DiabloFans

Surprised no one said it.

Cool story, bro.

This will probably be over looked but whatever.

In terms of the AH:

I think it has helped trading. In D2 trading was a pain in the ass. You either made a game and sat there for hours hoping someone would join, or you spammed chat along with many other players. It was ineffective. However, I do agree that the AH in it's current state is terrible. The UI and the refresh times are horrendous. I can't tell you how many times I've gone on there trying to buy an item, and when I do, it tells me it's gone.

I also firmly believe that having gold as the trading currency makes things much much easier then items (high runes, sojs, etc.). We see money being thrown everywhere, and at the moment, is scarce for a lot of people. Having everyone want the same thing makes trading easier. Although, I could see in the future, D3 moving to an item base currency, if and only if, a games list is added.

The reward factor that you talked about is interesting. I never really thought about it, but looking back at D2, I did really like the accomplishment of fulfilling a trade. But, I also do enjoy checking the AH at random times and seeing that my items have sold. It's not the same, but both give me a "reward" type feeling.

Battle.Net 2.0:

It's bad. Simple as that. It's not involving. It doesn't accomplish Blizzard's goal of being a "social network". It has strayed away from a multiplayer scene due to the fact that the UI is terrible, and is missing the key features that made Battle.Net a success. 2.0 needs to bring chat rooms back, and needs the game lists back. Implement those correctly, and there will be a much more enjoyable social experience.

How to judge if a build works:

Get to Inferno.
If you can kill shit and find loot, it works.

Wait a minute this is a thread for people that don't have the beta I thought?
Why is there talk of people with the beta?! Blasphemy!

Gotcha, I've never been apart of a Blizzard CE release. This is my first. Just took a guess at what might be happening, but it makes since that retailers don't know how many preorders to take, hell the release date isn't even out yet.

Quote from kanzaki_urumi

Quote from TheAdziK

Quote from kanzaki_urumi

Why the fuck should someone be allowed more content, skins, characters, runes and other stuff based on the fact that he is able to throw more money ?

Why the fuck not? Wake up. It's real world speaking. When you go to shop and you spend $10 more than your friend, you probably got items worth $10 more. Games are products, like almost everything else in our society.

I thought gaming was a way to escape reality, to have fun without it having to come knock on your door. A way to relax and to chill. A fair place where people got 100% of the same content for free. That's how it used to be and people like you are gladly letting the capitalistic world barge in to reclaim its rights. Such a post makes me wanna delete my diablofans account, maybe I should.

Quote from kanzaki_urumi

Whats wrong is 1°) it's not fair 2°) destroys the rpg portion of the game If you can't grasp that, then you're lost... And it seems like none of you can, so no point in continuing this discussion.

I still fail to see how Diablo became a game about being the best at killing demons.

In Diablo 2 you just got in there and killed shit regardless of what people are wearing. You never questioned hey this guy has some good gear, but is he good? Because it didn't matter, and if it did bug you, then by all means leave that game and join one of the many others.

Honestly I think the problem has come from MMORPGs like WoW (I'm not only saying WoW, but I have experience with it and its well known). These games rely on everyone being competent with their character, being smart, doing everything correctly, and having good gear.

But this kind of stuff in Diablo? I think not. Diablo is a very casual game. Regardless of how difficult Inferno will be. The concept of it is easy to grasp and enjoy. Inferno may be hard in the beginning when there isn't much gear out there, but eventually it will become manageable (notice I didn't say easy, Hell in Diablo 2 wasn't necessarily easy, but with more gear it became manageable). And with the new people to the Diablo series, they will have a grasp on the game since they have to go through every difficulty.

It's also not an E-Sport, so don't know why people are going after the whole "buy your way to the top", there is no "top" for Diablo unless people timed how long it took them to kill demons (matchmaking is hidden so who cares about that, unfortunately a lot of people it seems). Blizzard has said multiple times that PvP will be unbalanced and they don't care. One of my favorite quotes was something along the lines of "The Barbarian is too overpowered in PvP? Yea he probably is.".

So in the end, what's the big deal if someone is buying their gear with money? It's not like there is going to be millions of the awesome items, because of random stats its going to be tough, but also because dupes won't be an issue (at least it shouldn't be). It also doesn't effect your game. Yeah they might get an achievement before you MAYBE, but are you getting something if you get an achievement before another person? Does it matter if someone decided "Hey, I don't need this Legendary Sword of Awesomeness, I guess I'll try to make a few bucks off it." and someone else decides that they can afford throwing a few bucks towards the sword for whatever reason they might have (laziness or possibly bad luck with drops).

