I’ve played all 3 available classes, and here is what I have to say for each.
Sorcerer
I played Sorcerer to level 25. I played in Tier 1 mode all the way through. Overall, I liked it. I started off with a cold-based one, and the damage/survivability isn’t bad with their barriers. My take might change if I try Tier 2 (more on that on other classes). After getting to 20, I did switch to a pure fire-based build, and it was enjoyable. Was not able to kill the world boss spawn though, as I was getting one-shotted on basically everything. Not sure if it was over-tuned, or it’s a lack of being able to find decent gear.
Rogue
I started Rogue on Tier 2. I ran as a ranged Rogue. I didn’t have tons of difficulty running the Campaign…the last two boss fights were a little trying, but I made it through. Overall, at least on the ranged side, I liked it. I was planning on starting Sorcerer when the game goes live, but I’m back and forth on Rogue and Sorcerer now. I imagine melee Rogue might be rough though.
Barbarian
Oy. This one was a doozy. I imagine it’s because of 3 things:
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They are melee, and the last two Campaign bosses really suck for melee. The first boss (in the Horadric Vault) kept mostly in the center, making it so near impossible to get up on them to do any real damage. The last boss (the one where Vigo comes and helps), there is just far too much crap to dodge to be able to run it and do any significant damage to take him down. I had to drop down to Tier 1 just to complete both of those. The second one, I barely had 20 life left, with zero potions available when the boss went down.
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In order to be effective, you have to have so many more good weapons than you do for the other two classes. It’s a nightmare to be honest. Yes, I setup my weapon swaps as well as I was able, but it was still not enough because I just did not have decent weapons for over half of the ones I needed. I do like this new, fun mechanic, but gearing them up is going to literally be a nightmare.
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I was not able to complete their level 15 Class Quest. I could complete it for Sorcerer and Rogue, but Barbarian’s quest is locked in an area we don’t have access to. Really feels bad. I get that this is a Beta problem, but I would have really liked to play a Barbarian that was on the same level as the other two classes, so to speak.
Now, with all that said.
Itemization seems to not be the greatest. Why am I constantly finding +STR gear on my Sorcerer, and +Int gear on my Barbarian? Plus, the affixes all seem so random. Why is the rare body armor that I found not an upgrade for the blue body armor I found? Something seems wrong with that. On that regard, the chances of actually finding an upgrade seem astronomical. Upgrading items, at least at these beginning levels, seems pointless for what you get out of them. With that said, at least in Beta, finding appropriate gear really seemed to be lacking. I hope it’s a Beta issue though, and not one with the final game on release.
Why is gold not account-wide like it is in the rest of the series? I get that gold seems to play a larger part in this version, but losing the ability to share it really sucks. I appreciate the stash, but please let us share gold.
Overall, as I mentioned in a previous topic, this is not the game I was expecting. I’m really not a fan of it, but that said, it is just the starting levelling process, and I have not seen the end game yet - so I’m hoping the end game is better (and by better, I’m hoping it’s NOT like Immortal, like what this game feels like right now).
Oh, also, in regards to Rogue. While I ran through the Campaign in Tier 2 level with basically no issues, I did eventually attempt a dungeon with them. I had no problems with getting to the boss…but I had pretty much zero chance of actually taking down the boss before I was dead. I think I had only dropped 20% of their health, and it was just over. I’m not sure if Tier 2 is over-tuned for bosses mayhaps, or again as mentioned, I wonder if it’s a lack of finding decent gear.