Lifespan and player base?

[Legs0fSteel]

I never played D1 and avoided D2 due to a lot of critique online about how the endgame was but the sale going on right now is tempting i have some questions to ask before i decide.

Is the current amount of players on PC big enough so you can do public events and things like dungeons/raids without waiting 30 minutes for a group?
And is there any clue to how long D2 will last? i'd be kind of pissed if i got into D2 now and in a month or 2 they announce D3.
And lastly what do i get if i play the free version do i still get the new loot system and quality of life changes they added after Bungie split from Activision or do i get base D2 the version that people bombed into the ground for how bad it was compared to D1's final years

Thanks in advance and happy holidays.

[matxbox360]

raids doesn't have matchmaking.
pc player amount is said to be over 100K by steamcharts.
d3 is planned but not under development as far as bungie knows
you get nice swag if you pay also you can only buy some exotics if you have the expansions

[(*'-')]

I severely doubt d2 will die anytime soon, I see people everywhere and most ques are nearly instant. One issue is how the server places you though. When you warp to a place on the map it just places you in a random instance, and then it may decide that instance is apparently going to be for you and you alone and then you end up soloing a public event. Easily done but gets tiring.

Just remember to keep warping in till you find one with other people nearby. Normally you won't end up alone though.

[Mez Koo]

It has consistently been the 5th most player game on Steam for the past 3 months so you don't have to worry about the player base but you should definitely get used to using the pc lfg discord to find groups for specific activities or quests if you need them. The free version includes the base game, armor 2.0, the first two dlc, all pvp, gambit, reckoning, menagerie, black armory, most strikes, seasonal events like dawning and revelry, and some core game seasonal updates like new strike/crucible/gambit weapons and the seasonal artifact mods.

[Moodie19722™]

TBH, I started out as F2P,Oct 1st, played for two days then bought the lot, not looked back since then. The player base is good with a few sites where you can create or join a group like fireteamfinder with similar interests to your quests, strikes etc, or join a discord group (at yr own risk)

I like others have heard about D3, but D2 is very much alive. The story line is good for solo, and forsaken is well worth the buy. And to mix it up do strikes etc, but beware of the odd hacker in modes like crucible, and the odd glitch in connecting with server and randoms(which can be fun too) and speedrunners.

I, like you never touched D1. And never played an MMO like this before, but once your in, your in. It is fun, and addictive, and quite a bit to do outside the story mode.

This season ends in around seventy odd days, so get the F2P try it, play the story, if you like it, buy the next season.

As (*'-') said you can end up doing public events alone which is good( I've done a few single)you learn from them solo, strikes are always with random players unless you have a fireteam.

It does take time and effort to play D2, but worth it.

Start with F2P then decide, and whatever you decide go with it.

Merry Christmas too. And good luck guardian.

[Artorias]

My advice is to not buy anything at first and just start playing to get a feel for everything. People play it all the time. If you want to raid you have to use a third party app to search and gather teammates. Discord with clan mates or LFG are popular sources. There is no background wait in game to allow you to do other activities while you are queued to do guided games raiding (an epic design failure on Bungie's part)