分析《暗黑破坏神3》地狱模式的缺陷
发布时间： 17:20:08
作者：Josh Bycer
过去两周，我花了20个小时闯到《暗黑破坏神3》中最困难的难度设置：地狱模式。现在，我卡在第3幕，因为装备跟不上。在这两周的时间里，我有机会好好观察地狱模式，最终得出结论：暴雪搞砸了。
唯一的出路
在我之前写的文章《暗黑3分析》中，我提到了道具问题过分提高了游戏难度。因为角色只能从最初的属性值和精力值中得到直接的增益，这就限制了各个角色可以穿的装备。
在更早之前的难关中，可以得到的装备等级随着幕数递增，这让玩家可以看到下一幕的装备比前一幕的装备好。但是，因为属性的影响，如果低级装备的加成属性合适，那么这件装备对特定的角色就会更实用。然而，一旦玩家进入地狱模式，这个设定就不管用了。
目前封顶的等级是60，所以玩家当然不会再升级，也不会得到新技能或符文，必须依赖装备才能继续强化角色。但虽然玩家不再变强了，但可用装备的等级还有4个级别：60-63。61级的道具与61级以下的道具的基本属性值差距悬殊。也就是在这个阶段，武器的每秒伤害（DPS）开始达到成百，能够抵抗各种伤害抗性的附加属性的装甲开始更容易找到。
Decapitator DPS(from gamasutra)
在此之前，低级装备仍然可以凑合用，但现在不行了。一个稀有的55级道具绝对不能跟62级及其以上等级的魔法道具相提并论。60级到63级道具之间的飞跃也是巨大的，因为63级武器的DPS超过了1000。虽然玩家能找到的60级到63级装备，但在地狱模式下只有一条活路：使用63级道具，否则就失败。
这个机制暴露了《暗黑3》的几个大的设计缺陷。第一个是，玩家找到好装备的机会本来就很有限，而这个机制则让这种可能性更小。因为玩家不可能用其他方式强化角色了，所以玩家要活着通过地狱模式，只能寄希于拍卖行和随机的物品掉落几率。
更大的问题是，设计师破坏了道具强化的能力曲线，而这是《暗黑2》的主要魅力所在。在《暗黑2》中，掉落物品总是按比例增强，在下一幕中找到的装备比上一幕中的更好一些。这意味玩家玩得越久，角色就能变得越强。
但在《暗黑3》中，一旦玩家进入地狱模式，掉落物品就停在63级，并且只能在第1幕中找到。不同幕之间的唯一区别就在于高级道具的掉落机会。也就是说，玩家在第1幕中能轻易地找到可以一直使用到第4幕的装备。
这不仅违背了力量曲线，也放大了拍卖行的作用，因为玩家只能为了更高的基本属性值去购买63级道具。暴雪应该做的是，收紧等级曲线，只让60级及以上的道具在地狱模式中掉落，并且在各个幕之间提高道具等级上限。比如：在第1幕仍然可以得到等级60-63的道具，但第2幕可以掉落等级60-64，第3幕有等级60-65，第4幕有等级60-66。
这个调整可以给玩家在相同的时间内有更多机会得到好装备，从而刺激玩家继续玩下一幕，继续强化自己的角色。如果维持现状，玩家只能重复玩第1幕，直到找到游戏中最好的掉落物品，游戏就是根据这一点展开的。
敌人的无敌属性
这个问题与特殊怪和精英怪有关。在更早的难关中，玩家要应付特殊怪的各种辅助技能。但对于地狱模式中本来就更强的怪来说，当游戏具有这种机制，又把更高的怪的属性值与修改器相结合，结果就是游戏的难度被提高到不可理喻的地步。
玩家技能有几个怪物的辅助状态（Waller、vortex和jailer）是不能避开的。一旦怪使用这些辅助状态，玩家就必定受影响。玩家唯一的办法就是有一项不在冷却状态的技能可以让自己恢复。但当怪群一起使用相同的状态时，玩家的躲避技能救得了一时，但仍难免再次被击中。
玩家能做的就是等待，希望在自己被定格的几秒时间内不会被怪结果掉。当围绕怪物的防护辅助状态出现时，情况就更糟了。当怪物被防护时，它们有几秒钟的时间内不会受到任何伤害。当防护削弱后，玩家只有几秒钟的攻击时间，因为怪物的防护之后又会恢复。
如果怪物能快速移动且每一击能打掉玩家四分之一的血，还再给这种怪物免疫伤害的能力，这简直就是置玩家于无用的境地。无论玩家的水平多高，或玩家的角色有多强，当怪物在战斗中可以无敌几秒时，玩家总是处于致命的下风。
这些辅助状态抹煞了玩家的能力和控制，已经够糟了，但接下来要说的是解决难度的问题。
一旦玩家达到地狱模式，特殊怪、精英怪和BOO就会得到新技能。如果玩家与一种怪战斗超过5分钟，怪物就会变得愤怒。这意味着要么怪物的伤害输出会达到最大值，要么位于怪物附近的玩家会受到怪物的持续伤害，直到死亡（怪死或角色死）。对于BOSS，玩家只有死路一条，别无他法。
这个机制的问题是，它进一步破坏了技能自定义设置，而这个设置本来就很低。在地狱模式中，由于怪物的强化属性，大量技能和符文变得不实用了。怪物的愤怒计时器让玩家把角色朝着只会防御的方向培养，因为即使他们可对怪物造成伤害，但怪物愤怒了，他们也难逃一死。这个机制再一次限制了技能和符文，迫使玩家专注于进攻。
first boss from act 1(from )
给BOSS战计时更是一个令人困惑的决定。因为它不令限制了选择，还惩罚了组队的玩家。队伍中的新人会增加BOSS的命值。如果你的朋友不够强，即使他不犯错，整个队伍也不可能在愤怒计时器开始以前杀死BOSS。
在最近论坛的贴子中，《暗黑3》的社区管理员说，《暗黑3》没有一个合适的结局，因为道具化不充分。我看出地狱模式的问题才用了不到两周的时间，这让我开始质疑暴雪的设计决定，难道用了几年的开发时间竟找不出这些缺陷吗？
让我真正担忧的是，设计师们并不像我想象的那么傻，他们原来的打算就是借此卖出更多道具。我真希望是自己想错了，毕竟《暗黑3》里还是有不少好东西的。但我越是玩这款游戏，发现的问题就越多；恕我直言，我看到的设计问题都是不该犯的错误。
《暗黑3》本可以轻松地排上2012年我最喜欢的游戏的第一名，但无数的问题把它的排名越拉越后。真是令人丧气，就好像看到名列前茅的网球运动员居然在锦标赛中被排名更低的选手淘汰出局了。你知道他们有能力，可因为某些原因就是没发挥好。（本文为游戏邦/编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）
Burning The Mother Down: The Failings Behind Diablo 3′s Inferno Mode
