Blizzard finally releasedDiablo 2: Resurrectedon September 23, fully remastering the classic 2002 dungeon crawler on PC, Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation consoles. It’s received great reviews despite a troubled launch anda spat of review bombing. However, one fan-favorite feature remains missing from the acclaimed game.
Diablo 2: Resurrectedfans on Reddit and Twitter are asking when Blizzard will implement the game’s Ladder system. This isn’t a new question, with threads on the topic going back months. But unfortunately, they still aren’t getting a firm answer.
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For the uninitiated, Ladder isDiablo 2’scompetitive multiplayer component. It’s effectively a leaderboard that players can opt into when starting a new game. Ladder players can’t interact with non-Ladder players and vice versa. This creates separate in-game economies for competitive and non-competitive players.Diablo 2further breaks Ladder into four different modes based on difficulty and if players want to use theLord of Destructionexpansion. Ladder resets every six months, moving all Ladder characters to the non-Ladder game. However, players get to keep any-Ladder specific items and bring them into the standardDiablo 2game.
Diablo 2: Resurrectedlaunched without Ladder enabled, however, Blizzard plans to incorporate the competitive modes into the game eventually. According to Blizzard, the studio delayed the rollout to avoid the risk of overloading its servers during the busy release period. The gap alsogives newDiablo 2players time to get comfortablebefore jumping into ranked play. Some fans have also suggested that Blizzard uses the delay to see if players find any exploits that might influence ranked play. This gives the studio time to patch the game before Ladder goes live.
Blizzard is also making changes to howLadder operates inDiablo 2: Resurrected. These include more frequent restarts, though it’s unclear how much shorter the new Ladder periods are. A popular online theory suggests Blizzard plans to reset the Resurrected Ladder every three months. Other fans have speculated the remaster’s Ladder will have four-month seasons. However, Blizzard has not confirmed either possibility.
Also unconfirmed is when exactlyBlizzard plans to addLadder to Diablo 2: Resurrected. The official statement from Blizzard is “soon after launch,” which leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Some fans believe the rollout will take place in January, four months after remaster’s release. After all, the beginning of a new year does seem like a natural starting point. It also lines up with the above-mentioned four-month cycle. Ultimately though, only Blizzard seems to know when Ladder goes live forDiablo 2: Resurrected. So far, the studio doesn’t seem to feel like sharing.
Diablo 2: Resurrectedis available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
