Yes, the "farm to progress" thing is unique to D3 inferno, AFAICT.
Some time spent gear hunting in D2 nightmare was a good idea (though not strictly mandatory, depending on the build/character you played) to get over the initial hump of hell, but once you passed that you could progress pretty normally.
Some time spent gear hunting in D2 nightmare was a good idea (though not strictly mandatory, depending on the build/character you played) to get over the initial hump of hell, but once you passed that you could progress pretty normally.