A bold approach on how the fights of diablo IV should be fought

General Discussion
1

Hello,

Please excuse my English. Here follows a small part of a very long text on how MY DIABLO IV could have been… I really wish for the devs of diablo IV to read this and open a dialog here discussing the pros and cons of my approach on the fights of the game. What you read here might sound pretty bold as a move at first but I honestly believe this could be something that could potentially change the way fights are played through in all other games of this genre. Enjoy.

3. Gameplay (full analysis)

"…Would love to be heard on this one. What is the most memorable, exciting, interesting moment for all hack & slash players in every hack & slash game that they play? When this is answered in the next lines here, we need to focus our aim on THAT - VERY - ASPECT in order to replicate it through out the game. So, the answer is that the most exciting moment for us players is always the start of the game. When we first exit the camp/town, we lift our sword/staff, we bring down that first zombie and we pick up our first loot. Same feeling accompanies us through out the first act of the game but then… it is somewhat lost.

These 4 things ( exit of camp, battle, loot, evolve) are the essence of what hack & slash IS but wait, let’s have an even closer look of what is happening here.

  • The exit of camp/town: Player embarks into the unknown UNPREPARED! I cannot stress this enough. Player does not know where he’s at and he doesn’t know what to expect while knowing that he’s unprepared. He’s merely a mortal against an abominable universe. This feeling must be justified every time a player moves to a new chapter or even territory!
  • The fight (hacking & slashing enemies): Listen to what I’m about to say here, I need your attention. Hack & slash games being what they are now, after playing a short while make the battles feel trivial. There where times where I caught myself falling asleep through out my fights while grinding for gear. Fights as they are now tend to loose interest as the game progresses. So we need to study what we find so interesting in our first kill of that zombie that we do not feel again further in game.
    It is the strikes that our hero takes on the first enemies. They count so much! Each strike, the chopping sound, the gore on the enemy, the loss of the enemies life as seen in the enemies health bar and finally the demise of the enemy, the blood and guts spilled on the ground. This is something that is lost further in, as the game progresses. Players have no time to digest what is actually happening. It all becomes trivial. But what if! What if we made every battle count? What if encountering every band of enemies had a slower pace of battle? A more realistic approach of what would actually happened if such battles took place? A battle where the very SENSES of the player could have the time to digest what is actually happening, to keep him on his toes while acquiring him to use his intellect in order to make his moves more efficient, decreasing the danger of being wounded or ending up dead. A battle where maybe the player could click on enemy body parts like arms, legs and head? Each enemy being vulnerable in specific parts? The satisfaction of an actual decapitation, a player’s choice of finishing a demon with a one click sudden death! The vengeance of a player on a succubus by cutting off her limbs by choice letting her bleed to death, crawling. While such approach on the actual fight might not allow for vast legions of enemies attacking the player all at the same time, it for sure adds value on the fight it self! But then again, in a real battle, who has time to aim on certain parts of an enemy’s body when attacked by multiple enemies at the same time? Think about it. Think about the realism here. Could be pioneering for the genre, something that blizzard should be entitled to introduce first to the market! Think about the weapon attribute adjustments and how they can now take a new turn, think about the enemy attributes as the armour they wear and the body parts they cover, now adds new strengths and weaknesses for the player to study and use in battle in order to efficiently eliminate each unique enemy…"

Was watching a video of Rhykker on the latest diablo IV news and thought to share! The feedback I get from players who where into diablo since its birth, leans towards realism. So, since a player will always enjoy the control he has over each and every kill, I truly believe this is something that could add to the game. hope you had a pleasant read! :wink:

2

For your first point; that should be very well possible as long as each regions has it’s own slew of unique enemies. As for the most part a player’s first playthrough of the game is almost always going to be unexpected.

However for your 2nd point: I can’t see that happening too well with Diablo being an isometic game; especially if we’re talking about small enemies or enemies with hard to see weak spots (for example some of the insect type enemies). And that’s just talking about a few of them, if you’re fighting a horde of enemies, you’re not going to be able to pinpoint their weak spots too well (what with their numbers and animations and such). Now for certain major/massive bosses, like World Bosses for example, I could see it working a bit; but beyond that? Not so much.

3

Hey Oblivion,
Thanks for the replay

A new area becomes exciting and interesting mostly by how we see our character fit in that specific area. Sure, new enemies and the general environment does add to this but in our days we’ve seen so many graphics and new games that monsters and environment become unfortunately something standard or mostly expected to just be there. What does not become trivia is the feeling of achievement. How well are we prepared for the next map? Are we strong enough to dominate in it or did we rush to it too early. This is where the game should focus! Here follows a bit more of my text:

  • The loot: Make that loot count. That is what matters the most in your first encounter and this is what should matter the most with the rest of your encounters. We can succeed this if we force the player to make sure he grinds the map he’s currently in for the best loot of his current level! If not, he’s simply not going to make it in the next map! Grinding for loot, is another thing that becomes trivial as the game progresses. If we focus our aim for the player to grind current map for TOP tire loot (items close to player level) that IF acquired will make him stand 7 out to 10 on the next map, we have achieved our goal, which is to make grinding for gear a fun and interesting process. Player will always get to grind in a new map, with new enemies, new challenges, new music, new atmosphere, for NEW GEAR! While when ready he’s now entering a new map, where he’s challenged to see how prepared he is in facing the unknown once more, 7/10 NOT OVERPOWERED, repeating that circle of excitement! We’re talking about farming the map you are in. Farm hard or you get hammered hard next map.

As for my Bold approach on combat mechanics, you got a point it is true but it is not that I didn’t think of that too. I do believe that some adjustments could meet a sweet spot to make those battles happen. Everything needs to adjust to that play style. The battles might become slower but they will pay in satisfaction. Hordes of enemies might attack the player but specifically adjusted skill tree specs and enemy modifications to meet the play style we’re talking about here, MUST happen. We are talking about a completely new combat system here. If Blizzard was to go through it they would have to see this with a new perception or “new eyes”. You and me fall to the comparison of what we know as “normal” for such game genre.

Anyway, as I wrote in the title :wink: It wouldn’t be BOLD if it wasn’t that way!!