Today we have something special, it's a look back on the last decade of the world of the Sanctuary, seeing as how 10 years has passed since the release of
Diablo II. Interestingly enough, today is also the 13th birthday of Diablo I, which you will learn more about soon enough. With that in mind, we would like to wish everyone a safe and happy New Years Eve from DiabloFans. Enjoy!Pre-2000
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This monster of a game dominated the RPG scene when it came out, which was December 31st, 1996. Battle-net was introduced with this game, and broke countless boundaries, and surpassed even the expectations of Blizzard. Few, if any, games offered such a utility before Diablo, players could easily connect to each other from across the world, and it was free to boot.The game itself was also a roaring success, the game has an unprecedented amount of monsters, items, and randomization. Over 150 monsters populated the dungeons of Diablo, at a time when most game developers were proud of 10 types of monsters.
On a personal level, many Diablo players look fondly back upon this game as one of their most favorite games. Myself included. The atmosphere, and gameplay, was something completely new to us all, and it practically spawned its own genre of games, which are referred to as "Diablo Clones."
2000
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http://diablowiki.com/Diablo II" class="wiki-link">
The year saw several Diablo II patches fixing countless bugs, final patch number of the original game at the end of the year was
patch 1.04.2001
Patches continued to be released in a very rapid pace, and by the time Diablo II's expansion, Lord of Destruction, shipped, the expansion came in patch
1.07 (the same version as its beta was in). However, patch 1.08 was made available the day the expansion was sold.The expansion basically revamped the entire core game while adding a fifth act (see
Act V) and two new character classes (the Druid and Assassin). This caused some controversy among players of the original game when the challenge of Nightmare and Hell difficulties was increased for the classic games as well, and players protested feeling that it was in essence forcing them to buy the expansion. Patch 1.09 was released on August 20th, two months after the initial release of the expansion. This was in essence the era of running classes, such as the Bowazon. It was also the beginning of the era of the infamous ITH items, where the anti-hacking method called the rust storm had deleted duped runes included in runewords, leaving the runeword's mods unchanged but freeing up the sockets on them. These items were illegally sold for obscene prices, up to a hundred USD. Minor patches, patch 1.09b, patch 1.09c, and patch 1.09d, were also added later during the same year.2002
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This year saw no new Diablo II patches, it was what many players refer back as the "Golden era" of diablo II online play.This year did however see one of the clearest embodiments of the soon (tm)*. Halfway into the year Blizzard announced a new significant patch will soon be available. For those that missed the irony, see year 2003.
Also a 3 DVD-set featuring all Blizzard game cinematics up until then (including Diablo II) was released.
*copyright 2002-2010 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. "Soon" does not imply any particular date, time, decade, century, or millennia in the past, present, and certainly not the future. "Soon" shall make no contract or warranty between Blizzard Entertainment and the end user. "Soon" will arrive some day, Blizzard does guarantee that "soon" will be here before the end of time. Maybe. Do not make plans based on "soon" as Blizzard will not be liable for any misuse, use, or even casual glancing at "soon."
2003
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The year 2003 saw first the beta testing of the long waited patch 1.10, and later on the actual release of it on October. The delay experienced was much similar to that of patch 1.13 seen during 2009, but back then it most likely was caused by the development of World of Warcraft consuming every spare developer's time. Funnily enough, the 2009 delay was caused by Warcraft III.The patch revamped the game by a huge extent. It introduced the
ladder and added a lot of ladder-only unique items and runewords. The age of the Enigma began. It featured the Uber Diablo (also known as Diablo Clone) Pandemonium Event, which would spawn when enough Stone of Jordan's were sold to vendors. Many speculated that this was Blizzard's way of getting rid of all the duped rings.2004
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The year 2004 saw the first ladder reset in July and the start of the season two. A promotional contest called When Worlds Collide was held to promote the upcoming release of World of Warcraft, which was originally designed to be released in 2005 (it was released in 2004 in NA). The contest began for all users playing on an Expansion Realm. The first player to reach level 99 on the ladder on each Realm would be awarded a prize package containing a Blizzard T-Shirt, a signed copy of World of Warcraft Collector's Edition, a toy statue, and a Blizzard North CD Wallet.A month after the new season started, Blizzard first implemented the infamous "Realm Down" message, which resulted from creating and joining games too fast. The end of the year also saw continuous use of a lite rust storm, deleting many duped items.
