Thank you, Postandflee, for taking so much time to write down all of it.
I have read many theories and predictions on how Diablo might evolve but this has been the one that makes the most sense so far as it seems like something that Blizzard would do, not necessarily something that the fans would immediately wish for when asked (this is not mutually exclusive but Blizzard has some more long term perspective and economic reasoning behind their design).
The time travel also seems reasonable. It might not be the most original way of to let the story develop but it basically solves two problems at once: the wish of the fans to make a more D2-like game and providing a way to be able to kill Diablo again (the "hey I killed him last game but he somehow found a way to live again and suddenly there is a new mighty boss that wasn't present before" is getting a little old).
The focus on gameplay rather than engine-creation also sounds like Blizzard. They have always made great games but outside of their cinematics never really had great graphics. D2 was already outdated when released, Starcraft 2 was ok, World of Warcraft got a few updates but would be laughed at if it was released for the first time today, Overwatch looks good but nothing like other action games / fps. Using a somewhat older engine also enables people with lower specs to enjoy the game thus opening up a bigger market.
Thanks for investing the time for a great summary.
I think healing will always be an issue unless some other mechanic (cc, globes, etc) changes again.
As the number one dps builds seems to be firebirds archon this will cause grift fights to be melee centered. When the meta was 2xWiz or Wiz/DH those classes needed to stay back as far as possible (passives for extra melee damage were changed after that I think) and let the tanks actually be tanks.
Now everyone is just clumped together in the middle of mobs.
If ranged builds become more important (cluster bombs maybe?) again monks could focus on toughness let the dps classes be class cannons again. This doesnt seem to be the case judging from the PTR so your approach seems really good.
As Diablo is a game using a lot of randomization its hard to give a best route.. it might sound a little too easy to say "it all depends" but its just true in the beginning =)
As you work your way up to lvl 70 your best bet are bounties. As with the story mode you do get good experience from every completed bounty and if you manage to get some fast bounties (you might want to skip Queen Aranae and the like) you still get a chance for a RoRG. But even if you dont, it doesnt break your progress completely.
I would do the following:
1-70: bounties only mainly in Act 1, if available some quick Act 2 quests like Miners Gold and everything in Acarnum, Act 4 Clear Hellrift (easy layout, quickly done, good chance for a cursed chest with extra exp)
60+: pick up most items for crafting materials, get a socketed helm for a marquise ruby
early 70: do 5-10 rifts for legendaries and possible trial keys
first trial key: start at Rift lvl 1, continue upwards for needed legendary gems and possible legendary items
you will likely have 1 or 2 set items by now (Marauders or something else) giving you a few nice bonuses
choose a difficulty for regular rifts that lets you clear quickly to acquire most blood shards per hour (if it takes you 30min to clear a T3 rift you might be better off with a 8min Master rift that provides fewer blood shards per rift but more per hour).. from all the earlier bounties you should have enough rift keys
Gamble at Kadala for your biggest improvements (if you have a crappy quiver, a new one will likely make you much stronger than a marauders chest piece if you already have a good chest armor). Dont forget that there are builds and sets beside the nowadays standard M6 =) Natalyas can be nice, Cains isnt too bad either, etc.. overall try to focus on improving dps while not neglecting toughness... the stronger you are, the faster you can clear T2, T3 and so on giving you higher drop chances with each step.. if you get bad luck at Kadala while spending hundreds and hundreds of shard on the one next Marauders piece, you could be better off just advancing through other items and going on higher torments / clearing T1 faster =)
And even without a RoRG you could do some great damage with a non-complete Marauders set to be able to do T2 or T3 easily
I would go with a build that enables you to run bounties most efficiently to get more experience and rift keys. For leveling without getting boosted, bounties are the best way to get experience compared to rifts or doing story quests (in my opinion). Try focussing on faster bounties like Skeleton King, Cellar in Old Ruins, Act 2 Maghda Area, Clear the Hell Rift or any bounty that needs to you clear a shrine.
For leveling you could use pretty much anything and runs bounties on Expert or Master difficulty. Torment 1 and above is not really worth it as it most likely takes too much time per mob.
