I was hoping a bit that important questions would be answered or some new stuff revealed, or things that we know about expanded upon...very, very disappointed. I stopped playing this game about a year or so ago (forget exactly) and Reaper of Souls looked like Blizzard was attempting to try and pick up some of the broken pieces they created and to make efforts to fix parts of the game that need fixing. However, the more cynical side of me that got jaded from being burned one too many times on the 'promises' made from the perspective of WoW and the poor way the nerf/buff rollercoaster cycles went on in that game popped up and sort of 'kept me in check'. I know this sounds incredibly negative and in a way it is, but honestly...I can't help but feel this way and from the perspective of Diablo III, this Blizzcon has been a very big disappointment.
No expanding on the loot stuff in terms of even some more fleshed out ideas that they should (hopefully) have at this point, no mention of the loot itself in terms of how some of the new affixes will work, and no real drive to make it all fit together. That and seeing that they are 'happy' with tying skills so heavily to weapon damage...that just really turned me off so much. At this point, Blizzard hasn't impressed me with RoS and this should have been the time when they had their guns loaded and ready to fire off new info, stuff to grab and try to pull in older fans like myself that quit...nothing. Not even a round of blanks, just nothing. With the way things are standing right now (may change later on, but highly doubtful given my experience with this company) I won't be giving Reaper of Souls the time of day.
Interesting stuff. Nice to see Thunderfury there...brings back good memories of helping out one of my old, old, old guild MT back in Classic WoW get his Thunderfury. Definitely nice to see that and nice to see some of the changes...definitely saw the Life Steal nerf coming from a mile away but at least you can use it up until 70 so you get some use out of it before transitioning over to something else.
And like others have mentioned...a potential 4th passive slot? Sounds good to me...still probably won't get the expansion but at least Blizzard is taking steps to improve the game.
We do not have plans to implement an offline mode. While the always-online requirement made the auction house possible, the auction house was never the driving factor in our decision to make the PC version of Diablo III require an Internet connection. The game was built from the ground up to take full advantage of Battle.net, which provides a number of important benefits, including persistent server-side character saves, a seamless PC multiplayer experience, cheat prevention, and Real ID and BattleTag social features.
I usually try to stay away from using overly strong language when voicing my dislike of something, but this...I'm sorry...this is some of the biggest loads of bull**** I have heard from Blizzard, though sadly that seems to be par for the course. The AH WAS the driving factor because they HAD to keep people from finding ways to hack and abuse it with an offline mode that gave them access to so much more than what we have now. Even more so with the fact that there was a RMAH involved and you can bet that if someone had found a way to screw around with that through unscrupulous means and stole items/money that Blizzard would've really been up the ****creek without a paddle or life jacket when it came to people suing them for lost goods/money or credit card numbers or whatever. It just boggles my mind that they honestly believe that this statement will (and sadly it will) convince people that it's the other things they mention as the driving forces as to why they wanted the game to be online only and DRM put in...bull-*******-****.
Big deal on server-side character saves, and Battle Net 2.0 is a terrible abomination compared to the original Battle Net and that's saying nothing about the horrendous GUI for chat channels and communications in general. So bare bones minimum and it's going to get even worse with the removal of the AHs and trading needing other avenues, and that's saying nothing about just wanting to make games for public or for friends. So far the Real ID and 'social features' have been sorely lacking and the only real thing that has had any real use is the 'cheat prevention', and even then that seems sketchy now and then, which just makes me shake my head even further. Add to that you have the console versions which clearly have an offline mode and no AHs to be seen...so WHY can't the PC version get the same thing now that the AHs will be gone?
It just reeks of poorly thought out and pathetic PR spin that's rivaling some of the stupid stuff that Microsoft spouted out with their whole XBox One E3 conference and the whole "Buy an XBox 360 if you can't get stable/good Internet". I can't say I 'fail to understand' why Blizzard is keeping the game online only...I see why...I see it and it just makes me shake my head at how ******* stupid it is.
