New God Of War - Purchased on Tuesday evening for $65, had it beat yesterday afternoon.
D3 - Purchased on 5/15/12 for $65, still playing it here and there.
Yeah, I'd say I got my money's worth.
For the most part, everyone on these forums got their "money's worth" by playing it longer than most other games you paid the same amount of money for. Oh, and did I mention Blizzard is still updating, tweaking, and adding things to the game?
What a bunch of spoiled brats. Sick of the game? Walk away. They got your money, and you got your money's worth, like it or not.
Calm down firstly.
If you read the post i clearly stated it was a great game and well worth the money. However updating the game with these suggestions would not only be more enjoyable for people but more profitable for them as well. So i see no harm in it.
They asked for suggestions and hence i started a topic about this, now how far they can take from these suggestions is upto them. And if youre still playing this game from last May, i have no idea what youre doing ingame and please share your idea. Ive done hardcore leveling, self found, para farming, hellfire farm and 70% of the achievements if not more.
I picked up playing the game again a few months ago, ran into the same problem. I still got bored pretty fast.
Honestly, Inferno is a shadow of what it used to be. Any character who could have any success in Act 1/2 before would certainly be able to walk through Inferno on MP0.
Try again, maybe it will be a faceroll.
You're right. (Drunk) Reinstalled D3 (system wipe, PC problems) and just mowed down the act 3 mini boss (fat guy) with little to no problems...wow...i just might start playing again.
If you read the post i clearly stated it was a great game and well worth the money. However updating the game with these suggestions would not only be more enjoyable for people but more profitable for them as well. So i see no harm in it.
They asked for suggestions and hence i started a topic about this, now how far they can take from these suggestions is upto them. And if youre still playing this game from last May, i have no idea what youre doing ingame and please share your idea. Ive done hardcore leveling, self found, para farming, hellfire farm and 70% of the achievements if not more.
I'm calm now. I just got done playing Hotline Miami.
I kind of wish inferno was as hard as it was supposed to be, like when the game first came out. Sure it was impossible for mellee so the buff was necessary, but it was at least a challenge.
I kind of wish inferno was as hard as it was supposed to be, like when the game first came out. Sure it was impossible for mellee so the buff was necessary, but it was at least a challenge.
I think the difficulty was not right when it first came out (remembering how hard act 2 was to progress) and unbalanced between the acts. It then seemed to swap to the other end of the spectrum being to easy(now). I agree with you about the need for a challenge if thats what your saying you would like? Even on mp10 now many would consider that it is not a challenge.
I still play everyday but I have noticed that I would play less time each session. I am still hopeful they can turn this around.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
May the heroes rise from the pit of despair and the bards sing of the day of death renewed to everlasting immortality....awaiting your return to the lands of Sanctuary may peace be with you on this day...your day of birth.
You're not supposed to play a thousand or two thousand hours with one character. If you do that, of course you're gonna get super geared and face-roll the content. The Diablo gameplay has always been: start a character -> farm -> get super-geared -> face-roll content -> be done with that character and start a new one (or start a new one before you get super geared, and gear them simultaneously).
Absolutely right. You can also squeeze in a "wait for expansion on super-geared character".
I'm not sure why you think end world maps is so much better than what they're planning to implement in D3 to basically make it so you can farm anywhere in the game. It still has the current D3 issues of not being able to choose where you want to go for the most optimal drop rates.
New legendaries aren't necessary, as most people don't even have legendaries so the point of adding more wouldn't help so much. What they're focusing on in making legendaries meangingful is better than implementing new items. And of course PoE is implementing new legendaries, they're in beta still.
New skills is nothing but bad because it effects gameplay balance even further, meaning more time 'wasted' on that instead of other things. Yet again, PoE is still in it's beta where implementing new skills are expected.
I don't disagree that PoE has some interesting features that D3 could benefit from (namely it's hardcore ladder implementation and races), but nothing you listed is beneficial. Diablo 3, and other games of it's type, are all about grinding gear and shouldn't need more motivation for people to continue to play. This isn't WoW where they need to keep producing things to do.
