Fantasy Aficionados discussion

There was an interview about Diablo 3 this weekend on G4. http://www.g4tv.com/videos/54508/diab...

I'm sooo annoyed! I've been waiting for this game for years! By the time the dang game comes out it will be time for a new computer... :(

So, what d o you think of the game being played only online? I'm not sure...I don't know if there is a monthly fee or not. I hope not.

I truly hope that it is not cooperative game play... I dislike being dependent on other to get my daily fix when playing. If it is cooperative...you guys better sign up to help me play, lo. *eyes Sensei*

If it's ONLY on line or ONLY multi-player as much as I've looked forward to it I won't be on board. I don't play on line (and haven't for a while. I was in Guild Wars for a while, but never did well in "pick up games". You know where you just have to meet people on line and play.) I like RPGs but I will only be buying if it's got a good single player option. I mean a good one. Not one of those "you can play alone, but you really won't get anywhere without a group" things. I'd read that D3 was going to have an extended single player option with better AI characters who'd move through the game with the player...I guess we'll see.

From what I have read so far, it's ONLY online. That really really annoys me a lot. I've been waiting for this dang game for almost 11 years!

I've tried Guild Wars, too. I, too, am not good at picking up games or cooperative game play at all. I forced my husband to play with me (GW) until we got to spots that required more than 2 people to win. At that point we both stopped playing. :(

If Diablo 3 requires the same type of gameplay as GW then I won't be playing either. :-(

Ok - this is what I gather from what Jer's told me.

It is "only online" in the sense that you have to sign in through BattleNet in order to play. This is to cut down on cheating, apparently - preventing people from using bots to level up their characters and some such. (I sort of zoned out at the details.)

This does not, however, mean that you *have* to play with other people and it's nothing like WoW or that sort of MMRPG. I think he said the most people you could play with are 4, from what he's heard, but you can still play a single player game.

ETA: I just read that there is an offline single player mode as well, but that you won't have access to certain thing like achievements, auction house, etc, and you can't have an offline character and decide to bring him online later.

Thanks Colleen!!

Woot! Offline single player character!! That's just what the doctor ordered. :-)

Thanks. That's what I'd read earlier (an article said that the NPCs who accompanied the player would be better). We'll see I guess.

looking forward, probably the second brand new game im going to buy right away :D

I would love for this to come out...LOVE.

I GOT A notification that the "collectors edition" is either out or out soon. I've put my desire for it on the back burner as "other stuff" has to come first. I'll need to upgrade my computer before I get it.

I am just frustrated that I will have to wait a while for the console version.

I like it so far... the kind of "multiplayer" is similar to Dead Island, only here you can decline the joining player outright without having him join and then having to throw them away... like you can choose to play single, and the thing that you're online enables MUCH EASIER joining with your friends - like you play, you decide, hm, lets spice things up, so you invite a friend from your ingame list, and they can join you outright... the difficulty and mobs increase in moments since you are now two

so this "being online" may be annoying, but it also makes coop and such games and sessions much easier to establish... you no longer need hamachi to effectively connect to someone as it was often the case with Diablo 2 (since the TCP/IP games required either lengthy setups of firewall and other security systems, or override through hamachi)

and yes, it sucks when the connection puffs on you, but I got e.g. Dead Island, Dragon Age or Legend of Grimrock to pass the time... I like this thing of being able to call out on some of my friends if they are online and instantly start having fun - I tried it a couple times already and it resulted in a couple memorable clashes with hordes of demons and some funny situations (like when I headlong rushed into a big mob and succeeded in destroying it, and then last missile from some tower and I died lol)

I play with Barbarian and I like the changes made, they constantly motivate you to progress further... there are countless combinations of skills even with each class :)... but yea I like that they finally got rid of mana for barbarian and that I dont have to bother with improving mana when I want to crush mobs lol

anyway, if any of you get the game, my email is mirokizak@gmail.com so you can add me and maybe we can kill some demons together :)

I'm still waiting to buy it due to other things right now...

...but I'm not a coop player so I'm pretty upset about the online part. I like to play single player alone without others for the most part.

And what about in the internet goes down? I can't play then either. :-(

The internet thing going down is an issue, and they had huge problems with servers going down on release date.

BUT you can play single player without others no problem. You have the option to play with others, but you don't have to.

Mrs J--I hear you on the online/internet thing. That was one of the nice parts about Dragon Age, etc. Even Skyrim, which I play by myself, requires an internet connection and account, which does bother me. Then my game quality is dependent not just on the computer, but the internet, and if I'm not playing an on-line game, that doesn't work. Welcome to the midwest where we have thunderstorms and power interruptions all summer!

I'm glad to know I can play single player!

