BattleMaster Community
Community => Other Games => Topic started by: Revan on April 20, 2012, 03:29:14 AM
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It seemed sacrilegious that there wasn't a thread drooling over this yet. I confidently expected Diablo III to come out in 2010, then 2011 only to have my hopes cruelly dashed. Now it's finally being released on May 15 and I'm quite looking forward to it! Diablo II is probably one of my favourite games ever. I do have some fears about this new one though.
I'm really scared that Diablo III has been made to cater for the World of Warcraft crowd. It all just looks too bright and nice compared to Diablo II. Also heard rumours from the beta that the game just isn't on a par with Diablo II and the four characters per party things sounds like a horrible misstep if it makes it to final release. I don't really mind about the in-game marketplace though - people were already paying hand-over-fist for items and what not in Diablo II, just in much shadier places.
However Diablo III turns out, I reckon I'm probably going to pick it up on or as near to launch day as I can regardless. Not sure what class to go for when I get started though like. Torn between the Demon Hunter and the Monk. The Demon Hunter seems to be part-Amazon, part-Assassin. I loved both those classes even if I was only any good at playing the latter! The Monk intrigues me because he seems to have the martial arts/meleeing side of the Assassin, which is something I only got to grips with on my last run through Diablo II and had me cursing the fact I'd only ever played traps before!
Anyone else looking forward to this?
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Meh. This game should have come out two years ago. Still gonna play the game but I am more excited about Lineage Eternal really.
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Currently downloading for the open beta weekend. Will probably try out Witch Doctor first, not sure after that.
Luckily for me I live with 3 guys who are also downloading, so I've got a ready made party :D
I've not played either of the other Diablo games but I'm told it's pretty similar to games like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, which I loved, so hopefully I won't be let down.
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The Beta only starts at 21h CEST, so in almost 6 hours. Meh :p
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Currently downloading for the open beta weekend.
Sir, you have just utterly ruined any plans I had for this weekend! :-P
I see Diablo II is getting a ladder reset on May 2nd as well. That might ruin my life too, heh.
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The Beta only starts at 21h CEST, so in almost 6 hours. Meh :p
Yeah, I had planned to be able to play when it went live. Unfortunately my download speeds have been abysmal and am still downloading after ~9 hours :(
Sir, you have just utterly ruined any plans I had for this weekend! :-P
Glad I could help! :D
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I keep getting error 3003 when I try to log-in. A quick search told me I should change DNS to google, but I'm kind of reluctant to change settings I hardly understand. Help?
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http://www.gamezone.com/products/diablo-iii/news/diablo-3-open-beta-temporarily-capped
There you go. Apparently beta is only available on the US servers for now, so go to Options, Account and change your region to "The Americas". This solved it for me.
You then have to create a BattleTag. The link in-game didn't work for me, if it's the same for you, go here: https://eu.battle.net/account/management/battletag-create.html
I was then able to log in successfully :D
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I have a BattleTag. I'll try changing servers, thanks!
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I don't really mind about the in-game marketplace though - people were already paying hand-over-fist for items and what not in Diablo II, just in much shadier places.
I actually have to commend Blizzard somewhat on this. It helps stop many people from getting screwed over if the game firmly has something in place to handle it.
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"The servers are unable to handle your request error 37". Ugh.
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Right, played through the beta with a friend last night. First impressions:
- I'm not enjoying the art style.
- Still it got the most important part right: this feels like a Diablo game even if doesn't always look it.
- It also sounds like a Diablo game even if doesn't always look it. Hearing the original Tristram music as I stepped into the beta made me feel at home.
- The skill system seems suspect. At the beginning your skills are essentially being chosen by rote with no input from you. You're being hand-held were before you would have been planning a build from the ground up. I really hope the skill system hasn't been vastly simplified as it takes away alot of the challenge and indeed, alot of the experimentation of playing around with different builds.
