View Full Version : Diablo II, a game in need?
GreenApocalypseUSEast
17-07-2006, 10:37
Alright, this may sound silly--or maybe it wont--but I'm going to say it anyways. Amateur gaming has been a hobby of mine for a long time, and I've worked on a share of hobbyist RPGs; Diablo II, has also been one of my hobbies. I do find the game fun, but how many of you remember your first experience with the game; The freshness of it, and your absolutely horrible character? The horrible character which didn't matter--because it was fun! We have lost this appreciation for real gameplay, and many of us have tumbled down a hole. Diablo II, is an excellent game, without doubt--however, the designers seem to be so very lost. They skip key elements in game design, they have no sense of balance; unless you call making better items balancing (???). We all have our ideas for 1.12, and I think this is because many of us feel the same way--that the game has a tremendous potential, however, it has been shat on by misguided nonsense for gameplay improvements.
Some skills are rarely used.
Others are always used.
Some can't be used they are so nerfed.
Why?
The game needs massive rebalancing. Game Design 101: Challenge leads to fun. I'm not suggesting make the game impossible to beat, but we really need to do two things; cap (not a literal % cap) everything at a point where even the best character won't be able to solo some of the games most difficult creatures; improve the 'weaker' skills through either synergy or base improvements to dramatically change gameplay by opening up dozens of more viable character builds.
I am tired of seeing three or four builds over, and over, and over. I'm tired of seeing every character have an infinity merc. I love this game, and it has so much potential, but it has become apparent that I doubt we will ever see these kinds of changes--without a push, at least. I believe if we were to organize a group of thinkers and dedicated people, we could modify the game down on paper to an ideal; I dream of older players comming back, and excitement being put into the game again. And I firmly believe this can be done. Not only does in benifit us, but if we were to pull through and have Blizzard implement these things, or even some of them, it's excellent credibility for them (which they lack).
So, my proposal is that we organize a group of a few dedicated people who are willing to work on ideas for a new patch to increase the popularity and revive a once awesome gaming experience.
If you are interested please contact me at cogito._ergo._sum@hotmail.com (yes, it is hotmail, I am not a company--you will not be getting paid; this is for hobbyists and passionate gamers). I'll be looking for dedicated people who know the game, play frequently, and bonus points would definitely go to anyone who has experience modding the game.
As great an idea as this is, it would be a much better idea to work on these ideas here, in the open, where we can get the input of not only those directly involved, but EVERYONE on the forums. In truth, a large part of the problem isn't the fact that certain builds are common to the point of being overpowered, but that duped runes make those builds so viable that everyone can make them. For example, infinity mercs. If runes were properly rare, you wouldn't see nearly so many, and that would mean a great many less lightning sorcs and trap assassins in pvm, because of the prevalence of lightning immunes.
There are, however, a great number of skills that will never be meant as a primary skill. Inner Sight and Slow Missiles, for example, are meant as utility skills - the amazons that know how to use these properly are rare, but incredibly effective. Psychic Hammer is a surprisingly effective move in pvp if you know how to use it, as it can be incredibly annoying to anyone getting blasted with it, and does both magic and physical damage, allowing it to bypass many people's defenses more easily. Cloak of shadows falls under the same category as Inner Sight and Slow Missiles.
Certain Barbarian Masteries aren't used often, simply because of the fact that axes are the only weapons capable of recieving almost every single one of the game's weapon-based runewords, with swords just behind them. The only way to make the others more viable would be to add runewords for other weapons, or provide unique weapons that would make them useful. Though, you can make an incredibly deadly throwbarb with a pair of ethereal upgraded deathbits.. I know from experience.
Perhaps the first step is to make a list of moves that should be fixed? I propose starting with charge, and fend, and perhaps give Impale some sort of advantage to negate it's busting of every weapon you use it with.
GreenApocalypseUSEast
17-07-2006, 12:26
Sadly, when you get the input of everyone what happens is you get a tremendous amount of crap overflowing. I had no intention of smuggling the information, and would definitely provide it all to the public, but to have everyone yell and shout would mean nobody would really end up getting heard. I like some of your ideas, and agree with you on some points. I'm would like to start work on a sort of rough draft of a rough draft and just get some ideas outlined and stacked together. I'm currently sifting through the big suggestion thread taking in a lot, but a lot is rather poor in quality.
