You know I started out wanting a nostalgic experience with as little change as possible and for that I was called a purist.
But after reading these forums for months, I honestly think most suggestions would turn this game into a hot stinking mass of forgettable.
Some of the reasoning here is nothing short of spectacularly shortsighted. After all of this, I’m starting to find the label “purist” more a badge of sanity than anything.
Good grief.
Yeah I was more than happy to accommodate a healthy spectrum of ideas, but this forum quickly devolved into people who somehow thing corruption (of all bloody mechanics, really?) wouldn’t be a core gameplay change.
I’m all for a few ideas here and there for a great gaming experience, but some of these ideas are just ludicrous.
The devs repeatedly, dozens of times have reiterated their desire to keep the gameplay very similar, and these people want to basically recreate a new game from scratch. No thank you.
Drop rates historically in D2 have been altered. If you think that this fundamentally alters gameplay, what patch is the real “core gameplay”?
See the “Ship of Theseus” philosophical question.
I don’t think this applies. There is nothing to suggest a person cant both
A- Believe the drop rates changing are core to gameplay, be fine with it in previous patches, and also
B- Not want any more core gameplay changes in this remaster.
Just because something is a core gameplay change, does not mean someone must believe there is a specific patch that constitutes “real”, anything.
Micro - What is your definition of “core gameplay”?
Because mine is “pertaining to core gameplay elements” it needn’t change the game into a first person shooter to qualify.
Skill balance, PvP balance, new areas, etc. are all core gameplay elements to me.
When 1.07 was released and Baal was introduced, that is a core gameplay change to me.
Is it not to you?
No to me it was just additive gameplay. But I do agree drop rates can effect gameplay, mostly mess with the pace of the game. Too much good loot drops you have less to work for, too little and it becomes a slog. I would only mess with drop rates too much unless its making a essential drop for progression for ____ endgame build too hard to get. But I don’t know the drop rates of individual items good enough to have a educated thought on what item that could be. So I’ll leave that for the people with spreadsheets.
My definition is narrow and biased towards PvM. Core gameplay are things like character classes and their skill tree design, the overall itemization, killing monsters and getting loot, and distinct routes to get gear (monster drops, chests, gambling etc…)
Core gameplay has to be a common element in single/multiplayer, ladder/non-ladder, and hardcore and softcore. As such, I think PvP is not core gameplay since it has no relevance to single player. The loot drop system in multiplayer (FFA versus personal loot) is not core either in my mind. I appeciate that people want things to stay the same and agree with that. I also think that additional optional changes do not fundamentally alter core gameplay elements.
Please do not misintepret what I say. PvP is enjoyable and many like it. I just do not think it is core gameplay. I am not advocating to replace systems that I do not think are core gameplay, but have a more strict definition of what are the fundamental elements that define core gameplay in D2.
This is a fine opinion, but many of thousands of Classic players would disagree.
I think this is the problem. There are two main definitions of core gameplay people are using, and it becomes confusing. These are the definitions it seems.
1- Things added to the game that are not simply QoL changes, that add minor if any gameplay changes.
and
2- Anything I want, regardless how large a change.
I think 1 is the better definition, honestly, but to each their own.
This is also a fine opinion, I just think it’s completely different from how I play the game.
PvP balance is absolutely, without a doubt, a core part of the game to me.
I can agree to have different definitions to things like this, I just don’t think the conversation gets very far when people differ so drastically on how they view phrases like “core gameplay”.
I really hope we all get what we want.
I think the only way this will happen is multiple realms, so I really hope it happens for all of us.
The reason that I think PvP is not core gameplay is presumably you need to play PvM (in almost all cases) before you can do PvP. In contrast, a player can strictly play PvM and never engage in PvP.
I like PvP in lots of games but in D2 it does not really exist much in level 1 duels I assume.
I suspect that is best. I could imagine a strict remaster realm and a modern, let’s change/update things more aggressively realm. I think that would be a win-win.
I play classic too, but the reason I play is different from you.
Where did those definitions come from, do you honestly believe such hyperbolic nonsense?
I don’t believe that additional content changed the core gameplay, the only changes that did create a different experience is the change of pace due to the difficulty changes from the patch.
The combat wasn’t changed much it still had a similar pace, it still fundamentally felt like D2. Having said that there were additions in LOD I didn’t like, example charms where just implemented badly.
Most of the changes I want in D2R would simply be QOL in my eyes, while you may disagree. I don’t want big changes like you suggest with your ridiculous definitions.
What is the most under performing skill in this game? Arctic Blast? Blaze? Can you really use those skills outside of Act 1 normal?
Start from that handful to make them better.
