New update out today.

Ugh.. and with the trademark Blizzard nerfs again.  I know they cut Attack Speed buffs in half, from reading their update notes.  The Monk angst is strong.  I'm sure there are some individual class stealth nerfs too, as that so often happens.

They still haven't put the announced fixes in for Legendary items.  Ya know.. the one that will actually make them more powerful than other equal-level ones.  This is great but they've hurt my interest in the game, in the meantime, since there will bo no updates to such loot that is found previous to that update - so any current legendaries you find right now will be relative crap after that upcoming update.   Meh. 

I find that I can only play it in short bursts.  The story and locations have become so repetitive... they really needed a longer campaign, especially for the premium price.   I suppose they just planned on putting a tad more into DLC?

I tried again on this game last week, and I just can't get in it.

I'm seriously disappointed in this.  I plopped down $60 without waiting for reviews--not that the reviews would've done any good--because I believed in Blizzard, and I believed in Diablo.

I don't any more.  This is not a terrible game, but IMO it's not a good one, either.  It's absurdly easy, and if the point is supposedly to unlock higher difficulties on subsequent playthroughs, well you had better make the first one fun, or those subsequent playthroughs aren't going to happen.

I like the innovation in the crafting system, and I like the way you can swap skills in and out.  Those are nice touches and additions to the RPG toolbox for future developers to use to make better games than this one.  This game has tedious run-around-and-destroy-everything-you-touch click-click-click combat, graphics with a serious touch of 2003, a dumbed-down skill tree, overwrought voice acting, a story that is the essence of cliche, and dialogue that was clearly written for children.  As far as fun goes, this game can't even touch Diablo II or even the original Diablo.  Those games at least threw tough fights at you from time to time, fights that required some tactics to win.  Here the only tactic required is "wade in and kill everything."

All the DRM stuff is a side issue to me, except possibly to the extent that my inability to play the game the first couple of days it was out got me off to a sour start I could never get around.  But I would've swallowed all that and smiled if it had been accompanied by a great game.  It isn't.

Those of us old school remember reading scorpia - and remember true independant reviews.

Mano Mano I loved reading Scorpia's column every month in Computer Gaming World. Computer Gaming World was my first computer game subscription magazine and I quite enjoyed the articles and I can't remember any of this sugarland candycoating of games back then in them. Gosh I miss those times in my life....I was 29 single and free living in America!

Originally Posted By ghostryder (19 JUN 2012 12:02am)

DennisS-you should like my review over at TheWildWildestWest.com. I even gave a special award. but to answer your question on the aution house---

 

IF it was only ingame gold you could call it a useful feature as opposed to meeting up in a MP group and switching ala diablo 2--but that is not what we have. We also can use cash money--simuliar to the tweekers of old buying their gear at illegal sites in everquest days--where the player often never really earned either loot or level- remembering the lvl 50 toon that took 3 years of hard play to meet up with such a guy-whose been in the game a week-with a higher level character and better equipment he bought instead of earned. We called them griefers-- and that is in no way just an added feature- it's introducing one of the worst things from the MMO.

 

But here's the kicker. IF, and again i say IF it was optional it wouldn't be a big issue- BUT again the bean counters even nerfed loot drops so they are ALWAYS below your level (from 6 to 8 levels) so your never be able to equip to appropiate level gear without resorting to the auction house- and no matter the angle you spin-game design by bean counters is not good. I believe the game design should be aimed at the players- and if done right the money rewards naturally follow, but with corporate intrusions to the extent they design loot drops around incentive auction house buys with cash---I can't sanely defend nor commend such practice.

My highest level toon is a level 55 wizard, and a level 54 item dropped for me last night. I put it on, immediately.

For the most part, I agree with your assessment that drops are significantly below your level, with limited usefulness to your character.

But....I am running six toons of differing levels, from 6 to 55. I have all my stash slots purchased, and I have a MASSIVE number of items just waiting for my other toons to advance in level.

This enhances gameplay, knowing that I have a bad-ass fist weapon just three levels higher than my monk..or that when my Barbarian reaches level 44, there is an unbelievable two handed weapon waiting there for him.

I have even gone so far as to limit my purchases for specific items, based on what Big Brother found earlier. My own little guild vault, and the shared stash is very cool.

The gameplay isn't perfect. There isn't a perfect game...but it's pretty good. I grouped last night with two other peeps, and one, a young lady, complained that she just couldn't progress in the game without dying immediately. I asked her a couple of questions, and she informed me that she had 6400 health. I am the same level as her, also a wizard, and I have 38500 health points..more then TEN times as much. I made her promise to go get some vitality gear, and she did, and we played for two additional hours.

Did the loot drops get nerfed too?

I played for an hour or two yesterday and the amount of gold dropping seemed notably smaller.  Not sure about the items, either, as there may have been more grey junk than usual, too. 

The gold drop difference was a popular chat topic.

Dennis - what skills are you currently using on your high-level Wizard?  I've been enjoying Wiz a bit, and wondered which skills are popular.

Originally Posted By Nefaro (20 JUN 2012 5:27am)

Did the loot drops get nerfed too?

 

I played for an hour or two yesterday and the amount of gold dropping seemed notably smaller.  Not sure about the items, either, as there may have been more grey junk than usual, too. 

 

The gold drop difference was a popular chat topic.

 

 

Dennis - what skills are you currently using on your high-level Wizard?  I've been enjoying Wiz a bit, and wondered which skills are popular.

The questions first. Good WAS nerfed, no more falling out of bookcases, or other destructible areas.

No more magic find bonus on non-creature finds. No legendaries out of crates anymore!!

For my wizard, my base build is vitality/intelligence, in that order. I am not fussy about the third bonuses, but I kinda favor health on hit, or health on kill, in that order.

For my skill spec, my base attack is magic missile. my RMB is disintigrating ray. Number one is frost nova, two is force wave, three is the shield, and four is Archon.

The critical skill here is frost nova. This enables me to kite. Without this ability, I would die a LOT more often vs. the elite groups. Freeze, turn, run, get some distance, then ranged attack, and rinse/repeat for as long as it takes. Hit 'em with blast wave when they get close, then freeze them, then retreat. This helps kill the trash, and lets me focus, after a time, on the big boys, using my disintegrating ray. Archon works well here..but you gotta keep moving.