Diablo 3 - Reaper of Souls

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Diablo 3 - Reaper of Souls

So I've played a lot of, and own Diablo 3 but I haven't really followed the game since the "Reaper of Souls" (ROS) expansion was released.

Has anyone here played it or are currently playing it? What did you like/dislike (generally speaking)?

I'm aware they also patched in a ladder system and many more updates.

What do you think of the current state of Diablo 3 post ROS? Is it too grindy, is it fun? Is there a worth-while endgame? Is it too repetitive? I sort of want to gather your guys thoughts.

I have nothing but the highest levels of respect for Blizzard for patching the game continually and introducing more and more content to help improve the quality of life of Diablo 3, add in new things, etc. Kudos to them.

 

[Phinnway]

I played ROS for about 300 hours after it came out. I eventually burned out and got bored when I hit a progression plateau. I'd say 80% of the clan I was in no-longer play the game on a weekly bases. Personally, I still play the game every couple weeks when I want to play something repetitive. The moment-to-moment gameplay is fun, but the game just doesn't have the draw that it used to have for me.

A lot of the improvements you've heard about are really good. The revamped loot is great. They've expanded the end-game so that it actually has end-game now (although it's still mostly farming.) A lot of the changes they've made since launch are really good: ladder seasons, legendary gems, etc.


In my opinion the biggest problem with the game right now is too much reliance on meta builds. There is only one or two top tier armor sets per class, and once you have that armor set you're set for the rest of the game. They really need to give a balance pass to all the Legendary Items to bring them all around the same power level. Right now literally less than 5% of all Legendary items are waaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy better than the other 95%. They've been rebalancing 4-5 Legendary Items per season, but the process is too slow. There are over 400 Legendary Items in the game and at this rate it will take years before even half of them are decent.

Another problem I think Diablo 3 has is the end-game isn't contextualized in the story in any way. I know people don't play the game for the story, but the Diablo games have always had a really great tone to them and the end-game in D3 right now doesn't tie into that in any way. IMO they should have you hunting generals from the 7 demon lords of Hell or something. Instead you're killing bosses who are just reskinned versions of enemies already in the game.


Over all I'd say the expansions is worth the price tag for most people. I got about 400 hours out of it and I'd say I got my money's worth. It's definitely one of my favorite games I own. I just can't motivate myself to play it everyday after work like I used to.

 

[octavian123]

I played ROS for about 300 hours after it came out. I eventually burned out and got bored when I hit a progression plateau. I'd say 80% of the clan I was in no-longer play the game on a weekly bases. Personally, I still play the game every couple weeks when I want to play something repetitive. The moment-to-moment gameplay is fun, but the game just doesn't have the draw that it used to have for me.

A lot of the improvements you've heard about are really good. The revamped loot is great. They've expanded the end-game so that it actually has end-game now (although it's still mostly farming.) A lot of the changes they've made since launch are really good: ladder seasons, legendary gems, etc.


In my opinion the biggest problem with the game right now is too much reliance on meta builds. There is only one or two top tier armor sets per class, and once you have that armor set you're set for the rest of the game. They really need to give a balance pass to all the Legendary Items to bring them all around the same power level. Right now literally less than 5% of all Legendary items are waaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy better than the other 95%. They've been rebalancing 4-5 Legendary Items per season, but the process is too slow. There are over 400 Legendary Items in the game and at this rate it will take years before even half of them are decent.

Another problem I think Diablo 3 has is the end-game isn't contextualized in the story in any way. I know people don't play the game for the story, but the Diablo games have always had a really great tone to them and the end-game in D3 right now doesn't tie into that in any way. IMO they should have you hunting generals from the 7 demon lords of Hell or something. Instead you're killing bosses who are just reskinned versions of enemies already in the game.


Over all I'd say the expansions is worth the price tag for most people. I got about 400 hours out of it and I'd say I got my money's worth. It's definitely one of my favorite games I own. I just can't motivate myself to play it everyday after work like I used to.

I think it should be a combination.

There should be mini acts with self contained stories, art and new enemies that should be hard to access and should have specific requirements. I agree that we are basically playing the same game over and over. There needs to be other incentives other than "moar loot" to give the game more variety. The expansion really did wonders to the game but it needs more. ROS made D3 good, we need a final expansion to make it excellent.

 

[octavian123]

Anyone got any interesting transmogs to share? In fantasy games I generally like my armors to be realistic/plausible with just enough fantasy to keep them interesting. Diablo 3 has plenty of armor selections that fit this description among all the oversized shoulderpads and helmets (those can be fun too though)

Anyway here are my favorite ones

This is my Wizard. I like to call her the Witch.

This is why Crusader which I like to call the Knight

 

[Phinnway]

My Barbarian is my main. One of my beefs with the Barbarian skins is that they don't have enough rustic armors like wood and furs. And they really should have more skins with war paint.

And here is my Crusader. The concept for this character is basically a Blackguard.

