Apparently Hydra was not underwhelming enough in its game guide video, they had to nerf it so that act 1 normal would still be a challenge after you have reached level 60.
What's wrong with Hydra?
[edit] Lol i just saw the video again, i haven't noticed it almost misses every single fireball. IMO it was because the wizard was moving a lot and the enemies were fast and small ones too. Besides that, its looking good.
But there is still nothing unique about either of them, in d2 you might run into 100 necros and each one of them will be using different skills and if not the skills look different based on skill points or + to skill gear, they needed to keep it how it was with different lvl runes
I disagree with this. Most D2 chars are built the same, they are cookie cutter builds. Because there are very few viable builds per class in the game. If you pick 100 random necros I would say you will find 2, 3 builds in 80% of the characters.
First of all, I think that true build uniqueness does not exist in any game of this kind (MMO or Action RPG), because players can and will copy builds that they (or the community) feels works best.
In D3 the total number of possible builds is much higher than D2 due to the number of skills, and the percentage of viable builds over total builds will be much, much higher than in D2 for sure (because of the "trap" skill system used in D2 that i mentioned in my previous post). So the probability of having a "unique" build will be much higher in D3, IMO.
Regarding Visual uniqueness, again, i don't believe it can truly exist on games of this genre.
In D3, there will be a high number of possible models for each item type - thanks to the 3d engine - in comparison with D2, which had very few different looks for each class. Also, it will be possible to change your armor's color using dyes. So it will offer much more visual variety than D2 characters.
The problem with D2 was that for players, in order to enjoy those new builds, they had to start over and level the character all over again. For most people this becomes a chore and dissuades them from rebuilding. But if they can't rebuild and feel they have the 'wrong build', they eventually quit.
The age of MMOG's punishing their player base is over. No more losing XP and de-leveling like in EQ1, no more forcing a complete character re-roll to do Skills/talents like in D2.
WoW had talent respecs, EQ2 had respecs, and now D3 allows you to respec on the fly.
It's the industry progression to draw in more casual gaming players, because that is where the most $$ resides.
The problem with D2 was that the skill / stat points was "a trap". There are "right" ways to do it, and most are "wrong" ways to do it. When i first started playing D2 i tended to pick a lot of skills, therefore spreading my points a lot, and in the end i just sucked. So the game was "punishing" me because i could not forsee the fact that my build was going to suck, even while i was making valid choices.
No amount of hardcoreness makes this fair in any way. Yes, i am not causal so I rerolled (many times too, i enjoy it), but that is not the point. Players who want hardcore, can play permadeath hardcore.
I wasn't referring to it being like wow that it feels or looks like wow, just that it is basic and simple like wow, with players needing not to learn anything on their own. As for the weapon and stats, all you look for is high dps and one stat, everything else is extras, my main concern with the game is the lack of uniqueness between players is their dps and the small visuals of their gear, if they never made it so everyone has every rune, the game would of been so much better, but people whine about inventory space and they are forced to remove the one thing that gave characters a difference between each other.
I dont understand why you think D3 is somehow simpler than D2, and that people will not need to learn anything. And how D2 was "harder".
I disagree about DPS being the only thing you look for. There might be a weapon with lower dps but, say, a lot of int, and in the end you get more dmg. Or, it might have a lot of magic find that you want... or mana regen... or a crazy proc. DPS is important but it is not the only thing.
In D2 people had access to every spell, there was no restriction. For some reason, you want there to be restrictions to which spells people get in D3. Which leads to the game being a alot more AH-driven, to get the runes you need. No, thanks. As i said, uniqueness does not come from restricting access to spells. Nothing stops you from being unique (if there's ever cookie cutter builds for classes, which i doubt at the moment).
Makes sense, just doesnt feel right, it feels boring. As for all skills in general I just miss the fact that If I wanted to have a 30 arrow multi shot, I could do that, if I wanted to I could have 30+ skeletons, all though useless but if I wanted to I could have a wave of 40 teeth on a necro just to do it, seems like d3 lacks the freedom and coolness d2 had, yea every skill has runes that change some slightly and some more then others, but everyone has access to everything at all times, vs d2 you might see another person with the same class, they might have a skeleton army while you have poison nova, and he cant just say "hey I wanna be exactly like him" and with a couple clicks and turn into your character, it takes away from the uniqueness between players, only thing that there will be is, "I do 476.89 dps" "well I do 494.28 dps"... How exciting....
