[carfo]

My friend got an invite yesterday. He didn't get an email, d3 beta just showed in his account.
Is there still an nda on this beta?

[Fallout-NL]

My friend got an invite yesterday. He didn't get an email, d3 beta just showed in his account. Is there still an nda on this beta?

Nope, there isn't.

[red731]

Think its just showing the different effect that it has for armor and weapons, like how gems in diablo 2 had seperate bonuses for each.

But you could put them in body armor too, not just helms. The weapons stay - but it specifies helms exactly...
So, no..., chest gems?

edit: yea, hope they are updating the site and as Corky - when does beta end?

[aliencowz7]

But you could put them in body armor too, not just helms. The weapons stay - but it specifies helms exactly... So, no..., chest gems? edit: yea, hope they are updating the site and as Corky - when does beta end?

i meant the helm thing is just an example of what it does in armor, being any armor with sockets. most likely either a glitch or unclear wording since it also says on the item socketable in any item with sockets.

[Valnen]

when will the beta go down?

A couple of weeks away from release, apparently.

[Boken]

I dunno, I think it's possible that they removed gems to either Helm or Weapon only. I mean, there's only 4 gems left now, how many sockets can you want?

[accx]

I don't know if it's because of the recent key giveaways but something has brought out the shitheads to this beta.
Join a public game, getting verbally harassed right at the beginning and whatnot.
Also seem to be a lot of people not actually playing more so just standing in town.

Maybe i just had a bad day today but don't feel like returning even though i wanted to try patch 15.
Also looks like the lag and stutter issues are back. Felt a bit better in patch 14 but seems to have come back. At least for me.

[Elginer]

I don't know if it's because of the recent key giveaways but something has brought out the shitheads to this beta. Join a public game, getting verbally harassed right at the beginning and whatnot. Also seem to be a lot of people not actually playing more so just standing in town. Maybe i just had a bad day today but don't feel like returning even though i wanted to try patch 15. Also looks like the lag and stutter issues are back. Felt a bit better in patch 14 but seems to have come back. At least for me.

Yeah found plenty of shitheads in public yesterday as well. Well, gonna have to stick to some GAF members looting it up or a few of my buds who are picking this up.

[IceMarker]

I haven't run into any shitheads over the entirety of the beta, I've only met true neutrals and nice people in public games, guess you guys just have bad luck!

[accx]

I haven't run into any shitheads over the entirety of the beta, I've only met true neutrals and nice people in public games, guess you guys just have bad luck!

Well sure, the blizzard community (or should i say wow?) doesn't really have a great track record for being nice or pleasant.
I just kind of hoped that this known behaviour wouldn't show up until at least like a month or two After release, not before release.
Maybe i just had a fluke today. At least i have one irl friend who's now got beta access.

[tinabina]

I havent played since like the third week of beta and just played for a bit. All class magic/skills are now scaling with your weapon? Even Wizards? How does the formula work?

[zoukka]

Well sure, the blizzard community (or should i say wow?) doesn't really have a great track record for being nice or pleasant. I just kind of hoped that this known behaviour wouldn't show up until at least like a month or two After release, not before release. Maybe i just had a fluke today. At least i have one irl friend who's now got beta access.

Having extensively played Relics Warhammer RTS games recently, I can vouch, that even the biggest douches in SCII or Diablo were saints.

[TylerD]

I haven't had any issues with any assholes other than people that say how much it sucks. Then I ask them why are you even playing?

[Freki]

I havent played since like the third week of beta and just played for a bit. All class magic/skills are now scaling with your weapon? Even Wizards? How does the formula work?

most damage spells/abilities calculate their damage by using a "does x% of Weapon damage" type skill system

[accx]

I havent played since like the third week of beta and just played for a bit. All class magic/skills are now scaling with your weapon? Even Wizards? How does the formula work?

Well i don't really know but one thing that's been confusing me with the recent system is the elemental effects.
If my spells do cold damage, should i stack cold damage on my weapon or can i use another elemental and if so, does that skill damage count? i.e does my cold damage spell do poison damage as well if i have that on my weapon?