In my opinion, some of the coolest costumes I have seen are on male Monks. People come up with some pretty creative costumes that basically look like they're anime warriors. This one is from a clan-mate.

EDIT: Put images in spoilers cuz size.

Spoiler

 

[octavian123]

Those are pretty cool. That Crusader really looks like something from Diablo 2. I find that the more I play this game the more I like it, despite it's abysmal start. I really like trying out weird builds too. I think I'm gonna try a Cheerleader Barbarian with pink transmogs (a barb with shouts only) and a melee Wizard.

I am starting to regret rolling a male Crusader. Armors tend to look stretched out on him. I understand that the game has to run even on a toaster but I think armors at least need to look higher res. Still, the game looks amazing, considering the requirements.

 

[Phinnway]

Out of curiosity, is anyone participating in the new season?

 

[RageGT]

The Fallen Heroes

Aw sh*t!
There is only one way to play Diablo
Legit/Purist in Diablo 1
Hardcore in D2 and D3
I only got my RoS 2 days ago. Same with D2 expansion when I was leading US East Hardcore Ladder. I resist to changes then I try and like them. heh

RoS brought many improvements and new loot even to regular D3, but, experimenting with RoS with a pre-RoS top equipped char resulted in... learning...
Almost made it to 70! Dammit! It was not even Torment difficulty! She was a very cool Monk with very cool Monk sets but all Pre-RoS =)
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And now it is time to bring my main char into RoS. He was built entirely after RoS release in regular D3 so he has some amazing items introduced by Ros in regular D3! Hope that's enough to bring him to 70 then start playing with some old friends that are still kicking ass in D3 HC! (one of them tried TW3 for 20 hours, loved the game but felt so alone... multiplayer has some hooks too, although I strongly suggested to him that he finishes TW3 at lease some 10 times. Totally worthy it. From a guy with 12 runs and 1550 hours into TW3, it should have some credibility)

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Damn, I really hate dying! Gotta restart asap or depression takes over and people quit the game bcs of that. I always restart immediately and make a new char better than the old one. Gotta do it with my Kit Monk as well! =)

 

[Phinnway]

I can't do hardcore 'cause I always die from lag. I just figure it isn't worth it. Although at this point someone could just power level me to 70 to 20 minutes.

 

[octavian123]

Diablo 3 is shaping up to be the game it was supposed to be but it would be really cool if there were other end-game objectives than getting better loot such as Torment-locked and other special requirements mini acts with unique art ,story and challenges . The goblin vault is similar to what I want but it's too short.

For example, it would be really cool if there was another section of the Tristram Cathedral that looks more like the one from Diablo 1. In it, it is very dark and you have a light radius.

 

[cirdanx]

Diablo 3 is shaping up to be the game it was supposed to be...

Well, in a way yes. ROS made the game a lot better. But no matter how much they add, it will never be D2. I don´t have numbers, but i would´t be surprised if there are more people playing D2 than 3 at this point. At least, this is the impression i get when i visit the old Diablo sites and forums i used to hang around when i was still doing EU Hardcore ladder runs. Good old times

D3 just suffers from so many strange and idiotic design decisions that i think it deserved all the crap it got. It just shows that the original team that made D1 and D2 (Blizzard North) knew what they were doing compared to the new guys working on it. I was kinda expecting it to be less good because of this, but what we got was terrible in my opinion. I tried to like it. I really did. Made my main a Sorc, put in a lot of hours, had a lot of alts, had to give up on HC because of server lags (seriously...wtf) but i got bored of it. Of everything, it´s a mediocre game. If you want a Diablo like experience i would suggest Path of Exile. It´s free and pretty good.

Yeah i really, really didn´t like it

 

[octavian123]

I don't know, after Torchlight and Diablo 3 I simply couldn't click on gold pieces over and over ever again.

 

[Pug.]

Well, in a way yes. ROS made the game a lot better. But no matter how much they add, it will never be D2. I don´t have numbers, but i would´t be surprised if there are more people playing D2 than 3 at this point. At least, this is the impression i get when i visit the old Diablo sites and forums i used to hang around when i was still doing EU Hardcore ladder runs. Good old times

D3 just suffers from so many strange and idiotic design decisions that i think it deserved all the crap it got. It just shows that the original team that made D1 and D2 (Blizzard North) knew what they were doing compared to the new guys working on it. I was kinda expecting it to be less good because of this, but what we got was terrible in my opinion. I tried to like it. I really did. Made my main a Sorc, put in a lot of hours, had a lot of alts, had to give up on HC because of server lags (seriously...wtf) but i got bored of it. Of everything, it´s a mediocre game. If you want a Diablo like experience i would suggest Path of Exile. It´s free and pretty good.

Yeah i really, really didn´t like it

Regardless of what Blizzard does to change and improve the game's mechanics, I just can't get over Diablo 3's cartoon aesthetic. I know it seems like a minor quibble, but it feels like I am playing WoW and not Diablo.

