Crono

I used to scoff at the idea of playing hardcore mode in Diablo 2. I just didn't get it at the time. After years of playing Diablo 2 I decided "Eh I'm pretty good, I'll try this out" so I played Hardcore. This was before all the bots would clear everything for you btw.

I had no friends who played HC so I didn't have anyone to rush me and nothing to barter with people who could rush... plus trust is always an issue in HC mode. So I leveled myself all the way to Act 5 hell as a shapeshifting Druid. I was level 78 and it was really stressful but a lot of fun.

I was doing a Bloody Foothill run (it was the style at the time... and I wanted to level quite a bit more before trying Baal) and during one of the runs we had a sorc in our group. Well we're all there fighting and next thing you know we're all dead. The Sorc TPPK all of us. It was really infuriating and I honestly had never (and never since) been so distraught over losing a character in a game. I didn't touch D2 for a week, whereas before all this I had played just about every night. After a week I reflected and realized that it's the journey - not the destination - that makes HC so fun. After that I only played HC and, with minor irony, that's what kept the game alive for me. I couldn't go back to softcore, it just wasn't the same. So I will definitely be playing hardcore once Diablo 3 launches. I know I will die and lose all my items and progress but that challenge of seeing how far you can go is too addictive. I wouldn't want to play the game any other way.

@Scrawnto said:

@gamefreak9 said:

@alanm26v5 said:

Oh man forgot about my "biggest complaint" from the whole beta experience: monk thunderclap teleport rune, maybe it was just me or maybe my graphics were messed up. To me there were zero animation cues and it felt really jarring to the point of slight motion sickness when it went off. It felt really out of place considering the rest of the detail to animation given elsewhere.

Here's an example video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi9YwEHinRU

yeah that does look janky though an animation would slow it down... I guess they could add some colors or something

I noticed that as well. I don't think they would need to add an animation. They could just have the camera "slide" to recenter on the monk where he ended up, rather than instantly jumping along with the monk.

Yeah I really liked using this skill a lot but I noticed a distinct lack of an animation as well and it bothered me too. I think they could definitely clean this skill up some and add something to cue it better. The first time I used the skill I thought I just got a lag spike. Anyway, I think one thing they could do would be to leave a ghost of your hero behind that just fades away shortly after using the skill... like you're so fast that it looks like you're in 2 places at once. I think that idea gels well with the way they have crafted the Monk.

Brad or Jeff.

Both 5 stars.

Yeah in all actuality, Diablo 3's skill system makes it seems like Diablo 2 had no customization... mostly because with Diablo 2 there was only the "illusion of choice" because if you didn't use proven builds that were proven to be viable and/or optimal using spreadsheets then you would have a rough time in Hell difficulty. You couldn't just play around with skills and use the ones you thought were most fun because in the long run that build most likely wouldn't be viable. In Diablo 3 you can experiment without needing to research a builds viability and there are so many combinations that you'll never run out of options. You can make a melee wizard if you want, an AOE barbarian, or a pet-less witch doctor... etc etc. So there is a lot more build diversity and given all of the combinations it will be a lot more difficult to argue that X, Y, or Z build is the most optimal build.

Overall Diablo 3 looks amazing and I can't wait to play it in less than 11 and a half days! :D

The news here for me is that G4 still exists

@yoshimitz707 said:

Is it bad I already know how to say every dragon shout?

Slightly, but it would be really bad if you knew the translations off-hand.

@pwnmachine said:

@Crono:

I believe the refund is less shipping...and you have to ship it back on your own.

Not if you tell them the game "didn't work" instead!

It was probably nothing but you should go out there and check for yourself.

Who needs gamefly when a subscription to Amazon's Games is $0

I don't even know what to think or feel!