Post 60-- There's No Joy in Victory

[Archon_Wing]

So I recently hit 60 and decided to journey around Inferno Act 1, and realized something depressing with the level cap.

There's literally nothing to gain from some of these things. Completing a quest earns you a pittance of gold, and those fancy massacre bonuses don't do anything anymore. I felt that was a really nice touch earlier in the game to encourage fast paced gameplay. Perhaps doing them in inferno should net another possible reward? Worse yet, if a monster gets killed, you literally gain nothing from defeating him except what he drops, and he can drop no item.

I understand that the Valor thing greatly boosts the quality of drops, but the gratification in the game has gone to feast and famine and that doesn't seem right for a game focused on fast action. I understand that Diablo's always about loot, but at least in D2 I always felt like something was happening, I was slowly moving towards an unattainable goal, but victories in Diablo 3 feel almost Pyrrhic. I spend 15 minutes killing this tough boss and blowing through and risking my life to finish the quest. And they decide to give me 560 gold and level 57 req items that nobody in their right mind would consider wearing?

Remember how in D2, you'd run down to the Den of Evil regardless of difficulty because that extra skill point was precious and make you a little stronger than you already are? Or the small feeling of getting an extra 20 health or a socket quest. Those were small tokens that rarely affected your overall characters. But there were always worth doing. It always felt nice to know there would be a small light at the end of the tunnel, even though monsters would still always drop garbage. There was always a reason to play every difficulty. Granted it wasn't perfect, and most of us were inclined to run as fast as possible out of Act 3, but still. You'd get a fancy new title for completing each difficulty and having your first first character crowned with the title of Guardian. Beating hell hardcore in d2 for the first time was something memorable. Beating a difficulty in D3 pretty much grants you a "A winner is you" screen and some achievement that nobody cares about because they flood you with them every 5 minutes. Who cares about achievements when half of them are basically "You have a pulse" awards?

I just can't be bothered to complete quests that won't even pay for the potions I'm drinking. I can hunt down elites anywhere. I'm more encouraged to AH stuff, and join a friend's game to skip quests I've done three times already.

Sure, there's always bragging rights for beating unbeatable bosses. But this isn't 1989 anymore.

Don't get me wrong. The Valor thing is a brilliant idea and I enjoy the improved drop rate. But something is amiss here.