Thankfully both issues are solved by simply being able to kick a player from your game once you realize he's doing a bad thing to the party! :]
On the other hand the player being carried might be your little brother, and he would be very thankful and do the dishes instead of you next time. Win-win situation.
- Ethezial
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Member for 13 years, 1 month, and 23 days
Last active Fri, Dec, 29 2017 15:15:19
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overneathe posted a message on Magic Find Creates the Prisoner's DilemmaPosted in: Diablo III General Discussion -
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Astion posted a message on Need an Avatar? In-game Portraits!Enjoy! I hope to see some around on the forums!Posted in: Diablo III General Discussion
For fullscreen: Avatar Link 1 and Avatar Link 2 and Avatar Link 3
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Zero(pS) posted a message on Blizz asks for suggestions on Stat PageI'd like a couple "fun" stats, like number of monsters killed (separated into Normal, Magic, Rare, Mini-bosses, Bosses) or distance traveled =]Posted in: Diablo III General Discussion
Serious stats? Maybe a "amount of gold earned/spent" and "amount of magic items earned/broken/sold" so we can gauge how much specific builds (with tons of +% magic find or +% gold find) affect these over a full playthrough. -
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Kayzer posted a message on servers shutting down right nowFrom the battle.net site of course.Posted in: Diablo III General Discussion
Here's a bigger one.
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haticK posted a message on What if you don't get a key...I would just spend 14 hours a day watching streams like I do now.Posted in: Diablo III General Discussion -
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TraNn posted a message on Items from Diablo II reappearing in Diablo III - item spoilersList of Diablo 2 items making their appearance in Diablo III so farPosted in: Diablo III General Discussion
( Sometimes its not the same item type but name remains the same )
Unique_Mace_1H_009 Earthshatter
Unique_CeremonialDagger_008 Last Breath
Unique_Bow_009 Windforce ( fuck yeah )
Unique_Sword_2H_001 The Grandfather ( fuck yeah#2 )
Unique_Mighty_1H_010 Bul-Kathos' Sacred Charge
Unique_Mighty_1H_011 Bul-Kathos' Tribal Guardian
Unique_Ring_020 Bul-Katho's Wedding Band
Unique_Helm_008 Immortal Kings's Will
Unique_HandXBow_003 Natalya's Redemption ( pretty much confirms DH=assasin/amazon )
Unique_Cloak_006 Natalya's Shadow
Unique_Boots_011 Natalya's Soul
Unique_Helm_009 Natalya's Gaze
Unique_Ring_011 Natalya's Mark ( used to be weapon )
Unique_Chest_013 Immortal King's Soul Cage
Unique_BarbBelt_009 Immortal King's Detail
Unique_Gloves_008 Immortal King's Forge
Unique_Boots_012 Immortal King's Pillar
Unique_Orb_012 Tal Rasha's Lidless Eye
Unique_Chest_014 Tal Rasha's Guardianship
Unique_Belt_006 Tal Rasha's Fine-Spun Cloth
Unique_Amulet_007 Tal Rasha's Adjudication
Unique_Helm_010 Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Unique_Mighty_2H_010 Immortal Kings Stone Crusher
Unique_Axe_2H_011 Messerschmidt's Reaver
Unique_Bow_011 Eaglehorn
Unique_Dagger_010 Wizardspike
Unique_Mace_2H_009 Schaefers' Hammer
Unique_Shield_009 Stormshield
Unique_Sword_1H_012 Azurewrath
Unique_Wand_014 Ume's Lament
Unique_Amulet_015 Mara's Kaleidoscope
Unique_Axe_1H_010 Hellslayer
Unique_Helm_003 Andariel's Visage
Unique_Mojo_004 Homunculus ( apparently mojo is old necromancer offhand thing - pretty much confirms there wont be a necromancer in the future )
Unique_Orb_001 The Oculus
Unique_Wand_005 Death's Web
Unique_XBow_007 Peacemaker
Unique_XBow_011 Buriza-Do Kyanon ( helloooooo there... )
Unique_Shield_008 Lidless Wall
Unique_Shield_010 Moser's Blessed Circle
Unique_Gloves_002 Frostburn Gauntlets
Unique_Ring_019 Stone of Jordan ( Welcome back..)
