Using a different designation, I’ve been writing about my favorite games for years, and long time readers will notate that there are a few titles I always end up coming back to. Many of them tend to be “session-based,” which is a term I use to describe games you can play in small time frames. Lobby shooters, MOBAs, Action-RPGs, even some MMOs can be designated this way, due to the nature of being able to jump in, play a game and jump out (or make some overall progress). However, not all of the games I play really fall under this category, but I still return to them time and again.

Void, proprietor of A Green Mushroom, and I had a discussion on Twitter before this whole Blaugust thing kicked off.

@mevsmyselfandi Games that you can always go back to and play. It’s a game that’s not just a one off playthrough for you.

— Void (@grnmushroom) July 30, 2015

I have to give credit where it’s due, and since he’s also made it a writing prompt for Blaugust, I figured I could write about one of my evergreen games. Obvious choices would have been League of Legends and Everquest II, as I’ve written more posts about those two games than any others. Due to the fact that I have written so much about them inspired me to look through other titles, and the next most frequently mentioned game is definitely Diablo III.

It’s still a little while off, but the next patch has me excited. I can’t wait to collect Kanai’s Cube and get some new buffs from my legendary gear. I can’t wait to check out the new zone. Shortly after 2.3 drops, season four will be starting up, and there’s actually been some new information revealed about some of the rewards that will be available with that. Another new feature, the “season journey interface” sounds like it will give you some focus as to what you can work on during a new season, and I like the idea of there being new rewards each time. It gives you a reason to come back to the game every few months, or play solidly if you’re a dedicated player. I know D3 is feeling more and more like and MMO-lite at this point, and definitely holds my interest better than some full blown MMOs have. But this isn’t the first time I’ve talked about how it’s similar or could influence the MMO world.

In case you haven’t played a seasonal character before, or have questions on what happens with your seasonal progress once the season ends, there’s a great write up that breaks things down for you over here. I was actually wondering what happened with seasonal paragon levels, as this was the first time I had a character make it to max level and earn any paragon levels during a season. It was assumed that the paragon level would stick on the seasonal end of things, and carry over between seasons, but the paragon xp is actually transferred back to the non-seasonal side of things. So if you had a seasonal normal or seasonal hardcore class, at season’s end paragon levels earned will transfer to non-seasonal normal or hardcore characters. So the few paragon levels I earned on my S3 Hardcore Witch Doctor will tally up with the paragon levels I earned on my Hardcore Monk and affect the entire account. Currently I have three level 70 characters:

The Normal level 70 Wizard has 25 paragon levels, and last I played him I was very comfortable at Torment I difficulty, but I haven’t braved anything beyond that. I also stopped playing normal mode, as the added difficulty of Hardcore mode is more fun. That, and Eri wouldn’t stop badgering me about being a wuss. I’ve had several Hardcore characters that have died along the way, but I did manage to get a Monk to level 70, and he has 5 paragon levels, also sitting in Torment I. My season 3 Witch Doctor is 70 with 9 paragon levels and is on the same difficulty level. Finally, I have a Hardcore Demon Hunter that is level 40, but gets the added benefit of paragon levels. I’m sort of thinking about leveling him to 70 before this season ends, so then I can level a Crusader to 70 during season 4. Then I just need to make a new Wizard in Hardcore, or try to level a Barbarian. I’ve not been fond of the latter though, despite giving it a shot a few times. Perhaps I’ll save the Barb for season 5 leveling. I know I want to actually try and play more of the end game, because I’ve not seen a greater rift, a legendary gem, or the highest torment difficulty and I really want to. So this might be making it back onto the To-Do list sooner than later.

Either way, it’s apparent that Diablo III has been an evergreen game for me, as I’ve played it fervently for short bursts on several occasions over the past year and a half.

Edit: Forgot to do a Daily Nuclear Throne run until after the 11th ended, so instead of the run being a day ahead, you’re getting it on the actual day (i.e. I missed a daily in there. Oh well, still planning to keep this up for a while). I failed hard on this one, so it’s shorter than the previous run.

Edit again: turns out that the daily runs reset at 5 pm my time, so that was still technically a run for the 11th, so I’m going to rename the file and run with my original “play it a day behind the post date it’s posted on” scheme.

#diablo3 #blizzard #endgame #seasonal