If anyone could shine some light regarding this it would be great. I always tend to stack different elements in the same weapon to become a 'jack of all trades' type of character.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Well i don't really know but one thing that's been confusing me with the recent system is the elemental effects. If my spells do cold damage, should i stack cold damage on my weapon or can i use another elemental and if so, does that skill damage count? i.e does my cold damage spell do poison damage as well if i have that on my weapon? If anyone could shine some light regarding this it would be great. I always tend to stack different elements in the same weapon to become a 'jack of all trades' type of character.

I don't think your weapon affects your spells in any way except for base damage, but I could be wrong. I've been holding a poison dagger and I don't think it does any poison damage unless I attack directly with it.

[Ricker]

My friend got an invite yesterday. He didn't get an email, d3 beta just showed in his account. Is there still an nda on this beta?

Same thing happened to me...when they announced the release date,I checked Battlenet and saw Diablo III beta was part of games I could download...so I tried it and it worked lol...

So far I tried the Monk and the Archer girl...Monk is fun,next I want to try the one I will probably start with,The Witch Doctor.

[Darknessbear]

I'm kind of underwhelemd with this game. It seems like it's missing something...

Also, the skill system is so odd. Is there no way to normal attack without mapping it to a button?

[Valnen]

I'm kind of underwhelemd with this game. It seems like it's missing something... Also, the skill system is so odd. Is there no way to normal attack without mapping it to a button?

Turn on elective mode and click and drag whatever skill you have on your left mouse button off of it.

[vaelic]

what has better graphics, diablo 3 or dungeon siege 3? i ask because dungeon siege 3 has really nice environments and such

[Pixel Pete]

Is there no way to normal attack

A....normal attack? I..don't understand. Does it explode?

[Raide]

I'm kind of underwhelemd with this game. It seems like it's missing something... Also, the skill system is so odd. Is there no way to normal attack without mapping it to a button?

Did you play much of D1 and D2?
Is it due to things being pretty new and different from those earlier games?
Also, while the normal attack is great for the first few levels, as soon as you get spells and abilities, those are designed to be your go-to attacks. Mainly since they recharge so fast.

[Darknessbear]

Did you play much of D1 and D2? Is it due to things being pretty new and different from those earlier games? Also, while the normal attack is great for the first few levels, as soon as you get spells and abilities, those are designed to be your go-to attacks. Mainly since they recharge so fast.

I was fairly active in D2, not necessarily hardcore. And I'm really not liking the skill system the elective mode Valen suggested helped a bit. But it just seems a little odd and I can't help but miss leveling up skills.

Also the normal attack is just a preference, if there is just one dumb mob or a crate I want to destroy, I just like to whack it. Not a big deal.

Also I'm not a fan of the town layout, I wouldn't mind a rip on Diablo 2's town system. But I haven't played much, so maybe I'll get used to it all.

[Raide]

I was fairly active in D2, not necessarily hardcore. And I'm really not liking the skill system the elective mode Valen suggested helped a bit. But it just seems a little odd and I can't help but miss leveling up skills. Also the normal attack is just a preference, if there is just one dumb mob or a crate I want to destroy, I just like to whack it. Not a big deal. Also I'm not a fan of the town layout, I wouldn't mind a rip on Diablo 2's town system. But I haven't played much, so maybe I'll get used to it all.

Fair enough. :D

The skill system is going to be the main change for most people coming from Diablo 1 and 2. It is drastically different and I hope the Blizzard gamble pays off. I intend to be playing Diablo 3 for years to come, just like D2.

I see what you mean about the normal attack stuff. For me, even if its 1 mob, I usually want to kill it in the most ridiculous way possible. :D

I am guessing for Act 1, Tristram is your main hub, just like D2 had the main town hubs for Quests etc. Diablo 3 is way more quest based than either D1 or 2, so at least we have a reason to keep returning to the hub.

[jet1911]

I don't think your weapon affects your spells in any way except for base damage, but I could be wrong. I've been holding a poison dagger and I don't think it does any poison damage unless I attack directly with it.

Yes they do. At least they did last time I played 2-3 weeks ago.

