Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

New Diablo II Patch Finally Revealed

Posted by simoniker on from the the-devil's-seasonal-ladder-of-doom dept.

colaco writes "After more than a year waiting for the 1.10 patch, Diablo II gamers now have an inside scoop at changes that it will implement. Most of the info on new items and gameplay rules (eg: ladder characters) have been available on Arreat Summit for the past few hours, and are now displayed on DiabloII.net. Blizzard has also offered some clarification. Sources inside Blizzard indicate that more info will be given at E3."

20 of 161 comments (clear)

  1. Ack! by edgezone · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I swear, I really didn't NEED to have a life. I don't know about many of you, but Diablo II ended up being THE most addictive game I've ever played (eclipsing both Nethack and Civ II no less!). Now there are even MORE things for me to try and figure out (including a bloody new tweaked skill tree? God save me!).

    Well, I'm happy to hear about all this though. I'm hopefull that it will at least dampen the number of rushes and cow levels for a few days. While blizzard has been known to throw a few curveballs with thier patches to Diablo, I'm extremely excited about the chance to jump on there and give them a shot and go hunting after some of the new uniques. Ok. I've wasted too much time talking to all of you already. Off to battle.net.

    --
    -- If you can't laugh at yourself, someone else will do it for you.
    1. Re:Ack! by TalonKarrde989 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I gave away the game 2 times to try to get over my addiction. Then I went out and bought it again. I finaly got to the point online where I had a char selection screen full of level 99 characters, 10 mule accounts, 3 of which having nothing but SOJs, until I finaly got over it. I. Was. Addicted. So was the rest of the "clan" I was in.

  2. I'd like to point out... by Mononoke · · Score: 4, Insightful
    You've been waiting over a year for a GAME to be patched??

    What have you been doing in the meantime, living?

    --
    NetInfo connection failed for server 127.0.0.1/local
    1. Re:I'd like to point out... by juggleme · · Score: 4, Insightful
      The game doesn't need patching in terms of bugs. I'm not saying it's bug free or anything, but the game is definitely worth playing in its current form. Think of this "patch" as a bucket of extra goodies to entice you to keep playing this addictive game until the next one comes out.

      Oh, and I've been playing Angband. Almost as addictive, but it doesn't require as much adrenaline. I've do play other games; it's not like Diablo is the only game in town...

  3. I'm not sure I like... by mdbales · · Score: 4, Insightful

    this It takes the whole uniqueness of classes away. I guess it could be interesting.

  4. Hacking ruined Diablo II by WIAKywbfatw · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Diablo II is a great game, definitely worth £30/$50/whatever of any gamer's money, but it's a shame that the online experience has been ruined for many fans by the ridiculous number of hacks that have spawned up since the game was released.

    Credit to Blizzard, the game's another masterpiece that's playable way past the point where most games just become boring (yes, I know DII can be repetitive, but it's repetitive in a fun way) and it's done all it could to patch hacks, exploits, etc when they've surfaced, but all the duping, hacking of uber items, etc really spoilt a great game for many players.

    I know that I, several friends and many others all stopped playing DII for that very reason.

    I suppose, in a way, Blizzard should be flattered that so many people out there were so obsessed at having the best of everything that they were prepared to hack the game to death. Nobody writes hacks for awful games that are barely played. But that's scant consellation for those of us who's experiences have been soured by a small, mindless minority.

    --

    "Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
    1. Re:Hacking ruined Diablo II by Jugalator · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I agree with you, and I guess this is where the idea with MMORPG's and a constant income for the game company to continue supporting the game with a dedicated team comes into play.

      Blizzard are continuing to ban hackers and recently banned 130k accounts (!) but it doesn't happen that often, and it's actually cool they do it at all since I don't think they earn much money from the game anymore, especially when you take the bandwidth costs for their free servers into account.

      Diablo II is a game I think should really benefit from the MMORPG game model.

