I have a few questions that may have already been answered, but I would like them from more perspectives...
1. (This is a question to everyone who has played through the beta) How long on average does it take for you to play through the entire beta? I want to know the longest and shortest times depending on gameplay style (eg: rushing/exploring).
2. Do you believe character progression is to fast? For example do the classes level to quickly and acquire new skills to quickly? (From what I have seen of play-throughs, it seems classes level just as fast as Diablo 2, however, there are only 60 levels instead of 99... so yeah it does seem a little fast for me)
3. What do you think of the scale of the beta thus far? What I mean is in Diablo 2 the map sizes felt pretty decently large, from what i've seen of the beta, each map feels very linear and small... it doesn't feel like you are playing in the world of Sanctuary but instead a very confined area.
Thats it so far... Thanks! =)
PS: You might have guessed that all my questions are to do with the size of the game... I'm just worried that it isn't long enough... I mean over 5 years of game production... so far I'm not too impressed with only the size aspect of the game. To me each area should be 2 - 3 times bigger than they currently are.
I'd love to hear more about the chat system and linking items.
When you want to show someone an item can you link it to someone on your friends list outside game? If so, can you link it to more than one person at a time?
If you have people on your RealID friends list, can you link items to them while they are playing WoW, SC2?
I have a few questions that may have already been answered, but I would like them from more perspectives...
1. I have not played the beta.. But I have read that it takes approx. 14 minutes to 1 hour. Rushing (dont give a crap about the urns) and explorer + curious mode (urns dont survive).
2. Its fast paced, I agree. I dont know if this is just so you can use a lot of skills in the Beta. Im not sure. Building up to a cap will be slower later on, and stating that lvl 13 is like lvl 13 in D2 is not acurrate. Experience is dealt diffrently.
3. Beta is very small, but thats the point, to ease you into the world of Diablo. Do not fear, they said it was gonna be as big as Diablo 2, but later on stated that there was probably MORE contant, bigger areas and such then Diablo 2.
And 2-3 times bigger areas is something I will see later on in the game!
I have a few questions that may have already been answered, but I would like them from more perspectives...
1. I have not played the beta.. But I have read that it takes approx. 14 minutes to 1 hour. Rushing (dont give a crap about the urns) and explorer + curious mode (urns dont survive).
2. Its fast paced, I agree. I dont know if this is just so you can use a lot of skills in the Beta. Im not sure. Building up to a cap will be slower later on, and stating that lvl 13 is like lvl 13 in D2 is not acurrate. Experience is dealt diffrently.
3. Beta is very small, but thats the point, to ease you into the world of Diablo. Do not fear, they said it was gonna be as big as Diablo 2, but later on stated that there was probably MORE contant, bigger areas and such then Diablo 2.
And 2-3 times bigger areas is something I will see later on in the game!
Thanks for the responses. However, I'm not sure your correct on the first question. The fastest time is around 14 mins, but talesoflumin has one beta play-through of his monk going for around 3 hours and 50 minutes. So on average I would say beta can vary between 15 minutes to 4 hours lol.
...from what i've seen, and the way that i like to do my first playthrough, i say that i would finish the beta in more than 4 hours... so, yes. the average is from 15 mins. to 4 hours...
Haha, when I first logged into the beta, my first run throughs were roughly 2 hours. and kept getting shorter as I got more gear to gear up my new toons via the shared stash.
My first playthrough with a Barbarian fully uncovering everything and listening to all dialogue was just over 2 hours.
Each playthrough since then I've spent less time exploring. I've been playing all classes with no twinked gear, just crafted gear from what they break down. Killing everything I come across and not fully exploring the map, it takes about an hour to do.
1) Those of you posting 14 minutes (or even 24 minutes) as a response to how long it takes to do the beta is kind of misleading. There is a difference between rushing through and doing an actual speed run. I've leveled all 5 characters and the first one took me roughly 2 hours to get through to the skeleton king (this was with a partner). All subsequent starts from level 1 took about an hour and 20 minutes. This is doing just the usual stuff, though I tended to explore randomly less and less per playthrough. If you are just casually making your way through content, but doing so in a "rush" manner (IE skipping side areas and crafting etc.), expect it to take ~45 minutes.
2) We can't judge how fast leveling is going to be based on the 13 initial levels. We don't know what the leveling curve will be like. Assuming getting to level 60 in D3 will take about as long as getting to level 60 in D2 is just silly and dumb to think. We don't know that to be the case. It is purely speculation.
3) The outside worlds in the beta are indeed quite static. You especially notice this upon multiple playthroughs. On the flipside, the dungeons are quite randomized. While you do start to get used to seeing the various set pieces any given dungeon might have, there is MUCH more variation than what you are used to in D2's square room next to square room.