Lastly though, a game being F2P doesn't justify it in doing certain things, and comparing a F2P game implementing things in it's beta to a game that's been out for 10 months but continues to be developed are two completely different things.
You're not supposed to play a thousand or two thousand hours with one character. If you do that, of course you're gonna get super geared and face-roll the content. The Diablo gameplay has always been: start a character -> farm -> get super-geared -> face-roll content -> be done with that character and start a new one (or start a new one before you get super geared, and gear them simultaneously).
Cool.
I find it cool that you explain to others how Diablo gameplay is supposed to emulate your own personal preference. Myself, I dedicated most of my play-hours to one character. I did this so that no matter what I moved onto next, I would know that I had at least one high para-lvl, well geared character.
Honestly....I've quit ....AGAIN, for the 3rd time. AGAIN....the day came where I logged in, starred blankly at the screen, felt that empty feeling, logged off and haven't felt the urge to play again for a few weeks.
Actually, I've logged in twice in the last few weeks only to immediately log-out.
Itemization sucks. I'm frankly quite tired of making excuses. Itemization sucks. It sucked far more at launch. It has improved....but frankly, itemization still sucks.
This is a game that is entirely predicated upon itemization. Yet, itemization sucks. How can this be? 10 years of work and the most crucial staple of the franchise, the items, still lay stagnant.
As a matter of fact, I have only found any entertainment from D3 in recent weeks by forcing myself to play HC with no AH use. Yes, I've had fun playing this way, BUT, it occurred to me that having to limit my play-style to such an extent in order to force itemization to feel more dynamic...well, this is just unacceptable.
It's ridiculous that the only way I can force itemization to feel more dynamic is by pigeon-holing myself into a strict play-style.
I haven't given up on Diablo 3. I still have hope and I do honestly feel that the message has been delivered....finally. Still, as a player, as a fan, I am just so very upset that itemization seemed to be an afterthought in the development process. A hard thing to get over.
After reading three pages of this.... you can see we all feel differently about the game. Whether we are disappointed or love the game. Lastly, this game needs improvement, big time. It is what it is though. I still play once a day, sometimes hours, others a few minutes. I have leveled all toons to 60, in which four of them are above 120k dps, and my highest paragon being 40. I am happy with that. There still needs to be fixes. Again it is what it is though, either enjoy it or play something else?
You're right. I forgot to write "You're not supposed to play a thousand or two thousand hours with one character and then complain that you can face-roll the content." Of course you can face-roll the content. That's the whole point. To get as uber-geared as possible.
ahhh...yes, my apologies. Much better wording.
I'm glad you've seen the light Yes, the itemisation sucks. Yes, there's no incentive to come back to the game. Welcome to the dark side
It's going to take GARGANTUAN changes to provide me proper incentive to come back. This is three times now that I've quit, in cyclic fashion almost exactly every 3 months, I quit.
Not very impressive for a game that I darn near masturbated just over the prospect of for so many years.
Diablo 3 has been a failure for it's first year, period.
Diablo 3 has been a failure for it's first year, period.
But I find it very fun!
Aaaand we're back to square one.
I'm not sure that just "fun" was the desired target for the players.
I had "fun" too.....and then I quit. I came back, had some more "fun" and then quit. I came back a third time, had "fun" and then quit....again.
Diablo 2 was like motherfuckin digital crack rock. The comparison between these titles is purely unavoidable. You had to try to quit D2. ...and it was usually unsuccessful. I cannot stop quitting D3.
I mod at a Diablo fansite/tradesite. This website has been up since 2004. When D3 launched, we witnessed a flood of old timers come rushing back, people I hadn't seen of in years. They ALL disappeared in a few weeks. Some of the hard-ass Diablo fans stuck around for awhile, I had fun playing with them. They have all quit and moved on to PoE or other interests.
Sure, some folks love it. Some folks love to have their girlfriend piss in their mouth. Some folks like to cut themselves. Some folks play Farmville for 12 hours a day.
