Octopus Overlords

hepcat wrote: Sun Jun 18, 2023 2:17 pm Having an ultra wide monitor is kinda cheating, I’ve decided. There have been a couple of times where I could see and fire at enemies in a separate room, but they didn’t react because I hadn’t triggered their AI.

Bah what you call "cheating" is more like magic in the land of Sanctuary.

Anyone else having major stability issues on PS5 today? It’s been laggy as hell, rubber banding, not responding, and having multiple timeouts. Gotta be something on Blizzards end, everything else is working just fine (Wonder Twin was playing Monster Hunter with no issues right before I logged on to D4).

Last one just stopped registering any inputs in the middle of a boss battle. After about 5 minutes, I went back to the dashboard and closed the app. Tried to log back in, and got a “your account is locked, please try again later” message.

Awesome.

Skinypupy wrote: Mon Jun 19, 2023 3:59 pm Anyone else having major stability issues on PS5 today? It’s been laggy as hell, rubber banding, not responding, and having multiple timeouts. Gotta be something on Blizzards end, everything else is working just fine (Wonder Twin was playing Monster Hunter with no issues right before I logged on to D4).

Last one just stopped registering any inputs in the middle of a boss battle. After about 5 minutes, I went back to the dashboard and closed the app. Tried to log back in, and got a “your account is locked, please try again later” message.

Awesome.

I saw some compaints today on reddit

Finished the main story today. From about midway through Act III through to the ending, I ignored most of the side quests and only focused on the main story. The game felt significantly more cohesive that way, and far less disjointed.

During the first couple acts, I was jumping around doing a ton of random stuff. It made pretty much everything feel incredibly scattered, random, and unfocused. I found myself not caring one bit about the world and the characters because I was hopping from random thing to random thing. Now that I've finished the campaign, I'm much more invested in what happens. I found myself really enjoying the story, especially some of the craziness towards the end. I'll probably shelve D4 for a while until I'm done with FF XVI, but am certainly planning on coming back to it after that to do more.

It started off as an A for the first few hours, bogged down into the C range when I played as a wanderer with little purpose, then got back on track with a strong B+ finish towards the end. That's probably where I'd grade the campaign overall, in the A-/B+ range.

The one thing I wish it would have leaned into more is set pieces. After seeing what Lost Ark could do with some truly exhilarating ARPG set pieces (although the rest of that game was mediocre, at best), it feels like a missed opportunity that D4 didn't incorporate any of that with their shiny new graphics engine.

I'm also annoyed that I did not get a single Legendary boots drop through the entire campaign. I'm all decked out in Legendaries...except for my feet. LOL

Why didn't you upgrade a rare to a legendary for your boots?

Hrothgar wrote: Mon Jun 19, 2023 8:17 pm Why didn't you upgrade a rare to a legendary for your boots?

Because…I didn’t know you could do that.

I'm guessing your next character run is going to be a *bit* easier - for both skills and gear.

Hrothgar wrote: Mon Jun 19, 2023 8:17 pm Why didn't you upgrade a rare to a legendary for your boots?

Does that just mean adding an aspect to it, or is there a way to roll a rare into a random legendary a la D3?

Adding an aspect to a rare upgrades it to a legendary.

However, I wound up just using the curiosity vendor that gives you specific slot items in exchange for Murmuring Obols. I found that the legendary roll rate for her is pretty darn high.

YellowKing wrote: Mon Jun 19, 2023 10:46 pm Adding an aspect to a rare upgrades it to a legendary.

Holy crap. I'm a lev 58 moron.

Hamlet3145 wrote: Tue Jun 20, 2023 9:03 am

YellowKing wrote: Mon Jun 19, 2023 10:46 pm Adding an aspect to a rare upgrades it to a legendary.

Holy crap. I'm a lev 58 moron.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who missed that.

YellowKing wrote: Mon Jun 19, 2023 10:46 pm However, I wound up just using the curiosity vendor that gives you specific slot items in exchange for Murmuring Obols. I found that the legendary roll rate for her is pretty darn high.

