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D3's Biggest Problems?
Every now the same old discussion resurfaces: what are the biggest problems with Diablo 3 right now? It gains strenght usually between big content patches, precisely when the devs are working on the next big thing. And while every time it comes back the context and end-game content are kinda different, some specific points always end up appearing.
Over at the official forums, Freezy has started a discussion on a few of the game's current problems and suggesting some solutions from a competitive player's perspective - check the preview below. MeatHeadMikhail has also made a long video talking about what he thinks are the biggest issues on the game right now - watch it below as well.
Do you agree with these? What would be the biggest things you would change on D3's current iteration? What is the single biggest problem you would solve with D3 if you had the resources?
Original Thread's Preview
So after a long commitment to being super shy and procrastinating about writing something like this up. I decided it’s finally time and I’ve had enough. In this write up I’ve decided to mention and explain as well as hopefully give some adequate examples of combating these flaws/ideas. I’m fully aware that some if not most of these idea’s have and are being worked on currently. Note that most of these are coming from a competitive player bias so keep that in mind.
Also I apologize for the huge wall of text.
ITEMISATION
Experience Gear
People who play non leech classes are forced into other classes to compete otherwise they have a disadvantage in highly competitive play. One tier can mean the difference between paragon 800-900, or 1100-1200. So if you only want to play DH you’re forced into a position to either leech or fall behind the pure leechers that are 100-200 or more paragon ahead of you.
Ancient WeaponsI’m still unsure if ancient weapons were actually a good idea or not. The power behind just a single slot giving that much more dps than the rest of your gear hinges on how lucky you are. When you spend over 1.3million shards and not see a SINGLE ancient item that you’re looking for, it’s depressing. Using Kridershots as an example, the chance of you getting the just the correct affixes is an 8.88% chance. Then an ancient item which I think is 10% chance, you’re looking at 0.888% chance, then you have to consider all of those rolls have to be average or above average and you’re looking at an extremely low chance of getting the krider you’re looking for. Things like discipline should always be rolled on weapons, also things like primary stat (Fist of Azz, Blade of Prophecy). Maybe even increase the percentage chance for weapons to be ancient or reduce the cost to gamble, it’s outrageous to spend so much and get nothing in return.
Old Sets
I know they’re being worked on over time but like this video mikhail had posted (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQEFMle-I3U), equalizing the power of each set each season will lead to much more enjoyable competitive scene.
Unused Legendaries
There needs to be legendary affixes for every single legendary there is so that every item can be looked at rather than just thrown away immediately. It will open up build diversity and create more unique builds rather than forced into mainstream items.
New Hellfire Items
In this video alkaizer talks about some idea’s for a new hellfire item (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAgTbejzxCg). The idea was that maybe you do some sort of hellfire quest where you are rewarded with an enchantment that gets applied to some pants. And what it does is gives you a random rune to a random skill of your class giving you some awesome combinations. Anything like this will help improve the game even though you’d be forced to get the perfect rune for the perfect skill. At least it’d give you more options.
Legendaries OP
Allow some certain legendaries to be OP. A good example was Mortiks Bracers, it was going to shake the standard 4player meta a crazy amount then they were removed thinking they were too strong. Ok they were strong yes but it would of made things very interesting. If every class had an item like this to combat a standard setup it would give more options. The changes to Focus/Restraint were a great example. (continues...)
"I've had enough.." haha. What a brat.
I agree and disagree with our MeatHead here.
On one end you talk about end game and you have to run this or that, then you try to talk about D2 being this great game, yet all you can mention is that EVERYBODY RAN THE SAME ITEMS AS WELL.
See, that is the issue I have, D2 and D3 are nearly the same game, that is the problem. It is not that D2 was way better, or D3 is way worse, it is the fact they are the same mainstream game where players need to run certain items in order to compete.
But where I challenge and also disagree is the point of the game. Sure, you can have fun playing for 300 hours in a season for your 750-800 para, grinding with that build you say you hate, because "D3 Says So", but I would rather run the set I want to, regardless of the difficulty, because WELL IT IS FUN!
I still have a blast running EQ Barb and Jarum WD topping off in the GR35-40 range. You have fun grinding your "Chosen Set" and playing for GR60, getting burnt out with the game and upset you only have "One Set" to play the game with. Reality says there is more than one way to play the game, the problem is that society has demanded efficiency since the early 2000's which has made game streamline, and forced people to be less creative, which has lead to less release in video games and more of a chore feeling. But you do not need to do this, it is a choice you are making, there is at least 2-3 sets for every class that can run T6 and get to GR35-40, you can still gear fairly decent in this grouping, and it keeps the fun alive.