D3 = Each class has about 30 spells. 30 x 5 runes each = 150 spells. And since you can have only 6 active at a time, the combinations are huge. And no, runes do not change spells "slightly", they change them quite significantly, sometimes they change them completely (such as Frost Ray becoming a swirling melee aoe skill). I don't see how this "lacks freedom" compared to 2, 3 spells builds focus on in D2.
Regarding being "unique" , there was nothing stopping you on d2 (before respecs) from rerolling and levelling up again - which was quick and easy , and even more if you had someone to help - and "copying" someone else. Even at this point in the beta with so few spells i am not seeing people going cookie cutter. You can still be a "unique snowflake" if you really want to. Also, you don't have to care about DPS if you don't want to... as you did not mind DPS when being able to summon 40 useless skeletons in D2.
Ok, first of all based on the name "Fetish Army" i was not expecting anything else but an army of fetishes... and that's exactly what the spell does. The number of fetishes seems right - FOR the unruned version. I prefer less, stronger guys than a lot of weaklings.
Second, yes the damage matters, but it is not the only utility of the spell. More targets = more tanks.
Third. This is the Unruned version. Almost every spell "sucks" without runes.. because they are not supposed to be used without runes.
Fourth, this spell's utility can be improved with the following passives
Jungle Fortitude (20% dmg reduction -> more tanky)
Fetish Sycophants (indirectly, "adding" to the army)
Fierce Loyalty (Thorns and Life Regen for pets)
Tribal Rites (Cooldown reduced to 90 Secs)
... And the following Active
Big Bad Vodoo (+20% attack and move speed)
And i'm not even getting into runes yet.. I think this spell is great, and it will be used for my summoner WD for sure.
Every skill with a cool down just kills the feel of the game, d2 biggest cd was blizzard with 2 second cd, the lack of being able to make ur skills get better or look better really turns me off to the game. All you want in d3 is a higher dps weapon with your classes stat on it, they wanna dull down and make the game so basic and wow like so they have a bigger audience playing, but in reality it will pull away from the addictive feel d2 offered and have a massive decline in player base within 2 month and only thing keeping players will be that the hope of the pvp coming shortly after bordem hits will make the game addictive.
I disagree. I am playing the beta, and skills with a cooldown do not "kill" anything, they add a layer of depth instead of the game being a spamfest.
The lack of being able to make your skills better or look better? Have you not heard about runes and passives?
You are complaining about wanting a good weapon with stats for your class? What is the alternative? I dont get it...
Making the game basic and wow like? First of all, this game is far more complex than Diablo 2 (2-skill spamfest), and second it is absolutely and completely different from WoW. Once you play the game you will realize that immediately. Even if they named all the classes and spells like WoW, it would still be completely different because of the gameplay.
And no, there will be no massive decline 2 months after launch. And you are contradicting yourself. First you say blizzard is making D3 more basic and "wow like" for a bigger audience, and then you say this will cause a decline in the player base... /boogle
Attack Skills Cleave + Broad Sweep: Main attack. Nice AOE with Great damage Rend + Blood Lust: AOE Bleed and Lifesteal. Secondary Attack Ancient Spear + Dread Spear: Get over here! Bring your enemies close for the kill, and heal a good chunk of life in the process
Support Skills Ignore Pain + Ignorance is Bliss: Excellent 30-sec cooldown to avoid taking as much damage as possible, and the added Lifesteal of the rune as a great bonus. Wrath of the Berserker + Striding Giant: Thanks to the rune, can be used as both a Buff and a Defensive cooldown. Call of the Ancients + Duty to the Clan: Summoning three barbarians to fight as your side for 35 seconds!
Passives Bloodthirst: Small Lifesteal, but affects All damage Boon of Bul-Kathos: Reduced cooldown on the two "big" cooldowns, Wrath of the Berserker and Call of the Ancients Unforgiving: This is a build that I expect to use a lot of Fury, so this passive should help.
