 | Changes to group dynamics - next steps?(1) | Category: PTR FeedbackJune-29-2016 5:30 AM PDT (8 years ago)  |
| Like so many others, I'm thrilled to hear all the changes coming to the "meta" this patch. While the thread was titled changes with regard to group dynamics, I think those changes also affect the game overall - not just in terms of groups, but also the general playstyle both in groups and solo. I hope this is not just an exception, but represents a turning point in game design, where just increasing 9 out of 10 numbers if one is too high isn't the only option. This development has driven us to a point where having a set (that usually gives around a 2000% increased damage bonus) is the difference between T1 and T7. Just adding that sixth item to your build should not enable you to leapfrog half of the entire difficulty scale; it makes you feel like you cheated your way through the RPG-like character progression you expect in a game like Diablo. But anyways, enough rambling, I'll sketch out my thoughts on the upcoming changes, issues that I think should be tackled next (especially in conjunction with the upcoming changes), and what else could be done to further improve the game. RE: Problem/change 1 - party buffs are too powerful and will be reduced. That is a great change. Further in the post it is argued that this will also "nerf" some solo builds and not only group dynamics, and the datamined information gives away that while many spells are changed from buffing group damage to buffing only a player's damage, the numbers are also changed (mostly from 20% to 15%). There's already an outcry (especially on Reddit) from solo players, but I'd like to remind everyone - players and developers alike - that those simple buff spells aren't good for the game. As someone who passionately played wizard in all of D3V, I vividly remember how there were three fixed spells on every player's bar: Familiar - Sparkflint, Magic Weapon - Force Weapon, and Energy Armor (with Pinpoint Barrier as offensive choice). Those three buttons were pressed every 10 minutes, and then left alone. It led to a very boring playstyle where you would at most use 3, maybe only 1-2 buttons on your bar (especially for the popular perma Archon build). The feedback was unanimous: Please remove those boring buffs and give us alternatives; especially, utility spells. While the buffs weren't removed, the other runes became more interesting features, and a new spell was introduced in RoS (Black Hole). Therefore, in addition to this change, here's how the development could take it a few steps further:
| ||
 | Changes to group dynamics - next steps?(13) | June-29-2016 1:56 PM PDT (8 years ago) |
| Hey Bagstone! I just wanted to take a moment to say this is an awesomely written, well-thought out example of feedback. Definitely passing it on, and while I can't promise anything, I wanted you (and the community) to know how much we value such well-constructed posts. We appreciate your analytic and detailed perspective. As a somewhat related aside, we just don't have time to comment on every thread. Simply put, there's a TON of feedback to go through and a whole lot more of you than there are us! While we can always improve our communication, responding to everything just isn't feasible. So when we get a bit quiet, rest assured it's because we've got our collective noses to the grinder, not that we aren't listening or reading. | ||
