Diablo III: Reaper of Souls

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Diablo 3 is finally getting an expansion pack with a new class "The Crusader". The level cap will be raised to 70.

WARNING: Trailer contains spoilers about the end of Diablo 3.

Here is a non-spoiler trailer on the Crusader

Click here to view the article

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Meh, while interested I'm still far from impressed. Considering they fucked the dog on their always online bullshit I won't be buying this (I still haven't beaten D3). Though I find it funny we went from fighting Hell to fighting Heaven.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

I stopped playing when I capped out and kept getting my ass handed to me as Barbarian... I figured if I couldn't get past Hell at max level, I wouldn't make it in inferno. I started a Demon Hunter because I figured being ranged, I'd be able to breeze past Hell difficulty with the ability to avoid those melee attacks that were destroying my Barb... but then I lost the drive to play. Its been so long since I played I didn't even know about the newer Paragon leveling. Seems kinda silly, they should have just made 99 levels like in D2.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

I agree there sadly but it's Blizzard trying to turn Diablo into an MMO instead of leaving it true to its Action RPG roots. 99 levels and leaving it an offline game would of made this game so much better. Well that and if it kept the D2 skill trees (then again this is what happens when you let the D2 development team walk out the door to start their own studio).

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Yeah really... and after reading an article about it. I have to lean towards the idea that this game was build for consoles... the watered down leveling system and as you mentioned the skill trees seem to meld better for controllers. The additional features I saw on the Playstation version solidify this train of thought for me.

 

http://kotaku.com/5985811/diablo-iii-fans-are-not-reacting-well-to-the-games-ps4-announcement

 

Diablo 3 was setup to be a console game.

The reason only 4 players are allowed into a game is for 4 controllers.

The reason the quests make you walk in a linear closed circuit as opposed to big open worlds, is to keep your buds next to you on the same screen.

The reason for no skill points or complicated number crunching? To make console players happy.

The reason you have 4-5 skills on your bar at once? Very easy to use an Xbox/Ps3 controller to use skills.

The reason no runes / complicated item mechanics exists. Simply wouldn't be fun for console gamers.

The reason you can't host a named game? Auto join for console users.

The reason for achievements in game? It's popular among console / COD fans.

The reason for passive skills? Perks like Call of Duty uses. Everyone unlocks perks and uses their favorite ones.

PC gamers are just beta testing for the console release so it wont be full of bugs. That's how ActiBlizz intends to make the real money.

 

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

That's scary how that actually all rolls out so nicely for console (and I honestly never put much thought into why Blizzard watered it down so much). It's not surprising though since Blizzard has said they wanted to get back into making console games (I point to their failure with Ghost 5 years ago). Sigh, I've lost almost all respect I had for Blizzard back when D3 was released and what they've done with WoW. The only thing I respect them for now is SCII (which, no matter how much I hate it at times, is still an awesome game).

 

This is also the main reason I love the Torchlight series, so much like D2 and so freaking awesome (should be, the co-designers of Diablo and Diablo II were part of the development team).

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

This is also the main reason I love the Torchlight series, so much like D2 and so freaking awesome (should be, the co-designers of Diablo and Diablo II were part of the development team).

 

Makes me think how Acitivision dumped the co-founders of Infinity Ward, and let more than half the studio walk with them. Titanfall looks amazing and innovative (kinda like COD4 was for COD and FPS in general), While faux IW continues to make terrible games that cater to "players of all skill levels"... that phrase makes me puke in my mouth a little every time they say it.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Isn't Borderlands 2 doing the same thing with level caps being tied into DLC purchases? I don't like the idea of that. Pay more money just to get a better advantage. pfft. Anyone remember StarCraft 64 for the Nintendo 64? Horrible controls. I remember renting it once and trying for a weekend. The most basic of things were so frustrating to do with a controller I gave up even trying. I'm glad there doesn't seem to be any interest in porting SC2 over to consoles. It was obviously made for PC. Its a shame they didn't keep that in mind when they made Diablo 3. I still haven't played D3, but I figured I'd complain about it just because of my one childhood weekend that was ruined.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Borderlands is a little different. They released all their DLC and didn't raise the level cap until almost a year later. Thats with all the extra content and 2 levels of difficulty. I remember I had to play through both difficulties to max out. When the final level of difficulty was released, the cap increase was needed, along with the ultra rare pearl colored weapons. The season pass for BL2 was $20 cheaper than COD's and BFs, and you got a least another 10 hours of game play out of it, along with a few new character classes that were drastically different rather than skins over current characters. BL1's DLC was pretty great too. They all have new dialogue, a whole expansive part of the map... and you REALLY needed the cap in crease to have a chance against Crawmerax the Invincible, which is an optional boss on the Secret Armory of General Knoxx DLC... way harder than the final boss, and any boss on BL2... in fact Terramorphus The Invincible was a let down in difficulty by comparison. These bosses drop a crap ton of elite loot, and its worth farming them for Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Sounds like a nice setup. I'll be heading back into BL1 after I beat KOTOR 1. BL1 was good fun, but I needed a break from FPS games for a while. Speaking of Borderlands 2, do you think a game like D3 would benefit from something like SHiFT codes?

