Slowly abandoning Diablo 3

[Don Savik]

One of the things I've found about these "anticipated games" is you can't critique them. The majority of the world loves these games, you loved these games, but the amount of players the series has devoted to its hivemind become an immune system that routes out and destroys anything threatening to the franchise. So many people have become submissive because they don't want everyone to think them weird for disliking Diablo. "Yea, it has problems, but just keep your mouth shut and enjoy the game they worked hard on." NO. It has issues and it being popular does not make those issues less relevant. Remember when people where calling others entitled stuck up whiners for not liking Mass Effects ending? Its the same damn thing.

Diablo 3 may be an ok game, but stop defending it like it saved your family from starvation. Its not a benevolent god that caresses you while you touch yourself. Publishers don't care about your devotion unless it brings them money. Stop it.

 

[GenericAmerican]

I'm glad someone gifted it to me. I was never interested in it, and I don't see what all the fuss was about.

It's an average game, with stupid DRM.

 

[zinho73]

One of the things I've found about these "anticipated games" is you can't critique them.

This is very true, and it causes more harm than good.

 

[zinho73]

2. WOW has servers in Brasil, I had no reason to think Diablo3 would have a different treatment. But apparently Blizzard is short on money right now and cannot install servers in other locations.

Blizz, short on money? HAH! They have enough money to pay off the U.S's debt and still not make a dent in their fortune.

Oh, I know, I was being sarcastic

 

[crazyarms33]

I agree. I didn't make it nearly as far as you did though. I made it maybe 10 hours and just stopped caring. When I don't get excited about leveling up, it really irks me. The grind is just not fun like it was in Diablo II, at least for me. Maybe its because my computer barely runs it at all, but I infinitely prefer Diablo II. It's not even close.

The thing that irks me the most though is the "random dungeon" aspect of the game. Look, if I spend 30 freakin' minutes wandering around trying to figure out where to go, the next time I log in I do NOT want to do it again. Not quite sure what they were thinkin there....

 

[BloatedGuppy]

One of the things I've found about these "anticipated games" is you can't critique them. The majority of the world loves these games, you loved these games, but the amount of players the series has devoted to its hivemind become an immune system that routes out and destroys anything threatening to the franchise. So many people have become submissive because they don't want everyone to think them weird for disliking Diablo. "Yea, it has problems, but just keep your mouth shut and enjoy the game they worked hard on." NO. It has issues and it being popular does not make those issues less relevant. Remember when people where calling others entitled stuck up whiners for not liking Mass Effects ending? Its the same damn thing.

Diablo 3 may be an ok game, but stop defending it like it saved your family from starvation. Its not a benevolent god that caresses you while you touch yourself. Publishers don't care about your devotion unless it brings them money. Stop it.

This is a problem though, how you're expressing yourself. This is precisely no different than the ME3 debacle, only you're on the other side of it now. You're the one poisoning the well by applying blanket personal attacks to an entire unseen group of people. Instead of "entitled whiners", now they're part of the Blizzard fanboy hive mind. Instead of crybabies, they're corporate drones. This "us versus them" mentality is not only counterproductive as far as polite discussion goes, it's intellectually sloppy and utterly irrational.

You have to allow that some people are going to defend the game because they actually like the game. Others are going to hand wave the always online aspect because it doesn't affect them. You want the people DEFENDING the game to lay off the hyperbole? Earlier today we had someone equating the rise of DRM to the fucking Holocaust. Easily half the people I've spoken to have gone at me like a rabid dog because I refer to the DRM as an irritation that only inconveniences some, as opposed to the great evil of our time. One that we as individuals have an ethical imperative to band together and fight. I shit you not. If it sound ludicrous, it's because it is ludicrous.

You want to see a hive mind? I could go write a new post right now, and fill it with some random, fabricated negative spew about Diablo 3 or Blizzard. And I'd have a dozen people riled up and 100% behind me before the first person asked me to verify my facts. Confirmation bias and opinion polarization isn't just something that happens to other people, or only specifically to people you disagree with.

There's a middle ground to this discussion, people just hate standing in it. It's a middle ground where the DRM is restrictive and needlessly annoying, but not an analogue for the deaths of millions of people. It's a middle ground where the game isn't groundbreaking or revolutionary, but is in fact glossy and fun despite its warts. It's a middle ground where the servers have had some issues, but aside from launch day have been relatively stable, allowing many people...including myself...to play the game to completion without encountering any issues whatsoever. There are a lot of perfectly rational and compelling arguments on both sides of the ledger of this debate, and most of them are getting tossed aside in favor of petty insults and sweeping, grandiose generalizations. Presuming that everyone who disagrees with you is a dupe or a moron is a young man's vanity. If you want to lecture anyone to stop doing something, it should be that.

