I’m going to try something different while I’m writing this. At various intervals I’ll alt tab over to the beta and check my RMAH balance. I’ve got 50 active auctions and I love seeing those blizzard $’s increasing. Every now and then in this post I’ll upload an image of my balance to (hopefully) show you how fast the dollars can come in (at times). We’re beginning with a balance of $191.05:
I want to share what I’ve learned so far about levelling in the Diablo III beta (Act I – Skeleton King). Blizzard have designed two approaches to the levelling process: Solo and cooperative play. I’ve tried both. I’ve levelled each of the 5 classes to level 10 in this patch (Diablo III Beta Patch 7). In doing so I tried different approaches for each one. What I find most interesting is the time each class has been played (to reach level 10). Here’s an amalgamated screen shot:
As you can see there’s quite a difference. The Barbarian was levelled solo 0-10; the Witchdoctor in a group 0-10. Those are the two limits on each side of the range of levelling times: the Witchdoctor was by far the fastest; the Barbarian the slowest. The Demon Hunter was levelled exactly the same way as the Witchdoctor (group only) but the group or class performed a bit slower (only by ~15 minutes). The Monk and Wizard fall in between the solo only and group only camps. They were levelled with a healthy mix. Overall, the more multiplayer action I indulged in the less time I spent levelling a class to level 10.
Initially it looks like multiplayer is by far the best way to level right? Well I’m not sure it will be as simple a decision as that. We can’t forget that even if your aim is to make some money from Diablo, you have to play it in the way that makes it fun for you. Farming, power levelling, grinding corridor upon corridor of monsters with a group that doesn’t pause to chat or socialise or for you to get a coffee may take the fun entirely out of the experience.
No change yet, 20 minutes have passed.
Is that really the sum total of my group experiences though? Well, no. I’ve chatted to other players who’re starry eyed and so, so happy to be in the Beta – I love that kind of playing partner. We explore (even if it’s not our first time through the Act) and let rip with our skills (A Wizard, Monk and Witchdoctor firing off the mixture of spells available to them when surrounded by a big group of mobs is something really special to witness 
) and have a blast. It’s more fun than playing alone. I think this is a taste of what it will be like playing with friends which is of course entirely different than playing in a group with random players.
Have I had bad random player groups? Yes. Not anyone rude, yet (you can wager you’ll find them when the game launches) but there is a whiff of a particular World of Warcraft experience (Wrath of the Lich King Heroics) in some of the beta groups I’ve been in. At least one player has a tendency to bomb through to the end boss, ignore optional content (including buckets of mobs) and recall out/quit. The actions of this one character will pull the rest of the group along after him. He/she will generally also ask you to ‘hurry’ in chat too. If you’re lucky. More often it’s like playing with a bot.
This reveals more about my preferences though than the mechanics. Let’s set this aside and ask: Is there a difference in the mechanics between solo and group play? Well I’ve some answers for you in this regard. Have a look at this edited screenshot:
Notice the correlation between the fastest characters to level 10 above and the number of monsters killed? That’s easily explained. There’s no difference in mob numbers with 1, 2, 3 or 4 players so the mobs/kills are split between all. Why would there be less mobs with more players? Everything is easier with more players. There should be more mobs. This is true, but the mobs themselves have more hp and do more damage.
Around 37 minutes into the post - some sales have been made!
This isn’t the only reason the numbers differ. Some groups will skip up to 50% (more if they get lucky and find the next level faster) of the dungeon. They want the end boss fight ASAP. If you’re a conscientious explorer (like me) you can get left behind. This means you may miss items where the group moves ahead; you can get killed far easier when alone (especially with 4 player difficulty) putting you further behind; you may even have to choose between collecting items or killing a rare mob and beginning a scripted event that someone has triggered in another level of the dungeon (you’ll have 1 minute to finish up, loot or decide to give up and be ported to wherever the group is).
Again, I’m getting a bit anecdotal. How has Blizzard designed group play to differ from solo play?
So in theory multiplayer is designed to make you more efficient. To get you more loot. In practise though, I’m not seeing this just yet. The random element to each Diablo III map with a new playthrough means going the ‘quickest way’ could mean skipping up to 3 rares (I’ve encountered this many elites in The Weeping Hollow alone at one time) and their loot. But hey, doing the end boss faster means you can do it again right?
Bashiok (bless his socks) also reminds us that the difficulty in the beta is ‘normal’ only (this thread is basically a lot of individuals expressing concern about group play in the beta):
From Blizzard’s perspective, the body of Diablo has always been a single player game where you systematically improve your gear slashing through thousands of monsters. But at it’s heart Blizzard sees Diablo as being about challenge, raising the difficulty level and doing some crazy shit with good friends.
So, after this lengthy post, what have we who are interested in profit in Diablo 3 learned about levelling? To sum up:
- Multiplayer seems to be a faster way to level;
- Multiplayer is not necessarily the most profitable way to level;
- Points 1&2 apply to the only difficulty we can test currently (normal);
- With higher difficulty levels, multiplayer will become desirable and on the highest difficulty levels (best loot so long as it can be sold), necessary;
- Playing as a group and playing with friends are difficult to compare.
The sale of some gold brings me some more Blizz $
When I started writing and editing this article an hour and a half ago, I was on Blizz$191.05. So I’ve made 41.08 blizzard dollars. That’s about $27.39/hour for that time period. It’s sporadic but then sales are. It’s also such a rush!
Ray