"Innovation of Societal Demands"
Thanks,
Demonmonger
I don't have a problem with Ancient Weapons. It feels really good to find them. However there is simply too much power gain relative to T6, that is resulting in far, far too wide of paragon experience gaps from Greater Rifts. I was playing mainly to compete on seasonal solo ladders, but it became very obvious in the third week of this season, that you need a group to farm high GR levels with. And as each season has come, the discrepancy has grown wider. Its such a gap now, that it seems to me paragon level doesn't really carry the integrity that it used to.
I've been putting my grinding efforts toward HotS these days. Whether I play in groups, or solo queue, the experience gain towards individual hero levels isn't very much of a gap whether you are in a group or not. So I feel less upset if I don't have a group to play with and still have a feeling that being competitive is possible.
weirdly.....i think this is the best video you have done in a while...yes is the devs lazy and enjoying burgers on the grill? maybe...do they care about what the players want? probably not...while i dont agree with everything you and companion mentioned i will say...yes these are good ideas which will mostly be shrugged off as...meh we do what we want by blizzard...if anything our last play your way with quin has showed how much commitment they have showed for us casual and hc players. quin mentioned off portal boss fights in rifts which is a simple idea...yet brandy had no idea....and just said.."ya i can pass it on"....I think the real diablo fans expect much more from the game...and yes you are right about sets....because i enjoyed dumping all hatred for globes then f/r came along and changed the game...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMKUMriSHZA
I really hate leavers, especially in grs... I would like to see a system that removes a random item you're wearing if you leave a gr. Also they really need to implement a dialog box when you 're about to close the rift same as opening a gr.
they also need to implement a system like this
your multiplayer gr = your solo gr +- 5
So no more under geared char in games.
I think as a casual or somewhat serious player, you can already have a lot of fun with the game and most of the points from his list will not impact you. This is about the more competitive players who really want to hit the group leaderboards and drive their charackters to the maximum.
Same complaints over last 2 years. Fact is this Dev team is below average.
Core of the game is the worst most broken I seen in any game based on the size / $$$ of the team.
I'm a casualoid player, that poured a thousand hours playing with friends, not following leaderboards and compettition.
From my point of view...the issues about D3:
- people looking for challenge, while this game is mainly about RNG.
There is no skills or competition..it's just like a slotmachine. It's not a moba! nor a fps! it's a arpg.
- devs nearly abandoned D3, with slow contents release and only thousands of hours of grind to get BiS items.
Let me clarify it: i played D3 because I like killing bazillions of mobs and random spawning skills, in arcade-style...and then get some loot.
I'm not interested in pvp or ladders or board. just love to hack and slash maps.
D3 delivers exactly this..................but it's boring after a while.
Because there's no variety in it.
No theorycrafting, 99% of loot that's sharded without even identifying, no interesting side effects of items. just repetition.
The biggest ingame problem : Cheaters, exploiters or TurboHUD (or similar) users.
The biggest design problem : Soloplayer vs Multiplayer
If every class had an item like this to combat a standard setup it would give more options
Urm. That would only switch it around. Everyone used the build with the op item insted. And that was the new meta
-This is what I would like to see changed-
Combine Story Mode with Adventure Mode.
Make Rifts and Greater Rifts appear while outside of Camps.
Apply Affixes to the unused Legendary's.
Bring back the Item Hunt for when you had to get certain items from certain named monsters to craft Legendary's .
Apply affixes to those Crafted Legendary's that have none.
Make it so you have to get to Level 99, then you start gaining Paragon Points.
Add better Suffixes and Affixes to pool of Magical and Rares.
Upgrade Uber Bosses. (Maybe have them appear in Rifts/Greater Rifts also.)
Do a Huge Stat squish.
I agree. I like to play solo to many potatoes in public games!