Nice on the Blazing Guardian's damage reduction but WOW on the life regen stuff, especially to Barbarians. I mean, pretty much 240% total life regen over a period of one minute coupled with the fact that War Cry: Impunity is one of the most - if not the most - popular shout for Barbs to use and that's already a big defense boost and fury generator...oh wait! Battle Rage as well...well that's pretty much standard for any Barbarian thanks to the 'Into the Fray' rune for Fury generation. Not only that, but Barbs usually run Weapons Master and Ruthlessness as passives and third one is a toss up between things like Bloodthirst, Superstition, or Tough as Nails (I think those, could be wrong) so now this will pretty much make it a lot easier to pick up this passive. I mean, I am not complaining since I have a WW Barb myself but at the same time it's making me think: "Geez...my poor Demon Hunter that I first started off with...this is just making him look meeker and meeker and WW Barb is going to become an easier more power out of control 18-Wheeler!"
All right...too much rambling...as much as this change sounds good, this is really making Barbs even better than they already are compared to other classes in terms of party members or just soling. I know someone will probably plug and chug the math later on, but this passive could potentially help Barbs with not needing as much Life Steal as some like to pack on for survival. Again, with the BR-ITF rune and the 2 minute duration...this is pretty much a 'permanent' 4% life regen at all times for them (I know it's not permanent, but considering how often WW Barbs in this case spam BR, it might as well be).
Interesting stuff. the crafting sounds a step in the right direction, although the monster experience...that is definitely going to go through some modifications for sure, but could potentially work out. Also looking forward to seeing what other class changes will be made in terms of specific stuff.
I'll probably get picked apart a bit for this one, but take what I say with a grain of salt.
We strongly feel that in general, players will know whether or not they like a particular skill or play style only after they’ve had a chance to try it out for themselves. And while there definitely is some intrigue and fun to permanently committing yourself to a particular character design, it’s not what we envision for Diablo III. We want players to be able to experiment and find a combination of skills and runes that they enjoy and that fit them the best. We also don’t believe that the current skill system would really benefit from a free allocation of stats, either. We think that players can achieve a sizable level of customization through runes, and that this system fits in much better with the overall design of the game.
What is it with this obsession with making games that players cannot screw up in? Why can there not be some form of permanency and learning from your mistakes to try and make a better character the next time? I know some people won't like it, but really, there ARE respecs in Diablo II that were added in...one per each completion of the Den of Evil quest (I believe) so you had three chances to reinvest all of your stat points and skill points. That's being quite generous and giving you - the player - chances to mess up and try again later on. Path of Exile currently offers players some respec points as quest rewards and even an item called an "Orb of Regret" that you either find, trade for, or even potentially buy off of a vendor that allows you to correct misplaced passive skill points at a ratio of one point per orb. They're not exactly common, but you get a decent amount of reset points throughout questing so you can correct some errors if you make them, but ultimately if you really screw up...so what? Learn from it and try again.
The current skill system in Diablo III wouldn't benefit from skill trees or free allocation of stats because it's so dumbed down to where you cannot make a real, sizable mistake. You can switch stuff out at any time and as far as customization goes...that would only make sense if the runes offered were actually tough choices to make. Currently, most runes aren't used because they are 100% inferior to the top-tier choices of runes and they cannot compare in terms of raw damage, utility, etc, etc. There is also very poor synergy between runes outside of some builds like WW Barbs, Tempest Rush Monks, and CM Wizards to name a few. Gets even worse when you realize that some builds are specifically ONLY for functioning in MP0, MP1, or possibly MP2, but that's also another issue entirely due to the poor thought-put of Paragon Levels and Monster Power.
