What Makes Diablo II the Best Video Game of All Time?

1. The Slot-Machine Effect

David Brevik, the father of the Diablo franchise, stated that when they started working on Diablo II, they took a good look at what had made Diablo such a breakout success. What had they accidentally gotten so right the first time? 

He concluded that one factor was clearly at play. That is that the game's loot system basically played on the same impulses and dopamine triggers that slot-machines do. You kill a monster or pull a lever, same thing. Having figured that much out, he decided they should go all-in on that factor.

The result was Diablo II's mindbogglingly massive & complex loot-tables. Some items are so rare that to acquire them on single-player would take years and still lots of luck. Because of this, there is an ever-lingering excitement and anticipation for each group of monsters you slay. The same excitement and anticipation as each pull of the lever on that slot-machine in the casino.

When an item that you want or need finally drops, the dopamine rush sends you into a high that makes you even more manic for the next payoff.

Many games now play on this too, but no other game does this better or more potently as Diablo II does.

2. Learning curve smooth as butter

The slot-machine effect isn't the only source of dopamine rush that Diablo II offers. The game is so rich in dynamic, options, choices, depth, & strategy that mastery of the game itself is its own source of dopamine.

The more you learn, the better you perform as a player, the better your character builds get. If you are good at it, after awhile, you reach a point where you begin surpassing your peers. Few things are more satisfying than showing them that you have.

When you can go into low level games and flaunt is when you know you've made it, and I don't mean with a higher level. I mean, you are so much better at this game that the players sit back watching you wreck the monsters and go "How is he doing that? What gear is he wearing?"

One of my favorite musings was to build a level 12 charger/zealer Paladin, challenge players three times my level to PvP, and win. Once in awhile, one of them would try to flex a level 80-90 character on me after losing, only for me to get on a level 30 character and embarrass them even more. (I actually have uploaded a video compilation on Youtube of me doing just that).

3. PvP

The beating heart of Diablo II is PvP. This a game where you get to flex on other players as hard as you possibly can. It's part of the culture.

Trash-talk is the norm. Diablo II is a wild west of people doing and saying whatever they want and the only people who can do anything about it are the ones who are better than them.

If that's not what you like in a game, then may I suggest you go play a game that you won't suck at, you filthy scrub.

4. Replayability

Diablo II has 7 classes, each of which have at least several good unique builds and several more janky-but-fun builds to play around with.

It's trivial for an experienced player to beat Hell Difficulty on single-player with one build of one class. It's a whole different level to do it on every class and even morseso to do it on different builds within each class.

Hunting for the best items to gear those characters well enough to pull it off will have you enthralled for thousands of hours, if not eternally.

Diablo II is the best game that has ever been made and I'll welcome a debate from ANYBODY who wants to argue otherwise.