After coming back from my year-long D2 haitus, I have a single complaint. At this point, I could care less about skill changes, balance changes, what have you. The necro is woefully underpowered? Okay, that makes him a challenge. Sorcie too strong? Fine, that makes her "worthless" skills hell-viable variant fodder. Were the game to remain exactly the same with the patch, I would not mind. So long as my one complaint is addressed: Battle.net is a filthy, awful place and I can not stand it.
When I sit too long in a public channel, I want to scream. It's not so much the children and their clumsy swearing, or the arseholes and their all-too practiced swearing, or even the spirit-deflating ad bots, the top-of-their-lungs traders, the scammers, the crazies, or the beggars. That's us, baby, people. They're not changing.
What really gets me are the hacks, duped rares, bugged items, and infinite supply of ultra-high level uniques via massive duping orgies. Why? (You already agree, I know, but just bear with me here.) Because it makes pvp obsolete. Because item value is a myth. Because a godly, legit rare gets the "j00 n00b, that item sux0r!!" because it's not "white" or "hex" or "quark". Because trading is impossible, makes no sense, and forces you to accept or accrue bugged items. SOJs are worthless, they tell me. Wow. When D2 first came out, the ring was the holy grail. You know, back when it was called The Stone of Jordan. Now, there are probably more SOJs than players; they're common as dirt.
Assuming Blizzard nukes all the bugged items, hack programs, and that enough SOJs DO get used up in Blizzard's half-assed bid to rid b.net of the majority of them, we still have hope. Here's mine:
Item valuation, in an ideal world, is commensurate with time played. You play more, you get better stuff. With boss runs as they are, this isn't the case. You can get a sorc to lvl 80 in about four hours of play, buy store-bought MF equipment, and begin exploiting poor Meph and his riches, or Pindle and whatever he has in his pockets. In one afternoon, I kid you not, you can garner dozens of uniques. This isn't rewarding the dedicated player, it's rewarding the loophole player (we're ignoring duping, which of course is The Great Loophole).
What's the best barometer of play time? Gems. Period. They spawn everywhere, they reward progress in increasing quality, they have high utility, and barring duping, there's no way to get more other than to play. Or, even better, trade. But to make gems a worthy monetary unit on battle.net, a few stars have to align:
1. All other item loopholes must close. All, and I mean ALL, bugged items must disappear.
2. All static item runs (boss runs) must disappear.
3. New players must have access to coins, if not bills. They must be able to trade effectively within a few hours of play.
4. They must get "used up" with good frequency.
5. Gems must give you access, indirectly, to the best items in the game, or they will not hold their trade value and will be replaced with something that does.
Which brings me, finally, for god's sake, to my point: If what Isolde hinted at is correct, that the 3-socket cube sword trick will work for all items, then my hope may yet be warranted. Picture it: Weapons, almost invariably, need high damage numbers or they're not weapons, they're letter openers. CCBs with three sockets are much, much more valuable than regular old CCBs. The proof is that chipped gems are nearly a viable trade item now. Some people do accept them. And this because a small portion of D2 builds needs a small number of swords. If every weapon in the game was at its best when it was the magical, three socket version, then chipped gems suddenly become very valuable, indeed. That means that anybody with the patience to run around in Act 1 normal will be paid a salary in chippies. Those with no patience, the majority of course, trade for them. This would mean:
1. New characters, even new ladder characters, will have access to a very viable trade fodder right away.
2. The chippies get used up on a regular basis. Thus, there's always a demand.
3. The inherent differences between the patient and the impatient will be the dynamic that facilitates trading of high-level items for low-level gems.
4. If it worked on all items, then ALL players would want them. Assassins, Amazons, any and all attacking characters.
5. It would help deflate the luck factor of the have- and have-nots. So you don't get that lucky Lightsabre drop, ever. Instead, grab any old unique elite, and start cubing. Sure, there's luck there, too, but your odds are much better and you don't have to be in the right place at the right time, with the right amount of magic find on a correctly twinked out character. You just need patience.