Diablo 3 wasn't supposed to reckon itself as a "fun" game that "some people" enjoy.
It was supposed to be EPIC.
Epic, oh my how this word gets too much play these days. But the word "epic" is perfect to describe what Diablo fans expected.
The definition of epic reads as ;extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope.
I ask anyone; Does that sound like a reasonable description of Diablo 3? That it's "beyond the usual in size and scope"?
Diablo is a franchise predicated greatly upon itemization, yet, after many many many many years of work and delayed launches, itemization was a goddamn joke. A fucking disgrace. An embarrassment to the company that shit out this horrid itemization table with all the burning, foaming discharge of Montezuma's Revenge.
HOW THE FUCK!!!!!
How the fuck did ANYONE green-light those Legendaries at launch? HOW? How the fuck did that happen? Unthinkable. Someone that gets paid 6 figures actually looked at those items, said "Yeah, that's good" and gave the go-ahead.
HOW?
It's been what, 8 months since their embarrassing emergency patch of Legendaries? And those thick headed screwballs want to name these insulting embarrassments "LEGACY" items?
What the fuck kind of legacy is that?
PvP....got shit canned. Turned into a rather abrupt and uncomfortable "brawling".
It's been almost 1 year. Solid, inspired itemization is still just a tease, a promise yet unfulfilled....STILL.
If I'm a big-wig at Blizz, 8 months ago I'm pounding my fists bloody, demanding that ALL resources go into overwhelming the players with great items.
The best way to describe itemization right now is to say that Blizz has painted themselves into a corner. By definition, this means they will make quite a mess getting themselves out of said corner.
I have shown a tremendous amount of respect, support and dedication toward Diablo 3. This much is evidenced by my postings here, the guides and help threads I created at my home board and the massive amount of hours I put in playing D3.
Before anyone wants to harp about the hypocrisy of playing so much while espousing anger towards the game, it's because I've had to fight disappointment every step of the way. I've quit 3 times now. As much "fun" as I had, as many hours as I poured in, still, not at all what I thought I'd have to say about D3 coming up on it's 1 year anniversary.
"PvP....got shit canned. Turned into a rather abrupt and uncomfortable "brawling".'
No it didn't. They released the bad dueling system because people WOULD NOT STOP ASKING. It's a stopgap even if it's bad but people were demanding something.
At least the game seems to be taking a positive turn. All the really weird ideas that turned out to be bad were pimped by Jay who insisted they'd be super fun and we just had to see them. Then we saw them and they were just awful. Now the team is doing a 180 on a lot of the problems and fixing them.
It's going to get a lot better. I'm excited for the new systems and I haven't really been excited for most of the implemented features so far. Paragon is kinda cool but since it's an item dropping game, it really needs to be about items. The only thing I'm worried about is they seem really hesitant to get into crafting and item customization, which were the 2 things that kept people in D2.
"PvP....got shit canned. Turned into a rather abrupt and uncomfortable "brawling".'
No it didn't. They released the bad dueling system because people WOULD NOT STOP ASKING. It's a stopgap even if it's bad but people were demanding something.
At least the game seems to be taking a positive turn. All the really weird ideas that turned out to be bad were pimped by Jay who insisted they'd be super fun and we just had to see them. Then we saw them and they were just awful. Now the team is doing a 180 on a lot of the problems and fixing them.
It's going to get a lot better. I'm excited for the new systems and I haven't really been excited for most of the implemented features so far. Paragon is kinda cool but since it's an item dropping game, it really needs to be about items. The only thing I'm worried about is they seem really hesitant to get into crafting and item customization, which were the 2 things that kept people in D2.
What did "we" saw exactly?, AFAIK, we didn't test/see/try the "not good enough for our standards" discarded PvP system.
I had "fun" too.....and then I quit. I came back, had some more "fun" and then quit. I came back a third time, had "fun" and then quit....again.
Diablo 2 was like motherfuckin digital crack rock. The comparison between these titles is purely unavoidable. You had to try to quit D2. ...and it was usually unsuccessful. I cannot stop quitting D3.
