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Diablo Minimal and No Reload Thread (spoilers)

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  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    edited June 2016
    O_Bruce said:

    SethDavis said:

    I usually die at least once in the Chaos Sanctuary because I always forget that the guys in there can cast Iron Maiden :'(

    Good news for you! They don't cast it anymore.
    I actually don't think they've cast it for well over a decade lol :pensive:

    I'm gonna participate in this thread, but I'm going to go the other route and play Diablo 1 with the Belzebub mod, or as it's commonly known Diablo HD. The main reason is that it allows it to run without graphical glitches on modern systems, but it has many other amazing features. First off, it restores all the cut content in the game files, including the original version of The Butcher quest. Secondly, it adds 3 new classes, which are the Barbarian, Assassin, and Necromancer. They are essentially slight variations on the original 3 while working with the aesthetic of the Diablo 2 classes they represent. A backpack-wearing Gheed roams Tristram to allow gambling. A shared and private stash has been added. And there is also a crafting system, many new items, and it adds Nightmare-Torment difficulty as well. Basically, it updates Diablo from a technical standpoint and raises the overall experience and complexity up to the level of Diablo 2. And it allows fast movement in town, though I never turn that on.

    Also, at any time in Diablo 2, you can adjust your difficulty even separate from the Normal-Nightmare-Hell route. Simply type in "player2" or "player8" in the command prompt to simulate the monster level as if that many people were playing in multiplayer. It also ups your loot drops and EXP accordingly, and is highly useful and still easy at least through most of Act 1.
    JuliusBorisovlolien
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    The adventure of Xzar

    The first Act II quest involves investingating sewers under Baldur's Gate Lut Gholein.

    There Xzar found his second unique item, a Hand Axe called "The Gnasher". Why is it an axe, and not a club, with such a name, - he wondered.








    Anyway, this unique item was not as useful as the first one, and Xzar kept using his knockback club.

    Unlike the Rogue camp, Lut Gholein is a splendid location, with 4 merchants in different places. Visiting Elzix, who is located quite far away, was worth it - Xzar bought boots with 19% better Magic Find chance:







    Later from Fara Xzar bought chain gloves with 10% better Magic Find chance:







    In the Sewers the necromancer met Radament, the local undead lord. There should have been no rivals for the Zhent, so all minions and Radament himself were cleared:











    That improved Magic Find chance paid its dividends when in Dry Hills Xzar found a new set item. It turned out to be Gleglaw's Pincers.








    Enemies in the Act II are understandably stronger, but Dim Vision still works wonders. Moreover, against hordes of undead it's even better than before. It doesn't let Hollow Ones to summon new skeletons or to attack from ranged:









    After fighting his way down Halls of the Dead, Xzar finally found the Horadric Cube. It was very timely, because the inventory was full:







    While using the Horadric Cube and merging magical rings and amulets, which Xzar kept since the start of his adventure, (3 rings = 1 new amulet, 3 amulets = 1 new ring) the wizard managed to create an amulet with 15% better Magic Find chance:







    Now, his inventory looked much better:







    Overall, the MF chance of Xzar now is at +87%, and his rogue companion (who, by the way, kills the most) has an additional +18% chance (to make it +105%).

    Xzar is of the 18th level, with

    STR 36
    DEX 50
    VIT 44
    ENE 38

    These are his skill choices:









    P.S. Thanks, @jjstraka34 and @O_Bruce , didn't know that. Also, @O_Bruce , I like your writing style, the way you RP your character.
    mf2112lolienCrevsDaak
  • YamchaYamcha Member Posts: 486


    The big problem playing Hardcore you are going to have in Diablo 2 is Duriel,

    Solid tactic. Problem for the necromancer is your level. IIRC when you get there your like lvl 18 max, but you can comfortably level up in the tombs to 20+, optimally 24. ( for Decrepify ), thats your ticket to live.
    thawing potions grants temp. cold resistance and bone armor should always be up in case duriel gets some attacks through.
    lolienCrevsDaak
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    The tale of Isendra continues

    The Tristram and the Countess

    Isendra was hoping to drink some wine with Akara... nope. Evidently, there is only buisness between the Sisters of the Sightless Eye and Isendra. Akara requested that the Sorceress rescured Deckard Cain from the town of Tristram. Isendra doubt he was still alive, but agreed to do this nonetheless. If Cain were alive, then maybe there are some other survivors too. Jazreth, for example.

    Plus, it would be a great loss for the world, if Cain was dead.

    Isendra teleported to the Cold Plains and rushed to the Stone Fields wit her new, powerful spear. Shortly after she made it to the fields, she saw a Stone Circle and a group of Carvers. One of which, Rakanishu, seemed especially powerful.
    image

    But he only seemed that way. Two thrusts from Isendra's spear were more than enough to deal with him. Soon after, Isendra felt lucky, finding a waypoint.
    image

    Then, Isendra learned of existence of a ruins of tower, under which the bloody countless was supposed to be buried... together with her treasure. That alone made the ruins worth investigating.