I may be grasping at straws, here, to a degree, but I really think that if that cube recipe works on all items, and the best damage affix can still get attached to magical items, then fair trading and item valuation may yet be possible.
Edit: I had to hit edit and apologize for the length. I'm sorry!
When I sit too long in a public channel, I want to scream. It's not so much the children and their clumsy swearing, or the arseholes and their all-too practiced swearing, or even the spirit-deflating ad bots, the top-of-their-lungs traders, the scammers, the crazies, or the beggars. That's us, baby, people. They're not changing.
What really gets me are the hacks, duped rares, bugged items, and infinite supply of ultra-high level uniques via massive duping orgies. Why? (You already agree, I know, but just bear with me here.) Because it makes pvp obsolete. Because item value is a myth. Because a godly, legit rare gets the "j00 n00b, that item sux0r!!" because it's not "white" or "hex" or "quark". Because trading is impossible, makes no sense, and forces you to accept or accrue bugged items. SOJs are worthless, they tell me. Wow. When D2 first came out, the ring was the holy grail. You know, back when it was called The Stone of Jordan. Now, there are probably more SOJs than players; they're common as dirt.
Assuming Blizzard nukes all the bugged items, hack programs, and that enough SOJs DO get used up in Blizzard's half-assed bid to rid b.net of the majority of them, we still have hope. Here's mine:
Item valuation, in an ideal world, is commensurate with time played. You play more, you get better stuff. With boss runs as they are, this isn't the case. You can get a sorc to lvl 80 in about four hours of play, buy store-bought MF equipment, and begin exploiting poor Meph and his riches, or Pindle and whatever he has in his pockets. In one afternoon, I kid you not, you can garner dozens of uniques. This isn't rewarding the dedicated player, it's rewarding the loophole player (we're ignoring duping, which of course is The Great Loophole).
What's the best barometer of play time? Gems. Period. They spawn everywhere, they reward progress in increasing quality, they have high utility, and barring duping, there's no way to get more other than to play. Or, even better, trade. But to make gems a worthy monetary unit on battle.net, a few stars have to align:
1. All other item loopholes must close. All, and I mean ALL, bugged items must disappear.
2. All static item runs (boss runs) must disappear.
3. New players must have access to coins, if not bills. They must be able to trade effectively within a few hours of play.
4. They must get "used up" with good frequency.
5. Gems must give you access, indirectly, to the best items in the game, or they will not hold their trade value and will be replaced with something that does.
Which brings me, finally, for god's sake, to my point: If what Isolde hinted at is correct, that the 3-socket cube sword trick will work for all items, then my hope may yet be warranted. Picture it: Weapons, almost invariably, need high damage numbers or they're not weapons, they're letter openers. CCBs with three sockets are much, much more valuable than regular old CCBs. The proof is that chipped gems are nearly a viable trade item now. Some people do accept them. And this because a small portion of D2 builds needs a small number of swords. If every weapon in the game was at its best when it was the magical, three socket version, then chipped gems suddenly become very valuable, indeed. That means that anybody with the patience to run around in Act 1 normal will be paid a salary in chippies. Those with no patience, the majority of course, trade for them. This would mean:
1. New characters, even new ladder characters, will have access to a very viable trade fodder right away.
2. The chippies get used up on a regular basis. Thus, there's always a demand.
3. The inherent differences between the patient and the impatient will be the dynamic that facilitates trading of high-level items for low-level gems.
4. If it worked on all items, then ALL players would want them. Assassins, Amazons, any and all attacking characters.
5. It would help deflate the luck factor of the have- and have-nots. So you don't get that lucky Lightsabre drop, ever. Instead, grab any old unique elite, and start cubing. Sure, there's luck there, too, but your odds are much better and you don't have to be in the right place at the right time, with the right amount of magic find on a correctly twinked out character. You just need patience.
I may be grasping at straws, here, to a degree, but I really think that if that cube recipe works on all items, and the best damage affix can still get attached to magical items, then fair trading and item valuation may yet be possible.
Edit: I had to hit edit and apologize for the length. I'm sorry!
![[Image: ignatzsig.gif]](http://www.stillinger.com/ignatzsig.gif)