As we have already seen from the Diablo 3 gameplay trailer, their are "situational" allied companions (The archers guarding Cain). What I want to discuss is having a more customizable Henchmen, and soon-you-will-understand customizable teams of situational companions (I will explain more later)
Henchmen: We all know the great Henchy companions that accompanied our Heroes during th toughest hours. However, the thing that I'm not very impressed with is the fact that our hero have limited to no control over how our Henchmen level up as well as how our henchmen perform in combat.
When our Henchmen level up, we have no control over what stats they should gain, not to mention our Henchmen cannot learn new abilities or skills. This limits their usefulness in combat and I find myself having to waste dozens of Full Rejuvenation just to keep him alive. Does anyone here think Blizzard will emphasize more on Henchmen and our abilities to customize them? I want to be able to configurate more Henchmen, giving him simple commands like "Stay defensive" or "Attack who I attack". I also like our Henchmen to have more skills and abilities as they level up. Say the Act 2 Spear type Henchmen. Instead just Aura, they learn more direct offensive abilities, something like "Lightning Jab".
On to "Situational NPC companions". We have already seen the pure Archer type NPCs that accompany the Hero when he meets Cain. I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing more of these later on. Since Diablo 3 looks like the sanctuary, hell and heaven is about to go to war. Does anyone here think we will get to have our own squad of soldiers to fight in battles or ambushes?
Say our Hero is an ambush team, attacking a demon filled camp from the forest side. The NPC general can only spare a limited amount of soldiers, say 6. We the heroes get to choose which 6 type of soldiers we can take with us. If our hero is a caster type. We would want to pick more melee type soldiers to take damage, less archers, and a few healers. If our hero is a barb, we should pick less melee heroes, more archers and more healers.
Does anyone here think they'll implement these types of strategy in Blizzard?
PS: If there is anything wrong with this thread. Please can the Mods move/erase/change anything that is necessary. Also, please don't flame each other
As we have already seen from the Diablo 3 gameplay trailer, their are "situational" allied companions (The archers guarding Cain). What I want to discuss is having a more customizable Henchmen, and soon-you-will-understand customizable teams of situational companions (I will explain more later)
Henchmen: We all know the great Henchy companions that accompanied our Heroes during th toughest hours. However, the thing that I'm not very impressed with is the fact that our hero have limited to no control over how our Henchmen level up as well as how our henchmen perform in combat.
When our Henchmen level up, we have no control over what stats they should gain, not to mention our Henchmen cannot learn new abilities or skills. This limits their usefulness in combat and I find myself having to waste dozens of Full Rejuvenation just to keep him alive. Does anyone here think Blizzard will emphasize more on Henchmen and our abilities to customize them? I want to be able to configurate more Henchmen, giving him simple commands like "Stay defensive" or "Attack who I attack". I also like our Henchmen to have more skills and abilities as they level up. Say the Act 2 Spear type Henchmen. Instead just Aura, they learn more direct offensive abilities, something like "Lightning Jab".
On to "Situational NPC companions". We have already seen the pure Archer type NPCs that accompany the Hero when he meets Cain. I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing more of these later on. Since Diablo 3 looks like the sanctuary, hell and heaven is about to go to war. Does anyone here think we will get to have our own squad of soldiers to fight in battles or ambushes?
Say our Hero is an ambush team, attacking a demon filled camp from the forest side. The NPC general can only spare a limited amount of soldiers, say 6. We the heroes get to choose which 6 type of soldiers we can take with us. If our hero is a caster type. We would want to pick more melee type soldiers to take damage, less archers, and a few healers. If our hero is a barb, we should pick less melee heroes, more archers and more healers.
Does anyone here think they'll implement these types of strategy in Blizzard?
PS: If there is anything wrong with this thread. Please can the Mods move/erase/change anything that is necessary. Also, please don't flame each other
I think this is a good idea to a certain point, I like the idea of having mercs again and them being more customizable would be cool to see (being able to add stats, skills, full armor and weapons). But i think they should definitely limit the amount of mercs per player to one.
