Well sometimes it's nice to play alone, and your friends might not always be around. This is a strange choice to limit gear to your character. Finding awesome items for your alts was always good fun
What's with Blizzard and their random decisions on this game? :P
Well sometimes it's nice to play alone, and your friends might not always be around. This is a strange choice to limit gear to your character. Finding awesome items for your alts was always good fun
What's with Blizzard and their random decisions on this game? :P
Seems like the auction house & the decision to limit gear to your character are all responses to the grey market item auctions that existed in Diablo 1 & 2. I don't see why they need to restrict the black market if the auction house doesn't exist - I think it's just MMO dev mindset, we hate black markets that screw up the in game economy.
Some insight from me and a friend talking about the legendaries being BoA is to keep in mind the entire idea behind the real money auction house and it's closure. The idea behind it was to limit gold and item selling through 3rd parties and duping. Selling an item through the RMAH was a way to get paid directly and also to know 100% that you were getting an item you were paying for without fear of getting screwed over. Unfortunately people spent more time raiding the auction house than raiding the game. So now that's removed.
But, what about those 3rd parties? It opens the gate again for gold and item sellers to come in and spam the game. At that point you're dealing with 3rd party sites and the idea that you could get screwed out of your items or gold (depending on what side of the sale you're on). So, I think they did this to limit that from happening. In fact, if I'm not mistaken you can only send out friend requests now without a message attached. I'm used to reporting at least 8-12 messages when I log in from people selling gold, so hopefully that will be cut now. I think it kind of sucks you can't trade items with your friends though. I understand the decision but I don't know if I 100% agree with it.
Can someone explain something to me though? With it being BoA gear, could you not send it to your alts? Or are drops more character specific in loot 2.0 where I'm not going to find random strength gear on my wizard? Or is it more of a bind on pickup as opposed to bind on account?
You can trade items with people who were in your group when you find it for 2 hours (I think, might be more) after you've found it, and you can't trade gold any more either.
You`re still going to find STR gear on your wizard. Just no where near as much as before. And you wont find STR on a wizard hat, kinda thing. But ya, you can still send stuff to alts through your stash.
After posting that and a few hrs of playing, I found at least 10 items that were heavilly balanced to Int/Vit while on my Monk. 10 out of many, and not legendaries - but I was wrong in that no off-class loot drops. Been meaning to try sending a non ID'd legendary to a different class to see if the stats roll differently than the class the item dropped for. Will try next time i get one.
and man, this feels like a completely new game. If you play a new character on Hard, you will get 60 by the time you complete the game, no need to clear it 3 times to hit 60. Makes the game so much more fun, have more spells to use, moster Affix's increase as the game goes on (!!!), making it feel like you're progressing into more challenging and challening content instead of slogging through 4 acts, then 4 more to have 2 affix, then 4 more for 3...
Gem combination prices are better, removed the crazy restriction for pages & books (annoying).
Played for about 2 hours last night. Got 2 legendaries (one a awesome 2handed Axe for my Barb, and one for a Demon Hunter), and a legendary recipe. Within about 30 minutes most of my gear was upgraded, and the pace of the game just feels a bit better. Standard difficulty wasn't enough so I bumped it to Hard - which seems to be a perfect fit right now.
.
That sounds pretty awesome. I think I've got like 200 hours put into a Wizard character and I previously had high MF gear but I could almost never find any legendaries whatsoever. I think I have only found maybe two in all of my playtime to date, and they were both crap. Now to download the big ass update -_-
I played for around 40 mins and replaced all my gear. I have been playing without the auction house though just to see how far I could get on MP10 so my gear wasn't that great. Liking the changes though. Probably gonna crank it to hard.
Way more fun with Loot 2.0 Got an awesome amulet that nullifies arcane dmg (YES) and like Natalyas Redemption and a plan for the Cain set. Gonna definitely play more :)You can only trade within party and time limit is 2 hours. A friend found a nice drop so gave it to me. Also he found a bracer that spawned a champion for every shrine we used XD
Played for about an hour last night. Had no rubber banding which was nice. The game itself just feels streamlined in a way. There a bit of change with UI such as the enemy health bars as well. They've added quite a bit of different runes for spells which is really awesome because with my wizard most spells now have runes that fall into lightning, fire, arcane, and ice. I can focus on a school of magic and fit the spells to the way I want to play as opposed to playing into the spell. Very nice. Also, it looks like they really updates a bunch of spell and particle effects.
Lastly, within the hour I played I managed to get three different upgrades for my gear and one of them was a legendary. Pretty awesome.
this patch made the game leaps and bounds better. Like it actually feels like a brand new game. Build diversity again!! I just got to level 39 in just a few short hours playiing with 2 friends on torment I. All three of us had a blast, and found some awesome items.