Unique_Belt_008 String of Ears ( loved this one )
Unique_Belt_010 Goldwrap (here we go again with MF gear )
Unique_Gloves_014 Magefist
Unique_BarbBelt_003 Thundergod's Vigor ( Barb ? Weird... OH well. Barb is new javazon)
Unique_Shoulder_004 Guardian Angel ( shoulder made out of armor )
Unique_Belt_009 Nightsmoke
Unique_Sword_2H_002 The Zweihander
Unique_Gloves_012 Chance Guards
Unique_Amulet_014 Eye of Etlich
Unique_Ring_018 Nagelring
Unique_Dagger_009 Gull Dagger
Theres propably tons I missed because I never played English Diablo II version.
My thoughts:
Theres plenty of new items but also a lot of them comes back aswell. Im partially happy about that. Especially about some iconic items like Tal rasha/grandfather/windforce/shaefer etc. In all honesty I didnt expect that many to come back.
But I dont really see the point in some "crappier" items making their come back ( like Zweihander ), oh well.
Also there appears to be chunk of "PVP" items so I can definatelly see pvp as fun and rewarding, even though blizz said they wont make it an e-sport. If anyone is interested I can edit and post PVP items later on.
Ofcourse all this data is public to everyone but I never saw a thread about this so just thought ill point it out to some people that dont research about the game as much as myself.
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Seluhir posted a message on scroll of companion - doesn't belong to D3... what is so odd about there being rabbits in Sanctuary? I still can't fathom why people are so shocked that there are rabbits...Posted in: Diablo III General Discussion
When you see a cow grazing in town are you going to have a heart attack?
Normal animals exist... sheesh..... -
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Puttah posted a message on Harsh Templar *Possible Spoilers*First thing I noticed about the name is that it's an anagram for Jordan.Posted in: Diablo III General Discussion -
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tropicaza posted a message on Skill System DiscussionPosted in: Diablo III General DiscussionWarning, this is a long post and I put a lot of thought into it. Please read through it all so that the best possible discussion can be garnered. Thanks!
Hey all! I just want to say I've been lurking this website for many years...I was lurking for quite a while before the old domain (diablo3.com) was sold to Blizzard and Diablofans was created in its wake.
That out of the way, I have to voice my opinion on a game I have waited for for quite some time. Also let me preface by saying I think it's somewhat silly that I can't post in the new community forums for Diablo 3 unless I renew my ancient WoW subscription or buy Starcraft II. I figured the old Diablos would be enough, but I suppose not :(. I do feel that the feedback they are receiving on that forum is not nearly as on point for a true Diablo fan (such as us) since they don't allow owners of just those titles to post.
So, onto the topic at hand! The skill system. This has been an incredibly hot issue for debate since the early days of minor modification to the current complete revamp. Initially, I was excited for the way the game had been built. It seemed to be a polished upgrade from Diablo II, which is what I and many, many others wanted. I shared many of the concerns from each build of the game, from the color choices to the architectural resemblances to World of Warcraft. There is nothing more irritating to me than having a character with weapons that are 4 times their body length and sparkling with enough mystical fire to ignite Yggdrasil. But, overall, I was pleased with how the game was shaping up. I can get past a few graphical dislikes as long as the core gameplay is the same. Unfortunately, that's not what has panned out thusfar. In my opinion, they've all but killed replayability (with the same class), made the game far less immersive, and lost touch with what Diablo is all about.
TL;DR (hehe)
Here are my problems with the current skill system...
- No skill trees I am not afraid of revolutions in gaming. I have played more than enough games in my day to realize that things you wouldn’t think possible are actually quite fun. However, after milling over the beta footage and various bits of info, it seems silly not to have some sort of point distribution to further the connection between your character and yourself. Customization is so key in a game like this, and user-end customization is something the game cannot choose for you (like loot, runes, armor, and so forth). This is the only thing in the game you can decide, and in a game like this, it needs to be front and center. The way characters were built in Diablo II, while flawed, were still unique. The reason some builds were more prevalent was easily because of the band-aid fixes applied to the game several years after launch. Enigma, Ubers, high-end runewords. The builds that many complained about could have been solved by actual balance. Unfortunately, the Diablo II team was all but nonexistent, and such a feat was impossible.
