Median XL News, May 2025

[Based]

My biggest issues in Median as a casual player are:

Theres so much content without much in terms of guides on what content to do when and specific build guides are hit and miss on if they can even do them or whats exactly required to realistically do them

Then its the issue of how important bosses are to progression so it feels like you HAVE to pick a build that can reliably boss for charms and farm regularly and it's hard to know what builds can even do that (and without needing massive gear). I always hit a complete brick wall when playing that i have zero idea how to get passed, and i'm assuming the players don't want to spread information like this out.

Just what items are good what sells what doesn't, so many dead and useless items that it's impossible to tell from a casual player standpoint which brings me to the next issue

Biggest issue of all is how shit trading is combined with TG persisting over seasons. I know the PD2 trade website probably took a lot of work, but without being in a circle of players or hoping you can find similar people posting in the trade channel on the discord its impossible to know what anything is worth at all. Probably at least half of the notes after completed trades are "ty" which i assume are people actively trying to muddy the market so no one knows what the value of anything is unless you're a seasoned and experienced player, or lazy as fuck. I've always detailed my notes on trades with exactly what they are so people know what the price for things are. All this does is create unnecessary barriers for non super experienced no lifers. Combining this with the fact that TG stays over seasons means that someone or a group with enough TG can completely manipulate the market on things if they try hard enough or at least can get stupid ahead of everyone else that doesn't have access where i think whats the point of season resets if the economy is warped by this?

I love so many things about Median but at the end of the day theres so many problems that feel like they gatekeep players that don't have years of experience or specifically taken under the wing of an experienced vet. I could be wrong about some of this but if i (someone who tries to research and figure out these games when i play them) am not able to figure them out reasonably without being guided by someone else then the average person trying Median is going to just nope the fuck out at like a few possible brick walls you may hit. I hate comparing this to PD2 (and for many reasons its an unfair comparison) but so many of these issues don't exist or are so lessened to the point where they mostly might not matter. All i did this season for a build and damage type i've never played is look at last seasons top players of the build and then ask a single question in the discord and everything else was found on the way. Not even a week into the PD2 season and i have a lot of really good gear and have some pretty high tier gear for my build. I'm not even a D2 hardcore/vet at all, i literally first played D2 in any incarnation ON MEDIAN the first SIgma season, and barely have played ARPGs outside of like 2 or 3 super casual PoE seasons prior to this.

You know, you don't have to Trade. And its alright to play on realms solo (most do) and/or without trading while playing on realms.

I don't like to play SSF. That also doesn't really invalidate anything, just saying "don't trade" doesn't make any of those problems disappear. Plus, you have to deal with extremely rare drop rates without trade which makes some builds pretty much not viable past acts without pre farming gear or completely stops you from doing a lot of end game content.

[Taem]

My biggest issues in Median as a casual player are:

Theres so much content without much in terms of guides on what content to do when and specific build guides are hit and miss on if they can even do them or whats exactly required to realistically do them

Then its the issue of how important bosses are to progression so it feels like you HAVE to pick a build that can reliably boss for charms and farm regularly and it's hard to know what builds can even do that (and without needing massive gear). I always hit a complete brick wall when playing that i have zero idea how to get passed, and i'm assuming the players don't want to spread information like this out.

Just what items are good what sells what doesn't, so many dead and useless items that it's impossible to tell from a casual player standpoint which brings me to the next issue

Biggest issue of all is how shit trading is combined with TG persisting over seasons. I know the PD2 trade website probably took a lot of work, but without being in a circle of players or hoping you can find similar people posting in the trade channel on the discord its impossible to know what anything is worth at all. Probably at least half of the notes after completed trades are "ty" which i assume are people actively trying to muddy the market so no one knows what the value of anything is unless you're a seasoned and experienced player, or lazy as fuck. I've always detailed my notes on trades with exactly what they are so people know what the price for things are. All this does is create unnecessary barriers for non super experienced no lifers. Combining this with the fact that TG stays over seasons means that someone or a group with enough TG can completely manipulate the market on things if they try hard enough or at least can get stupid ahead of everyone else that doesn't have access where i think whats the point of season resets if the economy is warped by this?

