Diablofans is looking to recruit some new mods! Your job will be to help the current mod staff keep the forums neat and tidy according to the forum guidelines. Here are a few general things to go over.
DiabloFans Quote:
Do not apply if you have a short temper. You will be expected to handle things calmly, not just ban and warn everyone. Sometimes it's more beneficial to talk or work things out. Use good judgement.
Do not apply if you only plan to stick around for a month or two. This is a volunteer job so I don't expect you to be online all the time but we need active mods.
You will be expected to take part in discussions and be active in the community. We do have a leave of absence thread though to let us see you are on vacation, busy with finals, cats on fire, etc.
We do not limit you to one section. You will have the choice of moderating anywhere you see that needs it. It's fine if you choose to mainly stick to a few sections just take a peek at others when you have time.
Having warnings will not exclude you from being chosen but it does of course lessen your chances if it's a significant warning.
We have a staff IRC that we would like you to be in, we have cookies in there. In your application be sure to include things you feel are relevant such as your history with the game, your history with online communities, your history working as a team with others, any other applicable skills or information you can think of.
You may remember the tweet Jay Wilson sent out about maybe allowing RMAH for hardcore players if there was enough demand for it. A poll was placed on the official forums and players voiced their opinions on the matter. The results are now in.
So has there been enough support for a HC RMAH?
results are split. As many seem to hate as love the idea. We still plan gold only at ship. Too late to change now. (Source)
You can upgrade your account to Collector's Edition without wiping your characters.(Blue Tracker/Official Forums)
You can download the game client before you pick-up your Collector's Edition although it won't save much time with the un-encryption. (Blue Tracker/Official Forums)
Information on Acts will not be updated on the official site until release. (Source)
There are still no plans for an open beta before release. (Source)
Only a .1% chance of a delay at this point. (Source)
Skill Swapping
As of our current internal build, you can't move a skill to another location on your action bar while it is on cooldown. In addition, you cannot remove a skill from your action bar while it is on cooldown.
I imagine that these changes made it into Beta Patch 15, but if not, let me know here (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Diablo: The Order Cover Art
The cover art for the upcoming Diablo novel was revealed a little while ago. The novel is written by Nate Kenyon and it will focus on Deckard Cain and the 8 year old Leah, scouring the world of Sanctuary for possible remnants of the Horadrim. The book is scheduled to be released on May 15th , you can pre-order you own copy from Amazon.com.
For more than ten years, Diablo has been one of PC gaming’s iconic and blockbuster franchises, with millions of players experiencing to this day all the adventure and terror in the world of Sanctuary. Now, to tie-in with the long-awaited release of Blizzard Entertainment’s all-new game, Diablo III, the original novel Deckard Cain will bridge the untold story of one of Diablo’s most popular characters.
Now a much older man, Deckard Cain is on a mission to find the remnants of a rumored Horadric cell, and must call upon all of his knowledge and wit to teach and inspire those around him even as they face danger and death at every turn. Can he lead the return of a ragtag group of Horadrim and their ideals to Sanctuary…or will they die out with Cain himself?
Here we have a small excerpt from the novel, this means you are now entering the Spoiler Area, so if you don't like spoilers, you should just skip this.
Deckard Cain made his way across the floor, following the footprints to an alcove in the far wall. Rotted boards clung to supports, the last remains of an ancient library. This had been a ritual chamber, many centuries before, used to summon things from beyond the human world. A portal to the Burning Hells themselves, perhaps. The shelves were empty now. He saw a speck of yellow underneath a splinter of wood and bent to pick up a corner of parchment paper, curled and speckled with mildew.
Something moved in the shadows to his right.
He whirled, holding the light up. For a moment it appeared as if the shadows themselves were alive, bunching and swirling like ink in water. At the same time, a voice like the distant moan of wind drifted through the empty room and raised the hairs on the back of his neck.
“Deckaaaaarrdddd Caiiinnnn . . .”
Cain felt a strange doubling, a memory of a night many years before, when he was just a boy. A whispered voice calling to him, just like this. He backed away, fumbling in his rucksack with one hand, holding the lighted staff with the other against the darkness. Already he was doubting himself: had it just been the wind moving through the broken remains of the building above him, a trick his mind had played after so long in the sun?
The voice came again, a sound like bones scraping together in the grave.
“Your ghosts are many, old man, and they are active.”
A grating of metal over rock seemed to come from everywhere at once. Once again a pool of black smoke thickened and then dissipated, only to reassemble somewhere else: a shape carrying a sword, the form of a man, but with eyes that glowed red with the fires of hell.
Cain knew what this was, yanked from the depths of his own mind and used against him: the image of the Dark Wanderer himself, conjured up to weaken his resolve. The smoke-shape swirled and shifted, reforming into two indistinct human shapes, one taller and clearly female, one small and delicate. Shock raced through Cain’s limbs as an older, familiar memory fought to surface. He closed his eyes against the darkness as the yawning pit of despair opened within him, threatening to pull him in. You must not listen.
***
Deckard Cain is the last of the Horadrim, the sole surviving member of a mysterious and legendary order. Assembled by the archangel Tyrael, the Horadrim were charged with the sacred duty of seeking out and vanquishing the three Prime Evils: Diablo (the Lord of Terror), Mephisto (the Lord of Hatred), and Baal (the Lord of Destruction). But that was many years ago. As the decades passed, the Horadrim’s strength diminished, and they fell into obscurity. Now all of their collected history, tactics, and wisdom lie within the aged hands of one man. A man who is growing concerned.
Dark whisperings have begun to fill the air, tales of ancient evil stirring, rumblings of a demonic invasion set to tear the land apart.
