431 replies to this topic

[asfastasican]

Maybe I'm reading this article wrong, but now that runes are not items anymore, doesn't that mean they will have less impact on the economy? Not having them as items means that the only way you can have them affect the economy is by being gold sinks. Stuff like costs associated with switching skill runes and throwing your gold at an npc and removing that gold from the economy.

It seems to me that runes have less impact on the economy and in the grand scheme of things, it achieves what a skill tree would achieve in a less interesting way. Even if they did achieve success by giving players customization options, will there still be hurdles to overcome if a player wants to switch specs?

Also...

"Thanks for reading.
Jay Wilson is Game Director for Diablo III and won first place in the team’s chili cook-off competition. Recipe available upon request."

Really...?

Edited by asfastasican, 19 February 2012 - 08:37 PM.

[zimira]

Corpsie, on 19 February 2012 - 02:42 AM, said:

What they should have done and keep these changes but instead of unlocking as you level, make "skill runes" books or scrolls, with ranks that once use are permanent to your characters skills.

This way you still have the hunting for  runes factor, you have no inventory issues because the items are 1 time uses, you still keep ranks on runes etc.

As I read his text I saw the potiential for something like a "Book of more powerful rune" being added in an expansion. Ofc unless they are able to be used on any rune they would run into same inventorial problem as for the original solution.

[wizz4087]

In D3 it won't be as hard as it was in D2 to get to the level cap, so having runes unlock in higher levels won't be an issue.

[rozmata]

Grahf, on 19 February 2012 - 05:54 PM, said:

without reading 18 pages..has any of the animation changed due to the new skill systems?  if so can anyone provide a screen shot of the changes?

I'm sitting like an idiot and reading for whole day this f... thread, so I can tell nobody mentioned anything about animation being changed. Not yet, I'm still reading ..................

[maka]

XSEdef, on 19 February 2012 - 07:30 PM, said:

I do understand some of the criticism this iteration of the system is getting, but overall I see it as a further step towards a solid game.
1) This iteration solves the inventory problem
2) It does not remove the idea of the rank of runes (stronger runes vs weaker runes), it merely moves that to gear. I.e. where before you'd have a rank 1 vs a rank 5 rune, you now always have the same base rank of rune, but i.e. an item affix can mod that. That could be in the form of "+crimson rune skill" or maybe even more specific "+meteor shower skill". I do not know if they are going to add this to items, but I would like to see it in some form or the other.

1) There was no inventory problem; 5 runes * 7 ranks = 35 inventory spaces. Stop proliferating a misconception;

2) They could have those affixes AND still have runes as loot. You're talking as if they're mutually exclusive.

[rozmata]

Kblavkalash, on 19 February 2012 - 06:20 PM, said:

Changes are good I am just sad that they completely removed rune ranks. They put many hours in making effects for different rune ranks and now they just scrap everything? No wonder why they are producing the game 7 years when they cut half the things they have done.

They will restore some things later in a better form. For now it's time for release date

[rozmata]

italofoca, on 19 February 2012 - 06:21 PM, said:

Ok i've played the beta for several with this new system. We can't compare then since we had not tested the previews one (unfortunelly). But if they made this change i think we should trust then.

About this new system, it's ok. However I see a problem. I was playing a WD and was trying to use skills i usually don''t (Plague of Frogs, Hex). When I reached level 6 and opened the first rune for Poison Dart it's kinda sucked that one skill (Poison Dart with 3 shots) were completly stronger then the other (Plague of Toads) because one was runed the other was not =[

It's like, in a few situations, you're urged to use skill x despoite your taste because that skill has a rune and others don't. That kinda sucked. I think they should remove the unruned version of each skill in order to solve this issue.

It will let you know your character better. Maybe you will actually like some skills you didn't think you would or even realize some of them are useful when you though they would not. Give it a chance, higher level you get more choices will be up to you.

[oify]

Hi there!

I like the changes because I agree with ~6000 runes being too much to handle via inventory space.

I'm not sure if I like the 'runes' being unlocked with each level because you can no longer trade them now.

Everyone having the exact same runes feels a bit odd but maybe that's just me.

Blizzard will do the right thing in the end.. hoefully.

Greetings

Edited by oify, 19 February 2012 - 09:02 PM.

[rozmata]

Leeodin, on 19 February 2012 - 07:15 PM, said:

It's probably been said but this thread is 19 pages long so.

Only issue I have is that we now can't do theme builds before we unlock everything. First play through would have been like that, but for example you now cant have an ice themed wizard until you have unlocked all skills and ice runes.

It's a minor issue but it does place a barrier on people that want to do a themed play through.

Possibly we could convince blizzard to use this system only for first play-through. Something like with hardcore. Or even make it an option in the menu. It's not like skill runes are stronger one from another, they are just different. Well, there is still time to do that

[CherubDown]

I compiled a quick video of the new barb runeskills:

[rozmata]

rozmata, on 19 February 2012 - 08:50 PM, said:

Grahf, on 19 February 2012 - 05:54 PM, said:

without reading 18 pages..has any of the animation changed due to the new skill systems?  if so can anyone provide a screen shot of the changes?

I'm sitting like an idiot and reading for whole day this f... thread, so I can tell nobody mentioned anything about animation being changed. Not yet, I'm still reading ..................

Though I'm not sure about higher level runes animation as it is obviously not relevant now.

