> There's nothing about the single-player gameplay that warrants requiring an internet connection. If your goal is to get the achievements and even touch the A

> There's nothing about the single-player gameplay that warrants requiring an internet connection. If your goal is to get the achievements and even touch the Auction House for items [1], then yes, an online component is required. Diablo 1 and 2 had issues with client-side item duplication cheats. With server-side handling of item generation, that is no longer possible. The only solution I can think of is letting players create entirely "single player only" characters, which will never be available online. Otherwise there's no (guaranteed) way to verify the save data hasn't been tampered with. [1]: The Auction House dramatically amplify your statistics, as itemization is always behind your current level. So the idea is players ahead of you can sell items they find to the people behind them. Ultimately those ahead of everyone are not finding 'gear' for their level [2]. [2]: Okay, so "Inferno" mode is a "flat" curve where everything is technically your level, but the difficulty still ramps up, and item quality is still behind the curve.