D4, like D3, is an overall engaging and enjoyable experience… for a bit.
We should all be able to agree that D2 was solid. It had something magical. It lasted for decades. It lasted so long that they literally remade the game with better graphics. I wonder if D3 will be remade in the future… (hint: it won’t)
So what made D2 and what many consider its successor (PoE) to be so beloved by its more serious fanbase? It’s really a single concept with many moving parts…
“The Progression Cycle”
The keyword being “cycle”. ARPGs are not MMOs, though they’re deceptively similar. The appeal of a true MMO is lasting character growth. You generally have a single “main” character you stick with for months, years, even decades. That character becomes your online identity in an MMO.
ARPG characters are disposable. You build them up quickly, hit significant power spikes, have a bit of fun, then do it all over again. Hence, the progression “cycle”. It’s what makes seasons work. It’s what makes hardcore work. If you remove this cycle and intend players to stick with characters for significantly longer, then you need a significant amount of so called “end game” to keep it entertaining. The secret nobody seems to admit is that ARPG endgame is really just one simple question - did my character succeed or fail. How do you know? Simple, a test. A boss, a dungeon, a cow level, whatever. More than 1 test is even better. Multiple progressively more difficult tests, better still. Spacing them out over the leveling journey gives milestones to reach along the way, and keeps things interesting.
The tests in D2 were fairly simple, but tests nonetheless:
- Nightmare Difficulty
- Hell Difficulty
- Hell Mephisto, Diablo, Baal
- Hell Cows
- Ubers
In D3 there were no tests, just a near-infinite numeric grind
In D4 T3 and T4 are power DROPS that raise baseline gear requirement by 50-100 pts, but they’re not tests. There’s uber lilith, at level 100… which takes an MMO-like amount of time to even reach. Once there, you require broken skill interactions or near-god-like skill and patience to defeat. ARPG tests should require skill, don’t get me wrong, but “everything 1 shots you and there’s a soft-enrage that affects melee more than ranged and and and”… it’s exciting and terrible at the same time.
In PoE there are so many tests at this point, I won’t even bother to list them. PoE is masterful in designing endgame tests suited for an ARPG.
Once you’ve done everything in the game several times over, grinded a bit more power, challenged the tests a few more times… that’s when the true ARPG gameplay loop begins. You go again. Make a new character, using a different build to keep things fresh and interesting.
In D3 and what appears to be the case in D4, that cycle is completely missing. Instead, you simply respec to something new when you get bored. Sure, you could level another character, but getting to 100 all over again? Not worth the time. There’s other classes, so I guess you do like D3 and just make one of each… then you’re done… forever. Or until a new season comes out and they add enough build diversity to bring you back. Even then, it’s gotta be pretty significant build changes to warrant that grind again. Pulverize now deals cold damage with a special aspect (OMGZ I CAN USE FROSTBURNS!?)? Nope, feels the exact same. We’re talking completely new “feeling” builds, or it won’t last.
Another core part of the progression cycle is “progression”. You find things and level up so your character feels stronger. The issue, as it was in D3, is that gear contributes far too much to character power, particularly in the early-mid game. Character level has almost no impact and, in fact, feels worse when you level up in most cases. Level scaling is probably the worst concept introduced to the genre. Mathematically for a level 1 player and a level 100 player to fight alongside eachother and have it feel somewhat even, is that your damage is actually a mathematical formula equating to some % of hp style damage. Meaning a level 1 hits a target, and based on their power rating deals, let’s say, between 20 and 30% of their hp. When a level 100 hits that same mob, the same formula applies, so between 20 and 30% of their hp. Obviously aspects and uniques play a role here, but that’s fundamentally what’s happening. Your power is reduced to some % of mob hp formula. Again, worst… design… ever.
Having to effectively “find your build” through the aspect system is also counter-intuitive to the cycle. When you start a new “disposable ARPG character” you have a build in mind. If you rely on RnG for that build to work, it doesn’t. Aspects (legendaries) should be moved to the tree.
I’ll cut it short (I have so many more things), but ultimately to fix these issues here’s my advice:
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Time to level should be significantly faster, up to around lvl 90, at which point slow it down exponentially. Most won’t chase the remaining 5-10 levels, but leave it there for the more extreme cases. You had the formula in D2, use that, it worked well IMO.
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The “end game” needs more tests, bosses or dungeons at level 70, 80, 90. And a level 90 player should be able to take the final test, and pass. Requiring 100 should not be a thing.
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Remove level-scaling. Simplest would be the torment system (but per-region zone levels would be ideal!). With this, remove the “enemies more than x levels above take less and deal more” mechanic. You deal 1000 damage no matter what level the mob is, though they may have more HP so 1000 vs 10000 matters. If your build is worthy, then at level 50 you could theoretically take on max level content… why the hell not. Probably broken, balance it, but still… you get the idea. Level is just a number, artificial handicaps based on this number feel terrible.
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Remove legendaries and move aspects to the skill tree. Yup, I said it. Relying on RnG to make a build means respec is mandatory for this system to work. Respec is fundamentally bad for the cycle. This is the only solution that would allow people to make a build from the start that works and grows along the way, as it should be. In conjunction, make respec SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive. Rerolling should always be the incentive if you want to try something new, since that’s fundamentally what keeps the game lasting longer. With #1 the time to level vs the respec cost isn’t prohibitive.
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Add significantly more uniques to the drop pool, and keep them as generic to multiple builds as possible.
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Allow all classes to find all uniques, regardless of class. It provides incentive to reroll to a new class if you find something super rare for said class. This system inherently synergizes with the cycle.
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Add significantly more paragon boards and glyphs. There’s no real choice here.
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Forgot to add this… remove item level requirements based on “found at level” mechanics. Instead, items should have fixed level requirements, ESPECIALLY uniques. I’d go so far as to say Sacred and Ancestral should be removed entirely… they’re just flat +power creep values hard-gating you from T3-T4… nothing more. Balance around that instead.
TL;DR;
The fun part of ARPGs isn’t the end game. It’s the cycle of making a build, hitting power spikes and milestones as you progress, seeing it pop off in the difficult stuff, then doing it all over again.
Please Blizz, we already had D3, it was fun for a bit. We want D4 to last this time. You’ve got a lot riding on seasons, but I’m worried you don’t understand the genre anymore and no matter what you have planned it isn’t going to fix the fundamental problems.