Thinking of Diablo 3? Read this first.

So, as somebody who was more excited for this game to release than any other game in memory I have finally hit the 80 hour played mark and I have made the decision to uninstall and shelve it. I will tell you why and as I am a very average person who loves video games, I speak from an unbiased perspective as I am not a Blizzard fan boy nor do I hate Blizzard for World of Warcraft or any other reason. I am also not a victim of my own unrealistic expectations so with that said, here are the problems.

1.) The game is far too short and by that I mean that it took me playing only 12 hours to make it through the entire game on normal difficulty. I explored every area and uncovered every map and wen't into every dungeon and did all the random events and it still only took 12 hours, that's not long enough for a $60.00 game.

Obviously, the game isn't "over" when you finish the normal difficulty, in fact, from there you move to nightmare difficulty, then hell, then inferno. The problem is that the story does not change, the locations do not change and the scenery does not change so basically, your just playing through the same exact content you just finished playing through.

For a game in development for over 4 years from one of the biggest gaming companies on the planet and with the estimated budget, this doesn't cut it for me, it should have been much, much longer with much, much more actual content, original content. Skyrim had a budget comparable to Diablo 3 so I am left asking myself where in heck did all that money go?

2.) The graphics are dated, while they do a good job setting the mood and the game does boast an excellent physics system that makes it very fun to kill monsters the graphics are "hazy" and it is difficult to see any detail of armor on your character which for a game all about obtaining items is kind of crappy. These graphics were on par with stuff from about 5 years ago and I do not know why they couldn't have been a little more crisp. I'll leave out the "WoWesc" art style because that's personal preference, some will like it, some wont.

3.) Itemization is a total and complete mess and how they could of got it this wrong is completely beyond me. In every act I was in past level 20 I would get items dropping that were 4-10 levels below the content I was doing, I assumed it would get better as I wen't along but I assumed wrong. I expected I could gear up for act II of hell by farming act I, wrong, I could gear up great for act IV of nightmare in act I of hell, this is wrong on so many levels and forces you to hit the AH to progress if you don't want to spend the next year of your life in one act.

While the affixes on items are ok they are far from cool, great, inspiring, awesome, this is a problem in and of itself but what it really gets down to is that by the time you get to inferno the only viable stats are stamina and your main stat, anything else and you get 1 shotted, not fun as it allows for no variance in gear. They have dumbed it down to STR, INT, DEX, VIT bleh.

Remember legendary items in D2 that were Godly? IE: Windforce. Well good, I hope you have a vivid memory because you won't be seeing anything like those in D3 in fact by a large margin the legendary's that drop are out-shined by blues of the same level and even some whites. This is unacceptable but Blizzard says, working as intended........... Hmmmmm

After your first run through where you guaranteed rare drops on bosses on nightmare and up, bosses drop complete crap, forget about any rares unless you have 400+ magic find and instead you are forced to farm champion packs of mobs who have randomized affixes that rolls the kind of damage they do. Starting in act II of hell and beyond, GL with that.

3.) The difficulty of the game is nothing more than ramping up damage output and MOB health, at no point through the game is there any change of mechanics with the bosses or MOBs, only more damage output and more health, this in my opinion is not fun, at all. Normal is too easy and Inferno is just stupid and it's stupid because it's not actually hard, it's cheese hard, a regular mob can hit for 30k+ damage per shot, not too mention the champion packs that if you want to kill with most any affix involves you running around in a circle for 20 minutes waiting for a couple skill cooldowns, pop them then continue running or chain dying while you wittle them down, those are your only two options.

4.) Lack of builds is obvious end game because although there are a ton of combinations to be chosen if you wan't to kill anything in inferno you have 1 viable build for your class, maybe.... Maybe 2 nothing else or you will get rolled over and over again, this is not fun, it just is not.

When a viable build is found by any class and they have success in inferno, Blizzard has and will continue to stealth nerf those abilities without saying a word, they have done it to wizards and monks so far and soon barbarians. No notice, no posts just nerfs. Not all of these have been exploits, just skills that players will spec into with gear that enhances it but nerf bat anyway.

5.) Online only play. I don't even know where to start here, it is necessary because of the real money auction house to curb cheating but the ironic thing is that the real money auction house is the whole problem with the game and that is because Blizzard built the whole game around people buying from it so they could make money as they take 15% of every transaction and charge a $1 dollar listing fee for every item. Almost every single problem with the game from item drops to nerfs is a direct result of the RMAH and that is a very serious problem and one I just can't get past.

I have loads of other stuff but I think you all get the point. Oh well, back to Diablo 3 and maybe check out Torchlight II when it comes out!!!

I LOVE this game

reply to post by Helious


One of my friends got the game a couple days ago.

He's beaten it on the first 2 difficulties. I was just asking him about it last night. He looked bored playing it while we started drinking. I asked him "is there lots of grinding or why are you so bored?"

He said back to me, "It's not really grinding, but it's the same thing over again just harder this time. It doesn't really change anything the second time through."

He was playing 8 hours a day atleast, and now he only plays it a couple hours. Broke back out his N64 actually. Mario Cart lol.

