tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352155589322140093.post7038498471727168302..comments2015-08-13T13:23:23.270-04:00Comments on That's a Terrible Idea: The Specialization Trapmotstandethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06296441082624422375noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352155589322140093.post-23990158889974574192012-09-19T03:19:25.321-04:002012-09-19T03:19:25.321-04:00*one small point* Overspecialization itself is not...*one small point* Overspecialization itself is not really possible. Bad things that happen are like when the skills become imbalanced or the enemies become imbalanced. For example, in Diablo III inferno, the game suffers from severe imbalance because Blizzard tried to kill players in one-hit so they needed better gear to advance(since all skills and levels were available). This bottlenecks a lot of the 'survival' skills into the viable builds mainly tanking and high dps ones and while they claimed there were millions of skill setups, only really a handful can be of much use as you progress without each feeling a whole lot different. Imo when every character is playing a semi-tank dps regardless of class, that's pretty poor design.<br />You can say that the exact same thing happens in DII where everyone uses the same build, but that's got not a lot to do with the amount of heavy investments in the skills themselves. The difference between Diablo II and Diablo III in this respect is that in III, usually everyone more or less ends up as a sustained dps to continue fighting in inferno while in contrast Diablo II has a more diverse number of builds like summoner, tank, auradin, dps that also have a more unique feel within parties because a certain mixture of spells were stronger than others, some even game-breaking.<br />When people say that there is no real diversity in Diablo II, only look online and follow a guide. It's these very people that are afraid to create their own builds, to experiment. It's these very people that create the 'cookie cutter' builds because they rely on others to find the best build for them. And with Diablo III, though the instant respecs seems to encourage more playing around with the skills to find the ones you like, ultimately you end up using the few tanking/dps ones because of the game's balance. If it were set up differently, for example, less high damage, high hp enemies, the builds you see would be very different to what it is now and there would still be as deep specialization as in DII but just in a different way.<br />So I think there's a common complaint that permanent specialization choices are too punishing because you can never know what's gonna be the best specs down the road. Instant respec from D III can sort of 'cure' the problem of these road-blocks that you inevitably hit, but all that's really happening is that you reroll your character in 2 seconds as opposed to 10 hours. To me if you have to keep rerolling every half hour, then that's an indication that the game is poorly balanced, even if you can progress through the game by doing so. So at that point rather than slim down the options of the skill trees, it would be a better idea to focus on keeping skills in check so that there are enough times where they can still pull you through the level but also are less powerful at other times. Yea permanent specs can be pretty punishing , but all the trouble and hassle you go through to create that supreme build seems to make it worthwhile. For me Diablo III feels more like a console action game with shooting type 'loadouts' rather than a pc arpg with 'skills' and 'spells' which is why it fails.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352155589322140093.post-81098590528637351132012-08-27T12:08:03.675-04:002012-08-27T12:08:03.675-04:00While you raise some interesting points, and certa...While you raise some interesting points, and certainly I agree with a few of them, I will have to disagree with the post overall.<br /><br />I am no professional videogame designer, but I do have a concept in the works. It involves vast character specialization, but not in a limiting way. There are no skill points, and the "skill trees" are not set up so that you must choose one and not progress in the others. As for equipment, anything you find in the game can be an upgrade, as the player will create the gear using items to modify the weapons and armor. A player will not only be able to modify what their skills do (beyond skill trees, using said items) but also morph how the armor and weapons look on their character, allowing visual profession similar to wows transmog. <br /><br />Diablo III was not a success in my book. I think that is has the potential, but the loot is crap and has certainly become a grind / farm. The fact that I can swap out skills at any point in time makes them boring. I loved D2, where I could make a fire sorceress. I liked creating a character that was unique from others.Brookie Cookie <3https://www.blogger.com/profile/00210009717462638384noreply@blogger.com