You missed the minimum wage. Meanwhile, inOriginally Posted by I'm my own MILF
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I suppose there has been a lot of negativity in this thread, so I should go on about the positive aspects of this game, or at least offer a means of solution for what could be fixed by Blizzard in order to make a game that has lasting power. If there's at least one thing about the Diablo series that people like, it is the addictive and simple gameplay, and its ability to remain a powerhouse game that is built into the gaming framework of millions of people for more than a decade. Even people who would not ordinarily play games a lot, would have played either Diablo I or Diablo II. People always come back to it, whether they played at release, with Lord of Destruction, the 1.09 patch, the 1.10 patch, or mods after that.
I would have to say that, conceptually, they did the skill system right. The inclusion of a auction house was the correct way to control the economy. The fundamental formula of addictive gameplay exists, but can't be brought out without its supporting elements. Also, the game has really good sound.
Skills/Rune system
The skill system in Diablo III works like this: you unlock all major skills within the first 30 levels of the game, which means that if you are a regular player (and not some psycho exploit grinder like I would be), you should finish Normal mode somewhere between levels 30 and 35. Fortunately, Normal mode is also fairly gear-independent. With each skill, you unlock modifications for each skill, called "Runes," not to be confused with a different idea of the same name in Diablo II. Each skill rune alters the skill in some way: some reduce the cost, some reduce the cooldown, some completely change the functionality. These are unlocked at certain levels after you get the skill. This allows for skills earned at early levels to be useful with a modification, even at later levels.
For example, Haunt, a Witch Doctor skill, allows you to shoot a spirit at an enemy, that will attach itself like a sticky grenade, and damage the enemy for a pre-determined amounts of damage for 12 seconds. One of the runes modifies the skill to damage and slow for the full 12 second duration. Another allows you to shorten duration to 2 seconds, making the spirit deal more damage per second, but less damage overall. One rune lets the spirit remain in the world for an additional 10 seconds before it dissipated the attack.
Normally, this skill would be something you shot at a large enemy, and leave it alone while you killed something else; alternatively, you could aim it at a very weak enemy, at which point, the spirit would start targeting another enemy. By using the slow rune, you would have significantly more leeway in ignoring the large enemy that you shot the Haunt at. By using the time-reduction rune, you could use the skill as a main form of damage, because 2 seconds isn't a lot to wait for, but the damage done total was large. By using the rune that let the spirit remain if there was no target to jump to would allow you to not have to worry about casting the spell multiple times, which would give you room to use more effective spells.
In theory, runes could completely change how you play, and could result in some very overpowered combinations that worked if it fit your playstyle. With regards to Diablo II, the Diablo III skill system was intended as a solution to the idea in Diablo II that early level skills were not useful compared to skills acquired at higher levels. This led to people saving skill points and dumping them into the highest level skills, which were, of course, the highest damage skills, as well.
Back in Diablo II...
Example, Barbarian Whirlwind (the second most nerfed skill in all of Diablo II history), and far superior to Bash, Double Swing and the like. Paladin Fanaticism outclassed Might, Blessed Aim, Concentration by providing all of these bonuses at once (with the exception of the bonus to Blessed Hammers from Concentration). Sorceress Frozen Orb did more damage to enemies than a 20 point Blizzard, and was easier to control and predict. The Diablo II solution was synergies, to make dumping points into older skills useful for using newer skills. However, that did not change how people saw the game: you still got the level 30 skill and used it, but now it was more skill-point demanding to use them effectively. You could no longer do something like an Orb/Lightning Sorc (60 point investment). Either you went pure Lightning (all 110 points), or you would not progress through Hell mode.
With the inclusion of runes, you now had a reason to start re-using old skills, because a new rune made life more interesting for skills acquired before level 6. Examples: most Monks use Fists of Thunder, which is a starting skills. the catch? Thunderclap-rune modifies the attack to add a short teleport, and adds a minor amount of area of effect. For a melee class that is dependent on positioning, this rune does half of the work for you.
88 MPH forward to Diablo III
In my opinion, Skills and Runes were correct. It makes me want to start using old skills again. It is a system that does not punish me for investing into the wrong skill.
Two problems.
Blizzard didn't get creative enough. They didn't go far enough. Blizzard designers went on and on about customization and alternate gameplay, but it still does not exist. The problem is that people playing through Inferno mode, and there are only a few skills and runes that allow you to do anything. It is as though classes were stuffed in a box and left to die in that role. If you didn't use Fists of Thunder/Thunderclap, you were using Deadly Reach/Keen Eye. Both of these are area of effect spells, and they both increase your ability to live: one repositions you, and one just raises your defense rating. Big whoop. Exciting.
