![]() Watch Video: Diablo 3 Diary, Part 2: Lead designer discusses Reaper of Souls’ Crusader Class (video) We wanted to find something where we sanded the rough edges off of the randomness and we used the randomness to strengthen the game, not to limit replayability by just having people play a lot more." "When you roll something to your class it's much more likely to be good for the class that you have. "(We wanted to) make randomness work for the player instead of against him," Martens said. A hammer with bonuses to earthquake damage, for example, not only will be more useful to players with an earthquake Barbarian build, it also might entice folks with a whirlwind Barbarian build to try it out. The Diablo team also tried to expand weapon selection beyond prioritizing simple damage per second by also emphasizing skill bonuses for particular classes. Players won't always end up with an awesome weapon but the chances of them getting a useless one such as a high-strength quiver is lower. Drops have since been adjusted to make them more class-friendly. Under the old system, it was possible to get class-specific weapons with high numbers in stats unrelated to its user's job, such as a Demon Hunter quiver with high stats in strength instead of dexterity, for example, Martens said. In addition to taking out the auction house, the game's loot system also was tweaked. The game we want to make was one where you killed monsters to get items, not where you get items to kill monsters." "That's why the auction house was a huge 'holy crap' moment for us. "(The auction house) really started to take over the economy," Martens said. Martens called it one of the biggest lessons for the team following the game's release. Apparently, the auction house conquered the game world in a way that would make even titular bad guy Diablo jealous. ![]() The impact of the auction house on Diablo III's world proved to be even more far-reaching than the game's developers expected. ![]() and then I got this Legendary.' (Instead, it was) 'I used an interface and then I instantly had the item,' and then it's not fun anymore." "There was no story there," Martens said. Not only did it allow players acquire rare gear - the proverbial Lamborghini - by paying either gold or actual real-world money, it diluted the game experience. It's also an approach that the auction house originally was supposed to rectify.ĭesigned to improve on the haphazard trading system of Diablo II by providing players a safe and reliable means to acquire goods from other folks, the auction house turned into an entirely different beast, Martens said. "End game for everyone" is an approach that ensures everybody "gets to drive a Lamborghini," not just the hardcore players, Martens said. Watch Video: Diablo 3 Diary, Part 1: Lead designer talks Reaper of Souls’ new adventure mode "Internally, we called it 'end game for everyone.' Suffice to say, we've cut the rough edges off of it." "There was a philosophical shift," Martens said. These include changes the development team started implementing even before the game's release such as February's "Loot 2.0" system that featured more intelligent drops and the recent removal of the auction house. It was a learning experience that the Diablo team took to heart as it ramped up to the release of the game's new "Reaper of Souls" expansion.Īlthough the expansion certainly has its share of new features to give the game that new car smell, it's the fine tuning of the Diablo III engine that more hardcore fans will likely appreciate most. From complaints about the lack of an offline mode to criticism of the game's auction house and its tight-fisted loot system, it was clear not all fans were happy with the game. With the highs of the release, however, also came the lows of the post-launch. ![]() "We were expecting it to be popular but there were just way more people in there, so we were overwhelmed with the number of players," Martens said. The appetite for a new Diablo game was evident in the demand during its launch. So when lead designer Kevin Martens was tasked with spearheading the followup to a beloved Blizzard franchise, the pressure to make sure "Diablo III" delivered was immense, to say the least. The road to you-know-where is paved with many maligned attempts at reimagining a classic. ![]()
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