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It appears Blizzard has begun working on the first of what we hope to be many Diablo-related books, "Diablo III: Book of Cain"! However, this does not seem to be an actual novel, in fact, I am not exactly sure what to call it. All I can say for certain is that Denzel Washington will not be making an appearance, despite the name, and Deckard Cain is not blind... I think. Based on the description, I believe it will be something similar to those couple of add-on books for Harry Potter, if anyone knows about them (I believe the most recent was The Tales of Beedle the Bard). It looks to be some further reading on the lore/storyline of the series, from Cain's perspective, in addition to some extra sketches and art, that will get us ready for the actual lore behind Diablo 3. That in mind, I am not downplaying this piece of work whatsoever, any die hard DiabloFan should be more than happy to pass over $20 (if you pre-order, you save $10) for this 144 page beauty.

It's possible this book may be included in the Collector's Edition, however with the release date of the book set at November 15th, I almost don't see this happening. The reasoning behind this is simply because anyone who purchases the CE will not really be getting what they've paid for: Collectibles. This particular item would not really be considered a collectible, as it can just be attained by anyone, separate from the CE itself, prior to the game being released. Usually Blizzard tries to keep items in the CE unique, so those of us that prefer to purchase the CE, can feel like we're actually obtaining some awesome goodies.


Thanks to Guarav for the tip!

I want to apologize for the downtime we've experienced over the last few days, Curse had some major hardware failures, and I can assure you that will never happen again. If you want to read further about the issue, Curse released a statement going more in depth on the downtime. However, we're back in the swing of things with this weeks DiabloCast. This time around we talk about the recent invitations to the Diablo 3 Press Event and what that could potentially mean for Beta and the live release. If you missed the fourteenth episode, you can check it out here. Otherwise, the fifteenth episode covered the following topics:

• We're Off to See the Beta
• Which Class to Play? (Poll)

If you've missed any previous episodes, check the archive!

Earlier today I received an invitation to go to Blizzard HQ, at the end of July (27th to be exact), for a world first look at the Diablo 3 Beta (which means Beta won't be out before this event), as well as some new feature reveals, including information on Battle.net 2.0. In addition to these reveals and hands on play, we'll be able to sit in a fansite interview with a few developers, so if anyone has any questions, feel free to let me know in this post and I'll ask what I can! The event itself will be under NDA until August 1st, but I'll keep you all in the loop.

Now for some speculation... Keep in mind, there is still no release date, this could potentially be pretty big. As we know, they are shooting for the Beta to be released in Q3 and they want to have all system and game information revealed prior to that happening. With this event coming up, we will then be able to spill all the beans about the Beta, which could mean it could very well start very shortly after this event. Not only that, but depending on how long the Beta lasts, could mean that we may still potentially have a 2011 release date.

tl;dr Sign of the Beta.

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It also looks like Force also received an invitation, so possibly expect some kind of DiabloCastish thing from HQ! :). Here's a little video announcement for those of you that just want some other cool stuff to listen to.

Our apologies for the lateness of this episode, we had to rerecord due to some technical difficulties. However, we're here and back on track, and we have a brand new special guest! He goes by the name of ScyberDragon, if anyone has heard of him. This time around we talk about the recent Monk Resource System Information and a bit on item progression. If you missed the thirteenth episode, you can check it out here. Otherwise, the fourteenth episode covered the following topics:

• Item Progression and the Cube
• Clarification on the 18 Tiers of Armor
• The Monk Breaks his Vow of Silence
• Which Class to Play? (Poll)

If you've missed any previous episodes, check the archive!

Hey guys, episode 13 is here, and this time Force and I are completely Dragonless. This time around we talk a bit about the brand new SteelSeries gear and do a lot of Battle.net 2.0 speculation. If you missed the twelfth episode, you can check it out here. Otherwise, the thirteenth episode covered the following topics:

• SteelSeries Diablo Gear
• Battle.net Speculation (old SC2 Battle.net article)
• Diablo III's Collector's Edition (Poll)

If you've missed any previous episodes, check the archive!

While we haven't had any major news to work with since the Runestone System announcement, Force has gone ahead and posted a new video of his Purgatory series, covering the news from the last couple of weeks. If you need to quickly catch up (video is 4:42), this is the way to do it. This recent video covers the following topics:

• Blizzard Explores Consoles
• 1 Million Batch of Art
• Murkablo
• The Cosmology of Diablo: The Worldstone

As you've noticed, above are links to our articles as well. If you just want a quick rundown on things, check out the video below. For more information on each topic, click on the links above.

Earlier today, Blizzard informed us of the new Diablo-related material that SteelSeries has planned.


