Have you tried The Dark?

[Jednowlosy]

For me, it's THE mod to diablo&HF.

It offers balance (maybe not perfect, and lacking on certain aspects, but an infinite improvement over original Diablo, definitively), uniques that are worth your time (check them here (http://www.thedark5.com/Guide/unique.htm) and see for yourself), and a difficulty level that makes it very challenging for certain classes; Hellmode crypt IS the place where one false move makes you DEAD. Also new & improved monsters, ideas and so on.

Also very good for a co-op play.

For me it's more fun than Diablo2, to be honest.

[xnn]

I find Diablo I or hellfire more fun than D2.

I think its something common with people that grew up on Diablo I. I started playing DI in 97.

I played The Dark briefly. I didn't have to time to really get into it then. I don't like the idea of having to get used to a completely different spell set. I can't play right now, because I'm on a connection supplied by my APT. I don't have access to router settings and I can't connect to Kali. I think it would be fun if there were a lot of people to play with, however, whenever I play Diablo/hellfire I'm always playing solo.

[Jednowlosy]

I agree on D1/Hellfire being more fun.

You can play TD solo. I was a very successful solo player in TD - it's difficult, but not impossible.

Altered spell set is a blessing; Not only the "joke spells" got removed (yes, I'm speaking of chain lightning here), but also, ALL the spells are useful or at least moderately useful in the game. Some have situational uses, but still, pretty impressive achievement.

[xnn]

if there was one thing i could change about D1 is it would make unique's drop at a lower Qlvl. It seems like the uniques i find in hell would suit a level 3-10 character perfectly. If those uniques happened down at that level, it would make the game very fun. Im not talking about making the game easier by enabling strong weapons early. I just think that the mediocre uniques that you don't find until your in hell could actually be used at a decent level.