The future of Diablo 3

[GoodNewsEveryone]

7 RL friends and myself threw ourselves into Diablo 3. All of us were veterans of Diablo 2 and loved the grinding, the gear and the farming.

We played a lot of Diablo 3 and it didn't feel right, inferno felt like an abortion (lol 1 shot/gay builds) but still we played on and tried to like the game. Even those of us who choose the wrong classes (monk/barb/witch doctor) plowed on and managed to clear inferno.

Then they nerfed attack speed... friends went from having the best gear in the game to being gimp overnight with millions of gold down the drain without compensation. We helped each other switch to crit gear and kept on playing.

Then they buffed act 1 drop rates and nerfed inferno damage. The sheer effort it took for a Barb/Monk to obtain the defensive gear required to farm inferno was trivalised overnight, the value of the gear plummeted as people went for more offensive builds again with millions of gold going down the drain without compensation.

Then everybody quit.
1.04 came out, nobody returned.
1.05 is coming out, there are no plans to return.

It's too little too late. It's done. They fucked it up. See you at the expansion.

[Hardstyler01]

This is such a trivial "issue". What you're really asking for is the ability to get 5 stacks of NV and then just port to every boss in the game.

That's not what it's about. It's about not being forced to go through every game in the same order.

What really kills the replayability is being forced to listen to all the lame dialogue and watch all the horrible cutscenes and do all the quests in the same order OVER and OVER and OVER. There is no freedom to go wherever you want and do the things in the order you want them to do.

It might not be a big thing to you, but it definitely is a major flaw to other players. To me and the people I know in real life, it's probably even a bigger flaw than the terrible loot. And it's the hardest thing to fix, since it means Blizzard would have to dig into the source code and change some of the very basics of the game. I don't see that happening.

[Zoneseek]

When D3 came out I had at least 10 real ID friends online at any given time for the first few weeks.

For the last few months, maybe 1 is online in D3, but usually 0.

I don't see anything bringing people back. Personally I think D3 wasn't great. The first play through was fun, leveling up and going through the storyline was fun. Endgame sucks, when you RNG a blue or yellow mob that is literally impossible to kill without dieing 50 times its just alt+f4 time. Its not even fun. The always-online thing sucks, because of it I play more Torchlight then diablo (on flights, for example). It was a big meh. I don't think any patches are going to bring a ton of people back to this game, it just wasn't that great after the initial playthough.

[Firecrest]

There is no freedom to go wherever you want and do the things in the order you want them to do.

You're saying that you can't do things in the order you want, so let's test your theory. You pick any five quests in D3 and list them here. Then I will log on and see if it is possible to do them in the order you've listed. After I complete the five quests, spending the extra few seconds required to pick them from the main menu, you will either agree that you actually CAN do what you just said you CAN'T, or admit to the fact you have the unrealistic expectation that you should be able to 5 stack NV farm every boss in the game, one after the other.

Deal? After that we can do the "does ESC skip cutscenes" test where we can determine if you really are "forced to listen to all the lame dialogue and watch all the horrible cutscenes".

<---- Sarcasm smiley, just in case it didn't bleed through.

[Kittyvicious]

...or admit to the fact you have the unrealistic expectation that you should be able to 5 stack NV farm every boss in the game, one after the other.

Deal? After that we can do the "does ESC skip cutscenes" test where we can determine if you really are "forced to listen to all the lame dialogue and watch all the horrible cutscenes".

I was just about to put emphasis on point one and bring up point two, but you beat me to it. I honestly don't understand how even one person thinks either of these are a legitimate issue with the game.

The first one is not even an issue, it's people only wanting the NV buff at all times. They can get over it. The second one, I assume, is people who want to just mindlessly hammer away at blood and guts and loot for hours on end. While the ESC pretty much ends everything instantly, not to mention skips audio dialogue as well, you can simply jump around to other zones in an act and plow through demons without fear of anyone talking to you other than your companion.

