Official Blizzard Quote:
There are no skill trees any more. Skills are still tiered by when you can buy them (essentially a level requirement) but there aren't any trees, it's one big pool. Before this game even reaches a beta state there will be hundreds of people playing it internally, and most likely there will be builds that are developed during that time. But the game is specifically being designed in a way that skill progression is as much of a choice as possible. There will always be builds determined to be 'the best' as long as there are choices and options. Making every skill and every pathway perfectly equal would mean watering down skills, making bland options, and overall homogenizing the classes and skill abilities. So it's a trick of balancing unique and interesting and fun skills while also ensuring that no matter which ones you pick you're not totally gimped. I also want to point out that skill runes can have a fairly dramatic impact on how skills function (and even look) so builds are further compounded not just by the skills you choose, and itemization and other stats that improve those skills, but skill runes that can potentially change their very behavior. And those changes can range from small things like adding a chance to stun, to very extreme things like causing an AoE knockback, and any creatures knocked back repeat that AoE knockback from where they land, and so on and so forth. So there's quite a bit of room for experimentation if not build potential within all of that.
the first part of his posts gives us just one more cookie crumb on how the new skill system is working. He mentions that while the skill tress are still out, the skill tiers are still in. A certain level must still be hit to acquire a certain skill. Only, instead of splitting up the skills into specific types, all the skills are floating around in one giant pool.
Bashiok then continues to talk about avoiding cookie-cutter builds. The idea of every build being equal is impossible. There will always be a particular build of skill choices that allow for the most damage. To limit players choices is not a good way to avoid this. For example, if a player chooses one skill, they are not allowed to have another. The whole point of abolishing the skill trees is to allow players to choose any combination of skills. So how then do you avoid cookie-cutter builds. Bashiok's answer is with fun and exciting builds. Blizzard is attempting to make different builds for different tastes. While many may choose the most damaging builds, other players may choose builds that are played a little differently. Perhaps the most damaging is not always the most fun build to play.
Bashiok finished his post talking about balancing issues for the game. Not only are they testing out the thousands of possible class builds but they are also aware of the affects of different item customization and skill runes. While we have not gotten too much information on what type of customization different armor and weapon choices allow, Blizzard is testing different stat augmentations with the numerous amounts of builds. Perhaps the biggest and most complicated mechanic added to the balancing troubles are the skill runes. Bashiok commented on the range of these effects from adding a small stun to adding a chained combo stun, AoE, and knock back addition to a skill. With so many different systems all affecting balancing for the game, one can only wish to be one of Blizzard's employees who get to play the game for endless amounts of hours testing the game.
The skill tree system does have its charm for me but I'm quite excited about the new system.
Both the current D2 system and the proposed system are almost exactly alike, with the exception that you don't have to learn prerequisite skills (which saves like, what, a few points total). I wouldn't be too assured that these changes are really all that dramatic.
I just hope there is a greater variety of equally potent builds.
Lol believe me, in leveling a char in D2 those few points make a huge difference, especially when you look to see synergies in game and how many of your prereq skills synergise (most don't), and if you had those extra skill points you would not have to lvl as high in order to have a perferctly built char. Those prereqs are important, especially when factoring in all the different skills you want to be able to use on your char and what your end game is gonna be like. Those little points are the bane against which I must level in order to MF with a fully lvled char
I think this is an interesting development. But I still don't get how it really works.
And for all you quirky builders out there, try building a suicide necro, where you you socket all of his armour with the 'on-death' (not sure if they stack) rainbow facets, then suicide run bosses. Though I'm not quite sure why it's generally built on a necro char (I know the build's idea without knowing what you level skill-wise). It's works with everything.
The real problem was low level magical skill, specially sorc's, druid's and necro's poisons. This happen because the highest level skill allways had a better attack patern and a superior DPS. They can easilly solve this problem by balacing the skills aspects (damage, hitbox, speed/animation, mana cost and special effects). Low level skills should be better in some of those aspects (like mana cost, cooldown and speed) and worst in others (AoE and damage).
I think this system, at the moment, is not inovative at all. I think they should creat something cooler for skills...
Personnally I don't know why Blizzard said that is hard to balance ??? ehhhh ok...
The way I would do it :
Simply with Excel,
Put all meaningful variables like :
damage
kind of damage (AoE worth more (Calculate an average of touched monsters))
attack speed
range or close (set a value like 1=close and 10 far)
damage modifiers possibly in relation
ok it's a first draft, put a fictive weapon's damage in relation of those variables. The best is a end-game weapon, so with % you will see where the problems are (abusive amount of damage or small amount of damage)
more attack speed, less damage; more AoE, less damage, less range/close, more damage... After having set a variables standard, every class with the same amount of "fictive weapon's damage" must do almost the same damage.
Preferably every first skill should have a percent modifier in sort to be effective at the end.