"Ultimately, we feel that to deliver an awesome Diablo sequel that lives up to our expectations and yours as well, we should take a little more time and add further polish to a few different elements of the game." Now that sentance made me write this topic. I hope Blizzard will be able to manage skills/runes now that they have delayed the release.
I really want this game to become kinda flawless aRPG, but for now there's one thing that bothers me a lot. For me, customisation is what makes your charecter different from others. But if everyone can change their skills freely, there's no difference between them. ATM the only difference between characters (aside gear and appearance) is different classes. I want u to understand that the skill-set should be the same. Let's say some casual players will start to whine about classes the same way they do about respecs: "WTF, i've started barbarian, farmed with it with for lvl60, bought tons of items from AH, but now i realyze, that DH is imba and suits to my gameplay better and want to farm inferno with it, why the hell i have to start the new character from blank sheet, quest till 60 again???????!!!!!!" And Blizzard listens to them and make the level global for Account, and u can freely switch between classes/skills... That would be awefull coz of lack of customisation. Because u can't really call "customisation" your current rotation and similar stuff. And if characters have acces to the same skills and u can choose which 6 of them to use right now it's the same thing as "rotation". Customisation is something "more permanent".
Now i understand that new-to-game player barely can make an optimal decision of what skill-build to use, so Blizz made that friendly skill-system, i agree with that. Even though i think it's illogical that one Wizard can leveling whole 60 levels with, for instance, fire spells and then in one moment and two clicks became master of cold skills, which he didn't even can cast second ago. Let's stick with that, coz to make system ideal it will be needed to make completely different exp mechanics.
But we are saying about lategame, about which Blizzard says "...hard to master". At that point u already should know what game brings to u and should be able to take some responsibilities. Now rune-system comes. The only way for this to work is to forbid runes to be taken out of skills and whenever your switch the skill out of your current 6 skills, rune in that one should be destroyed. That leaves pretty opportunities to experiment with different skill-runes combination with low lvl runes which wont be hard to get, but will be a really thoughtfull decision to make with high-level rare runes. And that will make high-level characters "more unique" with their own pick of skills-runes.
I do not expect level 7 runes to be common. And it seems like they're planning on having the runes lock to skills they're placed in. So when you level your Wizard to 60 using fire spells and suddenly decide you want to play with Ice, you have no runes for it. You'll have to invest either gold or time into getting runes for your new loadout. This puts investment behind your decision to change, and makes that matter.
That's where it's going to be difficult to change your build on the fly. You might swap one or two skills out for different scenarios (mob bashing vs. boss fighting), but you won't have the resources to radically alter your playstyle on the fly.
Customization options and permanent decisions are not the same thing.
I agree with you that being able to change your character's entire playstyle on the fly goes too far. But that's not because it lacks customization, it's because it takes away the importance of making decisions at all. A decision is only interesting if it comes with consequences. If I can take it back right away, there's no weight behind it.
That's why runes count. Runes do awesome things and are a very important part of your build. When you decide to socket a rune into a skill, you are locking that rune to that skill forever. That's a decision that matters. If you decide you made a mistake, you have to find another rune to replace the one you lost. Or spend the time to farm the gold to undo your decision (which should not be cheap if that's something they implement).
TL;DR: It's not lack of customization that's bothering people (it's been demonstrated that the customization options are pretty extensive), it's that people want their decisions to matter. I believe that runes can fulfill that role in the endgame if done right, and that's something we haven't seen yet.
Do you not understand the new customization options? It doesn't matter if you can switch out skills on the fly. Why should it? Do you think that just because 4 wizards all picked Hydra as their main attack spell that they will all be the same? Even if those 4 wizards all had a level 7 rune for each color of Hydra, do you think they would all use the same colored rune? And even with that, there are 5 other Active skills to choose out of 24 total skills, each with 5 variations of their own.
You're seriously thinking that just because you love a skill and it does massive damage that everyone will have that preference and opt to do the same? I'll admit, everytime someone comes up with a killer skill list, people will test it out. But play styles differ and equipment will also factor into this, not to mention what kind of runes you have available.
