Poll : Diablo 3.. To respec or not to respec?

[yazaga]

It is not unfair that a game has rules!

You weren't able to pick up health globes, play as female barbarians, or kill monsters by destroying the environment before, either. Has Blizzard no shame in making up all these new rules?

The reason why I am against respec is because it potentially kills a strategical aspect of a game, which is developing your character in such a manner that it can deal sufficiently with any situation in the game. I don't want a play style where you can easily deal with one situation and then respec afterwards to deal easily with the next.

So it's totally fun for you to find out your strategy has completely fallen apart and have to start all over again from level 1 thanks to some monsters that resist everything but poison attacks in Act 4? Ah, yes, I guess it's all your fault for not reading those strategy guides and knowing exactly what you'd encounter ahead of time. L2P!

That'd be a great point if not for the fact that no such imbalance has ever existed in Diablo. The only things that really matter are the act bosses, everything else you can skip for better hunting elsewhere. And if you specced your character as nothing but cold damage, well, fuck, yeah you deserve to lose. Using at least 2 elements is extremely basic logic in a game like this. Hell, I just checked and the only boss with over 75% resist ANYTHING is duriel to cold, and even he's only at 95% in hell. Most people have -enemy resist by that time if they're depending very heavily on one element.

Being able to respec cheapens the character building process. If you're never more than a click away from having the same stats and skills as any other barbarian in the game, theres not much point in having a skill tree at all. The whole point of having a high level of customization on your stats is so that you can make a unique character or fine tune your performance. Respeccing shouldn't be necessary if they spill the details on what everything does, and blizzard is pretty good about doing that for their games. (For the most part anyways. They seem to have a hardon for making attack speed vague and mysterious in every fucking game.)

No, no, no. Lack of respecs doesnt lead to to unique characters. it leads to all characters being the same, 1 month after the release of the game. As soon as somebody beats the game in Hell and finds the best build, all characters are the same. Guild Wars had the best system, allowed u to respec for FREE everytime u were in town. I can build my mesmer differently wheater i had to face fighters or mages. It still involved a lot of taktiks and thinking and i dont think it cheapened the game. In fact GW had some of the complicated and tactical systems, which i think ultimately is why it failed.

 

[MetalCraze]

respec is for fags.
D3 will be stupid with it. oh oh I can't beat this boss with a mage let me respec to barbarian. oh it was so easy to beat that boss now. but the next one is easily beatable only with a mage. guess it's time to respec again!
oh wait I didn't pick the skill right, let me pick the right one.

where is a challenge in that? every noob will be able to become uber.

 

[Shannow]

respec is for fags.
D3 will be stupid with it. oh oh I can't beat this boss with a mage let me respec to barbarian. oh it was so easy to beat that boss now. but the next one is easily beatable only with a mage. guess it's time to respec again!
oh wait I didn't pick the skill right, let me pick the right one.

where is a challenge in that? every noob will be able to become uber.

And that is probably the exact way they are going to do it. You just forgot the ingame strategy guide that tells you how to spec against what enemy. The expansion will then introduce the auto-respec for special enemy button.

And don't forget: There is no such thing as too much hyperbole.

 

[aron searle]

In fact GW had some of the complicated and tactical systems, which i think ultimately is why it failed.

Sold millions of copies = failed?

GW2 in the pipeline?

WTF are you talking about.

D3 will be stupid with it. oh oh I can't beat this boss with a mage let me respec to barbarian.

No, you're stupid, respec you're skills not you're class.

every noob will be able to become uber.

Are you talking about Diablo 2 or 3?

Clearly you need to think about what you are saying, saying respecs are gay cause they cause X to happen, when X already happens, well that's typical codexian stupidity right there.

 

[Archaeon]

What the hell is respec? Some ebonics for respect? Get the fuck out you niggers and wiggers watching Ali G

 

[The_Pope]

I like respec. It takes quite a while to level up a character (assuming you don't bother with cheesy powerleveling tricks), and I'd rather not have to do it again when a patch makes my build utterly worthless.

 

[Hory]

I think we should consider the opinions of the great minds that came before us:

Being brilliant is no great feat if you respec nothing.

A youth is to be regarded with respec. How do you know that his future will not be equal to our present?

We confide in our strength, without boasting of it; we respec that of others, without fearing it.

I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respec me as a human being.

When men and women are able to respec and accept their differences then love has a chance to blossom.

Respec commands itself and it can neither be given nor withheld when it is due.

 

[merry andrew]

Respec is for people who don't want to start over, but they don't realize that respeccing IS starting over!! ahahahaha

 

[Raapys]

No, you're stupid, respec you're skills not you're class.

