Last month, Blizzard announced Diablo II: Resurrected. It's a remaster of the base game and Lord of Destruction, and it's coming to the Nintendo Switch and multiple other platforms this year. If you happen to be a returning player, you might be interested to know you'll actually be able to use your saves from the original game on PC.
Speaking to IGN, game producer Matthew Cederquist explained how support for save files that were more than two decades old wasn't originally planned. The team just tried it out and it happened to work.
“Back when we were working on [the remaster], we wondered if the old save files would work and we kind of shoved it in and it worked. And we were like, ‘okay, that’s the best feature ever’.”
While there was no mention if this feature will even work with the console versions of the game, the remaster supports cross-progression. So in theory, you should be able to load up your old PC save file in the computer version and then access it on the console platform of your choice.
Even if you don't have your original saves, it technically means you could start levelling a character of your choice in the original PC version (which is available on Battle.Net), as the remaster is the same game featuring new audio and graphics, and a few other changes like improved UI, an expanded stash and revamped ladder seasons.
Do you still have access to your old save Diablo II files? Will you be reviving your old builds? Leave a comment down below.
[source videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 37
Yeah they are lost in time. Like tears in the rain.
@Yanina Same here. However, I still got that those memorized (at least from patch 1.09, didn’t mess with 1.10 and above much).
I’ll be a happy camper if they put back in Piercing Guided arrows on Amazon. Sucked when they removed those. She was a GREAT boss killer until then.
WHAT?
That's literally the coolest news, ever. I still have my saves, that blows my mind. Wow. Heh, I still play my necro, BEST CLASS, BEST HAIR. BE JEALOUS
NINJA APPROVED
@BloodNinja I LOVED Necro on D2, but didn’t get into it until late. Mained Sorc and Zon for the longest time (had all classes at 99, but mainly played those).
Fell in love with a Corpse Sploder for cow runs and farming Act 5
Imagine if my Xenoblade Chronicles Wii save file could transfer to the Switch version, that would be a saver right there.
@Dm9982 That's so fun! Maybe we will see each other on the battlefield! Though, I don't have switch online, as I'm planning on grabbing the PC version first, Switch version after it's been reviewed and such for performance. I hope it performs well, out of the box, though.
NINJA APPROVED
This is cool and all, but I'm not sure I understand the point? Most diablo players only play seasons and roll new characters accordingly. I guess it's neat looking at old characters in your player select screen but does anyone actually play those old characters beyond a quick session or two for nostalgia?
If they use this to justify making the original game unavailable like they did with Warcraft 3, fans are going to RIOT.
@Zebetite Fans are going to Riot? League of Legends is pretty good after all 😉
@Milenko there’s a bunch of games that let you use your PC save file cross platform. Witcher 3 and Hades are the first to jump to my mind right now.
@Milenko They've not had a problem with cross-progression in Hades or Divinity, so I don't see why they'd have any problem here.
I’m not clear what save files are for D2. Is it your char that’s kept on the server?
I guess I'll have to go to the landfill and see I can't recover the 20 year old hard drive that my save would be on.
Oh, just like Reforged. Red Flag #1
Can't wait to play this game! Hope we get a physical edition.
@Chowdaire I play my “old” characters pretty regularly.
What about old hacked save files?
If Nintendo did this, all the cool kids would be talking about how lame it is that they make nothing but ports, and this was the worst Diablo ever, and it's simply outrageous that they are going to charge full price for it, they should give previous PC owners a discount at least, and this company has seriously lost its way and is anti-consumer too because hey, why not, it sounds cool.
But it wasn't Nintendo, so it's all good.
@JasmineDragon I couldn’t agree more!
Ah, the account is of course deleted, because of inactivity for over 90 days... But if I can find my old files on the old hard drive and use them... I'll probably have to get this game!
@JasmineDragon You make it sound like Blizzard hasn't been racking up considerable amounts of criticism over the past 24 months or so. Even the Diablo franchise when it comes to Immortals, and there's a fairly decent number of people sitting on the fence regarding this release after Warcraft 3 Reforged was universally panned. Never mind their position on political issues.
There's plenty of criticism for Blizzard out there right now.
But wouldn't most save files be hacked/modified?
