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Just something that's been on my mind. Sometimes I see people compare the D3 Monk to the D2 Assassin for some reason I don't understand. I can't find any obvious connection between the two at all. I mean, both aesthetically and gameplay wise they are very different to me. To me, the Monk seems more like a Paladin while the Demon Hunter resembles the Assassin much more. idk. It almost annoys me when people compare the two. Almost. But not yet. But almost.
The DH and Monk both take ideas from the Assassin. But wait for it... the Monk also takes ideas from the Paladin!!
The DH uses the Assassins traps. The Monk uses the Assassins martial arts (although greatly improved and changed, as we all know) and claw weapons. The Monk takes the holy vibe from the Paladin. It's not surprising that people relate the Monk to the Assassin more than the Paladin, considering the more specific similarities.|||I hardly consider her kicking and charge skills martial arts. Yeah she can kick but that's about all she does that seems "martial artsy." Besides, the monks combo skills work much differently than assassin charge up skills. The assassins charge skills are single melee attacks that tally up a counter up until she uses another melee attack which causes different effects depending on how many charges she had. The monks combos are a series of special attacks done in succession, and all in one skill.
The assassin character was much more focused on shadow skills and traps which makes the DH a much better comparison than the monk. The ties to the monk from the assassin are still very loose imo. Oh yes they both use claws! cool.|||
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I hardly consider her kicking and charge skills martial arts. Yeah she can kick but that's about all she does that seems "martial artsy." Besides, the monks combo skills work much differently than assassin charge up skills. The assassins charge skills are single melee attacks that tally up a counter up until she uses another melee attack which causes different effects depending on how many charges she had. The monks combos are a series of special attacks done in succession, and all in one skill.
The assassin character was much more focused on shadow skills and traps which makes the DH a much better comparison than the monk. The ties to the monk from the assassin are still very loose imo. Oh yes they both use claws! cool.
Whether they seem 'martial artsy' or not, one of the Assassin's skill trees is called 'Martial Arts'. The Monk's combo skills ARE an improvement on the Assassin's martial arts - they're based upon the same concept whether they're mechanically the same or not, the developers have said that.
I'll admit the Assassin's shadow skills relate to the DH a lot, so what do we have now? The DH takes 2 ideas from the Assassin (shadow & traps), and the Monk also takes 2 ideas from the Assassin (claws & martial arts). Try to accept and understand why people would relate the two classes, just like you relate the Assassin and DH.
I think the problem comes from the fact that the 'shadowiness' and aesthetics are far more apparent when looking than the other borrowed attributes, so you immediately relate the DH and Assassin (which is perfectly fair) but don't accept the relation between the Monk and Assassin.|||Yep. Like others have pointed out, the D3 Monk pulls from the D2 Assassin and D2 Paladin, and the D3 Demon Hunter pulls from the D2 Assassin and D2 Amazon.
I think the idea of mixing traps with a bow user was a really good idea, and even long ago was an advocate of a "ranger" of sorts that did just that. I am pleased that the D3 Devs decided to instead paint that archetype with the darker-themed DH, as it fits well into the Gothic horror vibe that is part of the Diablo series.
I am also really excited about the improved martial arts combo system that the Monk has inherited. My experiences playing with the D2 Assassin were pretty lackluster, and from what I have seen on the development of the Monk, I have high hopes (despite him looking rather underpowered in the latest gameplay videos snippets).
It does make me curious as to what the D3 expansion classes are going to be like. Clearly, they could revisit the shapeshifting archetype, as so far the only shapeshifting seen in D3 (Wizard's Archon, Barbarian's Wrath of the Berserker, and some sort of wing-thing on the DH) have not been a focus of the classes. I'm kinda hoping for something a little more creative than rehashing the D2 Druid and improving upon him.|||I dunno, I wonder how well a true shapeshifter fits into the 6 skill limit paradigm. If you're in a shape form (wolf, bear, whatever), how restricted are your skill choices? Bears/wolves were pretty limited in their choices. They only had a few skills that they were allowed to use. On the other hand, if you let a shapeshifter use any skill in any form, what are the forms but glorified buffs? Add in the art constraints (either you always look like the same bear/wolf, or the art team has to do a ton of work to put helmets/pants on a bear), and it's a lot of extra work for some slight aesthetic tweaks.
That being said, I would like to see a shapeshifting class, w/ some caveats.
-You can use any skill in a form, but the function changes depending on the form, especially for the damage skills. W/ runes, this means this class has orders of magnitudes more skills on hand than other classes, especially if the function changes are pretty extreme.
-You get some sort of temporary buff/effect when you change forms (into or out of a form, switching forms, etc). This temporary buff/effect is on cooldown. This gives players an incentive to shift forms more often.
-Forms should show some armor/weapon artwork. This is a lot of extra work for the art team, of course, but great things take extra work.
Points one and three make it out like this could be some sort of "super class," a class w/ tons of extra skill options/art assets that aren't available to other classes. But, what's more important, class "fairness" (not balance), or a shapeshifting class done right?|||
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-You get some sort of temporary buff/effect when you change forms (into or out of a form, switching forms, etc). This temporary buff/effect is on cooldown. This gives players an incentive to shift forms more often.
This reminds me of the Monk's auras, and I think is the best option. I agree that it would be a shame to waste the art for all the characters gear if it gets omitted when they transform like the d2 Druid though.|||
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This reminds me of the Monk's auras, and I think is the best option. I agree that it would be a shame to waste the art for all the characters gear if it gets omitted when they transform like the d2 Druid though.
Yeah, I'm not impressed by the changes to Monk auras. Temp buffs make them glorified barb shouts, we already have barb shouts. I thought the system they were working on before (permanent auras, but there are temporary "pops" when you activate or deactivate the aura) was the way to go.
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