With the Gem of Ease it has become easier to level multiple season characters. I have enjoyed playing all classes except WD. Both DPS and ZDPS. The problem is not ever class can run support/xp. I wonder if DH would level at the same pace without a support in the group. The XP Support characters are getting a bad rap because a majority of players don't know how to properly group. The only thing I would like is a balance between lower and higher paragon level players. Not everyone has twenty hours a day to play. You should be able to compete with 800 paragon level!
what are the biggest problems? hrm. the lack of change. i see world of warcraft evolving constantly since blizzard released it. mmo-c is always a beehive and you have not many weeks without interesting things coming up in the near or not so near future.
ptr, datamining, exciting features foreshadowed by blueposts. there was always something to look forward to. be it a small but meaningful class tweak in a minor patch, a whole redesign of a core feature or a class with a new patch and expansion or just a new continent zu explore. and you went a very long road with your hero from day one until today.
when i open a diablo 3 game and teleport to the bridge of korsikk and make my way to the siegebreaker.. it is the exactly same as it was three years ago. sure, i have a 70 where once was a 60. if i am a barbarian, i run around as a big incarnation of bul-kathos like i did three years ago. maybe i transmogged my gear to look like i did.. three years ago. it is a pro for diablo 3 that you are able to enter it even after a few years have passed and you won't be alienated by all the gamechanging that went on. but it is also a con for diablo 3 that you are able to enter it after a few years have passed and you still have the slightly changed game.
i play mostly hardcore seasonal and each season i level to 70 in a few hours and start to farm the same stuff as last season. now i have to watch out for ancient legendaries if i still want to contribute to the party. other than that? not much to do. last time i did the infernal machine events, i was able to farm it on monster power 7. you had 70% chance for the organs and the fight was very long and it was even softcore. i had about 20 rings and most of them were crap. so i decided to give it a shot in RoS and t6, since t6 isn't dangerous to me. the bosses were laughable. the rewards too. so, back to rifting. but since rifting is so tedious, i can't enjoy it that much any more. i think i'm about 550~ish on the paragon side and i haven't cleared any GR greater than 34.
since the announcement of greater rifts i always thought: "if i play hardcore and achieve a greater rift which is too hard for me and i get one-shotted without a warning, why would i try to open a higher greater rift?" and i still can't bring myself to try and clear a greater rift which actually hurts my barb. and the only motivation, the gems, is really no motivation at all. i don't care about bragging rights or ranks, which seems to be the 2/3 of the main reason for greater rifts, after 1/3 for the gems.
what else do i have to do? rifting. always rifting. and since i'm a WW barb (and i like that, really!), i always outrun my gf and my party, who collect the loot i drop for them because i destroy the rift before they have the chance to get there.
when i hear about the ruins of sescheron, i think about the crappy performing cesspools, which aren't really creative. when they release a new zone for the rifting pool, you whirl through the ruins without so much of an afterthought. but it will be "content" and that should make us happy.
i don't know what the biggest problem really is. maybe the speed. diablo 1 and to an extent diablo 2 style "faster walking" as a group, supporting each other via auras and fighting against evil, that would be nice for a change. not four one man armies in a party which move extremely fast. something to do would be nice. other than rifting. i can't say what, how could i? blizzard was always a creative bastion to me, they always found a way to keep me engaged in their games.
the main problem, i think, is the development team. you don't hear them, they seem to not do enough and they try to keep you entertained with season after season. in between there are small patches and they call it a day. i often read about players saying that they are utterly disconnected from the player base and the state of the game. WHEN i read from other players. but even on this site you see only a few comments on news posts. as if nobody cares anymore. the devs don't, the players don't. RoS was a great addition to the game and i hope that the inevitable next addon really brings this game back on track. but i highly doubt it. oh, and i miss my RMAH. and my trading. and my fun.
gee, i sound fairly delusional. sorry. broke out of me.
The points are lacking. With the point about Ancient weapons, its not that ancients being rare is a problem, its that the amount of stats in the game is overtly convoluted. We have TOO many stats that either does the exact same thing as another stat (Vitality and +%life, Life on hit and Life per second, Life on kill and extra regen from healing orbs), OR are just so far above and beyond other stats that there is no alternative to not having it (Elemental/Elite +% damage, +% weapon damage being the biggest ones, but crit chance+crit damage being another). Thus, it turns what could have been decent gearing choices/decisions into a BiS numbers thing, where you either HAVE to have all the right stats, or the item is complete trash. And given that theres around 5 commonly found "mandatory" stats (Str/Dex/Int, crit chance, crit damage, socket, +damage of all forms) makes gearing both simple (Have these stats, trash if otherwise), and stupidly complex (Have to calculate breakpoints, ect). The fact that most stats roll with a 50% range (500-750 of a stat) is also bad, further decreasing the chances of getting a GOOD item when you actually get the item you are looking for. Consolidating/merging most of the stats, AND narrowing the potential stat roll range would significantly help with gearing.
