Diablo III

yeah thats how bethesda did it when they announced the elder scrolls mobile game this summer and i didnt see any complaints really, just 'dont care's

Those are good article, ET, but not really what I was getting at (also lol the 'items are hard to come by' seems 100 years ago now, you get a set mailed to you once you hit level cap and prove you can tie your shoelaces)

Weirdly I don't get the impression that the PC Master Race lot actually have a significant problem with the existing and massively successful console version of these games - but mobiles are a different matter because girls play on them for reasons we may never fully understand.

Gamers are the biggest bunch of whiney bitches it's really hilarious

Peak Reddit hysteria was seeing a video of someone throwing their phone out the window after watching the "Do you guys not have phones?" video.

So, Diablo III... I still play - look for the ILX clan on US West.

ums can we quote you on that

https://kotaku.com/sources-blizzard-pulled-diablo-4-announcement-from-bli-1830232246

Likewise, I still play Diablo 3. My life is a mess.

Blizzard has been antagonistic to the Diablo fanbase for the past decade. I’d never voice this stuff outside of ILX because I don’t want anyone to confuse me with these people, but the following stuff is super annoying:

* Many of the systems that made Diablo 1 and 2 incredible were simplified for 3 to open up space for a number of systems that were both terrible in their conception and implementation. When these new systems were removed, the husk that remained is hilariously basic compared to Diablo 2.
* Blizzard promised a lot of content that never arrived (e.g. two expansion packs). They also keep “dropping hints” about stuff that never materializes like a druid class (or Diablo 4).
* The content that did land, like the Necromancer update, was super basic compared to expansions from Diablo 1 and 2.

I’ll also say that this was BlizzCon. It blows my mind that people pay to go to this bullshit (and I write this as someone who plays way too much Diablo, Hearthstone, and World of Warcraft). Apple really should’ve gotten into the “pay to watch a press conference” game.

Apple really should’ve gotten into the “pay to watch a press conference” game.

goddamnit don't give them any ideas!

I'd be interested in a bit more detail there, Allen. The only system off the top of my head that I remember them removing was the Auction House, which in retrospect was mystifying that they didn't see it becoming a disaster.

The only really complex system that I remember from Diablo 2 was the skill tree, which I thought was improved in every way for D3 (by tearing it out and setting it on fire).

Something that's kind of staggering to reflect on is the change in the game - if I recall correctly, when it released first it was just "here's the story, play the story, replay the story harder if you want", it wasn't until the first expansion pack that they got Kadala, Rifts, Bounties, Legendary Gems...

I totally agree that they aren't Game Design Wizards with a master plan, the amount of stuff where they rolled it out and then changed it is hilarious (the Realm of Trials that you had to go through to get your Rift Key for a start).

Which is part of the general shift over the course of D3 from "This is grindingly hard" to "this is a loot pinata, here is a set when you hit lvl 70" - the hardest part of my most recent season was the set dungeons, and that's partly because I was over-powerful for them - one of the Barbarian dungeons had "hit every elite with these three skills", and I had to take off some gems because the first two skills were killing them.

I think when we start getting into "Blizzard promised" we reach dangerous waters - Blizzard is pretty careful not to promise things, because they get hammered when they don't come through. Most of what they hoped for a second expansion ended up as free content (Kanai's Cube, Ruins of Sescheron, Season Journeys, Greyhollow Isle, Set Dungeons, the Necromancer) if I recall correctly.

I mean, obviously it's been on the back burner for about a year, but I can't really complain, I paid maybe £100 for five years of gameplay?

The Past, Present, And Future Of Diablo - https://kotaku.com/the-past-present-and-future-of-diablo-1830593195

^ what's kind of interesting there is that the wind is slightly taken out of the article's sails by the fact that it came out a few days after the announcement of the arrival of the PTR for the next patch, the first in a year.

The patch is two main parts:

A new season gimmick - after 'double treasure goblins' and 'double horadric chests', this one is just that you're always under the effect of a Ring of Royal Grandeur, meaning you only need 2 pieces of a set for a 3-pieces bonus, 3 for a 4, etc. I like this one a lot, because it by itself would mix up the existing meta game, which has been pretty steady for the last four seasons: https://d3resource.com/seasons/index.php.

Also buffs of all of the sets that aren't currently in the meta: "The (2) Set bonus has been increased from 1200% to 6000%" is roughly representative. This will hopefully move stuff around a bit - it's been nice to see some of the Youtubers who've been reheating the same guides for the last year get back into being interested in what can be done with forgotten builds (though as far as I know none of the mechanics have changed that much apart from the Grandeur mentioned above).

The previous carrot for seasons has been removed as well - you used to get one more stash tab (70 more squares) each season if you complete the 'journey', but you'll get them all up to the full 10 automatically with 2.6.4.

I completed the journey on the Strength characters, Crusader & Barbarian (as well as clearing up some old Achievements for those classes) when the current season started in September. And then I decided to come back and try to squeeze in the Dexterity classes, Monk and Demon Hunter, a few weeks back - it doesn't take much to get you up to speed if you've already got a well-progressed character - I didn't even have any remaining gear on the characters, but a few Legendaries from Kanai's Cube can kick-start a build pretty quickly.

In short this game is still fun, either for mindless killing shit and getting loot (both Monk and Demon Hunter have builds that can just clear the screen on the highest Torment levels) and for tougher fun that you sadly have to pay attention to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFVcjkQ1uDg

I have no idea why a) who is the target for this video* or b) why they'd be reading this thread, but it is a pretty solid 13 minutes of why it's fun to play Diablo now.

*basically a podcast and an attract screen.

I think I'm the target? I've never played Diablo, and still can't tell what the hell is going on when I watch videos. All I know of it is that people like it.

Oh, wait, this is primarily online multiplayer? Eh.

Ilxor Diablo crew? I’d be down

I appreciate that they made the seasons the most appealing way to play, rather than perpetually grinding the same character forever. The downside is that I end up being pretty much done playing for a while before the season ends, never clean up my stash, and then when it's all dumped back to my main account I end up losing crap.

Not that it matters if all I care about is the seasons, but w/e

Ilxor Diablo crew? I’d be down

I started an ILX clan, called simply 'ILX.'

Oh ok. Anyone ever play? Any interest in setting a date / time to play MP?

It's entirely online, Josh, even when you're playing singleplayer - a brutal but effective way prevent people hacking their characters to a trillion gold and all the gear.

I think the console versions allow offline play, but they're on a different set of servers and have some other variations

D3 has been an effective heatwave/quarantine killer this week. Say hi if you're around.

I'm burnt out on it and prefer Grim Dawn anyway but Reaper of Souls rules.