Kudos to you.
I’m not arguing that making changes shouldn’t be quick and easy. What I am saying is that sometimes making a change from 7000 to 10000, while on the surface may seem like a trivial change can introduce problems of its own.
If it was so easy to “just change a number from one value to another” without any negative repercussions, then we wouldn’t need PTR, would we?
That’s a different discussion…on whether the Classic team should be bigger or Blizz pump more staff into D3.
My point is with current staff and classic team expectations need tailored to it, they aren’t.
They have already had 8 years to “tune the numbers.” This has been an issue through all of Diablo 3’s existence.
In the beginning, we could make any build we wanted. They thought this was too hard to balance.
The result was to make set bonuses overpowered, so each skill and rune would no longer have to be balanced individually. Instead, just balance the sets. Much easier. This started to severely limit build diversity and they still never managed to balance properly.
Then they started making one set/build from each class overpowered in relation to all other builds that class has. This literally killed build diversity almost completely, and they still haven’t managed to balance even a single build between classes.
Now this approach has existed for several years already, and with every patch, they still can’t adjust some numbers to get it right. So don’t tell me that “they can’t do it all at once.” They’ve had years to switch some numbers around, but nope, we still have completely dead builds while other builds are leaving all other options in the dust. Tweaking some numbers really isn’t that hard if you’d at least make a serious effort.
I’m not even asking for perfect balance every single patch, but if they’d at least nudge things closer and closer, step by step each time, but nope, not really getting that even as the years go by.
Hi! To emphasize your obviously godsent statements additionally use cursive!
I wouldn’t even mention these points if I haven’t been in the industry.
ActiBliz being massively incorporated has to follow internal rules when it comes to QA/releases (which as every QA from time to time fails → W3 Reforged) and trying to work around them usually generates ungodly amount of attention from senior management.
Still, as a game that will be supported hopefully for upcoming years I don’t really understand why there were no efforts to speed up the release process of minor versions, that would only include the %increased damage value on existing items/sets. I fully understand that new items, changes to AS, tweaked locations or mechanics on items etc, so any other change is a subject to full QA build.
In situation like this, with limited budged, unbalanced sets and strict season schedule (we get a release every 4-6 months lately) I’d rather focus my efforts on making the process of release of balance patch smoother rather than giving people unwanted ghostboys.
And for future seasonal ideas, you could just Poll and Ask us which of your ideas we like the most, with a link to the poll from Battle.net app 
Edit: and as all of you mentioned already - if they would like to balance things, I’m pretty sure they already would. It’s just that they rather rotate the builds once in a while instead of making them somewhat equally strong.
Is it perhaps that they take their time to test minor versions so that they can try to catch and fix as many bugs as possible?
If you’re in a hurry to release, then be prepared to release with bugs…
I believe the main reason are the complaints about latency issue and extreme lag. The first parts of the extension are an attempt to isolate where the latency is originating…Is it the code for the shadow clones?, is it s the code for the 4th slot or rather the impact of the new code on top of the existing code making an already existing problem worse.
For those not familiar with software development, some issues take time to fix and what may be a priority for you, may not be a priority for the dev team. Rebalancing does nothing for anyone if the platform suffers due to extreme lag and latency. Or new items, tweeks cause server instability. Things frst need to run smoothly.
The update process has developers checking out blocks of code for their assigned task. They make their change and then check their code back in. (This is after the developers on compiling and testing of the changes they made) This process still does not push the code out to us. Once the requisite fixes specified for the next build are completed the code is locked as a new build is made and sent to QA for testing. (We are not QA). QA runs a series of automated test to confirm the fixes are working problem and the game operates within expected parameters. If the build is unstable it goes back to development, if its stable it goes to PTR. Now we get to play and give feedback.
We do find bugs, We do find minor issues that need to be fixed before the full release can be pushed. We also find things that are not deemed a high priority or less important based on time to fix. Once the minor quick things are fixed we have a patch release.
This process can take 2-3 months.
I do not know the ins and outs of blizzards programming teams, but I do know how software companies in general work specifically in the support and fix process. Remember also each developer has MULTIPLE bugs they are working on according to priority. Bug priority will be based on impact to the game.
priority 1…bugs that cause game crashes and server crashes
priority 2…latency and performance related issues
priority 3…power and gameplay balancing
priority4…cosmetic and text fixes
priority 5. …bugs that have workarounds or are user caused…(think about the impact of being silenced…by not violating TOS you do not get silenced in any Bliz game. If you get silenced in any blz game D3 is unplayable…even if that was not the game you were silenced i. This has a workaround…don’t do anything to get you silenced…Hence why there is no rush to fix that bug in a hurry it is easily avoided.
Well if all builds would be equally strong every season, who would play seasons or try out new things?
What would the point be?
What kind of question is this? Then you obviously play the build which you prefer for that specific season? Or try out several builds without being hamstrung powerwise? Surely Blizzard doesn’t have to buff a build to oblivion for you to be inclined to try it?
The seasonal theme will serve as content, along with whatever changes they make to the game. They can even add new items and spells and people will try them out regardless of whether they are OP or not, so long as they are not weak.
Like what problems are you referring to exactly?
Are you saying that changing a number fro 7.000 to 10.000 could eventually create bugs? Or that it could lead to eventually over-buffing something?
Because for over-buffing, you still can do the math preemptively and come to a reasonable conclusion in most cases, and in regards to introducing a bug into the game, I do not see how changing the values for damage, defense, resource costs, cooldowns, etc can introduce a bug.
The main testing at this moment in time is done for the season themes and of course you wanna test that before introducing it to the live servers.
