Diablo 2 Resurrected disappoints fans with no ladder at launch

As we draw ever closer to evil’s return, Executive Producer Rod Fergusson has confirmed that Diablo 2 Resurrected’s ladder will not begin on release.

An essential part of Diablo 2 is the ladder system. Almost like ‘ranked’ but for Diablo, players battle it out to see who Sanctuary’s true savior is for that season.

While the fan favorite system will make a return in Diablo 2 Resurrected, players have been a little baffled about how it will look. With Blizzard claiming that they want to make the season cycle shorter, the competitive realm will be taking on a very different form in the remaster.

For those hoping to jump into the competitive sphere upon release, though, bad news awaits.

Diablo 2 Resurrected will not have ladder on release

As confirmed by Diablo icon, Executive Producer Rod Fergusson, Diablo 2: Resurrected will not be featuring a ladder season upon release.

• Read More: Diablo 2 Runewords guide: All 78 combinations in Resurrected

Responding to a question on Twitter, he writes “we want to make sure that the game is stable and ready for ladder before we turn that on. So it won’t be there for launch.”

Promising players that it “will come shortly after everything settles down,” it turns out this news really wasn’t what veteran Diablo 2 players wanted to hear.

Diablo fans aren’t happy

Players have been quick to let the dev team know that this devilish trick isn’t something that they’re too pleased about.

“So what is likely the sole reason any veteran player would buy D2:R is not even going to be available at launch?” one commenter fumes. “You can’t make this s**t up.”

Another asks “why was this just announced now,” disappointed because they had “requested time off of work to play ladder on the launch date.”

“If there won’t be a ladder for launch, why are you launching in September?” questions another upset fan. “This is a big mistake and a huge letdown for longtime D2 players.”

The anger has transferred across to the game’s official subreddit, too. “Nail in the coffin. Might as well not even buy or play until ladder,” writes one poster, with another thread entitled “D2R launch is essentially another open beta until ladder launches.”

• Read More: Diablo fans worried Diablo 4 looks like a “Diablo 3 clone” after gameplay reveal

While another post implores players to “think about why there won’t be ladder at HOUR ZERO on launch day,” many members of the community remain pretty upset about the announcement.

Despite all of the hype around the return of the High Heavens and Burning Hells, it seems like this announcement has put a dampener on the highly anticipated release. Only time will tell if Blizzard elect to reverse this decision.