Is Diablo 3 a decent single player title now?

[Stg-Flame]

I never played D3 because when it was released, I didn't have access to the Internet and the always online bullshit steered me away for a very long time. Even after some rumors stating they would remove it after the game had been out a while, it looks like they aren't going to remove it anytime soon. I have really good internet now and I'm getting bored with Grim Dawn and I don't plan on going back to PoE anytime soon, I was thinking about eventually picking up D3 but only if it's viable as a single player game. I don't plan on jumping online with others for trading or getting help, so I'm only interested in its merits as a solo game.

So, in its current state, can someone jump in and still have fun if they play solo?

 

[Tweak155]

I think it's fun solo, but definitely more fun with other people. I would suggest joining the Anandtech clan but I don't think it is super active anymore.

Pretty sure you can still try the game for free up to level 10 or something like that.

 

[TallBill]

I had a blast and put thousands of hours into D3, quite a bit of that solo.I'd recommend Path of Exile over D3 though as long as you don't mind a bit of complexity. Only downfall is that the new league starts in like 13 days.

 

[tidy]

.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Pretty sure you can still try the game for free up to level 10 or something like that.

If that's true, I'll be downloading/testing it ASAP. I'll look into this. Thanks

I had a blast and put thousands of hours into D3, quite a bit of that solo.I'd recommend Path of Exile over D3 though as long as you don't mind a bit of complexity. Only downfall is that the new league starts in like 13 days.

No more PoE for me. I bailed around the time they moved to Steam and it was just map grinding and rerolling gear, trading gear for more maps, running maps for more gear, etc. It wasn't hard to hit end-game either as I took part with the speed runners. The game was fun, but I didn't like the forced online aspect either since when I played, I didn't have reliable internet. I might look back into it one day (I'm actually curious to see if my old account is still there), but for now, I'm not interested in PoE.

Diablo without Matt Uelmen is no Diablo at all. For that reason and others, the series ended at II for me.

I felt the same way for a long time, but they've had plenty of time to balance the game a bit (hopefully). If the game is good, I'll accept it for what it is, but anytime someone mentions Diablo, I always think back to Diablo 2.

 

[TallBill]

Heh.. POE is barely like it used to be, but I understand.

 

[Stuka87]

I play a LOT of single player D3, so i think its totally worthwhile. But it IS more fun in multi player.

 

[Cappuccino]

Is Diablo 3 a decent single player title now? Answer is 110% YES

However, if you are new to the genre or Diablo you will 10000% quit the game in x hours the grind will kill you (Multiplayer). Also D3 is not good no more IMO nothing new is added. Just wait for D4 I'm sure D4 will be the best Diablo game ever.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Cappuccino, you contradicted yourself in the same post. You say it's a good title, but you then say it's not good anymore. You then instruct me to just wait for Diablo 4, but it took us almost twelve years to get Diablo 3 from the release of Diablo 2. Assuming Blizzard takes at least the same amount of time to release Diablo 4 (they haven't even released the final expansion for Diablo 3 yet) and the fact that D2's expansion was released in 2001, we still have another eleven years to wait before we see another Diablo title.

Also, thanks for all the responses. I'm not sure if I want to wait for a complete battle chest after the next (last?) expansion is released or if I want to grab it on sale now. Either way, the demo (thanks again Tweak155) and the responses here have sold me on the game.

 

[sweenish]

Cappuccino, you contradicted yourself in the same post. You say it's a good title, but you then say it's not good anymore. You then instruct me to just wait for Diablo 4, but it took us almost twelve years to get Diablo 3 from the release of Diablo 2. Assuming Blizzard takes at least the same amount of time to release Diablo 4 (they haven't even released the final expansion for Diablo 3 yet) and the fact that D2's expansion was released in 2001, we still have another eleven years to wait before we see another Diablo title.

