Blizzard Employees hate on David Brevik diablo 3

[ValenAlvern]

I put the tag NSFW, so..its not safe for work, cause there swearing from some of the Blizzard Devs and such.

 

Link: http://www.ign.com/a...o-iii-criticism

Link 2: http://www.cinemable...-Off-45895.html

 

David Brevik finally gave his thoughts on Diablo III, as he is one of the co-founders to Blizzard North and created the Diablo franchise.

 

David Breviks Thoughts on Diablo III Interview: http://diablo.incgam...ngs-on-diablo-3

 

There is some criticism going on with the people who took offense to Davids interview on how the Blizzard employees who are bad mouthing him were never even working at Blizzard at the time nor do they even personally know him.

 

What do you all think about these events?

 

EDIT Jay tries to apologize LINK:http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/6398870250#1

Edited August 23, 2012 by ValenAlvern

[Biggs]

This interview was great. Good to hear the founder of Diablo concede that Diablo III has lost alot of what made the franchise great. He makes an excellent point when he says he's happy because this has brought to light just how important the people are in the industry. Experience loss and philosophy change pretty much added up to a game most die-hard fans hated.

[ValenAlvern]

I like how in that Facebook posting they kept pointing out Hellgate London. "You made one of the best games, he made Hellgate: London". Not like he helped make Diablo one of the best selling franchises that Blizzard owns or anything...oh wait.

 

He actually had the right the feel the way he does. Look at the whole fan response to DIII, its pretty much hated. They either stopped playing or went back to D2. From one of the articles listed, they lost 65% of players within 2 months, thats a pretty steep rate to which to lose players, ironic since they kept pointing out "he made Hellgate: London".

[VooDooPC]

They could have lost 100% of their play base within 2 months, it's not an MMORPG, there's no monthly fee. They sold more copies on their first day than most games do in their life span.

[samurai nightling]

You can't make a game that loses that much of its player base that quickly, its bad business. When people pay that much for a disappointment, they aren't likely to buy another game that you make then after for fear of the same disappointment.

 

Any other business in the world that makes a product that is supposed to keep people using the product, would have fired the lead designers of Diablo. You need to make a product that keeps people coming back, that keeps them wanting more. A game that loses such a large amount of players in such a short time is bad for business. It made you a quick buck, but loses you millions in the future. You can't think of the quick buck. Losing that many players that fast also ruins the thing you had hoped to make you constant money, the RMAH. Few people playing, NO money being transferred in the RMAH.

 

This is BASIC economics.

[VooDooPC]

You can't make a game that loses that much of its player base that quickly, its bad business. When people pay that much for a disappointment, they aren't likely to buy another game that you make then after for fear of the same disappointment.

 

Any other business in the world that makes a product that is supposed to keep people using the product, would have fired the lead designers of Diablo. You need to make a product that keeps people coming back, that keeps them wanting more. A game that loses such a large amount of players in such a short time is bad for business. It made you a quick buck, but loses you millions in the future. You can't think of the quick buck. Losing that many players that fast also ruins the thing you had hoped to make you constant money, the RMAH. Few people playing, NO money being transferred in the RMAH.

 

This is BASIC economics.

I doubt Blizzard's plan was to make a fortune off the auction house in place of selling copies of the game. If that were true the auction house would have been up day one.

[samurai nightling]

Well I'm not saying a fortune, but a steady income. This was their pay to play method of making money. They prolly saw how successful games like TF2 have been with stores.

 

And it still kills future business. It shows the public they put out shoddy products. If I bought a car from Toyota and it broke down 3 times in 6 months from brand new, chances are I won't want to buy another Toyota car in the future.

 

I will say however, the updates are going in the right direction. I am going to start playing more. My whole argument all the time was just a terrible launch of a game that really, wasn't finished, wasn't play tested extensively, and wasn't what I think they were trying to get out of the game. Hence the massive updates.

