There’s something about Akara, Charsi, Gheed, Fara, Ormus, Malah etc, that kinda stands out and makes you feel a connection to them. I think the fact that I remember the names of simple vendors means something. Is it because D2 was one of the first video games I played? Is it because they were vendors that also gave you quests and were part of the story?
Idk, but any ARPG I play today, including the D4 beta, every town NPC means nothing to me. It’s just another thing I have to do, another couple buttons to click before going back out. Am I just a jaded adult that’s played too many games? What did these old devs do that made everything so much more special?
edit: thinking about it a little more, I’ve kind of answered my own question. We remember these people because they were important and helped us in our battle against hell.
-Akara: gives you respecs each difficulty, and maybe a skillpoint after den of evil too
-Malah: +10 all resist when you do her quest
-Ormus: +10 life I think when you do his quest
-Charsi: Imbue an item after you do her quest
-Gheed: takes all your money and never gives you anything good
Maybe these small details help us feel more immersed in the story and connected to the different characters. Hopefully we see some of this in D4
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Yes it’s an absolute tragedy. There is zero continuity with this franchise. Diablo is just a name with no tradition. Might as well call it Bobby 4.
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I’ve been saying the same thing for years, I complained about the same thing in diablo 3, its not only that the npc in diablo 2 gave you a useful reward for your build/stats, but apart from that you could know about their history, their past, they had a soul , in diablo 1 they also had great stories, in diablo 3 was villager #1 villager #2 villager #3…
In the diablo 4 beta I have appreciated that the npc now have names and surnames but they are empty of history, of background, in diablo 2 even the npc were surprised what class you were depending on what act u were in.
where are the warriv, farhan, ogden, farah, malah, anya, elzix, drogna?.. I loved using gosip at every moment of the story with each character to learn more about them.
Blizz forgot those small details that make the game gigantic, just like the books on pedestals that you could find in Tristan’s catacombs talking about angels, demons, history… in d3 and d4 that is dead and for me is very important.
For example, if you were a baba in Diablo 2 when you get to Act V, Malah recognizes you and tells you that you were a friend of his son (who died from Baals demons) and that you left Harrogath to look for your own way … simply incredible.
5 Likes
Agreed. Even if you don’t read it, knowing that stuff is there is important to make the world rich.
Also just the iconic voice lines. Charsi’s bright little ‘Hi!’, or Malah’s old and strained ‘Salutations’, idk they just all had personality, felt real
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Most NPCs had dialogues that gave back stories. Seems like you didn chiose to talk to them. It’s also like we didn’t do quests for the three crafters in D3 where we found out about some of their history.
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NPCs have stories attached to them. im guessing you didnt actually play the game and just watched to goofball on youtube, desperately searching for ANYTHING to complain about to get you to click the video. im right arent i
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Greetings, stranger (warriv iconic first line)
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Idk. When you load into Diablo 2 and start out, it’s made quite obvious that this is a clan of rogues struggling with a demon issue and you need to help. Now Kyovashad? Idk wtf Kyovashad really is and I played 3 toons to 25. It’s just some town with a big church. What is the culture? Who are the important people in Kyovashad? Idk. I shouldn’t have to watch endless cutscenes to get a basic understanding of what I am doing in this world
Edit: same for all the little camps like menestead and yelesna. Menested and Yelesna could be exactly the same for all I know. Just another ‘quest hub’
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You are trying to compare a small encampment to a large city. Did you bother talking to anyone or doing all the side quests?
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yes, they had a story, the best was that of Shen, but its a lie because those npc always traveled with you like Tyrael, Adria, Leah… but the npc of the towns where you went were villager #1 villager #2 villager #3 without history without nothing
I did 5 chars up to lvl 25, and with my soso did ALL secondary quests, reading all quote, checking all because, i said before, that for me that is important, and nothing, for me npcs in d4, in this moment, they seem totally non-existent to me, for each line of dialogue that i asked they answer you with a SINGLE PHRASE, without depth, without charisma, I dont know who they are, they have nothing to contribute, they are people with problems who, doing a small mission, give you an unimportant reward.
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Idk. When you load into Diablo 2 and start out, it’s made quite obvious that this is a clan of rogues struggling with a demon issue and you need to help. Now Kyovashad? Idk wtf Kyovashad really is and I played 3 toons to 25. It’s just some town with a big church. What is the culture? Who are the important people in Kyovashad? Idk. I shouldn’t have to watch endless cutscenes to get a basic understanding of what I am doing in this world
Edit: same for all the little camps like menestead and yelesna. Menested and Yelesna could be exactly the same for all I know. Just another ‘quest hub’
That is because its all algorithmic generic copy/paste and no one is willing to put some heart and soul into it.
Totally loved Act 5 of D2 when the barbarians fought against the demonic siege and you would actually encounter many of them fighting in the beginning.
The guys from Blizzard North just wanted to make a great game and cared about the details. Now they care about making money with casual console players exploiting the franchise name Diablo just like Hollywood does with Star Wars and Star Trek amongst others. They literally live off the heart, soul and legacy people put into their work decades ago when they created this legandary frnachise called Diablo out of thin air.
3 Likes
Lol yeah. I see Kyovashad (I guess) npc’s fighting sometimes in Beta and literally do not care about them. The barbs in A5 though, hell yeah I’m saving you G
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That’s because those are literally nameless NPC’s to bring some life to the open world
mmm I guess but with the Barbs in A5 we like understood their plight and why they were out there fighting. Again small details that make you care. I have no idea what the history of Kyovashad is or why those guys are out there fighting. Why would I care about them?
we have been in relatively the same zone so far so I’m guessing once we get to other areas the cities will be more varied and memorable because of style differences.
Ran past both. I’m playing with stuff to do. RPing ain’t one of them. If there was a quest to help sure.
Only NPC I know from towns is Octavia and that is because I was helping her exorcise demons. Hoping that continues either through the rest of that town or maybe she travels to other towns. Prava but that is only because she was in the cinematic.
I think it would’ve been better to just have one large town/city per zone instead of all these little ones. Than we would have to come back to this one and continually interact with the same blacksmith, armorer, weapons seller, etc. The travel points/teleporters could just have been some Horadric things out in the world or something.
Could’ve had the current little towns but have them destroyed and we rescue NPC’s from them and they end up back in the main city of that zone so we have a connection to them like “I saved her from the burning building” or “I rescued that guy from a swarm of demons”.
To each their own.
Yeah concepts like this would be good… Actually now that other people have mentioned it, all the little camps are a little anti-diablo. In the sense that Hell is supposed to be breaking loose and people are flooding to the well defended areas so they don’t get killed by demons… yet we have people out chillin at camps, a stones throw away from kyovashad. Was this in D3? D2 I can’t remember anyone existing outside of one of the act towns… except for Flaive
edit to add anya and cain but they don’t really count as they are trapped/captured
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Heaven forbid games don’t follow the same 5 people for the entire series, amIrite?
The thing people forget when looking at D2 with rose-tinted glasses, is that D2 literally killed of everyone from Diablo 1 but Adria and Deckard Caine.
Including the damned playable heroes
Yet no one pissed and whined that D2 ‘had no continuity’.
Technically if it killed them that’s atleast closure. D2 chars just evaporated into the wind
edit either way thats not the point i’m making. Idc if it’s the same NPC’s, I’m just talking about how they are bland these days and don’t stand out