So I am Buying Diablo III

[guest509]

  My gaming group is starting to play it, and I am left out. For some reason I am feeling shame for buying it. Like I'm supporting what is negative about gaming, but I think I should be less snobby.

  Games can fit certain nitches. For playing with friends I think Diablo 3 is a fantastic game. If I were to buy it just to play solo I'd be disappointed.

  Any of you guys get sucked in?

[Tuplis]

I bought it when it launched. Frankly for me it was a huge disappointment, althought in hindsight I can't say I knew what to even expect from the game. The biggest disappointment was the fact that the servers were constantly down. Also, I didn't like that you basically have to visit the auction house constantly if you want to advance quickly. Your own drops are typically so bad that you can double your health, damage, everything, by buying cheap-ass items off the AH. I think the money AH is up and running already but I haven't played it for a while now so I wouldn't know. If I could get even half of my money back, I'd let go of the game immediately.

[Snargleplax]

I got it on launch too, played intensely for a couple weeks as I tried out several characters and picked one to start hardcore with.  Got a barbarian to level 37 or something and bit it in Act I Nightmare.  Didn't feel like playing anymore after that.  I think I might have been a little relieved.

They've done a great job of polishing up the formula; personally I find it's a formula I've mostly outgrown, though I'm not unable to enjoy it.  I think even those who dislike and disparage the franchise should pay attention to the design refinements if they care about understanding evolution in game design.  The streamlining between D2 and D3 is strongly evident, and shows a good instinct for finding the game in the game and cutting out the rest.

[Tuplis]

They've done a great job of polishing up the formula; personally I find it's a formula I've mostly outgrown, though I'm not unable to enjoy it.  I think even those who dislike and disparage the franchise should pay attention to the design refinements if they care about understanding evolution in game design.  The streamlining between D2 and D3 is strongly evident, and shows a good instinct for finding the game in the game and cutting out the rest.

It was fun enough at the start but eventually I got bored, especially when fighting is more about running around and less about piling dead monsters. I do agree that it's very streamlined and that the careful game design was a good thing. I think my issue is also that I've outgrown it because as much as the game is streamlined and shows improved gameplay design, it seems to me like something is missing. I've come to believe that 'something' is probably what I should have brought with me. But then again, the  two issues I pointed out really do eat away. I spent much of the time from about lv 10-40 browsing the auction house because at those levels, you can find insane gear at very low prices. Even so, I definitely cleared normal and nightmare faster than I would have without doing that chore.

[guest509]

  I'll be playing with a group. Probably won't bother playing solo much except to maybe catch up to my buddies.

[loom_weaver]

My biggest disappointments with Diablo III is the skill system which basically allows creating any spec at any time i.e. there isn't much of a point to creating more than one character of each class.

I'm pretty surprised they did this because considering the amount of time people spent creating and testing various builds in Diablo 2 you'd think Blizzard would want people to play more.

A lesser but related nitpick is removing the assignment of attribute points (e.g. str, dex, vit, etc.).

[edit] Another thing I miss are some of the bad-ass monsters in Diablo 2.  Remember Bremm Sparkfist, Duriel, and the oblivion knights?  Nothing remotely as difficult in this iteration (until Inferno I suppose).

Overall a nicely polished game but gets kind of boring once you complete a difficulty level.

[getter77]

Managed to avoid it, from Youtube researching, eh....looks to be more hassle than otherwise and foolish decisions.

Try to steer your gaming group towards Path of Exile perhaps instead if folks start to get worn---more novel notions afoot.

http://www.pathofexile.com/

[guest509]

  Unfortunately my friends are in to big budget bullshit titles only.

  Indie games are what I play solo. My friends have no interest.

[st33d]

The story is utter shite, lag is unforgivable in single player and whilst I could replay Diablo 2 (I really enjoyed making a death-ball-army with the Necromancer) I can't replay Diablo 3. I've unlocked the optimal way to play the character I've got and the rest of the characters I find boring. The other difficulty modes are a chore because you've already seen all your character's skills before you get to it, unlike Diablo 2.

However, I had a blast in multiplayer on launch week and enjoyed killing Diablo. I'm more disappointed with it because of my expectations really.

I'd recommend it as a fun game, but not life changing, and not replayable.