Patching 1.0.2c -- potentially nerfed mob damage

[FireIceTalon]

If you are refreshing to get rid of an Elite you do not want to face, it can take seconds to switch games (I definitely would have got this yesterday if the patch were in by then). If you are achievement hunting, it likewise does not necessarily take long (eg you may jump in, get/do something, then leave to change quest so you can access the next thing you need). I got the Auction House example from someone who got the error doing exactly that (not one I would personally see happening, but it did). It has not impacted me personally, but I can see it as a pretty stupid way to address farming (in a game where the entire meta revolves around farming, ironically).

I understand what they want to stop. Honestly, I am not sure if we need to stop it. This is not WoW. If people want to waste all day doing boring things, let them; it has absolutely no impact on me. It is the same as the enrage timer. I park most Elites I come across in Inferno because I know I cannot beat them before the enrage timer. If I want to spend 5 minutes kiting a Waller/Jailer/Vortex/Extra Health mob, then just let me: it does not hurt anyone and doing this without taking a hit is my idea of fun. It feels very much like Blizzard has its own idea of what defines fun and you can be damned if you find your fun in any other way. Just like how melee attacks hit you even if you are half a screen away: Blizzard stated that dodging is an unfun and unskillful strategy they wanted to discourage, so they prevented it. If people want to do it, let them; if they do not want to, they will not.

It is like releasing a bunch of kids into a sandpit, then telling them off for every game they start. No, no making castles. No, you cannot play with your cars in there: you may lose them! No, do not eat the sand. I said, do not eat the sand. Look, now the other kids are eating the sand. If you do not stop eating sand we are going home. Perhaps a bad example. The parents tell the kids what not to do: Blizzard is implementing changes, only for us to later discover `Oh, I got banned because the rules changed!'. This game continues to be a PR nightmare for them!

Perhaps I am just getting crabby? The game is turning very unfun for me at the moment. I keep playing because I want it to be the best thing since Diablo II, then I run into a pack of Illusionist Soul Rippers (the other attributes are irrelevant at this point) and go ``Oh, that's right, the game royally sucks''.

No, its not just you. I tend to agree with almost everything you wrote there. Game is pretty awesome on normal-hell, but Inferno just plain SUCKS. I know they want the game to be hard difficult and challenging, but surely there are much better ways to do this then to cheese the player entirely. I think most of the affixes are over the top, whether as ranged or melee (though I tend to think ranged has it harder overall), but in hell mode, when monsters generally have 3 affixes, the cheeze isnt so over the top and if you are geared right, it can be dealt with. But on Inferno, you are facing 5 affixes on all elite packs - this is a bit excessive I think, especially when many monster types have base abilities that can easily kill you or out run you if you try to kite. I mean, is it really necessary to put the "fast" affix on a monster like Soul Lashers or Scavengers, which are already lightning fast? The fast affix just puts these monsters over the top, especially if you are playing a ranged char. For melee, molten with freezer or jailer is probably the worst.

In hell mode, when playing my Barb, I have been able to overcome even the toughest of mobs using Wrath of the Berserker, but something tells me come Inferno mode it wont be enough because I will be facing 5 affixes instead of 3....I really think Blizz should cut it down to 4, in ADDITION to removing some of the spiked damage, and get rid of those damn enrage timers. This would keep the difficulty level high yet reasonable to the point where the game isnt pure cheese as it is now (on Inferno). My Barb is almost in Inferno, and I have to say, although I think it will be a little easier for him than my DH, I'm still not really looking forward to it, cause I know I'm just going to be cheesed. I also completely disagree with their philosophy that dodging isnt fun or involves no skill. No, getting auto hit by melee from 3000 feet away is is un-fun, and has no skill - it's just another lame tactic to cheese the player. Dodging is one of the aspects that made combat interesting and dynamic in the first two games, especially D1. So once again, Blizz has it all wrong.

It is ironic to me that Blizz said, before D3 launched, that they disliked games that "punished" the player (I think they were speaking about D2's skill system and its flaws), yet Inferno itself punishes the player in a multitude of ways, so, um yea.....