 

I would of waited until next year for this game, if they would of made these changes prior to release. But they would of needed extensive beta testing from the community, getting a better beta out there. But being Blizzard they don't do that sort of thing.

Edited August 22, 2012 by samurai nightling

[VooDooPC]

I think Blizzard could remake Minesweeper and it would sell a million copies the first day.

 

Do you guys remember the "We're not buying Modern Warfare 2" Steam group, then the day of release people in that group were playing Modern Warfare 2? A lot of people hate on Diablo 3 and probably say they won't buy Diablo 4 but I bet a lot of those people will anyway. I think with Diablo 3 they tried to get more of their casual World of Warcraft crowd, which is why they probably didn't care about higher difficulties. They assume a lot of people will buy it, play it on normal, be done with it. Blizzard gets their $60, they win no matter how long someone plays it. For Diablo 4 if they really wanted they could just market to those exact same people. The hardcore crowd is loud, but I don't think they are the biggest.

Edited August 22, 2012 by VooDooPC

[ValenAlvern]

Diablo 3 sold well because its Diablo, Call of Duty games sell because its Call of Duty. 65% player loss is still 65% player loss, companies are only gonna look at that even though 3mil world wide are still playing it (which is probably only China(This a joke)). They also have no obligations to up hold to their player base, they're not sticking with to the casual crowd, otherwise they wouldnt update the game period Before the game launched they were bragging how hard the end game was. Skills not scaling well and a poor loot system makes for a bad "hard difficulty", which is why they are fine tuning it.

 

Call of Duty and Diablo have large player bases, but at least Call of Duty can keep their players. If the patch goes well more of the players will probably stay and even forget about how bad it launched (see Borderlands)

 

Also Jay Wilson makes an apology post (EDITED in my first post)

Edited August 23, 2012 by ValenAlvern

[VooDooPC]

Call of Duty keeps its players because it's all college bros who don't know what a real game is and they keep buying the same crap over and over. This year will be the 6th year running that there is a Call of Duty game released annually. It's the same reason Madden is still one of the top selling games every year but is the same old crap every year.

 

Diablo 3 is played by actual gamers, gamers that play other games. Ask any gamer what Call of Duty is, they will know even if they've never played it. Ask any college bro playing Call of Duty what Diablo is and most will have no idea. A lot of gamers are self entitled weenies too... I bet if you read the Diablo 3 forums right now there's a post somewhere for every patch note complaining about something. "Why did you move Squirt to the main encampment? Now why would anyone go to the city!? Blizzard fail!" "Why didn't you just remake Diablo 2? Nothing was wrong with it!"

 

I'd like to see player loss on other games. How many people stopped playing Skyrim after the first 2 months? How many people stopped playing GTA IV after the first 2 months? How many people stop playing every MMORPG after the first month because that's when the free month ends? How many of those 65% of people just see Diablo 3 as a single player game they will play through once or twice and put aside? That's exactly how I played Diablo 2. I never played it online. I'm not sure if I played Diablo 3 for 2 months before playing something else, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the game.

[ValenAlvern]

I'd like to see player loss on other games. How many people stopped playing Skyrim after the first 2 months? How many people stopped playing GTA IV after the first 2 months? How many people stop playing every MMORPG after the first month because that's when the free month ends? How many of those 65% of people just see Diablo 3 as a single player game they will play through once or twice and put aside? That's exactly how I played Diablo 2. I never played it online. I'm not sure if I played Diablo 3 for 2 months before playing something else, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the game.

 

Skyrim: http://www.joystiq.c...age-pc-time-75/

 

Dont know about GTA IV, buut I know before Diablo 3 the highest player base drop Ive heard of was...35%? I forget which game it was for though.

 

EDIT: 35% was for Diablo III in one month, heh woops.

Edited August 23, 2012 by ValenAlvern

[Sky]

The thing is... most of the players who have stuck it out in Diablo 3 this long are the ones who played D2 back when it first released.