I'm actually the same (on/off a couple of times), although it was mostly due to work reasons - but now that I have the time I'm not craving to come back. So I agree to many things you said, though I don't see D3 being as broken as you see it.
But what I wanted to ask you about Diablo 2: did you play this nonstop for 12 years??? I had the same on/off playing cycles with D2 that I had with D3. And it seems like it was similar for most people - ladder reset, come back, level new character, get some gear and stuff, and then slowly quit once it gets too boring. Even before I played ladder (played offline the first few years) I took long breaks and came back every now and then, because of an internal trigger (game got patched or so) or external trigger (I just had time to play something, or some friends dragged me back to the game, etc.)
The success of D3 can't be measured after 10 months of release. I'd even say every "final" assessment before the expansion is premature, because when we look back in 10 years the game might be absolutely awesome, if they fix things in the expansion and we have 8-9 fabulous years ahead of us.
@ruksak
It's not hypocritical to admit you find problems in the game you want to love to death but find difficulties doing so. This sounds a bit unhealthy for you though, a bit too much passion maybe?
I mean, sure, we all expected the game to be tremendously epic, but seriously, you and everyone else knows what (fan) hype does and after being the king of gaming until the first part of the last decade people's expectations of Blizzard have grown to enormous proportions. Nothing Blizzard introduces at the future will ever come even close to what players expect from them. Nothing. All 3 of their franchises are still super popular. WoW is still alive and well almost 10 years later and the fans are dying for some RTS again! StarCraft II has huge tournaments and enjoys great success in its professional field. Diablo sadly doesn't have official numbers for players still playing or anything like that, but having to log in and still actually have people online with which I can play is enough for me, personally. I mean, what is a good other way to measure a game's success at this stage? It doesn't have a competitive side so you can't see any sort of strong professional activity. It's a personal experience. We play the game, some of us enjoy it, some don't, we share our thoughts in forums and continue doing what we're doing. The official forums are still alive and kicking. On the first page of General on the WoW forums the bottom topic is 35 minutes old, while on Diablo it's 1 hour 20 minutes old. I mean... there's no good way to measure how much the game is still played but people are still involved in it.
Anyway, my point was that players will always, now and in the future, expect WAY too much of Blizzard. Every new announcement they'll make will be met with "disappointment". But their games will always be strong with huge communities, because they're just good.
Of course I agree itemization needs work and work is being done to fix it as we speak. It's not just itemization. I want more. I want a lot more from Diablo 3. I want customization, I want infinite dungeon, I want transmogrification, I want... many, many things. But games don't release perfect. Not Blizzard games anyway (although I can't think of a good game that was perfect at launch). You want itemization, which doesn't bother me that much. No, it doesn't. It could sound weird but my 700 hours of D3 so far have been enjoyable and my current WW Barb is actually super interesting for me to play.
And don't say it's been "this long since this" and expect everything to magically be fixed and it's initial form forever forgotten. During this time we've had great patches that have all made the game more enjoyable and work will not end until everything is where it should be. But changes take time and the right changes take even more time.
Sure, call me a fanboy, but it's all about personal perception. And mine's positive. It comes from a 17 year experience in the industry filled with much fandom, disappointment, excitement, joy and sadness. After huge franchises for which I've been a fan of for years, like Dune, Heroes, Age of Empires, Delta Force, Sin, Monkey Island, Myst, have all crumbled and left in the dust of modern games I can't stop but feel great about what Blizzard have been doing with their own franchises. Keeping them alive, releasing new games for them and patching them monthly to make them better games. In case I look a bit too fanboyish it's good to mention of course that I feel the same way about Bioware for example.
I don't think this is about being fanboy or not, but that the game has core and huge flaws which only means that the product is mediocre at best. I can start with itemization, continue with the lack of real and viable choice of skill runes combination builds, and end with the dull gems design.
I mean, this is not an opinion, or a love-hate stance. Those are just facts.
And it has nothing to do with what we expect, or hype, or anything like it. When people start saying that the game failed to us because we expected too much.. what kind of reasoning is that?.
