Check out the Arreat Summit

[Roland]

It doesn't matter how RARE the items are. It's that they exist at all. Until you grasp that concept, don't bother replying. Simple as that.

You don't like my opinions? Fine. I don't care what you think. But don't go bashing me for my opinions.

[Az3ar]

Roldand is right as I see it.

These items are way too powerfull, they have way too many of them made, and dupers will eventually get them all in their grasp, and whith bigger and beefier items there will be more duping, say goodbye to the good ole dream of "restoring" the economy in Diablo 2............

I'm only playing in passworded games from now on, and thats only because I have some good people to play whith, other than that its all SP for now, blizz finally killed battle net, they made it sick before, now they killed it.....

[Jugalator]

It doesn't matter how RARE the items are. It's that they exist at all. Until you grasp that concept, don't bother replying. Simple as that.

You don't like my opinions? Fine. I don't care what you think. But don't go bashing me for my opinions.

If he wish to say that rarity affect game balance (I can't see why it wouldn't either), I think he's entitled to post that. Why do you think he shouldn't be allowed to post that? I personally believe that these items are introduced to give players something to play for, so it's even harder to "complete". There are already quite a few people with LEGIT Windforce's (self-found without bots) and the patch seem to give them a reason to play with those characters for a much longer time. Simply because a unique Sacred Armor is much harder to find than a Windforce. I think 1.10 is all about extending the life time of the game, although I *do* understand some think it's actually reducing the time this game will live. Only time will tell who is right.

[Roland]

I said he shouldn't waste my time by replying to MY comments with worthless drivel that has no bearing on my opinions. He's entitled to his own all he wants. That doesn't give him the right to tell me mine are wrong.

His point was that, because the items are Rare, it's not imbalanced. That point is pure bull, plain and simple. As a modder, I understand that rarity has VERY little to do with balance, ESPECIALLY in a Multiplayer environment. In Single Player, such rarity introduces some SEMBLANCE (a.k.a. illusion) of balance, until you find that item. The difference is in SP, it's contained: only that one character will have that item. In Multiplayer, not ONLY are you exponentially increasing the odds of that item, but you give it a mode of travel between players, thereby spreading its use (in essence, multiplying the "quantity" of the item). That's BEFORE you take into consideration hacking / duping, which I'm not going to address, since that was not the point of my statements.

The very fact that nuclear weapons exist at all, no matter how rare they are or how rarely they are used, creates a MUCH greater threat for ALL of us than if they didn't exist at all. The theory is the same for items in a game. Just because it's RARE doesn't make its existence any less harmful. THAT is my point, which he is calling BS because "we don't know what's going to be in the game" and because "it's rare so it won't matter". Yeah, so were SoJs and Elite Uniques and scores of other things. And, as YOU so kindly pointed out, "there are lots of people who have legitimate Elite Uniques".

If TaiDashir wants to shove his head in the sand, let him. I just won't let him force MY head down there with him. Sorry, but I prefer to see things, rather than claim ignorance.

[the Langolier]

The werewolf graphics are technically a monster graphic, so I imagine this "polymorpher" stuff would apply similar wereform mechanics for any class to just about any monster.  "Vampire" here being those "ghoul lord" monsters that like to drop meteors in the durance.  I dunno if any items like this made it into final, but it seems that the code is implemented for doing such things.

I don't doubt that a character can morph into an enemy's graphic, but I don't immediately think of a vampire when I see those enemies. And a character turning into an enemy? That is mod material, not v1.10 material.

[Roland]

...that 1.10 was going to make modding MUCH easier. ;)

And though having Necromancers turn into Vampires may be a bit of a stretch to us normally, it's not a far cry from having Barbarians turn into a Werewolf, which IS in 1.10.

Mod material or not, 1.10 is shaping up to be a pretty weird patch, all around.

(And, technically, isn't that all patching is? Glorified "modding? ;) I know you didn't mean that way, I just had to comment. ;))

[the Langolier]

it's not a far cry from having Barbarians turn into a Werewolf, which IS in 1.10.

...Also not looking forward to this (class specific skills are... CLASS SPECIFIC). I don't even think THIS belongs in a mod.

I am guessing that this helm won't be that great anyways. If blizzard knows anything that is good for the game, a werebarb won't be able to use any combat skills while in wolf form. If this is the case, it just becomes a novelty (weak summons, normal attack), just like the stupid jewel that has also been released.

I would love to see the reasoning behind a werebarb though, just like how there are fun rationales behind skills:
"Living in the harsh grasslands of their homelands, the barbarian tribes are in constant interaction with the wild animals that roam the land. Barbarian warriors of the Shadow Wolf Tribe have taken a special interest in these creatures. Observing the deadlist hunter of them all, the wolf, barbarians of this tribe began to emulate the hunters in action and thought. As time went on, their dediaction to this effecient hunter became so great as to allow a barbarian to change his physical composition into a beast resembling their icon."

