The Secret Cow Level
While were almost certain that The Secret Cow Level will get a nod in Diablo III, were equally certain that it wont be as lucrative a grinding area as it once was. Fingers crossed that well fight a ghostly / zombified / demon-spawn version of The Cow King lord knows we never get tired of killing that lightning-enchanted fool.
Crazy Rune Words
Best of all, later patches added some truly insane runewords that let players try out abilities that werent even a part of their class; the Ber-Tir-Um-Mal-Lum Beast runeword let Barbarians transform into bears just like Druids, and Assassins went nuts when the Fal-Ohm-Um Chaos let them use the Barbs iconic Whirlwind abilty. From the looks of it, these crazy class-overlaps just wont be possible with the new rune system.
Seasonal ladders
Another side effect of the seasonal ladders were that they threw the in-game economy in flux, where some items would have absurdly-high temporary value before dropping off completely. Because this would likely wreak havoc on Diablo IIIs cash-money Auction House, theres no way ladders will be in the game a shame, since they let players new and old relive the excitement of a fresh start.
The aesthetic
For all the goofiness of the character graphics, the items look like actual weapons and armor crafted in a medieval forge, instead of glittering, over-sized action figure accessories. Its a unique aesthetic that Diablo II perfected, and one that well sadly probably never see again from Blizzard or any big-name company, for that matter.
What will you miss from Diablo II?
Those are the features that stick out the most in our memories but if we missed something, let us know so we can get all nostalgic about it. Diablo III will no doubt consume our lives just as D2 did (check out our Diablo III review to get our final verdict), but its like they say: you cant go home again, even if you have a Scroll of Town Portal.
