Diablo III's Expansion Pack Named - "Reaper of Souls"

[Smooth Operator]

I thought it was called Auction House and already came with the game...

 

[Marak Daga]

Ill expand my comment. Too fucking late, most of us have moved on. Should have fixed it when it was popular, now you will only get the dregs.

 

[Colt47]

Huh. Well, for what it's worth I'll throw my hat in with the few D3 supporters in this thread. Loved the game, thought it was great, still play it and can't wait for more details about the expansion.

At this point Diablo 3 and World of Warcraft are like the McDonalds of RPG land. Their fun superficially, but they just go way too far into the grinder at the end.

 

[black_knight1337]

Diablo 3 had a shitton of problems not to speak of the awful story, but if I hear another time how this game "failed" (with 12 million sales) and how awful the retention rates are without any kind of evidence, I am going to flip.

Mhmm, especially when the retention rates are less than 10% lower than what it was with D2. (Source: D2 Xpac Sales and the latest D3 pop stats)

OT: Pretty excited for this, it's name doesn't leave much to the imagination but if current progress is anything to go by then it should be good.

 

[Me55enger]

I think "Cliché of Old" would have been a much more accurate title.

 

[Jenny Jones]

Interesting but not going to bother. A lot of things I have against the D3 game has been said but one thing that really irked me was the story. It was poorer than what I've seen of mods for other games and even player created content in Star Trek Online. Now on it's own I might be able to look past it but rather than being mostly skippable like in D2 it was forced upon you with many cutscenes and it felt like a lot of TPing. Also something about the gear made it seem like everyone was going for the same stats regardless of your class which I didn't like as much.

 

[Aeshi]

No prize for guessing. Seriously, Diablo 1 was the last game Blizzard made that did not have an expack.

Diablo Hellfire says hello (admittedly Blizzard didn't make Hellfire itself, but it's still an Expansion Pack for Diablo 1 nonetheless)

 

[Ferisar]

Ha, I knew it, I knew that ending seemed like a hook for an expansion pack. Hopefully this one will be as amazing as Lord of Darkness was.

No prize for guessing. Seriously, Diablo 1 was the last game Blizzard made that did not have an expack.

Why would I buy it on a console when they are just showing they are too damned lazy to release the offline version on PC?

Because I guarantee you, if they released the offline version on PC, I would pick it up to support GOOD decision making.

Unlike with SimCity, Diablo 3 needs to be fundamentally changed to be able to play offline. This is one of the reasons why there still aren't any good workable pirate versions of this game, since it relies on the server prodviding the nevessary functions.

The question would be whether such work would end up profitable in the end. I doubt it will. People who wanted offline Diablo already bought Torchlight, and who would buy regardless of Always On already did.

Actually the console version managed to do it so the changes couldn't be that fundamental. All the graphical elements are after all on your system, everything in the game is already sitting on your hd, they just need to add the behaviours file and it's good to go.

Though you are right...about Torchlight 2.

And to refer to the 12 million sales meaning it's good..it means nothing, retention is the key figure and blizzard themselves have said their retention in D3 is slipping not unlike WoW. People just get tired of grinding the same game over and over and over again. Even Skyrim allows you to try new things... or try new mods.


Really i hardly doubt this will be much difference. Oh look all that gear you bought at the RMAH with your monies is now useless because we just added 5 more tiers of stuff above that...guess it's time to start spendingmoney in the RMAH again.

Said Blizzard hopefully.

As opposed to what exactly? Like, seriously. What game would have an expansion pack with new items that are total shit. It's nonsensical to make that argument. It has never been within any reason to make that argument. Your shiny loot will always be overshadowed by shiner loot; especially so if it's a goddamn isometric hack/slash. So tired of hearing that.

And don't make... Skyrim comparisons...

Just... please god, don't.

Complain about whatever you want, give examples based on other games within the genre, whatever, that's valid, just don't make Skyrim comparisons. Diablo 3 has enough problems to complain about without the need to bring in the "Well I liked Cooking Mama more than WoW's cooking system" arguments. Stick to the script man. STICK TO IT.

 

[Karoshi]

Unlike with SimCity, Diablo 3 needs to be fundamentally changed to be able to play offline. This is one of the reasons why there still aren't any good workable pirate versions of this game, since it relies on the server prodviding the nevessary functions.

The question would be whether such work would end up profitable in the end. I doubt it will. People who wanted offline Diablo already bought Torchlight, and who would buy regardless of Always On already did.

