I launched the game for the first time since many weeks to try out this new patch. I mostly wanted to try the Monster Power feature really. It's fun, but it encourages more single-player play in my opinion, although that in itself isn't necessarily bad per se, but I thought that D3 could use more incentives to play with others but anyway, that's to each their own.
Now, how I feel about the Monster Power feature is that it finally made Act 1 fun, since I would just faceroll it before with my Barbarian and could easily enough get through Act II Inferno as well by just changing the build and not touching the gear. Now the thing is that I hated and still hate most of Act II in general, I did and still do prefer Act 1, I just prefer its setting, the atmosphere and the environments as well as the simpler D2-inspired map layouts (especially Highlands).
Before the patch however even though I preferred Act 1 I thought it was "wasted" since I just killed most mobs in 1 to 3 hits or so, and Elite packs were not a big problem. So to have challenge and potential gear as we know we have to move to Act II, but I hate that place so... I felt forced to stay there. And why stay there? Well because generally speaking Act 3 turned my Barb into wet cardboard and just regular mobs looking at me made me lose health.
That's basically why - amongst other reasons - I had stopped to play D3. Now... well I can have my challenge in Act 1, pump up the Monster Power level, remain single-player, play how I want, go where and when I want. That's definitely cool I admit it. My issue however is that other than the challenge I am still afraid that even at MP10 I wouldn't see good enough items, and that the loot table coming from the extra MP levels would still be better starting from Act 2 anyway. I don't know if that's the case though, but I haven't read anything that Blizzard mentioned themselves that would deny or confirm this.
Anyway, as far as where I can go with MP applied... well I tried with my Barb, it's my main character and the best geared of my other two Lvl 60's. I can manage MP4 so far although at that point most Elite packs pose a serious threat, and generally speaking playing alone at any MP level makes things way too long to get any results (I.E. gear, if anything). The thing is of course I can play alone "single-player"-style and do whatever... but my God if it takes me 10 minutes to get rid of one pack to get my first NV stack then I might as well just go back to No-MP Act II Inferno and stay there again to kill more packs, faster and mathematically increase my chances over a shorter period of time.
I'm mixed up and I'm not sure if it's even worth the time investment anymore. It's not that the MP feature itself isn't "good"... really I honestly think it's a step in the right direction. I used that in Diablo 2 back in the days before I moved to its on-line portion and then stayed there for years. I understand why they've done it for D3 as well, because simply put... it's a good idea. Now the problem is that it's a good idea, a good feature, and it worked well in D2, but in D3 it doesn't seem to be able to give us the same advantages over time. Yes the challenge is there definitely, the problem I think it still the loot tables.
I would honestly just bring the loot table from Act 4 back to Act 3, 2 and 1, there problem solved. From that point we'd just play in whichever Act we prefer, versus "having to" play in Acts in which we prefer the types of enemies we fight in it, and the loot table it potentially provides versus the previous Act. So anyway, long story short, tried one run at MP4 and cleared most areas, got to the Butcher and he killed me two times until my third try when I finally got him down (at that point I was bored of trying since it was taking just too long alone).
Then for the heck of it, I tried Monster Power 10, went back to Act I, went to the Cemetery and go my ass handed over on a golden platter by the first few skeletons there. It did give me a laugh, I was just curious. Their health (those skeletons') at MP10 was so high that some Elite packs at MP4 didn't have that much. And certainly their damage increased significantly. Anyway, Act 1 with MP4 is my Barb's limit pretty much, beyond that and it's just too long for no reasons and perhaps no advantages anyway. I wanted to play with others, just pugs. I checked the available public games and literally there were not a single Acts nor a single quest of any acts I have access to (until Act 3 right after Ghom) with anyone playing, zero, nada. Not sure if it was a... bug or lag or... not sure, or everyone switched to "single-player-style MP-fueled" sessions all of a sudden (that will happen in mass anyway it has to be expected).
So yeah, some good to this patch, some... not so significant I would say, probably not "bad" per se, but yeah I'd say not significant (I.E. no changes that for me would make the game significantly better and suddenly work playing again regularly for). I'll keep it installed for the occasional (very much so) rainy sundays when I feel like killing some zombies in a crypt or two for maybe 30 minutes, but that's about it.