Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Review
28 March 2014 | By Simon Priest
Death stalks the land, but so does the new Smart Loot
The Reaper of Souls expansion has heralded much change in the Diablo III landscape and before it even arrived it swung its scythe at the old ways of loot drops, gear stats and even plunged the auction house into oblivion. It was no quiet entrance to be sure, as already it had a profound effect before actually delivering anything exclusively tied to it.
Blizzard introduces a new villain with Reaper of Souls as Act V includes the area of West March, which until now had only be referenced through ambient ramblings from dusty journals and the occasional backstory jibber-jabber from two of the companions. Malthael has returned and seized the opportunity to conclude the Eternal Conflict once and for all; it’s just that Sanctuary is kind of in the way. Tyrael enlists our aid along with the new beginnings of the Harodrim.
The new zones in Act V are a welcome break from everything we’ve been through in Diablo III. West March itself is full of crowded streets that hide small courtyards and winding paths in a darker palette reminiscent of Diablo II. It’s then followed by the sharply contrasting Blood Marsh, which is a festering swamp littered with boggart ambushes and traps that fling you around. It’s also plagued with health draining swamp water. All the new zones hide a lot more nooks and crannies to be discovered, and they include a few mini-dungeons usually featuring a special event. In fact Reaper of Souls feels as if it includes more events than the entire original Diablo III campaign; the maps are certainly much larger.
With the new Loot 2.0 system and Smart Loot – all those item drops are now far better on average, with a whooping great decline in the number of trips needed back to town. There had been an enormous improvement before the expansion but with the amount of chests, armour and weapon stands dotted through Act V’s zones, it’s a paradise of riches. There are still a significant number of duds cluttering inventory space but overall Diablo III has been given a new lease of life. With the closure of the auction house it’s actually become thrilling again to run through entire zones just to hunt those elusive legendaries and artisan plans.
While these new loot improvements aren’t dependent on Reaper of Souls, the new artisan Myriam Jahzia does offer some powerful new options. The stat changes with Enchanting and the appearance altering Transmogrification are welcomed additions, particularly the former. We’ve all gotten a piece of gear that was almost perfect but just happened to have a single rubbish stat. Now with Enchanting we can select to randomly replace it, providing we have the required artisan level and materials. We can only change one stat and it then becomes account bound. Transmogrification is only for aesthetics but shouldn’t be dismissed – there are some really ugly items out there.
For those who invest their time digging into the backstories of the artisans and companions you’ll also be pleasantly surprised to discover Blizzard let us wrap up their various unfinished business, including a certain jewel someone has been hunting for, and what about Lynden’s brother? These are nice little touches but also provide mini-bosses to keep things interesting.
Arguably the greatest addition with Reaper of Souls is the introduction of the Adventure Mode, which does away with the constraints of the campaign story and lets us explore any zone at any time. Instead we have bounties to collect which involves killing champions camped out in each area. All areas in the game are suddenly populated with a lot more enemies making each as dangerous as the next. As we collect on these bounties we earn a new currency called Blood Shards which can be spent on random items with a new merchant. Each Act cleared also rewards us with a Horadrim chest that contains random rewards.
There are also Nephalem Rifts to be opened which takes us to specially generated scenarios meant to challenge our skills and reward them handsomely if we succeed. Rifts pick a level at random and then fills it with minions, but these can randomised again if we go down another level. We fill a bar by slaying demons that then spawns the boss fight, which could be anything from Diablo III’s catalogue of baddies including major bosses.
Truthfully Adventure Mode looks set to ‘replace’ the main campaign as the main stay for solo and group runs for new gear, or even to level new characters. The removal of travel restrictions and the fact all enemies scale to your level, with ample loot in chests and in drops, begs the question: why would you need to replay the entire campaign again for the millionth time? It’s perhaps for the best as we’ve all got areas we’d prefer not to have to go through again just to progress to somewhere else we’d rather be. It keeps the excitement flowing without breaks for chats with Leah and co.
The Crusader enters the fray as the tank-like hero in case the Barbarian just wasn’t enough when it comes to soaking up raw damage to the face. They’re incredibly reminiscent of Diablo II’s Paladin class and why not? It was a very popular choice that birthed the ‘Hammerdin’ build, and there are plenty of nods to the Crusader’s origins. Blizzard do go several striding steps further of course, and try to give them an air of uniqueness apart from the Paladin as, after all, they’re a Nephalem.
As villains go, Malthael was a rather underwhelming adversary. Perhaps it was because we’ve not been given long enough to form some love-hate relationship with him but he just failed to come across with much personality. There is one boss – which I won’t name – that would have been a far better choice as the lead antagonist frankly, as we already had a significant relationship with them. It felt like a wasted opportunity to really build to a satisfying conclusion, particularly with all that went down through Act I to IV.
While the primary motivation through Act V may have been a little weak, the environments and their outlandish designs are in no shortage of supply when it comes to giving Act V character, and it’s all backed by some incredibly powerful musical scores.
It may not be a ‘moment’ but Adventure Mode is the new standard for my Diablo III loot runs, with Nephalem Rifts adding enough crazy to keep it from going stale.
