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My team: Barbarian, Monk and Wizard.

General Strategy: Barb and Wizard focus on a single target. Barb can/should do nasty damage as well, but really focus on CC. Stuns are crucial. The Wizard ideally stands back and burns down the target quickly, but can teleport out if things get hairy.

The monk is key to the operation though. He has to distract/incapacitate the non-focused targets, do CC, chip away with AoE, as well as provide healing and support to the Barb and Wiz.

If CC is done right by Barb and Monk, the Wizard won't have to move much, and can focus on burning down opponents.

When health orbs drop, there's slow time and inner sanctuary to prevent opponents from getting to health.


Barbarian's Role - CC, DPS, Meat shield the clothie. Idea is to constantly be in someone's face while the Wiz burns the target down.

Barbarians Sklls.

1:Whirlwind. - Nuke/Win DPS

2:Ground stomp. - CC/Stun enemies.

3:Ignore pain. - Damage reduction and CC breaker.

4:War Cry. - Generate Fury and increase armor of whole party. It's important to prime the Fury pump often.

5:Ancient Spear. - Distance Closer/CC + dmg.

6:Leap attack. - Distance Closer + dmg. Rune for stun?

7:Furious Charge. - Distance Closer + dmg. Rune for stun?


Wizard Role - Main DPS, focused on single-target. Rune for DPS/Crit. Gets armor benefits from Barb shouts and Monk auras. Important to mix up damage types in case of immunity.

Wizards Skills.

1:Disintegrate. - Main damage spell (Arcane). Runes for single target damage.

2:Electrocute. - Different damage type, runed for crit/damage (Lightning)

3:Meteor. - Huge damage, plus it leaves fire on the ground for CC/DPS (Physical/Fire). Rune it for stun?

4:Frost Nova. - CC (Frost)

5:Diamond Skin. - Oh poop button

6:Slow time. - CC

7:Teleport. - Mobility is key, teleport should serve most/all defensive needs, given barb is the distance closer and can defend people.


Monk Role - Support/Heals/Buffs. Attacks focus on AoE to distract/pre-occupy non-focused enemies.

Monk Skills.

1:Crippling Wave. - Combo skill. DPS plus a stun to opponents.

2:Blinding Flash. - CC. Blinds enemies in a radius

3:Circle of Wrath - AoE healz for team-mates, AoE DPS for enemies. Win/win.

4:Inner Sanctuary - CC. Area on ground cannot be passed through by enemies. Protect Wiz and block health orbs.

5:Dashing Strike. - Distance Closer, DPS.

6:Holy Aura. - Health Regen for party.

7:Serenity. - Oh poop. Hit button.


Man, I wanna play monk in PvP SO BAD.. Such a versatile character.

Blizzard and I are not on speaking terms right now. Why, did he say something about me?

You have to float your blacksmith's wagon down a river of flame and avoid all the rocks.

Quote from MaggotsGalore

So, basically Diablo III is becoming WoW?

I see nothing in the replies here that would indicate that DIII is "becoming" WoW. I'd be interested to hear why you've drawn that conclusion.

What's your actual point? Do you want more active skills than Diablo II? You have them. Do you want more flexibility in how you choose those skills? You have that. Do you want the ability to modify skills to better tailor them to your traits (i.e. passive skills) and gear? You have that. Do you want Diablo II? You have that, it's already installed on your computer.

What do you want, and what do you think you're not getting?

I think "skills" in this case would be better described as "spells" (SHHH barbarians. that was a pre-emptive SHH). You have 7 different attack "spells" on top of normal damage. The devs have worked very hard to make all skills consistently useful during gameplay. I would suggest having a look at the great wiki on this site to learn more about the many, many different ways you'll be able to kill the ass out of monsters.

Artist: Autolux
Song: Turnstile Blues
Album: Future Perfect

Best 3-piece I've ever seen live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZL91Uv5e8g

Quote from midnighttempest_5881738

Thus the balancing issue of having 8 players in online D3 is an non-existent issue.

