They added loot chests to bosses, which have the same loot table as killing an elite or champion pack, so there is a bonus reward to killing bosses now. You get drops directly off the boss itself, and then you get the bonus Boss Chest.
Opinions are just that. But I think the D3 system of Rifts/Bounties and adventure mode in general is way better than repetitively clearing Mephisto over and over ad nauseum.
I know exactly what you mean. D3 at release was a mess and compared to D2 it was awful. D3 now vs D2 is actually a toss up. For me nostalgia always wins. I play D3 at the start of a new season for maybe 2-3 days and get bored and quit. But if I installed Diablo 2 right now I would play it for months.
But I like the customization of characters that D2 provided.
The character building was pretty much the only reason I played so many hundreds of hours of D2, and probably the biggest reason I haven't bothered picking up D3 yet.
It's significantly better now than at release. If you find it on sale somewhere I certainly suggest picking it up and trying it. But I loved making oddball characters in D2 and that's pretty much gone in D3 since everything is unlocked for you as you level. Once you hit the max level in D3 there's no real reason to roll another character as the same class (unless you want to play a different gender).
The best part about d2 for me is the different gear and skill choices that changed not only the way you play the game, but how you approach the game as well.
You could go with class favorite skills, or go completely niche. This was not only the skills you choose, but the gear you choose as well.
A few years ago Blizzard released the Warcraft 2 BNE, and updated that to work on Windows XP systems. Or maybe it was older even than XP. It certainly doesn't run well on modern systems. I'd love to see WC2 and Beyond the Dark Portal added to the bnet launcher.
A few years ago Blizzard released the Warcraft 2 BNE, and updated that to work on Windows XP systems. Or maybe it was older even than XP. It certainly doesn't run well on modern systems. I'd love to see WC2 and Beyond the Dark Portal added to the bnet launcher.
That's actually the version I have of it--what issues are you running into? The only one I have is the occasional color distortion (same for the new release of Starcraft), which there are a few fixes for.
It was definitely intended for Windows XP, since the original release of Warcraft II runs natively in any older version of Windows.
Yeah I think the color distortion is what I ran into in the BNE the last time I tried to install.
It's annoying, but absolutely fixable (often without quitting--for a lot of people, min/maxing works). I'm at work, otherwise I could bring up the solutions I used.
It's not perfect by any means, but I wouldn't say it runs "poorly" on Windows 7 and 8.1 by any means (it runs a hell of a lot better than a lot of XP-intended games).
Yeah, I'm sure there are fixes. Right now I cannot locate my game disc. I'm sure it's in a box of old software somewhere right now. No idea where I put it. I was going to reinstall it about 2 months ago, but I was unable to find it so I just gave up. Not a big deal really. I've got enough other stuff to play.
Just send it but black out everything but your photo and name? I don't get the apprehension over something like this. You provide just as much info introducing yourself to someone.
I tried that dummy, no dice. The guy at the other end told told me it had to he "unaltered and clearly legible".
If you're really ok with the idea of sending that info to a complete stranger than PM me a clear picture of your government issued photo ID.
Yeah, I'm sure there are fixes. Right now I cannot locate my game disc. I'm sure it's in a box of old software somewhere right now. No idea where I put it. I was going to reinstall it about 2 months ago, but I was unable to find it so I just gave up. Not a big deal really. I've got enough other stuff to play.
You can download the game through Battle.net here. I think you have to enter your cd key, but you can download D2 to any computer after that.
They added loot chests to bosses, which have the same loot table as killing an elite or champion pack, so there is a bonus reward to killing bosses now. You get drops directly off the boss itself, and then you get the bonus Boss Chest.
Opinions are just that. But I think the D3 system of Rifts/Bounties and adventure mode in general is way better than repetitively clearing Mephisto over and over ad nauseum.
I know exactly what you mean. D3 at release was a mess and compared to D2 it was awful. D3 now vs D2 is actually a toss up. For me nostalgia always wins. I play D3 at the start of a new season for maybe 2-3 days and get bored and quit. But if I installed Diablo 2 right now I would play it for months.
But I like the customization of characters that D2 provided.
The character building was pretty much the only reason I played so many hundreds of hours of D2, and probably the biggest reason I haven't bothered picking up D3 yet.
It's significantly better now than at release. If you find it on sale somewhere I certainly suggest picking it up and trying it. But I loved making oddball characters in D2 and that's pretty much gone in D3 since everything is unlocked for you as you level. Once you hit the max level in D3 there's no real reason to roll another character as the same class (unless you want to play a different gender).
