Well I'm not "that" old, but I've been on this board for so long I didn't think my username survived the apparent change of address.
So that said, when I get back home tomorrow I'll fire up D3 for the first time! I'm pretty excited...
So, to the Witch Doctor community, how has D3 treated you so far? I know of all the login issues on day 1, but how do you like the class, the skills, the lack of stats/attributes?
Give me your thoughts and feedback, I'm devouring every morsel of information while I'm traveling...
Its going pretty well IMO. Im an old Diablo fan to having played D1 as a teenager. Im playing WD as my first character and although low on HP so far I havent died much soloing on Normal. Im at Act 2 boss and thats pretty hard so I cam onto the forums to look for tips on how to pass it. There is good variety in the skills to when you look at what people are trying and there good variations in build so far. All the *****ing and moaning over the launch is overrated IMO as it only took an hour or so before everyone got on and when you look at tha cale and stats for the launch a throttled launch is probably all they could have done although there could have been better communication of this launch approach.
I've enjoyed it thoroughly thus far. If you enjoyed diablo 2, you will like 3.
It has improved graphics and gameplay, plus new areas to explore and a ton of customization options (gear, banner, colors, etc)
Only downside might be that your forced to play online, and its a wee bit short in terms of the first playthrough. It definately has longevity, but you'll be replaying the same basic game over and over. I also personally miss the skill point allocation system to an extent.
As another old member I was also concerned about the new game, and other questions on the new Necromancer class (witch doctor).
So, I started one of these characters in the Beta.
First off I found that the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 1 GB was not good for 4 person multiplayer with the 12.4 driver.
I scaled the graphics all the way back, set them to be High Performance, and still 4 person games were limited to to picking up the loot after the battle that I hoped I hit something. The 12a version of the driver made it better, but still not as good as it should be in my opinion.
Skills in the early levels (us old guys have jobs and other responsibilities, so we're in the early levels still) the darts were OK to start, but you really need something to hold the mobs off, so the secondary skills to slow the mobs was essential. The splintered darts were a big help, as were the dogs to help keep them away from you. The uniques tend to rip through everything, causing you to retreat a lot. Stringing them out following you helps to keep from dying much.
Now it gets harder as you go north of the Cemetery in act 1. The mobs have abilities to suck you into the mob, as well as the ability to charge or leap at you. The skills and pets are not structured to be as effective here. Hire a helper if you are solo. Party up with a barbarian if you are not solo. You have to start using Soul Capture to reclaim your health as you get killed in the mobs. Death is inevitable. The spiders pretty much suck. They die too quick, they don't do enough damage. The toads are OK but not great. The first level of zombie helper does almost nothing.
Don't forget the 3rd merchant in town sells rings and when your level gets high enough, amulets.
You struggle until you get the exploding toads. That helps a lot. Upgrade the dogs, they live a bit longer. Learn to fight towards the health potions. Definitely craft gear to help you out, train the guy up to get better gear, always break down blue and yellow items you don't want instead of selling them. Ask co-ops for good Witch Doctor items like dolls, and knives from boss battles. They are only worth 2-50 gold each. So most people will give them to you.
The jailer was a tough battle. I did it with a Wizard as a co-op game. Basically I died, and the Wizard did all the work. The lag (video card) was so bad I could not keep up. Act 2 is fun. Exploding frogs are great here. Get the Zombie helper as another pet, he's strong and long lived. Dogs get stronger too.
Playing through the earlier modes was fun with summons and sacrifice. Then, the class started going downhill because I was stuck the same summoner build for a long time. Then, my hope was restored because corpse bears are dam cool and mass utility skills are awesome for kiting.
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