The only thing I need to know is if there will be a physical copy of this. It’s not looking good for ninja Gaiden or Stubbs the zombie.
@JasmineDragon if Nintendo did this.
They would change absolutely nothing about the game, they would add absolutely nothing to the 20 year old games and they would charge you full price for it.
But because it isn't Nintendo, it's okay, because nobody else are that lazy.
Long gone together with thousands of hours of my life to create them, lol. I wouldn't mind a casual revisiting of Diablo II once it comes to the Switch in remastered form. Speaking of which, give us a release date!
Need to get a Drood going.
I want to know if we'll be able to communicate with other players during multiplayer without nintendos ***** phone app.
@Razer If you can find one example where Nintendo did exactly what you say here, I will personally send you my own copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars (which, in case you forgot, is 3 old games for the price of one new game).
Edit: gonna copy what you said there: "They would change absolutely nothing about the game, they would add absolutely nothing to the 20 year old games and they would charge you full price for it."
@Ultrasmiles I was wondering that too, because I use a small amount of mods on my PC install of Diablo II, just stuff like the expanded stash. I also made my own experience table so I don’t have to grind for levels until retirement.
DIABLO NINJA APPROVED
@JasmineDragon @Smigit
Do you guys not have phones?
@Fandabidozi I’m one of the few looking forward to the game
@JasmineDragon If you think this is the worst Diablo, then you obviously haven't played this when it came out.
The worst Diablo, that has been released, is Diablo 3 and after it is the upcoming mobile version of Diablo.
Also, I wouldn't trust activisions decision making anymore. They promised a lot of these things in WC3 reforged and what we got was a game to be refunded. It's not blizzard making the final decisions anymore, it's Activision. (really keep this in mind when buying "blizzard" games, they aren't the company anymore they were 20 odd years ago. They are fully marketed in the way Activision markets their games).
At least they learned to keep the old game intact, if they actually do and not make a final call to remove it anyway.
Also, I rather pay Nintendo full price for a version identical to a game I played 15 years ago (to be fully immersed by an old game on a new platform) than have games like the mistake WC3 was. Why? Because with Nintendo you're absolutely sure you will be content and happy when you completed the game, even if it was the 200th time in less than 4 hrs, you exactly know what you will get. And even if they make a change, most of them are so darn minor you'd probably only notice them if you hardcore played the games for years or comparing them side by side.
It doesn't count for all people, but I know a lot of my friends are saying the same thing. Game identical only upgraded graphics or even just the resolution fixed (without dealing with mods) than a fully changed game with new handholding/QoL features
you don't want or need (this is only intended to bring over new kids, that are only used to QoL features. It is not meant to attract the original crowd, so it's extremely important to keep old versions intact).
Good news for the five people that not only used offline save files, but saved them for twenty years.
Then again, isn’t playing the game the whole point? Accidental non-feature spawns clickbait across what’s left of the internet.
...we’re all probably responding to AI. Hell, the rest of you are probabl... 🤯
@Smigit
Sites like Blizzard Watch are saying positive things. It’d be pretty impressive if they have a hit on thier hands after that disastrous unveiling.
When Diablo II comes out on Switch, the entire trilogy will be playable on handheld devices. The PS1 version of Diablo I is playable on the PSP, and the two sequels playable on the Switch complete the series. Hopefully the 4th one will make it to the Switch too.
Doesnt that mean hacked files would work?
I'm getting ready for D2 Resurrected...
By playing an HD port of D1, the Belzebub Mod.
You still need your D1 PC CD, but it looks very nice now.
They also added new sets and elite monsters to spice things up.
@Fandabidozi I think the timing was just off for the unveiling. They were at a convention almost exclusively targeted at PC gamers who were dying for Diablo 4, and instead of delivering a PC title they showed the crowd a mobile game. If they’d held back the unveiling until they also had Diablo 4 ready to show a year later, I suspect people wouldn’t have been bothered at all and in fact might be happy to get two releases. The fact Immortals only entered early access late last year would further reinforce that they didn’t need to show anything as early as they did.
The same user base hasn’t always reacted well to things which are a step away from the core PC history. I recall skepticism over Diablo 3 shipping to consoles too and the feeling that could never work.
Tap here to load 37 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...