by Josh Bycer
Over the course of the last two weeks, I’ve easily spent 20 hours going through Diablo 3′s hardest difficulty setting: Inferno mode. As it currently stands I’m on act 3 stuck due to inadequate gear. Over those same two weeks, I’ve had a chance to examine Inferno mode and came to a realization: Blizzard screwed up.
Before we begin, this piece references my earlier thoughts on Diablo 3′s design and difficulty and if you haven’t read them yet, it will be a good idea so that everyone is on the same page:
Diablo 3 analysis
A look at Masochistic Difficulty
And if it’s not already made clear, this post and discussions can have spoilers in it.
The Only Way Out:
In my Diablo 3 analysis, I touched on the problems with the itemization that plagued the game from Normal to Hell Difficulty. Because characters only received direct bonuses from their primary stat and vitality, it limited the gear that each character could wear.
In the earlier difficulties, the level of the gear available goes up with each act, which makes the player start to see gear that is relatively better then ones before it. But, because of the importance of the stats, lower level gear could be better for specific characters if they have the right affixes of bonuses. That however gets thrown out the window once the player reaches inferno.
At the level cap (which is currently at 60), players will of course not receive any more levels, skills or runes and must rely on equipment to continue improving their character. But while the player is done improving, the level of gear available continues up for 4 more levels: 60-63. The difference in base stats between level 61 items to those below it is huge. This is where weapons’ Damage Per Second (or DPS) begins to reach into the high hundreds and armor that has the affix that gives resistance to all types of damage becomes easier to find.
A Basic level 59 Axe
Before, lower level gear could still be viable, but not anymore. A rare level 55 item will not be anywhere as good as a level 62 or up magic item. And the jump between level 60 to level 63 items is also a big deal, as level 63 weapons can have their DPS above one thousand. While the player can find level 60 to level 63 equipment, there is only one option to survive inferno mode: level 63 or bust.
This mechanic presents several major design flaws with Diablo 3. First is that it makes the already limited choices for finding good gear, even more restrictive. Because the player can’t improve their character any other way, they are at the mercy of the auction house and random number generator to have any hope of getting through inferno.
