I started out fresh on PTR with a brand new level 1 wizard (no paragon points either.) I played on normal until i cleared The Weeping Hollow. I don't know if I took damage, let alone actually died. Ok, i am ready to die, lets exit game and restart in hardest mode available. Joan Jett me, hit me with your best shot PTR. Entered the Crypts, killed,and cleared them. Made my way upto and killed the Skeleton King. I still rarely took any damage, even vs the skeleton king. Wave of force was fun to spam for destroying breakables, wiping out almost all monsters in 1 or 2 hits. Got a few what looked like smart drops. The loot for killing the SK was so underwhelming,I just stopped playing. I have killed the SK countless times, most of them in the original beta and I don't recall ever feeling so low about a first kill of him.
Ok so thats not really that important. What is importantis how the endgame is. Copied in myfleet of level 60's. Picked my monk, he is the worst of my 5 of each class i played with. On PTR his dps was 49kish. Added in all 91 of my paragon points. Master level. Joan Jett me bitches.
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My monk can't die. He isn't the fastest killer, but he does not die. Clear out FoM and shrug. Some smart loot drops, but nothing i can use.
Ok my best character is my wizard. Fill her up with 91 paragon points. Head out to fields of misery. Try out new versions of archon first. I don't really feel the slow time is very effective because I kill things so fast. Switch back to quick damage. 20 seconds does not really seem long enough to keep it on my skills list (which is what they probably want.) I can tap out elites with it easy but not really enough monsters together to make it effective. Wave of Force it is. Wave of Force cleans everything out if i want. Wish i didnt have to stop to cast it for that silly little jump. My other non archon spells pretty much stayed the same, could have changed my shield spell. My forked lightning, lightning hydra, and blizzard spell destroy everything with relative ease and relatively quick. I do have 179k dps which is only slightly lower than my live dps.
My problem, its not that its easy at the highest level i can play. Thats the desire in diablo series, to get to the point you are a god with enemies melting before you. The problem, there are no ememies most of the time. There is not much loot on the screen either. I can deal with that if I am busy killing stuff. Fields of Misery have turned into Fields of Sunday Strolls. Oh looks a few monsters, oh look they are dead with in a a few seconds. Oh look, nothing here. Wait approximately 15 seconds, more monsters, oh they dead again. I spend most of the time walking around doing nothing. This makes the wave of force jump that more annoying cause i need to do something while wondering around looking for something to kill.
Yea,I won't play this version of the PTR anymore. This version of the PTR made me so sad for the diablo series, I quit playing the live version too. Why would I if this is what I have to look forward to?
So I will watch to see if there are any updates and if they make RoS worth buying, but as of right now, this ptr has unsold me on the future of the Diablo series. Why can't they somehow incorporate monster power into the new system? Why is monster density so low? I understand the tuning of loot and can accept that. I just can't believe something that was a foregone conclusion to me, buying every game and expansion in the diablo series, is now in doubt.
Also, why can the new play modes still be normal, nightmare, hell, inferno, and torment? Those are iconic to the diablo series and we just take them away for names like master? I don't even want to get into their hatred for magic find. Why must they destroy and build over some of the simple foundations of the game?
I hate to think of it because the diablo series was my favorite game series, but maybe its time to move on. Shaking my head in disappointment.
So your issue with the new patch is the difficulty desire and monster density.
For difficulty, you'll need to buy RoS to play in torment, worth it or not, your call.
Regarding monster density, believe blizz will tune it up else everyone will just farm at act3 again.
Monster Denisty is my main grief but this current itteration of the PTR seems much more hollow than live Diablo. When I look at gear now, its either, use,vendor, or salvage. Hate to say it, but i think i miss the decision process of deciding if an item is sellable. I suppose the chance at each paragon level up to make a unique character to others is a plus but not worth the game. Also, I'm not gonna waste my time boringly grinding to 70 before I can get a challenge again for these Torment levels. There is so many little things like needing to buy deluxe edition to get more character spaces that are putting me off. I have 2 of each type of class that i did for achievements. I would have to delete some if I wanted to play new class. Its not really a money issue, but a perceived greed I see from Blizzard thats upsetting me there. I could go on and on, but D3 seems to disappoint over and over again. Then they fix it, only to screw it up again with expansion.
