Well its really because of the way Blizzard releases info. Even though most of us will end up enjoying the game regardless of whether or not we like the follower system, right now it seems like the biggest thing because its the most recent D3 info we've gotten.
I do think it's pretty damn strange that you'll be investing your time in building a "side character" only to have he/she be pointless later on though.
Which is why you really don't need to invest all that much time, gear or effort making a follower. They have, what, 4 equipment slots and a whopping total of 12 skills divided into groups of 3? There aren't that many choices involved, and even though its easily useless from our standpoint, if you look at how it will be from the point of view of someone who is just starting to play, it will be an easier transition to multiplayer. I think its a great system, and while I do wish it was usable in higher difficulties its far from the end of the world. Considering the outrage when people thought they would be essential, combined with the outrage now that people know they aren't, Blizzard had to make a choice and I think this is a reasonable compromise.
Of course, compromises always piss people off though
Ah, never mind, I was wrong about them being free. All the talk of easy customization threw me off, especially the video that shows their skills changing so quickly.
Official Blizzard Quote:
You can do poison bolt, which has such poison damage over time like the classic rogue-like skill, you can do a crippling shot which will slow your enemies down which for certain builds like the Barbarian where not having to chase things down is very useful, or you can do rapid fire that increases DPS (Damage Per-Second), and it goes on like that as well, you know, the respecs are very cheap, you can take him and use one of his skills that increases your gem and rune find and maybe you want to go on a mission to find better runes for yourself or take on a boss, and you can change it.
So it will at least be very cheap/easy to respec them.
Really? You make all those assumptions based on a follower system designed for new players? Of course you're not going to find it useful. Its essentially a tutorial. That doesn't mean it has no place in the game.
I don't know about you guys, but I love this!!! This has got to be one of the best day for Diablo since Blizzcon!
Oh yea. What probably excites me most about it is the fact that the Followers are part of the same "caravan" that the Artisans are. I can't wait to see what other people you'll have travelling from town to town with you.
Recently, through both the Battle.net forums and Twitter, we have gotten a few updates about how traits will work in Diablo III. When asked about conditional traits, Bashiok had this to say:
Official Blizzard Quote:
There are a number of traits which are too situational to be deemed worthwhile to invest in. A few examples are:
Increases damage against beasts.
Increases damage against demons.
Increases damage against undead.
We agree, and they were removed from Traits a while back. (not that you could have known that) So yay!
We don't want traits (passives) to be boring. Even the ones that are pretty bland stat increase type passives, we try to make them feel weighty. Trait points are fairly rare, so that lets us make each point feel a lot sexier to spend. Even if they're just standard +% stat passives, they're BIG +% increases. But, there's also a lot of traits that are fairly intricate in what they provide, and to no small degree can be game changers. Either way they'll be a crucial component to any character build.
Although the first part of this quote is rather self-explanatory, the rest is considerably more interesting. It appears as though the percentages associated with traits have been boosted since we saw them at the Blizzcon demo, and as a result they have a bigger impact on the build of your character, leading to even more customization possibilities. However, that does not mean traits have become all that much more powerful than the last time we saw them in action. Although the percentages gained from traits has increased, the Diablo III team has also drastically decreased the amount of trait points a character will have at the maximum level.
Official Blizzard Quote:
@spiri7walker We give them out every 3 levels, the first one at level 3, so 19 trait points are available to spend at level 60.
When they were announced at Blizzcon, traits were given out every other level, and the Diablo III team quickly pointed out that they weren't quite satisfied with that setup. In a change that seems comparable to the decision to put the level cap at 60, Blizzard has decided to make trait points more valuable and less common. As a result, characters will probably end up more focused around certain traits instead of being spread out across large amounts of passives.
Despite this more focused approach, it does appear as though there are plenty of choices, including ones that wouldn't initially appear to have a place in a viable combat build.
Official Blizzard Quote:
I'm very happy to hear this, but what of lucky and intimidation? They are also fairly controversial traits that increase noncombat related stats.
Lucky increases gold find by 10%. It's tough to say how that kind of thing will balance out. It wouldn't be worth taking until at least Nightmare, IMO, and even then a trait point is a fairly powerful thing. I don't know if I'd spend it on gold find. But, that's kind of a cool choice then, right?
