Diablo 3, Revisited, what is the point?

Drithius

Drithius

Magic & Loss
Joined
November 10, 2008
Messages
5,980
Location
Florida, USA
I recently purchased Reaper of Souls and have been revisiting the game for the first since its launch two years ago. To say the game has changed would be an understatement... but I'm finding myself so bored with both the content as well as the changes only four days following my purchase.

I have to ask: what is the point of Diablo 3 now? Blizzard made loot upgrades so common that I'm often thinking of what I'd rather be playing *cough PoE* instead of what new item(s) I'd like to find. I joined my friend's "clan" and the nightly chat is always just "so-and-so has looted <insert legendary drop here>" - over and over again. Loot is laughably easy to get now and, while that's great for casually playing once or twice a week, it kills all desire (at least my own) to continue on long-term. In fact, the only reason I'm still playing is to complete the new RoS Act at least once, having spent $40 on it...

I was hoping to get some fun from the game (been so bored!) but the non-existent item hunt coupled with the pigeon-holed character skills/builds has been an incredible disappointment.
 
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Messages
5,980
Location
Florida, USA
What did you expect as "the point" in a game like Diablo 3?

What was the point in EverQuest?

Diablo 3 is EQ boiled down to a few dozen hours rather than a few years. There's really no inherent point at all, beyond the story I suppose.

Personally, I don't see the point apart from going through content and perhaps overcoming Torment 6, but that's not really enough for me.

But there's no pigeon-holing in my experience. There's a massive amount of build variety - it's just "instant gratification" rather than replaying content for dozens of hours to try a build. I'm actually a fan of having to plan a strategy in my mind and I don't like the way they've eliminated that aspect - but there's no denying the ridiculous amount of active skills in the game. The best and most impressive part of Diablo 3, to me.

When they removed the RMAH - they removed the long-term perspective of the game.

Also, they've made most of the item hunt trivially easy - as you mention - though there's still a lot of hours if you want an optimal build.
 
Yeah, I'm pretty much stuck on torment 1 and 2 without getting perfectly suited loot. The crafting has mostly been a gamble and lose game.

Really it's finding recipe drops, ingredients and occaisionally getting lucky with a well suited legendary craft that's keeping me going. surprised I am not bored yet.
 
Joined
Aug 18, 2008
Messages
15,682
Location
Studio City, CA
DArtagnan said:
What did you expect as "the point" in a game like Diablo 3?
Click to expand...

I expected them to overhaul the loot rarity aspect to something akin to what D2 had; as it stands, when I had three of the same legendaries all fall within 40 minutes of one another, with rares dropping like candy left and right, I'm just plain bored.

They swung the loot pendulum from one extreme to the other and it's just dull to me.
 
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Messages
5,980
Location
Florida, USA
Drithius said:
I expected them to overhaul the loot rarity aspect to something akin to what D2 had; as it stands, when I had three of the same legendaries all fall within 40 minutes of one another, with rares dropping like candy left and right, I'm just plain bored.

They swung the loot pendulum from one extreme to the other and it's just dull to me.
Click to expand...

Oh, but it's not as bad as all that. They distinguish between certain legendaries - and some are only available in Torment mode. This goes for certain class set items as well.

In D2, certain uniques were more common than others as well - and if you farmed certain bosses, you'd see something along the same lines.

So, unless you're excessively lucky - you're not getting anywhere near an optimal loot setup without spending several days of grinding.

Obviously, if you really want to grind for months like in an MMO - this is probably not the game for you.
 
The game just isn't fun for me. It's partly the loot pinata aspect. And partly... I can't put my finger on it - it all feels so generic and uninspired. Having your build given to you on a silver platter and item drops only amounting to MOAR DAMAGE is disappointing as well. But of course, this was present with the unpatched D3 as well.

In any case, I beat final dude last night. Playing on expert, it was the first time I was actually challenged in the game, mostly due to the sheer length of the encounter and constant AoE hazards.
 
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Messages
5,980
Location
Florida, USA
Drithius said:
The game just isn't fun for me. It's partly the loot pinata aspect. And partly… I can't put my finger on it - it all feels so generic and uninspired. Having your build given to you on a silver platter and item drops only amounting to MOAR DAMAGE is disappointing as well. But of course, this was present with the unpatched D3 as well.
Click to expand...

If I look at it in a vacuum, it's a good ARPG - but as a Diablo successor - it's a great disappointment. But it's not quite as bad as you're making it out to be, or at least I don't think so.

They've taken significant strides to implement interesting procs and features on a lot of the legendaries.

It's not entirely about damage - though obviously, damage is the ultimate measurement of performance in this kind of game.

Anyway, if you're not impressed by the amount of active skills and the sheer visceral feel and flow of combat, then I'd say give it up without a second thought.

Those are the best parts of D3 - and if you don't think they're great, then I don't see how it could ever be enjoyable.