@ruksak
It's not hypocritical to admit you find problems in the game you want to love to death but find difficulties doing so. This sounds a bit unhealthy for you though, a bit too much passion maybe?
Certainly my words are stinging.
I really enjoyed the game, but sporadically so. A very unfulfilled experience for the most part. Please understand my angst and how I'm bloviating so abrasively.
They fired the lead director. That...THAT is a crystal clear admission by Blizzard that failure was achieved. Anyone that believes Jay "stepped down" on his own volition is absolutely naive.
I stand firm. The game IS a failure as it currently sits. They fired the lead director. That does not happen when success is achieved.
I honestly believe (maybe denial?) that eventually Diablo 3 will become a very good game, possibly even reaching it's predecessors height of success. The slow reaction to poor itemization has disenchanted me greatly.
I'm actually the same (on/off a couple of times), although it was mostly due to work reasons - but now that I have the time I'm not craving to come back. So I agree to many things you said, though I don't see D3 being as broken as you see it.
But what I wanted to ask you about Diablo 2: did you play this nonstop for 12 years??? I had the same on/off playing cycles with D2 that I had with D3.
Nooooo....did not play non-stop for 12 years. The first 3 years I played, I did so offline. I couldn't get enough, but got busy from time to time and would take a break, sure. Then in 2005, I tried online, and was blown away. I played for almost 3 years without pause.
NOW.....I waited nervously for 4 years for the new Diablo to be launched. It's been what, only 11 months or so? I've quit three times (average of 6 weeks each time) and not once have I felt the same level of obsession that I had at any point with Diablo 2.
Case in point; I cannot imagine myself playing this game, as is, for years. No way. No sir. Yeah, all games get old. But how long does it take for it to get old?
The success of D3 can't be measured after 10 months of release. I'd even say every "final" assessment before the expansion is premature, because when we look back in 10 years the game might be absolutely awesome, if they fix things in the expansion and we have 8-9 fabulous years ahead of us.
I 100% agree.
I'm not trying to nail the coffin shut. Given the correct initiative and far more fan-focused ideals, the game COULD grow into a truly epic iteration of the series.
As I said above....they fuckin fired the lead director. That....that is failure incarnate. The new direction looks fantastic. They could really go far and do well with this thang.
I'm still a fan of the game. Straight up...this is NOT a game I expected to grow bored with after only weeks.
Calm down firstly.
If you read the post i clearly stated it was a great game and well worth the money. However updating the game with these suggestions would not only be more enjoyable for people but more profitable for them as well. So i see no harm in it.
They asked for suggestions and hence i started a topic about this, now how far they can take from these suggestions is upto them. And if youre still playing this game from last May, i have no idea what youre doing ingame and please share your idea. Ive done hardcore leveling, self found, para farming, hellfire farm and 70% of the achievements if not more.
You're right. (Drunk) Reinstalled D3 (system wipe, PC problems) and just mowed down the act 3 mini boss (fat guy) with little to no problems...wow...i just might start playing again.
I'm calm now. I just got done playing Hotline Miami.
I think the difficulty was not right when it first came out (remembering how hard act 2 was to progress) and unbalanced between the acts. It then seemed to swap to the other end of the spectrum being to easy(now). I agree with you about the need for a challenge if thats what your saying you would like? Even on mp10 now many would consider that it is not a challenge.
I still play everyday but I have noticed that I would play less time each session. I am still hopeful they can turn this around.
immortality....awaiting your return to the lands of Sanctuary may peace be with you on this day...your day of birth.
The Crew
Absolutely right. You can also squeeze in a "wait for expansion on super-geared character".
Ha. Bagstone.
New legendaries aren't necessary, as most people don't even have legendaries so the point of adding more wouldn't help so much. What they're focusing on in making legendaries meangingful is better than implementing new items. And of course PoE is implementing new legendaries, they're in beta still.
New skills is nothing but bad because it effects gameplay balance even further, meaning more time 'wasted' on that instead of other things. Yet again, PoE is still in it's beta where implementing new skills are expected.