Huh? Why not also respec your class? That'd be much cooler! TODAY I WANT TO BE A BARBARIAN

Why shouldn't I be allowed to? If you don't like it you don't have to use it ;S;S;S

 

[Jasede]

Actually, yeah.

To respec means a convenience - your build either doesn't deal well with situation X or "wasted" a skillpoint somewhere that you regret - when you respec, you can change/fix your build.

What if you played until level 60 with a Witch Doctor, then realize you really don't like playing a Witch Doctor? Those for respec should then logically also be for changing class on the fly, so the time levelling your Doctor to 60 isn't "wasted".

 

[Armacalypse]

"This argument fails because of the fact that you can still have one character for each situation, it just requires grinding. But is grinding really the aim of the game? "

What are you talking about? That you can create multiple characters and build them differently so they excel in different areas? Yeah, that's the point. Building a character that can balance weaknesses and strengths is fun.

And it is less fun doing so by respecing because you don't need to grind?

And the argument that it makes the game easy is ridiculous. The Diablo games are easy for the most part, even more so with the cookie cutter builds we will be forced to play with in order to not hear "looool noooob speeec!!!11" by the "elite" gamers who think it's fun not to spend a single skillpoint the first 30 levels.

You know I never saw Charged Bolt with skill level above 5 in vanilla D2. Why? Because I think leveling the same class again is repetitive and boring, and definately not worth it just to see a useless skill.
And if I want to play cooperative with people who only use Holy Bolt in order to have crazy challanging fun I will have to grind for hours just for that, while you of the "elite" just show your brilliant strategy and skill by throwing hammers and killing Diablo 30 times per second while powerleveling 50 alts to level 99 per day which consists of 23 hours play and 1 hour jerking off to screenshots of your seven figure stats.

Sorry, hyperbole.

 

[MetalCraze]

No, you're stupid, respec you're skills not you're class.

wasn't 're-specialize' a pretty self-explanatory term?
if no - even fixing your skills so casually is stupid. why not having some consequences even in that? I'm sure D3 will have monsters with different abilities/immunities that will require specific skillsets to beat very easily. so even by rolling back/changing only sorc's skills on the fly you will be able to make your game a lot less challenging. is that a good thing?

Are you talking about Diablo 2 or 3?

Clearly you need to think about what you are saying, saying respecs are gay cause they cause X to happen, when X already happens, well that's typical codexian stupidity right there.

this topic is about Diablo 3, right? so I was kinda talking about what I don't want to see in -D3-.

 

[Destroid]

Respec for softcore only, maybe once per act? Respecing to fight a specific enemy won't actually work that well because Diablo has a heavy equiptment dependence. Your skills and attributes are only half your build, maybe less.

 

[aron searle]

I have to ask.

Have some of you actually played Guild Wars. Respecing was activily encouraged and the game was balanced around it, it certianly didnt make it easy (Although it was easy but for other reasons). I don't know about other "mmo's" and how they handle it, but play a game that does it, and does it well, and stop talking such ignorant shit.

If they just take D2 and slap a respec option on it, yea, not good. But hopefully the devs have more imagination than you plebs.

Also (again) in guild wars, respecing was never "on the fly", but only before missions, now that may not be the best way for Diablo to handle it, but it shows that respec doesnt have to = easy, but can actually be a part of the challenge.

It will also stop what happend last week with the ladder reset, where every 8/10 chars was a fucking light/cold sorc, and the other 2 were hammerdins.

Yawn.

 

[Kraszu]

Definitly not on the fly, you could have that possibility after finishing some number of quest (it could count bigger quest as more then smaller ones) in town and after leaving town you would loose it.

 

[aboyd]

oh oh I can't beat this boss with a mage let me respec to barbarian. oh it was so easy to beat that boss now. but the next one is easily beatable only with a mage.

I know! Planescape sucked for this very reason! WTF! I can switch to mage?!?! All I have to do is talk to an NPC?!?!

Planescape sucks. Every example of respec'ing I've seen sucks. I hate it.

 

[Destroid]

I gave up on guildwars because you have to play through the boring as fuck singeplaying content in order to be effective for pvp (or pay $20, lol).

Also, Diablo is NOT an MMO, stop talking about it as if it is. Things that are good in MMOs will not be good in Diablo. They should make it more like roguelikes (ADoM etc) than less.

I mean, with this level of graphics you might even be able to render all of the hilarious things that can happen to your character in dwarf fortress.

 

[Raapys]

oh oh I can't beat this boss with a mage let me respec to barbarian. oh it was so easy to beat that boss now. but the next one is easily beatable only with a mage.

