Im not entirely convinced by some game mechanics such as health globes. I preferred the feeling of going back to town to be safe and restock yourself. Although globes will probably become more rare later on I need hardcore mode to get that diablo feeling Ive been missing so far. When I started a hc char the game was reminding me more and more of my former passion for diablo.
I had a great time playing the beta over the weekend, I max out and farmed abit with monk first and I was more than satisfied. then I Started a wizard its was shocking, never thought it would be this much fun, maxed DH and WD too all fun specially DH.
all and all this was a good weekend ^^.
P.S about the health globes I thing they are kinda rare in hardcore at least it was for me.
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The greatest trick the devil ever pulled
was convincing the world he didn't exist.
First of all, the game is awesome. I have more that 16 hours of gameplay, and it only got a bit boring for the last hours, when I had outlevelled and outgeared the content and went through the chatedral for the 50th time. But when you first play through, it's so damn interesting, and every time you see a blue dropping, you pick it up with high hope.
Now about the classes (in order of playthrough):
Demon Hunter: I played with this class first, because I planned to play with it as my first char and.... meh. I know, that later on the DH will get more, better Aoe spells, but it feels so lacking in the beta. On the first run you get to around lvl 9, and your AoE is non-existent. And what spells you have on later levels are also lacking: a hard to aim chakram, a low damage entangling shot, or a delayed bola shoot. The single target damage with rapid fire and impale is great, but in this beta, without Aoe, it feels wrong. The resource system also seems to be a problem. The hatred generators feel weak (even though they mostly have the same damage as the Barb's and the Monk's). Whenever I'm out of hatred I spam the hatred generators out of obligation not because I enjoy it. The discipline is fine, though if you use it up because you vault and trap like a boss, you have to wait A LOT until it fills up. At least the DH is the most mobile class in the game and with proper CC she can kite forever (though she needs it, because of the low damage output)
Witch Doctor: Until the beta, I didn't have much interest in the class, but this class is a blast. The DoT-like abilities feel good (corpse spiders, zombie dogs etc.), yet he still has some great abilities for "instant" damage (bats, toads), and the best CC of all classes. I love it. If only the voice wouldn't be soo annoying...
Barbarian: As I expected, a well balanced high damage tankis hero, who can stunlock Leoric. The fury generators are satisfying and feel strong. With a hight damage two handed sword I cleaved through the whole beta without usin anything else other than some leap attacks. The same can be said about the fury spenders, they are fun.
Monk: This class is also nice. I missed the daibo from the beta, but one handed weapons are also great on the Monk. He's fast, strong and deals great AoE damage. A bit higher spirit generation would be welcome, but the problem might lie in my weapons.
Wizzard: The wizzard is OP (at least in the beta). Great single target damage, even better Aoe and nice CC. I can't fint even one thing, that I'd change on this class. If everything will remain unchanged, the wizzard will be my first class.
Overall I gad a lot of fun, my only wish is some DH adjustment.
I played maybe 8 hours over the weekend. Wizard, witch doctor to level 10, barb to 9, monk and demon hunter to 7.
Sheeeeit. Can't wait until May 15th!
Highlights:
- random events are awesome, and give extra incentive to explore. I may not have bothered with all the crypts after finding the crown if it weren't for the jar of souls event.
- classes all feel very different, even at low levels
- love the level design, especially the indoor environments
- it actually runs pretty good on my 5 year old rig :-)
Lowlights:
- the weapon damage == skill damage paradigm will take some getting used to, especially for the caster classes. I knew all about it going in, but it still feels wrong. I hope that at high levels caster class items tend to outperform other weapons.
- merchants... granted, it is early game, but I never bothered to buy or sell. All my gold went into upgrading the blacksmith or crafting, and all my blues were broken down for crafting materials
Some class thoughts.
Barbarian: visceral, even from the very beginning. Nice early single target skill (bash), and AoE (hammer of the ancients). Leap provided the missing piece - a way to jump to the back of a mob and target specific monsters.
Witch Doctor: I'd have been happy with triple dart + grasp of the dead. Flame thrower bats tear through everything. If only I'd remembered I can have both grasp of the dead and bats equipped! Soul Harvest seems really strong early, but will likely not be as useful post-normal. Also, riskier to use.
