Diablo 3/Reaper of Souls

Took half of eternity to get there, but I finally got RoS running.

First off, I have NOT completed D3, I did not make it further than Act 2, truth be told.

I started a game with a Crusader, the new class in RoS. This guy is a tank on steroids. I am now level 7 and I am barely breaking a sweat. The Crusader, in many points, reminds me of the Paladin in D2, but souped up big time.

I disliked playing Paladins in D2, but I enjoy my run with a Crusader so far. Shield bash is better than in D2, and he has some sweet skills like a medium-range weapon sweep that strikes all enemies in vicinity.

Like I said I did not complete D3 so with RoS, but I have to admit, I am having an easier time with the Crusader than with my barbarian.

So far, so good. South Park might have been a lot of fun, but RoS definitively was a better investment.

Good to know the Crusader is fun to play. I've played a bit of every classes and there are slightly different ways of playing them. So far I've been really impressed with the Witch Doctor who is a true beast (especially in hardcore mode) which tends to prove that first impressions can be deceiving.

So far I have played only the two tank classes and I haven't tackled the Demon Hunter or Witch Doctor. I played a monk for a bit but that was over at a former friend's house.

F3 and NV burned through my time but I am for the most part done with both games so now I will tackle D3 heads-on. Despite the differences, this game DOES have parts of what made D2 great and with RoS I find it even more enjoyable.

The game is repetitive but it's a lot better now that they've improved the loot system.

I'm playing hardcore mode to keep things interesting and I like the Demon Hunter for sheer damage but it is very fragile. The Wizard is a pretty solid contestant though and unexpectedly turning out to be more enjoyable than I first expected. I really like Monks but I haven't had much luck with them. Barbarians are powerful but I don't find them very flexible (if you see what I mean).

The streamlined nature of the game also means it's easy to get back into it after taking a long break.

I'm curious about the adventure mode introduced by the expansion and I'm looking forward to hearing what you will have to say about it.

I reached level 20 (!) with my Crusader.

This guy is a powerhouse on steroids, seriously. When I fought the Leoric with my barbarian I burned through my stash of potions and I kept some distance. With the Crusader, though? Leoric was such a pushover I didn't even need one single potion!

On top of that he has a skill to use a two-handed weapon with a shield. I am basicallg using a hugeass Legendary two-handed mace like it's but a tiny mace.

This guy puts the barbarian to shame.

I am enjoying my playthrough so far. I can't wait to crush that stupid witch's skull with my mace. Her and her coven are pissing me off.

The two handed weapon with shield sounds way too powerful... I guess that's how they justify selling an overpriced expansion.

Still it also sounds like a lot of fun.

Considering that the Barbarian is already powerful (I don't like it much but it's very popular) that says a lot.

If you need potions to beat Leoric (with any class) it means that you need to level up. Leoric is a real pushover compared to some of the bosses in this game.

I've completed the game once with a Demon Hunter on Normal and the only boss that killed my guy was

Spoiler:

who took me completely by surprise (I got him on the second try though).

I did some grinding with my Crusader and I also had better gear, I had a shitload of rares destroyed and reforged me some nice stuff.

Leoric was an absolute joke because the weapon I had then gave me +61 life after each kill. So everytime he would summon skeletons I would use my swipe attack to kill his three summons at once, restoring 183HP, offsetting Leoric's damage.

Plus between 4 pieces of equipment I had like +90 strength and +83 vitality.

While it could be argued that that expansion is overpriced, I feel all the improvements brought to the table make D3 a truly good game. Not as good as D2, but it truly feels like a worthy sequel to me now.

Did you get your hands on some legendary stuff? Now that's the really nice gear...

By the way I'm not saying D3 is not fun. It is as streamlined as can be (which is only a bad thing for people who enjoy making builds and crunching numbers more than actually playing the game).

At least D2 Lord of Destruction had two extra classes... They could have brought back the Druid in Reaper of Souls or introduced another character concept that would have justified the price.

Yeah, I got a Legendary two-handed mace with a ridiculous +52 strength and I also got shoulder pads. The improved loot system makes me want to redo areas just for item runs. I also started to get gems as well.

I know you weren't saying D3 isn't fun, brother, but before the huge patch and RoS I have to admit I wasn't exactly thrilled with the game either. After playing D2 it felt like a massive downgrade, but patched and with RoS, it is a damn good game.

I agree that RoS should have introduced another class apart from the crusader. I wasn't terribly fond of the Druid TBH.

I will try a monk next, I think. I want to play the game to death now that it is shoulder-to-shoulder with D2 in terms of quality.

I've completed the game when I first got it and during that entire run I only found ONE legendary item and it didn't even fit my character... A big legendary hammer for a Demon Hunter? Yeah, right.   

I came back to the game after they fixed the looting system and I have to say it makes a world of difference.

The main reason to play a hack and slash game like D3 is to get new shiny items. Since the latest patch the game can be played that way (nobody is replaying it for the story alone).

I've had rotten luck with Monks (playing Hardcore) but I'm a big fan of this class.

I've started playing Normal mode but after completing the game I switched to Hardcore and I've been trying to level all characters at once so if one dies it's not a big deal. Several of my Monks have fallen to the infamous disconnect error but I find that playing Normal mode there is absolutely no challenge.

In any case I will probably be getting the expansion in April if I can spare the cash. It's a bit expensive but I've already invested time and money in this title and I don't see the price going down anytime soon.

By the way it seems that if we want to play together one of us will have to switch regions and start a character from scratch. I don't know why they didn't make it easier for people from all around the world to play together.

Just finished act 1. It was a nice touch of Nostalgia seeing The Butcher, but he was just as big of a pushover as Leoric was.

