DiabloFans

In addition to all the great content we'll be bringing you during this year's BlizzCon, we'd like you to join us in celebrating this year's convention by ordering a JINX-brand Curse tee, this weekend from Friday through Sunday. To snag your 20%-discounted Curse swag, simply enter the code CursePromo at the JINX store with your order to get yours!

So snag a tee, grab some junk food, and stay tuned with DiabloFans for more on BlizzCon 2011

(Source/source) Wondering what will become of your carefully-crafted hardcore characters in Diablo III after they pass on? Vaneras responded to some fan inquiry today regarding the afterlife of hardcore characters; to be sure, it's an improvement from Diablo II.

In the old days, dead hardcore characters consumed valuable slots in online accounts, forcing players to make yet more accounts for fear of losing trophies of their accomplishments. Although the previous solution was unlimited, since accounts could be created ad nauseum, Diablo III accounts are singular and capped.

To account for the lack of space, as well as cater to the desire to preserve ghostly trophies, Diablo III is taking a much more convenient angle on hardcore deaths, allowing not only for perusal of butchered hardcore characters, but also access to interesting statistics about their journeys:


But probably on the softer side, Vaneras also mentioned that all is not lost when hardcore characters inevitably kick the bucket. While "items in the possession of any HC character at the time of death will be lost," he wrote, any items kept in the hardcore shared stash will remain perfectly usable for current or future hardcore characters.

Do you think that the Hall of the Dead is a logical next step in catering to hardcore players' needs? Should hardcore items in hardcore shared stashes remain intact, even after the original character is defeated? Does this make hardcore mode easier, minimizing hardcore losses, or only more convenient?

Blizzard's annual celebration of all things Diablo, Warcraft, and Starcraft is this week, and here's the scoop on everything to expect as we near day one of the weekend's events. As always, we here at DiabloFans will do our best to bring you everything the event has to offer, from as-it-happens news to dissection of post-event releases.

For a complete list of events and a guide through the festivities, make sure you take advantage of Blizzard's BlizzCon app for the Android and i-devices.


Blizzard has already highlighted three panels, including Ask the Artists, The Sounds of Sanctuary, and the Artists' Stage. But for even more Diablo excitement, keep an eye on the following events and discussions:

• Diablo III: Gameplay and Combat Systems (Day 1: 12:00 - 12:50 PM)
• Diablo III: Skill, Passive, and Rune Systems (Day 1: 1:00 - 1:50 PM)
• Diablo III in the Lore Zone (Day 1: 4:30 - 6:00 PM; Day 2: 3:00 - 4:00 PM)
• Diablo III: Gameplay & Auction House (Day 1: 4:45 - 5:45 PM)
• Diablo III Lore (Day 2: 10:00 - 11:00 AM)
• Diablo III Open Q&A (Day 2: 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM)
• Diablo III: Gear and Items (Day 2: 12:00 - 12:50 PM)
• Diablo III: Lore and Story (Day 2: 2:30 - 3:45 PM)
• Blizzard Cinematics: Diablo III - Making of "Black Soulstone" (Day 2: 3:00 - 4:00 PM)

Perhaps Blizzard might even have some tricks up its sleeve. With a portended release in early 2012, some contend that a release date for Diablo III might not be far off.

To be sure, Diablo certainly has a presence at this year's convention, and we're excited to bring all the action to you! Stick around for all the latest as BlizzCon 2011 kicks off.

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This is also a great time to point out the BlizzCon 2011 Mobile App! Plan on attending the Convention? Use the app to help you plan your trip!

In the old days, Diablo II characters were about as unique as an Arctic Binding (Diablo_II) belt. The prevalence of cookie-cutter builds only compounded the limited amount of visual differentiation between equipment, and cosmetic distinction ended where player biographies did.
Enter Diablo III.

To speak nothing of the tons of l33t loot our characters will gather as they transverse the demon-ridden landscape of Sanctuary and beyond, player banners add as much customization as you have patience. In this article, we'll explore the components, limitations, and uses of banners, and discover how they will let you leave your mark on Sanctuary.

Every banner has three essential components: the base banner, the sigil, and dyes. These three parts each have even more options of their own, lending more player choice to the mix.




If we think of the banner as the bread and butter of your character's identity, then the base banner, itself, would be the bread. But do we cut that bread into triangles? Perhaps squares? Diagonal strips? Rhombuses? Tetrahedrons? After all, geometry is fun!


No. Every banner has a variety of cloth shapes, ranging from battered to suave and everything in between; meaning, Blizzard has gone through the trouble of pre-defining shapes and designs for every banner. Selecting any one of these causes selected banner colors to morph with the new design, at which we'll get a closer look when we discuss dyes.

For more hardcore players, we have option number nine, looking something like a flag that's taken a ride in Hell's dryer. For the more whimsical player, we have option number four, featuring a delicate (-ly whimsical) array of tassels.