[Haeleos]

I was fairly active in D2, not necessarily hardcore. And I'm really not liking the skill system the elective mode Valen suggested helped a bit. But it just seems a little odd and I can't help but miss leveling up skills. Also the normal attack is just a preference, if there is just one dumb mob or a crate I want to destroy, I just like to whack it. Not a big deal. Also I'm not a fan of the town layout, I wouldn't mind a rip on Diablo 2's town system. But I haven't played much, so maybe I'll get used to it all.

Yea the layout of the town sucks. The merchants are all over the place. I would rather them make concessions towards being a better game than aesthetics. I wish Haedrig was also a merchant, for instance.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Yes they do. At least they did last time I played 2-3 weeks ago.

I just tried equipping poison-enchanted and cold-enchanted weapons on my wizard and neither of them added their respective elemental damage to spells (Magic Missile, Arcane Orb and Shock Pulse). Unless we're talking about different things.

[Valnen]

Yea the layout of the town sucks. The merchants are all over the place. I would rather them make concessions towards being a better game than aesthetics. I wish Haedrig was also a merchant, for instance.

Keep in mind it is just the first town of 4.

[jet1911]

I just tried equipping poison-enchanted and cold-enchanted weapons on my wizard and neither of them added their respective elemental damage to spells (Magic Missile, Arcane Orb and Shock Pulse). Unless we're talking about different things.

Hmmm maybe I'm crazy then. :p

[Rentahamster]

Yes they do. At least they did last time I played 2-3 weeks ago.

Poison, fire, ice, electric, holy, etc affect the skill if the skill involves your weapon, or is a melee attack (hungering arrow, hammer of the ancients, etc), but it doesn't affect stuff like magic spells and such, IIRC.

[maharg]

Yea the layout of the town sucks. The merchants are all over the place. I would rather them make concessions towards being a better game than aesthetics. I wish Haedrig was also a merchant, for instance.

The only well designed towns in D2 were Act 1 and Act 4. Act 5 was ok, but Act 2 and 3 were terrible. Is the Act 1 town in D3 worse than them?

[Raide]

The only well designed towns in D2 were Act 1 and Act 4. Act 5 was ok, but Act 2 and 3 were terrible. Is the Act 1 town in D3 worse than them?

Only Act 2, 3 & 5 actually felt like towns. Act 1 was just a camp and Act 4 was just an even smaller camp.

I don't mind exploring a town for NPC's and quests, as long as they make it easy to navigate. Diablo 3 Act 1 has the minimap to help out with all that stuff and it seems pretty cool to me. It is Tristram after all!

Do people really want a small area with all the NPC's and quest givers in one place? (Like D2 Act 1?)

[Dragonzord]

So, I know they were working on controller support for the PC version a few months back. That ever make it in, or they still messing with it?

[Valnen]

So, I know they were working on controller support for the PC version a few months back. That ever make it in, or they still messing with it?

They never said anything about giving controller support I don't think, just that they tried it out in an internal build and it felt nice to play with, more hinting at a console release than anything else.

But honestly if they do put out a console release it would be kind of silly for the PC version to not have dual control schemes in this day and age.

[jet1911]

Poison, fire, ice, electric, holy, etc affect the skill if the skill involves your weapon, or is a melee attack (hungering arrow, hammer of the ancients, etc), but it doesn't affect stuff like magic spells and such, IIRC.

Ok, not crazy then! :p

[maharg]

Only Act 2, 3 & 5 actually felt like towns. Act 1 was just a camp and Act 4 was just an even smaller camp. I don't mind exploring a town for NPC's and quests, as long as they make it easy to navigate. Diablo 3 Act 1 has the minimap to help out with all that stuff and it seems pretty cool to me. It is Tristram after all! Do people really want a small area with all the NPC's and quest givers in one place? (Like D2 Act 1?)

I do. Exploring Act 2 was fun the first time, but trekking across it over and over again to get to the person I needed was just tedious. At least the healer was also the repairer and weapons dealer, but the splitting up of potions between a couple of people was stupid.

