Out of Pod Experience

Remember that what we have in the beta is mostly made up of:

1) The tutorial area, where a linear path is necessary to keep new players from getting confused.

and

2) Interior areas, where it makes sense to have rooms connected by corridors instead of D2's completely unrealistic dungeon layouts that seemed to have been created for the sole purpose of holding monsters for adventurers to kill.

You probably didn't get far enough to find it, but there's at least one D2-style wide open outside area where you can leave the path and find a lot more stuff to kill. And even in the interior areas there's a lot of "extra" rooms and hallways that aren't necessary to reach the quest objective.

Plus, the "open" nature of D2's maps is kind of overrated. They were large, sure, but you didn't have any choices to make. You still had to pass through the narrow choke points, and the areas off the main path were no different than the areas right next to it in terms of monsters/architecture/etc. The ability to "explore" was just an illusion, and the only difference it made was that you could run around in circles finding monsters to kill instead of running straight ahead finding monsters to kill.




Err, no.

Diablo 3 has WAY more customization options than Diablo 2 ever dreamed of. The only difference is you get all of your choices in a massively improved skill system instead of the illusion of choice in your stats (since in D2, doing anything other than the cookie-cutter choice for your stats made your character suck).

This is the heart of most problems people have with D3. They keep comparing it to MMO's because that's where the genre has been pushed towards. It's much easier to design crappy enemies with **** AI and apply a loot table, than to create a real strategy, and it's much easier to fill in the blanks with premade classes than to create a real skill system.

I'm glad D3 is walking AWAY from that rather than towards it so I have a game to play finally, and you can go back to your MMO style games with static skill system that works because it doesn't matter in those games where It's just math vs math instead of challenging gameplay.

And to answer what games DO let you do that? Action games.
What is D3? An -ACTION-RPG

Q.E.D.

Lol please tell me where I attempt to make a factual statement rather than preference? In your retorts if you cant back them up you do the almighty "ITS BETA!!!!"

I'm not saying the skill system is the worst thing ever rather..myself and others just seem to like the classic skill system more. I like a game makes you think about your choices, and not swapping them out mid fight... (A change in tactics sure, but I like building a character, and having to use current resources rather than having everything at my disposal.)

People also dont care for the lack luster graphics, and failure to innovate. (Skill system is different...wooptie... Lots of RPG's have lots of different systems) Like I said if button mashing "serious sam" 2D RPG is your thing. Cool, glad you like the game but compared to current gen RPG's... Just underwhelming. Wasn't enthralled with the experience as I was with D2.

The only thing that will change my mind is if the game changes... Rather than a subjective opinion.

You do know ARPG just means it's not turned based right? Math based? (All games have math... and Diablo still has dice role mechanics (crits)) So might need clarification on your terminology....Because well combat mechanics can be compared to wow. (which makes sense as D2 came first, and the same company. It might not be 100% argument but you have to rationally accept that there are truths to that. (Button smashing global timers, no actual blocking or parrying/dodging is player controlled, gear/stats are similar)

So if thats the rubric then I can compare D3 to the witcher 2 DA:O, ME, Skyrim etc. And by those standards it falls very short given the current bar. (And really given what blizzard is capable of... disappointing)

Now then if you want to put it in it's own camp... (hack and slash...no real character dev) Fine, but even then what is it doing that so special or spectacular?

Which is a shame considering D2 set the standard back in the day, and had people chasing it. So really why is it super awesome that I should go get it day 1/im just to stupid and not understanding? Or were my expectations set to high?... Or has progression made it so I no longer care for older mechanics/style?

The fact that you all are comparing this game to WoW is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.

1. The gameplay is NOT what you see in WoW. There is a HUGE difference in running around killing 1 mob, then the next, then the next, then the next. Running around killing hordes of enemies with your chosen skills grabbing your loot and walking away like a boss when the next wave hits.... Ya totally the same thing as WoW. NOT!

2. Blizzard did an amazing job as far as graphics go. Are they comparable to some of the new games? No. Blizzard made it so that the graphics are good enough to play on new high end systems while not hindering the fact that even on lower end computers you can play the game just fine. And be competitive because your not sutck at 15 FPS.

3. Skill system. Are you really upset that all you have to do is make 1 version of the certain class and can change your spec any time instead of having to make a new character and go through all the levels and farm for the gear again? Well if thats what you want to do then dont get this game.

