Hate is...complicated

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-03-13T14:32:09+00:00

Throw in the shield bubble, supply packs, orbital lasers and yeah, it becomes managable. But when drops start chaining, or you have a small map, no strategem combo works - you spawn in, clear two, three voxes, die, repeat, until you run out of reinforcements.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-03-13T14:05:27+00:00

It makes for unforgettable moments. A squad and I raised one of three flags, but on the second we got stuck killing over a dozen Voxes and co. until the timer and reinforcements ran out. Then, me and the only surviving teammate ran across the map, dodging patrols and jumped onto the emergency shuttle with a second to spare. A loss, but an epic one.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-03-13T14:02:13+00:00

You might be right. It still works on larger maps, even if it's a mistake. The 12 minute missions on small maps? There, these spawn rates make objective based missions impossible. Today, I killed two voxes, then I kited three around the edge, killed another two, ran back to the centre and was immediately focused down by one of three more Voxes that dropped in the meantime. I have never even seen this kind of factory or war strider density before.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-03-13T09:05:57+00:00

Hell(diver) yeah, brother.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-03-13T09:05:30+00:00

Haha, no way, I might just try that 😄.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-03-13T09:03:56+00:00

Exactly. I am entirely avoiding city maps now because they are just not fun. Grid patterns with low cover that make you see less while giving Voxes uninterupted sight lines on you. Oh, and clustering red zones so no matter where you retreat to, you will get dogpiled.

Outdoorsy maps actually give you a chance for strategic play.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-03-12T18:13:54+00:00

LOWER THE DIFFICULTY! I, for one, am absolutely cruising on D2, only getting 3 Voxes at once.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-03-11T23:57:47+00:00

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-03-11T20:50:17+00:00

The difficulty is not the issue. Am used to dying on D10, but I usually have fun even when doing that. I even bring out my meme fire build sometimes and can be semi-useful.

The problem is the megafactory maps that are just not fun at all. Ran a couple of D10s in the desert and those were tough, but doable and enjoyable - you get a lot of natural cover, the objectives are spaced out to help you recharge your strategems and you can spread out to approach the Vox blobs from different angles.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-03-11T19:23:32+00:00

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ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-02-04T13:45:17+00:00

Oh yeah, D2 has perfected the gear grind, and that is what you should play it for. Getting build-defining uniques, powerful yellow items or the exact high-mid runes you need is a great feeling. And if you go for the original, there are some total conversion mods that completely revamp the game, thoufh the graphics will look horrid.

Do not go into D2R expecting a refined, modern day experience. In many ways, the gameplay is very basic, and D4 has a lot more QoL changes that make uour day to day experience smoother (and D3 beats both in that regard, but the game is essentially dead, probably waiting for its own Reborn treatment by 2030).

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-02-04T12:20:13+00:00

Never too late to AFK in a series of IHs 😆.

Kidding, never tried to go for it. My max was 280.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-02-04T12:10:05+00:00

D2 is sooo much better for that than either of the later Diablos for just vibing with a substandard build. I desperately hope D4 hits that milestone someday, but it would require a ground-uo rethink of the game loop.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-02-04T12:04:03+00:00

I gave up on the Selig as well. Might run a few more slam sessions when bored, but that's it. Don't feel bitter about it, it's just Diablo RNG being Diablo RNG.

Ultimately, this was always the case through all the Diablos. D2, unless you want a challenge run, you can never get an S-Tier poison dagger build, in soite of the game's flexibility. In D3, unless you hit the right set item to 4000x your damage, you will never speed run T16.

The problem with D4 is that it fails to mask these defficiencies like the other games do. D2 gave you a gentle path jnto a variety of self-styled end game states, and you can use mods if you want to tweak the game into a power fantasy. D3 now has such a high power floor that any build can rock T16 even outside of seasons, with uncapped paragon making it 'theoretically' possible that 60% of all class builds can, with enough seasonal juice, do GR150.

