official Diablo III

[trag3dy]

Demon Hunter and Witch Doctor previews:

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/6986845/Patch_104_Preview_Demon_Hunter-8_16_2012

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/6923459/Patch_104_Preview_Witch_Doctor-8_16_2012

[Shadrack]

When they say "right around the corner" I hope they mean this Tuesday... I wouldn't mind investing some more time in this game to see if these changes are worth me putting the effort into getting through Inferno.

[trag3dy]

Of course it's Tuesday. Blizzard will do anything they can to steal a little thunder from Anet and GW2. You knew that the moment they said the patch would be released in the fourth week of August.

[Nagisan]

When they say "right around the corner" I hope they mean this Tuesday... I wouldn't mind investing some more time in this game to see if these changes are worth me putting the effort into getting through Inferno.

Of course it's Tuesday. Blizzard will do anything they can to steal a little thunder from Anet and GW2. You knew that the moment they said the patch would be released in the fourth week of August.

I kind of doubt it.....it says:

These are really just a few of the topline systems changes we?ll be making in 1.0.4, and we hope you?re looking forward to them as much as we are. We?ll of course have a lot more info coming at you in the weeks ahead on Legendary items, classes and more, as well as some interviews we?ll be holding shortly before the patch goes live ? which, by the way, is currently targeted for the fourth week of August.

The fourth week of august would be 22-29th.....granted it could launch before GW2, they dont generally push large patches out on any day but Tuesday, so it will release slightly earlier than their "targeted" week, but who knows. If it does come out before GW2, I'll play it till GW2 launches, then when GW2 is out, D3 will go back on the shelf again.

[trag3dy]

I kind of doubt it.....it says:

The fourth week of august would be 22-29th.....granted it could launch before GW2, they dont generally push large patches out on any day but Tuesday, so it will release slightly earlier than their "targeted" week, but who knows. If it does come out before GW2, I'll play it till GW2 launches, then when GW2 is out, D3 will go back on the shelf again.

The 28th (Gw2s official release date) is a Tuesday. Also the fourth week of August..

[Nagisan]

The 28th (Gw2s official release date) is a Tuesday. Also the fourth week of August..

True, but most people who are waiting for GW2 have already pre-purchased it, so the 25th is the "release date".

Though GW2 is a different style of game, anyone planning to play GW2 around release time is not going to be very interested in D3, update or not.

[Shadrack]

Dumb question: If I upgrade the staff of herding can I still use it on easier difficulties?

Oh well on the patch. I'm enjoying leveling up a Monk for now. He's more fun than I initially gave him credit for. The only thing that really bugs me about the Monk is how there are specific Staves for the Monk class, yet he still throws the staff on his back and does kung-fu punching moves. Really Blizzard? Seems kind of Lazy on blizzards part.

Seems like the only class that has proper animations for all the weapons is the barbarian.

[Nagisan]

Dumb question: If I upgrade the staff of herding can I still use it on easier difficulties?

Yes, once you upgrade it fully it works on all difficulties and is never "used up".....so as long as you don't destroy it (you can't trade or salvage it, don't think you can drop it but I'm not sure).

[SimplySchizo]

Dumb question: If I upgrade the staff of herding can I still use it on easier difficulties?

Yes.

Just make sure to pick the appropriate difficulty level.

[shakey]

Actually, the 4th week is next week. They have already announced it on twitter that the patch will be released next week.

So in prep, I've leveled my DH and Barb now to 31.. just 29 more levels on them each.

[Shadrack]

I think that all of the changes in 1.0.4 seem like they are in the right direction. But I agree with the overall sentiment that items are worth way too much right now. I would like to see an overall nerfing of items across the board while a boosting of base class skills. People will still go gaga over a new item that gives them a 0.1% increase in some area. But they aren't going to go this direction, so whatever.

I've decided that after this patch I'm just going to get through Inferno, even if it means breaking my rules and getting AH items. But F*** the RMAH.

[Nagisan]

I think that all of the changes in 1.0.4 seem like they are in the right direction. But I agree with the overall sentiment that items are worth way too much right now. I would like to see an overall nerfing of items across the board while a boosting of base class skills. People will still go gaga over a new item that gives them a 0.1% increase in some area. But they aren't going to go this direction, so whatever.

I've decided that after this patch I'm just going to get through Inferno, even if it means breaking my rules and getting AH items. But F*** the RMAH.

The nice thing though, in terms of weapons, after 1.0.4 there will be 3 times the items with high DPS than there are now, which means prices on high DPS weapons are going to drop a lot. Not sure what the upper damage ranges for 61 and 62 ilvl weapons are, but when the high damage ranges are increased to the same as ilvl 63s we will get a lot more 800+ DPS weapons than before, so prices should drop a lot compared to now.....instead of 10m for a 900 DPS weapon with dex, vit and an open socket we might be able to get one for 2-3m. Of course Life on Hit weapons are still going to be expensive, but the ones with higher dps will be a lot cheaper than they are now.

That being said, I suggest people don't pay stupid prices for weapons/legendaries right now, wait a few weeks after 1.0.4 when the prices drop and save a ton of gold.

[Shadrack]

Idk.. Legendaries might actually go up in price since they are going to be a lot better in the 1.0.4 patch. There will even be unique abilities to legendary weapons, such as change on hit to summon some angel (or something) to come down and help you.

Are they planning to increase the stats of Legendaries that you currently have? Or will the ones you got keep the same stats, and you have to get a new drop?

[Nagisan]

Idk.. Legendaries might actually go up in price since they are going to be a lot better in the 1.0.4 patch. There will even be unique abilities to legendary weapons, such as change on hit to summon some angel (or something) to come down and help you.

Are they planning to increase the stats of Legendaries that you currently have? Or will the ones you got keep the same stats, and you have to get a new drop?

I'm sure legendaries would increase in price....I'm talking about rares....current legendaries will stay the exact same. Basically current legendaries (that are changing when 1.0.4 hits) will no longer drop after 1.0.4, all the legendaries that drop after 1.0.4 are either new legendaries, or old ones that are not changing.

[trag3dy]

Idk.. Legendaries might actually go up in price since they are going to be a lot better in the 1.0.4 patch. There will even be unique abilities to legendary weapons, such as change on hit to summon some angel (or something) to come down and help you.

Are they planning to increase the stats of Legendaries that you currently have? Or will the ones you got keep the same stats, and you have to get a new drop?

All the pre patch legendaries will stay the same as they are now. Of course Blizzard could force reroll them if they wanted to probably but you can bet money that they aren't because they figure they will be making even more $$$ of people selling new ones on the rmah.

[shakey]

All the pre patch legendaries will stay the same as they are now. Of course Blizzard could force reroll them if they wanted to probably but you can bet money that they aren't because they figure they will be making even more $$$ of people selling new ones on the rmah.

I like how blizzard says they can't change the old legs because of the rolls, but they sure as hell had no issue with changing all the items with attack speed :p

[Shadrack]

That makes sense. I only have a level 31 legendary anyway so its really no big deal for me I guess.

[trag3dy]

Paragon system:

http://us.battle.net...ystem-8_20_2012

Seems alright, I guess. Getting to max level 100 will apparently take as long as it took to get to 99 in D2.

If it comes out this week, I'll play a little bit. But if it doesn't it will probably be a while before I get back into it..a day late and a dollar short, and all that.

[Shadrack]

Paragon system:

http://us.battle.net...ystem-8_20_2012

Seems alright, I guess. Getting to max level 100 will apparently take as long as it took to get to 99 in D2.

If it comes out this week, I'll play a little bit. But if it doesn't it will probably be a while before I get back into it..a day late and a dollar short, and all that.

I think that 1.0.4 is due out this week, but the paragon leveling system is for some future patch (I think).

I like the idea too. Although I think they said getting to Paragon level 1 will take about the same amount of time it takes to get to level 60! But at least it will give you a way to get through the hardest difficulty w/o having to resort to the AH.

Edit: Nevermind. They even state that it is coming in the 1.0.4 patch. The Verge's reporting made it seem like it was coming after the 1.0.4 patch for some reason.

[Nagisan]

Gotta admit, the paragon system sounds pretty awesome. People can still gear swap for MF, but as they do more MF runs they won't need to gear swap to max out their MF. Will be nice that those who play enough won't need to use MF gear as they will get it naturally over time. It rewards players who play a lot by allowing them to ignore MF and GF and focus on other things.

But again, unless the patch hits before this weekend, it will be awhile before I do anything in D3 anyway.

[trag3dy]

I think that 1.0.4 is due out this week, but the paragon leveling system is for some future patch (I think).

I like the idea too. Although I think they said getting to Paragon level 1 will take about the same amount of time it takes to get to level 60! But at least it will give you a way to get through the hardest difficulty w/o having to resort to the AH.

Edit: Nevermind. They even state that it is coming in the 1.0.4 patch. The Verge's reporting made it seem like it was coming after the 1.0.4 patch for some reason.

It says specifically:

"The first Paragon level should take about as long as it took most players to get from level 59 to 60"

Not 1 to 60.

[The King of GnG]

Heh... A new leveling system can't fix a fundamentally mean Diablo game. At least for me....

[trag3dy]

Auction House changes coming in 1.0.4:

http://us.battle.net...opic/6369407745

Maintenance + complete client patch notes:

http://us.battle.net...ic/6368188147#1

Complete class changes patch notes:

http://us.battle.net...188147?page=1#3

So the patch is coming tonight. I find this to be interesting and pleasing because I thought for sure it wouldn't be out until next week.

