Diablo III: Gameplay Systems + Crusader
The Gameplay Systems & Crusader panel is up at BlizzCon 2013 and as usual we will be updating live with all the information we gather. Keep that F5 button warm!
The Crusader was a great choice to balance against Malthael
We wanted the Paladin back, but in a darker version. That's what become the Crusader
Knight in scarred armor, versus the Paladin's Knight in shining armor
Design of a new character begins with the silhouette
The shield is an important part of the character, also used as a melee weapon
Lots of concepts were drawn (see pictures below, after panel has ended)
After a lot of brainstorming the team decides on the pillars of the Crusader - big and bulky, cloth and shield
After concepts begins modeling. Once that is done the team goes into production
Several tier armors are shown
For animation everything begins with an idle pose
The flail's physics were specifically made to look very realistic
Shield Bash is showcased. The Crusader charges his shield and shoots out holy damage out of it
The Crusader loves to be up close and personal, but Diablo III already has 2 melee characters. That's why a strong ranged component was added
Wrath is the resource and it generates outside combat, but is also generating with Primary skills
Crusader won't be able to dual-wield, he needs a shield
He starts with 24 skills
Developers experimented with a skill like Zeal, but it didn't work too well. In Diablo 2 you had 2 skill buttons, but in Diablo 3 you have 6. You have utility skills, AoE and other things. Zeal demands you press only it. The visual was also hard to read
In the end though Zeal become a rune for Slash
Fist of Heavens felt so good that the developers still haven't made changes to it since its implementation. Literally its first version is in the game
Heaven's Fury's went through several iterations. The first version was constant beams shooting from the skies below the cursor. Second version was a single beam going after the cursor. The third version is AI controlled and simply follows enemies while the Crusader deals with other monsters
Steed Charge makes the Crusader dash super fast, on the back of a horse and looks quite awesome!
Blessed Hammer is a nice reminder that the Crusader is still at least somewhat related to the Paladin
The Other Classes
Barbarian's new skill is Avalanche. 30 second cooldown. Cooldown is reduced with Fury spent
Wizard is getting a bit more love with the elements, up until now she had mostly Arcane skills
Arcane Orb now has a rune that makes it resemble Frozen Orb from Diablo II
Wizard's new skill is called Black Hole - sucks enemies inside of it. Nothing prepares a good Meteor like Black Hole
The Monk should be the fastest character on the battlefield.
Fists of Thunder's teleport is now baseline
Monk's New skill is Epiphany. Allows all melee attacks to teleport you to your opponent
Demon Hunters should feel a lot more ranged and use more traps
Demon Hunter's new skill is called Vengeance. Every attack you do fires more shots. Rockets, arrows, etc.
Witch Doctor's mechanics aren't 'all there'. One of the fantasies is to be a Pet class. Pets don't do enough damage though. Same goes for being a DoT class
One of his new passives is to make his DoTs last 5 minutes
Witch Doctor's new skill is Piranhas. Enemies affected will take more damage from all sources. Below the water's surface (of where Piranha's spawn) is actually a massive crocodile that swallows enemies whole
Items
The new Artisan is the Mystic - she can Transmogrify and Enchant items
Enchanting lets you chose one property to reroll and offer 3 new, plus the same property, as a new roll
The Loot 2.0 philosophy is: Less is more, Items Support Builds, Rarity = Power
Smart Drop affects Item Type, Items Stats and Skill Affixes
Previously some rolls were 1-100 Strength (for example). Now the range is much lesser: 75-100
Item stats are now separated into Primary and Secondary. All items will have a fixed number of both. It's displayed on the tooltip
Legendary used to be hard to find in the game. Players wanted more of them, but really they just wanted them to be better
The new philosophy for the expansion is "endgame for everyone"
Legendary are still by far the most rare items, but are also the most powerful in RoS, by far
Legendary items will drop at the killed monster's level. If you kill a level 33 monster you can get a level 33 Legendary
All Legendaries are revamped in Loot 2.0
A lot of unique powers are given to them
Frostburn Gauntlets for example increased Cold skills damage by 27% and an effect - 50% chance to Freeze instead of slow enemies
"Grey" text comes up when you hold control over an item - it shows the max and min values of the stats on an item
Examples of new affixes -
Haroutunian Arm Guards - Every time you destroy a wreckable object, you gain a short burst of speed
Illusory Boots - you may move unhindered through enemies
Tiklandian Visage - Horrify causes you to Fear and Root enemies around you for 8 seconds
Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker - Chance on hit to blast your enemy with Lightning and slow its attack speed and movement speed; This effect jumps to additional enemies
Ninja Gloves and Ninja Boots (Set bonus): (2 pieces) - Your Spike Traps lure enemies to them; (4 pieces) Automatically cast Smoke Screen when you fall below 25% Life. This effect only occurs once every 30 seconds
Q&A
How big is the item stat inflation?
