LogFAQs > #929604735

wolfy42 posted...

Even the Real Money Auction house that launched with D3 wasn't really a big deal, you could just avoid using it, like I did.

You could avoid using it, but you couldn't avoid that the game's itemization was built around trading (and thereby giving Blizzard money): items that were useful for you were a small minority of the items that would drop for you, meaning you basically had to trade if you wanted useful stuff. Loot 2.0 fixed that by making class-appropriate gear significantly more likely to drop (something like 90% of gear drops are suitable for the class you're currently playing), which makes for a much more enjoyable experience.

wolfy42 posted...

Honestly though I don't know if I'll ever be able to do the slog through normal difficulty with a necro, it freaking puts me to sleep.

I don't believe you need to start with normal difficulty anymore. If you've cleared the campaign already and/or have a character at level 60, most difficulty modes should be unlocked. Even if you haven't, you've got Normal, Hard, and Expert to choose from, with only Master and Torment I-VI locked behind that requirement. Torments VII-XVI are locked behind completing certain solo Greater Rift levels, but you definitely will not need to access those difficulties right away to have an enjoyable experience on a new character. Those are tuned for late-endgame gear.

Mead posted...

Also I hope characters actually use their weapons again

Every character in d3 ends up essentially being a different type of mage that just uses their weapons as stat sticks for their skill damage

I'd actually say I have the opposite complaint: the fact that every skill (with maybe a couple exceptions) bases its damage off of weapon damage meant that there was no difference between mage characters and ones that actually used their weapons to attack. Weapon damage ended up being an important component of what should have been stat sticks, which created that homogenization you're complaining about.

Mostly, though, I feel the biggest problem with D3's itemization is the reliance on skill-specific legendaries for so many builds. Weapon choice wasn't based on what did the most damage, it was based on getting the right legendary drop to boost your chosen skill, with weapon damage then being the most important stat to look for on that legendary. Other ARPG's fall into the same trap, certainly, and there's nothing wrong with having build-defining equipment, but most D3 builds had almost every slot filled with such equipment (and a pretty small handful of clearly-BiS alternatives for less-defined slots), which really limited the process of searching for upgrades.
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