I would go into more detail about the rest of the stuff the blue post is saying, but honestly? It really seems like Blizzard is giving off this aura that they can do no wrong with this game. Now, please don't misconstrue this to me saying that Blizzard has never changed things...they have, and there are changes that have been made that I have agreed with. HOWEVER, when it comes to things like customization and itemization - practically THE core of the core systems in Diablo games - Blizzard has failed horrendously at and is refusing to acknowledge that there are clear mistakes that they made and need to be addressed. They keep on saying that they are happy with it, that these other methods wouldn't work in their game, and again I say...indeed...they won't work because those methods are designed for games that try to encourage customization and have a higher degree of complexity to them, and not for games like Diablo III that take a severe dumbed down approach.
As we’ve said many times before, we do appreciate feedback and constructive discussions, and we try our best to cultivate an environment where players feel comfortable discussing all things Diablo III. We realize the forums aren’t always going to be overflowing with rainbow unicorns and fluffy teddy bears, but that’s to be expected, and we truly do appreciate the continued passion of the Diablo III community.
This I have to say is just so poor on so many levels. Years ago I used to be a moderator on the IGN message Boards and Blizzard's forums compared to the IGN's forums in terms of moderation and how it was run is absolutely horrendous. They are not cultivating any good environment for people to feel comfortable about discussing things about Diablo III. Forum trolls be they supporters or haters of the game run wild, the moderation team keeps themselves hidden behind an iron wall of secrecy, and community managers do a terrible job at their job. I know their jobs aren't easy, especially since I've been there as a moderator, but often times they come off as 'Blizzard Drones' to the community, though whether that is truly all their fault or the rules they have to abide by...it's still flaws all the way down. As a previous moderator that used to mod the Pokemon General Community Board, which was one of the higher traffic boards, I talked in topics with posters there, helped them with advice, etc, etc...I WAS PART OF THE COMMUNITY and in return I gained a lot of respect from the community. That and I wasn't a complete 'rule with an iron fist mod', but I kept people in line and because of that and other mods on the board, the board was very well behaved and the members ENJOYED our moderating presence because we were 'part of the crew'...just crew members with banhammers. With that said...
There is a severe lack of transparency between Blizzard and its fanbase, and when compared to other places like the Path of Exile forums where the designers are posting in threads, answering questions, and even taking time out of their schedules to answer questions on streams. Heck, Chris Williams and others were talking LIVE with Kripparian while he streamed and answered questions for around 2 hours or so from the livestream chat and from Kripp directly and they even talked about some of the up and coming changes for open beta and Act III. Grinding Gear Games may be an indie company with far less a budget than Blizzard, but they're doing it right...they ARE being transparent, they are COMMUNICATING with their player base as much as their time schedule sallow them, and they are forming good bridges between them and their fans. THIS is something that Blizzard has failed quite hard on, and over the years it's repeatedly returned to bit them in the butt over and over again and part of the reason why the Diablo III community forums are seen as such a wretched hive of scum and villainy, if you'll pardon the movie quote reference.
There is also a lot of frustration from the community due to the above mentioned things as well as so much good constructive criticism seemingly falling on deaf ears and outright ignored. Again, it begs the question that if smaller indie companies like GGG can have their all-important lead devs coming onto the boards and talking and answering questions, then why can't Blizzard devs do that? I mean, they certainly have plenty of time to tweet and facebook post "**** that loser!" with the amount of free time they seem to show that they have through their actions. I can sorta understand them NOT wanting to given how hostile the community is, but they are partially to blame here...the whole Blizzard team is as for what is stated above. So when the community feels ignored, when suggestions made by people who ARE frustrated with the state of Diablo III and WANT to see it become a better game that lives up to its predecessors' legacy, and when Blizzard just doesn't seem to care or acknowledge its player base that IS trying to help...what happens to that community?
It becomes hostile, full of vitriol, and in this case is a very good reflection of how poorly this game has been handled. Perhaps old but the saying "You reap what you sow" fits well here. Blizzard made a poor product, made poor decisions, is now being rather arrogant as a company, isn't listening as well as it should to its player base that IS trying to help, etc, etc...they are certainly reaping every bit of what they sowed.
