Everywhere I look I’m being told not to play the game but instead ape someone else’s progress by following a Min - Max Guide that is character specific with level by level instructions of where and how to allocate any and every point.
I get that this is is useful for harder difficulties and necessary for End Game, but can the normal playthrough actually be enjoyed as a game?
All the suggestion that I can’t play the game but have to follow these very specific guides is a little off putting as it robs my character of agency.
Is this actually the case or not?
Reads title.
Answer: Yes. Run what you want, but if a team wants an efficient build, then better keep trucking and look elsewhere for another casual group.
Would you enjoy the game more if you were allowed to experiment with builds and items more freely instead of being pigeonholed into following pre-planned builds, research, and following guides?
Do you think that build variety is something that would increase your enjoyment of this game?
If so, then you may want to consider requesting an optional infinite character respecs as a QoL feature, either as something that an be toggled in the Options menu, or a something that could be selected when starting a new character.
You already have these options in game.
They’re just not infinite.
I can’t think of anything more casual than needing the internet to hold my hand and make all my decisions for me robbing me of the ability to play the game.
These casual players, riding on the coat tails of real gamers, who discovered these builds through trial, error, experimentation and exploration 20 years ago, have accomplished nothing.
If the game is as fun as it’s supposed to be then part of that fun is going to be learning from the experience and adapting and overcoming.
Guides should be that… “Guides” offering you some guidance rather than holding your hand like a hypochondriac mother robbing you of any and all choice.
Have you considered the possibility that players might gravitate towards following detailed guides because they don’t want to have hit a dead end with a character due to sub-optimal decision making when building their character?
If you want players to be adventurous, and try to experiment and discover things for themselves, then removing an arbitrary limit on altering their characters would nudge some in that direction.
Well if players don’t want to learn anything or face any risk at all there’s always a guide.
My Hardcore Diablo III Barbarian died at level 64.
I knew exactly why I’d died. I did something dumb.
My wife was more shocked and upset than me, immediately making me a conciliatory cup for tea…
It took a while to get a new character back up to that level and beyond, but in the end it was all the more satisfying for it.
I dont see why you can play any way you like. Guides will be written from the perspective of the author’s play style. Lots of options for play styles.
Read past the author’s play styles if it differs from yours and get what you want out of it if you still want to go to guides.
Have played games at both end of the spectrum of ssf / cooperative, including just not going to online resources at all and enjoying some games to just unfold by them. All fun… just different types of experiences.