Got here just too late to actually have any real part in killing this guy, but the light show’s good.
How deep does this go? That’s the question I keep asking myself as I sink another few hours into Diablo III. I’ve been pretty much everywhere several times. I’ve got all the abilities. I’ve nearly hit the new level cap, 70. Surely that’s where things settle out, and the novelty of epic demonic slaughter dribbles to a halt?
And then, as a friend and I are cutting my way through Reaper of Souls’ new Act V, one of his friends pops into our game with a level 70 Wizard. But he’s somehow at Paragon 96, which means that he’s levelled up 96 times since hitting the level cap. Paragon points are levels upon levels; the sheer amount of clicking behind them scares me at some profound level, but they represent a whole new slice of character development, especially since Diablo III’s big patch, when they were completely revamped. No longer an automatic boost to your character’s stats, now you get to choose how Paragon points improve you, whether by increasing critical hit chances, movement speed, attack speed, or many other aspects.
And so we start steaming through the Act. I can barely keep up as our new companion runs along Westmarch’s grim alleyways. He passes through hordes of skeletons and spectres like they aren’t there. If I take a moment to examine new loot I’ll have to teleport to join him – and the action – again. Elites and bosses fall before his storms of electricity and fire.
“He basically only plays Torment III,” says my friend. That’s a difficulty level three steps above the Master difficulty we’re on (and in itself is constantly threatening to floor my Monk). There he enjoys over 500 per cent boosts to experience and gold finds, plus new Legendary items, so lord knows what he’s getting out of our piddly game.
Nephalem Rifts set you to killing a large quantity of strong minions before a boss turns up.
And then I start feeling a bit light-headed at the wondering at the sheer numbers he normally faces. The steadily increasing stats of my Monk seem utterly banal, and then my friend starts telling me about the Hellfire Ring and Keywardens. “He’s completely obsessed with hunting Keywardens,” he confides. And yet another layer of the game tears open beneath my feet.
The Hellfire Ring is Diablo III’s true endgame, a interminable quest filled with roiling challenge, portals to new worlds and terrifyingly unreliable drops. Finding four Keywardens in specific areas is just the start. You next be hoping they’ll drop their requisite keys and a plan. Crafting them into a Portal Device is straightforward, but each device gives you just one attempt at taking on two bosses simultaneously for a chance that one of three items that you’ll need to craft into the Hellfire Ring will drop. If they don’t, it’s time to grind Keywardens again.
The sheer amount of chance here is dizzying – and should I mention that you’re best running it on as high a Torment level as you can to increase the drop chances? Though the resulting ring is pretty powerful, it’s far more a symbol of superhuman persistence than practical fingerwear.
For me, this is not what Diablo III is about. I love the rush of stuff, which is why starting a new Crusader character was so refreshing. The Crusader is Reaper of Souls’ new class, and frankly I didn’t initially see what it could add to the mix, since the Monk and Barbarian are already pretty tanky classes already.
One good look at the Crusader is enough to realise that’s folly. This straight-backed, armour-clad hulk is a real tank. While the Monk plays with dodges and dizzying enemies and the Barbarian prefers sheer damage-dealing, the Crusader centres on the shield (some abilities depend on it) and armour, wading knee-deep in the demons and coming away unscathed.
Act V’s relentless technicolor-grimness is almost funny, the body count down to a renegade angel deciding to exterminate humanity.
The fun of getting to play and experiment with new abilities and buffs as they unlock is what I’m always trying to recapture when I play Diablo, and finding the natural affinity between the Crusader’s Provoke (a taunt which earns a chunk of Wrath power but attracts a whole load of enemy attention) and Iron Skin, which absorbs half damage for a few seconds, hit the sweet spot. I was improving my game beyond the sheer numbers, and I imagined – hoped? – the random players I was running Adventure Mode with might have noticed.
They almost certainly didn’t, because of the quick-fire nature of Adventure Mode, which is Reaper of Souls’ final major addition to Diablo III. I certainly didn’t take much notice of what they were doing. Getting to zip from location to location has opened out Diablo III considerably, because you’re no longer tied to retreading the long path of the Acts any more. You’re instead taking on bounties by mopping up 100 mobs here, taking out an elite there, and getting rewards, including items you can use to open Nephalem Rifts, an intense gauntlet of mobs followed by a unique boss.
Along with the recent update, Reaper of Souls has completely revitalised Diablo III. Diablo has always been Blizzard’s casual game, but now it’s so much more bite-sized, perceivably attainable, and immediately rewarding. It’s enough to belie the incredible long-term challenge that lies underneath, and, well, I’m glad that’s hidden away, because I won’t be going there. Just the odd comfortable evening of friends, bounties, a Nephalem Rift and a glass of wine is all the Diablo III endgame I need.
The post Still Playing: Diablo III Reaper of Souls – Blizzard’s revitalised action RPG is deeper than ever appeared first on Edge Online.
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