Ermz
¯\(°_o)/¯
Well after playing almost all the characters to the beta cap of level 13, I gotta say that quote, Soundlurker, puts my mind further from ease than anything I've experienced (and yes, I have known about Nephalem Valor since it was announced - not sure how it's relevant). They're effectively saying 'we know that bottomfeeding braindead morons will play this game, so we have to make sure the outset doesn't alienate them'. There will be hundreds of skill options but only half a dozen valid builds, if that. But don't worry, you'll never have to commit to a single one, nor plan a single thing, because everything is entirely reversible, and the game is now entirely item driven.' So they've removed the stats system, any semblance of a traditional skill tree or progressive/combinatorial skill tree (Titan Quest etc.), the character progression is entirely linear like some stat-based platformer, and the complexity only kicks in when you've amassed enough skills to actually build the character you wanted from the start, without ever needing to have put any planning into the build. Even then, you can just backtrack in seconds without any risk whatsoever.
Not really feeling that perspective. Half the joy before I kicked into TQ was scouring the forums for 2 days before starting, working out the ideal survival builds, creating theoretical scenarios and then putting different builds into motion. You could still get your skill points back if you screwed up, but it definitely cost you. There were so many character class options, all of which were expressive and tied into the player's style of play, balanced against their own innate survival abilities. This feels like its catering solely to the brain-dead, spoon-fed console generation. While I love the feeling of the gameplay I've experienced thus far, there was nothing to make me fall in love with my particular characters, short of seeing the barbarian smashing monsters all over the map. I hope that's different in the full version!
The skills no longer even list DPS!!
PS. What's the deal with the skills overriding the equipped weapons? For instance, I had dual swords on my Monk, his primary skill uses fists (so he sheathes the swords in a single frame and uses his hands...), yet somehow the weapon DPS factors into it???? That's simply poor design.
Gotta address this too, because it reads so oddly:
Complex and obtuse game systems? Anyone that finds Diablo 1 & 2 obtuse or complex probably doesn't have the mental faculties to tie their own shoelaces. The game has always been survivability and speed balanced against DPS. You don't need to be part of an 'elite group' to want your games to actually challenge you. People should be encouraged to worry survivability in later game modes, to think, to plan... not to simply plow through on blind instinct. It was the only depth that the hack'n'slash genre ever really had. If you remove that, you're pretty much left with a platform game.
Not really feeling that perspective. Half the joy before I kicked into TQ was scouring the forums for 2 days before starting, working out the ideal survival builds, creating theoretical scenarios and then putting different builds into motion. You could still get your skill points back if you screwed up, but it definitely cost you. There were so many character class options, all of which were expressive and tied into the player's style of play, balanced against their own innate survival abilities. This feels like its catering solely to the brain-dead, spoon-fed console generation. While I love the feeling of the gameplay I've experienced thus far, there was nothing to make me fall in love with my particular characters, short of seeing the barbarian smashing monsters all over the map. I hope that's different in the full version!
The skills no longer even list DPS!!
PS. What's the deal with the skills overriding the equipped weapons? For instance, I had dual swords on my Monk, his primary skill uses fists (so he sheathes the swords in a single frame and uses his hands...), yet somehow the weapon DPS factors into it???? That's simply poor design.
Gotta address this too, because it reads so oddly:
Complex and obtuse game systems? Anyone that finds Diablo 1 & 2 obtuse or complex probably doesn't have the mental faculties to tie their own shoelaces. The game has always been survivability and speed balanced against DPS. You don't need to be part of an 'elite group' to want your games to actually challenge you. People should be encouraged to worry survivability in later game modes, to think, to plan... not to simply plow through on blind instinct. It was the only depth that the hack'n'slash genre ever really had. If you remove that, you're pretty much left with a platform game.
