I don't quite agree here. Just because something is there doesn't mean you have to use it and I think if some is really a hardcore gamer they will avoid what makes it 'too easy'. For example, if you pick up a game that's a pure action game. The game will let you play through the whole thing on 'easy'. The game also lets you choose 'ultra hard' but doesn't offer any bonuses for doing so. As a hardcore gamer, which do you choose? Those are built into the game just like the D3 Auction House.Quote from Trebis
Now before you use the argument of "Well just don't use the Auction House" let me address that real quick. The AH is built in to the game. It is part of the game. Sure, I can make the choice whether to use it or not, but it's not like I am choosing to go to a third party site and buy new gear. The AH button is right below the button I push to start playing! It's practically unavoidable! And as a gamer, I am going to use all in-game resources available to play as well as possible. So for me, choosing to just "not use the AH" is putting up an artificial barrier in front of myself that isn't any different than saying "don't use a follower" or "stop using two skill slots." The competitive GAMER in me doesn't enjoy putting artificial constraints on myself to make the game more difficult. I want to be pushed to my limits as a gamer, not limit myself.
I think it comes down to choosing what will be a good mix of less frustration but still being a challenge. If you wish to challenge yourself further, you go on the hardest settings. If you want a challenge but still want to 'progress' (maybe you're not quite good enough yet) you pick a middle of the road difficulty. If you just want the story, you play easy.
This exact issue of things getting too easy is why I find and make all my gear when I play through as an alt. It makes things a little harder and it makes the game more interesting. If I don't use the Auction House then I still have items I can find in the world. If I DO use the AH then I'm killing things too easily and there's no reason for me to explore as all I want to do is level up fast to get to the end. I don't find that fun at all.
I think you might be looking at things from the wrong side here, you state you want to push your limits, but then you put up a barrier in front of yourself unknowingly. You bought stuff that made the game easier, therefore you bought a lower difficulty setting instead of picking the hard one you wanted. You just limited your potential without realizing. Being hardcore isn't about buying the best gear and killing everything around you, it's about taking what you have and being better at using it than everyone else.
Honestly gamers challenge themselves all the time to make themselves better. That's why you see ironman challenges in WoW and here in D3. You also see "no death" runs in action platforming games. You see putting an artificial barrier in front of yourself as a bad thing, but many players LIKE doing just that. If you don't challenge yourself then you can't improve. This is the same reason why some games have unlockable items that can hinder a character (make you have less health or do lower damage) because challenging yourself can be fun and can force you to get better at the game you're playing. It's obviously not for everyone, but it's there as a choice. Those who want to have it easy can, those who don't.. won't.
I personally find myself somewhere in the middle. I like a good challenge, but I know I'm not good enough for alot of the super hardcore challenges and difficulty modes in some games. Personally I never challenged Master Ninja Mode in Ninja Gaiden, I just die too easily So I avoid the AH until about inferno, then I find things even out a bit more. Even then I buy sparingly and try different builds to see what I can get away with.
Well those are my $0.02. I think you have a good write up here and it's going to be an interesting debate from both sides of the floor. Thumbs up, old chap. (b^.^)b :Thumbs Up:
1
Here's my take on playing ANY game:
1) The player sees the rules to the game
2) The player agrees to follow them.
3) Under the constraints of the rules every player can then use any methods possible to win or succeed. That's what makes it a game. The challenge comes from figuring out what you can do AFTER the rules have been set.
Choosing a difficulty is the action of seeing the rules and agreeing to follow them. You choose the difficulty before the game starts, right? Luckily, video games can enforce rules absolutely (besides exploits and hacks) without either 1) self enforcement from players or 2) referees.
What I personally don't enjoy (again, a personal problem) is agreeing to the rules, playing my best, and coming up with an experience that is mind numbingly easy from lvl 1-60. I'm not particularly rich or skilled, but because of the rules (looking at you RLR) it has become far too simple. RLR is just way too strong.
1
I progressed through Normal without much difficulty (as expected) but ran in to the eagerly awaited jump in difficulty once I got to Nightmare. Being a gamer and wanting to improve my character, naturally I went to the Auction House. There I was presented with such an incredible selection of low priced gear that purchasing just TWO weapons with reduced level requirement was enough of a boost to make Nightmare BORINGLY easy once again, just the same way Normal was before it.
