Diablo 3 Expansion announced!

[Tweak155]

I bought the CE at retail and also another regular copy at retail for the wife. Was not disappointed. I eventually got sick of trying to find my own gear, but by that time I already had over 60hrs logged. Not a lot of games get that from me, and now I'm well over 100hrs - but yes I haven't played in a long time.

I'll be pre-ordering 2 copies of the expansion. Suck it!!

 

[futurefields]

Path of Exile is a far better game.

Path of Exile is a smarter game in many respects, I'll give you that. Some really great ideas.

Unfortunately the game is hampered by the low budget, which is evident in everything from the sub-par harsh looking graphics (hi-res bump mapped textures are nice but the overall effect is garish) to the ever present desync issues which make later difficulty stages in the game very frustrating especially for melee class.

And the game is extremely grindy, whereas Diablo is as grindy as you want it to be with the Auction House being there.

 

[TidusZ]

Path of Exile is a smarter game in many respects, I'll give you that. Some really great ideas.

Unfortunately the game is hampered by the low budget, which is evident in everything from the sub-par harsh looking graphics (hi-res bump mapped textures are nice but the overall effect is garish) to the ever present desync issues which make later difficulty stages in the game very frustrating especially for melee class.

And the game is extremely grindy, whereas Diablo is as grindy as you want it to be with the Auction House being there.

I agree with the budget not being ideal but the grindiness seems alright to me. If it had the community that D3 had on day 1 it would probably have a lot more players now than d3 has now. I don't play either game now but PoE lasted a lot longer and was a lot more enjoyable for me.

 

[ShadowOfMyself]

I just read the latest IGN interview with Josh Mosqueira and Im impressed... I have to give them credit for approaching every single thing players complaining about

Loot runs in particular sound great, randomized, 10-15 minute MF runs, just like old school Diablo 2
Paragon actually giving you points that you can use to customize your character (ABOUT TIME), and the fact that there is no cap, meaning there will always be a sense of progression, although I assume once you reach Paragon level 200 it will probably take you 3 months to level up, but hey, its there

Then the overall look of the new expansion areas is much darker... There is none of the colorful forests of the original, with waterfalls and rainbows, instead you seem to have this gritty, gothic town with a greish palette

So yeah, I think for the people who still play the game this will be really awesome...
Unfortunately for me and many others, I stopped playing it so long ago that I moved on to other games and I just dont care anymore

Oh, and one thing that I still hate: Battle.Net 2.0 sucks
It is so damn anti-social... Playing D3 for me felt completely like playing a single player game, and I play online games exactly because I want to play with other people and chat etc

Unless you already have an established group of friends going into the game, the experience will be completely lonely

 

[novasatori]

So yeah, I think for the people who still play the game this will be really awesome...
Unfortunately for me and many others, I stopped playing it so long ago that I moved on to other games and I just dont care anymore

Pretty much sums up my friends and mine feelings about this expansion.

The expansion looks really good and the new class really appeals to me, but I have long since moved on, and I doubt I will ever touch D3 again.

 

[Oakenfold]

Muahahahahah! That's a funny one Blizzard.
Fooled me once with D3. Now you'll have to prove yourself to me.

I have serious doubts I will buy this. Haven't played D3 since they introduced paragon leveling. Still mad they ruined the Diablo name with this trash.

 

[Grooveriding]

I found the Paragon 2.0 idea interesting and at least an acknowledgment and attempt to take care of Diablo 3's total lack of character building/development. I think it will fail though as they are just allowing you to customize your character within the existing confines of the stats that are currently in the game.

Not going to get far with that as that was one of the shortlist of huge flaws with the game. The character stats & item affixes are far too simplistic and limited. Basically everyone will spend their paragon points on their primary stat, critical chance, critical damage and attack speed. Nothing will change.

Sad state of affairs. They took Diablo, an already fairly simple game, and made it brain-dead. Sucked the life right out of it.

The loot runs will probably work out though. Sounds like an upgraded version of Baal runs.

Also, where the fuck is the pvp ?! They hyped and showed that, along with promising it, before the game came out ? Fucking expansion time and still nothing... Unbelievable.