Whether you're trying to be the baddassiest Barbarian on Battle.net or want to treat your online persona like a meme, it all begins with the banner shape. Whatever you choose, you will be influencing how other players see you, including your attitude and playstyle.




Think of your sigil like your signature. It's the backbone of your Diablo III identity, your stamp of approval on every action you carry out in the game world. The sum epicness of all your adventures, all your daring feats, and all your accomplishments is symbolized in this monochromatic, two-dimensional seal.

Or it could be something completely stupid and meaningless, like a unicorn. Your choice.


In addition to symbols representing each of Diablo III's character classes, ones that appear to personify iconic Diablo factions, two demons, and a fanciful unicorn, there are even options for the Alliance and the Horde, as well as representations of each of Starcraft II's races.

Just below the sigil selection list, there is also a tickable box called Variant. For many of the sigil designs, there are two options: the variant and the original. The variants often have additional flourishes or other graphical elements that make the sigil even more unique. Example:


What if the sigil just doesn't look classy enough? In addition to the sigil, itself, there is a further do-dad that you can stamp on your banner: an accent. (If you're overwhelmed at this point, take a look at this diagram.) Accents appear just under the sigil, a bit of nonsense to make your personal sigil all the more personal:


But there's more to a sigil than its appearance.

In addition to the rather boring, front-and-center default position, sigils may also be moved around on the banner and duplicated by predetermined options.

As pictured on the left, a sigil can appear as a big, fat version in the absolute center, or in a miniature version in any of the four corners or the center. Miniature versions can also be duplicated so that one is in the top-left and another is in the bottom-right. You can even have four miniature versions in all four corners.




Last but certainly not least, we have dyes. You can stain three components of your banner: the pattern, the sigil, and the base banner. Often times, the color for the base banner will come through as the borders of the cloth, but this isn't always the case.

It should be noted that banner dyes are the not same as the dyes that we see in-game. At this point, we have no reason to believe that dyes you gather for your equipment can be applied to your banner, as there is currently no inventory correlation. This may change during or after the beta, but it looks safe to say that the two are entirely separate.




While there are a number of awesome features that help make each banner unique, there are some things you just can't do. As far as Diablo III is concerned, what you see is often what you get.

For instance, don't hope to position your sigil at any (x,y) coordinate beyond the choices presented to you. Your sigil goes where Blizzard says it goes, end of story. You also can't layer sigils over each other or choose more than one, as seen in the layering feature of Call of Duty: Black Ops' player card emblem designing interface.

Furthermore, the colors you have are what you can use. No fancy color wheels, hexadecimal color code boxes, or any of that modern nonsense is present here. Of course, the twenty-two dye options seem to cover the bases well.

But enough about the details. What does the banner actually do?

Banners appear in a number of places, but they don't always look like waving standards. In banner creation mode, you will notice that in the lower, right-hand corner of the banner interface there is a little square that mimics the sigil area of the banner. This little guy is what I like to call the "banner thumb," much like images often have a thumb version which represents the larger one.

The most obvious usage of banners is to represent characters in a party. In Diablo III, parties remain persistent, whether you're in a game or just hanging around chatting between games. The party leader has the privilege of banner representation in this instance; it billows just behind the party leader, with party members gathered around it. Outside of games, the banner thumb of each party member is also shown on the right-hand side of the screen in a neat column.

The social interface makes heavy usage of the banner thumb. Here, as in the out-of-game party screen, friends are represented by a number of data bits, including Battle.net account, character name, level, class, and so forth, but the most visual element in the left-hand list is the banner thumb. The "recent" tab, which shows a list of players that you recently stomped the forces of Hell with, shows player information in a likewise fashion.

In-game, banners play several roles. Pressing the G hotkey will drop your banner from the heavens into the earth, there to be adored by any nearby players. For the life of me, I can't figure out what good this really does, except to serve as some kind of primeval testament to territorial ownership (much like a dog pissing on a fire hydrant.) Some have speculated that it might be some manner of call-to-arms for PvP, although that would seem to require entrance in a separate arena game.

UPDATE: Negropotamus has confirmed that the place-able banner allows team players to define where their other team members appear when using the banner near the waypoint. Useful for those tricky moments when you know waves of angry Undead will be spawning all over you during, say, the Jar of Souls quest in the Defiled Crypt.

But far more interesting than that is pictured at the left: Banners serve as portkeys to the player represented. A feature inline with Blizzard's focus on getting players into the action as soon as possible, clicking any companion's banner will send you hurtling through the Ether to where ever that player currently is. No consumable items required, and the process takes only as long as your crappy computer needs to load the next area.

Banner Stuff Not in the Beta

There are also a number of banner features that have not yet been implemented in the beta, features that we will likely not get a hands-on preview until the game actually releases. Among these are various adornments to your banner in your character's profile.