Blizzcon is going to be very interesting considering they didn't have it in 2012 and there's still unrest around WoW and Diablo III and even Starcraft II with the recent decisions that have been made. Granted, Blizzard does have time to see what they can do to potentially rectify and smooth things over with the fans, but if not...Blizzcon is going to be very tense to say the least.
As far as the video...gotta say I like this one better than the DH guide one. That one was just very poorly done, too much misinformation given, and didn't touch upon some of the better gear choices while outright dismissing and downplaying the rather good new Natalya's set and its 20 Discipline bonus. At least if you're going to make a gearing guide you should cover more bases and show people more possibilities for gearing characters.
Saw that topic yesterday and the response the blue gave was...well...very silly indeed. Considering that vendors (I believe) list their wares' prices with appropriate commas/spacing, and the bids/buyouts on auctions show up that way as well, why is that not the case for when you're putting in those prices? I gotta agree with this:
"You just need to post "yea we forgot that, it was a big fault, we need to correct and add commas""
As opposed to:
"One thing to keep in mind is that Diablo III is a global game, available in multiple regions around the globe. And, across those regions, the decimal style varies."
Now, I know later on in the same blue post it was mentioned that they didn't think it'd have such a big impact on user experience, but I really cannot buy that. I mean, they have the commas and 'spacing' already in other areas of the game so why they didn't put it into one of the most important parts of the gold auction house system...to me, that's smelling a tad bit of laziness there and their 'well-intentioned' comment smells a little like BS to me.
I was in the projected pathway of it and 15 minutes outside of Atlantic City. Turned down south a bit and went over us. We got some wind and rain and about 2 seconds of power outage, but that was it. Really dodged the bullet, especially considering how badly Atlantic City got smashed.
Saw a bit of his stream last night before I went to bed. He's definitely using Kill Streaks to his advantage for sure and he's decked out in extremely powerful gear, but that's to be expected. Will be interesting to see what he gets in terms of all the Legendary items he's been accumulating for his time thusfar.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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No expanding on the loot stuff in terms of even some more fleshed out ideas that they should (hopefully) have at this point, no mention of the loot itself in terms of how some of the new affixes will work, and no real drive to make it all fit together. That and seeing that they are 'happy' with tying skills so heavily to weapon damage...that just really turned me off so much. At this point, Blizzard hasn't impressed me with RoS and this should have been the time when they had their guns loaded and ready to fire off new info, stuff to grab and try to pull in older fans like myself that quit...nothing. Not even a round of blanks, just nothing. With the way things are standing right now (may change later on, but highly doubtful given my experience with this company) I won't be giving Reaper of Souls the time of day.
And like others have mentioned...a potential 4th passive slot? Sounds good to me...still probably won't get the expansion but at least Blizzard is taking steps to improve the game.
I usually try to stay away from using overly strong language when voicing my dislike of something, but this...I'm sorry...this is some of the biggest loads of bull**** I have heard from Blizzard, though sadly that seems to be par for the course. The AH WAS the driving factor because they HAD to keep people from finding ways to hack and abuse it with an offline mode that gave them access to so much more than what we have now. Even more so with the fact that there was a RMAH involved and you can bet that if someone had found a way to screw around with that through unscrupulous means and stole items/money that Blizzard would've really been up the ****creek without a paddle or life jacket when it came to people suing them for lost goods/money or credit card numbers or whatever. It just boggles my mind that they honestly believe that this statement will (and sadly it will) convince people that it's the other things they mention as the driving forces as to why they wanted the game to be online only and DRM put in...bull-*******-****.
Big deal on server-side character saves, and Battle Net 2.0 is a terrible abomination compared to the original Battle Net and that's saying nothing about the horrendous GUI for chat channels and communications in general. So bare bones minimum and it's going to get even worse with the removal of the AHs and trading needing other avenues, and that's saying nothing about just wanting to make games for public or for friends. So far the Real ID and 'social features' have been sorely lacking and the only real thing that has had any real use is the 'cheat prevention', and even then that seems sketchy now and then, which just makes me shake my head even further. Add to that you have the console versions which clearly have an offline mode and no AHs to be seen...so WHY can't the PC version get the same thing now that the AHs will be gone?