Exactly right. Why? BECAUSE THE PLAYER CAP IS 4.

People, at a certain point, we have to stop arguing about who's assumptions are more correct. We have no factual information about how gameplay in Diablo 3 is affected by the number of players in a party.

What we do have are two camps:

1. People who trust Blizzard to choose reasonable feature constraints, at least until we get a chance to actually play and make an informed personal opinion.

2. People who do not trust Blizzard to choose reasonable feature constraints, and want to make their opinion heard that "4 is not enough."

Both camps have equally valid reasons to exist, based on precedence. Although I've chosen my camp, I really feel like we need to curb this discussion until we all have more factual information to guide our debate. The topic itself is a really important one, but carrying on over the same well-worn rhetorical ground, while lacking any substantive evidence to enlighten those in opposition to your particular viewpoint, just isn't doing anyone any good at this point.

Quote from Astion

And that is exactly the killing part. An AH would totally destroy the unique trading system Diablo used to have. No more discussing prices and all that.

Totally destroy?

Point 1: I believe I speak for a majority of Diablo players in saying that trading in D2 was broken, tedious, and overly complicated for most users. Hardcore players with tons of friends persistently online (an overall minority) found trading easy and fun. Most people did not.

Point 2: I find it extremely hard to believe that sellers posting gear in an Auction House would be unable to appropriately adjust the price of an item based on the quality of the stats. Obviously if you get a random unique item with cherry stats you're gonna mark it up, after comparing it to similar items at market value. How is that negative? People aren't so stupid that this concept is beyond them, especially people who enjoy the economy sub-game.

Point 3: This "unique trading system" is just a market. So instead of rooting through mostly empty trading games and haggling over prices, we can instead use a streamlined GUI. But we don't know what the GUI will be. Here's an extremely possible scenario:

Hit the "Trade" button. The GUI pops up, and you can select gear in your INV you want to sell. That gear is then advertised over bnet via some browse/search mechanism so buyers using the same GUI can easily locate gear of that type. If they click on your piece, a chat window will open up, or you can get some kind of PM (so as not to interrupt gameplay or force you to have downtime waiting for buyers). You can either chat right there, or set up a game to meet and trade, or just send the gear COD, whatever.

I'm not saying your arguments above are wrong. But I think it's worth being very open. Often people prefer a devil they know (D2 economy) to a devil they don't (D3 economy). Sometimes change is good, and in this case, I would argue it is.

I like. big. numbers and I cannot lie.
You dual-wielders can't deny
That when a barb stomps in with very little grace
And a claymore in your face you get
CRIT
For like a lot of points
And you notice those points got print
On the screen, real-time
Unless you happen to find
It distracting, then just turn that feature off in the options, shouldn't be an issue.

This is a Bashiok quote on the matter:


Orig. source: http://blizzforums.com/showthread.php?18838-Blizz-speaks-Bashiok-on-the-loot-system

Quote from Kelsper_652482

Quote from umtwademel

And, for those of you who insist on playing with 4 players total only, there should be a function where you can just cap your game at 4 instead of at a potential max of 5 or 6.

Yes. Please give us an argument for why they couldn't do this. I don't understand why they couldn't, please someone explain to us.

So I definitely feel your pain here. Luckily for me I only have 3 friends.

Their reasoning is that it's a slippery slope. They are designing the game to be optimal with 4 people. So if they bow to pressure and say, "ok, we'll do 5" then people we say "what the hell, just one more! I has 5 friends!" then it's up to 6, then 7.... where does it end? They have to draw the line somewhere and they drew it at 4 because Blizzard thinks they know what we want better than we do, and we have to afford the possibility that perhaps they do.

I happen to agree with 4 ppl. And I gotta say, the people who REALLY want to play with 5+ are vocal, but ultimately a small minority of the overall population.