A Throne of Bones: Hardcore players get to show off their status with a special pile of ghastly ruin at the foot of their banners. This grizzly marker helps distinguish the regulars from the sadistic thrill-seekers.

Banners for Your Banners: In a redundancy scandal similar to NeoPets' PetPets (pets for our pets? really?), your character's advancements further specialize his or her banner with streamers hanging from the crossbeam at the top.

Whether you're a gear-hording hermit or a player-assassinating homicidal maniac, images speak volumes louder than actions. Your banner represents the core of your character, your online persona, and will go before you as a precedent to future relationships.

And any way to distinguish yourself from clamoring hordes of n00bs isn't such a bad thing, either.

Ragdoll physics are all the rage with next-gen titles, but maybe Diablo III has taken the concept too far. Don't get me wrong: imp soccer is probably the "in" thing in some countries, but is it right for Diablo?

A user at the Diablo III community forum asked as much, professing that "the forces of both gravity and friction are way too weak to look right."

While Bashiok did say that there are "some straight up issues that [the team] intend[s] to correct," he also explained that much of what is seen in-game is a faithful rendering of their vision of the game:


The moon physics, as trend followers have come to call the phenomenon, isn't limited to the Barbarian. The effect is common among many skills, such as the Wizard's Energy Twister. Dead bodies behave more like toy dolls in a hurricane than anything of a like scale in our world. But most of this is intended:


Or perhaps this is all really the work of Gravitablo, the Lord of Gravitational and Frictional Disruption, and Bashiok is merely an unwitting pawn in the nefarious Demon Lord's dastardly work.

If you haven't had the chance to observe the controversial physics yourself, or you haven't been invited into the beta quite yet, Force Strategy Gaming has an excellent video that shows just how out-of-this-world the force of gravity behaves in the world of Sanctuary:

The bad news is that everything "news" about the beta was covered during the Friends and Family testing period, before we were even allowed in. The good news is that I finally had the time to sit down and write about my experiences playing with the Wizard, the casting archetype of Diablo III. Along the way, we'll explore some interesting aspects of this decade's iteration of the series, up to the epic battle with the Skeleton King and including skills ranging from the powerful to the mundane.

Disclaimer: If you decide to read further than this line, you accept that I may divulge certain bits of information that some may view as spoilers. Beyond this line, I will make no effort, whatsoever, to hide this information, since that is counterproductive to the intent of an informative article.

The beginning has always carried a certain sentimental value to me as a Diablo player. Your character wanders onto the screen, wearing naught but minimum grade armor, a crappy weapon, and a single skill. It's only up from here!

Not much has changed in that regard except, perhaps, that our characters now have motives. Yes, my friends, our heroes have reasons to be where they are! Hoping to find the Fallen Star that landed in the ruins of Old Tristram, my male Wizard strode boldly down the path towards New Tristram, with nothing but Magic Missile and Frost Nova (Diablo III) at his disposal, ready to take on the hordes of the Undead and the legions of the Burning Hells. How very bold of him.

One of the cooler changes from Diablo III's predecessors is that it's not long before you're in the heat of battle. My Wizard took not ten steps before a Risen appeared, feasting on a festering pile of human carrion (take that you Diablo-III-isn't-gory-enough crazies!). Body parts flew in majestic arcs through the night air as I slammed the unwitting zombie with Magic Missile, trailing the purple light indicative of arcane-elemental spells. Before I had entered the village proper, a veritable pile of the Undead was mounded before the gate. Diablo magic, I'd say.

Here I would like to note something of ghastly interest: Frequently enough, the Risen, as their name implies, rise again after they are slaughtered. Crawling forward with bloodthirsty intent, they drag their abdomens through the earth as their severed spines leak out vital fluids, nearing the unaware adventurer handhold by handhold. Moral of the story: When you kill a zombie, make sure it's dead.

News of the dead rising from their graves has not made every denizen of Sanctuary hop out of bed in the middle of the night and sprint out the door with an axe at the ready. Entering the village of Old Tristram, another neat new feature of Diablo III comes to light: Brother Malachi the Healer, a pious, fire-and-brimstone preaching ex-zealot of the Zakarum faith, is already screaming damnation for the world before I even had the presence of mind to click on him.

Gossip in the game manifests itself in two primary mediums: the player opting for various discussion topics when interfacing an NPC, much like in the older games, and when passing NPC's. Some even have discussions with each other. While not necessarily a breakthrough in storytelling (games have had this kind of thing for years), it is new to the series and adds a certain level of authenticity to the social vibe.

Reaching town center, a welcome design change is present: no more wandering all over creation trying to find that accursed waypoint! ( Kurast Docks, anyone?) Located in scenic downtown New Tristram, the waypoint is surrounded by all the most useful features of the fledgling village: the Blacksmith, a merchant to the upper right (not pictured), the location to hire your hireling, the entrance to the tavern (whose proprietor peddles potions and other odds and ends), and, eventually, the man himself: Deckard Cain.

