My view of D3 is changing it seems...

[SnowWar]

Last night I realized my view of D3 is sadly changing.

Its not something I expected but here it is...

I have 3 toons on 60. 2 of them are in Act 3 Inferno and the other one finished Inferno a while ago and can farm Act 3 with relative ease.

In all that time of playing and farming Inferno (mostly Act 3 with MF gear) on 3 different toons I have found 4 items in total for all the toons that worked as an upgrade and that I could see would help me towards progress.
That shows to a fundamental flaw in the game and it will cause players to "burn out" at a different rate. It is my opinion, from experience that the fan boys, like me, who replied and will likely reply to this thread will just take different amounts of time and playtime to reach this point.
Surely you are not suppose to farm an Act for 3 months and not get any real useful drops while being forced to use the GAH or RMA to make progress.
On the GAH you will probly hit a brick wall when gearing in Act 3 where the actual gear you want or need to really start enjoying the game more will cost you 20mil+ per item. Unless you are a botter and/or gold farmer this is not possible for the everyday working guy.

Imo you are suppose to farm an act for a bit and get ok gear and then progress into the next act and so on until you have killed Diablo. After than it should be playing more of the endgame (which obviously D3 does not have) while hunting for your perfect rolls and BIS gear.
The game is totally and fully dependent on the AH's and there is next to no feeling of reward to farming & playing the game in the long run and I think eventually most people will realize this and get bored, burnt out. So what now? Farm the AH as its much less depressing?

At the end of the day Diablo 3 is a game and the main reason we play games is for the fun and enjoyment of it right?

Not sure what to do atm. Maybe just play less or take a little break and hope things get sorted out or changed (I'm sure it will, but it might take a year or more)

Anyone else feel or starting to feel this way?

[Archer]

I call shotgun on your items
Meh, sometimes I feel that way, and then I see the icon on my desktop and its all gogogogogo again But I also like the theorycrafting (keeps me busy at work) and then I'm all excited to try it out later. Looking only at items, ya, had a dry week, but not too phased. D2 was the same essentially, looking for gear forever, upgrades come thin and slow (but your skills levelled so its hard to compare). But it does sap a bit of the fun out of it when it looks like you are never upgrading

[Devill]

Well I have only started Inferno on my Wiz and I have now started leveling a monk (lvl21) and a DH (lvl32).

I must say that I do not play a lot at all. 6-8 hours a week maximum and thus I think the game might "last" me longer.

I will take a break sooner rather than later hwever and wait for a big patch or the exp.

[PhreeMe]

Force is I watched his vid last night with some dismay, as those who seemed most amped about the game, are slowly fading. I will probably keep playing, as I choose not to dabble in the AH. Thus my gear is reliant on actual drops on a run either from the friends I play with, or an item I find.

The AH seems to have been the choke point for a LOT of people though. I can understand why Blizz felt it necessary to incorporate the AH into the game, with all the scammers that profited off of peoples lack of time/desire to play for items, but IMO it was poorly implemented. I could go into detail about my feelings on it, but it's the 'point' I'm really trying to get across. TBH, Blizz also highlighted the logic of SOME people who use the AH saying, people who use the AH should not expect to find upgrades readily or easily as you're effectively bypassing the natural progression of items that drop. Again, this is not the case with everyone, but it does apply. What does annoy me are the stats on items. An ilvl 62 weapon with 250 base damage?? Spare me!! What are you expected to do with that exactly?? Eat your dinner with it? It might not even have the required dps to cut through the flesh of the meat you're trying to eat.....

On your point of feeling tired, I've already had a few of those 'times', but it seems to depend on me rather than the game. About 3 weeks ago, I logged in, couldn't bare playing with my Barb anymore, went to the character select screen, flipped between the DH and Wiz I'd been playing with, selected the wiz, then exited the game. There have been days where doing an Inferno run equated to having teeth extracted with no anaesthetic, but once I start, all was well again. As things stand now, I'm still ok. I've probably got 260+hrs played between my characters and will progress as item drops allow me (can't do Act 2 yet).

What's really keeping me going is my determination to make the build I want to use, work. That and the items I need to find in order to make it work as well

[copacetic]

Haven't played it, after following the forums, I've lost most of my desire to even bother. And this is coming from a DII FREAK.

I might give it a bash when and if an expansion comes out...

[SnowWar]

Ye look it was fine taking my 1st toon through Inferno and killing Diablo and my 2nd & 3rd through Act 1 & 2. Those you can do with relative low expenses but its really a big difference in Act 3+

@Archer Yes and No regarding D2. I played D1 & D2 an insane amount of time and while gear was hard to come by it was not impossible to play and progress with the gear you farm. You actually picked up things that was useful and you where not forced to trade or buy things from sites to play the game. Those was options if you wanted to collect the awesome sets or BIS items.

D2 you could do and finish playing solo or with a friend or 2 while using the gear you guys picked up. In D3 that is 100% impossible and then add the fact that there is no endgame or way to try and keep ppl playing except getting better gear... But then again you will never get that gear unless you FARM gold in some way or use real money to buy it.
I was quite positive that 1.0.3 would fix this to some extent but I can tell you from farming Act 3 before and after the patch that at the end of the day it was a big nerf to gear drops. Yes you are seeing more yellows and maybe more 63's in earlier acts (defo not in Act 3) but the chance of a decent item dropping is an insane amount smaller.

I've always been very positive about the game and posted in reply to ppl moaning and dissing D3 but at some point one has to realize and accept that the guys currently at Blizzard just are so inferior to the good old Blizzard North guys.

