Diablo III's Massive, Free Loot 2.0 Patch Goes Live

[shrekfan246]

I still don't understand why people hate D3 so much. I mean /really/ fucking hate it.

Because hate-boner.

People were convinced it was going to be terrible when the rumors started flying, and then used all of the things they didn't like to justify their biases and try saying the game was "objectively" bad.

It's really funny looking in as someone who came into the franchise with the newest iteration and can't get into the previous one because it just plays so much worse, though.

OT: I'm still not sure how I feel about the new difficulty levels, mostly because I've had poor experiences with enemy level scaling in the past, but I've played the new patch for about three-five hours so far and everything about it is a lot better than it used to be. The tweaks to the spells aren't massive (at least on the two classes I've played so far since the patch) but the addition of actual feedback for their elements is pretty cool and some of the new runes are really interesting. But the loot is insanely better. I played my max level Monk for about an hour the day the patch hit and got four upgrades just playing Act 1 on Torment 1. Admittedly previously I'd only been in Act 3 of Hell, but still, the actual stats on the drops and the usefulness of the items which drop seems to be much better, which was my primary complaint about the game previously.

 

[Worgen]

There is something really depressing about having to refer to a patch as free.

 

[Aeshi]

There is something really depressing about having to refer to a patch as free.

Yeah, that implies that someone out there is actually charging for patches.

 

[otakon17]

Wow, the nerfed the HELL out of the Monks Wave of Light skill. Man, that was my go-to AoE/Heavy damage skill in the console version for that class and now it's only half as effective.

OT: They still haven't removed the always online and Path of Exile still fits that itch if I want a good looking dungeon crawler that happens to always be online. Seriously, if you can just yank out the RMAH and the console versions Always-Online, WHY do they insist on keeping it in the PC version?

 

[LordLundar]

There is something really depressing about having to refer to a patch as free.

Yeah, that implies that someone out there is actually charging for patches.

Both Microsoft and Electronic Arts were contemplating doing so until the backlash happened.

 

[shintakie10]

OT: I'm still not sure how I feel about the new difficulty levels, mostly because I've had poor experiences with enemy level scaling in the past, but I've played the new patch for about three-five hours so far and everything about it is a lot better than it used to be. The tweaks to the spells aren't massive (at least on the two classes I've played so far since the patch) but the addition of actual feedback for their elements is pretty cool and some of the new runes are really interesting. But the loot is insanely better. I played my max level Monk for about an hour the day the patch hit and got four upgrades just playing Act 1 on Torment 1. Admittedly previously I'd only been in Act 3 of Hell, but still, the actual stats on the drops and the usefulness of the items which drop seems to be much better, which was my primary complaint about the game previously.

You can actually play on Torment? Jeez. I don't quite know what happened but I used to be able to reliably go through Inferno mp2-3 and now I can barely scratch Torment 1. I don't die at all on my Wizard (weird friggin build based off of spectral blade, meteor, ice armor with frozen storm rune), but even the weakest of mobs takes for ever to down. A simple elite pack took me 3 minutes to kill at one point which would have been exhilarating if I wasn't literally just standin in all the bad and spammin meteor/spectral blade all day every day.

 

[shrekfan246]

You can actually play on Torment? Jeez. I don't quite know what happened but I used to be able to reliably go through Inferno mp2-3 and now I can barely scratch Torment 1. I don't die at all on my Wizard (weird friggin build based off of spectral blade, meteor, ice armor with frozen storm rune), but even the weakest of mobs takes for ever to down. A simple elite pack took me 3 minutes to kill at one point which would have been exhilarating if I wasn't literally just standin in all the bad and spammin meteor/spectral blade all day every day.

Mobs take a while for me to kill as well, but being a squishy melee character makes it a bit more exciting I imagine. Most of the Monk abilities I have equipped are passives or defensive, so I have to do a lot of kiting, which is something that keeps the 8 million health elites from being too boring for me.