Also, I know a lot of skills aren't meant to be used as primary skills, that was never argued, really. I'm talking about skills like Magic Arrow, Blade Sentinel, Grim Ward, Thorns and Spirit of Barbs, which are nearly useless--at least, useless enough that they could never compete with any of the cookie builds. Also there are a lot of skills which are 1 point wonders and there is almost no advantage to improving them--I find this silly.
Sadly, when you get the input of everyone what happens is you get a tremendous amount of crap overflowing. I had no intention of smuggling the information, and would definitely provide it all to the public, but to have everyone yell and shout would mean nobody would really end up getting heard. I like some of your ideas, and agree with you on some points. I'm would like to start work on a sort of rough draft of a rough draft and just get some ideas outlined and stacked together. I'm currently sifting through the big suggestion thread taking in a lot, but a lot is rather poor in quality.
Also, I know a lot of skills aren't meant to be used as primary skills, that was never argued, really. I'm talking about skills like Magic Arrow, Blade Sentinel, Grim Ward, Thorns and Spirit of Barbs, which are nearly useless--at least, useless enough that they could never compete with any of the cookie builds. Also there are a lot of skills which are 1 point wonders and there is almost no advantage to improving them--I find this silly.
Blade Sentinel I agree with, however, I don't think Magic Arrow was meant to be used as anything other than a desperation move when you're out of arrows and a way to deal with physical immunes, Grim Ward is actually quite effective as it is, spirit of barbs is approximately on par with Iron Maiden (it returns less damage, but works on ALL monsters in range), and Thorns can be incredibly powerful, particularly when combined with conversion.
And while you do end up with a lot of people arguing minor points, if you take this sort of discussion into a private forum, you also get a much narrower point of view. In some cases, where a situation requires only specific, informed viewpoints, this can be beneficial. Here, you're talking about a fan-based idea, which you would apparently like to see executed, which is something that wouldn't serve well in a closed forum.
A few other moves that could do with a bit of alteration :
Amazon
Ice Arrow - this move does less damage than freezing arrow, and targets only one monster. Even as a synergy, it can add a total of 2 seconds of freeze length to Freezing Arrow, an effect that is identical to carrying two small charms with cold damage. Freezing Arrow uses this and Cold Arrow as synergies, gaining 12% damage from Cold Arrow, and 5% freeze length from Ice. Changing both of these to add 8 or 10% damage will produce a more powerful freezing arrow overall, while giving Ice Arrow some use.
Fend - As mentioned before, fend is one move that could use quite a bit of work. By fixing the fend bug that causes all attacks made with it to miss after the amazon dodges, and perhaps adding Impale as a synergy, this move will see some more use.
Impale - Either add more damage to this, or make this attack faster, to even out the fact that it utterly tears into the durability of your weapon. Also, add this as a synergy to both Jab and Fend when using a two handed spear.
Overall - Amazon skills other than these seem, in my opinion, to be useful enough already, either great as one point wonders, or useful as synergies. However, I'd like to see some actual USEFUL two handed amazon-only spears added, or runewords that only work in amazon spears. Combining this with the above suggested fixes to Fend and Impale will make spearazons more prevalent, and similar in some ways to zeal paladins, trading off the massive boost from fanatacism for the dodging abilities of the amazon.
Assassin
Wake of Fire - I mention this not because I believe that it needs to be improved, but because many people feel it does. It's actually quite fine as it is now, used as a synergy and an incredible stunner.
Wake of Inferno - This is one trap that could use some improvement. The line that determines what is hit by it is incredibly thin, and it deals much less damage than it seems to. Ramp up it's base damage, and make Fire Blast and Death Sentry both add 15% damage as synergies. Also, make it affect things not just on a very thin line within it's flame animation, but anywhere within the animation.
