A Fansite Mixer was held at Blizzard HQ yesterday, where Blizzard gave some information on all their products. For Diablo 3 though the developers wanted to concentrate on asking the different communities how they feel the game is doing and what should be done in order to see a big improvement. With that said, there were some interesting tid-bits, which we now present with the bullet points below.
Just a reminder that this was a talk between developers and fansites and nothing below should be considered a confirmation.
- Developers would absolutely love to add perpetual content, like Endless Dungeon
- Blizzard feels that even if endless content is added it would get boring eventually, so they're wondering what the ending point should feel like
- People tend to ignore anything that doesn't offer a reward
- Developers share the frustration of not having proper rewards after some polished, unique and sometimes intense events, like the puzzle in Act IV for example. The chest after that event often drops white items
- The Monster Density changes have made a lot of the random events feel underwhelming
- Developers know making all builds viable is impossible, but they're looking at ways to reward suboptimal builds
- Blizzard is considering implementing mechanics and/or achievements for using different weapons or skills during boss fights, which would encourage experimentation
- New expansions usually bring a big variety of new builds, but theorycrafters lock down the viable ones within the first month, which leads to very few "truly viable" builds for the rest of the game's life cycle
- Theorycrafters and the obvious access to Internet often erode the enthusiasm of some players, that try less popular and not-so-efficient builds
Berninio's Talisman Suggestion
A lot of our forum users have been inspired to create suggestion topics and Berninio has made one that really got some attention from our members. His idea is a take on the reintroduction of the Talisman - a container for charms, much like the ones in Diablo II, that got cut during late development of the game.
Berninio's idea is for charms to offer affixes that generally stay away from offensive stats like Critical Chance, Critical Damage and Attack Speed. Instead he offers alternatives like "Pulls all monsters towards you" and "Chance to spill poison when you're hit". Alongside those are also less popular stats like Dodge % and Reduced Damage from Elites. Having these affixes on items different than gear would promote building up characters in different ways, while not touching your offensive stats that come from equipped gear.
Check out his topic to see all the small details he has made and drop him some feedback!
Archon's 50 Million Witch Doctor Guide
Archon has created a new budget guide for the players that might decide to give another class a try or start their gear anew. This time the focus is on the Witch Doctor. In the video below you can see Archon going through the gear selection process and then testing out how the builds work on MP7.
If you've missed it you can also check out his Demon Hunter and Barbarian 50 Million guides.
"the puzzle in Act IV for example"
It's on Act III ^^
They were referring to the one where mobs fall on your head as you move on platforms, locking them in place. It was simply mentioned in the context of puzzles. It's certainly a bit different than the rest of the game.
Always fix a complete tile-set before open the chest. At first I thought I would get better loot, but on the 7th try I knew the loot was random no matter what!
Edit: Same goes with saving all the people in Act 2 right before Magdha. The quest right before Belial is something I really hate, so I activate it and go on a farm run instead.
Oh my god, yes. This should be as an answer in font size 72 to many suggestion or complaint threads. Especially when comparing a 2013 game to some offline game from the 90s or early 2000s.
I remember that even after playing Civilization 1 or WarCraft 2 for years I'd still find "new, undiscovered strategies" (at least those I didn't know of) because I had no internet at the time and even the few existing online resources were more about hacks and cracks and less about theorycrafting every single bit. This is the primary reason why balancing a game nowadays is so hard. I'd even say it's impossible, because it's not even that theorycrafters "find out" the most effective routes/skills. The few theorycrafters that everyone listen to just "define" what is effective, and sometimes wrong facts are thought to be the most effective ones for weeks. I remember that the original Alkaizer route wasn't perfect (as he said so himself in an interview), but just because it spread so fast everyone was running the same thing and neglecting simple improvements.
No, I'm not mad. Just think it's funny how developers make an online game and then complain about the internet
Offline games have the same problems, and Blizzard reposts guides regularly in their Community Commentary or links them in blueposts - so your provocative joke is pointless.
They're just stating the facts, and I'll throw this at the angry mob the next time it comes up. For example, take this group combo - it has been possible for months, but instead of trying stuff like this people cry "barb OP, DH useless". Just because it's what the theorycrafters' verdict was for months.
Now that's pointless. What are you suggesting? "If you are not satisfied with anything, it's your own fault for looking too closely"?
Oh yes, that's an excellent example for... theorycrafting?
By the way, I still think DHs (relatively) suck. It's one skill that works well in a specialized group...
sometimes i wonder if blizzard isn't overthinking things a bit. they really need to get us (at least a little) something soon.