I think this is a good idea to a certain point, I like the idea of having mercs again and them being more customizable would be cool to see (being able to add stats, skills, full armor and weapons). But i think they should definitely limit the amount of mercs per player to one.
The "Situational NPC companions" are only well.... situational :P. They are only available in certain quests and will not accompany you throughout the game. I have this feeling that Blizzard will implement these types of "Situational NPC companions" so that Blizzard can increase the difficulty of Diablo III a lot more. Forcing us players to strategically plan out the best combination of soldiers to complete a certain quest. After watching the gameplay trailer of the 2 archer companions joining the Barb, I have no doubt that Blizzard will at least implement something similar.
Keep in mind, that the Henchmen are not the same as these situational companions. Since Mercs follow you throughout the game and can be revived.
Since Mercs follow you throughout the game and can be revived.
Since LOD. In D2 Classic, you could not revive them, and they did not carry on through into future acts/difficulties, nor could you equip them with items.
I would love for more situational or random NPCs. Like the Barbarians in act 5. Me my horde of summoners, me mercenary (from act 3) and a handful of barbarians. What a siege on Harrogath quest that was.
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-Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.
Since LOD. In D2 Classic, you could not revive them, and they did not carry on through into future acts/difficulties, nor could you equip them with items.
I would love for more situational or random NPCs. Like the Barbarians in act 5. Me my horde of summoners, me mercenary (from act 3) and a handful of barbarians. What a siege on Harrogath quest that was.
Aye, but Mercs that did follow on were a lot more fun :D? Its even better if the Mercs are customizable, I like to be able to configurate my own Henchy. If Blizzard implements this idea, I see this as more "strategic" than any other HackNSlash I know. Picking your poison is fun :thumbsup:.
yea, more costumization, but not to the point of him being as strong/usefull as another player, they should just be a summon creature for classes that cant do it by magic
yea, more costumization, but not to the point of him being as strong/usefull as another player, they should just be a summon creature for classes that cant do it by magic
Well IMO, that would just be too simple. Not a very "customizable" henchy if it can't do it by magic.
I like to see more versatile mercs. Ones that, if customized properly, will make some difference in battle. The old Mercs in D2s were hardly worth reviving in Hell. They cannot survive in later boss fights, and eat up a chunk of your gold to revive (not saying gold is useful).
Hopefully, Blizzard will add in a larger range of mecs to buff up their "strategic" HackNSlash.
I wanna see the Deekin or Mort type henchman, obtainable only through a early quest. Perhaps even several differant type henchmen, With the Hero only able to use one at a time.
As to the situational henchmen (Squad) I like this idea, as long as they are kept Situational.
Of course if the player didn't want the Sidekick Henchman they could still go about it solo......lonely.........antisocial........selfasorbed. I personally like the sidekick asking questions and making Statements to add flavor and life to my experiance. The Mute Loyal Automaton Henchman of D2 was my only real complaint, I want interaction and history with someone I am going to fight beside for months or years.
That would be ok, OP, as long as henchies still die in one hit in pvp. Making everyone a pvp pet class on top of their other abilites would suck pretty hard.
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zsfh-maz of UsWest, 95 BvB king
"Because "half-assed" is not a "style"." - DragoonWraith, champion of character customization and legimitate art direction in D3
That would be ok, OP, as long as henchies still die in one hit in pvp. Making everyone a pvp pet class on top of their other abilites would suck pretty hard.
Well eh, I'm thinking Blizzard will implement something that'll make the Mercs stay out of "duels". But they will join in if it was a hostile hunt. Of course that depends on what type of pvp system blizzard plans to implement.
Afterall, Mercs are suppose to protect you, not the other way around
no diablo 3 does not need any healers, i like the concept that we should heal ourselfs with pots and not use like a healing class thats just retaded weve never had it and we dont need it
I quite like the idea of customizable mercenaries! A few points to mention as below however (and for the purpose of easy typing I will shorten “Mercenaries” to “Mercs”)
-LOD Mercs were incredibly useful, if you stayed loyal (keeping the same merc) they got high in level and you were able to heal them and give them equipment to use.