 

[Brotherofwill]

You more or less hit the spot with that OP.

The worst and I mean WORST thing is that leveling isn't exiting. I mean if you develop a fast paced Arpg and it isn't fun to gain levels you've done something horribly wrong! I know what they were trying to do with this system but it's not working for me. I don't feel invested in my character, he's just a guy I put items on. I couldn't give a fuck if he levels, dies, or finds a rare, since they are usually rubbish.

The items have no character of their own. They are too small, too frequent and the colors no longer match the excitement level they have in better designed games. You pick them up, you keep walking. They sit in your inventory, barely visible with no chance of you looking at the small icons and going 'Oh that looks neat!'. It used to be a big deal in D2 when you found a unique looking weapon, now I don't even look at the pictures anymore.

The story...good god it's just horrible. The 'Meet the Butcher!' line was enough to emotionally disconnect me from the rest of the game and I think that helped me stick with it. I also don really like that you can no longer do Boss runs. I don't know, I liked that.

I've played this game a good 40-50 hours and looking back, the only thing that kept me playing was the combat and coop. Anything else more or less drives me away from having more fun.

Overall it's such a shame because the Gameplay is engaging and roaming with your buddies while skyping is awesome as ever. It's a good game but it's not a game that earns this deep affection in your heart like a D2 did. The game just lacks character.

 

[zinho73]

I agree. I didn't make it nearly as far as you did though. I made it maybe 10 hours and just stopped caring. When I don't get excited about leveling up, it really irks me. The grind is just not fun like it was in Diablo II, at least for me. Maybe its because my computer barely runs it at all, but I infinitely prefer Diablo II. It's not even close.

The thing that irks me the most though is the "random dungeon" aspect of the game. Look, if I spend 30 freakin' minutes wandering around trying to figure out where to go, the next time I log in I do NOT want to do it again. Not quite sure what they were thinkin there....

This is another thing that bothered me a bit. The outdoor areas are not nearly random enough to my tastes (I'm ok with indoor areas). The events are a coll idea, but it is nice to explore a different map on various playthroughs.

That said, once explored, the area should remain explored, specially due to the nature of the saving system.

But with the always-on thing I guess they were limiting what kind of personal information would be stored on their servers.

 

[Zenn3k]

I don't feel even remotely bad about skipping it.

I will not buy always on DRM.
I will not buy boring "streamlined" gameplay, I want games that encourage me to use my brain a little.

Using the brain is fun.
Mindlessly clicking down a tunnel really isn't.

 

[tobi the good boy]

Living in Brasil, I?m far enough from the servers to have guaranteed lag with an uncomfortable frequency.

Why the hell did you even buy the game then? I have literally no sympathy for you, because you spent your money on something you absolutely knew would not work very well for you.

Your complaint is just as flawed as people who say 'this game is shit because my computer can't run it properly'

I bought it because:

1. The game was translated to my language, was officially launched in my country and should work here as good as it works in the US (which, to be fair, appears to be the case, as it doesn't work well there too).

2. WOW has servers in Brasil, I had no reason to think Diablo3 would have a different treatment. But apparently Blizzard is short on money right now and cannot install servers in other locations.

3. I don't have nearly the same amount of problems playing Tera, which is an action based MMO. I thought that if Blizzard could at least replicate this quality, it would be tolerable. To be honest, I've never had so many problems to play any other game in my life, but, granted, I'm not an MMO player (just Guild Wars, 40 minutes of WOW and now Tera).

Please, the fact that the game is full of problems is Blizzard's fault. If their service was OK, I would not have any problems at all (maybe a latency a little bit higher). Since their service is bad, it is worse to me. It is as simple as that, mr. angry internet person.

Jeez...

I'm not saying Blizzard did the best job they could have, I'm saying you should have been more careful with your money, given your locale.

D3 is always online DRM, therefore if I had shit internet, I would not have bought it, simple as that.

Let me make this perfectly clear: I do not have shitty internet. I do not have any problems with any online game other than Diablo 3, but since Blizzard work is bad - I will suffer more because I'm distant.

