Diablo 3 Cranks Up The Difficulty in New "Inferno" Mode

[Logan Westbrook]

Diablo 3 Cranks Up The Difficulty in New "Inferno" Mode

The best treasure in Diablo 3 is reserved for the best players.

Blizzard has unveiled a new level of difficulty for Diablo 3 [http://www.amazon.com/Diablo-III-Pc/dp/B00178630A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313668720&sr=8-1] that is literally harder than Hell - the rather evocative name for what was previously the Diablo series' highest difficulty. The new "Inferno" difficulty level is aimed at experienced players who enjoy a challenge and like the idea of scoring some otherwise unobtainable loot in the process.

In Inferno, all the monsters will be at least level 61, and as the level cap in Diablo is 60, every single encounter will be a fight against a tougher opponent. Besides the extra levels, the monsters will also have more health and more resistances, be more aggressive, and even display new abilities. Of course, this challenge is not without its rewards; as well as rare items dropping more frequently, the game's very best loot - which will have special art so that everyone can see how special it is - will only be available in Inferno mode.

Blizzard said it designed Inferno mode in order to make the entire game viable to endgame players, rather than just particular areas. "We do expect there to be a certain amount of ... runs to get items, but we wanted players to do it over a lot more content," said game director Jay Wilson. "We're trying to make sure that there's a lot more opportunities for players to see a lot more variety." He added that if players did start to run particular areas repeatedly, Blizzard would possibly look at making changes to the game to make embracing variety more rewarding.

Inferno mode itself probably won't be to everyone's liking, but I bet the new gear will be. In fact, exclusive loot combined with Diablo 3's real money auction house makes Inferno sound like a potentially lucrative mode for really hardcore players.

Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5831680/diablo-iii-just-got-harder-than-hell-with-new-inferno-difficulty]







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[The_root_of_all_evil]

The best treasure in Diablo 3 is reserved for the best players.

And that is what is wrong with the game industry today.

 

[DTWolfwood]

o sounds like a good money maker. Yes rewarding the dedicated should be how it is.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Will this just be as hard as the hardest difficulty setting of Diablo 2? With the whole restart-on-death thing?

The best treasure in Diablo 3 is reserved for the best players.

And that is what is wrong with the game industry today.

Care to elaborate? Because I'm not really seeing the issue. Is there anything wrong with rewarding the best people more? At least they don't let you pay for Inferno mode, that'd give the best treasure to the richest players. And that would be an issue indeed.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Care to elaborate? Because I'm not really seeing the issue. Is there anything wrong with rewarding the best people more?

In a PvP game? You don't think there's a problem with giving more bonuses to better players?

At least they don't let you pay for Inferno mode, that'd give the best treasure to the richest players. And that would be an issue indeed.

You know what they say about

Same rules apply.

 

[Scytail]

My favorite part: "We do expect there to be a certain amount of ... runs to get items, but we wanted players to do it over a lot more content,"

It may be just me but this says "play our game over and over and over you brainless sheep"

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Huh, and here I was thinking that the hardest mode was the always on internet connection required to play.

 

[Odlus]

Care to elaborate? Because I'm not really seeing the issue. Is there anything wrong with rewarding the best people more?

In a PvP game? You don't think there's a problem with giving more bonuses to better players?

You'd have a point if this were a PvP game, but it's not. It's a co-op game with PvP as an optional side bit for players to take part in when they're bored of killing monsters together. Why do you think they removed the ability to go hostile with other players during normal games? Not to mention that they've said repeatedly that their PvP is never going to be "balanced."


Go to love when people try to act like they know what's "wrong with the gaming industry" when they don't even know anything about the specific game they're talking about. Might as well complain about how Pokemon (which is OBVIOUSLY a PvP game too; it has battle arena and everything!) grants better rewards for time and skill.

 

[Rack]

In a PvP game? You don't think there's a problem with giving more bonuses to better players?

Umm, no? Sure there's room for Mario Karts that try to shore everyone up to the same level so they can all have a fun time but that absolutely shouldn't be reason not to have PVP games that create a major seperation between the best and worst players.

Not that Diablo 3 even is a PVP game, there's a PVP option but Blizzard have outright said they have no intention to balance it. It's PVE through and through.

The only thing I don't get is if the gear you need to tackle Inferno is in Inferno it presents a bit of a catch-22 situation. If not then the gear in Inferno will only make it too easy.