Blade Sheild - another that I'm mentioning only because some people will argue it should be improved. The strength of blade sheild isn't in it's damage, but in the fact that it carries your venom, open wounds, and other mods. It is fine as is.
Blade Fury - usable as a primary move, this doesn't benefit much at all from additional points. The weak point of this move is the fact that it gains no +% ar or damage. Adding +ar% / level will mean the user has to choose between a higher mana, more accurate blade fury, or a less accurate, cheaper one. Add a +damage% synergy from Blade Sentinel to increase this move's damage.
Blade Sentinel - I may be mistaken here, but I believe Blade Sentinel carries your mods as well. It may not. If it doesn't, make it so that it does, or at least carries the mods you had when you cast it. Add a longer duration (either from Blade Sheild as a synergy, or simply increasing it's natural duration), and it will work fine. Adding it as a damage% synergy to blade fury will give another reason to max it.
Overall - the abovementioned additions will allow for trapassassins that use moves other than lightning traps and occasionally fireblast, enabling both firetrappers in pvm and blade fury assassins. Gear-wise, I believe Assassins are quite well equipped, and would be fine if left with the items that they currently have.
Necromancer
Golems - the clay, iron, and fire golem all have their uses, and need no additional rules. The Blood Golem, however, sees no use, not even as a synergy. In all honesty, I can't think of an effective fix for this - perhaps adding additional health, and making it convert less of the damage it takes into damage to the Necromancer per level would help it. In this way, it could be used as a constant source of healing at high levels, but a necromancer would have to sacrifice points from other skills in order to get the full effect.
Overall - outside of the golems, every move in a Necromancer's repertoire is useful. They have enough items to keep them going, and in my opinion, could even be left as-is.
GreenApocalypseUSEast
17-07-2006, 15:07
I'm not talking about keeping all the information secret or anything, I'm talking about having closed discussions before any open ones, so we don't need to sift through crap to find anything good (there is already a topic like this). I'm not really a fan of one point wonders because it defeats strategic skill placement and limits builds considerably. Right now I'm writing everything down in a book, and I'm taking your ideas into consideration. After I'm done all the trees for each character, and I polish it, I'll post here to get input.
Grim Ward: Is useful, but not terribly important and often ignored. I'm still trying to think of ehat to do with this, I was thinking perhaps a synergy with Find Item and Potion (two skills which are often ignored too) which transfers their % to find onto the ward and that occurs when it is cast. Or more on a limb, a CE is triggered when a ward is made--so it damages them and then they run, or a poison explosion, which may suit the theme better.
Magic Arrow: I'd like to see some synergies with this skill, as well as increased damage, and a mana cost which scales upwards not down.
Maiden, Barbs, Thorn: They are useful, but in hell with monsters having terribly large amounts of life in comparison to their damage they aren't tremendously useful anymore.
As for your other ideas, I am reviewing them and incorporating some.
I'm not talking about keeping all the information secret or anything, I'm talking about having closed discussions before any open ones, so we don't need to sift through crap to find anything good (there is already a topic like this). I'm not really a fan of one point wonders because it defeats strategic skill placement and limits builds considerably. Right now I'm writing everything down in a book, and I'm taking your ideas into consideration. After I'm done all the trees for each character, and I polish it, I'll post here to get input.
Grim Ward: Is useful, but not terribly important and often ignored. I'm still trying to think of ehat to do with this, I was thinking perhaps a synergy with Find Item and Potion (two skills which are often ignored too) which transfers their % to find onto the ward and that occurs when it is cast. Or more on a limb, a CE is triggered when a ward is made--so it damages them and then they run, or a poison explosion, which may suit the theme better.
Magic Arrow: I'd like to see some synergies with this skill, as well as increased damage, and a mana cost which scales upwards not down.
Maiden, Barbs, Thorn: They are useful, but in hell with monsters having terribly large amounts of life in comparison to their damage they aren't tremendously useful anymore.
As for your other ideas, I am reviewing them and incorporating some.
