Item tiers -- what gives?

[jmlowry]

In D2 you knew that if you saw a blue Colossus Blade/Sword you had a chance at finding a "cruel" weapon and it would do insane damage. The same can be said for Hydra Bows, etc. My point is, you knew that when you found a certain type of item you know if it was the elite, exceptional, or normal version.

Am I the only one who doesn't feel this at all with D3? I couldn't tell you what the elite version of a sword/bow is. With wizards using bows and axes, barbarians using any type of 1H weapon, there is no unique feel to weapon drops. They're all too homogenous.

Maybe I just haven't played enough (~100 hours), but I just don't feel it. Maybe it's that white items are literally useless and I have no reason to pay attention to them? Maybe this is just a small part of the much bigger issue with items in general.

I just miss how a Barb didn't use daggers unless it was for a very specific, unique, niche filling build. Or an Amazon only used bow/javelin unless it was a weird "Tankazon" build.

I don't know. I'm kind of going off on a tangent, but I really don't feel the weapon tiers. To me, a weapon is a weapon in D3. There is really no differentiation other than the DPS and the +2-3 stats. They're all the same. Sure, there are some passive on a Barbarian that give you small bonuses for using different weapon types, but really there is no big reason to use a sword over an axe/mace/dagger. It's lame.

I don't like seeing a Wizard with a bow. Or a 2 handed axe. It just doesn't feel right. Maybe I need to just get over it. Anyone else feel anything like this?

[sifuedition]

http://www.d3inferno.com/affixes/ItemAffixes.html

A full listing of the affix names. Will take time to memorize the higher level affixes from the lower ones.

Edit:
To address your more general question, yes, I agree that everything feels homogenized. I think that is a risk of having Rare quality not be rare but being the best in the game. You end up with a massive gap between good affix/good roll and bad affix/bad roll on the same items. Legendaries tend to be less powerful and don't seem to be worth remembering the name of. I couldn't name a single item I have equiped on any of my toons.

[Nizaris]

I have already memorized all the elite versions (or at least many of them). The top tier become very apparent once you're starting to really look for them.

(Hellion Crossbow, Revenant Bow, Centurion Spear, Slayer, Desolation Wand, Heaven Hand, Behemoth, anything Archon, to name a few)

As for the affixes, you have those as well for blues. JHowever, right now anything below ilvl63 is near obsolete, and this is most apparent with weapons than any other item (with the odd exception here and there).

I know my experience is not the same as yours, but I feel that I'm almost forced to memorize the ilvl63 names because those have the highest potential in "moving" an item I want to sell.

[jmlowry]

I couldn't name a single item I have equiped on any of my toons.

This got me thinking. Hear me out..

I play video game exclusively for the competition. The reason I'm addicted to HoN? Well, it's a really good game but there is also a very clear indicator as to how much better or worse you are than someone else -- ratings. It's right in front of you at all times, and it's not just your overall rating. It's your K ratio, A ration, etc. There are a bunch of stats that clearly define you as being better, worse, or about the same level of skill as someone else.

Now, I was addicted to D2 as well, but there wasn't ever straight forward competition like that. But the competition was there. For instance, there was a clear standard by which to judge your characters gear against another person's. If you were an MF sorceress, for example, and you didn't have a Shako and someone else did, will then you knew at least for that slot they had better gear. That's what D2 was always about to me -- having better gear than everyone else.

It sounds lame, but it's true. It's true for so many people. Everyone played public games in D2, so you always had an avenue to "show off" your gear. Not to mention chat channels that displayed your character. Why do you think people are so addicted to WoW? Because they can get better gear than other people and then AFK in Org while people inspect them.

Seriously. It sounds stupid but it's true. In D3 there is no standard by which to compare your character. I've never played a public game in D3. There are no chat channels. And I can't name a single piece of gear that I'm wearing. It's all random. Even if I have the most godly ilvl 63+ gear in every single slot, who knows about it? That's part of the game -- showing off your gear, and showing people that you are more powerful than them.

Diablo has always been about that. If you were an Amazon with a Windforce way back in the day, people knew that you were powerful. It was super rare, super powerful, and identifiable. We don't have anything like that in D3. There is a crappy inspect system, but if you move it cancels it, and the range is terrible.

