The Future Of Diablo

General Discussion
21

A lot more diverse than running the same story campaign areas over and over again like we did in D2.

And I see you conveniently ignored the rest of my post.

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23

You were right the first time. They are not the same at all.

Nice post count by the way.

I need to be brutally honest here. I do not care about your opinion.

Diablo is a 20 year old franchise. The entire genre can use some innovation.

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This is the future of diablo if Blizzard keeps its greedy, medicore path: :skull_and_crossbones::skull_and_crossbones::skull_and_crossbones:

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25

No wonder you guys think D2 is perfect, you basically ignore everything else that is better out there.

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26

I’ve played DIII since beta I’m more than familiar with its identity crisis.

Take a moment to reread the OP. Feel free to contribute something of substance. Thank you.

I agree.

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27

I thought about it for a while. I think any Diablo game Blizzard considers needs the following at minimum. It’s fairly broad, but I think most players expect at least these:

  1. A new and exceptionally captivating story. This is critical for me, since this must actually remain an RPG. If it loses the storyline, if it fails to immerse the player in Sanctuary and the Diablo universe, the game becomes just a set of mechanics that could be lifted and put anywhere. It must remind players that they are set within a world where good and evil are constantly doing battle in the Eternal Conflict. There is a clear morality to follow, and within that story, humans make their way. Even more to the point, the story must engage the player emotionally, get him to invest in the characters, and ideally, would present an idea that can extend beyond the game. If that’s unclear, consider how you felt when you first watched the Matrix or Star Wars and were forced to think about things is a whole new way. If Blizzard can create that, and the template is there already, they will have done the IP’s legacy justice.
  2. Incredible art. I expect nothing less from a AAA studio, and in particular Blizzard which has always produced stunning visuals which brought their games to life. We all know they employ a legion of the world’s best digital artists. The challenge will be whether they can deliver the Diablo universe without the D3:Vanilla’s “explorations” on the theme.
  3. Incredible game engine performance. The game needs to play cleanly, with no performance issues, including battle(dot)net connectivity issues (since there is no offline mode), at high frame rate, with no lag spikes, and it needs to do it on a wide range of commerical hardware. Blizzard has always delivered this experience so the average PC owner can enjoy the game, while those with $5,000 gaming rigs can push the graphical envelop to the max.
  4. Simple, clean mechanics. The game needs to be responsive, perform well, and be accessible to the player. It is a temptation to create too many flashy effects, which at high levels or in multiplayer, turns the screen into an epilepsy-causing blast of rainbow-colored unicorn farts which makes visually following what’s going on on the screen nearly impossible. It is a temptation to use computing power to create incredibly complex mechanics that require a spreadsheet to manage. D3’s prevalence of “ramp up” mechanics that leave a character pathetically weak when they zone in, change dungeons levels, or die until they can get streaks going again are EXACTLY this sort of thing. No one likes getting one-shot on content they can otherwise solo because they lost their stacks of something. These sort of things ruin immersion.
  5. Balance in all things. Item types balancing speed vs hard hitting. Spells balancing single target vs range. Attacks balancing melee vs ranged. Defensive skills: cooldowns vs permanent armor vs castable shields vs avoidance. Class balance. Item affix balance. Scaling balance with emphasis on additive bonuses rather than multiplicative to balance the numbers at low and high difficulty. Every aspect of the game needs to be extensively playtested so that choices the player makes are meaningful trade-offs rewarding specialists in certain situations, and hybrids broadly. If it’s in the game, there should be an incentive for the player to use it. If that’s not the case, either buff it to where it is useful to the player or remove it.
  6. Ongoing support. Patches. New Content. Balance. Build a game where you can and do nerf when a mechanic is too powerful. Avoid power creep. Power creep ruins immersion by trivializing things which the RP elements of the game tell us should be challenging.
  7. A vibrant end-game. Once you have built your hero, you should have things to do with him. Farming is a fact of life in Diablo, but should always have a purpose. Ladder progression. Challenges/Conquests. PVP, which should be included but with extensive protections for those who do not wish to partake to prevent griefing, trolling, etc. It should be an option, and never an obligation. PVE players should have the option to NEVER engage in PVP, and specific build-defining items or rewards should never be gated behind PVP.
  8. Social tools. Any multiplayer game is fundamentally about playing with friends. Social tools are a must including extensive, built-in clan support, and support for in-game trading other than spamming the general chat box. Language filters for those who have children and wish to protect them. The option to turn it off for adults who don’t mind strong language. Streamer support, and tools like this help promote the game, build community, and give a game longevity.
4 Likes
28

I did. I pointed out how the premises of your post were BS.