How to Use
1) Engage enemies with Ancient Spear
2) Follow with Cleave, and Rend as needed
3) Use Ignore Pain once you start taking more damage
4) Manage your Wrath of the Berserker & Call of the Ancients cooldowns. They can be used both defensive and offensively.
Well all the competitions is just based on luck anyways, so when u press that F5 only luck will tell if u end up getting the question uploaded.
I disagree with that. People who win this keys are either constantly refreshing the page, or using a bot / script / addon to get the prompt to answer as fast as possible. Once a few seconds have passed after the question is posted, its over.
Last night it took me less than 10 seconds to respond, and I ended up like 21st.
I strongly agree they need to change the method. "First 5" will never be really fair because:
1-Latency and computer speed will affect your chance to get the answer in time
2-I seriously doubt Facebook's back end architecture supports the kind of precision needed for this type of contests. I guarantee some people who happen to be connected to Facebook's server XXX will get the post a couple of seconds before someone on server YYY.
Diablo Fans: please take a look at this considerations, make the contest fairer for everyone: Ask harder questions, and give a time frame (5 minutes~ish would work even!) in which you pick 5 random people who answered correctly.
Ok
Today for the first time i decided to seriously participate in the Facebook beta key giveaway
So i setup my browser with an add-on that auto refreshes the page, set it to refresh every 5 seconds (less than that means sometimes not able to finish one refresh), another one that leaves the window always on top.
Sooo i kept an eye on that window for HOURS, while doing other things (work, mostly)...
By the time the question came up, it already had 21 comments (!)
I hardly believe 21 people commented during the first 5 SECONDS (worst-case scenario of the time between my refreshes). It is clear it is a tech issue related with how Facebook works, it obviously does not refresh in real time as this kind of contest would require, and a few lucky people got the question on their screens earlier than I.
This is not a whining post, I will just post a suggestion on how I think this would be fair for everyone:
Give a 2-minute window after the question is posted. Then, give the keys to 5 random people that responded the right answer during the time window. Even a 1-minute window should work...
Does the witch doctor play like the necromancer from D2? I was really sad to see that the necromancer was removed because that was my favorite class. After seeing some of the skills that the WD gets, it kinda looks like he may play the same.
Can anyone who is in beta who has played the WD comment on this?
Kolamer:
I don't have beta access but I've been following D3 closely (I wouldn't be here if i didn't ). First o all, a clarification: The necromancer was not "removed" from D3, as far as everyone knows, there were never plans to include him in the first place.
Regarding the WD, they have some similarities for sure. I'm in the same boat as you, my fav character on D2 was a summoner necro, and I intend to play a summoner WD on D3.
Comparing both, I feel that the WD is a more "active" character than the Necro, for which at a certain point you just walk around and collect loot, mostly. The WD's summons will not do ALL the work for you, for sure, you will still need to cast some spells to support them.
Also, it looks like the WD will have other ways to build without just focusing on pets (and maybe ignoring them completely).
From the 5 new classes it's the one I like the most so far. I don't like the posture of the male WD so i will probably roll a female one.
@L0nghammer: Yes, it seems so as the FAQ states, you can charge up your bnet balance with your credit card, for example.
@Greyhorn: I was under the same impression originally, but after reading the FAQ my understanding is that the only way you can cash out is only by, when posting items for sale, speciying the "cashout method" to "paypal" instead of "battle net". Regardless i guess you will get some kind of log of all the money you sent to paypal
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1) Elective Mode
2) Drag an ability out of any slot
3) There you have your basic attack
4) Profit
What's wrong with Hydra?
[edit] Lol i just saw the video again, i haven't noticed it almost misses every single fireball. IMO it was because the wizard was moving a lot and the enemies were fast and small ones too. Besides that, its looking good.
I disagree with this. Most D2 chars are built the same, they are cookie cutter builds. Because there are very few viable builds per class in the game. If you pick 100 random necros I would say you will find 2, 3 builds in 80% of the characters.