- Further to that last point, it also makes Diablo III, dare I say it, a little boring? Certainly in the beginning. The only thing I have control over is clicking the left and right mouse buttons. Even when I have a few skills to play with in battle, I can't quickly switch to anything in my repertoire on the fly. There aren't any hotkeys. (That tiny little action bar they give to you in bits for 'action bar skills' doesn't count.) I have to go to the skill menu, choose a different skill, then wait for a cooldown. Obviously they want you to use only one skill from each skillset and maybe that'll be fine later on, but right now it just feels a little dispiriting.
Basically, I still don't know whether I'm gonna love Diablo III as much as its predecessors. I guess I'll just have to spend some real quality time with it after May 15th!
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Didn't they add the cool down system?
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Obviously they want you to use only one skill from each skillset and maybe that'll be fine later on, but right now it just feels a little dispiriting.
Yeah, at the moment it seems a little naff, but I can imagine once you get to higher levels the choices of skills and their runes you have will make for vastly differing builds between players of the same class (if it's balanced well, obviously).
You managed to try many classes out? I've not been able to log on much, so only tried Witch Doctor and still not finished the beta with him.
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Okay, I've spent some more time with it and, err, maybe I spoke a little too soon? ;D I think I was just in D2 culture shock for a minute there. I'm starting to understand the skill system and the way things are all set out a little better. It seems runes essentially let you change build any time, with any skill you like. That feels a mite too generous/easy for me, but it works and once you have a good handful of skills it begins to come into its own. I've also remembered that at heart, Diablo is all about the items. So the new crafting system is genius. You get half a chance to get decent kit without paying in real world currency. That's a whole lot better than what went before!
Didn't they add the cool down system?
Yeah, didn't realise at first but it makes encounters more interesting really. No more health pot spamming. Even with the new health orb drops, you get the odd frantic moment due to cooldowns! And fair play actually. I suppose if I go into some boss battle and switch skills mid-encounter, I should expect some sort of penalty :P
Yeah, at the moment it seems a little naff, but I can imagine once you get to higher levels the choices of skills and their runes you have will make for vastly differing builds between players of the same class (if it's balanced well, obviously).
You managed to try many classes out? I've not been able to log on much, so only tried Witch Doctor and still not finished the beta with him.
I've maxed out a Demon Hunter. At first the ranged skills feel pretty dire, but once you get rapid shot it feels much more satisfying. When you get to lvl 9/10+ it's even better. Your shadow skills keep you from being overrun by hoards of meleeing monsters but not so much you can get really cocky with it. I like that they've eliminated mana for the Demon Hunter as well. Instead you have Hatred for your ranged skills and Discipline for your shadow skills. The former you drain with defensive skills and replenish with attack skills whilst the latter only regenerates naturally. Probably not all that revolutionary, but it's really nice to have to manage battle strategy instead of two sets of pots. It's one of those little things were you're like 'why did no one think of this before?'
The only other class I've tried is the Wizard. It feels odd at early stages. Seems to be giving you a little taste of each element. For some reason, cold always feels the more satisfying choice. And hey, I suppose with the new skill system, no more getting to Hell and getting absolutely slammed because you're a cold specialist and half the monsters are immune! I think this is going to be one of those changes that just ends up growing on me over time...
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My predictions is that this game will be released in Mai 2015.
Honestly, I thought they had pulled a StarCraft: Ghost on this one.
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Spent even more time with the beta. Pretty much addicted now. It was strange getting used to at first, but the beta was basically the perfect microcosm of the whole Diablo experience. You get started, finish all the acts and then there's nothing left to do but start doing runs to keep levelling up and finding those good items. All the while you're unlocking new skills and exploring the crafting system even more thoroughly. There's a whole lot more positive reinforcement in this Diablo than the last one. I'm hooked.
The new skill system is probably perfect. For all my griping, you are either unlocking new skills or runes that change them every level. I dare say it'll taper off a bit later, but not by much. That will make the endgame and all the running later on more interesting as there will be a little more purpose to it. In D2 you spend up to 70 levels with the same skills you'd unlocked by level 30 (of which you'd be able to use a handful.) I reckon once we all have high level characters in D3 proper, that experience won't compare well at all.