My first playthrough took about 4 hours, listening to all of the dialog that every single NPC had to offer, including the extra "Talk" dialog that is completely optional. There are about 14 of these total, plus every time you re-visit a random Villager while progressing through a particular quest. This was a fresh Barb, and I also made sure to explore every corner of the map, every random dungeon, every body on the ground, and every chest (not quite every destructible...).
I have yet to do another full playthrough with a "completed" character, I instead skipped to Public games and did some Leoric runs to see if I could have any luck with rares. So far, I've gotten nothing apart from the 1 rare from each first-kill (2 on my latest Wizard). I did craft some rare gloves that are originally labeled at Required Level: 12 but with affixes ended up being Required Level: 14. I had to salvage them in the end, but as it stands, I have 5-6 equip slots worth of rares. Not quite a full set!
As for the leveling rate, I don't personally think it's too fast. Granted, many of the videos you have seen probably include pieces of gear that say "+x to base experience per kill" and that can add up very, very quickly on twinked characters. Even with that affix, however, it seems that levels taper off very quickly, and I expect the grid to look something like this:
Assuming the time between Miniboss and Act Boss is about equal across each act, and that King Leoric is in fact the "Miniboss" of the act. Now figure that those first 8 levels, to King Leoric, takes the gamer who is very involved in storyline and immersion ~4 hours. Multiply that by 8 (each Miniboss and Act Boss taking ~4 hours) to make 32 hours for Normal difficulty before factoring in the probable increase of map size, enemy group size, randomization, deaths/repairs, mob AI, and miniboss/act boss difficulty.
It can also be assumed that people will skip the dialog and cinematics in Nightmare and beyond, so cut back playtime a bit there, but throw it right back in with added difficulty. Most single-player games have a story no longer than 30-40 hours, at best. Across the basic 3 difficulties, you've already got nearly 100 hours of gameplay on a single character, before you hit level 60, AND THEN you get Inferno on top of that. In this respect, I don't think the leveling speed or difficulty are a problem in the slightest.
I have two close friends a brother with whom I'll be playing at release, and they playtest while I'm at work/asleep because they love Diablo almost as much as I do. That being said, I have no idea when we will get bored of it as a group! Not soon.
Hey Fans,
I just won the random drawing at D3DB for testing out their character planner! The key is already activated, so don't bother bidding on it. However, I would love to help the community somehow, seeing as the community is the reason I got my key in the first place.
Since all of my characters will be brand new, fresh, and without twinkage, it will be easy for me to answer any and all questions regarding ability scaling from levels 1-13. In addition, I will try any skill builds anyone wants to see, answer any questions about a certain combination of skills, and answer anything else you can think of that DiabloFans/Force are not already working on.
Unfortunately, my computer can't really handle 1080p Diablo III alongside Fraps, so while I may be able to push out a few short videos for certain skill builds for you guys, I won't be able to do playthroughs. But you've seen enough of those anyway.
Also, I was an avid MFer in Diablo 2, so I will be searching high and low for anything worth reporting loot-wise.
Hope to see many more of you in the Beta soon, and all of you at release!
You know what's funny is I was in a HoN game with this guy and I mentioned D3, and he said that he had just gotten in through the character database contest. I laughed thinking it was a troll, saying, "Man I can't believe you were one of the 5 who got the key out of thousands and you just so happen to be in my HoN game." He replied with, "I know, I can't believe it either."
Still thought he was a troll. Now I see that his HoN name and Dfans name are the same. Doh.
1. (This is a question to everyone who has played through the beta) How long on average does it take for you to play through the entire beta? I want to know the longest and shortest times depending on gameplay style (eg: rushing/exploring).
2. Do you believe character progression is to fast? For example do the classes level to quickly and acquire new skills to quickly? (From what I have seen of play-throughs, it seems classes level just as fast as Diablo 2, however, there are only 60 levels instead of 99... so yeah it does seem a little fast for me)
3. What do you think of the scale of the beta thus far? What I mean is in Diablo 2 the map sizes felt pretty decently large, from what i've seen of the beta, each map feels very linear and small... it doesn't feel like you are playing in the world of Sanctuary but instead a very confined area.
Thats it so far... Thanks! =)
PS: You might have guessed that all my questions are to do with the size of the game... I'm just worried that it isn't long enough... I mean over 5 years of game production... so far I'm not too impressed with only the size aspect of the game. To me each area should be 2 - 3 times bigger than they currently are.
I'm not in the beta but I'm pretty sure the shortest time is 24 minutes. It was a wizard and theres a video on youtube.
Lol no, Force has a 14 minute playthrough start to finish.
When you want to show someone an item can you link it to someone on your friends list outside game? If so, can you link it to more than one person at a time?
If you have people on your RealID friends list, can you link items to them while they are playing WoW, SC2?
1. I have not played the beta.. But I have read that it takes approx. 14 minutes to 1 hour. Rushing (dont give a crap about the urns) and explorer + curious mode (urns dont survive).