D3 has way over 10 times more customization options that D2 had. The math is [(25*5)*(24*5)*(23*5)*(22*5)*(21*5)*(20*5)]. And the game is online. In the very unlikely event that one specific build does shine through over every other possible build, it will probably be nerfed by Blizzard.
Plus people are creatures of habit. We tend to like a bunch of skills and will probably stick to them unless we hear about a new potentially fun build. So its all too likely even after the 5000th run in Inferno, you'll stick with a few builds that appeal to you without having ever tried the thousands of other potential builds.
Secondly; I can guarantee you that when you are in inferno, and you try to swap skills in the middle of a fight, you're gonna get raped. They've also said they are adding something like 'can't switch in combat'.
Third, these choices DO matter. When I pick my 6 before a boss fight, hell yea it's going to matter, big D will bite my head off before I can switch skills, so yes picking your skills matters.
Lastly, wtf is with you people. It's like you HAVE to have a punishment for everything. Just because every other game slaps you for wanting to change something, doesn't mean D3 has to. It's a new system, and I love it.
PS, And uh, idk what you mean there's no customization. (won't even mention the 1.5 billion builds per class). Your argument is because you can switch skills out, everyone is going to be the same? Considering you can only have 6 skills and 3 passives at once, that's impossible. Sure someone can copy you (and in every other game) but so what.
TL;DR Quit nitpicking at something you havn't played. We are ALL on edge with this whole last week.
YAY BETA ANNOUNCED!
Boo no actual invites (wtf)
YAY NEW ITEMS LIST ON BNET!! SOMETHING TO DO WHILE I WAIT FOR INVITE!!
i would much rather they make you go back to town or whatever to swap skills than this crap i am reading about the runes limitation.. the only limitations on runes (imo) should be what you can find.. there is simply no need for another layer of cockblock to keep you from doing what you want in the game. You pick the skills you want after unlocking them.. play through and or farm for the runes you want to make those skills do what you want.. play/farm for the equipment you want then have fun with the character you made.. if you want to change something.. go to town.. change it, farm new gear/runes for it.... when you're done and bored, make a different class character and do it all over again... why is there a need for another headache in this formula? i enjoy farming/trading/... as much as the next guy but unlike some people whose posts i am reading about the how wonderful the suggested rune system is, i am not a masochist...
D3 has way over 10 times more customization options that D2 had. The math is [(25*5)*(24*5)*(23*5)*(22*5)*(21*5)*(20*5)]. And the game is online. In the very unlikely event that one specific build does shine through over every other possible build, it will probably be nerfed by Blizzard.
This math is for "atm choices", u can't really call it customisation, it's the same as skil-rotation. U can say that there are infinite skill-customisation for a lvl 1 char with 2 active skills coz he can cast spell1-spell2-spell1-.. or spell1-spell2-spell2-spell1-..., etc - MILLIONS OF COMBINATIONS OMG!!!! That's ridiculous, coz in the end he just have 2 skills. Same with current skill system.
Secondly; I can guarantee you that when you are in inferno, and you try to swap skills in the middle of a fight, you're gonna get raped. They've also said they are adding something like 'can't switch in combat'.
I didn't actually talk about the changing system... Whether it's in combat or in town only, that's not the point.
Lastly, wtf is with you people. It's like you HAVE to have a punishment for everything. Just because every other game slaps you for wanting to change something, doesn't mean D3 has to. It's a new system, and I love it.
It's not punishment. It's giving proper effort to get something.
i would much rather they make you go back to town or whatever to swap skills than this crap i am reading about the runes limitation.. the only limitations on runes (imo) should be what you can find.. there is simply no need for another layer of cockblock to keep you from doing what you want in the game. You pick the skills you want after unlocking them.. play through and or farm for the runes you want to make those skills do what you want.. play/farm for the equipment you want then have fun with the character you made.. if you want to change something.. go to town.. change it, farm new gear/runes for it.... when you're done and bored, make a different class character and do it all over again... why is there a need for another headache in this formula? i enjoy farming/trading/... as much as the next guy but unlike some people whose posts i am reading about the how wonderful the suggested rune system is, i am not a masochist...
