These are some great ideas. I disagree with some, but agree with many as well. I definitely dislike the "on kill" runes. They are really only useful on non-elites, which makes them virtually pointless.
This is exactly the type of feedback I was hoping to see on this thread. Bravo.
I should have written "make rage more worth it" instead of simply "make rage worth it". I don't disagree that there are builds that employ the use of rage spenders. It just seems that there is a significant amount of Barbs running around using a build with no rage spending. This would be the equivalent of DH using no Hatred and just spamming Hungering Arrow, or Wizards using only Signature Spells. Its fine, but it misses out on the point of a resource system.
The point of a limited resource system (Rage, Mana, etc.) is that you should nearly always want to use the resource spender, but cannot because you run out of it at some point and need to replenish before using it again. There are (in my humble opinion) ways to make the rage spenders more attractive so that the idea of a limited resource system is not lost on the Barb.
I'll start with some general ones I would like to see:
1) Make resource spending worth it.
Take the least-used runes for each rage spender and replace it with a rune that adds a defensive element to its use. Examples: Seismic Slam gets rune that reduces enemy damage by 20% for 3 seconds after being hit. Hammer gets rune that increases armor by 25% while standing in tremors.
Basically, this would add some of the elements of the DH Discipline model to our Rage use. Resource = Defense, instead of the current Resource = Nominal DPS Gain that is Probably Not Worth It. This also ties in well with #2.
2) Remove the CD from Leap and Furious Charge. Add a 30-40 rage cost. Reduce Leap armor rune increase to 200%. Reduce Furious Charge heal rune to 5% per enemy hit. Replace Merciless Assault rune on Furious Charge to give back 20% of Fury cost for each enemy hit.
3) Add 25% resist increase baseline into War Cry and make the Impunity rune add an additional 25% resists. This will make the other runes a little more attractive. Currently Impunity is just too strong.
4) Add 200% armor increase to Ancient Spear, baseline. Otherwise, enemies hit by Ancient Spear have damage reduced by 25% for 4 seconds.
5) Frenzy: Triumph Rune. Instead of getting lifeback on kill, give each Frenzy hit a 20% chance to heal you for 8% life over 6 seconds.
6) Call of the Ancients: Baseline damage increase 33-50%. One of the best looking abilities in the game, no reason for it to be dwarfed by Wrath of the Berserker and Earthquake.
I would probably be happy if any of these changes were implemented. I especially would like to see the CDs removed from Leap and Furious Charge, in order to make the use of rage a lot more interesting. This would also open up several passives that are currently being ignored, such as Animosity.
Which skill changes would you like to see in 1.04?
I'd say it's clear that they don't play WD nearly as much as Barbarian (which seems to be the most well thought-out.)
I had to facepalm when I read this quote in regards to resource management. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, since you say you have played WD, Wizard and Monk, and have no clue about resource management for barbarians. I will simply point out for you, that nearly all of the viable builds for inferno barbarians (excluding those running around in tens of millions of gold worth of gear) have barbarians using absolutely zero resource spending abilities. I am literally at full rage at all times during combat. Virtually no barbarian uses any resource spending abilities whatsoever. This is why the Berserker's Rage passive, which grants a 25% damage increase while at full rage is so popular; we are always at full rage!!!
I believe that even though playing without the AH is more difficult in terms of progression, using the AH adds quite a few layers of challenge and planning, making the game way more dynamic.
That is a great point, and I am glad you found an additional layer of challenge for yourself in Diablo. Personally, that particular layer of challenge is not something I look for in Diablo, which is why I chose to play the no-AH route. I do love playing the AH in games with more fleshed out economies. In Diablo its just gold -> gear, while in many games there is that integral "mats" step that I feel is missing here for me to have fun playing the AH. I do (did) love scouring the AH in WoW, looking for that great deal though
I just wanna say (and this thread exemplifies it) - you can choose which features you want to use, and which you don't. You don't have to use the AH, or the RMAH. Just play how you enjoy it.
I think my personal challenges to not use the AH will be in hardcore mode and hope for the best!
I am scared shitless of playing Hardcore. Can you imagine losing a level 60 character? Or better yet, losing it to lag or a d/c? I think I would literally jump out a window.
I personally don't use the AH. I find that it changes the pacing too much, and it is no wonder that people are complaining about the endgame being too shallow when they buy too much gear of high quality. Of course it'll take a lot longer to actually find an upgrade ingame if you're constantly buying the best stuff you can afford. As a side effect, it also devalues gear that is dropped ingame, since it is that much more unlikely to actually be useful.
This is exactly my mindset. I feel like the pacing without the AH is much closer to what Diablo is supposed to be. I am in Act 2 of inferno, and getting through it pretty well, but I also "artificially" stopped myself from leaving Act I until I got my resists to like 700+, health to 40k, etc. which obviously takes a lot longer to do without the AH.
there should be a option when you start create a new character to not have access to AH, but access to game lobbies with custom names
I would have chosen such an option in a heartbeat. I think Blizzard was extremely bullish with trying to ensure that the RMAH made a decent chunk of money in the first few months of this game being out. This included making sure every player had access to it and that drop rates were low enough for the first few weeks or months so that prices remained high. This is an understandable fiscal strategy, though it obviously rubbed plenty of gamers the wrong way.