The waypoint interface is also more useful, if somewhat cluttered. Collapsible menus now offer categorized destinations, as well as recent destinations. And, if you for some reason can't read your location off your mini-map in the upper right-hand corner of your screen, it even tells you where you are! Nifty.

But not all the action is outside. Indeed, one of the great new aspects of Diablo III that, in my opinion, is a bit down-played is that you can actually go inside multiple structures in towns, with even more NPC's to interact with. While in Diablo II this was evidenced rather minimally, in Diablo III we see full-blown quest points and NPC interaction. The moment my Wizard walked into the inn, the injured gathered there immediately began to rise as the Undead. Leah and myself had to jump into the fray to smooth the situation over. These aren't simply buildings with their roofs fading away, as we saw in Diablo II, but entire new mini-dungeons stuffed with homeliness and NPC goodies. In New Tristram, enterable buildings include the Slaughtered Calf Inn and Deckard Cain's home.

Nearly all of the NPC's in New Tristram share one trait that makes them an improvement over the previous games: they don't just stand there all day waiting to give out a quest to whatever lucky adventurer wanders along the road. One can only wonder how much smithing Griswold actually did.

But enough of New Tristram. What about the rest of the game?

Despite all the cool things there are to take in when visiting the barely-hanging-on village of New Tristram, I was sent on my way nearly the instant I walked into the Slaughtered Calf Inn. Zombie syndrome seemed to spread like a disease, even among those in the village, and one impromptu battle later I was on my way from the inn and down the eerie Old Tristram Road. Murders of crows flapping dramatically off into the night? Check. Creaking wagon wheels moving all on their own? Check. Ruined homes with a murderous history? Check.

And some of them have nice little dungeons underneath. Oh, and Blizzard wasn't kidding when they said their random dungeons would be cool.


I must have been through ten random dungeons (sorry folks, I have other time commitments, too) in my various play-throughs of the beta, and each time they feel new and exciting. Entering one Musty Cellar below the ghostly ruins of an old farm home, I see a Quill Fiend poking around near the steps. Approaching it, and readying my Wizard to blast it to Hells with my l33t Adventuring Oak Wand of the Oracle, the little critters scuttled off into the darkness. I ran after him, spamming all kinds of flashy stuff, wondering where the rest of the monsters were, until the little guy scurried under a pile of debris in the center of a room down a hall.

The junk exploded and out poured the entire mob of the dungeon in one instant. Quill Fiends ran everywhere, doing that thing they do (shooting quills, if you haven't figured that part out yet.) One Frost Nova and a quick recovery later, I realized that the @#$%er had tricked me into following him to a whole nest of ravenous, twitchy little scoundrels.

Of course, there are other variations of the dungeon. Several times, my Wizard entered one such cellar, openly wondering where all the loot was. Rounding a corner, I saw that the Quill Fiends--those fiends!--had already broken open my chest and sacked the place. However, killing their leader dropped the loot that would have generated in the chest. And it gave me a sense of accomplishment. Two birds with one stone.

Further along the Old Tristram Road, zombie hordes were made even more annoying (but awesome, since zombies are awesome) with the addition of Wretched Mothers. These puketastic baddies seem to be stuck on a perpetual hangover, vomiting their guts out--maybe in a literal sense. Not only is it disgusting, but the vomitus propagates another zombie. Until the Wretched Mother is killed, the process continues. TLDR: Kill the Wretched Mother first and save yourself some time and effort.

A few dead (well, re-dead) Wretched Mothers later, I was heading out with Leah in pursuit of her mother's old hut. Yes, Diablo I's witch, Adria, returns. Or at least her house does. And she's got a nice little piece of real estate out in that forsaken sixteenth of an acre of no-man's land. But one of the coolest things about this encounter is that Leah follows you, chats with you, kills monsters with you, and interacts with game world objects. Some of the Wizard's characteristic scholarly mindset sparks up here and other places. It's amazing how fixated the guy is on the Fallen Star.

The journey from here on out is something of a trip down memory lane.


Ah, the Cathedral, how I've missed thee! Kael Rills is long gone, of course, and I do miss the blood-red light knifing through the dark. But maybe the deceptive serenity surrounding the Cathedral is what makes it most unsettling. Its depths are anything but serene.

The Fallen Star finally makes its reappearance. In its wake, it's left a tell-tale trail of otherwordly blue flames and a crater big enough to stuff over nine thousand McDonald's regulars. The journey down the old Horadrim bastion is crawling with the Undead. Ravenous Dead prowl the halls, often in groups. Carrion Bats stalk in clouds, swarming my Wizard with their annoying little zaps (reminiscent of Diablo II's Bat Demon (Diablo II)s.) And, of course, the Grotesque (Diablo III).

