DiabloFans

Quote from Torrak

I have beta access thanks to this site, and connections issues? say wot?

If anything a more diverse selection of connections would be advisable. Especially with the worldwide aspect that diablo will be going for akin to diablo 2 servers.

I would also like to point out. Blizzard wont release this game without servers set up. So in saying that making eu servers would delay the game is rediculous.

Congrats on your beta key win.

Having played the beta, but not currently invited - I'll admit that I envy your fortune.

Quote from Torrak

Us European fans are just as much a part of the community as you american. We pay/will pay the same amount of money (if not more) to play Blizzard (Generalized) stuff and yet we get treated as 2nd class citizens (WoW forums .. sloppy 2nds copy and paste jobs. Zero developer interaction).

As consumers we deserve equality.

And yes i understand and know that it is a beta test.

This is true.

However, what happened in WoW or on it's forums (true or not) isn't really a part of this discussion.

So I ask you this - would you rather they set up EU servers, just to add relevance to an EU beta wave.

OR

Get the testing done ASAP in NA and get the game shipped and running world wide for all to enjoy?

The question isn't if EU gamers/fans deserve beta invites based on their love of the franchise - because in that case they do.

The question is if an EU invite wave actually makes sense for Blizz over another NA wave. I don't believe that it does.

Just sitting here thinking about this for a bit, I realize I hadn't stopped to consider the RMAH.

I can admit that I don't know all the details.. Does the RMAH work the same for EU as US? By that I mean the same partnerships with credit card companies / pay-pal / e.c.t, governed by the same types of laws?

Them giving an "EU beta opt-in wave" does seem like a good idea from a PR concept. I think they dropped the ball by actually admitting the last wave was US only. Had they just said "We granted access to 100k accounts" and not specified that they were US only, EU wouldn't be carrying pitchforks atm.

Quote from 3d_Andersson

The only reason for an EU beta wave in my opinion is to test EU servers. (And for that we also need EU servers.)

Wouldn't EU servers be the same as US servers? Just uh.. located in EU?

So unless they need to "test" the building they'd be housed in, it still makes more sense to just test everything here?

Alright. So lets keep the flame shields up for this one.. And try to stay constructive.


Every other post I read has to mention :"EU hasn't gotten a beta opt-in wave": which causes me to roll my eyes.

Sure, I understand that there are many Diablo fans in EU - as well as all over the world. I also understand that the rules of "fairness" would allow the invites for said beta to be evenly distributed in all lands.

I also understand that "fairness" has a lot to do with people's sense of entitlement. Everyone believes they should be able to have whatever it is they want at that moment.

But from Blizz's perspective, I just don't see any value for an EU beta wave. Why? Because in terms of beta-feedback (which is the reason for the beta, I'm assuming), an EU and US gamer are no different. On top of this, they have to deal with presumably less connection issues. While I'm sure in today's modern internet age "connection issues" aren't really a huge factor, why should preference be given for an EU wave just because there was a US one?

I say this as a US Diablo fan without a beta key. So it's not as though I'm "in" and thus don't care who makes it in.

My point is that EU doesn't deserve a dedicated opt-in wave any more than the US did. All things being equal, the beta invites being US centered probably makes things easier (even if only marginally).

Thoughts?

Probably some sort of Paladin/Druid hybrid I'd think.

They're missing out on a class with the 1h/shield toolset, as well as a shapeshifter hybrid.

Either that or some form of pure ranged healer type. Think the Wizard, but with a more support/heals kit. Perhaps designed to promote inferno level team play.

I'm pretty much spreading my time evenly between League of Legends, MW3 and most recently Twisted Metal.

I've still got Witcher 2, Kingdoms of Amalar and a replay of Mass Effect 2 to finish as well.

So my plate of games is pretty full overall, but still.. All I want to play is D3, lol.

Quote from Philss

I had the same feeling at first when you get to lvl 12 and you have more skill to use it get better imo .
Also Diablo is a loot pinata game , its all about finding loot , trading and getting better .
Right now its pretty useless to try and get geared because the beta is easy mode .

My 2 cent

This is true. One of my most memorable moments in D2 was finding the first WindForce on USEast.

If not -the- first, then easily one of the first. No one knew what the damn thing was when I started trying to trade/sell it.

The odd part about it was that I wasn't even doing an MF run at the time. I was actually killing hell pindleskin just to finish the quest on my new necro and BAM - there it was.

I'm glad to see this didn't turn into a flame war.

It's also interesting that a lot of people feel as I do.

As far as not being able to finish the beta the first go in 2 hours, I can promise that you can. My Demon hunter took me about an hour and a half, because I decided to stay a while and listen! whenever Cain spoke. Finished the SKing about lvl 9 or so.

I do agree that if I had more time, I probably would've liked it more. I do tend to stop and smell the flowers, soak in the lore and take my time.. All of which were out the window in my rush to complete as much as I could.

But yeah, at the end of the day I think it's just being jaded as a long time fan that may hold back my enjoyment. We shall see, when I've finally got the CE running on my computer and I'm blasting through the rest of the game.

Like the topic says,

I finally got to try the beta via free 2hour trial from SwagVault

It's odd, because I didn't expect that they would actually follow through on the promise - especially after using a dummy email/name/phone number to protect myself. But sure enough, they did.

So what did I think?

... I .. Don't know. I ended up choosing a Demon Hunter after playing with the Wizard for about 5 minutes. As quickly as I could, I stormed through the quests. I wanted to kill the skeleton king before my time with the demo ended, and see all that I could.

The result was an experience that left me.. well, undecided. The gameplay was what I expected it to be (even if the "Rapid Fire" ability seemed far less awesome than I had hoped), and yet I wasn't nearly as impressed as I thought I'd be. I understand it's only a beta. Having done several WoW xpac betas, the SC2 beta, and countless others - I know not to judge a game based on such a limited viewing.

The problem wasn't what I saw, but what I didn't see. The death animations for various random mobs was interesting, and I got a kick out of so many destructible elements. I was also entertained by all the voice work and the trek through Old Tristam again.

So what is bothering me? It's tough to put my finger on. It clearly has the polish and charm I'd expect from a blizzard title, and it just drips with that "Diablo" flavor and atmosphere. Maybe my expectations are too high? Perhaps simply knowing what to expect prevents it from having that same "shock and awe" that my early moments with D1 and D2 had.

Anyone else have a similar feeling? I'm not trolling, nor am I complaining. I love the franchise and still eagerly await the release.

I just worry that it won't give me the same feeling that D2 did so often. After checking this site/forums for news and stories daily, I suddenly have this sinking feeling that I'm longing for an experience that D3 isn't offering.

I subbed and commented on the video. I think it's awesome that you're being generous like this.