Many cannot wait for S29 with the least most time engaging themes to be over with the 800 paragon cap and no Altar, but S30 might be a total 180 here. We love the Altar returning which will pour many more hours into getting and then playing it, we love Shards returning which is the same effect - but having both with no adjustments to drop rates (no Staff drop adjustments especially Gibbering Gemstone) and Ember’s seem even rarer than before for some reason; for the first time in years this is going to be one season many might think is actually too short.
Maybe I’m off base here and it’s a good thing for once we have things that won’t be over and done within a week or two, but S28 was the longest season ever and many didn’t mind because the Altar was so interactive.
I fear with the hunt to complete the Altar on top of the hunt for rolling your desired Shard stats, with the current Hellforge Ember drop rate and the planned shortest season in several years, many will find it too rushed to complete everything they wanted to do, casuals especially.
Maybe it’s fair? Casuals got their way for sure in S29 with the 800 paragon cap and speedy Visions, now the more hardcore players will get what they want because casuals will have no chance to get everything in 3 months? 
Perhaps increase Hellforge Ember and Staff of Herding material drop rates to adjust for this? What do you guys think?
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I think interesting seasons: Soul Shards,4th slot,Ethereal,etc.4 months is more suitable than 3 months. 3 months of complete dissatisfaction.
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I’m going to beg to differ. After the last couple of years of really extended seasons, I’m desperate for a regular, reliable, short cycle. Season journeys will still be completed within a week, even with the Altar. This is all stuff we’ve seen before, and will start to see again and again with regularity. Nobody needs this to be dragged out. If you don’t get enough out of a particular season, it’ll be back within the next two years, anyway.
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This is very true, although it’s new in the sense that it’s combined with Altar and Visions it’s still an old theme that we’ve done before and I did forget that it will actually be rotated to come around again.
Just seeing Shards and Altar as the two most popular seasons ever, being combined into one for a short time might feel strange, it is probably more accepted than if it was a theme we’ve never done before.
However it is important to keep in mind some players this is their first time doing this and they missed the theme before (heard a few say that on PTR already).
I’d be good with 6 month seasons.
3 months is way too short for me. It’s too rushed as someone who only has 10 hours per week to play.
You will beg for a 1 month season if Tempests ever make their comeback
(seriously hoping this never happens, though)
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Rofl, insert Obligatory fog horn noise
Truth. I think if they bring back themes like that they need to combine it with gear based themes like added cube / select anything cube, RoRG or something because yeah…lame.
Well it’s clear they won’t do seasons like Truine because of the Altar now so that’s good.
3 months should be OK for my goals.
I only intend to:
- Unlock the entire altar for its transfer to NS (hopefully)
- Max out the red soul shard gem (assuming the season starts before Darkening of Tristram ends)
- Complete the season journey for what ever Guardian cosmetic they put in (which should be something new)
I will be rebirth my seasonal DH. Will push as far as I can to level up my gems but will probably rely on help from the community in group GR150s to get that gem up (i.e. zDH).
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I wouldn’t bet on that… looking at the PTR there isn’t even an extra cosmetic on the season journey for clearing Guardian. They will likely recycle something old I already have.
In that case there would be no reason for me to even play season this time. I wasn’t too fond of shards last time and I have nearly no time to play these days anyway. No new cosmetics and me having all stuff for the Altar in NS, including Gibbering Gemstones (found one in S29 without even looking for it, lol = Staff for NS is out of the way)… that would mean my only goal I have yet to achieve would be your number 2.
But for me that likely means I will do it in NS with 4.5K paragon, a full Altar and my Red Shard that is already at rank 135… that’s less time consuming.
Yeah, that’s not looking good if there’s nothing for Guardian on PTR.
I was basing the likelihood of something new on the fact that S18 had no Guardian cosmetics other than the Guardian variant of the Blood Shards portrait set:
But the possibility that there remains no Guardian specific portrait and pet is also there. I guess we’ll see when the live 2.7.7 patch notes are released.
If I was in your situation, yeah, I’d do it in NS too. My red soul shard gem in NS is over 100 but I’m just under P2700. If the Tals Meteor set wasn’t gutted, I would have considered trying in NS.
This might need a longer season. I haven’t run the PTR yet. However, just alter and visions combined seems like a bit longer would be needed. Still no staff of herding reagent drop adjustments or removal all together? sigh Here we go again. I don’t know of “the casuals” begging for a paragon cap. The paragon cap never made sense to me. Of course most aren’t going to hit the 3k and 5k paragon in a season, myself included, but I never cared about it nor complained about not being able to reach that.
From just reading the PTR patch notes, one of my biggest concerns is the so-called class balance changes. On one hand they are a pittance, way too shallow and look like the least amount of effort possible. On the other hand a real rebalancing would entail changes to runes and that might open up a can of unholy hell. They kept SSF. This might necessitate a longer season.
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