Suggestions/Improvements:
-Death/Revive: If you die, the merc dies too but respawns naked in town like you do and cannot fight… as soon as you collect your corpse, the merc gets his/her gear back too and can then fight again. This stops having to revive your merc all the time from the NPC. (Perhaps you lose more gold when dying as you would no longer need to rehire the merc?) -Smarter AI: A real gripe of mine in D2+D2 LOD was that the mercs were often not smart enough to walk around obstacles and barriers. Especially in places like River of Flame (Act 4) where there are lots of bridges and platforms. This would need to be improved. -Choice of merc: In D2+D2 LOD each town (except act 4) had mercs for hire that essentially were identical. It would be good if you could select from a list of different skillsets? (EG: Rogue Encampment, you can hire archer mercs or javelin mercs from the same town) -Merc bank: I still think you should only be able to have one merc at a given time like D2+D2 LOD, but perhaps you can “garage” a merc away and hire others throughout the game. When you visit any henchman NPC in the game you can hire another one, OR select from a list to switch between ones you have previously had. Only one can be active at a given time. -Inventory: Mercs have a small inventory to help you mule stuff around, if you hire another merc the inventory from the previous one is automatically transferred to the new one? -Visual customization: It would be cool to have the mercs change also with the gear they are wearing, if you put a horned helm on them and a black spear, their visual appearance reflects this. -Skill tree/Distribution points: Would be an interesting concept to be able to update skills on your mercs as well as spend their points for them (vitality, strength etc…) I think the skills should be very limited however and nowhere near as advanced as the character tree. Merc skill tree could perhaps be limited to passive masteries only (eg: spear mastery, dodging etc…)
If you're talking LOD then you're dead wrong. Mercs in D2 LOD were incredibly useful, all the way up to the end of the game in hell difficulty. I think they were fairly well balanced really. Though, if mercs were to be given a full set of item slots, assignable attribute points, and special skills, Blizzard would find a way to balance it.
Lol, maybe its just because I suck :D. I have trouble keeping them alive especially when you face the minions of destruction (those massive creatures that can only be fought in throne of destruction and is the last wave of monsters).
BTW, a mercenary does not necessarily need to be a healer, and when I mean "situational npc companion" its only situation. A few of you have been getting the wrong idea :P. The situational npc companions are like those you see in the gameplay trailer. They're simple soldiers focused in one type of art. They are also only "situational" and available in certain quests. Since D3 looks like the whole place is going to war, its kinda disappointing knowing you won't be in any part of that war (directly).
The situational npc companions are simple a group of soldiers you assemble to fit your style and help you accomplish your mission. Like I said before, a barbarian will probably need less melee class soldiers but more archer and healer types, whiles a mage type character will need less archers but more melee class characters. Let me emphasize, these "situational npc companions" are only available in certain situations, the mercs will follow you all the way.;)
Well IMO, that would just be too simple. Not a very "customizable" henchy if it can't do it by magic.
I like to see more versatile mercs. Ones that, if customized properly, will make some difference in battle. The old Mercs in D2s were hardly worth reviving in Hell. They cannot survive in later boss fights, and eat up a chunk of your gold to revive (not saying gold is useful).
Hopefully, Blizzard will add in a larger range of mecs to buff up their "strategic" HackNSlash.
i have to disagree, get an act 2 merc with ebotd war pike [life steal], eth bugged fort [damage and nice defense], and vamp gaze [dr and i think life steal] I find that that general setup is more than capable of holding its own in hell
Retribution;330161']i have to disagree, get an act 2 merc with ebotd war pike [life steal], eth bugged fort [damage and nice defense], and vamp gaze [dr and i think life steal'] I find that that general setup is more than capable of holding its own in hell
Yea, but it's not really affordable.
