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I've never played any of the Diablos, or met anyone who has. But they are obviously popular for a reason. Are they worth going back to the first one?
Edit: Thanks for the answers, the community is alive! Based on you recommendations it looks like I'm going to give 2 resurrected a try.
You should give Path Of Exile a shot. It's very much like Diablo, but it's free to play (just pay for cosmetics).
As a warning, this game is wildly complex. I played up to the first boss and kept getting wiped immediately even though I would handle the mobs in the area.
PoE is a fantastic game but for beginners learning builds and stuff can be challenging, if you aren't afrai of guides or just want to piddle around without one for free you can really learn what the Diablo series is like.
It's been a while for me, but I never used a guide when I played. If anything, that took the fun right out of it for me, because it felt like in order to properly play the game, I first had to grind the game.
To each their own of course, but for me the most fun was when I first played the campaign and the whole story and settings /enemies was new. Playing through the campaign again and again on higher difficulties never could hold my interest for long. But I know that's the main draw for a lot of players.
Also, if you dislike toxic gamers, consider turning off chat before you even start. I found myself put off the game by the tolerance of really bigoted things being said. Gameplay was fun, from what I remember..
I wouldn't recommend going as far back as the first one. Diablo 2 Resurrected came out last year and is a good starting point for the series if you're thinking about trying it out. I never got into 3, but so far 4 feels really good.
Thanks! I'll look for resurrected then. If you don't mind replying, what is with the massive appeal of the game?
If you're into character progression, and loot, then you'll love Diablo. The loot system is great and really draws you in to playing more.
The art and ambiance is also amazing, and from what I can tell Resurrected is pretty faithful to the original.
There are some rough parts (like stamina, chugging potions, etc) given the age.
You have to remember that this game came out a long time ago, it had many features at the time that set it above other games.
It had a good storyline, multiplayer, maps that would change every time you logged in (multiplayer), the ability to be powerful after spending a lot of time in the game (and if you saw anyone with a rare/cool looking armor you know they worked for it, there were no lootbox mechanics where you could just pay money for it). And of course... there is no cow level ;) The skill tree allowed for tons of different abilities and combos, or you could grind away at a single skill and become godly with it.
You may not recognize the appeal to the game now just because so many of the mechanics have been copied and implemented in countless other games since then.
Appeal of Diablo in general, or 2 specifically? For 2 specifically, it's a lot of nostalgia. It was one of the most popular games when it came out and for years afterwards. A lot of the aspects of the game design still hold up really well even today, and still draw you in with trying to get more loot, trying a different build, etc.
I only ever played diablo 2, but I had a lot of fun playing it!
If you like action RPGs, diablo 2 is the game that made it into what the genre is today for the most part. It's practically a perfect game from a fundamentals and gameplay standpoint (meaning it's perfect at what it aimed to do and the impact it's had, not that it's without flaws). I have never been as into AARPGs as my friends, I burn out on them too quickly usually, and I don't have the patience for the grind. But for people who like that style, it's the OG. Its probably the first game I ever sunk more than 100 hours into, but those are rookie numbers for AARPG vets.
Diablo 1 is fantastic, but is very dated at this point. Partly because Diablo 2 improved on damn near everything.
Diablo 3 was...fine. I played through it twice when it launched and I've never touched it again. It was/is insanely popular but it wasn't for me.
I haven't played 4 and personally don't plan to, but it seems like people really like it so far! I'm not against it by any means, I'm just not into the seasonal content type games, and I really prefer to play single player, and I play offline a ton. I can't keep up with the grind or the time commitment, but wish the best for those that can and enjoy that game style.
Also curious about this. I’ve played torchlight and it’s similar and I enjoyed that
Diablo 3 and Torchlight II are really similar in my opinion. Both scratch the dungeon+area overworld play style that I really enjoy.
See, torchlight 1 had some og Diablo(1/2) developers. I don't know about torchlight 2 cause it gets a bit crazy at the time that I drop the entire drop loot arpg/genre. (including Boardersland 2, any drop loot game basically. ) I just went back to Monster Hunter instead.
I never knew that. I've never played Diablo but have sunk countless hours in Torchlight, it's one of my all time favourite games. It was also the gateway that lead me to Skyrim, my current addiction.
D2 (Not D2R) is also a lot like Torchlight II in some ways but because of its age it's honestly rougher around the edges. D2's got nice, streamlined, and somewhat easy to understand skill trees, a mix of overworld/dungeon areas, and really fun loot.