[Shadrack]

Anyone get in game yet or are the servers down? The status page shows them all up but that isn't always accurate.

Just looking through the class patch notes and it looks like the game's difficulty is going to be nerfed quite a bit. Check out the Barbarian change to rend:

Weapon damage increased from 210% over 3 seconds to 700% over 5 seconds

Or the Wizard Archon:

Skill Rune - Arcane Destruction - Weapon damage increased from 450% to 1600%

Crazy. We'll see if this makes it the game more fun or if it just makes Insane feel boring like Normal was.

[Nagisan]

Just looking through the class patch notes and it looks like the game's difficulty is going to be nerfed quite a bit. Check out the Barbarian change to rend:

Rend was (pre 1.0.4) a pretty much useless barb skill because it didn't last very long and didn't do much damage (200% over 3 seconds, thats 66% weapon damage per second), it really needed the buff.....I won't say the difficulty of the game is being nerfed, but rather, the viable skill varieties in inferno is being buffed.

Though the difficulty is being nerfed overall, elites will have less health and do less damage in inferno than before:

• Act I
  
  • Elite monster health reduced by 11%
    

  [*]Act II

  • Normal monster health increased by 4%
    
  • Elite monster health reduced by 8%
    
  • Overall damage done by all monsters reduced by 8%
    

  [*]Act III and Act IV

  • Normal monster health increased by 10%
    
  • Elite monster health reduced by 2.5%
    
  • Overall damage done by all monsters reduced by 15%
    

Which I think is perfectly valid....my monk has 600 all resist, 6k armor, 30k DPS and I can't handle A3 inferno at all (1200 LoH to boot).....too many small monsters whittle me down before I can kill them but elites just roll me. A2 I can do but I have to be super careful on some elite packs and generally more careful than normal on the average elite pack.

Not to mention fire chains damage is being reduced by 20%, while arcane enchanted is being reduced by 30%.

Can't wait to try out WD after the updates though, I really liked the way WDs play, but they felt too weak with slow animation times, useless pets and having to kite like other ranged classes. Now their main skills are getting damage boosts and animation speed buffs while their pets are also getting stronger.

For example, as Witch Doctor 1.0.3 mana regen = 20 per second, Rain of Toads (plague of toads + rain of toads rune) = 34 mana per cast (guessing it doesn't scale with level?), net loss of 14 mana per second (assuming you cast 1 per second).

1.0.4 mana regen = 45 per second, Rain of Toads = 12 mana per cast, net gain of 32 mana per second assuming 1 cast per second.

Basically, if you want to not lose mana from rain of toads in 1.0.3 you need to cast 1 every 1.7 seconds, in 1.0.4 you can cast 1 every 0.27 seconds and still gain 0.56 additional mana per second....in 1.0.4 you can cast 6 times faster than you could in 1.0.3 to not use mana (that is, you can stack more attack speed and still not lose mana in 1.0.4 compared to having to watch how much you are spamming it as in 1.0.3)

Not to mention, if you use Vision Quest in 1.0.4, you will gain mana back at 58.5 per second, versus the 60 per second you got in 1.0.3.....but you had to waste 4 skill slots and 1 passive slot to get that mana regen in 1.0.3, in 1.0.4 you get it for 5 seconds any time you do damage with one of your primary abilities.

I really like that direction because it lets WD play a bit more like Wizard, where they have abilities that don't really touch their resource. Plus rain of toads has the highest coefficient (or the most efficient use of its coefficient) of any WD skill. It procs effects for 50% of their value per tick per enemy. If you have 500 LoH, rain of toads will heal you for 250 life every time it ticks (which is confirmed to be every 0.5s), so a single enemy will give you 100% of your LoH per second for 2 seconds. Each cast gives you 4 procs of 50% LoH, so 200% LoH over 2 seconds. If you cast it more than once, it WILL overlap with the other rain of toads and heal you that much more. Say you can cast 1 per second (1.0 attack speed), if you spam rain of toads you will get 8 ticks over 2 seconds, or, 200% LoH every second. 500 LoH now becomes 1k life per second PER ENEMY. 2 enemies, that's 2k Life per Second.

I could easily keep 3 Rain of Toads overlapping in 1.0.3 but ran out of mana too fast, which increases the value above by 50%, or 1.5k Life per second per enemy, and that's with only 500 LoH.....double the LoH (very common to have 1k LoH) and that's 3k life per second per enemy.

Spider Queen is also getting a nice buff.....currently does 16% WD (weapon damage) every second for 15 seconds....or 240% WD over 15 seconds.....it will now do 630% WD over 15 seconds (or, 42% WD every second for 15 seconds).....so a 262.5% damage increase. And it now procs LoH (never did before). I can see that being a very good compliment to one of the other damage skills (like Rain of Toads).....summon one of those every 15 seconds for damage and LoH, then spam Rain of Toads.