The title pretty much runs over the idea, if you want to get exactly what i'm saying, read the entire post.
So the Mercenary system was fantastic, I truely thought it had potential, but I understand that due to the technical limitations all it could do was wander around like a pet, seeming somewhat animated and alive by randomly wandering around, but in close proximity to the owner, it really was primative, when the expansion came out they added inventories to the mercenary system, as well as a melee DPS class, the barbarian.
I was disappointed by the primative system because the mercenary died and was largely useless in the long run, it was unintelligent, the system of choosing a merc was portrayed in each town having a mercenary vendor, with no jeperody nothing engaging at all. These vendors all seemed unfit for such a thing, but of course this was a game with its limits, so I understand why it was a poorly delivered system. The inventory system helped make mercenaries engaging, as you could equip them with the kinds of armor you had, but they were limited to the Diablo 1 inventory.
What I am proposing is to change the way the system is projected, so that means the name of Mercenary is on hiatus as how you would define this companion is more of an Adventurer but for this proposal I will simply call them mercenaries.
Contents 1 - Tavern, mercenary recruitment and resurrection 2- New AI, personality 3 - Skills, diversity, and dialogue 4 - Conclusion
1) Recruiting a mercenary should be different. It should be limited to taverns, you could enter a Tavern and talk to the Bartender, which would bring up a large list with a picture of the character and stats, as well as a small history of the character to make the characters existence in the world as your companion some how related in even the smallest way, for example: The mercenaries parents were killed by demons when they were young, they were tutored in demon hunting and have been drifting from town to town purging demons. The gold standard must never go away in regards to recruiting a mercenary, but it should not be cheap and easily affordable, it's got to be spendy, mercenarys must give gold a presense. The way that mercenarys entered the world was so sudden and funny, it was less animated than summoning a poisonous vine. When you recruit a merc, it should come from a door you cannot open on the second level of the tavern, and walk down to you, and then greet you. The way you resurrect a fallen mercenary should be different from the bartender, like it used to be in diablo 2, it should be done by a healer NPC, the cost of reviving shouldn't be scaled properly, making it 25% the price of purchasing the mercenary may be sufficient.
2) The mercenaries were much in the same regards to a golem, except that as they became more expensive the higher they became. Mercenaries simply followed you around in a somewhat drifting manner, however they never wandered on their own or showed any life, they were blandly following you within a specified radius, and drifting much like a necromancer pet, so basically they were universal pets. I think that the AI should be improved to accomodate a mercenarie that feels alive and has a common interest, that fulfills its story by matching with a personality, let's say that you're running through a forest and you've only been engaging creeps, but no demons, that demon hunter you recruited begins getting restless and chooses to run ahead a little and finds something to loot, setting an encounter in which demon ambush him, when you're both done slaughtering the demons, a couple drop some interesting items. This is where he takes into consideration his stats and works on improving himself. When he looks at items, his icon will flash and a box will come up where the item is displayed and he says simply "This item will help me, do you want it instead?" with a Yes and No option. This item/stat checking will be based on a succession of Damage, Health, and Armor rating in relation to the current item, so say he finds a sword with +10 health but he has a sword with +10 fire damage, he will favor the damage over health unless the health bonus is more. With multiple stats he would take into account the size of the improvement of damage or health or Armor rating and adjust accordingly. You could even set what he favors aswell, this would not only make mercenaries viceral, but customizable. It would also be exciting to watch him trigger random encounters. It would also be quite useful to put those voice commands to use, which were unused in Diablo 2 in to this game, as a tool to communicate with your mercenary.
