"Weapon Swap" Down for the Count

Remember the key that allowed you to swap between weapon sets in Diablo II? Well, it seems that it will not be making an appearance in the next installment of the series.

In a rather lengthy post, Bashiok revealed the reasoning behind the removal of the weapon swap key. The full response can be viewed here (yes, there was more to it than is shown).


Official Blizzard Quote:




One good reason why it's not a feature we like the idea of is that it adds a new type of play complexity that we don't want to layer on top of those that we already have. We're creating the game, the skills, the movement speed, kill rates, skill runes, and all other combat related mechanics and features to fit as tightly together as possible. Throwing in weapon swapping forces that tightening/balancing to take it into account. Only thing is that it's not a clear cut feature. You either know how to game it - or you don't. So it creates a separation of players that isn't based on use of the character and skills but doing this weird little trick and swapping back and forth between weapons at specific times. It becomes a necessity to remain effective or as a strong opponent[.]

As much as I would like to see the weapon swap key in game, this does make sense. Many times, you would have your normal weapon, and then a "buffing weapon" on your alternate set to cast buffs with. Many players grasped this, and it really did create a rather wide divide. Players who did utilize this often had an immense edge over those who could not, or could not afford to do so.



Official Blizzard Quote:




I know this is probably the wrong audience to try to make that argument to, because most of you are on the winning end. But trust us that there will be plenty of separation between you and the noobs to show how awesome you are without weapon swapping.

This is what makes me hopeful for the future. At face value, it may seem that Blizzard is simply "dumbing down" the game to better suit new players. However, when we consider the other new systems that are more complicated than weapon swapping could ever hope to be (Skill Runes), it shows that a "dumbed down" version of Diablo will not be hitting the shelves. On the contrary, it seems that it will be a blend of ease of use, and complicated features for experienced players.


Official Blizzard Quote:




You also have the issues of it just being used for storage, which feels super cheesy. Or as a means to game MF by swapping in weapons to get 0mgz uber dropz.


I hate to admit it, but I fell into this trap many a time. I would often find myself using my second weapon set as extra storage for that polearm I wanted to sell, or those javelins that I couldn't tetris into my inventory. While this is not a game breaking feature, it is rather cheesy and pointless, so it is easy to see the backing behind this point.

As for the second part, many players (myself included), would simply swap weapons when a boss was close to dying, and be rewarded with extra loot. This may seem fantastic, but there is a valid point behind it. If we are allowed to do this, then we will not have to balanced our gear between combat, and loot-finding capabilities. We'll be able to adjust on the fly, and with a minimum of consequence. Basically, it would take a large portion of pre-planning and work out of the equation.

However, I assume that players will still be able to keep alternate weapon sets in their inventory, and just swap them out through more tedious methods. While this will still acheive the same ends as the weapon swap key, at least it will come with some downsides. Since, while you are changing weapons, the demons will not be taking a coffee break.

They're coming for you, with or without their morning cup of java.

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