    Isendra made her way throught Underground Passage, to gain access to the Dark Wood, killing monsters, champions and rares, and getting stronger. After briefly making her way back to town via the portal, Isendra invested in a Studded Leather armor with 2 sockets for gems. She decided to make use of two topazes, as she heard stories of a necromancer named Xzar, who was made especially lucky with magical items, just by making use of such gems.
    image

    Maybe there was something to it. After all she found the rare ring in the Dark Wood.
    image

    "Wraith Master". Good name.

    Soon, Isendra found a Tree of Inifuss and a beast guarding it - Treehead Woodfist. He was extra strong and fast. But Isendra's Frost Nova slowed him down, and then his additional strength never helped him much. The vicory and the spoils of the battle were the Sorceress'. Unfortunately, Isendra wasn't skilled enough to wield a rare Bardiche.
    image


    Isendra took the runed bark from the magical tree and fetched it back to Akara. She then explained that to reach the town of Tristram, Isendra needed to use special portal in the Stone Henge. She is to touch the stones in particular order to activate the passage. Isendra decided to not waste any time.
    image

    image


    Arriving in the Tristram, Isendra felt crushed. The Town was in ruins, meaning probably no one has survived. Not that the Tristram wasn't lively enough.... The Khazra and the Fallen were among the living, after all. Isendra decided to rush to the center of the town in search for survivors, killing all monster along the way, ordinary or champion-in-name-only alike.

    It seemed like a miracle, but Deckard was alive! He was starved and thirsty, but still alive! He was very thankful for his rescue.
    image


    Isendra however, continued exploring Tristram in search of survivors and to kill every god damned monster in her wake. She saw many bodies. Child's among then. Isendra sensed strange magicks in the boy's artifical leg. She has decided to investigate it.
    image


    The boy wasn't the only notable finding. The Sorceress found other citizen of Tristram, Griswold, the famous blacksmith. And he was attacking. He endured much, but was too slow to be any serious threat.

    image


    Isendra didn't find any traces of survivors left. Neither any traces of Jazreth nor prince Aidan. What if the Dark Wanderer was one of them? Regardless, this has to stop. Isendra will stop the Wanderen, no matter what it takes.

    Back in the camp, Cain offered Isendra to share his knowledge with her, and to identify any items she would want him to. Akara offered Isendra a magical ring, but it was little of use.
    image

    image


    Isendra then went to repair her hear and Charsi, the half-barbarian blacksmith, told her she needs her enchanted hammer, the Horadric Mallus to craft a better gear. Isendra agreed to help, since Charsi promised to use the hammer to enhance the Sorceress' loot.
    image


    At the Black Marsh, Isendra encountered a serious threat - Cold Enhanced Khazra. The creature was dangerus even after it's dead, as it was then it dealt the most damage - Isendra was seriously injured by Frost Nova. At first, the Khazra wasn't like much, but he turned out to be a dark horse... or dark goat.
    image


    While exploring nearby cave for loot, Isendra has encountered other special monsters, both of which Enhancements was much more dangerous in combat than their paws, teeth and claws.
    image

    image

    But it was nothing that could be overcome with good tactics and strong spear.

    After exploring the cave, Isendra finally found the way to the ruins of the towers. And to the dungeon below.
    image


    Making her way down, Isendra made use of the new Fireball spell, and Shiver Armor, making her more dangerous to the demons. And to the Countess herself. She might have been buried here for some time, but she sure seemed to be lively. For a few moments.
    image


    The loot, however, could be better. Are these gems even working?
    image

    image


    Tired and disappointed, Isendra has returned to encampment. She sold useless loot and tried her luck in gambling, but to no avail. That Greed bastard must have cheated - Isendra wasted her money. The Sorceress really decided to call it a day.

    ---

    Isendra's stats and skills:
    image

    image

    image

    image


    ---
    Thank you, @JuliusBorisov . I'm trying to tell you guys my playthrought in interesting way, and I'm glad I'm succeeding.

    I see that Xzar had much luck with set and unique items. This magic find was worth it, after all :). And Dim Vision is especially usefull against any kind of Shamans, Holllow Ones or healing monsters out there, making her skills useless. Good luck to Xzar.
    mf2112JuliusBorisovlolienlnstructor_
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    edited June 2016
    Guess I will have to go with 2, as screenshots don't seem to work in 1. Which is fine, because Diablo 2 remains the pinnacle of ARPGs nearly 17 years later, and indeed, one of the best CRPGs in general.

    Ultimately, it's most influential feature is the first (and still best) implementation of the 3 branch Skill Trees. There is no World of Warcraft without Diablo 2, no Borderlands, no Dragon Age. It was the first time it was done, and still the best. Any of the 7 classes can be played at least a half-dozen completely different ways, and you have to pick and choose, as you'll never reach a point where everything is available to you.

    Obviously, the loot is the key to this game, and is very deep, as is the crafting and gem system, and of course, Runewords, still the ultimate reward of hardcore grinding.

