Especially when you change the main attack skill for your barb and can't attack for a while. On accident and don't realize it until you're in the middle of a group of mobs.
yep cool down to change skills is annoying.
I was fairly happy with the beta until this update; the runes don't work at all like I was expecting. I was thinking it'd be more like D2 with a wide variety of runes you could find and use to change skills in minor ways, with the option of creating something like rune words to create major changes to how the skills work.
This just looks like they created a bunch of mini skill trees and it doesn't seem to have the capacity for customization I'd hoped for. It's still hard to judge for sure because I haven't seen much decent loot and how it will effect things, but I'm not as optimistic as I was earlier. It also seems weird to me that the skill section only describes what the skill does and has no information about damage, duration, etc. How are we supposed to compare skills? Changing runes didn't have any effect on dps for me, so I have no way to tell if it's any good.
It just doesn't seem like having access to every skill and rune could create a character as powerful and unique as a D2 character that focused on just one thing. I do appreciate the ability to respec on the fly, but I don't know if it's worth the (apparent) lack of customization.
I was fairly happy with the beta until this update; the runes don't work at all like I was expecting. I was thinking it'd be more like D2 with a wide variety of runes you could find and use to change skills in minor ways, with the option of creating something like rune words to create major changes to how the skills work.
This just looks like they created a bunch of mini skill trees and it doesn't seem to have the capacity for customization I'd hoped for. It's still hard to judge for sure because I haven't seen much decent loot and how it will effect things, but I'm not as optimistic as I was earlier. It also seems weird to me that the skill section only describes what the skill does and has no information about damage, duration, etc. How are we supposed to compare skills? Changing runes didn't have any effect on dps for me, so I have no way to tell if it's any good.
It just doesn't seem like having access to every skill and rune could create a character as powerful and unique as a D2 character that focused on just one thing. I do appreciate the ability to respec on the fly, but I don't know if it's worth the (apparent) lack of customization.
It also seems weird to me that the skill section only describes what the skill does and has no information about damage, duration, etc. How are we supposed to compare skills?
So is there going to be any semblance of teamwork this time around. In D2 there were cow and baal runs which consisted of sorc dropping a portal on the boss which died in 8 seconds. There were buffs but for the most part it was entirely a individual's game. Diablo was still a great game, but I don't think smashing a boss with a bunch of life and mana leech is good enough for me any longer.
I'm not liking the skill changes either even though I only briefly got to play with the old ones. I thought it was a lot better when you could choose any set of skills instead of one from a set number of categories. With the wizard/witch doctor, I wasn't taking any of what's now the primary skills. I agree with others that the rune system is pretty lackluster too.
The one thing I understand is the cool down although I don't necessarily like it. You're supposed to make your build and play with it. No/short cooldown would entice people to switch it out for a given situation way too often; it encourages rounder builds instead of constantly switching between aoe/single target/movement/etc depending on the situation. I wish it would go away when you are in town though.
This just looks like they created a bunch of mini skill trees and it doesn't seem to have the capacity for customization I'd hoped for. It's still hard to judge for sure because I haven't seen much decent loot and how it will effect things, but I'm not as optimistic as I was earlier. It also seems weird to me that the skill section only describes what the skill does and has no information about damage, duration, etc. How are we supposed to compare skills? Changing runes didn't have any effect on dps for me, so I have no way to tell if it's any good.
I agree, I don't like the runes either. Each level you unlock a single thing with no choice, so every single character is the same as the other at the same class & level. They took away stat points, and they took away socketed weapons, and they totally screwed up the rune system. You can't bind whatever skills you want and have to pick one per skill "class", and god forbid you switch in the middle of a quest. You have to sit tight while the cooldown runs out before you can use it. Makes no sense. If I have the ability to use the skill already, why do I get a cooldown when switching if I never used the skill in the first place?
This has about as much RPG depth as a CoD game. The only difference is the gear collection. Even Borderlands had more going on.
What is Blizzard's last best guess of a release date [which they'll miss]?
To both your questions there are ways to fix them.
By going to the Options and then the Gameplay Menu, check the box next to "Elective Mode" which will allow you to put any skill in any slot.
For the tool tips about skill damage, if you hold down control button on your keyboard and hover your mouse, it will show the damage modifiers. Or alternatively you can go into the Gameplay Menu and set advanced tooltips to always be on.
Annoyingly, none of the menu options save when you leave the game, so you have to go back and do everything everytime you play beta...
Thanks! Both of those helped a little. I also turned on the option to show how much damage you do each time you hit an enemy. Not really liking how damage is entirely based on your weapon; it might change once there's better gear, but right now there's not much reason to stick with the class specific stuff. Most of my characters are just using whatever random weapon I find with high damage and decent speed.
Dont forget that intelligence is also a damage modifier for the wizard and witch doctor (although not specifically stated anywhere in the game). I have a feeling at higher levels you'll find class specific items that have so much intellect and other class bonuses that they'll outweigh the raw DPS stat on a non-class weapon.
You know there is an option in the game menu that doesn't force you to use their predetermined skills. Elective mode or something along those lines... and you're still complaining about the first 13 levels, not much depth to be created there. but I did notice a good deal of difference between my barb and wizard at level 10. I'll agree with you on the cool down, they should have a 5 min windows after you level to change skills once without a cool down. It is just a 15 second wait tho, is it really that bad to stand there for a few seconds?
You could ask the same question in reverse... if it's not that bad to stand there for a few seconds, why is it there in the first place? I haven't heard a good explanation as to why it's there. I can understand why you shouldn't be able to change skills DURING cooldown, but if the skill is ready already you've already waited the alloted amount of time and should be able to switch.
I think it's to prevent people from taking advantage to access to all the skills just not at the same time. Just to stop people from switching back and forth between skills that 'break' their intended use. For instance changing back and forth between bash and cleave for the barb, rather than being able to use both at a low level you have to pick one. You can't just instantly switch to cleave when you see a larger group and the go back to bash as you move onto a single higher health mob. I'm guessing this would have more of an affect later in the game with more powerful skills. Could they put a cooldown on the time between switching skills, sure. I didn't say the system was perfect...
Every news or beta update makes my "meh" feeling grow a little more. Many of their changes made in order to simplify the game make plenty of sense when you think about it for a while, but the character development system seems to be getting LESS interesting as time goes by imo. They don't really seem to know what the hell they want to do with the skills other than involve runes somehow, and skills seem to be the ONLY way to make (possibly) interesting decisions about your character. We haven't really seen much about how the items are going to affect the game, but that also scares me a little. IMO, those are the 2 most important systems of the game (skills and items), and for both of those to be so far behind in development 4 months into beta...it lets me know things aren't as hunky-dory as Blizzard wants to let on. That's more of an alpha stage game atm, albeit a very solid alpha.
a little offtopic: any news about a new release date ?
a little offtopic: any news about a new release date ?