It is worth it if you have the hardware to connect to it. I use an Auzentech X-Meridian 2G with old Logitech Z-580s and Sennheiser HD515 headphones.
What's good about this particular card is that it has Dolby Headphone and simulates 7.1 surround sound through two channels. I honestly have a hard time hearing the difference. It's magnificent.
Just remember, the cost of a good soundcard is in the OPAMPS which change the digital signal from the source to an analog signal to be sent to analog speakers. If you connect speakers via the digital connection you're bypassing the OPAMPS and you would have been better saving your cash and using the onboard digital connection.
The eClaro uses the same Audio processor as the 2G and has Dolby Headphone, so you're making a good choice. It also has its own dedicated headphone jack that supports high impedance headphones so I doubt you'll need an amp. Although I couldn't find exactly what impedance the jack supports on their site, the impedance of the headphones you're planning to get is only 62 ohms anyway. So you'll be sweet.
It's the same idea as any other aoe ability in that there's really no limit to its dps.
Unless it specifically states that it'll only hit a certain number of enemies within the target area it's really up to you to dictate its damage with how you use it.
To counter-balance the potential of a large amount of possible dps they put either a high cost or a long cooldown on such abilities.
To make the damage higher/cost lower you risk having players simply running about spamming that ability like they did with the sorceress in D2.
I haven't had the opportunity to play the beta and it could well be underpowered too. I think the point that in endgame there'll be most likely a higher concentration of enemies in groups brings to light possible situations where the ability will shine.
I wasn't aware of the app and it's sad that it was forced off. It's even worse that there was no explanation.
Perhaps they're planning their own, or just marking their copyright and trademark territory.
Businesses usually have a kneejerk, no exceptions approach to anyone using their stuff which begins and ends with the legal team. The artists, programmers and writers of the material probably would have had no problem with it.
My guess is that the battlenet interface will be used to facilitate guild and friend interactions.
My personal plan is to play with my closest friend. Perhaps in the future we'll join a guild together but it depends on the rules and responsibilities as well as the people in that guild.
I'm leaning towards playing through the game alone so I can be immersed in the story before having to worry about anyone else.
If you're unsure I think your best bet is to just try out each class.
I guess the best way to get a good idea of each class would be to take each one through normal mode. That way you'll have a good idea of the play style each class offers.
I could sit here and tell you my favourites but it's pretty pointless, everyone plays differently and everyone enjoys different things! Who am I to tell you to stop having a man crush on the Barbarian
QFT
Perfect advice.
Personally I'll be trying Barbarian first as I have fond memories, as you (op) seem to, from D2.
My opinion may change if I get a try at the classes in beta though, the monk definitely looks like a hoot.
I don't really think there's a problem with people farming the same area if that's what they want to do. It was all the rage in D2 to do 'Baal runs' etc.
As mentioned, to get to inferno the person would have had to put in a pretty good time investment already. If they're not really prepared to handle it they'll be stuck at the first area trying to get some gear from the first enemies without any bonus to magic find.
I pre-ordered a CE. My rationale for not going for the annual pass was simply I don't want to get dragged back into WoW. Everyone in my family has poor impulse control and easily becomes addicted to things. In my case it was WoW. I finally managed to extricate myself from that game and have no intention of returning.
If I do get 4 months of wow time for the CE things may get tricky. The real issue with WoW for me was I always wanted to be at the very top of the raiding and it's a draining and frustrating experience similar to a job you love but for the people you have to work with.
At any rate, no annual pass here, but the thought definitely crossed my mind.
If there had been no CE then I probably would have ended up going that way.
I have held the same grievance with Blizzard for a while now. They actively stir up fans to the point they're foaming at the mouth. It's a testament to their marketing people I suppose. They're the Apple of the gaming industry.
While I've been waiting and hoping for a Diablo 3 for a very long time, I found the long wait watching trickles of information excruciating. For me the initial excitement about D3 waned a year ago and they missed their pre-release announcement time, at least in my opinion.
What you need is the right amount of time and information released during that time, between game announcement and game release.
There's only so long you can stay excited for something before it's exhausting and you're reading the same thing over and over with nothing new.
In the end though I'll be extremely happy to have the game and be playing it, and the entire time waiting for it will be forgotten.
I did not know that. Not particularly useful if it's completely random but because the skills are in different categories the ones I've had generated seem to go together fairly well.
It is a nice way to give you ideas and things to try out in game.
I have a feeling the traffic on the site may drop considerably once the game is out. Not just because we'll all be off playing the game, but also because you don't need to theorycraft when you've got the practicalcraft at your fingertips. I could be way off, but one thing's for sure all the people here simply for the contest will be gone.
I originally began posting for the contest but have been here a very long time lurking. Never created my own thread though.
Anyways, seems to be an awful lot of hate. This is one of the most civil general discussion forums I've been to.
What type of crazy things are you going to try by chance?
If I had a key I might try seeing what I could do to the graphics settings, within and outside the game's settings. After seeing the nVidia AO tweak stuff I became more interested in just how far it can be pushed.
After the huge amount of play the game's beta has already received I think the content and those areas should be by now as bug free as a clean room. Where there may be issues is in what they only recently changed.
I've got a few friends all trying to get their hands on beta keys. None of us has had any luck so far. If one of us did we'd most likely let the others try the game out using our accounts.
The safe thing to do is to let them play it at your place on your machine. Not so much because you can't trust your friends but because their machine may have a keylogger or some other malicious software that'll pick up your details should you give them to your friend.