Like I said in first post,I will continue to watch whats going on and if I see the changes are to my liking, and if so... I will come back to game. I really don't want to give up on the game. Biggest issue is monster density. If that is fixed in a before level 70 way(69, hell 65 isn't good enough,) I will probably throw my chips back on the table.As for now, I folded my hand and cashed in my chips. Watching the game from a distance to see if the right cards fall. If not, gonna play a different game in a different casino.
Just wanted people to understand that Monster Power is something that haven't been lost. It's still in beta. Next patch gonna be awesome, mostly for the droprate of legendaries but hopefully about the density as well and bugfixes.
I think they also gonna announce some stuff too, or hint something.
I had the exact same experience with my level 60 characters.
Zero monsters most of the time, then you see a group and BAM they're gone. I would be happy to play more PTR, but just running around, barely encountering monsters, seems pointless. It is difficult to test anything without any monsters, let alone difficult packs, large mobs, etc.
I can easily survive without any life steal though, just by health-globes. So I guess that part worked.
Siegebreaker was kind of a b----- because of the reflect damage, and I had to use dual life-steal weapons not to kill myself. Two rounds of ubers on Master (60), and only one part. This is the other thing that bugged me.
The skill changes seems pretty good overall, but again hard to test.
Cursed shrines are cool though. Definitely! Go farm those.
Crafting is a joke though, with the common debris. Which turned out to be not-so-common. And all the crafting materials you can't possibly get? I have stacked a few hundreds of white belts on chars to transfer to the PTR so far.
Looking forward to the next PTR iteration!
Guys playing master act 2-4 with a full group is not as easy... I mean yeah it's not like mp10 but it's still a bit of a challenge. I got a feeling that many people just play a bit on normal - master solo and that's it. I'm not saying that the game in its current state (ptr) is perfect by any means but i am saying that it's not as bad as people make it sound. Besides, if you are bothered by monster densitym then go play act 3. It's perfectly dense. It's a ptr so i'm not surprised that some features are missing. If they indeed release the patch on live in this state then it will be kinda problematic... untill ROS comes out atleast.
I think this test structure may just be a big mistake. I think an open beta would have been better for the community. Not having access to the max level content makes a lot of you guys bitter. You guys are just stuck trying to test out leveling up from 60-61 while missing the perspective of being maxed level. I am unsure if monster density has changed, but I often get surrounded. I'm sure that's due to my damage being low for torment and that sexy Ess of Johan.
Suggestion to the frustrated posters. Don't give up on D3 just yet. PTR might be "open" and suggestive that it's close to release. It's not. They are still balancing quite a bit from server load, skills, difficulty curves, etc.
All worthwhile to test and provide appropriate/constructive feedback on the offical forums. Have fun! I certainly am.
You do remember that to play highest level of difficulty in vanilla D3 you've had to grind to level 60, right? Did you complain back then as well? It's an expansion pack, and it is the same for each and every game out there. You have to level to max before you can see whole content. Nothing new here, so if anything you can complain that Blizzard haven't developed completely new approach to that matter (which, as a side note, has worked very well for all those years), but it is not like you proposed any solutions for this either.
As for necessity to buy deluxe version to have more character slots, your statement is simply not true and it has been already clarified several days ago.http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/10973357478?page=1#6
First, no this is not the same as the grind for D3 Vanilla. I was new to the experience. We had a complete fresh start, no gear in the economy. It was more difficult than what I experienced in PTR.
Second, that is good news on the character slots, i tried for a while trying to figure that out and saw nothing. Thank you for the link.
3rd, Another guy said monster power and monster density is coming back, if thats true, I would probably play the game again. I just don't trust blizzard to fix it. I remember seeing the static map borders in the original beta and my heart sank. 2 years later, they are fixing that for expansion maps only. My complaining in the OP is due to that fact I have seen repeatedly the mistakes Blizzard has made and the lack of foresight they seemed to have in their initial fixes.