 

[SeductivePig]

I found the Paragon 2.0 idea interesting and at least an acknowledgment and attempt to take care of Diablo 3's total lack of character building/development. I think it will fail though as they are just allowing you to customize your character within the existing confines of the stats that are currently in the game.

Not going to get far with that as that was one of the shortlist of huge flaws with the game. The character stats & item affixes are far too simplistic and limited. Basically everyone will spend their paragon points on their primary stat, critical chance, critical damage and attack speed. Nothing will change.

Sad state of affairs. They took Diablo, an already fairly simple game, and made it brain-dead. Sucked the life right out of it.

The loot runs will probably work out though. Sounds like an upgraded version of Baal runs.

Also, where the fuck is the pvp ?! They hyped and showed that, along with promising it, before the game came out ? Fucking expansion time and still nothing... Unbelievable.

there's no PvP yet? HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH

 

[sweenish]

There is PvP, people just choose to complain about the implementation.

 

[smakme7757]

Was Diablo 3 really that bad or is it just that when people were 14 years old Diablo 2 seemed so awesome?

It was 13 years ago and I'll bet most people who played Diablo 2 back then are adults now. Perspectives change whether you want to admit it or not .

 

[TidusZ]

Was Diablo 3 really that bad or is it just that when people were 14 years old Diablo 2 seemed so awesome?

It was 13 years ago and I'll bet most people who played Diablo 2 back then are adults now. Perspectives change whether you want to admit it or not .

I played D2 on release and then 6 month stints on and off with the last one being up until May 14, 2012, so I have a pretty good idea of what D2 was like at release and on the day b4 d3 release. It wasn't just nostalgia, it was/is a vastly superior game. I actually got into the friends and family d3 beta in september and put about 80 hours into that extremely small beta and enjoyed it more than the full game. The problems in the game weren't as big and you could kinda grind quick runs for upgrades and craft better gear and stuff. Its strange but true.

 

[Grooveriding]

I was 19 when D2 came out. It was a vastly better game and still is.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Blizzard could buy a lot of good will if they gave the expansion away free for the people that got f'ed by their server issues early on. That's about the only way I could see playing this. I'm certainly not ponying up what Blizzard will probably ask for it.

There's quite a bit of minor stuff that they've improved, some of it was just a good idea, and some of it is stuff that frankly should have been in the original released game. That's what's really maddening to me. Its clear they have some competent people working on the game, but they just rushed out an unfinished game, and made some big glaring mistakes that they can't or won't fix.

 

[Aikouka]

Blizzard could buy a lot of good will if they gave the expansion away free for the people that got f'ed by their server issues early on.

Why would Blizzard give you a full expansion because you couldn't play their game for 12-24 hours on the first day that it came out?

 

[darkswordsman17]

Why would Blizzard give you a full expansion because you couldn't play their game for 12-24 hours on the first day that it came out?

They had server problems for a lot longer than that. I regularly could not login or would get booted from games for at least the first month it was out (it improved over time but they had a lot of issues for weeks). Plus, fact is they released an unfinished game, but they could make nice and offer a consolation to the early people that plunked down their money and got both the worst version of the game and couldn't even play it like they should have been able to. It took them months to add things that were lauded as big features of the game too.

Obviously they won't, hence why I wrote what I did, but I guess act like you don't understand.

Also, in my opinion, full expansion is more "stuff that should have been in the original game", in fact they seem to agree since half the stuff they've said they're going to patch into the game even without the expansion (although I have a hunch that's more because it would cause too many server issues than for any good will). Still not enough to make me want to play the game any more, let alone pony up more money to do so.

 

[waggy]

Was Diablo 3 really that bad or is it just that when people were 14 years old Diablo 2 seemed so awesome?

It was 13 years ago and I'll bet most people who played Diablo 2 back then are adults now. Perspectives change whether you want to admit it or not .

no that's not it. I purchased D1 and D2 when they came out. Diablo 2 (and all expansions) is the only game that has been on EVERY machine i have built. I deleted D2 to make room for D3 thinking it would be as good. i was mistaken.

I would play D2 often over the years (though in spurts). it has been a decent game.

Blizzard could buy a lot of good will if they gave the expansion away free for the people that got f'ed by their server issues early on. That's about the only way I could see playing this. I'm certainly not ponying up what Blizzard will probably ask for it.

