In the twilight of 1.09..

[the Langolier]

Skills, characters, and equipment.  I never really like the skill system in D2. It didn't promote variety -- instead there were a few cookie-cutter builds, and those that were different were the ones that chose to be. I preferred the D1 system where all classes had access to all spells; and I always resented the fact that my 'zons couldn't learn teleport (though my main 'zon -- now PNF -- wore a teleport ammy for just this purpose, and kept lots of gold in her stash.)  The game is also too equipment dependent: the D1 systems where clvl was much more important was better IMO.

I couldn't agree with you more Thecla, especially about items. I personally think my character is ugly when it is decked out in all unique or rare gear. But ofcourse, this is really the only sensible way to equip a normal character given the extra affixes. The good thing about D1 is that the items were very balanced. No single item is SO much better than any other item that, while you may still seek out that perfect item, a similiar item would do very nicely. The mix between unique items and quality magic items is very balanced: there are several uniques that are very useful, but many more magical items that no unique can compare to. I also enjoy the balance of magical/unique items between the very rare finds (for instance, an obsidan jewl of the zodiac and uniques like the deadly hunter).

Another aspect that lowers D2's quality is the shear number of affixes. Estimating an average of 5 affixes per slot, with 10 slots, you get a total of 50 affixes (don't forget charms too). This is often times a low approximation as well. In D1 there was an average of only 20 affixes. This means that a character has to pick the most beneficial prefix/suffix combonation. Often times sacrificing one or two affixes can have a large affect on a character. It can be very fun to experiment by changing one affix and to see the affect on your character. In D2 however, this effect is greatly reduced - both because of an increased number of affixes, but also the shear combonations of affixes prodouce items that can be quite different. While one item may obviously be a better choice, its relative affect on a character can be negligable. Then, ofcourse, you may happen upon such a powerful item that you are almost FORCED into using it because far surpases any other item you could replace it with.

Its seems to me that in D2 you have a one-size-fits-all set of equipment that is an obvious choice or anything else you may have, with very little item swapping - perhaps nearly none save for secondary weapon setups. In D1 there is rarely a single setup that worked best versus anything you might find on a single level. For instance, getting high amounts of life and good resistances to battle elemental enemies might cause a large decrease in blocking power or AC, wherease a prime setup for melee battle can make you vulnerable to ranged magic.

P.S. What is with potions in D2? I understand trying to lean away from "I'm about to die"-instant healing to forcing players to plan ahead when it comes to health, but c'mon! It takes at least 4 potions over a period of 20 seconds to fully heal my druid. In the middle of a battle it has virtually no affect. But I bet I am drinking them the wrong way.