That's what Diablo III is, what Diablo IV will be,” says Gallerani. Either way, the game is great but there’s an ineffable satisfaction associated with getting deep into the sinews and blood of Diablo II: Resurrected’s systems. It’s like the difference between ordering bulgogi off the menu at a Korean restaurant and getting Korean BBQ so you can grill the bulgogi yourself. Making a game like Diablo II accessible to newer players is a tall order. It wasn't, like, ‘Is stamina a good design?’”
“That was really what made the call for us. “If we pull this one string here, it's going to start pulling everything,” says Gallerani.
They’d have to rebalance every item of gear that offers stamina. Developers would have to redo the loot drop mechanics for every monster in the game. Countless pieces of armor furnish players with extra stamina, as do stamina potions. (After, say, level 15, players dump enough skill points in their “vitality stat” or equip enough gear that the stamina bar is barely valid.) Still, removing it would throw Diablo II: Resurrected into chaos. A low-level Necromancer character can’t just go on running across a cemetery for minutes at a time. Take “stamina.” Stamina is emphatically not fun. Taking out certain mechanics-even unpopular ones-can send others collapsing Jenga-style. Courtesy of Blizzardįorced friction wasn’t the only philosophy behind keeping in frustrating systems.
“We’re not really here to fix Diablo II,” says Rob Gallerani, Diablo II: Resurrected’s principal designer.