Amid the mounting dread, Deckard Cain uncovers startling new information that could bring about the salvation—or ruin—of the mortal world: other remnants of the Horadrim still exist. He must unravel where they have been and why they are hiding from one of their own.
As Cain searches for the lost members of his order, he is thrust into an alliance with an unlikely ally: Leah, an eight-year-old girl feared by many to carry a diabolical curse. What is her secret? How is it tied to the prophesied End of Days? And if there are other living Horadrim, will they be able to stand against oblivion? These are the questions Deckard Cain must answer . . .
It still shames me that the primary excuse for the "No" for the RMAH in HC is that it'll make the game pay-to-win.
No-one seems to understand that if it's not offered, people will look to third party alternatives, which inspired the RMAH in the first place...
The only people that will look to third party alternatives are the ones who won't bother to either find gold themselves, or find items themselves. And from my experience, people playing hardcore generally are the people who also want more of a challenge from the game, and therefore aren't nearly as likely to "pay-to-win". If people are wanting to pay for their items so bad, hopefully it'll discourage them greatly from playing hardcore and not pollute the economy there.
Just my thoughts, I don't terribly like the idea of a RMAH at all, I understand why it's in the game at all though.
The premise of the upcoming novel feels weak and unnecessary. Hidden cells of the Horadrim, Leah getting the Naruto treatment... I have no urge whatsoever to buy it. If I feel like reading it, I may check it out from the library. Maybe.
Update 3/18/12 2:00 p.m. PDT: The Diablo III test server is live, but service may be intermittent for the next few hours as we work to address ongoing issues. Thank you for your patience.
Skeleton king has about 2400 health. Up from ~1600. Hits a little harder, too.
Armor/Weapon racks are more rare (maybe 1-2 per level, instead of nearly every corner), but more likely to drop a blue/yellow item. Seems like ~33% of the time.
New rare/champion mob for the beta (lately) - resurrectionist (not sure what it does for sure, I'm sure it's implied by the name :P)
Also, rares/champions are no longer guaranteed blue drops. They only drop 1 blue, instead of 2 in patch 14. If they drop any at all. High percent, just not guaranteed.
Blacksmith items have been improved. A few more choices (it seems), some with 3 affixes to them.
Maybe someone can confirm this; but it seems like the game has a slightly different color tint to it now too. I can't place it; but it just seems ... different.
Diablofans is looking to recruit some new mods! Your job will be to help the current mod staff keep the forums neat and tidy according to the forum guidelines. Here are a few general things to go over.
DiabloFans Quote:
Results for Currency-Based AH for HC
You may remember the tweet Jay Wilson sent out about maybe allowing RMAH for hardcore players if there was enough demand for it. A poll was placed on the official forums and players voiced their opinions on the matter. The results are now in.
Originally Posted by Jay Wilson (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
results are split. As many seem to hate as love the idea. We still plan gold only at ship. Too late to change now. (Source)
Diablo 3 Pre-Order Info & Blue Posts
Originally Posted by (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Time Servers Will Be Live
As of our current internal build, you can't move a skill to another location on your action bar while it is on cooldown. In addition, you cannot remove a skill from your action bar while it is on cooldown.
I imagine that these changes made it into Beta Patch 15, but if not, let me know here (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Diablo: The Order Cover Art
The cover art for the upcoming Diablo novel was revealed a little while ago. The novel is written by Nate Kenyon and it will focus on Deckard Cain and the 8 year old Leah, scouring the world of Sanctuary for possible remnants of the Horadrim. The book is scheduled to be released on May 15th , you can pre-order you own copy from Amazon.com.
Here we have a small excerpt from the novel, this means you are now entering the Spoiler Area, so if you don't like spoilers, you should just skip this.
No-one seems to understand that if it's not offered, people will look to third party alternatives, which inspired the RMAH in the first place...
The only people that will look to third party alternatives are the ones who won't bother to either find gold themselves, or find items themselves. And from my experience, people playing hardcore generally are the people who also want more of a challenge from the game, and therefore aren't nearly as likely to "pay-to-win". If people are wanting to pay for their items so bad, hopefully it'll discourage them greatly from playing hardcore and not pollute the economy there.
Just my thoughts, I don't terribly like the idea of a RMAH at all, I understand why it's in the game at all though.
About items: I'm torn between curiosity and the desire to avoid spoilers.
And am curious about who will be our new moderators, I promise I'll make your life as difficult as it could be!
Official Blizzard Quote:
Update 3/18/12 2:00 p.m. PDT: The Diablo III test server is live, but service may be intermittent for the next few hours as we work to address ongoing issues. Thank you for your patience.
On another note it is quite the shame that we won't be seeing a RMAH for HC. Hopefully as the game goes live, people will reconsider.
Skeleton king has about 2400 health. Up from ~1600. Hits a little harder, too.
Armor/Weapon racks are more rare (maybe 1-2 per level, instead of nearly every corner), but more likely to drop a blue/yellow item. Seems like ~33% of the time.
New rare/champion mob for the beta (lately) - resurrectionist (not sure what it does for sure, I'm sure it's implied by the name :P)
Blacksmith items have been improved. A few more choices (it seems), some with 3 affixes to them.
Maybe someone can confirm this; but it seems like the game has a slightly different color tint to it now too. I can't place it; but it just seems ... different.
Less blue from the champ/rares, yes; less armor/weapon racks, yes; racks dropping rares/blues, not yet (but I've played little so...)
SK more difficult to kill? Does not seem so, but mobs seem a bit thougher than before so he may have grown stronger.
Soul Harvest: Great!
two hammers (and a bit of thorns) later it died (you can also see "imprisonment" wearing off)