If the service was on par with most other online games in existence, I would be fine.

Again: you should have been more careful with your money, given your locale.

Blizzard said that you may encounter some problems during the launch week, so it's up to you to make the right choice and either wait, boycott or just deal with it. Sounds like you made the wrong choice.

The game was released in his country, an official release. He has every right to expect it to function within his country.

 

[justnotcricket]

I don't feel even remotely bad about skipping it.

I will not buy always on DRM.
I will not buy boring "streamlined" gameplay, I want games that encourage me to use my brain a little.

Using the brain is fun.
Mindlessly clicking down a tunnel really isn't.

This is kind of how I feel. I was interested until I saw the 'always online' thing, and how Blizzard was pretty open about the single-player (online) experience being lacklustre. To their credit, they didn't exactly *hide* the disadvantages they were (from my perspective) loading into their game. I am sorry for the people who were in it for the online play anyway, though, because they can legitimately expect Blizzard to actually provide and maintain the online service.

I'm not against the occasional mindless clicking down a corridor-fest, but I'm also not sure I want to pay NZ$100 for the privilege, especially given the other disadvantages. Mindless slaughter is cathartic, but honestly I have DW5 for that...or even TR: Guardian of Light if I want an isometric, PC version.

 

[crazyarms33]

I agree. I didn't make it nearly as far as you did though. I made it maybe 10 hours and just stopped caring. When I don't get excited about leveling up, it really irks me. The grind is just not fun like it was in Diablo II, at least for me. Maybe its because my computer barely runs it at all, but I infinitely prefer Diablo II. It's not even close.

The thing that irks me the most though is the "random dungeon" aspect of the game. Look, if I spend 30 freakin' minutes wandering around trying to figure out where to go, the next time I log in I do NOT want to do it again. Not quite sure what they were thinkin there....

This is another thing that bothered me a bit. The outdoor areas are not nearly random enough to my tastes (I'm ok with indoor areas). The events are a coll idea, but it is nice to explore a different map on various playthroughs.

That said, once explored, the area should remain explored, specially due to the nature of the saving system.

But with the always-on thing I guess they were limiting what kind of personal information would be stored on their servers.

I'm just glad I'm not alone in that regard. And I agree, the smaller dungeons I wouldn't/don't have a problem with. But the big area maps? Completely separate issue. And I realize that they needed to reduce the info on their servers because you wouldn't want the very highly anticipated launch to go badly...[sub]right guys?[/sub]

 

[crazyarms33]

One of the things I've found about these "anticipated games" is you can't critique them. The majority of the world loves these games, you loved these games, but the amount of players the series has devoted to its hivemind become an immune system that routes out and destroys anything threatening to the franchise. So many people have become submissive because they don't want everyone to think them weird for disliking Diablo. "Yea, it has problems, but just keep your mouth shut and enjoy the game they worked hard on." NO. It has issues and it being popular does not make those issues less relevant. Remember when people where calling others entitled stuck up whiners for not liking Mass Effects ending? Its the same damn thing.

Diablo 3 may be an ok game, but stop defending it like it saved your family from starvation. Its not a benevolent god that caresses you while you touch yourself. Publishers don't care about your devotion unless it brings them money. Stop it.

If you haven't watch Jim Sterling's Better Doesn't Mean Good, you really, REALLY need to. Being American, I am completely opinionated and have no problem sharing my opinion with anyone and everyone, and letting them know that they are all wrong, as the world can attest to. [sub]It's a joke people, lighten up.[/sub] But what pisses me off is when someone says:

"Well can YOU do better?!"

No, no I probably couldn't seeing as how asking me to program a video game would be like asking a cat to fly a jet. I would have literally no idea where to begin. But that doesn't mean that I can't criticize something that what was made for people like me. I AM the intended audience, and if I don't like it, I deserve to be able to say so, especially if I am the one paying the developer's wages. Maybe that's a ludicrous idea though.