Might have been more prudent for me to play on Master until I got a full collection of level 60 equipment, but I've always been a bit mad and the upgrades are serving me well so far.

 

[INVALIDUSERNAME]

A decade's worth of development and we got the astoundingly craptastic piece of garbage that was D3's initial launch.

I probably won't be downloading it and picking it up to play any time again, but at least I can appreciate that once they took Jay Wilson's lard ass off the project, D3 has seen nothing but improvement.

So, good on Blizzard for fixing a game that should never have been this broken to awful with, but fuck them for taking ten years to make a game that awful to begin with.

 

[elvor0]

*snip

*sigh* It's for a whole lot of reasons. It pretty much does everything wrong, its story, the characters, its lore, the gameplay, and all the extra bullshit like the always online shit.

It's partially not even a surprise, the second game clearly shows which way they intended to go with this series, but even I didn't expect Blizzard of all studios to be capable of such a incompetent fuckup.

It's also more then just this game, its also about the trends you see in it and what it means for the future of the series, the studio that developed it, the people that grow up with it, what it does for the industry. It's doing the wrong thing, at the wrong time, done by the right people. There's a lot of baggage, a lot of conflicting interests and I can't even begin to explain it all.

So I just vent my rage on a forum instead. Sorry if that bothers you.

ugh fuck sake, rushed version; written this out three times before now, god damn it firefox.

Well it doesn't bother me, more I just want to discuss it, it is a forum after all. It kinda goes without saying that you thought everything was wrong because you said the game was a steaming pile of rancid shit. My point was that it's not the WORST GAME EVAR like some people proclaim it to be. If this was the worst game they ever played, they've had some fucking luck, Diablo 3 isn't even close to being within the same continent as truely shit games; Guise of the Wolf, Superman 64, Aliens Colonial Marines, heck, fucking Duke Nukem Forever anyone?

I was more interested in the /why/. Just saying everything was wrong doens't make it so. Though nevermind the lore and writing, I'm talking gameplay, and Diablos writing was never really that stellar to begin with. Because at the end of the day, no matter how much you dislike D3, it's not a terrible game or even a bad one, not really. You don't like it, which is fine, but perhaps it's just not for you? It's mediocre at worst, good at best. Not a great game, but a good one. It does what it set out to do pretty well. You have 4 classes, lots of spells and customization of spells, lots of monsters, fuck loads of treasure and you can kill monsters to get that treasure.

Lastly, you say it's not really that surprising and you could see this coming from when Diablo 2 came out waaaay back in 2000? Really? Sorry but I'm not buying that. Call me presumptuous, but it sounds like you wernt too keen on D2 either, maybe you just don't like the franchise? People loved D2, D2 was an improvement over the original in every way imaginable, people could not get enough of D2, it swallowed peoples lives long before MMOs took that particular crown, people made thousands of pounds selling items and gold on the black market because people could not get enough of D2. Hence why D3 had so much hype behind it, because people fucking loved D2.

 

[Ninmecu]

I'm going to start by saying that while nothing anyone ever says ever can be seen as purely objective, this patch is an amazing improvement over the base game. If this had been D3 at launch, I can assure you the hate and bile would've been laughed out of the room. The legendaries actually feel, Legendary. In no specific order here are a few of the effects I've seen on items. A weapon with the power of a max level item and a level requirement of 29(Cap being 60.), a pair of shoulders that make all of your worn equipment indestructible, another pair of shoulders that give you a bubble when you use the teleport to town spell that reduces damage taken by 55% and stops it from being interruptible, giving you a Get Out of Jail Free card. A ring that summons a little treasure goblin that picks up loot and randomly drops items, including legendaries. A helmet that allows you a chance on hit of dealing a poison nova around any target you hit. A belt that allows you to do explosive damage every time you grab a health orb.

