Probably the more popular thing to do from a developer’s angle is to consider how QoL changes might affect the game, and whether they may actually take away from it.
If a QoL feature is then deemed worthy of being part of D2R, then they would implement it as a toggleable option, so that purists can continue to play without it.
What that does is keep the community unified, while giving both parties the options they like. But when we talk about some of the more major changes that would not be togglable (like actual character or skill balance changes) they would have to practice a very steady hand there and really go back to the philosophy of Diablo 2. And I have to assume at least for now that those types of changes aren’t up for discussion at the moment. Possibly post release, depending on a variety of factors.
So splitting up the community for now, just based on the stuff they’re concerned with now (QoL features) wouldn’t make a lot of sense. The auto gold pick up for example is toggleable. Even the old graphics are toggleable. There are some QoL features that people have very different views on whether they change the gameplay, like a charm bag. I don’t think the devs are going to be looking into those features right now. And if they did, they would most likely allow it to be a toggleable option, if it were implemented at all.
No because toggle able QoL can eventually change the meta for the game.
Even something as small as auto gold pickup will change the economy, since players will have more gold they will be able to gamble more often, resulting in more items.
It gets even worse when we start talking about charm inventory, /8 players command, loot filters, and personal loot.
These types of changes NEED to be on a separate server otherwise it will tamper with preserving the original game.
When you talk about community segregation and negativity, that is already existing RIGHT NOW. There are plenty in support of just playing the currently live with no other changes until the day that they die, and there are plenty of other Diablo 2 fans (yes, Diablo 2 fans, because they exist from before the patch that originally segregated the community and are not just the Diablo 3 fanboys) that would like to see controversial things like balancing. Plenty of people in both camps to sustain them.
Yes, you are right that these “toggleable” QoL features would change the meta. Why play without auto gold pickup if it makes it much more effective to collect gold?
For the record, I have been against these types of changes, and the charm bag since the beginning, don’t get me wrong. Just providing examples.
Auto gold is probably not a huge deal since gold is not extremely valuable, it has already been announced as a toggleable feature, and will probably save me from getting arthritis tbh. But features like /players 8 in multiplayer would be a huge problem, and the charm bag or especially person loot creates a very different game experience.
I am of the opinion that the devs should keep the game as close to the original mechanically as they can, minus the larger/shared stash, and then release the game and see how it goes. It’s better to keep the community together at first at least. The people who want massive changes can express their opinions on the forums, learn to adapt to the game, or go play a different game.
Also keep in mind that blizzard is very much into keeping their communities unified. It is really not like them to create many different servers / versions with different rulesets. They tend to create 1 standard version that has 1 set of rules that they deem best for the long term health of the game.
Right I understand, I just think the easier solution (that comes with a lot of benefits) is to have a resurrected server, because I do believe that player engagement will go down without any content additions or changes. That’s just how games work these days unfortunately. And some of us (maybe you as well) want the original game to stay true to form, this fork will always give us the opportunity to play the D2 we all know and love, but also maybe experience the feeling of new D2 content we’ve waited for over 20 years to get. I really like the idea of having both.
If the player base does diminish, and there isn’t much interest in D2 after 3-6 months, then sure I can understand not creating this extra fork. If the game is widely popular and new content is in high demand, I think the fork would be the best way of satisfying everyone.
I think in this case having an extra server would be a wise move from Blizzard because they don’t want to disrupt the core pillars of preserving the game, but at the same time they want to keep people engaged for a long time, and bring on newer and younger players to experience the game.
Also, why do people play those mods on private servers? I would imagine it isn’t just due to rampant botting on current official servers, but because they offer something different than a stagnant, near 20 year old balancing issues. Again, which splits community from official game servers. Thus, why a fork to an updated official version would not be an issue.
Which would be the same thing except blizzard would be managing it instead of community members. They can’t please everyone so give people the tools to please themselves.
And I would agree, that if people didn’t like the changes, and don’t like the launch patch, then they could go to mods. But by officially having a separate fork that would continue with updating the game, even short term, Blizzard stands to retain more players overall, playing with an official community.
Let’s just get the game released before we start modifying it yeah? I could care less if this is added or not as long as I still get the classic experience but until that happens I’m against any substantial changes.
I think that is the general consensus as well, mine included. Game needs to release, then after a season or two, have a fork to stimulate the playerbase and keep em playing. With shorter seasons, people will probably be burnt out faster. A new, forked patch would offer a change of pace to breath life into the game. People can bounce back and forth between experiences.
Completely on board with future additions. I would even be happy to see an additional class with some new runewords in the future. I’m sure if D2R does as well as I think it will than blizz will see how far they can take it.
If D2R had 3 modes, that would be fine by me. The game already has 2 modes D2 and D2:Lod where purists can have the minimum QoL. D2:LoD enhanced would be the home to players that want various modern options.
In terms of players from most to least, I bet it would me
D2:Lod Enhnanced
D2:LoD
D2 Classic
I’m with Bloodshot on this as usual, keep it minimal as can be. I think of D2:R as a way to bring all the cult classic D2 die hards back into the franchise before the release of D4. The ones who explained countless times why D3 was heading in the wrong direction and were absolutely crushed by way too many stupid changes to discuss in this moment. ‘Don’t dumb it down, don’t streamline it for casuals Jay… don’t do it those people will play campaign and disappear.’ They mostly did.
In fact… the development of D4 seems in a lot ways a direct counter to D3 or at least comprise. Because while D3 was a financial success for Blizzard it was a s*** stain on the franchise and they knew it. They spiced it up but it’s still dirt lol.
I’m so torn on all of these changes… personal loot can be ‘done right’. Inventory vs compromise, charm bags… hell I would love to see stamina reworked to make a difference permanently… items gain weight and inventory creating encumbrance. Things that would significantly change the feel of the game can be done right. The point is those changes shouldn’t happen in D2.
Funny enough… I had the thought today that if VV and Blizz/Acti make a lot of money and decide to further it they should break it up. One is classic the other is significant changes. I stick to my gut tho… don’t dumb it down. Don’t streamline it. Don’t make it too much ‘more convenient’ if anything make it more difficult.
Most people in this thread have already said, keep lod classic on it’s own, and have a separate branch where updates happen. After launch. No messing with launch, let it be, let it stay, let the separate branch grow. Diablo 4 will be an excellent game in it’s own right. However, someone else said it on this forum best (can’t remember who) but people will play D4, then if they really love it more than D2, they’ll stay. However, most people that are D2 people, will come back and play D2.
As someone who has played and mastered every Diablo game so far, I am surprisingly not interested at all in D4. It way too far out for me to even think about it or have it on my radar. I do not think I will play DI either. I will probably watch someone else play it for me so I can see what the story line is, but that is it. I just don’t have the time to invest in such large projects anymore.
I think that having 3 separate game modes will please everyone as discussed in this thread. If so I fully support it.