Yeah, pretty much the entire reason I've never bothered giving the game a try. I'm all for trying new things and not making an exact clone of the preceding game, but completely removing the main reason I liked the franchise in the first place kills any desire I had to play the new one.
They added loot chests to bosses, which have the same loot table as killing an elite or champion pack, so there is a bonus reward to killing bosses now. You get drops directly off the boss itself, and then you get the bonus Boss Chest.
Opinions are just that. But I think the D3 system of Rifts/Bounties and adventure mode in general is way better than repetitively clearing Mephisto over and over ad nauseum.
I know exactly what you mean. D3 at release was a mess and compared to D2 it was awful. D3 now vs D2 is actually a toss up. For me nostalgia always wins. I play D3 at the start of a new season for maybe 2-3 days and get bored and quit. But if I installed Diablo 2 right now I would play it for months.
But I like the customization of characters that D2 provided.
The character building was pretty much the only reason I played so many hundreds of hours of D2, and probably the biggest reason I haven't bothered picking up D3 yet.
It's significantly better now than at release. If you find it on sale somewhere I certainly suggest picking it up and trying it. But I loved making oddball characters in D2 and that's pretty much gone in D3 since everything is unlocked for you as you level. Once you hit the max level in D3 there's no real reason to roll another character as the same class (unless you want to play a different gender).
Yeah, pretty much the entire reason I've never bothered giving the game a try. I'm all for trying new things and not making an exact clone of the preceding game, but completely removing the main reason I liked the franchise in the first place kills any desire I had to play the new one.
D3 is completely different from D2. They both have very good qualities, but you shouldn't think of D3 like a new D2, but an evolution of the series.
You really don't know what you're missing out on.
Once you hit the max level in D3 there's no real reason to roll another character as the same class (unless you want to play a different gender).
That's your prerogative. When I start a new season I try to create a completely different character with different gear and skills than I normally do during a new season.
Roe on
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
They added loot chests to bosses, which have the same loot table as killing an elite or champion pack, so there is a bonus reward to killing bosses now. You get drops directly off the boss itself, and then you get the bonus Boss Chest.
Opinions are just that. But I think the D3 system of Rifts/Bounties and adventure mode in general is way better than repetitively clearing Mephisto over and over ad nauseum.
I know exactly what you mean. D3 at release was a mess and compared to D2 it was awful. D3 now vs D2 is actually a toss up. For me nostalgia always wins. I play D3 at the start of a new season for maybe 2-3 days and get bored and quit. But if I installed Diablo 2 right now I would play it for months.
But I like the customization of characters that D2 provided.
The character building was pretty much the only reason I played so many hundreds of hours of D2, and probably the biggest reason I haven't bothered picking up D3 yet.
It's significantly better now than at release. If you find it on sale somewhere I certainly suggest picking it up and trying it. But I loved making oddball characters in D2 and that's pretty much gone in D3 since everything is unlocked for you as you level. Once you hit the max level in D3 there's no real reason to roll another character as the same class (unless you want to play a different gender).
Right. Which is great, because you can try making the oddball skillset without having to grind through everything again!
I hated Diablo 2 when they added "synergies". That was the worst way to discourage build experimentation, especially given a system that Blizzard couldn't be bothered to add respecialization options into for... what was it, another seven god damn years afterward
Man, what are the chances though. I was just going to make a thread asking if anyone wanted to play some Diablo 2 again, because I just started playing it again over the weekend. I love it as much as I ever did.
I am considering getting Reaper of Souls for Diablo 3.
I haven't played since before the expansion came out and the AH came down. I remember being pretty "meh" about the whole game, but I hear it's gotten a lot better?
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Forever Zefirocloaked in the midnight glory of an event horizonRegistered Userregular
I can understand where you're coming from, but I thought that was a good change, you don't have to grind back up a new character just to try a new build
and there's still sets and legendaries that cater towards certain skills, so you could grind up another character if you want to have different playstyles with the same class without swapping out all your items & skills
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
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HardtargetThere Are Four LightsVancouverRegistered Userregular
i dunno why anybody would want War3 in HD when we could instead of Warcraft 2 in HD
man that would be sweet
+2
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Inquisitor772 x Penny Arcade Fight Club ChampionA fixed point in space and timeRegistered Userregular
Yeah I'm not sure I understand the criticism that not having to grind another character back to max level in order to experiment with builds is a bad thing.