While not particularly the most dangerous of enemies, the Grotesque sported a few elements that might prove tricky, especially in later difficulties: a reasonably large amount of health, a corpse explosion guaranteed on death, and a mobile army inside its stomach. Okay, a handful of killer Lampreys (eels) wasn't really that dangerous, either, but it was just freakin' weird. Later in the game, the Grotesque was more likely to expel a number of Imps, though these, for the most part, ran off in random directions until I sniped them down with Electrocute.


Eventually--inevitably--Cain popped up. Uncle Deckard had decided to go dumpster diving in the Cathedral for some esoteric lore in his never-ending battle against the forces of the Burning Hells. What a harmless idea.

Cain's addition to the mix brings another cool feature with Diablo III's take on story-telling: NPC's that talk with each other. Back in town, Cain and Leah catch up on old times: doomsday prophecy, demonic lore, the usual. Their interaction occasionally mixed in the haughty attitude of the Wizard. Were any other character to be the hero in the discussion, he, too, would add his character's flavor to the discussion.

But Diablo III isn't all idle chatter and zombie pounding. The climax of the beta culminates in the battle with the Skeleton King, a point which Bashiok has specified as a third of the way through the first act.

While the battle was not really that difficult (this is, basically, "easy" mode for testing purposes), King Leoric's ghostly remains had a few tricks up its sleeves.


The battle is initiated by clicking on the King. I started every battle by popping a few Diablo III Potions to boost my resistances, attack, and defense. The buffs are minimal and last only several minutes, but every little bit helped.

Leoric has three primary modes: a whirlwind attack similar to the Barbarian crossed with a I-don't-know-how-to-swing-my-weapon frenzy mode, a teleportation spell, and a simple swing attack with his massive mace. Periodically, he disappears from the fray, leaving a rabble of Undead minions in his wake. Of particular use during the skeleton waves was the Wizard's Wave of Force.

Wave of Force works great in mobs due to its large area of effect and massive knockback. The damage isn't bad, either, often decimating low-level mobs in a single hit. For my purposes, the wave blew gathering swarms of Returned and Forgotten Soldiers away from me, the fragile caster, and off into my patient comrades. Oh, and did I mention the +50% speed impediment?

Defensively, the battle can be fought with two skills: either Ice Armor or Diamond Skin (we're not even going to talk about Storm Armor, since it lacks any defensive buffs.) While Diamond Skin is better for straight damage reduction, its relatively short duration (five seconds) makes it more of a cast-in-the-moment-of-need spell. Frozen Armor, while not a big damage absorber, does increase the Wizard's armor significantly (50%), lasts for two glorious minutes, and chills every enemy that attacks you--including the Skeleton King! This also works great in mobs, allowing the unwary Wizard to escape with his skin intact in certain sticky situations.


From a safe distance, I could then spam them with Electrocute, which works exactly like Diablo II's Chain Lightning, or Energy Twister. (Oh, clever hint: Energy Twister is perfect for kiting. Cast and run, baby!)

And that about wraps things up. If any of you were fortunate enough to have played the beta yet, we'd love to hear about your experiences playing with the Wizard--any crafty spell tips, survival scenarios, or witty lines the Wizard is so prone to imparting.

And, if you still can't get enough Wizard (*cough sign of addict cough*), we prescribe Force Gaming Strategy's excellent Wizard playthrough videos on YouTube. Here's one to get you started:

UPDATE: It seems that the major changes is just going to be when certain skills are obtained and how much resource other skills cost to use.


As posted in italiano on the official European community site, it looks like the Demon Hunter hasn't seen the end of the iteration process. Community correspondant Zhydaris writes:


After the hype surrounding some of the more controversial aspects of the Demon Hunter (see Much Ado About Colors and Diablocast XXIV), we can't say that we didn't see something coming. This also speaks highly of the testing process, a clear example of well-received feedback "radically changing" the current iteration of the game.

While not technically speaking as the final system requirements for the game, it is likely that fans can put the age-old question to rest. Blizzard revealed the full system requirements for the Diablo III beta.

It cannot be stressed enough that these requirements, while giving a good indication, do not speak for the final game, but early beta, exclusively.

Full thanks goes to Verity for spotting the update. For discussion, please see his thread here.

(Source) With relatively little of the game included in the upcoming beta, Risingred of the official Battle.net board raised a series of questions, trying to get at the heart of the real function of beta testing for Diablo III. While you may be just itching to start your crusade into the twisted heart of the Burning Hells, if you haven't been following beta news lately, you may be disappointed. This article aims to set expectations straight and reveal what Blizzard intends beta testers to, well, test.

As far as the content included in the beta, which was vaguely mentioned in our press event coverage, Bashiok posted that the team "want(s) the spoilers to (be at) a minimum," with the beta cutting off shortly after conquering the Skeleton King. The story that is revealed may act as a mind-boggling cliffhanger to run our salivating mouths. Nothing like a little more hype, right?