I must just have spectacularly bad luck then. I think my ratio at the Obols vendor is about 80% blues, 19% yellows, and 1% legendary. I use it quite often and have only seen one Legendary so far.

Don't feel bad, I had to look it up. After not knowing it at Level 63....

Wow, I must have had good luck with Obols then. I've probably filled out 4 or 5 slots with legendaries over the levels through that method.

The number of things I'm missing in the mechanics for this game could probably fill a book at this point.

I just realized that maybe fighting a cold based stronghold boss with my Summon Necromancer’s Frost Mages might be the reason I’ve died 12 times….and maybe using one of those crafted cold resist potions might make sense. Plus, I can just get all my skeletons back automatically when restarting the battle, without finding corpses to resummmon them.

DOH!

How much does upgrading a rare to a legendary actually do beyond granting the legendary aspect? Anything? Like does it upgrade stats to higher legendary stats? Does it do a full re-roll? (I'm guessing not as if it's shitty that would waste an aspect imprint or whatever.)

I need to seriously consider switching to a controller to play this.
I find that I constantly have to look down at my keyboard to make sure I'm hitting the right keys (for example I ended up gulping down most of my limited supply of healing potions (Q) during a boss battle instead of engaging my stealth ability (1) to disengage. Could really have used those health potions later in the fight.

Additionally, I often lose track of my curser during fights and end up firing in the completely opposite direction from the mob that's overwhelming me.

I'm hoping that switching to a controller will help mitigate some of these issues.

Sudy wrote:How much does upgrading a rare to a legendary actually do beyond granting the legendary aspect? Anything? Like does it upgrade stats to higher legendary stats? Does it do a full re-roll? (I'm guessing not as if it's shitty that would waste an aspect imprint or whatever.)

It just adds the aspect, it does not re-roll the stats. However, you can use the Enchant Item to re-roll individual stats on it afterwards. Early game I guess I can see the value since legendaries are hard to come by. Later on, however, it just seems like a waste of resources to get a sub-par legendary.

Brian wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:55 am I need to seriously consider switching to a controller to play this.

I've been using an xbox controller on my PC version (because my carpel-tunnel-y wrists told me to) and have been really enjoying it. It feels very natural and it's nice to not be frantically mashing keys only to hit the wrong one.

Hamlet3145 wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 10:03 am

Brian wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:55 am I need to seriously consider switching to a controller to play this.

I've been using an xbox controller on my PC version (because my carpel-tunnel-y wrists told me to) and have been really enjoying it. It feels very natural and it's nice to not be frantically mashing keys only to hit the wrong one.

certain builds that need pinpoint aim (corpse explosion?) might have trouble with controller, but even with mouse/kb if I need pinpoint aim I am in trouble...

Brian wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:55 am
Additionally, I often lose track of my curser during fights and end up firing in the completely opposite direction from the mob that's overwhelming me.

I'm hoping that switching to a controller will help mitigate some of these issues.

There is an option to increase cursor size. I always do so in Diablo games.

Blackhawk wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 10:18 am

Brian wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:55 am
Additionally, I often lose track of my curser during fights and end up firing in the completely opposite direction from the mob that's overwhelming me.

I'm hoping that switching to a controller will help mitigate some of these issues.

There is an option to increase cursor size. I always do so in Diablo games.

Oh? I definitely need to do that. I would occasionally "lose" the cursor in D3, but it's way worse in D4. To the point it can happen multiple times in a single fight.

D3 had it, too.

LALALALALALALALALA...I'm not listening to you....LALALALALALALALALA....

Hamlet3145 wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 10:03 am

Brian wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:55 am I need to seriously consider switching to a controller to play this.

I've been using an xbox controller on my PC version (because my carpel-tunnel-y wrists told me to) and have been really enjoying it. It feels very natural and it's nice to not be frantically mashing keys only to hit the wrong one.

I've generally been reluctant to choose a controller over mouse/keyboard, but have been slowly coming around on that point. But I've never played a Diablo with a controller before. Tried it for D4 and am enjoying it a lot. Much smoother/easier than I thought, if only by avoiding 'click to move'. The shoulder button/regular button options for the various skills has been easy to handle too.

coopasonic wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 10:11 am

Hamlet3145 wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 10:03 am

Brian wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:55 am I need to seriously consider switching to a controller to play this.

