#0 - Aug. 17, 2011, 2:57 p.m.
Source: http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=26262771716&sid=3000
Q u o t e:
Garret99 wrote:
I was reading an earlier thread and someone brought up the idea of end game and how a 4th difficulty could solve the problem of the repetitive end game in diablo 2 and thought it deserved its own thread.
What if in order to stop players from having to play the last part of the game over and over again on hell to level up, if there was a final difficuluty where all acts were of atleast somewhat equal difficulty where high level 80s or 90s could go to get experience and any point of the game? Obviously theres other issues that could go along with it but its an interesting idea.
Q u o t e:
Bashiok replied:
I'm sorry for putting the idea down outright, but it's not a very sexy solution to make the end game more interesting or exciting. Sort of just draws it out, or maybe resolves some pacing issues that existed in Diablo II, which was a different game.
I've said this a lot but try not to think of Diablo III as an extension of Diablo II. Things like experience curves are not a constant that we have to take from Diablo II, implement directly into Diablo III, and then be really upset about it and have to try to solve the problems they give us. This is a new game being built from the ground up, problems aren't inherited from the previous games. We can do whatever we want.
Anyway, we have many ideas, there have been many good ideas discussed out there on how to solve some of the end game issues. Some of them are pretty much spot-on for ideas we'll likely go ahead with. Most of that design and work on end-game hasn't started yet though. We're still working primarily on building out the core game experience (act-to-act world and dungeons and monsters). Just the basic play through on Normal. Which is coming along quite well still, I might add.
Open mouth, insert foot?
I wonder if Bashiok would like to come elaborate as to why the Dev team decided to take a complete 180 on the subject.
Did they have a different idea that didn't pan out? And now they're being pressured by Vivendi to get the game out, so in with the old 4th difficulty idea?
I don't get it.