All of those including stats that roll within the rare level range but gain the additional benefits I mentioned. All in all, it's pretty awesome. The changes to the skills are a bit wonky, but if you're patient and want a good challenge, you can level from 1-60 on "Master difficulty". The entire leveling experience feels very organic, every item has a use, either to be salvaged or an actual upgrade, including Junk/Common quality items. All in all, at the risk of sounding really excited over it, it's a great patch.

 

[VoidOfOne]

Still not playing it. That "always online" requirement has proven more detrimental for me than anything else. Glad they did this for all of those who want to enjoy the game and still do, but I don't feel I can ever go back.

Diablo 3 did not feel like a worthy successor to Diablo 2. The story felt more watered down, special events were just torn away, none of the battles felt satisfactory after winning them. The characters play out more like Gauntlet than Diablo; of which is better is up to speculation, but that customization to make your characters the way you wanted was really special to me in Diablo 2, and I lost that with Diablo 3.

It's a solid game by many respects, and at least it works out well. If it wasn't called Diablo 3 there probably wouldn't have been as much as a backlash to it, but then again it most likely wouldn't have sold as much. But for me, and obviously for many people, simply having good game play is not enough to make a great game, since such ideas are subject to opinion. I wouldn't call it the worst game ever, but I get why many people think so: it stems from the great hopes they had for it, and just how let down they were with the results.

The good news here is that Blizzard is doing what it can to make things all the better (mostly) so that they can satisfy their customers. I hope that this trend at least continues, that game companies listen to what's going on and make improvements as the game continues it's life cycle.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Still Always-Online?
Yes?

Then I still have no use for Diablo 3, and still call betrayal on Blizzard.

 

[Ferisar]

Wow, the nerfed the HELL out of the Monks Wave of Light skill. Man, that was my go-to AoE/Heavy damage skill in the console version for that class and now it's only half as effective.

OT: They still haven't removed the always online and Path of Exile still fits that itch if I want a good looking dungeon crawler that happens to always be online. Seriously, if you can just yank out the RMAH and the console versions Always-Online, WHY do they insist on keeping it in the PC version?

They don't insist on keeping it for the PC version, it shuts down in the middle of this month two weeks before RoS launches.

As for always-on, it's a different culture thing. Consoles are still not expected to have an internet connection, but PC's kind of do. The people who "won't play D3 because it's always-on" are such a small amount of people that I doubt they care at this rate. Yeah, it blows, and yeah for those who have shotty internet it pretty much means Blizzard told them "no", but this was going to happen ever since SC2 launched as an always-online title.

Does it bother me? No, but, again, it's a case-by-case issue.

 

[otakon17]

Wow, the nerfed the HELL out of the Monks Wave of Light skill. Man, that was my go-to AoE/Heavy damage skill in the console version for that class and now it's only half as effective.

OT: They still haven't removed the always online and Path of Exile still fits that itch if I want a good looking dungeon crawler that happens to always be online. Seriously, if you can just yank out the RMAH and the console versions Always-Online, WHY do they insist on keeping it in the PC version?

They don't insist on keeping it for the PC version, it shuts down in the middle of this month two weeks before RoS launches.

As for always-on, it's a different culture thing. Consoles are still not expected to have an internet connection, but PC's kind of do. The people who "won't play D3 because it's always-on" are such a small amount of people that I doubt they care at this rate. Yeah, it blows, and yeah for those who have shotty internet it pretty much means Blizzard told them "no", but this was going to happen ever since SC2 launched as an always-online title.

Does it bother me? No, but, again, it's a case-by-case issue.

Oh but they DO insist on keeping the "Always Online" bit, because if they DIDN'T the game for the consoles wouldn't work at all. I shouldn't have to rely on their servers to work to play a game I paid for to play whenever I want. And what about when they eventually make Diablo IV or reboot the series and shut down the servers for it? Because they will you know, eventually. People still play Diablo II for crying out loud, that should stand as an example. The Online is not needed, the console versions of the game prove it.

