So why Hardcore for me?

[Elric of Grans]

Great post, but this statement really confused me, because I feel the complete opposite. I never rushed my character in D2 -- I always played through every act, including Act III -- and D3 feels so much longer (and richer) than D2 was. I think what might be giving the impression of shorter acts is that in D3, they are well broken down into sub-acts, and sometimes it's easy to forget about a whole sub-act until you get there.

Personally, I felt Act I was larger than any act of Diablo II. Lots of places to explore, lots of content. Act II felt shorter, but was still probably as long as any part of Diablo II. Act III felt shorter still, but was *intense*: I felt it needed to be shorter so I did not pass out from the constant tension. Act IV was definitely shorter still, but pushed the intensity up another notch. Overall, I think it is slightly larget than Diablo II, but I think the intensity (which Diablo II never came close to meeting) makes it feel even larger still. That said, that is *per playthough*: I know perfectly well there are dozens of dungeons and many events that I have not seen with either character I have played so far. That adds a lot of extra content over Diablo II, albeit only on re-plays.