One of Bashiok's most recent posts sheds some light on the PvP of Diablo III. And no, it's not about Blizzard changing their stand on pushing arenas as eSport.
The post comes as response to a twitter question about if there will be some kind of duel system before the arena system is launched. After Bashiok gives a negative on that, he proceeds to talk about the PvP ladders and league (or the lack thereof) and the problem with custom games.
The person was specifically asking if we could implement duels so they have something to do before the PvP patch arrives. And so I said ‘no plans for duels’, which out of context is quite misleading. What I should have said was ‘no plans for any PvP before the PvP patch’.
We’re open to the idea of custom PvP matches, which would allow for duels in the arenas. There are a lot of decisions before we can get there, but on the design philosophy front we don’t have anything against practice duels or other custom matches (1v4?), as long as they can’t be used for progression. It’ll just come down to implementation and what we’re able to pull off in a timely manner.
…While we’re talking about PvP it’s probably worth reminding everyone that what we’re targeting is a very loose and ‘for fun’ system. Imagine clicking a button, being matched up against another team of equal skill and gear, and win or lose you move forward (although faster if you win) on a personal progression system that gives you some cosmetic recognition as you go. There won’t be ladders or leagues, we have no intent to expose team ratings, and very likely nothing besides a win/loss record to track performance etc. etc. etc. Anyone who has tried it at BlizzCon knows the PvP in Diablo III is a blast, but I’ve seen some people start to get ideas that it’s going to be an eSport, and that’s just not something we’re targeting – for the sake of our goals in the single player/co-op experience.
It’s one reason custom matches can make some people nervous, because it means players can start setting up their own games in attempts to create a more competitive system. Or just complaining their 1v1 duels aren’t balanced. When that happens people start demanding the sacrifice of PvE, “I need more mobility/stuns/dps”, separate systems with different abilities, and on and on. I think if there were one good argument against duels and custom games, it would be the players themselves.
There won’t be any PvP in Diablo 3 at launch.
We’re open to the idea of custom PvP matches, which would allow for duels in the arenas. There are a lot of decisions before we can get there, but on the design philosophy front we don’t have anything against practice duels or other custom matches (1v4?), as long as they can’t be used for progression. It’ll just come down to implementation and what we’re able to pull off in a timely manner.
…While we’re talking about PvP it’s probably worth reminding everyone that what we’re targeting is a very loose and ‘for fun’ system. Imagine clicking a button, being matched up against another team of equal skill and gear, and win or lose you move forward (although faster if you win) on a personal progression system that gives you some cosmetic recognition as you go. There won’t be ladders or leagues, we have no intent to expose team ratings, and very likely nothing besides a win/loss record to track performance etc. etc. etc. Anyone who has tried it at BlizzCon knows the PvP in Diablo III is a blast, but I’ve seen some people start to get ideas that it’s going to be an eSport, and that’s just not something we’re targeting – for the sake of our goals in the single player/co-op experience.
It’s one reason custom matches can make some people nervous, because it means players can start setting up their own games in attempts to create a more competitive system. Or just complaining their 1v1 duels aren’t balanced. When that happens people start demanding the sacrifice of PvE, “I need more mobility/stuns/dps”, separate systems with different abilities, and on and on. I think if there were one good argument against duels and custom games, it would be the players themselves.
There won’t be any PvP in Diablo 3 at launch.
Do you approve of this approach to PvP? Do you agree with Bashiok's vision of Diablo III custom PvP games? Post us a comment!
