The biggest announcements of Blizzcon 2021 were all about Diablo. For the majority of the last decade, this beloved franchise was completely out of the spotlight, to say the least. Sure, Diablo 3 got seasonal updates on a regular basis, and is still going strong even 8 years after its release, but other than that, Blizzard stayed quiet about one of their best franchises. Until now.
Diablo 4, Diablo: Immortal, and Diablo 2 Resurrected were all announced during this year’s virtual Blizzcon, and while Diablo 4 is certainly going to be the largest game of them all, it is Diablo 2 Resurrected that seems to have gotten most of the love from the franchise’s fans. It should come as no surprise. With its varied character classes and endless replay value, this game is a cult classic, and people still play it to this day. However, it has been 20 years since it released, and Diablo 2 was more than due a remaster. But how is Diablo 2 Resurrected actually going to differ from the original?
10 Shared Items Stashes
The announcement of this change was met with unanimous approval from the fans. In the heyday of Diablo 2’s multiplayer, the use of mule characters and useless saves and accounts created just for the purpose of transferring items between one’s own characters was a common practice. Back in the day, the developers didn’t predict just how much players would need to switch items between their builds and failed to include the shared stash mechanism in Diablo 2.
Fast-forward to 2021, and it seems like Blizzard devs have truly learned their lessons. Diablo 2 Resurrected will feature a shared stash system, where players will be able to freely exchange items between their characters, without any hassle whatsoever.
9 Expanded Stash Sizes
When talking about stash improvements coming to Diablo 2 Resurrected, it is impossible not to mention the increased stash sizes. This was a major issue in the original game. Players were forced to go through countless hoops just to keep their items because the dedicated stashes (and inventory size) were simply to small to accommodate for the sheer amount of loot they could amass throughout their playthroughs.
The Diablo 2 modding community managed to fix that issue, introducing multiple modifications that increased the stash sizes to tolerable dimensions, but it is nice to see the developers taking note of this inconvenience and incorporating 10×10 stashes in Resurrected.
8 Automatic Pick Up
The auto pick-up mechanic of gold and other items of value (that do not take up too much inventory space) has been a tried and true practice in ARPGs for a while now. It was present in Diablo 3, and the majority of isometric hack-and-slash titles released in the last couple of years.
When Diablo 2 first came out in 2000, though, the automated picking up of loot and gold wasn’t on anyone’s mind. First of all, it was more difficult to implement back then. Secondly, it didn’t seem to affect the enjoyment of the game too much, so it was left untouched. It’s still good to know that Diablo 2 Resurrected will keep up with the times and include at least some of the modern-day ARPG conveniences.
7 Cutscenes Remade From Scratch
Game cutscenes from the 1995-2005 era had a specific atmosphere to them. Limited by the hardware capabilities of the times, and yet still thriving to look much better than the game itself, these clips often came out clunky and awkward-looking. Undoubtedly, they came to symbolize an entire time period of RTS and ARPG games, but in the end, deciding to revamp them to cater to the modern audience’s tastes was definitely a good move on Blizzard’s side.
Hardcore fans of the Diablo lore and plots of the main games surely can’t wait to see the stories they know so well reimagined in glorious 4K, with the implementation of all the newest animation tools.
6 Improved Battlenet
Sure, the multiplayer in Diablo 2 was very good. So good, in fact, that it wouldn’t be an overstatement to claim that it was ahead of its time. The best proof of that is the fact that the Battle.net servers for the original Diablo 2 are still active, and there is a fair amount of players enjoying it to this day.
With that being said, the original Battle.net came with a fair share of issues, and these are only exacerbated by the age of these multiplayer servers. Battle.net 2.0 functionality coming to Diablo 2 Resurrected means that the game’s most entertaining mode will run as smoothly as ever, letting a whole new generation of players have fun with it.
5 Cross-Progression
One of the major changes coming to Diablo 2 Resurrected is the fact that the game will also be available on consoles from day 1. That means hordes of console players getting introduced to what many players have hailed as the greatest ARPG of all time.
The fact that Resurrected is coming to consoles isn’t as important as the fact that the game will be getting cross-progression functionality across all platforms. Players will be able to carry their save over to any platform they choose to play the game on, making Diablo 2 more accessible than ever.
4 3D Graphics
This is probably the most noticeable change on this list. As expected from a full remaster, Diablo 2 Resurrected will introduce 3D graphics to the game. Compared to other games released in the year 2000, Diablo 2 has aged quite gracefully, and its visuals aren’t as bad as they could be.
It would be a lie to say that they aren’t at all outdated, though. The revamped graphics in Resurrected is certainly good news. Many players have always wanted to try D2 but were deterred by the old visuals. The refreshed look will undoubtedly help them enjoy the game for what it is — a great, timeless ARPG, regardless of the quality of its graphics.
3 Option To Toggle Between New And Old Version
As mentioned earlier, Diablo 2 Resurrected will be getting refreshed graphics, with all of the 3D goodness and eye-candy that comes with it. However, Blizzard has vowed to leave the original game intact and not repeat the mistakes made with Warcraft 3: Reforged, where they replaced the old game completely and removed the ability to buy it in any digital store.
Diablo 2 Resurrected not only won’t replace the original game. It will also let fans seamlessly switch between the old, 2D version and the remastered one with one click of a button!
2 Remastered Audio Effects
Playing the original Diablo 2 today doesn’t feel like playing a 20-year-old game. Provided that one plays it without sound. Many of the effects, mainly combat and running sounds, are simply outdated and not detailed enough to be considered “modern”, at least not by today’s sound quality standards.
Resurrected will get updated sound effects, including more varied footstep sounds and combat noise. The iconic things players hear when manipulating their inventory or drinking potions will stay unaffected, though.
1 No More Compatibility Issues
Much has been said about how Diablo 2 proudly stood the test of time and can be enjoyed in 2021 without having to get used to any outdated mechanics or clunkiness that can be expected of a game that is two decades old. While players certainly don’t have to jump through hoops to enjoy the game, their operating systems and modern PC rigs are a completely different story.
Running Diablo 2 on Windows 10 requires a lot of patching, modding, and fiddling around with settings, and even that doesn’t fully guarantee that the game will run. Resurrected provides gamers with much-needed relief in that department, letting everybody install and open Blizzard’s timeless masterpiece in a matter of a few clicks.
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