D4 Proposal 9 - Skill Matrix - Skill Loot

PC General Discussion
1

4K Poster

https://i.ibb.co/FYDWNjF/diablo-skill-matrix-2.jpg

Summary

Free allocation using a Matrix rather than dependencies with a Tree.

Explainer

  • Skill Matrix: Compact and Scalable UI. Granular and Composable Nodes. Composability brings customization. Limited points brings choice. Every point spent in the matrix is useful. Fast allocation and deallocation. Console friendly. Easily accepts quest skills, item skills, crafted skills, multiclassing.
  • Auto-Reorder: Selected nodes are put on the most top-left position at next reopen. The skill having the most active modifiers will be the first to be displayed. If 2 skills have the same amount of active modifiers, count the unactive modifiers. If 2 skills have the same amount of active + unactive modifiers, developer’s choice. For a given skill, active modifiers will be displayed first, followed by the unactive ones.
  • Screenable / Sharable: Auto-Reordering Matrix means a build can be seen in 1 screen.
  • Zoom: D4 Skill Zoom behavior is kept. No scroll bar, as scrolling zooms by default.
  • Cursed Items: Items can consume points spent in nodes, in exchange of power or effects. Example: Decrease the damage of Corpse Explosion to increase the damage of Raise Skeletons. Balance: Skeletons are not just a mean among many to create Corpses. Player actually spend points in Corpse Explosion to gain Miasma (synergy) and to increase Skeletons damage (power redirection), but cannot damage with Explosion. Important to ensure that every build does not end up being a Corpse Explosion one.
  • Skill Loot: Skills and modifier nodes drop like items. Every game is unique. RNG is perfectly distributed through Central Limit Theorem (Gaussian / Normal distribution after 30+ drops)
  • Free Respecialization: Player can adapt its build to the unpredictible loot.
  • Fun skills: Spread Wisp, Gas Cloud, Twin Skulls, Flesh Mates, King of the Dead.
  • Search Anything: Reverse index based on the Okapi BM25 algorithm

Icons

  • https://i.ibb.co/XYDR47V/wisp.jpg
  • https://i.ibb.co/dtytXPT/skeleton-splinters-2.jpg
  • https://i.ibb.co/dbGW5YD/skeleton-spirit-3.jpg
  • https://i.ibb.co/3rCgwBn/poison-cloud.jpg
  • https://i.ibb.co/NyRKs74/skeleton-thorns.jpg
  • https://i.ibb.co/kXvyWXf/army-of-the-dead-king-teal-green.jpg

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Other proposals
https://diablo-proposals.web.app

2

They are not going to change deep mechanics at this point before release. Go play PoE its clearly what you what, a spreadsheet game.

4 Likes
3

Of course.

I’ll wait for the next season, the expansion, the next Diablo or a competitor to implement this system.

Quite the contrary.

PoE is based on oriented physical links between nodes (dependencies).

This proposal suggests to implement the exact opposite.

The Skill Matrix is all about virtual nodes (don’t show them) and zero dependency, which enables the freedom of composition.

4

Not a good system regardless, its good you are not a designer here.

3 Likes
5

Please explain why you don’t like it.

The old proposal realized during the closed alpha shows the math behind:
https://diablo-proposals.web.app/#skills-matrix

6

No.

While it would dramatically expand build diversity, it would lower control and ultimately leave most players bored.

1 Like
7

I don’t get this part.
How does this representation affect control ?

More builds would bore players ?
Please explain why.

8

I can appreciate the passion and effort you put into it, but it leads to the game being too UI based. I want to kill monsters and get cool loot that makes me more powerful, not look at a menu all day and click my power.

Now if you can solve the issue of the end game being nothing but a better loot chase with no real goal to use that better loot for, I’m all ears.

1 Like
9

This is a loss of build control.

This is a loss of control.

More builds does not mean more fun. More options does not mean more fun. What it does create, like in Path of Exile, is a situation where skills become generic-ized to the point where you aren’t casting a Fire Ball but just a modifiable projectile with a different graphic.

1 Like
10

Actually, UI is a thing, as lots of players asked for a better UI, but were unable to put words into images.

I try do express my humble views with a picture.

Of course, better UI can mean many things.

What would you improve ?

Developers explicitely said they want players to feel their character progression, and they materialized it using points allocation.

Another system would have been auto allocation depending on the used skills, but it would make respecialization very hard, if not impossible.

Last Epoch have a mixed system (Points and XP, so players cannot respecialize immediately), and honestly I really don’t like it.

As players massively expressed they want free respecialization, this doesn’t seem a solution and having a UI to manually allocate points seems the way to go.

Is the current RNG loot of items a loss of control ?

No, it is a core mechanic.

Diablo is nothing more than a card game or a Scrabble, with unpredictible events and odds, in order to fight boredom and increase replayability.

Moreover, after an average of 30 loots, RNG is perfectly distributed as stated by the Central Limit Theorem:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/central_limit_theorem.asp

Any intially skewed distribution will automatically become a normal (gaussian) distribution after 30 loots.

So do not fear the Skill Loot RNG, mathematics say it will be fine.

Embrace it, as it will refresh your games that will never look the same.
Every time a player will play, it will be offered a different adventure.

D3 was full of generic powers.

D4 is sadly taking the same path.

Generic powers are a lazy conception that creates many balancing problems, as all classes can use the items.

Generic powers have lots of depencies (basically, every class every skill) and are nearly impossible to evolve in the long term.

Generic powers should be avoided as much as possible.

This is why I am in favor of granular and composable powers (on both items and skills nodes).

For composing the items, I have 2 other proposals:

  • https://diablo-proposals.web.app/#any-slot
  • https://diablo-proposals.web.app/#pouch-bag-omni-stash-relics-skills-dps-search

Guess what, a Matrix is also needed.

This is the only structure that scales as much.