Also, thanks for all the responses. I'm not sure if I want to wait for a complete battle chest after the next (last?) expansion is released or if I want to grab it on sale now. Either way, the demo (thanks again Tweak155) and the responses here have sold me on the game.

He's been acting like that lately. Must be bored.

I think it's worth it. For the price of the Battle Chest, even avoiding multi-player, there are many hours to be had. Enough to have gotten your "money's worth," anyway. By the time you get bored of your first class, you can be set up to quickly level a new class and try them out. With very little prep, I solo'd a hardcore barbarian up level 50 in about 20 minutes. Had I prepared better, that barb would probably already be level 70 and wearing a couple set pieces.

But like others have said, it is a lot of fun with other people. The clan here isn't super active, but there are a few people that never mind joining up, myself included. The clan is great at helping with seasonal stuff. As are the many communities.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

He's been acting like that lately. Must be bored.

I think it's worth it. For the price of the Battle Chest, even avoiding multi-player, there are many hours to be had. Enough to have gotten your "money's worth," anyway. By the time you get bored of your first class, you can be set up to quickly level a new class and try them out. With very little prep, I solo'd a hardcore barbarian up level 50 in about 20 minutes. Had I prepared better, that barb would probably already be level 70 and wearing a couple set pieces.

But like others have said, it is a lot of fun with other people. The clan here isn't super active, but there are a few people that never mind joining up, myself included. The clan is great at helping with seasonal stuff. As are the many communities.

I must be missing something intrinsic to how D3 is played by other people. How do you level a character to 50 in 20 minutes? It takes longer than that to get to the Cathedral, in every single character I've done in D3...

 

[sweenish]

This is what I did. All of my prep consisted of a lvl. 25 Gem of Ease and putting it into a socketed lvl. 70 rare mighty weapon (crafted with my barb).

Had I prepped better, I would have turned on Leoric's in the cube, had a spare Gem of Ease, and also crafted a lvl. 70 yellow helm. I would have also been smart enough to craft a 2-handed weapon for better damage.

Started a T6 game, killed one enemy (depending on map and density, you can probably kill a few before the enemies scale to you), went straight to level 11. Then I turned it down to Master and rifted. Level ~50 is where the power leveling tends to slow down Unless you're super prepped. Also, it's HC, so I can't push it too hard too fast for safety.

When I get to finish leveling, I'll see if my HC cube has Leoric's and activate it if I do. Should help me get to 70 pretty quick.

EDIT: I'm realizing my times were off. I think I hit level 50 in ~40-50 minutes. Another half hour today got me to 64 and now I'm playing on T1.

 

[Majes]

If you want single player offline get Grim Dawn.
If you want single player online or multiplayer get Path of Exile.

If you already play those two and want something new, maybe get Diablo 3 then.

 

[sweenish]

Flip side I've never found PoE appealing. To each their own. This thread is asking specifically about Diablo. You'd be better off discussing what you feel are the shortcomings of the game.

I and a few others have provided the positive opinions.

 

[4eigner]

With the addition of the Haedrig's gifts in the Season Journey, I think one could play the game solo and still be able to complete everything they would want to do. It would definitely take some time and some luck, but definitely doable. As the OP has stated, he's strictly wanting to play solo and Blizz has made it very solo friendly. D3 is definitely easier if you group up, and there are communities in-game that are helpful.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

This is what I did. All of my prep consisted of a lvl. 25 Gem of Ease and putting it into a socketed lvl. 70 rare mighty weapon (crafted with my barb).

Had I prepped better, I would have turned on Leoric's in the cube, had a spare Gem of Ease, and also crafted a lvl. 70 yellow helm. I would have also been smart enough to craft a 2-handed weapon for better damage.

Started a T6 game, killed one enemy (depending on map and density, you can probably kill a few before the enemies scale to you), went straight to level 11. Then I turned it down to Master and rifted. Level ~50 is where the power leveling tends to slow down Unless you're super prepped. Also, it's HC, so I can't push it too hard too fast for safety.

