Diablo II is not a roguelike. Diablo 1 it's based on a Roguelike, Moria, but with real time features and no permadeath.

> but with real time features and no permadeath

No permadeath? Compare the parent comment:

>>> Dark Souls lacks permadeath.

>>> Diablo 2 could erase weeks of work by one monster spawning an unfair combination.

But more than that, even Rogue itself didn't have permadeath if you didn't want it. My dad taught me to shut off the computer just as you died. Turn it back on and your save is preserved. Other roguelikes will just let you turn on a cheat option.

That's cheating. On Nethack and derivates, there's the wizard mode but just for exploring.

It's a one-player game. What does "cheating" mean?

Diablo II is a real-time game so it is, with all due respect, a rogue-like.

Diablo 1 is probably the only notable game you could legitimately describe as a real-time roguelike.

Diablo 2 drifts pretty far from the formula, to the extent that it largely defines the "action RPG" genre as we still know it.

Diablo 2 has hardcode mode which actually pushes it closer to roguelike than Diablo 1. I'm not sure what other differences do you have in mind.

I'll take your word for it; I'm not familiar with the differences between I and II.

Rogue-likes were turn/tick-based engines, played in a terminal, using the curses lib (or equiv). Diablo is no Rogue-like, good sir

my credentials: I'm the creator of what I think was the world's first commercial-only, traditional Rogue-like game (AFAIK)

Roguelikes, in the traditional sense, are definitely turn-based games.

bingo

Rogue and then its Rogue-like descendents: Hack, NetHack, Angband, Dwarf Fortress, DCSS etc