I wanted to hear about people's experience with playing Diablo while not using the auction house.
This is my preferred playstyle, and I do not want this thread to become a AH v. No AH discussion. I just enjoy the speed of the progression and the game's loot system a lot more this way. People should play the game however they find it most enjoyable, whether that is using the gold AH, RMAH, not using the AH at all, or RPing a sordid love affair with Covetous Shen.
My experience:
1) I play solo about half the time, the other half I play with 1 or 2 friends/family members. We trade drops amongst ourselves. I play barbarian. The other two people I play with mostly play Demon Hunter and Wizard. All three of us do not use the Auction House, at all.
2) The most enjoyable part of playing "no-AH" Diablo is the extra feeling of excitement you get unwrapping a ilvl 62/63 rare drop, or even seeing one drop. I don't buy anything on the AH, so there is no "just 2 more million and I can upgrade my helm" type stuff. The drops are it, and the suspense of identifying a high ilvl drop is higher because this method of gearing is the only one that is available. There is no AH to fall back on.
3) The second-most enjoyable part is the speed of gear progression. None of us have ever seen a weapon with more than 850 dps, and those have had really crappy affixes so none of us are actually using a weapon with higher than about 750 dps. I am using a 680 dps weapon because there just hasn't been anything better. My shield is ilvl 61 because it has some pretty great stats and good block %. The idea of getting an ilvl 63 shield with decent stats and good block % makes me giddy with excitement! That will really increase my survivability. I have no % reduction against melee or elites because it just hasn't really dropped for me. Looking forward to getting these types of items randomly is what makes me log on everyday. The idea of farming until I can buy such an item is not quite as fun to me, personally.
4) The least enjoyable part of playing "no-AH" diablo is that there is no real place to spend your money. The Blacksmith was pretty poorly implemented, as there are no ilvl 63 items to attain. Also, the cost of crafting his gear is pretty prohibitive, considering its ilvl is not amazing. Further, the recipe drops have been pretty bad for us, so the only jewel we have above the stuff the Jeweler comes with is the perfect star amythest. That is great for me as a barb, but the Wizard and DH could certainly use an emerald or topaz pattern. However, looking forward to one of these dropping is also fun.
5) Another negative to this sort of gameplay is the idea that I may never see certain pieces of gear. My barbarian might never get a String of Ears or a Helm of Command or a Stormshield. In some ways, this really sucks, but that is the nature of the RNG of Diablo. I can imagine once the legendary gear changes are made in 1.04 (or whenever) and they become significantly better than regular drops or have really cool procs/set bonuses, I will really be itching to just nab something on the AH. I hope I can resist the temptation! And who knows, maybe I'll get one of these to drop one day
6) A relatively minor point for me, but I also enjoy playing "no-AH" Diablo as a tiny form of protest against the RMAH specifically, and to a lesser extent, the AH. I know this is a contentious topic, but I am trying to be thorough in explaining why I like playing this way.
So how is your "no-AH" Diablo gaming going? Any questions about this style of playing?
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These are some great ideas. I disagree with some, but agree with many as well. I definitely dislike the "on kill" runes. They are really only useful on non-elites, which makes them virtually pointless.
This is exactly the type of feedback I was hoping to see on this thread. Bravo.
The point of a limited resource system (Rage, Mana, etc.) is that you should nearly always want to use the resource spender, but cannot because you run out of it at some point and need to replenish before using it again. There are (in my humble opinion) ways to make the rage spenders more attractive so that the idea of a limited resource system is not lost on the Barb.
1) Make resource spending worth it.
Take the least-used runes for each rage spender and replace it with a rune that adds a defensive element to its use. Examples: Seismic Slam gets rune that reduces enemy damage by 20% for 3 seconds after being hit. Hammer gets rune that increases armor by 25% while standing in tremors.
Basically, this would add some of the elements of the DH Discipline model to our Rage use. Resource = Defense, instead of the current Resource = Nominal DPS Gain that is Probably Not Worth It. This also ties in well with #2.
2) Remove the CD from Leap and Furious Charge. Add a 30-40 rage cost. Reduce Leap armor rune increase to 200%. Reduce Furious Charge heal rune to 5% per enemy hit. Replace Merciless Assault rune on Furious Charge to give back 20% of Fury cost for each enemy hit.
3) Add 25% resist increase baseline into War Cry and make the Impunity rune add an additional 25% resists. This will make the other runes a little more attractive. Currently Impunity is just too strong.
4) Add 200% armor increase to Ancient Spear, baseline. Otherwise, enemies hit by Ancient Spear have damage reduced by 25% for 4 seconds.
5) Frenzy: Triumph Rune. Instead of getting lifeback on kill, give each Frenzy hit a 20% chance to heal you for 8% life over 6 seconds.
6) Call of the Ancients: Baseline damage increase 33-50%. One of the best looking abilities in the game, no reason for it to be dwarfed by Wrath of the Berserker and Earthquake.
