It happened just after the sixty hour mark. After felling Diablo for a second time the charm of the creeping hordes and sprawling dungeons dwindled. The treasure chests, once blossoms bursting with a near-endless wealth of weaponry, lost their allure. When a hero of the High Heavens finds the best gear around, what's left for them to do?
A Blizzard community manager recently admitted that the item hunt "is just not enough for a long-term sustainable end-game." Players need something more in order to stay engaged and keep slaying. No matter how many patches and hotfixes roll through to tinker with the little things, beating Diablo III four times in a row leaves precious little fun left to enjoy. But, like Tyrael taking up his sword in Act I, not all hope is lost. Descend below for a list of additions that could save Diablo III's end game.
My Kingdom for a Sword
Start simple, Blizzard. More item affixes could help. Think devious hexes, armor brands, and other neato buffs. While the current set has plenty of delightful side effects just made for exploiting, a few extra never hurt. Unless they throw Diablo III's balance right out the window, which is always a looming threat when adding to a complex equation.
Speaking of affixes, some of those found in Diablo II never made the jump to Diablo III. We need only look to those for plenty of options that have yet to be explored in the latest adventure.
Race Ya to the Finish
Much like moving from Normal to Nightmare, this next suggestion starts to get crazy. With so much of Diablo III's design hinged on the purpose of encouraging multiple runs through the story, why not implement a ranked time trial?
Imagine a simple prompt at the beginning of the campaign that disables all cutscenes and sends you hurdling towards Diablo with a time counter on the top of the display. After clearing the story, or perhaps just an act, your time appears on a global leaderboard for all to see. This would exist outside of the time-based achievements, by the way. Those do their own thing.
Of course, time trials present their own set of problems, like how to handle players that log in and out mid-play. But jockeying for the fastest time gives Diablo extremists an additional way to compete and compare skills.
Modes! Modes! Modes!
One of the best ways to keep the party going is to develop more modes on top of the norm. It's worked well for years because developers can deliver the same play experience but in a different package. In the case of Diablo III, some recognizable formats seem like a perfect fit for this dungeon crawler.
First! A tower mode. Or endless dungeon mode. Whatever brooding title fits, really. Completely randomize a series of never-ending floors and challenge players to go as deep as they can on a single run. No deaths allowed, and some restrictions on returning to town. This would not only open up a limitless dungeon-crawling option but would also force explorers to think twice before picking up everything on the floor.
Second! Look to almost any modern shooter to find a delightfully replayable horde mode. Implementing this into Diablo III would require some serious effort on Blizzard's behalf as it requires appropriate maps and the like, but what wonders it could work on the end game! A cooperative battle against waves and waves of enemies. Saving your gold or spending it on temporary defenses and walls. I tremble at the thought.
Third! Arcade mode! Play for points!
At the End of the Game/Day
We all know that PVP mode beckons us from just up the road, and inevitable expansions all but guarantee new classes and quests. But until then, Diablo III needs more.
Finding the perfect set of loot can only keep the adventuring masses entertained for so long. And with plenty of folks already clearing the story on Inferno, Blizzard needs to consider other ways to keep everyone playing, or else Evil will prevail.
Ryan Clements writers for IGN and, despite what you might think, loves Diablo III. Really. He took a day off of work to play it at launch. Follow him on Twitter, and share in his love of The Last Airbender, which he just finished for the first time.
Source : ign[dot]com
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