When I get to finish leveling, I'll see if my HC cube has Leoric's and activate it if I do. Should help me get to 70 pretty quick.

EDIT: I'm realizing my times were off. I think I hit level 50 in ~40-50 minutes. Another half hour today got me to 64 and now I'm playing on T1.

Kinda what I figured, most of the above was jibberish to me. The prep capacity that you're describing is a lot higher than 'i ran one character through normal and now i wanna try another character'.

I came back to D3 briefly a couple weeks (months?) back and was aghast at how things had changed since release. Like a thousand new difficulties, none of which were actually difficult, and all of my gear on any character I had previously maxed was upgraded instantly. Kinda maddening considering how much I faceplanted against inferno back then.

Not to mention you now... start? at like hell or torment difficulty? very weird decisions made on difficulty scaling.

 

[smackababy]

No more PoE for me. I bailed around the time they moved to Steam and it was just map grinding and rerolling gear, trading gear for more maps, running maps for more gear, etc. It wasn't hard to hit end-game either as I took part with the speed runners. The game was fun, but I didn't like the forced online aspect either since when I played, I didn't have reliable internet. I might look back into it one day (I'm actually curious to see if my old account is still there), but for now, I'm not interested in PoE.

I'm not sure what you expect D3 to be. It is a grind rift, reroll gear, trade... er wait, they removed that. It isn't hard to hit max level and finish the story content. In fact, it is quite easy. And, unless you want to push end game and ladder, you will be grinding rifts and trying to upgrade.

 

[sweenish]

Kinda what I figured, most of the above was jibberish to me. The prep capacity that you're describing is a lot higher than 'i ran one character through normal and now i wanna try another character'.

I came back to D3 briefly a couple weeks (months?) back and was aghast at how things had changed since release. Like a thousand new difficulties, none of which were actually difficult, and all of my gear on any character I had previously maxed was upgraded instantly. Kinda maddening considering how much I faceplanted against inferno back then.

Not to mention you now... start? at like hell or torment difficulty? very weird decisions made on difficulty scaling.

It's still minimal prep. Getting that one gem is just a few grifts, and since you're running them anyway it's not like I went out of my way to prep.

If it's not for you, it's not for you.

 

[Majes]

Flip side I've never found PoE appealing. To each their own. This thread is asking specifically about Diablo. You'd be better off discussing what you feel are the shortcomings of the game.

I and a few others have provided the positive opinions.

The shortcomings of Diablo 3? (You could probably google this but I'll give you my complaints)

The most glaring issue with the game is probably that they based skill damage off of weapon damage. Because of this players don't actually build a character. They gear one. This provides less attachment to characters and removes all need to re-roll.

The story isn't great. A lot of people think it's flat out terrible. The fact that you don't really play through it anymore is also really strange. Players just do bounties until they can rift and then go back to bounties when they need crafting materials.

The end game is Greater Rifts and they feel almost exactly like pulling the lever on a slot machine.

There's no economy so any gear you find has no value other than what it can do for your character.

On the other hand... It's pretty fun to level a new character. It's also pretty fun to gear out your first set and to try some of the others once you get the drops. Unfortunately this lasts me between 20-30 hours in a new season so I'm normally about done in a week of play. I have no desire to be full Ancient or to push GR's since I play solo.

I would also currently recommend Diablo 2 over Diablo 3 for long term play.

 

[XiandreX]

I highly recommend giving Poe a go if you are prepared to take the time to learn the basic mechanics.
Also use build guides up front, saves a lot of trial and error.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

It's still minimal prep. Getting that one gem is just a few grifts, and since you're running them anyway it's not like I went out of my way to prep.

The shortcomings of Diablo 3? (You could probably google this but I'll give you my complaints)

The most glaring issue with the game is probably that they based skill damage off of weapon damage. Because of this players don't actually build a character. They gear one. This provides less attachment to characters and removes all need to re-roll.