Bumping my old thread from a month ago. I am still watching D3 from afar but still have no logged on to it. I read the new patch notes. Nothing about monster density. Give me monster density or give me death. Or at least the death of my heros. ( and not in the can no longer rez in boss fights kind of way.)
If anyone can see a higher monster density in game, I may download this latest ptr and try it. Otherwise back to netflix. Seeya. Hope they make the game so you guys can enjoy it at least.
You do remember that to play highest level of difficulty in vanilla D3 you've had to grind to level 60, right? Did you complain back then as well? It's an expansion pack, and it is the same for each and every game out there. You have to level to max before you can see whole content. Nothing new here, so if anything you can complain that Blizzard haven't developed completely new approach to that matter (which, as a side note, has worked very well for all those years), but it is not like you proposed any solutions for this either.
As for necessity to buy deluxe version to have more character slots, your statement is simply not true and it has been already clarified several days ago.http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/10973357478?page=1#6
First, no this is not the same as the grind for D3 Vanilla. I was new to the experience. We had a complete fresh start, no gear in the economy. It was more difficult than what I experienced in PTR.
Second, that is good news on the character slots, i tried for a while trying to figure that out and saw nothing. Thank you for the link.
3rd, Another guy said monster power and monster density is coming back, if thats true, I would probably play the game again. I just don't trust blizzard to fix it. I remember seeing the static map borders in the original beta and my heart sank. 2 years later, they are fixing that for expansion maps only. My complaining in the OP is due to that fact I have seen repeatedly the mistakes Blizzard has made and the lack of foresight they seemed to have in their initial fixes.
why exactly do people like completely randomized areas? the replayability argument has some flaws especially when you realize its still the exact same tileset and you're still on the exact same storyline, its just that with the completely randomized areas nobody can find where the hell to go instead of at least having a general idea of where to be going. maybe if it was a max level thing so it wouldn't impede player's capabilities to get through the game at a steady pace but still give people that randomization they're looking for in endgame
So I am back. I started playing the live version of 2.0 last week. To my surprise, the game does feel right now. Monster density, my biggest complaint has been fixed and some dungeons/caves/whatever now have more monsters than any other time in the games history.
I found playing on t2-t3 was my best experience. I could tank on t4 and survive but the long killing time did not seem worth it for me. I only have 180 dps. Even playing for a week, my main (a wizard)never got an item that was an upgrade. Neither did my barb, my second most played character. But after that, many of my 8 other chars and many of my followers did get upgrades. I haven't played in a public game yet and will try it, but I was trying to get a feel for the game again after a long break. I have went up 10 paragon in my week in softcore and 4 paragon in hardcore. My hardcore character got many upgrades butI hadn't really put much time inhim.
The drops seem about right for characters with low hours and not much in elite gear. Characters with a lot of hours in them probably won't be helped much but thats to be expected. The new monster affixes/animations spruce things up a little. The new legendaries affixes seem interesting, or at least have temporarly got me interested.
I did experience some lag... long periods of hanging 15 seconds plus a few times. One hang was for over a minute, it gave me time to check internet and pull up another program which my pc ran with no problems, checked my task manager to see ifD3 was taking upusage perecentage which it wasn't, so it appears the lag seems to be on bnets side. Of coursewhen I asked in public chat if anyone else was experiencing this, i was told toget rid of my trash computer...internet wunderkinds are so stupid and predictable.
One small annoyance is how if I want to get better gear for my followers, I need to play a class that would use the same gear as the follower. Thats my one beef about the smart drop system. I am gonna have to make a hc intel user for my enchantress since my only current hc chars are a barb and a monk. Another annoyance eventhough its really petty, is I wish the new game modes were still called normal, nightmare, hell, and inferno. Those are classic diablo and I feel somewhat sad everytime i see hard, expert, and master. Silly yes, but I am anold gamer trying to hang on to old ideas.
The lag issues will always come and go with internet based games. All in all, i was impressed with this version of D3. I just preordered the expansion afterI thought I would not do it. Am I totally happy with the game, no. But its good enough to play.