When you think about it, it's nothing different from D2 item shops, or websites like D2jsp. Now it's just Blizzard controlling it, and they get some money from it (which will allow for them to keep throwing out constant updates and making sure no bots go unnoticed).

I've posted this same response (well not this exact one I'm about to take a break from finals studying to type out but you get the point) on many other forums (d2jsp and bnet forums mainly) and glad to see similar responses.

Diablo 2 had hardly any customization. I would like to say none, but it's there just it isn't effective in game. In Diablo 2 you followed guides that said "put this many points into vitality, dexterity, and strength. MAKE SURE TO PUT NONE IN FOR MANA!". Then you would choose two spells that go well together and level up the synergies to make those two spells even better. Spam those two skills for kills and then look out for the same gear everyone else is going for.

I'm afraid that this isn't customization. This is reading off a guide holding your hand on how you should/need to play a character.

Diablo 3, yes they took out stats that COULD be good customization, but they didn't work in Diablo 2 and probably would inevitably not work for Diablo 3. They let every character get all skills, yeah that cuts into customization. However, you can only use seven of those skills and can't change them without a shrine. Ladies and Gentlemen, that is golden customization right there. Choosing seven out of however many skills each class has that can all be used to be successful (as opposed to Diablo 2 where not all the skills are worth while or plain stupid to level). Then you can't forget about the passive skills that each class can have. However, in my opinion, depending on how you're looking to play there character, you can easily pick out three passive skills to float your boat quite nicely.

And then they have a new and (in my opinion) updated item system. Yes you can get a legendary item that could be the best for your character, but the fact that Blizzard is now doing random properties on legendary items allows for even more customization and making it even harder for people to have the exact same gear, or even the ideal piece they want. Thus, also adding a lot of replayability. This isn't even looking at enhancements or gems.

This, I believe, is customization. No more bullshit handholding, anyone can make their own successful build. Some builds will provide for more damage/faster killing than other builds of course (IE going all defensive on a barbarian won't get you killed, but you sure as hell aren't going to kill faster than that wizard running by you as a glass cannon).

This is of course is all my opinion and quite a lengthy response which I assume will be looked over, but I like to point out there is a lot of customization but you have to look at it correctly. Blizzard took out a lot of things that make a "traditional" RPG, but the way they went about it will make for a much better Diablo experience.

TL;DR: Diablo 3 has customization.

"Corruption has the strength of deceit, but innocence holds the power of purity." - Adria, Diablo

Is Adria just a 'cultist' or corrupted mortal, or is she something more than that?

I'm skeptical that they were planning it way back then, but the townsfolk in D1 cast her as a super duper magic user, or something not human.

Why don't that old crone do something for a change? Sure, sure, she's got stuff, but you listen to me - she's unnatural! She doesn't eat or drink, and you can't trust somebody that desn't drink at least a little.

The witch, Adria, is an anomaly here in Tristram. She arrived shortly after the Cathedral was desecrated while most everyone else was fleeing. She had a small hut constructed at the edge of town, seemingly overnight, and has access to many strange and arcane artifacts and tomes of knowledge that even I have never seen before.

Adria is wise beyond her years, but I must admit - she frightens me a little. Well, no matter. If you ever have need to trade in items of sorcery, she maintains a strangely well-stocked hut just across the river.

While I use some limited forms of magic to create the potions and elixirs I store here, Adria is a true sorceress. She never seems to sleep, and she always has access to many mystic tomes and artifacts. I believe her hut may be much more than the hovel it appears to be, but I can never seem to get inside the place.

Adria truly bothers me. Sure, Cain is creepy in what he can tell you about the past, but that witch can see into your past. She always has some way to get whatever she needs, too. Adria gets her hands on more merchandise than I've seen pass through the gates of the King's Bazaar during High Festival.

Doesn't eat, drink, or sleep allegedly, able to get whatever she wants, most of the town is scared of her.. She seemed to know a lot about what was really going on too.

"No Mortal can truly understand the mind of the Demon. Never let their erratic actions confuse you, as that too may be their plan."

"There are many artifacts within the Labyrinth that hold powers beyond the comprehension of mortals. Some of these hold fantastic power that can be used by either the Light or the Darkness. Securing the Anvil from below could shift the course of the Sin War towards the Light."

