Diablo 3 Playthrough [spoiler free]

[MonTy]

Hail all,

I've had a chance to solo clear normal difficulty and wanted to share my thoughts. Even while wearing my highest level +critique hat, I found the game to be immensely fun. The new mechanics and game features created a rather engaging experience.

I was most impressed by how challenging normal difficulty was. Standard enemies have fairly potent abilities and champion versions of those mobs can absolutely punish you. I found I was always able to react appropriately, thanks to the new combat pacing which allowed for greater precision and tactics. However, I felt the boss zones were a bit elementary. It was painfully obvious what to do- I was almost expecting tooltips to come flying out and warn you of incoming danger. Due to these boss mechanics, I'm afraid more hitpoints or damage that later difficulties will provide won't fix this, and that champion packs will offer the game's greatest challenge.

The new skill system is another welcome change. I felt like it provided a lot of freedom to your character. The actual skills themselves were pretty useful and entertaining. Often the description did not do justice as I was pleasently surprised by how powerful or effective they were in the midst of combat.

The crafting, or using your blacksmith/jeweler, turned out to be quite addicting. Breaking down your unneeded magic/rare items to make better suited gear is rewarding. I'm normally not a big fan of crafting in any sort of RPG game, but I was compelled to constantly use this new feature.

I'd like to hear your spoiler-free thoughts on the game. There were some radical changes to the mechanics of the series so I'm eager to hear how everyone from this forum welcomes those changes. In my perfect world I would have liked for the game to be less linear, but at least the path your guided on was fun.

[Treesh]

Love it all, even the HC deaths that I really should have been able to avoid.

I've said it once. I'll say it a thousand times. This is what D2 should have been. There's a definite connect to D1 and not just story wise. It's a quicker pacing for the action, but you still need to watch what you're doing (and/or NOT have a cat who loves to get in the way and just looks smug when you yell "Get the hell out of the WAY!!!!"). In our podcast (maybe the first one? Don't remember), there was discussion on the waypoints and the wide open outdoor areas making the mood less scary, less dangerous than the first one. You still have the wide open areas in D3, but it feels so much more scary, gloomy, dangerous, etc. Just wonderful. Hell, there was one place where I actually had to go take a shower when I stopped playing and before I went to bed because it just gave me that icky, creepy feeling of being unclean. I'm sure those who know me know which cavern it was that made me all icky. Gentleman that Roland is, he tried not to laugh about it, but I'm sure he did anyway. =)

I keep changing my mind on how I want to play the game though. Sometimes I want to be in a full group, but then I feel badly for playing more slowly than they do (meaning mapping and breaking EVERYTHING and reading the quest dialogues/watching the cutscenes and cinematics) so then I want to play solo. I play solo and then I miss playing with the group even though I get to go my own pace. I'm just weird and fickle apparently, but that's probably best demonstrated by the fact that after I got the first gal up to 10, I made 8 other characters - 4 hardcore and then the other 4 softcore.

Absolutely, completely love the skill system with elective mode on. It completely fits someone like me who doesn't want to have to plan out every character before you even play them. I generally go in with some kind of idea on how I want to play the character, but do like the flexibility of being able to change them on the fly. Playing it more, the defensive kind of skills are so much more important than I thought they would be. Before playing, I thought it was going to be more like D2 where you can basically just build glass cannons and blast away. I'm really glad this isn't true.

[Kevin]

I'm not far enough in to speak a lot about it. I've currently only got 2 toons, an L10 softcore witch doctor and an L24 hardcore witchdoctor. I want to play all the classes of course, but rolling the 10 sided die selected witch doctor for me.

Group play is more enjoyable than it was in D2. D2 group play tended to be 4+ players soloing in the same game, people intentionally going to places other folks weren't to get their loot. The change to the drops has eliminated much of that. You may not need to tackle things together in multi because even with scaling you are powerful enough, but there isn't active incentive to avoid the other people like D2, there isn't fear of loot ninjas. This is a big deal, and I think it's going to change the dynamics of PuG play too (which I've done a little of too).

As has been stated the general feel is more like D1 than D2. I think the world is smaller than D2. Sure there are open areas, but things feel closer in than they did in D2. Sure there are plenty of set pathways that help with this, but even in the fields and such, there are more natural obstacles. Perhaps it's the abundance of events that helps with this. You just don't seem to have to need to travel as far before you find something (a champion back, an elite, a neat event). I remember some of the Act 2 areas in D2 where it felt like FOREVER between anything of real interest and you were just trying to get through the massive square dessert to the next WP. In D3 I want to wander around and find the events.

That might be something that helps too. D3 is not squared. D2 was, and the only levels that really weren't were in Act 3 and they had their own issues. D3 isn't square. D1 was square too, but the tile based nature, and the setting of being underground made that feel fine. D3 also uses the 3D terrain fairly effectively. The heavy and chunky nature of the environments works nicely too. I'm still not the biggest fan of the water color artwork feel, but since it is very internally consistent and the rest of the atmospheric elements are heavy/chunky/dark/gothic it makes the overall feel work, and ties it to D1 much better.