Yeah, exactly like that. There are people like this who prefer playing on x100000 rates servers in MMO rather than original x1, just coz they think making an effort is a headache and limits their joy of game. I can understand them, i will never become one of them. And i don't wanna D3 to be the game for this type of players.
Permanence is not uniqueness. Take a look at Diablo 1 and 2, very permanent build decisions yet cookie-cutter characters everywhere using the same skills and same gear. In fact, permanence promotes such a system because people start following builds since they want to minimize mistakes which could lead to having to reroll.
The Diablo 3 system should hopefully foster more variety and play styles.
Let's say some casual players will start to whine about classes the same way they do about respecs: "WTF, i've started barbarian, farmed with it with for lvl60, bought tons of items from AH, but now i realyze, that DH is imba and suits to my gameplay better and want to farm inferno with it, why the hell i have to start the new character from blank sheet, quest till 60 again???????!!!!!!" And Blizzard listens to them and make the level global for Account, and u can freely switch between classes/skills...
This is just non-sense.
Go play Anarchy Online if you like stat distribution. I'm willing to bet you'll find yourself on a forum researching how to not screw up your build
Permanence is not uniqueness. Take a look at Diablo 1 and 2, very permanent build decisions yet cookie-cutter characters everywhere using the same skills and same gear. In fact, permanence promotes such a system because people start following builds since they want to minimize mistakes which could lead to having to reroll.
The Diablo 3 system should hopefully foster more variety and play styles.
I wouldn't be so sure, there are tons of different builds in D2... Though that's an interesting thought. But look at WoW: even though u can pretty freely respec, this is what u can refer with "only cookie-cutter" builds and "following builds" and rotations at elitist jerks, rather than D2.... May be it's just because WOW's way more competetive than D2... Well sure we have to w8 for release and see what's going to happen. But i think in few months there will be few cookie-cutter builds in D3 for different situations (like mob-type and group combination) and 80%+ will stick to them and just swap skills in certain points of inferno, and that seems not fun.
..u dont have to go that far...
..even with the little time of the beta vids i've seen, most people stick to few favorite skills most of the time, and dont change so often...
..i believe this will be the case throughout the whole game...
just because the skills are unlocked to use whenever someone wants, dosent mean that he will do so...
..even if they dont put any restrictions to skill usage, personally i wont have any problem with that!
Huh? I'm trying to explain the custimization options for D3, yes there is exasperation in my tone but that's to be expected I believe.
Also, the reason people are using the same skills over and over in beta, is because you can only have 4 active slots unlocked + there are only 12 or 13 skills unlocked and that's at the cap of level 13. Not to mention Runes which are the real customization options are not in the beta.
This math is for "atm choices", u can't really call it customisation, it's the same as skil-rotation. U can say that there are infinite skill-customisation for a lvl 1 char with 2 active skills coz he can cast spell1-spell2-spell1-.. or spell1-spell2-spell2-spell1-..., etc - MILLIONS OF COMBINATIONS OMG!!!! That's ridiculous, coz in the end he just have 2 skills. Same with current skill system.
Oh my you are ... "SPECIAL"! No one here is taking about spell rotation. But the actual skill.
Electrocute with Alasbaster Rune - Uses Crit. This build would ramp up on + precision equiment and other skills that can increase crit chance and damage.
Electrocute with Crimson Rune - A lighting that probabaly has Pierce and hit for high dmg.
Electrocute with Golden Rune - The reason to use this is so you can regain AP as fast as possible so that you can cast spells like Meteor which cost 60AP.
Electrocute with Indigo Rune - Its Chain Lighting. Hits up to 10 targets, If you need an explaination, go play a Chain Lighting sorceress in D2.
Electrocute with Obsidian Rune - All of a sudden, Electrocute isn't much of a ranged spell anymore, its a cone spell with closer range so time to stock up on skills like Mirror Image or Diamond Skin.
1 Spell with 5 completely different play styles and will affect the other 5 active and 3 passives you pick. You call this spell rotation?
