The problem I had in D2 with getting to 99 was that there was no true incentive. No uber badass gear that could only be worn by 95+ characters or what have you. I ran a hammerdin semi-legit to 99. I say semi-legit because I used maphack but didn't bot it. Regardless it was a hack and doesn't count as a legit 99 character in my eyes. It took me about 6 months running baals from after work until too late to get meaningful sleep to attain.
I just feel that if they had items, quests, areas accessible to only the most elite of characters in D3 that would provide incentive to get max level. The problem with D2 was that by level 75-80 you could wear the best gear, few exceptions.
The only bonus I got was a little bit of added mf from my enigma and a few more life. Very small reward for the time spent. Ooh and when the server lagged and I died, boy would I get fucking pissed. I almost forgot I had the slightest better chance to craft a godly item. You ever see "viciousnugget's Cruel Grasp Vampirebone Gloves" I made those fuckers. Best thing I ever made crafting. Aside from that small feat 99 was the biggest waste of time. I felt like telling people to fuck off when I'd go in game and they'd say "Wow a 99." It was like yeah, big fuckin' whoop.
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The blind mind's eye replies with a sigh and a tear of contempt for those who see the world as it truly is.
sigh, you guys just dont understand diablo at all..... getting to 99 is so rediclously hard for a reason... it really dosent help you that much, but that feeling when a 99 is in the game. they really arent that much better then you, but knowing that they grided out the months of hard work gives them the title you will never have.
getting the legendary status is what its all about..... no reward excpet your name on the ladder and permanet respect when you play the game.
diablo is being known, being respected, and being dominat... nothing more nothing less
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DIABLO = DEVIL its not supposed to be a nice game autostats are rediclous lack of pots is not welcome if it aint broke dont fix it! (diablo2)
Well, I for one consider myself a completionist, so I attained 99 on my mains, but in no way do I feel that I was better than any other player on Bnet. I simply wanted to do it, so I did. Took a lot of time, and great friends who had the same goals as I did, but for me it was worth it.
The bottom line is that it should be a challenge to attain 99, but it should not be as outrageously time consuming as it was in D2. A bonus for 99 would be nice, but not all too important in my eyes.
I dont see why you have to stop getting stronger at lvl 99. This isn't exactly a new idea, but why not have a system where, after lvl 99, you could begin to "sell" experience to get small amounts of stats. For ex. if you were the witch doctor you could trade a set amount of exp for a little mana. Then, to make this worthwhile, you could have a few high level skills with high cooldowns that would use mana to do damage. The more mana you have, the more damage. It would provide an incentive to keep playing.
I dont see why you have to stop getting stronger at lvl 99. This isn't exactly a new idea, but why not have a system where, after lvl 99, you could begin to "sell" experience to get small amounts of stats. For ex. if you were the witch doctor you could trade a set amount of exp for a little mana. Then, to make this worthwhile, you could have a few high level skills with high cooldowns that would use mana to do damage. The more mana you have, the more damage. It would provide an incentive to keep playing.
I like where you are going with this idea...
I would like a system where you reach 99, and you still accumulate experience.
Once you get to the amount of experience it would take to get to 100, instead of leveling up, a box would pop up and you are awarded a special item which you get to choose. To receive this item you would also have to pay a tribute of X amount of gold. Once reaching level "100", and paying tribute, your experience drops back down to level 99, allowing you to repeat this cycle.
You may have more than one of these items at any given time and may be traded.
These items are non permanent and can only be used once:
These items would give you a buff for a period of time, lets say 2 weeks.
Each item would only provide one buff, but these items could be saved and used at the same time, buffs stack except for the same buff. This would prevent some one walking around with +250% damage 1shotting everything.
Buffs may include
+25% Magic Find
+25% damage
+25% Max Health
+25% Mana regeneration
+25% more likely to spawn epic difficulty random quest
So on...
This would be a great system because, these items would be incredibly hard to get, yet rewarding to those that reach level 99, creating replayability and add incentive to get there in the first place. But at the same time, it would be a gold sink because it would have a substantial cost just to get the item in addition to the tradability of the item. Further cementing gold in to the economy as a currency. Although hypothetically the item I described could become a type of currency all by it self, it would still make gold a staple in the economy because it would require gold to get such an item.
