(3) Make online matter with the Cooperative and Social experience
Yeah... I know I'm in the minority here, seeing as though I'm an older gamer...
I remember reading some Jay Wilson interviews pre-release or very early in the game's life where he talked about their plans to bolster the multiplayer aspect of the game. The Followers for instance were said to exist just to 'whet your appetite' for co-op by presenting someone else fighting alongside you and make you comfortable to the idea of playing with others (which was also likely why they were so vehemently against the Followers being useful past Normal difficulty, if you remember Bashiok saying they would do whatever it took to make sure they weren't going to be useful in Nightmare+).
The synopsis tricked me, I thought it was a typo and meant D3 was meant to launch in November 2011 (which I guess it was around then since Mike Morhaime wrote that apology post about it if I recall) and was thinking what the game would be like with all the gutted content and systems they took out in the months after (http://eu.battle.net/d3/en/blog/10030842/), but then I watched the video and it was Reaper that was meant to be in November 2013.
His discussion of the beta was also kind of interesting, in that they intentionally made it a 'demo,' knowing they wouldn't get any good feedback about endgame or items, so they could protect the story spoilers.
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In the original game's Behind the Scenes, one of the devs said, "At the End of Days, angels and demons will fight on the land of man." so there's that, too.
Deckard Cain tells us that the Prophecy of the End Days is a warning of what is to come, and that the 'ultimate invasion' of Sanctuary by the Hells is involved. With Diablo (and maybe the other Evils) released at the end of RoS, the ultimate invasion ought to be coming.
http://d3head.com/quest/273408-angel-of-death
"So, I am finally to face Malthael, the latest in a seemingly endless line of "most evil beings". It is now undeniable that mankind is trapped within an insane game that will continue forever, unless we put a stop to it. It is past time for us to say "No more." The days of angels and demons threatening the existence of our world must end."
"As I go to face the Angel of Death, my only fear is what he will do to my world should I fall. So I will not allow that to happen. It is obvious that neither side can be trusted. It is time for mankind to declare that the age of angels and demons is over."
This Crusader's lore snippet may also hint at the future (the only one that suggests Kulle may return, since, you know, the Horadrim had to magically dismember and seal his body parts away the first time):
http://d3head.com/quest/57337-the-black-soulstone"Well Kulle was not back among the living for very long. He is dead, though I would not be surprised to run into him again sometime. More importantly, we have the Black Soulstone and are ready to face Belial."
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One of my friends for whatever reason finds triple the legendaries I do whenever we play. He has a 2.0 legendary in almost every slot, while most of the paltry few I find are garbage insta-brim weapons.
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There are also already Crusader legendaries with their provenance being from Paladins, so that wouldn't be an excuse not to put in the Herald of Zakarum.
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/item/jaces-hammer-of-vigilance
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/item/cams-rebuttal
Thinking of Diablo II uniques, I would have liked for this to return, especially with Crusader's being able to wield a 2-hander in one hand: http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/Cloudcrack
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Leah should have been handled differently as well I think. You watch the Behind the Scenes thing (made before the game was out) and they all seem really proud of the character they created, and the betrayal of Adria was supposed to be one of the most evil things they could think of and you were supposed to be devastated about it, but it seems a lot of people didn't even care at all about her.
Definitely could have been a lot cooler; she's the daughter of Prince Aidan, a witch, and the Lord of Terror himself. Could have covered her learning that her father was the Warrior, and that she might be heiress to the bloodied throne of Khanduras.
RoS SPOILERS?:
Not to mention she was supposed to take over the 'Deckard Cain' role according to that Behind the Scenes thing as well.
Tyrael becoming 'black'/'Tyrone' is also one of the more bizarre ideas they came up with (Was there ever anything in the lore suggesting an angel or demon could strip away their own immortality? How is that even a thing?), and even worse that he then decided to take over Wisdom and remain mortal at the end.
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Or at the very least, just let the host of the game be allowed to bring one in.
The restrictions on followers is definitely one of the more peculiar decisions they made, and I was really hoping we'd be able to bring at least one in MP. especially since they all have various 'aura' type skills.
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The Crusaders were established and trained 200 years ago by a Zakarum cleric named Akkhan, who had sensed the corruption plaguing the Zakarum and prayed for guidance. The answer to his prayers was Crusader, and so he recruited the most zealous and martially adept Zakarum and trained to use the Light in ways that no Paladin could. Once they had learned all they could, Akkhan sent the Crusaders out into the world 'seeking a way to cleanse the corruption that coiled at the heart of the Zakarum faith.' There was no clear goal for them to pursue, and some clerics believed it to be a fool's errand that could not be achieved, but the Crusaders were not deterred.
The Crusaders swore an oath to dedicate their lives to the search. None believed that they would be the one to end the Crusade by finding and cleansing the corruption. They believed that the search ennobled them, that the discipline of their life and journey was the true goal. The Crusader was meant to find meaning in the quest itself.
Each Crusader took an apprentice. When a Crusader fell, his apprentice would take up his armor, his place in the order, and even his very name, When the first generation of Crusaders fell, their own apprentices took up their identities, and so it has continued for 200 years.
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The beta, or at least files found in the beta, had the original dialogue for the Barbarian where he was still the same one. Kind of silly they took that aspect out when you constantly saw people saying 'lol story don't even matter, it's an ARPG' post-launch.
