Welcome!! How quickly will you play Hardcore?

**LiftedUp** · 08-05-2012, 15:31

Originally Posted by bridgetroll

If you're doing it right, hardcore play compliments exploring the game. HC should be slow and deliberate, taking one's time to explore every nook and cranny so as not to miss XP or gear that will make you stronger. You don't have to choose between endgame/story content or hardcore - do them both at the same time. How will you know if you're ready for nightmare, hell, or inferno if you haven't played through them yet in SC? Well, because you'll be at a point in the previous difficulty where you're crushing everything, and it's obviously time to move on.

I guess this addresses one of my points, but it still disregards the other three:
1. Inferno, I think, needs non-hardcore play testing. Everything Jay Wilson has said has indicated that Inferno is less of a difficulty level and more of a Psycho Mantis without the secondary controller trick.
2. Friends. Most will play softcore.
3. RMAH=game changer. For better or worse, hardcore players are _denied_ a portion of the game. I, for one, think that needs fixing.

**snowieken** · 08-05-2012, 15:53

Originally Posted by LiftedUp

I guess this addresses one of my points, but it still disregards the other three:
1. Inferno, I think, needs non-hardcore play testing. Everything Jay Wilson has said has indicated that Inferno is less of a difficulty level and more of a Psycho Mantis without the secondary controller trick.
2. Friends. Most will play softcore.
3. RMAH=game changer. For better or worse, hardcore players are _denied_ a portion of the game. I, for one, think that needs fixing.

1. Well, we do know Inferno is going to be brutal and all gear can be farmed in Hell. We as HC players are just going to have to be extra careful and not jump into Inferno too quickly. If there was actually a non-HC play test phase in Inferno, the value of getting a HC character through Inferno will simply plummet. I play HC for added danger and don't need a test phase.
2. The only friends I'll be playing with are a few real life friends, including my girlfriend, and we're all going to play HC. That's just for me personal, so it might be a valid point you are making, but I'm sure if you play in public games in HC, the chance of making friends is triple the size of the chance in SC. So, in other words, you'll make more friends soon.
3. The RMAH not being available to HC players is for me just another incentive to play it (not that I really needed more). Again, that might be personal.

**Raver** · 08-05-2012, 16:04

No RMAH in HC?

If you're actually buying items for a video games. . .

**snowieken** · 08-05-2012, 16:09

Originally Posted by Raver

No RMAH in HC?

If you're actually buying items for a video games. . .

That was my general impression 5+ years ago. But then I started playing a monthly subscription fee game, WoW, which I thought I would never do either. And nowadays, free-to-play model games with microtransactions are getting more and more popular and are well underway to become the future standard of online gaming.

I don't like the RMAH much and personally won't use it, because I still think it does not really belong in an action RPG like the Diablo series. But to say that anyone who buys video game items for real money is not right in the head, well, I'm way passed that now.

**LiftedUp** · 08-05-2012, 16:33

Originally Posted by snowieken

That was my general impression 5+ years ago. But then I started playing a monthly subscription fee game, WoW, which I thought I would never do either. And nowadays, free-to-play model games with microtransactions are getting more and more popular and are well underway to become the future standard of online gaming.

I don't like the RMAH much and personally won't use it, because I still think it does not really belong in an action RPG like the Diablo series. But to say that anyone who buys video game items for real money is not right in the head, well, I'm way passed that now.

I agree, Snow. Just threw down some cash for a PLEX in EVE a couple of days ago. (The mistake there is playing EVE, not the cash transaction.)

But my issue is less "I can't spend money in hardcore" than it is "I don't get the same play experience as softcore players." The two play modes should be equal, and if Diablo is an item-driven franchise (which, I'd say, it is), then the way items are valued when real money is at stake is different than when it's not. At best, the hardcore economy will simply mirror the softcore's real money economy via less than reputable trade sites or illegitimate re-sale elsewhere online...but the mark-up will be huge and the consequences personally game-breaking.

**bridgetroll** · 08-05-2012, 21:08

I dunno, I'm pretty excited about the idea of playing inferno on hardcore without having ever been there before. Part of the thrill of hardcore is surviving a difficult encounter you've never experienced before, totally unsure of whether or not you'll make it through. Back in D2, along with most other people I'm sure, I didn't start playing HC until I had been all the way through hell on softcore. Not because I wanted to see endgame content first, but because I just didn't think to try it. Imagine how much thrill we lost when playing through D2 having already known what was coming! Not this time. It's hardcore from the start, and every victory will be that much sweeter, every death an important lesson learned.

I'm not too concerned about friends, personally. I've never done much online game playing with real friends anyway (and if I do with D3, I'll talk them into hardcore). And I agree with Snow that friends are easily made in HC. The player base is smaller, so you're more likely to run into the same people, and I'd argue that the hardcore community is more mature and more open to one another, increasing your chances of making friends in-game.

I do agree with your concerns about the RMAH, however. Blizzard tricked me into an annual WoW pass with the promise of D3, a beta invite, and a sweet Tyrael's mount. I kinda figured D3 wouldn't be coming out til later this year, and I'd play WoW until then. Now I'm committed to 8 more months I won't be using. I was planning on making cash with the RMAH to pay that subscription, but now that plan is shot. There's absolutely no reason to block real money transactions for hardcore players. Just put a warning up first every time you enter the RMAH: "Transactions are final, and Blizzard is not responsible for lost items for any reason, including game malfunction.", or whatever.

**Tai.** · 09-05-2012, 10:50

I'll definitely be re-rolling as HC as soon as I get a character to level 10 in SC, but I'll need to find a way to work around the time difference so I can still game with my Yanks and Canucks.

**ZappaFan** · 09-05-2012, 11:30

HC will still have the Gold AH, I don't see that we're missing that much by not having the RMAH.

**bridgetroll** · 09-05-2012, 11:41

Originally Posted by ZappaFan

HC will still have the Gold AH, I don't see that we're missing that much by not having the RMAH.

The more I think about this, the more I don't care that HC doesn't have a real money auction house. At first I wanted to make money off it, but who am I kidding? I just want to play and enjoy the game. I'd much rather we be on a level playing field, without the option of buying gear. And if people want to set up third party sites, I hope they're shut down.

**Retardje** · 09-05-2012, 12:46

I like having options, but maybe they will eventually put the RMAH in HC also, since its for now the only market which will refresh itselfs because of deaths. And if this happens months into the game, I dont care, since I will be using the best gear myself @ first anyways.

Apart from that, really making money on the RMAH will be only for the lucky few or the ones who can. Most of us wont care or are unable to make any real money of it. As a sport, I really dont care if I make a couple of bucks or gold coins. Both wont really affect my life in any big ways