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	The ability to fight outside instead of in those dark, tight, caverns will be a nice touch to Diablo 2.

In the original Diablo, the player was restricted to one town. As well as restricted to one town, the player also did all combat of creatures and quests in dark, underground labyrinths which were often dimly lit and maybe at times seemed a bit claustrophobic to some. Expect all that to change in Diablo 2. Now, you will get to do battle in outdoor areas, with a plethora of new monsters. And not only will you do battle in one town, but now you will progress through a total of four 'Acts'. And no longer are the towns 'stiff' such as the original. Now there are flowing rivers, rustling trees, and maybe even some wildlife here and there. And with a more 'live' environment comes more active NPC's with actual lives - no more sitting around waiting for you to come looking for quests. They walk around, and basically have their own priorities as well.

With the new lively NPC's and a better, fleshed out environment comes more quests and possibilities. As stated earlier, creatures now roam the face of the earth looking for unsuspecting prey to kill. There will be a total of 20 quests, which will be much more critical and integral to the plot. It is rumored that the game will have 'Town Raids', in which the player must defend a town that is under attack by outside creatures. This could also make for some interesting quests as well. In addition to more interesting quests on Blizzards part, quests will also be more interactive and story-orientated. For instance, a good example of interactivity and NPC Life would be this - you help a rogue in a search for some breastplate. You help her fiend it and befriend her. Later on in the game if you want to hire a mercenary to aid you in a quest, but don't have the funds, you might be able to call upon the rogue for help at a cheap price. Notice that you can now hire extra assistance if you feel that a quest might be a bit overwhelming for just yourself, and this also focuses on more of a cooperative aspect of Diablo 2, giving the game more of an overall 'world' feel.

While on the topic of quests, co-op, and interactivity, I have to mention this - expect a ton of more support for Battle.net, Blizzards free online gaming service. Unless you have been in a cave, or just a complete idiot, you probably know about Blizzards highly successful Battle.net service that helps Diablo players find other Diablo players and game up. Seeing the wide popularity of B.net, Blizzard is taking advantage of that and listening to the fans callings. A few of the known enhancements is the Trading Post, a feature which allows people to trade items without actually being in a game, therefore reducing 'duping' and stealing. Also, expect a lot more quests online, with a total of eight people (compared to only four in the original), and maybe even a few quests exclusively for multiplayer.