But the true purpose of the beta lies at the structural level. Bashiok elaborates:


The reason for the testing is also due to the platform which Diablo III will be using to bring players together. Battle.net 2, while a far-reaching online social gaming platform, is not so uniform that games can simply be "popped" in and support magically works. The Battle.net Diablo III experience has been and is being hand-crafted to fit the look and feel of the game, as well as its unique game mechanics and systems. This means that the online experience has never seen the light of day, in spite of Battle.net 2 being featured with Starcraft II. Bashiok noted that the system "is completely untested, which is the top reason for the beta, followed closely by personal system testing, patching systems (also new), and gameplay feedback."

Regardless, the beta still promises to be tons of fun, and Bashiok promises that "nothing is cut out. Some systems and skills won't unlock because you simply won't hit those points or levels, but it's very much the game from the start to the Skeleton King."

Furthermore, the beta might not be that far away, if the launch of the official Beta FAQ/Overview page on Blizzard's official site means anything. In addition, yesterday's conference call confirmed a two-month window for the beta, and Zarhym's call to update our beta profiles may be not-so-subtle hinting. Here's to hoping!

[dfans]

(Source) After the announcement of the removal of yet another point-mashing feature (seen in our coverage of the press event), many are wondering how the Diablo III team rationalizes not having skill points while preaching customization to the masses. A user on the official Battle.net forum board brought the question to Bashiok's table, who responded with the sentiments of the team.

Their explanation leans back on the "it's not Diablo II" argument which has been touted since the game's announcement back in 2008:

But the Diablo III team wants the latest game in the series to go beyond, as they see it, another shortcoming they saw in Diablo II's skill system. Bashiok says that "one common mistake people are making is thinking all the class skills are straight damaging attack skills... There's no variety because you just pick the most powerful six, and you're done."

Their latest iteration of the skill system essentially splits what would have been called passive and active skills in Diablo II into two exactly that: passive and active skills. Where passive skills are invested in separately and contribute to your character's brawn in secret, regular skills are the ones you will use to blast your enemies into gooey bits, as well as zip around the screen at lightning speeds and issue combo attacks. Not all of these skills are straight damage dealers. Some of them allow resource regeneration or life steal, which adds another level of tactical flare to your combat experience.

Whereas in the past you would have used skill points (awarded at each level-up) to augment the power of your favorite skills (or the potency of synergies), the new skill system in Diablo III scales your skills based on your level. In addition, runestones, including their numerous tiers, affect the look, feel, and effects of your skills. Beyond them, gear directly affects your battle potency. Bashiok laid out a Diablo II scenario for demonstration:


So, removing functionality encourages customization? While many would argue the case of stat point removal for Diablo III, this might not be exactly the same thing. Regardless, this solution does directly address the "one or two skills" scenario (Diablo II cookie-cutter builds, anyone?), so maybe it is a big step in the right direction.

Interestingly enough, the removal of skill point allotment indirectly addresses yet another controversial topic: respeccing. Many have argued that allowing for respeccing caters to a "softer" gaming audience and drains the game of an element of challenge (just take a look through a 2008 article's responses). Without skill points, there's no longer any need for respeccing. Whether or not this appeases more hardcore players is another question entirely.

Force had some excellent one-on-one time with Jay Wilson to get the full story straight from the Diablo man, himself. Wilson talked about everything leading up to the latest decision, including observations from alpha testing and conclusions drawn from prior strategy scenarios in the older games.


But does all this wishy-washy skill softness mean something more than encouraging more diverse builds? As a user on the Battle.net board asked, "Do you come upon a particularly nasty group that this other skill would just be perfect for, so you hang back, grab that skill, then destroy the group?"

Bashiok did not shoot the idea down entirely:


The removal of skill points seems like a step away from the spirit of the franchise, instilled in us with Diablo II. It will restrict cookie-cutter and low-skill-count builds to an extent, and it indirectly removes the need for a controversial respeccing system. But it is a far cry different from the original games and many "Diablo clones," possibly alienating parts of an otherwise eager audience.

Since Bashiok's response to a fan inquiry last week (see Alt Options, Tiered Skill Slots, and the Infamous Auction House), the subject of skill cooldowns has been on the rise again in the Diablo fan community. So far, we've learned that in addition to higher resource costs, higher-tiered skills may also have longer cooldown periods, with as much as two minutes for the Barbarian being already known.

A bit of post-post followup on Bashiok's part left us with the team's reasoning behind the cooldowns, which have been met with both approval and skepticism, as well as a small idea of how Runes (Diablo III) will play into cooldown limitations on higher-end skills.


And, of course, cooldown timers are nothing new to the Diablo series. Several skills in Diablo II, including Blizzard (Diablo II) and Frozen Orb, among others, forced players to wait precious few seconds, encouraging the usage--or spamming--of other skills in the interim. But Diablo II's timers were significantly shorter than those of Diablo III's highest-tiered skills. We wonder, what makes things different in the latest game to merit such significantly longer cooldowns?


And in case you invest in skills with long cooldown periods and discover that they don't fit into your playstyle, respeccing will be viable option in Diablo III, if not a panacea. We've known for some time now that the team is intent on implementing respeccing of some caliber in Diablo III (see ScyberDragon's excellent Diablo III FAQ).

As we draw ever-nearer to the likely third quarter beta release, it looks like Blizzard is holding true to its promise of revealing major game mechanics to an eager fan crowd.



Oh, you naughty dog, Bashiok, playing the soon(TM) card. Oh well.

With a new mechanic announcement on the horizon, tons of great information already in our pockets, beta just out of reach, and Blizzcon 2011 fast approaching, it's truly an exciting time to be a Diablo fan. Stick around for all the latest as our decade-long wait finally comes to a close.

[dfans]

Runestones, the skill-modifying hallmark of Diablo III, now have an official page on Blizzard's official Diablo III site.



The page comes complete with recaps and demonstrations for a select skill of each character. Here's a selection of other articles that you might be interested in if you haven't been reading up on these lil' guys:

Resurrections, Shrines, Poison Clouds and Rune Effects
Bashiok on Rune Levels and Progression
Working Skill Rune Names Disclosed

Of course, the most accurate and up-to-date information on runestones is now all on the official page. Special thanks to peign for posting this information first!

Talisman Gets Cut

Furthermore, the Talisman, which was previously a storage device for the player's charms, has been cut for the foreseeable future.

The device essentially forced players to allot a specific amount of space for charms, a mechanic and item hold-over from the days of Diablo II, while simultaneously freeing-up real inventory space for everything else found on Sanctuary escapades. The decision between power and inventory space often left Diablo II players with conflicting desires to gather items and to become exceptional and efficient warriors, and so the talisman largely resolved this issue. Bashiok elaborates:


So for now, no talisman. But perhaps we'll see one somewhere down the road, say, expansion one?

It's been a while since we've had a good old-fashioned fan art update here on DiabloFans. Today, we're going to take the time to highlight some exceptional pieces that have popped up on the board over the last few weeks. And there's a lot to see.

Fan Art
The Demon Hunter seems to be a fan favorite. Long-time member Richwood666 shows us a faithful rendering (left) of her in detailed 3D. For now, the work focuses entirely on her armor, with new sections added regularly. The project started in mid April. You can track his progress on the piece in the thread here.

Richwood's no stranger to fan art. Back in 2008, he participated in the Blizzard Fanart Contest, petitioning his 3D rendering of a memorable section of Diablo II's Rogue Encampment. Although he didn't quite make the cut then, his talents have come a long way. He now boasts an online portfolio of his work that can be found on his official website.

Enkeria posted another nice fan take on the Demon Hunter (right), found on Deviant Art by the user evilflesh (see the entire portfolio here.) The comments following the deviation discuss not only the better parts of the piece, but also some of the challenges the artist faced.

Hammerli is working on his own version of the Demon Hunter while he dabbles in digital painting. His work-in-progress can be seen in the board thread here.

Going back to the nostalgic days of Diablo II, anubin posted a ton of comprehensive shots of his 3D rendering (left) of the Pandemonium Fortress, a bastion of the High Heavens in the very heart of the Burning Hells. See his thread for sixteen more screenshots, including views of the entire fortress and other great angles.

ydemonhunter posted the stages of developing his hellish imp in 3D, from conceptual sketch to full 3D rendering. See here for the full discussion thread.

Last on the fan art front, but certainly not least, TheElderMoon posted a link to a special treat straight from the MooMoo Farm. His design showing the three epic ingredients to open the way to the Secret Cow Level can now be proudly worn on those awkward-but-necessary forays into the real world. For a nominal fee to support a fledgling artist, you, too, can boast membership in Diablo fandom to the world! See here for more.


Wallpapers
Buried deep in the Fan Art forum lies the ever-popular Wallpaper and OS Art forum. Shown below are some of the latest wallpapers available for your geeking pleasure.


Caniroth's official wallpaper thread contains many additional excellent pieces to baddass-up your desktop (there were far too many to put in one post!), and the rest of Holyknight3000's Fiery Rune series can be found in individual threads in this forum (just look for Fiery Runes in the title.)

May nineth's conference call left us with just enough beta information to drive us crazy but not enough to mark our calendars (if you missed the coverage, see May 9th Conference Call.) The aforementioned beta is being "targeted" to hit testing audiences sometime in Q3 (third quarter) of this year. But just what does "targeted" mean? Today, we'll take a look at instances in which Blizzard has not been on time, and then we'll see what these delays mean for eager Diablo III beta testers.