"This is a place of great anguish and terror, and so serves its master well. Tread carefully or you may yourself be staying much longer than you had anticipated."

"You will become an eternal servant of the Dark Lords should you perish within this cursed domain. Enter the Chamber of Bone at your own peril."

"The Heaven Stone is very powerful, and were it any but Griswold who bid you find it, I would prevent it. He will harness its powers and its use will be for the good of us all."

So since we now know she was apparently an agent of Diablo, we can assume she was there to make sure things went according to plan. What is this plan?

From the D2:LoD instruction manual:




That was from something called Prophecies of the Final Day by the way.

Druid lore excerpt:

They created a new culture and language, cutting themselves off from their Barbarian cousins and their ways, vowing not to return to the Steppes of Mt. Arreat until the time of the Uileloscadh Mór, the final battle between the men of the world and the demons of the Burning Hells.

At the Túr Dúlra, the greatest of the Druid Colleges, stands the magnificent oak Glór-an-Fháidha. This tree is the most revered source of the Druids guidance and teachings. Under its branches, for centuries, the Druids of Scosglen have been honing not only their powerful arsenal of natural magic, but also the martial skills they have retained from their Barbarian forefathers. They have done this because they believe themselves to be the world’s last line of defense when the time of the great conflict comes, a time they believe is at hand. Lashing out in fury at the recent insurgence of denizens of the Burning Hells, and at the Leathdhiabhala, demonic corruptions of the very creatures they have vowed to defend, the Druids have, at last, emerged from their forests, marching toward their final stand against the minions of Chaos.

In D3 we have the Prophecy for the End of Days, which is a 'warning about Hell's ultimate invasion of our world,' and the pieces of the puzzle mentioned in it seem to be coming true. We were also supposed to learn why the Hells didn't invade 20 years ago in the game.

And at the End of Days, Wisdom shall be lost (Malthael being gone, or the mortal Tyrael's demise in X1?)
as Justice falls upon the world of men. (Obvious events of D3, or that Tyrael became aspect of Wis., leaving Justice to Nephalem)
Valor shall turn to Wrath - (Imperius raging over Hell invading, or Imperius waging war on the impudent Nephalem)
as all Hope is swallowed by Despair. (In-game events, or tied to the above, Imp's betrayal. sends Auriel into despair)
Death, at last, shall spread its wings over all -(All these lines reference angels/aspects, Malthael returns as Death?)
as all Fate lies shattered forever. (In-game event of the Hero 'shattering' the fate that Heaven lost that day, or a future event where Ithereal gets destroyed, probably by Malthael/Imperius)

So we know the culmination of this storyline, which they have claimed will get resolved in D3, is this final battle/ultimate invasion of Sanctuary by Hell. Something that has been prophecized for centuries and something that the Evils themselves seem to know all about.

I think Diablo/Evils knew what would happen in D3 as well, I forget what he says exactly but why would he send Adria away to be used later if he, and the angels, were sure he would succeed in the attack on Heaven, since it was kind of 'written in stone' on the Scroll of Fate?

My answer, he wouldn't, he knew he would be stopped, in fact, he and Belial/Azmodan wanted to be stopped. Ever look at the various forums and see all the complaints about 'beLIEal more like beFAILal amirite?? lol y is azodon tellin me where he attack??? teh gaem say he the gr8est general. y iz diab0 tellin me bout his hell gaets????' They were leading you along to do exactly what they wanted you to do.

Sidebar: The Prime Evil, supposedly Diablo in the game. The following is said by Tyrael while on the quest, Prime Evil.

Player:
What do you speak of when you say the Prime Evil?
Tyrael:
It is the sum total of all seven Evils housed within one body. There is an ancient legend, known only to a few, of the great Dragon, Tathamet, who was the original embodiment of evil.
The legend says that he was ripped apart during an epic battle with Anu, and that the Burning Hells are composed of his remains.
Player:
Who is Anu?
Tyrael:
Just as Tathamet was the ultimate evil, Anu was the ultimate good. It is said by some that the Crystal Arch is all that remains of this great warrior.
Player:
Then Diablo seeks to become the Dragon once again?
Tyrael:
In a manner of speaking, yes.

So, either one Nephalem can be more powerful than what is basically one of the (accidental) creator gods of the entire universe, or Diablo was merely supercharged with the souls of the other Evils, and not really the Prime Evil, which even the CE artbook shows as a hydra thing. (Coincidence, D3 was codenamed Project Hydra?)

