The Core of Diablo

[O_Bruce]

Blessed Mother is certainly a devious lady. She only charged me for 69(nice).99 gold.

 

[Cahir]

Here are some random first impressions of a noob (I played D1, D2 and D3, but all of it was rather casually).

• The grim and gritty look and feel reminds of Diablo 1, which was my favourite part when it comes to general atmosphere. I get the feeling that Darkness won't always be dark and Light won't always be light. The part of the main story in the very first village gave the impression, this game will be all about 50 shades of gray.
• From little what I saw, the story won't be overly complicated, it's still not a fully fledged RPG, don't get confused about that. You won't see long, branched dialogues, full of emotions - it's still good old Diablo style, but more. Still, it's a small step in tthe right direction.
• I like the UI, it's transparent and elegantly crafted. Nothing fancy, but fits the general visual tone. Love the item comparison window, it shows everything I need to know, to understand which item fits my build more. What's interesting, you can set how much info you want to see on screen in the Gameplay Options menu. Generally, there is a lot you can customize in options.
• There are no mana potions, instead you can replenish mana (or whatever it's called in D4), by killing enemy creatures. I like it, because I only need to keep an eye to replenish my health. Also, I like that health potions are grouped under one key, so I don't need to use keys 1-4, depending on the slot where I put the potion, as was in D2. It's convenient, makes you think less about which key to hit and let you more focus on action.
• There seems to be no town portal scrolls, you just can teleport whenever you like.
• Backpack space seems to be generous (comparing to D2, for example). I like it a lot, as I don't like a constant micromanagement. I wish there were more sorting options, though.
• There seems to be a lot of interesting features to unlock, I saw for an alchemist, that allows you to brew potions or upgrade picked up plants to more advanced plants (that will probably be needed for more powerful potions). There is a transmog option (yay!) that you can unlock, collecting various materials while venturing the world.
• Random encounters are tough. The only time I got killed so far (I'm playing on Veteran) was during such an encounter. Surprisingly, when I got back there after resurrecting, the encounter was no more. So, it seems you have just once chance to complete it?
• So far, I saw only a few other players running around, but haven't had the chance to group with anyone to kill a boss.
• I'm still very early in character development to judge how all those skills feel, but so far I like the additional elemental damage from my weapons (with additional debuffing effects) and a werewolf shapeshifting. I feel like a proper druid.
• Polish version is fantastic so far, although I get the feeling that Druid's voice may be one of those less interesting among the characters to choose.

 

[mlnevese]

All right... bad things happened. I got swayed by ancient evil being. Being so strikingly beautiful, and yet... disturbingly intimidating. She said good is just a wordly possession, that I don't need, to feel alive. She also said, that the true knowledge can be found in a place, called Sanctuary. This... city... is guarded by an ancient warden, who can get me in, if I give up some of the gold, that I supposedly don't need. A mere 89.99 gold, she said - a small price for an infinite knowledge that lies there, just waiting for me to reach for it.

The name of this magnificent creature was... Lilith. And I bowed before her wisdom.

I'm innocent. I didn't do anything that may have helped you make that decision

 

[Cahir]

Blessed Mother is certainly a devious lady. She only charged me for 69(nice).99 gold.

Yes, she charged me steep. But her voice was so soothing, promising great things. My simple mind simply couldn't resist her otherwordly aura.

 

[Urdnot_Wrex]

Yes, she charged me steep. But her voice was so soothing, promising great things. My simple mind simply couldn't resist her otherwordly aura.

Hah. Good for you, Lilith is obviously smart and convincing.

If RL weren't so time-consuming and all at the moment, and if I didn't think I should play D2R first, she might get me too.

It's cool to see you're all having so much fun, please keep letting us participate by sharing your impressions!

 

[Cahir]

So, I've chosen a druid as my first character, since I never ever played one before, but I feel like I'm building it in a suboptimal way. I plan to do a full respec and rebuild him as a werewolf shapeshifter, heavily focused on poison damage and summons (to keep enemies at bay). I'm not an expert build planner, so I'd welcome your thought about this. Here's the list of skills I plan to pick:

Basic Skills:

• Storm Strike -> Enhanced Storm Strike -> Fierce Storm Strike (I use it now, and it's great, Enhanced Storm Strike gives you a chance to immobilize enemies and Fierce Storm Strike a chance to make them vulnerable)
• Claw -> Enhanced Claw -> Fierce Claw (That will be my secondary basic attack. Fierce claw applies a bit of poison damage over 6 seconds)

Core Skills:

• Shred -> Enhanced Shred -> Raging Shred (Enhanced Shred heals you after each successful hit, which I feel may be a lifesaver and Raging shred applies even more poison damage)
• Lightning Storm -> Enhanced Lightning Storm -> Primal Lightning Storm (I'm using this setup now as AoE attack, and it works very well. Primal Lightning Storm gives you one more opportunity to immobilize opponents).

