Lilura's Blog: An Ongoing Codexian Obsession

[Kalin]

Joined: Jul 28, 2018

 

[DaveO]

I think it's fair to criticize Diablo I for its random item generator. It is however not the only game where the RNG makes or breaks you.

Realms of Arkania I, Wizard's Crown, Phantasie series are three games where the RNG can really help or hurt.

 

[samuraigaiden]

The RNG in Diablo is it's saving grace.

 

[Curratum]

The simple fact that someone is able to write "in-depth" commentary on a game like Diablo, thoroughly steeped in RNG and suitable for nothing more than entertaining anecdotes with friends over a beer, in other words "paying way too much attention to insignificant details and general minutiae", no matter what the subject matter may be, is a very clear indication of actual autism.

Call it what you want. Fact is, you are naught but a shitposter lost in the shuffle, and unread.

Imagine caring about being "read". Yet, you somehow take pride in "being read", while you're a literal nobody on a forum full of massive shitposters, running a blog about games virtually nobody outside of said forum plays anymore.

 

[Lord_Potato]

Putting Diablo in any "top RPG list" is a travesty. Whatever its merits, the game qualifies as very mediocre RPG and the damage it has done to the genre is profound and irreversible. Should I quote Interplay demand to turn Fallout into a RT multiplayer game?

Diablo didn't inflict any dmg on the genre. It was just so good, such a masterpiece, that almost every RPG wanted to be like it. Or at least, replicate some of its peerless systems, artistic flair and coding prowess.

All failed. And to this day, a full quarter of a century later, Diablo still stands as a mighty monolith, casting a long shadow over them all.

Stop denying inarguable greatness. It makes you look like a butthurt retard.

The simple fact that someone is able to write "in-depth" commentary on a game like Diablo, thoroughly steeped in RNG and suitable for nothing more than entertaining anecdotes with friends over a beer, in other words "paying way too much attention to insignificant details and general minutiae", no matter what the subject matter may be, is a very clear indication of actual autism.

Call it what you want. Fact is, you are naught but a shitposter lost in the shuffle, and unread.

You're such a fanboy, Lilura

 

[mediocrepoet]

The simple fact that someone is able to write "in-depth" commentary on a game like Diablo, thoroughly steeped in RNG and suitable for nothing more than entertaining anecdotes with friends over a beer, in other words "paying way too much attention to insignificant details and general minutiae", no matter what the subject matter may be, is a very clear indication of actual autism.

Call it what you want. Fact is, you are naught but a shitposter lost in the shuffle, and unread.

But... How did you know to reply and quote if you didn't read what he said?

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

thoroughly steeped in RNG

MAAAANNNN get outta here with this bullshit, FAM. Diablo 1 has so many quest uniques you'll run into that you can finish the game on them alone and then you have all the gold you amass you can play the Wirt slots over and over not to mention high tier drops from superuniques like Warlord of Blood or Lazarus/his succubi. Acting like D1 is some game you need lady luck on your side for with this "RNG" shit is self-exposure that you probably got gatekept by having to walk around town all the time and quit before you smacked Gharbad.

And D1's atmosphere alone wrecks shop on whatever streamer game-of-the-week you mindlessly bought and point to Steamcharts as justification for being magically good. Nigga.

 

[jackofshadows]

Putting Diablo in any "top RPG list" is a travesty. Whatever its merits, the game qualifies as very mediocre RPG and the damage it has done to the genre is profound and irreversible. Should I quote Interplay demand to turn Fallout into a RT multiplayer game?

Rather than do damage to RPG genre it has create its own, many people distinguish Diablo as a 'slasher' or Action/RPG (as an old-fashion one) for a reason. Even if some consider Diablo as a proper RPG it's rarely the case for so-called Diablo clones which were inspired by it mechanical wise. But as for other aspects like aesthetic, art-direction, graphics in general, sound, animations, coding and more - the bar was set so high that it was great not for some specific genre but for the whole industry.