Personally, I'd rather have all of Blizzard's classic games available in their original forms than have only some of them available as remakes.
If Blizzard is going to stubbornly refuse to put any of their stuff up on GOG, then the least they could do is sell it to me themselves. They've done a good job making their old console games available (for free even), but I want access to their old PC games too. Where are Warcraft 1&2? Where is Diablo 1?
Yeah I'm not sure I understand the criticism that not having to grind another character back to max level in order to experiment with builds is a bad thing.
everyone just powerleved past all the content and grinded out baal runs anyway. It was the boringest way to have alts.
I am considering getting Reaper of Souls for Diablo 3.
I haven't played since before the expansion came out and the AH came down. I remember being pretty "meh" about the whole game, but I hear it's gotten a lot better?
I was known around these boards as a D3 hater (probably not but I felt like I was). D3 today is SO MUCH BETTER than what you played. You have no idea. Pick it up and have fun with it!
Personally, I'd rather have all of Blizzard's classic games available in their original forms than have only some of them available as remakes.
If Blizzard is going to stubbornly refuse to put any of their stuff up on GOG, then the least they could do is sell it to me themselves. They've done a good job making their old console games available (for free even), but I want access to their old PC games too. Where are Warcraft 1&2? Where is Diablo 1?
I vaguely recall there being issues with getting Warcraft 1 and diablo 1 to even run on modern machines (battle.net edition if Warcraft 2 I think was created to solve the same issue). Presumably they aren't going to give them away and the development investment I guess isn't worth it. In the case of WC3 and D2 I am assuming there is less involved and also likely more potential sales.
Personally, I'd rather have all of Blizzard's classic games available in their original forms than have only some of them available as remakes.
If Blizzard is going to stubbornly refuse to put any of their stuff up on GOG, then the least they could do is sell it to me themselves. They've done a good job making their old console games available (for free even), but I want access to their old PC games too. Where are Warcraft 1&2? Where is Diablo 1?
Personally, I'd rather have all of Blizzard's classic games available in their original forms than have only some of them available as remakes.
If Blizzard is going to stubbornly refuse to put any of their stuff up on GOG, then the least they could do is sell it to me themselves. They've done a good job making their old console games available (for free even), but I want access to their old PC games too. Where are Warcraft 1&2? Where is Diablo 1?
I vaguely recall there being issues with getting Warcraft 1 and diablo 1 to even run on modern machines (battle.net edition if Warcraft 2 I think was created to solve the same issue). Presumably they aren't going to give them away and the development investment I guess isn't worth it. In the case of WC3 and D2 I am assuming there is less involved and also likely more potential sales.
I actually have my old computer set up to play old video games. That's where I usually play D2 and Starcraft and its expansion and other old games like Dark Forces and Diablo 1.
I would recommend the same for anyone else plaything those games.
Blizzard is a huge company flush with cash
it's completely absurd to think that their fixing of older games to run on modern machines would impact in ANY way on their ability to make new ips.
I actually have my old computer set up to play old video games. That's where I usually play D2 and Starcraft and its expansion and other old games like Dark Forces and Diablo 1.
I would recommend the same for anyone else plaything those games.
D2 is fine on Windows 7 (yeah I'm still on Windows 7). You have to do a quick thing to run in compatibility mode and one other change, and it's perfect.
One funny thing is that a couple small aspects of the game must be tied to PC speed. The mouse pointer gauntlet animates super fast and the titles that come up when you transition to new areas disappear super fast. But everything else is normal.
Personally, I'd rather have all of Blizzard's classic games available in their original forms than have only some of them available as remakes.
If Blizzard is going to stubbornly refuse to put any of their stuff up on GOG, then the least they could do is sell it to me themselves. They've done a good job making their old console games available (for free even), but I want access to their old PC games too. Where are Warcraft 1&2? Where is Diablo 1?
I vaguely recall there being issues with getting Warcraft 1 and diablo 1 to even run on modern machines (battle.net edition if Warcraft 2 I think was created to solve the same issue). Presumably they aren't going to give them away and the development investment I guess isn't worth it. In the case of WC3 and D2 I am assuming there is less involved and also likely more potential sales.
If the development investment isn't worth it, just do what everyone else does and let GOG handle that part for them. They've built their entire business model off of getting old games to work on modern hardware, including other Activision games, so I have every confidence that they could get Blizzard's old games working as well.
But no, Blizzard has to be the special snowflake who doesn't share their toys with anyone. So instead they just don't make those games available at all.