2005
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This year saw the second ladder reset and the start of the third ladder season, which happened just after
patch 1.11 was released. This patch introduced the new Pandemonium Event, Uber Tristram, which featured beefed up versions of act bosses and the reward was the Hellfire Torch Large Charm.This was not known at the time but was also the year the still-existing
Blizzard North begun development of the next installment in the Diablo franchise, Diablo III.2006
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Quiet year, mostly just some small, server side patches and fixes that worked out some of the various bugs of the game. One such patch, released June '06, allowed players to move the Annihilus Small Charm, Gheed's Fortune Grand Charm, and Hellfire Torch Large Charm into the trade window. A patch was also hinted at in mid-August as a Blizzard representative posted a list of changes that players wanted. However, no patch arrived this year.Aside from this, the third ladder season was in progress through the entirety of 2006.
2007
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Another relatively uneventful year. The third ladder season was brought to a close June 25th, with the fourth season commencing on that day. There were also anti-duping measures brought into the game in mid-February.This patch was introduced to drop players when their ping became too high, since the duping method revolved around increasing the ping high enough to drop players. This was often accomplished through using a Necromancer and Sorceress in tandem, casting
Bone Wall and Meteor constantly. These two skills would make the ping skyrocket, and the duping could be achieved. Blizzard cracked down quickly with the aforementioned patch, temporarily stopping dupers in their tracks.2008
The fourth season, started in 2007, was ended nearly a year later on June 17th. The fifth ladder season commenced that day.Diablo II:
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Patch 1.12 was released that same month, which added a "no-CD" feature so that players couldcopy certain files from their Lord of Destruction expansion disc to their Diablo II directory and be able to play the game without the disc loaded. This was brought into effect to stem the tide of CD-loading programs that allowed users to open multiple windows and thus play multiple characters by using certain third party programs.This year was also the year that Blizzard really cracked down on hacking. On November 11th, over 350,000 battle-net accounts (Starcraft, and Diablo II) were found to be using third party hacks. The accounts were given a 30-day ban and any repeat offenders were permanently banned.
Hacking was not erased, of course, but Blizzard had taken steps towards eliminating it from Diablo II. In conjunction with their frequent rust storms (massive server sweeps that destroyed duped items), the servers were beginning to become cleaner and more legitimate places to play and trade.
Diablo III:
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During the first half of the year, internet was abuzz with speculation over the two images being updated by Blizzard. One was a layer of ice slowly melting away (to eventually reveal eyes matching with the face of Diablo), and digging through the image information a purple penguin-esque creature was found.
Diablo III was finally announced June 28th, 2008, at WWI '08 ( World Wide Invitational) in Paris after a huge buzz when Blizzard acquired the web address www.Diablo3.com from our very own community (we later became DiabloFans.com). Along with its announcement came the return of the stoic Barbarian and the introduction of the mysterious Witch Doctor. Starting off in New Tristram, the game was shown with the familiar isometric camera. Changes to the inventory screen and the addition of the skill hot bar, health globes, and skill runes were welcomed additions to the new game. The year concluded with Blizzcon '08 where we were introduced to the brazen Wizard and the change of the Barbarian's energy system from Mana to Fury.2009
Diablo III:
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Classes:
Known for their hilarious high-jinks on April Fool's, Blizzard created the fake class, the
Archivist. Based off of lore from Deckard Cain, the Archivist could toss out mighty a Lorenado and finish off his enemies with his devastating Shush spell. At Blizzcon '09, the show began with the introduction of the fourth class to join
Diablo III, the
Monk. The Monk hails from Ivgorod where the Holy Warriors of 1,001 Gods preside. The Monk's skills range from the quick pace actions of a fist fighter with his Seven Sided Strike to his Holy abilities like his Inner Sanctuary. The Monk is a beautiful marriage between the Paladin and Assassin of Diablo II. His primary weapons are fist weapons much like the Assassin of Diablo II but he will also be using Battle Staves. There has also been some debate on what form his armor will take. Presumably, he will have very light armor and rely more on skills for his defense contrary to the bulky Barbarian. While the Female version of the Monk has not been shown yet. The Diablo team has gone from concept art to in-game model of the female version, who will be sporting a pixie hair cut.
