For those who aren't aware, in Diablo 2 you would hire followers to conquer the hell gates alongside you, but once the D2R Items followers were killed, you needed to bring them back with cold cash. A new follower was introduced in every zone, which means some were far superior than other followers.

The idea was further developed in Diablo 3, where instead of hiring mercenaries to help you, you obtained three different companions throughout the story campaign. You had the Scoundrel, Sorceress and Templar who represented the range of DPS tanks, ranged DPS, and magic users respectively.In my Diablo 2 Resurrected adventure I only encountered helpful NPCs that hung around for a dungeon or two before heading off into the sunset. When I asked Jackson what their thoughts were on how the game's Follower function would work in the game, they said "for the first edition of the game we do have a few places within the story which you'll have known NPCs following you and helping you out as you figure out what Lilith is doing within the realm of.

"We don't have any news to declare about the Diablo-2 type follower you've hired, so we're going to stick to the campaign as of now." It's all about the current situation.

With a smile, they continue "stay in the loop, we might come up with something in the near term to reveal, but we can't make any promises." This instantly provoked an answer from the producer of dungeons, Ash Sweetring, who channelled her self-described"Mr. Burns with an 'interesting hand gesture that was playing in the background. What's that? That's sus.If any variation of the follower system is to make an appearance in Diablo 2 Resurrected, I'd prefer to see it as a Diablo-2-style hired guns instead of omnipresent friends. I loved the array of abilities that followers provided during Diablo 2 and would love to see it reimagined. It opens up yet more room for different styles, and incredible demon-slaying abilities chains.

But for the time being you'll need to know more about the classes of Diablo 2 Resurrected, since they're the ones we'll be playing in the main. In a separate interview with Director of the game Joe Shely, however, it was suggested that the roster may expand as well. After all, nothing is eternal in Sanctuary.

The main developers of Diablo 2 Resurrected have stressed that they don't want players "feel like they can pay to win" as the game comes out next year.

In a recent Diablo 2 Resurrected livestream(opens in new tab) Game director Joe Shely, along with associate game director Joesph Piepiora, and community manager Adam Fletcher gave fans an update on everything Diablo 2 Resurrected, as well as providing a glimpse into the way things are going to work in the lead up to the game's release next summer.

During the stream The trio also discussed the Diablo 2 Resurrected battle pass (around the 39:15 mark in the video below) and the upcoming seasons of the game. "It's really, really important to us that we balance the things that you'd find when you play the game," Piepiora said, "the way that they're extremely compelling, but they're also equitable, we don't want to create any conditions where players feel they can pay to win. "To draw a clear line of the battle pass from the seasons in Diablo 2 Resurrected, Piepiora explained that "the season journey is still an integral part of Diablo 2 Resurrected, in the manner you played it with Diablo 3." The chapter-based mechanic will offer players different goals throughout the season and let players to earn in-game rewards on their own cheap D2R Ladder Items characters. "All of the content for the season is totally free. It's not linked to the battle pass itself," Shely adds.