11-22-2006, 01:02 AM
Quote:Seriously, try playing singleplayer, no-twink, like when you re-start from scratch. Don't choose a disposasorc for your first char to gather items, perhaps even a melee class, and tell us how you fare when getting to hell.
Also note that there are tons of "underpowered" spells/skills and items in both games, too. This is crucial to balancing them (as far as balance is possible) and offers expert players additional challenges. If all spells/skills and items were the same - well, we'd go a little communist here, wouldn't we? And that has never quite worked out to date.
I have played untwinked. With many characters.
"Underpowered" things are a necessary function of progressing up the chain in a linear progression like the Diablo series. "Overpowered" things are not.
Conviction, at the very least needs to be on your list. It is completely unfair. Essentially, it eliminates the need for a secondary element (on elemental characters, including, but not limited to, Sorceresses, Amazons, and Druids) AND attack rating.
Holy Shield is the only skill I see as even close to Conviction in terms of raw power. At high levels, Holy Shield makes the caster nearly indestructable. Nothing else can make this claim. Not defiance. Not Shout. Not Ironskin. Not Energy Shield (although it comes close IF you set your gear right).
Teleport is arguable. I'll grant you that one.
If you've never used War Cry, I don't expect understanding there. It's like the old Nova Sorceress, except you stun everything in a radius. For ~10 seconds. The enemies not only don't have a fighting chance; they cannot even move or attack, their two basic functions (aside from dropping items, I suppose).
I could, and should, list more, but I won't, as you're no doubt sick of this line of reasoning. Instead, I'll offer up a definition of overpowered.
Any skill/item/"thing" which is universally used when able to be, and universally good when used. Example: Teleport, Holy Shield, Stone Curse
Any skill/item/"thing" which, even though specific to a build, is so far above the power curve that it makes the game trivially easy (Perhaps "Bottably easy" is a good term here). Example: Blessed Hammer, Conviction
Any skill/item/"thing" which makes monsters incapable of (damaging, hitting, moving, living, etc.) without completely crippling the player using it. Example: Teleport, Holy Shield, Stone Curse, Conviction, Blessed Hammer
"Of Haste" might fit the bill. "Archangels" does not. Level 20 spells are not significantly more powerful than level 15 spells.
So, for your list...
Zodiac--Maaaaybe. Does it grant you a *significant* advantage over Giant's/Sorcery/Precision? Not really. They're just nice.
Emerald--Not really, but would be very much so if available on more than Weapons and Shields. Especially weapons. Look at the mods one must give up for use.
No resistance penalty--Would this even be an issue if Diablo II didn't have one? Advocate fireballs still do plenty of damage to full resistances.
No Physical resistance on monster--Must be why Warriors are nearly universally considered the most difficult class to play.
Armor dependance--I wouldn't say that. Items that provide ridiculous armor (IE, Awesome Full Plate Mail of the Suffix) maybe. Armor dependance...bull. Else Naked Mages, Low-Armor-Warriors, and such would not exist. It isn't a dependance. It's a weight factor. Diablo II offers different means to go about it, but still shares the same polarization if any of those factors is at high levels.
Instantaneous potions--perhaps, but again, would this be an issue without Diablo II saying different?
In short, things (aside from superior tactics) that give players an unfair advantage over enemies are what I consider overpowered. Teleporting over walls is pretty dumb. Static Field, Crushing Blow are pretty dumb. Turning on Holy Shield and not being hit for the rest of the session is outright idiocy. It's not even a game anymore.
--me