I saw a question elsewhere and it made me wonder… this dude basically posted asking what the heck is wrong with people who play Diablo IV and don’t min-max, and asking how that could possibly be fun. What are y’all’s thoughts?

I’m kinda torn. I don’t like it, personally. If I have my druthers, I like to set up my characters with things that I think are fun and look cool, not necessarily things that are best/most powerful etc. It’s interesting how so many people want every player wearing the exact same gear, using the exact same things (even in the exact same order for some games!)… For a lot of people, their whole goal seems to be to clear rooms as fast as humanely possible, to get to the end and beat the boss as fast as humanely possible so you can see what he drops, lather rinse repeat. I’m like, do you even enjoy playing the game? That feels like work to me. I prefer to take it slow because I like playing the game; I don’t really want to be one-shotting everything all the time, because I I like a challenge, and I often prefer gear that looks cool af over gear that is qualitatively “the best”.

However, I do understand that I’m in the minority on that, or so it seems, and I don’t want to end up with a character that no one will raid with, getting kicked for using the “wrong” gear and skills. In that respect in multiplayer games, I feel pressured to fall in line (assuming I make it to the end game, lol).

What are you guys’ thoughts?

  • @Strae
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    61 year ago

    Guides are really helpful for finding interesting synergies between skills and aspects and whatnot, without having to theorycraft. I find it difficult to enjoy a build unless I understand all those synergies.

    So the guides actually enhance my appreciation of the game because they help me discover builds that work, and thus builds that I enjoy.

  • @Licensed_to_ill
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    61 year ago

    I enjoy trying to break the game with the best gear/skills until games become too easy, then I go for looks.

    Thing is, I enjoy it. You do you. I have more respect for players who like the challenge and wear whatever than the guy min-maxing like I sometimes do.

    However, when it comes to coop games. I understand why some people wouldn’t want to team up with you. Just make a group of like minded friends. You do you.

    • Dick JusticeOP
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      21 year ago

      Well put! Just play and let play. I think what I’m going to end up doing is min-maxing my druid, and then playing my necromancer for looks and coolness lol.

  • @Minotaur
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    51 year ago

    I dont like looking at wikis or build guides to tell me how to play a video game. If i want to smash my dick on an anvil for 4 hours by trying to get bone spear, corpse explosion and blood spells to work then it means i’m having fun with it.

    If people “must do max damage and kill all enemies on-sight” then good for them, I just wont invite them to my parties. I play Diablo for the story believe it or not. Which is why I even played through the arcade game called Diablo 3. I have no interest in making a competitive PVP character with one of 2 viable build options.

  • @[email protected]
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    31 year ago

    I also like to look cool, and get more enjoyment out of finding a playstyle I like, rather than following a meta.

    That said, ARPG’s are definitely a numbers game, depending on how far you want to go. If all you want to do is world events in WT4 and regular dungeons, you can play whatever spec you want.

    If you want to kill Uber Lilith and push super high tier Nightmare dungeons (especially solo), you’ll likely have to rely on the theorycrafters who crunch the numbers for the most optimal setup.

    I’m happy to play a spec I find fun, even if it means I can’t push super high. It just depends on what’s makes the game fun for you

  • @Thadrax
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    31 year ago

    I usually just use skills that feel enjoyable to use, however completely ignoring synergies leads to a dead end in this game. This is where, for me, guides come in. Ideally a guide that offers some alternatives (like if you have this aspect, this passive is really great but if you are struggeling with x maybe look at this passive instead etc.).

    My bowazon rogue is mid 50ies and while still viable, it is really slow going and I realized that the gameplay I really enjoy just isn’t supported by the skills in game (at least without having very specific gear/aspects etc.). So I benched her. I’m not interested in changing to an op build if it isn’t how I want to play this character.

    Diablo is too complicated for me to create a build from scratch, I’d need to study how exactly all the mechanics work, what status effect falls in which category and memorize the skills to a point where I could immediately point at synergies. I don’t care enough to do that (for this game, Factorio on the other hand …). So I’ll get some help in that regard.

  • @illi
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    31 year ago

    I’m with ypu, I play what I find fun. Now of course as time goes I try to develop it to something effective but fun is the endgame.

  • ffhein
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    21 year ago

    I think it could be fun to try to find better skill builds and “broken” combos, but the UI makes it so incredibly tedious to change abilities and paragon points so currently I don’t enjoy the process… Right now min-maxing for me would to be to look up some other person’s build and copy that

    Another thing with Diablo is that gameplay gets pretty repetitive, especially with some builds, so I prefer to use something less than optimal if it makes combat a bit more interactive.

  • @PapstJL4U
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    11 year ago

    You can use Min-Maxing to make off-meta and suboptimal builds work.

    Optimise your gear, your defense or you attribues (less in D3+) so that “unplayable” skills can be used.

  • @[email protected]
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    11 year ago

    My thoughts on it basically come down to “Yes, but not to such extremes”. I’ll definitely do my best to make the best out of my builds to an extent, however I do not like the idea of going insane over it. I definitely can appreciate those who do, because I can (generally) see the passion they have for.

    Destiny was the first game I played that I ever really got into build crafting, and my attitude there is the same. If the situation really calls for it and there’s a good reason for it (such as say, taking a friend whose new to the game through a dungeon as a duo and so I’m making up for missing a third person) but otherwise that level of extreme takes the fun out of it for me. I’m the type of person who’d run The Last Word in a raid just because “Oh hey, that sounds like a fun idea” - obviously though only if its a casual run with friends.

    In D4, I’ve mainly only played sorcerer (though I’m in the process of leveling up a Druid, I just need to get back to doing so at some point) and that class does feel like you have to push a bit more into the min-maxing aspect to get the best out of the higher levels (and this may be the case on the other classes, but my only end-game experience is with sorcerer so far), but you certainly won’t ever see me pulling out a spreadsheet and spending an hour going over the numbers (again, I have plenty of respect for those who do though).

  • @[email protected]B
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    11 year ago

    I’m looking at maxroll which propose différent build for a class that way I get playing around a core mechanic I like without beeing too irelevant.

    I plan on min maxing once I’ll hit a wall in my progression.

    In the endgame minnmaxing will be necessary just to attain it and not be a burden in groups.

    • @Thadrax
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      11 year ago

      undefined> In the endgame minnmaxing will be necessary just to attain it and not be a burden in groups.

      Thankfully, I only play solo (or maybe with a friend later if we ever reach similar enough levels). But yeah, that is something that needs to be considered depending on the goal of others in the group.