4. Its not diablo 2. ITS DIABLO 3! Was diablo 2 the same game as diablo 1? Negative. I am a hardcore Diablo 2 fan and the fact that everyone is upset that this game isnt diablo 2 is kind of stupid.

HOWEVER!!!!!!!

Everyone is entitled to their opiniona nd trust me when i say this i am not trying to insult anyone who does not agree with me on this. There are games that i dont like that others love. Doesnt make me an idiot for not liking the game. Just makes my taste a little different.

All in all Diablo 3 is gonna be a great game. Is it for everyone? Not at all. But its a hell of a game.

1. Think you miss what I meant in the wow comparison. Fundamental combat is really quite similar. (How you fight not what you fight.) Of which you dont choose when to block, dodge, where to hit. Damage is based upon DD rule set. (So old school rules) Which both have. Button mash, global cooldowns, auto attack. That's what im driving at.

2. Right there people are making excuses for it. (No they're not comparable to modern competition...but guys with a netbook can play it.) (Rather utilitarian argument)
Awesome for them, but uh right there is an admission of no bueno.
Dont mistake artwork for graphics. They added near no level of scale to it... Which is another standard in game development these days. One size fits all is a terrible development practice. Fucks sake SC2 has better/more scalability than D3 and they made it after! Don't make excuses given the development time for what is now a standard.
Which once again is shame considering Blizzard guys make truly wonderful environments/landscapes. (characters...eh they make everyone giant mongoloids in their games it seems these days.

3. No I just dont care for it. I like character building.

Why is D2 ground breaking and D3 not so much? D2 was released when? We've progressed, so another example would be an older car at the time it added auto transmission, and power steering/power brakes. If they made the same car with nothing new/better ("We tweaked the clock! Also same look, but now in blue!") And now everyone is using AWD, more efficient engines with more power/speed, Newer styling, and a **** ton of features that; that car holds up? No the standards have changed

It's not a bad car, but it's certainly not a great car, or a car that will get you there fast, or one that turns heads... I'm not the only one saying this either in this topic alone a fair amount of people are unimpressed. (I'm just the one procrastinating on other stuff and would rather argue my opinion.)


Also this:

There is 210 skills in D2 and you can mod it, gives it way more customisation, not to mention all the gems, runes/runewords. You are wrong about talent points and stats aswell. You can reset your talents once per difficult so the only reason you want to save is if you want to get more than 1 skill at the next tier. Stats depends on the build, some use that stat build and some doesn´t.

Whats DIABLO?

Hm. Been soooooo long. I played the hell out of Diablo II back in the days. I made like 11 paladins with various of builds, lawl.

Anyway, hum. I did take the opportunity to try out the beta last weekend. I played through all 5 classes, with 51% archievements gained total (e-peen!). Though only up to level 10 or under for all 5. I think I had most fun playing the Monk, followed by Wizard. Ideally I would of had more fun playing CO-OP, but my relatives couldn't play (7+). But I am a deciding factor for them if to get the game or not. ATM I am 40/50 to decide. As I played through the game, I felt that it will be fun to play, for about two weeks for those solo'ing, 2-3x longer if you're co-op with friends and relatives.

Several big changes from Diablo II.

One is no more horadric cube, but using the blacksmith for crafting. You can salvage magical items and above (no regular ones, that goes to selling to merchant). You can also spend gold (gold sink I guess) to train your blacksmith to craft better items.

Two, no more portal and identification scrolls. So anyone can use them on the spot by clicking the portal icon or right clicking rare items to identify.

Three, your chest is shared across all characters, including gold, which is a good thing. Another gold sink is that you can increase inventory slot by purchasing them.

Four, no paladins :( Wtf, where are my paladins!

Five, auto loot gold, simply by walking past to pick up (or wear gear that increases pick up range)

Six, potions are on cooldown so it is like, as someone said, back up or "emergency heal), but occasionally, some sort of health potion will drop and auto heal when you walk over it.

I looked at the Diablo III site and browsing through weapons and items. It feels like there isn't much rare, legendary or set items at all (quite limited in fact). It made me feel like not to buy the game. So that took 10%, from 50-50 to 40-50 decision. To be honest, I expected Diablo III to have equal or more items than Diablo II and LoD combined. Hell, where is the crystal sword? lol. That item was one of the first thing I was looking for, and its not on the website.

Overall. I believe the game will be awesome ... When you buy it 20-30% off the price original price currently. Launch date is next month, and I highly doubt blizzard will do another open beta so I can give it a more thorough play testing.

arguing with a fanboi... yeah you wont ever win