3) Mercenaries had a couple skills, this is the one part that doesn't need much change, except that maybe all mercenaries should have something like 5 skills. In the diablo 2 mercenary system each type of mercenary had 3 types of skill trees, such as the Rogue having Fire, Ice, and Lightning. This diversity could switch over, it's a good idea, they could even share traits with known classes, so it's not like Blizzard would have to strain to make them totally unique. The diversity of mercenaries was limited to 4 types. In Diablo 3, this system of having 4 classes would not have to change, but within those 4 classes there could be 3 specializations, such as the Demon Hunter having specialtys in Bows, Melee, and Restraining. So for example with the Restraining specialty the Demon Hunter could stun the demons that ambushed him with some concussive explosives and even lay a trap like a hollow floor. This would give the mercenaries a bearing in the world by having tactical potential in PvP or PvE. This would add a new factor to how the game is played. The dialogue is also important, In diablo you would kill Diablo with your mercenary either dead or intact and he would say NOTHING, but you would, in diablo 3 maybe you could both say something together, at least a little dialogue, the only thing they said in Diablo 2 was "I feel stronger now" or something along those lines.
4) I can't see why this idea would be shot down other than it would take emphasis off of your character and be a check and balance of your power aswell as time consuming to build the AI. This isn't true, it's not my intention to make the mercenary an equal, just a follower that is being pulled into the story unknowingly but of no more signifigance than a side quest in terms of impact on the story arc. It doesn't have to be a super freaking smart AI. Ideally my concept was based on the behavior of the AI in the game called "Majesty", it was an RTS game which had you as a king, you couldn't click and move a unit, they were completely autonamous, you'd build trading posts, markets, and armorys for them to purchase items and armor'n'weaponry. The only way you could control them is by placing bounties on thing you wanted attacked and bounties on things you wanted explored. Blizzard had to create their own system just to show the opening cinematic of Starcraft 2 because of the limitations of the standard software, that lead me to believe they have the resources to make this work. This Mercenary system is not out of their reach, this is what I have no doubt about and it could make a game that is anticipated to succeed greatly, something to marvel as time the ages pass. Much in the same way that the attention to small details in games like Mass Effect made it so fun. Natural motion, Dialogue based endings and partners.
The mercenary system was not as cool as it could have been and that's why i wrote this.
I think my idea is good and you may not agree but here it is anyway, discuss amongst yourselves.
Unfortunately it's 4:44am here and I can't read the entire post right now, but I love mercenaries, and I'd like for them to have a bit more personality.
I'll fully comment on this when I wake up and get the chance.
I disagree, as many have already said about D3 health orb system for example, dumbing down the game.. mercs was really a big dumb down for D2. In many places where I read guides they say "let the merc tank it", "your merc will take care of it" like wtf? When you gear up the merc it is way too overpowered. Also a holy freeze aura is so eh.. so if you are a bit slow person you need to slow down the monsters too ? It should be YOU who kill them, YOU who tanks them and no frikin help from an AI.
About the personality and such, no thanks put the effort to our skills, our story and not some stupid side actors that hasn't had much place in the D2 story either. The 1 hero has always been the one that saved the Sanctuary in earlier games and this is how it should be in the future too. Lets think in D2 you are about to kill baal but you go to cain and tell him "Sorry I can't kill him because my merc died" lol.
This would give the mercenaries a bearing in the world by having tactical potential if you're being overwhelmed in both PvP or PvE of stunning things that may otherwise give you trouble
If you get into such situations, it is your fault and you deserve to get some ass whopping for it, maybe next time you learn to avoid such situations. When merc is saving your ass all the time when do you learn?
But yeah good ideas overall I just don't wanna see any mercs in this game that will do ½ of what you should be doing. Maybe they could implement this kind of thing to Single Player, where players are quite lonely there so this would offer some kind of company for the adventures. And since it is impossible to do any kind of CO-OP in Single Player, this would offer something for that also.
But for multiplayer no thanks.. if you are too weak you need to level up or find a partner and together you shall kill the stronger monsters.
A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict, who is not a national or a party to the conflict, and "is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party" (Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Convention of August 1949).[1][2]
As a result of the assumption that a mercenary is essentially motivated by money, the term "mercenary" frequently carries negative connotations, though that can be a compliment in some contexts. There is a blur in the distinction between a "mercenary" and a "foreign volunteer", when the primary motive of a soldier in a foreign army is uncertain. For instance, the French Foreign Legion and the Gurkhas are not mercenaries under the laws of war, since although they may meet many of the requirements of Article 47 of the 1949 Additional Protocol I, they are exempt under clauses 47(a)(c)(d)(e)&(f); yet some journalists do describe them as mercenaries.[3][4]
If it should be like you suggest they should change the name to something other than 'mercenary'. 'Little Helper' perhaps?