Locations:
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At Blizzcon '09, we were also shown the burning barrens of
Borderlands, striking a large contrast to Act 1. The city of Caldeum is presumed to be the main hub for this area. The desert was full of demonic creatures. The Dune Thresher which is a shark like creature that buries beneath the sands remaining immune to all attacks. You watch as his fin protrudes from the ground creeping closer to you until it leaps out from below to attack you. The Whirling Dervish which Blizzard used to show the skill that will come into play while fighting various monsters. While the demon spins around, he relfects any damage taken, causing players to have to wait and think about their attacks. Finally, the Desert Wasp fires multiple spawn towards you while the wasp remains at a safe distance. These creatures litter the area along with the numerous cultists seen in the Monk's gameplay video. And then there is Belial who is presumed to be the final conflict for Act II. 
Belial has yet to be seen in the Diablo series but his presence has been confirmed in at least Act II. Lots of work has been completed on Act II including work on the boss of the Act. Although the development team does not work in a linear fashion, they have begun work on Act III as well. There have been no clues yet on what type of environments and locations Act III will contain. However, there has been a clue about bubbling tar which may or may not be in Act III.
Dreadlands and Arreat crater have also been hinted upon to appear in the game but it is unknown yet to what extent and when we will be visiting the area.
Mechanics:
Blizzard is known for test playing their own games and only using ideas that add to great gameplay. This has been evident with the new mechanics they have included and the old mechanics that have gone through and are still going through major changes. Perhaps the biggest change to gameplay is the abolishment of the infamous skill trees. While we don't know what form the skill system will take, it is safe to assume that it will not be a "use to level" system. The only clue we have on the skill system is that they are currently using is that they refer to it more as a pool/path system as oppose to the older tree system. Beside the skill tree change, other changes are being implemented. Skill runes have been completely removed, for now, to be added back in later with more refinement. They have said that the re-iteration of skills was
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causing too much of a problem with the runes for now. The energy systems that each character will be using is also being looked at in the attempts to give each character a unique energy system. The Barbarian's fury has even gone through its own redesign from the "Fury Balls" system of '08 to the ring design (seen on the left). The Witch Doctor is currently the only class that will be keeping the classic Mana system. The Wizard's new energy source has been highly speculated on with the clue that system will be "Volatile".The inventory has gone through many changes as well, leading us back to our classic "Tetris" inventory. Other mechanics have been added like the Co-Op resurrection system and special Boss Kills to help make the gameplay more fun and action packed. We have also learned that Sanctuary itself will not be an open environment in Diablo III and that the movement from area to area will be very similar to Diablo II's system.Diablo II:
In 2009, Diablo II received what many called a long-overdue patch. It was first announced with a call from Blizzard to the fans for requests for a hypothetical patch in March (see Tell Blizzard Your #1 Diablo II Patch Note.). After a hundred pages of replies, Blizzard supposedly set off to work. More than half way through the following month of April, it was announced that the patch would be coming with a ladder reset, and it was proposed that it could have been released as early as the end of that same month (see Ladder Reset to Accompany Patch 1.13).
Unfortunately, that release never came. As the hopeful deadline came and went, Bashiok responded in May with his condolences on behalf of the Legacy team and released that the patch would first go up on a Public Testing Realm (PTR), a first for the Diablo series' patching history (see About The Patch). On the tenth of that same month, Bashiok first mentioned that the patch may include an increased stash size (see Patch 1.13: Larger Inventory for Diablo II).
More than a month went by and the fanbase was getting angsty. Ten days after the start of June and the first bombshell hit our conglomerative faith:
Official Blizzard Quote:
Work on the patch was put on hold for a while due to higher priority issues, but it commences, and it is nearing.
Work on the patch, already in a ghostly state, had been put on hold for a higher priority. Our members clambered together to try and deduce what this other priority might be. The guess which was winning by a landslide was speculating around Warcraft III and its recent patching (1.23b)(see here). A month later the higher priority was confirmed to be a Warcraft III patch entering its final testing stage (see Blizzard Reveals Patch 1.13's Delayer).
Yet another month passed of patch silence. Finally, in late July, Bashiok posted saying that the Legacy team was still working on the Warcraft III patch, which was previously said to be in the final stages of testing, and that although work on 1.13 had temporarily ceased beforehand, it was well along the way. A subforum also popped up in the official Diablo II forums on the Battle.net website to account for PTR suggestions and feedback. When asked by a fan if we would see the patch any time soon, Bashiok said:
Official Blizzard Quote:
No. [...] Well the presence of this forum only means that I made it because I want you guys to know it's here well beforehand, to get into the groove of posting about 1.13 stuff here, and to stop cluttering up the other forums with questions about the patch or reset.