Monk: I was pleasantly surprised. I only played her (yes, her) to 7, but the combat felt great. The teleporting thunder punches were a bit jarring, but brought plenty of pain.
Demon Hunter: disappointing, though I didn't get high enough to unlock the bola shot. Even when I hit 6 and used a blue dropped from a previous skeleton king encounter, firing arrows didn't feel satisfying. Rapid fire was the early game highlight.
Wizard: frost nova is great, arcane orb would be incredible (and probably too good) if it could pass through enemies and only exploded when it reached the cursor. The signature spells were underwhelming, for similar reasons as the demon hunter.
I actually am relieved after playing it, i heard lots of negativity, but i thought it was great.
Gameplay: the skills even at the start of the game were pretty awesome, although even though the beta covered only the start of the first act i was still forced into situations where stuns and slows played an important part of survival, much better than just maxing block, resists and dumping everything else into vitality. Using a mix of offensive and defensive skills really adds to the gameplay rather than just spamming hammers and teleing. Can't wait to tackle infernal.
Character development: I'm a huge fan of ridding the talent tree. Finally we get to play around with builds right from the get go which is something hack n slashers have lacked requiring multiple restarts. The way d2 had it was you picked a spell and then maxed the synergies which generally you never used leading to the use of 1 spell and some buffs. Now we get to use 8 spells simultaneously each with a unique effect and useful in it's own right. Would have liked to see more info on the tooltips, eg. when using a rune sometimes you get the original spell with the rune addition, othertimes it completely overrides the spell, but you have to work that out for yourself. Also doesn't explain what weapon works with the skill.
Sound: Music.. one word... awesome, epic title screen music and then the classic diablo eery gameplay music making use of guitars and interesting sounds.
Would have liked the different weapon sounds to sound more unique. Also the voice acting seems a little odd here. It's not that it's bad voice acting, it's quite good imo, but the sound quality is somewhat diminished and blizz seemed to have moved away from voice altering with heavy use of effects. I used to freaking love the the voices of the butcher and skeleton king in diablo 1 and they generally got my adrenaline pumping just that little bit.
Graphics: it's not next gen, but then again nothing can be next gen without being gen. Really nice artwork and backgrounds, a lot darker than d2, i always like to see corpses hanging from trees. Hopefully succubus' will have their tops off again overall pretty sleek
Not much else to say about the beta, can't really say much about item development and trading.
The gameplay is a little dated - using click to move, spam-clicking to do abilities - but apart from that, I thought it was good. I also enjoyed how all the interaction between player and NPCs is scripted and vocal. It adds another depth to the gameplay.
I just wanted to point out that you don't need to spam click abilities, you just hold down whichever key or mousebutton the ability is tied to and it'll automatically cast it as often as possible, letting you take full advantage of haste.
although people keep saying it's like Blood Raven for content-equivalence, to be fair it's maybe more like Andariel - we'd already saved Cain a while ago so it's probably close to Andy level - not sure if Skelly King is meant to be the Act end-boss or not though.
Since Diablo 2, I haven't played any point and click game. I'm gonna say, it brings back the feeling when you played either old diablo games. the new "Move" control makes moving more easier than Diablo 2. In the beta gameplay is kinda easy like the early stages of Diablo 2, im gonna say that Diablo 3 improves so much. About the stat system that many are raging, its more balance and the flexibility that it offers, armors will do the job if you want pump str,dex,int,vit. unlike in Diablo 2 many players encourage to do the same perfect build for PvM/P. it takes out the Fun. Skills are more useful, the runes system makes the game more fun. like the skill "Rapid fire" it has a rune for Fire dmg, at "Nightmare" some monster is immune, so you will try to change it to Cold dmg, unlike in Diablo 2, Zealot focuses in lightning damage at all. Beta is Good. See you at launch guys
I'm new in this forum, but I always check the news about D3 here. It's a great site for info.
I played Beta this weekend and want to share my feelings about it.
I think D3 appears to be a great game, but I have a feeling that is bothering me... I think all classes are great, really nice concepts and visual, but... I really felt them, all of them, too much overpowered since the beginning... Does someone felt that too?
I started as WD and in a few levels I was demolishing hordes of undeads... then went through all other classes... felt the same... then I started my favorite that is Barbarian (although I'll play WD in D3 because, you know, I played Barbarian too much in D2! ).
