Are Nightmare and Hell Even Being Tested Yet? I ask this question because:
Official Blizzard Quote:
*Waves* Heyas Bashiok. How's the wonderful land of the CMs?
Oh! Actually, while you're here (or are you already gone) was wondering if there was an answer floating somewhere to a question (couldn't find it on the webpage or the Stickies). Regarding artisans, we're told that we acquire them as part of the story.
What does that mean when a player moves on to Nightmare and Hell difficulties? Do we lose our artisans and all progress made on them, starting over? Do we lose all the recipes we've gained? Or do they come along with everything, but are inaccessible until unlocked?
That is an excellent question. I have no idea. I'll have to find out for you.
Firstly, it's actually a really good question that I never thought about. I hope Bash does return with and answer to that.
Surprisingly enough, Bashiok doesn't know how artisans work in Nightmare and Hell? Does this mean they really haven't started testing NM and Hell? I would think if they had, he would know...
I think it has more to do with the specific situation of gaining these characters through the story. This is something that could be easily changed or not changed yet. So, even if they are testing nightmare and hell, this detail may still be in the works and not finalized yet.
I know for the followers, they said they had plans for this situation. I wouldn't be surprised if the same method was applied to the artisans.
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I imagine the answer to the question is close to the third scenario he pointed out:
The artisan is inaccessible until the story unlocks him, but you don't lose your progress. This would be interesting if it is the case - this would mean (like in d2), you'd have to be careful when you're ready to progress to Nightmare.
In this case, it's a lot like what happens when you don't rescue Deckard Cain. You can't get free item identification until after you've completed that part of the story.
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Regardless, I would think that if SOME system was implemented now, his answer would have reflected that implementation, not an "I have no idea".
Also just to point out the obvious, Bash isn't necessarily kept up to date on every detail of the game. For many of the threads he has addressed he had to come back to it later when someone corners him with a worthy question, after discussing it over with the Dev team. To keep my post obvious, I'm sure there are things still yet to be tested, or even finalized. Alpha normally still has some holes where decisions on how things will work still have to be made. Seeing as they plan on keeping the Beta content limited, it wouldn't surprise me at all if even after large scale beta testing starts there are still mechanics yet to be placed in parts of the game we won't be playing until release.
“We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.” - Albert Einstein
If they learned 2 things since d2 one is how to better balance classes and the other is that losing progress and having repetitious quests with no point is not fun. Even if you did BloodRaven Quest the first time, once you knew there was really no benefit the second time, and nobody did it (nobody excludes completionists who did it just for the look of having all the quests completed). It was cruft on the game after normal. Hopefully this was in fact learned and they come up with a clever way of using what they have in normal and making it functional and fun at the higher difficulties.
A few examples: The quests that gained you the artisans grant instead an artifact that reduces the cost of tasks (or one task different between nightmare and hell) by that particular artisan.
Or It grants that artisan a new specialization at the highest specialization you have already achieved (My blacksmith has lvl 13 maces after quest I choose axes and now he has both maces and axes at lvl 13. rewards players who a. specialize (a long tradition in Diablo) and b. choose to spend energy on their artisans making it more fun for them.
Or saves a family member of the artisan and they reward you with one free crafted item. (story + reward)
In all of these you retain the artisans from the very beginning.
These were just a few ideas that came to my mind. I'm sure if Blizzard is looking into this as a new way to explore the story and make an otherwise 'dead' quest fun they have probably come up with a good way to handle it make it interesting, fun, and balanced. Well, here's to optimism!
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If that made sense to you, Bravo! I think I even confused myself...
I agree with Raptor on that. I prefer a contiguous experience that varies with each difficulty level, rather than seeing it as 3 separate and distinct games with the same character, each of which begins from 0. Never liked that about D2, it felt somehow amateurish in its design.
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"Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions."
-Thomas Jefferson
I'm still not convinced. Bashiok plays the game. He's an integral tester and feedback agent. If there was a system currently in place, he simply would have responded with what the current system is and said something like "it's bound to change a lot" or simply not respond at all to the thread.
It could be like the Horadric Cube! The Cube remained in our possession throughout Nightmare and Hell, even though the quest appeared in the quest log. The same can be done with the artisans. Their quests are probably optional, so we will probably end up skipping them, or they will simply exclude them on Nightmare and Hell.
