DiabloFans

Battle of the Best Invitational #2 Survival Guide
Illidan Evasion Hotfix - Dec 18th, Town Hall Heroes #44 - Holiday Special 2014
World of Warcraft in the New Year, Patch 6.1 Heirloom Changes

PTR on Holidays

Nevalistis made a post letting everyone know that the PTR will be online during the Holiday Break. Initially they wanted the PTR to last less, but given the quality of the changes based on the community's feedback, it ended up lasting more than they aticipated. Read below.

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Hey everyone!

Just a quick heads up that the patch 2.1.2 PTR will be available throughout the holidays. While we initially planned for a shorter public testing phase, we feel this additional time has improved the quality of the patch, as well as allowed players like you to experiment with (and prepare for) all the upcoming changes. We’re excited to get patch 2.1.2 and Season 2 into your hands and look forward to sharing more information about both updates in the new year. 

In the meantime, thank you, as always, for your diligent testing and amazing feedback. We wish the warmest and happiest of holidays, and can't wait to see you in 2015!

Blue Posts Holiday Break

Some players were a bit worried about the lack of blue posts recently. Vaneras explained that while they might not be posting a lot of information, they are still constantly checking the forums and looking for feedback. So don't fret, as soon as the holiday season is over, we should be hearing more from them. I guess devs and community managers also need a break!

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

The holiday season is upon us sure, but even though we may not be posting much right now, we are still around reading the forums and looking for feedback :-)

Rift Trials Improvements

I am not sure if changes to Rift Trials were mentioned in previous contacts with the developers, or through blue posts, but it seems like the developers are internally tinkering around with some improvements. They are also looking for particular feedback on how players feel Trials could be improved - which may end up shaping those changes!

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

We're not happy with the Realm of Trials, and we've been tinkering around with various improvements. What I appreciate most about this thread is the friendly discourse, thorough discussion about why you feel the way you do about Trials, and the ideas being tossed around.

Great to see; I'm always taking notes!

Item Synthesis Suggestion

Jaetch has put together a really intricate suggestion based on the Item Forging system commonly found in MOBAS. It looks to solve the item hoarding issue that afflicts some high-end players, while providing an engaging and way of combining not-so-useful items into something new and awesome. Sounds like an interesting way of tinkering with your findings? Then check the snippet below, or the full post here (or at the official forums) - and definitely watch the video!

Inspired by the item recipe systems of MOBA games like Dota and League of Legends, breeding from the Pokémon series, Persona fusion from the Shin Megami Tensei Persona series, and the good ol' Horadric Cube from Diablo II. I wonder how a system creating new legendary items from existing ones could work in Diablo III's environment.

DISCLAIMER: This system is 100% fictional and is not a feature in Diablo III: Reaper of Souls.

Originally I started wondering about an item recipe based system when stash space issues became a widespread topic in the community. I then started expanding on it a little more when players started struggling with finding specific legendary items, namely the notoriously rare ones like Wand of Woh or Starmetal Kukri (due to be adjusted in 2.1.2, but they're still going to be the rarest in their respective item types).

So I imagined a system—dubbed the Item Synthesis system—within Diablo III that allowed players to take a bunch of extra legendaries they have in their stash or on their mule characters and combine them into brand new items. These new items could be synthesis-exclusive, or they can be items you find normally through killing monsters and exploration.