I love so many things about Median but at the end of the day theres so many problems that feel like they gatekeep players that don't have years of experience or specifically taken under the wing of an experienced vet. I could be wrong about some of this but if i (someone who tries to research and figure out these games when i play them) am not able to figure them out reasonably without being guided by someone else then the average person trying Median is going to just nope the fuck out at like a few possible brick walls you may hit. I hate comparing this to PD2 (and for many reasons its an unfair comparison) but so many of these issues don't exist or are so lessened to the point where they mostly might not matter. All i did this season for a build and damage type i've never played is look at last seasons top players of the build and then ask a single question in the discord and everything else was found on the way. Not even a week into the PD2 season and i have a lot of really good gear and have some pretty high tier gear for my build. I'm not even a D2 hardcore/vet at all, i literally first played D2 in any incarnation ON MEDIAN the first SIgma season, and barely have played ARPGs outside of like 2 or 3 super casual PoE seasons prior to this.

You know, you don't have to Trade. And its alright to play on realms solo (most do) and/or without trading while playing on realms.

I don't like to play SSF. That also doesn't really invalidate anything, just saying "don't trade" doesn't make any of those problems disappear. Plus, you have to deal with extremely rare drop rates without trade which makes some builds pretty much not viable past acts without pre farming gear or completely stops you from doing a lot of end game content.

So, what I hear you suggesting is for TG to reset to zero for every player upon the start of every new ladder, is that correct? Would that equalize the playing field, I wonder? Why does it matter that some players have dragon hordes of wealth at the start of each ladder, or better worded, how does that affect you as a player directly? Market manipulation? Possibly, but wouldn't the money holders all have to be in collision for that to work, otherwise players will always chose the cheaper option? For all intents and purposes, TG is a fully enclosed Capitalist system unto itself.

[Based]

My biggest issues in Median as a casual player are:

Theres so much content without much in terms of guides on what content to do when and specific build guides are hit and miss on if they can even do them or whats exactly required to realistically do them

Then its the issue of how important bosses are to progression so it feels like you HAVE to pick a build that can reliably boss for charms and farm regularly and it's hard to know what builds can even do that (and without needing massive gear). I always hit a complete brick wall when playing that i have zero idea how to get passed, and i'm assuming the players don't want to spread information like this out.

Just what items are good what sells what doesn't, so many dead and useless items that it's impossible to tell from a casual player standpoint which brings me to the next issue

Biggest issue of all is how shit trading is combined with TG persisting over seasons. I know the PD2 trade website probably took a lot of work, but without being in a circle of players or hoping you can find similar people posting in the trade channel on the discord its impossible to know what anything is worth at all. Probably at least half of the notes after completed trades are "ty" which i assume are people actively trying to muddy the market so no one knows what the value of anything is unless you're a seasoned and experienced player, or lazy as fuck. I've always detailed my notes on trades with exactly what they are so people know what the price for things are. All this does is create unnecessary barriers for non super experienced no lifers. Combining this with the fact that TG stays over seasons means that someone or a group with enough TG can completely manipulate the market on things if they try hard enough or at least can get stupid ahead of everyone else that doesn't have access where i think whats the point of season resets if the economy is warped by this?

I love so many things about Median but at the end of the day theres so many problems that feel like they gatekeep players that don't have years of experience or specifically taken under the wing of an experienced vet. I could be wrong about some of this but if i (someone who tries to research and figure out these games when i play them) am not able to figure them out reasonably without being guided by someone else then the average person trying Median is going to just nope the fuck out at like a few possible brick walls you may hit. I hate comparing this to PD2 (and for many reasons its an unfair comparison) but so many of these issues don't exist or are so lessened to the point where they mostly might not matter. All i did this season for a build and damage type i've never played is look at last seasons top players of the build and then ask a single question in the discord and everything else was found on the way. Not even a week into the PD2 season and i have a lot of really good gear and have some pretty high tier gear for my build. I'm not even a D2 hardcore/vet at all, i literally first played D2 in any incarnation ON MEDIAN the first SIgma season, and barely have played ARPGs outside of like 2 or 3 super casual PoE seasons prior to this.

