During the actual call, they stated that D2R Tech Alpha had the most views for a Blizzard test ever. Does seem odd that that report doesn’t mention D2R, despite the fact that the annual conference took place after the TA testing.
Its the only ammunition he has to spew his opinions and wants, but make it sound like hes not the minority…
A real, unbias, OPEN poll will tell a truly different story and they are afraid of that.
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I’m sure with the current global pandemic situation, the increased amount of people that are working from home on a computer, the extra free time available not having to travel daily which may be used to play games all had a role in boosting the viewership.
Plus the whole BlizzConline being freely viewable.
Pandemic sales mega-boost.
The real truth of the matter is, MicroRNA is going to play this game anyway.
If a bunch of people returning to this game find it drastically different, builds don’t work the same, skills don’t work the same, Runewords are not as they remember them, Gameplay feels different because of all the current players getting tired of the same stuff for 20 years and slapping on their “mods” and “custom modern improvements” that a large portion of players are attempting to flee from, they’re going to end up with massive refunds, another WCR incident and the same pitiful playerbase they had before.
The current players of D2 will be, “oh boy, new stuff after 20 years”
90% of their sales from returning players, “Wow this game isn’t at all how I remember it, refund please.”
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While you are right on part of the increased views due to the pandemic, I’d venture a guess on many of those views being legit interest, especially among viewers of the popular D2 streamers. In any case, it is still odd that the report linked, had no mention of the D2R Tech Alpha.
On the other front, looks like no blog today. Shame.
Almost everyone that posts here that aren’t happy about one thing or another is still going to play. 
I’m okay with 99% of the changes done, which still slaps me with a “purist” label by some, oddly enough.
The 1% is the non-sensical alterations of the character models, two specifically.
I rarely play either of those two characters so I’m mostly content with the current state of the game.
The rest of my time here is rejecting people petitioning changes that during gameplay wouldn’t flip my nostalgia switch. I’m paying 40 dollars for that nostalgia switch. That is the main demographic and Blizzard knows this. It’s not about “ploot” or “pvp gameplay balancing” or “Runeword balancing”, it’s about a cash grab for my childhood serotonin.
If you think otherwise, well, this game may disappoint you. 
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It’s really a double edged sword, especially due to the shifts of patches for D2. For many returning players that played the first 2-3 years, that same exact phrase of “not like I remembered” will ring true. OP runewords, synergies, more OS skills than you can shake a stick at, HP sponge difficulty, etc. For other players, it might not add enough of refinements to make the game more playable or balanced (ie those that originally left after 1.10), or add any new content, as is pretty common for remasters/ports. Now over the last couple of weeks, we’ve learned of some great strides in how they are refining playability, but for a percentage of people, it might not be enough.
Now the funny thing is, a couple of days ago, someone (I think Nortroll) mentioned on how the FFX remaster was a great example of how to remaster a game by just improved visuals and sound. However, what he failed to mention, which I did, was that it was not a remaster of the original game, but a limited release updated version that added new content and optional balance. I don’t recall any major complaints back then of not remastering the true original game, and that remaster sold better than the newly developed game of FF13-3.
The amount of people that would refund over updating the game and adding new content (pending it didn’t change the overall game itself into D3 or some other genre) is pretty minuscule compared to the extra amount of sales that they would gain, especially since they could be potentially be sitting on pretty decent numbers from console sales. Hell, I seen in one of the other forums here, that someone refunded because they felt Blizzard was dumbing down the game, which was before this last blog, and even before the first blog I think. Some people are just nuts.
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I, Muyu von Muyuheim declare that I only wish to play Diablo 2. Please give game. 
Played so many years, so many hours back in the day. The nostalgia trip will be real.
You got it. With upgraded graphics and some small QoL updates.
I don’t know VV’s current situation but if VV is still in Albany, NY then the likelihood is that the ‘distraction’ (bad word choice, but can’t think of anything better atm) the legal allegations are causing the team is likely far less than they would be if in Irvine.
It might impact a couple of things by the deadline but, in honesty, I think the impact will be minimal if VV is still in Albany
I agree that “out of the gate” we wont see any balance changes I do think ~3 seasons we’ll begin seeing them as everyone will be coming with a similar knowledge base for D2R. We might not agree with some or all of the changes but at least our reference point will be constant.
Part of the issue right now of any major changes to items, skills, etc. is the fact that so many of us could be speaking about different Diablo 2 games. 1.09, 1.12, 1.13, mods, etc. they all have their own environments that can drastically alter talking points.
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Pre-ordered the minute I could.
Of course I will pre-order the Lord of all ARPG’s with 4k 60 fps. That is one major reason I quit the game, hence, an underwhelming pixelated graphics engine. With D2R I would not be surprised if I put over 1k hours into this game in less than 3 months. Super hyped for this resurrected game. I been waiting for something like this for over 10 years. I was 20 years old when d2 first released and this will be awesome. Don’t be surprised when you see D2R at over 250k viewers on twitch TV. Good day. 
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I could be completely out of touch but I’m pretty sure more people care about D2R than even D4. Sales are probably astronomically high and even if D2R and D4 were both available for purchase right now, I feel like D2R would be outselling it.
I doubt this, and very strongly. I don’t think this remaster will sell anywhere close to as many copies as a constantly updated, inevitably expanded game with new seasonal content added every 3 months like D4.
I can’t see it. At all. That being said, I’ll probably get more hours out of D2R than D4, but I’m a little bit…different.
I was hoping that they would have called out the pre order numbers on the call today, but nope. With DI being pushed back to early 2022, and D4 still awhile away it seems (though part of me still thinks late next year wouldn’t be out of the ballpark), I think D2R stands to see a couple of updates, especially with from what I read the new co-lead of Blizzard being one of the devs on D2R (can’t fact check that though). Now they did state that D4 is planned to have content for years, so Geezer isn’t far off the mark with his comment.
*Edit: Muyu was the one that stated Jen O’Neal was a development lead on D2R
i did buy 2 copys of D2R 1 for me and 1 for my wife hehe but i will proberly have a few mules on her ac 