Azimuth - Hardcore Level 99 Paragon, Monster Power Level and Loot Drops, More on PvP and Blizzard Game Launches, Hellfire Ring C

Azimuth - Hardcore Level 99 Paragon
Azimuth, a Wizard on the EU part of Diablo, has managed to reach Paragon Level 99 on his Hardcore character! Let's see if he makes it to the shiny 100. The closest competitor behind him is still at 87 and there are already 2 deaths in the top 20 of highest Paragon Level characters.





Monster Power Level and Loot Drops
There was a post today explaining in more detail how the bonus loot in Monster Power works. Seems so far not all monsters are included in the mechanic, but if all works out well they'll be surely be added along.

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

When a monster dies, the first thing we do is decide whether it's going to drop loot at all.

Most monsters -- like say your everyday shambling zombies -- have a roughly 30% chance to drop loot. The exact percentage, however, varies from monster to monster (for example, the Tormented Stingers in Act III have a much lower chance because they spawn in large packs and are easy to kill).

When you kill a monster in Inferno on MP1 or higher, if you pass the initial roll to obtain loot, you will also get a second roll to get an additional piece of loot. The "bonus item" chance for each MP level is detailed here. A few monsters are exempt from the bonus loot, but we tried to put it on the vast majority of normal monsters, and will probably add it to more if we like how the system plays out.

Also, just to be clear, the bonus drop applies to Normal monsters only. We wanted Monster Power to provide players with extra loot rolls, and (since Champions and Rares are already guaranteed to drop multiple items) Normal monsters seemed like the best place for us to add that mechanic in.



More on PvP and Blizzard Game Launches
A new post confirms, yet again, that PvP will be included in patch 1.1, while also explaining some of the issues Blizzard games have during their launch, with promises to update said games for many years to come. The major point is, of course, that Blizzard wants your feedback on all things related to their titles!

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

In terms of PvP, we didn't feel like the system we had at the time we launched Diablo III was up to par, so we elected not to release it along side the actual game. We continuing to work on PvP, though, and are currently looking to release it with 1.1.0 as a free content update (as we've said before). We also hope to share more updates in the near future on its progress.

In terms of the actual game, our development team had total say on if and when Diablo III was ready for release, and we shipped it only after we felt it had met our vision for what a great game could be on day 1. Every game that Blizzard has released, though, has had some problems after launch -- either in terms of design or actual bugs. Even with lots of internal testing and a public beta, certain issues can be very difficult to find or predict and only come to light once millions of players have logged in, pushed the limits of the game's design, and shared their feedback.

And that's okay, because one of the things that has always stood out about Blizzard is that we're never satisfied with our games and will continue to work on them for years after release to make them more balanced, more engaging, and (hopefully) more fun. Patches, hotfixes, class balances, new systems -- this is all part of the normal process for supporting a Blizzard game and its community post-launch, and we'll continue to grow and improve Diablo III for a long time to come. Paragon, Monster Power, and Infernal Machine are great examples of this, but they certainly weren't features we sat on for the initial release of the game. They were ideas we explored after watching how players progressed and seeing what we could do to make the user experience better and more fulfilling.

Just keep providing us with your feedback and talking to us about what you like (and, more importantly, what you don't), and we'll do everything we can to make this game one of Blizzard's greatest.



Hellfire Ring Clarification
Lylirra explained today in detail why such things as the Hellfire Ring nerf sometimes happen, and that it's all part of testing the game and the purpose of the PTR.

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Whenever we open up a public test for a particular patch (and this goes for most Blizzard games, not just Diablo III), it's rare that we are completely finished with implementing all the new content we intend to release. It's also rare that we have completed internal testing of that content. This means that, yes, you will often encounter bugs while playing. And, yes, some of those bugs may seem incredibly obvious in that "Oh my god, how could you have possibly missed this?" kind of way. This is completely normal.

We test concurrently along side with the PTR. By this, I mean that we will often push content to the PTR that hasn't yet been reviewed by QA. In the case of the Hellfire Ring, we made a mistake during initial implementation that caused its proc damage to scale inappropriately high. When QA tested the ring, however, they caught the bug, our designers fixed it, and it never made it to the live game. That's what testing phases are all about.

Really? REALLY?
Yes, really.

By participating in the PTR, you're witnessing not only the testing phase of a particular patch, but also its ongoing development. And, in many cases, you get to see it happen in real-time. Encountering bugs is something every PTR participant should expect and accept as part of the process, and that anything you see on a PTR could be changed or removed entirely as well.

If that doesn't sound enjoyable to you, than playing on a PTR may not be your thing. And that's totally okay. We provided the PTR to players not only because it's a helpful development tool, but also because we know that many players love jumping in early and seeing what's coming down the road -- even if it's not yet finished or polished.

What's with all the lies?
While we exercise caution whenever we choose to change aspects of the game that can reduce player power, we'll still go forward with those changes if we believe it's best for the long-term health of the game. We've also always called a spade a spade when it comes to nerfing. If we nerf something, we'll say we nerfed it. No need to mince words.

So, when we note that the Hellfire Ring change was actually bug fix, we mean it. It wasn't cop-out. It wasn't a way for us to nerf the ring's damage without saying we nerfed it. The ring wasn't working the way we originally designed on the PTR, so we corrected the issue and now the proc damage is where it want it to be for the full release of 1.0.5.

That all said, these forums are for players to constructively discuss the game -- they are not an arena for ad hominem attacks. Please keep that distinction in mind when making future posts.

Comments

  • To post a comment, please or register a new account.
Posts Quoted:
Reply
Clear All Quotes