Indeed… This x100… but I must concede to the fact that if Mercs were brought to modern AI standards, they’d be as powerful, if not more than us purely because automation is faster than we can process. You could basically gear your merc up to solo stuff when you sit back and eat a bag of popcorn.
Maybe if they improved pathing only? I’d be down with just pathing being improved and leaving their dummy AI brain alone.
they dont need to be godly. But, making them so they dont randomly run backwards or just stand and do nothing while combat is happening would be really nice.
So you think a charm inventory is harmless but a larger player inventory is game breaking?
Yeah, my bad, didn’t include an exception regarding that in the description. It has been fixed.
you could have a designated area for arena pvp and still keep normal hostile pvp in place, I’m sure it will be a welcome change to some people and content creators
I’m linking here to two of my topics which you touched upon a different aspect of in the same category, ill give a short explanation to how they differ and you can delve deeper in the threads themselves, other then that I love what you did with that list, keep it going even if people are being a bit problematic, good job 
:
not losing Merc aura when they are left way behind the player(constant merc aura):
Having old skills operate like in old patches without cooldowns and the like, basically reverting old useful skills to what they use to be without out right rebalancing the game:
on the contrary, a new player can use another veteran player’s loot filter which will mean that he can now know exactly what to pick up instead of learning slowly what to do on his own
other then that I don’t care if they add loot filters or not I’m fine without them, but I also tried them and they are harmless.
Seems like Merc Pathing AI is definitely a sought after change with valid arguments regarding the need for it to be fixed as I’ve observed in multiple scenarios, so I’ve updated the list accordingly.
New additions to the list!
QoL changes:
12 Drop Sound Notification/Map beacon (Mixed Bag) - Some have argued that this is not needed as the core foundation of looting in Diablo 2 is enshrouded in keeping your eyes open for loot you might have access to, but in general it seems to be a mixed bag of feelings.
13 Ctrl or Alt + Click Inv->Stash/Stash->Inv (Harmless) - Basically allows you to move items to and from inventory without having to juggle the item all over the place. Saves your wrists some durability. 
Simplest of simple QoL features. Seen mixed reports of whether or not it is already implemented or needing to be implemented. For the sake of this post, included in QoL.
14. Book of Runes/RuneBook (Harmless) - Another horribly beaten subject that I’ve come to accept after denouncing it on several occasions. Runes used to be intended as secrets to find out but the vast majority of us know them all/most of them, and in the age of advanced internet capabilities, jumping out of the game to use a browser, to go back and do something in the game is anti-immersion and cumbersome. Let’s embrace technology and keep the focus on in-game. Sorry, Arreat Summit, your time came and went in a flash.
15. Show Min/Max Values on Items (Harmless) - This is under Harmless because at the end of the day, the problem with this one is the same as 14., your focus should never leave the game, plus in my personal honest opinion, it makes it more exciting to know what values your item can roll, so you feel more motivated to do your min-max meta.
18 Larger Horadric Cube (Mixed Bag/Harmless) - Can be seen from multiple angles in regards to whether or not it should be changed. Larger cube can be more beneficial, if even just slightly, if Charm Inventory doesn’t happen. The original intent of the cube was simply original design shortsightedness - the largest item to fit in it would fit in it with the maximum gems you can modify it with at one time.
Yet another thread that shows people cannot distinguish QoL changes from actually changing the game.
There is no way they’d introduce all these changes to the game.
You can call Charm inventory or bigger cube or whatever harmless which is absurd in my opinion but the point stands, inventory management is a thing in D2 and always has been.
Im fully for some minor tweaks/QoL and even some balance in the future but things people want for D2:R these days is beyond ridiculous.
Skill balancing and itemization could be game breaking, but it could easily be the opposite and just be direct improvement to gameplay. IT depends on how and as long as the current meta is mostly unchanged.
Additional events and minor content wouldn’t be that harmful.
A alternate game mode/realm for bigger changes wouldn’t be any more harmful then the existence of classic diablo 2 as a game mode.
This is only because of design limitations extending from the 2000’s.