The game was broken 101 ways from sideways, when it released, but most people only remember D2 after the 5-year mark, when things really started

changing. It took a lot of time for them to fix all of the problems in D2, and, then the devs who designed D3 went in to D2, and ruined the PvP system.

I can throw up a legacy LAN game of D2, before any major patches came out (circa v1.01) and show people everything wrong with it.

Nah, Diablo 3 isn't a real successor. It isn't random like D2 was. Instead, they take static maps and randomize what is dropped onto each of the inner

squares. It has randomization, just not total randomization. But, understand that most players who weren't hardcore struggled with D2's completely

random environments.

 

I think Diablo 3 will eventually be molded, properly. The 1.0.4 patch is a great start. They've re-balanced all of the Acts; They're extremely well balanced

now. If you can't clear something, it's due to gear. There's no question of "this doesn't feel right," any more. Two-Handed weapons still need another

buff, but in all reality, one-handers were always the rage in the Diablo Universe. Paragon levels are also nice, and the decision to not share paragon

between all of an accounts toons means that people will have to pick and choose. It's a great decision, I think. While it may not be the end game every

one wants, it's still nice to have a reason to kill the trash mobs. And, while they said the MF/GF cap was 300%, apparently, they forgot to cap it (whoops!)

but, knowing the interns who make up the Blizzard programming team, they probably didn't notice.

 

The only enemy that players who aren't superbly geared really need to watch out for, funny enough, are Blazing Guardians, especially if they're the Elite

groups. They shoot fire that sits at your feet, similar to molten, but it's bugged - it completely bypasses resistances, armours, etc., so you'll get rocked if

you aren't careful. That's in Act 2, only, so if you're out of there, you should be set.

 

 

 

In regards to the development team not being the old team, I think much of it has to do with Blizzard's philosophy of:

"We're Blizzard. We can underpay, and people will work for us - because we're Blizzard."

And, it happens. I had a friend who took a job with 2K Marin as an entry-level SE, and was making 60/year. That same

job at Blizzard would net you 30 or 40. As the saying goes "That's the price you pay to work at Blizzard."

But, we can all see the repercussions of underpaying - the industry veterans leave as soon as they can, and they're

stuck with programmers and artists who are less than stellar. If you need to see what I mean with artists, just zoom in

close, or view the models in an external application, and you'll see the corners cut, everywhere.

 

Needless to say, when it comes down to it, Diablo 3 is getting better. I could run on about all of the things it isn't, in

comparison to Diablo 2. Is it the real successor? Of course not, that's what we're waiting on Torchlight 2 for - because

the TL2 guys are the people who MADE D1/D2/D2LOD, but is it a good game right now? Yes. It may require a little

bit of grinding - I rephrase; A lot of grinding, but the issues players are having are actually being addressed.

Did Blizzard truck the economy in 1.0.4? Of course! But, it was already inflated as truck, already.

 

The problem with Diablo 3; One of the problems with Diablo 3, is it's designed to be grinded over and over again.

Often, on the rare occasion that I join a public game (for those of you who don't know, I'm one of the best geared

monks who play the game, so I usually solo, or play with a friend who is easily in the top 5 in the wizarding world)

I find that players, in Inferno, are scrambling to do the objectives and advance. This is Inferno. You've beaten the

game 3 times to get here, on that character. At this point, it's about gathering up the largest pack of standards

that you can, hoping there's an elite near by, and stringing a massive combo, then destroying elites - and going

through as many as you can, as fast as you can. Those massive combos result in higher chances at magic+

drops, and also higher experience bonuses. You should be starting near the end of the act, and then running

through every area that has a high mob populace, and 2+ rares to an area.

What I'm saying, is it's all about the hunt. In Diablo 2, there was more item saturation, but those amazing items were

a lot more rare. People forget this - but, also, a lot of the people complaining, never, in fact, played Diablo 1 or 2.

It has to do with crowd control and reaction. You see person A complain, and person B complains, too, so you

complain.

