If you’re unaware of how item drops in Diablo 3 work, players essentially have their own “instance” where only they can pick up the weapons, armor and gold that appear on screen. This is seen as a positive change from the clickfest (or bots) players had to contend with in Diablo 2 and will resolve any item disputes that might arise between players. Having individual item drops in Diablo 3 is one change almost everybody is happy to see.
In news that is sure to have MF players letting out a huge groan, Magic Find, Gold Find and Experience Bonus have been changed to become an averaged stat whilst in a party. This means that even if a player has a high MF%, they will not fully benefit from their high MF% unless grouped with other high MF% players.
Why the change? According to Wuluxar from the EU Bnet forums, this is the (translated) reason:
Our developers have decided that bonuses + Magic Find, Gold Find + and + XP but will work differently for groups of players. These bonuses will be equal for each character in the group and subsidiaries sum bonuses for all players.
The group consists of four players. In total, their stats are 50% MF, +20% GF and 10% XP, each of these players will have a 12.5% ??MF, 5% and 2.5% GF XP being in such a group.
Playing with a companion, available for rent, as at present receive 20% bonus to the statistics of type ‘adventure’ with a bonus companion visible on the panel.
Diablo 3 has seen a lot of design changes in recent months. These changes have lead many gamers to accuse Blizzard of appealing to casuals while forgetting their loyal fan base – and this change arguably strengthens their argument. Should casual players with a low MF% benefit from players with high MF or will the hardcore players avoid this issue by selectively grouping with people who share a similar level of MF.
Some will argue that those who stack MF won’t be able to compete in Inferno but there will be players who can go heavy MF and make up for their lack of dps with a better understanding of builds and skill. Is this a bad change or simply another example of Diablo 2 players unable to adjust to change? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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As an avid D2 fan and HC Ladder player, these changes will take some adjusting and open-mindedness to get used to. After all, we were proud of our MF builds! Sometimes the gear took months of grinding and crafting in the old Horadric Cube to acquire. I know my old MF sorc (which got TPTKed by some f*** in a HC Hell Cows run!) was a testament to my hours upon hours of gear hunting to farm Hell Meph/Baal for all the leet goodies.
But LBH, change is as good as a holiday, and I think people need to stop dumping on D3 and the changes Blizzard are trying to make. I don’t think this stuff will make a difference. The serious, HC fans will tend to play with other serious, HC fans and therefore average MF stats in MF like-minded parties will be similar – negating the effect. Also, it will help uber MF characters to rush their friends and maybe grab a few nice normal level Legendaries.
I say bring it on Blizzard!
I agree with Shane. If you have a MF build and want to do some runs you’re not going to go into a party that will bring your average down significantly. This change might even help parties in Inferno – you could have one party member that is all MF gear while the rest take out enemies.
It will take some getting used to but hopefully it will be a positive change.