In any case, I beat final dude last night. Playing on expert, it was the first time I was actually challenged in the game, mostly due to the sheer length of the encounter and constant AoE hazards.
Click to expand...

Well, expert is a pushover - in my opinion. The "fun" doesn't really start until ~Torment 3 or something like that.

That's when your build and gear setup is put to the challenge, and not really before.

Much like Hell - Hell used to be in D2.
 
This was on a freshly-made character @lvl 54... I don't have much desire at all to push onward to 70 and Torment difficulties.
 
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Messages
5,980
Location
Florida, USA
Drithius said:
The game just isn't fun for me. It's partly the loot pinata aspect. And partly… I can't put my finger on it - it all feels so generic and uninspired. Having your build given to you on a silver platter and item drops only amounting to MOAR DAMAGE is disappointing as well. But of course, this was present with the unpatched D3 as well.
Click to expand...

For me, the overhaul of build mechanics (which ties into lack of interesting drops unlike builds dependent on specific legendaries in PoE) and their complete inability to do any kind of skill balancing killed it for me (similar changes drove me away from WoW forever). The biggest draw to these games for me was always the character builds. I couldn't care less if everyone was making a specific build (ie Frostfire Bolt in Lich King), I wanted to play with something different (arcane and then frost when everyone went arcane). In fact, I firmly believe that if everyone is using a specific build, that's a failure on the part of the designers. They failed to balance skills to create trade offs to make talent/skill choices really matter for play style differences. Giving everyone all the skills at all times, or shrinking them down to a handful of idiotic choices in WoW (PvP or PvE skill), doesn't solve the problem. If the skills still lack balance, you'll still end up with a handful of viable builds being used by the majority.
 
Joined
Jun 13, 2013
Messages
831
Location
North Carolina, US
I like to kill things and take their stuff.
<3
Diablo 3 works for me
 
Joined
Dec 17, 2009
Messages
205
It's not really a rewarding question if you ask me, for the answer I would have thought is relatively obvious: The point is to create a character, build and play it in the way you envisage and overcome the obstacles, as is the forte for the majority if not all aRPGs. If the process of doing this isn't enjoyable, then playing something else is probably advisable.

I'm yet to experience Loot 2.0 as I haven't bought Reaper of Souls yet. I haven't actually logged back into the game since my marathon sessions over the summer just gone. I am curious though and will no doubt check it out once the price drops and the new sheen has worn off the expansion.
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
1,975
Location
Australia
My baby brother and I got into it for a while. Back to D3 for now. I pretty much try every diablo clone that comes out.
 
Joined
Dec 17, 2009
Messages
205
Diablo 3 was such a fail upon release that most gamers moved on.
 
Joined
Apr 27, 2014
Messages
12
Yeah... I have a longtime friend in D3, so I've been trying my darndest to discover the fun in this game... I've made it as far as Torment I, but I still see no point to this game.

THE LOOT IS ALL THE SAME!!! Inventory after inventory chock-full of the same crap items - even the legendaries have the same junk stats aside from one oddball [unique] affix that is supposed to redeem it.

The game amounts to stacking crit chance + crit damage (because every other stat is either meaningless or given to you by default) + seeking out legendaries that are virtually identical to every other trash item you ignore except for that one unique affix that may give you a tactical edge. IT IS SO DRAB! D2 loot was worlds better and, for what matter, so is Path of Exile's - with or without the grind. I'm done with this game, waste of money.
 
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Messages
5,980
Location
Florida, USA
Am I the only one who's not getting the luck of raining Legendary loots? =.= I hardly saw any!!! My hubby's toons are all wearing awesome legionaries and all I get is stupid yellow or oranges and greens that's more crap than yellows =.= And everytime I get an upgrade.... +toughness -dps.........

I'm a demon hunter tank at the moment. And I can't hit anything for shit.

I still enjoy it though, especially when you don't have much time to play - just quick log on and smash your way through mobs. Just mindless click-fest fun.
 
aRPG and "What's the Point?"...

BWAHAHAHAHAHA...

If you're putting those two concepts together then you're hopeless LOL the whole point of aRPGs is that they're pointless LOL
 
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
372
Here's the deal. You really need to be level 60 (or better level 70) so you can go up to torment 1 or more to get the better legendary drop rates. Rearely you get a fun item that shoots lightning or something, but most often they are just golds with better stats, sadly…. Their special procs are mostly boring and too rare.

I gave up on my Monk for now. Just couldn't progress beyond Torment 2 without it being too tedious. Really need perfect loot, and wasted a ton of resources gambling new affixes with no payoff.

So am playing a wizard for now, from level 0. It's much more fun than endgame grinding rifts and bounties. Funny thing is, in my stash I have a killer level 70 sword from my Monk play through with a minus level 24 or so requirement on it.

My level 45 or so wizard is now killing everything but elites in one hit because they are are level scaled. Even they and bosses are pushovers. Broken, but rewarding… in odd ways…. :)
 
Joined
Aug 18, 2008
Messages
15,682
Location
Studio City, CA
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom