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"diablo 3". New and improved?

4/29/2015

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Melanie and I were looking for a good coop game recently, so we decided to jump back into "Diablo 3" -- which kinda sucked at launch. 

The re-balance definitely improved the gameplay, and we had a lot of fun bashing our way through it to the end. But while the loot drops and itemization were VASTLY improved, the difficulty balance felt completely broken.  When we play games together we just run around and kill stuff... no min/maxing, no special strategies, we don't pay attention to character synergies, we ignore crafting, etc.  The game should have been pretty difficult, but we reached the end of Act I without dying once.  In fact, I don't think our health ever dipped below 100%.   
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We generally play on "Normal" or even "Easy" but starting in the second Act I bumped us all the way up to "Expert" and even then we only died twice.  (Got stuck on some stairs in Act III, and with so many monsters around we couldn't move away.) 

Some of the larger battles were fun, but the bosses were a joke.  Hours of buildup and taunting, then a 20 second introduction with the camera spinning slowly around the roaring boss, then we charge forward to attack and BOOM, a second later there is loot all over the screen.  Literally, ONE SECOND later...  On Expert! 

I think the fight against Diablo himself lasted about 10 seconds, so that was a little better.  Still, very underwhelming.  That said, we enjoyed playing the game despite the fact that it offered NO challenge.  I guess that's a testament to the great graphics and effects, solid combat mechanics, and, to a much lesser degree, the story.  (The ending cinematics were pretty damn epic.) 

We wanted to play something else so we downloaded "Marvel Heroes" but my wife found that one a little overwhelming.  It came down to a choice between: 

  • "Torchlight 2" (wife thought it was a little too cartoony) 
  • "Grim Dawn" (didn't want to get invested in a game that is still in Early Access) 
  • "Path of Exile" (picked this one) 

"Path" has been pretty fun so far!  Sounds like there may be some endgame issues, but we've really enjoyed the first Act.
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