In that case, I counter -
Barbarian
Grim Ward This skill is meant as a party-friendly skill, setting up clear spots for the glass cannons in the party. It works well in this respect, though I think it could do with an increase in it's duration. Perhaps 5 seconds/point in howl? The reason this isn't used often is because it's a PvM party skill, and doesn't directly help the Barbarian himself. Perhaps a more effective use would be to turn it around and instead turn it into a totem that attracts monsters to it, giving it the same sort of stats (attracts things in X radius, and add a synergy with Taunt to increase it's duration). This could be acheived by making it attackable, placing a hit point total on it, and have it either cast Taunt on everything around it, or act as though it had Attract on it. This, however, would make it die very quickly, and would require far too much coding to make it worthwhile. I believe it is best to leave Grim Ward as is, or add the Howl synergy. It's an excellent skill, just doesn't see much use because of it's PvM party-friendly status.
Find Potion - Turn this into a mastery, that gives the listed % chance that the monster killed will drop an additional potion, on top of whatever it would normally be able to drop. So, say, you can kill something and have it drop five items, and an X% chance that it will drop a potion on top of that. Not a great deal more helpful, but worth one point perhaps.
Find Item - This skill is fine as it is, I believe. With the abovementioned change to Find Potion, it will allow more access to Find item, though making the same change to Find Item would make more sense in game terms. Making these passive skills also makes them more attractive, and gives more reason to get one point into them - and thus, opening Grim Ward.
Increased Stamina - As far as I'm concerned, this skill takes the cake as the most absolutely useless skill in the game. Battle orders takes care of your stamina needs. Perhaps removing the stamina bonus from battle orders provides a little bit more point to getting a point into this other than to gain access to Increased Speed... but I don't think there's anything sensible you can do with this that would make it useful.
As for your others -
Magic Arrow - I contend that this skill is fine as it is. It's not meant to be a primary skill, and it wouldn't make sense to add more damage to it. The entire idea behind it is that it's an arrow made from the amazon's will. Adding a mana cost to it will make it a much worse skill, and used even less often. Leaving it as it is, as a way to kill physical immunes for a strafe, multi, or guided arrow zon is preferrable.
Maiden/Barbs/Thorns - While these skills aren't able to kill very well (outside of a conversion/thorns paladin), they do provide some additional damage over time to groups of enemies. Taking down a single enemy isn't all that difficult, but groups tend to be harder, and that's where these shine. While these skills individually aren't necessarily the greatest on their own, they are useful for shaving off a few extra hits.
For the record, I'm editing my posts as often as possible so that I can keep this thread relatively clean. You may want to check my previous posts from time to time until after the one hour timer has let up, so that you can be sure that you've caught all the suggestions I've made.
Bludstain
19-07-2006, 22:28
Alright, this may sound silly--or maybe it wont--but I'm going to say it anyways. Amateur gaming has been a hobby of mine for a long time, and I've worked on a share of hobbyist RPGs; Diablo II, has also been one of my hobbies. I do find the game fun, but how many of you remember your first experience with the game; The freshness of it, and your absolutely horrible character? The horrible character which didn't matter--because it was fun! We have lost this appreciation for real gameplay, and many of us have tumbled down a hole. Diablo II, is an excellent game, without doubt--however, the designers seem to be so very lost. They skip key elements in game design, they have no sense of balance; unless you call making better items balancing (???). We all have our ideas for 1.12, and I think this is because many of us feel the same way--that the game has a tremendous potential, however, it has been shat on by misguided nonsense for gameplay improvements.
Some skills are rarely used.
Others are always used.
Some can't be used they are so nerfed.
Why?
The game needs massive rebalancing. Game Design 101: Challenge leads to fun. I'm not suggesting make the game impossible to beat, but we really need to do two things; cap (not a literal % cap) everything at a point where even the best character won't be able to solo some of the games most difficult creatures; improve the 'weaker' skills through either synergy or base improvements to dramatically change gameplay by opening up dozens of more viable character builds.
