Jolt Country

Blizzard revamped Diablo III with patch 2.0.1 and suddenly the game is something other than a random buy then fry fest. Why is the game enjoyable again?

New Loot System: For the first time ever, I've actually picked up loot that is applicable to my character.

Revamped difficulty levels: They swapped Normal, Nightmare, Hell (?) and Inferno for Something, Expert, Master and Torment - HapticAnimal and I are back to actually approaching mobs with a bit of thought as opposed to merely cutting through them.

All is not well in the world though!

Revamped crafting system: while they spell out exactly what you're getting, the system is still essentially a form of gambling (as opposed to Diablo II where they actually called this portion of the game a gamble).

Revamped difficulty levels: We have been playing at a relatively low level (lvl 40) on Master and been having a great time, but for a melee class, Special, Elite and higher level monsters completely decimate our party. Its impossible for a Monk or Barbarian to approach one of these baddies without being completely decimated.

I'm not going to be buying the expansion, but Diablo III is fun again (for the most part: the sweet spot was maybe three patches after launch where the game was still difficult without being overwhelming. Christ, just balance the game to punish stupidity and be done with it).

For the record, the story still has major issues (that obviously can't be addressed with the patch), but its been funny to watch the Blizzard forums, game websites, etc. ignore them for the mechanics.

I mean, the game itself is fun to play now, but there isn't any real satisfaction in progressing through to the end. Blizzard completely dropped the ball, but there has been no push back in regards to how bad the framing devices, cut scenes, etc. are.

In the end, there is absolutely no reason to care about Diablo III except as anything other than a mindless hack and slash fest.

Wait, Blizzard? I though Diablo 3 was made by Runic Games and called Torchlight 2.

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I couldn't even play the free demo on my PS3. I was one of the first-weekers for Diablo 2 when it came out but that was years ago. Now even the free games like that Path of Exile don't hold much interest for me. Glad they got D3 working better tho.


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AARDVARK

RealNC wrote:Wait, Blizzard? I though Diablo 3 was made by Runic Games and called Torchlight 2.

After spending $40 for the expansion and starting over from the beginning with the new Crusader class, I feel cheated. Okay, the game is actually playable now (the loot system actually drops relevant items, difficulty is fair yet challenging, etc, etc), but the story is just as contrite as it was on day one and the quests feel completely A to B without any of the interesting exploratory or sick out moments that Diablo II.

The story still sucks and as RealNIC pointed out, Torchlight I and II did everything DII did much better than DIII.

Expansion is just as terrible as the original DIII (for the exact same reasons), but at least the base game is more interesting and actually ya know, playable.