A Few Questions Answered
Bashiok took the time to answer a few questions, however please keep in mind This system is a work in progress, this information can easily change while the system is being worked on!
Originally Posted by Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
(When you say extra loot, do you mean, extra loot. Or do you mean extra loot that is on par with what elite/champs drop. I remember from the article before, bosses do not drop gear that is as good as champs/elites.
They will drop gear as good as champions and elites with this buff (because you have to kill champions and elites to get it, which was the point). With the buff active you’re guaranteed one extra item drop from the boss, and it’s likely that it’ll be 1 item per stack of the buff. Up to X stacks. We don’t know how many it’ll be, probably a handful.
How many stacks will there be if any?
We're not totally sure but probably a number you can count on one hand.
Do you lose the buff when you die?
It lasts through death currently, and we like it. I know some people will also want it to be a punishment for death, but repair costs are already extremely impactful.
Does the buff split between players?
Like someone joins after you've been killing and they have less stacks? It's a direct increase to your MF/GF, so it uses the same mechanics.
Do you lose it on disconnect?
There's a small grace period, similar to WoW where you can get back into the game before your character is actually logged out (ie a timeout), but yes if your character times out you would lose the buff.
What is the Time limit on the stack, if any?
We're messing with times from about 15 minutes to an hour. We don't know yet.
Do Stacks get removed after a boss?
We don't really think it needs to. Your focus is still going to be seeking out champions and rares. If you want to get full stacks, kill a boss, and then try to rush to kill another boss before the buff falls off... have fun? It's not going to be the most lucrative way to play, so it's likely a non-issue hypothetical.
They will drop gear as good as champions and elites with this buff (because you have to kill champions and elites to get it, which was the point). With the buff active you’re guaranteed one extra item drop from the boss, and it’s likely that it’ll be 1 item per stack of the buff. Up to X stacks. We don’t know how many it’ll be, probably a handful.
How many stacks will there be if any?
We're not totally sure but probably a number you can count on one hand.
Do you lose the buff when you die?
It lasts through death currently, and we like it. I know some people will also want it to be a punishment for death, but repair costs are already extremely impactful.
Does the buff split between players?
Like someone joins after you've been killing and they have less stacks? It's a direct increase to your MF/GF, so it uses the same mechanics.
Do you lose it on disconnect?
There's a small grace period, similar to WoW where you can get back into the game before your character is actually logged out (ie a timeout), but yes if your character times out you would lose the buff.
What is the Time limit on the stack, if any?
We're messing with times from about 15 minutes to an hour. We don't know yet.
Do Stacks get removed after a boss?
We don't really think it needs to. Your focus is still going to be seeking out champions and rares. If you want to get full stacks, kill a boss, and then try to rush to kill another boss before the buff falls off... have fun? It's not going to be the most lucrative way to play, so it's likely a non-issue hypothetical.
Nephalem Valor Buff
Blizzard just posted an article describing the mechanics and the goal of the new Nephalem Valor buff!
Originally Posted by (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
We’re working hard on balancing and testing Diablo III, and one of the major components is making sure that the end game experience is fun and exciting. We’d like to share a few of our goals for end game:
The exact amount of magic find and gold find provided by the buff is still being reviewed, as is the amount of extra loot you get from a boss while the buff is active. We’re also playing around with whether or not the buff stacks, what the duration should be, and whether or not it should persist through death. We want to make sure the buff is strong enough to make staying in your current game more rewarding than creating a new game. At the same time, if the buff is too strong, it risks making shorter play sessions feel not worthwhile.
We expect this system will encourage players to stick with a skill build of their choice, select an area of the game they enjoy, and sweep it for rare and champion packs on their way to a boss, finishing off a run with a boss that’ll be worth killing. If you wanted a shorter play session you could be done at that point, but if you have more time, the path of least resistance would ideally be to stay in the same game and make your way towards the next boss.
- We have an enormous number of skill build combinations, and we want a lot of those skill builds to be viable and interesting
- While there are millions of skill builds available to players, we don’t want players swapping skills regularly to beat specific encounters as they come up
- We don’t want repeatedly running specific three-minute chunks of the game to be the most efficient way to acquire gear for your character
- While a three-minute run shouldn’t be the most efficient, we also don’t want you to feel like it’s a two-hour commitment every time you sit down to play
- Bosses should still feel worth killing
The exact amount of magic find and gold find provided by the buff is still being reviewed, as is the amount of extra loot you get from a boss while the buff is active. We’re also playing around with whether or not the buff stacks, what the duration should be, and whether or not it should persist through death. We want to make sure the buff is strong enough to make staying in your current game more rewarding than creating a new game. At the same time, if the buff is too strong, it risks making shorter play sessions feel not worthwhile.