Yeah…no you are not. You clearly stated you don’t want a damn thing changed in this game. You’re not fooling anyone.
This isn’t true at all. Changes I’ve advocated for in this very forum, which you can check through post history are as follows.
Gamble refresh
Shop refresh
Auto pickup gold
Shared stash
Colorblind mode
More accessible keybinds
More Visual cues for hearing impaired people
An in game trading board
Bug fixes
A personal loot option
so, keep thinking you know everything about me from 1 or two posts that you disagree with. It just makes you look ignorant. I’ve advocated for many changes.
Firewall, Inferno, Molten Boulder, just to name a few more.
I don’t see the harm in buffing useless underpowered skills. If you don’t like playing it, fine, don’t play it. It only opens up more replayability for others and new build paths.
Some great ways to balance these skills is by improving synergies and having the skills themselves gain higher damage at levels 20+, thus only with +skills – later levels.
…it’s easy to balance these skills: Just plot the numbers into a spreadsheet, and find the balance at skill level 1, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50…
With and without synergies and masteries…
With and without a +50-100% damage boost from a rainbow facet in every slot or +damage bonuses like from Nightwings, Phoenix.
Higher skill damage improves the skill itself, but lower synergies makes the +skills less effective.
Higher synergies improves the value of +skills, but lower or keeping normal skill damage makes the skill less useful during leveling.
Assassin Charge-Up skills could/should just fire each charge on each step of the combo, and the finishing moves made into normal skills.
There are much more creative ways they could go about making useless skills, more useful. Instead of just a damage boost to bring them up to par, maybe make the skill into a utility skill like for example, ice blast. Instead of just upping the damage on it, maybe it lowers resistances/defense/speed for x number of seconds, increasing potency per level.
Inferno maybe you add a DoT element (burn?). You could add this to any of the fire spells that stick around after being cast.
Spitballing, someone more imaginative than myself could come up with something better, but balancing garbage skills doesn’t solely have to just be an increase in damage.
Here are the skills that I think should be buffed I mainly want these skills to be more usable all the way to hell baal.
Fend we need at least one viable non-element based spear skill that is good( fix the bugs and add synergy to give flat poison damage no dot or something to help a bit with physical immunes. Then this build would be golden)
bear ( werewolf is so much better make bear closer in power level)
maul ( bear skill that is not shared it should be at least as viable as fury either through shockwave synergies or another skill )
Plague javelin ( poison javazon needs love)
immolation arrow ( bow amazon is generaly weak but this likely the weakest capstone in the bow tree)
freezing arrow ( elemental arrows in general are pretty weak)
strafe ( mainly just give it synergy with magic arrow + magic damage and guided arrow +atk rating)
guided arrow ( same here mainly just give it synergy with magic arrow)
dragon claw ( I want dual claw asn is way outshined by a ton of asn builds)
mind blast ( caster asn sounds like a fun build to bad the damage is bad even maxed out)
venom ( this skill should be useful especially for a dual claw asn but sadly weapon poisons are better then this skill)
bladeshield (also another skill that could be good with dual claw asn but its damage is negligible, maybe needs magic damage)
bladefury ( again another skill that seems to be for dual claw asn as ranged option for hard hitting monsters but same as before damage seems low.)
double throw ( low damage needs more synergy maybe with frenzy)
whirlwind ( needs more synergy)
hydra ( needs better damage)
firewall ( needs a bigger burst of damage when you cast it on a creature)
Armegeddon ( this skill is hard to balance but its such a hard skill to get it needs more pay off for it’s investment)
volcano ( unless its a creature who stands around alot, you just aren’t going to see much damage)
summoning druid( there are so many lack luster skills and the like here)
Paladin is pretty much has a a lot of viable builds maybe charge is the outlier and conversion which I see more as a utility skill so personally not need for buffs.
I like the way you worded it. I personally would have said, a D2 realm, and a modern, loosey goosey, whatever the forum wants realm. I agree though, it would be a win-win. 
You know, I don’t have many pet peeves, other than putting my socks on and stepping in water from the shower. Boy, do I hate that. One of my major ones is saying something, and having someone tell you what you meant by it. Has that happened to anyone else? It gets my blood boiling. Why are you telling me what I meant when I said it???
I know this doesn’t exactly apply to the accusations you’ve just fallen under, but it still struck me as funny.
An elegant solution is to add balance changes to a paid DLC pack, so that all new content is something people have to enter voluntarily.
I would trust VV to be able to create the lost 6th act as DLC based on the knowledge of what it would contain.
Wow I can’t believe all this BS. Why would you think people care about any of your lame opinions? Who are you? Go be a game programmer or something and stop posting bs