Diablo III | Diablo 3 Tips and Tricks

I’m very excited for Diablo 3.. I can still remember sitting at my brothers computer playing the first Diablo and living every second of it. I also remember playing Diablo 2 way too much when it came out. I’d reach a point where I would get tired of muleing all of my items instead of actually playing the game and levelling up, so I would take a few months off and when I would start playing the game again all of my accounts and characters were deleted, so I would get to start over from scratch. Both games, Diablo and Diablo 2 were amazingly fun for me, so you can likely imagine how psyched I am for Diablo 3.

Diablo 3 Tips and Tricks

You may be wondering about the posts title. Well, as the game hasn’t been released as the time of this post, I have no Diablo 3 Tips and Tricks to share with you. However, the reason for this post is to announce my intentions to share Diablo 3 Tips and Tricks with my readers. In keeping with the other sections of my blog, I will be encouraging my readers to share any Diablo 3 Tips they happen to come across, so that I can pass them along to everyone else.

Stay tuned, and let me know if you would like to share anything regarding Diablo 3.

Diablo 2… again!
Well, my friend made me decide to reinstall Diablo 2 again. There goes my spare time for the next few weeks! Usually when I play I enjoy either a Sorceress or a Necromancer… but this time I chose an Assassin. After playing a rogue in World of Warcraft to level 80 I wanted to know where Blizzard got their inspiration. I see a few of the elements from the Assassin in the rogue, some of the terminology is the same, and the roots of what was to become the combo point system. Now I’m left wondering, will they include an assassin/rogue type character in Diablo 3? The assassin was added to Diablo 2 via the Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction (LOD) expansion pack. I believe we will eventually have offered to us an expansion pack for Diablo 3… however, I hope they include this type of character in the initial release of the game. Perhaps a “thief” class.

Diablo 3 Character classes
A quick peek over at Blizzards Dialbo 3 website reveals that which has been known for many months, 3 classes have been unveiled. Barbarian, Wizard, and Witch Doctor. While these three classes are excellent, and the Witch Doctor seems like a really fun option to explore, I’m left wanting more. Obviously this is common amongst those who are anticipating the games release… this is evident through the myriad of posts appearing in Diablo forums all over the net. Alas, Blizzard is most likely saving the rest of the character classes for either a beta testing release, or the full release of the game.

Diablo 2: The good and the bad.
There are many strong points about Diablo 2. However, for each strong point there is a weakness. Diablo 2′s loot system has long been the target of criticism. Loot dropping to the ground ripe for the clicking by any and all in the game does not bode well for the slow clickers. This leads to anger and eventually leaving the game. I can say this, because this has been the reason for me quitting the game each of the past 5 times. But somehow, it draws me back in. I know the game inside and out, the quests, the bosses… the only thing left for me to experience is end game with a few of the other classes. The lack of ability to reapply your stat and skill points is a MASSIVE drawback to Diablo 2 and is sure not to be the case in Diablo 3. Another sore spot with Diablo 3 players was the ease with which they could acquire money. This eventually leads to money being obsolete as it is rare that you can find gear for sale that is an actually upgrade over the rare and unique drops that come with normal gameplay. Another thing that I really like about Diablo 2 was the dynamic map generation. Each time you load a game and visit an act, the layout is different. This increases re-playability in my mind because you are not able to easily get used to the navigation and layout. Unlike the dungeons in World of Warcraft things change. The map can usually be revealed with the use of a maphack (against the rules of the game) with great ease, which is a little annoying because it allows cheaters to more quickly find their way, and gain loot more quickly. Another positive of Diablo 2, and hopefully Diablo 3, is the ability to solo content. I enjoy being able to group up to take down a boss, or achieve a goal, but making it mandatory to enjoy the finer points of the game is just silly. Sometimes I like to play alone, and don’t feel like dealing with people. If Blizzard releases Diablo 3 and makes the group aspect a must, it will be sure to annoy me, and may limit the amount of time I actually stick with the game.

While out scouring the web for more Diablo 3 information to help sate my thirst for the game, I came across this post discussing the new drop system that will be used in Diablo 3.

The article says that the drop system will allow for multiple items to drop off of the monsters, providing each class that is in the game with an item that is useful for them. While anyone whom is familiar with the loot systems that Blizzard has used in the past, specifically in Diablo 2 and in World of Warcraft, may look at this as a great change. I look at it with skepticism. I see a couple of ways in which this could be greatly flawed.

1. If the characters are allowed to have different specs, just because an item drops which can be used by a barbarian, doesn’t mean it will be useful / apply to his spec.
2. If they decide to use loot tables as they do in World of Warcraft, and not a certain degree of item generation, as they do in Diablo 2, I could easily see content being experienced maybe a handful of times, max, before moving on and never looking back.

Some may look at my second point and think that it is actually a good thing. But I like the thrill of the hunt. If I enter into a dungeon knowing that I will only have to go through this dungeon about 5 times and I will get what I want, I start to lose interest. One thing I like about World of Warcraft is how difficult some items are to obtain. While I don’t believe end game gear should be extremely hard to get, some of the ‘flavor’ items should be. I remember trying to farm Baron Rivendale’s mount on my rogue via stealth runs. Although I’ve made over 50 attempts, I still don’t have it. This does aggravate me, but when I do get it, I’ll be psyched!

I just fear that things may be too easy.

Given the known issues with the looting systems from both Diablo 2 and World of Warcraft, I have a good feeling that Blizzard will end up doing what’s right. In my opinion, this would be taking the good parts of both of the systems, and leaving the bad.

I suppose only time will tell, in the end.