I don't disagree that PoE has some interesting features that D3 could benefit from (namely it's hardcore ladder implementation and races), but nothing you listed is beneficial. Diablo 3, and other games of it's type, are all about grinding gear and shouldn't need more motivation for people to continue to play. This isn't WoW where they need to keep producing things to do.
Lastly though, a game being F2P doesn't justify it in doing certain things, and comparing a F2P game implementing things in it's beta to a game that's been out for 10 months but continues to be developed are two completely different things.
Cool.
I find it cool that you explain to others how Diablo gameplay is supposed to emulate your own personal preference. Myself, I dedicated most of my play-hours to one character. I did this so that no matter what I moved onto next, I would know that I had at least one high para-lvl, well geared character.
Honestly....I've quit ....AGAIN, for the 3rd time. AGAIN....the day came where I logged in, starred blankly at the screen, felt that empty feeling, logged off and haven't felt the urge to play again for a few weeks.
Actually, I've logged in twice in the last few weeks only to immediately log-out.
Itemization sucks. I'm frankly quite tired of making excuses. Itemization sucks. It sucked far more at launch. It has improved....but frankly, itemization still sucks.
This is a game that is entirely predicated upon itemization. Yet, itemization sucks. How can this be? 10 years of work and the most crucial staple of the franchise, the items, still lay stagnant.
As a matter of fact, I have only found any entertainment from D3 in recent weeks by forcing myself to play HC with no AH use. Yes, I've had fun playing this way, BUT, it occurred to me that having to limit my play-style to such an extent in order to force itemization to feel more dynamic...well, this is just unacceptable.
It's ridiculous that the only way I can force itemization to feel more dynamic is by pigeon-holing myself into a strict play-style.
I haven't given up on Diablo 3. I still have hope and I do honestly feel that the message has been delivered....finally. Still, as a player, as a fan, I am just so very upset that itemization seemed to be an afterthought in the development process. A hard thing to get over.
BurningRope#1322 (US~HC) Request an invite to the official (NA) <dfans> Clan
ahhh...yes, my apologies. Much better wording.
It's going to take GARGANTUAN changes to provide me proper incentive to come back. This is three times now that I've quit, in cyclic fashion almost exactly every 3 months, I quit.
Not very impressive for a game that I darn near masturbated just over the prospect of for so many years.
Diablo 3 has been a failure for it's first year, period.
BurningRope#1322 (US~HC) Request an invite to the official (NA) <dfans> Clan
But I find it very fun!
Aaaand we're back to square one.
Ha. Bagstone.
I'm not sure that just "fun" was the desired target for the players.
I had "fun" too.....and then I quit. I came back, had some more "fun" and then quit. I came back a third time, had "fun" and then quit....again.
Diablo 2 was like motherfuckin digital crack rock. The comparison between these titles is purely unavoidable. You had to try to quit D2. ...and it was usually unsuccessful. I cannot stop quitting D3.
I mod at a Diablo fansite/tradesite. This website has been up since 2004. When D3 launched, we witnessed a flood of old timers come rushing back, people I hadn't seen of in years. They ALL disappeared in a few weeks. Some of the hard-ass Diablo fans stuck around for awhile, I had fun playing with them. They have all quit and moved on to PoE or other interests.
Sure, some folks love it. Some folks love to have their girlfriend piss in their mouth. Some folks like to cut themselves. Some folks play Farmville for 12 hours a day.
Diablo 3 wasn't supposed to reckon itself as a "fun" game that "some people" enjoy.
It was supposed to be EPIC.
Epic, oh my how this word gets too much play these days. But the word "epic" is perfect to describe what Diablo fans expected.
The definition of epic reads as ;extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope.
I ask anyone; Does that sound like a reasonable description of Diablo 3? That it's "beyond the usual in size and scope"?
Diablo is a franchise predicated greatly upon itemization, yet, after many many many many years of work and delayed launches, itemization was a goddamn joke. A fucking disgrace. An embarrassment to the company that shit out this horrid itemization table with all the burning, foaming discharge of Montezuma's Revenge.