If even your companion makes the game unbearable, because you happen to have a form of psychosis, please do yourself a favor and leave them in town. You will find the only noises now left to you are the gnashing teeth and death wails of monsters exploding in your face.

[Redblade]

or admit to the fact you have the unrealistic expectation that you should be able to 5 stack NV farm every boss in the game, one after the other.

I got to ask, what would be so wrong with being able to do that?

It's not like bosses drop that much more loot than you average elite pack and you would more than likely be more efficient just farming them over bosses anyway, the lack of option to kill what ever bosses you want during your game is just contributing to the feeling of lack of content.

This is not to mention how silly NV is to begin with, it's more or less becoming a requirement with 1.05 to stack 5xNV to play the game for no real reason other than restricting skill switches mid game session, something that hurts their precious skill diversity as people will look for a build that works well enough for everything.

[chadwix]

That's not what it's about. It's about not being forced to go through every game in the same order.

What really kills the replayability is being forced to listen to all the lame dialogue and watch all the horrible cutscenes and do all the quests in the same order OVER and OVER and OVER. There is no freedom to go wherever you want and do the things in the order you want them to do.

It might not be a big thing to you, but it definitely is a major flaw to other players. To me and the people I know in real life, it's probably even a bigger flaw than the terrible loot. And it's the hardest thing to fix, since it means Blizzard would have to dig into the source code and change some of the very basics of the game. I don't see that happening.

The bold part drives me crazy.

Another major issue with this is key farming. Wont we reach the input limit if we have to make a new game to farm more than one key per game?

[Redblade]

Another major issue with this is key farming. Wont we reach the input limit if we have to make a new game to farm more than one key per game?

You need 5x NV to get the key to drop even so don't worry, to reach the input limit I think you have to create a game per minute for more than 2 hours or something like that.

[Glorious Leader]

The future of diablo 3 is to be sold for 9.99 in toys r us stores in the united states. Actually that's the present, the future will likely be that all stores sell it for that much which is what it should have been sold for to begin with. Shallow game is shallow.

[Cornish Forrestfield]

I like Diablo 3 now, but I expect it to improve greatly with the coming patches. Not to forget the expansion(s).

[ShatteredAwe]

Patch 1.01 = More lootz
Patch 1.02 = Even more loot
Patch 1.03 = EVEN more loot
Patch 1.04 = MORE LOOOOOT
Patch 1.05 = more loot.

No. If they gave us too much loot then their precious real money auction house would be ruined.

...New here everybody hey.

---------- Post added 2012-10-08 at 12:50 PM ----------

The future of diablo 3 is to be sold for 9.99 in toys r us stores in the united states. Actually that's the present, the future will likely be that all stores sell it for that much which is what it should have been sold for to begin with. Shallow game is shallow.

Yeah pretty much this. Diablo 3 will fall and Torchlight 2 or Path of Exile will take it's place. That is, unless Diablo 3 pulls something big.

[Dacien]

Hey in case nobody knows, "Adds x% to ____ (elemental) damage" is independent of your skills. So if you're an Arcane Orb Wizard, you don't have to get Adds x% to Arcane Damage. It could be lightening or whatever.

I thought I left out-of-game research and theorycrafting behind with World of Warcraft, but I guess not. Le sigh.

But I think Diablo 3 is in for the long haul.

[Fitzgerald77]

It will stay the same... And by staying the same I mean it will continue to be a steaming pile of fucking horse shit.

If there even is an expansion for it I probably won't even buy it because I know that I'll get sick of it after two weeks >_>

[Darsithis]

I can't imagine it'll change too much, though I want to caution everyone:

Keep it civil and don't game bash. You can discuss the things about the game you dislike, but it isn't necessary to bash it. That just derails the thread

[Coldkil]

A game of farming as the meaning of progress with an auction house that lets you skip the farming part doesn't make much sense to me.

300 hours invested ona single char and no drops worth an upgrade after the first inferno drops nor worth selling in AH for other classes. This means no drop and no gold to buy = character stuck at beginning of act 3.

This before the "monster power" patch, still what sense has to make monster less difficult if they drop worse gear? Also i cannot raise the gauge since i don't have the gear to kill them.

I see these kind of patches like bandaids for a game that has a very short lifespan. The leveling part and also paragon levels weren't bad, but this has never been the problem.

After 300 hours, someone expect at least to decently farm the game. Not to have uber gear or billions of gold, but to be able to farm the place to get them.

[Fitzgerald77]

A game of farming as the meaning of progress with an auction house that lets you skip the farming part doesn't make much sense to me.

It makes NO sense!!!! If you ask me it's the biggest flaw in the entire game.

Diablo is all about going through dungeons and maps, killing monsters and getting better loot from them.... Not farming mobs to get gold and items to sell on the AH to get better gear. I got so irate when one of the blue posters said that Diablo 3 is not World of Warcraft, OF COURSE IT ISN'T!!!! So why is it that they are implementing tools from an MMO into a game like Diablo? It boggles the mind! For the most part the game was a complete joke until I mad it to inferno. When things started to get tough all I had to do was go to the AH and buy some new gear and then I would go right back to 2-3 shotting everything

[Redblade]

A game of farming as the meaning of progress with an auction house that lets you skip the farming part doesn't make much sense to me.

Really no force to use it, most will but no one is holding a gun to their heads. Note that drop rates at this point has little to nothing to do with clearing all content and as such simply can't be argued as a factor in the AH complaint.

I stopped playing a while back now after the latest Wiz nerf round on PTR coupled with changes to drop rates once again, not so much for the drop rates nor the nerfs them selfs but the constant changes to value of gear and specs, simply devaluing any time and effort made to acquire gear or gearing in to a specific synergy. This constant screwing with specs and drop rates simply made me lose faith in the persistence of the gear perfection end-game, an end-game that has the best longevity of them all, in short they made me ask my self why bother making an effort.

Edit: Pretty much the same question I had to ask my self with the direction WoW took over the years and ultimately made me quit when the DS nerfs rolled out in record short time. Guess Blizzard games just aren't for me any more.

[Cairhiin]

No. If they gave us too much loot then their precious real money auction house would be ruined.

...New here everybody hey.

---------- Post added 2012-10-08 at 12:50 PM ----------



Yeah pretty much this. Diablo 3 will fall and Torchlight 2 or Path of Exile will take it's place. That is, unless Diablo 3 pulls something big.

RMAH at this point is really no argument seeing as how improved the drop rates are. Path of Exile, surely you jest. Torchlight 2 is a decent game but it also has massive issues like boring skill trees, and spamming the same two spells over and over for a start. Both Path of Exile and TL2 are lacking where graphics and variety is concerned and can't even compare gameplay wise to Diablo 3. Yes both games also have their good points, TL2 more than PoE though but this a Diablo forum and not TL2 nor PoE.

[chadwix]

Torchlight 2 is a decent game but it also has massive issues like boring skill trees, and spamming the same two spells over and over for a start.

This makes no sense, my lvl100 engineer uses 9 skills (and i love them all). Maybe your just not very good

"You need 5x NV to get the key to drop even so don't worry, to reach the input limit I think you have to create a game per minute for more than 2 hours or something like that. "

Ahh, i thought it was like 7 games an hour, thanks for correction. I can get 5 stacks in under 5mins if i dont have to look around to much. I can see people doing festering woods to get 4stacks, pick up an elite somewhere else for the 5th then hitting the keyboss. A2 you can use desolate sands (lots of elites, if not go into voa). Act3 we can just do the bridge, always at least 4 there, can hit the cave to get the 5th.

The problem im seeing is the a4 key, there are barely any elites there as it is, its going to take forever to get the 5 stacks. Are keys tradeable (rmah)? I know the ring isnt.

D3 devs should bite the bullet and do some sort of map system, its really really fun and keeps things fresh with new dungeon layouts and monster combo's.

[vinnyboombat]

For me...

To small and confined world. Replay value consisting of doing the same thing only harder, harder and oh yea... harder... doesn't constitute fun or rewarding... 'to me'.