while you can always launch a new game session, i.e in SC mode.
The “end” is only what you decide to do or not => all classes, level 99, Ubers, perfect items, “special” builds…
However, I think there would be another (simple) way to bring some more renewal and challenge:
I love it the way it used to be. Baal runs, Mephisto runs, Andi runs, Countess for Runes… And finally trying to create and keep a lvl 99 hc char that manages to kill Baal in hell. For the title 
I don’t need stupid rifts like in D3.
Diablo 2’s end-game is unlike any other end-game I’ve ever experienced, and it was always the most addictive end-game for a handful of reasons:
- The fact that truly godly drops are extremely rare, gives them value. This value is not only determined by raw in-game or fg worth, but also psychological value. In Diablo 3 I found MF runs to be boring because I “knew” at the beginning of each reset that I would definitely “for certain” find everything I needed quite easily and quite quickly. This made strong end-game setups feel kind of meh and not so exciting to complete. In Diablo 2 however, having a truly powerful end-game MF or PvP setup required actual work and dedication, and even just sitting and looking over your character after working on it for years and years, gave a psychological satisfaction, something akin to showing people a customized vintage car in your garage that you had dumped time into over the years.
- This is why drop rates do not need to change. Because building a psychologically satisfying character is actually difficult to do, it makes MFing end-game in Diablo 2 not like “Well let’s get it done real quick” but more like “I am at a casino and it is possible that maybe if RNGesus blesses me tonight, I might hit the jackpot” ← It is THAT feeling that keeps the MFing mentally stimulating in Diablo 2, long past the point of having one single godly character complete. No matter how godly your character is, there is always some mega millions impossible to find drop that IF it happened, could make your character a little bit stronger. That or drops that incentivize a player to dabble in making other characters, more MFers, MFers using weird fun builds, PvP characters, LLD characters, specific niche PvPs like BvB or ZvZ, ect ect. Diablo 2 is a game that you can literally play for 20 years and still never find everything that you need. This is what makes end-game addictive like a casino and this is why drop rates should not change.
- Forum Gold being involved - Even when a player only wants to main 1 character and has that character virtually perfected in every way with multiple setups, due to the above aforementioned points, MFing is still very addictive because even if that person MFing doesn’t need what they find, there is a special kind of again “psychological satisfaction” when selling gear and hoarding Forum Gold. Because it has real value, it is extremely addicting to do.
- The actual PvP in Diablo 2 was waaaaaaay ahead of its time, and I often wonder if its success was ever really intended or if Blizzard just sort of… stumbled… into this strange dynamic of a game that worked wonderfully in an arpg for PvP. Both mechanically with how the characters worked and the psychology behind how players literally ran the pvp scene and everything was based off merit of trust & respect, each night of pvp in D2 was something akin to WWE Monday Night Raw. I often find that in newer games that are designed around Ranked modes and Automated Tournaments, they are missing that special ingredient that made D2 pvp so fun. In a game that handles pvp with automated matches & rankings, it handles all the community organization for you, and the community often never speaks to each other outside of complaining or finger pointing. But showing up to PvP in D2 was more like showing up to a Fight Club, where everyone knows each other. Games could stay GM or go BM, and this propagated either strong trust and respect for the GMS or notoriety for the BMs. ← THIS is what newer games lack that run entirely off regulated automated systems. They lack that special drama that makes a scene very human and feel real in those aspects. Again, I reference WWE Monday Night Raw’ish kind of interactions with other players due to how things worked in D2. You either made really good friends in D2 or really bad rivalries. Either way, it was all good because it was emotionally involved player interaction and this is what keeps a PvP scene alive. It isn’t enough to have a nice automated match format. There needs to real human interaction with real human motive behind it, and D2 had that up and down. “Get mad when you’re camped in town by a BM”, “Notice someone runs off the BM to help you get your body so make a friend that night”. Now you want to return the favor to the BM any time you see him and you want to help that friend you made and play with him more often. This is just one small example of what I mean here, but the point being is that this kind of psychological synergy is beginning to get harder and harder to find in games that run entirely off automated systems. People just play all night, one match after another, with no real incentive or reason to actually speak to someone in a chat. That isn’t enough to keep a PvP scene alive for years and years.
Anyway, that was the end-game of D2 for me. The things that I felt were important to point out. I’ve still never found a game that could compete with how long D2 has been able to keep my interests.
I pretty much like doing all end game content, but mainly Baal Runs and MFing 85+ areas! I just wish they would make Cow Runs a thing again to be a viable alternative to Baal Runs. Baal Runs for exp, and high end gear! Cow Runs for exp, runes, and runeword bases! 
People need to stop living in past.
I don’t think random/ non random “portal to somewhere” end game is the best, and hope D4 team come out with revolutionary end game.
But there is a reason why pretty much every arpg currently use such a system, PoE, D3, last epoch, wolcen, grim dawn etc as it is better than the repeat same few bosses 25x a day d2 “end game”.
It works for most arpg as it doesn’t requires too much extra work, and doesn’t get stale as fast as fighting same few bosses repeatedly
I think that’s one of the main points of why they’re releasing D2:R, so we can relive the past. Nostalgia, compatibility with modern hardware/operating systems, graphics rework, multiplayer network upgrades (modern Battle.net), minor QoL, prime the future sales for Diablo 4/D:I, and making money directly from D2:R sales. It’s an excellent move to strengthen the Diablo franchise.
Diablo 2 was a very successful game, and is one of the longest running and still active multiplayer games still available. For those who haven’t played the game in 15+ years, it should be a blast from the past! For those that still play the OG, its a long needed breath of (paid) support for the aging game that is hanging on by a thread.
I know this will go down like a lead balloon but I wouldn’t be apposed to some sort of end game content like randomised rifts, maybe on non ladder so you have somewhere to flex your fully geared and optimised toons.
I like the idea of having somewhere with high level mobs that challenge you a bit, rather than farming the same zone repeatedly.
I’m fine with the game as it is also but if they added something like that it wouldn’t bother me at all. Quite a lot of the stuff in D3 was alright they just bugged up the item hunting aspect of the game imo anyhow.
Lol, stop living in the past? This is a remastered game from 20 years ago. To quote The Big Lebowski, “You’re ***damn right I’m living in the ****ing past!”
EDIT: I’m not going to get in trouble for this post, am I? lol
Diablo II doesn’t really need any new end game contents Because Diablo II has already one of the best end contents in the series.
Loothunt, epic builds, niche builds, crafting, ubers, keys, boss runs, pvp and of cores TRADING.-
Doing runs over, and over,over,over again is pretty boring especially when you capped in difficulty, if was not for PvP I do not think I would be playing this game. Though D2R may be an issue for PvP with people using ultra wide screen support so will have to wait and see on that.
i HATE the d3, poe endgame. Wolcen is CRAP… ok grim dawn is pretty nice.
the reason why every arpg now uses this system ist exactly the reason WHY Diablo 2 is STILL the KING of ARPGS…
Diablo III end contents is bad, maybe some people like it but I really love Diablo II much better. So many things you can do, that you can’t do in Diablo III.
Looking forward to this game 
D2:R is going to get the greatest award since the release of Diablo II.
Yeah D3 is…okay, but nothing compared to D2…
I’m running maps right now in PoE, and cant help but daydream about D2R, pop on the forum every now and then…none of these arpgs hold a candle to D2…
I don’t think they should (or will) add new stuff, but it would be great if cows, CS, TC85 would be viable, so we can have some variation.
What do you mean by this, chaos sanctuary? CS is very viable.
Really? Nice. Back when i was active, 1.09, 1.10 CS was only played in classic. Has there been changes in CS?