The Core of Diablo

[O_Bruce]

Mal the Summoning Druid - part 3

And to be honest, I don't have that much to talk about Mal's adventures in Kurast, mostly because they were so relatively safe to the point basically nothing was threatening to him. Which brings out the question: should I make updates on act 4, 5 and pre-nightmare leveling or just post next update at start of nightmare difficulty? I certainly think that normal difficulty with this character is just to easy and I barely have anything to say about the gameplay.

Regardless, some of screenshots from key moments of act III:

And finally, to really emphasize how easy this character is at this point, I clipped the fight against Zakarum's Council Members and Mephisto from the stream. Here they are.

zelgadisgw - Summoning Dru vs Trav Normal

Watch zelgadisgw's clip titled "Summoning Dru vs Trav Normal"

www.twitch.tv

zelgadisgw - Summon Dru vs Meph Normal

Watch zelgadisgw's clip titled "Summon Dru vs Meph Normal"

www.twitch.tv

Mal's stats and skills:

Spoiler: Stats and skills

There are also 1 point spend on Werewolf, Lycanthropy, Werebear, Maul and Shockwave

 

[Antimatter]

I'd leave that up to you. I checked on the stream later, and agree with you that it feels chilling instead of worrying. But that's a good thing for the Hardcore character. I'm so happy to see how the game now allows a completely different concept of a druid to be valid and viable. After all, it's a druid, and I think for the majority of people, druids are associated with nature, animals, and summonning.

 

[Antimatter]

Some praise for Diablo 3. NGL, when D3 released, I was disappointed. Maybe if you're like me, you should give the game another chance.

"A game with a disastrous launch and some fundamental problems with its core design has grown into one of Blizzard's most long-lasting and beloved games. The future looks bright for the series, with Diablo 4 on the horizon and even the once-maligned Diablo Immortal starting to raise curiosity among series fans. But if Diablo 3 is any indication, whatever those games are at launch may not resemble what they'll be 10 years later. Blizzard has shown it will take the time to get it right and create an enduring classic, come hell or high water."

How Diablo 3 Went From Disastrous Launch To A Hell Of A Good Time

Diablo 3 is a testament to Blizzard's long-term support, having turned a game that was widely criticized into a true gem.

www.gamespot.com

 

[O_Bruce]

This is an interesting take [from gamespot]. It is true that the game now is much better than it was 10 years ago overall, but to call it a most beloved is taking it too far in this opinion. Lately, I have also seen a take that described Diablo 3 as classic, which also I disagree with.

Diablo 3 was polished well over the years, but the core design is the problem. Think of this like this: when you have two gems of different value, one will have more value after the polishing process than the other. Diablo 3 is that less valued gem. I cannot in good conscience say that the game that has constant insane power creep, 21 difficulty levels, shallow character growth and skill systems, and more is a well-designed game.

That being said, it still can be fun to play. And if someone who started the journey with Diablo 3 after 2.0 patch now describes the game as classic, then good for them.

 

[O_Bruce]

Mal the Summoning druid - part 4

Izual offered little in terms of providing threat. But hey, at least I Mal could relax and observe his mercenary's spellcasting animation. It is really cool, I tell you, striking a pose and all.

Spoiler

Anyways, the two skillpoints from Izual that Mal got went into Heart of the Wolverine. So far, the summon only strengthens my Dire Wolves' attack, but that will change when the Bear will come to the play. The traverse through the City of the Damned and the River of Flame was quite easy - that's just this build for you. The rune I got from doing Hellfire Forge was Tal (if I recall). Would much prefer Ort (for Lore runeword, Ort + Sol), but I guess I'll get it later. The Chaos Sanctuary was provided some change of pace with two elements. First of all, one of seal guardian mini bosses.

Spoiler

These guys' Inferno attack deal massive damage. As you can see in the screenshot above, Mal currently has only 4 Wolves summoned and no Dire Wolves in sight. This is mostly due to damage the boss pack leader dealt. Luckily, the Druid could just re-summoned his minions. Though Mal used several mana potions to keep re-summoning his pets.

