Here is an extensive list why traps do not work in a loot-based diablo game. I realize they cant change season 3. I post this to give feedback on solutions for bringing it back in future season and why it doesnt work as is.
1] Feel bad moments. You need to avoid feel bad moments. This is basic game design. You always aim for positive feel good moments. This is a loot based game. This is hard wired into the game and has been for 25 years. You do not want to introduce ways to reduce players loot that is the player’s fault. This just makes them feel bad over and over and over again.
2] Clutter. The screens of Diablo are very chaotic and involving. ITs hard to keep track of everything. Especially for your older players. Screens can fill monsters and ground effects and it just makes it feel like an arcade game where you need twitch skills to avoid the traps.
3] Unfair. Movement skills are a must in this season. Necromancer is at a severe disadvantage here as the dont have any. This entire season is a slap in the face of your necromancers in this department (and others).
4] Core Gameplay Conflict. Diablo has always been a face paced game. Defeat lots of enemies and gain loot. Traps go against this. They slow the game to a crawl if you want to actually get more loot. I am already hearing of players that are just doing vaults as fast as possible and ignoring the traps. This is proving this point if a majority of players are doing this or will be doing this.
5] Its just not fun. How is this fun gameplay? There are some potential ways to make it fun. Such as getting locked in a room and having to fight extra enemies or falling into a pit with 6 elite scorpions or something like that where its not really a bad thing. But just having to do mental calculations and twitch skills to avoid a clutter of ground or projectiles when the game is already filled with monster projectiles and ground effects? its too much. This is not fun. This is a chore.
6] Too Similar to dungeon gameplay. This is a knock against vaults as well. These vaults are just too similar to dungeons. It is really just dungeons plus traps equals vaults. 6 was edit added.
SOLUTIONS:
1] BEST - Traps are removed from the game. A positive system is introduced instead. Call these Vault Relics. These are powerups which can appear randomly but appear more often if you can chain defeat enemies. These have random rarities as well with rare, legendary, unique, and mythic levels. Think of these like mini shrines but can get crazy with stacking effects and could even be exclusive per hero for more flavor. The current shrine duration season thing would change to extra duration of these. 3 examples for sorcerer that show the idea and how different rarities would affect it:
A] Eye of Fire - Your character gains 3 meteors that circle and strike close enemies. Gain back 1 meteor every 5 seconds. Lasts 15-30 seconds. +10 second duration if meteor is on your skillbar. Sorcerer only.
B] Ice Heart (Legendary) - Casting ice armor also casts frost nova, blizzard, and frozen orb at the nearest enemy. Lasts until you are crowd controlled or die. Sorcerer only.
C] Ice Heart (Rare) - Casting ice armor also casts frost nova and blizzard. Lasts until you are crowd controlled or die. Sorcerer only.
2] ALTERNATE - Traps only deal damage and do not reduce buff. Traps also could be pressure plates that lower walls revealing more enemies (so maybe not even a bad thing), pits to elite swarms, or similar gameplay that is not a negative. Traps should not reduce loot.
For both versions the buff is now an actual buff with each stack providing something like movement speed, attack speed, procs, ect.
Thoughts?
Please +1 to show Blizzard your solidarity with this thread to avoid this ever returning in this current form.