RAppel you read my post right? I said that the name ought to be changed since what i'm proposing is that gold is simply a medium, not a motivation, the backstory is the motivation.
I disagree, as many have already said about D3 health orb system for example, dumbing down the game.. mercs was really a big dumb down for D2. In many places where I read guides they say "let the merc tank it", "your merc will take care of it" like wtf? When you gear up the merc it is way too overpowered. Also a holy freeze aura is so eh.. so if you are a bit slow person you need to slow down the monsters too ? It should be YOU who kill them, YOU who tanks them and no frikin help from an AI.
About the personality and such, no thanks put the effort to our skills, our story and not some stupid side actors that hasn't had much place in the D2 story either. The 1 hero has always been the one that saved the Sanctuary in earlier games and this is how it should be in the future too. Lets think in D2 you are about to kill baal but you go to cain and tell him "Sorry I can't kill him because my merc died" lol.
If you get into such situations, it is your fault and you deserve to get some ass whopping for it, maybe next time you learn to avoid such situations. When merc is saving your ass all the time when do you learn?
But yeah good ideas overall I just don't wanna see any mercs in this game that will do ½ of what you should be doing. Maybe they could implement this kind of thing to Single Player, where players are quite lonely there so this would offer some kind of company for the adventures. And since it is impossible to do any kind of CO-OP in Single Player, this would offer something for that also.
But for multiplayer no thanks.. if you are too weak you need to level up or find a partner and together you shall kill the stronger monsters.
I must have said it wrong, but my intent was to make the Mercenary an important part, but not a dominating factor, when I say that it could function in PVP I'm thinking in regards to how the Skill tree appears to be right now, with less emphasis on skill stacking it seems to be a more tactical game, more broad the Merc would be a feeding medium to stimulate the glory of your hero, while he wouldn't be as powerful as you, he would be more interactive and much like Bat boy to your Bat man if you know what I mean.
who is this bat boy you speak of? lol really i never liked the whole merc system. I only used one if i knew i'd have to leave the keyboard to grab a drink or something, and even then just so there would be something else the monsters attacked. Making it stronger would reduce the need for player cooperation, which blizzard wants to encourage on this one. I say scrap it for online play, but your revamps are great for single player.
My merc better not get me into more trouble than in D2, I'm paying him for gods sake, he better stay close.
Also I like the idea of the mercenary being a true mercenary, not caring about who/what he is fighting, doing his job. I wouldn't mind for him to realize he is biting off more than he can chew and throwing out a wimpy/scared statement every once in a while. "Whats that shaking?...Oh My Lord in Heaven...Is that Diablo?", "*grumble* I should have asked for more money."
Your hero should be the main killing force, but leveling a mercenary and finding him good gear should be rewarding. In D2 I pretty much just used my merc to get rid of monsters immune to whatever damage I was dealing out. Well also a merc with 'insight' runeword made for a pretty badass sorceress sidekick (mmm unlimitied mana).
If anything they need to make mercs more customizable and more like a support with auras, curses, or whatever. Less damage though I suppose.
I think it'd be nice to know more about your mercenary. I hire a act 2 mercenary and go through Hell and back with him (literally) and all I know is his name is Emilio and he likes to use Polearms. :confused:
I've always wished you could tell your merc to not attack anything right now. That way if you know your merc with just get steamrolled by that boss, you can still keep his meditation aura. Or if he had iron maiden maybe he would realize and stop attacking..
1) The mercenaries parents were killed by demons when they were young, they were tutored in demon hunting and have been drifting from town to town purging demons.
