A user on the Battle.net forums recently asked Bashiok why Blizzard introduced the Monk class when they had said no additional old character classes would be returning as playable in Diablo 3. He was, of course, speaking of Diablo Hellfire when he brought this up and here's what Bashiok had to say in response:
Official Blizzard Quote:
"It's not a recognized part of the Diablo franchise, and to be honest it is so much so not recognized, that when people asked about returning classes in the Q&A's and in some of the press interviews the Hellfire expansion just wasn't in anyone's minds.
Plus, it isn't the same class. We aren't taking an old class and updating it. The monk from Hellfire, and in fact the story and content of Hellfire, doesn't exist as far as game lore and story is concerned going into Diablo III.
They happen to share a name, the same as all of the other monk classes that have existed in all other RPG's since the beginning of time. It doesn't mean they're related kit/story/flavor wise."
Having played the Monk class quite extensively at BlizzCon, I can definitely assure you all that he's something totally new. It's actually painful not being able to play the game again right now. You have no idea how badly I want to destroy some more enemies with skills such as "The Way of 100 Fists". That character is simply too much fun.
I too played it at blizzcon, the thing that was running through my mind is that that took the aspects of the monk from hellfire and made it better, i mean the monk in hellfire worked better without armor and all that so does this, also theyu both look and feel the same to me in some ways, its hard to explan but I am thinking they atre the same without being anything alike. maybe its more of a homage to the hellfire monk, kinda, sought of, maybe.... :/
Hellfire is a expansion for D1 made by Sierra Entertainmen.
not from Blizzard.
Quote from "Anzy" »
I too played it at blizzcon, the thing that was running through my mind is that that took the aspects of the monk from hellfire and made it better, i mean the monk in hellfire worked better without armor and all that so does this, also theyu both look and feel the same to me in some ways, its hard to explan but I am thinking they atre the same without being anything alike. maybe its more of a homage to the hellfire monk, kinda, sought of, maybe.... :/
The D3 Monk was inspired in D&D 3
and more than that, inspired in HOKUTO NO KEN (Fist of the North Star)
nothing to do with Diablo 1 monk.
Hellfire died quickly cose it didn?t have multi! Even if it?s same character it haven?t been in D2 so they didn?t really improved it from D1. We have all seen amazon/Soc/Barb redone in D2 and Monk was all forgotten. So it?s ok in my opinion as it brings something new to the game play and character classes.
One of his skill should be: "Talk to the hand" 8]
The Monk was the class that I ever wanted in diablo's game.
When Monk announced in the D3, I loved it.
This is one of the things that really annoyed me when I was reading web articles regarding Diablo III's new class. Everyone always talks about / compares with the "old" Monk from Hellfire, but if you look at the Hellfire disc (and/or box), there is NO mention of Blizzard. Rather, what you'll find is that Sierra, NOT Blizzard, developed Diablo: Hellfire. Blizzard only gave them the okay to make it.
Additionally, another way people could have found this out is by checking Blizzard's website. Nowhere can support for Diablo: Hellfire be found. This is actually kind of disappointing though, because as it turns out Sierra hasn't really been supporting it either, so with all of the Diablo patches, Hellfire has gotten rather bugged as a result.
This is one of the things that really annoyed me when I was reading web articles regarding Diablo III's new class. Everyone always talks about / compares with the "old" Monk from Hellfire, but if you look at the Hellfire disc (and/or box), there is NO mention of Blizzard. Rather, what you'll find is that Sierra, NOT Blizzard, developed Diablo: Hellfire. Blizzard only gave them the okay to make it.
Additionally, another way people could have found this out is by checking Blizzard's website. Nowhere can support for Diablo: Hellfire be found. This is actually kind of disappointing though, because as it turns out Sierra hasn't really been supporting it either, so with all of the Diablo patches, Hellfire has gotten rather bugged as a result.
I wouldn't be so harsh on people. I'm sure a lot of them realized Hellfire wasn't developed by Blizzard, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of this class being a continuation of that one, and also just because it had a different developer doesn't always mean it's non-canon (in this case it does, but not everyone is aware of that.)
It is kind of clear right off the bat that these monks share nothing but the name, but I still wouldn't be too harsh on the people who didn't realize Hellfire was non-canon.
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My typical train of thought: Everything -> Sex -> Diablo
Sierra was an entirely owned subsidiary of a larger conglomerate (Davidson/CUC) at the time, as were both Blizzard studios. The only difference between Blizzard North and the Sierra studio in Issaquah was the fact that BN made a good game, and so Blizzard wanted to claim it as "theirs", wheras Hellfire had obvious problems, and so no one wanted to claim it (and, in fact, that studio was closed in the following year).
Could someone please explain to me why they think the Monk contains elements of the Paladin? There doesn't seem to be any religious element to him so far outside of his name and his fighting style is very much like the assasin with its martial arts style, its fast moves and emphasis on using hands as weapons. I just don't see any Paladin in him.
I love what blizzard is bringing to the table, they have never disappointed any of us so why think they would now? If they promised us a bad ass game...then that's what we'll get. Period.
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[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." Einstein.
I don't think the Monk in no way shape or form compares to the monk from the "expansion" Hellfire and I think that they made a good choice for the 4th character. A nice hybrid of the assassin and paladin/knight...overall, I am pleased and this game is going to be badass!
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~ Some people are still alive only because it is illegal to kill them ~
Official Blizzard Quote:
"It's not a recognized part of the Diablo franchise, and to be honest it is so much so not recognized, that when people asked about returning classes in the Q&A's and in some of the press interviews the Hellfire expansion just wasn't in anyone's minds.
Plus, it isn't the same class. We aren't taking an old class and updating it. The monk from Hellfire, and in fact the story and content of Hellfire, doesn't exist as far as game lore and story is concerned going into Diablo III.
They happen to share a name, the same as all of the other monk classes that have existed in all other RPG's since the beginning of time. It doesn't mean they're related kit/story/flavor wise."
is more like a "made by fans".
http://ypslon.deviantart.com/
http://www.livestrea...m/diabloiiibeta
not from Blizzard.
http://ypslon.deviantart.com/
http://www.livestrea...m/diabloiiibeta
not from Blizzard.
The D3 Monk was inspired in D&D 3
and more than that, inspired in HOKUTO NO KEN (Fist of the North Star)
nothing to do with Diablo 1 monk.
http://ypslon.deviantart.com/
http://www.livestrea...m/diabloiiibeta
The Monk was the class that I ever wanted in diablo's game.
When Monk announced in the D3, I loved it.
http://ypslon.deviantart.com/
http://www.livestrea...m/diabloiiibeta
Additionally, another way people could have found this out is by checking Blizzard's website. Nowhere can support for Diablo: Hellfire be found. This is actually kind of disappointing though, because as it turns out Sierra hasn't really been supporting it either, so with all of the Diablo patches, Hellfire has gotten rather bugged as a result.
It is kind of clear right off the bat that these monks share nothing but the name, but I still wouldn't be too harsh on the people who didn't realize Hellfire was non-canon.
My typical train of thought: Everything -> Sex -> Diablo
When I hear Monk, I thought of the old AD&D Monk (back in the day, I played AD&D frequently & tried a Monk class once and loved it)
I agree that peple are connecting him to the Hellfire Monk because they want something from the older days of Diablo to surface in D3.
Never mind that most of us who've never played the game to any extent would most certainly give precious parts of our bodies to be able to do so.
But no, that's fine...let's have a pity party for you.
/sarcasm
It's time to welcome the other 80% of the color wheel to a Diablo game.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergistic_Software
http://ypslon.deviantart.com/
http://www.livestrea...m/diabloiiibeta