If Diablo 2 had kept its original team and if the game were even a product of intention (the game was made not out of necessity to continue Diablo 1, the team didn’t plan on even doing so initially) the game would have been a lot more optimized for the years of service it endured. It would most assuredly have been updated to have interface features (larger inventories) to match the resolutions it would have supported (720p by 2005) but by then the game had largely been abandoned with small updates with the most 2 (3?) recent patches.
It’s primarily game breaking because the game was never really “balanced” which is why some skills/builds are just plain wonky. To introduce balancing would throw the game out of whack and require the whole game being re-assessed from the ground up.
Agreed, as long as they’re just that - minor, like more non-lore related events such as Uber Diablo. Perhaps revisiting lesser demons?
Wouldn’t be harmful per se but it would introduce a lot of extra work for the developers to have several iterations of the game present at once.
There were skills that were much better in previous patches. Which now are just much worse. I honestly just like them to fix the fend bugs and update some of the higher level abilities that should have better end game application. Examples: fend, maul, fire claw, Armageddon, immolation arrow hydra etc. I don’t care if I can’t run say a firestorm druid at end game. But these higher skill tree abilities shouldn’t be so bad.
More added to QoL and Game Altering Changes!
QoL:
18. Open BattleNet/Similar Functionality (Harmless) - This one is one I’ve not seen talked about anywhere else and is something I’d personally like to see so that we have the option to play modded versions of the game online with friends in mods that aren’t total overhauls, i.e. Boss Mod kind of mods or what have you.
Actually not sure if Boss Mods was a dll injection or what, so I’m not sure if this would work, but leaving up there for exposure anyway to get clarification.
Game Altering Changes:
18. Stacking Potions/Runes (Mixed Bag) - Another one that’s hard to justify for or against as it doesn’t provide any immediately noticeable cons but it also downplays your belt to some extent (potions) and your stash/stash tab (runes).
They’re not fixing D2 or removing all the limitations they had back in the day, they already said as much.
People got used to play D2 they way it plays and for most it’s enough to buy D2:R.
If they start major changes/balancing or trying to fix what they could have back in the day it will no longer be D2 we know it but a different product with the same name.
This however will not happen because despite a few QoL changes and some more incoming they said many, many times they’re not fixing D2 and try to keep it as close to the original as possible.
such a concise and well organized post! kudos!
a real shame Blizz does not care.
Well, let’s not downplay the official responses by Blizzard themselves and the open possibilities VV’s developers said themselves in some interviews.
Blizzard’s held polls themselves for I think it was the alpha testers? The polls consisted of several if not more of the items in the list that people were asked to choose that they’d like to see in the game.
Vicarious Vision’s had interviews stating that they didn’t want to change anything too dramatically but were open to the possibility.
It’s also reality that a lot of the “purists”, myself included, are open to changes because they are necessary to some extent even though we’d not have any problem with the game shipping as a direct clone of Diablo 2 with enhanced graphics.
As I stated in a prior post somewhere along this daisy chain, Diablo 2 Resurrected is a very bad venture for Blizzard, financially because the idea of shipping it without features that it could/should have in the past that newer ARPGs (Path of Exile comes to mind the largest competitor) have would ultimately turn the game into a “one and done” where those with misty eyes nostalgia would play it for the original experience and quit not too long down the road because ultimately there are better options with better longevity and support.
It is better to nip this one in the bud right now rather than realize the mistake later (al la Warcraft 3 Refunded) and end up losing a valuable playerbase.
Adding another topic, this one had like a 100% approval of the community it seems 
Here’s my take.
edited to make it easier to read.
To start things off al la Quality of Life (QoL):
1. Additional Menu Buttons (Harmless) QoL
2. Offline Single Player (SP) Ladder Runewords (Harmless) QoL
3. Retain patch 1.13 Drop Rates (Harmless) Mandatory
4. Charm Inventory (Harmful) Not QoL
5. Bug Fixes for Broken Skills - (Mixed Bag) Depends on what skills/bug you are refering to. Not QoL
6. Buff/Debuff display (Harmless) Harmless if togglable, if not, harmful. QoL
7. Skill Activation Screen Limit (Yes, i expect this to come on release.) Prevent skills like Teleport from working outside of the original bounding box that the highest resolution that was available from Classic Diablo 2. Preventing ultra widescreen player advantages.