Every hit of this guy send undeads flying! And I was just a few levels of cap...
I remember D1 or even D2 at the beginning in which you, at least at the start, was just some guy trying to fight against evil... not a full grown warrior :P.
I was worried about resources too... I almost never remembered that they are finite... I remember in D2 how many levels the Sorcerer had to be to have "almost infinite mana"... The Wizard have just to wait some seconds...
Remember, I enjoyed the game a lot, but these points concerned me, even they didn't spoiled me to have fun with it.
I want to see my Health and Resource value w/o hovering, like Blizz just did for D2
I also think it would be acceptable to allow us to teleport to other players in the battlefield, when we have fallen to far behind. were going to do it anyways via town portal to banner. I just think this way would be better because we could stay in the fight. similar to the way its beautifully done in the flash game Realm of the Mad God, if anyone has played that.
and finally, I want to move items in my inventory like in d2. instead of pickup drop pickup drop pickup drop because I, like many other people, am a fanatic inventory organizer. btw, if someone wants to bring up these suggestions on the B.net website, please do, because I don't have a character, and i cant do so myself.
Edit:
the auction house should be available when your in a game
I have a strange, confusing theory about the beta. They called it a "client/server" stability beta since day one. But through all the patches, tunage and implementation that followed I kinda started leaning toward a skinner test.
There were times when I was very frustrated by the game. Just the way it felt and played was dreary to me. And I have played all the classes. Saying that means nothing now that the beta is up to it's 16th(?) patch.
About 10 days ago was the last time I played and I must say, WOW. For the most part, the little tidbit that is the beta is really nice to play at this polished level. Lots of mobs to kill (even as solo), and a sense of dreaded anticlimax when the SK dies is a very good thing! (remember my experience is diluted because I've played such a lot.) I can not wait to get my copy installed and play this game. If anything, I'd like to put normal behind me in one sitting. The plan amongst my real-world friends is to all solo the game and party up in Nightmare. (that way, skipping scenes or dialogs - which can be done by ANYONE in party - wont P anyone off.).
There's a lot of nay-saying about the beta floating around and given it's almost kindergarten approach at explaining itself to a newcomer, the negativity has got some substance to it. I don't like the way the game tries to explain to me what to do the first hour of play. But 17yr old Sims playing "Dave" might, because he is lost at a game that is not about what you're doing in the first hour. But what you're choosing to do six hours down the line.
A quick explanation (from my perspective). Almost everyone, including "Dave" enjoys playing COD: MW. Because it eases you as you go through your campaign. Its simple to use and easy to shoot with guns, boats and gunships that are handed to you, kitted out.
But not everyone enjoys going online in COD and playing MP with other, strange people. Partly because of frustration, partly pride (they "kicked ass" in SP and now die in 2 seconds in MP) and partly because the online is about progression and customization.
Diablo 2 was cool for a LOT of people. It had a great story and you really felt awesome when seeing what items you had collected and the stories each item told.
Diablo 2 is also infamous for spawning, or harbouring, a vast contingent of hardcore players who thrive at the choice/challenge/reward system its built upon.
So much so that the choice part could be bought (external item dupers)/the challenge had to be greater (uber tristram and pvp) and the rewards had to be so much better (runewords/soj's/etc).
Now Blizzard wants to turn the "Dave's" of the world into these hardcore gamers in the easiest way possible. Because they get to make SO much more money in the process. The only way you can do that, is to hold their hands from the get go.
The skinner test came in to see at what point it was easiest to detect when someone started embracing the systems and gameplay and truly understood how they work, that way, Blizzard knows the game will appeal to your girlfriend, boyfriend and uncle. On some or other level.
I really do think that a month from today, the negativity and reception of the beta will be loooong forgotten.
I'd played through about 19 hours of the open beta, levelled the barb, demon hunter and wizard to level 13 (didn't have time to try the monk or WD).
The game overall is awesome and I'm geeking out in anticipation for launch day. Below is my brief opinion of the game.
Game Play: I found the game play exciting and fun, it was paced well, the combat felt fluid and engaging. The story telling meshed well with your progression from one area to the next and the objectives were clear.
The UI and controls took some getting used to as I'd not played D2 for a very long time but D3 had enough elements to bring back those wonderful memories and the nostalgia was (for me) intoxicating.
