IDOL Expansion and diversity

Feedback and Suggestions
1

Current Idol System

Pros

  1. Has good chase from beginning game to end game.

  2. Can be build defining.

Cons

  1. What you find is what you get. Completely RNG based with no control over it.

  2. Lack of options for skills and effects

An Expanded System

New Idol Bases

Idols come in all the same shape and sizes that they are now but with nothing on them except for an implicit and a random number of sockets (1-4)

Sockets Can be filled with “Idol shards”. Idol Shards are like normal gear shards. They can have both global effects such as increase melee skills damage 10% to specific effects such as shield throw hit damage +10%. Shards can be placed in sockets and Removed for a gold fee. You can have multiple of the same shards on the same idol.

The implicit of the idol determines its base and how many sockets it can have as follows (all subject to change for balance)

1x1 - (no implicit, any character can wear these. Comes with 1-2 sockets)
1x2 - (no implicit, any character can wear these. Comes with 2-3 sockets)
2x1 - (no implicit, any character can wear these. Comes with 2-3 sockets)
2x2 - (implicit determines its class specificy. Comes with 1-4 sockets)
1x3 - (implicit determines its class specificy. Comes with 1-3 sockets)
3x1 - (implicit determines its class specificy. Comes with 1-3 sockets)
4x1 - (implicit determines its class specificy. Comes with 1-4 Sockets)
1x4 - (implicit determines its class specificy. Comes with 1-4 Sockets)

Determining Class Specific

When a 1x3/3x1/2x2/1x4/4x1 idol drops it will always be class specific just as it is now. But it will roll with an unchangeable implicit that reflects a skill. E.X. A 1x4 Drops and rolls Sentinel Class specific with Smite skill implicit and 3 sockets. You can now put 3 shards into that idol. You can put in global shards OR smite specific shards.

Idol Shards (Jewels?)

How to Aquire

Acquiring idol shards is similar to normal shards, killing mobs will have chance to drop them with the rarest have a lower drop rate. Bosses have a higher chance of dropping higher tiered affixes.

Idol Shards Combining

Combining

Shards of same tier can be combined to create a higher tier. Tiers max at Tier 7.

Tier Levels

It takes 4 Tier 1 to Make 1 Tier 2.
It takes 4 Tier 2 to Make 1 Tier 3.
It Takes 2 Tier 3 to make 1 Tier 4.
It Takes 2 Tier 4 to make 1 Tier 5.
It Takes 2 Tier 5 to make 1 Tier 6.
It Takes 2 Tier 6 to make 1 Tier 7.
It Takes 256 Tier 1 Affixes of the Same Type to make 1 Tier 7.

Exalted Shards

At anytime during the combining chance there is a chance for the resulting shard to transform into an exalted shard instead of the next tier up. Percentages of chance are as follows.

Tier 1 -> Tier 2 = 0.01% Chance
Tier 2 -> Tier 3 = 0.1% Chance
Tier 3 -> Tier 4 = 0.5% Chance
Tier 4 -> Tier 5 = 1% Chance
Tier 5 -> Tier 6 = 2% Chance
Tier 6 -> Tier 7 = 5% Chance
There is an 8.61% Chance of getting an exalted shard when combining 256 tier 1 shards all the way to 1 tier 7 shard.

An exalted shard is always the same type as the one being combined. An exalted shard is Tier 8 and has 10% more range than a tier 7

Examples of some Idols to clarify confusion

Sentinel Idols
  • 1x4 Sentinel Idol Dropped with Implicit Skill Erasing Strike. 3 Sockets.
    1. Socket 1 you placed a global Tier 2 “10% Increased Melee Damage Shard”
    1. Socket 2 You placed Tier 1 Erasing Strike Specific shard “Erasing strike deals +5 Flat Void Damage”
    1. Socket 3 You placed Tier 4 Erasing strike specific shard “Erasing strike has 10% Increased hit area”

What do you guys think? Feel free to expand the rough draft.

2 Likes
2

Nice idea but I said this a lot of times: Idols are the only worthwhile thing to grind for because everything else drops sooner or later. If they put a quest here and there where you are able to pick a desired Idol to have at least one you have a failsave. If you are the unluckest person in the world you can always make a new toon and play to a certain point for another one of said idols.

From my point of view Idols are fine as they then again I get it… it’s tiresome to get the combination of idols you want and if they don’t drop it’s not fun buuut grinding is the heart and soul of hack and slays.

3

Correct. But idols are to simple ATM and you have no choice with them. You get what you get. This makes them less interactive and by association less fun.

While perhaps this idea may be to much. Idols lack at least some sophistication They meed a layer of not only chasing based on rng but progression as well.

Imagine if gear wasnt craftable.

I do like idols as they are now. But they lack my attention because there boring. They could be made into a full interactive system that keeps players engaged and adds more progression from character creation to end game

Gear has progression.
Skills have progression.
Passives have progression.
Idols… Are just what they are. Very short life in the interesting department

4

I would like some kind of “Combine X to make a better one” kind of approach. If you combine one Idol with another the rolls on the first one increase by 10% up to 100%. This mechanic would still force you to farm to get better stuff and you have a progression without a bloated system behind it.

I understan the wish to make idols that are beneficial for toon X but I think it might be to easy if we get stuff like that. Then again was socketing mentioned in the past? i think this was an extra layer mentioned but I might be wrong. I thin we’ll see some other stuff in the future on top of what is existing now and that’s why I’m not sure if it might be good to change stuff now.

