Add me. I want to try PvP in Diablo 3.
Okay, Iāll biteā¦ What that gonna prove?
I already told you that thereās no allure in PVP anymore since several patches if you were to read, which is not different than your argument. I just pointed that PvP was a thing before a huge overall 2-10x buff applied for Set damage multipliers and tipped everything off. To say the least, I play in the EU region while you are in US region and gearing towards PvP takes like months for planning, besides the grind.
However, all for naught; itās a one shot fest without any thought put on and just tacked in there because fanbase whined enough. Even at a theoretical level, PvP doesnāt seem attainable or balanced for public play let alone inhouse between friends. If we are talking some metrics here, even with a build that incorporate both Blackthorneās and Guardianās Sets, the toughness value seems way off to endure crazy damage output.
Also get this, Iām playing SSF for the second season of its debut, and Brawler NPC is still at town square in a solo-only game. This is how they care about the PvP, itās an after thought.
Would PvP theoretically work if all parties agree to not have any set bonuses or LoD? Or would you also have to not use any of the legendary multipliers?
You can make it work by agreeing to use rare items and level 60 grade crafted items only, but that way the game wonāt be too deep or interesting to say the least. All you had to is getting lucky at Kadala or Blacksmith then youāll be set in an hour or so. After about 5-10 mins of Brawling you could get bored as well, but thatās how PvP rolls.
Back in vanilla, D3 PvP wasnāt really deep at all, stack some skill bonus on equipment then pick the skillrune with stun/freeze procs, damage over time effect, or a long reach from any scattered blows. This is why it get left alone by developers; there are not much of a skill check to hone for player interaction when entirety of the confrontation is unreadable at best and a tangled mess at worst.
Theoretically speaking, you can have Set multipliers or LoD and still have fun. You just have to figure out what is balanced and whatās not by gauging, which is a very long and tiresome process. In my opinion, LoN/LoD only should duel with other LoN/LoD users as they have many different legendary powers. For any setup that is too powerful, some slots in Kanaiās Cube can be set to something useless. To be sure, all parties have to have Esoteric Alteration, Bane of the Powerful and Mutilation Guard or Moratorium equipped as well.
Using old PvP meta as a guide, people used to look for a good Stormshield, String of Ears and Eye of Etlich; now you can upgrade those with a simple swap to Guardianās Belt and Bracers pair yet still can equip a Stormshield. From there on, you can choose to have Blackthorneās amulet and pants for reduced damage from Elites bonus and some boost. Alternatively, in case you trust your crowd control immunity, simply grab Endless Walk Set with String of Ears and Aughildās bracer and shoulder at this point.
At the case of a LoD/LoN only duel or an underdog with short reach, get Etlich/Hellfire amulet but equip an extra item such as St. Archewās or Stone Gauntlets if need be.
What happens now? Someone ignores the rules or due to an oversight someone one shots another then you go back to the blackboard again. As they respawn, everyone reset their Paragon points then dump into Vitality to trigger Esoteric then cast a small heal spell in hopes to mitigate some more damage but itās not guaranteed that it gonna work. Then someone decides itās a brilliant idea to get all four immunity amulets ready to swap (Tal Rasha?) to shutdown elemental damage except holy and physical. These are not really fun parts of gameplay neither fast paced, nor balanced.
I just have some blueprints and theories; without additional rulesets specific to each Set, PvP wonāt work and I believe no one have patience nor time for it. Thanks for reading, I guess.
late edit: added some details.
That was an interesting read. I have thought about how PvP functioned, other than the kind of bonuses we have had the last few years making it so that it doesnāt. I assumed the game is just not suited to it.
Everything you mentioned makes it sound like way too much effort for the reward.
Takes too much grinding just for a few minutes of fun with friends who would listen and donāt betray the weird rulesets. Itās not made for public match-making at all, just like Greater Rift high pushes are not made for public gameplay at all.