If D2R is very different from D2, I think it’s likely Blizzard will receive bad press.
But if D2R is not too different from D2, who can legitimately complain? Blizzard should have altered the D2 remaster farther away from D2’s mechanics? That’d end up being a silly criticism. Blizzard won’t be criticized in the gaming press at all for leaving D2R mostly similar to D2. Because that D2R is what would be expected.
I don’t think Blizzard would be negatively affected at all for making D2R a mostly faithful remaster. If I were them, I’d think the risk of changing too much would be faar greater than the “risk” of changing too little. I actually don’t see the latter as a risk at all… more like playing it safe.
Especially considering the terrible press of W3R.
I really don’t think survey results paint an accurate picture here. It seems so many of those survey-takers (I was not one) wouldn’t be very interested in Diablo 2 without a whole lot of changes. I find it unlikely Blizzard will implement a lot of changes - maybe a few. In which case I doubt a lot of the people asking for huge changes would even like playing D2R anyway.
So where would that leave Blizzard? Implement a lot of changes or lose the very iffy support of people who seem to already strongly dislike D2’s gameplay mechanics?
It seems… like a fool’s gamble, especially right after W3R, to do something likely to earn the ire of the internet again with D2R.
Is Blizzard trying to maintain Diablo II’s soul in this resurrection, or are they opting for a cheaper reanimation?
I dont think Diablo 2 has one single game mechanic bad. So there is no reason to change stuff. Except some features which make game better without changing it negatively. Like big and shared stash, fixing bugs and better anti cheating system.
I think that blizzard is used to release polished games and it would be weird to release game full of bugs which are known for years. If they keep bugs in game and wont do much against cheaters, then it will release bad press.
Actualy I would change trade system in Diablo 2 as it is not designed very well. The way how people trade between each other.
Have you met the people who are complaining already that D2R is not different enough?
They are all over this forum.
It doesn’t matter what Blizz does, they will receive criticism.
It doesn’t matter what ANY gaming company does; there is ALWAYS a loud vocal minority that will criticize every decision.
That will certainly be the case here when D2R is released, regardless of what the devs do with it.
Blizzard should be very carefull with D2:R, and they can not afford to make the same mistake twice.
I agree with minor Quality of life, bug fixed etc. I disagree on big changes, an example for a big change is changing the loot system. That’s one of the cores in Diablo 2.
I acknowledge that I don’t want changes (other than the small QoL already showcased), so some bias exists in my judgement. That said; everything you said about avoiding another WC3R debacle and playing it safe is true.
I am in a ton of D2 related groups and forums and every time someone gives the reason why they havent preordered or why they may not buy D2R is always the same:
They’re waiting to see reviews to make sure its not like WC3R.
Waiting to make sure blizzard doesnt change everything and ruin the game.
Waiting to make sure there will not be microtransactions and cosmetic purchases.
etc, etc.
It is no secret that the gaming community has lost faith in Blizzard overall recently, and that is especially prominent among the Diablo 2 fanbase. “Yeah but Blizzard is dead.”, “Too bad its not Blizzard North, RIP”, “Good luck with getting that from ACTIBLIZZ LOL!”,
Everyone had the same sour taste in their mouth and pessimistic mindset until we all saw the Deep Dive and realized what a good job Vicarious Visions was doing. That lifted the hopes of many; but not all.
Blizzard and D2R are very much still on the line to prove they can “not mess this up”. And I believe for the vast majority of those waiting, that means sticking true to the original game.
The reddit survey showed that the vast majority of self-reported D2 players (94%) want changes among respondents.
Moreover, Blizzard is apparently concerned if they do not make changes they will ruin the experience for new players. It seems to me in D2R, they will need to keep the option to play an authentic D2 to avoid W3R blowback and a less-authentic D2 version for the vast majority of old players who are progressives as well as new players.
See:
In one of the news reports about D2R, it seems that Blizzard is worried about striking the right balance.
Blizzard should strive to keep D2:R true to the original game. Those that haven’t played since a few years after the original games release are in for enough of a surprise with the changes that happened since they quit playing. Anything more than what they’ve already announced at the time of release would be even more of a punch in the gut surprise.
The things I want from D2:R are bug fixes, balancing of unused and overpowered skills, maintained mod support and a Blizzard hosted in-game trading platform. I might be open to a paid expansion with additional content.
People who want a modern game will be taken aback by the clunky combat anyway. They would have to completely overhaul everything about the combat to make it more like D3 which won’t happen.
D2 fight is not clunky compared to Starcraft 1 and warcraft 3. I am a mediocre RTS player and I smashed my desk more than 100 times for that stupid AI that just blocked itself on path…
Bad to this topic. Graphics is a thing I can enjoy for 2-3 playthrough and after that, graphics isn’t that important and that makes D2R the same as D2, so I want more contents to play with.
D2 LOD in its current form is unplayable in 2021! It promotes toxic and anti social game play that doesn’t fit the blizzard mold! Nothing says fun like out clicking your friends for items and potions! Most new age gamers will be like rofl booooomer! How do you even begin to try to sell that to the modern??? LoL where’s your end game , why do most classes suck when ladder resets… “am I really forced to play a sorc or paladin so I can farm by my self in solo games when ladder resets” lol lol lol ! “Why do I hVe to keep remaking games why can’t I just reset areas in 5,10,15,20 seconds??? Why am I forced to have 1000 mules I can’t buy stash space ??? Stackable gems and runes tab! How badly do you want this game to be flamed the purist really don’t want the reality check they will get lol!
It’s easy you create two ladders you have a pure 1.14 and a modern ladder then they won’t eat any crow!
Blizzard doesn’t want a ghost town or to simply remake a game for a playerbase that’s maybe 60K world wide and the millions of bots lol
With friends its fine, solo in public lobbies is rough though. I also continue to hate charms so much I only keep small charms I find. They should have never made charms in LOD or made them there own bag slot.
