[header=3][b]Intro[/b][/header]
[p]Difficulty is something variable according to the player's desire between risk and reward. Make the mobs harder, make them drop better loot. That's the idea. Here's the problem: The efficiency of farming Normal favors facerolling too-easy content for a higher amount of rewards. Here's my suggestions on how to make the following aspects enter/re-enter D3:[/p]
[list]
[list]
[*]Make difficulty rewarding in an interesting, not necessarily raw number way
[*]Make items cooler in conjunction with difficulty, without forcing the higher difficulty as the only way to get great gear
[*][size=14.3px]Make end-game a more variable and choice-based experience, allowing the player to choose specific activities to gain specific rewards[/size]
[/list]
[/list]
[header=3][b]Difficulty[/b][/header]
[p]Here's the plan: separate the difficulty into 3 settings. [i]Normal, Hard, Insane[/i]. Each difficulty gets harder, increasing the number of legendaries that drop, with different rewards.[/p]
[p]Normal[/b][/p]
[p][size=14.3px]1x HP multiplier, 1x Damage Multiplier[/size][/p]
[size=14.3px][size=14.3px][object Object][/size][/size][size=14.3px]Items dropped in this difficulty can roll the following properties:[/size]
[list]
[*][size=14.3px]Intelligence, Dexterity, Strength, Vitality[/size]
[*][size=14.3px]Armor, All Resistance, Specific Resistance (higher rolls than now), Dodge Chance, Ranged/Melee Damage Reduction[/size]
[*][size=14.3px]Critical Chance,[/size][size=14.3px]Critical Damage,[/size][size=14.3px]Deadly Strike Chance,[/size][size=14.3px]Attack Speed, Raw Damage[/size]
[*][size=14.3px]X% Weapon Damage over 3 seconds on hit, X% of Damage dealt gained over 5 seconds[/size]
[*][size=14.3px]Gems/Sockets[/size]
[/list]
[/list]
[b]Hard:[/b]
[size=14.3px]2x HP multiplier, 1.75x Damage Multiplier[/size]
[size=14.3px]Everything from Normal can also drop/roll[/size]
[size=14.3px]Enemies move and attack 20% faster[/size]
[size=14.3px]Items dropped in this difficulty can roll the following properties:[/size]
[list]
[list]X (Element) skills deal Y% more damage[/list]
[list]X% Chance to Cast Y (skill) on Z (condition [block, dodge, struck, attacking, hit, kill, etc.])[/list]
[list]Resource Reduction, Cooldown Reduction, Max Resource, Resource Regen[/list]
[list]Chance to Stun, Freeze, Charm, Slow, Chill, Root, Knockback[/list]
[/list]
[p][b]Insane:[/b][/p]
[p][size=14.3px]3x HP multiplier, 2.5x Damage Multiplier[/size][/p]
[p][size=14.3px]Everything from Hard and Normal can drop/roll[/size][/p]
[p][size=14.3px]Enemies move and attack 50% faster[/size][/p]
[p][size=14.3px]Certain enemies have resistances to a certain element, buffing aura for nearby allies[/size][/p]
[p][size=14.3px]Elite crafting materials can drop[/size][/p]
[p][size=14.3px]Items dropped in this difficulty can roll the following properties:[/size][/p]
[list]
[list]X (skill) deals Y% more damage[/list]
[list]X% Chance to Pierce, Ricochet, Boomerang on hit[/list]
[list]X% Chance to Double Strike when attacking (cast same skill twice at same time)[/list]
[list]X% Crushing Blow[/list]
[/list]
[p]*The above mentioned properties dis-include secondary properties since they are not the core of the issue.[/p]
[header=3]Crafting[/header]
[p]What are elite crafting materials? They are materials rarer than legendary crafting materials. To craft an elite item, several different elite crafting materials are required. Elite items differ from legendary items in that they are not necessarily "build changers". They are themed items that have more stats than 4 primaries/2 secondaries. For example:[/p]
[p][u][size=14.3px][size=14.3px]Entrance to Heaven[/size][/size][/u] (2H Staff, 1.00 attacks per second)[/p]
[list]500-1000 Lightning Damage[/list]
[list]500-1000 Fire Damage[/list]
[list]500-1000 Cold Damage[/list]
[list]10% Chance to Cast Frozen Orb when Attacking[/list]
[list]10% Chance to Cast Explosive Bolts when Struck[/list]
[list]10% Chance to Cast Explosive Blast on Block[/list]
[list][350-600] Intelligence[/list]
[p]This Staff could require 200 blood shards, 1 000 000 gold, 100 veil crystals, 150 arcane dust, 200 common scraps, 1 Diablo's Horn, 1 Azmodan's Jaw, 1 Belial's Claw. The 3 last materials would obviously drop from the respective lords of hell at a very low drop chance only in Insane difficulty. Another example:[/p]
[p][u][size=14.3px][size=14.3px]Death Doctor's Syringe[/size][/size][/u] (1H Ceremonial Dagger, 1.45 attacks per second)[/p]