It's a concern we might have in 8-9 years. We love big numbers.
Arcane Sanctuary from Diablo 2. Can it get some love?
We're not going back to the Arcane Sanctuary. Pandemonium Fortress has some aspects inspired from it. When you see the level you'll see a bunch of stuff in there.
In Diablo II character appearances changed if you complete an item set. Any plans to do so in D3?
We haven't talked about anything like that yet. It's not a terrible idea though, it might happen. Our focus right now is to make the set items and their bonuses feel as crazy as possible. It's totally possible we could add visual components.
This should be the indepth panel with Crusader and Gameplay discussion. Later there will be the open Q&A but don't hold your breath for it, i foresee many wasted questions like: "When is PvP coming?" "When is Beta?" "When is Release?". I know those are in the FaQ, but some people never learn.
That was kinda disappointing.. Not so much because of what they said, but how little they said.
Only new thing was the Primary vs Secondary stats.
Which is a fairly bad "solution" anyway, since it just tries to hide the issues rather than fix them.
Quite underwhelming panel. Too much focus on the Crusader and they just talked again how Loot 2.0 works. I'm not sure if this expansion is ready for an early-mid 2014 release since they didn't talk at all about Nephalem Trials and "Devil's Hand", if this feature are even in the making anymore.
Am I the only one that finds it extremely weird that they didn't at all mention ladders?
They've already talke a lot about it openly, so it should be pretty much confirmed by now. But why no details?
Perhaps they just aren't in a state to be shown yet.
All I see is that they dont care that much about D3... All they care is Warcraft and all related content about that, that's why they announced RoS at Gamescom, because they dont have anything else to say about D3 and now they can at least fill that empty space with this"indepht D3 panel".
Anyway, I hope I'm wrong and they do have something to announce.
All I see is that they dont care that much about D3... All they care is Warcraft and all related content about that, that's why they announced RoS at Gamescom, because they dont have anything else to say about D3 and now they can at least fill that empty space with this"indepht D3 panel".
Anyway, I hope I'm wrong and they do have something to announce.
... they deliberately emptied a space in their schedule to deliberately fill it with not much?? Hm.
It's no suprise (to me) that there wasn't a lot of D3 coverage (although it's still disappointing)... Blizzard's already made a crapton of announcements. Remember also that D3X has a lot more room to move than WoW, so I'd expect a hell of a lot of iteration, especially when it goes into beta. Thanks to datamining, we already know a lot more details about what Blizzard is trying, and where they're going... and we also know that they care very about D3. You should probably put that little idea to bed.
Items are certainly getting better, but I think they'd have to gut the itemization completely (including weapon damage on skills, main stat) and replace it with something brand new to truly get it to the level most people want it to be. But that'd probably take 3x as long. Better to just work with what you got, I think.
Still, it's an improvement, but I probably expected too much from the item overhaul.
But I'll probably buy this thing day one despite all my hand wringing. hahaahha...
Also remember that if you hadn't read a single data-mined line of text, a lot of this would be pretty amazing to hear. I mean, I think most people were pretty floored when data-mined stuff started coming down.
All I see is that they dont care that much about D3... All they care is Warcraft and all related content about that, that's why they announced RoS at Gamescom, because they dont have anything else to say about D3 and now they can at least fill that empty space with this"indepht D3 panel".
Anyway, I hope I'm wrong and they do have something to announce.
... they deliberately emptied a space in their schedule to deliberately fill it with not much?? Hm.
It's no suprise (to me) that there wasn't a lot of D3 coverage (although it's still disappointing)... Blizzard's already made a crapton of announcements. Remember also that D3X has a lot more room to move than WoW, so I'd expect a hell of a lot of iteration, especially when it goes into beta. Thanks to datamining, we already know a lot more details about what Blizzard is trying, and where they're going... and we also know that they care very about D3. You should probably put that little idea to bed.
Sorry if I didn't make myself clear, I meant that they dont care to show anything about D3 at Blizzcon, not that they dont care about D3 at all. They announced everything at gamescon so that they could talk about that at Blizzcon without losing focus of their biggest announcements (HoS, Hearthstone, Warcraft). Anyway this is just my humble oppinion.
