1.0.3 Coming Changes

[Bolty]

In that case more health doesn't make these battles any harder really, just longer. (Unless you are running up against enrage.) Meanwhile you've got all the inherent synergies of co-op making things much easier.

Agreed - the length of a battle usually doesn't determine anything to me (as a melee class). Either I can survive the damage, meaning I can go toe-to-toe with the mobs, or I can't, meaning I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Under the current system, it's far far easier for me to play solo than it is with a group, though. I would find myself wincing if that 3rd or 4th player joined my game, because suddenly I'd find myself much less viable as a contributor to my group. And I like playing in groups. With the new system, a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th player in my group means 2x, 3x, or 4x the DPS, which when balanced against the increased mob health, should balance out. Should.

Health link is a joke. All it means is if you focus-fire one mob down slowly enough you essentially kill the whole pack. Mind, I'm not against the ability - as a Demon Hunter I enjoy it, actually - but let's not kid ourselves into thinking it truly adds any challenge. Maybe melee characters fare a bit worse, but I doubt that.

I can tell you play a ranged class.

When a champ pack is sighted, my goal as a Barbarian is to blow every cooldown I have to try to kill one member of that pack as quickly as possible. Once the number of champions gets reduced, the fight becomes substantially easier. Health Link prevents that, and guarantees that all 3 (or 4) members of the pack will be beating on me for the entire encounter. It's just another of the myriad of "screw you melee" boss abilities out there, which I loathe, just as you would loathe Vortex and Mortar. I laugh at Mortar. Vortex is an issue for melee only if it's combined with Freeze or Arcane.