A lot of these issues are part of bigger, overall issues. (Chat channels, feeling isolated) But think about it. I understand the design decision to make Rares the best items in the game, but how are you supposed to identify yourself as powerful when no one ever sees you and you don't even know the names of any of your items -- not that it would matter anyway.

I know some people will say, "that's not why I played!" But it's there as a reason for everyone. Some more so than others, but it's true. With no real way to compete in this genre (PvP maybe, and ladder D2 if you were into that -- I wasn't), the gear was the way to differentiate yourself from everyone else. To show people that you were "good". There is no way of doing that in D3.

Way off topic.

[Valeli]

With no real way to compete in this genre (PvP maybe, and ladder D2 if you were into that -- I wasn't), the gear was the way to differentiate yourself from everyone else. To show people that you were "good". There is no way of doing that in D3.

#1 Problem with your logic: Getting gear on the RMAH has nothing at all to do with being "good". At all. I know many people don't use it (including myself, and maybe you), but there's no way to distinguish who does/doesn't. In WoW and similar games you earn it through at the very least a dedication of time, if not necessarily skill. Here, neither is required. Competing in D3 seems nonsensical to me, in the above sense you suggest at least.

I wasn't into ladder either, but it did give a good outlet for this sort of competition in the genre. I wouldn't mind them adding a ladder mode in the future, after they add other needed stuff. PvP will probably help out too.

I agree with most of the OP though; I've had a lot of trouble distinguishing item types here too. I haven't been able to pin my finger on just why that is, but it's kind of frustrating. I think you're kind of forcing yourself into isolation by voluntarily not playing in pubs - you can play with others. I have. It's not a good system but it works. Still, I agree with that sentiment a bit too.

[Sky Tan]

on this note yeah, after a rare been id.

It lost the equip name and just have the "fancy name" and any visual indication is just a ilvl of the item.
Too much emphasis on the numbers.

Would be nice if the put the item name back on the tool tip probably beside the ilvl?
ilvl : 63 (Hellion CrossBow)
ilvl : 63 (Sacred Shield)

[monitorman]

^^^^ This.

I've upgraded my "chest armor" many times, but it's always remained "chest armor".

I really miss Dusk Shroud->Balrog Skin->Archon Plate, etc.

[Kblavkalash]

Item tier system in D3 just sucks. Period. The only good thing about it is if you play the game just once, it works great, but it sucks for any kind of replayability.

We have ~14 tiers of items and in inferno everyone just using last two tiers, that's it. Everything else is garbage. Even though blizzard kept saying we have much more variety than in D2, actually in D2 we had so much more choice in item looks. You could use any tier item in the game, at least in Lod you could upgrade anything.

In D3 it does not matter if you like T5 or T10 armor, you are FORCED to use last 2 tiers because they have best stats.

[cakemonster]

Item tier system in D3 just sucks. Period. The only good thing about it is if you play the game just once, it works great, but it sucks for any kind of replayability.

We have ~14 tiers of items and in inferno everyone just using last two tiers, that's it. Everything else is garbage. Even though blizzard kept saying we have much more variety than in D2, actually in D2 we had so much more choice in item looks. You could use any tier item in the game, at least in Lod you could upgrade anything.

In D3 it does not matter if you like T5 or T10 armor, you are FORCED to use last 2 tiers because they have best stats.

Yes, and as time goes on everybody will gravitate even more towards only wearing ilvl 63 items due to the item budget. So unless they really nail it with legendaries everyone of the same class will basicly look the same except for color.

It baffles me how they went and created all these actually good looking lower tier armors only to making sure they will never been seen. Not to mention the unique art for legenderies. Seems like quite a waste in my eyes.

Maybe they should just implement an apperance slot for each gear slot, that way you can tailor your look the way you want it and it would actually put some value to low level legendaries.

[Kurki]

I don't like seeing a Wizard with a bow. Or a 2 handed axe. It just doesn't feel right. Maybe I need to just get over it. Anyone else feel anything like this?

I agree completely. My Wizard is currently equipped with the very 2-hand axe that you mention. It has 1300+ dps so I probably won't be getting rid of it anytime soon, but every time I see it either on his back or in his hands, it makes me shudder.

Perhaps I'll make a wand-using barb to compensate.