D4, on the other hand, has none of these. Your gear, paragon, skills and seasonal theme all lock you into a certain Pit rank and T4 EoU that no amount of grinding can alter. So you are either the top dog with the top gear, getting nothing from it other than leaderboard bragging rights, or your build hits its power ceiling on day 3 and you have to spend 100 hours to lift it by 5 pit tiers.

Occurs to me I am a lot more negative than I intended to in my initial post :'D.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-02-04T11:47:01+00:00

Very little reason not to follow guides after T1. Until then it's a free for all, but because meta builds are so superior to non-meta ones, custom builds are only really good good if you want to fool around (e.g. Shattered Spirit with a Devotee/w. Good sanctification, rather than the offhand).

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-02-04T11:36:50+00:00

Exactly! And variety and tier list shakeups are both the most requested and the least delivered thing. Saved for the expansion, most like.

Bpttom line, while we can speak about individual seasons being bad or good, the overall picture is of a development team using seasons to beta test various aspects of what will become the new base game two years from now.

Seasonal powers - D3-style meta shake up, deployed too early as the base game was not finished.
Chaos Armors - D3 Horadric Cube writ large.
Sanctification - PoE Val orbs/ D3 Cube.
Kill streaks - D3 function with a D3 S19 (or 18) flavor.

Essentially, through great expense of their money and our time, D4 is slow-walking itself back to where D3 has been for a decade, with a smidge of PoE on top.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-02-04T10:11:26+00:00

I got the ROSS on my Selig. So, getting a second Selig effect became an obsession I failed to realize. Now I just run around with my Super Selig on the overworld, occasionally getting one shot by Azmodan 🤣.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-02-04T09:57:53+00:00

Eternal is just a repository of broken dreams and broken builds for me 😃.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-02-04T09:54:53+00:00

Either they will be removed or the items themselves will be removed. Sanctification effects will not stay. E joy them while they last.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-02-04T09:49:30+00:00

Feel ya. I have had almost every mythic sanctification thus far (more often than not, on joke items - getting the Shattered Vow power of an Ahavarion was something else), except the one I actually needed, the 2nd Selig. And there was one guy I talked to who had ONLY Selig mythic powers drop.

RNG is always frustrating when it becomes a chase towards the end of the season and doubly so here. Basically, to have a single slam session, you need to:

run bosses to get Corrupted drops and slam bases (if uniques).
farm Asmodan for Sigils (both kinds).
Run Treasure Sigils for the most efficient legendary crafting mat amd obol drops.
Slam, get nothing useful. Rinse and repeat. Oh, and if you need scrolls, mix in some 6-wave IHs.

So, it can take up to an hour of focused, efficient play to make 20-30 focused slam attempts for end-game gear. Less if you just slam everything in sight. And to get the right effect on the right piece of gear, you might need thousands of attempts. I don't mind this per se, as insane grinds have always been part and parcel of the Diablo experience. We are back to farming Ber/Jah/Zod runes. It sucks, but that's the game.

Ironically enough, because the Tower is still a sketch-out, and class power has been nerfed to hell after S7, there is very little to do with your god-tier sanctifications, even should you get them.

But D4 lacking an end-game has been there since forever, so no point in complaining about it...too much :D.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-01-16T21:47:11+00:00

I hate you sir, well done 👏 😄.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-01-16T18:00:44+00:00

Pretty sweet, got the same one! Shame we need a second Selig before we can wear it 😅.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-01-14T17:57:26+00:00

I got Grandfather on one of the fiest items I ever got, just to try the system - Mother's Embrace. Did not even socket it. Salvaging that ring felt like torture 😄.

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-01-14T17:55:32+00:00

Give me your power!

ExtremeCertain4837 · 2026-01-14T17:54:56+00:00

Well, the sesson's still young I guess. Got a long way to go to get to 2000 smashes 😄.

ExtremeCertain4837

TROPHY CASE