04-15-2004, 06:02 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-15-2004, 08:00 AM by MongoJerry.)
Some comments while waiting the estimated 35 hours it'll take for the game to download.
I see near the bottom, the Van Cleef change is described in more detail:
Two of Vancleef's Guards have been removed.
Having been there three times, I can say that that sounds about right. What was so hard about Van Cleef was that he had so many strong Sneaking bodyguards that they overwhelmed parties. Removing two guards would keep the quest difficult but no longer impossible to complete. Kudos, Blizzard!
Since Bolty talked about the written changes to the mage, I'll give my two cents on the changes to priests:
Renew is now an instant cast spell.
Hurray! Renew is the heal-over-time healing spell in contrast with a variety of insta-heal spells. I think my now frozen priest could heal like 200 damage over 15 seconds with Renew, and it was my favorite healing spell in parties. Why, you ask? Because Renew is far more mana efficient than the other healing spells, a crucial factor for the always mana-starved priest. Whenever I would see a partymate take some damage (say, about 25% of health removed), I would cast Holy Shield to first instantly protect him or her and then cast Renew on him or her. The Holy Shield would protect the partymate while the Renew worked its magic. I only used the mana-hog insta-heal spells in dire emergencies. Now that Renew is instant cast, that will make it much easier for me as a priest to heal my party in a fast moving battle. Thanks, Blizzard!
Sleep spell removed.
Ouch! Ouch ouch ouch ouch! So, Sleep has been moved from the Priest to the Mage. As a priest, I have to say that that smarts, but stepping back, I have to admit it's a good idea. Sleep does make more sense as a mage spell, and it would allow mages to be able to handle being attacked by two whole enemies instead of just one. Meanwhile, the priest has some other less powerful but still potentially useful AI affecting spells he can use.
New Spell: Shackle Undead is gained at levels 20 and 40.
Interesting idea. I assume it's some sort of prison thing that can only be cast on undead. I guess I'll have to get quick about determining if I'm fighting an undead monster or not.
New Spell: Fade is gained at levels 8, 20, 30 and 40.
Gives me some hope that this makes up for the removal of Sleep. Does this make it harder for enemies to see the priest (ala a Rogue's sneak)? Or, is this like D2's assassin's fade with a bonus to resistances? It'll be interesting to see.
New Spell: Flash Heal is gained at levels 20, 26, 32 and 38.
I'm guessing that this is an insta-cast insta-heal spell. If so, it's probably a mana hog.
Overall, I have to say from the patch descriptions, it sounds like Blizzard did the right thing with the priest. The removal of Sleep hurts, but honestly, it was always a luxury item in a priest's arsenal -- a darned useful luxery item, but a luxery item nonetheless. Overall, there weren't any huge changes to the priest, at least as described by the patch notes. I'm particularly glad they didn't mess with Holy Shield. The balance with it seems right to me.
Quote:Blizzard is using their typical comment system. Lines such as "The VanCleef encounter and Goblin Foundry in the Deadmines have been retuned" are classic.
I see near the bottom, the Van Cleef change is described in more detail:
Two of Vancleef's Guards have been removed.
Having been there three times, I can say that that sounds about right. What was so hard about Van Cleef was that he had so many strong Sneaking bodyguards that they overwhelmed parties. Removing two guards would keep the quest difficult but no longer impossible to complete. Kudos, Blizzard!
Since Bolty talked about the written changes to the mage, I'll give my two cents on the changes to priests:
Renew is now an instant cast spell.
Hurray! Renew is the heal-over-time healing spell in contrast with a variety of insta-heal spells. I think my now frozen priest could heal like 200 damage over 15 seconds with Renew, and it was my favorite healing spell in parties. Why, you ask? Because Renew is far more mana efficient than the other healing spells, a crucial factor for the always mana-starved priest. Whenever I would see a partymate take some damage (say, about 25% of health removed), I would cast Holy Shield to first instantly protect him or her and then cast Renew on him or her. The Holy Shield would protect the partymate while the Renew worked its magic. I only used the mana-hog insta-heal spells in dire emergencies. Now that Renew is instant cast, that will make it much easier for me as a priest to heal my party in a fast moving battle. Thanks, Blizzard!
Sleep spell removed.
Ouch! Ouch ouch ouch ouch! So, Sleep has been moved from the Priest to the Mage. As a priest, I have to say that that smarts, but stepping back, I have to admit it's a good idea. Sleep does make more sense as a mage spell, and it would allow mages to be able to handle being attacked by two whole enemies instead of just one. Meanwhile, the priest has some other less powerful but still potentially useful AI affecting spells he can use.
New Spell: Shackle Undead is gained at levels 20 and 40.
Interesting idea. I assume it's some sort of prison thing that can only be cast on undead. I guess I'll have to get quick about determining if I'm fighting an undead monster or not.
New Spell: Fade is gained at levels 8, 20, 30 and 40.
Gives me some hope that this makes up for the removal of Sleep. Does this make it harder for enemies to see the priest (ala a Rogue's sneak)? Or, is this like D2's assassin's fade with a bonus to resistances? It'll be interesting to see.
New Spell: Flash Heal is gained at levels 20, 26, 32 and 38.
I'm guessing that this is an insta-cast insta-heal spell. If so, it's probably a mana hog.
Overall, I have to say from the patch descriptions, it sounds like Blizzard did the right thing with the priest. The removal of Sleep hurts, but honestly, it was always a luxury item in a priest's arsenal -- a darned useful luxery item, but a luxery item nonetheless. Overall, there weren't any huge changes to the priest, at least as described by the patch notes. I'm particularly glad they didn't mess with Holy Shield. The balance with it seems right to me.