Beta Review From a Gamer

[Adiktuz]

I went for a bow build...

Originally Posted by Dr Super Good

Then again this build is very weak due to poor teleport (amazon has the slowest cast rate) and the need to run attack rating rolls (so you can miss).

that's why you play with friends...

anyway, if at least the skill build could be highly variable then that would be fine... though I think the predestined stat system would have an effect on how you choose your skills which might limit the variance on the skill builds of players...

[Dr Super Good]

You have friends so that you can obliterate baal's minions in 1-2 seconds every wave and also to handle elemental immunities. I always played a different elemental sorcress from my brother for this reason (eg he was cold and I was fire in the last ladder we played).

[Adiktuz]

Originally Posted by Dr Super Good

You have friends so that you can obliterate baal's minions in 1-2 seconds every wave and also to handle elemental immunities. I always played a different elemental sorcress from my brother for this reason (eg he was cold and I was fire in the last ladder we played).

well, we all have our own different methods of playing trough a game... and by the looks of it you and your friends have a totally different gamestyle than me and my friends...

Originally Posted by Adiktuz

anyway, if at least the skill build could be highly variable then that would be fine... though I think the predestined stat system would have an effect on how you choose your skills which might limit the variance on the skill builds of players...

but I think we need to see the official release to have a better judgement... I'm still looking forward to playing this game...

[Glorn2]

I would like to point out that this is NOT diablo 2. Stop comparing it to diablo 2. It isnt like they took D2 and said "lets move that exact thing over to here with new graphics" (sc2)

The mechanics will be different; to bring up and compare stat allocation and build types from Diablo 2 is stupid; especially taking into account the difference in what stats do, the amount of stats you get from items, and the fact that blizzard announced there will be no monsters immune to types of damage.

[Adiktuz]

there will be no monsters immune to types of damage.

--> awesome...

and I think its pretty normal that people would compare it to D2 since it is D3 and D2 is its predecessor... so its pretty normal that people would look forward on how the game changed from its predecessor and how it picks up the story...

and its just comparison, I never said that they should copy what D2 used (not to say that stat allocation is present in a lot of games so its not really D2 specific, the topic just went around D2 since D2 was the predecessor of this game)...

[Dr Super Good]

I am mixed about monster immunities. Although I hated immune monsters, I will also be sad if there are atleast no resistant monsters (which take very little damage but are not immune).

A frost yeti should not be immune to cold damage but should take very little damage from cold. This would add some stratergy to the game (so a team of all cold sorcresses would still have problem compared to a more ballenced team).

[Adiktuz]

Originally Posted by Dr Super Good

Although I hated immune monsters, I will also be sad if there are no resistant monsters (so basicly all attack types are the same).

let's hope that they won't...

[Glorn2]

Originally Posted by Dr Super Good

I am mixed about monster immunities. Although I hated immune monsters, I will also be sad if there are atleast no resistant monsters (which take very little damage but are not immune).

A frost yeti should not be immune to cold damage but should take very little damage from cold. This would add some stratergy to the game (so a team of all cold sorcresses would still have problem compared to a more ballenced team).

There will still be highly immune monsters. I might be pulling this number out of the air, and I might have read it somewhere (I stopped following Diablo 3 a couple months ago) but I think 80% was going to be max immunity. I am sure that number can change, and I may not have gotten it from an official blue post. I do know that there will me highly resistant monsters though; just nothing completely immune.

What I dont get though, is how they would do the immunities. All of the classes deal different types of damage; other than the wizard, I am not sure if there is fire/light/ice damage at all. There is holy damage on the monk. Corruption/poison on the witch doctor; the barb, idk. All of their damages are based on their current weapon damage too; unlike many abilities in D2. there isnt a fireball that deals 20 damage, and increases with level. It is a fireball that deals 120% of your weapon damage per attack.

^^Because of that, as long as you have more than 1 type of damage in your list of abilities, I think immune monsters will be a joke anyways. You can use your lightning all game, run into a lightning resistant monster, switch to fireball and deal just as much damage as you did with lightning. This is one of the many reasons I dont like the way the ability system is made; no class will really have a weakness.

[Dr Super Good]

When you are dealing enough damage to instantly blow appart normal and nm bosses, I would expect it to deal atleast some damage to even a being made purly of the element.

It is there to reduce annyoance, as characters like the barb have very little non-physical damage options.

[Adiktuz]

During DII: barb's little non-physical damage options + monsters immune to physical damage = useless barb... so I believe that removing complete immunity is pretty good...

Originally Posted by Dr Super Good

When you are dealing enough damage to instantly blow appart normal and nm bosses, I would expect it to deal atleast some damage to even a being made purly of the element.

agree

[Glorn2]

I think in comparison, the barb will come off just as weak though. I do not disagree at all that removing full immunity is a good thing. As I pointed out above though, all of the other classes have many different types of spell damage. You can switch out skills on the spot; and it isnt the same as trying to use a level 1 chain light rather than your level 33 fireball. It is like trading out your level 33 fire ball which you really like, for a level 33 chain light that will still kill the highly fire resistant guy just as fast as your fireball would kill something with no immunity.

Barbs, really only having their physical damage, will be the only class that cannot do that. Making them the only class that really has to worry at all about damage resistant monsters.

[Maker]

Wasn't there some affix on items that had a chance to break immunities? I vaguely remember using swords on swap slots with 5% chance to proc some curse that enabled my barb to kill physical immune monsters in hell difficulty.

[Dr Super Good]

Wasn't there some affix on items that had a chance to break immunities? I vaguely remember using swords on swap slots with 5% chance to proc some curse that enabled my barb to kill physical immune monsters in hell difficulty.

It is called "Amplify Damage" and is a Necromancer curse. The problem is that it does not break all immunities and also does not stack with "Life Tap", another necromancer curse which gave you a stupid quantity of life steal for even moves like smite which do not run normal life steal.

Barbarian in D3 is far from weak. Almost all its skills deal 100% or more of weapon damage at no cost (infact they generate furry) and has many passives and skills that allow you to deal even more damage. Unlike Diablo II where weapon based damage was usless compared to synergised skills, all damage in Diablo III is weapon based so its damage output is atleast on-par with every other class.

I would also like to remind you the Barbarian can summon the Ancients to help in combat. For those of you who are not aware, these are the 3 Ancients you had to fight in Act 5 of Diablo II LoD which were made of pain on Hell difficulty due to their near total immunities and relentless attacks.