11-04-2003, 04:37 AM
Hi
I by no means try to sound like an expert, but I got this "feeling" that 1.10 is closest to 1.04 from all the patches. How do I mean?
Take the old character classes.
- amazons are powerful, but not all-powerful. They definitelly need tanks now, vakk+decoy+merc, preferrably a pala or barb or both
- paladins are more powerful now, hammerdins are silly again just as much as they used to be in 1.04. Zealots are useful both for support and as "the weaker" melee type
- barbs are back to the old division: either PvP or PvM. This time it's not the weapon, but the skill distribution that separates the two main barb builds. Doule throwers are viable (greatest difference from 1.04 IMHO).
- sorceresses are again rather powerful, in the old way. I agree with Bolty on this one; specialization is the way to go (although I do have a meteor/cl sorc, and she is fun; it is just so irritating see everyone else outkill me in their "niche". It seems that different types of specialized sorceresses working in teams make terribly fast-killing task forces)
- necromancers are (finally) back to their old glory, even more so if it's possible. At the moment they seem to be the aces of the PvP games (a necro with average eqipment can kill the 160/60 Windforcezons, now that's something one would not have expected back in 1.09), and they are also very powerful in PvM (revive is again THE skill to kill things with; the faster, smarter monsters make extremely powefrul revives; I've seen the killing speed double of a 6-7 member party from a single zookeeper). The fact that skeletons got beefed up might make me go back to playing only-necro again.
The new classes:
Here of course the "1.04 feeling" cannot come back. I think that the druid got the stick with 1.10; it's melee skills got no improvement (and don't anyone tell me that they have ever or will use fire claws or rabies), and it's elemental skills need soo much investment to work, that you cannot have the necessary (summons, etc) secondary skills at a level where the lower damage output of the druid's elemental attack can be offset by the "greater safety he enjoys" (compared to the ES-using teleporting sorceresses).
The assassin got many many very interesting changes. Trap synergies make the trapassin as 1.10 viable as she was 1.09 viable, variants still playable (and I happen to enjoy mine big time). Changes to the blade skills give other nice opportunities, and the martial arts synergies make meleeing also quite effective. The boot kick damage made kicksins not only viable, but very powerful melee fighters of 1.10. To me it feels that the assassin got improved in every respect.
The game generally feels tougher. I'm not talking about the "Uber Diablo", since I've never met him :( (he is not so frequent in Europe than in US-East it seems), but about the general gameplay. You have to pay more attention (95% fire resist and 500 life and still getting nailed by balrogs, etc), thus the game is more like pre-expansion.
I by no means try to sound like an expert, but I got this "feeling" that 1.10 is closest to 1.04 from all the patches. How do I mean?
Take the old character classes.
- amazons are powerful, but not all-powerful. They definitelly need tanks now, vakk+decoy+merc, preferrably a pala or barb or both
- paladins are more powerful now, hammerdins are silly again just as much as they used to be in 1.04. Zealots are useful both for support and as "the weaker" melee type
- barbs are back to the old division: either PvP or PvM. This time it's not the weapon, but the skill distribution that separates the two main barb builds. Doule throwers are viable (greatest difference from 1.04 IMHO).
- sorceresses are again rather powerful, in the old way. I agree with Bolty on this one; specialization is the way to go (although I do have a meteor/cl sorc, and she is fun; it is just so irritating see everyone else outkill me in their "niche". It seems that different types of specialized sorceresses working in teams make terribly fast-killing task forces)
- necromancers are (finally) back to their old glory, even more so if it's possible. At the moment they seem to be the aces of the PvP games (a necro with average eqipment can kill the 160/60 Windforcezons, now that's something one would not have expected back in 1.09), and they are also very powerful in PvM (revive is again THE skill to kill things with; the faster, smarter monsters make extremely powefrul revives; I've seen the killing speed double of a 6-7 member party from a single zookeeper). The fact that skeletons got beefed up might make me go back to playing only-necro again.
The new classes:
Here of course the "1.04 feeling" cannot come back. I think that the druid got the stick with 1.10; it's melee skills got no improvement (and don't anyone tell me that they have ever or will use fire claws or rabies), and it's elemental skills need soo much investment to work, that you cannot have the necessary (summons, etc) secondary skills at a level where the lower damage output of the druid's elemental attack can be offset by the "greater safety he enjoys" (compared to the ES-using teleporting sorceresses).
The assassin got many many very interesting changes. Trap synergies make the trapassin as 1.10 viable as she was 1.09 viable, variants still playable (and I happen to enjoy mine big time). Changes to the blade skills give other nice opportunities, and the martial arts synergies make meleeing also quite effective. The boot kick damage made kicksins not only viable, but very powerful melee fighters of 1.10. To me it feels that the assassin got improved in every respect.
The game generally feels tougher. I'm not talking about the "Uber Diablo", since I've never met him :( (he is not so frequent in Europe than in US-East it seems), but about the general gameplay. You have to pay more attention (95% fire resist and 500 life and still getting nailed by balrogs, etc), thus the game is more like pre-expansion.