You know, you don't have to Trade. And its alright to play on realms solo (most do) and/or without trading while playing on realms.

I don't like to play SSF. That also doesn't really invalidate anything, just saying "don't trade" doesn't make any of those problems disappear. Plus, you have to deal with extremely rare drop rates without trade which makes some builds pretty much not viable past acts without pre farming gear or completely stops you from doing a lot of end game content.

So, what I hear you suggesting is for TG to reset to zero for every player upon the start of every new ladder, is that correct? Would that equalize the playing field, I wonder? Why does it matter that some players have dragon hordes of wealth at the start of each ladder, or better worded, how does that affect you as a player directly? Market manipulation? Possibly, but wouldn't the money holders all have to be in collision for that to work, otherwise players will always chose the cheaper option? For all intents and purposes, TG is a fully enclosed Capitalist system unto itself.

lol

[zZRiKiMaRuZz]

My biggest issues in Median as a casual player are:

Theres so much content without much in terms of guides on what content to do when and specific build guides are hit and miss on if they can even do them or whats exactly required to realistically do them

Then its the issue of how important bosses are to progression so it feels like you HAVE to pick a build that can reliably boss for charms and farm regularly and it's hard to know what builds can even do that (and without needing massive gear). I always hit a complete brick wall when playing that i have zero idea how to get passed, and i'm assuming the players don't want to spread information like this out.

Just what items are good what sells what doesn't, so many dead and useless items that it's impossible to tell from a casual player standpoint which brings me to the next issue

Biggest issue of all is how shit trading is combined with TG persisting over seasons. I know the PD2 trade website probably took a lot of work, but without being in a circle of players or hoping you can find similar people posting in the trade channel on the discord its impossible to know what anything is worth at all. Probably at least half of the notes after completed trades are "ty" which i assume are people actively trying to muddy the market so no one knows what the value of anything is unless you're a seasoned and experienced player, or lazy as fuck. I've always detailed my notes on trades with exactly what they are so people know what the price for things are. All this does is create unnecessary barriers for non super experienced no lifers. Combining this with the fact that TG stays over seasons means that someone or a group with enough TG can completely manipulate the market on things if they try hard enough or at least can get stupid ahead of everyone else that doesn't have access where i think whats the point of season resets if the economy is warped by this?

I love so many things about Median but at the end of the day theres so many problems that feel like they gatekeep players that don't have years of experience or specifically taken under the wing of an experienced vet. I could be wrong about some of this but if i (someone who tries to research and figure out these games when i play them) am not able to figure them out reasonably without being guided by someone else then the average person trying Median is going to just nope the fuck out at like a few possible brick walls you may hit. I hate comparing this to PD2 (and for many reasons its an unfair comparison) but so many of these issues don't exist or are so lessened to the point where they mostly might not matter. All i did this season for a build and damage type i've never played is look at last seasons top players of the build and then ask a single question in the discord and everything else was found on the way. Not even a week into the PD2 season and i have a lot of really good gear and have some pretty high tier gear for my build. I'm not even a D2 hardcore/vet at all, i literally first played D2 in any incarnation ON MEDIAN the first SIgma season, and barely have played ARPGs outside of like 2 or 3 super casual PoE seasons prior to this.

You know, you don't have to Trade. And its alright to play on realms solo (most do) and/or without trading while playing on realms.

I don't like to play SSF. That also doesn't really invalidate anything, just saying "don't trade" doesn't make any of those problems disappear. Plus, you have to deal with extremely rare drop rates without trade which makes some builds pretty much not viable past acts without pre farming gear or completely stops you from doing a lot of end game content.