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Henchmen: We all know the great Henchy companions that accompanied our Heroes during th toughest hours. However, the thing that I'm not very impressed with is the fact that our hero have limited to no control over how our Henchmen level up as well as how our henchmen perform in combat.
When our Henchmen level up, we have no control over what stats they should gain, not to mention our Henchmen cannot learn new abilities or skills. This limits their usefulness in combat and I find myself having to waste dozens of Full Rejuvenation just to keep him alive. Does anyone here think Blizzard will emphasize more on Henchmen and our abilities to customize them? I want to be able to configurate more Henchmen, giving him simple commands like "Stay defensive" or "Attack who I attack". I also like our Henchmen to have more skills and abilities as they level up. Say the Act 2 Spear type Henchmen. Instead just Aura, they learn more direct offensive abilities, something like "Lightning Jab".
On to "Situational NPC companions". We have already seen the pure Archer type NPCs that accompany the Hero when he meets Cain. I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing more of these later on. Since Diablo 3 looks like the sanctuary, hell and heaven is about to go to war. Does anyone here think we will get to have our own squad of soldiers to fight in battles or ambushes?
Say our Hero is an ambush team, attacking a demon filled camp from the forest side. The NPC general can only spare a limited amount of soldiers, say 6. We the heroes get to choose which 6 type of soldiers we can take with us. If our hero is a caster type. We would want to pick more melee type soldiers to take damage, less archers, and a few healers. If our hero is a barb, we should pick less melee heroes, more archers and more healers.
Does anyone here think they'll implement these types of strategy in Blizzard?
PS: If there is anything wrong with this thread. Please can the Mods move/erase/change anything that is necessary. Also, please don't flame each other
Blizzard
Valve
:thumbsup:
I think this is a good idea to a certain point, I like the idea of having mercs again and them being more customizable would be cool to see (being able to add stats, skills, full armor and weapons). But i think they should definitely limit the amount of mercs per player to one.
And The Heavens Shall Tremble...
The "Situational NPC companions" are only well.... situational :P. They are only available in certain quests and will not accompany you throughout the game. I have this feeling that Blizzard will implement these types of "Situational NPC companions" so that Blizzard can increase the difficulty of Diablo III a lot more. Forcing us players to strategically plan out the best combination of soldiers to complete a certain quest. After watching the gameplay trailer of the 2 archer companions joining the Barb, I have no doubt that Blizzard will at least implement something similar.
Keep in mind, that the Henchmen are not the same as these situational companions. Since Mercs follow you throughout the game and can be revived.
Blizzard
Valve
:thumbsup:
Since LOD. In D2 Classic, you could not revive them, and they did not carry on through into future acts/difficulties, nor could you equip them with items.
I would love for more situational or random NPCs. Like the Barbarians in act 5. Me my horde of summoners, me mercenary (from act 3) and a handful of barbarians. What a siege on Harrogath quest that was.
Aye, but Mercs that did follow on were a lot more fun :D? Its even better if the Mercs are customizable, I like to be able to configurate my own Henchy. If Blizzard implements this idea, I see this as more "strategic" than any other HackNSlash I know. Picking your poison is fun :thumbsup:.
Blizzard
Valve
:thumbsup:
Over confidence is the rot.
edit. ok, mercenarie
yea, more costumization, but not to the point of him being as strong/usefull as another player, they should just be a summon creature for classes that cant do it by magic
Well IMO, that would just be too simple. Not a very "customizable" henchy if it can't do it by magic.
I like to see more versatile mercs. Ones that, if customized properly, will make some difference in battle. The old Mercs in D2s were hardly worth reviving in Hell. They cannot survive in later boss fights, and eat up a chunk of your gold to revive (not saying gold is useful).
Hopefully, Blizzard will add in a larger range of mecs to buff up their "strategic" HackNSlash.
Blizzard
Valve
:thumbsup:
As to the situational henchmen (Squad) I like this idea, as long as they are kept Situational.
