As I play both games there are certain pros and cons that both have:
1. Combat Smoothness/Fluidity
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Diablo III crushes PoE in this regard, and this is mostly due to a superior graphics and game engine and better netcode functioning. You will find PoE is going to desync far more often than in D3, and if you're used to the smooth combat from D3, this will be a bit jarring. You can get used to it, and you will have to learn how to *ahem* 'minimize desync' on your end by not getting into situations that cause it. But if you enjoyed fighting in areas like Bastion's Keep with all the doors and small hallways that you could use to your advantage...well...be prepared to be 'teleported' several rooms away because client and server here get so out of sync that you'll likely get the good ol' '/oos macro' booted up and use it liberally.
As far as dodging attacks and playing strategically, D3 wins out there, but only by a little. Granted in PoE you -can technically- dodge almost any attack where as in D3 there are more instances of attacks that you cannot avoid and will seem unfair. However, you'll come across more than a few instances of unfairness in PoE in terms of attacks where you think on screen you dodged them, but because of desync you get smashed in the face. But overall, if you're concerned about combat then D3 is the safer bet.
2. Customization
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Path of Exile wins here, hands down. While items in this game provide a lot of power, and the 'passive skill tree' is really just a fancy, glorified sphere grid from FFX that offers really no true 'skills', it's still far better than what D3 has. Gems that provide the skills will certainly get boosted quite a bit from gear in this game, but there is no where near the sheer lopsidedness that you find in D3 where almost everything is tied to weapon damage and almost nothing else. This is especially true for spells like Arc, Ice Spear, and others where pure gem levels will give a bigger boost than just a wand/stat stick (though are certainly helpful), where as on a Wizard in D3 if you don't have a powerful weapon then your Hydra spell will hit for shit.
You also have a variety of skills at your disposal here and can augment and change them with the support gems and even some of the unique weapons/armors. AS an example, you can have Ice Shot be a single target skill, or change it up and have it be a crushing AOE attack that pierces or chains around, and freezes and shatters things, or even make it proliferate burning damage! You can't really do that in D3, and the 'rune system' is little more than a cheap way to try and make its 'load out system' seem like it's impactful, but it's not. That's not to say the skill system in this game is perfect...it has its flaws, but you can make a lot of different builds compared to the garbage 'variety' that doesn't exist in D3.
3. Class Distinction
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This is sadly where PoE falls flat on its face and has missed a huge opportunity to really flourish. The devs wanted more build diversity, and instead sacrificed far too much character identity, which could have been had in limiting what skill gems could work with where the classes start on the passive tree. That, or having areas of the passive tree that are only accessible to certain classes and would have augmentations to skills that make them completely unique and that no other class could get access to. Take for example the Ranger, Duelist, and Shadow; if you wanted to make a bow build that focused on crit and you wanted to use Tornado Shot for AOE and Puncture for single target (obvious example, but follow along)...which class is better? On the character select screen you see the Ranger wielding a bow and you think that she is the best class for bow skills, and the other two given that they're holding swords and daggers, they wouldn't be.
However, when you really, really break it down...they all work and function almost identical because they will use the same gem setups, pretty much the same gear, and the passive bonuses you choose will be about 85%-90% the same nodes. At that point you're down to the min/maxing stage, but that's not distinction...none of those three 'classes' are really any different. Now, this is only one example, but if you boil it down and really look it over, you'll see this happens a lot more than you think in this game. I give credit to GGG for making build diversity something nice in this game, but they went a bit too far, left too much open, and didn't put limitations on things where they should have to keep classes distinct. Instead, most of the time the classes are little more than 'choose what you want to look at most of the time and if you care about min/maxing, then your choices are even less, but ultimately won't kill you in terms of 'efficiency'.
This is where D3 wins. A Demon Hunter in that game plays and feels far differently than a Monk, even though they both use Dexterity as their primary stat. Along the same lines, a Monk plays much differently than a Crusader, even though both are melee classes. It's because the skills they have are restricted to their classes, and at the same time fit (for the most part) what each class represents. The Monk is designed to be a fast, agile melee character that goes from enemy to enemy firing off rapid attacks, dodging and weaving to avoid damage, etc, etc, while the Crusader is the shield-wielding character that calls down righteous fury and smashes things with a giant flail and carries a towering shield that blocks damage and makes them very durable. Granted, I am well aware these may not be 100% accurate to what is in the actual game, but that's not important...what is important is that each class feels and plays differently from one another, has advantages and disadvantages compared to the others, and have different skills to accompany them. Diablo III does this far better than PoE...PoE the 'classes' really don't feel like classes...just non-meaningful avatars.
