cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/8304177

You might as well say I’m new to the series and I’ve started by playing the original Diablo (minus Hellfire, for now) on PC with DevilutionX v1.5.1. I chose the Warrior class for my first-ever playthrough because the original game’s manual recommends it for new players. I’ve made it down to Level 13, and the difficulty spike has me wondering if a Warrior class playthrough is even worth it.

I found one video showing a way to do it, but I’m not interested in this kind of frantic, potion-chugging, town-portal-hopping, spell-slinging, inventory-jockeying, constant edge-of-death gameplay for the next 4 levels until endgame: https://youtu.be/BOAmHwNTpQo?si=jG7CFbwdW-S-moJ8&t=4214

Granted, the player in the video is speed-running, but my Level 13 gameplay experience feels much the same with how quickly mobs will swarm and cut me down. It’s practically impossible to pull one or two enemies at a time without inciting an entire mob, or two.

So, is this “Welcome to Diablo, kid” or is there another way (other than cheats)? Do I need to restart the game and hope for a more favorable procedurally-generated seed, or slowly grind a new Sorcerer class up to competency while learning that play style?

Thanks for any advice!

  • This was so long ago that all I remember vividly is the first time I ran into the butcher.
    Still a kid, first game I bought with my own money.
    It was nice crawling different dungeons and then…
    “Fresh meat”
    That was the first time in the game where I started to frantically try to just… get the fuck out.

    Other things I remember in no particular order:

    • Fuck Lazarus
    • Cloning Godly Plates of the Whale
    • Mashing mouse buttons
    • Spamming potions

    D2 is less of a clash for a modern player I think

    • pomodoro_longbreak@sh.itjust.works
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      7 months ago

      It was nice crawling different dungeons and then… “Fresh meat” That was the first time in the game where I started to frantically try to just… get the fuck out.

      Thanks for the memories. I remember taking turns playing this with my sister and freaking out when we first saw the butcher. Like just being able to use the mouse and keyboard was a challenge it was so scary.

      • Haha, I can see the sheer panic, scrambling to get away.
        It’s been a while but I’m pretty sure I failed miserably at first.
        Until you figure out he can’t open doors.
        D3’s butcher didn’t have the same feel, almost comical, then again I was much older by then.

        Playing online, over dial-up, it’s almost a miracle it even worked.
        Good times.

  • Fisk400@feddit.nu
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    8 months ago

    I was quite young when I played the game but that is pretty much the game experience I remember and nobody I have spoken to has given me a different experience.

    • TheSparrowPrince@lemmy.worldOP
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      8 months ago

      Damn, that’s hardcore. Is D2 like that too? I imagine D3 & D4 are considerably less challenging as is the trend with long-running series.

        • TheSparrowPrince@lemmy.worldOP
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          8 months ago

          How about “Diablo II: Resurrected”. Yay or nay? Seems to be the only way to get a copy.

          Edit: Apparently, you can still download Diablo II (2000), but you probably need an existing license registered to your Battle.net account. It looks like the only way to get a NEW license is by purchasing “Diablo II: Resurrected”.

            • TheSparrowPrince@lemmy.worldOP
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              8 months ago

              Nice! Yeah, it looks gorgeous. Kinda how the original build of Diablo 3 was looking before they scrapped it for the new art style.

          • thirteene@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            D2R is just some sprite updates and using new networking tools instead of the old at&t servers. You’ll get almost exactly the same experience

          • nihth@programming.dev
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            8 months ago

            D2r was good but at least I my experience it has dsync issues way worse than the original. I tried it again maybe half a year ago and it didn’t seem to have been fixed

      • Fisk400@feddit.nu
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        8 months ago

        I remember D2 being quite silly in the late game too, But there is more room for broken builds and it’s a lot closer to what we expect from a modern game with more enjoyable difficulty.

  • thirteene@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Diablo 1 is very very difficult and from an era of videogames where you would need to farm experience and drops in order to progress to lower floors. By design you will likely clear to the butcher 2-3 before you are able to defeat him. Spells are quite important, so break barrels looking for tomes, as well as an ungodly amount of health potions. If I am remembering correctly you want buffs, fireball and chain lighting. Keep an eye out for ranged monsters, they can be hard to see, at higher levels be aware of curses over your player. Unlike most modern RPGs, the best items in d1 were mostly blue and mostly armor/hp stats because of how spells scale.

    I know you didn’t want to hack, but if you get an elixer of stats, I would recommend duping it 5-10x before drinking it as a “house rule”, just to reduce farming. Squirt is a rip off, but has the best items in the game so check his wares. Duping to afford Squirt/potions is another potential house rule.

  • glau@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    I think Diablo 1 is much more punishing than Diablo 2. I don’t think you can get away with not chugging potions. The sorceror is even worse than the warrior because he’s completely dependent on mana. So until you get the mana shield spell you’ll need to have both mana and healing potions ready on him.

    The best you can do is try to get as high resistance and armour values as you can so you don’t take as much damage when you get hit.

    For example, if you find a high lightning res ring that you don’t have much use for now you might want to keep it and put it on when on a later level has enemies dealing lightning damage. Stuff like that.

    • TheSparrowPrince@lemmy.worldOP
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      8 months ago

      Thanks for the advice! For what it’s worth, I did save every possible resistance type I picked up in one form or another. I kept every piece of jewelry that wasn’t redundant. But the goddamned BLOOD KNIGHTS don’t care about your fancy pants. They just deal cold hard damage while they gang up on you. 🥲

  • evdo@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    8 months ago

    The only way you’re going to hit any ranged attacker is by backing them against a wall. Be sure to get them between you and a suitable obstacle so they spend less time running away and blasting you for free.