Even if we use your example of 2 active skills, I've given you 5 builds now you have 24 skills to pick from for your 2nd Active skill. And whichever skill you pick, there will be 5 different flavors for it. True some will be totally useless, but even with 2 Active Skill slots that's still more options than a pure Lighting Sorceress had in D2.
Anyways, even if this system fosters "rotation", it brings about much more experimentation, which to me is way more fun. Before respecs in d2 I had plenty of characters just plateau around level 70 because I had poor skill distribution/gear. I wasn't a huge fan of using someone else's build for my characters because that literally takes all customization out of the game. With the new system I can try all the weird builds I want without having to worry too much. And if I happen to find an unlikely build that works, I will probably be unique for a while. Not to mention the above points about gear issues with changing skills. Action RPGs don't have the same structure as other genres such as puzzle games. In a puzzle game, I would expect to be punished for my mistakes, because the entire point of the genre is to follow a specific set of instructions to solve a problem.
That's the beauty of diablo games, theres a billion and a half ways (literally) to blow up baddies. I should be able to try all of them with out having to start over and over and over and over and....you get my point.
Permanence is not uniqueness. Take a look at Diablo 1 and 2, very permanent build decisions yet cookie-cutter characters everywhere using the same skills and same gear. In fact, permanence promotes such a system because people start following builds since they want to minimize mistakes which could lead to having to reroll.
The Diablo 3 system should hopefully foster more variety and play styles.
I wouldn't be so sure, there are tons of different builds in D2... Though that's an interesting thought. But look at WoW: even though u can pretty freely respec, this is what u can refer with "only cookie-cutter" builds and "following builds" and rotations at elitist jerks, rather than D2.... May be it's just because WOW's way more competetive than D2... Well sure we have to w8 for release and see what's going to happen. But i think in few months there will be few cookie-cutter builds in D3 for different situations (like mob-type and group combination) and 80%+ will stick to them and just swap skills in certain points of inferno, and that seems not fun.
Sure, there are lots of builds, but how many are effective and how many are used? If I can only make 1 decision I'm going with the best. I'll admit I made a WW lance barb that wore iceblink in D2 classic, it was fun, but it was stupidly overpowered. There was no reason to use anything else.
It's not a question with an easy answer, there will always be optimal builds and people will want to use those. My point is that permanent stat and skill decisions lend nothing towards solving the problem.
Anyways, even if this system fosters "rotation", it brings about much more experimentation, which to me is way more fun. Before respecs in d2 I had plenty of characters just plateau around level 70 because I had poor skill distribution/gear. I wasn't a huge fan of using someone else's build for my characters because that literally takes all customization out of the game. With the new system I can try all the weird builds I want without having to worry too much.
I agree that experimentation is fun, and i didn't write about forbiding respecs at all. I was talking about making runes dead-bound to skills and destroyed if that skill switched off your 6 actives. This will let u experiment as much as u want with low and mid runes, but will make u think twice before putting top level rune in a skill.
That's the beauty of diablo games, theres a billion and a half ways (literally) to blow up baddies. I should be able to try all of them with out having to start over and over and over and over and....you get my point.
It is never or very unlikely that people will have the same runes and gear at a certain point. The argument everyone will do the same thing is a sad panda excuse.
Everyone else covered at least some aspect that there is very little issues (IMO) with the current system. The fact that a rune be bound to a skill forever is more than enough for rational thinking of what skill to use.
You can't compare WoW to D3 this is comparing apples to watermelons. There is nothing similar for attack and build style.
If somehow the OP is right, then don't do what the other 80% of people are doing... ugh...
Please don't use a lvl two as an example of lack of customization it has no bearing on end game.......
Lastly I don't need another D2 grind, sorry I've done it enough with D2 and WoW. Change is good, unless you know you want to be stuck in the 1800's and not have electricity because change is so awful...
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Playing Diablo since 97. I know nothing and having nothing good to say, I be a troll.
I agree that experimentation is fun, and i didn't write about forbiding respecs at all. I was talking about making runes dead-bound to skills and destroyed if that skill switched off your 6 actives. This will let u experiment as much as u want with low and mid runes, but will make u think twice before putting top level rune in a skill.