 

But, still, I do admit, there are problems. Anyway, It was great to have Nightling tag a lot for a little bit in a game I

was doing with a group of friends the other night. I hope you had fun, and I know it was a bit of an eye-opener with

how fast we were pushing through areas. That's what we do; Depending on the areas we choose to farm, we can

fill a tab or two with 60+ items in under 15 minutes. Sometimes, it's longer - if we choose to explore areas that we

don't normally grind. This is the Act 2 times. Act 3 is a little bit longer, due to less saturation, and elite groups being

spread way the truck out.

 

With the 1.0.4 patch, it's clear that a lot of players have returned to Diablo 3 to give it another shot. The auction house

prices are just plain evidence of it. Crap items are now selling for tens of millions of gold - because people are buying it

up faster than it can be farmed out. The RMAH is currently in chaos, and public game amounts have sky rocketed.

Of course, 95% of players still stick to private games, so keep that in mind. Now that Magic Find isn't calculated in to the

group average, I'm extending my hand again to anyone who needs help - sorry about before, but it sucks when you try

to help someone who has no Magic Find gear, and prior to 1.0.4., it made it far too punishing to assist people - since I

often spend my farm time farming out items for people on my list who need them.

 

Also, I think staying away from pub games is a great idea. I'm going to lay down a pretty soft average minimum for DPS

that you should aim for, in order to be able to clear each act with ease, and the number next to it will be where you should

be if you plan on farming in a great amount of time. Sure, you can do it with less, but you may want to bang your head in

against the wall.

 

 

 

Personally, I'm a tank. My DPS, before buffs, comes to around 20k. Throw in my buffs, and that's (20 * 0.68) * 1000 + 20,000.

That's 13,600 + 20,000. 33,600 is my general dps. But, as a monk, every attack I have, hits every enemy around me. I can

spam my conviction buff and add another 24% on top of that, throwing me to roughly 40,000dps. And, that's pretty nutty for

a tank-specced monk. You're probably going to play with monk tanks that do 11k dps. But, if they're at less than 20k, they

have no excuse for dying - to anything. With that kind of sacrifice, they should be a solid, magical wall of dissipation.

 

Anyhow...

 

 

In Act 1, DPS players should have 400 resist all, 500 life regen, and 500 life on hit. The DPS should range between

15 to 20k. To farm effectively, it should be around 30k.

In Act 2, DPS players should have 600 resist all. 900 life regen, and 1000 life on hit. The DPS should range between

20 to 30k. To farm effectively, it should be around 45k.

In Act 3, DPS players should have 800 resist all. 1000 life regen, and 1500 life on hit. The DPS should range between

50 and 60k. To farm effectively, it should be around 75k.

Act 4 is a bit of an odd ball. It has some spiking difficulty and mobs, such as the succubus who just spam their balls of

doom. I recommend 900 resist all. 1000 life regen, and 1800 life on hit. Your DPS severely needs to be 60k+ here.

When farming, players who trial run in act 4 are required to have 80k+, but, generally we don't do Act 4, since the mob

and elite packs are so spread out, and lacks saturation. That, and Act 3 has the exact same drop rates, so we just go

there.

 

 

So, when I give these estimates, those are the unbuffed estimates.

A little bit about my resistances, life regen, and LOH.

I have 813 resist all prior to buffs. I slide under the 900 resist all, because, as a monk, I lower all damage received by

35%, and 48% from elites, and have massive regen/LOH, which makes up for it. My life regen is 1597 (that's per sec)

and my LOH is 1413. Sweeping wind procs the LOH every single time it hits an enemy. As a result, I can stand in just

about anything - even if there are 10 desecrations below me, and you'll just see my 65,000 health bounce all over the

place.

 

By all means, I'm not setting in stone here any requirement - they're just extremely knowledgeable estimates. I've seen

players in pub games do it with demon hunters at 8k dps, but they were just taking up space. Imagine trying to do that

if you weren't with a group that was carrying you? Ouch!