I've said this in other threads, but I'll say it again here: a lot of this stuff is brand new, assuming you haven't been looking ahead at stuff in the datamining. If you spoiled yourself and are now upset that Blizzcon didn't show you anything new, that's your fault, not Blizzard's.
And as for the complaints about no Ladder/PVP, same deal. Just because it's in the test servers doesn't mean they are planning to go ahead with it. And even if they are, they are under no obligation to announce it yet.
This has been a pretty good presentation, imo. Sure, I already knew a lot of this stuff, but that's because I hang out on fansites and intentionally spoil myself on upcoming features. It's still cool to have it confirmed, and see it visually.
What was new if you ignore the datamining? Cant separate the two anymore
Not counting specific skill examples, since it really isn't a game system.
In the end, the issue isn't if the information is new or mot, but it is scary if they don't have a lot more changes planned, for a game that really need those changes.
I've said this in other threads, but I'll say it again here: a lot of this stuff is brand new, assuming you haven't been looking ahead at stuff in the datamining. If you spoiled yourself and are now upset that Blizzcon didn't show you anything new, that's your fault, not Blizzard's.
Exactly.
Can't wait for those new items. Such cool legendary affixes.
I feel like a lot of people here are being extremely critical here. From what I saw is this:
The release might be pushed into mid-late 2014, due to lack of talk of known features.
The Loot 2.0 is going to be the fucking game changer. Absolutely moviing in the right direction
Crusader is a great class.
Overall This Blizzcon was a Warcraft Blizzcon, Hearthstone and WoW really took the majority but that's because WoW was on the back burner most of this year. SC2 has nothing to show, and Heroes of the storm is FUCKING INCREDIBLE! Can't wait for that game, seriously if you like MOBAS Blizzard is changing the genre.
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Not even Death will save you from Diablo Bunny's Cuteness!
I feel like a lot of people here are being extremely critical here. From what I saw is this:
The release might be pushed into mid-late 2014, due to lack of talk of known features.
The Loot 2.0 is going to be the fucking game changer. Absolutely moviing in the right direction
Crusader is a great class.
Overall This Blizzcon was a WEarcraft Blizzcon, Hearthstone and WoW really took the majority but that's because WoW was on the back burner most of this year. SC2 has nothing to show, and Heroes of the storm is FUCKING INCREDIBLE! Can't wait for that game, seriously if you like Mobas Blizzard is changing the genre.
Couldn't agree more.
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Ha. Bagstone.
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Wise ElderThe Gameplay Systems & Crusader panel is up at BlizzCon 2013 and as usual we will be updating live with all the information we gather. Keep that F5 button warm!
Update: Pictures are up!
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Crusader
- The Crusader was a great choice to balance against Malthael
- We wanted the Paladin back, but in a darker version. That's what become the Crusader
- Knight in scarred armor, versus the Paladin's Knight in shining armor
- Design of a new character begins with the silhouette
- The shield is an important part of the character, also used as a melee weapon
- Lots of concepts were drawn (see pictures below, after panel has ended)
- After a lot of brainstorming the team decides on the pillars of the Crusader - big and bulky, cloth and shield
- After concepts begins modeling. Once that is done the team goes into production
- Several tier armors are shown
- For animation everything begins with an idle pose
- The flail's physics were specifically made to look very realistic
- Shield Bash is showcased. The Crusader charges his shield and shoots out holy damage out of it
- The Crusader loves to be up close and personal, but Diablo III already has 2 melee characters. That's why a strong ranged component was added
- Wrath is the resource and it generates outside combat, but is also generating with Primary skills
- Crusader won't be able to dual-wield, he needs a shield
- He starts with 24 skills
- Developers experimented with a skill like Zeal, but it didn't work too well. In Diablo 2 you had 2 skill buttons, but in Diablo 3 you have 6. You have utility skills, AoE and other things. Zeal demands you press only it. The visual was also hard to read
- In the end though Zeal become a rune for Slash
- Fist of Heavens felt so good that the developers still haven't made changes to it since its implementation. Literally its first version is in the game
- Heaven's Fury's went through several iterations. The first version was constant beams shooting from the skies below the cursor. Second version was a single beam going after the cursor. The third version is AI controlled and simply follows enemies while the Crusader deals with other monsters
- Steed Charge makes the Crusader dash super fast, on the back of a horse and looks quite awesome!