 

[Cowabungaa]

In a PvP game? You don't think there's a problem with giving more bonuses to better players?

It would be a problem if those rewards would be granted from getting a high PvP rank or something, because that would mean the best PvP players would most likely stay the best PvP players. That's not the case here, as they're PvE rewards.

We also don't really know how well these items are going to perform in PvP. WoW's best PvE loot does relatively poor in PvP for example. Maybe they'll make a comparable distinction in Diablo?

And what other incentive would you propose to give the best players then, especially in a loot-driven game as Diablo?

You know what they say about

Same rules apply.

I have no idea who Candlejack is, so erm, yeah, what do you mean?

 

[WabbitTwacks]

In a PvP game? You don't think there's a problem with giving more bonuses to better players?

Most of the game is co-op PvE anyway, so I don't see the problem. Also there has to be some motivation to play the insane mode other than masochism.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Seriously, you don't see Sports Team A being able to buy themselves Points because TEAM B is better then they are.

You also don't see Sports Team A getting more points from wins because they're better.

Go to love when people try to act like they know what's "wrong with the gaming industry" when they don't even know anything about the specific game they're talking about.

Go(sic) to love people who insult people when they don't know anything about their level of knowledge.

Not that Diablo 3 even is a PVP game, there's a PVP option but Blizzard have outright said they have no intention to balance it. It's PVE through and through.

Diablo III will "support PvP better than any of the other previous products did."

also

Items will be transferable between characters, presumably more user-friendly than making a game, dropping some gear and then logging out and logging back in with a different character.

So best players indeed, not best characters.

Maybe it's just me but I thought playing the game to have fun was the main aim, not just work through harder and harder tasks for boasting rights. That's how griefing starts.

 

[WabbitTwacks]

The level cap is 60? Isnt that ummm alittle low.

I believe that the game is balanced for that level cap (I sure hope so). I had a similar reaction when I first played Neverwinter Nights after having played Diablo 2 for a couple of years - "What? Only 20 levels? How can you play this game?!". It turned out pretty OK and I fell in love with that game (also became a DnD fan).

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

especially in a loot-driven game as Diablo?

Bingo. Nail. Head.

I refer back to my first answer.

Also there has to be some motivation to play the insane mode other than masochism.

Like Hell On Earth in Killing Floor/ The Cow Level? No motivation needed there.

 

[PingoBlack]

Inferno mode itself probably won't be to everyone's liking, but I bet the new gear will be. In fact, exclusive loot combined with Diablo 3's real money auction house makes Inferno sound like a potentially lucrative mode for really hardcore players.

Erm ... That's misleading.

Blizard have at least hinted that Inferno mode will disable RMT completely. Here are quotes from Diablo 3 AH FAQ:

Can Hardcore-mode characters use the currency-based auction house?

No. Hardcore characters will only have the option to buy and sell items together with other Hardcore characters via a separate "Hardcore-only" gold-based auction house; they will not be able to use the currency-based auction house. Hardcore mode is designed as an optional experience for players who enjoy the sense of constant peril that comes with the possibility of permanent death for a character. All of a Hardcore character?s items are forever lost upon that character?s death, so to avoid the risk of a player spending real money on items that could then be permanently lost when the character dies, we decided restrict the use of the currency-based auction house in Hardcore mode.

If my character dies in Hardcore mode, will I lose the items that I purchased in the "Hardcore-only" gold-based auction house for that character?

Yes. Again, Hardcore-mode characters will only have access to a "Hardcore-only" gold-based auction house, not the currency-based auction house, and will not be able to trade with non-Hardcore characters. Hardcore is an optional mode designed for players who enjoy playing with the risk of permanently losing their character if the character dies, and that includes the items they acquired with that character.

 

[Olrod]

That's nice. However I'm still not going to buy it if I can't play it with an unreliable internet connection.

 

[Cowabungaa]

You also don't see Sports Team A getting more points from wins because they're better.

Um, yes they do. At least, that's pretty much how soccer leagues work over here.

Bingo. Nail. Head.

I refer back to my first answer.

Well I can see your point there, and yeah that's why games like Diablo don't really hold my interest for very long. I only kept playing WoW for the exploration and social aspect, never cared much about loot either. Hence why I never put more than about half an hour in Torchlight as well.

But at least anyone can get that loot, and isn't forced to either pay for it or play PvP to get it. Having to be the best PvP players to get the best PvP gear would be really silly, but that's not the case here.