u/Hopeful_Advisor3303

hot damn is this game good! I grew up on diablo 3 having no prior knowledge of the series and that became a top 5 game ever for me.... diablo 4 has been a disappointment until about a year ago and they started turning it into diablo 3.5, and this newest expansion 10/10 for my personal wants and needs. but with that said... i have completed that season already so i was on the hunt for a new ARPG experience. something slower, less dopamine receptor burring if you will.

however, my current experience with finding a new ARPG is this:

I absolutely loathe POE2 (seriously if you check my comment history I don't think I have ever experienced a game that I feel such intense burring passion for my dislike of it, I am basically Anakin Skywalker "I HATE YOU!" levels with it.

POE1? that game rocks outside of the weird accuracy stat animation making you completely miss, like... i am okay with accuracy stats don't get me wrong, but just make the mob not take damage. don't have me spin in a 180-degree angle to visual me missing it's very off putting. i think one of my quests also bugged out so that's kind of lame.

last epoch, is a good time the once or twice a year I blast it for a weekend. but it's too close to the diablo 3/4 speed. for what I am looking for at this moment.

haven't tried grim dawn or titan quest yet. so, verdict is out there...

so, with seemingly no options left, I said what the heck, and bought diablo 2! a game everyone says is way too different from 3 and 4 for me to get into... and i was really trying to branch out from the diablo series, but I guess I am what I am... a diablo fan.

because i am happy to say... they were WRONG.

aside from the inventory controls and why health and mana pots don't automatically go into your belt... which I am now used to. and how come to appreciate the "strategy" of placing your town portal before a boss fight, and the dexterity needed to open your inventory and slot in your potions in the middle of an 8-monster pack XD

this game. so far... hits all the marks! it's slow enough to truly be immersive...like. truly... "Stay awhile and listen" you know what Deckard? I think I will! the "follow the road" style of objective finding, i find quite nice, the combat? while only being one spell at a time... large packs are still absolutely terrifying, and with spell cycling and the aforementioned inventory management for mana pots... is shockingly engaging! and coming from a borderlands background. i am a big fan of save resetting and farming bosses for "that" drop.

i can completely see why this has lasted in the hearts of you guys for so freaking long! and can completely see myself with a bag of chips playing ALL NIGHT LONG like it's 2000. just vibing! no rushing, just pure immersive gaming. i don't believe at all this game hasn't held up like some people made me believe... sure again, the potion system is kind of Jank. but i don't think not having to play piano on your keyboard. when technically your kind of still can do with how skill cycling works. means this game is dated. or somehow doesn't hold up.

but with all that said, i don't think i quite see the "god tier itemization" that people praise this game for. just yet anyway. i am in act 2 and the best/most cool thing I have seen so far is: +2 chaos bolts, 50% undead damage with 2 sockets. that same level of gear is in all the diablo games as for as i know.

it does seem more important to check the store every new load up though. and your gear does last way longer than 5 minutes like in D3/D4.

but unless i just don't understand what "itemization" means. when does the O.O HOLY SHIT JACKPOT!!!!! itemization start kicking in?

just finished up the current diablo 4 season and it has turned me feral for more ARPG goodness. so i am thinking of subbing to game pass to try up D2R for the first time ever! is there any do's and don'ts i should be made aware of? i am SSF if that matters.

yes, he is the pinnacle boss, however. from a scaling standpoint the numbers might be a hair off, you basically need a build that can do 110 if not 115+ for this fight to be enjoyable even a little bit, this would be fine if they were asking us to do the T12 version of the fight. but it just... isn't what they have done.

the cutscenes also, got to go.... if you have a decent build that can do 100-107, you are looking at a 5 plus minute fight, that has one shot mechanics and 2 of those minutes are cutscenes. and its a THREE phase fight with one shots... seriously?

this isn't even mentioning what this fight might do to the player base... you thought everyone used build guides before??? yeah, people will ONLY be running the S++ bossing build just for this one fight as it is currently tuned for T10. it will completely change how people interact with the game, no longer will it be "oh that build looks fun I'll try it" it will become "if it can't kill T10 Mephisto its garbage." people on twitch are already spamming streamers with "can it kill Mephisto??" and i don't really think that's healthy and build variety will suffer after they took all this time to finally get it to a great place.

i want to make it clear, I LIKE the fight, it's a good feeling to have something to look forward in the distance, a final task to book end your season,,,, until you realize there are two more difficulties left, and you can farm the "hardest difficulty" in T12 and still not beat the T10 fight. It is also a WAY better fight than Lilith ever could be. that was just bullshit. this is actually a boss fight, but the numbers a just a bit off for the asking requirement imo.

i am not saying cut his balls off, but it is disappointing you need almost a T13 build for a T10 fight. or something so specifically meant to kill bosses and not just bosses in general even the T12 bosses don't hold a candle to.... T10 Mephisto??? like???...

hello! is there anyone one kind enough to help me get over this last hurdle? it's the last thing i need to do besides reaching 250. I am currently P225 and I can't for the life of me get him down! i am getting to phase 3 a good amount. I really hate to ask for help like this, but this fight is starting to mess up my left hand and i really just need it done at this point. i have 20-22 legendries runes and 380 million gold you can have for absolutely free I will literally give you my entire inventory at this point. my build can currently do Pit 107. and can one phase all other bosses before they get maybe two moves off even on T12 but this fucking guy man