    Ultimately, I feel Act 1 is nearly perfect, and the rest of them never quite live up. Lut Gholein is also very good, but the first part of Act 3 in the jungle is legitimately horrible and one of the most annoying areas in any game. The Lord of Destruction content is marred slightly by a total shift from the claustrophobic industrial soundtrack to a sweeping classical score. The outdoor areas suffer compared to the proper dungeons in D2.
    Post edited by jjstraka34 on
    mf2112JuliusBorisovYamchaCrevsDaak
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    I can see you are holding Diablo 2 in the high regard. Well, many people do, myself included. However, I think it's alarming when one isn't able to notice the flaws with it. Such flaws as:
    - Bugs still there from release day ("uninterruptable" skills problem with block/evasion and animation lock)
    - Small stash
    - Runewords and crafting is good idea. As long as you can find recipes in the actual game, not on the internet.
    - Crafting isn't as coplex as you describe.
    - Runes are too rare. Most of the high runes peope use on battle.net are most likely duped.
    - Lack of class balance, even in PvM. Paladin was developer's favourite calss, I reckon.
    - Some monsters were designed (I do not mean the graphic, but the function in the game) by the ape after skull trepanation surgery. Undead fetishes and Burning Souls among those monsters.
    - The plot is weak and is badly told. The cinematics are only good thing about it.

    Yes, I agree, Diablo 2 is very good, fun game. But those flaws do exist. And I think there are even more of them.
    CrevsDaak
  • mf2112mf2112 Member, Moderator Posts: 1,919
    I think my favorite part of Diablo1 was the music. I never leave game music on but that was a unique exception. I was surprised to find that a new official patch had been released for Diablo2 recently. Tempting as it is still available now, but $10 is more than I want to pay for something I would play once more at most. I played D2 many times when it came out and this thread is good enough for the nostalgia. :-)
    YamchaJuliusBorisovlolienCrevsDaak
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    O_Bruce said:

    I can see you are holding Diablo 2 in the high regard. Well, many people do, myself included. However, I think it's alarming when one isn't able to notice the flaws with it. Such flaws as:
    - Bugs still there from release day ("uninterruptable" skills problem with block/evasion and animation lock)
    - Small stash
    - Runewords and crafting is good idea. As long as you can find recipes in the actual game, not on the internet.
    - Crafting isn't as coplex as you describe.
    - Runes are too rare. Most of the high runes peope use on battle.net are most likely duped.
    - Lack of class balance, even in PvM. Paladin was developer's favourite calss, I reckon.
    - Some monsters were designed (I do not mean the graphic, but the function in the game) by the ape after skull trepanation surgery. Undead fetishes and Burning Souls among those monsters.
    - The plot is weak and is badly told. The cinematics are only good thing about it.

    Yes, I agree, Diablo 2 is very good, fun game. But those flaws do exist. And I think there are even more of them.

    Everything you say is true, but there aren't really ANY RPGs pre-2000 that aren't that complex and require guides to figure out. The small stash space is a huge problem, which is why I play with PlugY, which also simulates all the Online-only events and incorporates Ladder exclusives into single-player. Class balance is a pretty much a myth in any RPG, something is always head and shoulders above the rest, and in PvE content, it really doesn't matter. The Paladin is capable of being the strongest (mostly because it's most popular build ignores monster immunity in Hell) but it's also the most boring class to play. The Runes are far too rare, and were clearly intended to be traded among thousands if not millions of people, which is why they don't work as well when playing by yourself.

    All that said, it's still head and shoulders above any other ARPG I can think of, and I've played most of them. It has an aesthetic that still ties it to the more hardcore CRPGs that came before it, even though it was clearly also the bridge into a new generation of more accessible games.
    CrevsDaak
  • YamchaYamcha Member Posts: 486
    O_Bruce said:


    - Bugs still there from release day ("uninterruptable" skills problem with block/evasion and animation lock)
    - Runewords and crafting is good idea. As long as you can find recipes in the actual game, not on the internet.
    - Runes are too rare. Most of the high runes peope use on battle.net are most likely duped.
    - Lack of class balance, even in PvM. Paladin was developer's favourite calss, I reckon.
    - The plot is weak and is badly told. The cinematics are only good thing about it.

    Yes, I agree, Diablo 2 is very good, fun game. But those flaws do exist. And I think there are even more of them.

    There is no software without any bugs, Blizzard games were always pretty well polished when they got released.
    Runewords were always meant as a community afford. Most were found by looking in the game files instead of trying them out. But the latter would have been impossible with high level runes anyway.
    Looking stuff up is OK, theory-crafting and character planning is a fun part of the game (akara's talent reset came later via patch)
    I'm not sure about duping runes, but the main sources of high level runes were Bots and shuttle characters.
    The latter, you had to rush several low level accounts thru the game and do the hell forge quest, and hope for the best. This could be done much faster then hope for a real IST rune drop. My highest random drop was an UM ^^
    The plot wasn't any weaker then the predecessor, but the atmosphere of the 1st Diablo was much better!
    lolienCrevsDaak
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    The music of the 4 tiers of the dungeon is what made Diablo 1 what it was. If you ask anyone what they remember from that game, they'll say getting carved up by The Butcher (one of the great bosses in all of gaming) and the claustrophobic soundtrack. Only Act 1 of Diablo 2 maintains that atmosphere.
    mf2112lolienCrevsDaak
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790


    The small stash space is a huge problem, which is why I play with PlugY, which also simulates all the Online-only events and incorporates Ladder exclusives into single-player.

    When you are rating the game, rate, well, the game not it's mods. It's more honest that way.


    Class balance is a pretty much a myth in any RPG, something is always head and shoulders above the rest, and in PvE content, it really doesn't matter. The Paladin is capable of being the strongest (mostly because it's most popular build ignores monster immunity in Hell) but it's also the most boring class to play.

