How to get into multiplayer

Hello,
How do I get into the multiplayer or Battle.net playstyle? I've tried multiple times, but I can't seem to grasp it. I miss my "/players 8" command and having my maps "saved." I genuinely don't know how to farm in this constantly changing online environment, let alone trade effectively. It feels a bit overwhelming, even though it's such an old game, so I'd appreciate some tips on all these aspects.

In multiplayer D2, how do I farm, level up effectively (including the early grind and joining "baalrun 32-33-34-35..."), trade properly, and most importantly, have fun?

If playing online isn't fun for you, then just... don't.

All point's you mentioned are valid - farming is more tedious, so you need to learn map layouts for having any chance of keeping your sanity and not just running around in random directions. Also, items that have any value in trade are few and far between, and you have limited number of online chars. If you don't have buddies you can play with regularly, then just stick to offline, if that's what gives you fun.

juanitakelvy wrote: 1 day ago

and most importantly, have fun?

To be honest, nobody can tell you how YOU are supposed to have fun. That's on you.

I don't have fun in rushing through the game or getting bored in endless baalruns, so most of the time I play solo or with friends.

If you want to grind effectively, make an S-Tier build (Javazon, Hammerdin, Mosaicsin or Novasorc) and join MF-Split games or Cowruns for example.

There's another thread around here explaining how to get "rich".

Here you'll find the best source of ingame mechanics summarized.

If you want to trade, just stay here. It's a great community! I did most of my trades on this site. Never had any problems.

I'm switching to offline because I don't like trading.

What I enjoyed about online gaming is to play with other people. Most of them I met here so if you are making a new post "looking for gaming group for season 13" you will likely find like-minded players.

There are also discord communities where you can meet and organize.

I did LOD offline SSF for over 20 years and only recently switched to D2R online. I play online mostly very similar to how I do offline. I just play through with a character with a build in mind. Online D2R lets me transfer gear between characters a lot easier than D2 LOD did so it makes the middle of the game levelling period smoother. Once I save enough pgems or low runes I'll trade for some higher runes or gear that I haven't obtained yet, so I'm slowly building up my characters to be BiS or close enough. I have found a few items that other people wanted and I traded for gems or runes as currency. Rinse and repeat. Occasionally I do some rushes or power-leveling for other players. On a rare occasion I'll see someone just chill playing and I'll jump in for casual fun.

When it comes to the actual multiplayer aspects, you kind of have to intentionally set things up. A lot of players are just rushing characters to end game, power leveling, then doing magic find runs on repeat so you won't get a good multiplayer experience where you play through the game with a party. If you go in the lobby you will see some game called "walk act 2" or similar and commonly that is a group playing together. A problem I have occasionally encountered with that is a high-level, high-geared player can jump in and wipe all the mobs/bosses and you're left with nothing but exiting and creating a new game.

If you want to do a multiplayer, unrushed playthrough you might be able to set something up here in the forums or on a discord. Just keep in mind that a lot of us are "old" gamers and have families and careers and three kids and no money and limited time.

I, for one, would love it if they brought back LAN play in D2R, but that's probably a pipe Dream at this time.

DasNarf wrote: 1 day ago

Here you'll find the best source of ingame mechanics summarized.

That's a great link. Thank you. Now I don't need to look through seventeen bookmarks and saved images to find what I'm looking for.