[NuurAbSaal]

"Living in the harsh grasslands of their homelands, the barbarian tribes are in constant interaction with the wild animals that roam the land. Barbarian warriors of the Shadow Wolf Tribe have taken a special interest in these creatures. Observing the deadlist hunter of them all, the wolf, barbarians of this tribe began to emulate the hunters in action and thought. As time went on, their dediaction to this effecient hunter became so great as to allow a barbarian to change his physical composition into a beast resembling their icon."

lol, well done lang! :lol:
care to try the same with the Necro?
Something like "they developed a strange craving for long flowing robes and to not soil them once equipped started hovering 5 inches above the ground..."

I'm actually looking forward to some "weird" changes in 1.1

Greetings
Nuur

[Roland]

BARBARIANS DON'T TRUST DRUIDS!

Not that there's much of a storyline to the game, but doesn't anyone remember the Mage Wars (what is it with RPGs and these horrific Mage Wars, that ultimately lead to magic being forbidden? Hasn't it been done enough? It was great in FF6; it's getting old now ;))? Qual-Khek even says "A Druid in Horragath! Has it really come to this?..." etc. Druids broke apart from their Barbarian cousins after the wars, and formed their own little society. While next of kin, neither has much like or trust for the other, because of the ancient history (remember the bit about the two brothers? The kings, or whatnot? Bul Kathos, and someone else, IIRC; didn't they have some sort of fight, or something?).

So, tell me: just HOW much sense does it have for a Barbarian to be taking on the skills of a person THEY DON'T LIKE OR TRUST?!

And people wonder why I don't like 1.10. Not only is it trashing the game's gameplay, but also the story! BAH!

[FenrisWulf]

Originally posted by Roland
(remember the bit about the two brothers? The kings, or whatnot? Bul Kathos, and someone else, IIRC; didn't they have some sort of fight, or something?)

'Twere Bul-Kathos, the Immortal King, and Fiacla-Géar, the Elder Druid:

"In the ancient tome of the Druids, the Scéal Fada, it is written that Bul-Kathos, the great and ancient king of the Barbarian tribes, had a mysterious but trusted confidant, who was only referred to as Fiacla-Géar. This man is sometimes described as Bul-Kathos's close friend, and at other times, he is referred to as his brother. Whatever the source of their relationship, their bond was strong, and together they shared the secrets of the ancients: of the mysteries below the peaks of Mt. Arreat, of the venerated task put to their people to protect those mysteries, and of the prophecies regarding the dark times ahead. They both agreed that, in order to fulfill their sacred trust, their people must devote themselves to nothing save that charge. However, they disagreed on exactly how the people could best do this. Bul-Kathos believed that only by bringing the tribes together and training them in strict martial discipline could the tribes faithfully concentrate on their goal for generations to come. Fiacla-Géar, on the other hand, believed that only through obtaining a spiritual oneness with the land they had sworn to protect could the people truly appreciate the importance of their role. Both agreed the other's philosophy had merit, and so around the time Bul-Kathos united the tribes, Fiacla-Géar gathered together a small group consisting of the tribes' greatest warrior-poets and shamans and mysteriously retreated into the forests surrounding the area known as Scosglen. There he and his people created the first of the Druid Colleges, huge mortar-less stone towers, covered in vines and safely hidden beneath the leafy canopies of the dense forests. They have dwelt there ever since, forging a new way of life for themselves. They created a new culture and language, cutting themselves off from their Barbarian cousins and their ways, vowing not to return to the Steppes of Mt. Arreat until the time of the Uileloscadh Mór, the final battle between the men of the world and the demons of the Burning Hells."

(from the Arreat Summit, Druid History)

[Count Duckula]

My sister gave me back my CD wallet and took me out to dinner when she stopped by on her way back to Radford. I have my games back AND pizza leftovers in the fridge! :D

I've been getting into HC, and started a singleplayer HC summonmancer. We made it to the Arreat Summit, and no Revived critters yet! Yay! I stopped to do some mundane stuff, like update the Diablo History some more. (Yay for no work!)

After reading this thread, I decided that I'm not updating to 1.10. ("Add more balance to the game!" *chokes on iced tea*)

Instead of fixing existing problems, looks like Blizzard's introducing a poopload of potential other problems.

[Mavfin]

Of course, you are entitled to take whatever action you wish, especially for SP. I myself play pretty much only SP. But, this info is very partial and of unknown accuracy. I think I'd wait until the patch came and was final to be sure. And as far as upgrading/not upgrading, that is up to each person. Are you unsure enough of yourself to need other people's approval/agreement to not upgrade?