 

[Ol' Willy]

Rather than do damage to RPG genre it has create its own, many people distinguish Diablo as a 'slasher' or Action/RPG (as an old-fashion one) for a reason. Even if some consider Diablo as a proper RPG it's rarely the case for so-called Diablo clones which were inspired by it mechanical wise. But as for other aspects like aesthetic, art-direction, graphics in general, sound, animations, coding and more - the bar was set so high that it was great not for some specific genre but for the whole industry.

If Diablo and regular RPGs would be kept separately, I'd have no issues. But you see, Diablo still has some RPG elements, albeit light, and some people confuse it with regular RPGs; unlike regular RPGs Diablo was popular like cold beer in a sunny day, selling way more than any contemporary RPG. People with money and influence - suits, as we call them, failed - and wasn't too interested in to begin with - to grasp the difference between this then new "slasher" genre and regular RPGs and started to demand from developers to, simply putting it, "make your game more like Diablo". I already quoted somewhere Interplay demand to Fallout 1 development team to "make it more like Diablo" (Interplay used to publish early Blizzard games) including realtime combat and multiplayer capabilities, which was countered by Tim Cain and thus denied. On the other hand, the whole Infinity Engine and all its family of games were created as "RPG answer to Diablo", trying to marry realtime action with more profound RPG system.

And don't tell me about "other aspects", early Blizzard knew their shit well. Their second game ever, Lost Vikings, is one of the best in the entire SNES/Genesis library from the get-go.

 

[jackofshadows]

Diablo was popular like cold beer in a sunny day, selling way more than any contemporary RPG. People with money and influence - suits, as we call them, failed - and wasn't too interested in to begin with - to grasp the difference between this then new "slasher" genre and regular RPGs and started to demand from developers to, simply putting it, "make your game more like Diablo".

Yes but Diablo got big success not due to its real-time nature or MP mode alone. Then again, those weren't the only inspirations to other games of that time. Besides, BG as the first IE game was inspired by RTS too so by this logic RTwP haters should blame RTS as well? It's all complicated in a sense that who knows how subsequent RPGs were look like if Diablo wasn't released.

Or how many of them would have been released at all. Suits were demanding 'make your game like Diablo'? At least they were inclined to produce another RPG, whatever the boundaries were.

 

[Sweeper]

Joined: Jul 28, 2018

Whatever man, I'm up to date on my Codex lore.

 

[mondblut]

Diablo didn't inflict any dmg on the genre. It was just so good, such a masterpiece, that almost every RPG wanted to be like it. Or at least, replicate some of its peerless systems, artistic flair and coding prowess.

I've heard the same about Oblivion With Guns.

 

[Lilura]

you're a literal nobody on a forum full of massive shitposters, running a blog about games virtually nobody outside of said forum plays anymore.

Codex accounted for only 0.25% of referrals to my blog in 2020, and one of my power-gaming posts garners 1,000 views per day (my blog has 1,200 posts).

This is the big leagues now, you stupid old bitch. It's not one of your tupperware parties. And I'm on the warpath like never before.

I've only just begun, but the butthurt I've generated is incalculable. I've got mental midgets begging to sponge off my commentary for their shitty YouTube channels, mirroring and plagiarizing my commentary, LARPing, reporting, banning and memeing me, and having nightmares about me after crying themselves to sleep each night.

The mental midgets are running around in a panic, scared to death of my blog's ever-steepening traction.

You are just one member of that midget horde. And a low-ranking one at that.

 

[agris]

It's nice to see D1 finally getting some love around here. I'm a *bit* surprised to not see any discussion of the the class-bending itemization that D1 uses. Despite their being classes, those largely govern attribute progression and skill derived stats' relationships to said attributes. The fact that items and spells were not class-based let you experiment with bastardized characters like warriors who could cast Armageddon, and Lilura's sword'n'board sorcerer.