There's quite a bit of minor stuff that they've improved, some of it was just a good idea, and some of it is stuff that frankly should have been in the original released game. That's what's really maddening to me. Its clear they have some competent people working on the game, but they just rushed out an unfinished game, and made some big glaring mistakes that they can't or won't fix.

that is retarded. I really hope they don't do that.

Sorry you couldn't play for a while when you first got the game and yes the game flat out sucks. Saying that you do nto deserve the expansion for free.

 

[Aikouka]

They had server problems for a lot longer than that. I regularly could not login or would get booted from games for at least the first month it was out (it improved over time but they had a lot of issues for weeks).

Maybe that's how it was for you, but I had almost no problems after the first day or two.

in fact they seem to agree since half the stuff they've said they're going to patch into the game even without the expansion (although I have a hunch that's more because it would cause too many server issues than for any good will).

They're creating a WoW-like major patch for the expansion, because a good deal of the game is handed by the server. So, unless they want to segment vanilla and expansion players, they have to apply it to the back-end for everyone. Also, the patch will most likely contain all the necessary assets to handle the Crusader and any new gear models/icons. In other words, since Diablo III is pretty much a gothic World of Warcraft without the overworld maps (i.e. it's all instances), it's most likely going to patch a lot like World of Warcraft.

 

[MWink]

Was Diablo 3 really that bad or is it just that when people were 14 years old Diablo 2 seemed so awesome?

It was 13 years ago and I'll bet most people who played Diablo 2 back then are adults now. Perspectives change whether you want to admit it or not .

I see what you're saying but I actually replayed Diablo 1 and 2 within the last couple years and they were both still a ton of fun. Besides some dated game mechanics and UI elements, they're still great games at their core. I had way more fun playing them than I did Diablo 3.

Also, I had trouble playing Diablo 3 for about 6 months after it came out. It' wasn't entirely Blizzard's fault but they deserve some of the blame. I had to deal with Internet connection issues which made the game miserable/unplayable. While Blizzard did not cause the connection issues, they are the ones that decided I had to be online to play single player.

Someone mentioned Blizzard should give away the "expansion". I kinda think that would be a good idea. While they don't have to, and I know they won't, it would be a nice gesture after selling us this atrocity (vanilla Diablo 3).

 

[frozentundra123456]

Was Diablo 3 really that bad or is it just that when people were 14 years old Diablo 2 seemed so awesome?

It was 13 years ago and I'll bet most people who played Diablo 2 back then are adults now. Perspectives change whether you want to admit it or not .

I thought D3 was decent, but I am so sick of Blizzard's online drm that I probably will not buy another game from them. They lock my account every time I try to install on different computer, even if I have not played the game for months and dont try to use more than one computer at a time. Happened to me both with D3 and HoTS. I have a gaming laptop and a desktop, and every time I try to switch from one to the other, I get a message accusing me of trying to "sell" my account.

Honestly, I would like to support Blizzard, but this is worse than Steam, Origin, UPlay or anything I have ever dealt with.

 

[Zenoth]

To be honest I am happy about that expansion, although I don't really care about the game's story (but interested about the game-play related changes).

My only problem is what will vanilla D3 get in the meantime?

The expansion will be released in "2014", which for now could be any month of next year, not necessarily Q1 nor Q2. And since the "Loot 2.0" update moved to the expansion as a feature (which I highly expected to be the case) then what's left for D3 right now and until Reaper of Souls comes out? I hope they won't just be content with throwing one or two hotfixes here and there. It is right away that D3 needs fresh air, not in 'x' number of months in the future.

In fact such a waiting time for the expansion might have a negative impact on some players around, they might have had a good reaction when they heard the details of it at first glance and then they saw "2014" without even a specific month. I know what was my reaction anyway, it was along the lines of "oh, ok, so what now?". I only play D3 occasionally by now, I have around 2 or 3 sessions per week, maybe 1 hour each time or so, then I get bored and close the game, heck sometimes I don't bother identifying my loot and just leave. Now that I know the game I can't play for more than 1 hour will remain basically the same for at least 6+ months really discourages me from trying to keep caring about it anymore.