Personally, I'd rather have all of Blizzard's classic games available in their original forms than have only some of them available as remakes.
If Blizzard is going to stubbornly refuse to put any of their stuff up on GOG, then the least they could do is sell it to me themselves. They've done a good job making their old console games available (for free even), but I want access to their old PC games too. Where are Warcraft 1&2? Where is Diablo 1?
Personally, I'd rather have all of Blizzard's classic games available in their original forms than have only some of them available as remakes.
If Blizzard is going to stubbornly refuse to put any of their stuff up on GOG, then the least they could do is sell it to me themselves. They've done a good job making their old console games available (for free even), but I want access to their old PC games too. Where are Warcraft 1&2? Where is Diablo 1?
I vaguely recall there being issues with getting Warcraft 1 and diablo 1 to even run on modern machines (battle.net edition if Warcraft 2 I think was created to solve the same issue). Presumably they aren't going to give them away and the development investment I guess isn't worth it. In the case of WC3 and D2 I am assuming there is less involved and also likely more potential sales.
I actually have my old computer set up to play old video games. That's where I usually play D2 and Starcraft and its expansion and other old games like Dark Forces and Diablo 1.
I would recommend the same for anyone else plaything those games.
Surely you can see how asking people to buy an old computer and also buy the physical versions of old Blizzard games, which have become collector's items and are therefore overpriced, just to play old Blizzard games and only old Blizzard games is hard to take as a serious suggestion.
I can only get Diablo 2 to run in a tiny 800 x 600 window.
Better than nothing I guess.
That's the max resolution of the game. When I maximize it on my 1920x1080 screen, it resizes and maintains its aspect ratio, and actually doesn't do too bad a job of stretching, there aren't weird-sized pixel rows or anything. There's even a shortcut command to force it to stretch to fill your monitor but I can't imagine why you wouldn't want to maintain aspect ratio.
But no, Blizzard has to be the special snowflake who doesn't share their toys with anyone. So instead they just don't make those games available at all.
Speaking of those old classics, here are archives of Diablo 1 and 2 speed runs at Games Done Quick 2016, which was what prompted me to reinstall D2 again. Really cool to see.
Man, was Diablo 2 always this... grainy and pixelated? I don't remember this.
I feel old now.
It absolutely was. A few full-3D games had already come to market by the time Diablo II came out, so there was a little surprise that it had stuck with 2D visuals.
I personally like them, but I can see why some wouldn't.
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DrakeEdgelord TrashBelow the ecliptic plane.Registered Userregular
If you're really into Diablo and D3 didn't super appeal, I'd recommend Grim Dawn.
I've definitely heard D3 improved a bunch, but dang do I like how Grim Dawn does things.
And if you don't care about how stuff looks Soldak has been doing craaaaaazy things with the genre. Building in more simulationist systems to create dynamic worlds that not only react to the player but also create emergent scenarios and missions. Din's Curse is probably their best game but Zobasite (despite the name) looks like it could be on track to surpass it.
One thing I love about their system is it allows you to mix and match a lot of stuff in hybrid classes. This is what I miss most about OG Diablo. You could build your warrior into a spellcasting fighter and equip him to support that or whatever. Instead of building on that, Diablo 2 made the move towards skilltress, which has the benefit of making classes feel distinct. But if you miss that old thing of building characters into crazy kits then Soldak has you covered.
Man, was Diablo 2 always this... grainy and pixelated? I don't remember this.
I feel old now.
It absolutely was. A few full-3D games had already come to market by the time Diablo II came out, so there was a little surprise that it had stuck with 2D visuals.
I personally like them, but I can see why some wouldn't.
D2 had graphical enhancements for 3DFX Voodoo cards!
It wasn't until LoD that it had fancy parallex effects using DirectX (never mind that it made gameplay worse because it reduced your viewing area but still...)
Man, was Diablo 2 always this... grainy and pixelated? I don't remember this.
I feel old now.
It absolutely was. A few full-3D games had already come to market by the time Diablo II came out, so there was a little surprise that it had stuck with 2D visuals.
I personally like them, but I can see why some wouldn't.
D2 had graphical enhancements for 3DFX Voodoo cards!
It wasn't until LoD that it had fancy parallex effects using DirectX (never mind that it made gameplay worse because it reduced your viewing area but still...)
