Re: Breaking News! Bashiok says One skill tree.
errm...
So exactly how would a fire-based skill kill the same number of monsters as a cold-based skill against a monster that would be resistant to fire? Or, how would Whirlwind kill the same number of monsters per minute as Bash? Or, even how would you factor in Time Stop? Or, last one I promise, how would an area effect skill work if it was supposed to kill the same number of monsters per minute as a single-target skill?
Stillman, I'm pretty sure you are joking.
... But I'm often called a fool...
I'm glad you asked. It's no joke, just an extreme idea about ballance. I fear you may be falling into the demise you recently spoke out against regarding Blizzard not being problem solvers when really, of course they are good problem solvers. Here is how I imagine they could address the problems you outlined:
Your first question about resistances: "exactly how would a fire-based skill kill the same number of monsters as a cold-based skill against a monster that would be resistant to fire?" There would be many different monsters to fight in the end game, best exp area possible. Blizzard could make half of them resistant to fire and half resistant to ice, and you have to fight both kinds at once. Of course, poison and lit res would be in there two, but I'm just simplifying for now. So in this situation, a fire skill user would be hampered as much as an ice user. OR, a better case would be there are different end game areas that give equal exp. let's say there are 5 locations that all give best exp for the monsters and the monsters are the same toughness. A fire user would shine in one of those places and a cold user would shine in a different one, but no build would be master of all.
"How would Whirlwind kill the same number of monsters per minute as Bash?" Another good question. I don't recall what bash does, but if it's a utility sort of skill that stuns enemies and Bliz says that's the main point of it (not really fast enough to be a main active skill for killing things) then bash doesn't count and doesn't have to have the same maximum potential kills per minute as every active skill in the game. Now, if bash turns out to be intended as a potential active skill that can be used as your main punch if you desire, then it would be a simple case of making it do way more damage than WW because it hits so few times compared to WW. So your WW kills 53 monsters in one minute by whittling them down while bash one-hit kills 53 monsters in one minute one shot at a time. The resulting damage and kills per minute is the same for both skills (provided best possible gear at best level in hell end game best exp zone).
"How would you factor in Time Stop?" If time stop speeds up the wizard's killing speed (which is likely) then it is assumed to be part of the best possible passive skill setup for her active skills, so we assume she is always using it end game. Thus, her total kill number per minute would be the same as all other active skills
while she is using time stop. Other classes don't have time stop so I suppose their damage would simply be higher than the wizard's to compensate. Or, Bliz might make a barb's stun abilities comparable to time stop in some ways and count stunning as part of the barb's best possible set up. In any case, Bliz would tinker with the skill damage numbers until every active skill (when used with utilites like time stop and stun if they help kill faster) do the same damage with the best possible gear.
"How would an area effect skill work if it was supposed to kill the same number of monsters per minute as a single-target skill?" This is a simple case of making the single target skill do way more damage than the wide area skill. If one of the skills kills only 50 'throne room' monsters per minute while another skill kills 60, guess which one everyone will use? I don't want that, so I say make them have equal kills per minute.
I didn't mention this stuff earlier because I knew the whole idea was very strange and 'out there' to start with. Think of d2 where you are in the throne room and someone is using frost nova to kill stuff just as fast as someone using Blizzard. But these are two pros who made it to the highest level and have the absolute best possible gear setup for their builds. It would take considerable work. Prior to reaching this level of perfection, we might see Blizzard looking like it's doing more kills than frost nova. But if someone wanted to go with frost nova, no cookie cutter could ever outdo them. The best possible setup might be crazy faster cast rate for frost nova and only that can make it equal to Blizzard in killing power. For Blizzard, only getting the most possible bonus skill gear can make it reach the killing speed of best possible frost nova gear. That's just an example. The players would have to figgure out this gear setup. They would also have to figgure out the best possible way to use time stop, stun, other utilites, etc to reach the ultimate kill number. But the number should be predetermined by Blizzard.
I brought this up a while back and Laz said something like it "homogenizes the skills", but that is the whole point. If one skill is unequal to the others, it will stand out as being the best or a 'useless' one. What separates the skills with my idea is your prefered playing style. If you like the shape of a frost nova on your screen instead of the blotch patern of Blizzard spell, you should be able to pick frost nova because you like it more (it suits your desired playstyle) and not be hampering yourslef because you didn't go with Blizzard spell. If all spells do the same damage per minute end game, it's only up to your ability to get the top gear and figgure out the best passive arrangement. You're not hampered by cookie cutters.
Now, to fix this problem of all the skills seeming to do the same damage, we have two things. First, keep in mind this only occurs after you get the absolute best godly gear possible for each build. Like, in five years of playing, pros will find they are killing 53 monsters each in the 'throne room' and this is the absolute best any player can do. But any player can do this using any active skill if they are good enough to get the best gear and highest level. Secondly, magic missle could seem to do tiny damage compared to let's say tornado. Let's say tornado maxed does 10 times the damage a maxed magic missile does. But the 'best' possible gear for your magic missile build could be highest faster cast rate gear so that 10 magic missiles get cast in the time it takes to cast one tornado. The damage evens out once this best gear is factored in.
Also, Blizzard can trick us by having exponential increases in damage per point invested. For example, a tier one skill wants to have small damage becasue you use it early in the game. So lev 1 it does 3 dam, lev 2 it does 6, level 3, it does 9, and so on....but at level 13 it does 70 damage and level 14 it does 140 and at level 15 it does 320. Or, the passives can adjust the damage to make lower tier skills appear weak in the early game, but their potential is realized end game. So skills are only truely "homogenized" after a few experts play for 5 years and get the best of everything and use their passives wisely.
This is all assuming solo. Of course, groups where teamwork is employed can net greater gains. So there could be a 'cookie cutter party', but I'm cool with that because teamwork is a good thing. 90% of sorc's using Blizzard spell is a bad thing imo.