4. Build Diversity
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I touched upon this a bit earlier, but build diversity goes to PoE and it leaves Diablo III in the dust...hands down. Diablo III has terrible build diversity and a lot of that is thanks to the absolutely shitty system of 'weapon damage' borrowed from WoW and other MMORPG-style systems. It's fine in an MMORPG because the main focus there is not entirely on just getting loot and character customization, but more about PvP, PvE, and broader goals that encompass all. In an ARPG the main goals are first and foremost character customization, and then loot hunting nipping at its heels. Path of Exile embraces those both far better because while the gear is definitely a strong way to improve the damage and design of your chosen skills, it's not the only thing. Support Gems and the passive tree tow the line...you don't get that in Diablo III at all. In D3 almost all of the power of your skills is tied to gear, and even the new legendary gems introduced (took them for-fucking-ever to even add those in and diamonds...) barely do anything to help diversify and balance the power issues.
Even ignoring that, just how many builds are there for each class in Diablo III? ...Barely any, and again you have the whole weapon damage% to thank for that. That and the dev's obsession with seemingly wanting to make the game more about 'rotations' with resource spenders and generators, which is again something that is fine in the realm of MMORPGs where rotations matter, but not in an ARPG setting. Just take a look at the class forums here and browse around...people are trying out stuff all the time as it's introduced to the game, tweaking previous skills, finding new ways to use them, and making builds that work. Compare that to the Demon Hunter forum...it's almost nothing but Marauder 6-piece set builds, and even when someone tries something different, it's miles behind M6. Again, so much power relegated to weapon damage% and gear and set bonuses, and skills that just flat-out suck due to their cost/damage ratio being horrid...yeah...PoE is the clear winner here.
5. RNG and 'Endgame' and Difficulty
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There is honestly no clear winner here as both have their strength and weaknesses, but if I had to choose...Diablo III, but not by much. On one hand, Diablo III is more rewarding in how you get gear, but then there are gear pieces that are so rare and without being able to trade you have to pray the RNG is on your side, or you're fucked. Path of Exile does better with the trading aspect (even though it desperately needs a huge overhaul and the economy of the game is far, far, far too 'loved' by the devs, but that's another story), but even the RNG in this game is known for bending you over and taking you with an over-sized dildo without any lube more than once. PoE has gotten better with Forsaken Masters and allowing some actual specific, targeted crafting, which was sort of in D3 with the Mystic, though less RNG for sure. That said, the 'currency drops' in this game are probably a bit stingier than they have to be, and have helped providing constant fuel for RMT sites to flourish like mold in a damp, warm bathroom, but again...at the very least the fact this game has some semblance of trading can help to overcome the RNG woes...a bit. I could go on and on about this, but I'll move along to the 'endgame' and difficulty.
IMHO, D3 is better here because you can pick and choose which difficulty you want to try out and if you can't handle something, you can take it down a notch. The scaling (outside of the bullshit of Greater Rifts) is generally smoother and better and puts PoE to shame there. PoE has far too many difficulty spikes and damage that is out of control, but that is also on the player side thanks to crit/crit damage and other things and the much mor esimplistic combat. So to compensate the devs have made the difficulty far more punishing and in more than a few cases a bit over-the-top to where you -can- get around it, but it could do with some tweaking. Diablo III does this better and allows the player more options for difficulty scaling and not as much bullshit as you'll find here in PoE. Granted, there are certainly a few things in Diablo III that are a bit over-tuned and could use some changing, but those are more tolerable than some of the mentioned things here in PoE.
As far as the endgame goes...it's down to maps vs. Rifts/Greater Rifts, and I just barely, barely prefer the rifts over the maps. On one hand, the idea of maps in PoE is really nice, and they're quite good at breaking up monotonous grinds with a change of scenery. That and while they may use existing tile sets, they are much better at being 'randomized' compared to the Rifts in Diablo III. BUT...BUT...where D3 wins is in accessibility. All you need for a regular rift is a keystone, and that requires completing bounties to get them, which you'll always get from completing a bounty. While the map system in PoE has been improved, it still suffers from too much RNG, and too much wild swings in it. In Diablo III all you need is time, a decent set of gear, some skill, and then you can pop right into a rift whenever you want, and thanks to adjustable difficulty you can generally provide yourself a decent challenge. Can you do that in PoE? Sadly, not as easily, and more often than not you're the one getting fucked over.