Yeah but they are not super significant. The one I recall offhand was that the Enchantress (?) Tower in Act 1 (the one that was full of a bunch of gold) was rendered in 3D outside so it looked a little bit nicer but not particularly different otherwise (basically it looked less flat overall - almost like looking at a 3DS game with the 3D slider on or off).
But yeah, I always though Diablo 2 kind of looked like butts (especially Act 1). I much prefer Diablo 1's slightly more colorful visuals. They had less of the Donkey Kong Country "3D rendered as 2D" problem with aging (though I think they were still largely done that way - just they weren't trying to be nearly as detailed as Diablo 2's).
One thing I love about their system is it allows you to mix and match a lot of stuff in hybrid classes. This is what I miss most about OG Diablo. You could build your warrior into a spellcasting fighter and equip him to support that or whatever. Instead of building on that, Diablo 2 made the move towards skilltress, which has the benefit of making classes feel distinct. But if you miss that old thing of building characters into crazy kits then Soldak has you covered.
Eh you kind of HAD to in Diablo 1. There were no skills, just spells. Every character learned all the spells and typically leaned on mana shield and fire wall. Yeah, you could treat your sorcerer like a melee fighter, but this was like making a D2 necromancer focused on Teeth. It had as many bad builds but I suppose the nice thing was that you couldn't really build wrong, other than in stats - when your melee sorc didn't work out at least he still had all the same spells as everyone else.
But sorcerer was objectively the best class because he could get max magic. What was it, every stat was limited to like 50-80 except the class stat that went to 250? And your magic stat affected reading books to level your spells.
Posts
It's significantly better now than at release. If you find it on sale somewhere I certainly suggest picking it up and trying it. But I loved making oddball characters in D2 and that's pretty much gone in D3 since everything is unlocked for you as you level. Once you hit the max level in D3 there's no real reason to roll another character as the same class (unless you want to play a different gender).
You could go with class favorite skills, or go completely niche. This was not only the skills you choose, but the gear you choose as well.
That's actually the version I have of it--what issues are you running into? The only one I have is the occasional color distortion (same for the new release of Starcraft), which there are a few fixes for.
It was definitely intended for Windows XP, since the original release of Warcraft II runs natively in any older version of Windows.
It's annoying, but absolutely fixable (often without quitting--for a lot of people, min/maxing works). I'm at work, otherwise I could bring up the solutions I used.
It's not perfect by any means, but I wouldn't say it runs "poorly" on Windows 7 and 8.1 by any means (it runs a hell of a lot better than a lot of XP-intended games).
I tried that dummy, no dice. The guy at the other end told told me it had to he "unaltered and clearly legible".
If you're really ok with the idea of sending that info to a complete stranger than PM me a clear picture of your government issued photo ID.
You can download the game through Battle.net here. I think you have to enter your cd key, but you can download D2 to any computer after that.
Yeah, pretty much the entire reason I've never bothered giving the game a try. I'm all for trying new things and not making an exact clone of the preceding game, but completely removing the main reason I liked the franchise in the first place kills any desire I had to play the new one.
D3 is completely different from D2. They both have very good qualities, but you shouldn't think of D3 like a new D2, but an evolution of the series.
You really don't know what you're missing out on.
That's your prerogative. When I start a new season I try to create a completely different character with different gear and skills than I normally do during a new season.
Right. Which is great, because you can try making the oddball skillset without having to grind through everything again!
But eventually the community became so inundated with hackers, botters, scammers, and spammers that I had to leave.
I haven't played since before the expansion came out and the AH came down. I remember being pretty "meh" about the whole game, but I hear it's gotten a lot better?
and there's still sets and legendaries that cater towards certain skills, so you could grind up another character if you want to have different playstyles with the same class without swapping out all your items & skills
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
man that would be sweet
Anub'arak didn't exist in Warcraft 2.
Although I hope wc2 also gets redone.
WoWtcg and general gaming podcast
WoWtcg and gaming website
If Blizzard is going to stubbornly refuse to put any of their stuff up on GOG, then the least they could do is sell it to me themselves. They've done a good job making their old console games available (for free even), but I want access to their old PC games too. Where are Warcraft 1&2? Where is Diablo 1?
everyone just powerleved past all the content and grinded out baal runs anyway. It was the boringest way to have alts.
I was known around these boards as a D3 hater (probably not but I felt like I was). D3 today is SO MUCH BETTER than what you played. You have no idea. Pick it up and have fun with it!