I've been using an xbox controller on my PC version (because my carpel-tunnel-y wrists told me to) and have been really enjoying it. It feels very natural and it's nice to not be frantically mashing keys only to hit the wrong one.

certain builds that need pinpoint aim (corpse explosion?) might have trouble with controller, but even with mouse/kb if I need pinpoint aim I am in trouble...

Pretty sure the controller must have some auto-targetting going on because I haven't had any trouble with that. I just kind of face toward the direction I want and then it creepily reads my mind as to what I want to target.

Diablo 4: Options/Accessibility/Cursor Scale

Baroquen wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 11:38 am

Hamlet3145 wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 10:03 am

Brian wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:55 am I need to seriously consider switching to a controller to play this.

I've been using an xbox controller on my PC version (because my carpel-tunnel-y wrists told me to) and have been really enjoying it. It feels very natural and it's nice to not be frantically mashing keys only to hit the wrong one.

I've generally been reluctant to choose a controller over mouse/keyboard, but have been slowly coming around on that point. But I've never played a Diablo with a controller before. Tried it for D4 and am enjoying it a lot. Much smoother/easier than I thought, if only by avoiding 'click to move'. The shoulder button/regular button options for the various skills has been easy to handle too.

In playing on the xBox, it does seem as if there aren't enough buttons for all your abilities you can end up with on a toon. Does the PC version allow mapping of more abilities than those in the cooldown ability bar or do PC characters end up with the same limitations on mapping abilities once you've unlocked the core (sub level 50 skill tree, dunno if it changes with Paragon levels yet).

Not 100% sure what you are saying. If you mean all the actions possible in the controls, then there should be enough buttons. If you mean that you've put points into 8 abilities, but only have options for 6 (buttons 1-4 and the left and right mouse), then that's intentional. You should not be putting points into more than 6 abilities.

-Active abilities.

Blackhawk wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 3:02 pm -Active abilities.

Duh.

TheMix wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 3:10 pm

Blackhawk wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 3:02 pm -Active abilities.

Duh.

Now my feelings feel like pain.

TheMix wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:43 pm Not 100% sure what you are saying. If you mean all the actions possible in the controls, then there should be enough buttons. If you mean that you've put points into 8 abilities, but only have options for 6 (buttons 1-4 and the left and right mouse), then that's intentional. You should not be putting points into more than 6 abilities.

Yeah, but a lot of items *come* with points for abilities, which might be nice to try out

You still can - you just have to take something off of the bar (and thus, buttons) to do it. D3 was the same way. D2 was far worse.

Blackhawk wrote: Mon Jun 12, 2023 10:25 am FYI, there is a Twitch drop campaign for Diablo 4 right now. Link to details.

The next set is up. Remember, with Twitch drops, you can claim them passively - open it up in a window, alt-tab back to a game, or just have it on on a different device. Getting them is guaranteed, and you just have to claim them once the time is up.

Personally, I just launch the first drops-enabled stream I see that doesn't have a frog, set it to 160p resolution, and go back to whatever I was doing.

I'm gonna just throw out some random tips I've picked up throughout the game, much of this is probably well known but seeing the comment about adding aspects above reminded me how much of the game is not obvious.

- Increase cursor size. Already mentioned above but it's really helpful!

- Turn off annoying "I'm out of XXX" VoiceOver. I think it's in Sound options under some obscure option but it's so nice to shut your sad guy up. YMMV.

- Voice chat. Hit O and you can choose Guild or Party chat. Most people seem to prefer discord, I don't know why, it worked fine for me the few times I tried it.

- "Waze" function on map. Right click to drop a pin on your main map and it creates a little path to follow on your mini-map. You can also hit Y to look at your codex and pick a specific dungeon you want to get to, click on it and it will automatically make a pin for you

- The Codex (where all the possible legendary aspects you can get from it) is a great tool to pore through. If you are having trouble with defense or keeping your resource up, filter by that and see if there's a useful aspect you didn't know about or don't have. Then use the above to go clear that dungeon and you have access to it now!