29

Indeed.

Every modern arpg is now heading to the “GR” type as endgame. This showing that people do like the “GR” type endgame than running the same campaign areas over and over.

If Blizzard plant a Nephalem Rift (make it ilvl85~99) in D2 now, except for the 1% D2 fans here, 99% of D2 players will use it with no qualm.

30

How is that working out for you? Are you proud of yourself?

Greater/rifts are randomized areas with the same rift bosses.

Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

So you understand the concept of ilvls?

I’ll repeat myself for the sake of discussion.

Thanks for contributing! I share many of the same sentiments.

31

Future of Diablo IMO is about not making mistakes from the past (which every single one of them could be treated as a blessing not to repeat) and offering everyone (except the far-side casual and far-side competitive) something to “hook up for” once they “beat” the game

  • Mistakes from D3 to not repeat:

ALL 4 of them, (this may be actually 100th time talking lol)

  1. SkillTrees to build the character (not max lvl and you’re a Chameleon ffs)
  2. Trifecta. Don’t put Crit (or pure damage enhancements) as a baseline feature. Especially not when Skill damage is connected to that
  3. Toughnes/Recovery system being more than just stacking Vitality, Armor, & Res. In D3 they made Str/Dex increase Armor and Int increase Resistances. In addition Resistances are directly linked to CC reduction, DON’T do that
  4. No “endless power ramping up” endgame. This is hardest to come up with cause whatever it is should be something new. D2 didn’t have a “late game”, D3 had a one that was meaningless
  • Mistakes (or at least things that should be improved) from D2 to not repeat:
  1. No passive hit or Aura effects. That mob has a frost aura, great, now you can’t move at all unless you kill it. Or even better - Thunderstorm proc of 2k or whatever damage. Mana burn as well, hey one of the elite packs have Mana burn per hit, well all the things just drain your mana instantly with 1 hit lol
  2. Survivability/Combat effectiveness should be as far as away from RNG. Yeah, not good, not only you force people max on FHR and Vita but also the whole combat is based around RNG% to whether you get hit or you hit instead
  3. No Zerging and no Brickwalls (or gearlock). D3 did solve the “No Zerging” problem (partially) by having TPs be channeled and stopped while in combat and boss areas not allow TPs, BUT the survival of D3 was all about LPH returns and damage, sooo no for both of those models, we need (as a difficulty progression feature/system) something else

At this point frankly think whatever comes out would be solid as long as those problems don’t occur but have some suggestion examples as alternatives. Will try to be as short as possible

