Are you planning on playing Diablo 3 for competitive PVP?

[mvaliz]

The topic says it all.

I posted this a while back, but thought now that we have a dedicated forum for Diablo 3 it would be prudent to post it here again... and I'm adding a bonus poll to it as well!

I've been perusing the forums for a while now - and am actually kind-of shocked to see how many people are going to be playing Diablo 3 with the determination to play it for "Competitive PVP".

As I wrote in another forum - this has me concerned greatly for the future of Diablo 3.

Now, before I get started, let me say that I know and am fully aware that Blizzard has stated before that their intention is to introduce Arena into Diablo 3 solely as a means for showing off your gear to see if you could "take on" others.

...but, just like World of Warcraft's mass majority has caused major changes in the game designer's core philosophy, my worry is what happens if a large vocal group starts complaining about PVP balance and the same happens in Diablo 3?

My intent in going into Diablo 3 is to leave behind one of the very worst elements I always detested from World of Warcraft - and that is the adjustment of gear and/or class abilities for PVP balance and abuse-prevention. Thusly my PVE experience is lessened due to PVP people complaining about gear/abilities.

What if the "competitive PVP crowd" starts complaining that Barbarian's Whirlwind is way to OP, or that the Monk's shadow dance prevents striking them via AoE while phasing, or that the Demon Hunter has too many ranged attacks that will not allow Barbarians to get near them?

What if the "Competitive PVP crowd" complains about the one guy who bought the amazing legendary sword off the $AH is sweeping up their self-deluded created "competition"!?

When I see a legendary item in World of Warcraft... it is only legendary for one reason - slightly higher stats and a proc effect.
In other non-PVP oriented MMOs - legendary weapons are, well, LEGENDARY! They would do massive damage and have even more massive insane additional effects (like, a strike that chain-hits every nearby enemy!) that would be GREATLY OP in a PVP situation.

When I look at Everquest 2 and see players with area-of-effect crowd control spells while having TWO full-combat familiar pets at their side - I look back at WoW and ask myself "Why do we not have these cool things?"

The Answer is simple: PVP nerf balancing.

I really really REALLY hope Blizzard does actually stick to their guns on D3 and ONLY adjust things for PVE. I am a bit worried though that they may cave in if enough PVP monkeys start howling at them to change things.

They do change their philosophy to suit the "needs of the majority" after all...

What say you all?

[Deleted]

Regardless of how vocal the PvP community might get, the skills are still seperate in PvP and PvE in Diablo. Can't really tell you more in-depht then that though, all I know is that they're different.

And if that system is managed nicely (despite not being a priority, as previously stated by Blizzard), then I'm all for having a competitive PvP scene in Diablo, would be awesome.

[Llarold]

Yes, very yes. I have no interest in competitive play. I do have extreme interest in blowing the crap out of people in an extraordinarily unfair environment.

[Andymion]

Diablo has never been about pvp. So no I won't be competitive about its pvp.

[Deleted]

Competitive play defonaly the last thing im looking for in diablo 3 and i hope it never makes it way into esport cause it will problably be a joke like WoW.

[Caiada]

I'm fine with people wanting to participate in competitive PvP at some level, as long as they are also aware that any QQing about balance will be quickly silenced with the words "Shut up, PvP guy", a quote from Blizzard.

So, no, I'm not really going to arena a whole lot. It's kind of missing the point of the game, to me.

[Alzu]

I don't like it at all that they added an arena system to the game. They didn't do WoW's arena right so I have very low hopes for D3 arena

[mvaliz]

I'm fine with people wanting to participate in competitive PvP at some level, as long as they are also aware that any QQing about balance will be quickly silenced with the words "Shut up, PvP guy", a quote from Blizzard.

So, no, I'm not really going to arena a whole lot. It's kind of missing the point of the game, to me.

That's my greatest concern as well... also so long as Blizzard does stick to saying "Shut up, PvP guy" and not capitulate to vocal PVP players. =/

[Deleted]

Competitive? No
Will I try it? Hell yeh! I want to kill people with my friends and have a joy

[quras]

Seeing as how all PVP (whether blizzard says it competitive or not) is competitive by nature and design. I don't see how it could be considered not competitive.