The second is Diablo himself. His spells were devastating to poor good boys and they needed to be re-summoned quite frequently. Also, Diablo's demonic powers, particularly his red lightning hose were pretty deadly, keeping Mal in focus on staying alive. However, the Lord of Terror has fallen in battle.

Spoiler

Act V started in a very standard way, with neither quest 1 and quest 2 being any problem. With that said, we have approached a moment to introduce an MVP of act 5. The true mad lad. The destroyer of world and the ultimate chad. I am referring of Thresh Socket. Just look at this absolute unit:

Spoiler

And 1-2 seconds later...

Yup. He nearly one-shotted Mal while STOMPING the ground.

What actually happened? Mal not being in his Werebear form and being under an Amplify Damage curse. This combination proved to be nearly deadly. Mal definitely needs to watch out for that in the future.

The funny thing is, prior to Resurrected, the siege beasts' stomps were doing absolutely nothing at all due to bug. But now, that's changed and the Tresh Socket is the biggest MVP in Baal's army.

While quest to rescue Anya went well, I was quite anxious about Nihlathak. Luckily, Mal was able to avoid most of the damage from corpse explosions. With the traitor out of the way, Mal reached level 30, adding a powerful Bear to his army of pets. Just in time to face the Ancients

Spoiler

As you can see, Mal decided it was safe enough to Maul away together with his new Bear companion

Now at level 31, it was time to finish the Normal difficulty. Two things were kinda worth mentioning: the last wave of Baal minions were one of them. They were very tought, able to tank a lot of damage, they were also highly resistant to fire, so my mercenary's spell and buffs weren't that effective. Finally, they were able to deal a lot of damage, so Mal needed to stun them with Shockwave constantly.

Spoiler

Now I realize that fighting while letting Baal to Deceprify my fighting force was a bad idea.

Speaking of Baal...

Spoiler

He was a bit like Diablo, in regard that his spells were doing most of damage to Mal's pets. His cold cone in particular required re-summoning Mal's minion not only because of damage, but also to swiftly re-positioning them.

But all in all, Baal is typically able to endure much damage, but he is not known for being the most dangerous monster out there. Eventually, he was slain and Mal finished the Normal difficulty at level 32.

Mal finished the Normal difficulty at character level 32. But before moving to Nightmare I grinded him to level 40. No mindblowing loot was found along the way.

Stats and skills:

Spoiler

Mercenary:

Spoiler

 

[Antimatter]

Ohhh, I didn't know about the Tresh Socket. That is a tough opponent indeed. Lucky that you survived.

 

[alice_ashpool]

ha

 

[O_Bruce]

I played some Immortal already and I agree on some areas, though I would describe my biggest gripe with it as pacing problems. The game seems afraid to lose players' attention way too much. You are constantly moving from one new thing to the other, from one conversation to another, from one set piece to another etc at a very rapid pace. It feels as if the game decides how fast it wants to be played, not the player.

Story telling resembles the Diablo III approach, which is rather bad when combined with the game's pace. Diablo III had its story told in mediocre dialogue and cutscenes with a questionable presentation. But at the very least, you could take a breather, ask NPCs about various things, listen to bestiary or lore books etc - something I really liked. This is absent in Immortal as far as my experience goes and it harms my enjoyment. In contradiction to MrLlamaSC, I do care quite a lot about the lore.

I don't like the skill system. In Immortal, you have one main attack, and the rest skills are cooldown with no other resources. Compare it to Diablo III, when you had skills that generate resources. Secondary attacks that spend the resources. Skills on cooldown that do not require resources. Skills on cooldown that generate resources. There was a variety, with the potential to create a build with an interesting dynamic. Diablo Immortal is stepping down in that regard.

I do genuinely enjoyed most of the boss battles, they seemed to be better than most I've seen in Diablo series ever.

PC port is still in beta phase and it shows in several areas - it seems that not much was changed from mobile version interface-wise, which is a shame. Also, the game with controller is extremely unresponsive

 

[O_Bruce]

Ok, now I know I won't be playing past basic story

 

[Antimatter]

As if nobody saw it coming...