[list]1500-3000 Poison Damage[/list]
[list]30% Weapon Damage over 3 seconds on hit[/list]
[list]3% of Damage dealt gained over 5 seconds[/list]
[list][300-560] Intelligence[/list]
[list]8 Mana per Second[/list]
[list]15% Chance to Charm on Hit[/list]
[list]9% Ranged Damage reduction[/list]
[p][i]Elite Crafting Materials Required[/i]: 1 Dalghur Dune Dervish Diaphragm, 1 Festering Woods Nest Heart, 1 Constructed Vessel Intestine[/p]
[p]The opportunity to know exactly (self-explanatorily) where the elite crafting mat came from, and that finding the other materials (knowing how rare they are) would lead to one awesome staff is a cool balance between predictable outcome from a random reward, granted by using choice to find said reward. The player can't accidentally get this staff. They have to find the plan, and then the very rare mats from specific, self-explanatory locations/monsters.[/p]
[p]What if making self-explanatory crafting materials gets really hard? Maybe adding an option to mark the location of all the monsters from whom the elite mats in that recipe can be found. In this instance, it would mark little crafting icons next to the waypoints for Azmodan, Diablo, and Belial on the World Map. Also don't forget to add a "clear crafting recipe markers" option on the map.[/p]
[p]Overall this adds a longterm, awesome crafting system that ensures players can't just craft the best items in the game because they need to be capable of killing the act bosses on Insane difficulty first, a well, insane amount of times.[/p]
[header=3][b]2H Weapons[/b][/header]
[p]They suck, except for Crusaders. Period. How do we make them better? Give them[i]different[/i] stats than 1H weapons, not just bigger ones. Maybe:[/p]
[list]crushing blow (rolled only on insane difficulty)[/list]
[list]magic find (I know it's gone, but maybe just on 2H weapons)[/list]
[list]bleed (now based off of raw weapon damage [unreliant on attack speed])[/list]
[list]block chance[/list]
[list]etc.[/list]
[header=3]Paragon[/header]
[p]It's cool. It offers customization. However, it's slow. It's really slow. Instead of making it only faster (an artificial solution really), why not expand its impact [i]while[/i] speeding it up a bit? Here's how I would do it by adding these stats:[/p]
[list]Elemental damage increases[/list]
[list]Health Globes Replenish X% Primary Resource[/list]
[list]X% Chance to Double Strike when attacking (cast same skill twice at same time)[/list]
[list]X% Chance to Stun, Freeze, Charm, Slow, Chill, Root, Knockback (separated of course)[/list]
[list]X% of Damage dealt gained over 5 seconds[/list]
[list]Deadly Strike Chance[/list]
[p]These aren't necessarily fantastic, but they add more customization. Also, making the experience required per paragon level less exponential, and more flat could help the progression feel more tangible.[/p]
[header=3]The Theme[/header]
[p][size=14.3px]If you haven't noticed by now, the whole theme of my suggestions is different instead of more. It's not just higher difficulty=more/rarer items/experience/gold. It's higher difficulty=different rewards. This means that if you want exp, maybe farming Normal is more efficient. If you want sick-ass elite crafting mats, farming Insane is the way to go. If you need better gear for Insane to get the elite items you're dying for, farm Hard. Much like in D2, there are varying activities to be performed at different difficulty levels. Depending on what you're doing, the difficulty varies. Even having specific builds/gear for certain activities could be relevant.[/size][/p]
[p][size=14.3px]Post your feedback, comments, ideas (for elite items too!), etc. Please note that any numbers and examples of items aren't exactly end-all, be-all solutions, just general ideas representing inferior versions of potentially awesome (elite) items.[/size][/p]
[p][size=14.3px]P.S. I might try and add pictures for the eye-candy later, just getting my ideas out there.[/size][/p]
List tags are malformed.
"Make difficulty rewarding in an interesting, not necessarily raw number way
Make items cooler in conjunction with difficulty, without forcing the higher difficulty as the only way to get great gear"
But then you lead directly into only dropping legendaries / sets / crafting materials at a certain difficutly, which of course is completely opposite of your begging stance. How else am I to get that great gear if I don't play the highest difficulty?
