Blizzard Trashing Diablo III Skill Tree System

[300lb. Samoan]

hey i got an idea

if you don't like the diablo skill tree system, why not make a new game with a new mechanic - and stop teasing us diablo fans! i mean seriously, i'm all for going big on the level design and the graphics, but by the time this game comes out it'll be on the original's 15th anniversary in 2011!

 

[Amnestic]

hey i got an idea

if you don't like the diablo skill tree system, why not make a new game with a new mechanic - and stop teasing us diablo fans! i mean seriously, i'm all for going big on the level design and the graphics, but by the time this game comes out it'll be on the original's 15th anniversary in 2011!

That sounds like an exceptional way to celebrate the 15th anniversary to me.

 

[theultimateend]

Skill tree will be replaced.
...
By the talent tree.

Those are the exact same thing except one has a slight cosmetic upgrade.

Hm. I'm all for innovation, but I'm forced to do a little chicken/egg speculation here:

Was the decision to delay the game a result of them deciding to do this? Or did Blizzard tell the D3 team "Hey... uhm... yeah: it looks like you got a LOT more time to work on your game because of the way ACTIVISION excuse me, we want to stagger our releases... sooooo... Go hog wild!"

Something about the "[t]his new system is still in the development stages and if it does not work, we still have plenty of options to fall back on" quote makes me think it's the latter.

Blizzard self publish. Blizzard work autonomously from Activision. Blizzard have always set their own non-existant release dates.

How many more times must I iterate this?

I believed they worked autonomously from Activision till I heard about the way they'll be running the Citadel and Arthas.

Now it is painfully obvious to me that they don't.

Blizzard!

Makin shit for casual gamers since Wrath of the Lich King

Did you read the STARS tactics for Yogg+0? Because that encounter was anything but casual.

FL+4 isn't exactly easy mode either. Or Firefighter. Or Sarth+3D 10 man at release.

But hey, keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel a little more pro.

That post made me lawl. Good stuff .

Also very true. WoW is popular because it is as casual or as hardcore as you want it to be. At least that's how I feel.

Albeit I to this day blame PVP (Arena mostly) with all the problems with wow has. I think the experience would be a million fold better if that sort of crap had never surfaced.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

hey i got an idea

if you don't like the diablo skill tree system, why not make a new game with a new mechanic - and stop teasing us diablo fans! i mean seriously, i'm all for going big on the level design and the graphics, but by the time this game comes out it'll be on the original's 15th anniversary in 2011!

That sounds like an exceptional way to celebrate the 15th anniversary to me.

then i say celebrate it the right way with the skill system intact! sure we're all a little old on skill trees, but that's part of what made diablo such a great game! it just won't feel like a diablo game if they change the mechanics too much.

 

[Signa]

They should do some sort of hybrid of D2's skill tree and what the Sacred series does. In Sacred, you get your skills as item drops, and you could either learn them, or stick them into slotted items for an increased benefit. Sacred also had a system where you didn't have mana, and had your spell/skill casting regulated by recharge times, and not an amount of MP in a pool/drinkable potions. I'd love to see something like that properly implemented into D3.

 

[John Funk]

I believed they worked autonomously from Activision till I heard about the way they'll be running the Citadel and Arthas.

Now it is painfully obvious to me that they don't.

Wait, what? Last I heard, the ICC progression block was pretty similar to what they did in Sunwell or ToC.

 

[mrhappyface]

Blizzard!

Makin shit for casual gamers since Wrath of the Lich King

Only Lich King then.

 

[Yokai]

I predict that they will keep making up excuses for not releasing Diablo III or StarCraft II until they run out of ideas for WoW expansions. Only then will they return to the real work.

 

[Altorin]

I believed they worked autonomously from Activision till I heard about the way they'll be running the Citadel and Arthas.

Now it is painfully obvious to me that they don't.

Wait, what? Last I heard, the ICC progression block was pretty similar to what they did in Sunwell or ToC.

and VERY VERY fitting, considering the huge caliber of the final boss - they NEED ICC to be as long and drawn out as possible. Arthas wouldn't have it any other way. He's the fucking Lich King after all, and has been the focal badguy of every game since warcraft really exploded in Warcraft 3. The titular villain for the expansion.

