Patching 1.0.2c -- potentially nerfed mob damage

[Archon_Wing]

And if you have to park nearly every Elite you come across, then go back an act or two and farm there. Clearly, you are not geared for the level you're trying to play at.

While what you're saying is of course true, I can't help but get the continual impression that you haven't experienced the Act 1 to Act 2 Inferno transition personally. You repeat this mantra as if you don't realize how insane the amount of farming that is required, or you just don't care. The gear that drops in Act 1 Inferno isn't enough to get you over the Act 2 hurdle without a level of farming that has been, well, documented somewhat here already (four players creating hundreds of games to farm treasure goblins, for hours on end). And now that loophole's been closed, too.

The players who are in Act IV Inferno got there through a number of different means. The most common is via the exploits that were patched out within the first few weeks. There were soooo many exploits, not just in broken skills (Force Armor) but cheeseable bosses (people were selling runs to get players key waypoints to get to these bosses), farmable spots where you could kite champ packs to you and they'd get stuck while ranged blasts them, and skill/player combinations that were abused (four Monks could be set up such that they'd be invulnerable to damage). Secondly, there's people who bought the items off the AH from the exploiters. Hardcore characters, who couldn't level quickly enough to take advantage of those exploits in Inferno difficulty, are getting slaughtered in droves trying to break into Act III. Here's the kicker, though: the damage was done already in softcore mode. Once you're able to farm parts of any later act via exploits, you're able to gear up with the gear in that Act, making it far more doable even after the exploit is fixed. Everyone I know who has not been exploiting is stuck in Inferno Act 1. Everyone. Those I know who HAVE been exploiting (or running with those who have exploited, to be carried), and admitted it to me freely, are having a ball in later Acts because they're loaded with the level 62-63 gear.

And they're benefiting from it. Massively.



100 bucks. Yep.

The fact that you could point to specific individuals, e.g. "Here's this Barbarian who cleared Inferno Act II," doesn't invalidate the argument that the game design has issues. There will always be outliers, players who have been able to put in the ridiculous time required to gear up.

I'm tired of Inferno Act 1. Sick to death of it - I just can't stand playing it any longer. And since my options are Inferno Act 1 or watching my Barbarian get 3-shot by a champion mob in Act 2, I just don't bother logging in.

Dammit, I said I wouldn't post again, and here I am.

So basically in true Blizzard tradition, only cheaters win?

That's kind of extreme, but I have 2 friends in Act 3 Inferno who grinded the hell, and didn't cheat. They just fought their way with the AH. It was really tedious though.

I have another group of 3 friends that legitimately got to act 4 through teamwork and lots of dying. Their gear isn't that much better than mine... I was shocked.

(Wait, we're talking about hardcore. Oh fuck that. Never mind, this game is NOT designed for hardcore, when it comes to inferno)

Well, I did manage to sell a ring I found in Act 1 Inferno for a few bucks probably for the same reason that bow sold for so much, so it wasn't all moot. :p Don't give up yet.

It doesn't change the fact that exploiting has done a lot of damage though.