Compared to later Blizzard games - hell, especially D2 - and most RPGs in general over the past 20 years, such a laissez faire approach to itemization is as much a breath of fresh air in 2021 as it was in 1996. The D1 presentation is drop-dead gorgeous as well, with how sprites are blended into the map art. Compare this to other games of the time, such as the Crusader series, wherein you could almost see the different planes that sprites walked on vs map art. Blend into that the raw aesthetic of D1 - how maps, icons and UI were crafted, it's a beautiful game.

I read your writeup on the D1 sorc Lilura, you play the game very differently than I do. I think you bring the D2 mindset to D1, which perhaps just reflects that Blizzard knew their audience when designing D2 but the idea that one would do *many* runs through D1 with the same character is alien to me. I don't think I ever get characters past 2 - 4 complete runs before dropping it for a while. Grinding Lazarus drops and farming gear is just too close to the tedium of the skinner-box systems that D2 leveraged to the hilt like an American bank in 2007.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

The original Diablo has always been the better game. D2 is a loot pinata skinnerbox game with worse style.

 

[The_Mask]

you're a literal nobody on a forum full of massive shitposters, running a blog about games virtually nobody outside of said forum plays anymore.

Codex accounted for only 0.25% of referrals to my blog in 2020, and one of my power-gaming posts garners 1,000 views per day (my blog has 1,200 posts).

This is the big leagues now, you stupid old bitch. It's not one of your tupperware parties. And I'm on the warpath like never before.

I've only just begun, but the butthurt I've generated is incalculable. I've got mental midgets begging to sponge off my commentary for their shitty YouTube channels, mirroring and plagiarizing my commentary, LARPing, reporting, banning and memeing me, and having nightmares about me after crying themselves to sleep each night.

The mental midgets are running around in a panic, scared to death of my blog's ever-steepening traction.

You are just one member of that midget horde. And a low-ranking one at that.

I can't wait for you to be popular. It is going to be amazing.

 

[Lilura]

I can't wait for you to be popular. It is going to be amazing.

A comparison of Lilura1 (a hobby blog) vs. career blogs that have mainstream support (and support each other as well):

I don't expect you will be able to comment intelligently on that. Afterall, you're a mental midget.

The fact that items and spells were not class-based let you experiment with bastardized characters like warriors who could cast Armageddon, and Lilura's sword'n'board sorcerer.

That sword and board sorcerer is a pure Sorcerer. Staffs are overrated. Also, warriors and rogues can't be as good as sorcerers at spellcasting because they have stricter caps on Magic (which governs what books they can learn, what staffs they can wield, and what spell level they can attain).

I read your writeup on the D1 sorc Lilura, you play the game very differently than I do. I think you bring the D2 mindset to D1, which perhaps just reflects that Blizzard knew their audience when designing D2 but the idea that one would do *many* runs through D1 with the same character is alien to me. I don't think I ever get characters past 2 - 4 complete runs before dropping it for a while. Grinding Lazarus drops and farming gear is just too close to the tedium of the skinner-box systems that D2 leveraged to the hilt like an American bank in 2007.

It's not likely that you can succeed in only one playthrough. Not without being an expert, knowing the game well, getting exta lucky or by employing exploits.

 

[The_Mask]

I don't expect you will be able to comment intelligently on that. Afterall, you're a mental midget.

Just like that time when got you destroyed by the smilodon girl for not really knowing what Durlag's Tower was about?

Sure, babe.

In any case, I completely and honestly hope you become popular, simply so that you stop coming here. I mean it. Just go. Be popular. Stop coming here. It would be amazing.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Durlag's tower is about fat loot.

 

[agris]

I read your writeup on the D1 sorc Lilura, you play the game very differently than I do. I think you bring the D2 mindset to D1, which perhaps just reflects that Blizzard knew their audience when designing D2 but the idea that one would do *many* runs through D1 with the same character is alien to me. I don't think I ever get characters past 2 - 4 complete runs before dropping it for a while. Grinding Lazarus drops and farming gear is just too close to the tedium of the skinner-box systems that D2 leveraged to the hilt like an American bank in 2007.

