Mob Density is only a thing now because of Life Steal. Huge mobs would be impossible without life steal. Nerf Life Steal = nerf mob density.
Mob Density is a thing because it's fun as hell. I am sure that even without life steal, players would find a way to navigate it, even if it meant just turning down the difficulty at first.
If the DPS difference between 1H and 2H is anything like it is today, I can't understand how this passive can be balanced as-is. A 10% movement speed penalty is not a big deal at higher difficulties where monsters have a ton of health so you spend more time fighting than running.
While I think you're underestimating how important movement speed is at high levels, I do see Heavenly Strength, as-is, becoming something like Ruthless, where it's not necessarily mandatory, but it's going to be the best option for most set-ups.
1) The game is not very hard. If you play video games with any degree of regularity, you won't have a problem playing any of the 5 classes all the way up through Inferno on Medium.
2) I would suggest either the Barbarian or the Monk, as they are passively hardier than the Wizard, WD, or DH, which require more active avoidance. That will let her focus on just attacking and having fun.
3) You will have no problem whatsoever playing straight through Inferno as long as you keep the difficulty on Medium. In fact, I was able to switch to Master I for my first play through of Inferno (no grinding whatsoever) and could have switched to Master II after that.
4) The Monk is TONS of fun. The Barbarian is also fantastic on the PC, but on the console version I found him a little lethargic. His "mobility" skills (Leap, Furious Charge) don't work quite as well with the controller.
The mechanism works as follows: an legendary/set item is soul-bound once being picked up and identified by a player. This guy will become the master of the item and only the master has the permission to restore/repair it. So, once it is traded/given to any other player after the allowed time window in the game it was found, it will lose the max durability by one every day and cannot be repaired/restored if damaged unless it goes back to its master. So, you can use it in a short period, but you can never own it permanently. For people who just want to enjoy extant epic items, they can just keep buying. For people who want to try new builds but without proper items, they can borrow them from their friends and return afterwards. For people who stick to self-found, it does not matter. In principle, everyone would be happy.
Nah, they had something similar in Diablo 2 - ethereal items. They were stronger, but couldn't be repaired. They were basically useless, unless you were a caster (since casting didn't reduce durability, only melee attacks) or if you used it for a runeword with Zod in it (indestructible). Nobody wanted them, or would trade anything of actual value for them otherwise.
That all sounds great on paper, but you're assuming that it's possible to create unique art for legendary items that appeals to everyone, such that we all go "Yes, this visual is suitably unique and powerful for this item," and nod our heads in unison. But that's just not possible; it's a matter of taste, and taste is purely subjective.
Take the Grandfather for example. Some people might call Diablo 3's visual for that sword to be suitably unique and powerful-looking. I think it looks silly, like a big iron cross with a handle. I much, much preferred the artwork from Diablo 1 - a simple, elegant katana. That looks powerful to me. Neither position is wrong - it's subjective.
Since legendary items are going to have unique, build-making affixes attached to them, it would have been cool to preserve their unique looks as well so you could associate the visual with the build. But at the same time, some items are inevitably going to rise to the top as the most powerful no matter what, and everyone will be looking a little too homogenized.
War Cry, I like having to refresh because you have to hit your party members with it. But pure self-buffs like Battle Cry, Magic Weapon, Familiar, etc. I think should do something minor just to give me something to think about when I go to refresh it. Like if Battle Cry slowed enemies around me for 2 seconds, or boosted nearby party members' damage for 5 seconds. Nothing that would make me want to cast it more often, but just something to feel good when I do.
"The short version is, the expansion adds a lot of new items and item levels. It expands the power of the game, all the classes are being rebalanced, and we’re adding new properties to items – even existing items, when new versions drop.The legendary thing and the new gem tiers pretty much takes care of a lot of that stuff."
I hadn't heard about any gem tiers being added above Marquise - have I missed something?
Blizzard guy had better explain why consoles get the offline treatment if it's THAT bad for the game. Did they just not care about ruining the console experience? Or... Funny how that works, huh.
For what it's worth, the guy in the Blizzard article is saying the problem was having an online mode that was separate from the offline mode, because it segregated online characters from offline characters. On the console version, every character can play online or offline, as the player chooses.
