+Skills coming back in D4
This one’s hard to evaluate since we haven’t seen the skill tree in a while and it’s very much subject to change. These can rapidly become too powerful (ie D2) if too much power finds its way into the skill tree. I like the idea in theory since it offers power to hybrid characters who use a wide variety of skills. However, ultimately, this becomes a math problem. If the optimum solution is to pick 2 main abilities and max them with your natural points, then augment with +skills on items, people will do that. How these things scale matters. Linear? Diminishing returns? Expanding returns? We don’t know yet, but the devs need to be thinking the opportunity cost of these affixes vs the other ones that will be on items. Will I want +skills above all else regardless of build? Or are there times I actually want something else? (CDR to breakpoint? something else?). When designing, please take the time to do the math and get the affix power balance right.
Afterthought: also, please take into consideration if you go to all this work to get this right, it’d be terrible to throw that all away as in D3 with single items/sets with multipliers so large that they invalidate all of this. +75,000% to a single skill? Come on!
Legendary Essences
I’d like to echo Shadout’s concern about rare items. If all rares can be augmented by Legendary essences, we’re back to every character’s optimum is either sets or legendaries as in D3. Rare and magic items are again reduced to ground clutter/litter, other than as fodder for improving your legendaries. D2 added in the possibility of getting really great stat sticks in rares. This is a good thing, but it only works if you can get enough stats on the stick to offset the power loss from not putting on the legendary affix.
If magic and rare items are to be useful (bringing back an obsidian ring of the zodiac or godly plate of the whale, for example), we need enough power on those items to make them worth equipping.
That legendary essence needs to be a trade-off. We’d need a rare essence or something similar so that we could augment our base magic/rare with stats and equip that. Thoughts?
Afterthought: what’s the end-game purpose of white items? Will rune-words make a return? And if so, there should be a simple way to get the number of sockets you need, such as having the blacksmith simply recarve the sockets for you at a cost.
Targeted Item Hunt
Like it, love it, want some more of it!
Paragon Board
Sigh. Like COVID, this virus just keeps mutating but never goes away.
Either we have a meaningful leveling system (finite level with a max level) or we have infinite leveling. Trying to marry the two together like in D3 was a disaster. The 1-70 part becomes trivial and indeed, a nuisance. It becomes a forced tutorial you must play through every season. Then, we get to the Paragon system itself. You’re only making meaningful choices for the first 800 levels, then after that, it’s just pure, unadulterated system for encouraging unhealthy levels of play or botting. And every season, we hear about some new exploit to jump up the paragon system, then run to the ladders and dominate - which makes other highly competitive players rightfully livid. Infinite scaling, even linearly, is an avoidable problem.
We should have a point where we’ve beaten the game. You’ve maxed out your character, and you’re done. Go outside and get some sun on your face, Fearless Warrior. If you want more, PVP, pick a different build to try, or make another character. (Request for an armory function to save and rapidly switch builds!)
Ultimately, what problem are you trying to solve with paragon? Giving PVE/PVM players incentive to keep playing? That’s what the loot hunt is for. If they’ve finished the loot hunt, that’s what build diversity and alternate characters are for. If they play obsessively to an unhealthy degree, that’s what seasons/forced wipes are for. Maybe I’ve missed something? But as I understand it, the Paragon system was created to reward people for playing even if they could only play a short time or had bad luck with drops. Ultimately, casual players have to accept they will not progress like hardcore players. And bad luck is a feature of randomness - and that can be curtailed somewhat via a number of systems limiting randonmness in the rolls or offering catch-up/second chance mechanics. The point being that there is no problem that must exclusively be solved by adding an infinitely scaling power creep.
Making an overly complicated, table top-esque system with a ton of choices to replace the simple paragon system isn’t the right solution. In fact, it’s exactly the wrong solution from a game company that holds as its mantra: easy to learn, difficult to master.
Visual improvements
Your art team is earning their paychecks, that’s for sure.
My only nit to pick was the poison weapon effect. Is it supposed to be like chlorine gas or something? I understand we need something green and flashy enough to be seen, but this paled in comparison to the other effects. I was expecting some dripping poison or something: a poison-coated blade. Maybe you tried it and it didn’t look good?
As always, thanks for the insight into the process and the opportunity to discuss! Merry Christmas to you all and Happy New Year!
Let us run key dungeons because we like key dungeons, and clear camps because we like clearing camps. Not because we need Key Dungeon “XP” and Camps “XP” etc.
