Besides the PVP options listed above, I'd like to address something else: game balance
I was sick of Barbs with the super high defense rating in D2 where I'd literally spend 15 seconds swinging trying to get 1 hit, only to get blocked. Barbs can have high HP and take less damage, but not hitting at all is simply ridiculous. I'm pretty sure a melee expert like a monk trying to hit you will succeed, since its his damn area of expertise.
Decrease spell damage. Oh, hammerdins, they can just spam it all day and not worry about getting hit because its a AoE spell and you'd get killed in like 2 hits. I wouldn't want to get blasted from a full screen away by lightning and get killed by a wizard if I was a barb without being able to retaliate.
It could be a side quest, it doesn't have to be part of the main quests to complete the story. As you said, there should be something that pleases all gamers, so side quests that have these should reward the people who invest the time in lore related stuff. They don't have to be mandatory stuff for like buffs and such, but something worthwhile like personalizing an item or something.
It's like finding the True Tal Rasha Tomb in Act 2. Honestly, even in a hack n slash, a story goes a long way.
Diablo 2 can be played without reading lore at all. I'm wishing that Diablo 3 would have some way of making quests and text that are recorded so it must be read and studied as to complete other quests.
For example, Quest A provides a scroll like Act I dropped from the Tree. In it is the diary of an important character that dictates the path to the entrance of Quest B. But the directions isn't straightforward like "Walk 3 blocks, turn right." Use of metaphors and such, so the game experience is more enriched and not simply just a hack and slash.
Also, lore for Set and Unique items. Nat's was in Diablo 2, but I know nothing about her, her past, her techniques, etc. Titan's Revenge, who wielded them, what material is it made from, what and why its so much stronger. Just 1 paragraph per item would be enough.
Bios for all the NPC's would be nice too. Being able to fight alongside with some of the NPC heros would be nice too. It can be one of those side quests that if you allow the hero to die, then its irreversible. Some references to Diablo 2 weapons, something like "Enigmatic Reflection" as a name of an armor or something.
0
I was sick of Barbs with the super high defense rating in D2 where I'd literally spend 15 seconds swinging trying to get 1 hit, only to get blocked. Barbs can have high HP and take less damage, but not hitting at all is simply ridiculous. I'm pretty sure a melee expert like a monk trying to hit you will succeed, since its his damn area of expertise.
Decrease spell damage. Oh, hammerdins, they can just spam it all day and not worry about getting hit because its a AoE spell and you'd get killed in like 2 hits. I wouldn't want to get blasted from a full screen away by lightning and get killed by a wizard if I was a barb without being able to retaliate.
0
It's like finding the True Tal Rasha Tomb in Act 2. Honestly, even in a hack n slash, a story goes a long way.
0
For example, Quest A provides a scroll like Act I dropped from the Tree. In it is the diary of an important character that dictates the path to the entrance of Quest B. But the directions isn't straightforward like "Walk 3 blocks, turn right." Use of metaphors and such, so the game experience is more enriched and not simply just a hack and slash.
Also, lore for Set and Unique items. Nat's was in Diablo 2, but I know nothing about her, her past, her techniques, etc. Titan's Revenge, who wielded them, what material is it made from, what and why its so much stronger. Just 1 paragraph per item would be enough.
Bios for all the NPC's would be nice too. Being able to fight alongside with some of the NPC heros would be nice too. It can be one of those side quests that if you allow the hero to die, then its irreversible. Some references to Diablo 2 weapons, something like "Enigmatic Reflection" as a name of an armor or something.