What’s this Monster Power I’ve been hearing about? I decided to find out, and Shawn was kind enough to help me. It took us a while to figure out how to enable Monster Power. Once we got that sorted out, we got confused about how to make it work in a co-op game. Eventually, we actually got to try out this new Monster Power thing.
In short – more powerful monsters. Here’s some interesting screenshots of what we ran into on our very first experience using Monster Power.
Shawn was using his Level 25 Barbarian, Smashez, and I was using my Level 25 Demon Hunter, ThirtySeven. We went to the Cemetery of the Forsaken to test out Monster Power. I selected that area because it is the one that I am most familiar with. I thought this would help me to compare not using Monster Power to different levels of Monster Power in a meaningful way. Also, it just so happens to be my favorite area in Diablo III.
Monster Power 1 and Monster Power 2 didn’t seem different at all. We were overpowered for the zone, so we were one-shotting the monsters still. Kick it up to Monster Power 10, and things get fun! Here’s what we ran into:
Pack of Blue Imps
We got the Matriarch’s Bones quest. There seemed to be more skeletons than usual. Each skeleton was taking two hits to kill, (instead of the one hit we were used to).
Matriarch’s Bones (Cooperative): Complete the Matriarch’s Bones event in a cooperative game.
Pack of Wretched Mothers
What about Monster Power for solo play? To find out, I selected my Level 35, Barbarian, Zeta. I brought the Templar with me. Once again, I started with Monster Level One, and I returned to the Cemetery of the Forsaken (in Nightmare Mode).
Pack of Ravenous Dead
Picked up some Rare Shoulders. They didn’t turn out to be as cool as the ones I was using. However, since I don’t recall picking up rare items in the crypts (outside of the Jar of Souls event), this was new.
Kargra the Revenant
Found a Treasure Seeker! But, the damned thing got away before I could kill it.
Pack of Blue Skeletons
It was becoming clear to me that Monster Power Level 1, in Nightmare Mode, gives better loot than it does in Normal Mode.
Rare Chest Armor (Turned out the one I was using was better, but just barely).
Flawless Emerald (I’ve never had a flawless anything drop before).
This time around, I got the Jar of Souls event (my favorite). It seemed to have a little more skeletons than usual, but wasn’t much different to play at Monster Power 1 than it was at Monster Power zero.
The loot that dropped was better than usual. I got a Rare Spirit Stone, which is something that only a Monk can use. This isn’t going to help my Barbarian, but, I can hand it over to my little bitty Monk (and wait for her to grow into it).
Next, I played my little bitty Monk, Pema, for a bit. She’s not even level 10 yet. Pema worked her way to… level 3, I think? … in Act I, Normal Mode. Here she is fighting the Wretched Queen.