Edit: My reasoning behind the "small minority" statement is this: They are targeting this game for a wide audience, and their design choices have put the casual gamer, who's new to the franchise, in front of the hardcore Diablo veteran. They have to make this game fun for everyone, and let's face it.. veterans are a minority when compared with the full scope of Blizzard's target audience.

1 Maiden of Lust
2 Belial
3 Azmodan
4 Leahblo

Seems like the logical progression to me. However, it's totally possible this could be mixed up with some crazy angels trying to mess with our shit. Maybe as the act one boss, since I can't see where else they'd fit on.

On the other hand, crazy angels could be the subject of the expansion...

Quote from Xhion

Ok from the World of Warcraft Annual Pass FAQ it says that if you buy Diablo 3 Collector's Edition you get 4 months of Wow subscription.You get also goodies from the collector's box plus wow pet for wow, dyes,banners,aesthetic lookings for diablo 3 and portraits for SC2.

I find this cheaper than to have been locked in wow for 1 year and pay 140-150$ or euros. The collector's edition will be priced 70-80$ i presume.And with the REAL AH of Diablo you can make some money to renew your subscription in wow.

Me i will stick at Diablo cause wow has gone kung fu pokemon panda style.

Kung Fu is awesome, pokemon is awesome and pandas are awesome. Your argument is invalid.

Last update.

After talking to a Blizz rep and GM I have gained the following information.

You had to have A ACTIVE WoW account prior to October 18 as of this moment in order to be able to go with the promotion.

On top of that they may have a sweeping thing to go through accounts to see if their eligible but ignore that if you havn't had an active account.

My account was in good standing according to rep but because of not being active until now not eligible. Even though;

F.A.Q;


My World of Warcraft subscription is lapsed or inactive. Can I reactivate my subscription to take advantage of this promotion?

Yes. You will be eligible to receive a free copy of Diablo III and the other benefits of this promotion if you meet the qualification criteria and once you reactivate your existing World of Warcraft account and agree to a 12-month subscription commitment.

I won't fight it... it may have saved me $150. Hope the rest of you have better luck than me.

I don't think anybody is disputing the fact that it is a good money-making strategy from Blizz. This is pretty much undeniable I believe.

It rather has to do with the value of the diablo series in fans' eyes. We've waited so long for this, that D3 thrown as a freebie- accessory to WoW- is somewhat of a veiled insult to many diablo fans.

This game was supposed to stop the world from ending in 2012.
It was supposed to help you get that multiple orgasm you've heard so much about.
It was supposed to help you pass your exams without studying.


But now alas none of these great things are possible. It's just WoW's bitch like we all suspected it was but didn't want to admit.

*Dramatic scene over*

Logically speaking, it shouldn't really affect anybody though. Those looking to play WoW will have a great deal and the rest can just buy the game as they meant to do in the first place.

Quote from Molster

Quote from Peace

Quote from Molster

Quote from Peace

Ew.

They're really trying to squeeze as much money out of D3 as they possibly can, aren't they? It sickens me that they have to pull this maneuver just to bribe people into maintaining a WoW subscription. Personally I have nothing against WoW, but when it takes large hits from SWTOR, Blade and Soul, and GuldWars 2 I'll be jumping with joy.

They're treating Diablo 3 as a tool, and that upsets me.

why? they are one company... this is what a company should do. They fact they that came up with this idea is very impressive.

It isn't impressive. It's actually an extremely obvious business decision. They turn Diablo III into a gimmick to attract a dying WoW subscription base, and then smother the news with a new cinematic and lore video. It's a dirty trick, and you can't deny that.

No, its not a dirty trick, its a fantastic and smart idea. Its getting people like me, who were done with wow to pay or a FULL YEAR, it was the push I needed to keep playing, thats not dirty, thats smart on them. If we didnt want to keep playing, we still wouldnt.

Hands down its a smart move, and no "dirty". Use a high profile product to increase profits... uhh... thats the point of a company.