First of all, I think that true build uniqueness does not exist in any game of this kind (MMO or Action RPG), because players can and will copy builds that they (or the community) feels works best.
In D3 the total number of possible builds is much higher than D2 due to the number of skills, and the percentage of viable builds over total builds will be much, much higher than in D2 for sure (because of the "trap" skill system used in D2 that i mentioned in my previous post). So the probability of having a "unique" build will be much higher in D3, IMO.
Regarding Visual uniqueness, again, i don't believe it can truly exist on games of this genre.
In D3, there will be a high number of possible models for each item type - thanks to the 3d engine - in comparison with D2, which had very few different looks for each class. Also, it will be possible to change your armor's color using dyes. So it will offer much more visual variety than D2 characters.
The problem with D2 was that the skill / stat points was "a trap". There are "right" ways to do it, and most are "wrong" ways to do it. When i first started playing D2 i tended to pick a lot of skills, therefore spreading my points a lot, and in the end i just sucked. So the game was "punishing" me because i could not forsee the fact that my build was going to suck, even while i was making valid choices.
No amount of hardcoreness makes this fair in any way. Yes, i am not causal so I rerolled (many times too, i enjoy it), but that is not the point. Players who want hardcore, can play permadeath hardcore.
I dont understand why you think D3 is somehow simpler than D2, and that people will not need to learn anything. And how D2 was "harder".
I disagree about DPS being the only thing you look for. There might be a weapon with lower dps but, say, a lot of int, and in the end you get more dmg. Or, it might have a lot of magic find that you want... or mana regen... or a crazy proc. DPS is important but it is not the only thing.
In D2 people had access to every spell, there was no restriction. For some reason, you want there to be restrictions to which spells people get in D3. Which leads to the game being a alot more AH-driven, to get the runes you need. No, thanks. As i said, uniqueness does not come from restricting access to spells. Nothing stops you from being unique (if there's ever cookie cutter builds for classes, which i doubt at the moment).
Nothing stops you from using the spells / runes you consider to be the most fun for you, and more so if you dont care about min maxing. Go for it...
D3 = Each class has about 30 spells. 30 x 5 runes each = 150 spells. And since you can have only 6 active at a time, the combinations are huge. And no, runes do not change spells "slightly", they change them quite significantly, sometimes they change them completely (such as Frost Ray becoming a swirling melee aoe skill). I don't see how this "lacks freedom" compared to 2, 3 spells builds focus on in D2.
Regarding being "unique" , there was nothing stopping you on d2 (before respecs) from rerolling and levelling up again - which was quick and easy , and even more if you had someone to help - and "copying" someone else. Even at this point in the beta with so few spells i am not seeing people going cookie cutter. You can still be a "unique snowflake" if you really want to. Also, you don't have to care about DPS if you don't want to... as you did not mind DPS when being able to summon 40 useless skeletons in D2.
Second, yes the damage matters, but it is not the only utility of the spell. More targets = more tanks.
Third. This is the Unruned version. Almost every spell "sucks" without runes.. because they are not supposed to be used without runes.
Fourth, this spell's utility can be improved with the following passives
Jungle Fortitude (20% dmg reduction -> more tanky)
Fetish Sycophants (indirectly, "adding" to the army)
Fierce Loyalty (Thorns and Life Regen for pets)
Tribal Rites (Cooldown reduced to 90 Secs)
... And the following Active
Big Bad Vodoo (+20% attack and move speed)
And i'm not even getting into runes yet.. I think this spell is great, and it will be used for my summoner WD for sure.
I disagree. I am playing the beta, and skills with a cooldown do not "kill" anything, they add a layer of depth instead of the game being a spamfest.
The lack of being able to make your skills better or look better? Have you not heard about runes and passives?
You are complaining about wanting a good weapon with stats for your class? What is the alternative? I dont get it...
Making the game basic and wow like? First of all, this game is far more complex than Diablo 2 (2-skill spamfest), and second it is absolutely and completely different from WoW. Once you play the game you will realize that immediately. Even if they named all the classes and spells like WoW, it would still be completely different because of the gameplay.