However, for the numerical values of sets and legendaries this is a bit different I would argue (at least I think it is - from a layman’s perspective). You still can do the math to predict an outcome of how builds will preform, which is not rocket science.
Many people on the forum already have done calculations on what to buff and nerf by how much to create more balance.
Furthermore, in regards to mechanical changes to Skills like Teleport, I also do not think that it would be that difficult to replace the Cooldown on Teleport with either 2 or 3 Charges or to give Teleport Resource Costs.
For Charges you could simply copy and paste the numbers of Dashing Strike and put them into Teleport in the data row that determines the amount of Charges and their Replenishing Time, while removing the number from the row that determines if a skill has a Cooldown and how long that Cooldown would be.
I don’t know how their spreadsheets look like, but according to an interview that Jay Wilson gave in which he said that all skills have different spreadsheets for PvP and PvE and that they easily can change some values, I assume that this is rather an easy thing to do.
This is just me as a layman talking, but I would be really surprised if Blizzard would not have a program or a way that allows them to make these numerical changes easily.
I think a lot of us are interested about what is going on behind the scenes in regards to Diablo 3.
And also: how can we as players best direct the attention to the most important changes that are needed (that also wouldn’t require too much work)?
And: what is the scale of reasonable changes to ask for and where is the point where it gets too much.
Having some of these questions answered would also help us players to give better and more focused feedback.
Btw, I was not specifically directing this all at you, but I just rather used your post as a convenient way to bring forward my thoughts and questions. I hope you don’t mind.
There’s a rumor on forum that there’s only ONE…
If that’s true, don’t expect anything revolutionary to happen for D3 RoS any time soon™ or ever…
I once made a post about this, but I got corrected and apparently it was only one person working on one specific thing, but the whole Diablo Legacy Dev Team that is working on D3 is larger, but I don’t know by how much.
If that’s true than it makes the Legacy Dev Team look even worse, but that’s what you get by relying on an always online model…
Right now you can’t even play on official servers (EU, NA, Asia), cause you’re stuck in a 182 minutes (was 238 minutes a while ago) long queue:
https://i.ibb.co/wCc15rT/Estimated-Time238m.jpg
Whoosh…point went over your head mate…irrelevant the past, what can be done now? With a small dev team in Classics who look after other games?
Point is builds are a lot closer, there are now more and more builds getting to their sweet spot and I’d imagine a fair few patches yet to ever get to a place where no more tweaking required.
But…slow, small and steady it will be for that journey…just a new theme and a 4th cube slot has destroyed their servers…if the team is small and has to maintain other games in the Classic team then D3 updates will be small.
If people tailor their expectations to that then you will not be disappointed and if they do improve things then you are pleasantly surprised.
There is also another factor that needs considered…console. The port to console like Switch was outsourced thus it may be that the Diablo team within Classic team do not have the ability to modify the whole game or would want to pay the outsourced team to add in their changes.
Given they are still supporting PS4, XB1 and Switch where they get the same patch as PC then the Classic team may be hindered in what they can do…I say may as it is unknown.
Of course tweaking numbers they should be able to do but simply requires a team to test…hence why PTR is now 2+ weeks long so we can do some of that testing.
That’s exactly the issue.
They have a process problem.
All changes can’t go through full QA process during PTR!
The problem:
The PTR and QA should be run in parallel for some changes.
Some changes should be able to adjust a multiplier, e.g. the Scrimshaw Zombie Charger spear:
They refuse to adjust this. This is almost entirely a management problem.
This is kinda what we are talking about:
There are things that are not difficult to balance or to implement and therefor we wonder why it does not get done.
There are sets and legendaries that could get a severe buff, and they still would not be meta.
I understand the process, but the question is why do they need a QA Test for a numerical change?
Who knows, maybe PTR’s should last 4 weeks, starting in the last months of a season, if the whole back and forth with the QA takes so long…
Test realms are for thorough testing so that they can avoid delivering a bug riddled trash can of garbage like PoE Heist league.
Patience young padawan.
They don’t need a full QA process to change a multiplier when it’s goal is to try it on the PTR.
I can think of several variations on a reduced QA process that allows quick turn around.
I don’t know what inertia in their company won’t let them change their process. Something like this is a people problem, that is people not letting the process change.
Yes, changing a simple number from one value to another can introduce bugs into an application.
Just look at the fourth Kanai’s Cube slot. While not precisely changing a number, the principle remains the same.
The internal structure of the software likely follows an OOP (Object Oriented Programming) model, which allows for new application objects to create additional functionality all the while inheriting the base properties and functions of the parent object.
Internally, the addition of a 4th Kanai’s Cube slot is probably not a lot of code, because it’s properties and functions are similar to the original 3 slots, with the exception of it allowing for all items types to be slotted. All that is really required is something along the lines of (as an example only):
SLOT_D := CUBESLOT.CREATE;
SLOT_D.ITEM_TYPES := itAll;
SLOT_D.POSITION := 4;
Ok, that is perhaps an over simplification of how it would work, and isn’t a true representation of the internal Diablo III code.
But that one change. That one, seemingly simple and unobtrusive change has introduced a set of bugs in it’s own right. We’de not be getting an extension of PTR 2.6.10 if it didn’t:
That article clearly states that PTR 2.6.10 will be extended with the Shadow Clones theme being turned off and then again later with the 4th Kanai’s Cube being turned off.
This is to provide a mechanism through which they can determine which of the changes (Theme or 4th Slot) is responsible for the latency issues people have been experiencing.
That’s the way software development works. Changing something will always introduce a bug of some kind, even if not in the way you might expect.
Sure, anybody can do the math and draw their own conclusions. Only the Diablo III team can do the math and implement the changes without breaking it completely.