Diablo III --Impressions start on page 36 --

[Clanwolfer]

What's the prevailing opinion on salvage vs. sell?  Not having seen any of the higher level equipment, I'm not sure if it's better to hoard components for crafting or get more money so I can grab equipment from the shop.

What I've been doing is training up the blacksmith ahead of my level and seeing what items I will be able to use. What's been happening is that there will be a weapon or armor I can use, but not until a few levels away, and I can see how much materials it will need. So I can at that point salvage enough to get the materials I'll need when the time comes and then just sell everything else. That's been keeping me in enough gold to pick up interesting stuff from the merchants as well as being able to immediately pick up items from the blacksmith when they become available for my level.

I also stopped picking up whites and greys a long time ago. They are worth nothing vended and you fill up on blues pretty quickly.

I salvaged near everything through 21 on my Witch Doctor - now I've got enough mats stashed away that I can craft anything I want on lower level characters, to the point when I can craft the items as soon as they're unlocked. I figure I'll go back to salvaging when my stock drops below a full stack of essences.

Doubled on whites and grays, but watch out for gems or recipes, which are also white.

[Misguided]

So, our characters are like thirty feet tall?

Here it is   No need to go digging

[Blackjack]

So, our characters are like thirty feet tall?

Here it is  No need to go digging

So the pic's the range in feet, right? The passive I mentioned is 10 yards, i.e., 30 feet. So if that's that case, that looks about right and is helpful to me, so thanks.  

There's also a DH achievement for reaching a certain # of ranged attack kills done from beyond a certain distance. I got it while pegging some targets that were just barely visible at the edge of my monitor.  

I think if you put the character there on the ground, lying down, it'd probably be 6 feet or so (if that's what the numbers denote).

[Blackjack]

Diablo Inc Gamers pointed out this "open letter" from Blizzard to the community. They are delaying the RMT auction house implementation, among other things, until they get the server infrastructure issues ironed out.

Open Letter from Blizzard on the Problematic Launch
http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/open-letter-from-blizzard-on-the-problematic-launch

Diablo Players:

We’d like to extend a very sincere thank you to everyone who joined the global Diablo III launch celebrations this week, as well as to everyone who was ready to jump into Sanctuary the moment the game went live.

To that end, we’d also like to say that we’ve been humbled by your enthusiasm — and we sincerely regret that your crusade to bring down the Lord of Terror was thwarted not by mobs of demons, but by mortal infrastructure. As many of you are aware, technical issues occurring within hours after the game’s launch led to players experiencing error messages and difficulty logging in. These issues cropped up again last night for the Americas and Europe servers. Despite very aggressive projections, our preparations for the launch of the game did not go far enough.

We’ve been monitoring the game 24/7 and have applied several optimizations to help our systems better weather the global rush. As of late last night, specifically 11:50 PM PDT on May 15, all systems have been online and running relatively smoothly. We’re continuing to monitor performance globally and will be taking further measures as needed to ensure a positive experience for everyone. This includes some maintenance to implement additional improvements for each region.

In order to make sure everything is continuing to run as it should, we’ve decided to move out our target launch for the real-money auction house beyond our original estimated date of May 22. We’ll post further updates on that in the near future.

Aside from the tremendous number of players simultaneously logging in to the game, one of the launch-day service issues was linked to the DiabloWikiachievement system. Some players began to notice early on that DiabloWikiachievements were either not being earned properly, or not being saved between multiple logins. We’re investigating this issue and will provide a specific update as soon as possible.

We greatly appreciate everyone’s support, and we want to sincerely apologize for the difficulties many of you encountered on day one. Please visit the DiabloWikiBattle.net Support site or Support forums for the latest service-related updates or for help in troubleshooting any technical issues you may be having downloading, installing, or while playing the game.

Thank you again for your patience while we reinforce the gates of Sanctuary and further strengthen it for your onslaught.

Respectfully,
Blizzard Entertainment

Presumably the next big test is this Friday night into the weekend. I hope they can weather the storm.

[CeeKay]

welcome to the void leo......

[Teggy]

I want to know when I get my free month of playtime from the servers being down.

[Purge]

I want to know when I get my free month of playtime from the servers being down.

[CeeKay]

I want to know when I get my free month of playtime from the servers being down.

free Mists of Pandaria beta access for everyone!

[jersoc]

beat normal last night. nightmare coop has been crazy

[leo8877]

welcome to the void leo......

I guess he has me blocked 

[Teggy]

I want to know when I get my free month of playtime from the servers being down.

free Mists of Pandaria beta access for everyone!