Further ideas on how to get the item and cost:
The effect of the item, the cost of the item, and the duration of the effect could be calculated by algorithm.
Players that are at level 99 that reach the '100' should be rewarded on how quickly they get from 99 to '100'. The effects of the item can be stronger if they player reaches the 100 marker fast than 1.5 standard deviations.
The cost of the item, in terms of the tribute required to obtain the item, should be based on the number of players, number of players at level 99 and the total amount of gold in the economy.
Keep in mind this formula recognizes player accounts, not individual players. So if the player account has a single character over level 55, the accrued gold of that account is accounted for in the equation, while only each character level 55 or higher is accounted for. This means that players that have level 1 mules hording tons of gold will not effect this equation!
So this equation means all of the gold in the economy(this is why I did not include low level characters, because low level characters have little effect in the economy),
The total accumulated gold of all ACCOUNTS with characters over level 55 divided by the total number of CHARACTERS level 55-99. This means that you will get an average gold amount for our economy(the gold from accounts with characters 55-99.
This is how much gold the "average" player has. Then this then multiplied by the number of players that are level 99.
X+(n99/(Σ (n(1)+n(2)+.......n(99))
The modifier is a number represented by X added to the number of level 99 in relation to the number of all players playing Diablo. X could be a constant number like 1 or 2 or 5, or it could be determined by another algorithm which I am not even going to try to get into...
So what this formula does, is increase the cost of this item as there are more level 99s. Prices also go up as there is Gold in the economy.
The more gold there is in the economy, the more gold it will cost to get this item, thus drawing the price back down. Ultimately there should be an equilibrium at which it should stay at, but there should be expected spikes during periods of increased playing such as holidays or GM events.
This does a few things on its own, If you are the first person to get to level 99, it would mean HUUUUUUUUUUUGE rewards. It would make you an economical millionaire in Diablo instantly. But a deserving reward non the less(just think of the commitment and dedication to be the first level 99 ever!) The tribute cost increases slightly as there are more level 99s. But any player that follows closely to the first few players that reach level 99 would also have a great "deal" on the purchase of this item. But when these later players(but in the relative scope of things, still very fast to reach 99) reach 99, they would bring the price up for ALL lvl 99s, even the level 99 was the first to get there. This effect somewhat offsets the first player to get to 99 to have an unfair permanent advantage, something from keeping him becoming a Diabo Billionare per say... It in effect creates a pool of Diablo millionaires, because the time it takes to get to 99 and the number of players that get to 99 there after is highly exponential. It would look like this
X axis: # players
Y axis: time(inverted)
I
I
I
II
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
But alas, their wealth is not permanent, because these items are not permanent. This is why I believe such a system should be implemented in the Diablo 3 game.
I think that it should still be insanely hard to get to level 99 and when you do I think it should unlock a difficulty of the game that is like twice as hard as hell and practically nobody could beat it.
I just feel that if they had items, quests, areas accessible to only the most elite of characters in D3 that would provide incentive to get max level. The problem with D2 was that by level 75-80 you could wear the best gear, few exceptions.
The only bonus I got was a little bit of added mf from my enigma and a few more life. Very small reward for the time spent. Ooh and when the server lagged and I died, boy would I get fucking pissed. I almost forgot I had the slightest better chance to craft a godly item. You ever see "viciousnugget's Cruel Grasp Vampirebone Gloves" I made those fuckers. Best thing I ever made crafting. Aside from that small feat 99 was the biggest waste of time. I felt like telling people to fuck off when I'd go in game and they'd say "Wow a 99." It was like yeah, big fuckin' whoop.
getting the legendary status is what its all about..... no reward excpet your name on the ladder and permanet respect when you play the game.
diablo is being known, being respected, and being dominat... nothing more nothing less
its not supposed to be a nice game
autostats are rediclous
lack of pots is not welcome
if it aint broke dont fix it! (diablo2)
The bottom line is that it should be a challenge to attain 99, but it should not be as outrageously time consuming as it was in D2. A bonus for 99 would be nice, but not all too important in my eyes.
I would like a system where you reach 99, and you still accumulate experience.
