AoZ removal and people who say "Just go play something else"

PC General Discussion
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There are obviously tons of objective issues with D4, but when I think about it, I’m not sure I’ve ever played a live service game where rather than expanding upon the most successful features, they actually flat out removed it. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m referring to AoZ. Reading through the forum I’ve seen SO many posts saying things like, although people think AoZ was bad (probably cuz d3 grifts are better) they still say it was the best end game content and only thing people really enjoyed doing in d4 so far when it comes to replayability/longevity. I know they said it’ll come back eventually in a different form, but come on lol. Why remove it?

I bet if we could run polls, most people would prefer AoZ with leaderboard than this upcoming gauntlet (challenge rifts but with your own build). Isn’t that kind of wild that the game is struggling so much, the #1 thing people are complaining about is lack of end game, and the only successful end game content in d4 since release is something that was only available for like 6 weeks and then was completely removed?

The real issue goes deeper than that, though, and this is the real point of my post. All of these terrible experiences really just gets me thinking. It’s not actually so easy to say to someone “just go play something else” in 2024. Everyone wants to make money so every dev copies the most successful trends. It’s not just D4. D4 is probably one of the worst, but there’s VERY FEW passion projects these days, especially ones that are a genuine innovation, or aren’t a re-creation or clone of an idea that was already done before. I’ve spent thousands of hours playing games over the years and yet now entertainment (games, movies, tv) as a whole feels more like a waste of time every day for me. Just another thing that was amazing in its infancy but now has been ruined and played out and milked dry.

And sadly nowadays you have way more globally-reaching megacorporations having a monopoly on things and being in control, and the more powerful and wealthy a company becomes the less humanity they have, and anyone working there who does have humanity, ethics, etc, is probably driven to quitting, and those who just want a paycheck just bite their lip. To get any idea approved probably takes weeks and a lot of good ones probably get rejected by people who barely even play the games just based on market trends or common revenue generating traits. And that’s probably just the tip of the iceberg. It’s all just silly.

Maybe some people are younger or haven’t experienced as much yet, don’t have the awareness, whatever, but I think everyone’s gonna reach the point where they realize it’s all exhausting. It’s not worth it to think about or be mentally or emotionally invested. Gaming often feels like a chore. The games suck, the movies suck, and even when they’re good they still suck (D2R good example) because you already know what to expect due to having experienced the same or similar dopamine hundreds or thousands of times before.

Who really cares about watching the 500th Marvel movie? We’re giving billions of dollars for that? Our brains crave entertainment so we feel forced to participate in all of this nonsense but you’re truly better off finding some other purpose to life. Society is rotting. I’d recommend finding natural hobbies which are disconnected from the current modern world, and which are organic and will actually benefit your physical/mental health.

Godspeed and even though I don’t know any of you, I love you all.

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A clan member of mine who ran AoZ 24-7 last season started acting irrationally in Season 3 just recently and snapped and went crazy. The AoZ rug got pulled from under him like a bad drug addiction. Whiplash effect

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AoZ was the beta test for a more permanent GR type feature. They said that beforehand. I am curious how quickly they can take the feedback, turn it around, and relaunch it.

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Blizzard has become too large to care about the playerbase. They detached from being innovative and focused on investors. They use their data rather than listening to the feedback. The problem with using data, is that it doesn’t show if something is good or not. It just shows what players do, even if the options given aren’t good.

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Im gonna have to hard disagree with the idea that theres no passion projects in video games. The last 3 years or so have been breakneck speed awesome for gaming.

Its just Blizz and a handful of other household names havent kept up well, trying to go the way of “live service” without being able to compete on the content aspect of that. Halo also fits that category.

As for D4. I took a 6 month break before tuning in for Season 3. I hate that D4 isnt more. Its really disappointing. But I also enjoy putting together my first druid with new stuff to do and resistances to factor into the gearing and skilling process. Much better than on launch.

Its a mixed bag. Ill probably check in for S4s change. But im not above taking another 6 months off. There are too many good games to play to spend even an hour not enjoying myself playing a video-game.

Hell i break out a puzzle or rewatch Breaking Bad before I grind out a battlepass just to say I did when Im not enjoying it.

Thats just me though.

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I didn’t mind AoZ and thought it was a nice addition. It was a form of endgame content with an actual challenge and was optional for the most part. Nothing wrong with having options when you get tired of other activities or want a real challenge. Anyone could get the glyph with a quick carry.

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To be fair I said there’s very few, not 0. But yea I’d agree that there are some and that it’s also highly subjective. I’m currently enjoying Persona 3 Reload which just came out a few days ago. For me though these experiences are getting fewer and further between, and it often ends up being a remaster/remake that I enjoy the most.

I feel like in some way I’ve, at times, been mentally trapped subconsciously by the addiction of entertainment to force myself to enjoy things that I’m really not enjoying, and I see it happening in some sense with a lot of others, especially on this forum lol.

Anyone grinding Duriel, for example, with no intentions to push gauntlet is probably dealing with this issue as we speak. Something like 1 in 200 chance for a 1 in 7 chance for an item, which isn’t even that good, which may not even work for your build, which even if it enhances your build really does nothing to make you feel any sense of progression.

So the idea isn’t to say, “never pick up a game ever again”, or even, “never play Diablo again”, but rather just to suggest that people should shift their focus and thinking onto other more meaningful things and try to take a step back and look at the big picture. I’m trying to bring light to the fact that tons of people just tend to punish themselves and feel forced to do it, and they get stuck in these detrimental psychological/emotional loops.

Everyone is a totally unique individual with a unique lifestyle so it applies to everyone differently, but I just think all of this stuff in society in general has gone too far and people should think about pulling back a little bit for their own well being. Ironically maybe if we give less money/attention to and a sense of dependence on these services and corporations, the people who provide the services might eventually start caring again about delivering a quality product. The whole system is collapsing, so it’s best to get out of the way, and ultimately all these things are just distractions from reality, anyway.

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The Gauntlet got delayed. If we had AoZ we would have stuff to do, lol :smiley:

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I thought that was the whole idea of being a live service season game?
And yeah, it is immensely stupid.

That said, while I dont mind AoZ as an activity, the overpowered glyph should not have been part of a permanent AoZ. That would have destroyed the game even more than is already happening.

As for your argument on “play something else” not being viable because all the games are bad.
Eh, there are LOTS of great games out there. Passion projects and what not.
Sure, most AAA games from large publishers might be terrible. But they are such a tiny and insignificant amount compared to all the games being released all the time.

Exactly!