    I'll say it in more undestandable way. Class balancing is one thing. Clear favouritism is other. And I never mentioned hammerdin build. Only Paladin has access to overpowered runeword unique to Paladin-only shields. Only Paladin has skill that combines Amazon's Jab and Fend in one (and has powerful synegries to it, contraty to those two). Only Paladin, from all meele/physical fighters has access to attack that deals 4 different damage types at once (while Barbarian has berserk, which reduces his armor to 0 - and is useless vs physica and magic immune. Amazon's lightning skills are useless vs. physical and lighting immune. Things does repeat with other melee classes. I think I don't have to elaborate on this). Paladin's most popular offensive aura gives him more perks than his teammates. Thanks for Holy Shield, he doesn't even need to care about dexterity for high-block rate. Things like that. He has many thing other melee classes have, but better.


    The Runes are far too rare, and were clearly intended to be traded among thousands if not millions of people, which is why they don't work as well when playing by yourself.

    And that is still the flaw of this game.
    Yamcha said:


    There is no software without any bugs, Blizzard games were always pretty well polished when they got released.

    So, how is the bug that is making melee amazons so annyoing (almost not viable) to use, still not dealt with years after game release? Fighting with amazon in melee, and using jab/fend against multiple opponents (which is frequent) often locks her in the attack animation and animation only. Meaning the hit rolls aren't really made. That thing should be fixed years ago.
    Yamcha said:


    Runewords were always meant as a community afford. Most were found by looking in the game files instead of trying them out. But the latter would have been impossible with high level runes anyway.
    Looking stuff up is OK, theory-crafting and character planning is a fun part of the game (akara's talent reset came later via patch)

    I don't mind character planning. But not including information in the game is stupid design choice. Obviously, by using internet you can find information you want, but I don't think that forcing players to do so is a bright choice in developing a game mechanics.
    Yamcha said:


    I'm not sure about duping runes, but the main sources of high level runes were Bots and shuttle characters.
    The latter, you had to rush several low level accounts thru the game and do the hell forge quest, and hope for the best. This could be done much faster then hope for a real IST rune drop. My highest random drop was an UM ^^

    Bots are for losers. And I think many of high runes were duped anyway, since I recall reading articles about Diablo 2. Many of which advised to use bought runes as soon as possible, since they can dissapear from the server (your game), because of being duped. Also, majority of what you said doesn't concern single player.
    Yamcha said:


    The plot wasn't any weaker then the predecessor, but the atmosphere of the 1st Diablo was much better!

    I agree, no Diablo game had so good atmosphere as 1st one. Truth to be told, Diablo 1 is the only game that has any terror kind of atmosphere for me. Diablo 2 is only gray and desaturated. And Diablo 3 drops any pretences of said atmosphere.
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    O_Bruce said:

    SethDavis said:

    I usually die at least once in the Chaos Sanctuary because I always forget that the guys in there can cast Iron Maiden :'(

    Good news for you! They don't cast it anymore.
    What!? I always enjoyed the sanctuary because of the variety of the mobs there. Each seal offered a very different level of difficulty. Removing the IM curse seems.. weird. Was that part of the new patch released just now?

  • YamchaYamcha Member Posts: 486
    Skatan, it was removed with 1.13
    JuliusBorisovSkatanCrevsDaak
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    edited June 2016
    Sorry for clogging the thread. Gonna put my comments in spoilers.

    [spoiler]You shouldn't really jump into a discussion between two ppl, but this time I kinda feel I have to,
    O_Bruce said:


    The small stash space is a huge problem, which is why I play with PlugY, which also simulates all the Online-only events and incorporates Ladder exclusives into single-player.

    When you are rating the game, rate, well, the game not it's mods. It's more honest that way.


    Class balance is a pretty much a myth in any RPG, something is always head and shoulders above the rest, and in PvE content, it really doesn't matter. The Paladin is capable of being the strongest (mostly because it's most popular build ignores monster immunity in Hell) but it's also the most boring class to play.

    I'll say it in more undestandable way. Class balancing is one thing. Clear favouritism is other. And I never mentioned hammerdin build. Only Paladin has access to overpowered runeword unique to Paladin-only shields. Only Paladin has skill that combines Amazon's Jab and Fend in one (and has powerful synegries to it, contraty to those two). Only Paladin, from all meele/physical fighters has access to attack that deals 4 different damage types at once (while Barbarian has berserk, which reduces his armor to 0 - and is useless vs physica and magic immune. Amazon's lightning skills are useless vs. physical and lighting immune. Things does repeat with other melee classes. I think I don't have to elaborate on this). Paladin's most popular offensive aura gives him more perks than his teammates. Thanks for Holy Shield, he doesn't even need to care about dexterity for high-block rate. Things like that. He has many thing other melee classes have, but better.
    You are not entirely correct @O_Bruce. I don't know what you are referring to but it sure seems like you base you entire opinion on the last few patches of Dii. It took a loooooooooong time until the paladin became what it did in the end and before that we had both sorcerers (remember firewall?) and amazons (remember cleg's + Multiple shot?) reigning supreme in PvP and PvM respectively. If you don't recall this, you don't know Diablo 2 for real. There were of course other strong builds as well, it was not these two exclusively, but they were easy, cheap builds and very common. Back then very few brought a pala to a PvP fight. Vigor and charge was a combo used, but alot less common.

