We have all been waiting for the next system to be announced; well, the wait is over. A leak* has just unveiled their Followers system. As talked about earlier, the Followers system is something that Blizzard has been working on since before the unveiling of Diablo III itself. Little information has been shared about how exactly the system will work in comparison to Diablo II. In the previous installment, players were offered four different types of Hirelings, one from each act, while most players chose the infamous Act II mercenary. Each had their own unique fighting style with a choice of three different skills. After hiring one, the player was able to equip a helm, weapon, and body armor on their hireling. There were no more options for customization with these characters as they would then follow you around and fight with you until their untimely demise.
Well, it appears in Diablo III, there will be a bit more customization to these characters. There are three types of Followers; the Enchantress, the Templar, and the Scoundrel. Each comes with their own play style as well skill set for players to choose from. The skill sets will be in tiers just like you character with new skills being unlocked every 5 levels. The player than can choose one skill of that tier to give their Follower. There is also some altered the equipment slots to a weapon, amulet, and two rings. It appears that certain equipment slots and skill choices will unlock as your Follower levels. The character will also show armor value, damage, life and resistances for Cold, Fire, Lightning, Poison, Holy, and Arcane (The Holy and Arcane resistance appear to be interchangeable).
The Enchantress
The Enchantress will be your magic Follower. Able to cast skills from afar, she will pair nicely with a more melee oriented character to blast away enemies from a distance.
Skill choices:
- Tier 1 (Unlocked at lvl 5) - Disorient, Forceful Push, Charm
- Tier 2 (Unlocked at lvl 10) - Decoy, Reflect Missles, Powered Armor
- Tier 3 (Unlocked at lvl 15) - Focus Mind, Amplify Damage, Lower Resistance
- Tier 4 (Unlocked at lvl 20) - Energize, Energy Bomb, Guidance
The Scoundrel
The Scoundrel will be a ranged physical fighter. Wielding a crossbow or bow, the Scoundrel will stay away from the forefront of the fight and pick off enemies from a distance.
Skill Choices:
- Tier 1 - Crippling Shot, Rapid Fire, Poison Bolt
- Tier 2 - Bandage, Dirty Fighting, Scavenge
- Tier 3 - Power Shot, Multishot, Rain of Gold
- Tier 4 - Anatomy, Black Market, Vanish
The Templar
The Templar is your melee Follower. Taking the role of a Paladin like character, he will be in the front of the fight. Pairing him up with a ranged class may be a good idea to help keep your enemies at bay. WE actually saw this character as the Jack of Spades in the Diablo III poker set.
Skill Choices:
- Tier 1 - Charge, Heal, Protection
- Tier 2 - Guardian, Intimidate, Loyalty
- Tier 3 - Intervene, Inspire, Tribute
- Tier 4 - Empathy, Onslaught, Knight
*Note that this has not been officialized or released by Blizzard yet but the current information is accurate.
hmm, perhaps. If so I imagine we unlock them all fairly quickly, even within the first act or two, so people can quickly commit to the one they mainly want to use and not sort of have to putz around with a Follower they really don't like.
Mercenary looks cool. I’d like it. But really, the beta is coming soon, as well!?! =)
I guess mercs will play a big role during MF runs.
You can either have 2 Templars with high defence to tank the damage from Diablo,
and have 2 ranged mercs dealing damage with the rest of the team.
Perhaps team of 4 wizards? or 4 Demon Hunter
[With Full on damage gear with very minimal defense gear as they are highly unlikely to engage directly]
Sort of defeats the purpose of having meele class? because they have to worry about having proper defence + attack
This is going to be fun
Up until now I believe the "purple bolt" was lightning resistance and the "yellow icon" was arcane. But now it seems there might be another resistance type possibly paired with arcane... shadow? Or perhaps it's Arcane/Lightning, Shadow/Holy.
Other than that I've watching it like 15 times going frame by frame, nothing hidden it seems. I can't wait to get the official word on it though. Will they admit to a leak? Call it up as a purposeful move? Or not even mention it all at lol.
Really - you didn't notice the waypoint or the resistance icons flipping?
I didn't think those were hidden.. You could see those normal speed lol.
I was more looking for like 1 frame easter eggs.
It'd be really awesome if they allowed for all three to be part of your caravan as you completed each of their quests. If that was the case though I'm assuming that only the follower that was with you would be currently gaining experience, so if you wanted to switch up, you'd have to level up that other follower. Would still love this possibility though!
was really hoping they wouldnt return
Reminds me of the Aiel in "The Wheel of Time"
Inorite! I love spear+shield. Also made me think Spartans as well.
@ the guy who mentioned the 25 locked slot as being for a rune: HELL YEAH. That's an awesome idea! I don't know what it would control, or if it would put some kind of modifier and visual change on everything, but whatever it would be it would be great!