The initial version of D2 was not built to counteract power creep by allowing for us to grow stronger over time, it was built for simplicity and a more casual audience as well as slower times to kill to try and get into the E-sports scene.
We only got more powerful over Year One as Bungie started walking back their changes in an effort to placate the bleeding player-base because they made the game a less enjoyable experience.
The fundamental example of Power Creep in D2 came at the tail end of Year One.
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None of what you wrote is correct and population numbers dropped lower in year 2, especially in Crucible than they ever did in year 1 and for much longer. The kill times D2 launched with were set up to allow the games weapons to grow over time without having to nerf or sunset.
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Population has nothing to do with this discussion and no, again, the system was not built to allow for power creep in a positive way. They are genuinely that inept and has to backtrack drastically. Why do you think Forsaken threw out so many of the Year One systems?