The cutscenes and the story just aren't up to par with the originals, either.

 

[cirdanx]

I don't know, after Torchlight and Diablo 3 I simply couldn't click on gold pieces over and over ever again.

Oh yeah, these games are so repetitive that i can see a sort of fatigue kicking in after some time. At least in games like D2 or PoE, a lot of replay value comes from leveling one class several times to get different gameplay styles. Since you can just swap out talents in D3 whenever you like, there is no reason for that either.

Regardless of what Blizzard does to change and improve the game's mechanics, I just can't get over Diablo 3's cartoon aesthetic. I know it seems like a minor quibble, but it feels like I am playing WoW and not Diablo.

The cutscenes and the story just aren't up to par with the originals, either.

It certainly is more cartoonish looking. Didn´t help either that Blizzard decided to make fun of the people who pointed this out during the beta. Oh i agree with you, there certainly is a feeling of a bit of WoW leaking into Diablo, and looking at Legion, there is also Diablo now leaking into WoW.

The story is terrible. It´s freaking bad. This might be an unpopular opinion, but i think most talent left Blizzard before the release of TBC and with shutting down Blizzard North. The WoW expansions after this, D3 and also SC2 are so badly written. Cheesy and B movie like. To be fair, i never looked at Diablo 1 and 2 and thought of them as Blizzard games in the first place, because the company who created Diablo 1 was called Condor and Blizzard just bought them a few months before the release and renamed them Blizzard North who then in return made D2 mostly on their own too. D3 shows that Blizzard themselves are not capable of making a worthy successor.

 

[octavian123]

No, I meant that picking up gold in Diablo 2 is just too tedious for me.

I agree that the story in D3 is awful. Easily the worst of the three sequels. As for WoW, BC had one of the worst stories in Blizzard history. Kael'Thas dying for some reason and then coming back, killing Vashjz because reasons and Illidan having literally no story development.

 

[RageGT]

I played Diablo 1 for some 1 and 1/2 minute today. For fun. There were 100 players playing it on US West. (East has problems and cannot connect D1 or SC/BW for some years now)

I still have my legit/purist level 49 warrior! Years of dedication! Without cheating, duping, anything. Just playing with friends from a legit/purist guild. Since Starcraft in 98 a few friends use the tag GT because guild ppl complained that we only played together against them! Yeah, that's true. So we create a tag and we're still RL friends up to this date. I was best man in one of the GT's wedding in 2015 after his first bride died in a car crash on 2009. We all met each other for the first time on Battle.net and played together many games, including D2. Some went to WoW, which I hated. But we were back in SC2.

Playing D3 also made me some good online friends. Now, after a long while w/out playing and a few days after getting RoS, out of boredom, they are all still there. Maniac D3 players. I just had a power level run in Season Hardcore in Torment 7 and wow, it's a rush. It's a fantastic game. I was soloing with a fresh HC season when ppl started coming online and, well, they want me to be with them on whatever stuff they'll play on D3, like few years ago. Who cares about story? D3 is about item hunting and crafting and finding the best way to survive Torment 10 in Hardcore! There are much more ppl playing it than D2. At least in Americas server. There's even a quick queue to create a game whereas there was none in regular D3 and definitely none in D2. Except in the first day of D2 beta test when some 100k players crowded Blizzard's server so hard that it crashed good! Those were good days, beta testing D2! hehe

 

[Pug.]

Who cares about story? D3 is about item hunting and crafting and finding the best way to survive Torment 10 in Hardcore!

I do. While Diablo 1 and Diablo 2 may not have been Tolkien, the character arc of the original game's protagonist - i.e. the Wanderer - was much more interesting than anything that this latest installment has to offer. Not to mention watching Baal pull the rug out from under Marius, and the cinematics, oh the cinematics.

Look, I'm not trying to rain on your parade. If you like Diablo 3, that's great, more power to you. I personally just prefer the original two titles, because those are what I grew up on and I have fond memories of them from my childhood and teenage years.

 

[RageGT]

@sevean I agree that the cinematics in D2 are better, with a better story too. But once you do 100 Mephisto item huntings HC in Hell difficulty per day and fill some 10 mules with items that people might even sell on ebay...
I really loved D1 opening with the crow too! And the cinematics teaser of D2 are the best. The one with the carriage and the wanderer... Wish I could find it again. I think I had it on my D2 CD's but they're long gone though.

 

[Pug.]

And the cinematics teaser of D2 are the best. The one with the carriage and the wanderer... Wish I could find it again. I think I had it on my D2 CD's but they're long gone though.

I believe you are referring to the 1998 cinematic trailer for D2. Took a while to track it down - I almost gave up and uploaded it to YouTube myself, I still have my D2 collector's edition - but here you go:

 

[KoreHK1992]

Been playing Reaper of Souls for a while now on PS4 and got my Rise of the Necromancer pack DLC yesterday and now my Necromancer is now at level 40+.