If there's any one game developing company known for delays...Well, let's just take a look at the facts. The Diablo franchise, itself, is no spring chicken. There's the ten years we've been patiently awaiting Diablo III, and the seven years we had to wait for even the announcement during the final Worldwide Invitational (see Diablo III Announced). But how far back to delays go in Diablo's history?

Did you know that Diablo II was originally slated for a 1999 release date? According to a very archaic passage from the reputed ShackNews game news network, the second installment was delayed an entire year.

But the delays don't stop there. The Starcraft franchise has had its share of shortcomings, even establishing a hallmark among ghosted games. Starcraft: Ghost has been on what Blizzard calls an "indefinite hold" since 2006, with a game announcement reaching as far back as 2002. Guess the game was dead before it even hit shelves.

For a more modern gaming audience, the delays of Starcraft II might be a source for more sorrow. In 2009, GossipGamer reported that the game was being delayed due to Battle.net conflictions (and the game still launched with Battle.net problems.) Before even that delay, it was further put off track due to the taskforce needed to push out Wrath of the Lich King.

As for the much-loved Warcraft RTS franchise, which is often differentiated by fans as being entirely separate from World of Warcraft, Warcraft III was delayed by as much as a year, with a purported release set for 2001 and later delayed to 2002.

Major game releases haven't been the only victims. The hit-or-miss Diablo II Patch 1.10 (Diablo II) faced some sluggishness from it's announcement when it finally hit the scenes in 2003. Patch 1.13 (Diablo II), which we covered extensively from inception to implementation, suffered numerous delays due to patch work on Warcraft III and other unspecified reasons (see WCIII Patch is Up- Diablo II Patch 1.13 Soon to Follow?).

How should these details factor in to our beta date hopes, if at all? To be fair, several things should be taken into consideration with regards to the past. Diablo II was, of course, being developed under a much smaller team than the more modern one led by Jay Wilson. In addition to creating an entirely new game engine from the ground up for Diablo III, Blizzard has undergone several employment revamps since Blizzard North's time, making their last ten years nothing to scoff at.

Starcraft: Ghost was being developed entirely by third-party developers until Blizzard simply bought out the latest company, Swingin' Ape Studios, in 2004. Maybe there's something to be said for it not being directly developed by Blizzard Entertainment. And perhaps to Starcraft II's credit, the game was entirely finished and ready for release, but structural details with the latest rendition of the Battle.net system caused some unforeseen problems.

Years later, Blizzard now boasts dedicated development teams for each franchise, as well as a Battle.net team and a budget that would make most developers envious. With relatively little else going on for Blizzard development-wise, perhaps we can place more faith in "targeted" dates. Let's hear what you think!

A post went up on Diablo3.cc, a Chinese Diablo fansite, covering their exclusive interview with Jay Wilson. Aside from a few snapshots of the strapping Chinaman and Wilson himself, the interview led to some information you may have been awaiting for some time.

(We encourage you to give our Chinese friends their due traffic by clicking here and trying to discern the information for youself.)

Item Binding

About two-fifths of the way down the page, Jay confirmed that there will be no item-binding. Elaboration was thin going by the translation, but based on context it's likely safe to assume that this decision maintains the more free-flowing inventory aesthetic present in earlier Diablo games. Further in-house translation here at DiabloFans (spam zhuge lots of thank-you PM's--his Chinese heritage has contributed some clearer translations) seems to have confirmed this will be across all items, regardless of type or quality.


PvP and Arena Development
(For an excellent recap of PvP in Diablo III, see liquorice's Diablo III PvP - Battle Arenas.)

Jay stressed that the arena may be better suited to testing out various character builds than "official" dueling. This may be nothing new, but he did mention that they may introduce official tournaments with the arena, something typically seen in Blizzard's other franchises. However, because of balancing (see Bashiok on Skill Balancing in PvE and PvP), the decision seems to still be in the air. He stated that primarily because of the heavy focus on customization in Diablo III, the game will not be suited to e-sports, even if they come through with Blizzard-sanctioned matches and tournaments.


End-Game
(For more on Magic Find in Diablo III, see liquorice's Magic Find and Skill Tiers.)

With the release of Diablo II's take on item hoarding, the magic find attribute is either a topic of love or hate among fans. Regardless, it's in Diablo III and it's here to stay. However, during the interview Jay Wilson did state that "magic find in Diablo III is second place. It's not the only thing you can do." One of these "other" things is likely the arena, but we've yet to see any other alternatives to the grind seen in previous games.


Finally...

For all you Necromancer coots, he's been officially confirmed as a returning NPC. Oh, and Diablo's a confirmed returning character in the game. Go figure



Thanks to doomscream for alerting us of this news and a special thanks to zhuge and his father for a the translation of the interview.