I just watched one of Rhykker’s videos from a month ago talking about Casual players vs Blasters. I think it is a very good idea to have a separate server for each side of the player base. Trying to make everyone happy is mission impossible. We will never fully agree with each other. Instead of the 2 server solution mentioned in the video, I think a 3-server setup is better. Add the Eternal server, it will be a 4-server structure.
Here is how it works:
- Eternal: This realm does not change much. It is where everything eventually goes to.
- Seasonal & Casual: This is the realm where crazy and broken builds are allowed given that it is not caused by a bug. Things will be easier here and leveling is much faster than in the other realms. We get more XP and more loot, but it is not like everything is just handed to the player. The focus is to deliver the satisfaction of smashing fast and smashing hard! This is the realm where casual players and those who just want to smash around can progress and have fun. It is also potentially the place where Eternal players may occasionally try out seasonal stuff to get certain gears easily.
- Seasonal & Balanced: Just like the name suggests, this realm has a more balanced design of everything. It represents the intended difficulty of the game.
- Seasonal & Challenging: This realm will present the real challenge of the D4 game to any player dare to set foot in it. Less XP, less loot, difficult elite fights, supper difficult boss fights, debuff from boss attacks, one shot mechanisms, elite ambushes, extremely short time limit in dungeons/pits, enemies do more damage while taking less damage, very tanky bosses, you name it. Anyone who finishes the seasonal journey in this realm will get a special title each season.
The rules:
- Anyone can create multiple characters in any of the 4 realms each season, but no one can transfer a character or item from one realm to another. When the season ends, everything goes to the Eternal.
- Players playing in different realms cannot interact with each other. To play together, they must choose the same realm.
- Other than the drop rate, the itemization system works in the exact same way in all 4 realms. The Eternal realm and the Seasonal & Balanced realm have the same difficulty and drop rates while the Eternal realm does not get seasonal content.
- Reduce the world tiers in each realm like this:
Eternal and Seasonal & Balanced: Tier 3, 4, and 5
Seasonal & Casual: Tier 1, 2, 3
Seasonal & Challenging: Tier 5, 6, 7, and 8 (Welcome to Hell!)
Let’s stop chasing the goal of making everyone happy. It will only result in making the majority unhappy. Instead, let’s give each group of players some space to have our own fun, and we may find out who really wants what. lol
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are you financing that :o?
dont get me wrong, fun idea. but yea ^^
Show me the budget estimate. I’ll think of it. Lol
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Imo balancing capabilities differently on different servers is concept that’s a bit far away from the reality that they’re not landing their intentions in one place yet.
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I don’t think it would be too difficult for them.
PvP games segragate players by skill. Heck Blizzard pionered this technology.
Is really not that different.
They can have a server that rewards wise is tuned a la Diablo III Reaper of souls, as it was when it first came out, legendaries raining from the sky. (I will admit that to me, season 7 felt a lot like this tho).
But they can also make the leveling curve, much smaller.
There should be a server tuned for completing everything in about 10 hours, 20 hours, 40 hours, and so on.
If I could choose, I would go back to the leveling curve, as it was when Diablo IV came out, and the game, the monsters, scaled with you.
That was the dream. That the cmmunity, murdered. lol XD
Heck, when I played the Early access beta in 2023, and the barb was “weak”
I thought it was the best Barb experience EVER. lol
They can’t land build balance in one place. Reckon their effort needs to go to that.
It feels like it would be chaotic to have that dynamic in multiple places, each different from the other.
I’m thinking that the items, skills, the systems, are the same, what is different, is the amount of time required, the experience we get per kills, per quests, etc, how fast we adquire power.
Maybe the legendary aspects have a single rank, giving you max power right off the bat.
Stuff like that, that shortens or extends the experience.
I like the season to last me a solid 100 hours, people who play PoE 2, those guys probably want 300 hours, or more? lol
And here in Diablo, some players seem to want a two hours “journey”
But who are we to judge what people want.
I appreciate your idea but sadly nobody in this community is ever happy.
What I wrote was to the ideas of this nature from the OP:
It appears that implies capability differences since that’s often what’s associated with broken builds.
Apologies I haven’t had a chance to read ideas alternate to the OP at this stage.
don’t forget to factor in that a typical game server equipment has over 60% dependency on chinese imports, plus the recent 145% tariffs. the capex proposal submitted will likely be put on hold due to a potential 70% increase in cost compared to before the president’s inauguration.
So “Please add PoE Ruthless mode”.
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None of this adds to the bottom line. It’s a nice fantasy and that is what it will remain.
What they really want to hear is how to make the battlepass cost mo…errr a better player experience
Don’t worry, that crazy tariff cannot last for too long. It is just not doable.
And…NO. Pleasing everyone is mission impossible. Devs need to pick a lane and STICK WITH IT.