Ohh, also, half of the runes suck. It's not just because they don't provide alternate means of gameplay, but it is a compounded effect of having other skills that do the exact same thing, but are better. Demon Hunter: even after the Nether Tentacles nerf, I still find it completely outlcasses any other Hatred spender in the game. It does damage in an area, goes in a straight line, and is slow, which allows you to instantly burst down an enemy when you time your regular attack. To what manner can anything like Rapid Fire compete, with its less damage and greater Hatred consumption per damage tick? How does Cluster Arrow compete, when the area of effect is harder to aim, and costs five times as much Hatred? How does Strafe compete, when firing arrows in every direction means that I'm surrounded and dead? How does Spike Traps compete when I have to wait for Spike Traps to be useful? How does Ball Lightning compete as an alternate rune to Elemental Arrow, when Nether Tentacles does more damage to a single target anyway?
Solution?
Blizzard has gotten half of it right, as the promised a weak skills buff in the next major patch, 1.04. But that does not fix the rather weak conceptualization of many of the other skills and their corresponding runes. If Blizzard does not want people following the cookie-cutter builds, they have to allow for skills that actually provide alternate gameplay in a way that is effective enough for people to progress with gear that they found.
Sound
Shockingly, I should mention this, despite the fact that for the most part, I play the game with the sounds off (I'd really rather listen to TSM's TheOddOne bitch about how Amumu can't start at level 18, or how American Ezreal is worse than any other Ezreal). The sound effects in this game really match up to the game and its atmosphere. The music is non-intrusive and depicts the environment really well. Unfortunately, it is ruined by...
The Plot (and the settings, if I want to be complete)
So, back in 1997, when I played Starcraft for the first time, I actually was really drawn into the plot. Meanwhile, in 2012, I find myself not caring about (SPOILER)the woman who is turned to evil against her will and becomes the sworn enemy of everyone important (Leah/Kerrigan). I find myself non at all being shocked when I find out that (SPOILER)my ally has been working against me the whole time (Mengsk/Adria). Spoilers for anyone who hasn't played Starcraft yet. I apologize. I have more comparisons, but you get the idea.
There no plot twist or turn that would have fooled even a eight year old. Even if I pretended to be fooled, I found myself not caring or connecting with the main characters at all.
But I did like the side characters
... your name is Covetous Shen? Are you also a Panda's Kung Fu master? Are you hinting at me that you might be a non-affiliated supernatural being in a world where I am drawn into a war between two races of supernatural beings bent on destroying me, eating me, turning me into one of them, or making me fight their dirty work for them? Have you acquired a Tom Bombadil complex where you tell me about a stone that you're seeking, which might be the whole point of the game's plot, and you're too concerned about losing the stone if you found it?
... so you tell me that you're a blonde girl who woke up with no personality (shocking) and suddenly acquired what appears to be the onset of severe depression caused by the potential murder of your sisters after being ported forward into time to find me, the adventurer? You're also not my lesbian love interest? Also, you're the most useful mercenary in the game for every class? Do I have to pay you? Wait, the other mercenaries don't suck? But which Holy Freeze aura mercenary can be forced into using now? You mean the Scoundrel and the Templar have equally compelling subplots and useful functionalities?
Solution?
Fire Metzen. Never let him write any story ever again. I don't care if your game got positive reviews. It is terrible writing that came out of some horrible Harry Potter slashfiction. Some random dude within three days of the game release created an entirely improved plot that would have made me care and been convinced at the titles of Lord Belial and Lord Azmodan. Guess what? (SPOILER)Belial sucks at lying, Azmodan isn't much of a sinner (or a commander for that matter), and Tyrael is a stereotypical dumb movie black person. They could only have made him worse by constantly asking me why I was asking all them questions.
So, what did happen to Malthael?
It's like they didn't bother with any of the previous crafted lore that was made for them. Trashed. The books? Ignored, mostly.
Meanwhile, I'm playing through Diablo II's Act II and Act III again while playing through Diablo III's Act II. I played around in a desert city about three miles away from Lut Gholein instead of wandering the streets of Xiansai? What, Asian looking people are immune to lying?
Meanwhile, I'm playing through Diablo II's Act IV and Act V again while playing through Diablo III's Act III. So, instead of visiting some nuclear Chernobyl site that would approximated what Tyrael did to the Worldstone, I get to fight in a castle in the middle of winter? For all of this "best battle commander" thing Azmodan had got going on, I didn't get to visit Westmarch, the only military power in the known Diablo world?
Meanwhile, I'm walking along a very large system of connected bridges somewhere on Aiur. I think they used the same shade of blue for the vases in Act IV as they did for Protoss Pylons. I guess Diablo didn't have enough Psi to support his troops, but a group of heroes only cost five food each?
I'm taking a break now. A discussion on itemization is really involved.
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