Act 3 was just terrible though. So many blind alleys (or docks, I guess) that were on the way to places you actually wanted to go. Useful people right off in the corner. I'm pretty sure the fetch quest that was the first (or second?) quest was pretty much just to force you to realize there was a guy in the north corner of the map.

Act 5 and Act 1 both felt plenty like towns to me, but managed to have things relatively central and easy to navigate (other than Act 5's map overlay obscuring the screen). 2 and 3 were just sprawl. Like the suburbia of video game town design.

[Fallout-NL]

I love the Rogue Encampment, feels like home.

[Raide]

I do. Exploring Act 2 was fun the first time, but trekking across it over and over again to get to the person I needed was just tedious. At least the healer was also the repairer and weapons dealer, but the splitting up of potions between a couple of people was stupid. Act 3 was just terrible though. So many blind alleys (or docks, I guess) that were on the way to places you actually wanted to go. Useful people right off in the corner. I'm pretty sure the fetch quest that was the first (or second?) quest was pretty much just to force you to realize there was a guy in the north corner of the map. Act 5 and Act 1 both felt plenty like towns to me, but managed to have things relatively central and easy to navigate (other than Act 5's map overlay obscuring the screen). 2 and 3 were just sprawl. Like the suburbia of video game town design.

The first few times is was annoying but after you have done it time after time, you automatically know where to go. Even Act 3 was easy once you knew where the important stuff was. They may as well make a square box with all the NPC's in it to make things easier. That makes a pretty bland game world though.

Maybe it comes from playing WoW for ages. I actually enjoy exploring the town and finding out where things are. I am sure D3 will just be smaller scale version of that.

[Dire]

Only Act 2, 3 & 5 actually felt like towns. Act 1 was just a camp and Act 4 was just an even smaller camp. I don't mind exploring a town for NPC's and quests, as long as they make it easy to navigate. Diablo 3 Act 1 has the minimap to help out with all that stuff and it seems pretty cool to me. It is Tristram after all! Do people really want a small area with all the NPC's and quest givers in one place? (Like D2 Act 1?)

In a game like Diablo how much of the experience of an area is about visiting the area versus dropping in and just buying/selling/identifying/getting new quests? I think for a game like Skyrim the city itself is important since that game is heavily atmospheric and immersive, but Diablo is Diablo. In D2 I wouldn't think twice as my Paladin wearing a skull helm would start hula hooping and having little hammers start flying around him even as he wielded a sword. Immersion is not a major part of the game in Diablo. I don't think it should be intentionally neglected but when there's a choice between gameplay convenience (having everything jammed together) or immersion (having everything realistically placed) then gameplay convenience should win every time.

[Raide]

In a game like Diablo how much of the experience of an area is about visiting the area versus dropping in and just buying/selling/identifying/getting new quests? I think for a game like Skyrim the city itself is important since that game is heavily atmospheric and immersive, but Diablo is Diablo. In D2 I wouldn't think twice as my Paladin wearing a skull helm would start hula hooping and having little hammers start flying around him even as he wielded a sword. Immersion is not a major part of the game in Diablo. I don't think it should be intentionally neglected but when there's a choice between gameplay convenience (having everything jammed together) or immersion (having everything realistically placed) then gameplay convenience should win every time.

Respectfully disagree. Sure, after a good few runs, the placement does not matter that much and you just want to get in and out of town so you can get more loot. Thats fair enough if they had WoW sized cities with 100's of NPC's but we are dealing with Diablo's world and everything is pretty simplified and directed already.

If it was all about convenience, gaming in general would be boring as hell, just to pander to people wanting everything to be conveniently placed. Its not like Diablo 3 has 10 minutes between towns or anything like that. We are talking maybe a few seconds to find the NPC and interact, then you're back on your way.

Immersion is a big part of Diablo for me but not just because of the towns but how they link in the story, the world and all the gameplay deliciously bundled together.