    Paladins did indeed became a very favourable class and everytime I quit and restarted the last few years, the hammerdin became my first character since it was the cheapest character to deal with hell difficulty and MF up your stash so you could afford other characters. But there were others as well, like the summomancer, who was also a cheap character too build up.
    O_Bruce said:

    Yamcha said:


    I'm not sure about duping runes, but the main sources of high level runes were Bots and shuttle characters.
    The latter, you had to rush several low level accounts thru the game and do the hell forge quest, and hope for the best. This could be done much faster then hope for a real IST rune drop. My highest random drop was an UM ^^

    Bots are for losers. And I think many of high runes were duped anyway, since I recall reading articles about Diablo 2. Many of which advised to use bought runes as soon as possible, since they can dissapear from the server (your game), because of being duped. Also, majority of what you said doesn't concern single player.
    What really killed the balance was not the paladins skill in itself, it was the fact that all classes got access to teleport and battle orders through the runewords. A throng of bot hammerdins with teleport killed of the market and gave access to high level items and runes for everyone. Sure, back in the day everyone had their duped Valor's armor, but what really killed of the market was the bots, not just dupes.
    O_Bruce said:


    The small stash space is a huge problem, which is why I play with PlugY, which also simulates all the Online-only events and incorporates Ladder exclusives into single-player.

    When you are rating the game, rate, well, the game not it's mods. It's more honest that way.
    Btw, when arguing for your point about the game, the comment "bots are for losers" doesn't really add more value than adding comments about game mods.
    O_Bruce said:


    The Runes are far too rare, and were clearly intended to be traded among thousands if not millions of people, which is why they don't work as well when playing by yourself.

    And that is still the flaw of this game.
    The highest level runewords were added only after the market had been "flooded" with higher level runes. Blizzard reacted to the community and market and did what they thought was the best way to handle the issue; by adding higher and higher, stronger and stronger, runewords. They also added really strong enemies for characters having these runewords to try their luck on. I'm not saying this was the best way to deal with it, but at least they tried,
    O_Bruce said:

    Yamcha said:


    The plot wasn't any weaker then the predecessor, but the atmosphere of the 1st Diablo was much better!

    I agree, no Diablo game had so good atmosphere as 1st one. Truth to be told, Diablo 1 is the only game that has any terror kind of atmosphere for me. Diablo 2 is only gray and desaturated. And Diablo 3 drops any pretences of said atmosphere.
    The story was good enough for the game and the cinematics were, as often with Blizz, superior.
    [/spoiler]
    Post edited by Skatan on
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    You are more than welcome, @Skatan to drop in. I don't mind.

    1. Skatan, you must know that I know this game from patch 1.07, next patch I was familiar with was 1.10. From that point now, I was familiar with pretty much every next patch. Why? I've bought Diablo 2 for the first time when LoD was already released, so minimal patch I could play with was 1.07. Since there was time when my family didn't have internet connection at all, I was forced to play 1.07 offline for years. My point? Saying that I don't know Diablo 2, because I didn't have any opportunity to get know how other patches work, and how online worked etc. is thoughtless and rude of you.

    That being said, when stating the things I consider "game flaws" I only had in mind what are the current problems. I am not interested in the past because, well, it's the past. Regardless what you say about how the game used to be, it is utterly meaningless at how the game is now. Paladin is clearly favoured right now, and nothing you can say about earlier patches can change that fact.

    2. You are however absolutely right about every class getting access to teleport or other unique skills they should not have to. This is another flaw of this game, so often ignored by people.

    3. Your comment about bots not adding anything to the discussion is correct. However, I have mentioned them only because they were already mentioned.

    4. If highest level runewords were added because the game was flawed with high level runes, then I can only imagine those runes were close to the useless back then, since they were not component of original runewords. So, my question is this: why adding to the game useless runes in the first place?

    5. The story was not good at all, there is no such thing as "Diablo game with good story". Even if there is potential for some interesting story, it is utterly wasted, given the interesting lore etc. But the cinematics are always amazing, I have to admit that.

    6. Thanks for dropping by.
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    edited June 2016
    Gonna put my comments in spoilers to let the playthroughs shine, as they should in this thread.

    [spoiler]
    O_Bruce said:

    You are more than welcome, @Skatan to drop in. I don't mind.

    1. Skatan, you must know that I know this game from patch 1.07, next patch I was familiar with was 1.10. From that point now, I was familiar with pretty much every next patch. Why? I've bought Diablo 2 for the first time when LoD was already released, so minimal patch I could play with was 1.07. Since there was time when my family didn't have internet connection at all, I was forced to play 1.07 offline for years. My point? Saying that I don't know Diablo 2, because I didn't have any opportunity to get know how other patches work, and how online worked etc. is thoughtless and rude of you.

    That being said, when stating the things I consider "game flaws" I only had in mind what are the current problems. I am not interested in the past because, well, it's the past. Regardless what you say about how the game used to be, it is utterly meaningless at how the game is now. Paladin is clearly favoured right now, and nothing you can say about earlier patches can change that fact.