I found an amulet that spawns shadow clones to help fight whenever I stun someone. Then about 10 minutes later, I found a ring that added a stun affect to all lightning skills. Put them together and boom. So good!
agreed! finding it hard to stop playing haha. Can't wait until people come back in the expansion and realize the same Clans are definitely awesome too! Everyone is welcome to join Cuddle Bears, just send slipsus or me a message!
Hit 60 with my 4th or 5th hardcore monk today (second one to 60, last one died almost a full year ago), and without a ton of legendary, sets, or even level 60 gear, my stats are better than softcore monk who I've played since launch and spent a lot of gold on the AH. The game is a lot more rewarding, challenging, and fun now. I haven't use the AH, or opened it since the patch came out.
I finally got to try out the new patch last night and like it a lot. I got several upgrades and 3 legendary items playing on hard difficulty. I got some legendary fire boots that destroy level objects when I run by now so I don't have to bother clicking on them :P.
its been great. Played for a few hrs with my brother, did it on expert and was having a blast in hardcore. Had like 5 legendary drops, 2 which were awesome. Got killed a couple of times. But i have a belt that increases my armor times the amount of gold picked for boost haha its great.
lots of hordes of enemies everywhere, and blue enemies coming in larger packs than just 3 with gold enemies makes for more hectic battles. Loving all the changes so far, and it does feel like a different game. Can't wait for adv mode.
Started a new hardcore character, the expert difficulty is actually somewhat of a challenge, died at level 10 and used a ton of potions. I'm going to give it another try, but I was having a good time running through the first act again with the new loot and challenge.
I really like the game with the 2.0 changes. Feels very different. I still think the difficulty needs to be tuned up a little on "normal" though. I had no problems clearing screens of mobs as a demon hunter and most bosses I could just tank or kill before they had a chance to do much of anything.
Started a new hardcore character, the expert difficulty is actually somewhat of a challenge, died at level 10 and used a ton of potions. I'm going to give it another try, but I was having a good time running through the first act again with the new loot and challenge.
Try on hard, its still challenging but not easy! I had a bit of trouble on hard until level 16, when i could use a legendary fist i banked. Even then it was still challenging. Started a Wizard, and its actually been a little easy on Hard, may bump it up
They really ramped up the elemental damage significantly, to the point where i had 100k HP but would almost die when i saw fire chain enemies. Put 200 resists in and was fine (on expert). Have close to 400 now, and feel i can move to Master finally, but am still scared of torment.
I made a new Barb on Hard. Got to lv 16, and it's been a little too easy. Tried a Witch Doctor on Expert, but I don't like the class that much. Gonna try Wizard on Expert instead. (my main is a Monk, btw.)
Started a hardcore Barbarian on hard. Been having a blast, this update is great, it feels like a whole new game. I've found a ton of legendaries, which is awesome.
This experience boost is making things super easy. I just hit level 30 and I'm at the beginning of Act II. Thinking of kicking it up to Expert. I'm gonna try to get to 60 and start accumulating some hardcore paragon levels before the expansion is out.
Started a hardcore Barbarian on hard. Been having a blast, this update is great, it feels like a whole new game. I've found a ton of legendaries, which is awesome.
This experience boost is making things super easy. I just hit level 30 and I'm at the beginning of Act II. Thinking of kicking it up to Expert. I'm gonna try to get to 60 and start accumulating some hardcore paragon levels before the expansion is out.
Saw a guy at 400 something Paragon o.O Was just abusing the pools of experience keep running till he finds them and cursed chest runs.
For all your demon hunters,check out this quiver I found last night... It should give you a taste of what kinda gear is in the game now... SO HAPPY with this find.
ahhhh and i was just getting into a groove with my 3d work and i read all these great comments about D3 shiiiiii might be time to get addicted again :P
Man this update is amazing. Just played for about an hour on Expert mode with my Wizard and found a good legendary within 20 minutes. Found tons of gear to replace the shit I had before pretty quickly as well.
I have to hand it to Blizzard, they really care about their players. I thought maybe they turned into a greedy evil company because D3 originally felt like a cashgrab but they really went back and fixed EVERYTHING. They just secured my purchase of the expansion for sure.
After 14 hardcore barbarians, I finally got 1 to level 30. I got 4 legendary drops so far on that character from just playing the game. 2 of them I'm pretty sure are guaranteed from bosses, but the other 2 were from normal mobs.
I really like playing on expert, it requires you to pay a lot more attention. Level 30 on expert is the start of act 2, I think on normal you end up at level 30 after beating the game once. Also you spend more time on Act 1 but it feels like you level up faster, you get to enjoy the map more.