I, myself, will upgrade. The synergy stuff looks interesting enough in itself to at least upgrade and play with.....especially in SP. But, then, I currently have 21 characters I'm actively working with in 8-player SP, three in each class, and more builds running around in my head that I haven't made yet. Maybe 1.10 will get me even more builds to think about. I worry little about 'balance'. I think more about fun. If it wasn't fun, I wouldn't play it.

I respectfully submit for those of you that D2(X) is not fun anymore, your best course is to find something else to play. Of course you may post your opinions, but isn't once or twice of 'Blizzard screwed up D2(X) and is screwing it up more with this patch' enough? Is there a need to put that out six or ten or twenty times? Deal with the world that is, not that you wish it to be. If you wish it to be different, do the work to make your own mod. (As Roland has, and never hesitates to point out, but still whines) For God's sake, people, can you save your whining till we have more hard info?

Oh, and Roland, don't take this personally. Yours was just one name of several I could have picked. You know who you are.

--Mav, who gets tired of people whining over nothing, especially partially-seen nothings.
(and posts this as a forum member, not a mod)

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

no text

[Roland]

Whining would be begging for changes. I don't do that. I just point out flaws. That's not whining: that's criticism.

If you're gonna label me as something, at least get it right Mav. ;) Don't I deserve at least THAT much? :D

Bah. In way, I feel I'm entitled to rant. But, then, you do have a point. The first time or two, fine. Over and over, though... Yeah, I would find myself irritated by it (already am, in fact, which is why I've stopped bothering to reply to these threads except to posts directly involving me). But, then, I don't feel I've continually ranted on the issue. At least, I haven't started 4 threads about the same damn topic. :P As I said, I tend to only reply to those portions that either are in reply to me, or specifically point to me. If you see that as continually ranting... well, I don't know what to tell you. It's not my intent, but one can only reply so far without bringing up past conversation, no? Or am I wrong on that one?

In any case, I've said my peace about 1.10. Anyone who's bothered to actually READ my posts would know this: I stated, very clearly, what my explicit dislikes were regarding the upcoming patch. The rest I'll let others speculate about. I, personally, have no interest in speculating. So, I don't. I'm sorry if you see it as otherwise, but that's how it is. I call what I see / know, and leave the rest for when it comes.

At any rate, I'm rambling again. I'm off my OWN soapbox, although it seems people keep trying to shove a mic under my nose (*ahem*). ;) And no, Mav, I'm not taking it personally. But like I said, it's not whining: it's criticism. And, if you MUST label it in a negative manner, at least try to maintain some semblance of accuracy: b****ing. ;)

As I said before in one of these threads (I think?), there are only a few things I actually care to see in 1.10. The rest I won't give a flying pig about.
1) Removing that STUPID FEB / CEB damage addition to LEB bolts.
2) Other fixes to "features" like the above.
3) All the modding goodies that we were promised.

The uber gear, the flashy new skill system (actually, the IDEA of this is very cool, IMO; not sure how well it will work in practice, but it's at least good on the drawing board; unfortunately, I found out very often that ideas on paper are often times NOT good in reality :/; don't ever let someone tell you modding is easy), the Ladder versus non-Ladder characters: all that won't affect me, since I don't play on Battle.Net, and really don't play at all. Haven't for around a year or more now, give or take. Yeah Mav, I did quit because the game wasn't fun. I didn't just complain about it but keep playing: I downright quit. And you know what? It was a damn good break, too. I probably should have done it alot sooner, but so it goes. When 1.10 comes out, I may give it a spin. Or I may not. There's plenty of other things I can play (Morrowind, although I never really caught on to it before, seems to be sparking an interest in me again; and, despite how I said I wouldn't buy either of the NWN expansions, the more I hear about the new Elite classes or whatever they're called, the more intrigued I become, so maybe I'll even check them out).

I guess my point is: pick me out of the lot and criticize me if you want. Just don't think of me as the same as the rest. :)

I think I should end this rambling now. It really is pointless (kinda like complaining about the new skill system; while I may not have faith in Blizzard to balance it, I am itching to get my hands on it for myself; hell, just the prospect of what could be coming our way for us modders is making me anxious for 1.10; but, unfortunately, it's SOLELY for modding; for gaming, 1.10 holds absolutely no interest for me, which is almost depressing, in a way).