 

[mattaui]

This turned D3 into a game that I beat once and got bored of on the second play through to a game that I can't wait to get back to.

While I was initially positive about their experiment with the AH, especially the real money aspect of it, it turned out to be fundamentally in conflict with the core design of the game, that is, keeping you playing to find cool loot. Keeping you playing to farm gold to buy cool loot, or just shelling out the cash for it, wasn't nearly the same.

Good job Blizzard!

 

[Ferisar]

Wow, the nerfed the HELL out of the Monks Wave of Light skill. Man, that was my go-to AoE/Heavy damage skill in the console version for that class and now it's only half as effective.

OT: They still haven't removed the always online and Path of Exile still fits that itch if I want a good looking dungeon crawler that happens to always be online. Seriously, if you can just yank out the RMAH and the console versions Always-Online, WHY do they insist on keeping it in the PC version?

They don't insist on keeping it for the PC version, it shuts down in the middle of this month two weeks before RoS launches.

As for always-on, it's a different culture thing. Consoles are still not expected to have an internet connection, but PC's kind of do. The people who "won't play D3 because it's always-on" are such a small amount of people that I doubt they care at this rate. Yeah, it blows, and yeah for those who have shotty internet it pretty much means Blizzard told them "no", but this was going to happen ever since SC2 launched as an always-online title.

Does it bother me? No, but, again, it's a case-by-case issue.

Oh but they DO insist on keeping the "Always Online" bit, because if they DIDN'T the game for the consoles wouldn't work at all. I shouldn't have to rely on their servers to work to play a game I paid for to play whenever I want. And what about when they eventually make Diablo IV or reboot the series and shut down the servers for it? Because they will you know, eventually. People still play Diablo II for crying out loud, that should stand as an example. The Online is not needed, the console versions of the game prove it.

Blizzard is definitely known for shutting down services for older games /sarcasm

Again, it's a transition. It has been one since the second SC2 came out. Is it a problem for people? Yes, but not enough for them to change their minds at this point.

And the consoles proved nothing outside of where the console player-base sits at this moment. "Always On" console games don't make sense right now; the Xbone proved that. There are enough people to whom that's detrimental to the point of disinterest. Do I support it? No. But it's not a problem for me and most everyone else on the PC. I guess the problem lies in the fact that I never played single-player Diablo anyway, outside of a first play-through where I break the character in, but that's the problem. I don't want to spend however long leveling by myself and have no access to that character's progression just because I hopped from SP to MP.

And I definitely don't want Open B.net again.

 

[Adeptus Aspartem]

They removed the RMAH right? So.. is the real bane of D3 still there? The gold AH? Because that thing was what ruined D3 - together with boring skills + atricious loot.

 

[Kinitawowi]

Pretty sure I'm the only person who hates this patch.

I didn't hate the base game, to be honest, and didn't have much objection to the auction house other than the cash-grab that was the real money version. But when I log in and discover that the skill in my Monk's fourth slot is now "!!Missing!!52082;[sno unknown];", I'm forced to see this as a patch made by a bunch of careless idiots.

Then there's the nerf bat wielded in the direction of Life Steal, for literally no reason. I mean none. There was no reason to flatten that. Yeah, they hated magic find and wanted rid, the explanation was semi-logical (if pants)... but at least they had a reason, and stuck with it. I don't see why LS went, at all.

The new level system is stupid.

I haven't yet found a new legendary that was worth finding.

"Toughness" is a totally meaningless combination of several better stats; it made more sense when your resistances and vitality were seperate things, and the combined version makes gear comparison nearly useless.

Stop selling me ROS. I've already got the special edition on pre-order from Amazon; if the Crusader is an RoS exclusive class, then there is no justification for me finding Crusader gear in vanilla, other than the sort of advertising we'd be lynching EA for right now if they tried it.

All told, I'm personally seeing this as a fix to things that weren't that broken. Less but better in loot terms was a great idea, but my Wiz is still finding Butcher's Sickles first up.