[list]
[*]Make difficulty rewarding in an interesting, not necessarily raw number way
[*]Make items cooler in conjunction with difficulty, without forcing the higher difficulty as the only way to get great gear
[*][size=14.3px]Make end-game a more variable and choice-based experience, allowing the player to choose specific activities to gain specific rewards[/size]
[/list]
[/list]
[header=3][b]Difficulty[/b][/header] [p]Here's the plan: separate the difficulty into 3 settings. [i]Normal, Hard, Insane[/i]. Each difficulty gets harder, increasing the number of legendaries that drop, with different rewards.[/p] [p]Normal[/b][/p] [p][size=14.3px]1x HP multiplier, 1x Damage Multiplier[/size][/p] [size=14.3px][size=14.3px][object Object][/size][/size][size=14.3px]Items dropped in this difficulty can roll the following properties:[/size]
[list]
[*][size=14.3px]Intelligence, Dexterity, Strength, Vitality[/size]
[*][size=14.3px]Armor, All Resistance, Specific Resistance (higher rolls than now), Dodge Chance, Ranged/Melee Damage Reduction[/size]
[*][size=14.3px]Critical Chance,[/size][size=14.3px]Critical Damage,[/size][size=14.3px]Deadly Strike Chance,[/size][size=14.3px]Attack Speed, Raw Damage[/size]
[*][size=14.3px]X% Weapon Damage over 3 seconds on hit, X% of Damage dealt gained over 5 seconds[/size]
[*][size=14.3px]Gems/Sockets[/size]
[/list]
[/list]
[b]Hard:[/b]
[size=14.3px]2x HP multiplier, 1.75x Damage Multiplier[/size]
[size=14.3px]Everything from Normal can also drop/roll[/size]
[size=14.3px]Enemies move and attack 20% faster[/size]
[size=14.3px]Items dropped in this difficulty can roll the following properties:[/size]
[list]
[list]X (Element) skills deal Y% more damage[/list]
[list]X% Chance to Cast Y (skill) on Z (condition [block, dodge, struck, attacking, hit, kill, etc.])[/list]
[list]Resource Reduction, Cooldown Reduction, Max Resource, Resource Regen[/list]
[list]Chance to Stun, Freeze, Charm, Slow, Chill, Root, Knockback[/list]
[/list]
[p][b]Insane:[/b][/p] [p][size=14.3px]3x HP multiplier, 2.5x Damage Multiplier[/size][/p] [p][size=14.3px]Everything from Hard and Normal can drop/roll[/size][/p] [p][size=14.3px]Enemies move and attack 50% faster[/size][/p] [p][size=14.3px]Certain enemies have resistances to a certain element, buffing aura for nearby allies[/size][/p] [p][size=14.3px]Elite crafting materials can drop[/size][/p] [p][size=14.3px]Items dropped in this difficulty can roll the following properties:[/size][/p]
[list]
[list]X (skill) deals Y% more damage[/list]
[list]X% Chance to Pierce, Ricochet, Boomerang on hit[/list]
[list]X% Chance to Double Strike when attacking (cast same skill twice at same time)[/list]
[list]X% Crushing Blow[/list]
[/list]
[p]*The above mentioned properties dis-include secondary properties since they are not the core of the issue.[/p] [header=3]Crafting[/header] [p]What are elite crafting materials? They are materials rarer than legendary crafting materials. To craft an elite item, several different elite crafting materials are required. Elite items differ from legendary items in that they are not necessarily "build changers". They are themed items that have more stats than 4 primaries/2 secondaries. For example:[/p] [p][u][size=14.3px][size=14.3px]Entrance to Heaven[/size][/size][/u] (2H Staff, 1.00 attacks per second)[/p] [list]500-1000 Lightning Damage[/list]
[list]500-1000 Fire Damage[/list]
[list]500-1000 Cold Damage[/list]
[list]10% Chance to Cast Frozen Orb when Attacking[/list]
[list]10% Chance to Cast Explosive Bolts when Struck[/list]
[list]10% Chance to Cast Explosive Blast on Block[/list]
[list][350-600] Intelligence[/list]
[p]This Staff could require 200 blood shards, 1 000 000 gold, 100 veil crystals, 150 arcane dust, 200 common scraps, 1 Diablo's Horn, 1 Azmodan's Jaw, 1 Belial's Claw. The 3 last materials would obviously drop from the respective lords of hell at a very low drop chance only in Insane difficulty. Another example:[/p] [p][u][size=14.3px][size=14.3px]Death Doctor's Syringe[/size][/size][/u] (1H Ceremonial Dagger, 1.45 attacks per second)[/p] [list]1500-3000 Poison Damage[/list]
[list]30% Weapon Damage over 3 seconds on hit[/list]
[list]3% of Damage dealt gained over 5 seconds[/list]
[list][300-560] Intelligence[/list]
[list]8 Mana per Second[/list]
[list]15% Chance to Charm on Hit[/list]