- Access to all skills To me, this is a problem. This entirely defeats the replayability of this game. The Sorceress was my favorite class in Diablo II. I had many, (Fire, Lightning, Blizzard, Frozen Orb, Energy, etc.)and each was fun to play in their own way. Nothing really came close to the fun that running Ancient Tunnels, Mephisto, and various other places with your powerful Blizzard that you invested the research and time to build properly. If you have access to all skills of a class and there are no skill points, then all of the skills are intended to be equal. Unfortunately, this means the differentiation of each character is based solely on items, runes, etc. Virtually all user-end decision is eliminated. The REASON why this is a problem (as many will say: "But instead of having 5 sorcs, you can have one that all serve the same purpose!") is that if I wanted a new sorc, I had to work for it. I was excited about having a second high level character that I would have a connection to. With these Wizards being all-in-ones, you aren't dedicated to looking for build-specific gear and tearing the game up with your unique character. Instead, you're just looking for good...gear. Anything will do, if that makes sense.
- Skill swapping with no penalty This one isn't as important, because no doubt it will be addressed in SOME manner. Right now, any character can change to any skill they've unlocked at any time. Why the developers thought this would be smart is beyond me. Macros can easily be made to have characters press a few keys and be outfitted with the perfect skill set to face the demons ahead. It has been shown numerous times in many beta streams that this is the case. The overall problem with this skill system is that it is inherently flawed. You cannot give someone the freedom of having every skill. It negates the want to build more than one character of the same class. It erases "builds" entirely, and what builds DO exist due to certain items and runes (which is an incredibly watered down way to differentiate players) can be mimicked and easily attained thanks to the accessibility of items to the player (RMAH, personal drops, shared stash). It ruins differentiation between characters.
- Lack of connection with your character This is one of the most important aspects for me. You hardly look at your character screen because you don't really need to from what I've seen from all the D3 footage. Why would you? Stats are chosen for you, skills are unlocked for you. There doesn't seem to be a real DRAW to pull yourself toward your character. These factors are preventing IMMERSION, which is what video games are all about. A small analogy for you...Resident Evil. 1 and 2 specifically were survival horrors. They were scary. They were difficult, and you could get so screwed that you wasted your goddamned ink ribbons and couldn't save (thus heightening the tension and making you mad, both good things). Resident Evil 4 and 5 were great games, but they weren't quite the same. They took the "horror" out of survival horror by making it a shooting action game. Diablo 3 is doing the same thing to the origins of the series by making it less RPG, more action. No doubt it will be fun, but in the RPG world, this is absolutely unacceptable. You NEED to be tied to your character and not feel like you're playing Gauntlet at an arcade machine.
Some common rebuttals to these complaints of the new skill system:
"If I screwed up in Diablo II, I had to make a new character."
While this was true until respecs arrived, it isn't like it was difficult or "unfun" to make a new character. If you didn't know how to build a character (which is NO different from ANY other game with optimal builds), then you most likely wouldn't care if your blizzard did 80% the damage compared to the guy next to you.
"Runes will provide the customization and differentiation, as well as the setback to swapping skills."
I don't buy into this. I've seen from the datamines, various panels, videos, so forth the general idea behind runes. While this will provide customization, it doesn't seem at this point that it would provide enough to have someone say "Yes, I'm a Hydra Wiz" or "Yes, I'm an Archon Wiz". Why is it so difficult to let the player decide what skills he wants to be powerful?
"The skill system just had players respec their character and dump all the points into the skill they just unlocked."
This is a paraphrased Blizzard quote that we are all very familiar with. This was part of the reasoning that Jay Wilson thought the skill point idea was a bad one, hence the creation of this new (and in my opinion, wrong) system. Respecs are well and good, but they saw when players had the freedom to re-allocate their skill points, they would. Players choosing the most powerful skill is going to happen regardless. When you give them more freedom, they will take whatever skill has the most damaging numbers. So instead of restricting the freedom (respecs) they give total freedom (no skill points). This makes absolutely no sense to me. Sure, everyone gets to try every skill, but here's the problem. Even in a game with all skills available to you, there will still be the most powerful skill or set of skills. What they've done here is stripped what THEY thought was the problem (skill points) instead of wanting to deal with the real demon (constant balance). It makes me think they don't know enough about the series to be able to make these kind of judgment calls. Note: In Diablo II, you have a powerful Charged Boltress or Teeth Necro. You are cool and unique. In Diablo 3, you have a Magic Missile Wizard. You're an outcast and should be ashamed.
