Well this was a long time in the making but Jay Wilson finally has revealed changes that were "in the works" from way back in June of 2011. Here is the Link to the page on the D3 site.

A lot of these changes are small. The big change is in how runes are handled. They are no longer items that you pick up. They are unlocked as you progress through the game. The first one is unlocked at Level 6 and will keep unlocking all the way up to max level (60) This is a good move because most players saw level 30-60 as a dead zone. A part of the game were you got nothing new or truly important was rewarded to your character.

Expect a lot of fan site info about this new rune system due to it being in the beta.

I feel like I'll be in a minority here that actually doesn't like the big change here. The fun of just stumbling across a new unknown rune from beating monsters is now replaced with the waiting game of getting enough exp to unlock it.

I feel like I'll be in a minority here that actually doesn't like the big change here. The fun of just stumbling across a new unknown rune from beating monsters is now replaced with the waiting game of getting enough exp to unlock it.

This.

That change encourages mindless grinding instead of exploring new areas and defeating new monsters...

I play this game for the goddamn gamble of loot.

They are taking away that feeling of being in a lottery every time I fight something and replacing it with the teeth grinding of a WoW session. I'm not a fan of this one.

Also looking at that skill sheet I can't help but think of 2 triggers and 4 face buttons having an impact on design...

The more changes they make the more it seems like they're moving away from a loot centric game and making it more into a game based around its mechanics and systems. They're basically killing what made the games fun. iirc they're getting rid of trash loot too, that's messed up as trash loot has a huge impact on the feeling of a drop system. Makes those rare drops feel so much more rewarding.

Skill calculator has now been updated, interesting that the order in which runes unlock is different for each skill. Personally I'm ok with this, since the effect a single rune can have on an ability is so drastic. And while there's no indication that Blizzard will do this, giving players more freedom with their skills gives Blizzard more freedom to ramp up the difficulty on Inferno.

In terms of Diablo III being a less looty game, I'd like to remind people that there are more types of weapons, significantly more types of armor including all-new pauldron and bracer slots, and another fifteen unique item types divided evenly among all five classes. You still have gems, and on top of that you have three different types of follower gear, blacksmithing recipes, and dyes. It sounds like there's still going to be plenty of stuff to pick up.

@Doctorchimp: Maybe, but it seems like they're on the right track to make sure that you'll really be struggling to figure out what to put in those six slots because all the skills are actually going to be useful. In fact, under the current iteration of the skill system, it seems like players will be encouraged to have multiple builds for a single class depending on the encounter. I'd much rather have it this way than the way it was in Diablo II where there were only ~9 viable end-game builds with around 25 useable skills between them and not a single build that used more than 4.

@DarkDude: They're not getting rid of trash loot. In fact, they're almost adding MORE trash loot to the game by removing the ability to break down White drops for crafting components. Before, players would feel encouraged to salvage every White item they came across but now they've gotten back to the loot-pinata feel from Diablo II where a lot of what drops simply isn't worth picking up.

I don't really see how changing this will have an impact on loot gathering. Strengthening game mechanics will only make loot gathering that much more fun.

let me add to this conversation. It is still in beta and we are not game designers being paid a good deal of money to make a game that will make millions. We can say dumb things all we want but in the end I have faith that the paid professionals know what they are doing

@Morrow: I feel like with either system it still boils down to mindless grinding. Sooner or later there will be no more new monsters, there will only be acts which have the optimum drop rate of whatever armor set, weapon or runes you need. Of course with Diablo III there is no competing for loot and you also have the AH as an alternative to get what you need.

@BoG said:

I don't really see how changing this will have an impact on loot gathering. Strengthening game mechanics will only make loot gathering that much more fun.

As far as I know, the runes were originally supposed to be items with their own bonuses. They WERE part of the loot. Changing them to automatic unlocks definitely impacts loot gathering.

I like this system but I don't like the interface at all. I would have preferred the old UI but with the same system. Oh well, I think I will manage :p

I don't understand the changes to the runes system...

now it just feels like the highest level runes will always be more useful.

cookie cutter builds inc.