Long time Diablo series fan (got the original on release) and lurker, first time poster.
One of the most appealing and endearing aspects of the series over the years has been the massive replay value of the games. The terrain and loot randomization system is genius.
It was always tons of fun, IMO, to make and level up all sorts of different character builds (which was much more relevant in D2 than D1). Bowazons vs. javazons, hammerdins vs. zealots, frenzy barbs vs. concentrate barbs, etc. Each class had multiple different builds, each with a different flavor of play. How many on here didn't have multiple builds of at least one class? The desire to try out all of these builds and develop hybrids of your own really added some length to the game's replay life. There were literally thousands of unique distributions of skill and attribute points, which meant that each player character had a unique skill and attribute base set. That's no longer the case, as a result of a major screw up, IMO, on Blizzard's part.
In D3, changing your build merely requires clicking a few buttons. Blizzard purported this system to be and unprecedented level of customization of characters. In a way, that's true--it's unprecedented in the Diablo series for players to have absolutely no ability to customize how their characters are built. There's no ability difference between two characters of the same class and same level. Only the item sets differentiate them. This was a major lack of foresight on Blizzard's part, IMO, and frankly pisses me off, as it destroys one of the core aspects of the game.
And then there's the level 60 cap. Completely asinine for reasons that have been well fleshed out before, but I'll just give my personal take on it. I was a pretty serious D2 player. Not a super elite player by any means, but there were plenty of week and two-week stretches where I played it a LOT more than I've played D3 this week. I never sniffed level 99 in D2. I think I got two characters into the 80s, and 88 was my high, IIRC. I've got a level 52 monk right now. I'll probably be level 60 by the end of next week, at the latest. Getting to level 99 in D2 was a huge accomplishment. Getting to level 60 in D3 will be par for the course. Massively lame.
For shame, Blizzard. For shame.
**DISCLAIMER: I'm having a blast playing the game so far, so I'm no hater.**
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One of the most appealing and endearing aspects of the series over the years has been the massive replay value of the games. The terrain and loot randomization system is genius.
It was always tons of fun, IMO, to make and level up all sorts of different character builds (which was much more relevant in D2 than D1). Bowazons vs. javazons, hammerdins vs. zealots, frenzy barbs vs. concentrate barbs, etc. Each class had multiple different builds, each with a different flavor of play. How many on here didn't have multiple builds of at least one class? The desire to try out all of these builds and develop hybrids of your own really added some length to the game's replay life. There were literally thousands of unique distributions of skill and attribute points, which meant that each player character had a unique skill and attribute base set. That's no longer the case, as a result of a major screw up, IMO, on Blizzard's part.
In D3, changing your build merely requires clicking a few buttons. Blizzard purported this system to be and unprecedented level of customization of characters. In a way, that's true--it's unprecedented in the Diablo series for players to have absolutely no ability to customize how their characters are built. There's no ability difference between two characters of the same class and same level. Only the item sets differentiate them. This was a major lack of foresight on Blizzard's part, IMO, and frankly pisses me off, as it destroys one of the core aspects of the game.
And then there's the level 60 cap. Completely asinine for reasons that have been well fleshed out before, but I'll just give my personal take on it. I was a pretty serious D2 player. Not a super elite player by any means, but there were plenty of week and two-week stretches where I played it a LOT more than I've played D3 this week. I never sniffed level 99 in D2. I think I got two characters into the 80s, and 88 was my high, IIRC. I've got a level 52 monk right now. I'll probably be level 60 by the end of next week, at the latest. Getting to level 99 in D2 was a huge accomplishment. Getting to level 60 in D3 will be par for the course. Massively lame.
For shame, Blizzard. For shame.
**DISCLAIMER: I'm having a blast playing the game so far, so I'm no hater.**