Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls released earlier today, and I couldn’t help but fall into its unwavering grasp. I happened to enjoy Diablo 3 at launch, particularly because I saw the potential it had. Well, Reaper of Souls and patch 2.0 have looked to make something more of that potential. Below are my thoughts after completing Act 5:
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The design of the new gear is great. I found that my Wizard looked a lot cooler as early as 62 than I ever did at 60.
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The Wizard’s new skill, Black Hole, is a blast to use. Two of the runes in particular should be popular in early Reaper of Souls builds.
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Having a fourth passive slot is SWEET.
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I have had zero, yes zero, server issues since launch hour. Blizzard appears to have been prepared for the demand.
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Unlike the original Diablo 3, boss battles are much more frequent. I feel as if I’m fighting a Rare, Elite, or boss every minute or two.
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The score and visuals give the game a great gothic feel. Previously, Act 1 was my favorite chapter in terms of atmosphere and I actually prefer Act 5.
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Enemy design is varied and provides a challenge. You won’t be playing on Torment 1 or higher until you get some proper gear.
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The environments of Act 5 are meticulously detailed. The environment feels alive.
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While the early parts and final moments of Act 5 are great, it doesn’t execute as well toward the middle.
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I’ve managed to find five legendaries so far, one of which was a weapon that was a huge upgrade for me. (shown in the image above).
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The final boss is no slouch. On Master difficulty it took my group four solid tries to down him.
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The new Mystic artisan has a lot of interesting new offerings. Transmogrify is an obvious crowd-pleaser, while enchanting is something that will mix the loot grind up a little bit.
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Yay, the Auction House is gone! Now I actually bother to look at each item that drops.
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Adventure Mode is even better than I expected. It gets rid of the linear play style we’ve become accustomed to in Campaign Mode.
To sum things up, Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls has been fantastic so far. Although I’ve completed Act 5, I want to spend a lot of time with the Crusader, Adventure Mode, and hit level 70 on my Wizard before writing a full review. Look out for the final verdict later this week.
