So i was thinking alot about whether or not i'm enjoying progressing through inferno. I think on one hand i do enjoy it as it's a challenge, but i wasn't sure if i enjoyed it more then say leveling to 99 in D2.
Completing hell difficulty in D2 was extremely easy and it was the grind to 99 that took some perseverance. Even if you managed to finally reach 99 with your character, you started a new one and did the same thing all over again. Pre-LoD grinding to 99 was a feat that few had done and after the LoD expansion it made it easier but it was still something that took weeks or longer based on your playing time. In D3 our endgame is progressing through inferno. Sure it was supposed to take a long time and though not everyone has done it the real task of D3 is acquiring the items to progress through inferno. But once you kill diablo on one character and have act 3-4 on farm. Doing the same thing with another character is not that far off compared to trying to level another character to 99 in D2.
So though you've probably already casted your vote. Even if you haven't completely inferno difficulty yet as i haven't. Which do you prefer for your endgame? Grinding to 99 or inferno difficulty?
My answer is probably grinding to 99. As much of a chore as it felt, it gave me something to strive for and i felt rewarded on a daily basis. Seeing my gold go up doesn't feel as good as seeing my character level increase and the overall power of my character increase.
So though in some of my post i said otherwise i take back many of the things i said. I still find this game fun but i feel a sense of stagnance at times. I still have alts to level and my barb still needs to kill diablo but there are times where i feel my daily gain in gold or items just isn't enough to make me feel like i'm getting anywhere.
Both options are bad. I've already cleared Inferno, so that's not an option at all. And mindless grinding for 99... let's just say mindless grinding sucks.
What I want is more challenge. Not some artificial challenge like "clear Inferno butt-naked" or some other crap like that. I want Super Inferno, Mega Inferno, Ultra Inferno, OMFG Inferno and so on.
P.S. And please don't start the "want some challenge - play Hardcore". Hardcore is not more challenge, it's more grinding, more game resetting, more elites skipping, more cursing because of lags and invisible mobs, etc.. While it definitely requires some specific skills (for example, from what I've seen, the ability to not to fall asleep when killing that poor treasure goblin for the 598369587234598723th time is golden for Hardcore players), that's not what I want.
Progressing through Inferno is challenging: it constantly requires you to change your tactics, stay aware of your surroundings, and put in a ton of effort to get through the entire thing.
Levelling on the other hand (assuming the difficulty remains at Hell level), is just a mindless grind. Easy and faceroll. Boring.
I'm fine with grinding gear to progress through Inferno: just to get more levels though? Boring.
I've cleared inferno on a Wizard and I really liked progressing through it.. And TBH, I would think it would be cool it they introduced, like in an expansion, the ability to level all the way to 99, for no really good reason at all.
For ex, an expansion is expanding the level cap to 70, and then there is 29 more levels of grind, just for fun and achievements.
Also I wouldn't mind a super inferno which would require best in slot items :]
What I want is more challenge. Not some artificial challenge like "clear Inferno butt-naked" or some other crap like that. I want Super Inferno, Mega Inferno, Ultra Inferno, OMFG Inferno and so on.
Yes, because Diablo has always been about content designed for .5% of players.
Face it, Diablo has always been accessible, even the endgame - you didn't have to be uber to do Uber Tristram and learn it. It wasn't that difficult to be prohibitive to someone who really wanted to go there. Now D3 comes out and this WoW crowd thinks that it can be their new heroic mode raiding. It can be their 1%er playground.
Diablo's "endgame" has always been finding loot to either equip, twink, or get rich on. Why change that? It's a formula for success.
I answered "progressing through inferno" but honestly, I would like both. They cannot add "endless level progression" because PVP would be impossible to balance though, I guess.
Either way we have none, because inferno is a joke now to anyone with moderate skill, so players who didn't kill Diablo between the exploit nerfs and 1.03, will never have the satisfaction of completing Diablo 3 when it was still challenging.
Oh right, you mean the glass cannon builds where you graveyard-zerged through 90% of champion packs. Yes, that's the heyday of difficulty in all modern video games. That was the epitome of great endgame... for people who thought this was Contra and not Diablo. You're absolutely ridiculous.
What people fail to realize is that even if Blizzard added the level grind to 99, there's still no content left in the game once they reach that level. There are no ladders, no resets of gear. What are you going to complain about next after you level cap 99 with nothing new to do until the expansion?