    2. You are however absolutely right about every class getting access to teleport or other unique skills they should not have to. This is another flaw of this game, so often ignored by people.

    3. Your comment about bots not adding anything to the discussion is correct. However, I have mentioned them only because they were already mentioned.

    4. If highest level runewords were added because the game was flawed with high level runes, then I can only imagine those runes were close to the useless back then, since they were not component of original runewords. So, my question is this: why adding to the game useless runes in the first place?

    5. The story was not good at all, there is no such thing as "Diablo game with good story". Even if there is potential for some interesting story, it is utterly wasted, given the interesting lore etc. But the cinematics are always amazing, I have to admit that.

    6. Thanks for dropping by.

    1: You're right, that was rude. But you came across as very sure of yourself and I wanted to show you (and other potential readers) that Dii had a long life-span in which the different phases had their different "best builds" and paladin was far, far from the best one in the games earlier versions. Paladin was actually considered quite weak in the beginning, but as we all know, that change quite radically with synergies and mob resistances to everything except magic.

    4: the weren't useless from the beginning. I don't get your point really, could you please elaborate?

    5: I actually liked the story, given the concept of the game. It was shallow enough for me to not invest too much energy in it, but still deep enough to add some lore to the game and the environment in which I quested. Dii was not made to be story-driven and IMHO, you need to judge a game by its context. It's like saying GTO is a bad air simulator game because driving the helicopter is hard even though that is clearly not what the game's core is all about. [/spoiler]
    Post edited by Skatan on
  • YamchaYamcha Member Posts: 486
    One thing to consider when criticizing certain points of the game: The game was released in 2000
    Only one paid addon, but a lot of content patches that kept the game alive to this date.
    Some things might be hard or impossible to obtain (certain rune words were exclusively available for the current ladder, closed battle.net). But this always kept people going, you always had something to play for, even after hitting lvl 99 (never had one, and I played my fair share of d2)

    The only real thing that bug me about this game are hackers. TPPK hackers were the worst.
    People paying real money for ingame stuff come close in 2nd...
    Skatanmf2112lolien
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    edited June 2016
    Hi. Was going to write update on Isendra's progress, but I'm too tired to do it now. She was unlucky lately, that I can say.

    EDIT: Screw it. Since my insomnia strikes again, I can as well to writ it all right now. Not gonna sleep or rest anyway.

    The tale of Isendra continues: the Horadric Mallus, the Maiden of Anquish and plenty of bad luck


    After taking a break and recovering from disappointment with the loot she found in the forgotten tower, Isendra continued her journey, this time aiming to recover Horadric Mallus for Charsi.

    At first, everything was ok. The combination of spear thrusts, occasional Fireballs and slowing enemies with the Frost Nova worked very well against pack of monsters, such as these:

    image


    Isendra's luck swiftly turned to be quite bad, when she entered the Pit in Tamoe Highland.

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    In both instances Isendra had to fight two special monsters pack at once. The first one with combinations of Cursed and Extra Strong, the second with Cursed and Stone Skin. As you can see, Isendra's couldn't really recall exactly how she defeated two leaders from above packs: her memory got fuzzy, since she was busy fighting for life, and for the first time she had to rely on rejuvenation potions. Her wounds hurt, but her pride hurts more.

    And, The Pit prove itself to be a waste of time. No decent loot was obtained, aside from few gems. Soon after, Isendra has reached the Monastery Gates. She even took a short break between slaughtering group of monsters to wonder, how beautiful the monastery was before Andariel took over.

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    After reaching the Barracks, Isendra swiftly encountered another double special monster pack. Skeleton archers were very accurate with arrows, while no armor could protect from Devilkin Shaman's and Skeletal Magis' fireballs. The battle began.

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    The sorceress mana reserves were swiftly drained her enemies, so she couldn't use her frost nova too often to slow the enemies down. Fortunately, sorceress was short on luck, but not on her wits. She made a good use of envoirment to minimize the damage she took, and maximize her own. The battle was won, eventually. Once again, the rejuvenation potions were used. Too bad that Rouge mercenary's life was still lost. Isendra realised two things. First, she needed to find herself a better weapon soon. Second, she needed to find som magic items that would enhance her endurance. The fate wasn't too kind for her for now, however.

    The rest of the monster encountered in the Barracks were rather easy. Except from even Skeleton Archers, attacking treacherously from the corner.

    image


    Soon, the Sorceress found the Mallus, guarded by the Overlord demon called the Smith, accompanied by the Devilkins. Isendra made short work of the little ones, then attacked the Smith. The swings of his hammer were powerful, but power is nothing when you can't hit your enemy. Isendra made use of chilling effects of the Frost Nova and her spear's superior range to win this battle. It was easier than some monster packs she encountered today. Too bad that the loot was unimpressive to say it lightly.


    image


    Isendra then entered the lower levels of the monastery, to the Jail. She used the waypoint there to get back to Rouge Encampment and handed the Mallus to Charsi. Isendra decided to pass on the offer of enhancing her weapon for now, since at the moment she didn't have anything worthy of enhancing right now. Maybe she ask Charsi some other time.

    image


    Isendra stayed a while with Cain and listened to the old man. It seemed that the time to strike direclty for Andariel has come. The fight with the one of the Lesser Evils will be a tough one, but fortunately the Sorceress learned two things from Cain. Andariel was fond of using poison. And despite coming from the Hell, she was not fond of fire. Isendra made a note of that.