I like the idea but I don’t think there is any time to fundamentaly change idols right now.

1 Like
5

Hey… thanks for another constructive post… (just once I’d like to see you rant about something … just for fun… )… :wink:

I agree Idols are boring right now… I have at least 20 stash tabs with idols and quite honestly if I bothered to go through them all I could cut that down to 1 stash tab of useful idols for my 4 chars (Paladin, Vk, Spellblade, Shaman).

While your suggestion seems comprehensive, I dont know if improving idols needs to go to all that far…

Combining shards or even idols into something more useful/higher level… I would love to have an option where you can take two/three/four 1x4 idols and combined them into a new 1x4 based on certain easily defined rules… e.g. two same affixes mean the resultant idol will have a better rolled affix of the same etc. My motivation for this is that it gives us something to do with dud idols. (I’d love the same process for uniques/set items). Useless idols are so easy to get that the random nature of “combining” them into something potentially better would be great. Tiered combining doubly so.

I do not like the “blank idol” with sockets idea… I feel that this could affect too many things (balance etc) - if the bonuses are good enough to want to use, then its likely that they would be too op. if they are not good enough then why bother in the first place. Idols right now seem to me like the cherry on top of already good builds but the cake still looks and tastes great without them.

The one thing on this idea that could be interesting is your comment about build defining… i.e. idols that have a very unique implicit that can make a way out build. Something like a Unique Idol with 1 and only one stat that is so good for a particular build that it would make you redesign or restart a char just to use it. Maybe even make this idol bigger 4x2 so that you have to really commit to using its stat in place of anything else.

:+1:

2 Likes
6

I’m not sure I get that bit. Would it give a Sentinel access to Erasing Strike even if they hadn’t unlocked it? I’m not sure I’d like that, but if it were an idol where the affixes only affected Erasing Strike, I’d be fine with that. Though having to drop a specific idol for a specific skill would probably suck.

7

it means that idol cant have any other skill specific or class specific shards on it that are not erasing strike or global. That idol can only be used to boost erasing strike. IT does not unlock the skill for you. simply will let you build the skill the way you want plus you have the skill tree to synergize with. Right now IDOLS chose FOR you how to use it and its boring. Vengeance only comes with damage. ELemental nove only area. like boring. GIVE ME OPTIONS TO PLAY WITH

8

The sistem you are suggesting is too complicated. I would implement something different. - Merging idols !
You have 3 idols and you can sell them to a vendor (maybe 3 idols of the same type) and as a result you can get 1 new idol of same type (with better chance to get best / highest affixes or rolls ).

1 Like
9

Lol to complicated its literally no different that crafting chest and helm for characters or gems im d3. But I know. LE likes simple

1 Like
10

I agree 100% with the @boardman21 post and proposals.
It also would be nice, in this kind of posts, that the Devs manifest itself saying if they already have something similar on their roadmap of improvements/implementations.

11

Very nice thoughts on idols! Fully support! And its not about loosing an opportunity for hunting loot, but you have more possibilities to craft and optimize! Really like this!

13

As someone who has leveled 4 different characters to 75+ and put a decent amount of hours in only to have 1 character’s idols SOMEWHAT optimized but not really b/c RNG hates me, I support this. Finally found a 40+% crit multi rive/40% melee void dmg idol like 20 hours after I respec’d from Rive to caster VK, feelsbadman

1 Like
14

I’ve also wanted to ask the devs, have they thought about making idols like skill charms from D2 but here they give +X to a certain passive from the passive skill tree. This will make idols even more precious and build defining, but mybe balancing would be tough. Would like to hear thoughts on this matter.

15

Also if there will be some super tough content and an “uber” boss, he could drop an Anihilus type idol wich could give +1 to all passives from a mastery class but only to passives wich have been leveled, not to the entire passive mastery tree, since its sounds unbalanced and that way ppl may benefit from passives they haven’t put points into…

1 Like
16

Mastery passives would be hard as alot of them wouldnt do anything with an extra point so idk if i would recommend them doing that. Would more likely be better to get an idol that gives you +xx passives points to place where you like

As for the +xx to skill trees ive mentioned this before and it would be awesome to have idols give you +1 or +2 skill points to put into a specific skill. Like 2 extra points if you wear 2 warpath idols and such.

1 Like
17

There aren’t that many passives that only have 1 point! The Sentinel masteries have 2-4 each, Acolyte has 1-2 each, Mage masteries have 0-2 each, Beastmaster has 5 & Druid has 4. All out of probably 20-30 passive nodes that you would taken.

18

So do you just exclude those? 2nd how many nodes does each mastery have total? Total minus the 1 point nodes? How fair would those idols really be mastery to mastery? A simple +5 passive points on a 2x2 idol seems easier to balance and alot more fair

19

But what happens if you remove the idol?

20

It takes away your last 5 placed points…
Or in the case you havent used them yet takes away unspent passives points first

21

Maybe I didint explain myself correctly, I apologise. My idea was not the 1/1 point passives that the different classes have but for all passives, if the charm gives let’s say “+1 to all allocated pts in Forge Guard”, and if you’re speced in that mastery you’ll prpblably invest at least 50+ pts in different nodes wich will benefit either throwing dmg, defences, or mele phys dmg, wich are boosted % depending the node. if given a +1 to those pts it could be a nice booster