I continued Diablo 2 after all. I FINALLY got the prismatic amulet (you need each type of perfect gems (not skull) + any amulet, transmute them together and there you are) which enhances all elemental defences quite a lot, and with a stroke of luck I got a kickass shield after re-killing some minor boss which among other things also enhances elemental defences some more.
After that, all my elemental defences were close to max (75) and I had reclaimed 16 Full Rejuvenation potions once again, and this time killing Diablo wasn't that hard anymore. Some of his "stream attacks" still took something like 65% of my barbarian's health with one swoop, but at least no instant deaths anymore. Fortunately I had maxxed out my full rejuvenation potions because in the end I had used 13 of them (out of total 16). Some walkthough suggested 4-8 potions should be enough. Yeah right, luckily I didn't listen to them.
Diablo is now dead (or banished), now on the LoD Act 5. (I won't report this to "Finished games" thread until the whole game with the expansion pack is finished.)
Major complaint at the moment: while I understand that having an unrestricted save/reload system would mean people would misuse it by reloading as many times until they get perfect results with experiments, lack of it also means experimenting (with item gemming, transmuting, rune words etc.) less interesting, because if you make a mistake, you many times lose the items.
For example, I got three runes as a prize for completing the first quest on Act 5, but I have absolutely no desire to experiment with rune words with different weapons and items.
Post edited March 30, 2012 by timppu