Diablo IV SEASON 4: dads eatin good

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Diablo IV SEASON 4: dads eatin good

(Thread IKs: harrygomm, Astryl)

Vic: Nov 26, 2009; malae fidei cum XI_XXVI_MMIX

A thing to add:
An explanation of various game concepts and character states. I had to explain this to all my gamer dad / mom friends and I only learned it from websites and forums.

# ? Jul 5, 2023 21:42

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 24, 2024 15:49

Philthy: Jan 28, 2003; Pillbug

All I ask for is a succubus mount.

# ? Jul 5, 2023 22:07

unattended spaghetti: May 10, 2013

zoux posted:

Try contacting them directly with the issue, accessibility stuff is one area where companies are happy to make changes, especially since your issue seems like a relatively easy fix (to my non-programmer rear end anyway)

Definitely do this. D4�s accessibility is pretty good at baseline and it�s clear they cared enough to include a decent array of options. But there was a bug with the PS4�s version of the screen reader related, I believe, to the TTS engine Sony uses. Why Blizz didn�t pack in a TTS with the game to make it platform agnostic I�ve not a clue, but I imagine they wanted to save money on licensing it? Whatever. Either way, the PS version in specific crashed the whole game when tooltips came up. Think it was a buffering issue with the TTS. I swapped to Series after that and haven�t had an issue since.

Anyway, I emailed their accessibility dept during beta, and maybe it�s confirmation bias since I never got a reply, but that�s one of the things that they fixed in the patch. Can�t hurt to give it a shot. But if they don�t respond, maybe it�ll end up in the queue. Either way, if nobody says anything they won�t know to fix it. This is especially important because accessibility needs are so varied and developers are only just now starting to understand what the best practices are. Who knows you might make someone else�s day.

FWIW this game is awesome with its accessibility from a vision perspective. Does some genuinely interesting things that no other game�s done afaik.

Good luck. Hope they listen.

# ? Jul 5, 2023 22:08

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

unattended spaghetti posted:

FWIW this game is awesome with its accessibility from a vision perspective. Does some genuinely interesting things that no other game�s done afaik.

Good luck. Hope they listen.

Can you elaborate on this, it sounds interesting

# ? Jul 5, 2023 22:13

The Ol Spicy Keychain: Jan 17, 2013; I MEPHISTO MY OWN ASSHOLE

you can try to @PezRadar on twitter. He's pretty responsive about stuff like this, but he might not get a chance to cause tomorrow he'll be flooded with questions about the livestream

# ? Jul 5, 2023 22:19

MMAgCh: Aug 15, 2001; I am the poet,
The prophet of the pit
Like a hollow-point bullet
Straight to the head
I never missed...you

I am levelling a sorc and man, is it a miserable experience compared to the other classes I've played to date. At this level my druid could already effortlessly obliterate an entire screen via Trampleslide; the sorc deals chip damage by comparison, and considering how tepid the class's aspects and enchantments generally are her future does not look any more promising. The whole state of affairs is bewildering, and not in a good way.

# ? Jul 5, 2023 22:26

Tokubetsu: Dec 18, 2007; Love Is Not Enough

I blame everyone who cried about them and necros in a beta that only went up to lvl 25

# ? Jul 5, 2023 22:39

Ionicpsycho: Dec 25, 2006; The Shortbus Avenger.

https://blog.playstation.com/2023/01/04/introducing-project-leonardo-for-playstation-5-a-highly-customizable-accessibility-controller-kit/

For people with accessibility issues, what are your feelings on this? I imagine it would work, assuming it gets released any time in the future.

# ? Jul 5, 2023 22:48

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

SHISHKABOB posted:

I like how fresh gameplay is content.

Well yes.

# ? Jul 5, 2023 22:49

unattended spaghetti: May 10, 2013

zoux posted:

Can you elaborate on this, it sounds interesting

Sure. I love talking about this poo poo.

It�s worth noting that ARPGs are especially good for vision related accessibility for a couple reasons.

Isometric games, z axis or no, ultimately only allow eight way movement, and no matter how the environment looks it�s a flat plane for purposes of navigation.

The other thing is that combat in these games is far more about numeric advantage than anything else. Even when a build does require fine-tuned movement and execution, the sequence is made clear through the build itself.