That sounds like something you hear from terrible fan fiction or soap opras.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
SAY WHAT AGAIN, I DARE YOU, I DOUBLE DARE YOU MOTHER ******
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
So the Mercenary system was fantastic, I truely thought it had potential, but I understand that due to the technical limitations all it could do was wander around like a pet, seeming somewhat animated and alive by randomly wandering around, but in close proximity to the owner, it really was primative, when the expansion came out they added inventories to the mercenary system, as well as a melee DPS class, the barbarian.
I was disappointed by the primative system because the mercenary died and was largely useless in the long run, it was unintelligent, the system of choosing a merc was portrayed in each town having a mercenary vendor, with no jeperody nothing engaging at all. These vendors all seemed unfit for such a thing, but of course this was a game with its limits, so I understand why it was a poorly delivered system. The inventory system helped make mercenaries engaging, as you could equip them with the kinds of armor you had, but they were limited to the Diablo 1 inventory.
What I am proposing is to change the way the system is projected, so that means the name of Mercenary is on hiatus as how you would define this companion is more of an Adventurer but for this proposal I will simply call them mercenaries.
Contents
1 - Tavern, mercenary recruitment and resurrection
2 - New AI, personality
3 - Skills, diversity, and dialogue
4 - Conclusion
1) Recruiting a mercenary should be different. It should be limited to taverns, you could enter a Tavern and talk to the Bartender, which would bring up a large list with a picture of the character and stats, as well as a small history of the character to make the characters existence in the world as your companion some how related in even the smallest way, for example: The mercenaries parents were killed by demons when they were young, they were tutored in demon hunting and have been drifting from town to town purging demons. The gold standard must never go away in regards to recruiting a mercenary, but it should not be cheap and easily affordable, it's got to be spendy, mercenarys must give gold a presense. The way that mercenarys entered the world was so sudden and funny, it was less animated than summoning a poisonous vine. When you recruit a merc, it should come from a door you cannot open on the second level of the tavern, and walk down to you, and then greet you. The way you resurrect a fallen mercenary should be different from the bartender, like it used to be in diablo 2, it should be done by a healer NPC, the cost of reviving shouldn't be scaled properly, making it 25% the price of purchasing the mercenary may be sufficient.
2) The mercenaries were much in the same regards to a golem, except that as they became more expensive the higher they became. Mercenaries simply followed you around in a somewhat drifting manner, however they never wandered on their own or showed any life, they were blandly following you within a specified radius, and drifting much like a necromancer pet, so basically they were universal pets. I think that the AI should be improved to accomodate a mercenarie that feels alive and has a common interest, that fulfills its story by matching with a personality, let's say that you're running through a forest and you've only been engaging creeps, but no demons, that demon hunter you recruited begins getting restless and chooses to run ahead a little and finds something to loot, setting an encounter in which demon ambush him, when you're both done slaughtering the demons, a couple drop some interesting items. This is where he takes into consideration his stats and works on improving himself. When he looks at items, his icon will flash and a box will come up where the item is displayed and he says simply "This item will help me, do you want it instead?" with a Yes and No option. This item/stat checking will be based on a succession of Damage, Health, and Armor rating in relation to the current item, so say he finds a sword with +10 health but he has a sword with +10 fire damage, he will favor the damage over health unless the health bonus is more. With multiple stats he would take into account the size of the improvement of damage or health or Armor rating and adjust accordingly. You could even set what he favors aswell, this would not only make mercenaries viceral, but customizable. It would also be exciting to watch him trigger random encounters. It would also be quite useful to put those voice commands to use, which were unused in Diablo 2 in to this game, as a tool to communicate with your mercenary.
