I'm not going to pretend to have some great insight into the numbers behind legendary item damage or defense. I have no real suggestions for that. They're being worked on.
But there's other issues. There's are "small" problems, almost irrelevant to gameplay or its systems. But it's important to me and I know I'm not alone. These aren't problems that affect combat, they don't truly affect the economy. It just doesn't feel good to play, and sometimes that's more important. I think a game designer would agree.
I'm going to start with set items.
I was excited the first time I heard Jay Wilson talk about set items because he clearly saw the problems it had in D2. Namely, by the time you'd amassed a set, it was worthless to you. Leveling sets, the like.
With a distinct lack of PVP, this is still an issue.
I have clocked in over 300 hours of in-game time played. I have yet to find a set item, nor a set pattern. We have returned full-circle to D2's problems.
I mean, even if I had gotten a pattern, it isn't like I wouldn't be spending out the ass for a proper roll. I don't see the logic in hiding set items. Leveling sets, they're fairly niche as it is, and I see no valid reason for the patterns to be so rare.
Why don't you get them as you level the blacksmith? You'd not kill the sales of the items as you'd still be contending with the roll you got on said item. You have, as an example, Cain's Honor. This isn't tuned towards a specific class, and you can main-stat roll any of the items in the set. Say you want a barb set. You'll have to craft and craft until you get str on each anyway, so why hide them?
Buy the pattern from the auction house? I don't have ten billion gold laying around, sorry.
Now, legendaries.
The drop rates are unreasonably low. I don't quite see what the point is in that. Sure, the team didn't want legendaries being best in slot (apparently best in any slot) and the itemization is way, way off for them. Legendaries are, barring some exclusions like Helm of Command, completely worthless.
Only they're not, because it feels good, even now, to see an unidentified orange item on the ground. It feels really good.
Sure, it feels like shit to identify it knowing it's worthless, but still, there's a magic there that will not and cannot be replicated by anything else. It can't be replaced by rares. It can't be replaced by crafting an item. There's a distinctly *ahem* unique good feeling about having a legendary drop.
But let's assume that legendaries were boss. Ok? One second. Let's make that assumption. What is the problem, then?
This is pure aesthetics. Some items, naturally, look way more badass than others. I'm not talking chest, gloves, boots, because those are basically just re-skins. I'm talking weapons, off-hands, helmets, shoulders.
Some just look awesome and others...not so much.
My issue is that many of the awesome-looking items are low level. Some of the highest level set or legendary items are, hmm, not so much in the awesome department.
Let's take a look. Let's take a look at what I consider to be the worst items in the entire game, in terms of aesthetic appeal. The maximum-level required Shenlong's fist weapon set.
Ignore the watermark, I'm the damn one who took that pic and spent the gold on this crap to begin with, so I've earned it.
I would have laughed when I saw that had I not been expecting something that looks even remotely like the icon. These look like some kid took hulk hands and re-painted them. I'm sorry but this is just god-awful.
Something that looks god-awful shouldn't require the highest level to wear.
On the inverse, some items require a much lower level, but look too awesome to pass up. The kind of items you wear even though they suck just because they look really, really cool and you feel sad replacing them with something else, even though the stat upgrades are astronomical.
Something like this:
Or this:
I'm not saying that every legendary at high level needs to look awesome and every legendary at low level needs to look weak.
What I'm saying is that every legendary at high level needs to look awesome and some legendaries at low level look way too awesome to be low level.
There's a progression. Low level items don't need to be this, and I hate using this idiotic term, "epic".
Low level legendaries just need to look different from normal items, and I think that's achieved. If we're putzing around with item stats and what not anyway, why not consider switching around level requirements?
And re-doing the graphics for the hideous hulk hands set? Good God, man. Who came into work completely krunked that day?
Since I have your eye, I will say my two favorite legendary weapons, in terms of looks:
The trippy-ass 2h mighty weapon Immortal King's Stone Crusher, and the Hallowed Touch fist weapon. They are both very, very awesome and work supremely well within their theme. Kudos to those designers who were certainly not krunked that day.
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