The even bigger problem is that the designers have destroyed the power curve behind item growth, which was one of the major attractions behind Diablo 2. In Diablo 2, loot was always scaling up, and the equipment you would find in one act, would be weaker than the ones in the next act. That meant that as a player, you would get more powerful the further you played.
But in Diablo 3, once someone reaches inferno mode, the loot available stops at level 63 and can be found in act one. The only difference between the acts is the chance that a higher level item will drop. Meaning that someone could easily find gear in Act 1, that would be used all the way into act 4.
Not only does this ruin the power curve, but it also affects the auction house as players are only going to buy level 63 items due to their innately higher base stats. What Blizzard should have done was tighten up the level curve to make only level 60 and up items drop in inferno and then add more item levels between each act. For example: act 1 would still have level 60-63 items available, but act 2 would have 60-64, act 3 have 60-65 and act 4 would carry 60-66.
This change would give players a higher chance of finding good gear and at the same time, motivate them to continue playing through the acts to improve their character. As it stands, you could just keep replaying Act 1 and eventually get the best loot in the game, which the game is designed around at this point.
A Basic level 63 Axe
The Enemy Affixes of Doom:
The next problem has to do with fighting special and elite enemies. In the earlier difficulty levels, players would have dealt with the various modifiers attached to special enemies. But with enemies that are naturally harder in inferno, which I talked about in my masochism difficulty post. And when you take those mechanics and add the higher enemy stats combined with the combination of modifiers pushes the game’s difficulty into cheap territory.
Several modifiers (Waller, vortex, and jailer) cannot be avoided by player skill. Once the enemy uses them, the player is going to be affected. The only option the player has is if they have a skill not on cool down that allows them to recover. But when an enemy group is using the same modifier, chances are the player will be hit by it again before their escape skill has finished recharging.
All the player can do then is just wait and hope that the enemy doesn’t finish them off during the several seconds of immobility. Things become worse when the modifiers around enemy shields appear. When an enemy is shielded they are immune to all damage for several seconds. After the shield goes down, players only have a few seconds to do damage before it comes back up.
When you have fast moving enemies who can do a quarter or more of the player’s health per hit, giving them immunity to damage is effectively an “I-Win Button”. Once again this gets back to removing the player’s skill from the equation. It doesn’t matter how skilled the player is, or what their character’s stats are, when the enemy can become invincible for several seconds constantly during a battle.
These modifiers that remove player skill and control are bad enough, but the next detail just seals the deal on the problems with difficulty.
Getting Enraged
Once the player reaches inferno: special, elite and boss enemies will have a new ability. If the player spends more than 5 minutes fighting one set of enemies, they will become enraged. What that means is that either the enemy’s damage output would go through the roof, or by being near the enemy the player will take constant damage until they die. For bosses, it meant that the player will be killed without any way to avoid it.
The problem with this mechanic is that it further destroys skill customization which was already at an all time low. Going into inferno, a lot of the skills and runes available lose their utility thanks to the increased attributes of the enemies. But with the enrage timer, it makes characters built towards defense obsolete, as even if they can take the damage, they’ll be killed once the timer goes off. This mechanic once again limits the skills and runes available and forces the player to focus on offense.
Act 1 Boss Fight
Having the timer for boss fights was an even more confusing decision. As not only does it limit choice, but it punishes players who team up with their friends. As each new person in the group, increases the health pool of the boss. If your friends aren’t strong enough, they can make the boss impossible to kill before the timer goes off by no fault of their own.
In a recent forum post, Diablo 3′s community manager said that Diablo 3 doesn’t have a proper end game and that the itemization is not enough at this point. Without sounding too smug all I can say is “duh.” It took me less than 2 weeks to see the problems with inferno mode and I’m starting to question the design decisions at Blizzard for them not to see these issues after working on the game for years.
The part that has me really worried is that maybe the designers aren’t as foolish as I think they are, and instead planned this as an excuse to sell more expansions. I really hope that I’m wrong on this point as there are a lot of good things in Diablo 3. But the further I played the more problems and quite frankly, stupid mistakes I see with the design.
Diablo 3 could have easily been at the top of my best games of 2012 list, but as it stands the numerous problems are dragging it further and further down. It’s baffling, like watching a high rank Tennis player, lose in the early rounds of a tournament against a lower ranked player. You know they have the skills, but for some reason they just can’t get it together.()
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