Diablo III Blog: Balancing Class & Set Design
The balance and set design blog that was promised to go live before the patch 2.6.8 PTR is now available for your reading pleasure! This blog provides incredible insights into how the Diablo III team determines balance, and gives players a better idea of what to expect from from future balance changes.
Originally Posted by The Diablo III Team (Official Post)
Developer Insights is our blog where we reveal some of the processes and philosophies behind our updates and designs. We have a lot going on in the world of Sanctuary these days, so please note that the following entry comes from the Diablo III team. Enjoy!
We’ve been working on multiple content patches for Diablo III, including Patch 2.6.7. which we released last November. This included two new class sets, one each for Crusader and Monk, and heavily revamped Whirlwind gameplay for the Barbarian. The result was shattering to the endgame meta—a result we were both ambitiously hoping for and pleased to see.
However, our work is far from done! We’re now developing Patch 2.6.8 and want to provide context on the approach we’re taking to address class set balance in our future patches before unleashing you onto the PTR. Let’s dive right in!
Table of Contents
Paragon & Greater Rift Levels
We look at a ton of data when it comes to balancing Diablo III. Data comes in many forms, including build guides, gameplay from your favorite streamers, and the leaderboards. Most importantly, we also track our own data internally, which allows us to see a lot more than just the top 1000 player clears for each category.
None of that data should be taken in a vacuum; it all comes together to paint a much bigger, constantly shifting picture. Here are a couple things we consider:
- Individual performers and their Paragon Level
- Paragon level directly impacts a player’s long-term progress; it’s important that this is accounted for when comparing different points of data
- The intended design and in-practice functionality of each class set
- What does this set do best? Does it clear a lot of smaller monsters, or is it a good Rift Guardian killer? Does it serve a support role? Is it better in group play over solo? Does it need to be doing something different?
And here are a couple things we specifically avoid when considering overall class balance:
- Seasonal buffs and their impact on overall power
- We want to design fun, engaging Seasonal buffs without worrying about how they might impact class balance
- Data from non-Seasonal players is especially helpful here
- Some buffs may be better or worse for different classes, but since Season effects are temporary, we’re okay with this
- Direct 1:1 class comparison
- While we want each class to perform similarly, it is still important that classes retain their unique class fantasy
- Each class should be able to accomplish similar goals, just in different ways
When balancing, we need a point of reference to work around. The “ideal” class set performance for Diablo III is approximately Greater Rift 130, solo, and assumes the character has 5000 Paragon levels. That might sound high to some of you and low to others. If so, that’s good—it means we’ve landed in a middle ground that’s beneficial to the most players!
Assuming a player is at 5000 Paragon, here’s where all the classes landed, on average, a few weeks into Patch 2.6.7 for non-Seasonal play, aggregated across player leaderboard data world-wide:
Barbarian
Crusader
Demon Hunter
Monk
Necromancer
Witch Doctor
Wizard
GR Avg.
130
138
125
130
123
130
130
From the data above we have a pretty good idea which classes are under or over performing.
Just for fun, here’s a similar comparison during the same timeframe upscaled in Season (where many players hadn’t reached 5000+ paragon):
Barbarian
Crusader
Demon Hunter
Monk
Necromancer
Witch Doctor
Wizard
GR Avg.
135
136
124
134
118
120
130
It’s interesting to see which classes most likely benefit most from the Seasonal buff—it’s also evident which classes are probably not being played as much or pushed as hard as others.
While this is our goal, we also recognize we aren’t always going to hit it perfectly. Like many games, Diablo III has a lot of mechanical details. A single change can ripple through many other parts of the game, so it’s important we’re mindful of what each change can affect. We also realize that, even with special care, it may take us a few tries to achieve our intended result. To account for this, we have a scale for error, based on how a class is performing above or below our guideline:
- +/- 1-2 Greater Rift Levels: Very close. Probably fine, when accounting for random elements (the perfect “fish”) or high player skill cap (excellent play and timing).
- +/- 3-4 Greater Rift Levels: The warning zone. We need to watch for buffs/nerfs in this area, but action may not yet be necessary. Time to keep an eye on it!
- +/- 5 or more Greater Rift Levels: Warrants significant change. At this range, it’s clear that something is over (or under) performing and needs to be addressed.
Bear in mind this is aggregate data; the above tables only cover overall class performance rather than individual class set performance. Better performing builds may be equalizing out weaker ones when it comes to the broader picture. Because we make changes at the set and item level, we must additionally parse out data by build performance (whether it’s a class set or Legacy of Nightmares-based). The above method is meant to serve as an example of our general approach and informs us which classes most likely need more attention first.
An important note, especially for those of you who have been looking for this answer: we have no plans to increase the Greater Rift level cap beyond 150. As to why, the short answer is because it causes more problems than it solves.