Also said by Tyrael:

But the Black Soulstone is flawed and cannot contain that many demons for long. We must capture Azmodan within it and shatter it... lest all these Evils be reborn.

Obviously that didn't happen because for reasons we will likely only know in the expansion, Diablo's body was just tossed over the side of Heaven, and the Black Soulstone was left intact.

Now, I don't know if it means anything, but it's near the end of the artbook. They're either concept art for the Child Emperor, or possibly for the future plot. Right below what looks to be a Cultist drawing, there are 3 children sitting 'Indian style' with elaborate headdresses. The middle one has a mostly different clothing style than the other two, while the other two are almost identical to each other. They both have 'face paint' or tattoos in red and blue on their face and bare chests, their eyes are shut with the 'paint' filling in their eyelids, and have what looks to be a 'third eye' possibly tattooed on their forehead. They also have some black jewelry on around their neck, upper left arm, and wrists.

"There is much about the future we cannot see, but when it comes it will be the children who wield it." - Adria, Diablo, talking about Wirt

So, we know if the BS isn't destroyed, the evils will get loose. The Nephalem are super powerful. Diablo possibly wants to re-make the Tathamet hydra. Theory: the Evils will possess children that Adria and/or Triune cultists have been raising after the Worldstone was destroyed, giving them massive power. Enough power to reform into Tathamet and smash the Heavens once and for all. (We, of course, thwart this plan by rescuing Princess Leah (has to be a reason they retconned Warrior into Prince Aidan) and find out her family's destiny is to bring back Anu and/or defeat Tathamet, which is why Diablo and the Evils were working to corrupt and destroy the Leoric bloodline)

Update: Some support for Princess Leah/Leoric bloodline's greater purpose?

So as we know, Mephisto was soulstone'd under the Zakarum Temple of the Light and was eventually able to corrupt them. What did those manipulated leaders do? Proclaimed Leoric king of Khanduras. The Archbishop Lazarus (bastard led us into a trap!) was 'intent' on Leoric choosing the 'broken-down monastery' as his seat of power. (Hmm, wonder why.. )

http://d3db.com/lore/i/leorics-journal-part-1

We have just arrived in Tristram, and I must say I'm a bit dismayed. This place is a backwater filled with serfs and an ancient, broken-down monastery, hardly fit for the king of Khanduras! I cannot fathom why Lazarus was so intent on this becoming our new seat of power.

http://d3db.com/lore/i/the-skeleton-king

The Zakarum high priests in Kurast proclaimed Leoric king of Khanduras many years ago. He ruled well until Diablo's influence drove him mad, and the loyal knight Lachdanan was forced to slay him. Afterward, Diablo himself raised Leoric from the dead as the Skeleton King until the monarch's son Aidan vanquished him.

However, the Diablo 1 lore almost seems to imply that Lazarus wasn't under demonic control until they had 'settled' and Diablo used his powers to coerce and eventually corrupt him.

Sensing that freedom was within his grasp, Diablo entered the nightmares of the Archbishop and lured him into the dark, subterranean labyrinth. In his terror, Lazarus raced throughout the abandoned hallways until he at last came to the chamber of the burning Soulstone. No longer in command of his body or spirit, he raised the stone above his head and uttered words long forgotten in the realm of mortals. His will destroyed, Lazarus shattered the Soulstone upon the ground.
...
Lazarus too, had fallen under the sway of the Demon, keeping close to Leoric at all times.

He also was apparently "a guardian of Mephisto's soulstone in Kurast" so it's up in the air, but I think he wasn't, as far as D1 is concerned, corrupted until they got to Tristram and Diablo reawakened, while in Diablo 3 he likely was corrupted from the get-go.

The wording is kind of vague, for what we are talking about here, but this piece also sounds like Leoric just came in on his own volition in D1 and was all 'For the glory of the Light! I am your king! I shall save you from the ever encroaching darkness! I claim this ancient Monastery as my seat of power in the name of the Zakarum!'

It was then that the great northern lord Leoric came unto the lands of Khanduras and, in the name of Zakarum, declared himself King. Leoric was a deeply religious man and had brought many Knights and Priests with him that comprised his Order of the Light. Leoric and his trusted advisor, the Arch Bishop Lazarus, made their way to the city of Tristram. Leoric appropriated the ancient, decrepit Monastery on the outskirts of the town for his seat of power and renovated it to match its time-lost glory.

