Is this game more forgiving now?

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Nightmare90 wrote:

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kasub wrote:

That's just false.

Yep, unique droprate was buffed outright

Some people forget monsters' natural IQ was cut by 50% and IQ gems/items removed.
The recent increase of mid/high tier uniques is minor. Current drop rate is far worse than OB.

I don't even intend to argue further, as it makes no sense.

There's also a difference in drop rates between OB and off.release, related with number of players, botters and various other factors. Drop rates are adjusted by ggg constantly. But as this statement is a bit speculative, as cannot be supported by certain numbers, you may ignore it. Take into account the first part of the thread only.

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Some people forget monsters' natural IQ was cut by 50%

That is false. The only change to base item quantity was the party bonus. It's now based on rarity instead of quantity. Gems/orbs are not affected by that change and this is not necessarily a worse thing(more unis/rares overall).

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IQ gems/items removed.

Sure, but the unique buff far surpasses those removed bonuses.

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There's also a difference in drop rates between OB and off.release, related with number of players, botters and various other factors. Drop rates are adjusted by ggg constantly.

Just no. I'm confused why you even think open beta was that generous. To me open beta was a far harder game that was far less rewarding(especially the map system).

Drops have actually gotten substantially better due to exiles, massively buffed boss droprates, buffed mapsize/quantity mods/map drops, and strongboxes.

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JonahDoom wrote:

can I start a character and not worry about my build so so much?

Nobody has touched this one yet, I believe. There's still no one-button skill reset, so skill re-allocation is as unforgiving as ever. If there's any caveat to this, it's that drop rates for currency seem to have gotten a slight buff. It could be poor luck in Domination, good luck in the 1 Month, a poor memory, or a combination of all three, but I've got 2 Exalted and over a dozen Chaos orbs as drops so far, and I'm only lvl 55. Not game-changing by any means, but orbs of Regret may be a bit easier to come by.

Act3x beginning in Cruel Difficulty is harder than the game has ever been outside of maps. There is a definite gear wall that hits about level 60-ish if you do not get lucky or trade smartly.

It's kinda uneven too. The game is very easy up till Cruel Act 3x. Getting only slightly harder toward the end of Act 2 Cruel, a little harder after than going into Act 3. But then Act 3x is a SHARP spike in difficulty that doesn't really ramp down afterward.

Maps at 66 to 68 are kinda faceroll and often can feel way easier than the Act 3x content are Merciless. By a lot in some situations.

Maps at level 68+ can get stupidly hard or stupidly easy.

The map system difficulty curve is not very smooth discounting map mods.