[Fallout-NL]

In a game like Diablo how much of the experience of an area is about visiting the area versus dropping in and just buying/selling/identifying/getting new quests? I think for a game like Skyrim the city itself is important since that game is heavily atmospheric and immersive, but Diablo is Diablo. In D2 I wouldn't think twice as my Paladin wearing a skull helm would start hula hooping and having little hammers start flying around him even as he wielded a sword. Immersion is not a major part of the game in Diablo. I don't think it should be intentionally neglected but when there's a choice between gameplay convenience (having everything jammed together) or immersion (having everything realistically placed) then gameplay convenience should win every time.

Actually, atmosphere is what I love most about Diablo.

[Yoshichan]

Yeah I'll have to echo the above posts. Immersion is Diablo.

[V_Arnold]

Especially with Diablo 3's graphical feats, it is simply amazing what they have done with the game. It would be a shame to have a packed "just there cause it has to be" stopgap instead of more places done with detail seen in Tristam.

[accx]

Poison, fire, ice, electric, holy, etc affect the skill if the skill involves your weapon, or is a melee attack (hungering arrow, hammer of the ancients, etc), but it doesn't affect stuff like magic spells and such, IIRC.

Thanks for the clarification. So basically you're more or less stuck with the elemental damage your class provides. I kind of feel that elemental damage on weapons doesn't serve a purpose anymore because you're always going to spam a skill.

[Raide]

Thanks for the clarification. So basically you're more or less stuck with the elemental damage your class provides. I kind of feel that elemental damage on weapons doesn't serve a purpose anymore because you're always going to spam a skill.

I am guessing it is more useful for classes that use hand to hand combat and not like Sorcerers etc who use spells. Plus, the different elements are bound to be used more in the higher difficulties. That also happens to be the reason pure spell casters tend to focus around multiple elements.

[V_Arnold]

Thanks for the clarification. So basically you're more or less stuck with the elemental damage your class provides. I kind of feel that elemental damage on weapons doesn't serve a purpose anymore because you're always going to spam a skill.

It serves its purpose just fine on classes that actually use their weapons, obviously. Which means DH, Monk, Barbarian, and with Poison Dart, for example, the WD as well. But there is no point in summoning a Blizzard that deals poison damage as well, just because its damage is relative to your weapon's dps.

[accx]

It serves its purpose just fine on classes that actually use their weapons, obviously. Which means DH, Monk, Barbarian, and with Poison Dart, for example, the WD as well. But there is no point in summoning a Blizzard that deals poison damage as well, just because its damage is relative to your weapon's dps.

Yes i understand that, obviously.
What my concern is that the class you're choosing is more or less locked into the elements that your skills provides.
In my case, the WD, sure i could probably use poison dart or regular attacks.. It would've been much more fun if you could add or change into other elements with runes for example.
Adding other elemental effects on your skills would open up for more customization because like i said, we would almost never use the standard attack. And i have a feeling that (in the wd's case) that poison dart will almost never be used.
I have to check and see if poison dart is affected of +elemental damage on your weapon.
I don't seem to recall it does.


I think i'm having a hard time explaining this.
I can see people becoming confused when they see elemental damage on their weapon but only the dps is what counts for your spell damage.
I could also see people stacking cold damage for their cold spells without realizing it does fuck all to your spells.

I assume it will be much more clear once the game is released.

Also, wouldn't this make the game hard to solo in some places since there's little room for changing elements around?
I assume that (x element) affected elites are immune to their respective element?

[V_Arnold]

Diablo III does not fuck you up in the way that Diablo 2 did, luckily.
First of all, you are free to respec the skills you use, and no class uses only one type of damage in the first place. You can always deal damage different ways. And I do not see a scenario where that small amount of elemental damage in your weapon would really change a situation versus an elite that is immune to everything else. You are better off with using a skill that affects them, compared to trying to autoattacking them or rely solely on that plus damage if it were added to all skills.

[kirblar]

The Weapon DPS->Pumps caster spellpower definitely threw me for a loop. It's not intuitive at all (based on WoW experience) and hopefully they find a way to call attention to that for new players.

[Fallout-NL]

I think they, Blizzard, said somewhere that it wouldn't make sense to go by that fact for very long. Plus-skill weapons would yield better results on higher levels. It's just that we haven't seen those items yet.