Comment by vikingerik
2 months ago
Diablo 1 had no running or speed mechanic, movement speed was always constant. Its expansion Hellfire allowed running in town but not in combat areas.
Diablo 2 (2000) added the sprinting mechanic with limited stamina, but it panned out as irrelevant for gameplay. The stamina supply easily ramps up to more than you ever deplete so you just always run. And players wanted it that way since no one wants to walk slower, and the monster speeds were later increased to be balanced against players always running.
Not all gameplay mechanics need to last for an entire game. Stamina as an obstacle that you overcome plays into the power fantasy aspect of the game very well. Arguably it goes a long way to offset the feeling you’re slowly falling behind the power curve which is how they get people to grind without complaining about poor balance.
It never posed a meaningful challenge in gameplay, though - just an annoyance. If you run too much, you have to stand still for a bit for your stamina to build back up, or chug a stamina potion if you have one. There's a reason it didn't make a return appearance in subsequent games.
Arguably the true successor of Diablo 2 is Path of Exile 2, but PoE 2 doesn't have a stamina mechanic for running as well. It's just an anti-fun mechanic nobody asked for
This tread claims that David Brevik, creator of Diablo, regretted the stamina mechanic too https://steamcommunity.com/app/2694490/discussions/0/6052961...
It’s a non issue when there’s effectively zero penalties for death. On hardcore it’s more meaningful especially on hardcore challenge runs.
But that’s the thing if you’re only there for mindless slaughter then it’s anti fun, but also very close to a non issue.