To whoever doesn’t want to read all of it: TLDR at the end
So, I just read your Q3 Update and I am somewhat happy and somewhat disappointed.
First of all, thank you for the update, Blizzard, even tho it was a little thin and meager, but I still appreciate that we do get some new information now and then. Better than nothing I guess!
But…
I’ll start with the disappointment here (and no I am not a pessimist).
To quote your update, “Similarly, Skill system progression felt too simple, which created issues where a player would have no meaningful reason to spend their skill points. With this valuable feedback in mind, we’ve have been iterating on a new Skill System.”
I definitely appreciate the fact that you listen to feedback, but I am just wondering… why do you need feedback to know if a feature or core-concept is actually too simple and needs to be changed/tweaked?
Diablo 2 didn’t need any of the fans feedback and it still managed to be a great and complex game (for its time). And yes, this is kind of a rant… the reason for why it was that way is, because the developers were fans and passionate about the game themselves. I am just disappointed that such basic features and concepts are still in planning (a very important core mechanic) while it should be obvious on how it should be designed in terms of… “What we want to deliver.”. Talents and Skills should not be simple and should definitely have depth (and no, an actual Skilltree is not depth, but more to this later).
I don’t want to talk down anything you’ve made of any of you that sit in their offices and work long hours to create a great game BUT I think the direction and the decision makers should have a very clear concept on what the game should look like and how it should feel like playing it before the development actually starts. The core systems should be in place and should more or less work. The fact that you are making major changes on major aspects of the core mechanics does not suggest certainty regarding the direction of the game (not talking about Story or Artstyle or any of that). As I said, this paragraph is kind of a rant and is meant to be negative. I expect more from a director. Yes, changes are allowed but important aspects not being the way a fan/gamer would like it (not considering the fact that he is oblivious to the bigger picture and all the other features that are yet to be revealed) should be noticeable to anyone in the team and especially the game director/producers/etc.
Just to elaborate a little more: You created 3 Diablo games and 2 of them were amazing as they were for the time they were released in. The third one was (imho) a spectacular debacle. Again, core concepts (real money auction has) underwent major changes to the point of being completely removed from the game. These things should not happen in a game after its release. I didn’t even mind the auction house (but I despise the real money part of it)… trading was always a great and fun part of Diablo 2, even though it needed a lot of tweaking and quality of life features (muling, stash size and so on). Anyway, there is one idea I’d like to convey here. You made 3 Diablo games with 2 more in the making and you still don’t know how core concepts/mechanics of a (this) H’n’S should look like. Yeah new game and new director but… still. Experience is experience. I appreciate that you change things NOW and not after its release like in Diablo 3 but things like skills should be finished to a certain degree (on paper at least).
So just to wrap it up: Please know what kind of game you actually want to make and how it should feel like playing it. (Sorry for this long “rant”. Might as well be that I am alone with this opinion)
Now to the actual content.
Skilltree: I totally love the art style of the tree, nice piece of work. Looks creepy and has a sleepy hollow vibe. But my first thought was, “will it look like this IN the game?”. Just don’t. It does not have to look ornate or twirly. Skilltree is just a metaphor and you know that and I would not want it that way in the game. But since you included screenshots of the skill tab I doubt it will.
And then again, that would not make a difference. Because the tree and its branching should show the paths you could choose. And I for one am confused here. Let’s say you get 1 Skillpoint and you can pick an active skill, you’d have 10 to choose from if you take the tree as is. There are 10 branches emerging from the tree trunk. I mean, variability is great but having too much choice? In my opinion at some point it starts to get unrewarding. Give us 3 skills, that’s it.
One thing I hated about Diablo 3 (and still do) is the skill system with it’s taking by the hand. “You reached level 10, here, have your next active skill”. In this tree I see the exact opposite. “You reached level 1, here have a skill point and 10 active skill of which you can pick”.
Btw, this issue could have been avoided by clear statements in your quartely update (as I said, it was meager). Might as well be that you’ve mentioned it somewhere sometime in the past but since these systems underwent ‘major’ changes, who knows what it actually looks like now and if anything else was changed (thinking they’ve been kept as was).
What made Diablo 2 great (in terms of skills) was the fact that it built up tension and pleasant anticipation. I remember playing it for the first time with the sorceress and the necromancer. One of the first things I did was reading all the skill descriptions. Man, just reading Meteor or Frozen Orb was so much fun, imagining how powerful it will be once I can learn it and damn, it was ! Leveling towards these things was just one of the many things that kept me motivated. But then again, I was young, like 8 years old maybe? Who knows how it would have been if I played it with the 28 years that I am now. I am pretty sure it would still be the same. How I know that? I played God of War for PS4 and I was just like when it was playing for Diablo 2 for the first time. Reading the skill descriptions (and then trying these)… man. Nothing beats that.
I don’t mind having customization when it comes to passives affecting actives. I love having a main spell, a favorite one where you can create your own unique build around it. Just don’t forget: “The journey is its own reward.” Yes, even in games like Diablo. Endgame is great but I also want to have plenty of fun on the way. I want to have a feeling of excitement when I reach a new level or power spike. Example for this: Titan Quest had this duo-class system where you could choose a second class once you reached level 10 and it felt damn great having this kind of customizability. So many different play styles. Every playthrough was different, even if you chose the same class as first class or second class. And this is just one feature. One feature gave so much replayability and variation. “Choose a second class”. That’s all you gotta do.