The story isn't great. A lot of people think it's flat out terrible. The fact that you don't really play through it anymore is also really strange. Players just do bounties until they can rift and then go back to bounties when they need crafting materials.

The end game is Greater Rifts and they feel almost exactly like pulling the lever on a slot machine.

There's no economy so any gear you find has no value other than what it can do for your character.

On the other hand... It's pretty fun to level a new character. It's also pretty fun to gear out your first set and to try some of the others once you get the drops. Unfortunately this lasts me between 20-30 hours in a new season so I'm normally about done in a week of play. I have no desire to be full Ancient or to push GR's since I play solo.

I would also currently recommend Diablo 2 over Diablo 3 for long term play.

Ah, see, this is probably the part I got confused on. Last time I played i just played through the story as I did in the past. I didn't realize there was a sub-system that others went through to gear up/finalize a character in 20 hours.

Unless you have played over the years since release/since the expansion I guess? Most of the stuff listed above is latin. rifts, bounties, special gems, etc is all 'new' to someone who hasn't played in a long time, or at minimum foreign to someone who's new to the game entirely.

 

[Majes]

Ah, see, this is probably the part I got confused on. Last time I played i just played through the story as I did in the past. I didn't realize there was a sub-system that others went through to gear up/finalize a character in 20 hours.

Unless you have played over the years since release/since the expansion I guess? Most of the stuff listed above is latin. rifts, bounties, special gems, etc is all 'new' to someone who hasn't played in a long time, or at minimum foreign to someone who's new to the game entirely.

Gotcha... There's an adventure mode now that gives you quests for each act to complete. You go to an area, track down a specific monster, kill it and get a reward. Then when you're in town there's an obelisk that you click to enter rifts. Rifts are basically maps from PoE but more streamlined. When you kill a certain number of mobs in a rift they spawn a guardian for you to kill. This guardian drops a type of currency for you to gamble with and stones for you to summon greater rifts. Greater Rifts are just like normal rifts except they have their own difficulty slider and the mobs dont drop items. Only the boss at the end does. Completing a Greater Rift also gives you a chance at upgrading gems that drop from Greater Rifts.

It's a lot easier to understand if you play it. Don't know whether I explained things well or not...

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Gotcha... There's an adventure mode now that gives you quests for each act to complete. You go to an area, track down a specific monster, kill it and get a reward. Then when you're in town there's an obelisk that you click to enter rifts. Rifts are basically maps from PoE but more streamlined. When you kill a certain number of mobs in a rift they spawn a guardian for you to kill. This guardian drops a type of currency for you to gamble with and stones for you to summon greater rifts. Greater Rifts are just like normal rifts except they have their own difficulty slider and the mobs dont drop items. Only the boss at the end does. Completing a Greater Rift also gives you a chance at upgrading gems that drop from Greater Rifts.

It's a lot easier to understand if you play it. Don't know whether I explained things well or not...

Nah, that makes sense. It sounds like one of those things that devs come up with once their existing content runs stale, that doesn't require them coming up with new story, new npc models, new 'content'. Kinda like 'challenge mode' stuff in other games. Glad I never got into it.

 

[Majes]

Nah, that makes sense. It sounds like one of those things that devs come up with once their existing content runs stale, that doesn't require them coming up with new story, new npc models, new 'content'. Kinda like 'challenge mode' stuff in other games. Glad I never got into it.

Like I said before... It's fun for about 20-30 hours, but it just doesn't have any depth to it. Any game longevity is just blatant RNG layers or bigger numbers.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Like I said before... It's fun for about 20-30 hours, but it just doesn't have any depth to it. Any game longevity is just blatant RNG layers or bigger numbers.

What's weird is, this is no worse than Diablo 1, but somehow there was something more fun there. Chasing books for spell upgrades, ferrying around +int gear to learn them, trying to find those slightly better stats. Maybe standards are higher now.