The few problems I have with D2 these days are: the lack of QoL features (no pet to pick up stuff for you and sell it) you have to use town portals to sell your junk. Combat in D2 usually boils down to spamming around 1-2 abilities, which is only fun because when you get powerful enough those abilities are super ultra powerful and make you feel like a god. The worst thing about D2 is that classes and builds really are unbalanced, but thankfully its actually a single player game like torchlight 2 so you can use mods, change the difficulty levels, and even cheat to your heart's content.
If you like Torchlight II you should give D2 a try if you can stand the dark themes, it's still a fantastic game that holds up well and plays great for casuals just as much as it does for hardcore players.
I personally love the games; they provide a satisfying gameplay loop of murdering hoardes of enemies to get better equipment so you can kill even stronger enemies. Using new builds and discovering new attack combinations/synergies is a lot of fun as well!
Diablo 1 has a great atmosphere but is pretty lacking by modern game standards. If you decide to play it, I'd recommend adding the Hellfire expansion so you get an extra class and the ability to sprint.
Diablo 2 is brilliant and lets you party up with up to 7 people instead of the max of 4 in D3 and D4. It's definitely a tougher game compared to the newer releases.
Diablo 3 is a fantastic game now that they've added the Adventure mode and rifts which make it way easier to tackle quests and grind for gear. It's also almost limitless on its difficulty unless you invest hundreds of hours into a character.
I've been jamming on Diablo 4 since it came out, and it could work out to being the best in the series; however, it's clear that it has a bit of growing to do. The skills are fun and fair though, and the five classes are diverse enough to give you plenty to chew on as you discover your preferred play style.
Obviously I love them, but I could see how others might find them repetitive. I'd snag D3 on sale (or it's probably discounted now) and decide if you feel like D4 would be worth $70.
Diablo 2, 3, and 4 are all great for their own reasons. Diablo 3 and 4 are more streamlined. However, the music for all of them is great, stay a while in listen, especially in the main town, Tristram. Torchlight 2 is also a classic and it has the same music composer who did Diablo 2, so it's also excellent. If you want a game with more class depth but it's about halfway between Diablo and Path of Exile, check out Last Epoch on Steam. It should be out of early access later this year and it is a very special game.
I've personally only played Diablo 3, however I have put a couple hundred hours into it at this point. I would 100% recommend it, just be prepared for the urge to play it for hours on end!
I’ve played 2 and it’s amazing. check out the reissue. Diablo 3 was fun. That’s about it.
I will say playing as the witch doctor was amazing fun as you got to throw jars of bees at things.
Yeah, but they aren't fun if you run into cheaters. They're a blast if you play with some of your friends. There are other similar games too, so I recommend you give the whole genre a shot.
I've played them all, and I really like the feel of Diablo 2.
I tried Path of Exile, which sort of reminded me of Diablo 2, but the endgame loop was not for me.
Diablo IV is turning out to be surprisingly okay, and I'm curious where they'll take it from here.
You're in for a treat, start with Diablo 1.
Thanks to it's color palette, it's still very atmospheric, even today. There's HD mod that not only makes it no hassle to run this on modern PC with higher resolution but also adds ton of content that was originally cut from the game. It even adds re-imagined cut content that was only just mentioned somewhere in-game or was planned for Diablo 1 but actually ended up being part of Diablo 2 later on. Purists will whine about too many balance/item changes, it's worth it to try the game firsthand.
https://mod.diablo.noktis.pl/download
Hey thanks! I'm trying to go into the less hard core Diablo first, would you say diablo 1 is the best for that?
The mod adds one more difficulty level to the base game, so there's room to keep grinding and making progress if you get into it.
I'd say roll Sorcerer if you just want to finish it and move onto sequels. Sorcerer will be pretty chill to play up to the third difficulty. Pick a Warrior/Rogue if you want the challenge, those classes are gear dependent. Since you can trade gear between characters, actually playing the game as Sorcerer and funneling gear to the other classes is a viable strategy to tackle the fourth difficulty.
This is great advice, looks like sorcerer is more my jam. I don't have that much time to think very deeply about my builds. You have been really helpful, thanks!
I never played 1 growing up, but I think d2 is pretty similar to 1 but improved on it a lot.
If you are going to play, I’d say play d3 or the d2 remake. D3 is nice due to quality of life improvements and you can switch skill trees at any time.
But I think d2 was more fun overall.
Having sunk tons of time into D3, I can say it's worth a look. The paragon leveling system from D3/D4 is a clever way of rewarding players who keep playing well after the main 3 (or 4 with D3 DLC) acts. I think I was at Paragon level 1100 or so when I stopped playing.
The biggest complaint people had about D3 IIRC was it's too colorful (something they poked fun at with the Whimsydale/rainbow goblin).
D2 was a favorite in college, but admittedly I never played outside of some lab parties.