One last thing for Westane... yes you are correct. But I would still rather be Joan Jetted than Pat Benatared. Just my personal preference.
edit: why does this format remove spaces between my words after I post a reply?. I proofread my reply twice only to see words pushed together. So odd.
So your issue with the new patch is the difficulty desire and monster density.
For difficulty, you'll need to buy RoS to play in torment, worth it or not, your call.
Regarding monster density, believe blizz will tune it up else everyone will just farm at act3 again.
Monster Denisty is my main grief but this current itteration of the PTR seems much more hollow than live Diablo. When I look at gear now, its either, use,vendor, or salvage. Hate to say it, but i think i miss the decision process of deciding if an item is sellable. I suppose the chance at each paragon level up to make a unique character to others is a plus but not worth the game. Also, I'm not gonna waste my time boringly grinding to 70 before I can get a challenge again for these Torment levels. There is so many little things like needing to buy deluxe edition to get more character spaces that are putting me off. I have 2 of each type of class that i did for achievements. I would have to delete some if I wanted to play new class. Its not really a money issue, but a perceived greed I see from Blizzard thats upsetting me there. I could go on and on, but D3 seems to disappoint over and over again. Then they fix it, only to screw it up again with expansion.
Like I said in first post,I will continue to watch whats going on and if I see the changes are to my liking, and if so... I will come back to game. I really don't want to give up on the game. Biggest issue is monster density. If that is fixed in a before level 70 way(69, hell 65 isn't good enough,) I will probably throw my chips back on the table.As for now, I folded my hand and cashed in my chips. Watching the game from a distance to see if the right cards fall. If not, gonna play a different game in a different casino.
Just wanted people to understand that Monster Power is something that haven't been lost. It's still in beta. Next patch gonna be awesome, mostly for the droprate of legendaries but hopefully about the density as well and bugfixes.
I think they also gonna announce some stuff too, or hint something.
:: Enkeria [Twitter / Twitch / Website / Tattoos]
Guys playing master act 2-4 with a full group is not as easy... I mean yeah it's not like mp10 but it's still a bit of a challenge. I got a feeling that many people just play a bit on normal - master solo and that's it. I'm not saying that the game in its current state (ptr) is perfect by any means but i am saying that it's not as bad as people make it sound. Besides, if you are bothered by monster densitym then go play act 3. It's perfectly dense. It's a ptr so i'm not surprised that some features are missing. If they indeed release the patch on live in this state then it will be kinda problematic... untill ROS comes out atleast.
Monster Density is subject to change and im pretty sure they are doing more....
Seriously its just the PTR, this isn't the very next live patch...more to do...3 months to go..
I think this test structure may just be a big mistake. I think an open beta would have been better for the community. Not having access to the max level content makes a lot of you guys bitter. You guys are just stuck trying to test out leveling up from 60-61 while missing the perspective of being maxed level. I am unsure if monster density has changed, but I often get surrounded. I'm sure that's due to my damage being low for torment and that sexy Ess of Johan.
Suggestion to the frustrated posters. Don't give up on D3 just yet. PTR might be "open" and suggestive that it's close to release. It's not. They are still balancing quite a bit from server load, skills, difficulty curves, etc.
All worthwhile to test and provide appropriate/constructive feedback on the offical forums. Have fun! I certainly am.
Bumping my old thread from a month ago. I am still watching D3 from afar but still have no logged on to it. I read the new patch notes. Nothing about monster density. Give me monster density or give me death. Or at least the death of my heros. ( and not in the can no longer rez in boss fights kind of way.)
If anyone can see a higher monster density in game, I may download this latest ptr and try it. Otherwise back to netflix. Seeya. Hope they make the game so you guys can enjoy it at least.
normal mosnters pack should have 1-2 afixes
elite monsters should have n>6 afixes growing with dificulty level.
new afixes that are not like lasers or some disco show should be added (resists, curses and etc...).
Density seems a bit better to me with this patch, FoM was pretty packed when I was leveling my DH.
I think we're all missing the bigger issue with the OP's post.
...Pat Benatar sings "Hit me with your Best Shot", not Joan Jett.