So yeah. I was interested in the game for a couple days, but I'm going to pass on it.
I loved Warcraft 3 though(maybe my favorite online game ever), so I can't really hate on Blizzard that much.

While it certainly has a lot of the charm the first two games had and it plays just like them, the difficulty is an absolute joke and i know that games over the past 10 years have become easier and easier, with more and more help for even the most retarded players out theres (i mean, 20 years ago in Computer RPGs you had to look around, explore and draw maps, today you have ingames maps and makers that show you where to go and what to do, it's a joke)
But diablo was always a game that lives from it's difficulty.
It's a shame what happened but then again Starcraft 2 was a joke in terms of difficulty and AI.

And the game seems short and thanks to the lame difficulty on all difficulty settings (which are even unlocked from the beginning!) i guess it will be abandonded by a lot of gamers. Just as Starcraft 2 is already nearly forgotten, Diablo 3 will absolut not have the same staying power than it's predecessor, that is still played...nearly 12 years after its release!

Originally posted by Helious
2.) The graphics are dated, while they do a good job setting the mood and the game does boast an excellent physics system that makes it very fun to kill monsters the graphics are "hazy" and it is difficult to see any detail of armor on your character which for a game all about obtaining items is kind of crappy. These graphics were on par with stuff from about 5 years ago and I do not know why they couldn't have been a little more crisp. I'll leave out the "WoWesc" art style because that's personal preference, some will like it, some wont.

The saddest thing in the past 10 years is also that graphics became more and more important. If a game doesn't look like Crysis it sucks, if the graphics aren't amazing, it can't be a good game because i guess those nerds who have nothing but games in their lives use good looking games to jerk off too.
I don't know and i don't understand why graphics today are more important than the real important things for video games: Gameplay, Story, Challenge, Characters.
It's sad to see that cheap # like Call of Duty sells solely based on "whoa there's violence" and "whoa the graphics are awesome dude!!111" while the gameplay is completely linear, unchallenging and retarded. No wonder the gaming world of today is in such a sad state were you basically get the same 5 game concepts over and over again, because as long as the graphics are great and it follows the derpy "casual rules" (self-regenerating health, stupid AI, help on every corner so even braindead zombies can finish it, cover system to aid those zombies who can't finish a game with a built-in god mode (because self-regeneratin health is nothing else) but then they complain that Call of Duty Part XXXV plays exactly like the games before and wonder why nothing new comes around

I think from the art direction, Diablo 3 looks nice, it has a certain flair, it's dark, it features nice landscapes. What's the problem?

Diablo 1 is the only true Diablo game...


Diablo 2 is a good multiplayer game but no creepy style whatsoever compared to Diablo 1...

Diablo 3 is just a sell-out to get some cash for the servers for Starcraft...

I was thinking of getting Diablo 3, or Dragons Dogma for my ps3 since it came out at the end of this month. In the end I stuck with Dragons Dogma and I am not disappointed, the game is way better and more innovative and fun to play then lots of games out there. Everything I heard of Diablo 3 seems to be the same old stuff that was Diablo 1 and 2, for a game that took this long to make they seemed to not have done anything new or anything in particular all that special.

I cant comment all that much on it since I didn't play it, but just from the things I seen, and what people have been saying there really is nothing there that other games that came out months ago, or in this month does not do better or surpass Diablo 3 in every way. It really makes you wonder WTF took so long to make this game, maybe if it came out a few years ago, they may have had better success with it.

As it is right now...I think I will pass on Diablo 3, maybe I will pick it up when it goes in the discount bin.

reply to post by ShadowAngel85

The saddest thing in the past 10 years is also that graphics became more and more important. If a game doesn't look like Crysis it sucks, if the graphics aren't amazing, it can't be a good game because i guess those nerds who have nothing but games in their lives use good looking games to jerk off too. I don't know and i don't understand why graphics today are more important than the real important things for video games: Gameplay, Story, Challenge, Characters. It's sad to see that cheap # like Call of Duty sells solely based on "whoa there's violence" and "whoa the graphics are awesome dude!!111" while the gameplay is completely linear, unchallenging and retarded. No wonder the gaming world of today is in such a sad state were you basically get the same 5 game concepts over and over again, because as long as the graphics are great and it follows the derpy "casual rules" (self-regenerating health, stupid AI, help on every corner so even braindead zombies can finish it, cover system to aid those zombies who can't finish a game with a built-in god mode (because self-regeneratin health is nothing else) but then they complain that Call of Duty Part XXXV plays exactly like the games before and wonder why nothing new comes around I think from the art direction, Diablo 3 looks nice, it has a certain flair, it's dark, it features nice landscapes. What's the problem?

Let me explain, I by no means consider graphics everything, at all! One of my favorite games of all time and one that I still play is X-Com UFO defense and the graphics could not be more simple. I don't think the graphics are a huge issue with Diablo 3 and I could easily forgive them entirely if the game itself was better but because it is not I can't.

My biggest issue is the lack of resolution of your characters details and items, this should at the very least be crisp, after all the game is all about farming cool items to equip, how is that fun if there is very little detail in the armor and weapons you find or bleh, buy from the auction house. Thats all I meant as far as that goes and I do agree the "mood" of the game the graphics create suites me just fine.

Something I didn't mention in my last post though is how they have cut out the social aspect, there is no lobby system for any kind of trading, showing off gear, etc. They want to push you away from trading items and only list and buy from the auction house, game breaking for a Diablo game.

reply to post by ShadowAngel85


The difficulty is a joke? Have you been to Inferno? I wouldn't call getting 2 shotted by regular mobs easy..

reply to post by Helious


Say no to Blizzard's DRM.

Just say no.

Originally posted by CaPpedDoG
reply to post by ShadowAngel85

 

The difficulty is a joke? Have you been to Inferno? I wouldn't call getting 2 shotted by regular mobs easy..

Actually, that is part of the joke. Normal is basically faceroll through the entire game and inferno is smash your keyboard against the wall.

The worst part? Nothing changes from the first difficulty to the last difficulty except health and damage output. That my friend is lazy programming, poor planning and trying to pass off half assed game design as actual content.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by Helious

 

Say no to Blizzard's DRM.

Just say no.

I agree, it's pretty far for a company to go for DRM but they justify it by saying it is needed because of the real money auction house so they can be sure nobody is duping items, exploiting, etc. I think honestly for them they are killing two birds with one stone and all the upside is Blizzards and all the down side lies with the consumer. Horrible idea and implementation IMHO.

Originally posted by Helious

Originally posted by CaPpedDoG
reply to post by ShadowAngel85

 

The difficulty is a joke? Have you been to Inferno? I wouldn't call getting 2 shotted by regular mobs easy..

Actually, that is part of the joke. Normal is basically faceroll through the entire game and inferno is smash your keyboard against the wall.

The worst part? Nothing changes from the first difficulty to the last difficulty except health and damage output. That my friend is lazy programming, poor planning and trying to pass off half assed game design as actual content.

Welcome to Diablo. Diablo 2 was the same thing basically. If Inferno is too hard for someone, then Hell should be just perfect.

reply to post by Helious


That's a huge fallacy though.

Just because you need to "authenticate" yourself to the server does not mean you have to be 100% connected at all times.

They sold you a 60$ game client, not a game.

The problem is that they could have split it, much like Diablo2 into two different versions. The online game client for the online players/auction house, and then the actual local save on your hardware so you can play whenever you want.

It's insane to pay that much for a game you need to play at their convenience, this is just Blizzard passing off their problem ( the hacking, item duplication etc) onto the consumer, UNFAIRLY.

~Tenth

reply to post by CaPpedDoG

Welcome to Diablo. Diablo 2 was the same thing basically. If Inferno is too hard for someone, then Hell should be just perfect.

Yeah, Diablo 2 was basically the same but the item system was better. That said, Diablo 2 was made 12 years ago, you would hope that since then, they could have thought up some better ideas.......

Originally posted by Helious
reply to post by CaPpedDoG

 

Welcome to Diablo. Diablo 2 was the same thing basically. If Inferno is too hard for someone, then Hell should be just perfect.

Yeah, Diablo 2 was basically the same but the item system was better. That said, Diablo 2 was made 12 years ago, you would hope that since then, they could have thought up some better ideas.......

I understand where you're coming from. For me personally, I don't have a problem with it. I actually find it exciting when I find a lvl 60 rare in Inferno and have to ID it. It could be utter crap or it could be absolutely perfect.

The consumers were given a half-arsed product, simple as that.
Buyers don;'t want to admit it, such as myself when I spontaneously spent my $60 the minute it came out because the hype changed my mind.

But it's a $60 well spent knowing that it's a hard lesson learned. Words are weak when works are truth. There is only so much that can be done with Diablo 3. But when the fun is over, it's hard to look back determine whether the day was well spent.

D3 is a waste, and next time a squeal of a successful title comes out I'll just pass it off until it has proven itself.

Originally posted by GambitVII
The consumers were given a half-arsed product, simple as that.
Buyers don;'t want to admit it, such as myself when I spontaneously spent my $60 the minute it came out because the hype changed my mind.

But it's a $60 well spent knowing that it's a hard lesson learned. Words are weak when works are truth. There is only so much that can be done with Diablo 3. But when the fun is over, it's hard to look back determine whether the day was well spent.

D3 is a waste, and next time a squeal of a successful title comes out I'll just pass it off until it has proven itself.

Ah, the truth in this post is like a giant breath of fresh air in the spring morning, and it feels good. Spot on ^^^

Let's see
After getting nerfed "already" (D.H. and W.D.)
then a patch that gave non stop error37 and 3006 and another, I went to the forums there and saw a post
In which I quoted and agreed with: basically lt showing the videos and what they showed/told us it would be like
from years ago. I understand that things changed but I agree with the post and haha this morning I went to check the AH still errors and then checked the forum and wow I'm banned for agreeing with a post.

I think some day I might play again but just gonna go back to Minecraft, Darkspore , Torchlight or Titan Quest while waiting for Torchlight 2.

This is one of the videos from almost 4 years ago


I want the game in the videos from then not the $60 beta version I Have now

reply to post by EvilBat


What is different about the video from the actual game?