Free mini Deckard Cain pet for WoW!

[Blackjack]

I want to know when I get my free month of playtime from the servers being down.

This reminds me of the amazing "Marvel No-Prize" that Marvel Comics would give to the reader that submitted the best "letter to the editor" each month in their comics, back in the 1980s.  
==============

So I hadn't paid attention to the Runes for the DH's raven pet. Kinda fun, though I probably see Bullzeye focusing on the Archery stuff eventually (maybe I can still use this later too):

Spider Companion (L22)
Summon a spider instead of a raven. The spider's attacks also Slow the movement of enemies by 60% for 2 seconds.

Bat Companion (L29)
Summon a bat instead of a raven. The bat grants you 3 Hatred per second.
      
Boar Companion (L41)
Summon a boar instead of a raven. The boar's attacks hit all enemies in an area.
         
Ferret Companion (L46)
Summon ferrets instead of a raven. The ferrets collect gold for you and increase gold found on monsters by 10%.
                     
Wolf Companion (L59)
Summon a wolf for 25 seconds instead of a raven. The wolf attacks for 60% of your weapon damage as Physical.

Not sure if the ferrets do damage, or if they just gnaw on the gold. 

[skystride]

I want to know when I get my free month of playtime from the servers being down.

free Mists of Pandaria beta access for everyone!

I want a sigil that says "I survived Error 37!".

[Soulchilde]

Just lost four Hardcore toons


Lvl 13 Monk --  Kharak Shaman
Several  Barbarians  -
Wizard - One shotted by a Thrall

[USMC Kato]

Just lost four Hardcore toons


Lvl 13 Monk --  Kharak Shaman
Several  Barbarians  -
Wizard - One shotted by a Thrall

 

[TheEgoWhip]

Just lost four Hardcore toons


Lvl 13 Monk --  Kharak Shaman
Several  Barbarians  -
Wizard - One shotted by a Thrall

Ah yes, what a thrill. I had a hardcore Necro in D2 that was past lvl 90 when he died. I left his ghost up on my character select screen for a long long time.  I can't wait for Hardcore D3. 

[IkeVandergraaf]

IkeV#1236

[Harkonis]

IkeV#1236

wrong thread 

[USMC Kato]

Diablo Inc Gamers pointed out this "open letter" from Blizzard to the community. They are delaying the RMT auction house implementation, among other things, until they get the server infrastructure issues ironed out.

Open Letter from Blizzard on the Problematic Launch
http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/open-letter-from-blizzard-on-the-problematic-launch

Diablo Players:

We’d like to extend a very sincere thank you to everyone who joined the global Diablo III launch celebrations this week, as well as to everyone who was ready to jump into Sanctuary the moment the game went live.

To that end, we’d also like to say that we’ve been humbled by your enthusiasm — and we sincerely regret that your crusade to bring down the Lord of Terror was thwarted not by mobs of demons, but by mortal infrastructure. As many of you are aware, technical issues occurring within hours after the game’s launch led to players experiencing error messages and difficulty logging in. These issues cropped up again last night for the Americas and Europe servers. Despite very aggressive projections, our preparations for the launch of the game did not go far enough.

We’ve been monitoring the game 24/7 and have applied several optimizations to help our systems better weather the global rush. As of late last night, specifically 11:50 PM PDT on May 15, all systems have been online and running relatively smoothly. We’re continuing to monitor performance globally and will be taking further measures as needed to ensure a positive experience for everyone. This includes some maintenance to implement additional improvements for each region.

In order to make sure everything is continuing to run as it should, we’ve decided to move out our target launch for the real-money auction house beyond our original estimated date of May 22. We’ll post further updates on that in the near future.

Aside from the tremendous number of players simultaneously logging in to the game, one of the launch-day service issues was linked to the DiabloWikiachievement system. Some players began to notice early on that DiabloWikiachievements were either not being earned properly, or not being saved between multiple logins. We’re investigating this issue and will provide a specific update as soon as possible.

We greatly appreciate everyone’s support, and we want to sincerely apologize for the difficulties many of you encountered on day one. Please visit the DiabloWikiBattle.net Support site or Support forums for the latest service-related updates or for help in troubleshooting any technical issues you may be having downloading, installing, or while playing the game.

Thank you again for your patience while we reinforce the gates of Sanctuary and further strengthen it for your onslaught.

Respectfully,
Blizzard Entertainment

Presumably the next big test is this Friday night into the weekend. I hope they can weather the storm.

