Diablo III Hotfixes; Magic Find Debate; Endgame Woes

[Jul 04, 2012, 11:42 am ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

The Diablo III Website outlines a couple of hotfixes Blizzard rolled out yesterday for their action/RPG sequel. One of the two bullets mentions fixes for game and service crashes, and the other: "Fixed a bug that allowed players to earn additional stacks of Nephalem Valor or guaranteed item drops by killing multiple monsters simultaneously from the same Champion or Rare pack." There's also a new article on Magic Find Gear Swapping discussing how to deal with players swapping to gear that boosts their chances of finding magic items shortly before a kill. They say they do not have a problem with the practice, but they are seeking to address it due to player demand, leaving open the hope they will address other such complaints. There's more on that concept in a thread called End game solutions where community manager Bashiok admits that Blizzard misjudged the appeal of item hunting as an end game, and is looking to redress this with future updates beginning with the upcoming version 1.04 patch:

We recognize that the item hunt is just not enough for a long-term sustainable end-game. There are still tons of people playing every day and week, and playing a lot, but eventually they're going to run out of stuff to do (if they haven't already). Killing enemies and finding items is a lot of fun, and we think we have a lot of the systems surrounding that right, or at least on the right path with a few corrections and tweaks. But honestly Diablo III is not World of Warcraft. We aren't going to be able to pump out tons of new systems and content every couple months. There needs to be something else that keeps people engaged, and we know it's not there right now.

We're working toward 1.0.4, which we're really trying to pack with as many fixes and changes we can to help you guys out (and we'll have a bunch of articles posted with all the details as we get closer), and we're of course working on 1.1 with PvP arenas. I think both those patches will do a lot to give people things to do, and get them excited about playing, but they're not going to be a real end-game solution, at least not what we would expect out of a proper end-game. We have some ideas for progression systems, but honestly it's a huge feature if we want to try to do it right, and not something we could envision being possible until well after 1.1 which it itself still a ways out.

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Re: Diablo III Hotfixes; Magic Find Debate; Endgame Woes

Jul 4, 2012, 12:29

ASeven

Well, it's official, D3 is a hell of a clusterfuck.

Re: Diablo III Hotfixes; Magic Find Debate; Endgame Woes

Jul 4, 2012, 12:26

Verno

wonkawonka wrote on Jul 4, 2012, 12:02:
What's lame is that the only worthwhile gear is in Inferno, and the elite packs in inferno are random luck: either they're killable or they're not.
I think leaving a game because you reach a screwed up elite pack is more of a problem than switching gear during a fight.

Well, there's many problems with the game right now but I think you touched on the most important one. Diablo 2 was a fun game at all levels, what I mean by that is there was something to do for everyone. At a low level you still had plenty of uniques, charms, sets and other fun amusements to keep you occupied. Meanwhile the high level play had rare collectibles and later on runes and so on. The difficulty curve is all out of whack too, the hill is more like a cliff.

I think they underestimated the impact on sustainability that direct trading through the AH interfaces presents too. They basically give people an outlet to directly obtain the item they want due to impatience, frustration, etc. The trouble with that is there is nothing else to really play the game for. No ladder races, no PvP (and who would trust it anyway?), few low level uniques/sets to collect on alts and etc.

Anyway at least they are acting more humble and open to feedback. Item hunting and farming is definitely a sustainable endgame, just not in its current implementation. They need more unique loot with more interesting modifiers and abilities to start. People should want to collect it. Remember getting your first Oculus or War Travelers? Make neat items. They could also do with an actual mini-xpac type deal. I don't think I was the only one surprised at how compressed and rushed Act3/4 feel. Having another actual act with a proper town and so on would go a long ways towards filling the game out.

We aren't going to be able to pump out tons of new systems and content every couple months. There needs to be something else that keeps people engaged, and we know it's not there right now.