You must know more than the rest of us. Yes the runes we find will probably be unid'ed. And it will be a pot luck when you slot it in.
- We are pretty sure you can unsocket the rune from the skill (No one knows for sure, but makes sense)
- No one knows if the rune once unsocketed will be destroyed (very doubtful), more likely it will be tied to that specific skill.
Meaning getting the correct level 5-7 Rune you want will involve even more killing in hell and inferno. Which also leads to the conclusion that even if everyone agreed that there was one super uber build per class, the chances of everyone achieving that build is unlikely. I think that falls very much into the Diablo game play.
PS. Jay's post today about how all items on the D3 website are only placeholders and there are many more items + affixes + Legendary specific properties makes Diablo's end game + customization even more awesome.
Anyways, even if this system fosters "rotation", it brings about much more experimentation, which to me is way more fun. Before respecs in d2 I had plenty of characters just plateau around level 70 because I had poor skill distribution/gear. I wasn't a huge fan of using someone else's build for my characters because that literally takes all customization out of the game. With the new system I can try all the weird builds I want without having to worry too much.
I agree that experimentation is fun, and i didn't write about forbiding respecs at all. I was talking about making runes dead-bound to skills and destroyed if that skill switched off your 6 actives. This will let u experiment as much as u want with low and mid runes, but will make u think twice before putting top level rune in a skill.
AFAIK This is how it works, The rune is unattuned aka its grey and you place it in a skill, It becomes alabaster for Blizzard. Random color for the spell you put it in. So now If I want obsidian I need to find shit tons more just to get an obsidian then more shit tons to upgrade that obsidian to level 7.. I don't understand why you are complaining about wanting something in the game.. that is already in the game.
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I really want this game to become kinda flawless aRPG, but for now there's one thing that bothers me a lot. For me, customisation is what makes your charecter different from others. But if everyone can change their skills freely, there's no difference between them. ATM the only difference between characters (aside gear and appearance) is different classes. I want u to understand that the skill-set should be the same. Let's say some casual players will start to whine about classes the same way they do about respecs: "WTF, i've started barbarian, farmed with it with for lvl60, bought tons of items from AH, but now i realyze, that DH is imba and suits to my gameplay better and want to farm inferno with it, why the hell i have to start the new character from blank sheet, quest till 60 again???????!!!!!!" And Blizzard listens to them and make the level global for Account, and u can freely switch between classes/skills... That would be awefull coz of lack of customisation. Because u can't really call "customisation" your current rotation and similar stuff. And if characters have acces to the same skills and u can choose which 6 of them to use right now it's the same thing as "rotation". Customisation is something "more permanent".
Now i understand that new-to-game player barely can make an optimal decision of what skill-build to use, so Blizz made that friendly skill-system, i agree with that. Even though i think it's illogical that one Wizard can leveling whole 60 levels with, for instance, fire spells and then in one moment and two clicks became master of cold skills, which he didn't even can cast second ago. Let's stick with that, coz to make system ideal it will be needed to make completely different exp mechanics.
But we are saying about lategame, about which Blizzard says "...hard to master". At that point u already should know what game brings to u and should be able to take some responsibilities. Now rune-system comes. The only way for this to work is to forbid runes to be taken out of skills and whenever your switch the skill out of your current 6 skills, rune in that one should be destroyed. That leaves pretty opportunities to experiment with different skill-runes combination with low lvl runes which wont be hard to get, but will be a really thoughtfull decision to make with high-level rare runes. And that will make high-level characters "more unique" with their own pick of skills-runes.
I do not expect level 7 runes to be common. And it seems like they're planning on having the runes lock to skills they're placed in. So when you level your Wizard to 60 using fire spells and suddenly decide you want to play with Ice, you have no runes for it. You'll have to invest either gold or time into getting runes for your new loadout. This puts investment behind your decision to change, and makes that matter.
That's where it's going to be difficult to change your build on the fly. You might swap one or two skills out for different scenarios (mob bashing vs. boss fighting), but you won't have the resources to radically alter your playstyle on the fly.