I don't think you understand. This move isn't brilliant; in the world of business, this move was commonplace. A high-school student interested in business could've pulled this one off.

You yourself admit to "keep playing" simply because you want D3 for free. Now they've gained a WoW subscriber. It's as simple as that. They're going to milk D3 for all its worth just to play the numbers game with competing MMOs. It saddens me that they need to exploit one of their own games to do so, especially a game that's generally regarded as the "tertiary option" of Blizzard games. They're throwing D3 in free like a salesman throws in an extra car wash after your 5th visit, and frankly that's just sad.

Ew.

They're really trying to squeeze as much money out of D3 as they possibly can, aren't they? It sickens me that they have to pull this maneuver just to bribe people into maintaining a WoW subscription. Personally I have nothing against WoW, but when it takes large hits from SWTOR, Blade and Soul, and GuldWars 2 I'll be jumping with joy.

They're treating Diablo 3 as a tool, and that upsets me.

Quote from SFJake

I'm going to flame you to hell if I try to answer you in any serious manner. You're telling me you put the blame of this on the gaming communities and all the amazing things they have done, all the progress it has allowed. You have no damn clue what you're attacking.

I know the modding community have done some pretty amazing stuff, but are you serious? It's far more destructive for companies to take the chance these days. And saying that DRM and online-only gaming is not to be blamed on the community is just pure ignorance. Progress, maybe, but how many companies have had to shut down because of poor sales from amazing games, just because of hacked leaks? Games that will never have their sequels see the light of day because thereof.
Imagine you create something, which so-called 'fans' then steal and release to the public, before you can do so. It's outrageous and disgusting. It's intellectual property theft.

So, you threaten to flame someone to hell for pointing this out to you? I know you have a Rise Against avatar, but if you want to be part of the civilized, adult world and have a decent conversation, then you're gonna have to check that teenage, rebel attitude at the door.

I think that's great that members are so passionate about their opinions and I've seen some really well thought out posts which makes for great weekend reading I don't have anything profound to add to this thread and can only say I think what all of this boils down to are the differences in how each of us processes a culmination of certain aspects (our feelings, opinions, and expectations.) I think it should be self-evident by this point that two people can read the exact same thing and come away from it with two completely separate viewpoints. What that should tell us is that any one of us could quote blue posts/fiscal forecasts/press releases, etc. until we are figuratively blue in the face so to speak and none of that will guarantee that we see eye to eye on this subject.

Without going into some long dissertation on expectations (how they are formed, what constitutes them being met or not, whose responsibility if any is it to manage them, etc.) I believe most of us can at least agree on the fact that we aren't going to agree lol. From my perspective, I don't think Blizzard got the beta wrong. What I have taken away from the info I've read is that they are looking to achieve specific goals with this beta and only they can know if what they are attempting is successful or not. For my part, I've kept my expectations in check. I opted in for the beta without counting on getting in. I've signed up for the facebook contest (even though I can't stand facebook lol) without counting on getting in, and I'll start contributing to the caption contest, again, without counting on winning.

I know that my interest/excitement will go up and down between now and release depending on what's going on information wise and I have to think that it's the same for the rest of you (at least to some degree.) I'm still excited for the game, I understand that we've only seen a very small portion of the game and that lots of great and undiscovered stuff awaits us with the release and it will be interesting to see how our "opinions" of the game change (if in fact they do) when we finally get to battle the hordes of hell from start to "finish". Just my ¢.02

Quote from Sinister Demon

I think it's funny people are still complaining about this. By doing this, you won't have to pay a monthly subscription AND you can actually make money by playing the game. What more could you want?

Proof that Blizzard is already dark side in that quote. People spitting that crap all around is proof that its already happened and that the fans have "adapted". This is as sad as it gets.

So you have no actual data on how many people are playing in public vs. private games, so you just assume it's 10% in public games for no apparent reason?

And then you say that the people speculating that the number of beta testers playing right now is low due to the actual numbers shown in public games is "bugging you."

OK.