So the genre is already predisposed to implementing vision related accesssibility features because it�s never more complicated than sequencing, not getting surrounded, target prioritizing, etc etc I�m not telling you anything you don�t know already.

The game has a screen reader, first and foremost. That�s not particularly notable other than the fact that I can count on one hand the number of released games that have one that actually reads the whole interface. Kinda amazing, by the by, that developers can get away with claiming cred for including TTS in a game when that TTS only covers some of the interface elements. But hey Kotaku will suck some dev dick and tell you how considerate the devs were for putting in a half-baked feature. So the fact that the entire inventory, any tooltip, the whole skill tree, all menus, and some other things I�d not expect that I�ll get to in a sec, were all present and accounted for is a big deal on its own. Pretty sad that I have to celebrate what we�d call a minimum viable product but eh I take my wins where I can get them.

But the really notable inclusions are these:

1. Facing any interactable object will provide a dual layered sound. There�s what I imagine is an invisible radius around the PC, and anything that comes into that radius is a candidate for playing the audio. It triggers on facing, plays as soon as you�re looking in that direction. The dual layering is done because there�s a wide variety of stuff you can click on, this being an ARPG. So one layer is just a little click saying this is something you can interact with. The second layer specifies the object. Crumbling rock for ore, creaky lid for chests (given.a third audio layer if it�s radiant or whatever to let you know it�s more important), a like metal hinge sound for armor stands (lol who loots these?), leafy sounds for herbs, so on and so forth.

Because the sound plays on facing, you always know where something is relative to you.

2. This notification feature combined with the screen reader gives a ton of situational awareness. The enemy name that pops up at the top of the screen? Same facing rules apply, but the screen reader will pull the text of that name. So what you�ve got is a way to keep track of which enemies need prioritizing. Mostly, it�s good for burning down elites and otherwise it�s just there.

3. This one�s useful for everyone, I think, personally. But YMMV. You can turn on ambient audio for lootable drops on the ground. Different tone/frequency for every conceivable type of item. I�m not sure but I think it also distinguishes between rarities as well. So gold, potions, all gear, the herbs/ore that pop out of poo poo when you interact with it, all of that gives off an unobtrusive ambient hum, and because they�re all different frequencies, you just need to listen and move toward the stuff you want. Needless to say, positional audio and the best cans you can get are musts to get the most out of this.

These are honestly very small features. I can�t imagine they were that hard to implement, but the end result is, even though I have functional vision, I can manage any content in the game by listening alone.

But it�s the implementation of the notification and the ambient audio that really put it a cut above.

Let me take TLoU II as the comparison point.

That game is rightfully credited with making some huge accessibility leaps and innovating in ways that even I didn�t think were possible. But being a trailblazer, and also being a very different kind of game with very different requirements to make it accessible meant that they had to make some concessions. So the way TLoU did it was you�d essentially need to move toward a waypoint (story objective or item), but the problem is with the environment being magnitudes more complex to navigate, they couldn�t just let you point yourself in a direction and go there. You�d have to ask the game to nudge you toward an objective, which it does by triangulating a path through a series of waypoints, at which you get a little sound effect. Needless to say triangulating the whole time is cumbersome and annoying, even if it does work.

Compare this to D4, which tells you, unobtrusively, where something is merely by facing it. That�s huge and is much more informationally dense, where in TLoU�s case, you�re being dragged by the nose through the game. I�m sure the devs essentially drew lines through the environment for objectives, and then fall back on the triangulation algorithms when someone gets off course. It�s apples and oranges, but TLoU was the proof of concept and D4 is the streamlined improvement.

Accessibility right now in games is fascinating because it really is the wild west. Devs are throwing poo poo at the wall and seeing what sticks. Many devs don�t understand accessibility at all, so you get some really weird implementations. I can definitely tell which devs used consultants and which did not. TLoU and D4 most assuredly did.

Eeeeesh. :effort:

There�s probs some other stuff. Sorry for so many :words:

but it�s hard to explain this stuff when most people don�t have a grounding in the fundamentals.

# ? Jul 5, 2023 22:53

Pug Rodeo: Feb 20, 2007; BRING IT ON BRING IT ON YEAH

Ionicpsycho posted:

https://blog.playstation.com/2023/01/04/introducing-project-leonardo-for-playstation-5-a-highly-customizable-accessibility-controller-kit/

For people with accessibility issues, what are your feelings on this? I imagine it would work, assuming it gets released any time in the future.