As you can see, they are currently only looking at a Mouse and a Headset to go along with their 2 previous mousepads (Witch Doctor and Barbarian), with no sign of a D3 Keyboard this time around. The Mouse sports an ambidextrous style, so it can be used by both lefties and righties, as well as some other cool features, like 7 programmable buttons, a CPI switch (Counts Per Inch), a plusating D3 logo, and better life support than any other mouse. They haven't set a price for the Mouse, but the recent WoW: Cataclysm mouse they released is currently going for $100. The Headset, on the other hand, also sports that same Demonic Red coloring and illumination, but also has an equalizer, a built-in microphone, and noise reduction abilities. Like the Mouse (and Diablo 3, as Bashiok so bluntly stated), the Headset has no current price or release date, but I'm going to guess that the Headset will go for something around $80.

These items are a must have for any hardcore Diablo fan, or anyone looking for some cool Diablo-related gear to game with.

Episode 12 is here and we're back in the swing of things! This time we have a different type of Dragon (the Phrozen kind, not the Scyber kind) to join us for some epic Lore discussion. In addition, we talk a bit about BlizzCon tickets. If you missed the eleventh episode, you can check it out here. Otherwise, the twelfth episode covered the following topics:

• BlizzCon Discussion
• The Cosmology of Diablo: The Worldstone
• Imperius - The true threat to Sanctuary?
• Nineteenth Batch of Screenshots and Art
• Twentieth Batch of Screenshots and Art
• Your Preferable Rune Effects (Poll)

If you've missed any previous episodes, check the archive!

As we all know, Blizzard just recently released the 5 wallpapers for the 1 million 'Like' goal that we achieved on their Facebook page. Because the general consensus of the public was that those images were somewhat anti-climactic, Blizzard released to us a sixth, never-before-seen image of Tyrael, by Richard Brom. Bashiok also made it very clear that this is not a concept image, this is an artistic interpretation of the Archangel of Justice.


Click the images to bask in the glory of the high resolution versions that you likely won't see anywhere else! I realize we finally hit our goal, but if you haven't yet, go visit facebook.com/Diablo and 'Like' the page! If you've missed any previous batches, simply click the number to see that batch: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

Blizzard has just released their nineteenth, and final, batch of art for hitting the 1 million 'Like' mark. Congratulations everyone, we finally made it! This marks a little over 450k 'Likes' in a little less than 3 months. To mark this feat, we have five hi-res wallpapers by Josh Tallman, one for each class.



Click the images to bask in the glory of the high resolution versions that you likely won't see anywhere else! I realize we finally hit our goal, but if you haven't yet, go visit facebook.com/Diablo and 'Like' the page! If you've missed any previous batches, simply click the number to see that batch: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

For those of you who are into SC2, I was recently at BlizzardHQ to preview the upcoming expansion, Heart of the Swarm. Anyone interested, go check out my review on SC2Mapster. Unfortunately, I didn't get to play any Diablo 3, :(. Oh well!

I apologize this episode was a bit late, but you'll find out why if you listen in! It's a pretty decent reason and the next episode will be on time still. In this episode, we talked about the Runestone System, as Blizzard just recently officially released it, and the removal of the Talisman. In addition, we talk a bit about the upcoming event, BlizzCon! If you missed the tenth episode, you can check it out here. Otherwise, the eleventh episode covered the following topics:
Episode 11 topics list:

• Runestones Hit Diablo3.Com, Talisman Gets Cut
• Runestone System
• Seventeenth Batch of Screenshots and Art
• Eighteenth Batch of Screenshots and Art

If you've missed any previous episodes, check the archive!

Blizzard has just released their seventeenth batch of screenshots (see here if you missed the sixteenth) for hitting the 950k 'Like' mark. Once again, we've got the high resolution versions at our disposal here on DiabloFans. This time around, we got five images!

The first image is a few concept drawings of the Male Barbarian.




The second image is a concept drawing of the Female Barbarian, in Heavy armory.




The third image is a concept drawing of a Spectral Warrior. We currently have no information on the Spectral Warrior, though some speculation makes it to be the Warrior from Diablo I. If you remember, we killed the Warrior (Diablo) in D2. Sure, Diablo still lives somehow, but the shell that he took over (the Warrior) would now be dead.




The fourth image is a concept drawings of some Caves, over what could potentially be the Stinging Winds area in Act II.




The fifth image is a screenshot of some 2v2 PvP action, between two teams made up of one Barbarian and one Wizard each. The red Barbarian appears to be usingLeap Attack, while the blue Barbarian is using either Sprint, as you can see from the side effects (tornado-like things) on the sides.



Click the images to bask in the glory of the high resolution versions that you likely won't see anywhere else! 25,000 more likes to go until the 975k mark where we can get some more images, and 2 more milestones until we hit the 1 million 'Like' goal. Go visit facebook.com/Diablo and 'Like' the page to speed the war effort!

Need to catch up on the lore covering the World of Sanctuary in time for Diablo III? Want to see some badass fanart (including from our own Umpa)? Let us join Force as he takes a look at Diablo's history (pre-D1), in part one of this three part lore series, covering the conflict between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, and Sanctuary's role in between.

The first batch of tickets go on sale tomorrow: May 21st at 10AM PST. For purchasing tips, see here.