It's not likely that you can succeed in only one playthrough. Not without being an expert, knowing the game well, getting exta lucky or by employing exploits.

Well, I don't consider myself one, but I guess playing since '97 has convened some level of experience. I've played hybrid warriors all the way through to killing diablo for the past 10+ years. I don't think its as hard as you make it sound, unless you're playing Hellfire. The added content from Hellfire saps my will to finish a run.

 

[Lilura]

Well, I don't consider myself one, but I guess playing since '97 has convened some level of experience. I've played hybrid warriors all the way through to killing diablo for the past 10+ years.

It's pretty hard to play a pure warrior that can't cast spells. It's the bullet-hell that gets you. Fire Wall is a good counter to bullet-hell. To a lesser extent, bows.

I don't think its as hard as you make it sound, unless you're playing Hellfire. The added content from Hellfire saps my will to finish a run.

I don't acknowledge the existence of Hellfire. But yeah, I do think Diablo 1.09 is hard for newbies stepping in. Not many current gen gamers could handle 1.09.

 

[agris]

Well, I don't consider myself one, but I guess playing since '97 has convened some level of experience. I've played hybrid warriors all the way through to killing diablo for the past 10+ years.

It's pretty hard to play a pure warrior that can't cast spells. It's the bullet-hell that gets you. Fire Wall is a good counter to bullet-hell. To a lesser extent, bows.

And footwork. It's a pain, but in hell with the succubi the name of the game is "move to a choke point". Definitely exploit firewall / fireball, and an armageddon here and there. This thread re/de-volving into a D1 discussion had me searching some things earlier, and I saw mention of a warrior build archetype called the telekiller. I suppose that's a warrior who teleports next to ranged enemies to whack them? funny that I never thought of that in 2+ decades...

 

[Lilura]

And footwork. It's a pain, but in hell with the succubi the name of the game is "move to a choke point".

Yeah, I tend to go at them diagonally or in a zig-zagging manner. Need a fast weapon, too.

warrior build archetype called the telekiller.

Teleport req is 105 magic whereas warrior cap is 99 magic. Must be a twink or you wouldn't get it easily. I do that with my sword and board sorc, because he found a King's Sword of Haste.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

This is the big leagues now, you stupid old bitch. It's not one of your tupperware parties. And I'm on the warpath like never before.

Imagine reading this and still not liking Lilura lmao


To add on:

The game gets real tough for a pure warrior if you get the Acid Dogs which can spawn as early as the Catacombs. Very annoying there since the narrow space makes you almost constantly sit in the acid and in the Caves the big open spaces makes them absolute cancer. Pure warrior is also at greater risk of Black Deaths getting hits on you (RPGs gotta stop being pussy and bring back enemies that can permanently fuck your character btw).

Succubi and Advocates are pains as well, at least you can kind of track Advocates when they teleport but Succubi will take you on a level wide marathon and end up getting tons of monsters involved. Also thought the Black Knights and Vipers were nasty too since they can actually stunlock a warrior using a shield. When you block you do an animation which loops over and over if you get surrounded and eventually hits get through.

Regardless I always saw pure warrior as the TRUE way to enjoy Diablo. A guy going down into the depths with a sword and shield is more masculine than being some we wuz kangz sorcerer or OnlyFans thot with a bow.

 

[agris]

It’s been a couple of years, but I think my warrior would keep in town a set of +magic gear, which does let you go past the class ability limit of 99. This also means I could improve spells like firebolt, to deal with those acid dogs in the catacombs you’re talking about Generic-Giant-Spider. (For those that don’t know, there is value in finding new books for spells you already know. They have a higher magic requirement to read, but improve the spells damage. This is how a warrior can use fire/holy bolt in the early-mid game to deal with annoying ranged mobs.) Also another case for a tactical retreat until your enemies are in a corridor for you to roast them with firewall.