Why should anyone bother farming ACT 4? The challenge is there, which is great, but doesnt feel more rewarding. The greater the challenge, the greater the rewards.
I think ultimately you always have the problem of, if there's a place that's most rewarding, that is where the informed players will feel obligated to play. So then you get back into the issue they were trying to solve by making everything level 63 - no options on where to play. It's like an endless cycle.
If efficiency is most important to you, there will always be a place that's most efficient. If you want some variety, you'll have to give up some efficiency. It's not so bad - get off the item grind treadmill for a little while and show Act IV who's boss.
Have you played the console version yet? The crafting there is always-smart-drop, but you still wear plenty of gear you find (especially since you're finding way more sets/legendaries).
Plus, I don't think we should assume the drop rate for mats will stay the same. It's much less on the console, because not every item salvages into Inferno mats.
I already HAVE the mats, though. That's what I was getting at.
Sorry - I thought you were suggesting that they were just easy to farm up (and they are). As I understand it, they are consolidating mats for 1-60, but there will still be new mats for level 70 crafts. So, whatever the drop rate is for those will be a factor.
So these sorts of questions are pretty hard to answer because they are actively re-writing the Diablo story through each game and through side projects like books and comics.
For example, one that particularly irks me is in Diablo 1 the Warrior is just some random brute, but in Diablo 3 the story says he was actually the prince's older brother.
That's weird. Talk as if there are a ton of retconning in the Diablo story. It was very minimal, and necessary for the story to actually "click and fit", and I don't think there are a lot of plot holes in it either.
You can read up on all this stuff on wiki sites like diablo.wikia.com, under main character entries. You will see some conflicts, however, because as I said they're actively re-writing their lore as the series progresses.
Not re-writing the lore. Completing it with other info (like the Crusader origin story).
We can disagree on whether the number of revisions made amounts to "a ton", but I don't think you can argue that they are "not re-writing the lore" but rather "completing it with other info." They completely changed the Warrior's story as I noted, changed the Dark Wanderer's story as a result, Adria's, and Leoric's.
The Crusader origin story is different because, as far as I know, it doesn't change my established perception of any characters in the game's series. I haven't met the Crusader yet, and it doesn't affect my understanding of the Paladin (as far as I know - I haven't read up on it because I like to experience that stuff in-game). Whereas, making the Warrior into Aiden asks me to completely alter my experience in D1 (since I played the Warrior almost exclusively) and fundamentally changes my understanding of what's going on in D2.
So as a result, I made the statement that the story can be hard to follow for someone playing the games through because they are making changes to the story both outside the game through books / other promotions and with each new entry in the series - Diablo 2 made some, Diablo 3 made a lot, and Reaper of Souls will make more.
It doesn't have anything to do with necessity, or propriety. My personal take on that aspect is that most of the retcons they've made could have easily been avoided by introducing new elements instead of trying to wedge round pegs into square holes.
Mobs leveling up with you, I hate that. IMO areas should have fixed mob levels and you decide yourself which area you want to go to next. Leveling monsters may make the game flow smoother for people who dont know what they are doing, but I prefer control...
I don't understand why - the game currently has monsters of fixed mob levels based on the area, until you turn on MP1+ in Inferno, and it was a huge problem at end-game. What use are you currently making of that feature?
And, you still have control - you can change the difficulty at the start of your game, similar to Monster Power. Why doesn't that feature alleviate your concern?
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Mob Density is a thing because it's fun as hell. I am sure that even without life steal, players would find a way to navigate it, even if it meant just turning down the difficulty at first.
I think if the density is decreased in the main game, this will be why.
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While I think you're underestimating how important movement speed is at high levels, I do see Heavenly Strength, as-is, becoming something like Ruthless, where it's not necessarily mandatory, but it's going to be the best option for most set-ups.
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I thought it reduced your movement speed, not your attack speed?
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1) The game is not very hard. If you play video games with any degree of regularity, you won't have a problem playing any of the 5 classes all the way up through Inferno on Medium.
2) I would suggest either the Barbarian or the Monk, as they are passively hardier than the Wizard, WD, or DH, which require more active avoidance. That will let her focus on just attacking and having fun.
