Do you like easy game or struggling?

Looks like majority of players like having OP warlock or some other OP build but on the other hand I saw a lot of players that love having tough times with some shitty build.

According to "Which class are you playing in RotW?" poll, Warlock has over 600 votes, then with less then half there is sorc, then amazon, paladin, barbarian, necromancer, druid and the last is Assassin that has around 40. I know it doesnt mean anything. I marked sorc back then but since that time I play mostly amazon and assassin. Its also not about builds but about classes so we dont know if its 260 Nova sorcs or just 10 and the rest are weird sorcs with Biggin's Bonnet and Wirt's Leg that struggle in Normal. Still I assume that the majority of players like using easier and stronger builds.

That makes me wonder. Why there is so many warlocks with the best demons and strongest spells that they can annihilate anything in 0,1s but so few Sandra Bullocks (Mosaic assassins) ? Is it because warlock is more fun? Is it becuase he's new? Is it because Sandra's charges are pain in the ass or is it because Sandra's damage is already too much? Or.. You like warlock's ass more than assassin's?

Want to know this secret, thanks.

ganseng wrote: 3 hours ago

my interpretation of the secret is that people have been enjoying sandra for decades and the demon breeder is a breath of fresh air

Well thats not true. Non-Ladder Mosaic is as new as Demon Breeder. For people who play ladder (not me) was the runeword available also not decades ago but something like 3-4 years ago?

Yes, Mosaic is somewhat new, as you stated I believe around 3 or 4 years. My take is the warlock is just something new, so people are trying it out.
I am currently running my first warlock build and it is a ladder Echoing Strike build. From what I can tell it is not as easy as the demon binding build, but I honestly cannot say.

I only run solo, so rune and item drops have been slow which made play somewhat painful at times. Gaining some sunders to trade helped garnered some needed items and runes, so build is getting stronger and just short of Lev 90 now.

I guess that is part of the grind that I dislike, but what also makes it satisfying as your build grows. Just another love/hate relationship...

ganseng wrote: 2 hours ago

ok, the nuclear sandra has been out on ladder only last three years, but in general the seven classes are decades older than the demon breeder, that explains his relative popularity

Karel wrote: 3 hours ago

ganseng wrote: 3 hours ago

my interpretation of the secret is that people have been enjoying sandra for decades and the demon breeder is a breath of fresh air

Well thats not true. Non-Ladder Mosaic is as new as Demon Breeder. For people who play ladder (not me) was the runeword available also not decades ago but something like 3-4 years ago?

Well yeah, true. But the runeword made from her almost new class too . There is no other runeword/item that changed a class like that. Plus, I prefer nostalgic things over Brand-new ones, so for me, the Assassin is the clear choice over the Warlock.

AardvarksAdvance wrote: 1 hour ago

what's with the reference to Sandra B?

Is it because Mosaic Sin looks like SB?

Or is Sandra B a code for the other 7 classes?

S. Sorceress
A. Amazon
N. Necro
D. Druid
R. ... doesn't work for Paladin
A. Assassin

B. Barbarian

?

Raladin? Sandra B in a bus. You ride or you die. Got it?

mikelessar wrote: 1 hour ago

I have no idea what you are talking about, so I will just stick to the thread's question:

Ultimate endgame power is not very important. What counts is the road to get there.

Games like D2 are successful because they offer meaningful/exciting progress in lots of small or bigger steps.

When you have the feeling that your char can get better through leveling, better loot etc. and you enjoy the way to do so, you keep on playing.

As soon as you (or at least I) arrive at the end of the road, you flex a little bit and then you get bored and need a new challenge, a new road where every step means progress and you can clearly see and feel it.

I don’t know if everyone is like that. I know people who have been playing with just one or two characters for years and enjoy the repeatability of the runs, sort of like slot machines with better graphics.

mikelessar wrote: 1 hour ago

Karel wrote: 1 hour ago

I don’t know if everyone is like that. I know people who have been playing with just one or two characters for years and enjoy the repeatability of the runs, sort of like slot machines with better graphics.

I guess they are still looking out for improvements/progress. Why should they pull the slot machines if there were no reward in for them, anymore?

Looking for perfect items and runes etc. You could do it for a hundred years and still not be anywhere near the end. Plus I think a lot of people dont care about enjoying the progress of leveling or small improvements of build over time, they let themself rushed, look at the internet whats the best gear for XY build and trade it.

Karel wrote: 4 hours ago

Looks like majority of players like having OP warlock or some other OP build but on the other hand I saw a lot of players that love having tough times with some shitty build.

According to "Which class are you playing in RotW?" poll, Warlock has over 600 votes, then with less then half there is sorc, then amazon, paladin, barbarian, necromancer, druid and the last is Assassin that has around 40. I know it doesnt mean anything. I marked sorc back then but since that time I play mostly amazon and assassin. Its also not about builds but about classes so we dont know if its 260 Nova sorcs or just 10 and the rest are weird sorcs with Biggin's Bonnet and Wirt's Leg that struggle in Normal. Still I assume that the majority of players like using easier and stronger builds.

That makes me wonder. Why there is so many warlocks with the best demons and strongest spells that they can annihilate anything in 0,1s but so few Sandra Bullocks (Mosaic assassins) ? Is it because warlock is more fun? Is it becuase he's new? Is it because Sandra's charges are pain in the ass or is it because Sandra's damage is already too much? Or.. You like warlock's ass more than assassin's?

Want to know this secret, thanks.

I see just as many assassins in multiplayer tz games as warlocks, perhaps more. On PlayStation. Which is telling because WL is still the new class that has the benefit of novelty.

They are squishy if the charges drop, I see them die a lot.

I’m on the fence with Mosaic, the main thing is it’s way to cheap at a Gul off ladder.

I like both.

The easy game is the payoff for the struggle. Without the struggle the easy game is boring. Without the easy game, the struggle is exhausting. Ultimately you need a balance. This is where D4, for example, completely blows it. You do not settle into a single consistent level of difficulty, you need a back and forth of struggle and pain and fear and then a felt sense of power that overcomes that. It's how you feel that your character grows.

The poll options are insufficient to capture this. D2 is great because it understands exactly this concept - that you need to struggle AND overcome.

If you've ever wondered why people play ladder, this is the reason (that or maybe that they want a high ranking).