Blizzard has let everyone sneak a very early peak at D3. Are they looking for feedback? It's so early in development that in some areas of the game big changes can still be made. Even though Jay Wilson is sometimes flat out wrong in some of his interviews it ok because there's still enough time to reconsider. In the end I'm certain his goal is to create another masterpiece that will stick around for years and years. Here's my polite suggestions that I hope Blizzard will consider:
A. Please don't automate attribute allocation. Keep it manual. Let us fine toon. OK, there was certainly problems with the attribute system in Diablo 2 that led many people to choose the same builds but now you can look back at what the problem actually was and fix it in Diablo 3. Begin by trying to make sure that all of the attributes carry equal weight. If that's impossible then do it because the items you build force players to make more diverse attribute choices. No matter what, don't take away part of the game that also removes a part of character individuality with it. Take the time to balance. Why should Jay choose all my attribute points for me? Who's Jay to say, "THIS is how we play!"
B. Please allow hostility to remain. I realize many people consider a player killer (PK) to be a nuisance but hostility is what makes Diablo 2 raw and ruthless. Pking is a necessary evil. There's two big complaints about pking in Diablo 2:
1) Problem - High levels praying on low levels. Solution - By default impose a level restriction that's a standard deviation of 5 or something like that and still allow players to choose their own level restrictions if they want to.
2) Problem - Exploitive measures like TPPK (town portal player kill), lingering firewalls, hydras, traps, and guided arrows. Solution - Forcing spells and abilities to dissapear when the character enters a town portal, way point, or town.
There's really no reason to remove hostility except for the cause of candy coating. Unless Jay Wilson thinks we should remove hostility for other reasons? Eh, Jay?
3. Include hardcore mode. Don't even get me started on this one. Just announce it. Or don't announce it. But include it.
4. Impose a Blizzard enforced SOJ based economy.
OK, that last one was a joke. But the rest is for reals. Really Blizz, for reals, do this stuff. It's important.
