I played a little today, have been playing less and less of late. I picked up some items and as I looked through them, I couldn't help feeling... meh. So, I thought a bit deeper on what exactly bothers me about them, and what I'd personally do if I could change the game the way I want.
1. The attributes themselves bother me a bit. What I didn't like about D2 was that you pumped Str and Dex just enough to use your items, and the rest went into Vit. The system wasn't fun, and D3 replicated that to an extent. Two attributes stand out, they just change depending on your class.
So, what I thought would work was a) let all stats add to damage, or if you'd like to keep that exclusivity, let the prime attribute stand out a bit. For instance, for a DH Str and Int will give .80 damage, while Dex gives 1. if that doesn't resolve the problem, then why not bind a few of the other stats onto the attributes, like Dex grants some crit damage, and Str adds a type of bonus to damage effects (such as stun, bleed, slow, etc.). c) An extreme I thought of was separating them into offensive and defensive attributes, though that would cause a bit of an overhaul and I doubt Blizzard would want to go that far.
I don't know. As of now the attributes just feel uninspiring, and unfortunately carry a bit of the D2 stigma along with them. The thing that's bad about this is, items are the best way of building your attributes, and the problem I have with the attributes are carried over onto them.
2. Gems, the problem I have with attributes just goes over to the gems. They are the second best way you build your attributes, and because the attributes aren't that inspiring, most classes I see have the specific class gem in all their gear. If attributes become a bit more interesting then you'll actually have to consider what gems to equip and not just blindly throw rubies, or amethysts into all your sockets.
Something else that bothers me is that they take up a gear slot. It might seem like a no brainer, after all, they do need to be a part of your gear. What bothers me is, since there are no attribute points, this feels like the best way to build your attributes the way you want. Blizzard took away the jeweler mechanic to place sockets into gear, because they felt it was mandatory. Well I say give all items sockets. Remove them from gear rolls, and rather give every piece of gear a set roll. For instance, blue items roll 0-2 sockets, while rares and legendaries roll 1-3 slots. That way all items have a sense of stabilizability built into them, while keeping the randomness.
Eventually Blizzard will add in more socketables. I'd especially like to see something akin to jewels from D2 make a return, have some random stats be rolled and socketable. Gems just feels underused, and I feel they play a much larger role than D2, and have great customization options available.
3. This won't be immediately implemented, but I'd just like to bring a potential idea out from the confines of my mind. There are minor stats on items that I feel just detracts from what could potential make an item so much more attractive. MF is a prime example, and this is a major point of contention. My thoughts are, take MF, GF, +XP. pickup radius, and +globe healing away from items. Charms are by far the best home for weird stats like these that aren't bad, but just competes with greater stats and become rarely used.
I remember it's been said that these stats are there to sift between desirable items and set some apart from the good ones. Really? So these are supposed to be undesirable by design. No, they are good, but become throw away in the pursuit to improve damage out defense. That's not right, I feel they need a better home, and charms would be such a good place to have them.
Well, that's just rambled thoughts. Some might not work in the game, but it's just small things that's been bugging me, and where I'd like to see improvement.
TL;DR: A few things in the itemization process didn't feel right, so I had some ideas what I'd do if I could change them.
1. Attributes feel unexciting. Make all attributes exciting for all classes, it will make items mor interesting.
2. Gems feel underused. Rather than having sockets roll with gear, give all gear a socket roll.
3. Minor stats contest with the needed stats and become thrown away in the process. Maybe move them to charms.
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1. The attributes themselves bother me a bit. What I didn't like about D2 was that you pumped Str and Dex just enough to use your items, and the rest went into Vit. The system wasn't fun, and D3 replicated that to an extent. Two attributes stand out, they just change depending on your class.
So, what I thought would work was a) let all stats add to damage, or if you'd like to keep that exclusivity, let the prime attribute stand out a bit. For instance, for a DH Str and Int will give .80 damage, while Dex gives 1. if that doesn't resolve the problem, then why not bind a few of the other stats onto the attributes, like Dex grants some crit damage, and Str adds a type of bonus to damage effects (such as stun, bleed, slow, etc.). c) An extreme I thought of was separating them into offensive and defensive attributes, though that would cause a bit of an overhaul and I doubt Blizzard would want to go that far.
I don't know. As of now the attributes just feel uninspiring, and unfortunately carry a bit of the D2 stigma along with them. The thing that's bad about this is, items are the best way of building your attributes, and the problem I have with the attributes are carried over onto them.
2. Gems, the problem I have with attributes just goes over to the gems. They are the second best way you build your attributes, and because the attributes aren't that inspiring, most classes I see have the specific class gem in all their gear. If attributes become a bit more interesting then you'll actually have to consider what gems to equip and not just blindly throw rubies, or amethysts into all your sockets.
Something else that bothers me is that they take up a gear slot. It might seem like a no brainer, after all, they do need to be a part of your gear. What bothers me is, since there are no attribute points, this feels like the best way to build your attributes the way you want. Blizzard took away the jeweler mechanic to place sockets into gear, because they felt it was mandatory. Well I say give all items sockets. Remove them from gear rolls, and rather give every piece of gear a set roll. For instance, blue items roll 0-2 sockets, while rares and legendaries roll 1-3 slots. That way all items have a sense of stabilizability built into them, while keeping the randomness.
Eventually Blizzard will add in more socketables. I'd especially like to see something akin to jewels from D2 make a return, have some random stats be rolled and socketable. Gems just feels underused, and I feel they play a much larger role than D2, and have great customization options available.
3. This won't be immediately implemented, but I'd just like to bring a potential idea out from the confines of my mind. There are minor stats on items that I feel just detracts from what could potential make an item so much more attractive. MF is a prime example, and this is a major point of contention. My thoughts are, take MF, GF, +XP. pickup radius, and +globe healing away from items. Charms are by far the best home for weird stats like these that aren't bad, but just competes with greater stats and become rarely used.
I remember it's been said that these stats are there to sift between desirable items and set some apart from the good ones. Really? So these are supposed to be undesirable by design. No, they are good, but become throw away in the pursuit to improve damage out defense. That's not right, I feel they need a better home, and charms would be such a good place to have them.
Well, that's just rambled thoughts. Some might not work in the game, but it's just small things that's been bugging me, and where I'd like to see improvement.
TL;DR: A few things in the itemization process didn't feel right, so I had some ideas what I'd do if I could change them.
1. Attributes feel unexciting. Make all attributes exciting for all classes, it will make items mor interesting.
2. Gems feel underused. Rather than having sockets roll with gear, give all gear a socket roll.
3. Minor stats contest with the needed stats and become thrown away in the process. Maybe move them to charms.