As if I started this weekend sceptical about Diablo III >.< Bring on May 15th! ;D
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Spent even more time with the beta. Pretty much addicted now. It was strange getting used to at first, but the beta was basically the perfect microcosm of the whole Diablo experience. You get started, finish all the acts and then there's nothing left to do but start doing runs to keep levelling up and finding those good items. All the while you're unlocking new skills and exploring the crafting system even more thoroughly. There's a whole lot more positive reinforcement in this Diablo than the last one. I'm hooked.
The new skill system is probably perfect. For all my griping, you are either unlocking new skills or runes that change them every level. I dare say it'll taper off a bit later, but not by much. That will make the endgame and all the running later on more interesting as there will be a little more purpose to it. In D2 you spend up to 70 levels with the same skills you'd unlocked by level 30 (of which you'd be able to use a handful.) I reckon once we all have high level characters in D3 proper, that experience won't compare well at all.
As if I started this weekend sceptical about Diablo III >.< Bring on May 15th! ;D
So how many acts do they let you play for the beta?
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Ahh, meant to put 'acts', they only let you do four quests in what looked like Act I. You 'complete' the beta by about level 8 though and the beta had a level cap of 13. That's where the beta nails the essence of Diablo exact. You were left to run the expansive, three or four level dungeon before the main boss and then the boss battle itself to max out. Meanwhile exp is being doled out in amounts that felt typical to a later game experience. If I didn't know better, I could've been Baal running! >.<
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I may have got slightly addicted too...
Completed with Witch Doctor, Demon Hunter, Barbarian & Monk. Maxed Witch Doctor and Demon Hunter. Wanted to complete it with Wizard too, but they shut the servers before I went to bed and then I was working until the servers closed for the end of Open Beta :(
Demon Hunter and Monk seem a little over powered. I hardly ever took damage on my Demon Hunter because of the damage I could dole out at range (Rapid Fire ftw). Managed to get a 110 kill streak on Jar of Souls with the Monk, which seemed slightly silly - and that was only at level 7ish. Witch Doctor and Barbarian seem pretty well balanced, however.
Did anyone get to try co-op? I felt the difficulty scaled pretty well. Nightmarish monsters around most corners with one co-op buddy but they seemed pretty easy to kill if you both used your skills together.
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First thing I did on the beta was co-op with a friend. It actually felt a lot more challenging than with a full-party. It was the only time I died all weekend. In fact, I think that was the only character I saw die all weekend! Granted we're only seeing a snippet of the first act but as part of a four-person party, it seemed very difficult to fail.
Not sure about any classes being over/underpowered. A lot seemed to rest on scavenging a decent weapon. Witch Doctor I felt had some of the least satisfactory skills and felt like the weakest class of all the characters I tried, but I ended up hitting my highest DPS with him! With the Monk I had high expectations, but faded later on as I couldn't find a good enough weapon.
I think I must have spent too much time doing runs. I only encountered the Jar of Souls event once, arriving halfway through it. Will have to do some more thorough exploration when the game comes out proper! >.<
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Diablo 3's Ability System (http://www.sirlin.net/blog/2012/5/3/diablo-3s-ability-system.html)
An insightful article going into some detail about how the new skill system blows Diablo II's away and how, generally, it's just better game design. Learned a couple of new things that make me even more excited about the game. Apparently once you hit max level you can get an individual buff that increases your item and magic find providing you stay in the same game and progress through killing bosses and monsters. It looks like runs are going to change big time!
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So how many people are playing this at midnight?
I wanted to, but Amazon only sent out my pre-order today, so I've got to wait a few days before I get it :(
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I pre-ordered it through Battle.net a couple of hours ago. Currently have the game downloading. Bizarrely, I hear it's up to 10£ cheaper if I'd simply waited to go to a bricks and mortar store at midnight/tomorrow. Which I might as well have done, as I'm actually going to be out when the game goes live! But at least I'll have it ready and waiting for me tomorrow, eh? :-)
Edit: Deffo embarrassed by the number of times I've posted to this thread now. What a fanboy! >.<
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Edit: Deffo embarrassed by the number of times I've posted to this thread now. What a fanboy! >.<
Knowledgeable individual who specialises in a specific subset of gaming literature ;)
Amazon pulled off a seeming miracle with regards to the British postal service. They posted Diablo second class (or whatever they use for their free posting service) this morning, it arrived at my house today. Looks like my evening is sorted :D
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I'm playing a Demon Hunter and right now I am in love with Twin Chakrams. I might just use them forever and ever. The Act II boss fight was unbelievable. Can't even imagine what a challenge the Act III/IV bosses will be. I think Nightmare/Hell/Inferno difficulties really are going to be hard as nails later on. I'm already sensing, as well, that my gear is going to start letting me down. I'm already keeping rubbish armour just for high dex bonuses. Hopefully I'll stumble across some wonderful things soon!
