I noticed a vast improvement in latency on the Americas server so I decided to continue playing my Barbarian there.
There was a big patch a while back, Patch 2.0 which upgraded the game and has in fact changed the log in screen to "Reaper of Souls". It came with an adjusted loot system (which is awesome), additions to the game like "Pools of Reflection" which allowed you to level up faster. But it wasn't until March 25 did the expansion "Reaper of Souls" was finally activated.
It comes with a new act, Act V, raising the level cap to 70, allowing more powerful items into the game.
Before the launch, I made it to Act 1 of Torment 3, Paragon Level 74. Torment 1 didn't seem all that hard, and the only thing that made Torment 2 slightly more difficult was that it took such a long time to kill monsters.
I thought I'd start over the game on Torment 2 after the launch, and just level up my character from there. What I noticed was the game had suddenly become more difficult, much more difficult than Torment 2 was before the launch. That's probably because the monsters are now leveling up the same time as me. Now that I'm up to Level 65, the monsters have leveled up to 65 as well. In fact, it's become so difficult that I've lowered the difficulty to Torment 1 and the monsters...just mobs and not even elites are STILL KICKING MY ASS. Holy crap. They seem to have a much higher damage this time around.
The joy in all this is that I've started to get much more powerful items, although I've noticed I haven't gotten much legendaries as I used to. Leveling up from 60 to 65 I only got ONE legendary item, but it's a really good one and it's now my primary weapon:
Additionally, the default gem that drops now is the "Marquise" gem, which automatically made all my other gems that I've been keeping and upgrading quite useless. I don't mind though. It's levels higher than the previous default gem which was I think "Flawless". As long as it makes my items much more powerful, I won't complain!
I've yet to see Act V or encounter the new artisan. But I'll get there eventually!
Got to Level 60 Paragon 78 earlier today and got a brand spanking new legendary amulet for my troubles.
The Haunt of Vaxo summons 2 shadow clones to aid me in battle when I use Stun. Pretty handy especially in a tight spot. You just have to make sure you time your use properly.
Thus far, I haven't had that much luck in terms of new gear unlike Gerry but I've been getting better drops recently so I'm hoping I'm going to get more awesome stuff once I get to Act 3 and 4 (I'm currently playing at Torment II).
Leveling up's faster and combining gems is cheaper. Suffice to say, I'm having a blast!
I'm loving the massive new Diablo 3 patch that most recently updated the game. I had stopped playing for a while because it had gotten too difficult and it was so hard finding really awesome gear. I started playing again in anticipation of, not only this patch, but Reaper of Souls in general.
In the few days I've been playing, I've gotten so many awesome gear that I've pretty much replaced everything that was given to me by Diablo pal Jonas Diego. Just today I picked up what is probably THE BEST PANTS ever.
"When 3 or more enemies are within 12 yards, you release a vile stench that deals 305% weapon damage as POISON every second for 10 seconds to enemies within 15 yards."
The stats are nothing special, especially for my level, but you don't see a socketed legendary glove that often so I'm keeping this one for my collection (I also have a socketed pair of boots).
I'm hoping that with the right kind of jewel, the glove will make up for the drop in damage for my Barbarian character though it's probably going to have to be a marquise level gem (which is going to be insanely expensive).
Popular World of Warcraft feature, Transmogrifcation, comes into the world of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls through a new ally, Mystic Myriam Jahzia. She'll not only offer advice throughout your hellish adventuring but will also offer Enchanting and Transmogrification.
Transmogrification will allow you to change and customize the appearance of your gear to look like other items that you've found. According to Blizzard, all items with a visual appearance are planned to be available for Transmogrification, including Legendary and Set items.
Now that's something you don't see everyday (for me at least): a legendary item with two (2) sockets!
The item was found by my Barbarian earlier during a farming escapade (I'm trying to earn enough money to combine my lesser sparkling rocks into higher level gems) but I'm pretty sure my Demon Hunter character will be very happy to see this baby. Very happy indeed!
After my first post here, some people asked me alot of questions regarding the console version of Diablo III. One of the biggest was, how was it different from the PC version. Well here's a breakdown of the key differences between the 2 versions. WARNING: Long post ahead.
