Simply put: if changeists are desperate for change, and dislike Diablo II as it is as much as they claim, they can just go play Diablo III or another game. D2R’s potential shouldn’t be stymied by their bias.
And let me be clear, I’m all for adding changes to this game whenever it makes sense and is kept separate from old content if it effects the way others play (for context, I’ve been playing since Diablo 1, and I probably have 25,000 hours in Diablo 2 alone). I love the game and want to see some change added in future in a rational way; BUT, most of us die hard D2 fans have been asking forever for a remaster of the original game (well before D2R was even announced). Updates to quality of life, balance, new content, etc. There’s a reason so many community game mods were successful: they added changes but were kept separate from the core game. So, here is an opportunity to make that right (all under these beautiful new graphics, with a dedicated studio to support the updates). For example:
- Balance: there’s a reason why so many people play hammerdins and infinifty light sorcs for farming, or smiters for ubers (for example). There’s just no comparison to their power. IMO, these classes shouldn’t be nerfed, but other skills/builds should be boosted up.
- QOL: shared stash is an exciting move in the right direction, but there’s SO much more potential. Look no further than PoD or PD2 for things like rune/gem stacking, a trading website, etc.
- New Content: Act 6, PVP arena, new classes, etc.
I realize some of these balance, QoL, and content changes require a bit of careful planning / decision making (and may have some controversy); I’m not trying to get in the weeds with this, just trying to emphasize the statement above in bold.
Of course, all of this should be kept well away from the original game. Changeists will ruin it by essentially making a new game if these changes are implemented without keeping them separate. So if they hate the game the way it is as much as they do, they should refund and go play D3 or a game or a mod that they do like.