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Seeing as the equivalent of purple times drop more often on D3, probably not. And you rarely find things that are over your level becasue of this. Diablo you might find something that you'll have to wait a few level ups to use. The optional boss would be neat... when I say elite loot, I'm talking about a field full of over 200-300 items dropped which about half of it being purple and orange weapons/shields/grenade mods. Shift Keys are nice, but they only give you purple loot. When you load down your character with all orange items and fill up your vault with orange items to where you can transfer them to your shared vault between any character you make, the Shift codes become pointless.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Well thats good to know. I thought I've been missing out on all these limited SHiFT codes since I don't have the game yet. I figured I'd wait until a game of the year edition comes out to pick it up.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Shift Keys are great for your first play through and if you dont grind with a character after you beat the game... but I love my loot, and I gotta have orange everything. I farmed the optional super bosses until I had it all. Orange Sniper, SMG, Shotgun, Pistol, Rocket Launcher, Shield, and Grenade. Oddly enough the pistol I had in BL2 was better than any weapon I had.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Ok, I just picked up where I left off with Demon Hunter and apparently I played until the last chapter, which I have no recollection of doing. This is either because shes such a beast and it was so easy that I forgot, or they seriously nerfed the games difficulty. I remember how hard Diablo (the boss) was with the Barbarian, I barely beat him with a sliver of life left on my health bar, but with Demon Hunter I annihilated him in less than 50 seconds. Granted I can avoid boss' melee attacks because DH is ranged, but my attacks were devastating. There is no point to being Barbarian if the game wasn't nerfed, he's pretty weak.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

 

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Meh, I read about this months ago and it barely piqued my interest then. Give me my Necromancer patch and I'll come back to play some more D3. Retro Diablo was easy mode and this looks to be pretty much the same (and with the new heroes running through the original dungeon will be child's play).

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

I was bored, so I bought Reaper of Souls. I forgot how bad the loot drop rate was when I first played. I still had blues on my Demon Hunter. But after 2-3 hours I had 4 legendary armor pieces. The loot table is a lot nicer now than it was when this game first came out... what is it when these companies making shit loot systems, and then scratching their heads why players don't like it? I still think its funny how you only get blues for quests though.

Overall the story was pretty good. It took about 7-8 hours to beat.... and thats with exploring every corner and going in all the fake paths on purpose just to get loot. The last boss was a lot eaiser than Diablo and only had 2 stages. The ending was a bit cliche though. If you ever see a sale, its worth picking up for just the story. I might try adventure mode later.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Meh, I actually thought both bosses were a cake walk and that's having played it on Nightmare difficulty (before the difficulty changes). I'm currently going through what was considered Hell difficulty before the changes (though I'm stalled because I'm having a hard time willing myself to play this again). Then again Demon Hunters are extremely broken and make the game extremely easy to play after the first act. The blue quest rewards are still there even in the harder difficulties (which makes me wonder why they even give them out, my DH is decked out in Legendary, Rare, and Set gear so why the hell would I want a piece of blue gear for completing a quest).

RoS was a much better story for me than D3. I actually enjoyed it a lot more and while the ending was cliche it was expected, Blizzard will put out another Diablo game hence the ending (yeah that probably ruined the ending a little bit but play it to actually find out what happens). Not only was it well thought out it didn't feel forced like D3's ending did (I mean come on, they forced the entirety of the 3rd and 4th Acts our their ass. Not only was it extremely predictable it wasn't even original (nor was any of the supporting lore even in D1 or D2)). Plus it had some pretty damn good boss fights leading up to the final confrontation. 

Once the Necromancer patch goes live I might pick this up again to give it another run through, just for the hope that Necromancers are still as broken as they were in D2 (I doubt it but I can dream).

