I had the pleasure of meeting Bashiok (and his big bushy mustache) at PAX East earlier today and he was nice enough to answer some of my Inferno difficulty related questions. I didn't record our conversation and these are not absolute direct quotes so you'll have to trust me, haha.
-As of now the maximum monster level in Inferno is specifically 64, not just "somewhere around 65(?)" as mentioned in his Inferno post.
Not mindblowing but interesting
-I asked him about how in what I saw of a tiny bit of what looked like Hell or Inferno footage in the Blizzcon 2011 Gameplay & Auction House Panel the monsters moved REALLY fast and would not just attack the player from where they approached but actually run past him/her and sort of do a quick slingshot and attack from an unexpected direction (http://www.youtube.c...JfTfktc#t=3077s is the footage). It took a while for him to process what I was getting at but he did (re)confirm that monsters move faster in later difficulties and that they will have behaviors like 'stop for a bit, then come at you'.
-I mentioned the "internal bets" on how many "months" it would take to beat Inferno. He now believes that it's now a "few weeks"; not months. This was after I pressed him on the whole 'what if the person goes through the auction house and accelerates his gearing that way'.
-He's not aware of any real changes in health globe mechanics (drop rates, heal amounts) across the difficulties. He did mention the passive skills that help with globes- I imagine those will help quite a bit in endgame.
-He reiterated that you need to build up your defenses for Inferno via gear and skill choices. No surprise there.
-I asked him about the whole "bullet hell" mechanics (mentioned at Blizzcon 2010 panel I believe?) where you have to sort of dodge projectiles to avoid damage (I would imagine there would be a lot of them in Inferno). He said there are certainly such things but stressed that it's really more about getting the best gear and building up your defense than that.
-Right now in internal testing he said people are finding endgame solo play more preferable to party play. He attributes this to the scaling of monsters to the amount of players not making things any easier (implying that if one person messes up and dies, it just makes it harder on everyone else). I asked him if he thinks people will make 4 player parties and try to create "roles" with their builds and successfully tackle Inferno that way. He was agreeable to the concept.
I don't think he was totally prepared for the questions I suddenly threw at him but he was great (and patient with me despite all the stuff happening around with the D3 line and a couple other guys who were talking with him)
I also want to mention that the Runic guys (who were standing around on their side of the D3/T2 area)
are awesome and Torchlight II looks and plays great too! It's a great time to be an action RPG fan.
Wow, that was awesome man. Tidbids of information but important information none the less! Thank you very much and I can't help but feel envious that you met Bash!
Wow, that was awesome man. Tidbids of information but important information none the less! Thank you very much and I can't help but feel envious that you met Bash!
Edit: did you perhaps... take a picture? :>
I wish. I got to shake his hand though! He actually offered his hand first. What a guy.
Never wash that hand again.... I'd sell it on the RMAH...
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Great questions. The only interesting thing that he shared during my chat with him was that they had reserved 500 beta keys for PAXEAST per day. When I first went to check out his station on Friday there was a long line of people waiting to register their emails for a beta key. The following day Bashiok was just handing out serial keys printed on paper slips I regret not getting a "make it rain" picture of Bashiok with his beta key slips, but here is proof of the 'stache:
Awesome read and excellent questions! I was surprised to hear Bashiok changing his opinion on how long it'll take folks to get though Inferno, but given the AH stipulation you presented, it does make sense. Of course, if you knew that a person who finished Inferno very, very quickly did it because he purchased all his gear upgrades on the AH or RMAH, I think it would taint that achievement. Just my $.02 though.
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i would choose my own religion and worship my own spirit, but if he ever preached to me i wouldn't want to hear it. i'd drop him, a forgotten god, languishing in shame; and then if i hit stormy seas, i'd have myself to blame.
-I asked him about the whole "bullet hell" mechanics (mentioned at Blizzcon 2010 panel I believe?) where you have to sort of dodge projectiles to avoid damage (I would imagine there would be a lot of them in Inferno). He said there are certainly such things but stressed that it's really more about getting the best gear and building up your defense than that.
This depresses me... I have no interest in the gear grind... Especially in this style of game (non-specific drops for certain mobs).
Wonder what all of you guys will say now that even Bashiok says Inferno can be cleared in weeks. Guess I am still insane and ignorant because i didn't drink the kool-aid.
Considering how incredibly dedicated some Diablo players have always been, I would be SHOCKED if inferno took longer than a month to beat. I mean, back at the height of D2's popularity you'd have entire teams of players playing in shifts, pooling gear, to get the fastest-possible-99 on ladder. And then you have the modern-era WoW guilds which are even more dedicated than that. 500 Heroic Ragnaros attempts to get the world first, they were spending something like 6 hours wiping per night for 2 weeks straight.
A large guild sharing items, gold, and AH purchases can get their 4 best players to the endgame in a really big hurry. In fact, I would bet that a large well-coordinated guild would clear endgame content a hell of a lot faster than any single rich dude playing the RMAH.
If the endgame is balanced to where a single player would have to farm gear for 2,000 hours before being capable of clearing Act 4 Inferno, then a guild of 200 players will only have to farm for 10 hours each to gear one guy. If they each farm 40 hours and gear out 4 guys, the guild's "World First Squad" is fully geared in less than 2 weeks.