But we're like you, Carol. We don't have the t-storms all summer but we used to get a lot of black outs during the summer due to electricity (A/C) use. I'm not sure about my new neighborhood yet.

the constant internet connection is an issue yea, but then, on the other hand, it allows for much smoother coop games and all that... where before you had to make some firewall magic or use hamachi for example for TCP/IP games (which you had to if you didnt have the guts to join battle net or the cheaters-plagued open battle net), you can now add friends easily and then easily invite them to join you for a bit of tougher fun... yea I am more of singleplayer guy too (Dragon Age and TES <3), but it is nice to have a bit of fun with a friend, chat there, or kill some demons together

sure it is a big issue but not IMO for lowering a rating when reviewing as some ppl did on the internet... Blizzard is not deaf so I am pretty sure they will bring some offline mode without achievements or such

anyway, here is a nice article on this:
http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/129...

while not everyone may agree with it, I can see the points raised by it... for example the online save system is awesome... good to know I wont lose my saves if something unexpected happens

anyway... internet issues aside, the game is awesome... while some things are simplified, some are improved... the points about "being dumbed down" or "no replayability for a class" are not true IMO... one can play with countless combinations for each class if they choose to... e.g. some might play a twohanded weapon stuff with cleave with a barbarian, some might prefer frenzy with dual wield...

it is definitely fun... and the cinematics are, again, top notch... even though Diablo having more feminine features looks weird, it has sense (when you play you will see why)... I definitely like the looks of archangels in the cinematics... Imperius is so badass!!!

as for Skyrim: the connection with Steam has sense... for example once you log in to your steam account elsewhere, you dont have to carry the game DVD with you, you just download the game client via steam and install it, update it instantly and play it... sure it is buggers, all this internet stuff, but it has its pros as well, it is not all evil :P

and I am saying that as someone who hates too much security measures and all that antipiracy stuff

Just dropped back by. I got like the game. I had to get used to the idea of logging in each time I want to play (and had to download a patch the hooks me to the auction house. I don't plan to get involved in paying actual money for fantasy "stuff"). All in all though the game is good.

I've played the Demon Hunter and the Barbarian up into Hell Level. The game does get more interesting at Hell Level. The strategies I'd worked up didn't work any more...I've gotten killed a lot. Relearning.

I played the Wizard and the Monk through regular and into Nightmare. Not as big on those though I may go back and pick the Wizard back up.

ohh a diablo 3 thread, I played the Demon Hunter like you Mike, all the way into inferno, but dam if it doesnt get insane there, when champs have like 5 abilities, any combination of super fast/strong/waller/immobalise is almost impossible to take out without lots of planning and more than a little luck.

Quite liked the Magical unicorn lvl though that was hilarious, though I wanted to return to the cow lvl of my D2 days.

Did you get the little notice that pops up and says "there is no cow level", LOL.

Is there a Hardcore beyond Inferno, or is Inferno what used to be Hardcore, I forget...

Anyway, I just found a legendary staff so I think I'll go back to my wizard and see how far I played into Nightmare, or if I finished it with the Wizard.

in hardcore mode everything is hardcore and is definitely not for ppl like me who tend to run into a mob and get killed randomly at times lol

anyway, got a Barbarian somewhere in Inferno, Act II and now playing Wizard somewhere in Nightmare I think, or Hell? I forgot lol... but it's a lot of fun, even with Wizard, and me being a person who usually plays melee in RPGs :P

I'm getting a computer for the new year!!! And Diablo at the same time!!!!!!! wwwooooo!

So, if I love/used to love WoW, Skyrim and Bioshock, should I play?

And congrats, MrsJ!!

I have Diablo III. Got it when I signed up for a year of WoW. :D I find the game incredibly dark. Desperately need a game that does not involve having to work around the egos of prepubescent teen-aged boys . . . Are there others in a similar vein, but less dark? Or, should I have stuck out D3?

I haven't played WoW so can't say Carol. I play Diablo 3 in single player mode...and I try to shut the light by the computer off if that's what you mean by dark, yeah. Keeping just enough light so I can see the key board a little (I hate going for a healing potion and hitting wrong key...death).

Carol wrote: "So, if I love/used to love WoW, Skyrim and Bioshock, should I play?"


Diablo is made by the same people who made WoW and StarCraft. I've heard Diablo is a lot like WoW...just slightly less addicting.

Sonja wrote: "I have Diablo III. Got it when I signed up for a year of WoW. :D I find the game incredibly dark. Desperately need a game that does not involve having to work around the egos of prepubescent teen-a..."

Have you tried Skyrim yet?

Diablo 3 definately has its wow like moments, but it was it was Diablo 2 that was closest to wow, I think you'd like the game but it can get a bit repetative.

So, I've been reading some D3 reviews...

I'm not a hardcore gamer...is it worth it for me? I noticed the hardcore gamers were very pissed...but I usually only get past the 1st level of difficulty.

