Didn't play any Diablo II so I have a hard to relating to it. But full loot is full loot. Everything you have on your character when you die is fair game to anyone who happens to come along and find your grave before you do.

I have always had another set of gear in the bank so that when I die, I can just run to my bank and grab the other set out. . . but there have been times I have been naked, or close to it. Crappy gear drops all over the place so you are rarely stuck for very long with nothing on. . .and I find a lot of help from within my guild. Really, I think working with a group is vital for this game.

Certainly there is no reason to delete your character when you die and it would probably be a bad idea. You do "skill up" as you use things, so if you hit with your 2-handed sword you get skill points in 2-handed swords and eventually do more damage with those weapons. Thus remaking your character makes you start this process all over again and it is slow going.

The major drawback to the game being "hardcore" is Universal Banks. You can easily just put something in the bank and then run naked to where you need to use it without risking losing your stuff.

As for the DVD, I wouldn't expect it any time soon although there was talk about releasing a box version at some point. Keep in mind that this is technically only the EU release. But, as I said, being a month or two behind DOES NOT make you useless. Sure, 1v1 you would probably get your butt kicked, but you can easily run with a group and still be able to contribute. It is nothing like being a level 1 character vs a level 70 character.

That being said, another drawback to the game is that I don't believe solo play is all that viable. There are not that many mobs that I can solo at this point and I have a hard time seeing them actually becoming soloable at any point. But really, all I have is a month of testing the game and it was up and down all the time so there may be much more to the game than what I know. But if you like FPS games and you like MMOs, it is certainly worth a closer look.

I got into Beta over a month ago.

The good:

I like the fact that one can start a fresh character, jump into the game and immediately start to contribute to the cause. Sure, if you are a noob, you will suck, but that is only because you suck, and not just because your character is worthless gimped.

I like the combat. It is shallow, at least to start, but it is FPS based instead of target-based. I found myself in WoW staring at my bars waiting for CDs to expire. In DF, I have to focus on the screen and lead my target with my spells and archery. I couldn't play a caster or ranged DPS character in any MMO before because of the targeting system made it boring. But DFO makes ranged DPS very entertaining. Melee isn't much more than a knife fight in an FPS, but, honestly, I kind of like that.

Full loot. Some might not like it and I thought I wouldn't, but the rush I get from pretty much every PvP encounter in this game is unlike any I have experienced before.

The Bad.

Forum community is terrible and childish. But, honestly, I find that to be true with EVERY forum of an MMO. I haven't had much of a problem with griefing in the game itself, but it was only beta. . .so who knows what will happen at release. My guild however is one of the most fun I have been in.

Combat lack of depth. I can see this being a deal breaker for a lot of people. It doesn't bother me at all, but it could have a bit more going on.

Crafting/Harvesting is boring and just terrible in general. Harvesting literally is just sitting there clicking every ten seconds. Or, having a macro do it will you go walk the dog, get something to eat, take a dump, molest the girlfriend, masturbate to gay pr0n.

Company inexperience. Everything has been botched for the past few months from a company perspective. Pre-orders pretty much blew up. They have little communication with the community as to what is happening. They announced a release date, didn't say anything for a month, until the week before release they said it would be delayed. It was supposed to launch around noon EST yesterday, didn't launch until 2 in the morning and the servers went up and down all night.

Graphics are "eh" at best.

All that being said, when the pre-orders went up, I spent 3 hours refreshing the page waiting for it to work so I could get in on this game on the ground floor. To me it like an entirely fresh genre and I have enjoyed my time playing the game. It has some SERIOUS problems right now, but I think that if and when they are able to sort them out, this will be a great game. I wish I were at home playing right now instead of at work. . . but I guess that ain't saying much.

I don't think you are required to give any notice and giving them more than the customary 2 weeks should make them happy with you, not threaten you. This is extortion and, as someone else said, libel. If you have any official documentation of that claim, I would sue them. . .and I am NOT a big lawsuits, but a company trying to threaten you like that deserves one.

was the year I realized that the internet really is for porn.

and what they actually want are two entirely different things.

LOL

This is the first time a "first" post hasn't made me want to stab the person who made it.

The government overdoing something based on a popular misconception? I am shocked and appalled!