It just reeks of poorly thought out and pathetic PR spin that's rivaling some of the stupid stuff that Microsoft spouted out with their whole XBox One E3 conference and the whole "Buy an XBox 360 if you can't get stable/good Internet". I can't say I 'fail to understand' why Blizzard is keeping the game online only...I see why...I see it and it just makes me shake my head at how ******* stupid it is.
Celebrate good times indeed.
All right...too much rambling...as much as this change sounds good, this is really making Barbs even better than they already are compared to other classes in terms of party members or just soling. I know someone will probably plug and chug the math later on, but this passive could potentially help Barbs with not needing as much Life Steal as some like to pack on for survival. Again, with the BR-ITF rune and the 2 minute duration...this is pretty much a 'permanent' 4% life regen at all times for them (I know it's not permanent, but considering how often WW Barbs in this case spam BR, it might as well be).
Well, to be fair...he got this one thing right about Diablo III.
We strongly feel that in general, players will know whether or not they like a particular skill or play style only after they’ve had a chance to try it out for themselves. And while there definitely is some intrigue and fun to permanently committing yourself to a particular character design, it’s not what we envision for Diablo III. We want players to be able to experiment and find a combination of skills and runes that they enjoy and that fit them the best. We also don’t believe that the current skill system would really benefit from a free allocation of stats, either. We think that players can achieve a sizable level of customization through runes, and that this system fits in much better with the overall design of the game.
What is it with this obsession with making games that players cannot screw up in? Why can there not be some form of permanency and learning from your mistakes to try and make a better character the next time? I know some people won't like it, but really, there ARE respecs in Diablo II that were added in...one per each completion of the Den of Evil quest (I believe) so you had three chances to reinvest all of your stat points and skill points. That's being quite generous and giving you - the player - chances to mess up and try again later on. Path of Exile currently offers players some respec points as quest rewards and even an item called an "Orb of Regret" that you either find, trade for, or even potentially buy off of a vendor that allows you to correct misplaced passive skill points at a ratio of one point per orb. They're not exactly common, but you get a decent amount of reset points throughout questing so you can correct some errors if you make them, but ultimately if you really screw up...so what? Learn from it and try again.
The current skill system in Diablo III wouldn't benefit from skill trees or free allocation of stats because it's so dumbed down to where you cannot make a real, sizable mistake. You can switch stuff out at any time and as far as customization goes...that would only make sense if the runes offered were actually tough choices to make. Currently, most runes aren't used because they are 100% inferior to the top-tier choices of runes and they cannot compare in terms of raw damage, utility, etc, etc. There is also very poor synergy between runes outside of some builds like WW Barbs, Tempest Rush Monks, and CM Wizards to name a few. Gets even worse when you realize that some builds are specifically ONLY for functioning in MP0, MP1, or possibly MP2, but that's also another issue entirely due to the poor thought-put of Paragon Levels and Monster Power.
I would go into more detail about the rest of the stuff the blue post is saying, but honestly? It really seems like Blizzard is giving off this aura that they can do no wrong with this game. Now, please don't misconstrue this to me saying that Blizzard has never changed things...they have, and there are changes that have been made that I have agreed with. HOWEVER, when it comes to things like customization and itemization - practically THE core of the core systems in Diablo games - Blizzard has failed horrendously at and is refusing to acknowledge that there are clear mistakes that they made and need to be addressed. They keep on saying that they are happy with it, that these other methods wouldn't work in their game, and again I say...indeed...they won't work because those methods are designed for games that try to encourage customization and have a higher degree of complexity to them, and not for games like Diablo III that take a severe dumbed down approach.