I enjoyed it... But if you only play normal mode you'd never see half the powers your class unlocks... Fun, but not near as deep as Skyrim

I haven't bought Skyrim yet. I have got three characters in Hell level in BG3. I've also started a new Demon Hunter just to compare to my old one (also she [I started a female as my first one is male] get access to more advanced equipment earlier stashed by other characters with going to the auction house). There are also new villains in the advanced levels that don't show up till you get there.

MrsJoseph wrote: "So, I've been reading some D3 reviews...

I'm not a hardcore gamer...is it worth it for me? I noticed the hardcore gamers were very pissed...but I usually only get past the 1st level of difficulty."

My opinion as a semi-hardcore gamer:

I think this game is more casual friendly than its predecessor. It's a lot more streamlined and story driven. So I think you should be fine.

Most issues the hardcore gamers are whinging about don't show up till the higher difficulty settings and aren't much of an issue for casual players (read: everyone who's not a performance driven powergamer) anyway IMO. Besides since launch Blizzard has released a whole bunch of patches that address and rebalance a lot of the issues (admittedly, to varying degrees of success, and it's a still ongoing process). The high end game today isn't the same as the one it was at launch.

KevinB wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "So, I've been reading some D3 reviews...

I'm not a hardcore gamer...is it worth it for me? I noticed the hardcore gamers were very pissed...but I usually only get past the 1st l..."

plus the paragon levels, and monster HP thing - if they are complaining now that they can make the game almost impossible to play and one battle to last an hour lol, then they cant be satisfied :D

MrsJoseph wrote: "So, I've been reading some D3 reviews...

I'm not a hardcore gamer...is it worth it for me? I noticed the hardcore gamers were very pissed...but I usually only get past the 1st level of difficulty."

I would say no. The leveling structure is horribly broken, especially if you only plan to play through once. Basically, since the skill tree progresses exactly the same way for any character in a given class, you don't unlock all your abilities until max level. Which means the game expects you to beat it in all difficulties and reach max level just to qualify for whatever character build you were actually interested in playing. On top of that, the first difficulty is so easy it's boring. Click stuff until it dies ad nauseum. Thus, the game expects you to play it for about 60 hours before you're even allowed to start having fun. And at that point, your character is at max level, so you're only playing for loot. And you've already beaten it three times, so what's the point?

The design of that game was just horribly broken.

It's the same basic design as Diablo II had. After you've finished the game once, playing for loot IS the point. If you don't like that this sort of game obviously is not for you.

In any case they introduced Paragon levels a while back (100 of them!) to address this complaint and give people that need to feel their character is progressing in order to have fun something to do. (They are basically the same as normal levels, just without skills or runes to unlock and with a small magic find bonus added in.)

Also: "click stuff until it dies" is again the basic design of this sort of game. It's not called a "hack and slash" for nothing.

Your last active power is unlocked at level 30 which is designed to coincide with completing the game on normal difficulty setting. And it does if you play through without rushing and explore *everything*, but without grinding or revisiting areas. (I did/do this for my first play through with every class, and every time I ended up somewhere from lvl 29 to 31 at the start of Nightmare).
After that you still unlock passive powers (of which you can only use 3 at a time, and those 3 slots are also all unlocked by level 30) and runes that give alternate effects for your active powers. But if you just want to experience how a class plays with all its abilities you can do that by lvl 30.
LvL 60 (max level) is designed to be achieved by the end of Hell difficulty. (and again it does.) So you go into the final difficulty setting Inferno with all your abilities.

As for the difficulty: yes, normal is rather easy, especially if you go through with a second character and you know all the game mechanics. (Though I never found it boring.) But then again I'm an experienced gamer, and some people I know who aren't had much more of a challenge.

You get all your actives at Level 30, but you don't unlock all the runes until level 60. At lower levels, you have to wait for Skill slots to unlock, and the default settings even limit which types of skills you can put in each slot. Character customization just isn't there until the end game. And what's the point of the end game if there's not character growth? The game suddenly switches from XP based to gear based, and it feels like they only did that to fuel the real money auction house.

I liked Diablo II a lot and could barely stand Diablo III. I do enjoy hack and slash gameplay, but something about Diablo III was off-putting. I think that it was designed primarily for the end-game in such a way that the first playthrough felt like a chore. It's not the same basic design as Diablo II, though, in that Diablo II let you customize your character to a far greater degree. Diablo III watered down the RPG elements as hard as it could.

I like D3 but do find some things frustrating (if you want your Demon Hunter to have a wolf companion you have to reach level 60 for instance. I keep the raven till I get the boar. Running around with a bat or ferret just seems silly). There are ways I think D2 was better other ways D3 is an improvement.

Well, I'm still waiting for my new computer to come so I've been playing Torchlight. I'm loving it so far! It reminds me of D1 quite a lot - but more cartoony.