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

So thats why it felt so easy? I was destroying all the bosses, blues, and legendary enemies so easily. I have rapid fire on at all times with vault and rain of vengeance. I pretty much just vault away leaving the burning trail behind me and continue my rapid fire with the rune that makes it use very little hatred... it might as well be the primary attack. Most my gear has either regen HP on hit or per second. I rarely ever had to use a potion or well... and then the frenzied shrines made it even more OP.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Oh god if you have the right weapons with HP regen, Life Steal on Hit, and life on kill you'll never die as a DH due to their massive dps. I think I've maybe died once and that's because I fucked up and pulled more mobs than I could take. My DH is currently set up as follows: https://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Unhallowed-1820/hero/89442924

That build is extremely op for me. Drop two Sentries, drop caltrops to stop enemies from getting closer, Vault when needed, and when worst comes to worst Multi-shot to freeze enemies in their tracks and mow them down with Rapid Fire. I have so much hatred generation that I rarely run out while even Rapid Firing (only on boss fights but I regenerate it so fast that it's barely a weakness). Plus my healing is so off the chain that a hit that takes half my life is almost instantly healed back up. It's freaking nuts how OP this class is.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

What a fucking disgrace. What's with these developers getting all high and mighty about fans calling them out on their bullshit? Ashe was about the only good thing that came out of the whole Con... Warcraft 3 didn't need remastering... Warcraft 2 did. WC3's graphics are still pretty nice to this day. Meanwhile Diablo fans continued to get shat on, it actually makes me hate Warcraft and everything else Blizzard makes, even though I like that stuff. Diablo has always and will always be my favorite. I'd even take a D2 remaster.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Meh, getting mad at Blizzard for being Blizzard just isn't worth it. I kinda figured we wouldn't get a new Diablo game and while I hoped we'd get a remaster of 2 I didn't hold too high of hopes. Honestly I'm not surprised they went the mobile route. I mean Assassin's Creed is getting a mobile game before the end of the month (which I've sadly pre-registered for) and honestly is was only a matter of time before Warcraft, Diablo, or Starcraft got the mobile treatment. Am I happy about it? No. Am I pissed at Blizzard for doing it? No, I lost faith in them as a company when they split SC2 into 3 separate games and released D3 as an always online game with a real money auction house. The company wants money and the best way to get that is to monetize the games as much as possible and the best way for that is to go Mobile. That or keep milking the dying corpse that is WoW. Diablo never gets any love and it'll continue to be that way because Warcraft and Starcraft are the two biggest money makers the developer has (I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see a Diablo 4 for another 4-5 years).

I'm honestly surprised to see them remastering WC3 since the graphics are still passable but it was the most popular version of Warcraft to come out. WC2 (while my favorite in the series) wasn't nearly as popular so it's no surprise they didn't remaster it (it sucks though, I'm really like to play through it again) but then again they'd have to fix a lot of the lore to re-release it now after WoW has retconned a lot of what happened in 2 (like Deathwing not dieing but we won't get into that).

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Another mobile game. Ehh. I'm still pissed they never made Warcraft 4. Screw WoW. I want another RTS warcraft game. WC3 remaster sounds good but yeah it's graphics still look solid to me even now. I'd love to see a WC2 remaster.

That audience reaction at a mobile game announcement was priceless tho. 😂 there was probably 3 or 4 ppl on the audience that were happy and kept it to themselves. Those 3-4 ppl were the true target audience. The whales that will spend thousands a year on the game. Everyone else will just be a f2p gamer but all these companies care about are those few whales per thousands of players that will line their pockets with buckets of cash.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Its more about how they did it than that they did it. They could have announced it some time else rather than the biggest event for their hardcore PC fan base. I don't think this is the same as other times. They're getting walloped really bad. They even admitted they expected flak, just not this much of it. They changed all their Facebook art back to D3 logos today as well.

I'm not even really mad about the stupidity of making a mobile game. I'm irritated with how they're acting "You gotta respect mobile games" my ass. Its crazy how these publishers have gotten to the point where they think they can tell the gamers that they have no choice but to accept the bullshit they pump out.

EDIT: https://www.vg247.com/2018/11/05/blizzard-had-planned-to-announce-diablo-4-after-the-mobile-game-reveal-report/?fbclid=IwAR2hVhArXfUArpiV80SMwacSiRJKvb7mlkwsF0OoOWMbCrKeqM27EBrouU8

The plot thickens.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I bet thats Blizzard trying to cover their own asses after reading that people would have taken the news better had they said anything about Diablo 4. Lol. They could have had a single wallpaper image and said "We're working on it!" but instead nothing. Then a couple days later.... "We planned to show something about Diablo 4..." Sure.. Sure they did.