The Awakening CB

[LennyLen]

Is anyone else in yet?

[MonTy]

Hey Lenny, how's it going?

I've been in the beta for about a week now and have found it a lot of fun! But I'll admit I'm surprised just how beta it really is. They've got a lot of work ahead of them before anticipated release (late June early July I hear).

The new zones and bosses are very fun. Music is superb. The Jewels that you can socket into the skill tree are pretty neat. New Fire Nova Mine skill is interesting, playing it in a build now. Previously I've toyed around with existing skills that have been rebalanced. Ball Lightning is insanely strong right now, along with Frenzy charges.

Are you in the Beta? I'll probably play this fire nova mine guy out until the next wipe, then try some melee builds.

[LennyLen]

I got in about a week ago as well, but since I knew I wasn't going to play much for a few days I waited until after the wipe. I wasn't able to do a decent session until yesterday, where I covered Acts 2 and 3 and up to Highgate.

The jewels certainly are interesting. I've only got 3 so far, but am looking forward to testing more of them. I'm hopefully anticipating that the next wipe will coincide with lockstep mode, so I'm playing a +movement speed whirling blades/viper strike shadow to remind myself just how bad desync can be before it gets replaced. Then I intend to do the same build again afterwards and rejoice in how awesome it has become. I've also gone for high crit chance, and am using lighning tendrils to stack shock on enemies to soften them up before engaging them in melee.

[MonTy]

I wasn't able to do a decent session until yesterday, where I covered Acts 2 and 3 and up to Highgate.

What do you think of the new progression and zone layout changes? After playing the original game for so long I find it really odd, but some of those waypoint changes are very convenient.

Lightning Tendrils felt like it was nerfed quite a bit. Are you progressing decently? Also, what class are you playing? I'm finding the witch nerfed quite a bit because of the EB rebalance.

Have you played a mine build before? It's certainly different. In some ways bad because keystones like Clever Construction (mine immunity for 5 seconds after placement) are 100% mandatory, then you're stretched for other life or damage nodes. Also the play style of placing a mine, detonating, and doing damage is a bit tough for some enemies. But the change of pace is fun and I'm giving it my best shot.

[LennyLen]

What do you think of the new progression and zone layout changes? After playing the original game for so long I find it really odd, but some of those waypoint changes are very convenient.

Well, when I started, Act 2 wasn't finished yet, so I've seen a lot of changes since then.

For the most part, I like the changes. The only one WP move that didn't seem right was moving the one from the mud flats to the coast. Moving Clarissa from the Slums to the Sarn entry area seemed unnecessary, but not wrong. Moving Perpetus from this area to the slums was a good move though. He was a definite spike on the difficulty curve for new players to the game where he was.

Lightning Tendrils felt like it was nerfed quite a bit. Are you progressing decently? Also, what class are you playing? I'm finding the witch nerfed quite a bit because of the EB rebalance.

I'd never actually used LT before, so can't compare it to pre-beta. It's doing it's job ok, which is to shock an entire pack of mobs so I can increase the damage of my viper strike enough to either kill in 1 hit, or do a good DoT attack against mobs with lots of life. I'm playing a Shadow, and I'm definitely having an easier time of it so far than in past playthroughs with a shadow - even ones where I already had a stash full of items. I haven't found any decent supports for any of my attacks yet either, and am still doing ok anyway.

Have you played a mine build before? It's certainly different. In some ways bad because keystones like Clever Construction (mine immunity for 5 seconds after placement) are 100% mandatory, then you're stretched for other life or damage nodes. Also the play style of placing a mine, detonating, and doing damage is a bit tough for some enemies. But the change of pace is fun and I'm giving it my best shot.

I do like to use fire trap, but I use it to supplement my builds, not as a focus. It's useful to help combat mob regen.

I really feel like The Awakening is going to increase build flexibility, which is always a good thing. I've seen some interesting ideas for builds discussed so far.