So, what I hear you suggesting is for TG to reset to zero for every player upon the start of every new ladder, is that correct? Would that equalize the playing field, I wonder? Why does it matter that some players have dragon hordes of wealth at the start of each ladder, or better worded, how does that affect you as a player directly? Market manipulation? Possibly, but wouldn't the money holders all have to be in collision for that to work, otherwise players will always chose the cheaper option? For all intents and purposes, TG is a fully enclosed Capitalist system unto itself.

lol

Actually TG is too easy to earn, if you are willing to post items for sale. And TG here does not have much value in the game or in reality. Because you only need a few hundred TG to buy the missing items. Near the end of the season, I can sell all the valuable items. to transfer to TG. about 2k 3k. But I leave it empty and wait for the next season to play. Because this is a game that should be experienced and searched. If you have too much TG and buy all the best items, you cannot be strong. Because it is an old game and there is no p2w. For those who are passionate about it with memories with friends. If you want to know about the price, check the transaction history on the website, and take the average. If you play at the end of the season, buy it at a very cheap price. There are still people selling at high prices because no one sells anymore.. so it is rare if you need it. The best is to ask for an account ) and make friends. I can give it to you because I have quit the game.

[zZRiKiMaRuZz]

I think with the introduction of forum trading gold, the game became very serious and locked down in order to have a "healthy economy", and it's been like that ever since.

Absolutely. Designing a game centered on trading inevitably leads to its downfall one way or another. The introduction of TG left a sour taste in my mouth, and the design decisions made around it each season have only favoured elitists who purchase and use them at the beginning of each season, giving them a perpetual advantage and widening the gap with other players. The most concerning aspect is that these TGs carry over to the next season, exacerbating the divide. And secondly, why introduce another revenue stream when there is already a Patreon system in place? Whilst I understand the production team has bills to pay, why not enhance the benefits of Patreon instead to prevent the game from deteriorating? This way, the game will be left untouched, free from external influences and won't have to be shaped by a business model.


Look at PoE2, a high-potential rival in the market that is doomed by its unfortunate business model that's been pushed hard on players since the EA. The game is designed around one big bubble called currency trading. So you don't craft a weapon or grind for a weapon because you won't have a great one, instead, you must trade in currency for a gear of your ideal needs. Yuck! Do not be that game!

You shouldn't compare d2mdxl with POE, that's a mistake, Diablo 2 median xl is based on a very small community with the old generations, and it's not an online game like POE. Finding players together is too difficult with D2. Or you just play offline and cheat. No one forbids it in D2. TG here is just the value for players to trade, find missing items in the build, if you play alone the rate is too small.. otherwise you can play offline and cheat items. so TG is not too valuable and affects the game. Because TG is also too easy to get. But I choose to play the game instead of sitting and watching too many transactions.

[Muranty]

I'll start by saying that I'm not against TG, I know how important a factor it has become for this mod and its maintenance, but looking from the perspective of someone who wants to start here and participate in trading, the beginning of the adventure is very unfair.

As someone mention, if you are player with 0 tg vs player with x ammount of tg at start of season, you are like in lost position in trading.
Considering the fact that people with significant amounts of TG will equip a character in 2 days, and those without TG in a week or two, you already have a week's difference in effectively farming items to sell or building char that melt bosses for most valuable charms for sale.

I love trading, but season resets have nothing to do with the economy reset since there are people who can buy any godlike item day 1.

In short, every new player has an incredibly difficult time in trading at the beginning of their adventure and may feel frustrated with the system and quickly give up, adding to this the fact how the sales system works and looks like, people type "ty" in trade tg transfer, so how new players are supposed to estimate how much a sold items sell for, this causes further frustration.

I would love to see a trading system similar to the current one in Project Diablo 2, to put it simply, a pseudo auction house with items for sale and what's in exchange without bidding, and above all, an item search engine on this market and direct listing of items from stash and characters. It would certainly make trading easier, not only for new players but also for old ones. Since the beginning when I start playing MXL, posting items in threads has been a huge misunderstanding and an incredible waste of time that should be spent in the game and not on the forum.

[Jackel6672]

I'll start by saying that I'm not against TG, I know how important a factor it has become for this mod and its maintenance, but looking from the perspective of someone who wants to start here and participate in trading, the beginning of the adventure is very unfair.

As someone mention, if you are player with 0 tg vs player with x ammount of tg at start of season, you are like in lost position in trading.
Considering the fact that people with significant amounts of TG will equip a character in 2 days, and those without TG in a week or two, you already have a week's difference in effectively farming items to sell or building char that melt bosses for most valuable charms for sale.

I love trading, but season resets have nothing to do with the economy reset since there are people who can buy any godlike item day 1.

In short, every new player has an incredibly difficult time in trading at the beginning of their adventure and may feel frustrated with the system and quickly give up, adding to this the fact how the sales system works and looks like, people type "ty" in trade tg transfer, so how new players are supposed to estimate how much a sold items sell for, this causes further frustration.

I would love to see a trading system similar to the current one in Project Diablo 2, to put it simply, a pseudo auction house with items for sale and what's in exchange without bidding, and above all, an item search engine on this market and direct listing of items from stash and characters. It would certainly make trading easier, not only for new players but also for old ones. Since the beginning when I start playing MXL, posting items in threads has been a huge misunderstanding and an incredible waste of time that should be spent in the game and not on the forum.

Charm selling is largely negated by them being class restricted after you trophy them now. The only charms I saw people buying are the 135+ ubers and pinnacle boss charms.

You can farm almost every item that nets a decent amount of TG at league start in Duncraig / Fautz. Neither are hard to get to, and if its, say, your first season you are going to be boxed out anyways due to inexperience. You cannot expect to come into any game, and have a similar advantage to people that play it every ladder season.

We have a trading page on these forums, and a trading outlet on the TSW ladder page that has a search function, and lists the seller's preferred currency. A large amount of people actually trade for AC over TG. You can also list entire mules on there and people will ping you about buying items in game.

[Keter]

I find the process of farming items and earning TG quite engaging and fulfilling in itself. However, I'm deeply troubled by the horrendous inflation. It would be great if this inflation issue could be addressed somehow.

Regarding bosses, I'd like to say the following: I've been playing the game for quite a long time, but there are many bosses I've never even encountered. This is because the reaction time requirements to fight them are excessively high. Many people, especially those who aren't 15 anymore but are 35+, have slower reaction times.

The game introduces platformer-style bosses, but I'm not a fan of platformers. I love Diablo, where boss design is typically incredibly well-done and revolves around your build, not how quickly you can jump around the screen. In the endgame, this mod stops feeling like Diablo and instead becomes more of a generic platformer with timers. This is awful

[sve4ka]

Cheer up gramps, you still got it!

[Doupadoupa]

Another post about TG, etc
If you do not play for 70-100+ hours in first week, same in second week, then you will not compete for TG farming
It's simple, not a skill issue or something, trade is slow after 2 weeks, and nearly vanishes after month
Every class has (at least) 1 reworked build from last seasons who can rush through 80%+ charm/uber content on SSF (no TG used)
This means, you can compete with TG farmers even without spending TG and there's knowledge issue instead of skill issue cause charm/trophy after rework are rushed. And respec into farming character of another/same class
The trophy rework killed one decent way to farm TG but now you received faster TG consumption on UMO's/gear/chart/dream/E-runes/scosglen chest/g-cycle/eblems/sesheron upgrade
AC trade used to be a thing too on normal nithalaak but it's not efficient anymore, one whale who bought all AC is not playng anymore (or maybe he's way better in terms of knowledge about game) and T1-T5 no AC requirement created no demand for them. Only reason to buy AC is jewelcrafting or using them on scosglen chests (if you are mass farming them on market + e-runes)