Actually, while I'm here:
Anyone got a recommendation for Morrowind? I know almost nothing about it, so I'm not sure exactly what to expect from it. I don't want spoilers or walkthroughs. I just want a rough run-down of what I can expect. Just what am I supposed to do, exactly? And what are some people's ideas for classes, etc.? Is there anything that someone finds particularly fun to play? Any really cool stuff to do? I played it for awhile, and I guess I got kinda far, but from the sound of it, I probably wasn't even 10% through it. I can't tell if that's a good thing, or not. On the one hand, it was more or less fun. On the other hand, much like BG / BG2, I found myself getting bored fast. I suppose that's actually one GOOD thing about D2's lack of storyline: when you DON'T want to spend hours on end working your way through an intricate, multi-faceted plot, it's great to just kill a few hours on. ;) Besides, it's almost more fun (for me) just to read the manual. :D Always was a sucker for reading material. :D

Ok. Enough rambling. I think I've gone about as far off-topic as I can without falling off the edge of the earth. ;) Mayhap I'll whip out Morrowind for a spin. Oh, one last thing: is it worth it to get the expansions?

[Dani]

Actually, while I'm here:
Anyone got a recommendation for Morrowind? I know almost nothing about it, so I'm not sure exactly what to expect from it. I don't want spoilers or walkthroughs. I just want a rough run-down of what I can expect. Just what am I supposed to do, exactly? And what are some people's ideas for classes, etc.? Is there anything that someone finds particularly fun to play? Any really cool stuff to do? I played it for awhile, and I guess I got kinda far, but from the sound of it, I probably wasn't even 10% through it. I can't tell if that's a good thing, or not. On the one hand, it was more or less fun.
Oh, one last thing: is it worth it to get the expansions?

For starters, IMO Morrowind is the best computer game of all time. It's not for everyone, but suits my preferences just about perfectly.
How to start to play Morrowind. Pick a race, answer the questionnaire and live with your choices. The game is not designed to handle uberbuilds very well, or in other words if you design the Perfect Char ™, the game will become way too easy after a certain point.
After that, pick a direction and start walking. I don't think the point of the game is really to do xyz quests, but rather just live in the world. Be sure to read the dozens of books you come across, even the ones with 50+ pages, as they give the world immense depth and history.
About the expansions, Tribunal is worth it's price already for the improved journal. As for the second one, haven't seen it yet, but it seems that ethesda has reall hit a gold vein with Morrowind as it seems to me they can't do no wrong. Also check out the vast modding community. The toolset that was shipped with the game is immensely powerful, and there a re literally hundreds of mods out there, and more often than not, they are pretty decent, unlike those in the NWN community.

[Olon97]

On Morrowind, I would second the reccomendation not to uberbuild or min/max. It's too easy to make every character end up exactly the same if you exploit too many loopholes.

My favorite Morrowind activity is to wander out into the beautiful seamless outdoor areas (well, seamless with a fast enough HD) and watch the stars. If you're patient/lucky enough, you may see a solar eclipse - as far as I can tell the one I saw was totally unscripted and just a natural occurence due to the physics/orbits of the sun and moons lining up.

I'm looking forward to the second x-pack (skipped Tribunal - there's a 3rd party app that can sort your journal for you). The ability to become a werewolf isn't terribly novel to me (I've been playing D2 after all), but the fact that the NPCs will treat you differently depending on whether you're a known werewolf is very cool - be careful where and when you transform. :)

[Vamp.Goth]

Im still having trouble digesting all this. I wouldnt be suprised if 3/4 of it didnt make the patch. Remember all those skills like the necromancers familiar, homonculus, & teleport? Those got blown out of d2 just as easly as most of this can.

[Roland]

Nice sig. Make sure you don't get a warning for it. :P

When will people learn: USE THREADED VIEW, or at the very least quote who you're replying to. :P

[Wiccan]

Hmm... i hope he dont get warned either, but as they said the website was a mistakenly put up and TAKEN DOWN so to say some of those things that was shown will be changed or taken out to keep everyhing balanced and things anyone remeber the constrict ring anyone they showed it and was disabled....., so i have a feeling someone thought to show what we was to get and start thinking up a way to acummulate all the new things some of the new things i dont like... AND there are things in this game that will be changed but i think havinga set items and getting transformed into whatever is your set represents is what i was thinking you get something like say full set of nat your char gets transformed into natala with the golden glow , if there was a tyreal set i dont know how they would do it having him walk with your group would be kinda weird

the new barb helm i hate that thing makes druids usless.. if they added the helm why dont you just get rid of are druids if you can make a barb and get the helm and get transformed into a wolf with the ar bonus and damage bonus and there masteries barbs will be unstopable i just hope they can ww in that form! yes i know they said no new artwork... but we do have artwork already in the game to show, imagine having the cowking leathers and walking around as cow MOO!~

[whyBish]

Actually, while I'm here:
Anyone got a recommendation for Morrowind?

Well... I still have the box on my desk... I never did get it to run :(