Diablo Immortal faces a backlash as Metacritic user score drops to Blizzard’s third lowest ever | VGC

Loot boxes and a PvP mode ‘ruined by pay to win’ are among the top complaints from players…

www.videogameschronicle.com

 

[O_Bruce]

I love the nickname this game got. Diablo Immoral.

Anyways...

Mal the summoning druid
Nightmare difficulty part 1

Ok, I will be changing up the way I'm doing updates on this playthrough. No matter in what way I would want to spin it, nothing can change the fact this is very safe build. So, I'll be approaching the updates in a more technical way

So, Mal is now on Nightmare difficulty at level 40 with little to no notable gear, Ancient's Pledge runeword being the best he has. Without grinding excessively on bosses, I think it would be safe to assume that I'll get my hands on:
- 2x Spirit runeword (Tal + Thul + Ort + Amn) for Mal and his mercenary
- 2x Lore runeword (Ort + Sol) for Mal and his mercenary - for Mal, Lore in some pelt with +skills would be a good idea, if possible
- Crafted Prismatic Amulet (Perfect Gems -skulls combined with any magical amulet) - a good bonus to all resistances with a chance for secondary mod. +1 to Druid Skills level, or +2 to summoning skills for druid would be ideal, but unikely.
- Splendor runeword for mercenary - would be easier to obtain than Lidless Wall, and the act 3 mercenary doesn't need much gear with +res, since they have the most +res per level.

All of the above are relatively easy to find in comparison to uniques like Skin of Vipermagi and so on.

And how was Mal's progress through Act 1 Nightmare? Very well and very safe, encountering no problem on his way. Just ask Griswold:

Spoiler

Or the Countess:

Spoiler

She didn't drop runes I need though. Although Io is not a terrible drop.

As you can see, the playthrough was not eventful until in the Catacombs Mal decided to check out the sarphophagus:

Spoiler

That is pretty sweet weapon for Mal's druidic needs. +2 to skills means stronger summons, more HP as werebear and more duration in the form. Also, better stun time on Shockwave and Maul. Plus, the Dark Clan Crusher, as the name suggests, is quite good for bonking enemies with in Werebear form. It also changes something about my plan: the first Spirit Runeword I'll have will go to Mercenary, instead of me.

It didn't take long to find Andariel and show her that the pack of wolves is to be feared. She did put some fight, at the very least.

Spoiler

Defeating Andariel awarded Mal with useless rare items and access to act II.

Stats and skills:

Spoiler

 

[O_Bruce]

The Necromancer was announced as Diablo IV fifth playable class. Also, the release date of the game is simply "2023". You can sign on to beta, but no further details are added.
There is going to be a cross-play and cross-progression between different versions of the game on different consoles.

Diablo IV Coming 2023 | Necromancer Is 5th Playable Class | Beta Signup Now Live

Hell on the Horizon: Diablo IV Coming in 2023 Diablo IV has been confirmed for a 2023 release date, and the Necromancer as it's 5th playable class! PC/...

www.diablofans.com

Personally, I am glad that Necromancer is coming back and after seeing the trailer, I am even more glad that you'll be able to customize how your character looks in the game, because that hairstyle, every time I see it, is absolutely retarded and cringe. And cringe is the last thing I want to experience when looking at the priest of Rathma.

 

[O_Bruce]

Mal the summoning Druid
Nightmare difficult part 2

This time around, the game really wants Mal to reconsider his life choices... But let's start from the beginning.
The build is safe, so there was no problem in clearing act 2. The most interesting challenge-wise were
tombs with greater mummies in it and the maggot lair, of all things, because to be optimal, Mal had to re-summon his pets
to re-position them strategically. Either to attack greater mummies first (so that they wouldn't resurrect other undead) or
to make sure the bear is attacking first in the narrow corridors of Maggot Lair.

In the middle of act II, some things happened. First, Mal decided to go back to normal difficulty and socket the sword he found to make Spirit Runeword in it
and give it to his Iron Wolf mercenary. Then, he found another sword with 4 sockets, but that one required 79 dexterity points - something Mal didn't have right now,
so he decided to hold on to it to use in the future.