 

[zerragonoss]

I would like to voice a different opinion on most of what has been said, though first off I agree with the loot complaints
On leveling though I like it much more than many traditional leveling systems. I am more excited by leveling than in most games because I like to experiment with my builds, so instead of figuring out my build by level 5 and than losing all interest as soon as all the skills are unlocked I look forward the the new skills and interactions at all levels. It is much more like a tcg than a traditional leveling system though. Instead of building a character you just collect components and than play around with them to find interesting and effective combinations. This does remove any incentive to play with a second character of the same class, but to me the unlock of 1/6th of a potential build will always be more interesting than 3% axe damage even it it is often never used.
As far as the always online goes, I would say its their far more to support the RMAH than as DRM. Even if you can keep cheaters offline, few people would pay money for an item the could just cheat for in single player; with no guilt as why feel guilty for cheating in single player. so it seems a sound business decision, as it affect on most people will be negligible, anti consumer true, but still likely a net positive for blizzard.

 

[Sean951]

I would be upset with Blizzard doing always online if they weren't Blizzard, and here is why. Blizzard has 3 IPs at the moment with a fourth in the works. Warcraft is not always online (it's an MMO, they still support WCII, but they aren't working on it). Starcraft has offered offline play for some time, but they released Battle.net 2.0 when it came out, and the real focus of SCII is the online ladder and map making community, so they expect you to be online as much as you can. Then you have Diablo. Yes, it started as a single player game with optional multiplayer, but having played some D2, it wasn't very fun solo. I wanted other people, so I hooked up a LAN party with some friends since, well, the only person who has actually purchased the game had left it at his house 8 hours away, we acquired it in other ways. Then Blizzard decided they wanted to make D3 always online and to actively encourage you to join other people's games and interact with other people, so they made D3 always online. Oh, and that fourth IP? It's going to be an MMO, another always online game. So that will put Blizzard at 3/4 always online, with the odd one out heavily encouraging it.

Also, face it. We are moving into the digital age, and this is what we have to expect in the future, protests or not. And I for one couldn't care less, so long as they patch it to allow offline play when they shut down the servers, and given how good Blizzard is at taking care of the customer, they will. Say what you want about this launch and Blizzard's reaction, I played WoW for 3 years and never had a reason to complain about the customer service I received, and often praised it. Especially the GMs with a sense of humor.

 

[TK421]

but I'm an old geezer that likes to play his games whenever I want to. So it bothered me, but, hey, already bought it, right? I continued to play.

For sure. The DRM thing is crap.

Sixth: the auction house. A little bit on my background: I've never bought anything outside a game to progress within it. I guess this is becoming more and more common in these days of DLC, but I simply cannot get used to it. To me, it is simply not part of the game.

How I wish more people thought like you do.

I find the whole thing the endorsement of something that was wrong to begin with, created to exploit our addictiveness. I don't think this kind of stuff makes us better games and I'm sure that the fact that Blizzard decided to build the game around it lead to some sad design decisions like the always online thingy.

You're in my head. How did you get in there? I seriously agree with every point you make.

If the world was filled with more people who stated their opinions in the manner that this guy does, it would be a better place.

 

[Rivaria]

I guess its true about the leveling up bit where most of the new runes you get are useless and there are only some that are good, I'm still using the ones you first get and as for the items you would have to buy them from the auction house to have the suitable stats for your character cause rarely you would find equips that could give you the right stats.

 

[Norrdicus]

I agree with you about Diablo II's "one right spec" situation, which is why a similar future for Diablo III would be unsurprising in the extreme.

Yes, people keep defending D3's method of choosing skills by attacking the flawed balance of D2. It's a problem Blizzard brought upon themselves by not balancing thing properly, not a problem that stemmed from the the method of your character's progression being flawed from the first place.

The cold hard truth of D3 skill system is that you get some runes and skills at levels 1-10 and some at levels 51-60. Keeping those balanced will be a nightmare. Balance them too much and many additional runes and skills you get at high levels will feel inferior to the ones you already possess and the feel of powering up is ruined. Balance them too little and in the end only high-level runes and skills will be viable, limiting the builds you can make without crippling your character

 

[Aeshi]

I agree with you about Diablo II's "one right spec" situation, which is why a similar future for Diablo III would be unsurprising in the extreme.

Yes, people keep defending D3's method of choosing skills by attacking the flawed balance of D2. It's a problem Blizzard brought upon themselves by not balancing thing properly,

If balancing were that easy I'm sure somebody would've done it by now. They couldn't balance Warcraft II and that was a game where 90% of each factions units were the same in everything but appearance.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Sooo not even close to being worth 60$? Gotcha.

Saving it for GW2, as planned.

In my case it's $90 I've already pledged to Gearbox instead. And another $20 on the side for Runic just to spite Blizzard, even though I didn't even like Torchlight.