There's a looping mechanism in Diablo that's central to the game's success or disappointing. Is it satisfying to step into the dungeon and mindlessly fight mobs, and then collect loot? If so you then Diablo 2 Resurrected is halfway to becoming a favorite among the D2R Items community of fans. If the team once again messed with the loot system, as it did in the first release of Diablo 3, then we're in trouble.
Within the novel Blood, Sweat, and Pixels in the book Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, the chapter on the calamity that was Diablo 3's launch tells the story of how a Blizzard player played for literally hundreds of hours, before they came across a single piece of legendary loot. When that light in orange finally came out of an adversary, he tried to grab the item only to find that his character class couldn't even get it. The loot system was inherently broken that the pressure being a slave to the system for several hours after which relief of having something to take home, was broken.
It was then fixed that you could only find certain tiers of loot that could be used by your character, and the rate at which early-game famous items would be dropped was raised. Also, even though the legendary items you got were not a problem but you did often get a small dose of dopamine that kept you hooked.
If Diablo 2 Resurrected gets that right and has a similar loot system like Loot2.0 and Loot2.0 in Diablo 3, then we're already worried about just how much time we're going to invest in the game. The disaster in Diablo 3 is the best chance that has ever happened to the series on a continuous basis. If you mix it along with an Immortal controversy, it feels like Blizzard offers a clear list of potential potholes to avoid should it want to remain among the best of it's biggest fans.
The Diablo community is open about the things they don't like and has been through the lifecycle of Diablo 3, so we're hoping Blizzard will take these concerns into consideration for those lucky enough to play large parts of the game before it's released. However, we'd bet Blizzard doesn't like the flood of leaked footage that seems to follow on the heels of the private test.
One element to Diablo 3 that is confirmed to return is the limited-time Seasons. They are basically post-game pieces of content which refresh the way legendary items work and remix the contents of the base game and add replayability to a game that is already ridiculously replayable. Seasons were featured in significant amounts duration in Diablo 3, so we're hopeful that they'll become an important feature in Diablo 2 Resurrected.
That seasonal approach will also set Diablo 2 Resurrected up to be another irresistible Game Pass game, should it ever be shut down. A game like Diablo with its solid gameplay is the perfect match for a service specifically designed to allow players to jump back into online games following a couple of months. But considering that the game is due for release in June and the battle over what the cheap D2R Ladder Items future holds for Activision is still in full swing, this is one title that is very unlikely to receive Game Pass treatment on day one. Game Pass treatment on day one, unless something major is changed.
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