My one and only gripe with the game so far? People skipping event/boss scenes. The game has been out all of two days. We're all on our very first play-throughs. Yet it seems like no-one wants to spend ten seconds or so listening to a little bit more story. It's infuriating. Skip all you like once we get to nightmare, but don't spoil my fun when I'm playing through for the very first time! :-\
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I honestly don't see what's so great about it. And judging by the metacritic score (3.4/10), neither do most other people.
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It is not a bad game but I don't know it can be considered great...
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I'm playing a Demon Hunter and right now I am in love with Twin Chakrams.
I'm also playing Demon Hunter, but I've only found 2 usable weapons so far (played for 1 hour 30min), so currently with a very sub-par crossbow.
For teaming with my mates, I was thinking of playing a Witch Doctor simply because they seem they'd be hilarious when they've got all their summoning abilities equipped. But a build like that would suck quite a lot in solo.
My one and only gripe with the game so far? People skipping event/boss scenes.
Going through solo for the cut-scenes/etc, when I go through with friends we're probably going to skip them.
I honestly don't see what's so great about it. And judging by the metacritic score (3.4/10), neither do most other people.
There's been a lot of hate over the servers being unprepared. The game itself is really nice, just people aren't being given a chance to try it out, so they're raging over it. People are also complaining about "bad graphics", which is a ridiculous thing to say, the game looks fine.
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I've seen the gameplay... not really seeing it for much other than a top down wow clone.
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I've seen the gameplay... not really seeing it for much other than a top down wow clone.
Ok, I'm glad somebody said it.
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The movies in-between acts are great. I'm into nightmare now and it's interesting to see how classes are diverging. Haven't really seen anyone doing the same things as me with the Demon Hunter. Also, I really enjoy the fact that the Male Wizard appears to have been voiced by the fellow who does Alucard in Hellsing. For that alone, I reckon I'll be picking Wizard on my next playthrough!
It seems harsh to compare Diablo to conventional MMO's as it isn't really operating in the same space. It offers a single player component. It isn't a persistent open world. Most gameplay areas are randomised. The core of the Diablo experience is going through the higher difficulties, which requires more thoughtful, strategic game play and the never-ending quest to find the perfect items to supplement your character/build. I know combat wise it probably looks like any other point and click hack and slasher, but the classes are all evolutionary steps from Diablo II really.
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*fanboy stamp approved for above comment*
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*fanboy stamp approved for above comment*
As a none fanboy, I have to agree with Revan. This is my first Diablo game, but I can already see it's turning out to be pretty nice.
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I've seen the gameplay... not really seeing it for much other than a top down wow clone.
I'm sorry, I hate D3, but this is just plain wrong. The diablo model of gameplay was around long before WoW.
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then it's come full circle.
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Okay, so I've done my first sort of 're-spec' during Act 2 Nightmare. I'd started dying with my Demon Hunter a lot, then once I started experimenting I started dying a real lot before finally settling on something that worked a little better. I'd sort of overdone it with offensive skills which left me with nothing to fall back on when the hordes ended up surrounding me.