Customization options and permanent decisions are not the same thing.
I agree with you that being able to change your character's entire playstyle on the fly goes too far. But that's not because it lacks customization, it's because it takes away the importance of making decisions at all. A decision is only interesting if it comes with consequences. If I can take it back right away, there's no weight behind it.
That's why runes count. Runes do awesome things and are a very important part of your build. When you decide to socket a rune into a skill, you are locking that rune to that skill forever. That's a decision that matters. If you decide you made a mistake, you have to find another rune to replace the one you lost. Or spend the time to farm the gold to undo your decision (which should not be cheap if that's something they implement).
TL;DR: It's not lack of customization that's bothering people (it's been demonstrated that the customization options are pretty extensive), it's that people want their decisions to matter. I believe that runes can fulfill that role in the endgame if done right, and that's something we haven't seen yet.
Do you not understand the new customization options? It doesn't matter if you can switch out skills on the fly. Why should it? Do you think that just because 4 wizards all picked Hydra as their main attack spell that they will all be the same? Even if those 4 wizards all had a level 7 rune for each color of Hydra, do you think they would all use the same colored rune? And even with that, there are 5 other Active skills to choose out of 24 total skills, each with 5 variations of their own.
You're seriously thinking that just because you love a skill and it does massive damage that everyone will have that preference and opt to do the same? I'll admit, everytime someone comes up with a killer skill list, people will test it out. But play styles differ and equipment will also factor into this, not to mention what kind of runes you have available.
D3 has way over 10 times more customization options that D2 had. The math is [(25*5)*(24*5)*(23*5)*(22*5)*(21*5)*(20*5)]. And the game is online. In the very unlikely event that one specific build does shine through over every other possible build, it will probably be nerfed by Blizzard.
Plus people are creatures of habit. We tend to like a bunch of skills and will probably stick to them unless we hear about a new potentially fun build. So its all too likely even after the 5000th run in Inferno, you'll stick with a few builds that appeal to you without having ever tried the thousands of other potential builds.
Secondly; I can guarantee you that when you are in inferno, and you try to swap skills in the middle of a fight, you're gonna get raped. They've also said they are adding something like 'can't switch in combat'.
Third, these choices DO matter. When I pick my 6 before a boss fight, hell yea it's going to matter, big D will bite my head off before I can switch skills, so yes picking your skills matters.
Lastly, wtf is with you people. It's like you HAVE to have a punishment for everything. Just because every other game slaps you for wanting to change something, doesn't mean D3 has to. It's a new system, and I love it.
PS, And uh, idk what you mean there's no customization. (won't even mention the 1.5 billion builds per class). Your argument is because you can switch skills out, everyone is going to be the same? Considering you can only have 6 skills and 3 passives at once, that's impossible. Sure someone can copy you (and in every other game) but so what.
TL;DR Quit nitpicking at something you havn't played. We are ALL on edge with this whole last week.
YAY BETA ANNOUNCED!
Boo no actual invites (wtf)
YAY NEW ITEMS LIST ON BNET!! SOMETHING TO DO WHILE I WAIT FOR INVITE!!
Boo 2012 release date
It's been a long week.
I didn't actually talk about the changing system... Whether it's in combat or in town only, that's not the point.
It's not punishment. It's giving proper effort to get something.
The Diablo 3 system should hopefully foster more variety and play styles.
This is just non-sense.
Go play Anarchy Online if you like stat distribution. I'm willing to bet you'll find yourself on a forum researching how to not screw up your build
I wouldn't be so sure, there are tons of different builds in D2... Though that's an interesting thought. But look at WoW: even though u can pretty freely respec, this is what u can refer with "only cookie-cutter" builds and "following builds" and rotations at elitist jerks, rather than D2.... May be it's just because WOW's way more competetive than D2... Well sure we have to w8 for release and see what's going to happen. But i think in few months there will be few cookie-cutter builds in D3 for different situations (like mob-type and group combination) and 80%+ will stick to them and just swap skills in certain points of inferno, and that seems not fun.