The long answer is that continuing to expand the end game through additional Greater Rift levels hasn’t been the healthiest approach for Diablo III. At this late stage of game development, we’d prefer to focus on making the current game the best, and most varied, experience it can possibly be. We hope to accomplish this by (1) continuing to add new builds and (2) improving existing builds that have fallen behind. Maintaining a cap, and even backing away from it a little, will allow us to focus on greater gameplay variety.
Solo vs. Group Design
A common misconception is that we balance solely around 4-man groups. While we certainly take it into account, group play is not our only focus because not all players enjoy playing in groups. We want to make sure that the content we’re designing can be enjoyed by the most players, so our design decisions should take both styles into account. If we were to design solely around one style of play, the other would be severely impacted (and likely a lot less fun).
There is one notable exception to this. zDPS, or “zero Damage Per Second,” builds tend to only thrive in group play. The team debated for a long time as to whether this was a style we should encourage or actively avoid (or possibly even remove). Any Diablo game is, at its heart, about killing monsters and getting loot, so we considered heavily whether this gameplay fit the spirit of the game we had made.
zDPS is a style of gameplay that some players like, but not all do. We ultimately decided that it’s good that there are unique ways to play the game, and we don’t want to take that fun away from those who enjoy it. However, we’re also not actively trying to create more zDPS builds. Our intent is to design new item powers and sets that either facilitate entirely new builds that can be used solo or in groups, or to give more item support to some of the most requested class skills. Inevitably, regardless of what we add, we know the community will find combinations we never anticipated—and we can’t wait to see how those play!
“Creative” Game Mechanics and Animations
There have been a handful of problematic gameplay styles that have emerged over time, largely due to creative use of snapshotting or taking advantage of the ability to cancel skill animations. This impedes our efforts at overall game balance, and it makes it very difficult for us to change skills or items without overly punishing the whole class when these tactics aren’t used. (We’re looking at you, Bazooka Wizard and Stutter Steppers.)
We want to be able to address the balance issues these builds pose, but we also don’t want these classes to fall behind as a result of these changes. So how are we handling this? It’s admittedly going to be a game of whack-a-mole as we make fixes and other issues arise through player experimentation. Our first area of concern will be disabling animation cancellation on certain skills. The Crusader class is the most subject to this (though not alone) and we’ll ensure no class falls behind as a result of losing this “trick.” After we tackle this specific issue, we’ll continue to review and revisit areas of the game where similar mechanics are having a negative impact and act accordingly.
Thank You for Reading; We’re Reading Too!
If you’ve read everything, thank you for your attention and taking the time to look through our lens! There’s a ton of info here, and you might not agree with it all; that’s okay. We love to hear what you have to say, so please make sure you’re sharing your feedback in your Class forum, the General forum, or the PTR Feedback forum during our next testing phase. We love Diablo, and whether we’re reading global chat, hanging out on our favorite subreddits, or bantering with you through social media, we’re glad we get to share this journey with you.
We hope this lends an inkling into where we’re going while our other game teams are hard at work on the future of Hell. Thank you for playing—we’re grateful to have you with us along the way!
-The Diablo III Team-
So, that means, blizzard again is going to ruin the game. In nonseason I dont need 5000 para to do GR 138. Secondly, you should actually focus on balancing not the character but gameplay it self. This stupid random RNG system has to be balanced, because its not normal that I get decent CoE only almost at the end of the season, shield still didn't get a decent antient one. Second thing you have to focus on is GRs it self. Change the excel table there, you are complaining how powerfull characters are, yes, after 300+ tries you get one normal GR run. 95% of GR maps is crap like keeps, caves, spaghetti or as usual, first map great run and lead, second and third empty caves. ill be like little Greta, How dare you??? complain and ruin this game? First, you ruing chantando just because some nagger cried they cant do more then 105 in season. Dont you see the point? Make GRs more competitive that people can do whole run not leaving at the beginning or leaving rift reaching second or third map.
Why are you worried about that some people reach solo 150? That's a reward in one way, why you wanna cap something in the game? If you are skillful player, go ahead, reach 150, are you not skilled, do whatever you can, that's why its a game. Why put all players in same low level as those who are new or never learn?
Why are you complaining about this season??? It was you who said oh this is gonna be the best season ever. Aha, it is best, because you are lazy to make this buff more complicated to be reached and first of all, what did you expect???? that everyone will be stuck at 120 and 130? you nerfed angels, but still angels are able to kill and sooner or later people will figure out how to get them to spawn on boss and 2500 paras do 150s. In my case I dont care about angels, I did my solo 145 without angels.
So now we have sader and barb that can reach pretty high, so instead of nerfing all the time something, make other character equally strong, so people who like to play monks, can do high with monks, wd with wd and so on, but if you think that noone should do 150 solo ever, then remove that cap at all and leave 130 and satisfy your ego. I see no point of having 150 if you are trying to block people from reaching it.
Better focus on fixing all game lags we get, looks like each season is not better, but getting worse and unplayable.