No Real Money/Gold Auction House
One of the most controversial features of the PC version; the Real Money Auction House (RMAH), is not present on the console version of Diablo III. For most old-school Diablo fans (like myself), this brings back the core Diablo experience of finding awesome loot in-game, NOT in auction houses. Another positive thing about the lack of RMAH is...
You can play Completely Offline
Yes you read that right. You can play the game OFFLINE. A side-effect of removing the Auction House, was removal of any need for any online verification to play the game. Thus Blizzard was able to make the most requested feature of alot of Diablo fans a reality. No more logins. No more "Error 37". No more need for Internet connection to be able to play the game... ever! Just pop in the disc, and you can start slaying the denizens of hell to your heart's content.
Yes, Blizzard fine tuned the loot, and made it awesome again. The picture above just show how amazing loots are now in the console version. It actually reminds me of Diablo II (particularly patch 1.10-onwards) where the loot is so rewarding (and addicting) that it keeps you hooked in finding more evil things to slay. It captures the very core of the Diablo experience. The best news is, loots are now custom tailored to drop a higher percentage of items that are suited to whatever class you're playing as. In my personal experience, I have actually gotten my fair share of awesome Legendary items. Here's some of what my Demon Hunter found in-game, when I was just starting out at Normal Mode.
If this is but a taste of what "Loot 2.0" will be for the PC version, I'm all for it!
Reworked Boss Fights
Some of the Boss fights in the console version of Diablo III, has been retweaked. They are either given new abilities, new attack patterns, new dialogue, and even new view angles (as seen on top with the Belial boss fight, which looks more epic than ever before) which gives the game a fresh new look and feel, even if you've played the game before on your PC.
A completely new way of playing... using a Gamepad
Mouse + keyboard controls are NOT supported on the console version of Diablo III. Instead, the game is controlled using a gamepad. And after spending much time playing it this way, I actually prefer this method than the mouse + keyboard config. Now, before you raise your pitchforks and claim "sacrilege", I suggest you give it a try first. It feels as if you have a much more direct control over your character than using mouse + keyboard. Yes you will lose the precision of directly targeting specific enemies from afar using this setup, BUT with the game's smart auto-targeting system and Target lock, you won't feel too frustrated dishing out punishment to the denizens of hell. Which brings me to...
The new "Evade" Button Mechanic
As I mentioned in my previous post, exclusive to the console version of Diablo III, is the new "Evade" mechanic. It is an indispensible ability that ALL CLASSES have, which can save you from very hectic situations. It has no cooldown, no cost to use, ensures you don't get hit by monsters/incoming projectiles if timed correctly and is totally very useful throughout your adventure. You can see it in action by watching the clip above (being spoofed by Team Coco at the 1:05 mark).
Completely reworked Inventory System
This is how the Inventory system looked on the PC version:
It's got the usual, familiar look as in the previous Diablo games. Item management in your inventory is pretty much a mini-game of its own, where you try to fit in as much loot that you can, using Tetris-like skills to make everything fit. On the console version, it looks like this:
It may be a stark change from the usual, since the console version of the game doesn't support mouse + keyboards. As clunky as this may look, it actually has some benefits:
All items are now organized by its item-type, making it easier to sort thru items.
If you noticed below, there's an "Inventory" limit (which says 22/60). This means you can loot as many as 60 items at a time, regardless of its size, as each item is treated as a value of 1. This means lesser trips back to town and time spent making every item fit in your bag.
It's easier to compare detailed stats between 2 items as they are placed side by side. Here's how it looks like:
There's is now a quick stat guide for those who are not into reading tons of stat effect text. This is great for new players, so that can quickly and easily see whether or not an item is better than the one they are currently holding by just looking at the quick stat guide.
Mutliple ways of Playing Multiplayer
First off, there is no cross-platform multiplayer for the console version of Diablo III. What this means is, PC gamers cannot play with PS3/Xbox360 gamers, just as PS3 gamers cannot play with Xbox 360 gamers. That being said, there is alot of different options for console gamers to play multiplayer with friends:
Offline local co-op - one of the highlights of the console version of Diablo III, is this mode. Playing with friends on a single console in the same room, is an experience that is hard to beat. No internet required (but pizza and chips are recommended).