[list]9% Ranged Damage reduction[/list]
[p][i]Elite Crafting Materials Required[/i]: 1 Dalghur Dune Dervish Diaphragm, 1 Festering Woods Nest Heart, 1 Constructed Vessel Intestine[/p] [p]The opportunity to know exactly (self-explanatorily) where the elite crafting mat came from, and that finding the other materials (knowing how rare they are) would lead to one awesome staff is a cool balance between predictable outcome from a random reward, granted by using choice to find said reward. The player can't accidentally get this staff. They have to find the plan, and then the very rare mats from specific, self-explanatory locations/monsters.[/p] [p]What if making self-explanatory crafting materials gets really hard? Maybe adding an option to mark the location of all the monsters from whom the elite mats in that recipe can be found. In this instance, it would mark little crafting icons next to the waypoints for Azmodan, Diablo, and Belial on the World Map. Also don't forget to add a "clear crafting recipe markers" option on the map.[/p] [p]Overall this adds a longterm, awesome crafting system that ensures players can't just craft the best items in the game because they need to be capable of killing the act bosses on Insane difficulty first, a well, insane amount of times.[/p] [header=3][b]2H Weapons[/b][/header] [p]They suck, except for Crusaders. Period. How do we make them better? Give them[i]different[/i] stats than 1H weapons, not just bigger ones. Maybe:[/p] [list]crushing blow (rolled only on insane difficulty)[/list]
[list]magic find (I know it's gone, but maybe just on 2H weapons)[/list]
[list]bleed (now based off of raw weapon damage [unreliant on attack speed])[/list]
[list]block chance[/list]
[list]etc.[/list]
[header=3]Paragon[/header] [p]It's cool. It offers customization. However, it's slow. It's really slow. Instead of making it only faster (an artificial solution really), why not expand its impact [i]while[/i] speeding it up a bit? Here's how I would do it by adding these stats:[/p] [list]Elemental damage increases[/list]
[list]Health Globes Replenish X% Primary Resource[/list]
[list]X% Chance to Double Strike when attacking (cast same skill twice at same time)[/list]
[list]X% Chance to Stun, Freeze, Charm, Slow, Chill, Root, Knockback (separated of course)[/list]
[list]X% of Damage dealt gained over 5 seconds[/list]
[list]Deadly Strike Chance[/list]
[p]These aren't necessarily fantastic, but they add more customization. Also, making the experience required per paragon level less exponential, and more flat could help the progression feel more tangible.[/p] [header=3]The Theme[/header] [p][size=14.3px]If you haven't noticed by now, the whole theme of my suggestions is different instead of more. It's not just higher difficulty=more/rarer items/experience/gold. It's higher difficulty=different rewards. This means that if you want exp, maybe farming Normal is more efficient. If you want sick-ass elite crafting mats, farming Insane is the way to go. If you need better gear for Insane to get the elite items you're dying for, farm Hard. Much like in D2, there are varying activities to be performed at different difficulty levels. Depending on what you're doing, the difficulty varies. Even having specific builds/gear for certain activities could be relevant.[/size][/p] [p][size=14.3px]Post your feedback, comments, ideas (for elite items too!), etc. Please note that any numbers and examples of items aren't exactly end-all, be-all solutions, just general ideas representing inferior versions of potentially awesome (elite) items.[/size][/p] [p][size=14.3px]P.S. I might try and add pictures for the eye-candy later, just getting my ideas out there.[/size][/p]
List tags are malformed.
I'm confused, because you start with this;
"Make difficulty rewarding in an interesting, not necessarily raw number way
Make items cooler in conjunction with difficulty, without forcing the higher difficulty as the only way to get great gear"
But then you lead directly into only dropping legendaries / sets / crafting materials at a certain difficutly, which of course is completely opposite of your begging stance. How else am I to get that great gear if I don't play the highest difficulty?
Yea sorry, I edited the main post to fix that. You're right, that made no sense.