 

Also, I have to tell you... I love that I have a demon hunter on my friends list who does 110k dps. But, he requires me

to tank for him, since one mortar volley hits him for 15k, and he only has 28k life. Glass cannons aren't a great idea.

One of the worlds' top ranked wizards has 75k unbuffed - and 33k health. When we play, he can withstand a massive

beating. His survivability is amazing, but it means no kiting.

 

If you're looking to farm with a friend, I have to say hands down the best combination in the entire game is the

Monk+Wizard. The runner up is the Barb+Witch Doctor.

 

 

Cyclone Strike + Meteor Strike is the assured way to clear any elite group in 3 seconds; Does not apply to shielding

mobs, of course!

Barbarians have a passive that increases health globe drop rate by 25% (chance per striking of a mob, per mob) and

increasing its value by 100% (which applies to the whole party). The Witch Doctor has an ability to increase intellect,

which is also a damage direct, up to 5 times, per health globe picked up. See where I'm going? It only lasts a certain

amount of time, but it's an amazing ability.

 

Effectively, Diablo 3's downside is prior to 1.0.4, you had to play alone, or you were punished, but classes were designed

to require cooperation between another class to be fully effective.

The best 4 player group combination as a result is a Monk, Wizard, Barbarian, and Witch Doctor. When you combine the

four abilities, it makes for one hell of a festival. Yes, the other downside is it's the morons who develop WoW that developed

Diablo 3, so it has a lot of strategic requirement; Something most people don't want in a fast-paced hack'n'slash, but, I'll be

honest... I love the strategic requirement, but I'm also a strategist. It doesn't take much effort to decipher that I've spent a lot

of time comparing abilities, and testing them with friends.

 

Anyway, we're still looking at additional players for our group. so, If interested... add me on bnet: ve3tit#1950.

 

The highest player drop I've ever seen in an MMO has to be SWTOR. They lost a very high majority of their playerbase early on. It's so bad, in fact, that

less than a year after release, on a StarWars title, they're considering going completely into a F2P model. Ouch!

[VooDooPC]

Diablo 2 wasn't completely random. There was only 3-4 different layouts per area. If you had each one memorized you could easily know where everything is, even more so than Diablo 3.

[samurai nightling]

I did have fun sky, it was just so late otherwise i woulda ran with u guys some more and tried out the passive for cold attack damage (forget the name right now). I had already ran a few with my other friend in A1 just to test the waters but with your group A2 is definitely doable. We'll play some more, and I'll hopefully have some better gear

 

Also that a HUGE post lol. I stopped reading halfway down.

Edited August 23, 2012 by samurai nightling

[boiler]

I like how I spent all that time leveling my DH, and now apparently it is viewed as a drag on any team environment.

 

My barbarian doesn't have nearly good enough gear to start farming Inferno with yet.

[Sky]

Demon Hunters aren't awful. The problem is most spam crit%/crit chance/dex , and don't go for survivability.

Now that you can search 6 affixes, you should search for:

 

Dex

Crit%

CritChance

Vitality

ResistAll

MagicFind

 

I say Magic find, until you get paragon levels up and don't need it anymore =p

[boiler]

I've got on average 350 resist all at the moment. The only thing that can come close to one-shotting me is if butcher grabs me. Act II is still a serious grind solo though

[Sky]

The ranges I posted are for actual survivability. Getting killed in less than 5 shots is a major lack in survivability.

Take another player I sometimes play with; A demon hunter with 110,000 dps, and no survivability. He dies repeatedly to everything.

Even standard mobs can roll him over.

 

And, because of how much he dies, I can often clear Act 2 alone faster, than with him in the group. Survivability is extremely important.

Get the gear. It's expensive, but it's worth it. And, if you don't have the gear, I can sell you gear I've farmed out. It's still going to be

expensive, it just won't be as expensive as buying it on the auction house would be. Before anyone asks, yes, resistance + mf gear

will run you several million for a good set. The set I'm wearing is valued at close to 200m.