I think I'd have been okay if public games always filled up with four people of differing classes, but mostly it seems I'm pushed with one other person who turns out to be another Demon Hunter or maybe a Wizard. Life can be real hard without a tank! >.<
*fanboy stamp approved for above comment*
Hehe :-P
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Life can be real hard without a tank! >.<
Try soloing as a Demon Hunter. I've made it to act 2 and only died twice, way too many close calls though. I think I may end up ruining my "Vault" hotkey before the end of the game xD
Started a Monk on hardcore, only played for an hour or so with it last night. I'm not expecting to get far, anything after Skeleton King will be a bonus tbh :P
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I actually saw a video of a Demon Hunter soloing Belial on Inferno difficulty without taking any damage. It blew my mind. Thing is, I don't even feel I need epic items to emulate that. I just need to have the right build and to have a great reaction time. Sadly though, I'm not quite as good as that >.< Also was in hell with a monk t'other day and he was using a skill that basically made us all amazing. I foresee Blizzard inflicting some painful, painful class rebalancing at some point in the near future!
I feel I should say, as well, how right on the Diablo III community seems to be at this point. The last time I played any online game seriously was when I got a little too into Call of Duty for a while. Which isn't exactly a nice environment, having abuse hurled at you by kids! It is so refreshing to find friendly, nice people who are good for a laugh and capable of accepting the odd failure. Everyone is so friendly and constructive. It's a wonderful change of pace :-)
Try soloing as a Demon Hunter. I've made it to act 2 and only died twice, way too many close calls though. I think I may end up ruining my "Vault" hotkey before the end of the game xD
Started a Monk on hardcore, only played for an hour or so with it last night. I'm not expecting to get far, anything after Skeleton King will be a bonus tbh :P
I think I've died a thousand million times by now! I am getting better though, slowly but surely. It's gotten to the stage where if I'm in a good party, I'm usually the last to die when things start going wrong. A good party is definitely a precondition of doing well on hell difficulty though! Every time I solo or am in a bad party, I'm likely to succumb a few times to any group of boss monsters. I particularly despise teleporting illusionists and anything that sets arcane sentries *shakes fist*
Honestly, I cannot even begin to imagine how anyone could go through hardcore and complete Inferno difficulty. The first person to do it probably deserves a real life monetary prize just for being a boss at Diablo :-P
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A good party is definitely a precondition of doing well on hell difficulty though!
Agreed. Currently going through Normal with my house-mates and we can already see how much more difficult it is than on our own. On harder difficulties I can see us really having to work together.
The first person to do it probably deserves a real life monetary prize just for being a boss at Diablo :-P
Haha. I'm hoping to get to Inferno with my hardcore character and then I'll probably start streaming when I do, just so the internet can share in my pain when I inevitably die xD Currently half way through Act 3 with him, only had a couple of close calls when my ping shot up.
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Those who are playing the game add me as a friend, I reached level 60 with my monk and I'm on act 3 hell difficulty.
Madmonk77#1177
I'm totally addicted to the game!
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I just feel I should clarify a little of what I said before. When I was talking about the 'Diablo community', I meant the people I've met in game who've generally been quite affable and helpful. The 'community' populating the Diablo III forums on the other hand are a seething morass of bile and hatred. It's slightly depressing.
Anyway, I'm in Inferno now. I've completed Act I but Act II, Quest I is beyond me right now. I've done lots of Act I inferno runs for better gear, but it's starting to grate slightly now. Doing the final quest usually takes 30-45 mins I think and frankly, unless you're really really lucky, you seem to be picking up rubbish. So instead of gear runs, really I'm doing gold runs so I can painstakingly buy overpriced bits of kit on the Auction House. I can see how people can become underwhelmed and frustrated by the level of the challenge in reaching a survivable state for Act II.
It seems there is a consensus that Demon Hunters are one of the most powerful classes and are well suited to higher end play, but I think I need far better reaction times. Too often I've been hitting pots or skills a fraction too late. Better reflexes alone would probably make my travails in Inferno so much easier! I also need a really good party to take attention away as I'm just too squishy even with improving kit in Inferno. I'm doing high damage now by focusing on critical hit chance and critical hit damage % on weapon, skills and a few items so I'm very often hitting criticals in the 70k range. Just a shame that I so often end up in a party with another Demon Hunter, a Wizard and a Witch Doctor. It's not exactly the dream team.