2. Its fast paced, I agree. I dont know if this is just so you can use a lot of skills in the Beta. Im not sure. Building up to a cap will be slower later on, and stating that lvl 13 is like lvl 13 in D2 is not acurrate. Experience is dealt diffrently.
3. Beta is very small, but thats the point, to ease you into the world of Diablo. Do not fear, they said it was gonna be as big as Diablo 2, but later on stated that there was probably MORE contant, bigger areas and such then Diablo 2.
And 2-3 times bigger areas is something I will see later on in the game!
:: Enkeria [Twitter / Twitch / Website / Tattoos]
Thanks for the responses. However, I'm not sure your correct on the first question. The fastest time is around 14 mins, but talesoflumin has one beta play-through of his monk going for around 3 hours and 50 minutes. So on average I would say beta can vary between 15 minutes to 4 hours lol.
Right with ya mate. =)
Each playthrough since then I've spent less time exploring. I've been playing all classes with no twinked gear, just crafted gear from what they break down. Killing everything I come across and not fully exploring the map, it takes about an hour to do.
2) We can't judge how fast leveling is going to be based on the 13 initial levels. We don't know what the leveling curve will be like. Assuming getting to level 60 in D3 will take about as long as getting to level 60 in D2 is just silly and dumb to think. We don't know that to be the case. It is purely speculation.
3) The outside worlds in the beta are indeed quite static. You especially notice this upon multiple playthroughs. On the flipside, the dungeons are quite randomized. While you do start to get used to seeing the various set pieces any given dungeon might have, there is MUCH more variation than what you are used to in D2's square room next to square room.
I have yet to do another full playthrough with a "completed" character, I instead skipped to Public games and did some Leoric runs to see if I could have any luck with rares. So far, I've gotten nothing apart from the 1 rare from each first-kill (2 on my latest Wizard). I did craft some rare gloves that are originally labeled at Required Level: 12 but with affixes ended up being Required Level: 14. I had to salvage them in the end, but as it stands, I have 5-6 equip slots worth of rares. Not quite a full set!
As for the leveling rate, I don't personally think it's too fast. Granted, many of the videos you have seen probably include pieces of gear that say "+x to base experience per kill" and that can add up very, very quickly on twinked characters. Even with that affix, however, it seems that levels taper off very quickly, and I expect the grid to look something like this:
Normal:
Act 1 Miniboss - Level 8 (King Leoric)
Act 1 Complete - Level 14
Act 2 Miniboss - Level 18
Act 2 Complete - Level 22
Act 3 Miniboss - Level 25
Act 3 Complete - Level 27
Act 4 Miniboss - Level 28
Act 4 Complete - Level 30
Nightmare:
Act 1 Miniboss - Level 32
Act 1 Complete - Level 36
Act 2 Miniboss - Level 38
Act 2 Complete - Level 41
Act 3 Miniboss - Level 43
Act 3 Complete - Level 45
Act 4 Miniboss - Level 47
Act 4 Complete - Level 49
Hell:
Act 1 Miniboss - Level 50
Act 1 Complete - Level 52
Act 2 Miniboss - Level 53
Act 2 Complete - Level 55
Act 3 Miniboss - Level 56
Act 3 Complete - Level 58
Act 4 Miniboss - Level 59
Act 4 Complete - Level 60
Assuming the time between Miniboss and Act Boss is about equal across each act, and that King Leoric is in fact the "Miniboss" of the act. Now figure that those first 8 levels, to King Leoric, takes the gamer who is very involved in storyline and immersion ~4 hours. Multiply that by 8 (each Miniboss and Act Boss taking ~4 hours) to make 32 hours for Normal difficulty before factoring in the probable increase of map size, enemy group size, randomization, deaths/repairs, mob AI, and miniboss/act boss difficulty.
It can also be assumed that people will skip the dialog and cinematics in Nightmare and beyond, so cut back playtime a bit there, but throw it right back in with added difficulty. Most single-player games have a story no longer than 30-40 hours, at best. Across the basic 3 difficulties, you've already got nearly 100 hours of gameplay on a single character, before you hit level 60, AND THEN you get Inferno on top of that. In this respect, I don't think the leveling speed or difficulty are a problem in the slightest.
You cant give away used betas + accounts to stranger now could you?
:: Enkeria [Twitter / Twitch / Website / Tattoos]
almostas much as I do. That being said, I have no idea when we will get bored of it as a group! Not soon.You know what's funny is I was in a HoN game with this guy and I mentioned D3, and he said that he had just gotten in through the character database contest. I laughed thinking it was a troll, saying, "Man I can't believe you were one of the 5 who got the key out of thousands and you just so happen to be in my HoN game." He replied with, "I know, I can't believe it either."
Still thought he was a troll. Now I see that his HoN name and Dfans name are the same. Doh.
Oh, sorry for missunderstanding. Yeah, but the Beta is a huge tease!
:: Enkeria [Twitter / Twitch / Website / Tattoos]