Version 1.00 is striking for just how challenging it can be.
Recently, a user known as Reachoutforfadez decided to return to the classic and played Diablo II. He set out on his adventure using version 1.00.
No runes, no charms, no patches. Nothing — just pure Diablo II.
From the comments it seems many players first discovered Diablo II on later, improved versions (1.07–1.10), so they never experienced just how unforgiving Blizzard’s original release can be.
Some people consider Path of Exile 2 to be extremely demanding, but experienced ARPG fans will tell you that the original D2 is much harder to overcome.
SLISKI_JOHNNY shared his impressions:
I recently played [Diablo II] too, and while the Sorceress might not be the wisest pick, she absolutely got torn apart. Even PoE2 didn’t feel as punishing as Diablo II v1.00. It’s no wonder it seemed so much harder when I was a kid — we only had the original D2 discs without the Lord of Destruction add-on and no Internet, so we mostly played unpatched on version 1.00.
Source: iXBT.games