In other words, Diablo II gained the best of both worlds, random and deterministic items. With Runewords, Diablo II became a more engaging crafting game, more than Monster Hunter, while not even having it as its core loop. But with Runewords, it complemented this random drop mechanic instead of replacing it, creating a powerful synergy that gave it much depth, without necessarily making it complex. Weapons and armor drop from monsters, we don't craft them.
We must remember that the core item mechanic of Diablo II is random item drop, not crafting. At a glance, they look like items in games where crafting is a core mechanic, like in Monster Hunter. Runewords are crafted items that follow known recipes. Runewords came late and got introduced only in the expansion Lord of Destruction, but it was enough to make it a game that can last for hundreds of hours, giving it an engaging loop in our search for the best items in the game. Runewords are what separate Diablo II from all existing loot-based action RPG and elevate it to be the best hack and slash item collection game of all time.