Blizzard introduces a new villain with Reaper of Souls as Act V includes the area of West March, which until now had only be referenced through ambient ramblings from dusty journals and the occasional backstory jibber-jabber from two of the companions. Malthael has returned and seized the opportunity to conclude the Eternal Conflict once and for all; it’s just that Sanctuary is kind of in the way. Tyrael enlists our aid along with the new beginnings of the Harodrim.
 |
| You’ve the world of Sanctuary at your feet. Now bloody it |
The new zones in Act V are a welcome break from everything we’ve been through in Diablo III. West March itself is full of crowded streets that hide small courtyards and winding paths in a darker palette reminiscent of Diablo II. It’s then followed by the sharply contrasting Blood Marsh, which is a festering swamp littered with boggart ambushes and traps that fling you around. It’s also plagued with health draining swamp water. All the new zones hide a lot more nooks and crannies to be discovered, and they include a few mini-dungeons usually featuring a special event. In fact Reaper of Souls feels as if it includes more events than the entire original Diablo III campaign; the maps are certainly much larger.
With the new Loot 2.0 system and Smart Loot – all those item drops are now far better on average, with a whooping great decline in the number of trips needed back to town. There had been an enormous improvement before the expansion but with the amount of chests, armour and weapon stands dotted through Act V’s zones, it’s a paradise of riches. There are still a significant number of duds cluttering inventory space but overall Diablo III has been given a new lease of life. With the closure of the auction house it’s actually become thrilling again to run through entire zones just to hunt those elusive legendaries and artisan plans.
While these new loot improvements aren’t dependent on Reaper of Souls, the new artisan Myriam Jahzia does offer some powerful new options. The stat changes with Enchanting and the appearance altering Transmogrification are welcomed additions, particularly the former. We’ve all gotten a piece of gear that was almost perfect but just happened to have a single rubbish stat. Now with Enchanting we can select to randomly replace it, providing we have the required artisan level and materials. We can only change one stat and it then becomes account bound. Transmogrification is only for aesthetics but shouldn’t be dismissed – there are some really ugly items out there.
For those who invest their time digging into the backstories of the artisans and companions you’ll also be pleasantly surprised to discover Blizzard let us wrap up their various unfinished business, including a certain jewel someone has been hunting for, and what about Lynden’s brother? These are nice little touches but also provide mini-bosses to keep things interesting.
Arguably the greatest addition with Reaper of Souls is the introduction of the Adventure Mode, which does away with the constraints of the campaign story and lets us explore any zone at any time. Instead we have bounties to collect which involves killing champions camped out in each area. All areas in the game are suddenly populated with a lot more enemies making each as dangerous as the next. As we collect on these bounties we earn a new currency called Blood Shards which can be spent on random items with a new merchant. Each Act cleared also rewards us with a Horadrim chest that contains random rewards.
 |
| Can you put a price on the perfect stat? Myriam can and will |
There are also Nephalem Rifts to be opened which takes us to specially generated scenarios meant to challenge our skills and reward them handsomely if we succeed. Rifts pick a level at random and then fills it with minions, but these can randomised again if we go down another level. We fill a bar by slaying demons that then spawns the boss fight, which could be anything from Diablo III’s catalogue of baddies including major bosses.
Truthfully Adventure Mode looks set to ‘replace’ the main campaign as the main stay for solo and group runs for new gear, or even to level new characters. The removal of travel restrictions and the fact all enemies scale to your level, with ample loot in chests and in drops, begs the question: why would you need to replay the entire campaign again for the millionth time? It’s perhaps for the best as we’ve all got areas we’d prefer not to have to go through again just to progress to somewhere else we’d rather be. It keeps the excitement flowing without breaks for chats with Leah and co.
The Crusader enters the fray as the tank-like hero in case the Barbarian just wasn’t enough when it comes to soaking up raw damage to the face. They’re incredibly reminiscent of Diablo II’s Paladin class and why not? It was a very popular choice that birthed the ‘Hammerdin’ build, and there are plenty of nods to the Crusader’s origins. Blizzard do go several striding steps further of course, and try to give them an air of uniqueness apart from the Paladin as, after all, they’re a Nephalem.
As villains go, Malthael was a rather underwhelming adversary. Perhaps it was because we’ve not been given long enough to form some love-hate relationship with him but he just failed to come across with much personality. There is one boss – which I won’t name – that would have been a far better choice as the lead antagonist frankly, as we already had a significant relationship with them. It felt like a wasted opportunity to really build to a satisfying conclusion, particularly with all that went down through Act I to IV.
 |
| Bounties in Adventure Mode earn your fare for Nephalem Rifts |
While the primary motivation through Act V may have been a little weak, the environments and their outlandish designs are in no shortage of supply when it comes to giving Act V character, and it’s all backed by some incredibly powerful musical scores.
It may not be a ‘moment’ but Adventure Mode is the new standard for my Diablo III loot runs, with Nephalem Rifts adding enough crazy to keep it from going stale.
DIABLO III: REAPER OF SOULS VERDICT
Does Reaper of Souls justify its asking price of a full game? If it only presented itself with Act V then no, but the inclusion of an all-new-ish character class and Adventure Mode does soothe the sting. Reaper of Souls, in conjunction with the Loot 2.0 patch, finally brings us the Diablo III we want and that fans deserve.
TOP GAME MOMENT
It may not be a ‘moment’ but Adventure Mode is the new standard for my Diablo III loot runs, with Nephalem Rifts adding enough crazy to keep it from going stale.
