No PvP in Diablo III Launch

[Mar 09, 2012, 9:23 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

A PvP Update on the Diablo III Website says that as they count down the days to the announcement of a release date for Diablo III, Blizzard has decided that the PvP systems in the action/RPG sequel are not ready for release, but that rather than delay the game, they are removing PvP and will add it in a future update:

As we’re counting down the days until we’re ready to announce a release date for Diablo III, we’ve come to realize that the PvP game and systems aren’t yet living up to our standards. Today, we wanted to let you know that we’ve made the difficult decision to hold back the PvP Arena system and release it in a patch following the game’s launch. After a lot of consideration and discussion, we ultimately felt that delaying the whole game purely for PvP would just be punishing to everyone who’s waiting to enjoy the campaign and core solo/co-op content, all of which is just about complete.

While we work on making sure PvP lives up to its full potential, we hope you’ll find some consolation in the fact that soon, you’ll be having a blast leveling characters, finding items, learning the classes, and perfecting builds…and that when the Arenas do arrive, you’ll be all the better prepared for battle.

When the PvP patch is ultimately ready, it will add multiple Arena maps with themed locations and layouts, PvP-centric achievements, and a matchmaking system that will help you and your team get into fairly matched games quickly and easily. We’ll also be adding a personal progression system that will reward you for successfully bashing in the other team’s skulls.

We know a lot of you are looking forward to PvP, and we’ll be focusing our post-launch efforts on making sure the Arenas are as brutal, bloody, fast-paced, and awesome as we know they can be. In the meantime, we’re in the process of putting the finishing touches on what we think is a truly epic campaign and co-op experience for launch.

We’ll have a lot more info to share on the PvP system in the future, and we look forward to the moment we can get the game into your hands.

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55 Replies. 3 pages. Viewing page 1.
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55.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 12, 2012, 08:59

Verno

I remember quite a bit of PVP in the Diablo games, maybe other people didn't participate but it was always around. On one hand I'm happy that they are trying to get the game out of the door but on the other this is yet another feature removal that speaks the game not requiring permanent connectivity.




Playing: Faster Than Light, Tales of Graces F, Fire Emblem 3DS Watching: Ghost in the Shell, Hannibal, Oblivion

54.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 11, 2012, 11:02

Joint Compound

Doesn't bother me much. Every time I tried to join an open game in D2, I would get ganked.

53.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 11, 2012, 00:12

Kastagir

mag wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 19:10: Kastagir wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 16:27: People don't seem to realize that they have an option through which to express their disapproval: don't buy the game. They also have the option to bitch loudly about it on the Internet to influence others not to buy it and to put pressure on the devs. What do you have against freedom of speech? Don't see anything there about being against freedom of speech and what you're saying and what I'm doing are essentially the same thing.

52.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 20:44

Dades

Kastagir wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 16:27: People don't seem to realize that they have an option through which to express their disapproval: don't buy the game. Now they're expressing disapproval about your crappy posts.

51.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 19:10

mag

Kastagir wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 16:27: People don't seem to realize that they have an option through which to express their disapproval: don't buy the game. They also have the option to bitch loudly about it on the Internet to influence others not to buy it and to put pressure on the devs. What do you have against freedom of speech?

50.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 16:27

Kastagir

People don't seem to realize that they have an option through which to express their disapproval: don't buy the game.

49.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 16:20

eunichron

Prez wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 14:07: Can you elaborate on what you're referring to? Blizzard has delayed 'major' features in every single game (and expansion) they've released since D2 (and likely every other game before that, including lost vikings ; ). That's just it - they are not leaving this as a "when it's done"-type thing; from the sound of it, they are releasing the game in sort of a "piecemeal" fashion to at least get the "finished" part out the door. In the past they shipped a full, feature-complete product at a time of their choosing. Who knows, this may be an improvement - Blizzard games always have taken an aggravatingly long time to come out. This might be a good choice for them. I suppose one could make a case that splitting the Starcraft 2 campaign into 3 parts was another instance of this, so maybe it isn't exactly the first time. But at least with SC2 that one part was massive, as big as most other single player RTS games.

48.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 14:07

Prez

Can you elaborate on what you're referring to? Blizzard has delayed 'major' features in every single game (and expansion) they've released since D2 (and likely every other game before that, including lost vikings ; ).

That's just it - they are not leaving this as a "when it's done"-type thing; from the sound of it, they are releasing the game in sort of a "piecemeal" fashion to at least get the "finished" part out the door*. In the past they shipped a full, feature-complete product at a time of their choosing. Who knows, this may be an improvement - Blizzard games always have taken an aggravatingly long time to come out. This might be a good choice for them.

* I suppose one could make a case that splitting the Starcraft 2 campaign into 3 parts was another instance of this, so maybe it isn't exactly the first time.




Prez on Soundclick http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=604888

47.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 12:32

Dev

Mr. Tact wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 10:30: Yes, exactly right. I completely and totally agree. Dev wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 01:53: I could forgive him everything except the massive retcon of Greedo shooting first. Also, the decision to demystify the force with the midichlorians was just stupid and unnecessary, and trying to throw in a virgin birth on top of that? And while I'm at it, If george had bothered to kill Jar Jar (even if he felt he had to make him a hero) he would have had legions of fans rejoice and forgive him for almost everything else. shinchan0s wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 09:29: They had a working game back in 2008. As far as I can tell, in Diablo 3, Blizzard has: You forgot #6, took out things like attribute choices on leveling. Unless thats included in your #1.

