I have been calm and patient about this and now I'm just frustrated. The drop rates for anything "armor" or weapons or jewelry is paltry to non existent. My magic find isn't crazy high but at 44% and almost through Act 1 on Hell I expect to actual pick something up after killing a rare or unique monster pack that actually improves my character.
I mean hours upon hours into the game and I am actually only finding better items once in a blue moon from a vendor or from my artisans after shamelessly "crafting" items again and again and again. After several tries something great gets crafted - but mostly its all useless.
I don't know if any of this is as a result of a patch. Hell seems more nerfed than a couple of patches ago since I last played. Which is great because I would get one shoted all the time; sometimes even fighting regular packs.
I am playing from the mindset of a purist. I don't like using the auction house because the thrill of the entire game, like the previous games was the crawl. It may be "hard" to down an enemy but the satisfaction is that doing so will grant you an item or 2 that will help for the next while before you hit another proverbial "difficulty wall."
Final thought if I do find something and say its a chest piece the reward is like 3,000 HP + - 150 damage. It seems like an extreme trade off. Can't both go up on anything? And why does my level 54 Barbarian look like he is still in a loin cloth? Goodness in Diablo 1 and 2 when you got to hell on the first difficulty you had full Plate Mail and looked like a savage. Here it looks like I'm wearing a belt and shoulder straps.
I hope this "rant" helps. I think the game is great but I can't help but feel that the primary allure is gone - I just don't get anything good nearly as often as it would feel good to. To go through an entire act and get next to nothing that improves over nightmare difficulty is just absurd to me.
Blizzard (Blue) wouldn't mind your thoughts here. I tried to make this a well thought out post.
You're supposed to use the RMAH. That's how this works. This isn't a normal gamers game. You can listen to the fanbois all you want, but this game is about the RMAH. That's it. Use real money to buy your gear or find something else.
There's no need to use either Auction House in Hell, if you ask me. I only bought a 2H axe on my Barbarian off the gold AH when I was in the 50s. Don't worry too much about gear before Inferno. You'll just replace it quickly anyway.
Blizzard hugely reduced the legendary drop rates to compensate for the lack of end game content.. you are stuck farming until infinity in hopes of scoring a decent drop.
You're supposed to use the RMAH. That's how this works. This isn't a normal gamers game. You can listen to the fanbois all you want, but this game is about the RMAH. That's it. Use real money to buy your gear or find something else.
This would make more sense if the GAH did not have dramatically better gear then the RMAH.......
Derp.
Also, Barb, in Inferno, Farming Act 1/2/3 and still haven't bought a damn thing off the RMAH, suck less bro.
hoho, yes, Diablo 1 and 2 had guaranteed drops to help you curve the next difficulty, if by help you mean the 2395832058230958230598230598203598th Isenhart helm you find on a character in Hell. Or that Unique weapon that does not even remotely help you as it does not play into your build?
To be fully honest, you didn't even need to rely on drops that much in D2. Hell, if you had some well built Sorc you wouldn't even rely a lot in gear you could roflstomp through content anyways..
Paladins and Barbs on the other hand now we all know how they felt..
I mean hours upon hours into the game and I am actually only finding better items once in a blue moon from a vendor or from my artisans after shamelessly "crafting" items again and again and again. After several tries something great gets crafted - but mostly its all useless.
I don't know if any of this is as a result of a patch. Hell seems more nerfed than a couple of patches ago since I last played. Which is great because I would get one shoted all the time; sometimes even fighting regular packs.
I am playing from the mindset of a purist. I don't like using the auction house because the thrill of the entire game, like the previous games was the crawl. It may be "hard" to down an enemy but the satisfaction is that doing so will grant you an item or 2 that will help for the next while before you hit another proverbial "difficulty wall."
Final thought if I do find something and say its a chest piece the reward is like 3,000 HP + - 150 damage. It seems like an extreme trade off. Can't both go up on anything? And why does my level 54 Barbarian look like he is still in a loin cloth? Goodness in Diablo 1 and 2 when you got to hell on the first difficulty you had full Plate Mail and looked like a savage. Here it looks like I'm wearing a belt and shoulder straps.
I hope this "rant" helps. I think the game is great but I can't help but feel that the primary allure is gone - I just don't get anything good nearly as often as it would feel good to. To go through an entire act and get next to nothing that improves over nightmare difficulty is just absurd to me.
Blizzard (Blue) wouldn't mind your thoughts here. I tried to make this a well thought out post.
This would make more sense if the GAH did not have dramatically better gear then the RMAH.......
Derp.
Also, Barb, in Inferno, Farming Act 1/2/3 and still haven't bought a damn thing off the RMAH, suck less bro.
Paladins and Barbs on the other hand now we all know how they felt..