While I want to be able to have more skills available than just the 6 slots, they have so far made it work for that to act as builds. I'm not missing the skill trees. I'm happy that I don't have to plan out builds before I play, but that I still can plan them out. The frustration in not being able to have more skills is balanced by the fun of being able to create a unique playstyle based on the choices you make. This again "feels" more like D1 than D2 for me. You really couldn't have builds in D1 because you didn't really know what spells you were going to find. Drops could really determine what you could do, how you had to play, though you had some control over this with stats. D3 isn't the same and the class I've played the most is less affected by it, but I could see a barb or monk changing which skills they favor based on drops. It just feels more like D1 but with the ability to redo choices, you can't mislick, even if you put something in a socket and find something else you want to use that gem for want a different gem in that socket you can. This isn't really softening things up, or dumbing it down like it may seem from the outside. It really just enables more choices. Maybe that is because I'm playing hardcore and I know that everything I have can still be ultimately lost, but I don't have to mule off stuff that I want to keep in case that happens. Being able to pull a gem out of a socket just means I don't have to farm up another one, and that I can instantly use that socket and not feel like I'm "wasting" something.

I very much enjoy how gold still feels valuable. Of course for me, it felt valuable in D2 and D1 as well (D1 because it took inventory space and had a natural limit (even with piles of it on the ground, bugs/crashes/whatever could eat it) but I used it to gamble in both games. In D2 it was actual gambling. In D1 it was a fair bit of resetting Wirt (and at times Gris) to try and buy something I wanted. In D3 it's to be able to pay for crafts, trying to not roll monk gear when I make stuff. Now when I get start playing another toon, some of the gold stress will go away because I won't be expanding the stash or leveling the smith/jeweler, but I'll also have more crafting mats and spending more on trying to get that right item.

On that topic too, so far there has been a good balance of drops and crafts being good. I get excited when I see a yellow, I still check out the blues because they can beat crafts. Some of this will also lessen with the next toon because I will have more gear sitting waiting for them, but the quest for something better I think will always be there.

While boss fights are certainly less complex than they were in something like WoW, compared to D1 and D2 there is more to them and while I've felt powerful enough in normal that things have ended quickly enough, I've seen some mechanics that make me worry for higher difficulties and I will definitely have a different skill set up for some of those to try and make sure I don't get stuck somewhere I don't want to be.

So yes while I'm offering impressions early, still being young in the game I really do think they've done a good job of balancing things out. The design tends to just lead to fun and I think there is more replay involved than I first thought there might be.

[MonTy]

Just finished up Hell with my Barbarian and figured I'd share my thoughts.

In the later difficulties, Champions can really smack you in the face. It took a bit getting used to their difficulty considering most of the game is easy in comparison. Can't say I approve of the extreme change of pace, I'd prefer a more subtle and engaging experience with the default monsters and bosses as well. With that said, the most fun I've ever had is clearing late Act 3 in Hell due to the challenge.

Boss fights were disappointing in that they gained no new abilities on later difficulties. I feel that's a huge mistake.

The item system is something else, and I'm not quite sure what to make of it. I like how scarce good items are, but it does feel like the slot machine is rigged at times. I decided to sell a few items on the Auction House and quickly made almost 200k within 10 minutes. I decided to buy two items but felt pretty dishonest doing so, as it immediately made the game much easier instead of a gradual reward from my hero's accomplishments.

I'm looking forward to the trials Inferno brings. I've already had to change my build plenty, and no doubt I'll have to adjust it even more against those champions with four ability traits. As much as I enjoyed my playthrough of the first three difficulties, I'm (almost a little too) glad after almost 70 game hours to reach the final one.

[Elric of Grans]

I have completed Normal with a Wizard and am into Act III/Normal with a Demon Hunter. With both characters, I have found things generally pretty easy, with sections that were challenging and intense (usually involving Champions). The plot, while nothing special, was a nice touch. Well, Act II was pretty lame to be honest, but the rest was not so bad. As a fluff-fanatic, I devour the lore books I find, filling in all manner of history and explaining things. Reading people's journals was quite good too. A shame they were not more personal (eg Shen: ``I have been looking upon Leah as she strides out under the sun, glistening like an angel. What beauty; the likes I have rarely seen before. I must arrange a chance meeting between that gorgeous Opal necklace and I!'' ). The tie-ins to Diablo (original) were really welcome, especially the added development to figures like Leoric, Lachdanan and Lazarus (and Larry, Leroy, Luke, Len, and Bob).