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  5. Kudos to Blizzard by DeeBye · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's nice to see a gaming company support an older game, for no more reason than to keep making it better. They didn't need to (the game is far from bug-free, but it's still very playable), and it makes little economic sense to devote resources to it.

    By most accounts, the 1.10 patch introduces some pretty amazing gameplay changes. It's almost like another expansion.

    Way to go, Blizzard.

    -DeeBye

    1. Re:Kudos to Blizzard by Babbster · · Score: 3, Insightful
      You're kidding, right? Everything you described (especially "even more item based") is exactly what people wanted when they bought the game, and it's CERTAINLY what people who are still playing the game want - I'm not one of them but I might give 1.10 a try when it arrives.

      I'll admit that "amazing gameplay changes" is hyperbole but what the heck is wrong with someone still enjoying a game and being excited about it? If you enjoy making these kinds of comments, might I suggest visiting the message boards of GameFAQs? You certainly wouldn't be out of place there.

      Whatever changes end up coming in the patch, Blizzard is indeed to be commended for their seemingly endless support of an old game for which they charge no extra money to play online.

    2. Re:Kudos to Blizzard by critter_hunter · · Score: 4, Insightful

      More items IS a good development. The problem is that these items are so rare, it destroys the game. Instead of simply having to level up to gain power - and lets face, going around killing thousands of monster certainly is enjoyable - you have to selectively kill the "big drop" monsters in the game repeatedly to be able to survive the harder difficulty levels. By repeatedly, I don't mean a dozen times, or even a hundred. I mean THOUSANDS of times.

      By adding even more emphsasis to the necessity of having the best items, you make it pretty much impossible to do anything in the game without making that three thousand Meph run.

      I don't know. Maybe people actually enjoy killing the same enemy over and over again, every damn 30 seconds. I personally think it encourages people to use bots to get them the items so they can actually play. Ain't enhanced gameplay to me. (and no, I don't use bots. I usually just stop playing for a few months once I can't get any further without spending days chasing after the game's most elusive items)

      --
      Karma: Could be worse (could be raining)
  6. Still Boycotting... by Hilleh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Still boycotting, still haven't bought War3, still have no plans to buy world of warcraft. Did we forget already?

    Keep your repetitive games that haven't changed since 94 (or whenever Warcraft 2 was released), you fucks. You'll get no money from me until you jump off the bandwagon of sue-happy corporate morons with no concern for civil rights whatsoever.

    1. Re:Still Boycotting... by CausticWindow · · Score: 2, Insightful

      bnetd might have helped pirates get online, but it's still nothing else than a fucking server. reverse engineering a protocol is legal. writing software that utilizes that protocol is legal. what should be illegal, is bullying people with the legal system.

      people on slashdot should be people who understand stuff like this.. oh, but this is the games section after all.

      --
      How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life
  7. Re:wow by pezpunk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    look, this game is over 3 years old and Blizzard is still working hard to add value to it! how can you complain? they're fixing and improving so much, it's, well, it's like a free expansion pack really. Blizzard once again asserts itself as the number one game company in the world. this patch shows why. this patch will generate virtually NO new revenue for them. all it will do is improve their game. kudos to you, blizzard, don't ever change!

    --
    i could live a little longer in this prison
  8. Biting off you nose... by Omestes · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Good for you, then your missing out. I agree with Blizzard, and will continue to agree with Blizzard, until MS buys their parent company, and everything becomes Xbox exlusive, then Blizzard can screw themselves.

    But right now, I would elect Blizzard as God, or Cheif Designer of the Universe. They are the only game company who has come out with QUALITY games, the FIRST time. Every Blizzard patch is like a mini-expansion, rather than a bug fix caused by rushing development.

