Lol@Those of you saying it was made easier
Originally Posted by (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
I just wrote like three pages of a reply and the forums lost it when I clicked Preview. ... *cry*
Ok what it boiled down to was:
Ok what it boiled down to was:
- Read my previous post. It seems like some people glossed over it.
- I'm happy most of you are happy about the change, and I know you're going to love the game.
- Those few of you who don't like it, you'll love the game too because you're wrong.
- Item pools are not limited by Act, or Boss, or anything like that. While you'll have a better chance to get better items in Act IV Inferno, you could get those same items in Act I, or even Hell.
- Our item pool philosophy is that you can break an urn and get the best item in the game - it's all a matter of chance. Running more difficult areas and taking on more difficult enemies will not always be the most efficient way to find upgrades.
- Previously, Inferno difficulty was mlvl 61 across all of Inferno, and now it starts at mlvl 61 and ramps up quickly in Act I and ends somewhere around 65 (?) in Act IV. We've only increased the difficulty.
- I'm aware of internal bets on how many months it will take someone to beat Inferno.
- A flat Inferno of mlvl 61 had a small curb of difficulty, and once that was over you had nowhere else to progress and no reason to. That's boredom.
- Boredom doesn't generally come from content repetition, it comes from lack of ability to progress, or ease of progression.
- By having a sharp increase in difficulty in Inferno we can encourage progression without having a brick wall of difficulty.
Edit:
Bashiok has said the following via Twitter as well:
Originally Posted by (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Sorry, to clarify, the beginning of Inferno is not any easier than it was before. We've only made Inferno harder.
https://twitter.com/#!/Bashiok/status/187421452549636096
1
Who are we to dictate the usage to their intellectual property.
I've never felt the urge to write to an author to let him know I demand changes to his work, just because I disagree.
Really it's not so much a matter of empathy, more a case of apathy. This is Blizzard's choice and that's how it is.
You know what, people cracked WoW and created 3rd party servers. Perhaps the same will happen with D3. Then people can create their own second rate, illicit content.
1
Do you want to know why. Because they actually enjoy it. It's what gives them happiness on this tiny speck of gloom we like to call a planet. And I'll grant them that much, because it makes them happy. I'm not going to go tear down something they've found enjoyment in, just so I can make me feel better about my own little sad existence. No, I'd rather come here and share my anticipation with others who love Diablo.
What's your excuse for being here? Since you intend to achieve nothing. You know you are fighting a battle you cant win. And you're spending your time with people you don't care about. This isn't V for Vendetta, there are no great evil corporations to destroy to save the downtrodden. This is the real world, and Blizzard isn't out to get us.
And I like it how you call us blind. Like we are all newborns and never made any mistakes before, however, in your thousands of years of life you've seen it all and look down upon us mere mortals with amused disdain. Dream on. We know what is happening around us and what Blizzard is, and we know it and accept it. Some of us approve and embrace it.
What exactly has Blizzard done to you to piss you off so much? Please, just let me know, I'm very curious.
2
Imagine you create something, which so-called 'fans' then steal and release to the public, before you can do so. It's outrageous and disgusting. It's intellectual property theft.
So, you threaten to flame someone to hell for pointing this out to you? I know you have a Rise Against avatar, but if you want to be part of the civilized, adult world and have a decent conversation, then you're gonna have to check that teenage, rebel attitude at the door.
1
At a stage I enjoyed some of the comments and now I come back, 4 pages later, and it's just insults and anger. I should have known though, these threads always go from bad to worse. I think everyone deserves to believe what he/she believes in. I LOVE the fact that our world is so diverse. It shows how deep a species we can be and how we long for individuality.
You know, I would love to live in a world where I can tell people what I believe in and they tell me what they believe in, we weigh the merits and see the good in what we each believe in. We can learn from one another, and that is why we live on this planet, to learn and grow as individuals and as a species.
We have long way to go as a species.
1
We're living on a planet with very limited resources and we just keep on multiplying. The rich have few kids, while the poor just keep on piling them up for display. I don't quite get the logic of it. And people just keep on get more and more, while the planet is draining by the day. We are not really providing for the future, humanity is slowly suffocating itself.
I do agree, life is something that needs to be cherished, but people are no longer doing that.
They call it the miracle of life, but with 6.9 billion people it's growing to become more of an epidemic.
2
The upside of today’s announcement is that we will be running the beta test longer than we initially planned, which will allow us to invite more of you who have opted in.
I've watched all of the Let's Play Force playthroughs, as well as a few others before that and I don't want to see any more of the start of Act 1, I want to save it now for when I play the full game. That, and it gets more and more aggravating each time, because the anticipation is killing me.
I can only imagine how it must be for the beta testers. They keep experiencing the game, but only until Leoric. So close, yet so far. Now they will have to wait three more months before the can continue. For three more months they can watch Leoric die and see that soul crushing 'Congratulations' screen.
'Here, have a lick of this brilliant new peppermint fudge, cookie ice cream desert with warm chocolate moose topping. Only a lick, no more for you, you will have to wait a few months to get the whole thing.'
No thank you, I'd rather not play the beta, Blizzard, you sadists.
3
So, some people who played diablo 2 would want to know if they'd wish to purchase 3, thus they go onto youtube to watch an informed video by a competent player. They'd run into this crap and this might throw them off. Yes, his incompetence is offensive to fans and harmful to the game.