The Diablo 2 patches added quite a bit to the game, I hope they keep that in mind. I don't expect something every 2 months but more meaty content additions instead of just simple tweaks would be welcome.

This comment was edited on Jul 4, 2012, 12:33.




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

Re: Diablo III Hotfixes; Magic Find Debate; Endgame Woes

Jul 4, 2012, 12:26

Optional nickname

wonkawonka wrote on Jul 4, 2012, 12:02: Esoteric wrote on Jul 4, 2012, 11:57: I'm not sure what the best solution is, but I do think gear switching right before a kill is a lame mechanic. What's lame is that the only worthwhile gear is in Inferno, and the elite packs in inferno are random luck: either they're killable or they're not. I think leaving a game because you reach a screwed up elite pack is more of a problem than switching gear during a fight. Oh and if Blizzard could fix the blacksmith to make useful gear we'd play a lot more. Having to scan through the auction house where everything is in the millions of gold that's only accessible to bots makes zero sense. Don't even get me started on the RMAH. There are 'Diamonds in the rough' to be had in the GAH, but you have to be lucky, and they are not always accessible, much like finding things in gameplay. This morning, I picked up a lvl 51 ring, with 21minutes remaining in the auction, that I know was worth over 20 million gold along everyone elses up above, and I won it for 25 thousand gold. this ring alone will make my hell game playable, (100 STR, 120 VIT, Attack speed 6% , crit chance 4%, socketable) you have to beat Blizzard at their OWN game, this is what makes the game fun for ME.

Re: Diablo III Hotfixes; Magic Find Debate; Endgame Woes

Jul 4, 2012, 12:17

Jivaro

Bottom line: the game design is not good and the fixes are coming up short. A good comparison would be the Michael Bay Transformer movies. So much potential and a few good things to say, but so incredibly bad in key areas that just can't be ignored and ruin the overall experience.

Re: Diablo III Hotfixes; Magic Find Debate; Endgame Woes

Jul 4, 2012, 12:15

Optional nickname

"There needs to be something else that keeps people engaged, and we know it's not there right now" clearly, with the 45 Billion dollars of liquid cash Blizzard has, they should just rush out Diablo 4, and bury the hatchet with D3. D3 is a fine game, but it is incomplete for most seasoned Diablo connaisseurs, and I highly doubt, there can be a miracle fix to D3, unless Blizzard releases free 15GB content of new story line and moster AI remake. oh and Blizzard, stop showing off, and do bring back the Necromancer, what on earth were you thinking for letting him not be in this game? epic retardation. and leave WoW out of this game for crying out loud. you have WoW, it makes you money, is someone governing you to inject WoWtardization into Diablo3? just sad really.

Re: Diablo III Hotfixes; Magic Find Debate; Endgame Woes

Jul 4, 2012, 12:10

PHJF

We recognize that the item hunt is just not enough for a long-term sustainable end-game.

MAYBE IF THERE WASN'T A LEVEL CAP REACHABLE IN A WEEK, YOU STUPID FUCKS




Steam + PSN: PHJF

Re: Diablo III Hotfixes; Magic Find Debate; Endgame Woes

Jul 4, 2012, 12:02

wonkawonka

Esoteric wrote on Jul 4, 2012, 11:57: I'm not sure what the best solution is, but I do think gear switching right before a kill is a lame mechanic. What's lame is that the only worthwhile gear is in Inferno, and the elite packs in inferno are random luck: either they're killable or they're not. I think leaving a game because you reach a screwed up elite pack is more of a problem than switching gear during a fight. Oh and if Blizzard could fix the blacksmith to make useful gear we'd play a lot more. Having to scan through the auction house where everything is in the millions of gold that's only accessible to bots makes zero sense. Don't even get me started on the RMAH.

Re: Diablo III Hotfixes; Magic Find Debate; Endgame Woes

Jul 4, 2012, 11:57

Esoteric

I'm not sure what the best solution is, but I do think gear switching right before a kill is a lame mechanic.

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