    What company cold EVER hope to match Blizzards line-up of games? Blackthorne kicked much ass, RnR Racing also kicked ass, Diablo I wasted my whole highschool existance (well, that and MUDs), Warcraft was the first genre making RTS, Warcraft 2 was the best RTS until... STARCRAFT! Any game that causes Koreans to starve, must be a damn good game. Then we have Diablo II, the most anticpated game of 2000, and the only game to live up to it's hype. Then LoD, which also lived up to it's hype. Then of course Warcraft 3, which is a new genre making RTS, on that caused those silly command and conquer people to copy it's formula (to a point), and the upcoming Worlds of Warcraft look like it may just be the ONLY MMORPG that I will consider playing, which is saying alot since I HATE that genre. And from the Frozen Throne previews, it looks also like quality stuff.

    My only complaint is Ghost. What a steaming pile of crap, not releasing it on PC. I don't WANT to buy an Xbox, or a PS2, or even a GC, my compy works fine for gaming, and I just spent $300 to be DoomIII compliant, and Unreal 2 capable. And now I'm supposed to fork over however much for a damn peice of propritary console crap, just to play a game... bah.

    I'm rambleing, just woke up, got sake hangover... I'll shut up.

    --
    A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
    1. Re:Biting off you nose... by asink · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Every Blizzard patch is like a mini-expansion, rather than a bug fix caused by rushing development.


      ... wow. You really missed out on last December's server patching, eh? Go rummaging around forums, and _eveyrone_ legit and non-legit players were being constantly kicked for 'excessive packet usage' because they set their filters too tightly. This was the most poorly thought out patch for any game that I have seen.
      But hey, I usually don't play games -- DII is just the heroin of video games... one try and you're hooked for life. That doesn't mean that I agree with _any_ of their post-release politics or changes(including D2X). The things they do to whitewash their reputation are at the top of my personal list of reasons to dislike them. Bnetd is nothing in comparison to the way that they treat their customers.
      --
      "Hex, Bugs, and Rockn'Roll"
  9. Stopping Piracy? by vertical_98 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Also glad that a company should be vilified for stopping rampant piracy.

    Ahoy Me Matey!

    ok, maybe it wasn't funny, but why is sueing(sp?) Bnetd.org stopping rampant piracy? If they where really worried about it, they would make their servers the best so that no one would want to use the bnetd servers. (gasp!) No instead of putting out a superior product they claim DMCA violations and copyright infringement.

    Of course, that just makes us 'self-rightous' whiners.
    Vertical

    --
    72 CD D7 52 D0 7E D8 47 44 91 D5 84 D1 59 F1 A9-This is my 128bit integer. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
  10. More than likely. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Profits can be had by other means than retail sales. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a, "Hey! Remember this!" ploy in advance of a Diablo III.

  11. People just don't understand... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    From the reading I've done about this patch, it's my understanding that Blizzard QA does a 3 week testing cycle... and if they find a bug, the bug is patched, and they start the 3 weeks over again... so even if they're 22 hours in on the last day, and they find a bug, it's going back to be fixed and another 3 weeks of testing await... Blizzard is to be lauded, if nothing else, for the fact that it's taken so long for this - the only thing I can think of that they should've done was made this 3 week cycle more well known, so that people would understand why it's taken so long.

    You can't please everyone all the time, but for anyone who's ever programmed, they know what it's like to come across some really obscure little bug, and have to retest the whole thing. Blizzard wants nothing more than to put out as tight code as possible, and I for one applaud them for that.

    -TKK

  12. Hrmm by Fancy78 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I have used Filter Level 5 for years. I never realized I'd miss out on all these great ASCII penis pics : Who knew?!

  13. Re:This ... on Slashdot? by k_187 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Because the Diablo II 1.10 patch was supposed to be out "real soon now" (tm) for over year. All my friends that play D2 have been complaining that Blizzard shifted all their focus away from D2 to Warcraft III and so the 1.10 patch became something like Duke Nukem Forever albeit on a much smaller scale.

    --
    11 was a racehorse
    12 was 12
    1111 Race
    12112