And here is one suggestion considering such a feature: Implement some power spike levels at which you can feel that you get mightier. One way would be to have a feature with which you can “enhance” an active skill of your choosing which gains completly new properties.
Example here: Meteor. You can put your point in meteor at level 12 and passives with further skill points. Once you reach a certain point (either defeating a major boss or something close to endgame) you can choose to enhance your active skill. At this point you already have tried most of your skills and since you are still playing with the same main skill there is just a little chance you’d want to swap it for a different one. I mean, why would you. You enjoy it. So you continue on your journey and you get to this power spike point. It might look like a quest. You beat a major boss, you reach a specific NPC , he tells you about this “gloomy altar hidden in a cellar somewhere deep in the forest with creatures luring around it uttering words in a terrifying tongue which killed his friend”. So you accept his request for revenge, you leave the town and head straight towards the forest. You hear the crows and see all the corpses lying around, one of which happens to look like the NPCs friend, so you figure, “that must be the way”. You keep on going and you see a path and footprints leading to a building that looks like an old and rustic shack. You defeat all the foul creatures and men and head towards the shack with the closed hatch. You open it and head downstairs just to hear the voices of which the NPC has spoken. But you already heard these noises somewhere else and you know what it is. It is a ritual. A sacrifice (to whomever it might be). You take the last step down the stairs. In the distance, you see several shapes one of which is holding a glaring artifact over his head, a dagger which seems to have a shard in it, glaring red. You engage in a battle with these monstrous beings and defeat them. You pick up the dagger and it starts to shine even brighter. You put it in your inventory and head back to the town. You head to the NPC you talked to before and you tell him about his friend and the dagger you found and he tells you about its powers and someone who might know more. So you head to that someone and he then is able to enchant one of your favorite skills: The Meteor. By enchanting Meteor only one of few things could be choosable.
Option 1: Meteor now has a chance to instantly kill lower (certain ones but definitely not endboss) enemies that have lost X% of their health.
Option 2: Meteor gains the property of exploding into big chunks upon impact, which spread all around the map which start additional fires, burning the enemies to ashes.
Option 3: Meteor now heals you for a certain amount of health on landing, increased healing with more enemies damaged or killed.
Or anything similar that might have a huge impact in terms of playstyle (I think I have an infinite amount of ideas I’d love to have in the final game)
Example for the Druid:
Rend (Bear). Upon cast, the Druid transforms into a bear, smashing his claws and across a big number of enemies (AoE), inflicting bleeding.
Option 1: The druid now slashes with both his claws dealing twice the damage, pushing enemies together in front of him (perfect for using his boulder skill afterwards hitting as many enmies as possible)
Option 2: Rend now additionally inflicts weakening and grants health regeneration. Weakening lowers the damage dealt by enemies afflicted by X%.
Option 3: The druid slashes from below, throwing enemies back. Enemies hit by thrown enemies get stunned for X seconds and and take increased damage.
And so on.
Just one of many suggestions for a more variable skill system.
So again to wrap up on this one: Don’t give to much choice too early in the game. Have a nice pacing. I don’t need constant customization options but I certainly want to have this feeling of anticipation for new and stronger spells (even though it might be 10 levels away, I don’t mind that).
TLDR:
Didn’t like hearing you still make major changes due to feedback from fans (should be set in stone and working but whatever, just my opinion).
Hope the skill tree does’t look like a tree in the game, I’d raver have a clear shape and I more branching and level requirements or (needs 5 points in) or whatever.
I’d love to see some power spikes or similar things, where you reach a certain level (24 or 30 in D2) and you get a new powerful spell or modification. Anticipation!
And thats it for the Q3 Update Feedback.
But I’d like to say a few more things that I absolutely love about Diablo 4 already.
-
Choosing a class around the bonfire.
I missed this one so much in Diablo 3 and I can’t wait to sit in this screen for several minutes, looking at all those classes and making a final decision. Thank you for implementing this. It was always one of my favourite thing. The necromancer in D2 was just epic and one of the reasons why I chose him as one of my first classes. Sorceress was the other one with her cool lightning. -
Legendary items changing how spells worked.
Even tho I’ve never been a huge fan of D3 (I mean, I still have several hundred hours on the clock), I love this mechanic. It had a huge impact on the gameplay and I always loved trying new legendary items. So, seeing this is definitely nice. Althought, these (skillchanges) don’t necessarily need to part of weapons (or other equipment), instead be dropable runes or whatever. I’d like either of that. -
Graphics and the vein towards more realism.
You’ve probably already heard that a lot of people didn’t like the cartoonish artstyle and colorful world. I agree with those people. It definitely had it’s pros, it looked (and still looks) good but it just doesn’t fit the Diablo and sanctuary theme. The fight of good and evil, angels and demons. It needs to be more grim and dark and Diablo 4 is exactly that. In my opinion it could be even darker (slightly) but I am fine with what it is. -
Voice acting.
Love it. What I heard in the demo, it is great. I am glad more and more developers invest in better voice acting or acting overall (TLOU2) so I don’t mind having good voice actors even for less important NPCs. -
Druid!!!
My favorite class. If there is a nice ranger class I’ll probably go for that rather but until now it is Druid! (Loved Fissure in D2, OP Skill) -
Monster families and more lore about them.
If it stays like that I am totally going to read all the lore and I rarely do that. But this sounds so nice!
and one last thing:
- The trailer looked absolutely fantastic. I loved every second. The summoning itself was just so good and got me hyped up instantly.
Sorry for the long post!
Greetings from Germany!