- Speaking of defense, there's a good video on it where basically he says resistances are currently useless, so focus on flat life, armor, and damage reduction

- Also make sure to spend time in the Skill Tree; I swear I keep finding passive nodes I didn't see before but they are scattered all over and some can be really useful. Eventually you have to invest in them but if you are playing an alt it may help to invest in those earlier on

- Upgrading from blacksmith: it's hard to say when it's worth doing this. Clearly in the earlier levels when you are likely to replace an item it's a bit pointless, but I'm finding even in mid levels (20s/30s) on alts it can really change your play experience. Like my new sort is always running out of mana, so after finally getting an item with +mana, I upgraded it all the way and I had a few extra mana points to play with. Not a huge deal but every little bit helps. Also note that at the higher upgrade levels you can sometimes add an entire +1 to a +skill, so that's pretty cool

- Currently the fastest leveling is supposedly in Legion Events, but those require that you have the particular Stronghold unlocked. So it's highly recommended you do all of those (there are 3 in each region) asap. Yesterday I joined one on my alt and got like 1.5 levels (including Whispers) in about 10 minutes of play, but note there were a lot of people at the event. In any case just doing the strongholds themselves is good xp and renown.

- Speaking of renown, if you are in the earlier phase of the game (pre-nightmare) or enjoy playing alts, it's definitely good to do the first 3 tiers of renown in all 5 regions. Note you will get 5 extra potions and 10 extra skill points from this, and all your alts get access to these immediately.


I prob have a lot more but these are just off the top of my head while I listen in on a boring team meeting lol.


P.S. Everyone is welcome to join our Wanderers clan if you want an in game chat channel. It's pretty quiet most of the time but good if you need some help or whatever. We also have a discord if you want to join that. I basically invite anyone who is on my battle.net friends list but if for some reason you aren't on it, just look for "The Wanderers" in Clans (N button)

rittchard wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2023 1:36 pm - Voice chat. Hit O and you can choose Guild or Party chat. Most people seem to prefer discord, I don't know why, it worked fine for me the few times I tried it.

- Upgrading from blacksmith: it's hard to say when it's worth doing this. Clearly in the earlier levels when you are likely to replace an item it's a bit pointless, but I'm finding even in mid levels (20s/30s) on alts it can really change your play experience. Like my new sort is always running out of mana, so after finally getting an item with +mana, I upgraded it all the way and I had a few extra mana points to play with. Not a huge deal but every little bit helps. Also note that at the higher upgrade levels you can sometimes add an entire +1 to a +skill, so that's pretty cool

For the first, it's because many people use Discord in dozens of other games. Using it is an established part of their gaming experience. The voice chat may work fine, but there are advantages to using software that you know well, and where your friends are likely to look for you.

For the second, I find that while leveling, depending on what you need (like a high-damage weapon for a class dependent on weapon damage, or a good neck if you have an important aspect on it), upgrading once or twice is often worth it, but usually only for a couple of pieces of gear. The third upgrade is much more expensive, and probably better for the endgame.

Has anyone else had campaign quests "reset" in the past day or so? The other day I logged off, and when I returned I had to repeat some yellow quest steps. I figured it was just because I was in the middle of a multi-part step in the quest and so it hadn't saved. But now again I completed a step and received a new waypoint, but I did a dungeon on the way. When I finished, the waypoint was gone and was back in town where I had to re-do a step. Note that I did not log out or time out this time.

It wasn't a server rollback or something as I still have the aspect and items I earned by completing the dungeon.

I am reading not to upgrade weapons as there are regularly better options, but jewelry or boots/gloves upgrade more slowly.

Server problems make $iljanus very sad since all he wants to do is play the game he paid for while everyone is asleep.

Also wondering if it saved my progress because I had just finished a boss fight in a quest and was having a conversation before the Prime Evil, Lord Server Problem, booted my ass out of the game.

Hows the loots in D4? D2 loots had some really great stuff but I was let down by D3's loot..weak and far between. nothing super cool. I feel D4 is the same after the beta I tried.