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    Isendra then continued the journey through the Jail, to the deepest depths of the monastery. Another monster packs, with the leader of an exceptional strength made Isendra think she needs to invest in some defense. To this end, after reaching the waypoint in the Inner Cloiser and returning to town, Isendra, after multiple tries, managed to gamble some half-decend Crystal Sword and Bone Shield from Gheed. Once again luck was no on her side. But armed like that, she was not dealing as devastating blows, but abillity to block incoming attacks was well worth it.

    Soon Isendra encountered a notable skeletal mage, casting poison and being utterly immune to cold. Swings of Isendra's new sword and fireballs did the job just fine.

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    The Catacombs atmosphere was chilling Isendra's to the bone. After exploring the place for a while and killing everything that stood in her way, Isendra felt lucky for once.

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    Arctic Binding, a light belt. Provided good protection, especially against cold.

    Soon after entering deeper level of the catacombs, Isendra found herself in a tough battle again.
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    The Dark One's Shamans's fireballs were really strong, and the caster themselves ferocious, fanatic even. A group of their minions were getting in the way of reaching the Shamans, meaning that Isendra had to take a fireball attacks she couldn't block. But that ain't stopping her. Neither bad luck nor some third-rated spellcasters.

    Soon, the Sorceress found learned that the minions of Hell are even more stupid than she had imagined. Fighting them one by one in the doorways was a shinning example.

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    On even lower levels, the Sorceress found other third-rated spellcasters. Wonder how group of archers or champions of the Dark One's Shamans were much more of a threat.

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    Isendra went down even further, and she could finally sense the presence of powerful demon. The Maiden of Anguish was nearby.

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    Isendra swiftly proceeded to cleansing the level off Andariel's minions

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    Before challlenging the Demon Queen herself, Isendra remembered Cain's advice and drunk some antidotes beforehand, making her body much more resistant to any kind of poisons. Then, the battle against the Lesser Evil started.

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    The Frost Nova chilled the Maiden of Anguish, and the mix of Fireballs and swings of the Crystal Sword dealt heavy damage. The blows from the Maiden of Anguish were notable as well, but her Poison Spray spell was the most devastating. In the end, Isendra proved herself superior to the Lesser Demon Mistress, and slain Andariel, using some healing potions and two or three rejuvenation potions. The victiory and the loot was Isendra's!

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    Too bad that the loot wasn't notable whatsoever. Isendra's godly luck strike again. The Sorceress was congratulated for her efforts by everyone in the Encampment. Now, the way to the East, and pherhaps to the Dark Wanderer and maybe Jazreth was opened. But Isendra might need to take a short rest before her next journey.
    Post edited by O_Bruce on
    SkatanJuliusBorisovCrevsDaak
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    @O_Bruce You've scared me by saying about a bad luck. Isendra still lives, she's found a set item, she's defeated the Act I boss, so everything is fine. As long as the adventure continues, it's fine. Items come and go, the main thing is Isendra lives.
    mf2112lolien
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    Wait a second, drinking antidote potions BEFORE a fight increases poison resist??
    CrevsDaaklolien
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790

    Wait a second, drinking antidote potions BEFORE a fight increases poison resist??

    Yup. For some time. You can drink multiple antidotes to stack the time, but not additional resistance. Thawing potions work similar way, but with cold.

    @O_Bruce You've scared me by saying about a bad luck. Isendra still lives, she's found a set item, she's defeated the Act I boss, so everything is fine. As long as the adventure continues, it's fine. Items come and go, the main thing is Isendra lives.

    I can guarantee you that when she dies I will not announce it at the very beginning of the post :p
    JuliusBorisovmf2112CrevsDaaklolien
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    O_Bruce said:

    Wait a second, drinking antidote potions BEFORE a fight increases poison resist??

    Yup. For some time. You can drink multiple antidotes to stack the time, but not additional resistance. Thawing potions work similar way, but with cold.
    Wtf? I played that game for thousands of hours and I didn't know that, hehe :D
    mf2112CrevsDaaklolien
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    edited June 2016
    Finally, something from Xzar :)

    But what about Phil?
    JuliusBorisovmf2112CrevsDaaklolien
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    edited June 2016
    Isendra's quest continues: the deserts of Anaroch, the Radament and the Horadric Cube

    The travel to the east went so swift, that Isendra could have sworn it was over by the time she managed to blink. After arriving in the city of Lut Gholein, and exchanging words with few of the citizen - the city's lord Jerhyn. The young lord explained, that things went dangerous around here, when the Dark Wanderer has passed through the city. Drognan, the experienced Sorceror from the Vizjerei clan recognized Isendra as Zan Essu member and shared interesting info with her. Apparently, Jazreth were in the city some time before the Dark Wanderer. Then, he disappeared again.

    The news were more than enough to encourage Isendra to start exploring the desert. Bofere that, however, she had bought new shield from Drognan and magical flail from Fara. It's funny how she easily was able to find a replacement for the equipment she gampled from Gheed. And it was (a lot) cheaper, too.