I found elective mode within 3 mins of starting the game for the first time - dunno why everyone is complaining that it's hidden! :/
Graphic & Performance: My PC is 3 yr old but I had no problems running everything on high settings, my latency (usually around 199 - 250) did not affect my game play except for a hand full of times when my character would revert 5-10yrds back from its current location due to what I suspect is server lag and latency.
In my opinion the graphics looks wonder, admittedly a little less darker in design, but reads better then the two previous games and do have a timeless quality.
Character Class: Barb - everything I expected he would be; a hulking fist obliterating every demon in its wake. Every skill from fury generators to spenders had impact, it looked great, felt awesome to use, and the resource system was tuned well.
Wizard - one word comes to mind; "glass canon", the skills mirrored the character design and the resource system was again tuned well to allow enough use of the abilities without it being OP or otherwise.
Demon Hunter - before playing the beta, it was between either the barb or wizard as my first character, after beta, it's now between barb or demon hunter - edging more towards DH. I initially thought the DH damage was under par compared to the other classes but after killing the SK for the first time with her, I realised that a certain amount of finesse and foresight is required to play her WELL. I didn't find her lack of AOE are problem (yes, yes I know it's only beta) as her true strength lies not in raw damage output but a combination of damage, combat maneuvers and strategy/timing. I believe these three points along with wise resource management is critical more so for her than the other classes.
All in all, Blizz made a great game and I can't wait to pick up my copy come May 15th
To be perfectly honest, I didn't enjoy the hand held aspect. I know that was the intended point.
But, to offer a different perspective, the beta was the premiere impression of the game for many.
And like they say, first impressions are important.
A lot of the starter areas were too closed in for my taste, with the paths guiding you to the destination.
But, that's just the way the beta is and was intended to be.
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"I want to say something but I'll keep it to myself I guess and leave this useless post behind to make you aware that there WAS something... "
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
Did you not read what I wrote? I said it was an alternative perspective. Despite the fact that it wasn't meant to be a premiere, it surely was and will set the tone for the game despite what they say. What they say will not change the fact that it was a premiere for the fans. And they happen to be the people who purchase the game.
I also stated that I know what the beta was intended for. I know it is supposed to be guided. And I gave my opinion that it was not to my taste.
And people don't need to accept anything. They can choose to not purchase the game.
I was giving my opinion as was requested by the OP. It wasn't a complaint. Just an opinion. Slow down there Tex.
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"I want to say something but I'll keep it to myself I guess and leave this useless post behind to make you aware that there WAS something... "
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
Not guided? The opposite of guided to be quite honest.
In D2 you had to look for the den of evil. You had a wide open plain and had to find the den. In the beta there is essentially a path you have to follow without deviation. And the open areas in it are rather small. Of course in the dungeons this is fine. It's a dungeon. But the open areas were not to my liking.
Whether this is or is not for players, players played it. And they had opinions about it. And this thread specifically requests those opinions. Is that ok?
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"I want to say something but I'll keep it to myself I guess and leave this useless post behind to make you aware that there WAS something... "
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
Well, I just think the land area of the D2 plains were a bit more expansive than the D3 area. I just felt cramped at the start. And that's a beta crit, not a game crit. It's not a huge deal. It didn't make the beta unplayable. Just a thought.
I know the second act alone has really nice expansive areas.
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"I want to say something but I'll keep it to myself I guess and leave this useless post behind to make you aware that there WAS something... "
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
I have been waiting roughly ten years for Diablo 3... Diablo (The Original) was the first rated M game I ever got my hands on, and ever since I made my warrior I have been hooked on the Diablo series. I was really concerned that my expectations would be way too high, but when I played open beta weekend it completely relieved me of any of my doubts.
I see a lot of people complaining about the story being too linear in beta, but it is built that way to guide players so they can learn how to play the game.And in all honesty, I played through beta at least 5 times over the weekend and each time I ran into at least one thing that I never saw before(side quests, random monster events, trapped chests, etc). If this is supposed to be the most linear part of the game, I am so excited to get my hands on the full version.
When it comes to visuals, at first I was concerned that the art style they were taking looked too cartoony (like many others). But the more I played, the more I thought to myself "this is exactly how the next Diablo game should look". It is so easy to read what is on the screen and I love what they did with the cathedral. Not to mention the level design and randomization is amazing!