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... That is quite possibly one of the most ignorant things I have seen said about the story, a close runner up to 'lol how can there be a diablo 3 expansion, we killed teh prime eval. Lol like we gonna go to westmark...' Yes, one of the major plot lines of Diablo III is just a 'crock of shit' and is such a bunch of bollocks that they not only referenced it in their commercials and the in-game cinematics, but they even used it to tease the expansion. They even made a tearjerker scene with Leah and Tyrael where Tyrael's sacrifice convinces her to keep working on the Prophecy, a sacrifice he made because he knew humanity was the only hope for the world against the coming darkness, but it's completely worthless and made by a wannabe 'Beliel,' right?
Oh, but I forgot. The prophecies are just 'horoscopes.' Blizzard certainly would never come up with a prophecy that would tell what happens in the story for a Diablo game. Totally not like the ones Metzen wrote up for Diablo II and its teaser trailer, and several major lore groups certainly wouldn't believe in prophecies to the extent of training themselves just to overcome the foreseen threats when the time comes.
"And a child will cradle Terror in his breast as the heart of man falls under the shadow.
A Wanderer will pass through the ancient lands trailing chaos in his wake.
The Three Brothers will be reunited as the mortal world trembles before their might.
And so it was foretold that the Three, once reunited, would be shattered again—
And the last of them would set his sights on the holy mount. The warnings held that
Their defeat would be illusory—that the final gambit had yet to be played..."
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"The Prophecy of the End Days is contained within the Horadric tomes I inherited from my ancestor Jered Cain.
It is a warning to those who could interpret it regarding Hell's ultimate invasion of our world, written by many different people throughout history in many different lands."
There are two additional lines found in the opening cinematic, "And at the End of Days, the first sign shall appear in the heavens." "The armies of light and shadow shall clash across the fields of eternity."
And one possible line said in the Behind the Scenes DVD: "At the End of Days, angels and demons will fight on the land of Man."
In the Book of Cain, he writes a letter to Leah sometime after they have encountered the Stranger in-game, saying that he knows his time will soon be up, she will be the last of the Horadrim once he passes, and concludes by telling her to keep an eye on the prophecy, as it is the key to Sanctuary's salvation.
Many of the organizations of Sanctuary are based upon a foreseen 'final battle' between Man and Hell and other prophecies or visions of the future.
Zann Esu Witches (aka Sorceress): "For centuries they have studied in secret, perfecting their art and biding their time until the Emergence of Evil. Then, they will face their greatest challenge, either proving the purity of their magic or fading from existence.
The Zann Esu oracles have decreed that the time of the Emergence is at hand. The destruction of the Prime Evils is to be the great test of their clan. Recently, Sorceresses have appeared mysteriously throughout Sanctuary to do battle with the minions of Evil wherever they are found."
Amazons: "Their oracles long ago predicted the Dark Exile, and they have been preparing to combat it ever since. Amazons regard the destruction of the Three Prime Evils as their destiny, ushering in a new era when mortal men and women can at long last take their rightful place in the universe, no longer merely playthings for the beings of the Outer Realms."
Templar Order: Their sacred tomes are said to contain prophecies, and it is discovered they also contained plans for angelic weapons fit to human hands, leading Tyrael to deduce the Templar order was created to stop the angels from destroying the world. The Templar initiation "blinds us to our sinful pasts so that we might clearly see the future and prepare for the final battle." Kormac defends the brutal initiation with, "Don't you understand? The Templar order is trying to protect humanity from extinction."
Druids: "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. "
Barbarians: "In the ancient tome of the Druids, the Scéal Fada, it is written that Bul-Kathos, the great and ancient king of the Barbarian tribes, had a mysterious but trusted confidant, who was only referred to as Fiacla-Géar. This man is sometimes described as Bul-Kathos's close friend, and at other times, he is referred to as his brother. Whatever the source of their relationship, their bond was strong, and together they shared the secrets of the ancients: of the mysteries below the peaks of Mt. Arreat, of the venerated task put to their people to protect those mysteries, and of the prophecies regarding the dark times ahead."
Last Testament of Ord Rekar: "I believed the Prophecies of the Final Day to be mere superstitions—and that even if they had any credence at all, as our ancestors believed, the events they spoke of would never come to fruition in our time.
I was a fool.
The gods have not revealed their divine plan to me, nor have they blessed me with their countenance. But I am certain of one terrible fact—At long last, the prophecies have begun to fulfill themselves."
Necromancers: Disciples of Rathma, sworn to uphold the Balance. Unknown if they work off prophecies, or just act reactively to angelic/demonic interference. "According to the mysterious but immensely knowledgeable Trag'Oul, Good must always outshine Evil, but never should Evil be completely eradicated, lest Good eventually turn on itself." (Malthael's plan is to destroy all evil, which as aforementioned is a big no-no according to the Balance, so we should see more of the Priests of Rathma soon.
Assassins: Their Order's code is based upon Lam Esen's tome, the Black Book, which contains prophecies and secrets of the Old Religion of Skatsim. "The Black Book contains some vague prophecies regarding this undertaking. I'm not so sure it will turn out well for you." "Well, the good news is that events are unfolding just as Lam Esen foretold. The bad news is that the story ends in our utter ruin!"
Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye (aka Rogues): They posses an artifact called the Sightless Eye, a mirror which serves as a window to perceive the future.
The Prime Evils are also fully aware of at least one prophecy concerning their own actions. Mephisto recites some of that prophecy during the Act IV cinematic.