Respec points and regret orb, some thoughts

Hello everybody

I might not be the only one that feels that way. Here is what I think:

Respec points and orbs of regret are way too scarce and hard to come by.
If you arrive at level 60 and loot an awesome high level unique meant for another build, the only choice you have is to restart another character.

I don't know if anything is planned for this but I'd like to suggest a new orb:

Orb of Rebirth - Lose one (or more) level BUT regain all passive skill points spent (minus these from the levels lost).

I guess this orb would be a great addition to what the game actually offers and could help a lot of casual players to play complete different builds.

Hazilo

I like the notion of character permanence as it contributes to their sense of identity but I do think we need a few respec points to fix occasional careless mistakes and to enable build shifting (say, you pick up some health nodes early on as a witch but regret them when you switch to CI).

I'm pretty sure the devs have said that there is no chance of a full skill reset mechanism. And I hope there never is. I would even like to see Orbs of Regret disappear given the few points from quests.

Rolling a new character for a specific build-enabling unique is how I think it should be.. not essentially killing your existing character in order to use it.

"

Respec points and orbs of regret are way too scarce and hard to come by.

I find that when I want to make a slight adjustment to my build, I usually need a small handful of regrets. I usually have more than half of what I need on hand, in my stash. The rest I can usually get at a moment's notice just by trading with friends.

For lastability, they want you playing the game again to experience a new build. This is reinforced by the permanent bandit rewards. Respecs are for minor tunings of your build.

For players who have a large amout of time to play, it's logical to start over, but for casuals, it might just be impossible to do so.

The game is mainly about playing new characters so casual or not casual, a new character is always going to be the best choice.

Thats not even taking in consideration switching build mid leveling often requires complete gear and gem change.

I think ive made well over 200 characters by now if not far more.

I am pretty sure GGG has said they want people to make new characters for new builds. I think the system is working how it should be..

+ in this 1 week race someone got level 61 in the first 24 hours lol... So in 1 week anyone should be able to get near 60 with a little bit of playing a new character. You also will be able to gear him up easier from your other char.

I personally like the way it is done now. But in spirit of negotiation I would say if you wanted to make the game more newb friendly you could have the orb like you listed but have it only work up to a character before level 30.

Afterwards you are stuck where you are stuck.

A few thoughts here:

1) If you wish to switch classes you should start again irrespective of how much time you have to play. I can't think (not that I've spent much time thinking) of any other current RPG based game (* one exception) that lets you switch classes without restarting. I'm currently playing also Guild Wars 2 and Borderlands 2 (XBOX)... and I can't switch classes without restarting in either of those marquee games.

* The only game that comes to mind that allows it is WOW... but then that it comes with a RL $ cost. Perhaps GGG could provide that feature when live via their shop.

2) It doesn't take long to level a new class. Sure your 1st play through takes longer as you learn the game, but once you're familiar it takes little time at all. Dedicated gamers can level to 25-30 in 2 hours (in race conditions), casual gamers can easily hit level 15 in 2 hours (in open play). Probably hit level 50 in around 10 hours.

3) They’re going to be adding in a “Confirmation” window when spending skill points to save accidently spending points. This should mean your “Respec Points” (from quest rewards) and “Orbs of Regret” can be used for actually rebuilding your character instead of on mis-clicks in the passive skill tree.

4) You might not have to totally switch classes. With a totally open passive skill tree you can almost reach any passive you wish and many closer to your starting position. I significantly overhauled my level 50 character from a Melee Duelist to a Ranged Duelist, by changing about 35-40 of my skill points. I had about 20 respec points saved from quest rewards (I had even spent a few earlier on) and I then traded for OoR for the rest. It didn’t take long at all… but it did cost me.

I think the respec is one of the best balanced parts of the entire game. There are plenty of respect rewards and Orbs of Regret are common enough to find/trade for. Granted OoR are normally in demand after new patches are dropped or new builds become popular (after Builds of the Week). IMO it is great how you carefully think about your character and how you will spend points.

Finally… I realise if you’ve spent many hours building up to level 70+ you might not want to start again to get a new high level class… but if you could instantly change classes it creates 2 issues: 1st) you haven’t spent that time learning about that class, skills and nuances they experience along the journey… 2nd) it creates a disconnection between you and your character. I mean your character “SmasherTank” could go from being a level 70 Marauder to being a level 70 CursingWitch… and all those melee experiences you had with SmasherTank in levelling him mean little… and now you have this totally new “hands off” witch with no levelling memories to. Not sure if this is coming across correctly.

My .02

EDIT: PS - GGG should make it a shop $ option to buy a "reborn" feature to reselect your class and re-allocate your points.

they have already ruled out the options of having full-respecs for sale in the shop.