D4 is shaping up to be a solid game, but this is patient gamers, so I don't know if that counts.
Oh no, how dare a game known for its dark visuals make use of the whole spectrum lol. If that's the highest critique then it's gotta be the best dungeon crawler of all time
:D I know right? I didn't pick up D3 at launch because of their store/always on DRM (which were two more legitimate concerns), but when I finally joined in after the first expansion I could not for the life of me understand the, "it's too colorful" complaint.
Plus Whimsydale is bonkers awesome - slaying demon rainbow unicorns and teddy bears is a blast.
I’ve been meaning to try the series for about 20 years now, and just pulled the plug on Diablo IV. I’ve only done a couple of quests but I’m really enjoying it so far.
The gameplay feels relatively basic at the moment, but I realise there’s probably a lot of complexity I’ve not revealed yet. For now I’m having a great time just hitting mobs, finding better gear and exploring the over world.
I’ve also picked up Diablo 1 from GOG and am enjoying that - it feels even simpler, but is a lot of fun. I’m using the DevilutionX port which adds a lot of modern features to the game.
I’m playing both games mostly on my Steam Deck, and they play really well with the gamepad controls. IV looks fantastic too. I do intend to play some on my PC though, I need to justify that graphics card I told my wife I needed…
PS: first post on BeeHaw, it’s nice here!
I played a lot of 1 and a shit ton of 2, but those were way back in the day.
Not so much 3 though, it just doesn't click with me like the old ones did.
Diablo 1 is amazing. So dark and twisted. None of the sequels managed to replicate the original mood as well, in my opinion. It's still perfectly playable today if you're a bit used to older games. I actually enjoy its slower pace much more.
I’ll throw my vote for Diablo 3. The game can be wicked addictive. I got the platinum trophy on PlayStation which was no quick feat. I just couldn’t stop playing. I would suggest choosing the Crusader to play as first. Super fun and has these flails that are specific weapons to his character. I had so much fun with the Akkhan armor set and the legendary flail called Fate of the Fell. Can take you well into the torment difficulty levels. Chef’s kiss of a game. I think people should really give it a chance if they like the Diablo style of game at all.
A lot of people don't like Diablo 3, and I can see why if they loved D2. Frankly, D2 felt like I wasnt getting much of anywhere even though I beat the campaign and such. On the other hand, while much more colorful and flashy, D3 felt well adapted to grinding all night for better gear and build optimizing. I haven't played either much lately, but would probably prefer 3...
I like to explore old games that are popular to see the development of the AI and such. From that perspective, it's most definitely worth playing just to see the experience. The graphics of the earlier ones are not on par with modern games, but I doubt you expected that they would be:-). As for whether the process will be FUN ah... it actually very well might.
It does involve a LOT of grinding - so mod it if you want to cheat yourself of that portion of the experience? (there are game-state editors to like give yourself a bunch of EXP or some such) Forewarned is forearmed and all... Note that gear sets are almost impossible to collect for playing casually, at least they were originally iirc although I don't know about any later releases.
Also there were expansion packs - like you could play D1 as a Monk and have access to additional levels. That was kinda fun:-), so maybe start right with those, as you can still play through the original classes on it (iirc).
It's a LOT of resource management. Like as a mage fighting Diablo (the uh...end boss:-D), I'd literally make multiple trips down to the bottom and set out piles of potions on the ground, then do that again and also set additional piles further away. It isn't like modern games - you could actually LOSE, as in tens of hours, all down the drain (I forget how saves were handled precisely but you could definitely get stuck with no way out). Note there's a duplication trick in D1, so you can choose to abuse that if you want to make that aspect easier.
Also not all builds are viable in a single-player environment. I remember making a barbarian in D2 with a whirlwind crashing through huge hordes... but that makes it super tough to deal with "curses" that reflect enemy damage back onto you, and which iirc only appear in the final battle (against again Diablo), but blocks a necessary key to unlock him. I recall leading off each enemy individually away from the main one... and still had such enormous trouble fighting the guy doing the cursing that I started another account to have more fun, and I don't think I ever went back:-). They may have done some re-balancing since then, I have no idea.
I gave it all up b/c it's kinda dark. I like dark even but... damn, it's just a lot, like that's ALL that it is, no variety really. Hours and hours (and hours and hours) of just nothing but that gothic music (which I also like) and themes of torture (which I...don't mind really). I unreservedly recommend D1 & 2 (never tried D3 but my brother loved it iirc) as an "experience" to try, but do be aware if you are sensitive to that kinda thing. D2 does have more variety at least - plains, desert, jungle, ruins, then you go to hell, literally. :-) It was great music too, for its time (or maybe just in general).