DiabloFans

I would not be surprised if for the final weekend of beta (whenever that is), they would have it be open, just to test how the new server hardware takes the massive load. If its not open, it will be like SC2 beta. It was "closed" but they sent out SO many invites that everyone had it.

anddddddddddd at the end of the article, its gonna say "We continue to work hard on Diablo 3, to bring you the best possible Diablo game ever. We're shooting for an early Q2 2012 release" loooooooool. calling it now!!!

-good

-gives the game, an END GAME. Baal runs is boring as fuck, or any other "run" for that matter. DII was dead to me when cows were made useless. Cows were the end game of DII, could drop good stuff, hard to kill, fun, and a benchmark for your char.

-makes it MUCH harder for china farmers to do endless boss runs and flood the AH. It wont be good money for them to have to send their farmers out into the world and just PLAY the game.

-bosses will still drop good stuff, but I find it 10x more fun to just log in and go "hmm I'll just do all of act 1, cuz its FUN"

Everyone and their dog is making posts about trying to get world's first 60. I'm here to tell you why its not a big deal, and suggest an alternative!

1.) No one remembers who gets the first level capped character, it will not bring you fame or E-peen. There will be many people at level 60 within days of release, and no one will give a shit about it by the end of the month.
2.) No one person will get first 60, because at least a dozen people will claim that they did it. AFAIK there's no way to prove it short of screenshots/video/other easily faked methods.
3.) Thousands of people will hit level cap within a few hours of the first person who manages it. You aren't special, you merely had the free time and perhaps a little more than your fair share of luck (IE XP shrines, finding the right path on your first try in a lot of places, etc)

Being able to invest the kind of time to reach 60 in a few days isn't an accomplishment. This is from someone who took time off work for release--I, like you, could be doing this exact thing. However, my first level 60 will probably be my slowest, since this will be my first time playing the game and I want to experience it fully. If I were to race to level 60, I would ruin the game for myself, enjoying it less in the name of a worthless goal.

Not everyone has to agree with me, but I hope some of you will be dissuaded from this stupidity and avoid ruining your first play through.

If you are looking for something more worthwhile, the first person/group to beat Inferno will probably be much more prominent, seeing as its actually a skill challenge instead of a time investment. Unlike the race to 60, Inferno is something that not everyone can do, and is a real accomplishment.

One component of that WILL be hitting level 60 quickly, but that is not THE goal, and it doesn't require that you do it first--only that you do it in a timely fashion. Skill will be the biggest component beyond that point, and the best individuals and groups will get ahead not by crunching (well, not entirely) but by being tactical and coordinating.

As an example of how this might appeal to people who ARE only interested in e-peen, its worth noting that the important and memorable "world firsts" of games like WoW were not hitting level caps, but defeating big tough raid bosses.

*Prepares for onslaught of hatred for mentioning WOW*

The point is that this leveling mentality is an artifact from the silly ladder system in Diablo 2, and the broken way the level cap operated (IE being far higher than anyone ever had any need to attain). Don't let the flaws of D2 corrupt your first experience of D3!

http://www.diablofan...rno-p2/#post227

Lol@Those of you saying it was made easier




Edit:

Bashiok has said the following via Twitter as well:


https://twitter.com/#!/Bashiok/status/187421452549636096

Quote from tanis0

Statements in the form of, "gib bow ama."

Runewords which were impossible to get without duping.

Tiny inventory space filled with charms.

Losing items transferred in "drop" games since there was no shared stash.

Ninja-looting.

Needing multiple accounts for item storage.

Having to find trade games.

Trading for SOJ's and gems since gold was worthless.

Duped items which disappeared without warning.

Endless boss runs.

Having to level a new character for every new build idea.

Very few proficient builds - and just about two dozen viable builds...

Stat points - STR for gear, dex for block, rest vit

Open World PvP

Mundane leveling process - 8 player Tristram Runs -> 8 player tomb runs -> 8 player baal runs -> 8 player nightmare baal runs -> 8 player Hell CS runs until ~80 then Hell Baal runs x15000

The Maggot Lair

All of Act III

All players learn the same spells via books (D1)

Godly Plate of The Whale (Was a hacked item in D1 - The game can't spawn it in a legit manner)

Wisps

Bone Fetishes

Fire Enchanted sometimes one-shotting you upon death explosion

Horadric Cube recipes

Double/Triple Immunities

The resolution

Shrines that don't tell you what they do (Talking about D1)

+1-3 Skill items instead of +5-20% Damage/Radius/Etc (So glad they changed this)

Rune-words giving every class skills that aren't from their class

Everybody using Mana

Open B.net

Potion Spamming

Bots (Both chat and running bots)

Ith Bugs and similar bugs

Rushing

Bolts and Arrows

Ethereal Throwing Weapons (Sad that we don't have throwing weapons though :()

Synergy with skills (I don't mean how well they work together...I mean boosting the damage of other spells!)

Lightning Beetles in A2

Lagging into Duriel's room -> Death (Remedied a little while after D2 came out due to technological advancement)

Gold was worthless

Stamina sucked ass at lower levels

As a Barb the game was honestly auto attack fever until you had enough mana leech + damage to stay capped

Iron Maiden as a Barb/Pally in Hardcore

Minions of Destruction sometimes kept knocking you back and you couldn't hit them

You eventually out-leveled the monsters in A5 Hell

Cow portal couldn't be opened after your King was slain while you were in the game

Runes completely out-performed Gems

Everybody tele-ported straight to the boss

Attack Rating and Defense system

A lot of useless skills

Gold cap for vendoring based on Act

Fixed it for you!

Statements in the form of, "gib bow ama."

Runewords which were impossible to get without duping.

Tiny inventory space filled with charms.