He dropped me a Legendary ring (sweet!) and four rares, two I gave to the Templar follower, and the others I salvaged. I had a sweet two-handed hammer forged, and with 5 random magic attributes I laid my Legendary two-handed mace in my stash.

I met the Scoudrel, but a Crusader and a Templar are just too deadly of a combo. Seriously, I am bulldozing through enemies.

I fucking love this game. It reminded me of everything that was awesome about D2, and improves it.

The Crusader has some nice skills, too. The Skill tree isn't bad, not as flexible as D2, but I like it, too.

On to act 2, then. I can't wait to murder that annoying witch.

Nice.

I hate the witch as much as anyone but I find that Act 2 is a bit too predictable. That being said the change of scenery is really nice (definitely my favourite setting, what can I say I love sand).

I get nostalgia from the music and some of the voice acting (back in the days I played D1 so much that I had memorized almost every line in the game).

EDIT: I've decided to buy the expansion right away, now I'm off to start a Crusader.  

EDIT2: played a bit and the Crusader is definitely in the top tier. Smite and Blessed Hammer are my favourite fighting styles, being able to have a two hander with a shield is a great boost. So far I'm impressed. It plays a bit like the Monk only it tanks much better. The Witch Doctor needs summons to compete but right now it seems to me that's the only real contender (maybe the Wizard but certainly not the Demon Hunter who doesn't have enough durability and need to stay away from the fray).

Seems like I influenced you in getting the expansion

Glad to hear you're having fun with the Crusader. This class is the best pure tank in the entire Diablo series, period. He puts the barbarian from both D2 and D3 to shame, and with the proper skills a Crusader is a walking death machine. The raw damage of a two-handed weapon with the benefits of a shield? Works for me.

Slash and Swipe is my combo of choice. My rare shield also regenerates Wrath so unless I am surrounded from every angle and fighting a horde of enemies I usually don't run out of Wrath. And even when I do, Swipe regenerates it.

Which follower did you recruit?

You did convince me. I was considering it anyway but I would have probably waited for a better deal (still got to pay a little less than I expected).

I've kept the Paladin. I prefer the Scoundrel and he can do some pretty heavy damage with the right crossbow but I've found some pretty cool gear that really helped the Paladin. Besides they really work well together, being holy warriors and all that.

It's a bit ironic but at the moment my Crusader switched back to one handed weapon after he found a legendary dagger... In a way I like the idea of a guy in full plate killing hordes of monsters with what looks like a toothpick.

I did the math and compared all my characters at the same level and only my Witch Doctor does more damage than my Crusader. My Witch Doctor is not as tough but he has summons and rarely steps in the front line. So considering the characters I've played (in hardcore mode) I'd rank them like this: 1-Witch Doctor 2-Crusader 3-Wizard (currently my highest level guy and still pretty awesome) 4-Demon Hunter 5-Monk (I really like this class but I've lost more Monks than all other classes put together) 6-Barbarian (what can I say I'm not a big fan of the Barbarian, the class is effective but my Barbarian is not the most thrilling character).

The Crusader class is definitely the best tank, no argument there.

The Reaper of Souls content looks pretty cool. I haven't been able to play much because I lost my 49 level Wizard because of a trap. This game can be so deceptively easy that the moment you grow too cocky (or start to snooze) you end up in trouble. Getting killed by a furnace was a bit ironic after defeating Diablo without breaking a sweat.

Westmarch looks good though.

Act 3 now. Belial was a big pushover.

I kept the Templar. I tried the Enchantress (and her magnificent rack) but she gets mauled down WAY too quickly. I found some other Legendary stuff, and I salvaged the big mace I got in act 1, it was now useless. I had some gear crafted and it's still as much of a breeze as it used to be.

Azmodan is one ugly mofo.

I'm afraid you won't get much challenge before reaching the Reaper of Souls content. Diablo on normal is a real wimp.

The big anniversary update is live with the recreation of the first Diablo within Diablo 3. Sounds like a gimmick but nostalgia has always been the thing that have been drawing me to this game despite its well documented faults.

Just a heads-up, though, it is a limited time event that is ONLY available through January.

Indeed. The music is cool and it does look a bit like the original but it's still D3 so difficulty is off. I started a brand new character and took out the Butcher on hard difficulty without breaking a sweat... I've restarted with another new character on torment difficulty and it was fun for five minutes because after clearing the first level this character was almost level 7.

I would absolutely love an HD remake of the original Diablo (with Hellfire) but although this time limited thing may be nice it's really not worthy of the original. Far from it.

The Belzebub mod is the closest thing we'll get and it's definitely worth a look. This attempt to bring back D1 in D3 only makes the faults of the recent game more obvious.

The prospect of a HD OG Diablo/Hellfire is tempting but you know Blizzard would screw it up like implanting that always online bollocks and fucking with the difficulty.

No, leave the classics be, I say.

True that. In any case I can say I gave it a shot.

I probably won't. It would require completely reinstalling D3+RoS from the Blizzard servers as I no longer have an optical drive and last time I did it took hours upon hours to install the bloody thing.Then I'd have to play to reach said event, which I frankly don't have the interest in doing. My enthusiasm for D3 rapidly died and I have no problem not finishing it. It's pretty much been gathering dust for a long time.

You can start with a level one character on adventure mode so it's not such a hassle but even then I don't think it's worth it considering that the original game sounds, looks and plays better than their attempt at making a retro looking reskin of D3...

Even better with the Bezelbub mod Diablo 1 runs on W10 without any problem (and the mod has added zoom tied to the mouse wheel which makes it really convenient).


They've added a few extra things that I'm not too fond of (classes for instance) but being able to play this game 20 years later with proper support for modern resolutions largely makes up for it.