This one by Microsoft is already available:

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/accessories/controllers/xbox-adaptive-controller

# ? Jul 5, 2023 22:57

Dallan Invictus: Oct 11, 2007; The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes, look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.

MMAgCh posted:

I am levelling a sorc and man, is it a miserable experience compared to the other classes I've played to date. At this level my druid could already effortlessly obliterate an entire screen via Trampleslide; the sorc deals chip damage by comparison, and considering how tepid the class's aspects and enchantments generally are her future does not look any more promising. The whole state of affairs is bewildering, and not in a good way.

Huh. I didn't mind leveling my Sorc at all (and my main skill got nerfed between the beta and release) but its gimmick really came online in the 60s and it's a lot more fun now with enough crit/CDR/lucky hit chance to just teleport into packs, Frost Nova everyone, fill the screen with lightning and corpses, then loot and move on.

I'm not planning on rolling an alt until season 1 but if the other classes are that much better then there's fun ahead I guess?

# ? Jul 5, 2023 23:01

The Grumbles: Jun 5, 2006

unattended spaghetti posted:

Sure. I love talking about this poo poo.

It�s worth noting that ARPGs are especially good for vision related accessibility for a couple reasons.

Isometric games, z axis or no, ultimately only allow eight way movement, and no matter how the environment looks it�s a flat plane for purposes of navigation.

The other thing is that combat in these games is far more about numeric advantage than anything else. Even when a build does require fine-tuned movement and execution, the sequence is made clear through the build itself.

So the genre is already predisposed to implementing vision related accesssibility features because it�s never more complicated than sequencing, not getting surrounded, target prioritizing, etc etc I�m not telling you anything you don�t know already.

The game has a screen reader, first and foremost. That�s not particularly notable other than the fact that I can count on one hand the number of released games that have one that actually reads the whole interface. Kinda amazing, by the by, that developers can get away with claiming cred for including TTS in a game when that TTS only covers some of the interface elements. But hey Kotaku will suck some dev dick and tell you how considerate the devs were for putting in a half-baked feature. So the fact that the entire inventory, any tooltip, the whole skill tree, all menus, and some other things I�d not expect that I�ll get to in a sec, were all present and accounted for is a big deal on its own. Pretty sad that I have to celebrate what we�d call a minimum viable product but eh I take my wins where I can get them.

But the really notable inclusions are these:

1. Facing any interactable object will provide a dual layered sound. There�s what I imagine is an invisible radius around the PC, and anything that comes into that radius is a candidate for playing the audio. It triggers on facing, plays as soon as you�re looking in that direction. The dual layering is done because there�s a wide variety of stuff you can click on, this being an ARPG. So one layer is just a little click saying this is something you can interact with. The second layer specifies the object. Crumbling rock for ore, creaky lid for chests (given.a third audio layer if it�s radiant or whatever to let you know it�s more important), a like metal hinge sound for armor stands (lol who loots these?), leafy sounds for herbs, so on and so forth.

Because the sound plays on facing, you always know where something is relative to you.

2. This notification feature combined with the screen reader gives a ton of situational awareness. The enemy name that pops up at the top of the screen? Same facing rules apply, but the screen reader will pull the text of that name. So what you�ve got is a way to keep track of which enemies need prioritizing. Mostly, it�s good for burning down elites and otherwise it�s just there.

3. This one�s useful for everyone, I think, personally. But YMMV. You can turn on ambient audio for lootable drops on the ground. Different tone/frequency for every conceivable type of item. I�m not sure but I think it also distinguishes between rarities as well. So gold, potions, all gear, the herbs/ore that pop out of poo poo when you interact with it, all of that gives off an unobtrusive ambient hum, and because they�re all different frequencies, you just need to listen and move toward the stuff you want. Needless to say, positional audio and the best cans you can get are musts to get the most out of this.

These are honestly very small features. I can�t imagine they were that hard to implement, but the end result is, even though I have functional vision, I can manage any content in the game by listening alone.

But it�s the implementation of the notification and the ambient audio that really put it a cut above.

Let me take TLoU II as the comparison point.