Losing items transferred in "drop" games since there was no shared stash.

Ninja-looting.

Needing multiple accounts for item storage.

Having to find trade games.

Trading for SOJ's and gems since gold was worthless.

Duped items which disappeared without warning.

Endless boss runs.

Having to level a new character for every new build idea.

And I'm sure tons more which will probably keep me awake all night as they come to me.

https://docs.google....YczhOUTdSOFE6MQ

It is a very short survey and all responses are anonymous. Please take a quick minute to respond!

I am posting this on reddit and Blizzard's site, too. We already have over a thousand responses. Add your opinion to the mix!

Results as of 1,188 people: http://i.imgur.com/wd7Ee.jpg

EDIT: Results as of 2,026 people:http://i.imgur.com/5RfWJ.jpg

EDIT After 2,768 responses: http://i.imgur.com/83gIl.jpg

EDIT After 3,309 responses: http://i.imgur.com/bRFrY.jpg

A few things I found interesting that bashiok answered in a 1 hour Q&A.

• No Voice Chat - https://twitter.com/...780531621634050

• Halls of The Dead (HardCore Chars) - https://twitter.com/...778921902284800

• "Ultra" Gfx Settings - https://twitter.com/...778008785530880

• New info "SOONTM" - https://twitter.com/...777641532260352

• Chat Sound - https://twitter.com/...776929263955969

• New Skill System? In beta? - https://twitter.com/...776760577433600

• Dyes to stay on armor in AH - https://twitter.com/...776681951006721

• Runesystem / Skill system (or sistem :P) soon - https://twitter.com/...753737342324737
https://twitter.com/...754405352357888

• Possible Spoiler? - https://twitter.com/...774077900587008

• Demon Hunters to receive buffs? - https://twitter.com/...772473021464576

• Skill switch CD makeshift implemented - https://twitter.com/...765674616729601

• About Content Patches - https://twitter.com/...763990544949248

• D3 Page Items "Very Few" - https://twitter.com/...762534290980865

• Runes Not in beta - https://twitter.com/#!/Bashiok/status/166778561145999362

Wallpaper.

Check out this logic guys:
Nov 8 is blizz quarterly conference call. My money is on them giving a release date for the investors. And like SC2 & Cata were both released 10 weeks after their announcements that puts D3 release Exactly on Jan 17!!!

Okay so I am going to try and write this all down in an orderly fashion. I have well over 40 hours of gameplay as well as watching my girlfriend play(who knows nothing about pc games/diablo).

Gameplay
Combat
To me the combat feels true to the Diablo series, I click all over the place and it feels good. They overhaul on the system was a good thing from what I can tell so far. Having an open skill system is nice and allows me to try out a bunch of new skills without worrying about making a new character but I feel its a little to forgiving. I think if they added a 1 minute cooldown on the skill you just switched out it would stop people from changing things in the middle of a battle and actually think about what they are doing before they change skills.

Overall combat is smooth and extremely fun. Having a mouse like the Razer Naga also helps because i can do all my skills right from the mouse instead of using the keyboard.


Another thing I want to say about the combat is that my girlfriend, who i mentioned above, could pick up the game and play it with only a little help from me all the way to a level 12 demon hunter without dying once. They have made combat easy enough for the casual gamer to understand but deep enough for hardcore gamers to get enjoyment out of it!


Crafting
Crafting is pretty straightforward, you break down items and build up your blacksmith and craft the items you want. The interface is easy to work through and its fun building up your blacksmith. I was very into using the BS until the gold Auction House hit.



Sound
The sound in Diablo 3 is AMAZING. For everyone who is hating on the sound in Diablo 3 just wait until you actually play. Turn down your effects volume to about 30 percent and leave the music and stuff maxed. This allows you to hear every creak and crackle and the music actually comes out more which makes you get immersed more into your game!

If you have a headset I suggest using it! if not I would suggest buying one!


The Game World
Okay so one of my main gripes so far is that most of the beta is planned out, you don't get much randomization unless you are in a dungeon and I am hoping that the outdoor areas end up being super random.

The world is alive, you will notice a lot of little things when you actually play like rats scurrying across a field or a building crumbling as you walk past. They have put the time to make you feel like you are a part of this world and it shows.

The art style, which has had much controversy is actually one of my favorite aspects of this game. The trees and ground feel like a painting and the more cartoony feel I think actually helps the gameplay. If we didnt have this art style classes like the witch doctor wouldnt work because how off the wall he is.


Favorite Characters

Witch Doctor
After playing the beta I am going to have to say that the witch doctor will be my first class i will be doing a full playthrough on. He is just so off the wall that i cant stop playing him.

Monk
I was most suprised by the monk. I love the fact that the monk is all about speed and getting in and out while doing your crazy combos. The combo system works well and mixing and matching your steps 1,2,3 are fun to do.

Demon Hunter
Even with all the complaints I think demon hunter will be my second class to do a full playthrough. I love the style and the skills and it brings me back to playing 2 of my favorite classes from D2, the assassin and amazon.

Wizard
The wizard is a lot of fun. The skills look great and function even better. Its great having a full party of wizards just destroying everything. I like the style of the male wizard better than the female. He is arrogant and I like that in the characters I play.

Barbarian
I actually really enjoyed the barb. He was my least favorite class in D2 but with the new systems they have in place for him he was a joy to play. When you kill something and their body goes flying at your camera its a very satisfying feeling.


Overall
Overall there is no class I didn't enjoy. Some had their perks to my play-style but from everything I have seen so far there will be no wrong choice of a class to play!

The game is a blast and it shows as people continue to do runs to get better gear on their level 13 characters. I cant wait for full release and plan on forking over the money for a collectors edition(if there is one).