Though right now, Mal doubts it will be used for something. Why? Because the game wants Mal to reconsider his life choices by providing dropping him items that would support melee build.

Both items can also be improved to their Exceptional versions, making them much more useful

In addition to the above drops (and the Dark Clan Crusher), there is a matter of a synergy of skills Mal currently uses. You know, Wolves, Bear and Heart of Wolverine do synergize well with each other and that's fine. But to be honest, I am very disappointed with the Ravens. They don't strike me as good as they were during PTR. They don't have to be summoned that often, but they are much weaker. So right now, they do feel more like passive damage bonus instead of acting almost like an offensive spell. In addition, Ravens don't benefit from Heart of Wolverine or mercenary's Enchant. So, by respecing my character, I could save all the points from the Ravens and invest them in something other. For example, I could easily max out HoW. Or, given the items I have found, make Mal a hybrid shapeshifter-summoner build. This is something I am still thinking about and I still haven't decided the route yet.

Anyways, Duriel. Enough said.

 

[Antimatter]

Yeah, that's one of the game's biggest strength points - with good loot, the player starts to evaluate their build choices. And that loot you got is damn good! Btw, do you know if the upcoming Magic Find Weekend will affect Single-Player games as well?

 

[O_Bruce]

I don't know if that's the case. I guess we will find out.
I do know, however, that with a patch that comes out today Cain will finally identify stuff in Horadric cube. So, best patch ever

 

[Antimatter]

Decided to check out the new approach towards charge-up & discharge mechanics of the Assassin class. I also want to gather the full Natalya's Odium set armor, which I have never done before. The challenge will be not using the Fade skill at all, instead focusing on Burst of Speed (this should make killing enemies with melee elemental attacks faster).

I'm liking the change a lot - now, your attack doesn't discharge all 3 charges, but instead discharges them one by one. This makes elemental melee assassins more fun to play.

Got some nice starting items already.

Spoiler

 

[O_Bruce]

Hey, that's nice luck. Two ethereal rare items with auto-repair mod on them. Great!
And I think going for Burst of Speed instead of Fade could potentially free you some skill points (because Fade requires many skill point of investment if you want to increase your physical damage resistance - 1% per skillpoint, while Burst of Speed can act as 1-point wonder). Though you'll need to take care of your elemental resistances more.

Looking forward to Mara's further adventures and whether she'll find her Kaleidoscope

 

[Antimatter]

Well, I plan to invest more than 1 point into Burst of Speed (currently put 3 into it) - because that's the core concept of this run, and because getting Increased Attack Speed (IAS) is so important for breakpoints. I'm using this site to check my current frames per attack - https://d2.lc/IAS/ (9.75 currently)

Fast, furious, and risky. Also, Cloak of Shadows (that is required to get Fade) is actually one of the best perks the Assasin has as it blinds enemies. Especially helpful against shooters (except for the rare ones).

So it's more about a different character concept than perk point efficiency. Definitely harder to play (without Fade).

Mara reached lvl 14, now has a 45% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (plus 27% on the mercenary rogue), and it started to show. Neat rare rings from Act 1.

Spoiler

 

[Antimatter]

Andariel was handled by Mara at lvl 14 (very early). The fight was very short, I barely managed to take a screenshot (the demon was at a 1/4 of her health seconds after saying "the greetings"). When Mara teleported back to the rogue's camp, her health was equal to 1 due to the deadly poison from Andariel.

A little bit of grinding followed (had to be very careful when poisoned), and Mara moved to the desert region, changing her scales armour for more leather.

Current items and stats (quite a progress there, mana leech & regeneration now allows Mara to constantly use Dragon Claw as her finishing move). The Manald Heal ring was "found" in a shared stash. Apparently, I had this extra ring prepared there for the next character during my Amazon playthrough a few months ago.

Spoiler

On a side note, found this neat video on Diablo games' lore:



Since I haven't played D3 until the end, it's useful to know what happened there. I was surprised by what I learned (finding out about the faith of a few Diablo 1 NPCs was really interesting).

 

[Telumatan]

Nice progress, everywhere