Actually the console version managed to do it so the changes couldn't be that fundamental. All the graphical elements are after all on your system, everything in the game is already sitting on your hd, they just need to add the behaviours file and it's good to go.

As I said, I am merely basing on the fact that the pirates haven't been able to create a working version of their own even a year later. Usually even the best defense is circumvented weeks later, therefore I assume the technological difficulties may be a bit more elaborate.

Could Blizzard make Diablo 3 offline? Sure. But it would be a lot more than changing a couple files.

Though you are right...about Torchlight 2.

And to refer to the 12 million sales meaning it's good..it means nothing, retention is the key figure and blizzard themselves have said their retention in D3 is slipping not unlike WoW. People just get tired of grinding the same game over and over and over again. Even Skyrim allows you to try new things... or try new mods.

Really i hardly doubt this will be much difference. Oh look all that gear you bought at the RMAH with your monies is now useless because we just added 5 more tiers of stuff above that...guess it's time to start spendingmoney in the RMAH again.

Said Blizzard hopefully.

Retention is important, but I really can't fathom why I would want to play the same game for an entire year. I spent three-four months playing it and already had 160 hours clocked... anything more feels a bit too much for me. Although opinions and play habits vary from gamer to gamer etc.

 

[medv4380]

I wont spend a single ha'penny more on Diablo 3.

 

[kael013]

I think I'll wait for reviews on this one. I barely tolerated the horrid mechanics for the story, so if that's degraded too this will be a pass for me.

 

[Aeshi]

Actually, there is an alternative. See what you see typically is linear progression, everything the same as before just with bigger numbers. There's a system called lateral progression, it's used in quite a few games actually, See TF2, Most MOBA's etc. where in the progression centres more around opening up new applications.

I.e the numbers don't go up, you just find more ways to use those numbers. Granted that requires a game with slightly more depth of gameplay than D3. Not that it can't be done for D3 but damned if Linear just isn't so much easier.

And just about every game that uses lateral progression is usually:

a) Competitive-PvP-oriented, and therefor generally require such a thing so new players can actually achieve something, while not needing 'the race for loot' as much because competitiveness fills that hole.

b) almost Always fails to accomplish that goal, with the vast majority of said options being useless garbage (when was the last time somebody used something like the Market Gardener outside of messing around?) ignored in favor of whatever's yet-to-be-nerfed better-than-everything-else item is (like the Escape Plan back when I played, probably something different now)

Can you honestly tell me with a straight face that people would pay £30 for an expansion that went "well this stuff you need to kill the even nastier enemy for isn't any better than what you have now, but it's slightly different!" Would people team up to do Raid Bosses on MMOs if the items they would get were merely "better in certain situations" rather than just flat-out better?

 

[prpshrt]

I welcome this. While I completely stopped playing after I hit paragon level 25, I thoroughly enjoyed playing from normal through inferno. This game was awesome but was lacking in the campaign length IMO. Torchlight II took MUCH longer (in a good way with a better story) for me to finish but Diablo III was more fun to me personally. Man I feel like I'm going to get quite a bit of hate for saying that.

 

[barbzilla]

Unlike with SimCity, Diablo 3 needs to be fundamentally changed to be able to play offline. This is one of the reasons why there still aren't any good workable pirate versions of this game, since it relies on the server prodviding the nevessary functions.

The question would be whether such work would end up profitable in the end. I doubt it will. People who wanted offline Diablo already bought Torchlight, and who would buy regardless of Always On already did.

The reason why I'm so annoyed, is because I keep hearing these things thousand times over and over again without any new points or arguments. Same off-handed remarks in every single Diablo 3 over the course of the last year. I know that people need to vent their frustration or rage, but wow, that's dedication when I see it.

1: There was a working pirated copy of D3 shortly after release, though I am not sure how it is looking now as I had my copy legally from day one. That still doesn't change the fact that a small group of coders managed to crack the game for offline play after release (then shortly after that came the free servers).

2: Why do you get so upset when people try to explain why they wouldn't buy a series? If Blizzard wants to change it they will, if not then they will not. So if someone wants to encourage Bliz to change it, how does it affect you?

3: I haven't seen any frustration and/or rage since the months following the launch of the game. Past that, most people just didn't care anymore and moved on with their lives. Many of us would still play the game, if they ever managed to repair some of the crappy decisions they made. We will continue to give our input when there is a valid reason to do so, and there is no reason we should feel bad about doing so. If it annoys you, then look away. Unless you have some personal investment in Blizzard's product, there is no reason for you to get so upset.