"This skill system is awesome! I love not having to make two Wizards, three Barbs, and so forth."
Some people like this new skill system. I'm okay with that. But, that does not mean having a character with every skill possible is a good thing. The only reason you had to make multiple characters of the same class in Diablo II was due to lack of respecs. I don't mind giving some of the punishment for screwing up my skills, but I don't want to give all of it up. Yes I was frustrated when I put 5 points in Shiver Armor way back in the day where they could have been put somewhere else. Does that matter to most people? No. Does it mean you are stuck and can't beat the game and that you have to make a new character? Absolutely not. I believe that the developers of Diablo 3 saw this as a huge obstacle, and instead of solving the problem by removing restriction and punishment, they tipped the scale in the opposite direction. Now the fun of building your character how you want to is just about gone because of how easy it is to change what he/she is. I'm not saying the system in Diablo II was perfect, so I will try and provide what I think would be an optimal system for Diablo 3 below...
Some ideas for improvement...
- Re-introduce skill points at the very least, and give the option to allocate your stats manually.
- Allow the option for respecs. Put a gold sink on them that becomes more expensive each time you use it OR only allow one per 10 levels gained (or something like that). Not unlimited, but not too many. You have to play with your choices in the game. I think 2 respecs is way more than enough for a player like me, but I figure someone who wants to try a bunch of builds can do it with 5. Possibly make it so where you can run out of respecs and have to make a new character to get more after 5, 10, 20, I don't know. Sometimes harsh restriction is far more rewarding than too much freedom. Even if you think this is harsh, restrictions like this (as in Diablo II) added to longevity and replayability.
- Allow skills to be powered past max level, as in Diablo II. Items with +to skills or +to all skills were so critical in Diablo II to deciding what kind of items you were seeking. Without these kind of things, what is it we're looking for? + random numbers? +100% armor? These items provide so much more to the game because as a Blizzard Sorc, you KNOW you want Death's Fathom, Snowclash, and so on to provide your Blizzard with that much more "OOMPH". Am I the only one who had that general "awe" at comparing your character to someone else who knew how to do it and is absolutely crushing the Nine Hells under his foot? "I want to do that!" It doesn't seem like that will be possible in D3.
- Reconsider synergies I realize that synergies were changed to add life to a dying game, but the idea is brilliant. Skills that somehow power your other skills? With how many different iterations of skills there can be thanks to runes, this idea could REALLY take off in Diablo 3.
Bear in mind that I really do like the introduction of runes as skill modifiers. That's awesome. That just adds a huge level of customization to the game. I think they realized that they bit off more than they could chew in balancing, and just got rid of skills to compensate. There HAS to be a way to incorporate this new system with the system of old, and have them work together in harmony. As of right now, it doesn't really make sense to watch a Monk fight a bunch of mobs, change his skill to heal, and then head back into battle. It's awkward, and Blizzard KNOWS they can do better than THAT nonsense.
In closing, I have to say that I really think a modification of the old skill system with some new friendly (but not too friendly) respecs is what this game sorely needs. I can't imagine wanting to keep playing this game for too long after finding my favorite class and beating the game. Diablo II survived and was so much fun for so long because of this skill system and specific items that rewarded you for focusing on building your Blizzard sorc (or whatever character) and taking the time to research how, where, and what. If they keep with this "all skills for every class" nonsense, I think those of us intelligent enough to understand why it isn't fun will move on rather quickly. Quite frankly, that's a lot of us, and that's a lot of future customers lost. It worries me greatly, because what this game was took such a nose dive for me in the last few months that it becomes more and more upsetting the more I learn. I am just one guy, and I don't claim to have all the answers. I hope you guys find some insight from this and hopefully together we might be able to change a few things :). Thanks for reading!
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I didn't get a screenshot though, otherwise I'd share with you guys.Got a screenshotFrom Junotekh: Video showing the trading window in action (at 1:48) Video
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I think that not having to make as many characters to try different builds will be much better. I like the idea of sticking with the same character for a longer period of time, I'll feel more connected to the character, thus more connected to the game. I really think it will be totally awesome to have a character that you'll stay with, & that you won't just feel like it's a character you will just delete later if you get tired of the build.
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Anyway, everything I've seen looks completely awesome. I don't really know how I feel about the skill system. I'll just have to play it and find out whether I like it or not.