That game is rightfully credited with making some huge accessibility leaps and innovating in ways that even I didn�t think were possible. But being a trailblazer, and also being a very different kind of game with very different requirements to make it accessible meant that they had to make some concessions. So the way TLoU did it was you�d essentially need to move toward a waypoint (story objective or item), but the problem is with the environment being magnitudes more complex to navigate, they couldn�t just let you point yourself in a direction and go there. You�d have to ask the game to nudge you toward an objective, which it does by triangulating a path through a series of waypoints, at which you get a little sound effect. Needless to say triangulating the whole time is cumbersome and annoying, even if it does work.

Compare this to D4, which tells you, unobtrusively, where something is merely by facing it. That�s huge and is much more informationally dense, where in TLoU�s case, you�re being dragged by the nose through the game. I�m sure the devs essentially drew lines through the environment for objectives, and then fall back on the triangulation algorithms when someone gets off course. It�s apples and oranges, but TLoU was the proof of concept and D4 is the streamlined improvement.

Accessibility right now in games is fascinating because it really is the wild west. Devs are throwing poo poo at the wall and seeing what sticks. Many devs don�t understand accessibility at all, so you get some really weird implementations. I can definitely tell which devs used consultants and which did not. TLoU and D4 most assuredly did.

Eeeeesh.

There�s probs some other stuff. Sorry for so many but it�s hard to explain this stuff when most people don�t have a grounding in the fundamentals.

This is very interesting, thank you. Are there any genres that tend on average to be the worst for accessibility (maybe ignoring competitive online multiplayer, which I assume is a miserable experience)?

# ? Jul 5, 2023 23:02

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

unattended spaghetti posted:

Very interesting, thanks

# ? Jul 5, 2023 23:28

Ersatz: Sep 17, 2005

Pellisworth posted:

i think im almost done with the campaign, going through Hell where everything is level 45+ and im only at 41. i can still kill stuff really quickly, elites die to like two casts of Pulverize but im also feeling quite squishy

should i go do side quests to get some more levels or just finish the campaign? assuming i'm actually almost done

Totally. They have the art assets at least, and it doesn't seem like allowing access to randomized hell.dungepns would be particularly difficult to do. I bet you're right about the direction the seasonal content will take.

edit: somehow replied to the wrong post, but y'all get the idea.

Ersatz fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Jul 5, 2023

# ? Jul 5, 2023 23:31

unattended spaghetti: May 10, 2013

The Grumbles posted:

This is very interesting, thank you. Are there any genres that tend on average to be the worst for accessibility (maybe ignoring competitive online multiplayer, which I assume is a miserable experience)?

My visual impairment is genetic, and I�ve been playing for roughly thirty years, and if you�d asked me before TLoU II came out I�d have given you a list. Now? Considering some of the innovations I�ve seen? Can�t really say.

Me from a few years ago would say that FPS is the biggest problem genre, but fortunately for me it never appealed.

Hell if anything now I�m looking at genres that I think should have been accessible long ago and weren�t. Most if not all turn-based strategy games could be done given the will, for example. They�re highly digital, so at the end of the day all you need is some TTS, some tooltips, and some proper object labeling and you�re off to the races.

Funny you�d mention competitive multi, btw, because there are pro fighting game players that are blind who�ve been playing since arcades were actually a thing. I�m no pro but I play a lot and am pretty good, though not top tier by any means lol.

SF6 just launched with customizable audio layering to indicate height of attacks, meter loss and gain, crossups, etc etc. Pretty wild, and I find some of it distracting myself since I got into fighting games well before this was offered. But I�m so happy that these things are starting to happen.

Anyone who argues against options like this is either a biggot or lacking in imagination. Accept no substitutes. Games are arbitrary systems imagined up by humans. If a game isn�t accessible at this point in the industry�s lifespan, it�s out of either ignorance or unwillingness to consider possibilities. Fortunately, when we look at the varied implementations, we�ll begin codifying genuine standards beyond closed captioning.

I say this every time this comes up but the first person to build a middleware accessibility solution is going to make loving bank licensing it to all the devs that want to tick boxes but don�t want to design or hire consultants.

e: goes without saying but I�m evaluating on only one axis�the visual�and I can�t speak to the experiences of players with motor difficulties/deafness/cognitive stuff/whatever else. I can speak on accessibility generally but I can�t claim any knowledge in terms of actual solutions for other disabilities obviously.

unattended spaghetti fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Jul 5, 2023

# ? Jul 5, 2023 23:34

SHISHKABOB: Nov 30, 2012; Fun Shoe

American McGay posted:

I mean, isn�t that the entire point of a seasonal structure?