I am tired of seeing three or four builds over, and over, and over. I'm tired of seeing every character have an infinity merc. I love this game, and it has so much potential, but it has become apparent that I doubt we will ever see these kinds of changes--without a push, at least. I believe if we were to organize a group of thinkers and dedicated people, we could modify the game down on paper to an ideal; I dream of older players comming back, and excitement being put into the game again. And I firmly believe this can be done. Not only does in benifit us, but if we were to pull through and have Blizzard implement these things, or even some of them, it's excellent credibility for them (which they lack).
So, my proposal is that we organize a group of a few dedicated people who are willing to work on ideas for a new patch to increase the popularity and revive a once awesome gaming experience.
If you are interested please contact me at cogito._ergo._sum@hotmail.com (yes, it is hotmail, I am not a company--you will not be getting paid; this is for hobbyists and passionate gamers). I'll be looking for dedicated people who know the game, play frequently, and bonus points would definitely go to anyone who has experience modding the game.
I understand your point of view completely on this matter. I feel that the creators of this game are kind of leaving it in the dust for some reason. Diablo 2 is a very old game and blizzard seems to be focusing on games like warcraft and starcraft.
Although i agree that this game is unbalanced i think that it would be unfair to ALOT of people to change skills balances items/items ect. because i worked hard getting my char the best gear for is class to boost the chars individual strong points and if you do something to disrupt the balance of that then some item prices might drastically lower making some ppl poorer/richer. i dont wanna gamle with this, and there is SOOO much math involved in balancing characters that i dont wanna begin getting into it.
One has to wonder how difficult some programming would be from a programmer's point of view.
Magic_Arrow_Dam: 10
*backspace* *backspace*
Magic_Arrow_Dam: 15
Boom, rebalancing.
Most of the other stuff would be hard, though. =/
Are you sure making stuff more powerful is the answer, though? Maybe rather than buff other skills to even them with the popular builds Blizz should just nerf the best builds out there. Poor hammerdins will take out Hell Baal in 30 hits instead of 20. :rolleyes:
I understand your point of view completely on this matter. I feel that the creators of this game are kind of leaving it in the dust for some reason. Diablo 2 is a very old game and blizzard seems to be focusing on games like warcraft and starcraft.
Although i agree that this game is unbalanced i think that it would be unfair to ALOT of people to change skills balances items/items ect. because i worked hard getting my char the best gear for is class to boost the chars individual strong points and if you do something to disrupt the balance of that then some item prices might drastically lower making some ppl poorer/richer. i dont wanna gamle with this, and there is SOOO much math involved in balancing characters that i dont wanna begin getting into it.
So you don't ever want them to do anything but kill hackers? There was a massive change in the game when we went from 1.09 to 1.10, and a huge number of characters were left in the dust. However, we still have a huge number of people playing, and a variety more builds. And, dare I say it, in a clean economy (read : no dupes) it would be vastly more balanced than 1.09 was.
Ihmhi - actually, you pretty much have it on the nose. In the mpq files the game uses, they basically have a chart that does almost exactly what you've put there. Go figure. If it's just a matter of adding synergies, upping/lowering damage, mana cost, duration, it's just a tweak of a few numbers. Completely recoding a move, however, now that's difficult. For example, taking my above suggestions for turning find potion into a mastery-style skill, that would require recoding that particular skill, rather than altering a few numbers in a spreadsheet.
GreenApocalypseUSEast
20-07-2006, 15:09
One has to wonder how difficult some programming would be from a programmer's point of view.
Magic_Arrow_Dam: 10
*backspace* *backspace*
Magic_Arrow_Dam: 15
Boom, rebalancing.
Most of the other stuff would be hard, though. =/
Are you sure making stuff more powerful is the answer, though? Maybe rather than buff other skills to even them with the popular builds Blizz should just nerf the best builds out there. Poor hammerdins will take out Hell Baal in 30 hits instead of 20. :rolleyes:
Boosting the killing speed of all the nerfed skills is not rebalancing as far as I'm concerned since the rate at which some characters can kill is already ridiculously fast. It isn't about making all the weak skills good, or the good skills weak, it's about find a nicer median.
Boosting the killing speed of all the nerfed skills is not rebalancing as far as I'm concerned since the rate at which some characters can kill is already ridiculously fast. It isn't about making all the weak skills good, or the good skills weak, it's about find a nicer median.
