Possible convert to Single Player

[HapyHrt]

Hi! I'm thinking of changing to Single Player. I have been browsing through some of the stickies and FAQ, but I can't seem to find what I am looking for. I would like to read a thread or stikcy on the differences between Single Player and playing through Battlenet. I would also like to read something on the pros and cons of Single Player. I am a 31 year old adult and I am simply fed up with battle net children and all of the hacks. Thanks for any links or information
-Hapy

[Tracul]

...and I am simply fed up with battle net children and all of the hacks.

There's the best reason for you to change to SP!
I'm afraid there's no such FAQ about differences in SP and Bnet, maybe someone experienced could draft it up? Rizzo, kabal?

[crazy_bear]

There is no stickied thread, but it is a topic of coversation that comes up here frequently, so if you scan a few threads you will find something.

My own basic summary of differences
Build differences:
Most bnet builds are built for specialization, with max damage in a single skill or 2 skills. They rely on party play for getting past places that would cause the build trouble. Most single player builds are more general, with lower average damages but greater flexibility, so that they can get through all areas of the game alone.

Gear differences:
On Bnet high runes are easily available from dupes, so expensive runewords make up a large part of most bnetters gear. Players tend to accumulate 'wealth' in high end items more easily due to the sheer number of items available and the accessibility of rushes to spend more time in hell. This means the expected level of items for chars is very high. On SP you can use ATMA to save all kinds of gear, but finding it can be much more difficult. In particular runewords that are common on Bnet are close to impossible to make in SP. This means that most SP chars are using less than ideal gear, and the players have to be more resourceful/creative about gear.

People differences:
There are some very obnoxious people on Bnet, and they stand out, but there are some very knowledgeable people too, they are just hard to find. On SP the number of knowledgeable people stand out, but there are obnoxious people too . The main thing here is that since we are SP, people are very sensitive about the availability of hacks/cheats. So when there is the possibility of interaction (see MP thread, SPTF) everything is based on trust. What you say will be used against you. If you decide you have more fun by duping/hacks then fine, it's your computer, your game, but don't talk about it here or expect your chars to be welcome here, since this community is dedicated to legit play.

Anyway, Welcome! :grin:
CB

[XeLou]

Hello,

On single player you don't have the uber tristram and the newest runewords unless you use the runeword mode.
You can mule things easier than in bnet with atma which is a great tool.
You can do quicker mephisto magic find runs because once you have a good map with the waypoint to durance 2 very close to durance 3 you can keep it until you switch difficulty.
This applies to other bosses/superuniques you might want to run.
You can change the virtual number of players in the game with the /players x command so you can get more experience/drop/challenge at your leisure.


The only disadvantage I see is that you are playing alone so you will maybe get bored sometimes but there are some TCP/IP games running in a sticky thread although I never played in one as I'm new around here myself.

Have fun

[HapyHrt]

Thanks for the early replies. I will do some searching of previous threads tonight if I have time. It seems to me that SP is more true to the essence of the game.

[aman]

Stay with single player i used to play bnet and got fed up never looked back we even have our own song :grin:

There are many reason but im too lazy at the momment but the most important is atma and something about blizzard not beeing able to brainwash you if you play single player.

If you feel you miss bnet you can still get some mp here with loads of good people

[Gertlex]

I'm in a similar vein with the single player "newness".

I recently started playing diablo 2x again (after at least 1.5 years). I'm shying away from the realm because frankly, I want my characters to be available forever, instead of being deleted when my game of preference rotates to another.

It's been long enough that my D2 files were all on an old hard drive, so I transfered some of my old single player characters to the current drive. I also happened to notice lots of files for my beloved and expired multiplayer characters...

Is there any way to use these files to be able to play my multiplayer characters in single player? (I suspect the answer is no, nothing mentioned anywhere, but it would be awesome...)

[Vang]

As a recent convert myself, a few things really stand out, which have been mentioned previously.

Atma, is indeed an amazing program. Allowing you to mule items quickly an efficently without having to looking at a ton of mules and then getting ip banned.
Way quicker magicfind is possibly the greatest benefit alone. Finding the perfect map is nice, and running it can be accomplished many times faster than ever on bnet. But I enjoy magic finding.

Tournaments are also fun if it suits your style. Find one you like an enter, they can be a blast, and a nice change of pace for a while.

Things I do miss, anni and torch. If these were only enabled I would be in heaven, sure they aren't needed, but who doesn't want +4skill and +20-40 on all stats and of course, resist.

So in essence, your a little more skill, quickier with your wits, and you don't feel like an immortal on SP because of no high powered RWs all over the place. So if you enjoy some soloing and adjusting your exp and difficulty at the whim of your fingers, SP may be the place for you.

[Spellreaver]

I've just converted to single player myself and the only thing I miss about battlenet is the characters I built up and the items I accumulated (no trading/duping... all legit).

Here's why I chose SP:

1: No PK'ers. I've never been PK'd, but I've had people join my games and, after a few battles turn hostile and come after me, calling me stupid noob, etc. Fact is, I was not a Noob... and got away and stayed hidden until they left the room (kind of enjoyed trying to avoid them)!

2: The map never changes. If I've visited an area in SP, that same area will be there whenever I play, at least until I change difficulties. This allows you to concentrate more on quests than trying to find the way to the Tamoe Highlands after taking the Black Marsh waypoint.

3: Gameplay is more challenging. Almost everybody has high powered runewords, high powered items, and an obsession with becoming 'godly'. Such items have lost their impact because their are just so MANY available, making the game too easy.

4: Your on your own, baby! A writer of faqs on another website promotes high damage/high powered builds, but to get there, frequently encourages the reader to (find a rush though Act such and such) or worse (find a good party doing the same quest and let them get you past it). Such builds might be strong mid or end game, but getting there through skill is much more enjoyable, right?

5: ATMA. Unless you have 2 computers (which I have), muling is pretty difficult on battlenet. I've lost quite a few unique and set items through crashes or games disappearing in my single computer days.

6: Community. I haven't been here long, but it's nice to associate with the SP group. Everybody is friendly and willing to offer their expertise/advice as needed and have a deep interest in playing the game legit. The cookies are nice, too!

Some would say the Pandemonium Quest and ladder-only runewords/item are black marks against single player. I agree the Pandemonium Quest would be an awesome addition to single player, but point 3 takes care of the runeword/items. Some take heavy duty runes to craft, all of which can easily be traded for on BNET if one has the proper currency or a good duping method.

I've probably started some fires with this post (not my intent), and I'm sure many will disagree with these points. They are my reasons for switching to single player. Battlenet just made the game less enjoyable, IMHO. So take these with a grain of salt and if you make the switch, welcome!

[Kefir-Tribe]

Welcome to the forum! I hope you'll hang around.