Diablo 3 - Let's talk game, not DRM!

Originally Posted by kalniel
It's fun?

Here´s a pretty good video showing a hardcore inferno character (melee):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEyk63UaBI4

I have a lvl 39 monk who is in act 2 of nightmare.

I am actually tempted to start a HC chr after talking to a co-worker who has one.
It wouldn't be about epeen but more about finding some different form of enjoyment.

I assume I would play fairly similarly to how I am playing now but with the knowledge that if I die its over, it could add som different type of fun and tense gameplay to something that atleast so far hasen't given me that feeling.

Originally Posted by kalniel
It's fun?

I guess what I meant to ask: does hardcore mode give players access to different gear? I know the AH are different and there are HC only acheives, but aside from permadeath is the game any different?

The little bit I played HC was fun to be sure. I will likely go back to it after finishing normal mode or getting my softcore DH to level 60.

I'm glad Bliz introduced the acheivements to D3. I find myself pursuing them more actively than when I play WoW (which has been cancelled upon my D3 purchase).

A little OT: I would like to see a single player RPG made with the D3 engine.

I'm really tempted to make an HC character, I play them all kinda HC and really try and stave off death as long as I can. It makes for a more intense experience all around.
That damn Butcher tho, he gets me every time at least once….

I have a lvl 29 Barbarian and a level 13 Witch Doctor. I haven't even finished normal and I feel like I've run out of enjoyment for this game. I can't imagine playing through the same stuff 2 more times to get to lvl 60.

I like the visceral "bash them into smitherines" combat of the Barbarian, but I find the skills to be dull, and there's only so much "cleave, stomp, slam, war cry" I can do before it just becomes repetitive as hell. I try to avoid the AH because it seems pointless to me, but since I don't seem to get very many drops worth using I have to use the Blacksmith for items. Problem is, I have leveled up the Blacksmith as far as he will go on normal difficulty, there are no more items for me to buy from the BS.

This is my first Diablo game, so maybe this just isn't my type of thing.

Originally Posted by DeepO
Here´s a pretty good video showing a hardcore inferno character (melee):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEyk63UaBI4

Hahaha that's great! I feel bad for the little boy; however, the tales I've heard of about Inferno match this.

Originally Posted by Merlock
I have a lvl 29 Barbarian and a level 13 Witch Doctor. I haven't even finished normal and I feel like I've run out of enjoyment for this game. I can't imagine playing through the same stuff 2 more times to get to lvl 60.

I like the visceral "bash them into smitherines" combat of the Barbarian, but I find the skills to be dull, and there's only so much "cleave, stomp, slam, war cry" I can do before it just becomes repetitive as hell. I try to avoid the AH because it seems pointless to me, but since I don't seem to get very many drops worth using I have to use the Blacksmith for items. Problem is, I have leveled up the Blacksmith as far as he will go on normal difficulty, there are no more items for me to buy from the BS.

This is my first Diablo game, so maybe this just isn't my type of thing.

Try different characters I hated both Barbarian and Witch doctor. I heartily recommend Demon hunter

Yeah, my heart will always be w/ ranged combat personally, i find it more of a challenge to play to not get hit at all. Tho i am liking the monk, its kind of a short-ranged toon in a way!

Got my monk up to 30 earlier and I'm loving it. Using the attack deadly reach mainly though, so it gives you a bit of range and makes it so it isn't a pain when you get to places where mobs knock you back/down all the time.

Played around with Demon Hunter shortly and I think that's gonna be my next one, looks pretty fun…The Witch Doctor I'm sure is fine a little later on but until I unlock a few more abilities I didn't find it so great (only up to level 5 I think).

Got to inferno on my monk. Frankly, it's a joke. The game is completely broken; if I wanted to kite, I would not have rolled a melee character. I have 1/10th the DPS of ranged characters with practically no better survivability (worse even, given the closer range at which you must do damage).

In its current rendition, inferno is vastly more frustrating than it is fun. I can't wait for Torchlight 2.

Originally Posted by Drithius
Got to inferno on my monk. Frankly, it's a joke. The game is completely broken; if I wanted to kite, I would not have rolled a melee character. I have 1/10th the DPS of ranged characters with practically no better survivability (worse even, given the closer range at which you must do damage).

In its current rendition, inferno is vastly more frustrating than it is fun. I can't wait for Torchlight 2.

As I said, it's a higher gear check than you'd think.

I can farm Act 1 with zero issue - and I died ALL the time in the beginning. This is without kiting.

Inferno doesn't really being until Act 2

I'm now in Act 3 - and THAT is hard!

Yeah, not my cup of tea, Dart. I like logical progression, not a difficulty curve created for the sake of grinding players into dust rather than reveling in fun. Blizzard thought it'd be interesting to implement WoWesque gear gating into Diablo, but I've never been a fan of that model.

Additionally, I also like classes that make sense. Monks wearing shields, while being forced to run away from packs of elite mobs as part of some standard strategy for a melee class is just not fun for me.

Your talk of it only getting exponentially harder only further lessens any iota of zeal I still have for continuing with the game. "You mean to say I can continue being frustrated with the game for several more months? Oh boy, where do I sign up!?"

I like difficulty, but I like fun as well. And right now, Diablo 3 (inferno) is trying too hard to be difficult, without rhyme or reason… or fun.

Originally Posted by Drithius
Yeah, not my cup of tea, Dart. I like logical progression, not a difficulty curve created for the sake of grinding players into dust rather than reveling in fun. Blizzard thought it'd be interesting to implement WoWesque gear gating into Diablo, but I've never been a fan of that model.

