Diablo III 1.05 Patch - 2 weeks in

So its been a couple weeks since the latest Diablo Patch has come out, and having spent a decent amount of time within the various monster power levels, here are my thoughts on the latest changes & additions.

Updates to Existing Events.

So a few patches ago, they disabled the effect that a player's magic find stat had on chests, so 99% of the time, the big glowing chest was just a huge sign of disappointment for the players.  In this latest patch, they took a step back, and now a player's magic find stat does have an affect on what comes out of the chest, plus it becomes affected when a player has five nephalim valor stacks.  Another nice thing that Blizzard has added is that these chests count as a valor stack, so if you have three, opening the chest will give you the fourth stack.  If you are at five stack, it will reset the countdown timer.

In addition to the changes to the resplendent chests, the random side events have also been reworked with a similar mechanic.  Completing these side quests will now grant a valor stack, and they now all end with a unique monster.  I am unsure if the valor stacks affect the quality of drops from these unique monsters, but from what I have experienced, its been a mixed bag of a bunch of blue items, to getting a legendary item from another.

Diablo 3 - moving forward

So after a few hundred hours in Diablo 3, I’ve begin to think about what I’d like to see added.

Here are some of the things I’d like to see added and/or change to Diablo 3.

More Items, More legendary items, More variation in artwork.

Currently for rare items, there’s only one set of artwork for each character at a given item level.  I would like to at least see all types of items available at i63.  Example: 2H crossbow -The stat between the two items maybe similar, but one could look like the current hellion crossbow, but another could look like a stonebow.  So at least they look different visually.

I’d also want to see a much wider varity of items and legendary items mixed in the pool.  Currently, there’s only one really desirable 2H crossbow.  I’d like to see more added to the mix so not all top tier demon hunters are using the same manticore or windforce.

I would also like to be able to dye all armor to any color I want.  This will also help add to player customization.  Maybe for the demon hunter’s cloak, the player’s banner would show up as a pattern, and it would apply to shields as well?

Guild Wars 2 intial impressions

Let me first preface this post by saying that this is the first MMO game I have ever played.  So most of this post will be from a "noob" perspective.  There are a few reasons I decided to check this game out, first was because I kinda got into Skyrim, and figured that a multi-player co-op version of this would be interesting, and a couple of my good gaming friends were going to get the game, so I figure it would help ease the learning curve a bit.  I also liked the competitive aspect of the game, the whole server vs server vs server, or as they call it WvWvW.  Last, and most important reason is because Guild Wars 2 does not have a monthly subscription fee really drove me to give this gaming genre a try. 

Diablo 3 - 1.04 patch preview thoughts

So the developers at Blizzard just released more details of what the next patch to Diablo 3 will include.  This time around, there's a new mechanic added to the game, as well as some wholesale changes to many things that are already in the game.  Here are some of my thoughts about the changes. 

Diablo 3 - some thoughts, tips and tricks after 60-ish days

So, its been just a bit over two months since the games release, and so far I've gotten three of the give classes to Level 60.  So here's a quick update on what I've been doing in the game.

I started out with a Barbarian, but once I hit 60, and tried to play a bit of Act 1 Inferno.  I quickly realized that I was not geared enough for that level, but instead of grinding it out, I decided to switch to a ranged character.  So I decided on switching to a Wizard, since at the time, we didn't have a high level wizard in the group.

Trying to get to level 60 on your first character is the hardest by far.  The nice thing with Diablo 3 is now your chest stash is shared, along with your gold.  So on your second character, you should have a decent amount of gold, which will allow you to buy items to keep up your gear.  Playing the game naturally (i.e. without dipping into the auction house or have friends give you gear along the way) means that you'll never really have gear that is the same level as your character till you reach far into Inferno difficulty.  As a result, I was able to get my wizard to 60 relatively quick.  Also, I began to use a ruby in the helmet more to get the percentage bonus for experience points to further speed up this process.  It also helped that as I played, I tried to keep decent items that I found on the way that I figure would be useful for other classes.  This and a couple visits to the auction house really helps speed the game up.

Diablo 3 - review

So, I figure I would hold off on this review till I had a decent amount of time into the game. 

  

It has been a number of years since I have played any Diablo games.  It has been so long since I clicked endlessly for hours, killing monsters and creatures of the forces of evil.  I pre-ordered and pre-loaded the first day that Blizzard starting taking pre-orders.  Was the wait worth it?  After (and still) playing the game for quite a bit, I say yes, totally worth it.  Blizzard, once again, does not disappoint.

One thing I remember back with the previous games was my lack of interest of playing through the game multiple times.  I did not "get" the whole loot collecting aspect of the game, mostly because I played on my own, so I was never exposed to "better" items, and thus, never looked into how to get them.  I do remember trying out a second play through in Diablo 2, but didn't like how everything was significantly harder.  I was young, and did not truly appreciate it in that way.  But thanks to games like Borderlands, I've gotten the loot bug.  So that is why I've been lagging a bit on my blog and YouTube work.