Did you even read the blog post? Geez...
I'd really like to see Pylons gone or at the very least redesigned. I know that Blizzard doesn't like to remove stuff and instead add to what is already there but too much of the end game revolves around the Pylons and the introduction of the new Flavor of Time was a real step back - remember when there was a lot of discussion on Pylons being too powerful, more specifically when everyone was fishing for a rift that spawned a Conduit Pylon near the end because they basically 1shotted any Rift Guardian? - That was thankfully changed, along with also "pacing" their spawns a little so as to spread them out a bit more.
Unfortunately with the new Flavor of Time buff we're once again fishing for GRs with good Pylon spawns. I realize that this doesn't go for all classes as there are more powerful alternatives but Pylons shouldn't play such an important role for any class. If anything it'd probably be good if they played even less of a role than before the introduction of the revamped Flavor of Time.
Now, since they're probably not going to remove or redesign the new Flavor of Time amulet how about giving players more control over when they'd like to use the Pylon Powers. What if we could start the rift with all the buffs available for us to use when we please instead? One could imagine an icon for each Pylon Power placed neatly somewhere out of the way in the UI and simply let us keybind and/or click them to activate. I'd probably bind them to F1-F5. Some renaming as they technically wouldn't be "Pylons" any longer might be in order. They could also have a fixed Gold cost and/or even cost a few gems, say 1 of each of the Imperial gems so that they might serve another purpose; making some use of all that excess gold and unused gems as a side effect.
We'd see FAR less need for "fishing" and abandoning a rift early as a result.
This I can support! More creative ideas like this, change the game, try to be something more! Blizzard can't "balance" a game that revolves around imbalance, and random numbers. It SHOULDN'T BE BALANCED. Think of this, no RNG, no feeling of "reward" when you actually get something good... that would fundamentally ruin the game itself. These kind of things stimulate your reward circuitry in your brain, like gambling and getting food after a long period.
If you take that away, all that is left is either passians, with no reward, or a game for hard-core players who can compete with each other...wich is kinda 5% of current playerbase.
Let's be realistic. The game is good, but it can use some creativity, like you mentioned, usable pylon effects with cost. But overall, repetativeness and failure is a part of the game. If you take that away, it becomes a 1 day movie for 95% of the players, and they leave it after that one day.
BALANCE
Blizzard is clearly changing the course of D3 to benefit those who don't know how to play.
This philosophy of trying to balance builds around 130 @ 5k paragon is insane.
There is no way to balance over 130 because these levels are relatively "low" and do not reflect the true potential of the build.
See, Wizard is "fine" just because of the Chantodo. If Chantodo didn't exist and we only had Bazooka, we would still have high level clears, but the range around 130 would be very low, not because Bazooka is weak, but because most players don't like this build or don't know how to play. ..
WW is even above Bazooka for solo, and by the graphic presented, he is on the same level as Wiz, which is definitely not true.
Ultimately, this methodology was definitely not correct.
LVL GR CAP
Originally GRs were meant to be infinite and to measure the power of players in groups or solo. What they did was to completely destroy the original design and ruin the edgame of many players. Nowadays a GR150 is a joke and is no longer a challenge. Should it be possible to try to increase this level, yes, at least old players could have "something" to do instead of playing "GR Challenge Rift"
[p]Someone said:[/p] [p]"So you wanna make them... more overpowered than they already are?"[/p]
[p]My answer:[/p] "No, exactly the same but seeing as they're probably not going to be removed it would probably be better to have them more in control of the players so as to avoid excessive fishing for rifts. Won't completely solve it but at least this way Pylons wouldn't have such a large impact on this phenomenon. Heck, one could even nerf their potency a bit if necessary, say -25% of the current power and still keep any item effects intact.[/p]
They've already stated that they're not going to go any higher than GR 150 and they're instead shooting for balancing out the numbers a little bit. Which is great. More stuff is good but taking a good look at what we already have is also a sound approach. "GR 150" is just a number anyway, the "GR 150" of tomorrow might be the same as "GR 200" of today if monster HP/Damage was increased across the board.[/p]
I'm not saying my idea is perfect by any means, it was just a rough idea but something like this might be a step in the right direction. Blizzard have often implemented player ideas but they always do their own twist to it."[/p]
Season are only for fun : However, this does not apply to seasonal bonuses, which are meant to entertain and it doesn't matter if they make the game too easy. Close 145 in solo without angels don't show the skill players, is the stacks buff to kill faster boss and mobs . i want rember you in hardcore 150 closed in solo boss killed in 20 second without angels on boss....... try to close 145 in NS
Very true of course. But doing that takes a lot of "fishing". I believe that the idea proposed could lessen that situation in a profound sense. Yes, finishing a high GR level is "hard" but "having to fish/stopping GRs early" because of Pylons alone is unnecessary and if we could do something to alleviate that without touching on anything else then I think it might be worth the effort.