I would probably be happy if any of these changes were implemented. I especially would like to see the CDs removed from Leap and Furious Charge, in order to make the use of rage a lot more interesting. This would also open up several passives that are currently being ignored, such as Animosity.
Which skill changes would you like to see in 1.04?
I had to facepalm when I read this quote in regards to resource management. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, since you say you have played WD, Wizard and Monk, and have no clue about resource management for barbarians. I will simply point out for you, that nearly all of the viable builds for inferno barbarians (excluding those running around in tens of millions of gold worth of gear) have barbarians using absolutely zero resource spending abilities. I am literally at full rage at all times during combat. Virtually no barbarian uses any resource spending abilities whatsoever. This is why the Berserker's Rage passive, which grants a 25% damage increase while at full rage is so popular; we are always at full rage!!!
That is a great point, and I am glad you found an additional layer of challenge for yourself in Diablo. Personally, that particular layer of challenge is not something I look for in Diablo, which is why I chose to play the no-AH route. I do love playing the AH in games with more fleshed out economies. In Diablo its just gold -> gear, while in many games there is that integral "mats" step that I feel is missing here for me to have fun playing the AH. I do (did) love scouring the AH in WoW, looking for that great deal though
Couldn't agree more. Cheers mate.
I am scared shitless of playing Hardcore. Can you imagine losing a level 60 character? Or better yet, losing it to lag or a d/c? I think I would literally jump out a window.
This is exactly my mindset. I feel like the pacing without the AH is much closer to what Diablo is supposed to be. I am in Act 2 of inferno, and getting through it pretty well, but I also "artificially" stopped myself from leaving Act I until I got my resists to like 700+, health to 40k, etc. which obviously takes a lot longer to do without the AH.
I would have chosen such an option in a heartbeat. I think Blizzard was extremely bullish with trying to ensure that the RMAH made a decent chunk of money in the first few months of this game being out. This included making sure every player had access to it and that drop rates were low enough for the first few weeks or months so that prices remained high. This is an understandable fiscal strategy, though it obviously rubbed plenty of gamers the wrong way.
This is my preferred playstyle, and I do not want this thread to become a AH v. No AH discussion. I just enjoy the speed of the progression and the game's loot system a lot more this way. People should play the game however they find it most enjoyable, whether that is using the gold AH, RMAH, not using the AH at all, or RPing a sordid love affair with Covetous Shen.
My experience:
1) I play solo about half the time, the other half I play with 1 or 2 friends/family members. We trade drops amongst ourselves. I play barbarian. The other two people I play with mostly play Demon Hunter and Wizard. All three of us do not use the Auction House, at all.
2) The most enjoyable part of playing "no-AH" Diablo is the extra feeling of excitement you get unwrapping a ilvl 62/63 rare drop, or even seeing one drop. I don't buy anything on the AH, so there is no "just 2 more million and I can upgrade my helm" type stuff. The drops are it, and the suspense of identifying a high ilvl drop is higher because this method of gearing is the only one that is available. There is no AH to fall back on.
3) The second-most enjoyable part is the speed of gear progression. None of us have ever seen a weapon with more than 850 dps, and those have had really crappy affixes so none of us are actually using a weapon with higher than about 750 dps. I am using a 680 dps weapon because there just hasn't been anything better. My shield is ilvl 61 because it has some pretty great stats and good block %. The idea of getting an ilvl 63 shield with decent stats and good block % makes me giddy with excitement! That will really increase my survivability. I have no % reduction against melee or elites because it just hasn't really dropped for me. Looking forward to getting these types of items randomly is what makes me log on everyday. The idea of farming until I can buy such an item is not quite as fun to me, personally.
4) The least enjoyable part of playing "no-AH" diablo is that there is no real place to spend your money. The Blacksmith was pretty poorly implemented, as there are no ilvl 63 items to attain. Also, the cost of crafting his gear is pretty prohibitive, considering its ilvl is not amazing. Further, the recipe drops have been pretty bad for us, so the only jewel we have above the stuff the Jeweler comes with is the perfect star amythest. That is great for me as a barb, but the Wizard and DH could certainly use an emerald or topaz pattern. However, looking forward to one of these dropping is also fun.
5) Another negative to this sort of gameplay is the idea that I may never see certain pieces of gear. My barbarian might never get a String of Ears or a Helm of Command or a Stormshield. In some ways, this really sucks, but that is the nature of the RNG of Diablo. I can imagine once the legendary gear changes are made in 1.04 (or whenever) and they become significantly better than regular drops or have really cool procs/set bonuses, I will really be itching to just nab something on the AH. I hope I can resist the temptation! And who knows, maybe I'll get one of these to drop one day
6) A relatively minor point for me, but I also enjoy playing "no-AH" Diablo as a tiny form of protest against the RMAH specifically, and to a lesser extent, the AH. I know this is a contentious topic, but I am trying to be thorough in explaining why I like playing this way.
So how is your "no-AH" Diablo gaming going? Any questions about this style of playing?