Yeah it;'s like they said "our plan for our new season is to do a new season".

Which like, fair. I don't think it's right to be too much of a jerk about a little teaser thingie.

# ? Jul 6, 2023 00:12

Kawabata: Apr 20, 2014; You plebians just don't know what epic literature is. You should try reading Stephanie Meyer, E.L. James, Dan Brown, or Ayn Rand.

yeah why is this thread going :smug:

fresh gameplay :smug:

?

I like some fresh gameplay

# ? Jul 6, 2023 00:25

unattended spaghetti: May 10, 2013

Kawabata posted:

yeah why is this thread going fresh gameplay ?

I like some fresh gameplay

If someone didn't try to lay a sick burn any time blizzard comes up for air at this point I'd think something was wrong.

# ? Jul 6, 2023 00:33

GoGoGadgetChris: Mar 18, 2010; i powder a
granite monument
in a soundless flash

showering the grass
with molten drops of
its gold inlay

sending smoking
chips of stone
skipping into the fog

What does fresh gameplay have to offer me, a guy who has hit level 100 and knows this game is fundamentally flawed past the 200th hour

# ? Jul 6, 2023 00:39

Kawabata: Apr 20, 2014; You plebians just don't know what epic literature is. You should try reading Stephanie Meyer, E.L. James, Dan Brown, or Ayn Rand.

unattended spaghetti posted:

If someone didn't try to lay a sick burn any time blizzard comes up for air at this point I'd think something was wrong.

The D4 team produced a well thought out game with good enough mechanics/endgame content at release. It's the best day 1 Diablo game in the franchise, including server stability.

Activision Blizzard still suck and should be ridiculed for every misstep they make but the D4 devs released a good Diablo. Here's to hoping they make it great in time.

# ? Jul 6, 2023 00:48

WIFEY WATCHDOG: Jun 25, 2012; Yeah, well I don't trust this guy. I think he regifted, he degifted, and now he's using an upstairs invite as a springboard to a Super Bowl sex romp.

Actually eastern sun Diablo 2 was perfect on release

# ? Jul 6, 2023 00:52

Tokubetsu: Dec 18, 2007; Love Is Not Enough

WIFEY WATCHDOG posted:

Actually eastern sun Diablo 2 was perfect on release

All great work is built on the shoulders of the men that came before it�s true.

# ? Jul 6, 2023 00:53

bus hustler: Mar 14, 2019

There's something that truly gets me about people comparing this to D3 on release. Again, nobody is going to compare CS2 to the 2012 launch edition of CS:GO. It's expected to be an improvement on day 1.

If someone releases a new car with no smartphone integration we don't say "well the civic didn't launch with it either." You compare it to modern cars.

If a politician was anti gay marriage we wouldn't say they need a few years to "evolve" like Obama did, we'd criticize them using a modern measuring stick.

# ? Jul 6, 2023 00:53

Tiny Timbs: Sep 6, 2008

WIFEY WATCHDOG posted:

Actually eastern sun Diablo 2 was perfect on release

port to d2r plz

# ? Jul 6, 2023 00:56

Kawabata: Apr 20, 2014; You plebians just don't know what epic literature is. You should try reading Stephanie Meyer, E.L. James, Dan Brown, or Ayn Rand.

bus hustler posted:

There's something that truly gets me about people comparing this to D3 on release. Again, nobody is going to compare CS2 to the 2012 launch edition of CS:GO. It's expected to be an improvement on day 1.

If someone releases a new car with no smartphone integration we don't say "well the civic didn't launch with it either." You compare it to modern cars.

If a politician was anti gay marriage we wouldn't say they need a few years to "evolve" like Obama did, we'd criticize them using a modern measuring stick.

what do you want me to say, we live in a world where the gtx 4060 exists

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:01

unattended spaghetti: May 10, 2013

Kawabata posted:

The D4 team produced a well thought out game with good enough mechanics/endgame content at release. It's the best day 1 Diablo game in the franchise, including server stability.

Activision Blizzard still suck and should be ridiculed for every misstep they make but the D4 devs released a good Diablo. Here's to hoping they make it great in time.

No doubt.

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:02

GoGoGadgetChris: Mar 18, 2010; i powder a
granite monument
in a soundless flash

showering the grass
with molten drops of
its gold inlay

sending smoking
chips of stone
skipping into the fog

When they launched disneyland in 1956, nothing worked!