46.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 12:24

PHJF

Having never played Diablo in PvP, I don't know how important it is relative to Coop

It isn't important... at all. Like somebody said, maybe 1% of Diablo 2 players engaged in PvP. The game was not designed or balanced for it in any way shape or form.




Steam + PSN: PHJF

45.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 11:50

Alamar

Prez wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 11:41: This is something they have steadfastly refused to do in the past; time will tell if it marks a change for the worse or the better for Blizzard. Can you elaborate on what you're referring to? Blizzard has delayed 'major' features in every single game (and expansion) they've released since D2 (and likely every other game before that, including lost vikings ; ). This is also a company that is patching Diablo 2 and Warcraft III, how many years later? I'll take this kind of devotion, and feature delay, over other companies (EA? Ubi?) shoveling shit out and forgetting about it months later : ) -Alamar

44.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 11:41

Prez

PHJF wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 11:05:
So there's no offline singleplayer because it's a multiplayer game, but we're going to ship it without a fundamental multiplayer element.

Pretty sure it still has coop.

The coop will still ship with the game according to the press release. Having never played Diablo in PvP, I don't know how important it is relative to Coop, but I know from my Guild Wars days (a game that Blizzard seems to be trying to emulate with D3 given the decisions they have been making), the mp community in that game was far more interested in the PvP than the PvE. IIRC, most only bothered with the PvE because they needed to farm for the best equipment (a by-product of MMO design which I detest to my core).

I don't really care as it pertains to D3; it has been off my radar since it has become apparent it is actually going to be Diablo Online, but this decision is a bit jarring for a Blizzard fan in general. This is something they have steadfastly refused to do in the past; time will tell if it marks a change for the worse or the better for Blizzard.




Prez on Soundclick http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=604888

43.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 11:36

Darks

This doesnt break my heart at all. I could care less about PVP. Personlly I think PVP doesnt have a place in games like this.

42.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 11:24

Warrax

WyldKat wrote on Mar 9, 2012, 22:55: This is staggering, especially how much Blizz hyped up Diablo 3's PVP and how esports friendly it supposedly was. Oh really? any sources of that? because they said many time that PvP is not a priority for now and the news is just another confirmation of it. Prez wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 10:31: So there's no offline singleplayer because it's a multiplayer game, but we're going to ship it without a fundamental multiplayer element. Alrighty then... Well the main part (PvE in coop) is there which is the most important part. PvP is usually end game stuff so you have 60 level of PvE to do before PvP matters. Shok wrote on Mar 9, 2012, 20:56: I think they are under pressure to get it out this year to appease all the WoW gamers who renewed for a year after falling for the carrot dangling ploy. Waiting after D3 is getting old, there is all the reasons in the world to release the game this year Icewind wrote on Mar 9, 2012, 21:57: Diablo 3 looks like shit more and more every day though. It's like an inferior version of Torchlight. While TL was a great game, it was very incomplete. Diablo 1 was a better version overall (if you consider replay value and the fact that it has multiplayer).

41.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 11:05

PHJF

So there's no offline singleplayer because it's a multiplayer game, but we're going to ship it without a fundamental multiplayer element.

Pretty sure it still has coop.




Steam + PSN: PHJF

40.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 10:39

HorrorScope

Why can't T2 be as good as D3? What are the major differences? In fact there are plenty of Diablo clones to me most play eerily similar, the biggest benefit Diablo has had over most is their closed servers. Which T2 I believe will have this go around.

39.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 10:31

Prez

So there's no offline singleplayer because it's a multiplayer game, but we're going to ship it without a fundamental multiplayer element. Alrighty then...




Prez on Soundclick http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=604888

38.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 10:30

Mr. Tact

Yes, exactly right. I completely and totally agree.

Dev wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 01:53:
I could forgive him everything except the massive retcon of Greedo shooting first. Also, the decision to demystify the force with the midichlorians was just stupid and unnecessary, and trying to throw in a virgin birth on top of that?




Truth is brutal. Prepare for pain.

37.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 09:29

shinchan0s

Alamar wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 08:47: To be fair, you need to realize that, as much as you want this feature in, they want it in more. Unlike this thread, they deal in real priorities and cost-benefit ratios. -Alamar Good point. Completely understandable. Still, it makes you wonder what Blizzard HAS been doing all this time. They had a working game back in 2008. As far as I can tell, in Diablo 3, Blizzard has: 1) Nuked to oblivion all the RPG aspects from the franchise. 2) Nerfed itemization to blandness. 3) Utterly ruined (see WoWified) the lore. 4) Added a real money auction house. 5) Implemented ZERO innovative, gameplay enhancing features. To be sure, I'm not exactly broken up about Blizzard nixing PvP for the launch. I never did it in D2 (except griefing). Still, what happened to "nobody will remember how late the game was, but how great it was" line from the devs? What a load of crap. Uggghhh. At least it sounds like they're FINALLY coming around to a release date. Though I'm not holding my breath out for an announcement in March.

36.

Re: No PvP in Diablo III Launch

Mar 10, 2012, 08:56

Dades

Alamar wrote on Mar 10, 2012, 08:47: To be fair, you need to realize that, as much as you want this feature in, they want it in more. Unlike this thread, they deal in real priorities and cost-benefit ratios.-Alamar They want it in so badly that they're not putting it in before launch apparently. Cost benefit ratios? Yeah that's not the way I remember Blizzard.

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