You didn't need a cookie cutter build to be viable in D2 Hell. You needed a cookie cutter build for PVP, that's it. Drop rates were also better in D2, that's not an opinion.
Sometimes, I wonder...
yeah i remember finding useful stuff all the time in d2.. the dynamic of finding items is quite a bit different.
idk about the build viability though. if i wasnt fire sorc in hell my sorc blew