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:05

Knuc U Kinte: Aug 17, 2004

Got into wt4 with another gamer dad buddy of mine, both of us level 61. Took a few tries to beat Elias because one of us would die and the other would get overwhelmed. I don't think either of us are ready for WT4 solo yet, but it's nice to have the option.

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:05

Tokubetsu: Dec 18, 2007; Love Is Not Enough

Knuc U Kinte posted:

Got into wt4 with another gamer dad buddy of mine, both of us level 61. Took a few tries to beat Elias because one of us would die and the other would get overwhelmed. I don't think either of us are ready for WT4 solo yet, but it's nice to have the option.

A single wt4 helltide chest will probably get you both up to speed

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:13

Walked: Apr 14, 2003

Tokubetsu posted:

A single wt4 helltide chest will probably get you both up to speed

Wait, I've been at 62 with WT4 unlocked for a bit (Thanks to another goon helping me when I was level 50ish). I've most also avoided WT4, but if what you say about Helltide chests is true, maybe its worth another shot

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:15

Lil Swamp Booger Baby: Aug 1, 1981

Philthy posted:

All I ask for is a succubus mount.

They need an mfing camel

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:18

SmallpoxJenkins: Jul 9, 2012

bus hustler posted:

There's something that truly gets me about people comparing this to D3 on release. Again, nobody is going to compare CS2 to the 2012 launch edition of CS:GO. It's expected to be an improvement on day 1.

If someone releases a new car with no smartphone integration we don't say "well the civic didn't launch with it either." You compare it to modern cars.

If a politician was anti gay marriage we wouldn't say they need a few years to "evolve" like Obama did, we'd criticize them using a modern measuring stick.

Man what in the actual gently caress are you talking about?

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:18

Valicious: Aug 16, 2010

unattended spaghetti posted:

Definitely do this. D4�s accessibility is pretty good at baseline and it�s clear they cared enough to include a decent array of options. But there was a bug with the PS4�s version of the screen reader related, I believe, to the TTS engine Sony uses. Why Blizz didn�t pack in a TTS with the game to make it platform agnostic I�ve not a clue, but I imagine they wanted to save money on licensing it? Whatever. Either way, the PS version in specific crashed the whole game when tooltips came up. Think it was a buffering issue with the TTS. I swapped to Series after that and haven�t had an issue since.

Anyway, I emailed their accessibility dept during beta, and maybe it�s confirmation bias since I never got a reply, but that�s one of the things that they fixed in the patch. Can�t hurt to give it a shot. But if they don�t respond, maybe it�ll end up in the queue. Either way, if nobody says anything they won�t know to fix it. This is especially important because accessibility needs are so varied and developers are only just now starting to understand what the best practices are. Who knows you might make someone else�s day.

FWIW this game is awesome with its accessibility from a vision perspective. Does some genuinely interesting things that no other game�s done afaik.

Good luck. Hope they listen.

I posted on the official forums as well as opened a ticket. Fingers crossed.

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:33

idiotsavant: Jun 4, 2000

Think I'm gonna give in and swap my Necro build; right now it's a shadow CE build that uses Sever, Bone Storm + shadow aspect, Blood Mist, tendrils, and decrepify. Still need to get Howl From Below & a good cd hat to make it work better but it's pretty decent now, I'm 74 and NM 21-25 are fine. I haven't really pushed it much. Think I'm going to try the mist/bone storm barrier/ bone spirit build tho, it just seems so survivable cause youre basically barriered or misting all the time. That or the bone spear build generally just seem flat out better. I think shadow CE really needs minions to make it work well but there just isnt enough sp/aspects to both make your minions tough enough to hold stuff in place and to make your CE/shaow damage strong enough to kill stuff, especially compared to all the bone +crit bonuses.