HOW THE FUCK!!!!!
How the fuck did ANYONE green-light those Legendaries at launch? HOW? How the fuck did that happen? Unthinkable. Someone that gets paid 6 figures actually looked at those items, said "Yeah, that's good" and gave the go-ahead.
HOW?
It's been what, 8 months since their embarrassing emergency patch of Legendaries? And those thick headed screwballs want to name these insulting embarrassments "LEGACY" items?
What the fuck kind of legacy is that?
PvP....got shit canned. Turned into a rather abrupt and uncomfortable "brawling".
It's been almost 1 year. Solid, inspired itemization is still just a tease, a promise yet unfulfilled....STILL.
If I'm a big-wig at Blizz, 8 months ago I'm pounding my fists bloody, demanding that ALL resources go into overwhelming the players with great items.
The best way to describe itemization right now is to say that Blizz has painted themselves into a corner. By definition, this means they will make quite a mess getting themselves out of said corner.
I have shown a tremendous amount of respect, support and dedication toward Diablo 3. This much is evidenced by my postings here, the guides and help threads I created at my home board and the massive amount of hours I put in playing D3.
Before anyone wants to harp about the hypocrisy of playing so much while espousing anger towards the game, it's because I've had to fight disappointment every step of the way. I've quit 3 times now. As much "fun" as I had, as many hours as I poured in, still, not at all what I thought I'd have to say about D3 coming up on it's 1 year anniversary.
BurningRope#1322 (US~HC) Request an invite to the official (NA) <dfans> Clan
No it didn't. They released the bad dueling system because people WOULD NOT STOP ASKING. It's a stopgap even if it's bad but people were demanding something.
At least the game seems to be taking a positive turn. All the really weird ideas that turned out to be bad were pimped by Jay who insisted they'd be super fun and we just had to see them. Then we saw them and they were just awful. Now the team is doing a 180 on a lot of the problems and fixing them.
It's going to get a lot better. I'm excited for the new systems and I haven't really been excited for most of the implemented features so far. Paragon is kinda cool but since it's an item dropping game, it really needs to be about items. The only thing I'm worried about is they seem really hesitant to get into crafting and item customization, which were the 2 things that kept people in D2.
What did "we" saw exactly?, AFAIK, we didn't test/see/try the "not good enough for our standards" discarded PvP system.
I'm actually the same (on/off a couple of times), although it was mostly due to work reasons - but now that I have the time I'm not craving to come back. So I agree to many things you said, though I don't see D3 being as broken as you see it.
But what I wanted to ask you about Diablo 2: did you play this nonstop for 12 years??? I had the same on/off playing cycles with D2 that I had with D3. And it seems like it was similar for most people - ladder reset, come back, level new character, get some gear and stuff, and then slowly quit once it gets too boring. Even before I played ladder (played offline the first few years) I took long breaks and came back every now and then, because of an internal trigger (game got patched or so) or external trigger (I just had time to play something, or some friends dragged me back to the game, etc.)
The success of D3 can't be measured after 10 months of release. I'd even say every "final" assessment before the expansion is premature, because when we look back in 10 years the game might be absolutely awesome, if they fix things in the expansion and we have 8-9 fabulous years ahead of us.
It's not hypocritical to admit you find problems in the game you want to love to death but find difficulties doing so. This sounds a bit unhealthy for you though, a bit too much passion maybe?
I mean, sure, we all expected the game to be tremendously epic, but seriously, you and everyone else knows what (fan) hype does and after being the king of gaming until the first part of the last decade people's expectations of Blizzard have grown to enormous proportions. Nothing Blizzard introduces at the future will ever come even close to what players expect from them. Nothing. All 3 of their franchises are still super popular. WoW is still alive and well almost 10 years later and the fans are dying for some RTS again! StarCraft II has huge tournaments and enjoys great success in its professional field. Diablo sadly doesn't have official numbers for players still playing or anything like that, but having to log in and still actually have people online with which I can play is enough for me, personally. I mean, what is a good other way to measure a game's success at this stage? It doesn't have a competitive side so you can't see any sort of strong professional activity. It's a personal experience. We play the game, some of us enjoy it, some don't, we share our thoughts in forums and continue doing what we're doing. The official forums are still alive and kicking. On the first page of General on the WoW forums the bottom topic is 35 minutes old, while on Diablo it's 1 hour 20 minutes old. I mean... there's no good way to measure how much the game is still played but people are still involved in it.