3) You will have no problem whatsoever playing straight through Inferno as long as you keep the difficulty on Medium. In fact, I was able to switch to Master I for my first play through of Inferno (no grinding whatsoever) and could have switched to Master II after that.
4) The Monk is TONS of fun. The Barbarian is also fantastic on the PC, but on the console version I found him a little lethargic. His "mobility" skills (Leap, Furious Charge) don't work quite as well with the controller.
Enjoy!
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Nah, they had something similar in Diablo 2 - ethereal items. They were stronger, but couldn't be repaired. They were basically useless, unless you were a caster (since casting didn't reduce durability, only melee attacks) or if you used it for a runeword with Zod in it (indestructible). Nobody wanted them, or would trade anything of actual value for them otherwise.
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Miss DiabloFans Pageant? I'm in.
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Take the Grandfather for example. Some people might call Diablo 3's visual for that sword to be suitably unique and powerful-looking. I think it looks silly, like a big iron cross with a handle. I much, much preferred the artwork from Diablo 1 - a simple, elegant katana. That looks powerful to me. Neither position is wrong - it's subjective.
Since legendary items are going to have unique, build-making affixes attached to them, it would have been cool to preserve their unique looks as well so you could associate the visual with the build. But at the same time, some items are inevitably going to rise to the top as the most powerful no matter what, and everyone will be looking a little too homogenized.
So I think it's a worthy trade off.
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I was reading this article ( http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/11/13/blizzard-talks-diablo-iiis-new-path-defends-online-req/#more-175898 ) and came across the following quote:
"The short version is, the expansion adds a lot of new items and item levels. It expands the power of the game, all the classes are being rebalanced, and we’re adding new properties to items – even existing items, when new versions drop.The legendary thing and the new gem tiers pretty much takes care of a lot of that stuff."
I hadn't heard about any gem tiers being added above Marquise - have I missed something?
0
For what it's worth, the guy in the Blizzard article is saying the problem was having an online mode that was separate from the offline mode, because it segregated online characters from offline characters. On the console version, every character can play online or offline, as the player chooses.
1
I think ultimately you always have the problem of, if there's a place that's most rewarding, that is where the informed players will feel obligated to play. So then you get back into the issue they were trying to solve by making everything level 63 - no options on where to play. It's like an endless cycle.
If efficiency is most important to you, there will always be a place that's most efficient. If you want some variety, you'll have to give up some efficiency. It's not so bad - get off the item grind treadmill for a little while and show Act IV who's boss.
0
Sorry - I thought you were suggesting that they were just easy to farm up (and they are). As I understand it, they are consolidating mats for 1-60, but there will still be new mats for level 70 crafts. So, whatever the drop rate is for those will be a factor.
0
We can disagree on whether the number of revisions made amounts to "a ton", but I don't think you can argue that they are "not re-writing the lore" but rather "completing it with other info." They completely changed the Warrior's story as I noted, changed the Dark Wanderer's story as a result, Adria's, and Leoric's.
The Crusader origin story is different because, as far as I know, it doesn't change my established perception of any characters in the game's series. I haven't met the Crusader yet, and it doesn't affect my understanding of the Paladin (as far as I know - I haven't read up on it because I like to experience that stuff in-game). Whereas, making the Warrior into Aiden asks me to completely alter my experience in D1 (since I played the Warrior almost exclusively) and fundamentally changes my understanding of what's going on in D2.
So as a result, I made the statement that the story can be hard to follow for someone playing the games through because they are making changes to the story both outside the game through books / other promotions and with each new entry in the series - Diablo 2 made some, Diablo 3 made a lot, and Reaper of Souls will make more.
It doesn't have anything to do with necessity, or propriety. My personal take on that aspect is that most of the retcons they've made could have easily been avoided by introducing new elements instead of trying to wedge round pegs into square holes.
0
I don't understand why - the game currently has monsters of fixed mob levels based on the area, until you turn on MP1+ in Inferno, and it was a huge problem at end-game. What use are you currently making of that feature?
And, you still have control - you can change the difficulty at the start of your game, similar to Monster Power. Why doesn't that feature alleviate your concern?