On 1.1, should I start a new char

[WarBlade]

From what I hear, old chars are almost completely useless.

Nonsense. Much of the griping centers around trying to run existing Hell characters used to 1.09 "Players 8" environments in 1.10 "players 8", when most of them seem to be roughly consistent with 1.10 "players 1".

I've just been soloing a level 81 Avenger around the Glacial Trail in Hell level and he seems quite well balanced and fun without having had access to the 1.10 item luck.

Sorceress characters in Act 5 Hell have been even more capable of ripping up everything in sight and the old cLvl 83 Bow Amazon can actually tackle Hell Act 5 in "Players 8" (at least until she runs into PI's).

An Elemental Druid I had in Nightmare had to stop and reset the game to "players 8" because "players 1" was way too weak.

It comes down to the rules having been rewritten. Some old things work and some don't.