I'm 99% sure that Battle.net will will have an outage again this weekend.  After the NFL season ended, I canceled my cable plan. I get all my TV and movie needs from my Roku device, and I can watch anything I want, anytime I want (netflix, Amazon, and Hulu)
I feel that videogames are going in the complete opposite direction.
Diablo is pretty sweet though, and having a blast on hardcore mode.

[Zarkon]

Tell me what you guys think about this:

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5271597119#1

(Oh, and reply /there/, not here)

[Harkonis]

odd, says I can't post over there.  I think you can already search for the actual stats you want.  There is a section to choose stat/effect preferences while searching.

rest seems fine

edit: figured out how to post finally.

[Zarkon]

You can search for stats, but you can't search for suffix/prefix.

[Harpua3]

I'm TRYING to finish work so I can go home and play!!!

[stimpy]

I have 3 guest passes for D3 and 1 guest pass for WoW.
PM me for codes.

[jersoc]

Tell me what you guys think about this:

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5271597119#1

(Oh, and reply /there/, not here)

god i went to use the AH today to buy some crafting shit and was amazed how crappy the UI is. it's really strange because the WoW one is so insanely easy to find exactly what you want with lots and lots categories. D3 is a joke. It was probably designed on take your daughter to work day or something.

[Clanwolfer]

The thing I'm loving best right now is how absolutely not in a hurry I am right now to finish even Normal. Haven't touched my WD in a few days, played co-op as a monk (up to 13) and a DH (up to 9). Will probably pick the DH up tomorrow night, and just keep swapping back and forth until I can bring my WD back into the co-op rotation.

One thing I'll say is that I feel like I'm learning a lot more about the game playing all the encounters through as three classes. Since I'm planning on at least trying out some Hardcore mode eventually, I think this is pretty useful.

One thing I could be doing better at is trying the skills that don't immediately look great - need to figure out better builds instead of just going with the easiest options.

[Roman]

Love love love this game. This is just what I wanted and is bringing back fond memories of PC gaming. Only played about 2hrs tonight as I just got back from LA but had a ton of fun.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Blackjack]

DH-wise, Strafe is fun but visually quite different than D2 -- it's more of a human spinning-top out of maybe a John Woo movie...

*It's great for weeding large groups quickly, esp. if they're not boss-types.

Elemental Arrow is fun to watch, like a comet, and pierces:


I'm up to about 21, I think late in Act II. I thought we might get a screenshot/videos thread going at some point. Although, I do feel the game looks better in motion than in stills, it is fun to catch certain kinds of skills in screenshots.

[Misguided]

Oscuros is playing a DH in our triple co-op (I've got a wizard in that one and my son has a barbarian) and the DH skill I can't get enough of watching is rapid fire. I may have to try a DH just for that.

I'm also having a blast w/ a solo barbarian (don't recall level, but just got frenzy...maybe 11?)

Wizard is not particularly impressive early on, but that's to be expected, I think. Those types usually feel a bit underpowered early on. Magic missile doesn't do a lot for me yet, and shock bolt isn't as much fun as the Witch Doctor toads. Arcane Orb isn't bad, though.

[rshetts2]

Oscuros is playing a DH in our triple co-op (I've got a wizard in that one and my son has a barbarian) and the DH skill I can't get enough of watching is rapid fire. I may have to try a DH just for that.

I'm also having a blast w/ a solo barbarian (don't recall level, but just got frenzy...maybe 11?)

Wizard is not particularly impressive early on, but that's to be expected, I think. Those types usually feel a bit underpowered early on. Magic missile doesn't do a lot for me yet, and shock bolt isn't as much fun as the Witch Doctor toads. Arcane Orb isn't bad, though.

Once you rune the pulse skill on a Wizard, you rather quickly loose that underpowered feeling and become a slaughter machine.

[Misguided]

Yeah, we didn't get that far with those characters. I think about level 7. I expect my build to focus on CC and aoe damage, primarily. Not super crazy about Frost Nova so far, though. The range feels smaller than I remember from DII. The chain reaction rune for it sounds cool, though.

[Arclight]

I have a 21 Monk and I've been salvaging from the get-go. I think I've trained about 5 or 6 times. My question concerns one type of salvage you get. It's yellow and in the shape of a tooth or horn. It says it's for enhancing recipes you acquire through the Blacksmith. For the life of me I can't see or find anywhere to "put" them. Anyone have the answer?
By the way the Monk slices through mobs with impunity. A very stout and resilient class. I'm going to devote some time to a DH this weekend, just to see how range does on D-3.
This game has a way of sneaking up and infecting you with, "justonemoreitis"... It hurts so good.