Items have bugged me a little. Stores seem useless. Dropped items *should* be better (if lucky), but stores should at least stock items at your tier so, if you have been unlucky, you still have a decent fall-back. Class-specific armours have been extremely disappointing so far too. In brief, I am yet to find a single decent one: generic armour has always had vastly superior stats. Perhaps that will turn around in time, but it currently feels like they were a pointless inclusion cluttering the drop lists. Dual-Hand Crossbows seems a pretty poor option compared to (any)-Bow+Quiver too, but perhaps exceptional drop luck could change it (one good weapon is lucky, two of the same time is extreme). I would also like to see crafting more of an option in Normal difficulty. Most of the time, you either cannot craft what you want, or it is only available at a lower-tier and not really an option. I would like to have seen designs drop right from early game, allowing you to craft essentially any base-magical item (alternatively, fix stores to stock these items, damn it). This also ties into class-specific armour, which would be more appealing if you could craft them and hope for decent stats. Gold, however, has been nice and precious, with plenty to spend it on (upgrading artisans/stash), and I like the way gems have been made into a far more interesting mechanic. In fact, all my best items so far have been socketed, and given how good +stat items are I suspect this will continue to higher difficulties.

Monsters. Sweet! The variety of enemies, and the varied strategies they use, has made combat more exciting than ever before. A good mix of enemies can easily make you use all six of your skills, resulting in an intense and rewarding situation. I was also very pleased to see returnees from both previous games, mixed with a nice variety of new enemies. Especially the Succubi. Blood Star got an upgrade? Woohoo! Bosses are fairly boring, however. Diablo himself was nasty and VERY atmospheric, but all bosses just follow simple patterns. I am disappointed Blizzard did not try to take a different approach with them, feeding into the game's mechanics better. The old `hard-hitting, lots of HP' bosses have lost favour in the market, with new styles of challenges being preferred. Thankfully, Champions provide those challenges... unless you get a run-away Caster-type with Vortex: that is just funny Yes, there could be nasty combos there at higher difficulties, but in pure concept it is still funny!

In single player, I love the new companions. Far better balanced and designed than Diablo II; in fact, better than companion-characters in any Action RPG I have played before! The banter with them takes me back to Baldur's Gate II, in a good way. I am quite impressed at the time they put into what is essentially a peripheral mechanic. Honestly, I am a little disappointed they do not have more equipment slots, as I guess I am a bit of a `dress-up' fan, but I have to also agree that they are better off this way. You are not reliant on TWO good sets of every item to drop, and it makes it easier to balance the companions so they are useful but not TOO good. After all, the player has to be the true hero

Visually, very nice. Blizzard certainly proved they were not screwing up there, especially when some sections are so dark and miserable that they trigger memories of the original game. I do have a definite preference for Act I, as it stirs a lot of familiarity and nostalgia, but every Act provides a good mix of environments. The audio is fine. Nothing special, but fine. The ambient audio tends to be appropriate, but I must admit I rarely notice it. Dialogue conflicts are way too common, however, and are something Blizzard needs to address.

I have so far played two classes. The Wizard is everything I imagined and more. Well designed, well balanced (not perfect, but damned good for release day) and a joy to play. The Demon Hunter was disappointing. It just makes me wonder if Blizzard really had a firm idea in their head, or if they just slapped a bunch of skills together and hoped for the best. Things such as Grenades as a Primary Skill (strikes me as something that should have been a Secondary or Device Skill, then balanced appropriately) really make me wonder what they were thinking. Balance seems a real mess there too and she has not been half as much fun to play as the Wizard. As someone who ALWAYS plays the archer, I am very disappointed here.

[MongoJerry]

Items have bugged me a little. Stores seem useless. Dropped items *should* be better (if lucky), but stores should at least stock items at your tier so, if you have been unlucky, you still have a decent fall-back.

I highly recommend always checking the "Fence" in any town (the one that sells rings and amulets). Frag and I have found some spectacular +damage + other stats rings and amulets off them. Otherwise, I agree that generally the armor and weapons sold aren't very good, and you can't reset them without quiting out and starting a new game.

[Mavfin]

The Demon Hunter was disappointing. It just makes me wonder if Blizzard really had a firm idea in their head, or if they just slapped a bunch of skills together and hoped for the best. Things such as Grenades as a Primary Skill (strikes me as something that should have been a Secondary or Device Skill, then balanced appropriately) really make me wonder what they were thinking. Balance seems a real mess there too and she has not been half as much fun to play as the Wizard. As someone who ALWAYS plays the archer, I am very disappointed here.

It's funny that you say this, but I love my DH. And, I like Grenades, but not till Nightmare. I guess it all depends on what you expected from the class. Yes, she puts out a ton of damage, but she doesn't take a hit even as well as the wizard, so you have to be ready to move.

And I've always been the Warrior/Barb person. Of course, I say that, and then realize I loved the D1 Rogue the most. Oh well.

[RTM]

Items have bugged me a little. Stores seem useless. Dropped items *should* be better (if lucky), but stores should at least stock items at your tier so, if you have been unlucky, you still have a decent fall-back.

I have twice seen a rare item on a vendor. It's rare (nyuk nyuk nyuk!) but it happens.

[Quark]

Hidden vendors (at least, past level 10) have always had 1 rare item for me.