I like the changes I'm seeing in 1.0.8 so far, but will it be enough to:
1 - Bring back a lot of those 12 million+ people who initially purchased the game? I like the changes but they seem to be moving at a snails pace just to implement band-aids to a game. It's a start that they realize some things need changing and they're actively listening to feedback now but will this be enough for the mean time?
2 - Keep you playing until 1.0.9 or 1.1?
For those who have no idea what 1.0.8 is bringing, here's a short run down.
- Mob Density is being greatly improved in all of the acts in areas that desperately needed it. Hopefully now we won't spend all day running The Breached Keep and Heart of Sin.
- Co-Op games are getting a buff as you'll get 10% extra gold find, magic find and experience per player in them up to a total of 30% extra gf/mf/xp. This stacks with other effects (even shrines). Also, the HP of mobs in co-op games are getting a reduction as well.
- FINALLY, AH Tooltips will be here so you don't have to spend all your time doing "test" and joining a game just to see if you found an upgrade.
Changes I'd Like To See:
- Monster affixes could use a re-work. I was never a huge fan of having absolutely no control over something (ahem, WoW PvP...) In Diablo 3, you have mobs that can wall you in and drop plague on you + molten or any other nasty affix. My all time hatred goes out to Nightmarish though... I hate.. hate.. HATE being feared. It's one of my pet peeves in WoW as well.
How I would change them is to allow the player more control and avoidance over these effects.
Wallers: Walls should have HP. We can smash tables in two, kick in doors, smash buildings, slay giant monsters but our heroes are incapable of smashing a 5 foot wall? What is this wall made of..?
Jailers: I'd like to see the mechanic behind this change to like a bone cage. The cage has HP that can be broken.
Nightmarish: Perhaps the mob could use a special swing or a warm up before getting feared. Just being feared is infuriating.
- Item Itemization as we know just plain sucks. Especially for new players who finally find their first legendary. YES! MY first Legendary! Then you go onto roll it and it turns out to be a 2h Dexterity/Intelligence Axe with Gold Find.
Not every item has to be a Godly item, but relevant stats would be nice. It's much more exciting knowing that an item will have relevant stats (even if it's worse than what you currently have). The market is so messed up and caters to two types of people at the moment:
RMAH - People who have used the RMAH to buy heaps of gold or flip a profit.
Luck - People who have just been plain lucky to find some Godly item and now have more gold than they know what to do with.
Finding a great item shouldn't be like winning a lottery, it should be exciting and your first thought shouldn't be "finally, something that'll sell for a ton on the Auction House!"
- More events would be nice as well. Running into random events are cool and there are plenty of survivors out there as we venture through the world. One thing I would like to see is events that actually require travelling instead of every event being right at their foot, usually ending with some purple mob.