I know! Planescape sucked for this very reason! WTF! I can switch to mage?!?! All I have to do is talk to an NPC?!?!

Planescape sucks. Every example of respec'ing I've seen sucks. I hate it.

You do, of course, remember that planescape kept seperate amounts of XP for each class you could choose between.

Which is also sort of completely beyond the point, since character development/combat, etc. is definitely *not* what Planescape is known for.

 

[vesselle]

gotta say, i'm in with the "i get no respec" crowd.
i LOVE making new characters from scratch and am praying for the day when somebody wises up and makes a game where all i do is build chars.

 

[Nightjed]

respec should be allowed in single player (maybe in hardcore sp), if you dont want to use it dont, i dont mind restrictions for regular multiplayer and hardcore mp.

i cant understand why everyone is so against it, diablo is a powergamming game, the eternal search for the ultimate build is what made it fun, finding out your build or a skill you just spent a point into sucks is NOT FUN, at least let me respec the last 5 points i spent, jeez.

 

[Kraszu]

Also, Diablo is NOT an MMO, stop talking about it as if it is. Things that are good in MMOs will not be good in Diablo. They should make it more like roguelikes (ADoM etc) than less.

For that you have hardcore mode, where there should be no respec.

 

[Shannow]

Actually, yeah.

To respec means a convenience - your build either doesn't deal well with situation X or "wasted" a skillpoint somewhere that you regret - when you respec, you can change/fix your build.

What if you played until level 60 with a Witch Doctor, then realize you really don't like playing a Witch Doctor? Those for respec should then logically also be for changing class on the fly, so the time levelling your Doctor to 60 isn't "wasted".

And don't forget: There is no such thing as too much hyperbole.

I gave up on guildwars because you have to play through the boring as fuck singeplaying content in order to be effective for pvp (or pay $20, lol).

??? You can start pvp with a level 20 char. By playing you can unlock all item modifiers and make a char that is as (if not more) competitive in pvp than any pver. You don't have to touch pve in GW if you don't want to.

Have some of you actually played Guild Wars. Respecing was activily encouraged and the game was balanced around it, it certianly didnt make it easy (Although it was easy but for other reasons). I don't know about other "mmo's" and how they handle it, but play a game that does it, and does it well, and stop talking such ignorant shit.

First there was no respeccing. That quickly changed to respeccing with some cost to extremely convenient respeccing in outposts. In fact the whole game became very convenient with the introduction of heroes...BUT it also became a lot harder. As the gamers adapted so did the game. The new high level areas provided a much bigger challenge than the old ones (until someone finds a build that works).
So challenge was adapted.

What nobody is mentioning either is that D3 will probably be quite item reliant. So wildly respeccing will probably not make it more of a cakewalk because you'll still be equipment limited.
On the other hand you just found this GREAT unique axe that you'd LOVE to use, but you are sword specced. Tough.
Well, I wouldn't mind being able to respec to use some great item that I'd otherwise sell or keep in my stash until apocalypse.
I still don't see what your arguments against "moderate" respeccing (e.g. exponential cost in gold, only once every level/act, only every ten levels, cost in exp, only in sofcore, etc.) are.

 

[AzraelCC]

i LOVE making new characters from scratch and am praying for the day when somebody wises up and makes a game where all i do is build chars.

Hey, this could make for a good coffee table game. You build a character with classes that have a huge amount of skills to choose from then it runs through a dungeon by itself ala majesty--you could even set certain actions to deal with particular enemies (the number perhaps based on intelligence?) Every time your pack gets full, you can discard items (a filter like in roguelikes could be present) then choose the ones that matter. The 'simulation' also also stops when you level up, so you could customize your character. The combat results could even be shown via colorful text (Grumsh massacres a tribe of 12 goblins, Grumsh decapitates Margunn the One eye, taking his head as a trophy) and major achievements increases fame/score. It may become text heavy, but hey, it'll be fun if done right and at a masochistic difficulty.

Anyway, respec would work based on blizzard's design. If they are able to balance the skills with the same care as, say, the original starcraft, then why not? Or perhaps respec could be available in single player and non-ladder games, for experimenting and for playing casually with friends. No respec for ladder, since it's understood that you enter ladder games with a particularly munchkin build in mind.

 

[Raapys]

Fine, let there be an Easy Mode where you have a Reset Skills and a Change Class button, since it seems about 50% can't live without it.

 

[Shannow]

Fine, let there be an Easy Mode where you have a Reset Skills and a Change Class button, since it seems about 50% can't live without it.

And don't forget: There is no such thing as too much hyperbole.

...maybe that should go into my sig.