LAN Play - if you don't want to share the screen with buddies, then you can hook up 2 PS3 via LAN cable and play multiplayer with your respective screens all to yourself (just like in the PC version).
Invite Only - if you want to play online, but you don't like random people popping in your game, then you can invite friends over to join in your game.
Friends Only - similar to "Invite Only", but in this mode, you don't need to invite friends to come play. If you set your game to this mode, you simply put up a game room online where only your friends on your friends list can see and join in at anytime while you're playing.
Open to Public - similar to "Friends Only", but in this mode you put up a game room online where everyone online can see and join in your game at anytime while you're playing.
Quick Match - in this mode, you can search for hosted online games and automatically joins you in the said game. You can set the search based its on its Difficulty level, Mode, Quest, etc.
Adjustable Difficulty modes
As I mentioned in my previous post, the console version of Diablo III allows players to adjust the difficulty to suit their tastes. Unlike the Game mode (Normal, Nightmare, Hell, Inferno), Difficulty simply adjusts a monster's health, damage and number of monsters that appear on the screen.
This is perfect for players with varying experiences with the series. If you're just new to the series (or you're a PC player who isn't used to playing using a gamepad), set it to easy. If you're a Diablo vet and you're comfortable playing with a gamepad, then set it to either Medium or Hard. All 3 difficulty modes (Easy, Medium, Hard) has no differences in terms of item drop rate and experience points bonuses, thus you can switch between difficulties with no problems.
However, if you are up to the challenge, you can set the difficulty to Master I or higher. Setting up the difficulty in this level gives bonuses similar to "Monster Power" mechanic found on the PC version, but works differently for the console version. Here's a quick guide:
Master I = +60% Magic Find, +60% Gold Find, +120% XP Bonus
Master II = +70% Magic Find, +70% Gold Find, +140% XP Bonus
Master III = +80% Magic Find, +80% Gold Find, +160% XP Bonus
Master IV = +90% Magic Find, +90% Gold Find, +180% XP Bonus
Master V = +100% Magic Find, +100% Gold Find, +200% XP Bonus
Other Notable Differences
Aside from the ones I posted above, here are some notable differences from between the console version & the PC version of Diablo III:
Paragon Levels are included in the console version. However, what's different is, Paragon Level bonuses are account wide. This means all characters under your account will receive the bonuses unlocked by a SINGLE Paragon leveled character in your account. So even new characters you create will get those bonuses as well.
Nephalem Glory globes are added in the game. These are similar to Healing globes, but they give characters a boost in stats and skills when picked up.
Stash space is much more larger than in the PC version when fully upgraded.
Crafting gems & gear now have different costs, due to the removal of the RMAH. All ingredients can be easily found in-game.
Players are now given a choice how they should be resurrected (go back to town, revive on your last checkpoint, revive on spot).
Vendors now actually sell better (useful) gear. Most of which are actually powerful rare items.
So what do you guys think? Sound off your comments below! :)
I've been farming like crazy the past few months to pass the time while waiting for Reaper of Souls (click here for more details), mainly collecting items (mostly the legendary stuff) and gold.
Most of my gold however have been spent buying stuff on the Auction House to upgrade my gear to survive on Monster Power mode (I'm currently at Monster Power 1) and creating better jewels (which takes a lot of patience especially if you're not "buying" gold and relying mostly on farming to accumulate the required amount of money and Tome of Secrets).
The better quality gems I've got, I've already embedded on my socketed gear (which can be viewed here). Below are the other sparklies waiting in my inventory.
I've started collecting strictly Legendary Items ever since they become, well...legendary.
There was a time when a Legendary Item was really no different from other stuff you found, oftentimes inferior which was a big let down to say the least since they are supposed to be awesome as the name suggests.
Those crap quickly found themselves sold in the Auction House, lemme tell you.