Precisely. Like some people would suggest that we should completely remove concentration's effect on hammers.. I disagree with that and think that we should just cut concentration's effect down to 25% instead of the current 50%. Being able to get up to 11k damage with "standard" gear is just retarded, when we're talking a mvoe that CAN'T be resisted - but removing concentration from hammers entirely would make them too dangerous to use. After all, they are only basically a close-mid range attack. You're still going to take a few whacks.
While I'm on that subject, actually...
Paladin
Prayer - This is the only defensive aura that I think could use a shot in the arm. Give it a synergy with Holy Bolt, say 10% healing per level. It will end up giving 200%, or 3x the healing when it's synergy is maxed, and yes, this can be seen as excessive, but it's one of those skills that is meant purely for party use, and the typical party has far too many hit points to keep this aura useful otherwise.
Sanctuary - This skill sees no use, because it doesn't give any sort of attack speed or attack rating increase, and is limited to only being useful against Undead. Give it a synergy with holy bolt for it's % melee damage, and blessed aim for %ar, however, and though it's usefulness is still only limited to undead, it will be INCREDIBLY effective against them.
Conversion - A plenty impressive pvm skill, but rarely used - give this a minimum of 2% increased chance to convert per level, however (which would mean a 100% chance around level 40ish), and an attack rating boost, and we may see more conversion paladins running around. Or, give it a minimum of 1% increased chance of conversion per level, but also increase the duration of the conversion by 1 second per level. At high levels you'll be packing 60% chance to convert monsters for nearly a full minute.
Blessed Hammer - In combination with concentration, this skill is horridly overpowered. Reduce Concentration's effectiveness on it, say to 25% instead of 50%, or let undead/demon's magic resistance work against it.
Bludstain
21-07-2006, 06:18
Boosting the killing speed of all the nerfed skills is not rebalancing as far as I'm concerned since the rate at which some characters can kill is already ridiculously fast. It isn't about making all the weak skills good, or the good skills weak, it's about find a nicer median.
i think one thing that we can all agree on is that something needs to be done about hammerdins, making the hammers do physical dmg is my idea
i think one thing that we can all agree on is that something needs to be done about hammerdins, making the hammers do physical dmg is my idea
That wouldn't make sense, considering they're magical hammers, the remnants of a magic destroyed ages ago. I rather like my idea of using conc at 1/3 strength instead of 1/2 (I said 1/4 earlier, but that's too big a cut), that'll cut the damage hammers do significantly. "Standard" gear :
shako
enigma
arach
2x soj
mara
hoto
hoz
cta
anni
torch
Current damage : 11k
Damage with 1/3 instead of 1/2 conc bonus : 7.3k
Keep the fact that demons/undead are considered to be 0 resist vs hammers, and use this - this gear would be expensive, as well, if dupes were abolished. When you consider how ridiculous the damage that sorceresses can pump out with similarly expensive gear, 7.3k that is basically unresisted isn't all that overpowered.
i think one thing that we can all agree on is that something needs to be done about hammerdins, making the hammers do physical dmg is my idea
Nah, leave them be ... I liked my hammerdin.
my sorceror is terrible in pve, its all fire based, id like to see a skill that lets me convert my element damage into another base type, for a damage penalty, because right now if a sorceror finds something immune to its element its gonna have to avoid it, whereas classes like barbarians can just zerk to kill the enemy.
there could be some balancing done there :D
my sorceror is terrible in pve, its all fire based, id like to see a skill that lets me convert my element damage into another base type, for a damage penalty, because right now if a sorceror finds something immune to its element its gonna have to avoid it, whereas classes like barbarians can just zerk to kill the enemy.
there could be some balancing done there :D
You also have to consider that a sorc can easily hit massive damge numbers. Blizzard can break 13k with mass -res, fireballs can break 24k, lightning upwards of 60k. Try getting that with berserk, I dare you.