  1. Make difficulty dynamic. Add extra abilities to mobs (and better cooperation between them) on higher difficulty settings. Could also “toy around” with scarcity of Gold/Crafting-mats as a resource while at that
  2. Add stamina/stagger bar for hits suffered. THAT WAY you won’t ignore being hit by “thrash mobs” but you wouldn’t rely on RNG% whether you hit them or they hit you either
  3. “Toy around” with TPs, use both ways from D2 and D3 where appropriate, and even new ways. For ex. in open world keep it Channel, in Dungeons make it D2 as purchaseable. Some dungeons might have only a one way out TP to “reset” it and start again, others might have a limited number of TPs (per player, or even per party total) before it “closes”. Some dungeons might have a bunch of TP-Stones but you have to charge it with kills instead. It’s important cause more “free but limited usage” of TPs might mean less need for Potion spam
  4. Not make lategame as “only grind” or “only empower”, try make it appeal to more-persistent/hardcore players (since chances are those would play more), but spice it up with some “special events”. Think of these like “This week’s mutation mission” from Starcraft, that’s Blizz’s most successful game/franchise and is probably the most-stream friendly (IMO) as well. Not everything has to be a “hard grind” to perfect the 4% of your item X you’re missing or get “maxx level”, but not everything has to be a “we’ve done for now, tune in next season” either
  5. Try not make what other games have done on the market, as long as other mistakes mentioned don’t get repeated. If D4 is a PoE clone then just a matter of time PoE guys go back to their original game. Give everyone something fresh/new, the ADA system is great start, just need be implemented in better way, one way I think could be used is to “couple” it with the Rune/Runic system of skills from D3 (i.e. put some of the powers into skills in order to empower them with a special/scaling rune-power effect)
  6. Make every item usable in as much as possible ways but not overly-usable. Many would say this has much higher priority (which itemization IS) but the approach/purpose here is different. For ex. if a Barb is able to use a Mighty weapon, equip the possibility for the Druid to carry it as well. Try experiment with “per class” items to be intended for 2 classes instead, that way the feeling won’t be “man when am I ever gonna get something good but usable” whilest also (potentially) keep the need (and even the impact) for trading slightly in check

That’s kinda what I think I’ve gathered SO FAR from my own thoughs as well as discussions with other members. Hope we get to hit as many “checks” of them. Anything else is a bonus from that point onward I’d say, a welcome one but still kinda from priority’s standpoints somewhat lower

Thx for all those who managed to endure this wall of text :slight_smile:

32

And what are you trying to tell here?

Why? Or do you arrogantly think that everyone who doesn’t like or prefer D2 never play D2 before?

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33

And you continue to spread the same BS.

This is far different than D2’s endgame. The number of bosses, enemies, terrains you encounter in a GR is far greater than running the same bosses over and over again in D2.

Then there’s also that GR’s are timed events, have increasing difficulties, and reward you with upgrades to jewels that you can also use to improve your gear.

But as usual, the people who put D2 on a pedestal are unable to have an honest discussion.

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34

It’s simply a matter of opinion. I do not care what you prefer.

Do you actually believe any of that matters?

What incentive is there for me to push GR 80 vs GR 100+?

Greater rifts turned endgame into a literal hamster wheel. Finishing chores and rewarding players with the same content is terrible design IMO.

Nice bait bro. Stop projecting for one second.

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35

So doing content with a larger variety of bosses/monsters doesn’t matter?

Getting your jewels to a higher level, and your gear augmented with higher stats. Not to mention more experience and drops.

And again we get biased BS. You can’t accuse D3’s endgame of being a hamster wheel when D2 is exactly the same, but with far worse rewards and a lack of increasing challenge.

This is why people like you can’t be trusted to make a faithful description of anything about D2 and D3.

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36

i prefer, running good, interesting, atmospheric levels and bosses over and over, instead of running through uninspired, randomized what-ever levels just for the sake of doing something

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37

Variety is pointless when the reward is exactly the same.

1 more paragon. 1 more gem level. 1 more greater rift.

Okay let’s pretend I spent countless hours doing just that.

What’s changed? Oh. Sweet. Let’s do another greater rift. LOL.

I’ve played both games for literal years. Shouting “bias” into the forum void doesn’t suddenly invalidate my opinion.

Be careful sharing your opinion in here.

People might think you’re biased.

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38

i am far beyond this point xD
i am just careful about getting muted now xD

39

If that is the case, why even bringing up something like “Oh, you knew ilvl”? in the first place if you don’t care? Simple, your arrogance and premature assumption on people who doesn’t enjoy D2 the same as you do.

Path of Exile has “Rift”
Wolcen has “Rift”
WoW has “Rift”
Diablo 4 has “Rift”

I guess you just have to stick to Diablo 2 in your whole life :smiley:

Indeed. That was a hilarious statement.

One has like hundreds of randomized map layout with hundreds of possible monster combinations with 28 different rift bosses to fight vs another one that has a fixed map layout with a little randomization and the same boss at the end of the map. How is this even a contest?

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40

the avengers movies also have many more heroes and villains than dark knight…

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41

What is your points?