Hey guys, I wasn't able to attend Blizzcon to play the demo so I might not be completely up-to-date on the Zombie Dog/Mongrel mechanics, but my idea has to do with their sacrifice effect (if it's still there).
Keeping Zombie Dogs Useful:
I thought that instead of simply buffing them with a small amount of extra damage or something along those lines, why not make them a living conduit to amplify the power of the Witch Doctor's spells?
Basically if you enchant them with Firebomb and sacrifice them, they'll explode in an amplified version of the Firebomb and/or leave burning ground beneath them. Alternately you could enchant them with Locust Swarm and sacrifice them, releasing a larger swarm (perhaps the equivalent of 2-3 normal ones).
That being said, I'd rather not see these become simply on-death effects - we don't want to turn enchanted Zombie Dogs into another Plague of Toads.
That way you could keep using the Zombie Dog/Mongrel for much longer and deal with dangerous monster types from a safe distance, adding a bit of extra flavour to the play style.
'Accidentally Enchanting' Zombie Dogs
As for empowering your Zombie Dogs, it seems the problem lies somewhere within not being able to control when they are enchanted.
What if instead of changing any time they're hit by either spell, the Zombie Dogs require the full power of the Witch Doctor's spell to be enhanced.
In gameplay terms, this could translate to something along the lines of having to be the primary target of the spell.
This way, accidental switches on Firebomb splash damage or Locust Swarm secondary infection become less of a concern.
Effects of Enchanting Zombie Dogs
Now what the passive effects of empowering your Zombie Dogs should be is somewhat debatable.
I believe that forcing the player to have their pets enchanted at all times for some damage buff or passive effect is the wrong way to go about it.
Sure it's interesting in a way, but what you end up doing is having a buff to refresh and saying the normal pet isn't good enough on its own.
What it SHOULD do is modify the way the pet fights or behaves in a meaningful way.
Zombie Dogs - For example, a normal Zombie Dog may deal average physical damage and tank a solid amount of damage (perhaps regenerating health slowly). A good all-rounder when you don't know what to expect.
Fire Dogs - Once enchanted with Firebomb, they gain some bonus fire damage on attacks but have reduced health (they are on fire after all). This makes the 'Fire Dog' excellent against weaker or fire vulnerable enemies, and an excellent damage dealer when he is not the focus of attacks.
Swarm Dogs - Enchanting a Zombie Dog with Locust Swarm irritates nearby enemies, reducing the attack speed/impairing accuracy as they swat desperately at the starving Locusts. However, this makes the Dog more susceptible to magical damage. The 'Swarm Dog' is ideal for engaging brutes and is useful to 'hold the line' against large groups.
These are just some that I've come up with, just imagine where Blizzard could take it.
Ultimately, this could change the feel of Zombie Dogs from "they aren't as strong when they're not enchanted" to "will enchanting them with a spell make this situation easier?"
Just my two cents... I hope Blizzard keep the mechanic in some form because it feels so unique.
If you liked or didn't like my ideas, please leave a comment.
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- ranen
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Last active Thu, Jul, 5 2012 20:12:51
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Maybe it's just the currently available early game skills?... I remember having electrocute felt reasonably strong, even after its reduction in power.
Personally, I was quite unhappy with the range reduction to shock pulse. It felt really cool to lay down a carpet of lightning and the current version feels more like an extended range spectral blade.
Our experiences really are based on a tiny chunk of the game, even so, you'd hope that at release even the early parts are more enjoyable.
Hopefully Blizzard will deliver a satisfying play experience for all classes when the game goes live.
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There were a few interview tidbits already pertaining to the demon hunter resource (a dual resource system of 'discipline' for traps and tricks and 'hatred' for ranged attacks and movement skills) but obviously nothing final yet - Blizzard might change things up at the last minute if it betters the game.
As for my question(s):
I wonder if it would be possible to ask the team about whether there have been any thoughts on how to handle the collector's edition. Specifically, say I want to buy the collector's edition directly from the Blizzard store... would it then be possible to play the game before the box and assorted goodies physically arrived at my door via download (as the game would already be tied to my battle.net account)?
Also, I know it's not that popular a topic but I'm curious:
How much new audio was recorded for Diablo 3 (excluding voice acting)? I sometimes re-watch the trailers and gameplay demos and notice sounds that sound very similar to things from the previous games (for example, the sound of the bow shooting). How much ear candy can we expect in terms of unique skill sounds and music?
Thanks!
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Keeping Zombie Dogs Useful:
I thought that instead of simply buffing them with a small amount of extra damage or something along those lines, why not make them a living conduit to amplify the power of the Witch Doctor's spells?
Basically if you enchant them with Firebomb and sacrifice them, they'll explode in an amplified version of the Firebomb and/or leave burning ground beneath them. Alternately you could enchant them with Locust Swarm and sacrifice them, releasing a larger swarm (perhaps the equivalent of 2-3 normal ones).
That being said, I'd rather not see these become simply on-death effects - we don't want to turn enchanted Zombie Dogs into another Plague of Toads.
That way you could keep using the Zombie Dog/Mongrel for much longer and deal with dangerous monster types from a safe distance, adding a bit of extra flavour to the play style.
'Accidentally Enchanting' Zombie Dogs
As for empowering your Zombie Dogs, it seems the problem lies somewhere within not being able to control when they are enchanted.
What if instead of changing any time they're hit by either spell, the Zombie Dogs require the full power of the Witch Doctor's spell to be enhanced.
In gameplay terms, this could translate to something along the lines of having to be the primary target of the spell.
This way, accidental switches on Firebomb splash damage or Locust Swarm secondary infection become less of a concern.
Effects of Enchanting Zombie Dogs
Now what the passive effects of empowering your Zombie Dogs should be is somewhat debatable.
I believe that forcing the player to have their pets enchanted at all times for some damage buff or passive effect is the wrong way to go about it.
Sure it's interesting in a way, but what you end up doing is having a buff to refresh and saying the normal pet isn't good enough on its own.
What it SHOULD do is modify the way the pet fights or behaves in a meaningful way.
Zombie Dogs - For example, a normal Zombie Dog may deal average physical damage and tank a solid amount of damage (perhaps regenerating health slowly). A good all-rounder when you don't know what to expect.
Fire Dogs - Once enchanted with Firebomb, they gain some bonus fire damage on attacks but have reduced health (they are on fire after all). This makes the 'Fire Dog' excellent against weaker or fire vulnerable enemies, and an excellent damage dealer when he is not the focus of attacks.
Swarm Dogs - Enchanting a Zombie Dog with Locust Swarm irritates nearby enemies, reducing the attack speed/impairing accuracy as they swat desperately at the starving Locusts. However, this makes the Dog more susceptible to magical damage. The 'Swarm Dog' is ideal for engaging brutes and is useful to 'hold the line' against large groups.
These are just some that I've come up with, just imagine where Blizzard could take it.
Ultimately, this could change the feel of Zombie Dogs from "they aren't as strong when they're not enchanted" to "will enchanting them with a spell make this situation easier?"
Just my two cents... I hope Blizzard keep the mechanic in some form because it feels so unique.
If you liked or didn't like my ideas, please leave a comment.