Diablo II: Resurrected: Patch 2.5 - Guide Writer Insights on Terror Zones and More

Diablo II Posted 2022/09/02 at 12:37 PM by Tharid

Terror Zones:
I'm really happy that Blizzard keeps supporting D2:R and is now trying to add endgame alternatives. While this will definitely bring life to zones that weren't part of regular play besides going through each difficulty once, I'm afraid that the core problem of people opting to play separately still persists due to the nature of how people being in the game affects the loot quantity. To encourage people to play in a group, the game should reward people for sticking together, not simply by filling the game and everyone going about their way.
I like how Blizzard chose the zones that can be "terrorized", with a mix of underplayed zones and zones that everyone loves to farm already, making you excited if e.g. Chaos Sanctuary gets terrorized.

Terror Zones will make the grind to level 99 more accessible, without needing knowledge about 4-player Baal parties and the like. On the other hand, I hope that the grind to level 99 remains an achievement and doesn't become too trivial in terms of time invested.

Gameplay/QoL Changes:
The most exciting change in Patch 2.5 is definitely that Necromancer's Iron Golems created by charges now persist between games, together with Iron Golems despawning being fixed in multiple scenarios.

Features I would like to see in the future:
One of the features that I would like to see is a customizable loot filter. Loot not being shown if there is too much on one spot is annoying and really inconvenient, especially when an item or a high rune drops that you might only find once in weeks or months of gameplay. Regarding bigger features, I would like some sort of challenging content implemented as part of the endgame of D2:R.

Terror Zones:
I like the overall idea of having Terror Zones which potentially adds further challenge to the game without breaking the spirit of competition for those players pushing for top-ladder rankings. The fact that any player can reach level 99 without even joining premade runs is a good addition to the game, and player progression-friendly systems should be prioritized. However, I think Terror Zones need some extra work and tuning.

My primary concern is related to experience distribution in Players 8 scaled Terror Zones. 7 players or multi-account players can simply sit in town while one player who pushed for Level 99 can farm all P8-scaled Terror Zone monsters for maximum experience gain. In some Terror Zones, players reported that it would take less than 300 runs to reach 99 from 98. In its current version, Terror Zones have a risk of becoming an even worse version of "Diablo Chaining". I suggest adding a new party buff to the game which rewards additional experience to party players who remain within a certain radius together. Essentially, team play should be encouraged rather than split farming. Monster density and difficulty could also be improved, for example by adding new super-uniques or bosses.

Gameplay/QoL Changes:
Nothing significant to say here. I would love to see a rework on how Poison damage works so we Necromancers can enjoy our Poison Nova!

Features I would like to see in the future:
It'd have been great to see stackable runes or some stash improvements alongside the Terror Zones feature. In the future, I would also love to see new post 99 challenge areas with increased difficulty. Also, class balancing that would shift the meta would be more than welcome. There are some broken abilities in the game (Poison Nova!) that could be reworked for a better gameplay experience.

Terror Zones:
The Terror Zones feature seems to be a good thing for people who don't get much out of baalruning endlessly to reach higher levels. However, they will also make reaching higher levels easier and hence decrease the overall playtime of some players.

To me, Terror Zones look like a cooler way to level up - I also don't like baalrunning. My characters are fairly well geared for PvP but most are only Level 91 - so getting higher levels easier is a win-win for me!

What is going to be interesting to see are the economic impacts of the Terror Zones features. As of now, things like +50 Life skiller charms are can drop in-game, which is huge especially for PvP players as these could be worth a whole lot of currency.

Gameplay/QoL Changes:
As a PvP player, I don't have much to say about the rest of the patch.

Features I would like to see in the future:
In Patch 2.4, Blizzard introduced an "anti-stun mechanic" which basically no one asked for - and PvP has been so much worse in the last four months because of it. I'd hope to see the development team revert this change as it has a huge impact on the PvP community!

Comment by SaltLBIdeally, they should implement a system that categorizes characters by patch both on and offline so that people can stay within a patch and play with others who also choose to do so. I can see these new updates destroying the game experience for some people because it's taking a remaster and making it into something else.Comment by SchattensangIn the current version it's pretty much impossible for people playing alone or just with one or two friends to reach level 99. Because the experience you get is honestly just atrocious. So I really love the new terror zones, making it at least possible to reach 99 without having this "Diablo Chaining" which is honestly such a bad way to play the game. Unless people are feeding you high player count Diablos or Baals, you aren't reaching 99. But if you have people feeding you high player count Diablos or Baals, then there honestly is no real difference between them doing that, or them sitting around in town to let you farm high player count Terror Zones.

I also don't understand, how the current Terror Zones could in any way be worse than Diablo Chaining. At least in Terror Zones you are doing something yourself, unlike that Diablo feeding that is necessary otherwise.Comment by SkuImIn the current version it's pretty much impossible for people playing alone or just with one or two friends to reach level 99. Because the experience you get is honestly just atrocious. So I really love the new terror zones, making it at least possible to reach 99 without having this "Diablo Chaining" which is honestly such a bad way to play the game. Unless people are feeding you high player count Diablos or Baals, you aren't reaching 99. But if you have people feeding you high player count Diablos or Baals, then there honestly is no real difference between them doing that, or them sitting around in town to let you farm high player count Terror Zones.

I also don't understand, how the current Terror Zones could in any way be worse than Diablo Chaining. At least in Terror Zones you are doing something yourself, unlike that Diablo feeding that is necessary otherwise.