In these days and hours that led up to the new D3 expansion it made me sad to hear how the initial release of the vanilla version of the game is preventing many players from trying out a completely different game. Though I have yet to log in on the live version of RoS but since I played in the beta and a considerable amount since 2.0, I am well aware of the changes in the expansion. I SERIOUSLY hope I can persuade many of you to give the game a second chance.
Let me begin by addressing Server Stability:
Though I did not own the vanilla game until a few weeks after the release, I have heard (horror) stories related to the fiasco on launch. Here are a few reddit threads from last night:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/comments ... is_stable/
http://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/comments ... _blizzard/
The overwhelming response is very much positive, contrasting the response at vanilla launch. There had been some lag since 2.0 but it is largely gone and blizzard has kept their word.
Hardcore:
Don't like soft core and hard core just does not have enough to appeal to you? Blizzard made an announcement at the launch party last night:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/comments ... first_big/
Now I know pvp was promised but never really happened (well), but I am pretty sure the current dev team will be on their game with this addition.
Build variety:
If any of you played within the last few months before 2.0, the game had serious issues. Each class had basically a small number of builds that would make the character as powerful as it can be. These builds are all DEAD. Apart from slight balancing issues the skills/passives are mechanically fluid and promote much greater build variety. Crit chance/dmg is on the decline and life steal is gone at 70. The game is just way more fun to play.
Please take my advice and give it a shot. You don't have to go as far as buying the collectors edition, but at the very least watch streams/vids to see if you like what you see. The game in its essence is the same; it's still a dungeon crawler and will always be that way. The difference is that it has made leaps in the right direction.