LogFAQs > #894984487

Diablo II is one of the best sequels / second games (and games generally) of all time. It improved on the original in pretty much every area, except perhaps the atmosphere (although D2 is no slouch in that regard). It's also my most played game far, spanning thousands of hours and dozens of characters at the very least.

The game has various strengths that give it incredible longevity:

-The character classes are fun and varied, and they synergize each other well (through skills like Curses, Warcries and Auras and by bringing different things to the table more generally).
- The game systems are surprisingly in-depth and encourage experimentation (see all the various resources and discussions available online).
- Equipment options are almost limitless and items themselves are rather flexible (e.g. low level items can find use even at high levels, few items and stats are class-specific, etc.).
- The co-op gameplay has very few restrictions (compared to D3 anyway) and essentially lets players do whatever they want within reason.
- There's no always-online rubbish, and thus the game has a healthy modding community. Offline play is actually quite popular; I've been doing that almost exclusively in the last few years myself.
- The atmosphere, music and general aesthetic, while not the focus, really serve to enhance the game.

It obviously has its flaws too, particularly online, like the prevalence of duping, botting, spammers, etc. Maybe always-online DRM would have helped with those, but I'd rather have the option of playing offline / with mods, as I have taken advantage of many times.