    Isendra went on the Rocky Waste, fighting off Lacuni and Scarabs, the latter being a serious threat with their electrical discharges. Soon, Isendra found a The Stony Tomb and explored it hoping to find some loot.

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    In the lower area of the Tomb, Isendra fought notably ugly Mummy. And magical ring that, apparently, would help Isendra in looking for magical items.

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    Slaying enemies on the Dry Hills, the Sorceress felt her power grow. She finally became able to Enchant her weapon with fire, use Teleport and cast Glacial Spike.

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    Her new abillites made combat a lot easier. Isendra found the waypoint and decided to visit Lut Gholein. There, after trading some loot, she had decided to have a drink in the tavern. Atma, the tavern's owner, seved the sorceress her drink and, after some time, asked for a favour.

    image



    The creature she mentioned, explained further by Drognan, was Radament the Fallen, the former Horadrim. For some strange reason, he left his old Tomb (maybe the one that Isendra looted?) and located himself in the sewers below the city. The beast has killed many - Atma's son and husband included - and Isendra decided to end his spree once and for all. She swiftly went down the sewers.

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    Killing undead minions, Isendra traveled deeper and deeper, and finally encountered the Radament himself. He was able to raise undead once again, Isendra was told, and that's why nobody was able to deal with the Horadric mummy - one would be overwhelmed by his minions. But not Isendra. The sorceress frozen the minions with the Glacial Spike, then shattered them to the pieces with fiery-enchanted flail of hers. Now, it was one versus one.

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    Among the several magic items she found was enchanted book and very old scroll with Horadric crest on it. Cain should see to it. The sorceress returned to town and brought Atma good news. Nothing can bring her family back to life, however.

    image



    Isendra has shown Horadric scroll to Deckard Cain and the old man proven himself capable of reading it. It said of the tomb of Tal Rasha, the Horadric Staff and the Horadric Cube. Tal Rasha was a noble Horadrim leader who, years ago, sacrificed himself by sealing Baal, the Lord of Destruction and one of the Prime Evils inside himself, and then being imprisoned in long-forgotten tomb, struggling against the demon for all eternity. The Horadric staff was said to be able to open the passage to Tal Rasha's prison, and the Horadric Cube could be used to restore the staff, that was divided into two fragment: the Staff of Kings and The Amulet of The Viper. Both were hidden away to be found only by true heroes. What a pathos, Isendra thought.

    Cain suspected the Horadric Cube should be hidden in one of the many horadric tombs in the desert. Isendra has explored one already, but no trace of the Cube could be found. She has decided to return to the Dry Hills in search for the another one, and sure enough, she found it.

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    The tomb, of course, was populated mostly by undead, the greater mummies among them. Like Radament, these were capable of raising their minions once more. Isendra, however, was easily able to teleport directly to the foul creatures and take them down swiftly before dealing with the minions. Only in rare instances, the Horadric mummies posed a threat.

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    In the deepest regions of the tomb, the sorceress found a pack of raging Lacuni. That was surprising for them to be in this place, surrounded by the undead everywhere. Isendra didn't have time to think about it, unfortunately. As it turned out, the lacuni were guarding the Horadric Cube.

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    Satisfied, Isendra went back to the Lut Gholein. She had learned of the Cube's properties by Cain and she immediately took advantage of them. Transmuting amulets into rings, and rings into amulets, upgrading gems with more magical power and so on. Isendra brought new helm and put ruby and topaz into it. She had two rings that were supposed to grant her more luck and the amulet that enhanced her vitality and resistances. Also, feeling she could use it in the future, the sorceress brought staff that provided her proficiency with the Blaze spell. Drognan was greedy and charged a lot for it, though.

    In the end, Isendra's stash looked more presentable than just few hours before finding the cube.
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    Isendra's choice of skills and stats:
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    PS. Oh, what happened with the book she found at Radament's? It turned out to be a book that boosted her defensive magic - Shiver armor, to be more precise.
    mf2112CrevsDaakJuliusBorisovlolien
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    lefreut said:

    Congratulation, you made me reinstall this game :p

    Looking forward to your contribution
    mf2112CrevsDaakJuliusBorisovlolien
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    So I found this nice XP Shrine, I get greedy and start fighting a rather big group of monsters... I don't realise my mouse moves at 10000km/second (I am used to playing League with high mouse speed and Diablo/BG and other stuff with slow mouse speed) and I get killed while trying to kite them (dunno why I didn't take a potion). This was so dumb. Guess I'm going to make a Paladin and just click to win the game.
    mf2112JuliusBorisovlolien
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    My GF is leaving town fri-sun.. I get that creeping feeling that I'm gonna go up to the attic and try to find my old copies of Dii/ToB! :P You guys write the most amazing playthroughs, thanks to both @O_bruce and @JuliusBorisov. I've never actually played the game like this :) I've only really played the game competitively (execpt for my very first barbarian which I played offline on my brothers computer)
    JuliusBorisovCrevsDaaklolien
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    Good progress, @O_Bruce. Your Isendra has so many hit points! It looks like she has started to find strength after strength.

    Yay, @lefreut and @Skatan , it would be awesome to get more participants here.

    Alas, @CrevsDaak, it happens. But nothing is better (almost) than making a new character.
    Skatanmf2112CrevsDaaklolien
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