Thankfully, these days at least, most Legendary Items are pretty awesome though you still get the occasional lousy stuff but not quite as often as before.
I've been playing Diablo on and off for the past few weeks just waiting for Patch 1.0.4. I've written quite a lot about the things I didn't like about the game but was hopeful that they could be fixed. Original Diablo creator David Brevik went online to express the same dissatisfaction with the game. Diablo 3 lead designer Jay Wilson responded with "fuck that loser" which I found insulting, not only to David Brevik, but to everyone playing the game who felt changes were needed...including me.
Yes, I too felt personally insulted by it and I swore on Twitter that I've finally had it and I would give up this game for good. It didn't matter that Patch 1.0.4 sounded awesome.
So, even when the patch went live, I didn't play it. And almost as miraculous as a truly legendary item dropping with truly legendary stats, Jay Wilson gave a public apology days later, not only to David Brevik, but to the players as well.
Great! I revved up Diablo 3 once again and here I am playing the game post patch. Inferno is still difficult, but not ridiculously so. The "Paragon Levels" certainly gives that added incentive to continue playing. It gives the players something to play for, especially when they get drops that are disappointing.
I have noticed a change in drops that I've gotten most noticeably with the 2 hander weapons. In the few hours I've played, at least two Level 63 2-hander weapons with more than 1K DPS stat have dropped. I thought wow...but I couldn't use them as my Barbarian is a one hander.
One Legendary item has dropped for me so far...a Bracer but it had crap stats very much like a pre-1.0.4 Legendary. I put it up on the auction house and what the hell...someone bought it for 120K gold. Amazing.
Right now I'm actually on ACT 3, currently lighting fires at Bastion's Keep.
I've finally reached Level 60 on my Barbarian. I think I've gone as far as I can go with Diablo 3, at least for now. No, I've not finished Inferno. I guess I'm not really that good of a player and I can admit that without a problem.
I'll just wait for future patches before I start playing D3 again. These would be patches that would make Legendaries more, well...LEGENDARY and patches that would hopefully make the game a lot more fun to play than it already is.
I've become frustrated with the game after getting hardly any items at all while farming that I can actually use.
Click on thumbnail for a larger image.
I mean...why are you still getting 160DPS Level 60 rare weapons? What possible use can there be for that? And yet at the Auction House you see Level 60 weapons that are more than 1K DPS. I mean WTF is that?
I've been playing since this game came out, and I've never had an item drop that was more than 600DPS.
If you need to play a whole lot more to get these items, well, the game was probably designed for people who have lots of time on their hands. You know, people who don't have jobs, or maybe supported by their parents, and can afford to play all day and all night.
I can play only an hour or so a day...2 hours at the most. Is there anything in this game for me? Apparently not much after you reach Level 60.
As I said, I'm not giving up on Diablo 3 all together. I'll come back when it has something new to offer.
I've been playing the game since May 16, 2012, and in the last 2 months I think only two Legendary items have dropped for me while playing.
Legendary items in Diablo III is a curious thing in that they're not that Legendary. I think they developers have explained why these items can be such crap, compared to the more common Rare items, but their reasons, to be honest, are just idiotic.
Legendary items are supposed to be LEGENDARY. Meaning, when you get them, you freak out, gurgle a bit, convulse for a minute or so, then run round and round the room like a crazy person, just like winning the lottery.
Legendary items that are crap=NOT fun.
Legendary items that are awesome=FUN.
I think that's the only bottom line for any game of this sort. It's a game. You're supposed to have FUN. Never mind all the other reasons and statistics and probabilities and all that crap. Always always the bottom line: IT SHOULD BE FUN.
At any rate, the developers have said that they will be upgrading Legendary drops in a future patch. I certainly hope so! Because imagine my thrill upon seeing this Legendary item drop, only to find out that I couldn't use it because it was just too weak.
And look at that...I'm at Level 33, and this is a Level 26 item. I mean come on! The weapon I have at this time already has something like 70+DPS. And you give me this...41.8 DPS?
Madness.
I tried selling this thing at the Gold Auction house for cheap and nobody's buying. Figures! Who'd want this crap?