The most important part, gameplay, was nothing short of spectacular. The fact that every skill is viable and situation based, means that we can choose skills based on how we want to play, not on "well this one is the most powerful... so I obviously have to use it". Though there weren't many skills to choose from in beta, I still had a hard time deciding on which ones I wanted to use. Every spell/attack I used on each of my characters made me feel more powerful than I ever did in the previous games. Though at first I was disappointed that only four people can be in one game, I now understand why they had to do it... It's the trade off for giving skills amazing visuals; there is just too much going on the screen when there are multiple people.
If there is one thing I wish they would change, it would be the predetermined rune unlocks. I think that if there is a rune effect on one of my skills that truly fits how I want to play, I shouldn't have to wait until level 'x' to do it.
Overall, what I experienced in beta was everything I could've asked for and more. I can't wait until May 15th
First, I would like to say, to me, the game feels and plays just like Diablo II minus some annoyances (i.e looking up stat spreadsheets and skill build guides) and that is a great thing. I was super-excited for this game for years and after having played the beta, find it hard to exist without it. Just can't bring myself to play (and get immersed) in anything else.
If there is one thing I wish they would change, it would be the predetermined rune unlocks. I think that if there is a rune effect on one of my skills that truly fits how I want to play, I shouldn't have to wait until level 'x' to do it.
The way it is actually encourages you to try out new things. For example, if you are looking through the runes and find one that you think is your play style, what is to stop you from just picking that and ignoring the rest. The whole reason they made all skills viable in the first place was to try and get people out of that mindset of the 'ultimate' skill. Having said that, I see no problem with the way it is now. The key is diversity.
Well, I just think the land area of the D2 plains were a bit more expansive than the D3 area. I just felt cramped at the start. And that's a beta crit, not a game crit. It's not a huge deal. It didn't make the beta unplayable. Just a thought.
I know the second act alone has really nice expansive areas.
I prefer the constrained outdoor areas. All I end up doing in any outdoor area in these types of games is zig-zagging back and forth until all the fog of war is uncovered. I'd be perfectly happy with all outdoor areas being a giant hallway from one dungeon to the next, with all the random crap that can appear placed along the way. Leave the exploration to dungeons.
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all and all this was a good weekend ^^.
P.S about the health globes I thing they are kinda rare in hardcore at least it was for me.
was convincing the world he didn't exist.
Now about the classes (in order of playthrough):
Demon Hunter: I played with this class first, because I planned to play with it as my first char and.... meh. I know, that later on the DH will get more, better Aoe spells, but it feels so lacking in the beta. On the first run you get to around lvl 9, and your AoE is non-existent. And what spells you have on later levels are also lacking: a hard to aim chakram, a low damage entangling shot, or a delayed bola shoot. The single target damage with rapid fire and impale is great, but in this beta, without Aoe, it feels wrong. The resource system also seems to be a problem. The hatred generators feel weak (even though they mostly have the same damage as the Barb's and the Monk's). Whenever I'm out of hatred I spam the hatred generators out of obligation not because I enjoy it. The discipline is fine, though if you use it up because you vault and trap like a boss, you have to wait A LOT until it fills up. At least the DH is the most mobile class in the game and with proper CC she can kite forever (though she needs it, because of the low damage output)
Witch Doctor: Until the beta, I didn't have much interest in the class, but this class is a blast. The DoT-like abilities feel good (corpse spiders, zombie dogs etc.), yet he still has some great abilities for "instant" damage (bats, toads), and the best CC of all classes. I love it. If only the voice wouldn't be soo annoying...
Barbarian: As I expected, a well balanced high damage tankis hero, who can stunlock Leoric. The fury generators are satisfying and feel strong. With a hight damage two handed sword I cleaved through the whole beta without usin anything else other than some leap attacks. The same can be said about the fury spenders, they are fun.
Monk: This class is also nice. I missed the daibo from the beta, but one handed weapons are also great on the Monk. He's fast, strong and deals great AoE damage. A bit higher spirit generation would be welcome, but the problem might lie in my weapons.
Wizzard: The wizzard is OP (at least in the beta). Great single target damage, even better Aoe and nice CC. I can't fint even one thing, that I'd change on this class. If everything will remain unchanged, the wizzard will be my first class.
Overall I gad a lot of fun, my only wish is some DH adjustment.
