Diablo III Forum Tidbits

Diablo community manager “Bashiok” has been busy prowling the official Diablo III forums to address questions from the community. Some choice responses…

On loot mechanics:

Currently – while in a party each player will see their own drops from each kill.

This could mean that after killing a zombie I see a sword drop, and you may see a shoulder slot item drop. Or I see nothing drop, while you got an axe.

Obviously while in a group you’re killing faster, and this could translate to an exponentially increasing number of drops with each additional player in your party. However, it’s balanced in such a way that the drop % is pulled back a bit with each additional player (I’m simplifying it, but that’s what it boils down to). This keeps it from being almost detrimental to not play with a full party, while still giving a nice increase to the amount of drops if you do.

From this system it seems quite a few people got the impression that you’ll never see items drop that you can’t use. For instance, a Barbarian will never see a dagger that only a Witch Doctor can use. This isn’t true. There is no effect, or at least no currently intended effect, to restrict which items which classes can or can’t see for their respective drops. It’s still intended that you could see an item that your class can’t use. It’s easy enough to drop the item, ask if anyone can use it, or just sell it off of course.

On only five classes:

Yeah, I think you guys hit the nail.

We’re setting out to create unique, interesting, and diverse classes that each have their own style and flavor. Most importantly this isn’t just a basic look at each individual class, but how they compare to each other and overlap (or hopefully, don’t).

When you up the number of classes more and more you’re eventually going to begin down the route of homogenization, they start to bleed into each other’s core abilities and styles which really just detracts from each individual class’ recognizability and distinction within the game.

In addition, by limiting the number – and I say limiting not because it’s a low number, it’s the number of classes in Diablo II and a good one at that, but because we’re not going crazy with it – we can focus on making each class really impressive, both visually and through the way they each feel and play.

On health globes instead of potions:

The health globes are actually, in my opinion, really cool. Playing the game and actually seeing what types of strategy they encourage, you can start to see what they add and how they make the combat more interesting.

I’ll set the scene. You’re a barbarian, you’re in the wilderness and after fighting wave after wave of ghouls, skeletons, demons, what have you, you’re low on health. You’re out of potions, and after using a strategic leap out of the fray you turn around and seismic slam the skeletons charging you. Two of them drop health globes, but the globes dropped behind the skeletons that are still advancing. If they reach you, you’re not going to survive. Are you able to leap safely to snag the globes before they can tear into you? Can you throw out another slam and try to remove the remaining enemies? How can you survive? You have a fraction of a second to decide.

The health globes help to create situations just like this, where you’re not just sitting there spamming potions, you’re using your abilities and strategy to stay alive. Possibly most importantly, you’re encouraged to keep fighting, and not just run away.

With random spawns, random drops, and of course the randomness of combat, the health globes add to creating situations that are just more… interesting, and in my opinion, fun.

On the side of potions, they still exist, but they’re likely to be on a cooldown of some type. They’ll also likely restore health based on a percentage that’s relative to your character. They may heal an instant amount, they may be the old over time type system. They’re probably going to be filling an emergency-heal role more than anything though.

And more on health globes:

Yeah, as others have said the current intent to encourage cooperative play (in regards to health globes) is to ensure that they heal everyone in the party when picked up.

But in any case, why wouldn’t the witch doctor be using any of his abilities? Mass confuse, and while everything is busy wailing on each other or attacking your mongrels you sneak in. Or horrify, and while they’re scattered you snag some health.

The witch doctor is a little sneakier though, a little more frail, a little more of a “I’m gonna make you die or kill your friend while I’m all the way over here”. You should probably be doing everything you can to avoid being hit, and you have the tools to do so.

Bosses do not drop health globes while you are fighting them right?

Maybe? Maybe not. Maybe there are other situational/environmental mechanics that would, or would provide assistance in healing up?

Not only will they be forcing players to run in circles like mindless chickens, but they will make hardcore and softcore gameplay harder, slow paced, and over all less attractive.

That’s a lot of conclusions to jump to in a single sentence. Classes will have abilities to help them work through groups of monsters. Obviously health globes are going to be necessary to pick up, and obviously class abilities will exist to help you do so.

And, come on :), I realize there’s a lot of room for hyperbole since we just announced and a lot of details aren’t out there or just don’t exist, but at least have the ground before you call it a mountain. Rational concerns, complaints, issues, questions, are going to go over way better.

the fact remains that it only takes up space if it’s added onto monster loot tables

Well, it’s not like there’s a hard cap on what a loot table can contain being forced upon us, or that health globes are even associated with loot drops. It can be balanced any way we see fit.

Bottom line, is that we’re simply not going to release a game that is irritating, slow, aggravating, boring, or any of the other adjectives you used. If that means ripping out the health globe system and going a different direction, so be it, but at current it plays and feels fun and engaging.