Ihmhi - actually, you pretty much have it on the nose. In the mpq files the game uses, they basically have a chart that does almost exactly what you've put there. Go figure. If it's just a matter of adding synergies, upping/lowering damage, mana cost, duration, it's just a tweak of a few numbers. Completely recoding a move, however, now that's difficult. For example, taking my above suggestions for turning find potion into a mastery-style skill, that would require recoding that particular skill, rather than altering a few numbers in a spreadsheet.
Well, I know about that because I was lookin' into modding WC3 for fun, just to mess around.
I do not know if it is a good thing or a bad thing that you can basically mod a lot of the content in Blizzard games with a MPQ extractor and Notepad.
WebDragon
25-07-2006, 11:07
Let me throw in my 2 cents.
Grim Ward: The skill is fine. If it would get any tweaking at all, I'd say make it so that you don't need a body to make it from. You could just cast it like an assassin casts traps. Make it a timered spell so you couldn't have, say more than 3, at one time.
The truth though is that all these "scare em away" skills are just fine, its the monster AI that needs tweaking. Often when I use my level 30 howl in ubertrist, I'm frustrated by the fact that some monsters bump into each other trying to flee and as a result stay still and continue to fight. Often you see, with all these skills, the incompleteness of their effects. If the AI worked right and ALL the monsters did indeed flee for the durations specified in the spells, these skills would see much more use.
Another example I'll cite is a necromancer using Terror to unclog a door or corridor. You'll often have to spam it to get all the monsters out, and still some will remain with the Terror curse icon on them as they continue to fight your army.
As for sorceress and immunties, I disagree that something needs tweaking there. The formula for sorceresses has always been:
Astronomical single element damage vs A lot of immunes
Considerable dual element damage vs Very few immunes
I've always had an idea a couple of skills and I think this would be a good place to share them.
Magic Mastery: Why not have a passive skill, similar to Warmth, that increases the sorceress' cast rate? That would elimanate the need for sorceress to wear a ton of fcr gear to reach some good breakpoints, which makes no sense since they should naturally be better than all other classes at "casting." I doubt a skill like that would be overpowered, especially if it is given diminishing returns similar to Natural Resistance that barbs get.
The other would be exactly the same passive function and diminishing returns, but it would be a barbarian skill that provides faster hit recovery.
Actual skills that need fixing...
Smite: This skill has become a staple pvp breaker and uber monster killer. The mods it has are tremendously powerful. It disregards the opponent's defense and blocking. Now this wasn't a problem before the new runewords since at that point, there was no way for smite to reach a significant amount of damage, although crushing blow stack still worked against uber monsters. However, the Grief runeword with its huge +damage has pretty much broken this skill. It shouldn't work like that. It wasn't designed to be that effective. Definitely needs fixing.
The Various Golems: I've always been disappointed with the damage output of the golems. They can't do any damage whatsoever. I actually used a skill calculator and found that a level 85 Clay Golem, with 80 Golem mastery, doesn't reach 1k damage. That's pathetic. Why not add some damage to these guys. Not too much so they become your main killers, but at least they should have as much damage output when maxed as 2 or 3 maxed skeletons. That wouldn't be unreasonable or unbalancing.
Glacial Spike: This skill is so great when you first get it, but it quickly loses its value when you reach the tougher monsters in hell, particularly, the lowered freeze duration. Glacial Spike should be THE freezing ability in the game, and yet it barely makes hell monsters pause. The damage is none too impressive either. Perhaps upping the percentage it gets from the synergies to 7% across the board would make it a real contender, that is if its given a much longer freeze duration. I'm thinking something along the lines of 4 second freeze duration in hell when maxed out properly.
Inferno: This is such a cool ability that sadly just cannot get the job done in hell. I'd suggest giving this skill a couple more synergies in addition to Warmth so that if someone wants to focus on that skill only, he can make it reach some astronomical numbers, especially keeping in mind that the skill is probably the most dangerous for a sorceress to use since they has to stand completely still.
Poison Dagger: This skill is pretty much useless. Other than using it from the AR bug, which I think has been fixed, there is no use for it. A serious look needs to be given to this skill to make it useful.
Okey, so that was much more than 2 cents. Let's bounce around some ideas and see what we come up with.
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