Okay, in my other thread (Infernal Horde is DoA!) I said I am done with the PTR, but I couldn’t give in and tried some more in-depth testing of the activities we have in hopes of getting the new uniques. But more on that later. Let’s begin.
->Helltides<-
Let’s start with the Helltide and the changes it received, such as the nerfed Baneful hearts droprate and the missing Mindcage. Blizzard said, if I recall correctly, that they nerfed it because people were just doing the Maiden. This is true to some extent, but they have flawed stats because not everyone was doing the Maiden for the loot. There are many new toons because of the Iron Wolf rewards and the sparks you can get when you finish the board. I started the season with two toons in mind and leveled three more for additional sparks and to try some gameplay with them, since it was pretty easy to do so this season, especially during the Goblin event we had with the Mother’s Blessing.
So, in my mind, there would have been way fewer people lurking around the Maiden if it wouldn’t have given you 200 points for the Iron Wolf board. I have three pretty good and masterworked characters that I play in rotation. When I go for Helltide, I can tell you that I only go to the Maiden for 2-4 runs to get some Cinders in my pocket and some gear for veiled crystals because this season, it’s a big bane for many people when you masterwork and reroll items, but that’s not really an issue in my opinion.
After I get my starting funds for the chests, I roam around from chest to chest and enjoy killing mobs on my way more than just sitting at the Maiden all day long, as it gets tedious pretty fast. For example, I played some PTR Helltide and was really frustrated because there is nothing to gain and it’s only useful for the compass farm right now. I then switched back to live with my Rogue, did another Helltide, and immediately found 2-3 items that weren’t any better than my current gear, but it gave me the feeling of “pride and accomplishment” as I could temper them differently and try something else in my build. Also, the increased droprate and higher-level monsters felt way better with the Mindcage on than on the PTR since the copied characters are way overleveled and it feels like playing on WT1 with nothing to gain.
I think the nerfs you are planning are not needed. Instead, you (Blizzard) should look at the other events and make them more rewarding so people are actually interested in doing them rather than just riding to the most efficient one. I mean, why introduce stuff that is engaging and then nerf it to the ground so no one plays it anymore? Remember Trials? It’s kinda dead now, and no one talks about it anymore. It’s sad to see this activity being neglected.
So, my solution for Helltide in Season 5 would be to keep the Maiden and hearts as they are, buff the Maiden’s HP tremendously on higher world tiers, keep the Mindcage as it is right now with a second variant that buffs the levels by 20 or 30 more levels for the no-lifers among us, and overhaul the normal activities and events in it.
->Infernal Horde Mode<-
Let’s start with the Compass and the Abyssal Scroll. The first iteration was awful in regard to drop rates, let alone the drops being only tier 3. Then you had to play a low-level horde mode in hopes of getting a scroll so you could/can increase the tier on it. Getting a tier 8 compass would mean playing five times on a tier 3 run, which is boring from minute one and just feels like a big waste of time.
The current system is way better but still not perfect, as you still have to open chests in Helltide to get the compasses, dismantle them for scrolls, and then use these multiple times to get the desired tier. So many steps seem just tedious, not to mention the clutter it gives us in our tabs. Why not go the route of nightmare sigils and make the compasses craftable at the occultist where we can choose the tier beforehand? There are many non-tedious ways to play the new content. I mean, Trials don’t have a prerequisite at all, and it’s just two button clicks away. Right now, it just feels like you don’t want us to play it at all.
Now, to the mode itself. This is just my experience, and your mileage may vary depending on class and build, but I have you in mind, don’t worry.
I play with a beefed-up Whirlwind Barb that clears whole screens in an instant, and I can play tier 6 just fine with no issues. But on tier 7, the Aether bosses become just sponges and take way too much time in comparison. You, Blizzard, said that tier 8 is comparable to pit 100, which is not true as the health increase is way over the top compared to a pit 100. It’s not a challenge when you just need one minute to kill one of them; it’s a time waste. Not everyone in your player base has a top-tier character, and they are artificially capped because at some point, it gets boring. Sorc/Rogue/Druid are all so weak this season that no one will be able to solo it apart from the elite players who do nothing else but play the game 24/7.
