Blizzard’s Diablo franchise has always buttered my parsnip. Unlike other more in-depth MMORPGs (Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Game), the Diablo games are about two things: kill monsters and get loot (items to sell or use). Players could join a public game or conquer with friends. One can play for an hour or all day—still achieving varying amounts of progress. Rogue types (games where level landscape is generated randomly) offer a new, but familiar feel each time a level is replayed. Repetition still bogs some folks down, but time in Diablo is spent equally.
Blizzard set the bar for pc games on more than one occasion. For example, even with four expansions World of Warcraft is the standard to which all other MMO’s are judged. Diablo is no different. The first game was released in 1996, while not achieving any medals in popularity, critics were impressed. Diablo II released in in 2001 and it’s expansion in 2003. Diablo II: The Lord of Destruction made the franchise explode. People were selling their children to buy that game. I briefly played the second game before the expansion came out so it was all new territory for me. To this day, The Lord of Destruction is one of the most enjoyable games I’ve ever played. It also gave further credibility to Blizzard as a developer and spawned a whole generation of rogue type MMO’s.
Past experience and quality of Blizzard games fueled the massive hype that surrounded Diablo III. Rarely do I pre-order a game and the third installment was a worthy exception, or so I thought. The launch of Diablo III was a slow motion train wreck. No matter how much I wanted to look away, my eyes stayed glued to the screen. Myself and three friends all bought the game to play together. The tension was palpable. Diablo fans had been waiting nine long years for a sequel. Downloading the game was agony, but we suffered through gritting our teeth, knuckles white with anticipation. The time came and we couldn’t log on. If by some miracle we could log in, connectivity was lost twenty minutes later. Connectivity issues all over the globe lasted for two weeks. Coming from Blizzard, this was unexpected and the beginning of many failures.
The development team for Diablo III was too ambitious. Innovation can be a double edged sword while modern games are a product of inspiration, don’t break what works. A lack of PvP and the auction house broke what could be considered a decent game.
Broken Promises versus PlayerOne aspect Diablo games lacked was a pvp system. Most contemporary MMO’s have pvp modes or games like League of Legends are entirely devoted to such concepts. Diablo II had a basic dueling system, but satisfaction was not gained. On paper introducing a constructive pvp mode for Diablo III sounded like a great idea. I was elated to see how the developers would do it. Then I wasn’t because they didn’t do it. How disappointing. Some patches later, players got something called “brawling” which is basically a carbon copy of the D2 system. Unfortunately, I understand why Blizzard backed down from the pvp promises. D3 doesn’t allow for a complex pvp system due to basic nature of the game. Class abilities and randomized loot properties make balancing very difficult. Balancing is necessary for any pvp system worth its salt to function properly.
Auction Madness
Auction houses are another feature littering most MMO’s. World of Warcraft, Eve Online, Dust 514, Guild Wars II and many others all have auction houses. This system allows players to easily trade with one another with ease. Sounds like a sensible feature to provide players with, unless you cock it up. Diablo III’s auction house completely destroyed the game. No exaggeration in the previous statement, the core of enjoyment—if there was any—of D3 evaporated with the AH.
Broken Promises versus PlayerOne aspect Diablo games lacked was a pvp system. Most contemporary MMO’s have pvp modes or games like League of Legends are entirely devoted to such concepts. Diablo II had a basic dueling system, but satisfaction was not gained. On paper introducing a constructive pvp mode for Diablo III sounded like a great idea. I was elated to see how the developers would do it. Then I wasn’t because they didn’t do it. How disappointing. Some patches later, players got something called “brawling” which is basically a carbon copy of the D2 system. Unfortunately, I understand why Blizzard backed down from the pvp promises. D3 doesn’t allow for a complex pvp system due to basic nature of the game. Class abilities and randomized loot properties make balancing very difficult. Balancing is necessary for any pvp system worth its salt to function properly.
Auction Madness
Auction houses are another feature littering most MMO’s. World of Warcraft, Eve Online, Dust 514, Guild Wars II and many others all have auction houses. This system allows players to easily trade with one another with ease. Sounds like a sensible feature to provide players with, unless you cock it up. Diablo III’s auction house completely destroyed the game. No exaggeration in the previous statement, the core of enjoyment—if there was any—of D3 evaporated with the AH.
The problem originated with an unregulated market. Players would find legendary items and put them up for auction at ten million gold. Even with a massive amount of goldfind (a percent that dictates how much extra gold drops off monsters, chests, etc) accumulating that amount would take an eternity. Some really posh items would go for a billion gold. To combat this problem the developers decided to nurf the drops rates on everything because that would solve the problem. It didn’t. Post-nerf grinding was awful. I’d kill a boss and get nothing useful every single time, even on inferno difficulty. The only reason my barbarian had any decent gear was due to smart shopping on the auction house. The game’s core mechanic was obtaining useful gear through killing monsters. An auction house is diametrically opposed to that concept. Misplaced ambition took the form of a real money auction house. On paper that sounds really cool and a plausible method to make some extra money. Unfortunately, a gap is created because players who are willing to throw away their money for virtual nonsense will have an unfair advantage over players who spent their money wisely.
Pre-expansion Improvements
Pre-expansion Improvements
Blizzard did try to solve the auction house problem. Folks were really mad about the quality of D3. Based on the feedback of the players improvements were made.
1. Paragon levels
To give players further reward for grinding, Blizzard introduced one hundred extra levels. Each level awarded more points in core stats, 3% magic find and 3% gold find increase. This partially solved the loot nerfing because magicfind became passive and it provided motivation to grind, but players were left wanting.
2. Monster Power
Another overly complicated method to help players find loot and give the game extra difficulty. The scale ranged from 0 to 10. Each monster power gave all monsters a large hp increase and a small increase in damage. The players gained bonus magic and gold find that increased with the monster power level. It could be adjusted in private and public games.
3. Uber Bosses
The “secret” level in D3 is land full of rainbows, unicorns, teddy bears and flowers that wander around trying to kill you. It’s funny in an abstract way, but didn’t really live up to D2’s “secret” cow level. Thankfully, Uber bosses were introduced as additional endgame content. The six existing bosses were paired up and placed in three specific realms which players accessed through a portal device called an “infernal machine.” Drop rates were increased for these bosses and sometimes special legendary crafting pieces would drop. Players could use these pieces to construct a special “hellfire” ring. Keywardens were addition monsters that held keys used to make the infernal machine.
1. Paragon levels
To give players further reward for grinding, Blizzard introduced one hundred extra levels. Each level awarded more points in core stats, 3% magic find and 3% gold find increase. This partially solved the loot nerfing because magicfind became passive and it provided motivation to grind, but players were left wanting.
2. Monster Power
Another overly complicated method to help players find loot and give the game extra difficulty. The scale ranged from 0 to 10. Each monster power gave all monsters a large hp increase and a small increase in damage. The players gained bonus magic and gold find that increased with the monster power level. It could be adjusted in private and public games.
3. Uber Bosses
The “secret” level in D3 is land full of rainbows, unicorns, teddy bears and flowers that wander around trying to kill you. It’s funny in an abstract way, but didn’t really live up to D2’s “secret” cow level. Thankfully, Uber bosses were introduced as additional endgame content. The six existing bosses were paired up and placed in three specific realms which players accessed through a portal device called an “infernal machine.” Drop rates were increased for these bosses and sometimes special legendary crafting pieces would drop. Players could use these pieces to construct a special “hellfire” ring. Keywardens were addition monsters that held keys used to make the infernal machine.
These improvements made D3 a better game, but not one worth playing. It felt like working rather than a pleasure activity. I was vastly disappointed that Blizzard could screw up one of their most beloved franchises, until the comeback tour. Reaper of Souls
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A friend encouraged me to buy the expansion though my expectations remained destroyed. Forty dollars later, the magic of D2 returned with a vengeance. Never have I seen an expansion fix every significant problem of a previous installment. It’s the Lord of Destruction for the twenty teens. After playing for five hours, RoS was the D3 I wanted to play last year. How did this transformation happen?1. Auction House Murder
In march of this year Blizzard shut down the auction house. Best decision they every made.
2. Loot 2.0 & expanded crafting + Transmog
All items were augmented with extra stats. Drop rates returned to reasonable levels. No matter what difficulty one plays in, usable gear will be found and bosses are guaranteed to drop rare or legendary loot. Monster power and game difficulty are streamlined into one system. Torment is the new hardest setting and drop rates of legendary items increase with difficulty. Torment 1 through 6 provide gold find and experience bonuses. Magic find was heavily nerfted. Some folks lament this decision. I am not one of them. The crafting system has been expanded so there are more plans and materials. Taken from WoW, players can transform the look of their gear into something else to be more aesthetically pleasing.
3. Paragon 2.0
Instead of giving small bonuses for massive amounts work, paragon levels now return to an aspect of D2. There is no limit of paragon levels and players gain one point for each level. One can pour these points into passive abilities that augment one’s character. Before, each character had their own set of paragon levels. Extra grinding had to be done for every level sixty character which is way too arduous. In RoS the levels are shared by all characters, no matter what level they are. 4. Adventure Mode & Nephilim Rifts
Grinding through each act was annoying even in previous installments of the Diablo franchise. RoS provides a second mode where a player travels to whatever act they want. Then a player can complete bounties. There are quests that pick particular places or monsters for the player to choose. Experience, gold and rift fragments are offered as rewards. No story nonsense, just the quests which makes grinding much more bearable. Nephilim Rifts are opened with five fragments and consist of randomized environments packed full of elite monsters. After killing enough, a special elite called a “rift guardian” appears to fight the player. The guardians are mini-bosses for each rift. Hours of fun await in the rifts.
In march of this year Blizzard shut down the auction house. Best decision they every made.
2. Loot 2.0 & expanded crafting + Transmog
All items were augmented with extra stats. Drop rates returned to reasonable levels. No matter what difficulty one plays in, usable gear will be found and bosses are guaranteed to drop rare or legendary loot. Monster power and game difficulty are streamlined into one system. Torment is the new hardest setting and drop rates of legendary items increase with difficulty. Torment 1 through 6 provide gold find and experience bonuses. Magic find was heavily nerfted. Some folks lament this decision. I am not one of them. The crafting system has been expanded so there are more plans and materials. Taken from WoW, players can transform the look of their gear into something else to be more aesthetically pleasing.
3. Paragon 2.0
Instead of giving small bonuses for massive amounts work, paragon levels now return to an aspect of D2. There is no limit of paragon levels and players gain one point for each level. One can pour these points into passive abilities that augment one’s character. Before, each character had their own set of paragon levels. Extra grinding had to be done for every level sixty character which is way too arduous. In RoS the levels are shared by all characters, no matter what level they are. 4. Adventure Mode & Nephilim Rifts
Grinding through each act was annoying even in previous installments of the Diablo franchise. RoS provides a second mode where a player travels to whatever act they want. Then a player can complete bounties. There are quests that pick particular places or monsters for the player to choose. Experience, gold and rift fragments are offered as rewards. No story nonsense, just the quests which makes grinding much more bearable. Nephilim Rifts are opened with five fragments and consist of randomized environments packed full of elite monsters. After killing enough, a special elite called a “rift guardian” appears to fight the player. The guardians are mini-bosses for each rift. Hours of fun await in the rifts.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is successful in a myriad of ways. Blizzard has dug itself out of failure with smart game design. This game isn’t for everyone. Some people like more complex MMO’s or MOBA’s ( Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas) like League of Legends. If you’re looking for one of the great dungeon crawlers, buy D3 and its expansion. If you left D3, now is the time to come back.
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Agreed. The RoS expansion delivered on something that I had expected and hoped for from the beginning--a great game. -J.J.
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