Up to 70 you could use something like this. If you find any special legendaries, adjust your skills but apart from that I would focus on one main damage skill, lots of resource regeneration, Vault for speed and Rain of Vengeance for bosses and large mobs whenever the cooldown is over.
Once you hit 60, pick up a lot of yellow and blue items for materials, then craft some items if you have been lucky to find some plans. Running Act V bounties may reward you with a good crossbow. If you managed to get a number of rift keys, aim for about 400k dps and go for your first rifts on Torment 1. You could switch your skills to Rapid Fire for mor single target damage but Multishot should still work nicely. After a few rifts, spend some blood shards on items that are still crappy.
When you found your first few Trial Keys, go to Trials, immeadiately teleport to town and start the Grift at lvl1. If you are done before minute 12, teleport to town, do a quick bounty and come back right before the end. Spawn the guardian and progress to lvl 2. This way you wont skip too many grift levels and still get a lot of legendary gems.
0
Thank you, Postandflee, for taking so much time to write down all of it.
I have read many theories and predictions on how Diablo might evolve but this has been the one that makes the most sense so far as it seems like something that Blizzard would do, not necessarily something that the fans would immediately wish for when asked (this is not mutually exclusive but Blizzard has some more long term perspective and economic reasoning behind their design).
The time travel also seems reasonable. It might not be the most original way of to let the story develop but it basically solves two problems at once: the wish of the fans to make a more D2-like game and providing a way to be able to kill Diablo again (the "hey I killed him last game but he somehow found a way to live again and suddenly there is a new mighty boss that wasn't present before" is getting a little old).
The focus on gameplay rather than engine-creation also sounds like Blizzard. They have always made great games but outside of their cinematics never really had great graphics. D2 was already outdated when released, Starcraft 2 was ok, World of Warcraft got a few updates but would be laughed at if it was released for the first time today, Overwatch looks good but nothing like other action games / fps. Using a somewhat older engine also enables people with lower specs to enjoy the game thus opening up a bigger market.
0
Thanks for investing the time for a great summary.
I think healing will always be an issue unless some other mechanic (cc, globes, etc) changes again.
As the number one dps builds seems to be firebirds archon this will cause grift fights to be melee centered. When the meta was 2xWiz or Wiz/DH those classes needed to stay back as far as possible (passives for extra melee damage were changed after that I think) and let the tanks actually be tanks.
Now everyone is just clumped together in the middle of mobs.
If ranged builds become more important (cluster bombs maybe?) again monks could focus on toughness let the dps classes be class cannons again. This doesnt seem to be the case judging from the PTR so your approach seems really good.
0
yes.. it feels a little like the anxiety christmas.. you have to get through the first few hours and then can enjoy the real goodies.
Will start at exactly 6pm if everything goes live like planned.. Im really hoping for a community buff of some type but lets see =)
1
As you work your way up to lvl 70 your best bet are bounties. As with the story mode you do get good experience from every completed bounty and if you manage to get some fast bounties (you might want to skip Queen Aranae and the like) you still get a chance for a RoRG. But even if you dont, it doesnt break your progress completely.
I would do the following:
0
For leveling you could use pretty much anything and runs bounties on Expert or Master difficulty. Torment 1 and above is not really worth it as it most likely takes too much time per mob.
Up to 70 you could use something like this. If you find any special legendaries, adjust your skills but apart from that I would focus on one main damage skill, lots of resource regeneration, Vault for speed and Rain of Vengeance for bosses and large mobs whenever the cooldown is over.
Once you hit 60, pick up a lot of yellow and blue items for materials, then craft some items if you have been lucky to find some plans. Running Act V bounties may reward you with a good crossbow. If you managed to get a number of rift keys, aim for about 400k dps and go for your first rifts on Torment 1. You could switch your skills to Rapid Fire for mor single target damage but Multishot should still work nicely. After a few rifts, spend some blood shards on items that are still crappy.
When you found your first few Trial Keys, go to Trials, immeadiately teleport to town and start the Grift at lvl1. If you are done before minute 12, teleport to town, do a quick bounty and come back right before the end. Spawn the guardian and progress to lvl 2. This way you wont skip too many grift levels and still get a lot of legendary gems.