And no, there will be no massive decline 2 months after launch. And you are contradicting yourself. First you say blizzard is making D3 more basic and "wow like" for a bigger audience, and then you say this will cause a decline in the player base... /boogle
Link to Build:
http://us.battle.net...ikPj!dSh!YZbbYZ
Skills and Runes
Attack Skills
Cleave + Broad Sweep: Main attack. Nice AOE with Great damage
Rend + Blood Lust: AOE Bleed and Lifesteal. Secondary Attack
Ancient Spear + Dread Spear: Get over here! Bring your enemies close for the kill, and heal a good chunk of life in the process
Support Skills
Ignore Pain + Ignorance is Bliss: Excellent 30-sec cooldown to avoid taking as much damage as possible, and the added Lifesteal of the rune as a great bonus.
Wrath of the Berserker + Striding Giant: Thanks to the rune, can be used as both a Buff and a Defensive cooldown.
Call of the Ancients + Duty to the Clan: Summoning three barbarians to fight as your side for 35 seconds!
Passives
Bloodthirst: Small Lifesteal, but affects All damage
Boon of Bul-Kathos: Reduced cooldown on the two "big" cooldowns, Wrath of the Berserker and Call of the Ancients
Unforgiving: This is a build that I expect to use a lot of Fury, so this passive should help.
How to Use
1) Engage enemies with Ancient Spear
2) Follow with Cleave, and Rend as needed
3) Use Ignore Pain once you start taking more damage
4) Manage your Wrath of the Berserker & Call of the Ancients cooldowns. They can be used both defensive and offensively.
I disagree with that. People who win this keys are either constantly refreshing the page, or using a bot / script / addon to get the prompt to answer as fast as possible. Once a few seconds have passed after the question is posted, its over.
Last night it took me less than 10 seconds to respond, and I ended up like 21st.
http://www.diablofans.com/topic/35615-suggestion-regarding-facebook-giveaway/
I strongly agree they need to change the method. "First 5" will never be really fair because:
1-Latency and computer speed will affect your chance to get the answer in time
2-I seriously doubt Facebook's back end architecture supports the kind of precision needed for this type of contests. I guarantee some people who happen to be connected to Facebook's server XXX will get the post a couple of seconds before someone on server YYY.
Diablo Fans: please take a look at this considerations, make the contest fairer for everyone: Ask harder questions, and give a time frame (5 minutes~ish would work even!) in which you pick 5 random people who answered correctly.
Today for the first time i decided to seriously participate in the Facebook beta key giveaway
So i setup my browser with an add-on that auto refreshes the page, set it to refresh every 5 seconds (less than that means sometimes not able to finish one refresh), another one that leaves the window always on top.
Sooo i kept an eye on that window for HOURS, while doing other things (work, mostly)...
By the time the question came up, it already had 21 comments (!)
I hardly believe 21 people commented during the first 5 SECONDS (worst-case scenario of the time between my refreshes). It is clear it is a tech issue related with how Facebook works, it obviously does not refresh in real time as this kind of contest would require, and a few lucky people got the question on their screens earlier than I.
This is not a whining post, I will just post a suggestion on how I think this would be fair for everyone:
Give a 2-minute window after the question is posted. Then, give the keys to 5 random people that responded the right answer during the time window. Even a 1-minute window should work...
Kolamer:
I don't have beta access but I've been following D3 closely (I wouldn't be here if i didn't
Regarding the WD, they have some similarities for sure. I'm in the same boat as you, my fav character on D2 was a summoner necro, and I intend to play a summoner WD on D3.
Comparing both, I feel that the WD is a more "active" character than the Necro, for which at a certain point you just walk around and collect loot, mostly. The WD's summons will not do ALL the work for you, for sure, you will still need to cast some spells to support them.
Also, it looks like the WD will have other ways to build without just focusing on pets (and maybe ignoring them completely).
From the 5 new classes it's the one I like the most so far. I don't like the posture of the male WD so i will probably roll a female one.
@Greyhorn: I was under the same impression originally, but after reading the FAQ my understanding is that the only way you can cash out is only by, when posting items for sale, speciying the "cashout method" to "paypal" instead of "battle net". Regardless i guess you will get some kind of log of all the money you sent to paypal