This I have to say is just so poor on so many levels. Years ago I used to be a moderator on the IGN message Boards and Blizzard's forums compared to the IGN's forums in terms of moderation and how it was run is absolutely horrendous. They are not cultivating any good environment for people to feel comfortable about discussing things about Diablo III. Forum trolls be they supporters or haters of the game run wild, the moderation team keeps themselves hidden behind an iron wall of secrecy, and community managers do a terrible job at their job. I know their jobs aren't easy, especially since I've been there as a moderator, but often times they come off as 'Blizzard Drones' to the community, though whether that is truly all their fault or the rules they have to abide by...it's still flaws all the way down. As a previous moderator that used to mod the Pokemon General Community Board, which was one of the higher traffic boards, I talked in topics with posters there, helped them with advice, etc, etc...I WAS PART OF THE COMMUNITY and in return I gained a lot of respect from the community. That and I wasn't a complete 'rule with an iron fist mod', but I kept people in line and because of that and other mods on the board, the board was very well behaved and the members ENJOYED our moderating presence because we were 'part of the crew'...just crew members with banhammers. With that said...
There is a severe lack of transparency between Blizzard and its fanbase, and when compared to other places like the Path of Exile forums where the designers are posting in threads, answering questions, and even taking time out of their schedules to answer questions on streams. Heck, Chris Williams and others were talking LIVE with Kripparian while he streamed and answered questions for around 2 hours or so from the livestream chat and from Kripp directly and they even talked about some of the up and coming changes for open beta and Act III. Grinding Gear Games may be an indie company with far less a budget than Blizzard, but they're doing it right...they ARE being transparent, they are COMMUNICATING with their player base as much as their time schedule sallow them, and they are forming good bridges between them and their fans. THIS is something that Blizzard has failed quite hard on, and over the years it's repeatedly returned to bit them in the butt over and over again and part of the reason why the Diablo III community forums are seen as such a wretched hive of scum and villainy, if you'll pardon the movie quote reference.
There is also a lot of frustration from the community due to the above mentioned things as well as so much good constructive criticism seemingly falling on deaf ears and outright ignored. Again, it begs the question that if smaller indie companies like GGG can have their all-important lead devs coming onto the boards and talking and answering questions, then why can't Blizzard devs do that? I mean, they certainly have plenty of time to tweet and facebook post "**** that loser!" with the amount of free time they seem to show that they have through their actions. I can sorta understand them NOT wanting to given how hostile the community is, but they are partially to blame here...the whole Blizzard team is as for what is stated above. So when the community feels ignored, when suggestions made by people who ARE frustrated with the state of Diablo III and WANT to see it become a better game that lives up to its predecessors' legacy, and when Blizzard just doesn't seem to care or acknowledge its player base that IS trying to help...what happens to that community?
It becomes hostile, full of vitriol, and in this case is a very good reflection of how poorly this game has been handled. Perhaps old but the saying "You reap what you sow" fits well here. Blizzard made a poor product, made poor decisions, is now being rather arrogant as a company, isn't listening as well as it should to its player base that IS trying to help, etc, etc...they are certainly reaping every bit of what they sowed.
As far as the video...gotta say I like this one better than the DH guide one. That one was just very poorly done, too much misinformation given, and didn't touch upon some of the better gear choices while outright dismissing and downplaying the rather good new Natalya's set and its 20 Discipline bonus. At least if you're going to make a gearing guide you should cover more bases and show people more possibilities for gearing characters.
"You just need to post "yea we forgot that, it was a big fault, we need to correct and add commas""
As opposed to:
"One thing to keep in mind is that Diablo III is a global game, available in multiple regions around the globe. And, across those regions, the decimal style varies."
Now, I know later on in the same blue post it was mentioned that they didn't think it'd have such a big impact on user experience, but I really cannot buy that. I mean, they have the commas and 'spacing' already in other areas of the game so why they didn't put it into one of the most important parts of the gold auction house system...to me, that's smelling a tad bit of laziness there and their 'well-intentioned' comment smells a little like BS to me.
"3.1 Million DPS Demon Huner"
I think someone forgot the 'T'.