Honestly, I think combining the two ideas would work nicely. Sure, progression through inferno is nice - but it's also nice to be rewarded for the sheer time spent on your character, like in diablo 2.
What I would like to see is a raise in the level cap to 99, but each level only gives a very small bonus to your primary stats - 2 str/int/dex (depending on your class), 2 vitality (everyone needs it), and 1 of each of your non primary stats.
This way, a level 60 character won't be at that much worse than a 99 character - those who don't feel the desire to level to 99 won't be forced to, because they'll have all the skills available, and be able to wear any piece of gear in the game. The only differences will be a small stat difference, given equivalent gear.
Completing hell difficulty in D2 was extremely easy and it was the grind to 99 that took some perseverance. Even if you managed to finally reach 99 with your character, you started a new one and did the same thing all over again. Pre-LoD grinding to 99 was a feat that few had done and after the LoD expansion it made it easier but it was still something that took weeks or longer based on your playing time. In D3 our endgame is progressing through inferno. Sure it was supposed to take a long time and though not everyone has done it the real task of D3 is acquiring the items to progress through inferno. But once you kill diablo on one character and have act 3-4 on farm. Doing the same thing with another character is not that far off compared to trying to level another character to 99 in D2.
So though you've probably already casted your vote. Even if you haven't completely inferno difficulty yet as i haven't. Which do you prefer for your endgame? Grinding to 99 or inferno difficulty?
My answer is probably grinding to 99. As much of a chore as it felt, it gave me something to strive for and i felt rewarded on a daily basis. Seeing my gold go up doesn't feel as good as seeing my character level increase and the overall power of my character increase.
So though in some of my post i said otherwise i take back many of the things i said. I still find this game fun but i feel a sense of stagnance at times. I still have alts to level and my barb still needs to kill diablo but there are times where i feel my daily gain in gold or items just isn't enough to make me feel like i'm getting anywhere.
What I want is more challenge. Not some artificial challenge like "clear Inferno butt-naked" or some other crap like that. I want Super Inferno, Mega Inferno, Ultra Inferno, OMFG Inferno and so on.
P.S. And please don't start the "want some challenge - play Hardcore". Hardcore is not more challenge, it's more grinding, more game resetting, more elites skipping, more cursing because of lags and invisible mobs, etc.. While it definitely requires some specific skills (for example, from what I've seen, the ability to not to fall asleep when killing that poor treasure goblin for the 598369587234598723th time is golden for Hardcore players), that's not what I want.
That is all.
Levelling on the other hand (assuming the difficulty remains at Hell level), is just a mindless grind. Easy and faceroll. Boring.
I'm fine with grinding gear to progress through Inferno: just to get more levels though? Boring.
For ex, an expansion is expanding the level cap to 70, and then there is 29 more levels of grind, just for fun and achievements.
Also I wouldn't mind a super inferno which would require best in slot items :]
Yes, because Diablo has always been about content designed for .5% of players.
Face it, Diablo has always been accessible, even the endgame - you didn't have to be uber to do Uber Tristram and learn it. It wasn't that difficult to be prohibitive to someone who really wanted to go there. Now D3 comes out and this WoW crowd thinks that it can be their new heroic mode raiding. It can be their 1%er playground.
Diablo's "endgame" has always been finding loot to either equip, twink, or get rich on. Why change that? It's a formula for success.
Oh right, you mean the glass cannon builds where you graveyard-zerged through 90% of champion packs. Yes, that's the heyday of difficulty in all modern video games. That was the epitome of great endgame... for people who thought this was Contra and not Diablo. You're absolutely ridiculous.
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I am happy with Inferno, and eventually, PvP, and hopefully at some point 1/2 expansions.
What I would like to see is a raise in the level cap to 99, but each level only gives a very small bonus to your primary stats - 2 str/int/dex (depending on your class), 2 vitality (everyone needs it), and 1 of each of your non primary stats.
This way, a level 60 character won't be at that much worse than a 99 character - those who don't feel the desire to level to 99 won't be forced to, because they'll have all the skills available, and be able to wear any piece of gear in the game. The only differences will be a small stat difference, given equivalent gear.
and like CG said PVP is goign to offer a whole new world of end game for us, some games are PVP only and they are soo fun, like blood line champions.