Anyway, my point was that players will always, now and in the future, expect WAY too much of Blizzard. Every new announcement they'll make will be met with "disappointment". But their games will always be strong with huge communities, because they're just good.
Of course I agree itemization needs work and work is being done to fix it as we speak. It's not just itemization. I want more. I want a lot more from Diablo 3. I want customization, I want infinite dungeon, I want transmogrification, I want... many, many things. But games don't release perfect. Not Blizzard games anyway (although I can't think of a good game that was perfect at launch). You want itemization, which doesn't bother me that much. No, it doesn't. It could sound weird but my 700 hours of D3 so far have been enjoyable and my current WW Barb is actually super interesting for me to play.
And don't say it's been "this long since this" and expect everything to magically be fixed and it's initial form forever forgotten. During this time we've had great patches that have all made the game more enjoyable and work will not end until everything is where it should be. But changes take time and the right changes take even more time.
Sure, call me a fanboy, but it's all about personal perception. And mine's positive. It comes from a 17 year experience in the industry filled with much fandom, disappointment, excitement, joy and sadness. After huge franchises for which I've been a fan of for years, like Dune, Heroes, Age of Empires, Delta Force, Sin, Monkey Island, Myst, have all crumbled and left in the dust of modern games I can't stop but feel great about what Blizzard have been doing with their own franchises. Keeping them alive, releasing new games for them and patching them monthly to make them better games. In case I look a bit too fanboyish it's good to mention of course that I feel the same way about Bioware for example.
Ha. Bagstone.
I mean, this is not an opinion, or a love-hate stance. Those are just facts.
And it has nothing to do with what we expect, or hype, or anything like it. When people start saying that the game failed to us because we expected too much.. what kind of reasoning is that?.
Certainly my words are stinging.
I really enjoyed the game, but sporadically so. A very unfulfilled experience for the most part. Please understand my angst and how I'm bloviating so abrasively.
They fired the lead director. That...THAT is a crystal clear admission by Blizzard that failure was achieved. Anyone that believes Jay "stepped down" on his own volition is absolutely naive.
I stand firm. The game IS a failure as it currently sits. They fired the lead director. That does not happen when success is achieved.
I honestly believe (maybe denial?) that eventually Diablo 3 will become a very good game, possibly even reaching it's predecessors height of success. The slow reaction to poor itemization has disenchanted me greatly.
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http://youtu.be/WvjR1tq1YXk
Skip to 7:27. But to be honest, watch the whole thing, it's a nice vid.
Ha. Bagstone.
Nooooo....did not play non-stop for 12 years. The first 3 years I played, I did so offline. I couldn't get enough, but got busy from time to time and would take a break, sure. Then in 2005, I tried online, and was blown away. I played for almost 3 years without pause.
NOW.....I waited nervously for 4 years for the new Diablo to be launched. It's been what, only 11 months or so? I've quit three times (average of 6 weeks each time) and not once have I felt the same level of obsession that I had at any point with Diablo 2.
Case in point; I cannot imagine myself playing this game, as is, for years. No way. No sir. Yeah, all games get old. But how long does it take for it to get old?
I 100% agree.
I'm not trying to nail the coffin shut. Given the correct initiative and far more fan-focused ideals, the game COULD grow into a truly epic iteration of the series.
As I said above....they fuckin fired the lead director. That....that is failure incarnate. The new direction looks fantastic. They could really go far and do well with this thang.
I'm still a fan of the game. Straight up...this is NOT a game I expected to grow bored with after only weeks.
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