Fine, okay. Now I just have to push through to Hell where a real challenge will start. Sadly, once again, I found myself making a single item purchase (this time a level 62 one-hander) that made Hell laughably easy for a very low price. Talk about a first world problem! The modest bankroll from my Inferno progressed Wizard was making my Barbarian playthrough a boring, easy, repetitive cycle of buying a cheap but awesome weapon and then smashing through an entire difficulty without any challenge whatsoever.
So my question is: Does the existence of an Auction House ruin replayability, specifically for alt characters after your Inferno progression? I'm curious if other people ran in to this same problem as I have.
In particular I want to point out the "Reduced Level Requirement" stat that makes AH-gear unreasonably good for low level characters. Right now my level 52 Barb is using a level 62 one hander. Does that seem reasonable? How would you feel about removing Reduced Lvl Req alltogether?
Now before you use the argument of "Well just don't use the Auction House" let me address that real quick. The AH is built in to the game. It is part of the game. Sure, I can make the choice whether to use it or not, but it's not like I am choosing to go to a third party site and buy new gear. The AH button is right below the button I push to start playing! It's practically unavoidable! And as a gamer, I am going to use all in-game resources available to play as well as possible. So for me, choosing to just "not use the AH" is putting up an artificial barrier in front of myself that isn't any different than saying "don't use a follower" or "stop using two skill slots." The competitive GAMER in me doesn't enjoy putting artificial constraints on myself to make the game more difficult. I want to be pushed to my limits as a gamer, not limit myself.
Anyways, this has been on my mind recently as I find myself losing the will to play, and I wondered what you guys thought about the subject. My thoughts are further expanded upon in this commentary, which I hope you'll listen to:
2
Also, I take no responsibility for making this video. I swear I blacked out for a few hours and found this uploaded to my channel....I'm not sure what happened....
1
In my opinion the trade off of getting more defense far outweights the benefit of higher DPS, which is how I landed on a Decoy based build. Rather than TAKE hits and try not to die, I would prefer to never get hit in the first place.
Here is my skill setup:
http://us.battle.net...PQRS!bdY!abZYbZ
Primary: Magic Missile - Penetrating Blast
Secondary: Arcane Orb - Arcane Nova
Action Bar 1: Mirror Image - Duplicates
Action Bar 2: Teleport - Fracture
Action Bar 3: Hydra - Venom Hydra
Action Bar 4: Magic Weapon - Force Weapon
Passives: Evocation, Illusionist, Glass Cannon
My equipment is quite bad, and consists of mostly +Int, +Vit, and +%Crit stats. Not sure where to go with this.
Right now I am using this build effectively in Act 1 Inferno. My gear is rather terrible though and I am wondering if others are using this effectively in Act 2 and beyond, and what types of gear they are using. Is it worth going for Dexterity over Vitality to rely on Dodging?
Anyway, I'm curious who else is using a Decoy build like this and their thoughts on it. Watch my video below to see a longer explanation, as well as the build in action in Act 1.
1
Step 1) Wait for items to appear on RMAH, and immediately buy them.
Step 2) Win contest
Step 3) Re-sell Alienware computer
Step 4) PROFIT
Assuming each item sells for the maximum value of $250, and the Alienware X51 is worth $700, I'll walk away with a handsome profit of... -$550 FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Back to the drawing board. The evil drawing board.
1
It makes using ranged attacks very frustrating and reduces the skill ceiling significantly.
1
For Diablo 3 I plan to cover a broad range of topics, such as leveling guides, build demonstrations, MF and GF guides, high level PvE and PvP, and much much more.
I invite you to follow my channel on YouTube or through this thread. I hope to maintain this thread as a place to better organize and categorize my content, as well as to provide a discussion place for my viewers and all Diablo Fans. As I make more videos I will reorganize this thread for easier viewing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most Recent Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDbXdegZwDc
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diablo 3 News Update #1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you mods for maintaining such an awesome community and resource for Diablo 3 fans, and for allowing me to make a thread here. I am as excited about Diablo 3 as every one of you, and I am thrilled to make a new home here
Cheers!