I think on normal you end up at level 30 after beating the game once. Also you spend more time on Act 1 but it feels like you level up faster, you get to enjoy the map more.
not sure if you are aware of the 50% bonus xp they have going right now, huge help with leveling
Before they put the buff in, I was lvl 50 by the time i finished a Hard playthrough on my HC monk. Can't remember the end-act levels, but know i was 50-51 when Diablo died on Hard. I also clear everything while playing HC, so may end up lower if you speed run.
My HC Wiz on expert is 46 at the start of Act 3 with the buff.
Has anybody been actively using the new blacksmith? I was killing some elites and I think I broke a barrel or something and it dropped plans for a legendary item from the blacksmith. I'm not too sure how to give the plans to the blacksmith but I think I just have to keep training him (I don't have enough materials at the moment.)
Anyway, if anybody has also found these legendary plans, is the resulting item any good? This seems like a pretty cool feature they added.
I had legendary plans from around launch, I still have them I think, only made two things with it because they are expensive. You barely would come out ahead if you bought the reasources to make 10, by making 1 really good one, and the others would just be okay.
Has anybody been actively using the new blacksmith? I was killing some elites and I think I broke a barrel or something and it dropped plans for a legendary item from the blacksmith. I'm not too sure how to give the plans to the blacksmith but I think I just have to keep training him (I don't have enough materials at the moment.)
Anyway, if anybody has also found these legendary plans, is the resulting item any good? This seems like a pretty cool feature they added.
Legendary & set item BS plans have been in since launch, but they actually drop now at a rate that normal humans would see, and not just for the extraordinarily lucky players, or purchased for $ on the AH.
You just have to open the Blacksmith, and rclick the book to learn it.
Crafting has been crucial for me while leveling, every few levels would stop in there and craft new stuff and have some sweet gear. Lets you fill in gaps and try to roll sockets or better stats. Found a set item and outfitted my wizard:
I found a legendary belt pattern ages ago that I always make when im level 30. IMO they're more useful in hardcore than not, chance are you'll level more times than in normal. The one legendary Axe plan i found isn't spectacular, but makes a good enough item to use for a handful of levels.
ya, blacksmith is key when leveling solo. especially on HC.
ive been playing so damn much. found some sweet gear too. Last night, I was key farming, and decided ok, Ill go test my luck on the act 3 KW before I go to bed. Saw the star pop up on my map so I thought yay, key! then a second later, a nice bright green beam in the center of my screen. Tal rasha's chest piece! woooot!
I really love how the new drop system is purposely designed to increase your chance of finding a good legendary item if you keep continuously fighting enemies and don't get any legendary drops. I killed a bunch of elites and didn't get anything, then I just broke a barrel and got a legendary sword (wildwood) which is pretty good considering I had a trash weapon before haha.
^^ lol... i wonder how it really works. I got one entering an area... entered second level of a cave and i just hear this legendary drop haha it was a good helmet. Dunno how it got there.
Love the changes so far. Who knows how many hrs i put into this already with my brother. playing torment 2 or 3 is so hectic and so much fun I gotta try that thing Nerf said..been trying to lvl my brother up to 60... i am about lvl 45 with him. But its hard when he keeps dying.
I ended up getting 5 legenary drops on my hardcore before dying to Maghda at level 34 (I died about 1 second before we killed her). Although they still aren't as interesting as the drops in Diablo 2 or Torchlight, it's a lot better.
I'm sure the drop code is something like increase likely hood of legendary drop if you don't have one that fits your current level range and you haven't gotten one in a while.
Replies
no? am i the only guy who plays in a group?
What's with Blizzard and their random decisions on this game? :P
Seems like the auction house & the decision to limit gear to your character are all responses to the grey market item auctions that existed in Diablo 1 & 2. I don't see why they need to restrict the black market if the auction house doesn't exist - I think it's just MMO dev mindset, we hate black markets that screw up the in game economy.
But, what about those 3rd parties? It opens the gate again for gold and item sellers to come in and spam the game. At that point you're dealing with 3rd party sites and the idea that you could get screwed out of your items or gold (depending on what side of the sale you're on). So, I think they did this to limit that from happening. In fact, if I'm not mistaken you can only send out friend requests now without a message attached. I'm used to reporting at least 8-12 messages when I log in from people selling gold, so hopefully that will be cut now. I think it kind of sucks you can't trade items with your friends though. I understand the decision but I don't know if I 100% agree with it.
Can someone explain something to me though? With it being BoA gear, could you not send it to your alts? Or are drops more character specific in loot 2.0 where I'm not going to find random strength gear on my wizard? Or is it more of a bind on pickup as opposed to bind on account?
