I like Runewords, I really did - I liked the customisation, the sense of searching for the different parts and the moment where a few days of farming/trading would come together and you'd haveyour imba item. I think it covered for a lot of issues like trying to find a certain unique that didn't cost a retarded amount of SoJ's...
That being said I think Runewords were poorly implemented - they should have been weaker than uniques in general, with the rarest runewords being comparable with uniques (but still slightly weaker). The drops on all rune should have been higher to compensate for their "weakness".
Bah the coolest thing in any game so far to insert into your gear was monster specific cards each with a unique attribute.
This is ragnorak onlines gimmick and this game is still kicking and expanding.
Nothing cooler then mob specific rare items to farm for a specific thing you wanted on your item.
I think that new craft system is better because to create some new cool item you hadn't to find several other items (and store them while collecting). Instead of it, you need just a recipe. It's much more convenient, imho
So much hate on runewords in here. I actually think they were a great idea, even if they were a bit unbalanced. You guys are saying that it "broke" the game because it allowed characters to become uber powerful, this is the exact reason why people have been still playing d2 to this day. There is a huge gap between a character that just has normal gear, and someone who has the best gear, and I think this is what makes d2 so unique and wonderful. Sadly this type of feeling wont ever happen in D3.
I didn't like the runewords at all. They weren't easy to find out, without using some kind of internet guide. Who would like to expend all those runes trying to discover combinations. If runes were inter exchangeable in the slots, I would like them a little more. FF7 style.
I think the runeword system itself was a solid idea, just...wasn't implemented well. The fact that you weren't given a guide on how to set them up properly without looking up stuff online, or at least finding hints in the game that could point you in the right direction was one problem. The other big problem is that some runewords were just way, way, WAY too powerful...Enigma is the one that always comes to mind, and the fact that the higher level runes were (IMHO) a bit too rare for their own good. Not saying they should've dropped like candy, but shouldn't have been such a hassle to get. Though the fact that runes and SOJs and other things outstripped gold as a viable currency was a problem with gold and the lack of meaningful goldsinks and items to buy with it, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms.
One thing runewords DID do was that they gave more value to socketed items and those plain ol' white items you'd find. Finding that Archon Plate, or that Thresher you had been after for a while, saving up a socket quest from Larzuk, or taking a shot at socket rolling in the Cube and seeing you get the number of sockets you needed for the runes you had saved up...what a thrill that was! Will never forget how delighted I was to find a white Grand Matron Bow with +3 B&C Skills, rolling it in the cube, and shouting out when I saw 4 sockets pop up for my Faith Runeword. Yeah...runewords gave those 'common items' value, far beyond what they seem to have now in Diablo III and gave you something else to hunt after instead of just godly rares and Uniques.
It is a bit of a shame to see runewords aren't in Diablo III, and considering Blizzard has had A LOT of time to see and learn from the runewords of Diablo II, they could've made far more balanced ones. Of course, I know it won't happen now, but still...would've been nice all the same.
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That being said I think Runewords were poorly implemented - they should have been weaker than uniques in general, with the rarest runewords being comparable with uniques (but still slightly weaker). The drops on all rune should have been higher to compensate for their "weakness".
d3 runeword system > d2 runeword system
This is ragnorak onlines gimmick and this game is still kicking and expanding.
Nothing cooler then mob specific rare items to farm for a specific thing you wanted on your item.
One thing runewords DID do was that they gave more value to socketed items and those plain ol' white items you'd find. Finding that Archon Plate, or that Thresher you had been after for a while, saving up a socket quest from Larzuk, or taking a shot at socket rolling in the Cube and seeing you get the number of sockets you needed for the runes you had saved up...what a thrill that was! Will never forget how delighted I was to find a white Grand Matron Bow with +3 B&C Skills, rolling it in the cube, and shouting out when I saw 4 sockets pop up for my Faith Runeword. Yeah...runewords gave those 'common items' value, far beyond what they seem to have now in Diablo III and gave you something else to hunt after instead of just godly rares and Uniques.
It is a bit of a shame to see runewords aren't in Diablo III, and considering Blizzard has had A LOT of time to see and learn from the runewords of Diablo II, they could've made far more balanced ones. Of course, I know it won't happen now, but still...would've been nice all the same.