4: People have provided new points, they have provided evidence (no matter how anecdotal), and they have made their points heard. The fan boys, and the true believers, just seem to ignore any evidence or valid arguments that they don't agree with (in fairness, so do many on the other side).

In short, people will continue to voice their views and opinions (with or without reason or evidence), so don't let it annoy you so much. Either try to empathize with them, or ignore them.

EDIT: Looks like point one is bullshit, I furthered my research and found out that it hasn't been fully pirated yet, the pirated version is feature incomplete. Though it has technically been pirated, just not to any relevant point. My apologies for not researching before responding.

 

[tzimize]

"Reaper of Souls"

Careful, there, Blizzard. One slight change in name, and the Elder God will send his own 'reaper of souls' to sort out his copyright claims.

Spoiler

I hear he can be... quite persuasive.

I love you for not letting Raziel fall into the oblivion that it is to be forgotten. I can actually hear Kains voice from the SR1 intro in my head. Chills.

OT:
I think I'll just lets play this. After the abomination that was the D3 storytelling............I will cement myself to the floor to stop myself from buying this.

 

[Ferisar]

As opposed to what exactly? Like, seriously. What game would have an expansion pack with new items that are total shit. It's nonsensical to make that argument. It has never been within any reason to make that argument. Your shiny loot will always be overshadowed by shiner loot; especially so if it's a goddamn isometric hack/slash. So tired of hearing that.

And don't make... Skyrim comparisons...

Just... please god, don't.

Complain about whatever you want, give examples based on other games within the genre, whatever, that's valid, just don't make Skyrim comparisons. Diablo 3 has enough problems to complain about without the need to bring in the "Well I liked Cooking Mama more than WoW's cooking system" arguments. Stick to the script man. STICK TO IT.

Actually, there is an alternative. See what you see typically is linear progression, everything the same as before just with bigger numbers. There's a system called lateral progression, it's used in quite a few games actually, See TF2, Most MOBA's etc. where in the progression centres more around opening up new applications.

I.e the numbers don't go up, you just find more ways to use those numbers. Granted that requires a game with slightly more depth of gameplay than D3. Not that it can't be done for D3 but damned if Linear just isn't so much easier.


And Skyrim is a perfectly good comparison. Not exactly the same genre but who says good mechanics had to be confined within genre. Taking good-mechanics from one genre and blending them with another is how you get new and sometimes dare I say better Genres and better games. That's how we have such lovely games like deus Ex, Bio Shock, System Shock, League of Legends, WoW, even Diablo 3. Remember the whole founding mechanic of Diablo has been the blend of isometric Action based gameplay, RPG elements and Rogue-ish spontaneous map and level construction.

I guess if you were at that Blizzard meeting you'd have said something like

'Can we stop comparing to Nethack, that's a different game entirely from what we're trying to do.'

Lateral progression is not a presence in the ARPG genre. Most if not all ARPG's actively rely on upping loot values to entice progression. It's not really a bad system, either. There's also very rarely true lateral progression, especially if you want to look at MOBA's. There are still final builds with several optimal functions. This, though, this particular thing I can vouch for. I can vouch for having several functioning builds despite there being linearity in gear. This is often overlooked by a lot of these games, especially with how streamlined WoW has gotten in terms of class differences. It's a little irritating not to be able to have several functioning sets of gear that approach the same role with different results, but that's the nature of specs and MMO's and all kinds of other malarkey that I don't really want to get into.

True lateral progression is the absence of gear, which, in Diablo's case, invalidates a lot of the game.

It would also invalidate pretty much every good predecessor in the ARPG genre, D1/2/TL1/2 included. Even Borderlands. I guess it's more of a case of differing opinions, but the day I play something branded "ARPG" with pure lateral item progression is the day I'm just going to call it just a hack and slash or action adventure, aka DMC/God of War/etc.

Skyrim isn't an apt comparison because utilizing anything Skyrim has to offer implies Blizzard applying themselves to the game first, which they've been steadily doing but haven't quite gotten yet. Also, it would most likely require a different game than what Diablo ever was. It's a bit of a tall order for an xpac which they're using to salvage their fanbase.

Also, I hope there's no implication that Skyrim has any kind of lateral anything. Just throwing that out there. I don't think you did, but if you did done do did does it... WE WILL MAKE BATTLE UPON THE ETERNAL PLANES, MONSIEUR.