I vaguely recall there being issues with getting Warcraft 1 and diablo 1 to even run on modern machines (battle.net edition if Warcraft 2 I think was created to solve the same issue). Presumably they aren't going to give them away and the development investment I guess isn't worth it. In the case of WC3 and D2 I am assuming there is less involved and also likely more potential sales.
WoWtcg and general gaming podcast
WoWtcg and gaming website
On amazon.
I actually have my old computer set up to play old video games. That's where I usually play D2 and Starcraft and its expansion and other old games like Dark Forces and Diablo 1.
I would recommend the same for anyone else plaything those games.
it's completely absurd to think that their fixing of older games to run on modern machines would impact in ANY way on their ability to make new ips.
D2 is fine on Windows 7 (yeah I'm still on Windows 7). You have to do a quick thing to run in compatibility mode and one other change, and it's perfect.
One funny thing is that a couple small aspects of the game must be tied to PC speed. The mouse pointer gauntlet animates super fast and the titles that come up when you transition to new areas disappear super fast. But everything else is normal.
Better than nothing I guess.
If the development investment isn't worth it, just do what everyone else does and let GOG handle that part for them. They've built their entire business model off of getting old games to work on modern hardware, including other Activision games, so I have every confidence that they could get Blizzard's old games working as well.
But no, Blizzard has to be the special snowflake who doesn't share their toys with anyone. So instead they just don't make those games available at all.
Surely you can see how asking people to buy an old computer and also buy the physical versions of old Blizzard games, which have become collector's items and are therefore overpriced, just to play old Blizzard games and only old Blizzard games is hard to take as a serious suggestion.
That's the max resolution of the game. When I maximize it on my 1920x1080 screen, it resizes and maintains its aspect ratio, and actually doesn't do too bad a job of stretching, there aren't weird-sized pixel rows or anything. There's even a shortcut command to force it to stretch to fill your monitor but I can't imagine why you wouldn't want to maintain aspect ratio.
https://us.battle.net/shop/en/product/diablo-ii
https://us.battle.net/shop/en/product/diablo-ii-lord-of-destruction
EDIT: oh oh I didn't see all the context, sorry. Leaving the links up though for awareness!
Diablo 1 in 20 minutes
Diablo 2 in an hour and 47 minutes
I feel old now.
I've definitely heard D3 improved a bunch, but dang do I like how Grim Dawn does things.
It absolutely was. A few full-3D games had already come to market by the time Diablo II came out, so there was a little surprise that it had stuck with 2D visuals.
I personally like them, but I can see why some wouldn't.
And if you don't care about how stuff looks Soldak has been doing craaaaaazy things with the genre. Building in more simulationist systems to create dynamic worlds that not only react to the player but also create emergent scenarios and missions. Din's Curse is probably their best game but Zobasite (despite the name) looks like it could be on track to surpass it.
One thing I love about their system is it allows you to mix and match a lot of stuff in hybrid classes. This is what I miss most about OG Diablo. You could build your warrior into a spellcasting fighter and equip him to support that or whatever. Instead of building on that, Diablo 2 made the move towards skilltress, which has the benefit of making classes feel distinct. But if you miss that old thing of building characters into crazy kits then Soldak has you covered.
D2 had graphical enhancements for 3DFX Voodoo cards!
It wasn't until LoD that it had fancy parallex effects using DirectX (never mind that it made gameplay worse because it reduced your viewing area but still...)
Yeah but they are not super significant. The one I recall offhand was that the Enchantress (?) Tower in Act 1 (the one that was full of a bunch of gold) was rendered in 3D outside so it looked a little bit nicer but not particularly different otherwise (basically it looked less flat overall - almost like looking at a 3DS game with the 3D slider on or off).
But yeah, I always though Diablo 2 kind of looked like butts (especially Act 1). I much prefer Diablo 1's slightly more colorful visuals. They had less of the Donkey Kong Country "3D rendered as 2D" problem with aging (though I think they were still largely done that way - just they weren't trying to be nearly as detailed as Diablo 2's).
Eh you kind of HAD to in Diablo 1. There were no skills, just spells. Every character learned all the spells and typically leaned on mana shield and fire wall. Yeah, you could treat your sorcerer like a melee fighter, but this was like making a D2 necromancer focused on Teeth. It had as many bad builds but I suppose the nice thing was that you couldn't really build wrong, other than in stats - when your melee sorc didn't work out at least he still had all the same spells as everyone else.
But sorcerer was objectively the best class because he could get max magic. What was it, every stat was limited to like 50-80 except the class stat that went to 250? And your magic stat affected reading books to level your spells.