This is purely a theoretical suggestion based on a broad consensus of existing issues in D2 endgame content.
There are two issues I see in the game right now that collectively comprise most of the “endgame” activity in D2:
- Leveling progress becomes dramatically slower past level 90 or so, and certainly the last two levels are infamously difficult to attain. This is mostly due to the fact that so few monsters give experience to a level 98 player, I think only Diablo and Baal (maybe Nihlathak also?)
- Magic finding is optimal only in certain zones which are known to be level 85 monsters, of which the elite and boss packs are level 87 and can drop TC87 items (Griffon’s and other extremely rare items). Many of these are items which are necessary to run end-game builds effectively, or which just have lots of value in trade.
To be clear, I do not think grinding levels or magic finding should be made easier in any way. Both these are fun challenges, and the main ones players have in the game. What I think should be made better would be if the possibility to level and magic find were made somewhat more accessible without jumping through ridiculous and tedious hurdles to get these highest echelon goals.
My solution: the implementation of an “Inferno” or “super-hell mode” once a character has completed Hell Baal. The idea of an inferno difficulty goes back to Diablo 1 (actually the Beelzebub mod I believe implemented this first?) and Diablo 3 had such a mode in its vanilla days. Knowing that D2 players have an understandable aversion to anything D3, I want to make clear what I mean by an inferno mode and what I think it offers:
Inferno mode would include:
- all monsters level 85+ in base areas, all caves and sub areas not related to main quest lines level 88+ (obviously champion packs are still higher level than the general population)
- Catacombs, Tombs, Kurast/Durance, River of Flame/Chaos sanctuary, and Worldstone Keep (plus Abaddon portals in frigid highlands) could be level 92+ or something crazier. This is so they give more experience and offer more challenge.
- scaling of difficulty would be much higher than the experience gained by multiplayer groups. If the group experience is not tempered somewhat this could easily make magic finding and leveling too trivial. The goal is to make this an appropriate challenge for well-geared players looking to find those top tier items and grind those last 8-9 levels.
What is great about this solution in my mind is that it does nothing to affect the current game difficulties. All hell mode areas are untouched, and people can still farm L85 areas. Inferno mode is presupposing that you have skill and gear to play at a higher level, and gives yet another threshold of progression for players. Inferno mode should not affect the difficulty of Uber and Dclone bosses which also make up part of the endgame. There is no new content in Inferno mode - no questlines at all - but only for magic finding and leveling. As far as resistances, I think they could remain the same as hell mode without any issue.
This is also a great solution because it is not new content but merely scaling content to better suit the needs of the current game as it is. The new difficulty is just that, more difficulty and reward. It is not meant to make the game easier, but to aid in the goals a player is undertaking. I think this makes endgame progression more accessible and exciting for all players. This would for sure shake up the MF and leveling meta for the game without breaking it.
Those are my thoughts, I’d love to hear yours. Should there be another difficulty setting above hell? What should that difficulty entail? Are there any potential issues with creating a new difficulty level above hell?