3) Mercenaries had a couple skills, this is the one part that doesn't need much change, except that maybe all mercenaries should have something like 5 skills. In the diablo 2 mercenary system each type of mercenary had 3 types of skill trees, such as the Rogue having Fire, Ice, and Lightning. This diversity could switch over, it's a good idea, they could even share traits with known classes, so it's not like Blizzard would have to strain to make them totally unique. The diversity of mercenaries was limited to 4 types. In Diablo 3, this system of having 4 classes would not have to change, but within those 4 classes there could be 3 specializations, such as the Demon Hunter having specialtys in Bows, Melee, and Restraining. So for example with the Restraining specialty the Demon Hunter could stun the demons that ambushed him with some concussive explosives and even lay a trap like a hollow floor. This would give the mercenaries a bearing in the world by having tactical potential in PvP or PvE. This would add a new factor to how the game is played. The dialogue is also important, In diablo you would kill Diablo with your mercenary either dead or intact and he would say NOTHING, but you would, in diablo 3 maybe you could both say something together, at least a little dialogue, the only thing they said in Diablo 2 was "I feel stronger now" or something along those lines.
4) I can't see why this idea would be shot down other than it would take emphasis off of your character and be a check and balance of your power aswell as time consuming to build the AI. This isn't true, it's not my intention to make the mercenary an equal, just a follower that is being pulled into the story unknowingly but of no more signifigance than a side quest in terms of impact on the story arc. It doesn't have to be a super freaking smart AI. Ideally my concept was based on the behavior of the AI in the game called "Majesty", it was an RTS game which had you as a king, you couldn't click and move a unit, they were completely autonamous, you'd build trading posts, markets, and armorys for them to purchase items and armor'n'weaponry. The only way you could control them is by placing bounties on thing you wanted attacked and bounties on things you wanted explored. Blizzard had to create their own system just to show the opening cinematic of Starcraft 2 because of the limitations of the standard software, that lead me to believe they have the resources to make this work. This Mercenary system is not out of their reach, this is what I have no doubt about and it could make a game that is anticipated to succeed greatly, something to marvel as time the ages pass. Much in the same way that the attention to small details in games like Mass Effect made it so fun. Natural motion, Dialogue based endings and partners.
The mercenary system was not as cool as it could have been and that's why i wrote this.
I think my idea is good and you may not agree but here it is anyway, discuss amongst yourselves.
I'll fully comment on this when I wake up and get the chance.
About the personality and such, no thanks put the effort to our skills, our story and not some stupid side actors that hasn't had much place in the D2 story either. The 1 hero has always been the one that saved the Sanctuary in earlier games and this is how it should be in the future too. Lets think in D2 you are about to kill baal but you go to cain and tell him "Sorry I can't kill him because my merc died" lol.
If you get into such situations, it is your fault and you deserve to get some ass whopping for it, maybe next time you learn to avoid such situations. When merc is saving your ass all the time when do you learn?
But yeah good ideas overall I just don't wanna see any mercs in this game that will do ½ of what you should be doing. Maybe they could implement this kind of thing to Single Player, where players are quite lonely there so this would offer some kind of company for the adventures. And since it is impossible to do any kind of CO-OP in Single Player, this would offer something for that also.
But for multiplayer no thanks.. if you are too weak you need to level up or find a partner and together you shall kill the stronger monsters.
RIP: Demon Hunter: lvl 50 | Barb: lvl 60 (plvl 5) | Monk: lvl12 & lvl70 (plvl 200)
If it should be like you suggest they should change the name to something other than 'mercenary'. 'Little Helper' perhaps?
"Ahh, fresh meat!"
- The Butcher
Also I like the idea of the mercenary being a true mercenary, not caring about who/what he is fighting, doing his job. I wouldn't mind for him to realize he is biting off more than he can chew and throwing out a wimpy/scared statement every once in a while. "Whats that shaking?...Oh My Lord in Heaven...Is that Diablo?", "*grumble* I should have asked for more money."
Your hero should be the main killing force, but leveling a mercenary and finding him good gear should be rewarding. In D2 I pretty much just used my merc to get rid of monsters immune to whatever damage I was dealing out. Well also a merc with 'insight' runeword made for a pretty badass sorceress sidekick (mmm unlimitied mana).
If anything they need to make mercs more customizable and more like a support with auras, curses, or whatever. Less damage though I suppose.
Also..
Durga 4 life!!
That sounds like something you hear from terrible fan fiction or soap opras.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]