We expect this system will encourage players to stick with a skill build of their choice, select an area of the game they enjoy, and sweep it for rare and champion packs on their way to a boss, finishing off a run with a boss that’ll be worth killing. If you wanted a shorter play session you could be done at that point, but if you have more time, the path of least resistance would ideally be to stay in the same game and make your way towards the next boss.
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
(Nephalem Valor Only For Inferno?
No, it kicks in at 60. Once you hit 60 you have access to this buff regardless of difficulty. You can use it and go back to Hell to help you gear up for Inferno, absolutely.Diablo 3 Beta Screenshots
Today we have some 4 player screenshots with a lot of action! Enjoy
I see your point. But if the stacks are too high it will require too much time to make it worth while.
Official Blizzard Quote:
While a three-minute run shouldn’t be the most efficient, we also don’t want you to feel like it’s a two-hour commitment every time you sit down to play
Requiring 10, you will be forced to search for champion packs for quite a while before getting to the boss and that really discourages the "quick play" that Diablo games offer. Even 10 with a wipe to 5 requires quite a bit of start up.
Maybe 5 with a wipe to 0 after a boss kill? 5 champions takes a bit of time, but not all that much.
Honestly it really depends on the # of champion packs in the levels before major bosses. Before SK 10 packs might be hard to find in the few catacomb levels, which tbh would be all that I really care to clear with this buff... I don't want to have to play the entire act over, but maybe Blizz does.... 5 Would probably require a full clear of the catacombs but still be manageable.
My best guess is that each person in the group, in range of the champion upon kill, will receive the buff. If you swap your skills, you individually lose the buff, simple as that.
Maybe the Buff should only persists through one act. That way it will give you a natural break where you can leave the game, switch up your skills, or just take a break. It would also encourage people to play through the entire act, killing the mini-bosses, not just the main boss at the end.
what I was thinking was if two 60's play with two 59's and kill a rare pack. the 60's would get the NV buff... if it were average everyone would get a percentage of the buff. If that were the case the incentive still exists for killing mob packs then bosses... I don't think it will be averaged either but would love a clarification.
It's a good thing we did because I don't think we'd have this change without people upset about it on the forums. Complaining is often a good thing if it's kept constructive.
Besides the skill UI, D3 is shaping up to be a pretty awesome game though.
Its a band aid solution that fixes nothing.
Some level of permanency shouldn't need to be encouraged, it should just be.
This changes almost nothing on that regard. I'm not saying its not nice to have, but its not even a solution to that at all.
Agreed, removing permanent choices takes away all meaningful decision making in game. Though I still like this idea to encourage prevent boss farming.
uhm.... rofl? how the hell is it a bandaid solution? diablo end-game is entirely about MF and farming so this solution is actually the perfect one. you dont hinder people when trying to test out different builds but when they finally find a build they like to farm with this system makes it so they will stick to their build. man you guys are just so full of hate and will never be satisfied. pathetic
Now with this, i can play my monk with the smash'em up play style i'm planning on, go around several different zones killing whatever packs i can find, when i either reach max stacks, whatever i feel satisfied with, or have time for; kill all the bosses (lower level boss for alts) sift through my reward and I have just burned 45 minutes i either had time for, or what i planned on playing for that day. cause you would most likely run into some packs on your way to a boss.
in conclusion, stacking would allow for whatever you to devote as much time as you want/can for the best results. If you can find MF without gimping yourself then I can make a pretty solid character.
I agree, it's not a band-aid solution, it's a great solution that should satisfy both sides of the fence fairly well. I'm all for meaningful choices and this change is what has finally swayed me into liking the D3 skill system. Finally, we have a meaningful reason to stick with our builds.
E-X-A-C-T-L-Y
thank you for actually using your brain and thinking about the system. you are one of the few
It wouldn't be the first time they went completely against the grain of their announced design intentions. Such as removing the cube and cauldron going against their keeping you in battle more often design.
Your definition of having a brain is agreeing with your non-sense.
There isn't even a semblant of permanent choices that this make at all. It does not affect the leveling process, it does not even affect how most people would have been playing end game.
I don't expect you to understand anything further than that. I am NOT for absolutely permanent characters, but the game should reward proper building of a character and using what you have.
Where is the satisfaction of building a character? A lot of it was lost and you probably don't care but most importantly, I don't think you have the ability to even understand it. Like someone that cannot understand challenge and hardships presents rewards and satisfaction from it. Absolute freedom of manoeuvre makes this game shallower.
But I'm sure I'm talking way too dumb for you to comprehend the meaning of rewards in diversity. Apparently, everybody loves to be hand-fed every possibility. Imagine a game with 2 completely different endings and different routes to this. Current generation of gaming dictates that you should just be able to -switch- to the other ending for the sake of it.
Forced repetition through builds absolutely set in stone that can't accept any mistake whatsoever (like D2 mostly was) = too much.
But the absolute opposite, while better, is by no means ideal, and much was lost. Can you see that? I don't expect you to.