Defensive Skills:

• Blood Howl -> Enhanced Blood Howl -> Innate Blood Howl (This will be my main healing skill, which should complement Enhanced Shred. Additionally, Innate Blood Howl generates 20 spirit, which allows me to use Core skills more often.

Companion Skills:

• Poison Creeper -> Enhanced Poison Creeper -> Brutal Poison Creeper (Another option to immobilize and poison enemies, which is great.)
• Wolves -> Enhanced Wolf Pack -> Brutal Wolf Pack (Enhanced Wolf Pack allows your summons to deal additional damage to immobilized, stunned and poisoned enemies, statuses that I rely heavily on)
• Ravens -> Enhanced Ravens -> Ferocious Ravens (Ferocious Ravens gives another option to apply Vulnerable state to enemies, which I find essential)

Key Passive:

• Lupine Ferocity (since I rely heavily on werewolf shape, this will boost their damage)

Passives:

• Predatory Instincts (This should heavily boost my close range attacks)
• Clarity (Allows to regain some spirit when you change shape, which should be a good idea)
• Neurotoxin (This will slow poisoned enemies, which should work perfectly, since I will be relying heavily on poison).
• Envenom (Poisoned enemies takes more critical strike damage, which is great)
• Quickshift (Damage boost when shapeshifting. Always good to deal more damage).
• Natural Fortitude (Shapeshifting applies Fortify effect on your character, which should be great).

I'll appreciate your insight, guys. On paper this looks solid to me, but as I said, I'm not an expert build planner, so I'd welcome some feedback.

 

[O_Bruce]

To be honest, while I do play Druid right now, I can't say much about your build aside from that I can see your thought process here. The common opinion about D4 Druids so far is that they are rather weak at first or in mid-game, but they are really strong at end game. As for your build, it is difficult to say how valid will it be, because aside from the sound idea and synergy between skills, there is a matter of legendary powers and aspects at your disposal. Having started the game recently, of course I do not know them

If you haven't done so already, I strongly recommend visiting Tul Dulra and unlock Druid's special mechanics after a questline there. One of the spirit offerings bonuses you can get there is a chance to reset cooldowns on your Companion skills on crit. There are other bonuses available as well. Also, look for dungeons with useful Aspects for you and complete them

 

[Cahir]

If you haven't done so already, I strongly recommend visiting Tul Dulra and unlock Druid's special mechanics after a questline there.

Yeah, I've been trying to do that, but there is a requirement to retake the fortress first, and my initial attempts were a failure. I hope that after my skill rebuild, it will go smoother.

As for legendary items, I only dropped 1 so far (fortunately it's a druid item), so can't tell much about those too. Also, the aspects that I unlocked via dungeons were mostly necromancers, so nothing exciting for me yet.

We'll see. I should have picked the other class, for my first playthrough, not the one that is probably the most difficult to master

 

[Antimatter]

A question. Can you keep an item for another class in some kind of storage so that you could use it with another character?

 

[Cahir]

A question. Can you keep an item for another class in some kind of storage so that you could use it with another character?

There is a storage, yes. It's located in the first major city (probably not only) and from what I read, it's indeed shared between your other characters.

 

[Cahir]

Statut report after rebuilding my druid according to notes above.

It works! Ha! He's still not a powerhouse (I trust you guys it'll come later), but it's much, much better now. I can beat bosses now!

The key in this setup are Rend (with poison damage even more), Blood Howl (healing outside of using potions is a life saver) and Wolves (they can perfectly distract bosses, while I can dash and recharge Spirit with couple of quick hits and then attack with my Core skills). I managed to kill Den Mother on a first attempt with this tactics!

Druid does require a lot of micromanagement to be effective, but now it's really fun.

 

[O_Bruce]

That's neat! Also, the micromanagement part seems to be also correct for me. Basically, I run with Overpower Werebear build, and besides a 3% chance of naturally Overpowering with a hit, I also have a "free" one once in 20 seconds while in a Werebear form, and once per 12 seconds with specific skills (Pulverize) when the Druid is healthy (meaning having 80% or more life). Micromanagement comes with not only being mindful of free Overpowers, but also of my health (to remain "healthy) and the desire to not waste free Overpower with weak attacks.

That aside, I began thinking recently that, had people were doing hardcore playthroughs in this topic, most of them would end with "and then I was ambushed by the Butcher".

 

[Cahir]

Yeah, and this is exactly what happened to me this morning. I was "Butchered".

That aside, I began thinking recently that, had people were doing hardcore playthroughs in this topic, most of them would end with "and then I was ambushed by the Butcher".

 

[mlnevese]

Druids are quite powerful late game. Low damage but almost unkillable.

Butcher seems to choose the worst possible moments to show up. The first time I saw him I was playing with my wife. We were completing a dungeon and fighting four elite vampire wallers while also fighting a small army of undead and demons... We were already having trouble staying alive and moving when he showed up....

