Skills and runestones thoughts [LONG READ]

[BoomChickn]

This is just kind of a copy paste of what I posted in d3 feedback, but it seems every post I make gets drowned out, so I am wondering, do you guys have any opinions and ideas to improve this?

TL/WR: Skill swapping still seems too easy, and should have a slight cost. Skill runes are a good idea, but should still be tied to the item drops in the way of consumable runes that last forever.

While I see the purpose of the 15 second cooldown to switching abilities to prevent in combat swapping, I still feel that it doesn't quite go far enough. I find myself using one skill setup built for clearing dungeons, and then right before a boss I would switch abilities again to have a talent build specifically for that boss.

I feel that this still removes a good deal of choice in talents, because why shouldn't you take all AoE talents for dungeon clearing when you can switch them to a new setup for one specific boss? I even found myself doing that for fighting the skeleton king each time.

While you want choices that matter in abilities used, they don't really matter when you can switch the talents when you come to a fight that you know they won't be too useful on. I think that the talents should promote a balanced build to be used for a while, rather than adjusting and waiting for an anticipated fight to roll over it.

So I think there should be a respec system similar to WoW, in which you pay gold (Or possibly xp, any xp that can't be paid due to dropping below a level would be added to the needed total) to reset your abilities. And subsequent resets increase in cost, while if you don't respec for a certain period, the cost will fall back down. This also gives another goldsink in diablo 3, to keep it from becoming useless (unless inferno repairs will be just THAT bad).

However with this, I think skill runes should still be allowed to swap "on the fly" so to speak. They can alter your abilities to a certain situation (I would think), but not quite to the extent of an entirely new ability. This would allow for some free customization from place to place, without becoming too extreme.

Maybe you can allow a new ability gained from leveling to be swapped with your abilities free of charge shortly after you get it, for a short period you can try it out and if you don't like it swap back. However once that is done it is locked and you have to "re spec" to get it back in.

Unless there are some thoughts flying around on switching an ability in combat with the 15 second penalty as a price... That would also be an interesting notion, but would also throw my entire argument out the window.

ANYWHO

Skill runes! The wonderful things that are unlocked modifications to skills gained in a similar way to levels!

As far as I know these were changed due to inventory management becoming a real pain with these to switch with skills. However much you liked the system of dropped modifications to skills.

So I was thinking that perhaps skill runes may still be dropped, but only of one power (Or multiple, it still works i think) and the six types that already exist. Then when you use them, it opens up your skill menu and gives you the option to tag it to a skill you already know, which consumes the rune and leaves you with the potential effect forever to switch in and out.

It still may be restricted by level too for each type and power (If several), although I think that gives off a slight "gated" feel. In the event of several rune powers, using a higher level rune simply overwrites the old one, but may also be applied without the previous level.

This system would extend the time of useful rune drops, which may also be broken down and crafted in to new runes of different power and/or type (at a cost, of course). However it would also make for quite a grind, especially in high levels, to fill out the skills you use with max level runes.

In addition, the skill UI feels good to me with the categories, although what to do with elective mode was a bit difficult to figure out, and the loss of changing skills on the bars without needing the skill window kind of sucked.

[Dacomp89]

While I see the purpose of the 15 second cooldown to switching abilities to prevent in combat swapping, I still feel that it doesn't quite go far enough. I find myself using one skill setup built for clearing dungeons, and then right before a boss I would switch abilities again to have a talent build specifically for that boss.

I feel that this still removes a good deal of choice in talents, because why shouldn't you take all AoE talents for dungeon clearing when you can switch them to a new setup for one specific boss? I even found myself doing that for fighting the skeleton king each time.

While you want choices that matter in abilities used, they don't really matter when you can switch the talents when you come to a fight that you know they won't be too useful on. I think that the talents should promote a balanced build to be used for a while, rather than adjusting and waiting for an anticipated fight to roll over it.

I thought that was the entire point of the new system. It's hard to see the effect now when you can one shot pretty much everything, but when the game gets difficult in Hell and Inferno, if you don't properly choose which skills you want to use on specific mob packs/bosses, you will have a much more difficult time.

[BoomChickn]

Hmm yeah, maybe I am not taking in to account that they may possibly design based on people doing that, but then it just becomes plain clunky switching skillsets for packs, and then the oh shit of a unique pack that doesn't line up kind of throws that possibility (Of tuning based on pack specific specs) down the chute.
Then again the 30 to 15 second cooldown may be a product of this. I don't know, I am just trying to make ideas.

[SwissyChief]

Maybe they'll have gear to make certain builds better? Kinda like dual specs in WoW are pointless unless you have the gear to back up the second spec (ie tank gear for dpsing doesn't work so well)?

Not sure how that would work considering we're dealing with mostly dps specs in the first place. Meh, Bliz will figure it out!

[darkwarrior42]

Regarding the cooldown and skill swapping: I completely agree that there should be a larger cost. Personally, I liked the nephalem (spelling?) altar in town that you had to go back to in order to change... though even then, I feel like there should be a gold cost or something if you switch more than X number of times at a level (that way, when you level up you get a couple free switches to try out new abilities, but constantly swapping your build would have a cost associated with it).

Even though town portal is an easy way back to town, it's still a time cost, and an annoyance if you are constantly swapping skills.

Regarding runes, I really like the new setup. I prefer that class/talent/inherent abilities not be reliant on external drops, as far as learning them is concerned. I wouldn't mind, however, seeing a system where you get a base version of the rune automatically, but can find a slightly more powerful version as a drop that works as you described (one use, consumed, effect is permanent). I'm thinking something small, but noticeable; maybe a 5-15% boost in power.