Saying that, I wonder if the problems people are having on Inferno are not so much the difficulty spiking, but the fact that often you're in a random party with people all using their favoured personal skills. Irrespective of their really working well together. For example, if I'm in a game with another DH, maybe one should focus on DPS, the other on crowd control. Not both do the same thing. Perhaps we'd all do much better if at the start of each Inferno game/run, you got a good mix of classes all using complementary skills and builds that maximise your potential to succeed. Once you reach level 60, that's the only other thing you can do other than get new items to try and drastically improve your chances but it's never something anyone mentions in game.
Haha. I'm hoping to get to Inferno with my hardcore character and then I'll probably start streaming when I do, just so the internet can share in my pain when I inevitably die xD Currently half way through Act 3 with him, only had a couple of close calls when my ping shot up.
All credit to you, fella. I can't even imagine how you've managed that. Especially with all the latency issues. Every time I've played a HC character, it's always been in resignation that I would be let down by bad kit eventually, but lag would probably get me first!
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Saying that, I wonder if the problems people are having on Inferno are not so much the difficulty spiking, but the fact that often you're in a random party with people all using their favoured personal skills.
I think it's partly that people don't use Monk/Barbarian because they have trouble in solo Inferno. In a team, they'd probably do quite well, but nobody wants to take that leap.
All credit to you, fella. I can't even imagine how you've managed that. Especially with all the latency issues. Every time I've played a HC character, it's always been in resignation that I would be let down by bad kit eventually, but lag would probably get me first!
Heh, unfortunately my ability to play has been near zero lately so I'm stuck half way through Nightmare on Hardcore. Killing the final boss on Normal was hard (I'll save spoilers for those still playing through for the first time) and I reached a new level of emotional instability throughout the fight xD
I'm thinking my streaming may not come for a veeeeeery long time at this rate. Hopefully the whole "monk is under powered" stuff will have been sorted out by the time I reach that point :P
How much gold you pulling in now? Do you find that those ridiculous prices on the AH are reachable for you now? My house-mates and I keep looking at items and thinking "wtf, no way can we ever get that amount of gold".
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How much gold you pulling in now? Do you find that those ridiculous prices on the AH are reachable for you now? My house-mates and I keep looking at items and thinking "wtf, no way can we ever get that amount of gold".
Gold gets much easier to come by on Inferno. Stacking that Nephalem Valour buff you get at level 60 really makes a difference. Basically, getting a million together isn't beyond the bounds of possibility once you get stuck into Inferno runs. But that doesn't make AH prices any less silly, alas. It would be nice if you could turn to the gem/blacksmiths as an alternative but that's a no go. Creating just one of the highest level gems will cost you hundreds of thousands and the best items you can smith aren't really fit for purpose when you reach Inferno. Not to mention how expensive it is just to get to the highest artisan levels in the first place!
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Died at level 43, just over 30 hours of play time. Got stuck in a tight corridor with a Desecrator / Arcane Enchanted champion. Ran off to get to open space, but got caught by the beams as I did. Looks like my dream of a level 60 Hardcore character is now a long way off :P
But that doesn't make AH prices any less silly, alas. It would be nice if you could turn to the gem/blacksmiths as an alternative but that's a no go.
Yeah, I turned to bargain hunting on the AH quite often to get decent gear and gems. The problem is that they've balanced things for the end game (which is fair enough). Crafting things then is rather cheap as you've got so much gold. But early/mid game, things are ridiculously expensive.
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Oh, bad times. That's a nasty combo for a tight corridor! Arcane Sentries are probably the most evil elite ability around.
As for crafting, I think it will have some utility for future playthroughs, filling in the gaps as you level new characters. But yeah, with the AH I suppose it was unlikely Blizzard would make crafting too useful in the late game. Still, it would be nice if in a patch they added at least a couple of mindblowing smithing recipes to loot drops.
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But yeah, with the AH I suppose it was unlikely Blizzard would make crafting too useful in the late game.
Indeed, especially since once the real money AH goes live they'll be getting a cut of all the sales.
Still, it would be nice if in a patch they added at least a couple of mindblowing smithing recipes to loot drops.
Not happening unfortunately. They've said they'll fix bugs, do some very minor balancing and then add in PvP. There won't be any extra content after that until they release the expansion :(