Also, the reason people are using the same skills over and over in beta, is because you can only have 4 active slots unlocked + there are only 12 or 13 skills unlocked and that's at the cap of level 13. Not to mention Runes which are the real customization options are not in the beta.
Oh my you are ... "SPECIAL"! No one here is taking about spell rotation. But the actual skill.
Electrocute with Alasbaster Rune - Uses Crit. This build would ramp up on + precision equiment and other skills that can increase crit chance and damage.
Electrocute with Crimson Rune - A lighting that probabaly has Pierce and hit for high dmg.
Electrocute with Golden Rune - The reason to use this is so you can regain AP as fast as possible so that you can cast spells like Meteor which cost 60AP.
Electrocute with Indigo Rune - Its Chain Lighting. Hits up to 10 targets, If you need an explaination, go play a Chain Lighting sorceress in D2.
Electrocute with Obsidian Rune - All of a sudden, Electrocute isn't much of a ranged spell anymore, its a cone spell with closer range so time to stock up on skills like Mirror Image or Diamond Skin.
1 Spell with 5 completely different play styles and will affect the other 5 active and 3 passives you pick. You call this spell rotation?
Even if we use your example of 2 active skills, I've given you 5 builds now you have 24 skills to pick from for your 2nd Active skill. And whichever skill you pick, there will be 5 different flavors for it. True some will be totally useless, but even with 2 Active Skill slots that's still more options than a pure Lighting Sorceress had in D2.
Anyways, even if this system fosters "rotation", it brings about much more experimentation, which to me is way more fun. Before respecs in d2 I had plenty of characters just plateau around level 70 because I had poor skill distribution/gear. I wasn't a huge fan of using someone else's build for my characters because that literally takes all customization out of the game. With the new system I can try all the weird builds I want without having to worry too much. And if I happen to find an unlikely build that works, I will probably be unique for a while. Not to mention the above points about gear issues with changing skills. Action RPGs don't have the same structure as other genres such as puzzle games. In a puzzle game, I would expect to be punished for my mistakes, because the entire point of the genre is to follow a specific set of instructions to solve a problem.
That's the beauty of diablo games, theres a billion and a half ways (literally) to blow up baddies. I should be able to try all of them with out having to start over and over and over and over and....you get my point.
Sure, there are lots of builds, but how many are effective and how many are used? If I can only make 1 decision I'm going with the best. I'll admit I made a WW lance barb that wore iceblink in D2 classic, it was fun, but it was stupidly overpowered. There was no reason to use anything else.
It's not a question with an easy answer, there will always be optimal builds and people will want to use those. My point is that permanent stat and skill decisions lend nothing towards solving the problem.
Huh, u sure are not a hardcore-fan then
It is never or very unlikely that people will have the same runes and gear at a certain point. The argument everyone will do the same thing is a sad panda excuse.
Everyone else covered at least some aspect that there is very little issues (IMO) with the current system. The fact that a rune be bound to a skill forever is more than enough for rational thinking of what skill to use.
You can't compare WoW to D3 this is comparing apples to watermelons. There is nothing similar for attack and build style.
If somehow the OP is right, then don't do what the other 80% of people are doing... ugh...
Please don't use a lvl two as an example of lack of customization it has no bearing on end game.......
Lastly I don't need another D2 grind, sorry I've done it enough with D2 and WoW. Change is good, unless you know you want to be stuck in the 1800's and not have electricity because change is so awful...
- We are pretty sure you can unsocket the rune from the skill (No one knows for sure, but makes sense)
- No one knows if the rune once unsocketed will be destroyed (very doubtful), more likely it will be tied to that specific skill.
Meaning getting the correct level 5-7 Rune you want will involve even more killing in hell and inferno. Which also leads to the conclusion that even if everyone agreed that there was one super uber build per class, the chances of everyone achieving that build is unlikely. I think that falls very much into the Diablo game play.
PS. Jay's post today about how all items on the D3 website are only placeholders and there are many more items + affixes + Legendary specific properties makes Diablo's end game + customization even more awesome.