You may get your character up to where you can do level 75+ maps and handle a fair amount of map mods (which are also a nice idea), but...you may not be able to stay at that level of content. Why is that? Because outside of trading and spending currency (or RMTing) you are at the total mercy of the RNG. Oh sure, there are things that you can do to try and swing that RNG in your favor and save yourself some currency, but in the end it's not enough. Nothing you can do when you do a level 77 Shipyard map that's rolled with 80%+ Quantity and the only map drops you get are 67-70s. I and many others have seen this happen far too many times and it's not only frustrating, it's downright insulting. GGG is a bit too infatuated with using RNG in places it shouldn't and while D3 commits this sin as well, at least it doesn't in terms of the endgame content (Greater Rifts notwithstanding).
I could continue to go on and on, but I think those cover most of it. In the end, should you switch from D3 to PoE? Honestly, I would give PoE a try and continue playing D3 if you want, but if you find yourself really disliking it at this point, then come on over and give PoE a try. Just don't set your expectations too high and think this game is the second-coming...it's not and it has plenty of issues that you'll need to be aware of. It's not miles ahead of D3, IMHO, but what it does offer, it generally does better than D3...most of the time. :)
I'm surprised no one touched on your post yet. I read all of it btw. I pretty much agree with everything you said. Then again, how can you not agree? That's the reality of the game. It just comes down to preference in most cases. PoE has come a long way since closed beta when I started but I'm still waiting for that massive overhaul that really pushes itself past its competition.
The desync, performance and RNG of PoE is quite sad to put it plainly. Once they address these issues, and I mean really address them (that massive overhaul I was talking about), then and only then will PoE become the bread winner of the ARPG household.
Also, I want item sets in this game. If you copy one thing from Diablo, please copy sets. The customization/build diversity, that PoE already dominates, will even further stomp Diablo 3's face in the ground. So much room for activities!
I don't see it as a bad thing that "all classes can be petty much the same". Only as a good thing, you can play the build you want on the class you like the most or on class the build fits the best. Matter of opinions, thus hardly a "serious flaw" in the game.
Other than that, I mostly agree on everything you said.
Also, I want item sets in this game. If you copy one thing from Diablo, please copy sets. The customization/build diversity, that PoE already dominates, will even further stomp Diablo 3's face in the ground. So much room for activities!
Set items are not coming. Also a conscious decision from the devs: they don't want to "force" you to get another items y and z if you happen stumble upon item x.
I've never played D3. However, one yardstick for comparison is this: How often does each game have substantial patches or add new content? How long do those patches take? PoE is a dynamic, growing game, with a lot of room for more growth. When's the next big expansion for D3 supposed to be released? For PoE, it's expected 1st Q 2015. =^[.]^=
That's one of the major flaws with D3 compared to PoE. Basically, like around 9 months before the release of the Reaper of Souls Expansion earlier this year, Blizz said : "you won't get any update until then, we focus on the expansion". It was almost a full year without anything added to the game. Most recent BS example : last patch, the "seasons" patch, took 2 whole months of Public Testing just to be released full of bugs/exploits, and they also introduced it as a "major" patch when it's basically the exact same game wrapped in a different package.
I've never played D3. However, one yardstick for comparison is this: How often does each game have substantial patches or add new content? How long do those patches take? PoE is a dynamic, growing game, with a lot of room for more growth. When's the next big expansion for D3 supposed to be released? For PoE, it's expected 1st Q 2015. =^[.]^=
Give Blizz a break, they're a small indie company on a tight budget, so of course they can't knock out new content as fast as a multi billion dollar company like GGG.
New content? like what masters? so they added a way to craft (then nerfed the farming areas ) , which D3 all ready has ? threw some more pointless uniques into the game and you call that content? I quit rampage because its bad and beyond is a peek a boo monster desync death fest.
white knight
A gaming term used to describe a male gamer who, in a desperate attempt to get himself laid, will attempt to woo or impress any female gamer he comes across online by being overly defensive of her
