Fans of Diablo 2 who were dissatisfied with the path that Blizzard chose to take with Diablo 3 will find that Diablo 4 is a welcome change. Even though Diablo 3 introduced some new concepts to the series that ended up making the game better in certain ways, such as making the controls easier to use and improving the functionality of the multiplayer mode, many players were relieved to see some of their most beloved elements from Diablo 2 make a comeback in Diablo 4. Aside from these fan-favorite features from Diablo 2, Diablo 4 also brings back the darker tone and art style that many players missed in Diablo 3, as well as other features from Diablo 2. Characters like Andariel and Lilith who were first seen in Diablo 2 but skipped over in Diablo 3 make appearances in this story as well. Although these aspects represent a return to form for the Diablo series, the gameplay elements from Diablo 2 are the ones that really help Diablo 4 improve upon the shortcomings of Diablo 3. Skill Trees The skill tree system that was introduced in Diablo 2 was one of the ways that the game laid a solid foundation for the series's ongoing character and build customization options.
However, Diablo 3 did away with this system in favor of skill categories
These skill categories included a total of six different slots for skills, each of which had between three and five available options
The skill system in Diablo 4 is very much like the one found in Diablo 2, with the addition of a skill tree that players can use to unlock and organize their abilities
This new system enables players to have a much more customized character build than the one found in Diablo 3
Class of the SorcererAlthough it made its debut in the first installment of the Diablo series, the Sorcerer eventually morphed into the female-exclusive Sorceress class in Diablo 2, and the Sorcerer class in Diablo 4 plays out very similarly to its counterpart in Diablo 2
The Wizard was the primary magic-based class in Diablo 3, but it never really matched the same play style as Diablo's Sorcerer or Diablo 2's Sorceress because it focused heavily on the Arcane damage type
Despite this, the Wizard was still the primary magic-based class in Diablo 3
It is abundantly clear that Blizzard recognized the potential of the original Sorceress class and desired a faithful recreation of it for the Diablo 4 expansion
Unique ItemsIn Diablo 2, players were introduced to a variety of one-of-a-kind, high-quality items, such as the infamous Shako, which later reappears in Diablo 4 as the Harlequin Crest. Unique items were removed from Diablo 3 and legendary items were added in their place as a replacement. This took away some of the thrill that came from the fact that Diablo 2's uniques were truly one-of-a-kind items. Diablo 4 finds a happy medium by including both legendary items from Diablo 3 and uniques from Diablo 2, including a variety of extremely rare and highly sought-after items. This brings the total number of legendary items available in the game to a total of a hundred. Skull GemsSkull Gems, which were first introduced in Diablo 2, are now usable in sockets in Diablo 4, a change that does not constitute a significant overhaul of the gameplay. Skull Gems were not present in Diablo 3, despite the fact that the game featured a variety of other gems such as amethysts, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, topazes, and diamonds. The fact that they are back in Diablo 4 may not seem like a big deal, but it helps show that Blizzard took a lot of inspiration from Diablo 2 when designing this latest installment.
Additional Skill Ranks as Item AffixesItem affixes are another fundamental component of the Diablo series, and they underwent significant changes between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3. In Diablo 2, there was the possibility that certain items could contain affixes that added ranks to a class's skills. However, this feature was removed in Diablo 3, and in its place, the game implemented affixes that primarily affect particular stats or damage types. Affixes in Diablo 4 score another point for build customization by bringing back the possibility for items to have affixes that boost skill ranks. This enables players to go all-in on one or buff a variety of their preferred skills, giving them more flexibility in how they construct their characters.