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:35

GoGoGadgetChris: Mar 18, 2010; i powder a
granite monument
in a soundless flash

showering the grass
with molten drops of
its gold inlay

sending smoking
chips of stone
skipping into the fog

Hopeful that I can roll a zBarb or support monk type of character. It was insane how deep you could push in the GRifts even as a duo

I know all the classes have 'some' degree of contributing to the group but I wanna like, hard CC and corral huge mobs while making my buddies do a bajillion % extra damage and heal to full every 0.069s

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:37

Syrnn: Aug 16, 2004

Been playing with my SO and I'm a little underwhelmed after the rich fruits of D3. I'm trying Barbarian and I'm only at 53, still doing the main story and compared to her sorceress I feel like my barbarian just tickles poo poo to death until vulnerable comes online. I took Expose Vulnerability so that I can open on some mook with Death Blow and then Whirlwind everyone vulnerable but my downtime is terrible and there's so much I still don't get about this game. Almost all the legendaries I've found are either for generic poo poo like barriers or are for skills I don't really use or enjoy like Leap, so I've been doing this whirlwind thing forever and it definitely lacks pepper.

Why doesn't it explain half of it's mechanics anywhere? I still don't think I understand fortify or overpower, I kind of loathe the paragon board, runes are confusing, I just feel like I don't really get this game compared to D3. Can someone point me to a good leveling guide that isn't just "build your character to these exacting end game specifications with exactly these aspects you haven't found bing bong so simple" that seems to dominate all the websites on D4?

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:39

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Syrnn posted:

Been playing with my SO and I'm a little underwhelmed after the rich fruits of D3. I'm trying Barbarian and I'm only at 53, still doing the main story and compared to her sorceress I feel like my barbarian just tickles poo poo to death until vulnerable comes online. I took Expose Vulnerability so that I can open on some mook with Death Blow and then Whirlwind everyone vulnerable but my downtime is terrible and there's so much I still don't get about this game. Almost all the legendaries I've found are either for generic poo poo like barriers or are for skills I don't really use or enjoy like Leap, so I've been doing this whirlwind thing forever and it definitely lacks pepper.

Why doesn't it explain half of it's mechanics anywhere? I still don't think I understand fortify or overpower, I kind of loathe the paragon board, runes are confusing, I just feel like I don't really get this game compared to D3. Can someone point me to a good leveling guide that isn't just "build your character to these exacting end game specifications with exactly these aspects you haven't found bing bong so simple" that seems to dominate all the websites on D4?

Overpower is just another crit chance that gives bonus damage based on your max health instead +crit damage. It has a flat 3% chance to trigger on any attack.

Fortify gives you a 10% reduction in all damage taken if your fortify is above your current health. It gets easier to trigger the lower your health is.

Some skills give you a bonus based on what your fortify is or can guarantee that you trigger overpower.

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:45

harrygomm: Oct 19, 2004; can u run n jump?

GoGoGadgetChris posted:

Hopeful that I can roll a zBarb or support monk type of character. It was insane how deep you could push in the GRifts even as a duo

I know all the classes have 'some' degree of contributing to the group but I wanna like, hard CC and corral huge mobs while making my buddies do a bajillion % extra damage and heal to full every 0.069s

i don�t have any knowledge of zDPS stuff but a smaller channel i�ve seen some good info out of, dkv on youtube, had mentioned putting together some work on a zdps barb. can�t speak for efficacy but maybe it�s something to watch

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:52

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 24, 2024 15:49

Diephoon: Aug 24, 2003; LOL; Nap Ghost

GoGoGadgetChris posted:

Hopeful that I can roll a zBarb or support monk type of character. It was insane how deep you could push in the GRifts even as a duo

I know all the classes have 'some' degree of contributing to the group but I wanna like, hard CC and corral huge mobs while making my buddies do a bajillion % extra damage and heal to full every 0.069s

I play a cc heavy barb because Double Swing refunds 25 Fury if you hit a target that is stunned or knocked down. You can stack stun on bludgeon hit from the passive tree with stun when dealing direct damage to bleeding targets. Use Ground Stomp for when you want something knocked down immediately. Great to use after pulling a group of mobs with Steel Grasp now that the skill actually works. There's another aspect that can proliferate cc to "nearby" mobs. The range feels farther than nearby imo.

I played with The Butcher's Cleaver for a while and the fear is neat because it's guaranteed on crit, but for some mobs it didn't feel like they got slowed much if at all. This resulted in occasional annoyance at chasing feared mobs so I took it out of my build.

CC is fun but on beefy elites they will go unstoppable after a couple cc hits. There's another aspect that increases your damage when a target has unstoppable. You can also grab two aspects to extend your CC duration but I ended up not having room for them after my last aspect reorganization.

# ? Jul 6, 2023 01:52

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Diablo IV SEASON 4: dads eatin good

«‹›905 »