I'm still sitting here hoping for the best, but I just do not atm see a bright light at the end of the tunnel and that makes me sad.

[PhreeMe]

Haven't played it, after following the forums, I've lost most of my desire to even bother. And this is coming from a DII FREAK.

I might give it a bash when and if an expansion comes out...

Possibly wait for Patch 1.1. I think the game will seem some new life when PvP is introduced, as long as it's not rushed in...

[jprheeder]

My brother asked me yesterday what the point was of playing diablo as its all about getting the items, so once you've gotten them, then what?

IMO it's the journey to get to that end game that should be fun, like archer said, the theory crafting, thinking how you can improve your hero, discuss build ideas with friends etc. Don't take it so seriously that it makes you rage, afterall, it's just a game. Help your mates to get to the level that you're at, and then rip through A3&4 with them the co-op aspect is what will keep the game going.

Everyone is struggling to find those imba drops, but when it does happen it's all the sweeter. If you were to improve the droprate of those items, then it would be meh :/ as we would all be rolling with leet gear, and it wouldnt be an achievement to get to that point.

Pvp should be something that extends that "burnout rate", as will the expansions etc, but as it currently stands, Ive put in a little over 200 hours of play, which means so far it's cost me around R2.5 an hour, and I have yet to reach that burnout, which, for me is ok I guess.

The only bugbear i have is the stability of the servers. At this point it is just not acceptable to have the ah go down as frequently as it currently does.

[jprheeder]

I was quite positive that 1.0.3 would fix this to some extent but I can tell you from farming Act 3 before and after the patch that at the end of the day it was a big nerf to gear drops. Yes you are seeing more yellows and maybe more 63's in earlier acts (defo not in Act 3) but the chance of a decent item dropping is an insane amount smaller.

Are there patch notes that have been released by Blizz stating that they have lowered the quality of drops? Or is that statement just from your experience? All I've seen from them post 1.0.3 is that they have upped the droprates substantially?

[Crowley]

(but your skills levelled

I think putting a level cap on the game ruined it for lots of people. Running act 1 of inferno for upgrades for weeks on end with nothing to show for it has sapped all the energy I have for D3.

[*SynergyX*]

my theory is in order for the RMAH to actually be profitable for Blizzard and everyone else -- gear drops have to be extremely rare. To the point where some people may be frustrated enough to actaully buy some decent gear to progress, hence keeping the economy going...isnt that what its about after all for the developers $$$$

[Arzy]

We recognize that the item hunt is just not enough for a long-term sustainable end-game. There are still tons of people playing every day and week, and playing a lot, but eventually they're going to run out of stuff to do (if they haven't already). Killing enemies and finding items is a lot of fun, and we think we have a lot of the systems surrounding that right, or at least on the right path with a few corrections and tweaks. But honestly Diablo III is not World of Warcraft. We aren't going to be able to pump out tons of new systems and content every couple months. There needs to be something else that keeps people engaged, and we know it's not there right now.

We're working toward 1.0.4, which we're really trying to pack with as many fixes and changes we can to help you guys out (and we'll have a bunch of articles posted with all the details as we get closer), and we're of course working on 1.1 with PvP arenas. I think both those patches will do a lot to give people things to do, and get them excited about playing, but they're not going to be a real end-game solution, at least not what we would expect out of a proper end-game. We have some ideas for progression systems, but honestly it's a huge feature if we want to try to do it right, and not something we could envision being possible until well after 1.1 which it itself still a ways out.

Even Bashiok is admitting the game lacks end-game content...

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/diablo-iii/1225315p1.html
http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Bli...ash-44277.html

Oh and just for interest sake, the drop off in players:

The Xfire stats for Diablo III as of June 24th shows the numbers down by more than half since May 24th

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Dia...-Up-44005.html

[Devill]

Well, I am waiting for GW2 and Torchlight II as well, so I can safely let D3 stand on the game graveyard till it is "re-released" with an exp.

[jprheeder]

my theory is in order for the RMAH to actually be profitable for Blizzard and everyone else -- gear drops have to be extremely rare. To the point where some people may be frustrated enough to actaully buy some decent gear to progress, hence keeping the economy going...isnt that what its about after all for the developers $$$$

Yep. and to tie this to what Crowley said regarding level caps, Now that we hit 60, everyone is going to be trading for those items, then when it dies down, release a patch, 63 items you've payed through your ass for become junk, and then lvl 83 (or w/e) items become the best. Everyone makes RMAH trades for those, and so it goes on. With WOW developers taking the lead on D3 it was always going to be a case of how much cash can we suck from that cow.

Torchlight II

+1!!

[SnowWar]

@jprheeder Yes they have upped the drop rates but they have massively nerfed the quality of the drops. This is from my experience and opinion as I have been farming Act 3 for quite some time before and after the patch. You also see post retarding that on US & EU forums regularly.

Also regarding the drops. The fact remains that it is impossible to play and enjoy the game fully or finish inferno or do Act 3 without making extensive use of the AH's. I'm not saying awesome gear and BIS items should drop like flies for everyone. Those should be rare and hard to find, but you should be able to, with some moderate amount of farming, progress and continue playing without being forced to use the AH.

And as you say "it's the journey that is important". That's another problem as there is no endgame...

@Crowley Agreed

Note that I do not like the way I'm feeling atm regarding D3, the sad part is I know in time you all will start feeling this way... (unless they make some drastic changes)
I know this because I was saying the same things you are saying now to other people a while ago