I actually like the whole BoA thing.
and man, this feels like a completely new game. If you play a new character on Hard, you will get 60 by the time you complete the game, no need to clear it 3 times to hit 60. Makes the game so much more fun, have more spells to use, moster Affix's increase as the game goes on (!!!), making it feel like you're progressing into more challenging and challening content instead of slogging through 4 acts, then 4 more to have 2 affix, then 4 more for 3...
Gem combination prices are better, removed the crazy restriction for pages & books (annoying).
Maghda is actually a fun encounter now too.
just fell in love with this game again.
.
Lastly, within the hour I played I managed to get three different upgrades for my gear and one of them was a legendary. Pretty awesome.
found a 1200 dps dagger you can wear at lvl 38 O_O oh and grandfather...
I found an amulet that spawns shadow clones to help fight whenever I stun someone. Then about 10 minutes later, I found a ring that added a stun affect to all lightning skills. Put them together and boom. So good!
Fantastic job, Blizzard. Top notch improvements!
Hit 60 with my 4th or 5th hardcore monk today (second one to 60, last one died almost a full year ago), and without a ton of legendary, sets, or even level 60 gear, my stats are better than softcore monk who I've played since launch and spent a lot of gold on the AH. The game is a lot more rewarding, challenging, and fun now. I haven't use the AH, or opened it since the patch came out.
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/moose-1283/career
I also have a shield which pushes me to about 160k hp, and 1 million toughness. Doesn't show it there either, but also have 270 resist all!
Items have awesome properties and stats, fun to find a lot of items that boost skills like in diablo 2.
lots of hordes of enemies everywhere, and blue enemies coming in larger packs than just 3 with gold enemies makes for more hectic battles. Loving all the changes so far, and it does feel like a different game. Can't wait for adv mode.
Try on hard, its still challenging but not easy! I had a bit of trouble on hard until level 16, when i could use a legendary fist i banked. Even then it was still challenging. Started a Wizard, and its actually been a little easy on Hard, may bump it up
They really ramped up the elemental damage significantly, to the point where i had 100k HP but would almost die when i saw fire chain enemies. Put 200 resists in and was fine (on expert). Have close to 400 now, and feel i can move to Master finally, but am still scared of torment.
This experience boost is making things super easy. I just hit level 30 and I'm at the beginning of Act II. Thinking of kicking it up to Expert. I'm gonna try to get to 60 and start accumulating some hardcore paragon levels before the expansion is out.
Saw a guy at 400 something Paragon o.O Was just abusing the pools of experience keep running till he finds them and cursed chest runs.
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/eXawSt-1515/hero/40853373
Wizard is LOADS more fun now. Frozen orb is back mothafuckas!
not out till the 25th. though all the in game promotion for upgrading to the new expansion makes it look like it's already out.
i guess you could have tried it if you'd gotten into the beta though.
Also, wizards... TRY THE NEW WAVE OF FORCE!!!!!! holy crap. its what frost nova should be! so much better now!
I have to hand it to Blizzard, they really care about their players. I thought maybe they turned into a greedy evil company because D3 originally felt like a cashgrab but they really went back and fixed EVERYTHING. They just secured my purchase of the expansion for sure.
I really like playing on expert, it requires you to pay a lot more attention. Level 30 on expert is the start of act 2, I think on normal you end up at level 30 after beating the game once. Also you spend more time on Act 1 but it feels like you level up faster, you get to enjoy the map more.
not sure if you are aware of the 50% bonus xp they have going right now, huge help with leveling
My HC Wiz on expert is 46 at the start of Act 3 with the buff.
Anyway, if anybody has also found these legendary plans, is the resulting item any good? This seems like a pretty cool feature they added.
Legendary & set item BS plans have been in since launch, but they actually drop now at a rate that normal humans would see, and not just for the extraordinarily lucky players, or purchased for $ on the AH.
You just have to open the Blacksmith, and rclick the book to learn it.
Crafting has been crucial for me while leveling, every few levels would stop in there and craft new stuff and have some sweet gear. Lets you fill in gaps and try to roll sockets or better stats. Found a set item and outfitted my wizard:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/moose-1283/hero/41188119
I found a legendary belt pattern ages ago that I always make when im level 30. IMO they're more useful in hardcore than not, chance are you'll level more times than in normal. The one legendary Axe plan i found isn't spectacular, but makes a good enough item to use for a handful of levels.
ive been playing so damn much. found some sweet gear too. Last night, I was key farming, and decided ok, Ill go test my luck on the act 3 KW before I go to bed. Saw the star pop up on my map so I thought yay, key! then a second later, a nice bright green beam in the center of my screen. Tal rasha's chest piece! woooot!
Love the changes so far. Who knows how many hrs i put into this already with my brother. playing torment 2 or 3 is so hectic and so much fun
I'm sure the drop code is something like increase likely hood of legendary drop if you don't have one that fits your current level range and you haven't gotten one in a while.