(The direct link for this source is now dead- the original thread was deleted at the Battle.net forums. See here for the original coverage of the above paragraph: Patch 1.13 PTR Forum is Up - Don't Get Excited, Though.)
In the beginning of the following month of August, Bashiok responded to the community, confirming that skill respeccing was a planned feature of the coming patch (see Skill Respecs Confirmed In D2) and on August 25th the Warcraft III patch that was being worked on in place of Diablo II's patch 1.13 was finally released. This would supposedly be the promised time work on our patch would continue, but more issues with Warcraft III came up and it again became the higher priority. A few weeks later on September second, Bashiok posted that work was commencing on patch 1.13 and the PTR would be up soon ((c)2009 Blizzard) (see WCIII Patch is Up- Diablo II Patch 1.13 Soon to Follow?).
Another month went by and on September 30th a nail struck deep in to the hearts of expectant fans everywhere. After three delays because of work on Warcraft III patches (one for 1.23b and twice for 1.24b), unprecedented issues came up with the patch and its involvement with the Battle.net servers regarding the increased stash size add-on. Later, on the first of October, Bashiok confirmed that the Legacy team would not be meeting the top three suggestions from all the way back in the beginning of the year (see Diablo II Patch 1.13- More Delays, Hopefully a Brighter Future).
Now nearing the end of the year, in November we saw a small update on the patch front. Bashiok posted on the sixteenth that we would be seeing an important update that week. Two days later we received word that increased stash sizes would not be making it in to the final patch (see Another Patch Promise, Will it Prove Itself?).
Finally, half way through December and nearly a year since its initial announcement, patch 1.13 was hosted on the promised PTR on December tenth. It included none of the original top three requests but did add skill respeccing, a small dupe fix, some minor skill rebalancing, and a new Pandemonium Event (see The Wait is Over -- PTR Patch 1.13). It also included a very handy (but somewhat haphazard) way of changing the default channel you go to when you log on to Battle.net as well as upped the drop ratings of
Runes significantly (see 1.13 Analysis). We provided some short blips on the redone characters in a select few articles run over the last month:- 1.13 Elemental Amazon
- 1.13 Summon Necromancer
- 1.13 Whirlwind Barbarian
- 1.13 Hammer Paladin (AKA Hammerdin)
- 1.13 Sorceress- Hydra Change Impressions
- 1.13 Ninja Assassin
See here for a complete list of all our official discussion threads on the live patch and PTR.
So all that being said, it's time to wish happy 13th birthday to Diablo (original Diablo was released on December 31, 1996)!
Now that the Diablo series has finally entered its teens, we can perhaps move to expecting a totally mind-blowing and in-depth third installment for the series, whenever it comes.
Until then, let's keep in mind our hopes and mind our time with speculation. Here's to more than a decade running and the prospect of Diablo III!
Hope you enjoyed this news team collaborated article brought to you to celebrate the past Diablo decade.
Contributors in Order of Appearance
Sixen: Introduction
Zhar: pre-2000, 2006-2008 Diablo II info
Don_guillotine: years 2000-2005
ScyberDragon: logo, years 2008-2009 for Diablo III
Seth: year 2009 for Diablo II
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Posted Dec 31, 2009Isn't it beautiful... the pride and joy of the news team.
Anywho, happy new years everyone, hope ya'll have a good one.
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Posted Dec 31, 2009Happy 2010 everyone!
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Posted Dec 31, 2009-
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Posted Dec 31, 2009And actually no, it wasn't. We've been working on it for weeks.
Happy New Year (almost)!
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Posted Dec 31, 2009I love the pictures also.
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Posted Dec 31, 2009Great read!
*pats you all on the back*
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Posted Dec 31, 2009I hope everyone enjoys reading this as much as we enjoyed writing it.
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Posted Dec 31, 2009-
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Posted Dec 31, 2009-
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Posted Jan 1, 2010-
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Posted Jan 1, 2010Which links and images aren't you seeing, sir?
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Posted Jan 1, 2010-
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Posted Jan 1, 2010As for those images... One moment.
Edit~
There- they should all work now.
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Posted Jan 1, 2010-
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Posted Jan 1, 2010Awesome post you all. And nice info on a lot of things I didn't know
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Posted Jan 1, 2010Very well done to the writers, one of the best reads in a while (not that other news posts have been bad), and a great way to start off the new year.
Happy New Year to all my brothers and sisters in arms against the forces of Hell (and Heaven?).