Now let’s talk about the Banes and Boons. These can be good, but some are just not worth it at all. I made a list of every one I’ve seen in my over 50 runs of Horde, and I will make a comment about it. But first, let me say that the randomness of them is awful, as sometimes there is no +Aether at all, and sometimes you choose a +Aether one, but in the wave you play, the certain type you just chose is not even present, which makes it a wasted wave overall. I did most of my tests solo on tier 6 and 7 and some of them in groups, but we’ll talk about group play later.
In all of my tier 6 solo tests, I was only once able to get 251 Aether for the big GA Chest. And that was only because the planets in our solar system aligned perfectly for a splitsecond. In my opinion, there should always be a mix of Common, Rare, and Legendary (de)buffs between each wave. Additionally, if you choose a certain Boon, it should be present in the next wave.
->Banes and Boons<-
Common
- The Bursting Masses = Masses deal unavoidable damage / Wave start, spawn an Aetheric Mass
Can be useful if you get it early in combination with Aether Lords - The Exalted Hordes = Normal monster damage +25% / Killing them spawns Aether Events +50% faster
To be fair, i coudnt see any difference in spawning and i even tried with 200% stacked, its a skip for me - The Gorging Masses = Slaying Aetheric Masses slow you (8s) / While slowed this way, you have unlimited resources
I as a Barb in combination with Resource Generation and +7 Fury per second on my pants see no need in this at all but i cant speak for every class in that regard - The Summoned Hellborne = Hellborne are hunting you / Hellborne grant +1 Aether
Good one, especially early on - The Exalted Masses = Aetheric Mass damage +25% / Aetheric Mass grants +1 Aether
Good one aswell, i never felt the Mass does damage at all so its a nice to have but there are others i would prefer over it - The Aether Rush = Normal monster damage +25% / Gathering Aether Increases movement speed (8s)
Useless in my mind, the arena is pretty small and sometimes the Aether drops are so close together that you take 2 at once and the buff doesnt stack. So hard pass on this - The Burning Rain = Hellfire rains upon you / At the end of each wave spawn 1-3 Aether
Why is it random 1-3 ? It should be 3 all the time and i only take this if the other 2 choices are worse like movement speed/unlimited resource - The Corrupting Spires = Soulspires empower nearby foes / Soulspires pull foes inwards
Seems completly useless to me as the mobs are allready dead when they come close to the spire, or shortly after. Hard pass on this one - The Exalted Elite = Elite damage +25% / Aether Fiends grant +1 Aether
Good one, especially early on and in combination with Double Elite spawns/stacked up
Rare
- The Unstoppable Elite = Elites are Unstoppable / Aether Fiends grant +1 Aether
Good one, since i dont CC much i prefer this over the 25% damage increase of Elites - The Teeming Masses = Masses spawn an Aether Lord on death / Aether Lords grant +3 Aether
Good one, especially early on and stacked later - The Summoned Lords = Aether Lords now spawn / They grant +3 Aether
Good one, especially early on and stacked later - The Bursting Fiends = Elite damage +25% / Aether Fiends explode and damage foes
Hard Pass, the Enemies are not close enough together in density to make it viable - The Exalted Hellborne = Hellborne damage +25% / Hellborne grant +1 Aether
Good one, especially later on when stacked - The Invigorating Hellborne = Hellborne damage +25% / Slaying Hellborne Invigorates you
Apart from looking fun its useless, my Barb spins now 10 times faster but doesnt output damage at the same rate - The Insatiable Spires = Soulspires require 2x kills / Soulspires grant 2x Aether
Hard Pass, the Spires itself lock you allready in place and the spawns from the mobs are to slow which makes the Spires overall one of the worst that can spawn - The Surging Elite = Chance for Elite Doubled / Aether Fiends grant +1 Aether
This one is S+ Tier in my opinion but really rare from my playtests, when you get that one early on you need to take it as it will increase the Aethercount drastically over all the waves
Legendary
- The Wanderer Withered = Reduce All Resist -10% / Defeating The Council grants +15 Aether
Hard Pass, i guess i dont need to explain why - The Exalted Council = The Fell Council damage +50% / Defeating them grants +15 Aether
The only one i would choose if there are no better options, more about that one further down - The Wanderer Enfeebled = Increase Potion Cooldown +2 Seconds / Defeating The Council grants +15 Aether
Hard Pass - The Wanderer Exhausted = Increase Evade Cooldown +2 seconds / Defeating The Council grants +15 Aether
Hard Pass
Unique
- The Stalking Devil = An Infernal demon has your scent / Slay it to gain +25 Aether (Butcher variant)
Thats a cool one, really like the design of him and he hits pretty hard when he rushes at you from outside your screen. Can also randomly spawn without this Pylon. I take it whenever i see it as +25 Aether are a nice addition
In regards to the Council Pylons, you get +15 Aether only when you kill all 3 of them and imho it should be +15 (or +10) for each of them since they are harder to beat as the Butcher (more health and empowering the other ones after death plus the hellfire at the end.
