It's a bit like saying "I didn't like that adventure game because it had puzzles." =D

"I swear, this job would be great if it wasn't for the fucking customers."

...Says every person in retail, ever. =)

That line was from "Clerks". XD

i love my diablo clones for what the are, mindless hack and slash, find the bestest lootz. It wasn't only this that kept me from the game, the UI drove me nuts as well. I do really need to sit back down with it again and give it another go. it is a good game, i just wasn't totally prepared for it. And i don't think i knew i could disable all the crazy? dunno. :)
lol pretty much. diablo is the most potion-spamming game evah. for realz.

Yes if you are stuck in the 90s.

For those interested, I just checked -- under "Advanced Options" in the "Set Up World" screen prior to starting a new town, you can change:
- Pacing: "The pacing option effects [sic] how fast quests advance and how fast monsters respawn." XP penalty for slower settings, XP bonus for faster ones.
- World Size: "Changes the average depths of the dungeon." (Demon War only.)
- NPC Pacing: "The NPC pacing option effects [sic] how often the NPCs choose to do activities." (Demon War only.)
- Dangerous Monsters: "Monsters are more powerful on average. There are less of them though."
- Low Stress: "This town will not have some of the more stressful quests like town attacks. However, you get 15% less XP."
- Invasion Mode: "World starts with a 100 Wave Invasion quest." (Might be Demon War only, I don't recall.)
Raging Hordes: "More monsters are running around than normal. They are less powerful than normal though." (Demon War only.)
You can also select average monster level (though monsters on lower dungeon levels will generally always be more powerful than those on earlier dungeon levels) and overall "World Difficulty" on this screen; in addition, there are various "advanced" options set at character creation that impose specific restrictions such as no map, half health, can only use cursed items, and of course that perennial favorite, permadeath. : )

I only ever played Diablo on the PlayStation, and only as a rental. And can you believe I've never played Diablo II? I probably would have bought a physical copy of the Battlechest, but I think the version now sold in stores requires Battle.net. : /

Short of downloading it at a friends house or possibly McDonald's/Starbucks...There are more than a few people here who have limits to what they can download or just crummy internet altogether. I wonder how many people would like to be able to have discs of the ISO's mailed to them?

Assuming it wasn't too expensive (25c/50c a disc plus postage?) and something GOG would be willing to implement.

Out of curiosity, how would you know if a game is a Diablo-clone title before buying and playing it? As I understand it, all Diablo-clones are considered ARPGs, but this classification also covers games like Gothic and The Elder Scrolls. Looking at screen shots can only do so much as Diablo-clone can look very similar to arcade style button mashing fighters and twin stick shooters. Would it be some form copyright infringment for developers to advertise their games as "Diablo-likes" the way they do with rogue-likes and rouge-lights?

It meant to say weren't potions as everyone of them has them except the one I am talking about. But that doesnt make sense. There weren't potions in Heretic Kingdoms Inquisition. When I played the game you get herbs that you can use in every fight. As you use them they heal you less each fight that you move on.

Has anyone managed to beat that game and figured out what you are supposed to do?
Diablo clones have the following-

A list of classes to choose from
Random items with random prefix and suffix stats/skills
Little to no problem solving (Oh Yeah!)
Multiple difficulties that progressively get tougher

I am! (note use of forevAH and for realz, i am having fun chill out)

Or i play the newer games better than you
or you played D2 better than me
:( <--- really really really sad face. like super duper sad. D2 is an all-time favorite

Ah, then you've obviously never played Inquisitor (playing through it now myself). I've played my fair share of Diablo clones, and that is the potion spammiest one I've ever played, since you've got health and stamina (and mana depending on your build) to deal with. Combat is brutal in that game. :o So very many odd design decisions (but I still like it).

I have it and i need to play it, but i heard it was brutal, so i've stayed away (i'm such a chicken :) )

Screenshots and videos will give you a major clue. All "Diablo clones" have another thing in common: a third person isometric perspective (actually "pseudo-isometric", "near-isometric", or "videogame-isometric" would be more correct, but saying "isometric" is quicker) that's not quite top-down, but obviously not side view, either. Many of these games have fixed camera angles, though most of the more modern ones allow zooming; however, I'm sure there are some that allow the camera to not only zoom and rotate freely, but even change pitch. (Frankly, I find it bizarre that you can't rotate the camera in completely 3D games like Torchlight and Din's Curse. Maybe this is the "Diablo clones' " answer to the traditional Rogue-like insistence that if the "graphics" aren't pure ASCII, it's not a Rogue-like. Because clearly that's the defining feature of the game.)
That's not to say that all ARPGs that use the Diablos' visual perspective are "Diablo clones", though. [i]Inquisitor, for example, has been mentioned, but from what I've heard from those who've played it extensively, it wouldn't qualify as a "Diablo-like", since it has a heavy focus on investigation and story. Likewise, from what little I've played of it to date, Divine Divinity is about as close to a "real" RPG as it is to the "hack 'n' loot" games we've talked about here, yet it is very similar, in visuals and in general interface, to Diablo. Still, worth taking into consideration.

Personally, I prefer terms like "hack 'n' loot" to Diablo clone, as the former is a little more inclusive, while the latter is only truly useful for describing straight-up imitations.