I always thought D2 more of a leveling game than gear game. Maybe because I mostly played Classic almost all the time where gear wasn't that important and ridiculously powerful than in LOD. You were fine with crappy gear and it could take you to 80+ easily if you knew what you did and found out the leveling spots that suited your gear the best.
For me gaining levels was the goal on my every character and while doing that gathering drops came right after the levels.. those drops that improved my character also. I'm happy that the leveling curve got a lot harder in the end if I had reached 99 as quick as in start of the LOD running bloody or cow what would have I done next? Sure another character but it would get boring quite fast when you have nothing to accomplish anymore.
Maybe in LOD the leveling part got forgotten for many because of the boosting and rushing that corrupted the expansion community. People didn't level anymore they got leveled.
I agree, it was also my main interest while playing. I agree that it should be hard, but lets shortly analyze late D2 leveling a bit.
1. 1-40: New players did this the intended way, others didn't bother killing a single mob and leeched through it.
2. 41-60: If played like intended, this was the minimum goal for clearing Nightmare. Most however were still leeching EXP, already in Hell mode.
3. 61-85: Clearing Hell like it was intended to. The majority were already at endgame location, completing the last necessary chore before a character was able to do whatever they wanted.
4. 85-90: Decent leveling, easygoing and not necessary. Good for PvP'ing, or a stepping stone for further levels.
5. 91-95: PvE players to a big extent. No real "accidental" leveling here.
6. 96-99: Players who had one thing in mind, leveling.
7. Skip from point 1 to 5 by ulvls.
Through any of these points, most players never experienced "hard" as being a challenge, but merely getting someone to finally help you level to the point the game became easy. Necessary leveling (1-85) was a chore, and optional leveling (85+) was redundant. The only real challenge here can be found by playing a character without any help of others and passed down items, but even here the curve from hard to easy/redundant was reached at 85. If difficulty had been scaled correctly, it would have taken more time and skill to reach 99, but instead it was a question of time and perserverance. Looking at it, what exactly has a 99 done that a 85 didn't? Nothing more, except the quantity of time spent doing the same things over again. Thats what needs to be changed for D3.
Right now I am walking through the game again. I tried to stay untwinked but some guy brought me some frostburns and tearhaunches and that is just what I needed.
As for your No.6 Most players I knew that went from 96-99 used baal bots and mf bots. There are still those that go the distance though. I myself have never gotten to 99. I have a 99 character but he was baal botted so I don't count him. 97 is my personal best with a lightning sorceress. 96 Hammer, 94 Wind Druid are the others. I'm trying to gather the gumption to start baaling my lighter again but I don't know if my mouse hand can handle all those runs.
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The blind mind's eye replies with a sigh and a tear of contempt for those who see the world as it truly is.
Like Ferret said 85 and 99 could do the same things and that is one fun thing about D2. You build up a character and most of the times it is done 85-90 and hey its fun. It is relatively easy to level up to 85-90 or not very time consuming as the game isn't really hard.
Before 1.10 almost all the builds were done around 80-85 because you didn't have synergies.. so all the remaining points were used on some extra skills like Warmth for sorc, more holy shield for pala or some other aura for party purpouses.. etc.
I can make a small recap how the leveling used to be pre-lod when leeching wasn't really possible or at least I didn't knew anyone doing it from 1-80 or so.
1-30: this was the annoying part with a new character at least. Most of the classes got their mass destruction skills after 30. Frozen orb or sorc, ww for barb etc.. So those who had some gear collected to their mules had no level req uniques (yeah back then they had no lvl req) saved up there with a bunch of blues and gemmed helms and low level rares. They Twinked up their new character and rushed trough the acts quite fast to level 30. It wasn't pure way of playing but at least they were playing not watching friend to help.
30-50: So everyone got their good skills now and they really went trough Nightmare and for me at least playing trough Nightmare has always been one of the most enjoyable things. You just got trough struggling Normal and got your powerfull skills on use and went trough the game again.
50-75: Most of the people went to hell at 50.. a little later if their character wasn't strong enough. At 70-75 they were done with act3 and were good to go for Act4 the final act of non-LOD.
Some people were rushed a bit.. I saw some level 50-55 people in Hell act4 sometimes.. but they didn't do so good and what kept them out of leeching back then was the huge cut in exp if you were A) in a party Lower than 10 levels of your party friends. Imo this system should have been in LOD too.. yes it did make Partying less profitable but it kept away the leeching really well.
