What kind of silliness is that ?

[Arutha]

And if the monsters have been given similar increases in their ability to deal damage how has the 'gap' been widened?

If you raise the range of possible values, you widen the "gap".
That's mechanical.

It's a well know vicious circle amongst RPG gamers.
Bigger characters, bigger weapons, bigger monsters... until it becomes ludicrous.
And that's the trend Blizzard North seems to be following with Diablo 2.

My pessimism isn't born out of the blue. There's a precedent: LOD.

Now, if by some miracle, in spite of their following that recipe for disaster, Blizzard North manages to pull a balanced 1.10 version of the game, I'll be delighted to have been proven wrong.