I'm curious as to who likes what kind of level system. Comparisons and opinions should be made purely on the leveling mechanics, and nothing else. I'll put these in numbered points so it's easier to understand what I mean by the difference.

D2's:
1. Level progression scaled astronomically. It almost felt like there was no level cap because level 99 was insanely hard/repetitive to reach. A varied number of different level players running around.
2. A level 70 and level 85+, despite being in the same area of Hell Act 5, had extremely different items and even ability (due to skill/stat points) that was easy to recognize (level 85+ is OBVIOUSLY stronger than the level 70, but a level 85 and another 85 were pretty balanced more or less).
3. The game really felt like it started at level 1, even when rushing made levels 1-60 negligible. Balanced amount of content throughout. I realize you guys might debate this with the fact that rushing made the game technically "start" at level 60+ (Hell Act 5), but think about it - a minimal of content was truly RESTRICTED at low levels.
4. Leveling is boring in the sense that rushes ruined actual leveling.
5. Character naturally becomes stronger because of skill points and stat points awarded for leveling, as well as scaling items.


D3's (WoW as well):
1. Level progression is scaled exponentially, but NOT astronomically . There is a hard level cap, meaning max level is more widely obtainable. Lots of max levels running around as a result.
2. A level 60 in Diablo 3 (level 85 in WoW) would also have extremely different items, but almost identical skills. It is hard to recognize between a godlike level 60 and a noob level 60 (same with WoW). Being at a max level is nothing to be proud of, as level is not reflection of time played or personal skills.
3. The game "starts" at max level, where access to a lot of the game's content (and being able to thoroughly enjoy them without dying over and over) opens up from that point on.
4. Leveling is boring in that it requires grinding and tedious work (at least for WoW, can't say anything about D3. I'm actually looking forward to leveling A LOT, but maybe not the 10th time around).
5. Character naturally becomes stronger not because of skills, but only because of items scaling (and therefore stats).



Personally, I like the D2 mechanics better simply because it provides more variability AND consistency at the same time throughout the game. Your thoughts?