It could just as easily be interpreted as what we know from the D3 lore, (although it has been retcon'd that he is an eastern lord now) that the corrupted High Priests told him 'Go be king here, in the name of Zakarum' and Lazarus was all 'Hey look, this building looks cool, right? What do you mean it's a dump? Castles are like so last year, you should just pick this place, I mean, we're already here, no?'

Personally, I'm thinking it was some minor retcons to go along with their current plotline, if solely for the fact that they felt the need to give the Warrior a backstory as a son to King Leoric of all things. For all that we saw of it in the game, the Warrior might as well have been just some nameless Warrior or Gheed's brother, as from what I remember, the whole 'Oh my Heavens, Leah is actually the heir to the throne!' plot hasn't come into play....yet.

Possibly going along with the whole 'The Evils were/are playing you like a fiddle' theory, Jay Wilson in some 2011 interviews (although he's talking about Diablo 2's perspective of course):

If the player thinks they outsmarted the forces of Hell and evil and they basically won, well, they are in for a big shock. Because what they are going to discover in Diablo 3 is that things have gone pretty exactly the way Hell wanted them to go all along.

What we really wanted was the idea of a story where we do have some time away, it’s about 20 years later, and things have actually gotten better because evil’s been “destroyed”. But the truth is that it’s actually all just been a ruse, it’s all part of the plan. It’s really just making sure everyone’s nice and complacent for the real war that’s coming.

Hey there Belial
What's it like in Caldeum City ?
Hell's a thousand miles away
But man you sure do own this city
Yes you do
Diablo can't hit as hard as you
I swear it's true

Hey there Belial
Don't you worry about the distance
I'm right there for you to smash me
Give this man another beating
Lord of Lies
Throw me up into the skies
It's no surprise

Oh, what'd you do to me
Oh, what'd you do to me
Oh, what'd you do to me
Oh, what'd you do to me
What'd you do to me ?

Hey there Belial
I know you are getting bored
But just believe me, man
Someday I'll throw you out of the bazaar
When I am good
You'll bite the dust just like you should
Oh, if I could...

Hey there Belial
So many repair bills to pay
If every simple note I sang to you
Would take your life away
I'd sing it all
From very high above you'd fall
I'd have it all

Oh, what'd you do to me
Oh, what'd you do to me
Oh, what'd you do to me
Oh, what'd you do to me
What'd you do to me ?

A thousand times in this Bazaar
I've died and died it's gone too far
I'll come to you and take your life away
My friends just all make fun of me
And I'm raging hardcore because I know
That none of them have felt this way
Belial I can promise you
That by the time that we get through
Your world will never ever be the same
And you're to blame

Hey there Belial
You stay there and don't you leave me
Two more tries and I'll be done with you
And you'll be just a bad memory, think it's due
You know it's all because of you
I can do whatever I want to
Hey there Belial here's to you
This one's for you

Oh, what'd you do to me
Oh, what'd you do to me
Oh, what'd you do to me
Oh, what'd you do to me
What'd you do to me ?



PS: Sing it to Hey There Delilah from Plain White T's
PPS: If you have musical and vocal skills sufficient to cover this...please, make it happen.

Was looking around on reddit diablo and I saw this picture which came from this website thought the people of the forums might want to see this.

Quote from Greenjoke

Bashiok made a comment that the korean rmah wasn't entirely the reason for delays and then deleted the comment. The gist of what he said meant that the korean rmah definitely did play a part in delaying the game, but that there were other concerns as well.

I still believe that if the rmah didn't even exist that we'd all be playing d3 release right now.

Yeah, you'll have to do a little better than that. Find it in the blue tracker and give us a link.

There have, however, been several posts specifically saying the rmah did not cause the delay

.. Nevermind.. see the topic is RMAH approval in Korea.

So is that the real reason for the delay?

http://us.battle.net...704?page=10#191

So that's the first blatant response from Blizzard. The link goes into more detail and explains that there is no one thing causing the delay, nor is there anything outside of the game causing the delay.


This was later deleted, but can be seen at the bottom here
http://www.diablofan...h-review-again/

Bashiok is quite clear again that the Korean RMAH did not cause the delay.

Then you have an Italian post back on Dec 12 http://eu.battle.net...44251?page=5#83
Translated:


While Zhydaris isn't as blatant as Bashiok, Z clearly reiterates the theme.