Support this idiot if you like, but don't delude yourself. He is supposed to use the beta for the betterment of the game, not to do it needless harm.
1
My argument is that a point system inherently favors focused builds, while with D3 they are going for a more loose fitting build system. And this will make for a tighter late game, I might add.
In the end they removed the skill points because even the escalating caps didn't work out, and that has to tell you something.
Alright, again with the level 7 rune. What you are forgetting is that there are at least 22 skills and 5 different runes, which means there are effectively 110 skill choices open to you. Yeah, runes change it that much.
No, because let's say you are fighting a boss with 12'000 HP, for your level 7 MM it would take at least 42 shots to take him down, while a level 15 MM would take at least 20. That is the huge difference. Your character will be damn frustrating to play, because his output will lag behind. Let's say a group of skeletons with 1'000 HP attack you, with level 15 MM you will kill them in 2 shots while level 7 will take 4 shots, meaning you will keep running out of arcane power way too fast. And MM is supposed to be your crowd control skill, but 4 shots would require way too much firing against say 15 skeletons. With a level 7 MM by the time you kill 6, you'd be out of arcane power.
Even with just a few points, a skill will be lacking. In your example, you said you put 1 point in hydra, alright, but let's say level 1 hydra does 8-12 damage. How effective will that be against enemies with 10'000+ HP. Yes, it's to slow, but it will still be an arcane power cost sink, which you will feel when you cast it. And that is what it suffered from, some skills you maxed (MM and Torrent), while others weren't useful to max like teleport. Doesn't that tell you something, what's even the point of giving such skills levels if they aren't viable later on. Options only go so far, if they aren't useful beyond a point.
And you know you only used to get 1 skill point every second level, which meant a max of 30 skill points, right?
Oh, and I doubt slow will be stacking, it would probably boil down to a 33% flat movement speed.
See my comment above. Most people don't enjoy struggling like that. People will try to force the maximum efficiency out of their builds to get it 100% right. Many people don't even like to do that, which is why they go to guides to look at what builds work, and then spend the allotted amount of points where needed.
I'm not sure which statement, but yeah, D3 (any Diablo for that matter) is item based. They've even changed it that most skills now rely on your weapons for their damage.
It's not really a silly example. When you wanted to respec, you needed to go to an NPC in the town. That was a huge time waster, just to see if you like a new skill or not. And I'm glad there is no monetary restraint on the current system. I don't like being punished by a game, it's not fun, that's why the monsters are there. I'd rather feel challenged and struggle with a boss than struggle with the game mechanics, and respec and points feels like restraints. It punishes you for mistakes and hinders your speed and progress.
I wont lie to you, I've enjoyed skill point systems, but times go on and to be honest, I like Sacred's skill system a lot more than Diablo or Titan Quest's skill system.
Oh, thought I understood you for a second, my bad.
Just want to know. Have you played Guild Wars, or a card game called Magic the Gathering. Well, the current skill system is a lot like that. You now have a hand of 6 cards and a side board of 16 skills (cards if you will), and your potential deck size is 110 skills (cards) with which you can optimize your build.
The old skill system was more of a racing game (for numbers), while the new one is more of a card game.
Once again, removing a fee makes it casual? How exaclty? Hmmm, funny how skills are lately associated with difficulty and not the damn hard monsters. Like I said, I'd rather have a flowing system and struggle against difficult enemies than struggle with the skill system that's fight back against me every step of the way.
I don't know how to help you there, I'm growing more verbose by the second, and I'm feeling long winded to explain how it logically fits together.
-No, respec work under certain context's, but in the system of D3 it feels redundant.
-We will have more options with only runes and escalating skills. People have gone over these points before. No limitations=more opportunities.
-That's the gist of it. Like my above examples with the skeletons, maxed skills=better efficiency, while with other skills more points becomes redundant. And that is not options it is carrot on a stick play. Carrot or stick?
-Actually all skills are now spammy. And that's better, because the more skills you try out, the more options you have.
To reiterate my point. min skills become obscure and inefficient. And skill point system allow for only so many good builds, it's not a design flaw, that is just the strength of the system and how it works.
1
Now, Diablo 3 has 20+ skills, spread out between the five classes and each skill has 5 different configurations worth of runes. And you want them to design all of that twice through, even though expansions are still incoming, which would also require balance design of its own.
It's a nightmare.
Diablo 3 is the successor to Diablo 2, if you haven't figured it out yet. And Diablo 2 is a PvP lite game, focusing on story telling, which would make sense that it's sequel follow in the same footsteps.
Failed logic on your part.
3
Diablo 2 didn't have traits, or skill runes, or crafting for that matter. Stats also doesn't really grant as much freedom as you think it does. Think about it. You pump strength to get armor, and then you just push what's needed based on your class, i.e. some mana for casters, a lot of dex for non caster, a lot of vitality, etc.
Blizzard has stated this fact before.
In Diablo 3 you get to add traits to your character, which modifies a huge part of how you'll play. You will also get 5 runes to mix and match so you can change your desired skills the best way you want.
Also, items play a huge part in Diablo and in D3 you will be able to craft the items you want. There are more levels of gems that you can now add sockets, remove, and upgrade with artisans. And you can also enchant your items. Gold is now a lot more important than it ever was in D2, which adds so much more variety and important choices.
If you sit and think about it, D3 has a lot more options than you'd expect from face value. And I'm glad they removed the simple, one sided mechanic that the stat points brought to the game.