What I really enjoyed back then was that there was no 8 people parties clearing 1 area only in the game. Many areas were cleared in those games, people level 60-70 were doing mostly flayer jungle in act3, 70-75 were doing Outer steppes and Plains of despair, 75-80 were in city of damned and 83+ river and cs. Many times when a 70 level guy went to a River of flame where 85 or something level guy was clearing it he got hostiled and killed because it was no place for him when he could be exping somewhere else where the 85 didn't get any good exp anymore.
In D3 tho as they said the game will be party friendly.. but I would like to see some other systems to prevent leeching and rushing. Also some kind of mechanics that would give you some bonus for exping in areas that are close to your level and clearing up multiple areas in same game.
For me gaining levels was the goal on my every character and while doing that gathering drops came right after the levels.. those drops that improved my character also. I'm happy that the leveling curve got a lot harder in the end if I had reached 99 as quick as in start of the LOD running bloody or cow what would have I done next? Sure another character but it would get boring quite fast when you have nothing to accomplish anymore.
Maybe in LOD the leveling part got forgotten for many because of the boosting and rushing that corrupted the expansion community. People didn't level anymore they got leveled.
RIP: Demon Hunter: lvl 50 | Barb: lvl 60 (plvl 5) | Monk: lvl12 & lvl70 (plvl 200)
Right now I am walking through the game again. I tried to stay untwinked but some guy brought me some frostburns and tearhaunches and that is just what I needed.
As for your No.6 Most players I knew that went from 96-99 used baal bots and mf bots. There are still those that go the distance though. I myself have never gotten to 99. I have a 99 character but he was baal botted so I don't count him. 97 is my personal best with a lightning sorceress. 96 Hammer, 94 Wind Druid are the others. I'm trying to gather the gumption to start baaling my lighter again but I don't know if my mouse hand can handle all those runs.
Before 1.10 almost all the builds were done around 80-85 because you didn't have synergies.. so all the remaining points were used on some extra skills like Warmth for sorc, more holy shield for pala or some other aura for party purpouses.. etc.
I can make a small recap how the leveling used to be pre-lod when leeching wasn't really possible or at least I didn't knew anyone doing it from 1-80 or so.
1-30: this was the annoying part with a new character at least. Most of the classes got their mass destruction skills after 30. Frozen orb or sorc, ww for barb etc.. So those who had some gear collected to their mules had no level req uniques (yeah back then they had no lvl req) saved up there with a bunch of blues and gemmed helms and low level rares. They Twinked up their new character and rushed trough the acts quite fast to level 30. It wasn't pure way of playing but at least they were playing not watching friend to help.
30-50: So everyone got their good skills now and they really went trough Nightmare and for me at least playing trough Nightmare has always been one of the most enjoyable things. You just got trough struggling Normal and got your powerfull skills on use and went trough the game again.
50-75: Most of the people went to hell at 50.. a little later if their character wasn't strong enough. At 70-75 they were done with act3 and were good to go for Act4 the final act of non-LOD.
Some people were rushed a bit.. I saw some level 50-55 people in Hell act4 sometimes.. but they didn't do so good and what kept them out of leeching back then was the huge cut in exp if you were A) in a party Lower than 10 levels of your party friends. Imo this system should have been in LOD too.. yes it did make Partying less profitable but it kept away the leeching really well.
What I really enjoyed back then was that there was no 8 people parties clearing 1 area only in the game. Many areas were cleared in those games, people level 60-70 were doing mostly flayer jungle in act3, 70-75 were doing Outer steppes and Plains of despair, 75-80 were in city of damned and 83+ river and cs. Many times when a 70 level guy went to a River of flame where 85 or something level guy was clearing it he got hostiled and killed because it was no place for him when he could be exping somewhere else where the 85 didn't get any good exp anymore.
In D3 tho as they said the game will be party friendly.. but I would like to see some other systems to prevent leeching and rushing. Also some kind of mechanics that would give you some bonus for exping in areas that are close to your level and clearing up multiple areas in same game.
RIP: Demon Hunter: lvl 50 | Barb: lvl 60 (plvl 5) | Monk: lvl12 & lvl70 (plvl 200)
Its was a type of custom map that became popular in WC3.
Basically you played your hero killing creeps and protecting the ancients (nightelf buildings)
Personally I preferred the tower defense maps Dixel and Burbenog... Though I really need to find my copy so I can try that d3 mod!