d3 ROS (2)

Its finally here, the expansion to the stupidly addictive clickiness that Blizzard gave to us nearly two years ago!  I won’t ignore the fact that some of you likely had your issues with the game, whether it be of the error 37 kind or just simply a hatred for something it did or didn’t do to meet your expectations.  You may be wondering why in hell you should now consider paying the price of a full game for an expansion. The simple answer is this: Reaper of Souls takes what you hated about Diablo III, fixes them, then throws in a whole lot of extra content to keep you busy for many, many hours.

I have no doubt that most Diablo III fans are already playing the expansion, but what about the rest of the naysayers? After much research, I have identified the 5 stages of grief a sceptic will more than likely go through and post to their social media feeds:

Denial – It’s too late Blizzard! You can’t fix the pain we have endured! #NeverForgetError37

Anger – Holy secret cow level! this expansion costs R400? REALLY BLIZZARD? YOU WANT ME TO SPEND HOW MUCH JUST SO WE CAN BE FRIENDS AGAIN? #LOLSellingMyKidneyBro

Bargaining – Maybe if I skimp on a few meals this month, I can lose weight AND quest for loot once more? #TwoBirdsOneStone

Depression – I have no friends left. They wasted their money and left me behind. #ForeverAlone

Acceptance –  OH FINE SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY! #CardSwiping101

Right, now that you have undergone that process, what can you actually expect from this expansion?

d3 ROS (3)

You get access to Act V which is set a few months after the original game. See that badass on the header image? That’s Malthael, the Angel of Death. I’m really not one to pay too much attention to character design, but I honestly loved Malthael  and I feared him more than the Prime Evil himself. The story takes you through many new locations and enemies, which I am confident that most players will enjoy. It will only take the average player around 2-4 hours to finish the act (depending on difficulty)  but it’s a nice change from all the others.

Then there’s the Crusader, the shiny new class that is designed to be the spiritual successor to the Paladin. The Crusader is meant to be a hybrid of a tank and support, but still possesses the ability to deal out all sorts of pain to the thousands of minions standing in your way. There are the usual abilities intended for offense and defence, as well as some passives which will keep you and your party pushing through all kinds of danger. The crusader has quite the variety, from hammer throwing to simple bashing to leaping into the air and crashing down into your foes. This may sound silly, but the reason the Crusader is now one of my favourite classes rests purely on the feeling you get when you dismiss the enemies around you. For lack of a better word, there is a certain “chunkiness” when you smack an enemy into oblivion, and it is ridiculously satisfying!

d3 ROS (4)

I often criticise expansions for only including one extra class because, you know, everybody wants to play with the new toy and you will likely end up with a party of Crusaders at some point. Oddly enough, I have yet to encounter such a party. Many people opted to hop straight into the adventure mode which is unlocked only after finishing Act V. I honestly think that this mode makes the expansion entirely worth it. I’ve moaned several times about how I got over Diablo III purely because I got tired of playing the same game over and over again.  In my opinion, adventure mode completely fixes that.

In a nutshell, you get access to the world map. Populating this world map are various bounties to complete. These bounties can be anything from performing some minor side quest to defeating a big boss. After performing five bounties, there is a reward of gold, experience, as well as a Horadric cache. Essentially, it’s an item that gets placed in your inventory and right-clicking it yields results similar to opening a big chest. Loot loot loot! The player will also be rewarded with a new currency called blood shards which can be used to buy even more loot.

Bounties $$$

The expansion also raises the level cap up to 70, bringing in new passives and spells for your existing heroes. What really makes adventure mode awesome though is that you can play through it with your level 70, or even your newly created level 1. Monsters scale to your level, but there is a selection of difficulties which can be used to determine just how much you want to cry. Upping the difficulty has its benefits , as doing so will yield better experience, gold,  bounty rewards, and eventually, new legendary items.

Throughout these bounties you will also pick up rift keystone fragments, five of which can be used to open up a Nephalem Rift. These are pretty much loot runs, where a randomly generated dungeon with multiple levels and random enemies are created. Killing a certain amount of enemies will set loose the Rift Guardian, a big boss taken from somewhere in the game. Defeating it rewards you with  MORE LOOT! That’s not such a bad thing though is it?

Ever feel like your loot just doesn’t look right or could use a new stat re-roll? Visit the new artisan who will transmogrify your stuff for you (for a small fee of course). This can come in handy when you want to modify your loot just to be that teeny bit better or just look cooler.

d3 ROS (1)

The new clans and communities feature is not exclusive to the expansion but something that needs a mention because I think it’s freaking useful.  Upon joining a clan, a player gets a tab in their friends list showing all the clan members that are online. No longer will a player have to solo to find the best loot, as this opens up countless other games to hop into, and we all know fuller parties means better chances at better loot. Another nice touch is that the text bar will show activity from other clan members, inciting mass jealousy when somebody picks up a rather juicy legendary item. This opened my eyes to the sort of items that I had yet to find, pushing me to keep playing to find better stuff to equip my player with.

My only minor gripe boils down to the persistent online requirement. I realise that this game is best enjoyed when played with friends, but single player should be left to be an offline affair if the player chooses to do so. That being said, I only experienced one evening where myself and players dropped once in a while due to some Battle.net issues.

Last Updated: April 3, 2014

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls
Reaper of Souls takes Diablo III and makes it much better, simple as that. I would highly recommend it to any fan who has decided to skip it. This is what Diablo III should have been!
8.3
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls was reviewed on PC
87 / 100

71 Comments

  1. MATTYFEEEEEEG!!!!!

    Reply

  2. Admiral Chief Railjack

    April 3, 2014 at 15:31

    Anyone wanna ‘donate’ the base game?

    Reply

    • Unavengedavo

      April 3, 2014 at 15:40

      When you write a review for Katy Perry Sweet Treats Sims expansion as promised!

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief Railjack

        April 3, 2014 at 15:47

        Ah, so that means IMPOSSIBLE

        Reply

      • Norm the Horrible

        April 3, 2014 at 15:50

        This comment ^^

        Reply

    • hairyknees

      April 3, 2014 at 15:53

      Oh yeah you don’t have one of those O_O bummer!

      Reply

    • Rince

      April 3, 2014 at 15:55

      Ha!

      Reply

    • Rags

      April 3, 2014 at 19:43

      Is it possible? I’d donate my copy.

      Reply

  3. Gerhard Davids

    April 3, 2014 at 15:32

    Nice review. loving the game again.

    Reply

  4. Rince

    April 3, 2014 at 15:42

    SO #ForeverAlone is basically Trevor?

    Reply

    • Unavengedavo

      April 3, 2014 at 15:44

      Takes one to know one?

      Reply

      • Rince

        April 3, 2014 at 15:46

        I know you are but what am I? Sorry, it’s been so many years since I was in school I forget the standard ‘witty’ reply 😛

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Railjack

          April 3, 2014 at 15:47

          JOU MA SE DINGES?

          Reply

          • Rince

            April 3, 2014 at 15:50

            Betta!

    • Norm the Horrible

      April 3, 2014 at 15:49

      “No longer will a player have to solo to find the best loot, as this opens up countless other games to hop into, and we all know fuller parties means better chances at better loot.”

      So no #foreverSP?

      Reply

      • Rince

        April 3, 2014 at 15:51

        HURRAH!

        Reply

      • hairyknees

        April 3, 2014 at 15:53

        Basically 🙂 if you do own the game and want an invite to the clan I am part of, just let me know ^_^

        Reply

  5. iPixelPierre

    April 3, 2014 at 15:56

    #CardSwiping101 it was for me. On a side note, I am at work and cannot check, do we have a LG’s clan or is someone going to make one?

    Reply

    • hairyknees

      April 3, 2014 at 16:34

      That’s actually a good idea 🙂 I will create one tonight!

      Reply

      • Tiaan Pat

        April 4, 2014 at 07:39

        Will def join if you do create!!!!

        Reply

        • GalacticLordCaptainAwesomeness

          April 4, 2014 at 09:07

          +1 , need to get mah ROS then

          Reply

    • VampyreSquirrel

      April 3, 2014 at 16:36

      There’s a community (I think it’s called) called “Lazygamernet”… don’t think there’s a Clan as such.

      Reply

  6. Gareth L (That eXCheez Guy)

    April 3, 2014 at 16:00

    Great review, right on the money – so to speak. What sold this game to me was the Diablo 3 v2 patch. What the 5gb patch does is give you *everything* that is included in the expansion – including Crusader-only items – except allow you to play as the Crusadar and advance on to Act 5.

    All rules, items and sounds have been overhauled to the new state of things, so you can feel what the expansion feels like now – for FREE! 🙂

    Reply

    • hairyknees

      April 3, 2014 at 16:34

      BUT ADVENTURE MODE! 😛

      Reply

      • Gareth L (That eXCheez Guy)

        April 3, 2014 at 16:46

        Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving the expansion. All that I was getting at is that if you’re not sure about getting it or not, get the latest patch, play it, and decide from there. 🙂

        Reply

        • hairyknees

          April 3, 2014 at 17:30

          Haha I know 🙂 it was actually quite nice of them to give the core D3 players some love. Would have been so dick if they left them with loot 1.0 and were like YES YOU BITCHES BETTER PAY IF YOU WANT ANY FIXES!

          Reply

  7. VampyreSquirrel

    April 3, 2014 at 16:10

    Nice review Matty!

    I’m enjoying Diablo 3 again for the first time in over a year… my favorite addition/fix is the adventure mode.

    I am however hating the current latency which Blizz is blaming on DDOS attacks on some other company in the EU.

    Just a warning to those budding adventure mode ppl… if you lose connection, for any reason, while doing your bounties, you will lose ALL progress on your bounties, even if it’s the very last one… apparently this is being looked at, dunno though.

    Reply

  8. UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

    April 3, 2014 at 16:18

    It is finally the Diablo I have loved since starting to play D1 in the 90s.

    I would give it a solid 9 at least! When it comes to price a Blizzard game delivers every time and it can be picked up for below R400.

    IMO of course.

    Guys if you have D3 and wondering if RoS is worth it play it with the content out now and judge for yourself. 🙂

    Reply

  9. VampyreSquirrel

    April 3, 2014 at 16:24

    oh @hairyknees:disqus if you think Blizz is over charging for this, have you seen the price on the new WoW expansion? XD

    Reply

    • hairyknees

      April 3, 2014 at 16:34

      I don’t wanna… how much? 😛

      Reply

      • VampyreSquirrel

        April 3, 2014 at 16:39

        Base is 44.99 Euro (R659.99)… digital deluxe is 59.99 Euro (R879.64).

        And their store is the only place you can order from so far (that I’ve found).

        Reply

        • hairyknees

          April 3, 2014 at 16:45

          O_O wow…

          Reply

          • VampyreSquirrel

            April 3, 2014 at 16:53

            point made 😛

          • Kromas

            April 4, 2014 at 08:01

            BT Games already has 4 CE copies on pre-pre-order for me 😛

          • VampyreSquirrel

            April 4, 2014 at 14:25

            A pre-pre-order? O.o

            Pre-ordering a Pre-Order before it’s on Pre-Order… you’ve pre-orderceptioned…

          • Kromas

            April 4, 2014 at 14:34

            Pretty much. I pre-order well before BT Games actually has the game listed. This happens about right after the Blizzcon reveals. (I also had SC2:Dark of the Void pre-pre-ordered)

          • Scruff304

            April 4, 2014 at 09:28

            Yes, that is what he is talking about, WoW…

  10. Lardus-Resident Perve

    April 3, 2014 at 16:39

    Started off sounding a little fanboy-ish, but still a good review. I will first play the updated base game before forking out more cash to get the game I should have gotten in the first place (excluding the extra act and character). My very negative friend is loving the changes, so I am hoping it is as awesome as people make it sound.

    Reply

    • Rags

      April 3, 2014 at 19:41

      Don’t get your hopes up. I tried D3 with the latest updates, its still quite broken. But if you love action games at 200ms its great. If you are looking for an arpg, look elsewhere. 🙂

      Reply

      • SargonTheGreatPandaOfAkkad

        April 3, 2014 at 19:55

        Lol. This comment above. So much of hate.

        The reviewer has the right of it, dude. But we all have our own opinions and I respect that. I just trust the reviewer since it’s, at least, a fleshed out review. I tried D3 with the latest updates, and it’s completely fixed. 😉

        Reply

      • Tiaan Pat

        April 4, 2014 at 07:36

        The reason for the lag is because of DDoS attacks. I also get kicked off but its not that bad and its still playable on a 1mb line. I agree with the author with regards to offline play… Blizzard could have made it like SimCity where you can choose…. I love the new system and it changed the game for me… I stopped playing for a year because it was to repetitive and after hearing a friend raving about the new patch gave it a try again.

        Reply

        • Rags

          April 4, 2014 at 10:38

          The thing about the lag is, there is a delay after you hit any freaken monster, it makes you feel like you have no punch in your weapons.

          If you have congestion issues at local exchange don’t even attempt play the game.

          And one spike and your hardcore character is dead. One of the most fun ways to play Diablo 2 was on hardcore and that is impossible for this game.

          So I’m calling bullshit on anyone who says the lag is ‘fine’ or ‘acceptable’.
          It’s not.

          And its quite often the same people who lose their shit over Sim City, which is not really lag dependent at all.

          Reply

    • Shaun De Hoog

      April 4, 2014 at 00:25

      I’m with Sargon, it’s fixed. I can’t stop playing, RoS is just amazing 🙂
      Spend the money, it’s worth it!

      Reply

  11. Mark Treloar

    April 3, 2014 at 16:45

    Only one evening being dropped from the servers? I have had it for 4 days straight.

    Reply

    • VampyreSquirrel

      April 3, 2014 at 16:50

      I have been dropped from the servers once in the past week (didn’t play this weekend though)

      Reply

    • hairyknees

      April 3, 2014 at 17:31

      Yeah guess I’ve just been lucky then 😛 only happened to me last night!

      Reply

  12. Dark

    April 3, 2014 at 17:54

    Well you unfortunately paid too much at R500, check Kalahari, Takealot and BTgames prices way way better than R500 bucks.

    Reply

    • hairyknees

      April 3, 2014 at 18:47

      Sorry, I really should have edited that or been more specific 🙂

      Buying straight from Blizzard = around R590 (Due to the Euro).
      Buying from local stores = around R390-R450

      I just hastily grabbed R500 as an average figure.

      Reply

  13. Dark

    April 3, 2014 at 17:55

    Kalahari is the best at R379.00

    Reply

    • SargonTheGreatPandaOfAkkad

      April 3, 2014 at 19:57

      BT Games charged me R399, kinda wish I had checked Kalahari. 🙁

      Reply

      • Shaun De Hoog

        April 4, 2014 at 00:24

        My last few purchases from Kalahari have been huge issues (late deliveries, stolen goods from sealed packages, and 2-3 months of waiting for refunds from them), so eventhough they were cheaper, I gave them a skip and got it from BTGames. And D3 is fixed in my opinion, LOVE the changes, can’t stop playing 🙂

        Reply

  14. Rags

    April 3, 2014 at 19:37

    Fluid combat at 200ms. lol.

    Reply

    • SargonTheGreatPandaOfAkkad

      April 3, 2014 at 19:57

      I haven’t hit 200ms once. There have been some server side lag issues (that Blizz have apologised for and acknowledged). One of the problems with having servers in Europe and not locally. Nothing we can really do about that. Global problems.

      Reply

      • Rags

        April 4, 2014 at 10:29

        I call bullshit. The lowest I get is 180ms. And its normally well over 200 with spikes.

        The onus is not on us, its on Blizzard to make it offline.

        Reply

        • SargonTheGreatPandaOfAkkad

          April 4, 2014 at 10:37

          Lol. Okay. Well I don’t have the problems you have. So…

          Ya.

          😉

          Reply

    • hairyknees

      April 3, 2014 at 22:03

      Honestly though, the lag is barely noticeable 🙂

      Reply

      • Mark Treloar

        April 4, 2014 at 07:53

        Then you are somehow lucky. 1 disconnect last nigh and several lag spikes between 5 and 10 seconds.

        Reply

  15. Kensei Seraph

    April 4, 2014 at 08:15

    Have they changed the skill tree to something more like what it was in D2 or is it still the same but with a few extra?

    Reply

    • Rags

      April 4, 2014 at 10:32

      No, its still handholding, one build per character, only dps counts afair. There is some points you can assign to after you hit level 60. But there is no mini maxing like in Diablo 1/2.

      IOW its still an action game, not an rpg.

      Reply

      • Kensei Seraph

        April 4, 2014 at 13:59

        That sucks.

        Reply

  16. Tarisma

    April 4, 2014 at 09:18

    I want

    Reply

    • Scruff304

      April 4, 2014 at 09:31

      Is what your gf said to me last night…
      Boom!

      Reply

      • Tarisma

        April 4, 2014 at 09:39

        just a pity she had to search so long for it. Whereas I gave your fiance exactly what she asked for…

        Reply

  17. Skoobaz

    April 4, 2014 at 09:58

    Never played Diablo or WOW *runs away*

    Reply

  18. Craig "Crios" Boonzaier

    April 4, 2014 at 12:05

    We should all add each other on the Friends List: Crios-1871
    Also, I created the LazygamerNet community, i will hand over leadership to one of the Lazygamer staff.

    Reply

    • hairyknees

      April 4, 2014 at 14:10

      Oh does it exist? Searched last night and didn’t find it :S

      Reply

  19. Camilo Cruz

    April 4, 2014 at 14:40

    hope too you!!

    Reply

  20. Lizzard

    April 4, 2014 at 15:42

    All i Know…. THIS IS AWESOME! I will recommend it to everyone, even amongst my friends, the biggest haters are buying the expansion. So worth it.

    Reply

  21. I AM THE LAW

    April 4, 2014 at 18:29

    Interesting article but HoN is much better and with more creeps.

    Reply

  22. Dave Ridgeway

    May 20, 2014 at 05:55

    WoW-Diablo [as I call it] is the worst game deception of my life. I waited over a decade for this game and now this company decided to control how we play and change whatever they want. Inventing gaming problems and pretending they have the solution so people spend more because “now the game is better”. I won’t make Michael Morhaime’s [and its minions from hell] bank account bigger. No way I will buy this atrocity, I can’t make the same mistake twice.

    Reply

  23. Zaharia Mihai Ciprian

    May 26, 2014 at 15:01

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