Once you get to the amount of experience it would take to get to 100, instead of leveling up, a box would pop up and you are awarded a special item which you get to choose. To receive this item you would also have to pay a tribute of X amount of gold. Once reaching level "100", and paying tribute, your experience drops back down to level 99, allowing you to repeat this cycle.
You may have more than one of these items at any given time and may be traded.
These items are non permanent and can only be used once:
These items would give you a buff for a period of time, lets say 2 weeks.
Each item would only provide one buff, but these items could be saved and used at the same time, buffs stack except for the same buff. This would prevent some one walking around with +250% damage 1shotting everything.
Buffs may include
+25% Magic Find
+25% damage
+25% Max Health
+25% Mana regeneration
+25% more likely to spawn epic difficulty random quest
So on...
This would be a great system because, these items would be incredibly hard to get, yet rewarding to those that reach level 99, creating replayability and add incentive to get there in the first place. But at the same time, it would be a gold sink because it would have a substantial cost just to get the item in addition to the tradability of the item. Further cementing gold in to the economy as a currency. Although hypothetically the item I described could become a type of currency all by it self, it would still make gold a staple in the economy because it would require gold to get such an item.
Further ideas on how to get the item and cost:
The effect of the item, the cost of the item, and the duration of the effect could be calculated by algorithm.
Players that are at level 99 that reach the '100' should be rewarded on how quickly they get from 99 to '100'. The effects of the item can be stronger if they player reaches the 100 marker fast than 1.5 standard deviations.
The cost of the item, in terms of the tribute required to obtain the item, should be based on the number of players, number of players at level 99 and the total amount of gold in the economy.
(((Σ g(55)+g(56)+.....g(99)/((Σ (n(55)+n(56)+.......n(99))))*X+(n99/(Σ (n(1)+n(2)+.......n(99))
Keep in mind this formula recognizes player accounts, not individual players. So if the player account has a single character over level 55, the accrued gold of that account is accounted for in the equation, while only each character level 55 or higher is accounted for. This means that players that have level 1 mules hording tons of gold will not effect this equation!
So this equation means all of the gold in the economy(this is why I did not include low level characters, because low level characters have little effect in the economy),
(((Σ g(55)+g(56)+.....g(99)/((Σ (n(55)+n(56)+.......n(99))
The total accumulated gold of all ACCOUNTS with characters over level 55 divided by the total number of CHARACTERS level 55-99. This means that you will get an average gold amount for our economy(the gold from accounts with characters 55-99.
This is how much gold the "average" player has. Then this then multiplied by the number of players that are level 99.
X+(n99/(Σ (n(1)+n(2)+.......n(99))
The modifier is a number represented by X added to the number of level 99 in relation to the number of all players playing Diablo. X could be a constant number like 1 or 2 or 5, or it could be determined by another algorithm which I am not even going to try to get into...
So what this formula does, is increase the cost of this item as there are more level 99s. Prices also go up as there is Gold in the economy.
The more gold there is in the economy, the more gold it will cost to get this item, thus drawing the price back down. Ultimately there should be an equilibrium at which it should stay at, but there should be expected spikes during periods of increased playing such as holidays or GM events.
This does a few things on its own, If you are the first person to get to level 99, it would mean HUUUUUUUUUUUGE rewards. It would make you an economical millionaire in Diablo instantly. But a deserving reward non the less(just think of the commitment and dedication to be the first level 99 ever!) The tribute cost increases slightly as there are more level 99s. But any player that follows closely to the first few players that reach level 99 would also have a great "deal" on the purchase of this item. But when these later players(but in the relative scope of things, still very fast to reach 99) reach 99, they would bring the price up for ALL lvl 99s, even the level 99 was the first to get there. This effect somewhat offsets the first player to get to 99 to have an unfair permanent advantage, something from keeping him becoming a Diabo Billionare per say... It in effect creates a pool of Diablo millionaires, because the time it takes to get to 99 and the number of players that get to 99 there after is highly exponential. It would look like this
X axis: # players
Y axis: time(inverted)
I
I
I
II
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
But alas, their wealth is not permanent, because these items are not permanent. This is why I believe such a system should be implemented in the Diablo 3 game.
And why do everyone talk about lvl 99 as the max. As I said a thousand of times, MAKE IT 100, NOT 99. Or I think I'll go insane.