Greetings friends, it has been a while, and launch day is almost here! I had a lot of changes in my personal life at the most inconvenient of times and am finally getting back on track with that heading into the Diablo 4 release and some final character adjustments are touted prior to launch. The release is less than 2 weeks away for those who pre-ordered it and about 3 for those that didn’t. So, I will dive right into some of my thoughts before the launch.
Implementing Changes since the last beta and prior to the Server Slam
I applaud the developers on wanting to adjust the Necromancer’s skeletons and other adjustments to other classes as a “we are actively looking into skills not meeting our vision,” but without having knowledge of end-game average, above average, and elite load outs of gear, Paragon Boards, and skills fully locked and loaded, I believe it is really hard to gauge whether the changes are appropriate at this time for any skill or class in particular.
As a player, I do not like nerfs. Diablo has always been a game in which applying a buff to skills has usually been the fix and has been applied to balance stuff out with few nerfs. Diablo 3 is a prime example of continually adding buffs until things are a bit equalized. I am not sure you can entirely balance the game, but having classes that are better at certain areas than others is not bad.
Diablo 2 has often benefitted from this. If I am going to Travincal, I am going to want a horking Barbarian over most other characters if I am totally serious about maximizing my potential for my runs for example, and personally see no reason that some classes would fare better in certain areas than others. As long as each character can efficiently farm in an area it should be good in my books.
I would much rather the above be available than the developers start nerfing classes prior to season one. That is a major sign of imbalance, and I would hope they would start out cautious and buff slowly. The D2R patch notes and testing have provided a lot more balance due to how they have implemented it and would prefer it to be like that, once we have actual players playing the game. I don’t want a patch 1.10 or a Reaper of Souls expansion that replaces the entire game within a year.
Cosmetic Items
I am not a fan of cosmetic items. I understand we all want to stand out in the crowd and have our characters look a specific way, and it is an easy way for developers to add monetization to the game, but many players complained about not getting into and completing the Server Slam event, I did not play in the Server Slam, as an item provides me zero incentive to play. When playing Diablo 3 for example I often prefer the low-level basic item looks for my armor, and then some unique skin for my weapon(s) and or shield oftentimes. There will always be complaints about any limited-time rewards, and I hope they learn from this lesson, but it doesn’t seem like they did as I didn’t get a couple that I should have had tied to my account from the early days of Diablo 3 and banners not given.
Diablo 2 Resurrected Season 4 and Beyond
I didn’t make a post on the D2R season 4 and its quick turn-around and timing, but I think it was a good plan. I don’t play Seasons, they don’t entice me or appeal to my style of gameplay for D2 in general, but having one last hoorah before Diablo 4 was a great idea. Let’s be honest, the people playing Seasons are most likely going to dive into the next installment and play for the next few months and Seasons without touching D2R. I know I will stop for sure unless Diablo 4 ends up being a totally shallow experience that provides very little enjoyment. Here’s hoping not.
Binding time until launch
The weather has finally broken here in Ohio and I’m taking a nice trip to Hocking Hills State Park next week! Outside of that, I’m going to continue with my Tournament of Tournaments paladin that is playing in the fashionista tournament and is in Act 1 NM currently vanquishing the countess in search of runes for the Holy Bolting paladin of goodness! By the time that character either makes guardian or succumbs to his untimely demise the launch will be right around the corner as I finish off a few hectic days at work until I get a nice 3-day break during the pre-launch period. As previously stated in earlier articles, I’m going to roll a Rogue initially as I really like the dual-wielding aspect when played previously.
Outside of all that, I just picked up this game from CMON, which even if the game is somehow terrible, the miniatures will be awesome to paint! Remember: You have the power!