 

[Cahir]

I was thinking to make some changes in my build. Since I cannot benefit from Companion passive bonus, if I don't put their skill on the skill bar, I'll have a room only for one. I'm consider to switch wolves to poison creeper. I kind of think wolves work best in conjunction with other companions, alone they lack a bit of punch and their active ability is underwhelming. Alternatively I'll switch Lightning Storm to Poison Creeper and will go with two summons (although it's less likely, because I use Lighting Storm on a regular basis). Decisions, decisions.

 

[O_Bruce]

Since the last time I posted, I managed to get killed by the Butcher once again while exploring dungeons. On a bright note, I got some aspects/codecs I could use for my build and now my Werebear got actually pretty strong. It is either due to the right combination of multiple things of the build or Druids being really late bloomers

Some legendary powers I have currently on:
- Increased attack speed on primary skills
- Primary skills increase the damage of core skills per hit, up to 30%
- My companion skills do more damage, I also can have 1 more companion. For my character build, this means one more good boy.
- The damage of my core skills is increased by 8% for every companion I have active. So, right now it is 24% for all three good boys.

I have finished Act II of the story, and I must say... I think it is easy to assume that at some point, I'll be fighting and killing Lillith. Having that in mind, I really want to make her pay.

 

[Cahir]

Guys, I need an advice. This aspect mechanics is confusing

• Let's say I got a cool legendary item, but after couple of levels it falls behind with the stats. You can upgrade it a bit (4 levels of upgrade) by smith, but it's just a minor buff. What are you doing in that case? Do you retrieve the aspect and apply it to a rare item, with higher required level, essentially turning it into a new legendary item?
• When I get a new legendary item, is it better to extract an aspect from it (even of it doesn't seem to benefit my build) or destroy it, which gives a legendary tier material, needed for the 4th level legendary item upgrade?
• Can you give additional aspect to a legendary item or change its current aspect to a different one?
• Are there more powerful items than legendary (unique or something)?

I'm confused how is the best way to manage my legendary items.

 

[Cahir]

This whole item management reminds of the one from Assassin's Creed: Oddysey, wher you could also customize your gear based on the engravings you acquired. I must admit, I'm not a fan of such design, as it's strips the loot from uniqueness. Sure, you can tailor your gear to your liking, in a way that benefits your build. But from what I see, it doesn't matter what stats your legendary drop will have, because with aspect adding and affix changing features, you can basically turn whatever rare item you'll find into a legendary one, with abilities that you like. Am I reading it correctly?

 

[Cahir]

I'd love to see following features when it comes to itemization. I hope Blizzard will add at least some of them at some point.

• A way go upgrade your items to your current level, that will bump their core stats (armor, damage, affixes %). Simple as that.
• Rune words. And I know it's the most common request. I found rune words a great addition in D2.
• Set items. The same as rune words. I was always so happy when I dropped green items in D2.

Just to not leave an impression I'm only whining, he's my progress report.

I finally managed to go to the druid fortress and unlock those nifty druid skills. Now my Rend's cooldown was reduce to a level, I seriously consider Lightning Storm a bit redundant, and will probably change it to something else. I think either Poison Creeper or Debilitating Roar.

Need to finally do some main quest, all I did till now is side questing.

 

[O_Bruce]

@Cahir
For Diablo 4, a legendary item just means "rare, with a legendary power", so yeah, they don't feel very unique. However, in World Tiers III and IV onward you can find Unique items. These have their attributes and powers set in stone and cannot be modified. So, when you drop Harlequin Crest (yes, the Shako exists in D4, saw the screenshots), it will always have what you expect it to have.

As for managing legendary powers, aspects etc, ask yourself if you are going to roll another Druid anytime soon. Because if not, you can easily scrap the legendary items that you are unlikely to use in the near future for materials. I would not necessarily recommend extracting every aspect you can find, because in the endgame (World Tiers III and IV) when you get access to higher tiers of items, you cannot use lower-tier aspects on the higher-tier item. Namely, you cannot use aspects from "normal" legendary on Sacred or Ancestral legendaries.

Another bit of info I have for you, legendary items can last quite a while since their legendary power can be just that useful. From all equipment slots, the weapon starts falling behind the quickest, so for weapons, I suggest imbuing re-usable powers from Codex of Powers on new cool rare weapons you find that work well with your build. Also, for my current knowledge, you cannot just swap legendary powers between two legendaries.

As for enchanting your gear and changing affixes, yes, you can do that. However, the costs of doing so are increasing very quickly with each enchantent attempt, so if you keep doing that you'll go banckrupt

As for opinion pieces, I do agree with runewords. As for your first idea, I don't think that would work out because it would defeat purpose of finding better gear. As for set items, they are rather problematic. In D2 only few sets could be worth making builds around in engame. In D3, sets utterly derailed the game and are responsible for insane power creep, something I do not wish to see in D4 ever. Needless to say, implementing sets well is going to be tricky. It would be cool if they could be implemented without feeling underwhelming or dominating the game, but I don't believe it happening if earlier Diablo games are of any indications.