head to head
vs
Cataclysm: Dark Days AheadvsDiablo II
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Diablo II leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Cataclysm: Dark Days AheadDiablo II
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 2
Diablo II leans harder on execution: Positioning and potion reflexes, little else physical
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance7 vs 6
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead leans harder on variance: Procedural world and scavenging luck shape early survival
Optimization9 vs 9
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.