I’ll make it short and sweet. The long-term survival of the original online game (D2 lod) was ONLY made possible by fusing game creation (development) and community creation (new use cases). Where I see failure is the lack of tools or content to embrace the community expanding. I would prefer to see PvP balance (stop avoiding it because it’s hard) and add various game types of PvP content (like WoW’s WSG & Arenas). Add this so the game has more than the obvious basic formula (Farm gear to beat boss, then achieve it, get items that you needed prior to the that fight…after the fight is over. Then rinses and repeats).
As your first forum post, it’s rather narrow-minded, I’m sorry.
Fact of the matter is, LOD compared to D4 has about 1% the complexity (thinks skills, paragon, glyphs, affixes, rolls, masterworking - and more, the whole shebang). Try balancing with those million variables in mind for PvP. If the whole D4’s developers haven’t cracked it yet, I don’t think you’re going to get the Nobel Prize for achieving this feat.
The long-term survival of LOD has nothing to do with your claim. LOD was the first true RPG that had such level of complexity and RNG in 2004, defining not just the era, but the genre. Same as Team Fortress 2 defined class-based shooters, StarCraft defined RTS, etc.
The game already has “more than the obvious basic formula”, and even the likes of POE need 4 month league cycles to add more layers and end game content to it.
As a challenge, name one top-down ARPG that has PVP nailed. D2 LOD doesn’t qualify, PVP isn’t balanced there to this day. Not in the OG one, and not in Resurrected.
Interesting opinion. I don’t see the need to lock-out other game genres & types as a valid comparison of when PvP is semi-balanced (as you will never get it 100%). I believe PvP balancing cannot be a “bolt-on” development that gets slapped at the end of the overall gameplay development. Adding all that complexity you stated & back to the argument “because it’s hard”, Design with both PvE & PVP in mind from the start.