The points about legendaries are also moot. You could give EVERY legendary in the game stupidly OP powers, and the ONLY thing it would do would force people into the next most efficient build. As it stands, set bonuses are just TOO good to pass up, leaving people with only a very few slots. The addition of Focus and Restraint was HORRIBLE. Yes, for a number of classes, it DID break the RoRG+2 sets builds that were fairly common, but all it did was REPLACE said builds with a 6 piece+focus/restraint build, leaving only the belt, bracers, amulet, weapon and off-hand items left. Hell, at least with RoRG, we had a choice of what secondary set to use. 125% extra damage can't be passed up. If one wants to bring MORE legendary affixes into the game, then one needs to find a way to have the legendary affixes SEPERATED from gear. Perhaps a method where, after getting a certain amount of xp with a legendary piece equipped, it gets "saved" onto your character, and you can then keep a select few legendary affixes permanently (Which WOULD create a good amount of build variety. As an example, you would get Demon Hunters getting Kridershot's legendary effect, and then swapping out their weapon to, say, Calamity, or vice versa, or even grabbing both and using a 3rd legendary weapon, like the piercing bolts xbow, at the cost of not being able to grab, say, the town portal shoulder affix (Would be very useful as a damage reduction CD on high Grifts), or Thunderfury's affix, ect.
I disagree. If there was a marginal difference in top-end greater rift clears between builds, it wouldn't matter. Take Barb solo for example. 6 Wrath/4 IK and 6 Wrath/2 IK or no IK (either with or without F/R) are fairly close. The most efficient IS a BK setup, but the former is pretty close - only a few tiers separate them. Now, what about bringing Raekors up to par?
Or look at Wiz - quite a few Tal Rasha's variations now which is cool, but Vyr's is awful and Firebird's is now trash. If at least those 2 sets were brought up to par, we'd see a lot more happy Wizard players.
It's getting better, but very slowly and sadly the multipliers on the 'new' sets make the 'old' ones obsolete (Akkhan vs. Rolands for example).
I love D3, its such a beautiful game and the gameplay itself is so fun but for me the thing that burns me out is the pointlessness. I think D2 worked better for me because I felt like I was constantly working towards being strong enough to defeat uber tristram but at the same time I think expectations were just lower back then.
Rifts and Grifts, to a degree helped but they just feel broken as a concept. Within the context of the story they are designed as "training" created to help you prepare to face future evil. The problem is, though, they are way way way harder than any big evil I will ever face. My toon is training for nothing, he is already miles ahead of any boss in the game on T6 and I'm pretty casual.
I know people hate when D3 gets compared to Wow but I think one of the biggest things that kept me going with WoW all those years was that I was constantly working towards overcoming some giant epic challenge that existed within the context of the story. I felt like a hero. I felt like I mattered. And I felt like when I finally overcame that challenge that I had accomplished something meaningful. (that feeling largely went away as they diminished difficulty which is why I eventually gave up on wow)
I keep going back to that feeling as something that I would love to experience with D3. And Grifts just don't give that. I don't feel like a hero, I feel like a lawnmower facing longer and longer grass.
My suggesting would be to introduce some sort of collaborative story-driven content. Sort of like a mini-raid. Perhaps released every 3 months or so. (charge us $10-15 for it, kinda like a mini expansion). The feature itself would be a 4 player experience that requires collaborative story-driven gameplay that is difficult and involves wiping and adapting. (Aka an end game to give all that training a purpose)
I'm sure some people would hate this sort of thing but to me it would transform D3 from being that game I open once in a while for some carnage to being the game I look forward to playing with friends.
That lawnmower analogy is right on the money. sadly.
Hmm... Biggest problem with D3? Personally speaking it is the disparity between single player and multiplayer. That is what feels most immediate to me.
@MeatHeadMikhail: Although this is the second time I watched this video I never before commented on it. I hadn't ever considered the amount of content we skip for the sake of moving to what is deemed worthwhile. Everything is now eclipsed by Greater Rifts but perhaps that's how it should be. The end game. It would be great if there were more reasons to jump into Bounties or Story Mode if only to break up the monotony, but I do not see them becoming more than a diversion.
Skill points to increase skill damage/etc. Gives us more character depth instead of new items.