I agree completely, I can start a 1H Cadence build and after putting nothing more than the first 3 points into the build I can happily (and easily) steam to level 10 without adding any more skill points.
Melee in my view is far faster and more survivable than ranged builds at the start.
Yes.
All of those are weaker than maxing TSS early or pets early. I’m not saying melee isn’t viable early, just that it’s RELATIVELY weaker than other leveling strategies.
For new players normal should be easy simply as that without one shot deaths. Give them a chance to learn the game mechanics and boss fights without frustration .For the rest of us we have veteran , ultimate hardcore etc. Also speaking for myself with more than 1000 hours i have lots of gear that make my life quite easy to lvl up but thats not the case with new players.
Are you really saying normal isn’t easy enough…?
When I started playing GD, I went for normal mode as the previous ARPG I had played more than just a few hours had been Diablo 2 years ago. My first death happened in Steps of Torment, in the room of fun and happiness. Second around Immolation, I thought I was standing on safe ground when I went to do something with my phone. Turns out I wasn’t standing on safe ground and died because I was stupid. My next and last two deaths happened at the Mad Queen, went to level and gear up a little and then went back and one-shotted her. Normal doesn’t even punish the player for dying. And if the player has trouble in normal mode, that is a clear warning that something is very wrong with their build and they really should do something about that.
Also: medierrrraaaa, I don’t like the new-old camera anymooore, give me the new-new baaaack 
I had a friend who hasn’t played an ARPG since Diablo 1 play this on normal and he got to Cronley without dying (and then found out he hadn’t been wearing any pants since he started), so I’m gonna go ahead and posit that if you die on normal in this game it’s because you fucked up, not because the game is hard.
Remember that if a game is too easy, it turns new people away just as fast as being too hard because this is a genre where challenge is expected throughout the game, not just the last boss.
Noooooooo
jiaco offered to mod that top-down camera back into the game if someone requested it. Maybe take him up on that offer? 
I disagree with your first point.
At least as far as playing goes. Learning how to pay will get you killed, sometimes. New situations in a game and all that. It happens, and is not simply “your fault”, but rather the learning process.
Your second point folds neatly into this, and I agree with it.
I never understood the mentality of expecting to 1-life a game on the first try. That’s not a game. That’s “Choose Your Own Adventure: Conveyor Belt Edition”
Hah, I was mostly just messing with medierra. But the new camera angle did help a little with GD’s insatiable need to hide enemies behind obstacles like walls. The difference wasn’t massive though, I can play with the original camera angle just fine.
I’d like to add that if the difficulty gap between normal and elite is too large the forums will be filled with posts in lieu of “Why is normal so easy but epic so hard?”
Normal is easy enough as it is. In fact I hardly play normal mode as I prefer to start with veteran mode simply because I feel it gives me a better feel of whether my character will be good enough for epic mode and beyond and is more fun than just steamrolling over mobs all the time.
Just uninstalled the game. Too fed up with drop rate. Made the campaign harder and if anything nerfed drop rates. There is no reason why I shouldn’t see a single legendary on the way from homestead to Fort ikon, port vadbury, and in a few Cronley runs. I’ll be back after the expansion.
Leg’s won’t drop if you don’t play 
RNG is RNG not much you can do. If you really need a specific legendary then you can trade or use GDsidekick (unless you have to play self found).
Imo Legendary or epic items don’t make the game, i can re-roll new toons in normal non stop and still have fun 
I’ve had my fun. Just starting to feel unrewarding now. I agree, the leveling process is fun. Late game, not so much.
I dropped around 6 or 7 legendaries from Devil’s Crossing to Warden’s Lab with my Valdun Commando today on Ultimate. One of them is a Markovian Platemail.
Find it really hard to believe that you dropped no legendary between Homestead and Fort Ikon.
It’s not the legendary drop rate that gets to me but rather the fact that whenever an epic or legendary item does drop it is never for the class I’m playing. I know RNGesus hates me but I can’t help feel that the game tries very hard to ensure you play many different toons just to get the items you’d like to use with your favorite toon. Mind you, I had that same feeling when playing TQ.
That’s just incentive to roll another character. Even if I get a duplicate it’s still a chance that I could have gotten something good and that alone feels a bit rewarding. Hours of playtime in ultimate shouldn’t go by without a drop. I don’t care if there is a hidden experience counter that offers a chance at a drop. Would probably help trash mobs not feel like a chore.
Dear Crate, is there an ETA/patch notes for Hotfix 3?
almost got me there
Pfew my heart stopped beating there for a second
edit: aaand the big q - Any approximate timing for the patch?
1.0.0.8 - Rise of the Tank Mages!
Wishful thinking on my part