Sheeeeit. Can't wait until May 15th!
Highlights:
- random events are awesome, and give extra incentive to explore. I may not have bothered with all the crypts after finding the crown if it weren't for the jar of souls event.
- classes all feel very different, even at low levels
- love the level design, especially the indoor environments
- it actually runs pretty good on my 5 year old rig :-)
Lowlights:
- the weapon damage == skill damage paradigm will take some getting used to, especially for the caster classes. I knew all about it going in, but it still feels wrong. I hope that at high levels caster class items tend to outperform other weapons.
- merchants... granted, it is early game, but I never bothered to buy or sell. All my gold went into upgrading the blacksmith or crafting, and all my blues were broken down for crafting materials
Some class thoughts.
Barbarian: visceral, even from the very beginning. Nice early single target skill (bash), and AoE (hammer of the ancients). Leap provided the missing piece - a way to jump to the back of a mob and target specific monsters.
Witch Doctor: I'd have been happy with triple dart + grasp of the dead. Flame thrower bats tear through everything. If only I'd remembered I can have both grasp of the dead and bats equipped! Soul Harvest seems really strong early, but will likely not be as useful post-normal. Also, riskier to use.
Monk: I was pleasantly surprised. I only played her (yes, her) to 7, but the combat felt great. The teleporting thunder punches were a bit jarring, but brought plenty of pain.
Demon Hunter: disappointing, though I didn't get high enough to unlock the bola shot. Even when I hit 6 and used a blue dropped from a previous skeleton king encounter, firing arrows didn't feel satisfying. Rapid fire was the early game highlight.
Wizard: frost nova is great, arcane orb would be incredible (and probably too good) if it could pass through enemies and only exploded when it reached the cursor. The signature spells were underwhelming, for similar reasons as the demon hunter.
Gameplay: the skills even at the start of the game were pretty awesome, although even though the beta covered only the start of the first act i was still forced into situations where stuns and slows played an important part of survival, much better than just maxing block, resists and dumping everything else into vitality. Using a mix of offensive and defensive skills really adds to the gameplay rather than just spamming hammers and teleing. Can't wait to tackle infernal.
Character development: I'm a huge fan of ridding the talent tree. Finally we get to play around with builds right from the get go which is something hack n slashers have lacked requiring multiple restarts. The way d2 had it was you picked a spell and then maxed the synergies which generally you never used leading to the use of 1 spell and some buffs. Now we get to use 8 spells simultaneously each with a unique effect and useful in it's own right. Would have liked to see more info on the tooltips, eg. when using a rune sometimes you get the original spell with the rune addition, othertimes it completely overrides the spell, but you have to work that out for yourself. Also doesn't explain what weapon works with the skill.
Sound: Music.. one word... awesome, epic title screen music and then the classic diablo eery gameplay music making use of guitars and interesting sounds.
Would have liked the different weapon sounds to sound more unique. Also the voice acting seems a little odd here. It's not that it's bad voice acting, it's quite good imo, but the sound quality is somewhat diminished and blizz seemed to have moved away from voice altering with heavy use of effects. I used to freaking love the the voices of the butcher and skeleton king in diablo 1 and they generally got my adrenaline pumping just that little bit.
Graphics: it's not next gen, but then again nothing can be next gen without being gen. Really nice artwork and backgrounds, a lot darker than d2, i always like to see corpses hanging from trees. Hopefully succubus' will have their tops off again overall pretty sleek
Not much else to say about the beta, can't really say much about item development and trading.
I just wanted to point out that you don't need to spam click abilities, you just hold down whichever key or mousebutton the ability is tied to and it'll automatically cast it as often as possible, letting you take full advantage of haste.
Blizzard stated it was only 1/3rd of Act 1.
I'm new in this forum, but I always check the news about D3 here. It's a great site for info.
I played Beta this weekend and want to share my feelings about it.
I think D3 appears to be a great game, but I have a feeling that is bothering me... I think all classes are great, really nice concepts and visual, but... I really felt them, all of them, too much overpowered since the beginning... Does someone felt that too?
I started as WD and in a few levels I was demolishing hordes of undeads... then went through all other classes... felt the same... then I started my favorite that is Barbarian (although I'll play WD in D3 because, you know, I played Barbarian too much in D2! ).
Every hit of this guy send undeads flying! And I was just a few levels of cap...
