Monster Power! Monster Power!

Diablo III's newest patch is adding the Monster Power program, a new adjustable difficulty system. PC Gamer has an interview with Blizzard employees Jay Wilson and Wyatt Cheng about the system, including the levels involved, and how it's unlocked for everyone. But they are especially quick to explain what the Monster Power system isn't, as in this notable quote.

Are there any new achievements planned for, like, the guy who beats Inferno by himself on Monster Power eight? Or anything like that?

WC: No, and I’m super glad that you asked. Because part of the messaging we’re trying to get out to people – and this is a challenge on our side, of how we communicate this – is we don’t want Monster Power to feel like a mountain you have to climb. And we feel like if we had an achievement for it, people would be like, “Oh, I like to collect achievements, I guess I have to go and do this thing.”

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JW: Yeah, I mean, one of the things that I think is really interesting- let’s say that you start the game off and you turn Monster Power all the way down, but you kind of wish the drop rates were a little higher pre-1.05. Because we’ve certainly seen that comment from some people. The thing is, you’re going to be killing a lot faster now. And killing faster is the equivalent of higher drop rates.

And for some people, killing faster is way more fun. I have friends who say, “You know, I really like taking my Act 3 Inferno into late Hell difficulty, because I just get to stomp stuff and it’s really fun. But it doesn’t give me good rewards.” Well, now you can go to a place that gives you good rewards and get to stomp stuff. And if you prefer something a little more challenging, you crank it up.

Blizzard is trying to make the Monster Power system more for the player, not for the challenge. Monster Power is not for making the game harder - it's for adjusting the game more to your playstyle. And that's awesome.

Julian "Mirai" Williams