500 keys per day - Wow ... cant believe I still havnt gotten a key - not sure what else Im supposed to do.
Thanks for sharing those questions/answers OP ... looking forward to this game so badly
Ive given up hope on getting a beta key, played the cracked version but that got boring. Just said screw it and my brother is going to use some FG he had laying around on a like 10 yr accnt and rent us a day each of beta. Ive already played the game at blizzcon he hasn't played it ever though so itll be a good warm up to release.
500 keys per day - Wow ... cant believe I still havnt gotten a key - not sure what else Im supposed to do.
Thanks for sharing those questions/answers OP ... looking forward to this game so badly
Ive given up hope on getting a beta key, played the cracked version but that got boring. Just said screw it and my brother is going to use some FG he had laying around on a like 10 yr accnt and rent us a day each of beta. Ive already played the game at blizzcon he hasn't played it ever though so itll be a good warm up to release.
Would be great if the unfortunate, like us, had a chance to test the game by buying the digital pre-sale. This would be really kind from Blizz...
500 keys per day - Wow ... cant believe I still havnt gotten a key - not sure what else Im supposed to do.
Thanks for sharing those questions/answers OP ... looking forward to this game so badly
Ive given up hope on getting a beta key, played the cracked version but that got boring. Just said screw it and my brother is going to use some FG he had laying around on a like 10 yr accnt and rent us a day each of beta. Ive already played the game at blizzcon he hasn't played it ever though so itll be a good warm up to release.
Would be great if the unfortunate, like us, had a chance to test the game by buying the digital pre-sale. This would be really kind from Blizz...
I think all pre orders should of been put into beta. I reserved the damn game second I could and got collectors edition yet I don't deserve to be in their beta ha.
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-As of now the maximum monster level in Inferno is specifically 64, not just "somewhere around 65(?)" as mentioned in his Inferno post.
Not mindblowing but interesting
-I asked him about how in what I saw of a tiny bit of what looked like Hell or Inferno footage in the Blizzcon 2011 Gameplay & Auction House Panel the monsters moved REALLY fast and would not just attack the player from where they approached but actually run past him/her and sort of do a quick slingshot and attack from an unexpected direction (http://www.youtube.c...JfTfktc#t=3077s is the footage). It took a while for him to process what I was getting at but he did (re)confirm that monsters move faster in later difficulties and that they will have behaviors like 'stop for a bit, then come at you'.
-I mentioned the "internal bets" on how many "months" it would take to beat Inferno. He now believes that it's now a "few weeks"; not months. This was after I pressed him on the whole 'what if the person goes through the auction house and accelerates his gearing that way'.
-He's not aware of any real changes in health globe mechanics (drop rates, heal amounts) across the difficulties. He did mention the passive skills that help with globes- I imagine those will help quite a bit in endgame.
-He reiterated that you need to build up your defenses for Inferno via gear and skill choices. No surprise there.
-I asked him about the whole "bullet hell" mechanics (mentioned at Blizzcon 2010 panel I believe?) where you have to sort of dodge projectiles to avoid damage (I would imagine there would be a lot of them in Inferno). He said there are certainly such things but stressed that it's really more about getting the best gear and building up your defense than that.
-Right now in internal testing he said people are finding endgame solo play more preferable to party play. He attributes this to the scaling of monsters to the amount of players not making things any easier (implying that if one person messes up and dies, it just makes it harder on everyone else). I asked him if he thinks people will make 4 player parties and try to create "roles" with their builds and successfully tackle Inferno that way. He was agreeable to the concept.
I don't think he was totally prepared for the questions I suddenly threw at him but he was great (and patient with me despite all the stuff happening around with the D3 line and a couple other guys who were talking with him)
I also want to mention that the Runic guys (who were standing around on their side of the D3/T2 area)
are awesome and Torchlight II looks and plays great too! It's a great time to be an action RPG fan.
Edit: did you perhaps... take a picture? :>
Ha. Bagstone.
I wish. I got to shake his hand though! He actually offered his hand first. What a guy.
16GB G Skill Ram ~ 2x Mushkin 120GB SSD's ~ MSI GTX 570 Twin Frozer ~ Asus P8P67 Deluxe
best post ever.
LOL!
Moving this to the Diablo 3 section.
https://www.deviantart.com/aerisot
This depresses me... I have no interest in the gear grind... Especially in this style of game (non-specific drops for certain mobs).
Potentially moot though, as I may never hit 60...
-Alamar
A large guild sharing items, gold, and AH purchases can get their 4 best players to the endgame in a really big hurry. In fact, I would bet that a large well-coordinated guild would clear endgame content a hell of a lot faster than any single rich dude playing the RMAH.
If the endgame is balanced to where a single player would have to farm gear for 2,000 hours before being capable of clearing Act 4 Inferno, then a guild of 200 players will only have to farm for 10 hours each to gear one guy. If they each farm 40 hours and gear out 4 guys, the guild's "World First Squad" is fully geared in less than 2 weeks.
Would be great if the unfortunate, like us, had a chance to test the game by buying the digital pre-sale. This would be really kind from Blizz...