I remember D1 or even D2 at the beginning in which you, at least at the start, was just some guy trying to fight against evil... not a full grown warrior :P.
I was worried about resources too... I almost never remembered that they are finite... I remember in D2 how many levels the Sorcerer had to be to have "almost infinite mana"... The Wizard have just to wait some seconds...
Remember, I enjoyed the game a lot, but these points concerned me, even they didn't spoiled me to have fun with it.
Anyone thinks the same? Or the opposite?
Seeya!
I also think it would be acceptable to allow us to teleport to other players in the battlefield, when we have fallen to far behind. were going to do it anyways via town portal to banner. I just think this way would be better because we could stay in the fight. similar to the way its beautifully done in the flash game Realm of the Mad God, if anyone has played that.
and finally, I want to move items in my inventory like in d2. instead of pickup drop pickup drop pickup drop because I, like many other people, am a fanatic inventory organizer. btw, if someone wants to bring up these suggestions on the B.net website, please do, because I don't have a character, and i cant do so myself.
Edit:
the auction house should be available when your in a game
There were times when I was very frustrated by the game. Just the way it felt and played was dreary to me. And I have played all the classes. Saying that means nothing now that the beta is up to it's 16th(?) patch.
About 10 days ago was the last time I played and I must say, WOW. For the most part, the little tidbit that is the beta is really nice to play at this polished level. Lots of mobs to kill (even as solo), and a sense of dreaded anticlimax when the SK dies is a very good thing! (remember my experience is diluted because I've played such a lot.) I can not wait to get my copy installed and play this game. If anything, I'd like to put normal behind me in one sitting. The plan amongst my real-world friends is to all solo the game and party up in Nightmare. (that way, skipping scenes or dialogs - which can be done by ANYONE in party - wont P anyone off.).
There's a lot of nay-saying about the beta floating around and given it's almost kindergarten approach at explaining itself to a newcomer, the negativity has got some substance to it. I don't like the way the game tries to explain to me what to do the first hour of play. But 17yr old Sims playing "Dave" might, because he is lost at a game that is not about what you're doing in the first hour. But what you're choosing to do six hours down the line.
A quick explanation (from my perspective). Almost everyone, including "Dave" enjoys playing COD: MW. Because it eases you as you go through your campaign. Its simple to use and easy to shoot with guns, boats and gunships that are handed to you, kitted out.
But not everyone enjoys going online in COD and playing MP with other, strange people. Partly because of frustration, partly pride (they "kicked ass" in SP and now die in 2 seconds in MP) and partly because the online is about progression and customization.
Diablo 2 was cool for a LOT of people. It had a great story and you really felt awesome when seeing what items you had collected and the stories each item told.
Diablo 2 is also infamous for spawning, or harbouring, a vast contingent of hardcore players who thrive at the choice/challenge/reward system its built upon.
So much so that the choice part could be bought (external item dupers)/the challenge had to be greater (uber tristram and pvp) and the rewards had to be so much better (runewords/soj's/etc).
Now Blizzard wants to turn the "Dave's" of the world into these hardcore gamers in the easiest way possible. Because they get to make SO much more money in the process. The only way you can do that, is to hold their hands from the get go.
The skinner test came in to see at what point it was easiest to detect when someone started embracing the systems and gameplay and truly understood how they work, that way, Blizzard knows the game will appeal to your girlfriend, boyfriend and uncle. On some or other level.
I really do think that a month from today, the negativity and reception of the beta will be loooong forgotten.
The game overall is awesome and I'm geeking out in anticipation for launch day. Below is my brief opinion of the game.
Game Play: I found the game play exciting and fun, it was paced well, the combat felt fluid and engaging. The story telling meshed well with your progression from one area to the next and the objectives were clear.
The UI and controls took some getting used to as I'd not played D2 for a very long time but D3 had enough elements to bring back those wonderful memories and the nostalgia was (for me) intoxicating.
I found elective mode within 3 mins of starting the game for the first time - dunno why everyone is complaining that it's hidden! :/
Graphic & Performance: My PC is 3 yr old but I had no problems running everything on high settings, my latency (usually around 199 - 250) did not affect my game play except for a hand full of times when my character would revert 5-10yrds back from its current location due to what I suspect is server lag and latency.