8. Extended Limitations on Visible Items on Ground (Harmless) But i don’t think this is necessary in conjunction with auto-gold pickup, as gold would not clutter your screen anymore. QoL
9. Scroll Wheel controlled Zoom (Harmless) QoL
10. Remove Cow Level penalty (Harmless) QoL
11. Keep Anya Portal Open (Harmless) QoL
12. Drop Sound Notification/Map beacon (Harmful) Big nono from me. QoL, but in a bad way in my opinion.
13. Ctrl or Alt + Click Inv->Stash/Stash->Inv (Harmless) Oh my god yes. QoL
14. Book of Runes/RuneBook/Horadric Recipes (Harmless) QoL, but not necessary.
15. Show Min/Max Values on Items (Mixed Bag) QoL
16. Legacy D2R Widescreen Resolution Support (Harmless) QoL
17. Larger Horadric Cube (Harmful) Not QoL
18. Open BattleNet/Similar Functionality (Harmless)
The next section will consist of changes that alter the gameplay:
1. Skill Balancing (Game Breaking) Not QoL
2. Additional Content (DLC or otherwise) (Harmful) Honestly don’t think a new team can continue developing this game 20 years later without changing the feel of it.
3. Infinite Throwable/Ammunition (Game Breaking) Not QoL
4. P2W, Microtransactions, Gates (Game Breaking) Oh my god…
5. Alternate Servers for Old Patches (Mixed Bag) No issues for me, but i don’t think it would be good for the game splitting the community up too much.
6. Separate Servers for Classic Diablo 2/LoD, Classic Resurrected and Lord of Destruction Resurrected (Mixed Bag)
7. Loot Filters (Harmful) Not QoL, does not belong in Diablo 2 in my opinion. And does have negative effects on multiplayer.
8. Changes to Items/Itemization (Game Breaking)
9. Show More Stats Beneath Monster Health Bar (Harmful)
10. PVP Arena/PVP Handshake (Harmful)
11. Respecialization/Respec (Game Breaking if by this you mean infinite and free. Harmful if you mean more free respecs)
12. Additional Item Updates/Per Ladder (Game Breaking)
13. Continued Support/Updates (Mixed Bag)
14. Mercenary(Merc) AI/Pathing Improvement (Mixed Bag)
15. Larger Player Inventory (Game Breaking) Not QoL
16. More/Infinite Stash Tabs (Game Breaking) Unless SP. Not QoL
17. Tradable Unique Charms (Mixed Bag) Unique charms are tradeable as faar as im concerned?
18. Stacking Potions/Runes (Harmful) Stackable potions (Game Breaking) Stackable runes and gems (Harmful)
19.Multiboxing (Harmful) I’m between harmless and harmful. Don’t think it would be good for the game, but then again i don’t really care if people want to multibox.
I dont understand why no charm inv proponents suggest unlocking a full charm inv around lvl 93. This issue is only for high level hardcore farmers. Adding a charm inv would deeply change the inv management experience for everyone, including casual players. Why, why, why? The entire point is to help out the wonderfarmers who choose to suffer in order to kill 10 seconds faster.
I find it ridiculous to bend one of the fundamental mechanics to appease that attitude anyway, but if it’s a gift thrown to that subset of players, why is the suggestion not to implement a change more restricted to their realm of gameplay - ie, at the highest levels, when the issue manifests?
It’s so lame to see people want to change a fundamental element of D2 gameplay for all just to suit their particular playstyle at the highest char levels. Tyrael…
Edit:Thank you Muyu for adding this to the OP.
While I appreciate the mention of ladder runewords being added for single player, I think that entry should also include adding Dclone and Pandemonium event/Ubers to SP as well. That this wasn’t done back in 2004 is baffling to me.
With the 2 charms obtainable through this missing content, any character in single player is currently losing out on:
That is just a gargantuan disadvantage and is a mistake blizzard really needs to fix with the remake. Especially considering that mods like plugy may not be possible for d2r since they said dll injection won’t be possible and the game is also going to console where I don’t even think they can do mods.