Additionally, I also like classes that make sense. Monks wearing shields, while being forced to run away from packs of elite mobs as part of some standard strategy for a melee class is just not fun for me.

Fair enough, to each his own. But Monks don't have to wear shields - it's just an option.

They made the jump rather huge on purpose - and it's only natural that people will be frustrated if they expect a linear curve.

It's their way of extending the lifetime of the game - and I think it's a pretty nice addition.

I still think it's a huge mistake to eliminate replayability by giving all skills to all classes - because that will have a pretty big impact on longevity by itself.

But, that's what most people want - and that's what their iterative testing process indicated. I think that's short-term thinking - but whatever.

I hope you find a game more to your liking

Your talk of it only getting exponentially harder only further lessens any iota of zeal I still have for continuing with the game. "You mean to say I can continue being frustrated with the game for several more months? Oh boy, where do I sign up!?"

We seem to have very different definitions of what "hard" really means. In this case, it just means the game demands ever higher levels of gear. The actual gameplay challenge doesn't increase in that same exponential way.

So, it's more about the will/patience to farm gold/gear - and dealing with the challenge as you upgrade and overcome it. Basically, the "gameplay" challenge of Inferno is 1 more monster attribute - and the rest is about gear to mitigate/avoid damage.

Lots of people skip the elite/champion packs to get to the bosses - which I think is really silly. The bosses themselves are much easier - because they're scripted.

Monks/Barbs have a harder time - because they're more dependant on gear than the others, especially Demon Hunter. They can straight-up avoid most damage by simply not being there. That's a bit of a design flaw - but I suppose it's inevitable.

If Monks have a harder time, it will be sweeter to overcome Inferno - even if it's just a matter of time.

I'm sad that they couldn't introduce advanced AI or more intricate/balanced random mob scripts - because that would make the challenge a lot more about skill than patience. But it is what it is.

So I'm in Nightmare, I'd say I'm at about 2/3rd of Act 1…Still loving my monk, not finding it very difficult.. But I use my various skills more often and actually now I do take the time to read each of them and plan what I want to use.

I haven't had to yet, but I expect that around act 3, maybe even Act 2 I may have to change abilities according to the opponents I'll be facing…as well as finding some gear that has some synergy with the strategy I'm using.

I haven't found that I need to grind a lot. All I did is trading a bit of gear with friends, bought some from merchants and some from the AH. So I have a set of gear designed to find more gold and magic items, I have one for pure DPS. I think I'll test +crit or leech gear next…monks attack pretty fast so it probably works very well with that, especially if you add some +attack speed gear. I think one of the follower can increase your attack speed as well.

I even got over my lazyness and sold to AH a few items, and will soon be able to craft things that are worthwhile…. Anyway, even in Nightmare i'm still liking the game .

I planned to play a Demon Hunter next because they're pretty fun but everyone and their sister seem to be playing one so I think I'll work on my Witch Doctor a bit more next.

Oh and I repeat my offer, for anyone finding it hard to come across good gear, drop me a line. There's quite a few items I have saved up that could be of use, I'd be more than happy to trade or give away to other Watchers.

We Watchers should help each other more and stick a bit together like Team Corwin in DDO.

While it may lack in depth, there's one thing I like in D3 above your everyday MMO. Its perfect for the slightly anti-social such as me. I like to play on my own a lot of times . But it's nice to get help and speak with people every now and then. D3's perfect for that. Just pop in and play together for 30 mins, kill a boss do a bit of trade or dungeoneering then each go your way without affecting the other really. There isn't many big dungeons in MMOs where you can keep playing if your friend decide they have to take their dog out after half an hour .

I'm almost done with Hell, still haven't been forced to grind or buy from the auction house. Still, I do get killed from time to time now, usually by some mean pack of elites/champions. They seem to scale way beyond everything else in the game as they get extra abilities. I can imagine Inferno having some close-to-impossible packs to beat.

Those are probably best to avoid, as no experience should be needed at that point.

Well, I am just getting into the game. I am playing a wizard and I have made it to level 17. So far, I am really enjoying myself and I am glad to be playing the game.

I do have one question and I am sure that it has been answered somewhere but I just cant seam to find it! I cannot figure out how to use a weapon with my wizard… I put a weapon in the weapon slot but I still just have my spells assigned to mouse button one and two. Is there a way for my wizard to use any of the weapons? Can I hot key it to switch back and forth between my spell and the weapon? Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks!

If you take your primary ability away from your left mouse button it will use your weapons when you click the left mouse button. (Atleast for me as a monk)

However I am not sure that there is a solid reason to do so. Since I think your primary abilities would always prove stronger than a normal weapon attack.

Afaik weapons just affect your stats which then affects your abilities.

Originally Posted by Oldboy
Well, I am just getting into the game. I am playing a wizard and I have made it to level 17. So far, I am really enjoying myself and I am glad to be playing the game.

I do have one question and I am sure that it has been answered somewhere but I just cant seam to find it! I cannot figure out how to use a weapon with my wizard… I put a weapon in the weapon slot but I still just have my spells assigned to mouse button one and two. Is there a way for my wizard to use any of the weapons? Can I hot key it to switch back and forth between my spell and the weapon? Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Use Wizard weapons that give you bonuses to your magic abilities. There's no reason to use your weapon. I'm playing a Witch Doctor and I just make sure I have a stone knife that gives good bonuses. The spellcasting classes don't need to ever actually use their weapons- they're just cosmetic.

Yeah. :/

Originally Posted by Foss
Afaik weapons just affect your stats which then affects your abilities.

Yeah, unfortunately so. It cheapens the loot experience a bit when it's primary purpose is simply as stat placeholder..

dont get me wrong, +50 Dex and Health Regen is a good thing ='.'=