 

[darkswordsman17]

that is retarded. I really hope they don't do that.

Sorry you couldn't play for a while when you first got the game and yes the game flat out sucks. Saying that you do nto deserve the expansion for free.

First, I can't even fathom how you think what I suggest is "retarded" but its clear comprehension of what I wrote is an issue here. I never said I deserve it for free. I said if they want to earn back good will of people that they lost due to Diablo 3 they could do something like that for the early adopters that got screwed.

Maybe that's how it was for you, but I had almost no problems after the first day or two.



They're creating a WoW-like major patch for the expansion, because a good deal of the game is handed by the server. So, unless they want to segment vanilla and expansion players, they have to apply it to the back-end for everyone. Also, the patch will most likely contain all the necessary assets to handle the Crusader and any new gear models/icons. In other words, since Diablo III is pretty much a gothic World of Warcraft without the overworld maps (i.e. it's all instances), it's most likely going to patch a lot like World of Warcraft.

I guess count yourself lucky if you didn't have to put up with that but others did.

Yeah, I think everyone already knew that.

 

[DAGTA]

I made it from release until some point in August 2012 with D3. Often found myself struggling to maintain interest.

January of 2013 I installed Path of Exile. 7 months later, I'm still playing Path of Exile more than any other game. If you were a big D2 fan, I strongly recommend you give Path fo Exile a try. It's free to play.

 

[Ancalagon44]

if they dropped the always online requirement, I'd consider buying it for $20 or less. If its always online, I'm not interested.

 

[diesbudt]

I played D2 on release and then 6 month stints on and off with the last one being up until May 14, 2012, so I have a pretty good idea of what D2 was like at release and on the day b4 d3 release. It wasn't just nostalgia, it was/is a vastly superior game. I actually got into the friends and family d3 beta in september and put about 80 hours into that extremely small beta and enjoyed it more than the full game. The problems in the game weren't as big and you could kinda grind quick runs for upgrades and craft better gear and stuff. Its strange but true.

Then you would know that D2 prior to LoD had many more issues that people are complaining about than D3.

LoD fixed a lot of that.

 

[diesbudt]

Maybe I am willing to look into the logic of the games but:

D2 and D3 differences and similarities

Similarities
- Level a character making them stronger
- Harder modes upon completion with better gear
- Grind gear for hours looking for a good piece / stuff to trade and sell
- Can play solo or with a small team
- Can scale the monsters
- Can combine lower gems for better ones
- Shrines
- Gear was pretty RNG random
- In today's standards both stories were/are "meh"

Differences
- D3 had an AH, D2 had fan sites and spammers trading/selling gear for SoJs or money
- D3 you have to stack rare kills for better magic find, D2 you ran X act quest over and over and over.
- D3 you have a simplified talent build, which people just copy the top 1-3 online. D2 had a complex talent build, which people just copy the top 1-3 online.
- D3 you can see every drop others got making you feel even the great gear you got was sub par. D2 you only knew what friends got and thought what you had was pretty good. When in reality it was subpar.
- D3 has drm/online needed, D2 had offline mode, though plenty still played online for leaderboard.
- D3 has paragon leveling to add in something else to grind, D2 just had a long grind to hit its max level.


When you really look at the differences, you notice they truly are not different, but different paths to a similar outcome. Outside of DRM and people liking to play solo, most arguments that people make that D3 is "weak" can be shown in the same thing in D2. The differences being, blizzard streamlined a lot of the things the community did to be placed in the game anyway (simplified talents, AH, etc.)

The biggest issue is it is not as noticeable, since when D2 first came out, information on "builds" were not as well known, and thus the potentiality of many unique builds were created. By the end of D2 (10 years) there were set builds you had to run to be max efficient. This is because of every online game out there, people have learned how to quickly maximize each and every class in every game. And then its posted everywhere online. And everyone copies it, because its the most powerful build.

The only way D3 would ever in the eyes of the "haters" be considered better than D2, was if it was released at the same time; in the same infancy of the internet community and online gaming and D3 didn't have DRM. If blizzard was to release D2, with better graphics. Change the story and the names of everything, and pictures of the locations to hide the fact it is just D2 over again, I bet you would see as many if not more complaints about it being not "up to snuff" of D2.