[rozmata]

maka, on 19 February 2012 - 08:54 PM, said:

XSEdef, on 19 February 2012 - 07:30 PM, said:

I do understand some of the criticism this iteration of the system is getting, but overall I see it as a further step towards a solid game.
1) This iteration solves the inventory problem
2) It does not remove the idea of the rank of runes (stronger runes vs weaker runes), it merely moves that to gear. I.e. where before you'd have a rank 1 vs a rank 5 rune, you now always have the same base rank of rune, but i.e. an item affix can mod that. That could be in the form of "+crimson rune skill" or maybe even more specific "+meteor shower skill". I do not know if they are going to add this to items, but I would like to see it in some form or the other.

1) There was no inventory problem; 5 runes * 7 ranks = 35 inventory spaces. Stop proliferating a misconception;

2) They could have those affixes AND still have runes as loot. You're talking as if they're mutually exclusive.

Plus every run could have different affixes which would make it take another inventory slot. It could get ugly. Let's just ask them for a few legendary skills to pickup so everybody can be happy at higher levels.

[rozmata]

oify, on 19 February 2012 - 09:02 PM, said:

Hi there!

I like the changes because I agree with ~6000 runes being too much to handle via inventory space.

I'm not sure if I like the 'runes' being unlocked with each level because you can no longer trade them now.

Everyone having the exact same runes feels a bit odd but maybe that's just me.

Blizzard will do the right thing in the end.. hoefully.

Greetings

Runes should just unlock randomly.

[madmaxII]

In my opinion they made the right decision. Runestones as an item would have been super annoying anyways. If they were too common people would just consider them wasted inventory space. If they were too rare it would be super stupid as you would have to either buy them or grind until you have them. I know that optimizing ones equipment is one of the best parts of the diablo series, but when there are enough other items that you will need to find. So no problem for me to play without runestones.

[rozmata]

CherubDown, on 19 February 2012 - 09:10 PM, said:

I compiled a quick video of the new barb runeskills:

Thank you

[CurseYouAll]

They are not a physical inventory thing anymore, right? So why even call them runes now that they are more like unlockable skills?

[buju77]

Overall I do like the change to the system. But I'm also a little sad because there goes one big chunk of items (runestones) hunting.

1. When they first announced runestones with ranks I was like, wow nice feature and great customization opportunities. But then I realized I wouldn't get a lot of perfect runestones and therefore wouldn't get a perfect build because I don't have so much time anymore like I used to have when I was still at school (yes I'm working now). So my only option for all perfect runestoned skills would be the auction house either the gold or RM back then. But now with this changes there is one big part that I don't have to acquire anymore through AH --> I like it
2. The second positive change IMO is that with (nearly) every level up you will unlock something as a reward. Previously I though that you will have unlocked every active and passive skills once you hit level 30. So what about level 31 - 60? Nothing ... wth? no unlocks until you hit level cap? At that point I though hat hitting a new level was not so rewarding as it was in Diablo 2 where you got at least 5 stats and 1 skill point. It wasn't much but at least something as reward you look forward to. So with this new system change you are constantly rewarded with unlocks up until you hit level cap and I think this is a great change! There is always something you look forward to when you level up. This was also something I liked in WoW where you could always learn more spells while you level up.
3. Hail to 'Elective Mode'!

[Shifty_Pwrs]

I'm hearing a lot about how the game is trying to "dumb it down"

But I think a point that some people aren't seeing is that, aside from inventory issues, the Runestone system was going to end up being a frustrating and ultimately non-rewarding element of the game. Just imagine leveling your character all the way to the Max while still not being able to make the most of your skills. As for the auction house, forget it. High level runes would be available, of course. But their pricing would have been ridiculous. It would have come down to the (realistic) situation of saying "Well, I have played this game for 50+ hours since release, and I still haven't found a level X rune". You hop on to the auction house, and whadya know, there IS one. Except it will cost you XX amount of gold (or RM), and you have to make that judgment of "Is it worth it?".

All this to just try a skill at a certain power?

No thank you. There is loot-finding, and then there is just grinding away to find something that should be a relatively basic part of your character. Loot will always be a major part of this game, difficult to find rune trinkets should not be.

The way it seems now, is that every level will reward you in one (or more) ways. You will immediately feel more powerful. And you should be reaching lvl 60 when? End of Nightmare? End of Hell? Man that is a lot of playtime before you are in a situation where loot is the only way to upgrade your character.

Anyways sorry for the rant, but I definitely see the point of this.

[IgnatiusReilly]

Really bummed they got rid of runestones, but I understand their reasoning. Lots of issues in the old system such as not being able to find the rune you need for the build you want and having to lug around piles of runestones.

There's a lot of fixes they could have implemented I suppose, but having a key character customization aspect tied to drops isn't very fun. Essentially you'd find all the runes you need sooner or later, (likely sooner) and by that point you're throwing out runes left and right. They could have put affixes on the runes perhaps, but that's not really the most exciting form of customization. i.e.: +3% Firebats damage. Wow. Cool. (I think hardcore Diablo 2 nostalgics would have loved this though, lol) The important aspect was the major and meaningful affect each rune had on a skill, and that's still alive and well.

But still! Finding runes to socket into skills was just so cool!

Edited by IgnatiusReilly, 19 February 2012 - 10:39 PM.

[mrrrloc]

Could they not just make runes universal? we don't need rainbow skittles dropping everywhere, just different tiered skittles.