Security is a major issue for bnet accounts and a massive amount of effort has been put in by people attempting to phish as well as Blizzard trying to safeguard them.
I had my wow account compromised once. It was right when my guild was learning the Illidan encounter in BT. I was the raid leader and one of two fire resist tanks for the elementals phase. With my warrior stripped of his gear the guild had to do without me which was a major impact on progression.
Long story short, sharing accounts even between friends has its risks.
You're right about people mostly just wanting that taste, it's the untouchable nature of the beta that makes it such an alluring thing.
0
What's good about this particular card is that it has Dolby Headphone and simulates 7.1 surround sound through two channels. I honestly have a hard time hearing the difference. It's magnificent.
Just remember, the cost of a good soundcard is in the OPAMPS which change the digital signal from the source to an analog signal to be sent to analog speakers. If you connect speakers via the digital connection you're bypassing the OPAMPS and you would have been better saving your cash and using the onboard digital connection.
The eClaro uses the same Audio processor as the 2G and has Dolby Headphone, so you're making a good choice. It also has its own dedicated headphone jack that supports high impedance headphones so I doubt you'll need an amp. Although I couldn't find exactly what impedance the jack supports on their site, the impedance of the headphones you're planning to get is only 62 ohms anyway. So you'll be sweet.
0
Unless it specifically states that it'll only hit a certain number of enemies within the target area it's really up to you to dictate its damage with how you use it.
To counter-balance the potential of a large amount of possible dps they put either a high cost or a long cooldown on such abilities.
To make the damage higher/cost lower you risk having players simply running about spamming that ability like they did with the sorceress in D2.
I haven't had the opportunity to play the beta and it could well be underpowered too. I think the point that in endgame there'll be most likely a higher concentration of enemies in groups brings to light possible situations where the ability will shine.
0
I don't think they'd make it an added rune effect. They could make a rune increase the snare time though.
It should all slow them, after all, frost is frost!
0
Perhaps they're planning their own, or just marking their copyright and trademark territory.
Businesses usually have a kneejerk, no exceptions approach to anyone using their stuff which begins and ends with the legal team. The artists, programmers and writers of the material probably would have had no problem with it.
0
My personal plan is to play with my closest friend. Perhaps in the future we'll join a guild together but it depends on the rules and responsibilities as well as the people in that guild.
I'm leaning towards playing through the game alone so I can be immersed in the story before having to worry about anyone else.
0
QFT
Perfect advice.
Personally I'll be trying Barbarian first as I have fond memories, as you (op) seem to, from D2.
My opinion may change if I get a try at the classes in beta though, the monk definitely looks like a hoot.
0
As mentioned, to get to inferno the person would have had to put in a pretty good time investment already. If they're not really prepared to handle it they'll be stuck at the first area trying to get some gear from the first enemies without any bonus to magic find.
0
If I do get 4 months of wow time for the CE things may get tricky. The real issue with WoW for me was I always wanted to be at the very top of the raiding and it's a draining and frustrating experience similar to a job you love but for the people you have to work with.
At any rate, no annual pass here, but the thought definitely crossed my mind.
If there had been no CE then I probably would have ended up going that way.
0
While I've been waiting and hoping for a Diablo 3 for a very long time, I found the long wait watching trickles of information excruciating. For me the initial excitement about D3 waned a year ago and they missed their pre-release announcement time, at least in my opinion.
What you need is the right amount of time and information released during that time, between game announcement and game release.
There's only so long you can stay excited for something before it's exhausting and you're reading the same thing over and over with nothing new.
In the end though I'll be extremely happy to have the game and be playing it, and the entire time waiting for it will be forgotten.
0
It is a nice way to give you ideas and things to try out in game.
Thanks for pointing it out!
0
The hard part about having a tattoo of Diablo is he keeps changing. At least Tyrael is pretty much the same throughout the series.
I'd get a tattoo similar to that but my fiancé and her family would be a little displeased I think.
I wonder if someone would get a tattoo of their talent build to prove they believe in its validity...
0
It's interesting about the clunky UI. Something like that is immersion breaking. Anyone else have that same issue?
Very glad that it felt like Diablo to you. The last thing I want is to get in there and feel as though I'm in a different universe!
Make your grievances known to Blizzard in regards to clunky UI and settings not being saved. I'm sure many others have done the same.
Happy hunting.
0
I originally began posting for the contest but have been here a very long time lurking. Never created my own thread though.
Anyways, seems to be an awful lot of hate. This is one of the most civil general discussion forums I've been to.
0
What type of crazy things are you going to try by chance?
If I had a key I might try seeing what I could do to the graphics settings, within and outside the game's settings. After seeing the nVidia AO tweak stuff I became more interested in just how far it can be pushed.
After the huge amount of play the game's beta has already received I think the content and those areas should be by now as bug free as a clean room. Where there may be issues is in what they only recently changed.
Anyway, enjoy.
0
The safe thing to do is to let them play it at your place on your machine. Not so much because you can't trust your friends but because their machine may have a keylogger or some other malicious software that'll pick up your details should you give them to your friend.
Security is a major issue for bnet accounts and a massive amount of effort has been put in by people attempting to phish as well as Blizzard trying to safeguard them.
I had my wow account compromised once. It was right when my guild was learning the Illidan encounter in BT. I was the raid leader and one of two fire resist tanks for the elementals phase. With my warrior stripped of his gear the guild had to do without me which was a major impact on progression.
Long story short, sharing accounts even between friends has its risks.
You're right about people mostly just wanting that taste, it's the untouchable nature of the beta that makes it such an alluring thing.