Infinite stack potions, and suggested potion changes

[Winter Dragon]

@gasconron

Concerning flaming, you should leave this thread alone if you have those sort of intentions. I didn't come here for that and I'm sure you didn't either.

@everyone else

I stopped buying potions from merchants in Delphi two days ago and decided potions would only be used in combat against bosses, otherwise I would only use them outside of combat to top up my health.

I never intended to rain on anyone's parade here with my suggestions, it just seems to me combat is more fun and interesting if you don't use health potions all the time. I used to stand in pools of acid and fire and not even move hacking and slashing away in a zombie-like fashion with little regard for my abilities or any strategy on how to fight the monsters.

I just think it's a shame combat could get to that point where you don't really care much because in six seconds another health potion will save you. I'm sure not all players think or play like this but it's an easy habit to get into and a hard one to break out of. That's why I posted the thread and if you think the idea sucks, cool, no problem. But don't tell me one or two people represent the bigger majority of the community because that's not the case at all. (Final Edit - missed a comma.)

[SteeK]

Just thought I'd get my 2 bits in before the fight breaks out.

a) No. If a game is to open up to all audiences, then you have to have pots available. Not everyone is going to find it as easy. What class are you playing anyway? When I played (overly-heroic) Warrior, pots were my best friend. I often had to port back to buy more.

b) Yeah, maybe. As Asylum said, why do they carry them and not use them? Thing is though, you'll just take that item you got and sell it off for pots anyway.

c) Not really. This is an inconvenience to the player. First time I played Typhon melee, I burned through all my pots and then had to go get more. He gets all his health back if you do this, but I wasn't going to do it otherwise. If I had to buy them back over a matter of days, I'd have just got cheesed off with the game.

d) Can't agree here either. This picks on the melee guys who need pots. I have a Summoner who walks around with 10 pots and never really uses them. On the other hand, my Assassin has 50 and on some boss fights will need a lot of them. Ranged toons can avoid damage, melee toon need to be able to take it.
I guess it could be made strength dependent so those that need pots can, in theory, carry more.

e) Yeah, this could work. I've had times even at 6 seconds though when I can't drink fast enough. Running away hitting the potion button in hope that it pops a cork before you pop your cloggs. Having an attack delay, or animation, so you have to think about the worth of drinking potions holds more value. This would really allow a healer to come into their own in mutilplayer.

I think you've jumped in a bit early with an idea to mod the game, having found it too easy over the first 1/4 (and you're not even that far through it yet). Though you can die in Greece if you try to do too much, too early, Egypt is a breeze and it'll be late act III before it's a challenge again.
Play on, and see if you still feel the same after you've done it on all difficulties.

[ShadowDweller]

My only answer to OP is:
NO WAY. The whole idea is similar to allowing open-carrying weapons and explosives into airplanes and such.

I'd leave all as it is now. Period.

[Rifter]

Consider also that the overall goal of the balance patch is to make TQ a harder game yes?

With whatever changes they implement down the road, potions might be fine as they are with the overall increased difficulty, who knows?

That said this issue is largely based on playstyle. Most TQ vets know enough about the builds/classes and the need to farm gear for higher difficulties which drastically reduces the need for pots, if not almost entirely. Noobs usually don't know these things.

As far as the list of mods somebody mentioned. You're going to have to face that the modders simply can't balance the patch around vanilla, mod x, y, and z at the same time. The patch comes out and either you can still play them no problem or you have to tone it down a little.

[Winter Dragon]

Update 01.10.09 (Re-written as no one has responded yet)

After finishing orient on my Prophet (0% resistances) and doing likewise with my Battlemage (59% pierce, 37% lightning, 23% cold, 19% poison, 50% stun) it made me rethink some of my arguments. I don't think there was any contention in my argument that Acts I and II were easy, but from the Great wall onward I certainly noticed the difficulty increase.

So here it is; I'm suggesting if you increase the cooldown on healing potions you also increase the duration of their effects. Instead of spiking damage where you take massive hits, drink to restore massive amounts of lost health, the longer but slightly weaker duration would theoretically buffer your health and give you longer sustainability.

I'm not going to argue this to death, that's my last attempt.