It's not designed to bilk money out of you... it's designed to make the most impact out of a character who has carried the series for a good 7 years. I say it's the end of an era.

But then, why are we bothering with people like him Funk? They'll never understand.

 

[Talendra]

I am quite skeptical, but I will still be buying it as long as they don't pull something completely horrible out. Looks quite good from what I have seen, and we all know the old ones were awesome.

 

[theultimateend]

I believed they worked autonomously from Activision till I heard about the way they'll be running the Citadel and Arthas.

Now it is painfully obvious to me that they don't.

Wait, what? Last I heard, the ICC progression block was pretty similar to what they did in Sunwell or ToC.

http://wowriot.gameriot.com/blogs/Fives-the-Paladin-Hates-the-Blues/Six-Words-that-Terrify-Blizzard

 

[Carlston]

Wow Blizzard really does suck as a company.
They have made what? 8 games in 20 years? Seriously...diablo is dead. We don't care. Warcraft is dead, WOW is everything and starcraft is just more blah rts that will never have a sequal.

This reminds me of the total revamping D2 had, when they changed the game so much it didn't even feel the same, and WOW remember the 30 + paladin skills they nixed in like 6 months. They don't even make NEW games they patch old games and change the physics of the entire world...sheesh

 

[ark123]

THESE LATEST BLIZZARD NEWS ARE KILLING MY SOUL

 

[John Funk]

I believed they worked autonomously from Activision till I heard about the way they'll be running the Citadel and Arthas.

Now it is painfully obvious to me that they don't.

Wait, what? Last I heard, the ICC progression block was pretty similar to what they did in Sunwell or ToC.

http://wowriot.gameriot.com/blogs/Fives-the-Paladin-Hates-the-Blues/Six-Words-that-Terrify-Blizzard

Sorry, I think that article is pure and utter horseshit.

This is almost the exact same thing that Blizzard did with SWP, the only addition being the attempt counters. They gated SWP to prevent K'J from being downed in a week, they're doing the same for ICC. Only now, the hardcore raiders all feel insecure because they're no longer being catered to as the creme de la creme of the WoW playerbase thanks to 10mans and Normal/Hard modes (which are honestly the best raiding decisions the developers ever made).

Do I think that gating is necessarily a GOOD thing? Not entirely, though I totally understand why they did it. But to blame this suddenly on Activision just shows a blindness for the situation given that they did the exact same thing last time around. Maybe it IS a mistake, but if it's a mistake, it's Blizzard's own.

 

[Jandau]

Oh god, all these years of WoW development have burned their brains! Now they feel a compulsive pathological need to revise every skill tree they can see every few months!

 

[Woem]

Aren't these the kind of things you work out before you actually start coding or designing something? It's like working on a program with the client constantly changing the specifications. It's normal that they're having delays when they're working like this, and it's very unprofessional. I'm not saying they shouldn't overhaul the skill tree system, I'm saying they should have worked that out before having written one line of code, and before setting their first release date.

 

[Vern]

I just want to know if they'll implement job trees.

 

[Daymo]

Blizzard!

Makin shit for casual gamers since Wrath of the Lich King

So one game expansion and they are instantly shit. I think that may be judging them a bit early, but that might just be me.

 

[Eric the Orange]

I believed they worked autonomously from Activision till I heard about the way they'll be running the Citadel and Arthas.

Now it is painfully obvious to me that they don't.

Wait, what? Last I heard, the ICC progression block was pretty similar to what they did in Sunwell or ToC.

http://wowriot.gameriot.com/blogs/Fives-the-Paladin-Hates-the-Blues/Six-Words-that-Terrify-Blizzard

NERD RAGE!!!!!

Really though, I read through that entire thing and it's hilarious what some people get upset over. I guess this falls under the old "all changes are bad changes" thing that old worshiped franchises get (starwars, LoTR, ect.).

I admit I don't play the game, but I really don't see how they're making the connection that this is all activisions fault.

 

[Beatrix]

Good, I didn't like the limiting skill system to begin with.
The synergies between skills added in the expansion pack of Diablo 2 were pretty sweet though, I hope that does get retained.

Looking forward to what they'll try. It definitely will make it less MMOy, I hope.

Also, am I the only one for who the article's picture 404s?