Balancing in Diablo

[WarBlade]

After having played Diablo, Hellfire, Diablo 2 and Lord of Destruction, I come to the conclusion that all games are not balanced perfectly.
Some character classes are always stronger / weaker than others.

Question is: Is it possible and also desirable to balance 3 / 5 / 7 character classes perfectly in a game like Diablo?

Yes. But not with all of the features of DII.

Consider of a moment comparing Whirlwind with Freezing Arrow. They both have a similar area of effect so I think it's concievable these two skills could be made to balance. Now toss in Frozen Orb and Vengeance just for a laugh. One has a huge area and one is single hit. :huh:

In light of that I don't really think the game can even come close to remotely balanced until skill mechanics are changed to the point where all classes have similar options available to them.

Perhaps it would also take the spice out of the game when every character class is equaly difficult to play?
I mean, perhaps the whole whining like 'barbs are way to strong!' and 'character class X needs better skills' is particularly completely pathetic because balancing this would make the game boring, and first of all these whiners would stop playing it...

Depends on what the whining is about. I think players have a right to resent the botched up Javelin/Spear tree or Defensive Aura tree since basically these things are too messy when compared with some other classes who have excellent options all over three trees. Hopefully 1.10 will sort much out, but I'm apprehensive too. LoD certainly fixed up some balance issues in the skills department, but ultimately added plenty more with the items. :unsure: