Diablo 3 Beta First Impressions and a brief tirade on statistics

[Rustweaver]

One thing to note is that the difficulty of the beta is not at all indicative of the final game. In many of the discussions related to difficulty the devs have likened the beta to the first few open areas in D2 on normal. Those areas weren't difficult in any way either.

On the topic of difficulty, check out this post:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/4443593/..._2012#blog

The title of the post is "You Will Die. We Promise".

It has a video where some of the Blizzard employees talk about how difficult the game is at the higher difficulties.

Forcing us to die easily is not the same as challenge. More often than not, it's a cop-out presenting the illusion of challenge. Any monster - in Diablo, Diablo II, and Diablo III - can be made to kill you instantly. That is not challenging. Monsters that use multiple attack types (ranged, melee), additional mechanics (bleeding, knockback, stun), and/or competent AI (terrain pathfinding) can be challenging. Merely increasing HP and/or damage does not, in itself, create challenge. Challenge is found in overcoming obstacles that force you to think, react, and adapt - not in getting one-shotted.

I have little faith anymore that Blizzard knows the difference, but we shall see. I'm reserving at least some of my cynicism for the actual release, rather than marketing ploys.

My thoughts exactly. I'm holding onto hope that this game will include the challenges I need to keep interest.