Player will be fighting other players to win if for nothing more than bragging rights. I'd say that makes it competitive.

[Caiada]

Seeing as how all PVP (whether blizzard says it competitive or not) is competitive by nature and design. I don't see how it could be considered not competitive.

Player will be fighting other players to win if for nothing more than bragging rights. I'd say that makes it competitive.

Yeah, but not like.... organized PvP, I guess. There won't be Blizzard tournaments for it, or gear rewarded or anything of that sort, so it's not going to be anything like what people get from WoW and SC2. There isn't even a ranking system.

[Wynnyelle]

I won't be competitive but I'll still play it. I've never done PvP in that style of game before (other than maybe Bloodline Champions, but they aren't the same), so it'll be new and fun.

[Jonuts]

I don't see how it could be considered not competitive.

Thats because you're taking literal meanings instead of common use meanings. PvP= I hit a guy with a stick till one of us died or ran away. Competitive PvP: I hit a guy with a stick in a setting where, in theory, neither I nor him have an unfair advantage, and I can be expected to be rewarded for my diligent efforts in hitting him with a stick. "Competitive" PvP implies that it's competitive for both parties. Take a WoW example. Arena is, in theory, competitive. A rogue in STV camping lowbies is most certainly not competitive, but it's still PvP. RBG's are competitive, camping flamebreach in full PvP gear and a T2 weapon with your RBG team? Not so much.

[Ovacor]

I voted 'no' but I will have to wait & see how unbalanced it is; it's pretty much a guarantee that the game will be unbalanced I would just like to know if i'm going to be getting one shot by certain classes as a Barbarian...

Chances are I will likely do exactly what I did in Diablo 2. Log on, wreck stuff, get items, log off, join new game, trade/post items, log off *end of day*. If it's anything like Diablo 2 it won't require much time, which is what I love.

[quras]

Yeah, but not like.... organized PvP, I guess. There won't be Blizzard tournaments for it, or gear rewarded or anything of that sort, so it's not going to be anything like what people get from WoW and SC2. There isn't even a ranking system.

You're right it wont be organized by blizzard but thats not how many players will take it.

There will be the ones that thrive on killing everyone and anyone and it will be all about the competition of them VS someone else. How they can dominate and gloat about it.

And when they realize a class in underpowered or a class is OP there will be posts about it. blizzard will say it's by design or something but I see them eventually caving in and making changes. They always seem to.

You cannot have PVP without it being competitive. It doesn't need to be endorsed by blizzard at all. Players will make it competitive all on their own, tempers will flare, posts will be made by the thousands with people screaming of OP or UP toons cause they lost and someone /spit on them.

It will happen. When it will happen is another matter entirely.

[Coldkil]

Voted no, but i'm don't agree with the option you stated.

I won't PvP because i'm not interested in it, but tbh i expect it to be extremely competitive anyway. With the millions of possible combinations of abilities/runes/classes, for sure there will be a most effective one, but will be an hell of a work to find it.

Also, i expect that there will be a counter for pretty much everything, and without being tied to a talent build or such (totally free to switch sets of abilities/runes) you can play different arenas with completely different sets of abilities.

The fact is that a perfect balance is an utophia apart if you give every class the same abilities and they to exactl the same things. Anyway, with a so wide variety of combinations, i expect lots of positive comments about d3 arenas.

EDIT: forgot to say, PvP competition in diablo has forever been totally organized by players, i expect that these ones will still organize PvP events or such. This way Blizzard can throw into the game events of this kind without breaking the PvE side of the game.

[Deleted]

Not really, I'll give it a shot though.

[Volitar]

It depends if the balance is there and if its implemented right.

[BeingRepressed]

Diablo has never been about PvP. Diablo 2 PvP was characterized by ridiculously OP specs that could then be countered so hard that they might as well throw their mouse out the window; there was no middle ground to balance around.

Going by that, I really don't think you have to worry too much about them attempting to balance PvP.

[Heilige]

I'll be giving it a go, that's for sure. However as others stated, the balance may or may not break any ability to pvp competitively.