Of course if the player didn't want the Sidekick Henchman they could still go about it solo......lonely.........antisocial........selfasorbed. I personally like the sidekick asking questions and making Statements to add flavor and life to my experiance. The Mute Loyal Automaton Henchman of D2 was my only real complaint, I want interaction and history with someone I am going to fight beside for months or years.
"Because "half-assed" is not a "style"." - DragoonWraith, champion of character customization and legimitate art direction in D3
Well eh, I'm thinking Blizzard will implement something that'll make the Mercs stay out of "duels". But they will join in if it was a hostile hunt. Of course that depends on what type of pvp system blizzard plans to implement.
Afterall, Mercs are suppose to protect you, not the other way around
Blizzard
Valve
:thumbsup:
Theatre Major ie: waiter in training
-LOD Mercs were incredibly useful, if you stayed loyal (keeping the same merc) they got high in level and you were able to heal them and give them equipment to use.
Suggestions/Improvements:
-Death/Revive: If you die, the merc dies too but respawns naked in town like you do and cannot fight… as soon as you collect your corpse, the merc gets his/her gear back too and can then fight again. This stops having to revive your merc all the time from the NPC. (Perhaps you lose more gold when dying as you would no longer need to rehire the merc?)
-Smarter AI: A real gripe of mine in D2+D2 LOD was that the mercs were often not smart enough to walk around obstacles and barriers. Especially in places like River of Flame (Act 4) where there are lots of bridges and platforms. This would need to be improved.
-Choice of merc: In D2+D2 LOD each town (except act 4) had mercs for hire that essentially were identical. It would be good if you could select from a list of different skillsets? (EG: Rogue Encampment, you can hire archer mercs or javelin mercs from the same town)
-Merc bank: I still think you should only be able to have one merc at a given time like D2+D2 LOD, but perhaps you can “garage” a merc away and hire others throughout the game. When you visit any henchman NPC in the game you can hire another one, OR select from a list to switch between ones you have previously had. Only one can be active at a given time.
-Inventory: Mercs have a small inventory to help you mule stuff around, if you hire another merc the inventory from the previous one is automatically transferred to the new one?
-Visual customization: It would be cool to have the mercs change also with the gear they are wearing, if you put a horned helm on them and a black spear, their visual appearance reflects this.
-Skill tree/Distribution points: Would be an interesting concept to be able to update skills on your mercs as well as spend their points for them (vitality, strength etc…) I think the skills should be very limited however and nowhere near as advanced as the character tree. Merc skill tree could perhaps be limited to passive masteries only (eg: spear mastery, dodging etc…)
~Shiman~
The mercenary's from D2.
Hopefully we will at least be able to name them or give them a backstory or something.
Lol, maybe its just because I suck :D. I have trouble keeping them alive especially when you face the minions of destruction (those massive creatures that can only be fought in throne of destruction and is the last wave of monsters).
BTW, a mercenary does not necessarily need to be a healer, and when I mean "situational npc companion" its only situation. A few of you have been getting the wrong idea :P. The situational npc companions are like those you see in the gameplay trailer. They're simple soldiers focused in one type of art. They are also only "situational" and available in certain quests. Since D3 looks like the whole place is going to war, its kinda disappointing knowing you won't be in any part of that war (directly).
The situational npc companions are simple a group of soldiers you assemble to fit your style and help you accomplish your mission. Like I said before, a barbarian will probably need less melee class soldiers but more archer and healer types, whiles a mage type character will need less archers but more melee class characters. Let me emphasize, these "situational npc companions" are only available in certain situations, the mercs will follow you all the way.;)
Blizzard
Valve
:thumbsup:
i have to disagree, get an act 2 merc with ebotd war pike [life steal], eth bugged fort [damage and nice defense], and vamp gaze [dr and i think life steal] I find that that general setup is more than capable of holding its own in hell
My mediocre attempt at making a Signature.
Yea, but it's not really affordable.