I like the idea of excluding them in NM and Hell. Would make more sense.
It could be like the Horadric Cube! The Cube remained in our possession throughout Nightmare and Hell, even though the quest appeared in the quest log. The same can be done with the artisans. Their quests are probably optional, so we will probably end up skipping them, or they will simply exclude them on Nightmare and Hell.
It was explained on several occasions that the quests for the artisans are part of the main storylne and as such they can't be skipped.
Nonesense. If they were an integral part of the story, they wouldn't be single player only.
It only makes sense that the artisans are available to you at the beginning of the next difficulty. If they aren't, you'd be forced to make a game in Normal difficulty to use them. I don't see that being a very Blizzardeque system.
A sensible solution (IMO) would be to simply have it so that the amount of levels artisans gain progresses throughout the difficulties. No need for resets or anything like that. And seeing as gaining the artisans is apparently integral to the storyline, it wouldn't make much sense if you had them before you completed their quests each difficulty.
Also, if the quests are during Act 1, and if the items dropping around you up until then in NM/Hell are better than the recipes that drop at the end of Normal/NM then theres no need to go back to previous difficulties to craft. Problem solved
I'm every bit convinced they haven't started testing NM/Hell. I'm sure their focus is to polish the hell out of the content (items, bossfights, and balancing systems) as well as battle.net integration.
Think about it. Beta will be limited (probably to Normal difficulty), so that leaves them with roughly 6+ months to work out NM/Hell, which is plenty.
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Official Blizzard Quote:
That is an excellent question. I have no idea. I'll have to find out for you.
Firstly, it's actually a really good question that I never thought about. I hope Bash does return with and answer to that.
Surprisingly enough, Bashiok doesn't know how artisans work in Nightmare and Hell? Does this mean they really haven't started testing NM and Hell? I would think if they had, he would know...
I know for the followers, they said they had plans for this situation. I wouldn't be surprised if the same method was applied to the artisans.
Find any Diablo news? Contact me or anyone else on the News team
The artisan is inaccessible until the story unlocks him, but you don't lose your progress. This would be interesting if it is the case - this would mean (like in d2), you'd have to be careful when you're ready to progress to Nightmare.
In this case, it's a lot like what happens when you don't rescue Deckard Cain. You can't get free item identification until after you've completed that part of the story.
----
Regardless, I would think that if SOME system was implemented now, his answer would have reflected that implementation, not an "I have no idea".
A few examples: The quests that gained you the artisans grant instead an artifact that reduces the cost of tasks (or one task different between nightmare and hell) by that particular artisan.
Or It grants that artisan a new specialization at the highest specialization you have already achieved (My blacksmith has lvl 13 maces after quest I choose axes and now he has both maces and axes at lvl 13. rewards players who a. specialize (a long tradition in Diablo) and b. choose to spend energy on their artisans making it more fun for them.
Or saves a family member of the artisan and they reward you with one free crafted item. (story + reward)
In all of these you retain the artisans from the very beginning.
These were just a few ideas that came to my mind. I'm sure if Blizzard is looking into this as a new way to explore the story and make an otherwise 'dead' quest fun they have probably come up with a good way to handle it make it interesting, fun, and balanced. Well, here's to optimism!
-Thomas Jefferson
We get to choose who we safe on normal, lets say the blacksmith. Now we can fully benefit from all his crafting skills and what not.
He moves along with us to nightmare. Again, we get to choose who we safe. Lets say the jeweler guy... Add him to the crafters list..
Same goes for hell and the 3rd artisan.
This would also keep the game less complex for starters.
I like the idea of excluding them in NM and Hell. Would make more sense.
It only makes sense that the artisans are available to you at the beginning of the next difficulty. If they aren't, you'd be forced to make a game in Normal difficulty to use them. I don't see that being a very Blizzardeque system.
Also, if the quests are during Act 1, and if the items dropping around you up until then in NM/Hell are better than the recipes that drop at the end of Normal/NM then theres no need to go back to previous difficulties to craft. Problem solved
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Think about it. Beta will be limited (probably to Normal difficulty), so that leaves them with roughly 6+ months to work out NM/Hell, which is plenty.