Discussion: game balance...

[ViralSpiral]

Yeah, I think if you camp A4 Hell/A1 Inf and the AH, looking for gear/gold to buy gear, upgrades like that will speed your progress more than trying to rush ahead will.

[Tuftears]

Another thing that bothers me is that alot of these mobs gain all their life back if you don't succeed in killing them. So after you die, you have to pretty much start all over again when you go to face them. If I died to a mob, any dmg I did to them should stay so I dont have to start all over again when I make another attempt, that is only fair. This makes even some of the "easier" elites almost impossible to beat.

Not true, but they do start regenerating. It makes a difference if they were close to where you're going to respawn, or if you have to hike across the level.

If you've got a friend in the same level, and your checkpoint is far away, it may be advantageous to TP out, then jump to your friend's banner... As long as they aren't in the thick of the action. Communication is key here. Or having confidence in your defensive cooldowns.

[FireIceTalon]

No , it is true. I play solo 90% of the time, and I've had many occasions where I wasnt far at all from the checkpoint (within a few seconds walking), and when I get to them, they have full life again. It really, really sucks, and I've been forced to leave games where I otherwise might have been able to take them down even if it took a few attempts. But when you die 3-4 times in a row and they always have their life fully regenerated each time (even if the checkpoint is close), it is pointless IMO to even try. Waste of time and gold for repairs. It's just another bullshit, cheap mechanic from Blizz to screw the player over. Weren't they speaking out against cheap stuff like this before D3 was released, and they turn around and do it?

[Chesspiece_face]

No , it is true. I play solo 90% of the time, and I've had many occasions where I wasnt far at all from the checkpoint (within a few seconds walking), and when I get to them, they have full life again. It really, really sucks, and I've been forced to leave games where I otherwise might have been able to take them down even if it took a few attempts. But when you die 3-4 times in a row and they always have their life fully regenerated each time (even if the checkpoint is close), it is pointless IMO to even try. It's just another bullshit, cheap mechanic from Blizz to screw the player over.

The regen mechanics are not very consistent it seems to me. I'm not sure if there are hidden attributes to some mobs that allow them to heal back quickly when out of combat or what. I have died on the other side of the map, thought to myself "there is no way I can make it back to that pack before they are full so I'll just take my time and kill other stuff", then when I do get around to them again like 5-10 minutes later they are still low. On the other hand I have died to packs right at a stairway and watched them all heal to full in the 3 seconds it takes to revive.

There should be some level of balance with the regen though. I personally despise the idea of succeeding in a tough fight simply based on zerging them down. If a player gets to the point in a fight that their respawn timer is up around 10 seconds it seems fair to me that the enemy can regen just so that it impedes the ability to suicide to succeed. On the other hand, however, if I get caught unaware by a stair trap and die I should be able to re-engage that fight in under 3 seconds and pick up where I left off.

In other news, it has been my experience that nearly any champ pack near a stairway can be trivialized by jumping in and out of the stairway and blowing all cooldowns on them. As long as you are not in the same zone as the enemies their health apparently stays where it was left at. This is obviously abusable, but as I've said elsewhere if you are gonna cheese me with stair traps I'm gonna cheese you right back.

[ViralSpiral]

You'd think it'd be easy to manage "do not generate hostiles within fifteen paces of stairs", but I guess Blizzard's got a thing for ambushes in sardine cans.

[Roland]

No , it is true. I play solo 90% of the time, and I've had many occasions where I wasnt far at all from the checkpoint (within a few seconds walking), and when I get to them, they have full life again. It really, really sucks, and I've been forced to leave games where I otherwise might have been able to take them down even if it took a few attempts. But when you die 3-4 times in a row and they always have their life fully regenerated each time (even if the checkpoint is close), it is pointless IMO to even try. Waste of time and gold for repairs. It's just another bullshit, cheap mechanic from Blizz to screw the player over. Weren't they speaking out against cheap stuff like this before D3 was released, and they turn around and do it?

I know for a fact that mobs don't always regenerate to full life. I'm 99% sure they do if you go to town, but otherwise it seems almost like a crapshoot. If you respawn with them "in range," which seems to be little more than a screen or two, they will not have regenerated much if at all. If you're outside that range they will almost certainly be at full health. Yes, it's tedious and aggravating, and can make some otherwise beatable packs unbeatable, but for now that's the way it is. Improve your tactics and get lucky, or farm for better gear. That's all YOU can do. Some packs will always be virtually - if not outright - unkillable for you. All you can do is live with it, and adjust for the rest of the game - at least for now.

[Quark]

I think the regeneration is not random at all, but based on monster type. I've seen it on spiders before, and I know others have as well.

[Taelas]

From what I've seen, they just regenerate over time. Turn on mob health numbers, and you can see them do so the next time you die. The ones I saw was on spiders, so Quark may be right; I haven't looked at any other types.

[Elric of Grans]

If you watch during the count-down you see the effect for healing periodically flashing over them. It seems to be the same kind of `life per second' players can get.