D3 was a stillborn release from the beginning. It didn't even have pvp for 2 years after release. Then they made the poor choice of removing the AH and increasing drop rates across the board so gear no longer felt "special" or "valuable."
When D3 pvp finally released it was as shocking and traumatic as having a doctor inform you that you had stage 3 cancer, as you logged in with excitement to test the pvp, only to realize that Blizzard had once again duped you into eating a big shit sandwich. It was on that day, that most old D2 players knew that Diablo 3 was truly a complete flop, and in way had any redeeming qualities whatsoever.
D2 was to me, still to this day, the most fun that I've ever had playing a video game on any platform. The game was designed wonderfully for its era. When I was younger I used to complain about the drop rates, but looking back on it after playing new games and how they work now, I realize that D2 having such ultra rare beyond winning the lottery impossible drop rates, was a good thing. It created a special kind of sociology for the players that we don't see in modern games. Players would farm games together, one after another, and not get bored at all. Why? Because those ultra rare drop rates created a feel that was like being in a casino. Magic finding in D2 was truly an addiction unlike any other game. No matter how good your character's gear was, there was always a chance of finding something a little more godly than what you already had. Examples being good Rare Diadems or Cruel Ethereal Weapons, ect ect.
Then because the game was released in a time before auction houses or trade posts, of course the community figures out something like d2jsp.org. This had so many perks beyond the automated and regulated systems that we see in games today. And not only was the pvp some of the most fun competitive dynamic I've ever played with in any game, but it was very unique in the aspect that there were no automated or regulated systems directing matches or player base ranking. The community itself, through d2jsp mainly, was truly able to make the game their own. Through community effort, rules were put into place to balance the game. Through community effort, competition and rankings were obtained and maintained. This is all very unique because what happened here required a real community with real bonds, to be able to do. Even the ones that hated each other, still looked forward to seeing each other, so they could troll each other. Now that's a real community. The same cannot be said for modern games with too much in-game regulation of competitive scenes and trading. Although it is nice to have, such regulation makes for communities with a much weaker sense of pride for the game they play.
Even though I do vouch that D2 was a better design than D3 for many reasons, it isn't quite that simple. A lot of what made D2 a better game, had a lot to do with d2jsp.org and that era of little to no game regulation.
~ And that's the truth.
This post was edited by TSBoyer on Mar 31 2019 02:53pm