In my opinion the graphics looks wonder, admittedly a little less darker in design, but reads better then the two previous games and do have a timeless quality.
Character Class: Barb - everything I expected he would be; a hulking fist obliterating every demon in its wake. Every skill from fury generators to spenders had impact, it looked great, felt awesome to use, and the resource system was tuned well.
Wizard - one word comes to mind; "glass canon", the skills mirrored the character design and the resource system was again tuned well to allow enough use of the abilities without it being OP or otherwise.
Demon Hunter - before playing the beta, it was between either the barb or wizard as my first character, after beta, it's now between barb or demon hunter - edging more towards DH. I initially thought the DH damage was under par compared to the other classes but after killing the SK for the first time with her, I realised that a certain amount of finesse and foresight is required to play her WELL. I didn't find her lack of AOE are problem (yes, yes I know it's only beta) as her true strength lies not in raw damage output but a combination of damage, combat maneuvers and strategy/timing. I believe these three points along with wise resource management is critical more so for her than the other classes.
All in all, Blizz made a great game and I can't wait to pick up my copy come May 15th
But, to offer a different perspective, the beta was the premiere impression of the game for many.
And like they say, first impressions are important.
A lot of the starter areas were too closed in for my taste, with the paths guiding you to the destination.
But, that's just the way the beta is and was intended to be.
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
Did you not read what I wrote? I said it was an alternative perspective. Despite the fact that it wasn't meant to be a premiere, it surely was and will set the tone for the game despite what they say. What they say will not change the fact that it was a premiere for the fans. And they happen to be the people who purchase the game.
I also stated that I know what the beta was intended for. I know it is supposed to be guided. And I gave my opinion that it was not to my taste.
And people don't need to accept anything. They can choose to not purchase the game.
I was giving my opinion as was requested by the OP. It wasn't a complaint. Just an opinion. Slow down there Tex.
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
In D2 you had to look for the den of evil. You had a wide open plain and had to find the den. In the beta there is essentially a path you have to follow without deviation. And the open areas in it are rather small. Of course in the dungeons this is fine. It's a dungeon. But the open areas were not to my liking.
Whether this is or is not for players, players played it. And they had opinions about it. And this thread specifically requests those opinions. Is that ok?
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
I know the second act alone has really nice expansive areas.
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
I see a lot of people complaining about the story being too linear in beta, but it is built that way to guide players so they can learn how to play the game. And in all honesty, I played through beta at least 5 times over the weekend and each time I ran into at least one thing that I never saw before (side quests, random monster events, trapped chests, etc). If this is supposed to be the most linear part of the game, I am so excited to get my hands on the full version.
When it comes to visuals, at first I was concerned that the art style they were taking looked too cartoony (like many others). But the more I played, the more I thought to myself "this is exactly how the next Diablo game should look". It is so easy to read what is on the screen and I love what they did with the cathedral. Not to mention the level design and randomization is amazing!
The most important part, gameplay, was nothing short of spectacular. The fact that every skill is viable and situation based, means that we can choose skills based on how we want to play, not on "well this one is the most powerful... so I obviously have to use it". Though there weren't many skills to choose from in beta, I still had a hard time deciding on which ones I wanted to use. Every spell/attack I used on each of my characters made me feel more powerful than I ever did in the previous games. Though at first I was disappointed that only four people can be in one game, I now understand why they had to do it... It's the trade off for giving skills amazing visuals; there is just too much going on the screen when there are multiple people.
If there is one thing I wish they would change, it would be the predetermined rune unlocks. I think that if there is a rune effect on one of my skills that truly fits how I want to play, I shouldn't have to wait until level 'x' to do it.
Overall, what I experienced in beta was everything I could've asked for and more. I can't wait until May 15th
Secondly,
The way it is actually encourages you to try out new things. For example, if you are looking through the runes and find one that you think is your play style, what is to stop you from just picking that and ignoring the rest. The whole reason they made all skills viable in the first place was to try and get people out of that mindset of the 'ultimate' skill. Having said that, I see no problem with the way it is now. The key is diversity.
I prefer the constrained outdoor areas. All I end up doing in any outdoor area in these types of games is zig-zagging back and forth until all the fog of war is uncovered. I'd be perfectly happy with all outdoor areas being a giant hallway from one dungeon to the next, with all the random crap that can appear placed along the way. Leave the exploration to dungeons.