Now lets talk about the Soulspire, Progressbar, and Pylons itself.
I dont know how often i had a Soulspire in the last seconds of the wave and coudnt finish it before the end because the mobs didnt spawn/die fast enough and it just vanishes. In comparsion getting a Fiend spawn and the timer is up i still have overtime to defeat it. I know this is hard to balance so my idea or wish is that the Soulspire wont spawn when there are less than 30 seconds left on the wave. In addition to that i would like to see the Progressbar to spawn Masses/Spires/Fiends will carry over to the next wave and not start a new.
Then the Spawnrate of the Mobs, sometimes i feel like waiting for the Buss only to see a measly 10 trashmobs spawn and then wait again. Other times its raining 30 mobs and then another 30 mobs in 5 seconds which makes me actually feel like i am in hell fighting hordes but these are to few and only a ramping up at tier 7 more frequently.
There is much more to it in regards to spawns, chest costs, rewards you get out of them etc. but there are allready enough threads and comments about it so i wont get into it here.
Now the Groupplay, how is it that everyone in the group can just click the pylon without even checking it. I allready stated that in my other thread linked at the top. It can ruin the run for everyone in an instant and should only be doable by the one who popped the compass and noone else.
->Good changes<-
Now there are also some good aspects that i noticed but its not much as of now. Conduit Shrine feels good now, faster travel rate over longer distances, it feels really snappy now.
The adjustable display for damage numbers, now we can easily distinguish how good our dps is and make even better improvements on the build.
There are more smaller things i dont have in my mind right now but will edit it when i remember.
->Bad changes and missing stuff<-
Scattered Prism being sent to the Stash, why ? Everyone has a Pet now that collects all the stuff on the ground so why make it a pickup item that clutters the stash of missed items even more. It doesnt make sense to me cause now i have to empty it even earlier. Either increase the amount from 10 to 15 or leave the item as it is in Season 4 and let my pet collect it.
Stashspace, its the same old crying we do since the beginning. We need more stashes, i have 5 Chars and my 6 tabs are filled to the brim. Either give us finally atleast 2 more tabs or convert the old aspects tab into a second inventory on our chars.
Groupfinder !!!
You introduce now a new mode which is aimed at groupplay in higher tiers and yet we have to rely on the tradechat to make groups. Sorry but this is incompetence in my eyes as the chat is also flooded with goldsellers and people trying to sell/buy their stuff.
Auctionhouse !!!
Every good other ARPG has one to sell/buy your goods and yet we have to rely on multiple sources for pricechecks like diablotrade, official discord or the tradechat. The economy is all over the place and only a handful items have a steady price. I mean i bought 2 GA items for a dime and the other time someone wanted exorbitant prices for the same piece i just bricked. Its just a chore to sell/buy stuff at the moment.
->Absolute No-Go`s<-
Things that really upset me about the PTR is that you Blizzard wanted us to test the new stuff and i grinded 3 days to see one of the new uniques and i coudnt find a single one apart from an amulet at Grigorie and the Helm you could get from the Whsipers. The other stuff was nowhere to be found and many other people encounterted the same problem. Why are you telling us that Infernal Hordes is for “TARGET FARMING” when all that drops is just garbage. I had to trade myself upwards to atleast get some of the items in those werent even great statswise.
Dont advertise something that in the end feels just like a blatant lie.
I edit this post if there is something else i forgot, it took me 3 hours to finish this and im a bit burned out right now. Time for some rest now.
//EDIT
I also noticed a bug in Infernal Mode.
When you die while also the last Council Member dies, the Reward Chests spawn and when you reenter the Room you have to fight the Members again. If they die and you survive you cant teleport out of it no matter how you try.
Should be looked at !