4 ms·

I feel like Diablo is the wrong game to be asking this about, and OP is making some assumptions that don't really ring true to me. I'd be kinda surprised if mul

I feel like Diablo is the wrong game to be asking this about, and OP is making some assumptions that don't really ring true to me. I'd be kinda surprised if multiplayer wasn't what the vast majority of the Diablo 2 playerbase was interested in - it's basically an mmo-lite. It would be nice if Diablo 4 supported offline play but I wouldn't hold my breath.

ribosometronome 4y ago
Diablo 2's got a semi-vibrant modding community that has done a fair amount with the game that would not have been possible without single-player/open multiplayer. I agree with you that the vast majority of players probably will only want closed, online multiplayer but it's hard to imagine it having the same legs as D2 without.
jonwinstanley 4y ago
Yeah. I’m hoping GTA 6 has a huge 1 player story
olliej 4y ago
I only get that from D3, which I''ll note wasn't mentioned - D3 to me personally was hugely disappointing as to me it had a marginal storyline and all real character skill progression or good equipment was tied to online BS.
- bee_rider 4y ago
  I'm not sure how they could act on the request to have a better storyline, other than just hire better writers. Blizzard always had... serviceable but not great plotlines (and well-loved characters, but IMO more as a result of character design and that kind of stuff, rather than plot).
  - olliej 4y ago
    I guess “better storyline” is the wrong request “more story in the main game”
    - bee_rider 4y ago
      It might be kind of neat if they tied the plotline to the rift mechanic. Unveil new bits of plot a particular depth is hit or something...
- p1necone 4y ago
  D3 got a lot better after the auction house was removed.
chowells 4y ago
Blizzard's public figures said that the average number of players in an online Diablo 2 game was... 1.1. Are you kinda surprised?
- p1necone 4y ago
  Not surprised - most of the core hack and slash gameplay is generally done solo. The multiplayer comes in with talking to other players in towns, trading items, and competing with people/showing off over character progression while knowing that everyone's character data is stored in a centralized server and probably hasn't been hacked.
themagician 4y ago
The D2 community is small but very vocal. Truth is, if the community got to design a game it would be absolutely horrible. They basically want to design a slot machine that you have to pull 5,000, so that you can then compare against other people who have also pulled the same slot machine 5,000 times. You get cred for both having pulled the slot machine the most times, as well as the least times, before getting a jackpot. But the jackpot isn't that impressive. It's like playing free slots for days on end to win $5 in virtual currency. That's the Diablo 2 experience that the fanbase wants.
- likeclockwork 4y ago
  I agree 100%. Diablo 2 was a good game, the part of it that was actually Diablo 2. The multiplayer post-endgame was just a community of addicts playing a game that was already over endlessly. See also the community saying that Diablo 3 starts after you play all the content. Yes, the game you are playing doesn't get good until it is finished.
- p1necone 4y ago
  You don't need to imagine what would happen. Path of Exile was designed by hardcore Diablo 2 fans. If you really don't like content past the main story it does still have a great regular first playthrough campaign. It even replaces the Diablo 2 "play through the same 5 acts 3 times on increasingly higher difficulties" thing with a single 10 act long campaign, although the second half is revisiting altered versions of the same areas from the first half with different plot. But they also weave a bunch of cool lore into the postgame in a way that Diablo 2 didn't really do[0], and make it much more interesting than just killing the same handful of endgame bosses over and over again for loot. [0] At one point the main postgame big bads were canonically characters that used to be the good guys in there fighting the old bad guys, but got driven insane in what was basically a giant meta reference to hardcore players that spend thousands of hours in the postgame.
slowmovintarget 4y ago
The proper comparison would be to Path of Exile. That's an on-line ARPG with a "Solo self-found" mode. But I'd much prefer single player. There's no one in single player out to ruin or game the economy.

ribosometronome 4y ago

Diablo 2's got a semi-vibrant modding community that has done a fair amount with the game that would not have been possible without single-player/open multiplayer. I agree with you that the vast majority of players probably will only want closed, online multiplayer but it's hard to imagine it having the same legs as D2 without.

jonwinstanley 4y ago

Yeah. I’m hoping GTA 6 has a huge 1 player story

olliej 4y ago

I only get that from D3, which I''ll note wasn't mentioned - D3 to me personally was hugely disappointing as to me it had a marginal storyline and all real character skill progression or good equipment was tied to online BS.

bee_rider 4y ago
I'm not sure how they could act on the request to have a better storyline, other than just hire better writers. Blizzard always had... serviceable but not great plotlines (and well-loved characters, but IMO more as a result of character design and that kind of stuff, rather than plot).
- olliej 4y ago
  I guess “better storyline” is the wrong request “more story in the main game”
  - bee_rider 4y ago
    It might be kind of neat if they tied the plotline to the rift mechanic. Unveil new bits of plot a particular depth is hit or something...
p1necone 4y ago
D3 got a lot better after the auction house was removed.

chowells 4y ago

Blizzard's public figures said that the average number of players in an online Diablo 2 game was... 1.1. Are you kinda surprised?

p1necone 4y ago
Not surprised - most of the core hack and slash gameplay is generally done solo. The multiplayer comes in with talking to other players in towns, trading items, and competing with people/showing off over character progression while knowing that everyone's character data is stored in a centralized server and probably hasn't been hacked.

themagician 4y ago

The D2 community is small but very vocal. Truth is, if the community got to design a game it would be absolutely horrible. They basically want to design a slot machine that you have to pull 5,000, so that you can then compare against other people who have also pulled the same slot machine 5,000 times. You get cred for both having pulled the slot machine the most times, as well as the least times, before getting a jackpot. But the jackpot isn't that impressive. It's like playing free slots for days on end to win $5 in virtual currency. That's the Diablo 2 experience that the fanbase wants.

likeclockwork 4y ago
I agree 100%. Diablo 2 was a good game, the part of it that was actually Diablo 2. The multiplayer post-endgame was just a community of addicts playing a game that was already over endlessly. See also the community saying that Diablo 3 starts after you play all the content. Yes, the game you are playing doesn't get good until it is finished.
p1necone 4y ago
You don't need to imagine what would happen. Path of Exile was designed by hardcore Diablo 2 fans. If you really don't like content past the main story it does still have a great regular first playthrough campaign. It even replaces the Diablo 2 "play through the same 5 acts 3 times on increasingly higher difficulties" thing with a single 10 act long campaign, although the second half is revisiting altered versions of the same areas from the first half with different plot. But they also weave a bunch of cool lore into the postgame in a way that Diablo 2 didn't really do[0], and make it much more interesting than just killing the same handful of endgame bosses over and over again for loot. [0] At one point the main postgame big bads were canonically characters that used to be the good guys in there fighting the old bad guys, but got driven insane in what was basically a giant meta reference to hardcore players that spend thousands of hours in the postgame.

slowmovintarget 4y ago

The proper comparison would be to Path of Exile. That's an on-line ARPG with a "Solo self-found" mode. But I'd much prefer single player. There's no one in single player out to ruin or game the economy.