Ps..I love stumbling upon those little treasure seeking imps.." Fortune in the Desert" by I.P. Nickels...

[The Grue]

I have a 21 Monk and I've been salvaging from the get-go. I think I've trained about 5 or 6 times. My question concerns one type of salvage you get. It's yellow and in the shape of a tooth or horn. It says it's for enhancing recipes you acquire through the Blacksmith. For the life of me I can't see or find anywhere to "put" them. Anyone have the answer?

I have one recipe to make a yellow helm and it uses them.  Not sure how I got the recipe, though...whether it was just from training or it was some kind of drop.  The reason I don't know is I don't remember seeing it after training up the blacksmith (I usually check to see what items I just got) and I never got a recipe as an actual drop that I had to interact with or anything.

[Blackjack]

I have a 21 Monk and I've been salvaging from the get-go. I think I've trained about 5 or 6 times. My question concerns one type of salvage you get. It's yellow and in the shape of a tooth or horn. It says it's for enhancing recipes you acquire through the Blacksmith. For the life of me I can't see or find anywhere to "put" them. Anyone have the answer?

I have one recipe to make a yellow helm and it uses them.  Not sure how I got the recipe, though...whether it was just from training or it was some kind of drop.  The reason I don't know is I don't remember seeing it after training up the blacksmith (I usually check to see what items I just got) and I never got a recipe as an actual drop that I had to interact with or anything.

I can make one type of rare helm (the attributes vary but it always has one socket), it did just come via training at the blacksmith (it took a lot of training before that showed up), and it does use that tooth I think.

It pays to always check the armor and weapons lists at the blacksmith after training. The "train to make these" tab at the blacksmith used fancy language but didn't really make it clear I could make one rare item.

[The Grue]

Yes, I can confirm you get it from training the blacksmith.  I just trained another level and got two more yellow recipes.

[Harpua3]

Okay this game has taken over my life. Three nights in a row, every night since i started it, I've been up to 5am! And felt sad to quit that "early".. I wake up and think when can I start playing tonight.. Worth 60 bucks, that's for sure!

[Blackjack]

Yeah, we didn't get that far with those characters. I think about level 7. I expect my build to focus on CC and aoe damage, primarily. Not super crazy about Frost Nova so far, though. The range feels smaller than I remember from DII. The chain reaction rune for it sounds cool, though.

While some skills are for sure fun right away, others really do need the Rune effects to kick in before they feel "bad ass" for lack of a better phrase.  

With the Demon Hunter, a couple of skills felt a bit "meh" to me at first, and then seemed to get new life from even the first rune effect. It's gonna be tough for me to make decisions later on what rune effects to use regularly. There are some I think are useful to avoid getting overwhelmed when soloing that I might replace when in a group.

I don't mind needing to wrestle with such choices. I am afterall the one complaining about 47 hotkeys or whatever in most mmorpgs and feeling like a trained monkey trying to remember dozens of keys. It's kind of refreshing instead to have to basically boil it down to around a half dozen (LMB, RMB, 4-5 hotkeys) things I want to use regularly, and which ones fit my play style etc. 

[Arkon]

So I just finished the game on normal mode...had way more deaths than I care to admit, especially on some of the boss fights.  My Witch Doctor finished at level 31 if I recall, can't check as the credits are still scrolling 5 minutes after the game ended.  I am sure I will be in the minority on this one, but I felt like the game was a bit too long.  There were times towards the end where I figured, ok here is the end, and then what do you know, I need to take care of a few more things before I can get to the end, oh but wait now you need to take care of a few more...I felt like they stretched the game out too much.  

Overall I really enjoyed the game, but I am guessing I am gonna get crushed on Nightmare difficulty given how hard normal was for me.

Edit:  Just checked, my WD finished at level 32, in roughly 20 hours.

[soulbringer]

Im sure this has probably been answered before but I couldnt find it.  Are Rune skill effects cumlative?  For example if the 2nd rune for a power is increased damage and the 3rd is lower power cost and I take the lower power cost do i still get the benefit of the higher damage?  Sorry if thats a bit confusing. 

[Blackjack]

Im sure this has probably been answered before but I couldnt find it.  Are Rune skill effects cumlative?  For example if the 2nd rune for a power is increased damage and the 3rd is lower power cost and I take the lower power cost do i still get the benefit of the higher damage?  Sorry if thats a bit confusing. 

afik, the runes are all "stand alone." You just get the benefits of the one you have "applied" to your skill, and nothing else.