This is not the first time Bashiok has used gold find as an example of an "interesting choice," so it would appear as though gold is actually important and as a result gold find is something to consider. However, as Bashiok points out, that does not mean theres much room for it, especially if we are only awarded nineteen trait points. In the end, we'll just have to wait for the beta to really see what traits remain and how the trait system as a whole functions.
Update to the update:
Official Blizzard Quote:
@Diablo And will there be any quests, which are not required for main story progression, that will award you additional trait/skill points?
@spiri7walker Currently all skill and trait points are metered out purely through gaining levels.
So it appears that, at least for the moment, we won't be getting traits as rewards from anything other than leveling, unlike in Diablo II where a select few quests rewarded the player with extra skill points.
I think you can upgrade enchantments, but its not like they'll constantly stack. It will just be that you could enchant something with '+30 Attack' and then replace it with '+50 Attack' once you get the new recipe.
I feel like this would turn trading into something too close to an MMO. I think an auction house over b.net would fit Diablo much better, as its not supposed to be a game where too many people are in one session.
There is some conflicting information. An official post from (I would guess) Bashiok stating that they are aiming for a 2011 release, and this conference call where there are several people who have reported bliz saying "No games expected to be released this year"
Can we get confirmation on that quote? I haven't listened to the call.
What was said during the call was that, basically, D3's release is dependent on how long the beta has to be to get rid of all the bugs/balance issues. So their working towards a 2011 release, but they expect it to take until 2012 because of potential issues that arise during the beta. Its just like at the last conference call, where they stated that the official expectation is that the game won't be ready until 2012, but they are doing what they can to get it out in 2011.
The good news is that probably means that if the release has to get bumped to 2012, it will be early on in the year.
I think we're all more than aware of Blizzard's inability to do anything early, but I still don't see them missing a three month window, especially after internal testing has already started.
Well hopefully we get the beta on the early end of Q3. Either way, at least we'll be getting (hopefully) consistent updates in the form of new systems until the beta comes out. And the lack of questions about D3 is probably because 'Beta in Q3 2011' doesn't really lead to many questions.
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Which is why you really don't need to invest all that much time, gear or effort making a follower. They have, what, 4 equipment slots and a whopping total of 12 skills divided into groups of 3? There aren't that many choices involved, and even though its easily useless from our standpoint, if you look at how it will be from the point of view of someone who is just starting to play, it will be an easier transition to multiplayer. I think its a great system, and while I do wish it was usable in higher difficulties its far from the end of the world. Considering the outrage when people thought they would be essential, combined with the outrage now that people know they aren't, Blizzard had to make a choice and I think this is a reasonable compromise.
Of course, compromises always piss people off though
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You can do poison bolt, which has such poison damage over time like the classic rogue-like skill, you can do a crippling shot which will slow your enemies down which for certain builds like the Barbarian where not having to chase things down is very useful, or you can do rapid fire that increases DPS (Damage Per-Second), and it goes on like that as well, you know, the respecs are very cheap, you can take him and use one of his skills that increases your gem and rune find and maybe you want to go on a mission to find better runes for yourself or take on a boss, and you can change it.
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We agree, and they were removed from Traits a while back. (not that you could have known that) So yay!
We don't want traits (passives) to be boring. Even the ones that are pretty bland stat increase type passives, we try to make them feel weighty. Trait points are fairly rare, so that lets us make each point feel a lot sexier to spend. Even if they're just standard +% stat passives, they're BIG +% increases. But, there's also a lot of traits that are fairly intricate in what they provide, and to no small degree can be game changers. Either way they'll be a crucial component to any character build.
@spiri7walker We give them out every 3 levels, the first one at level 3, so 19 trait points are available to spend at level 60.
Despite this more focused approach, it does appear as though there are plenty of choices, including ones that wouldn't initially appear to have a place in a viable combat build.
Lucky increases gold find by 10%. It's tough to say how that kind of thing will balance out. It wouldn't be worth taking until at least Nightmare, IMO, and even then a trait point is a fairly powerful thing. I don't know if I'd spend it on gold find. But, that's kind of a cool choice then, right?
Update to the update:
@spiri7walker Currently all skill and trait points are metered out purely through gaining levels.
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The good news is that probably means that if the release has to get bumped to 2012, it will be early on in the year.
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