- Blessed Hammer is a nice reminder that the Crusader is still at least somewhat related to the Paladin
The Other Classes- Barbarian's new skill is Avalanche. 30 second cooldown. Cooldown is reduced with Fury spent
- Wizard is getting a bit more love with the elements, up until now she had mostly Arcane skills
- Arcane Orb now has a rune that makes it resemble Frozen Orb from Diablo II
- Wizard's new skill is called Black Hole - sucks enemies inside of it. Nothing prepares a good Meteor like Black Hole
- The Monk should be the fastest character on the battlefield.
- Fists of Thunder's teleport is now baseline
- Monk's New skill is Epiphany. Allows all melee attacks to teleport you to your opponent
- Demon Hunters should feel a lot more ranged and use more traps
- Demon Hunter's new skill is called Vengeance. Every attack you do fires more shots. Rockets, arrows, etc.
- Witch Doctor's mechanics aren't 'all there'. One of the fantasies is to be a Pet class. Pets don't do enough damage though. Same goes for being a DoT class
- One of his new passives is to make his DoTs last 5 minutes
- Witch Doctor's new skill is Piranhas. Enemies affected will take more damage from all sources. Below the water's surface (of where Piranha's spawn) is actually a massive crocodile that swallows enemies whole
Items- The new Artisan is the Mystic - she can Transmogrify and Enchant items
- Enchanting lets you chose one property to reroll and offer 3 new, plus the same property, as a new roll
- The Loot 2.0 philosophy is: Less is more, Items Support Builds, Rarity = Power
- Smart Drop affects Item Type, Items Stats and Skill Affixes
- Previously some rolls were 1-100 Strength (for example). Now the range is much lesser: 75-100
- Item stats are now separated into Primary and Secondary. All items will have a fixed number of both. It's displayed on the tooltip
- Legendary used to be hard to find in the game. Players wanted more of them, but really they just wanted them to be better
- The new philosophy for the expansion is "endgame for everyone"
- Legendary are still by far the most rare items, but are also the most powerful in RoS, by far
- Legendary items will drop at the killed monster's level. If you kill a level 33 monster you can get a level 33 Legendary
- All Legendaries are revamped in Loot 2.0
- A lot of unique powers are given to them
- Frostburn Gauntlets for example increased Cold skills damage by 27% and an effect - 50% chance to Freeze instead of slow enemies
- "Grey" text comes up when you hold control over an item - it shows the max and min values of the stats on an item
- Examples of new affixes -
- Haroutunian Arm Guards - Every time you destroy a wreckable object, you gain a short burst of speed
- Illusory Boots - you may move unhindered through enemies
- Tiklandian Visage - Horrify causes you to Fear and Root enemies around you for 8 seconds
- Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker - Chance on hit to blast your enemy with Lightning and slow its attack speed and movement speed; This effect jumps to additional enemies
- Ninja Gloves and Ninja Boots (Set bonus): (2 pieces) - Your Spike Traps lure enemies to them; (4 pieces) Automatically cast Smoke Screen when you fall below 25% Life. This effect only occurs once every 30 seconds
Q&AHow big is the item stat inflation?
It's a concern we might have in 8-9 years. We love big numbers.
Arcane Sanctuary from Diablo 2. Can it get some love?
We're not going back to the Arcane Sanctuary. Pandemonium Fortress has some aspects inspired from it. When you see the level you'll see a bunch of stuff in there.
In Diablo II character appearances changed if you complete an item set. Any plans to do so in D3?
We haven't talked about anything like that yet. It's not a terrible idea though, it might happen. Our focus right now is to make the set items and their bonuses feel as crazy as possible. It's totally possible we could add visual components.
Gameplay Systems & Crusader Panel Pictures
Ha. Bagstone.
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Wise ElderIt's an awesome item. Shush.
Ha. Bagstone.
Only new thing was the Primary vs Secondary stats.
Which is a fairly bad "solution" anyway, since it just tries to hide the issues rather than fix them.
Well, back to other panels.
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Wise ElderPerhaps they just aren't in a state to be shown yet.
Ha. Bagstone.
Anyway, I hope I'm wrong and they do have something to announce.
... they deliberately emptied a space in their schedule to deliberately fill it with not much?? Hm.
It's no suprise (to me) that there wasn't a lot of D3 coverage (although it's still disappointing)... Blizzard's already made a crapton of announcements. Remember also that D3X has a lot more room to move than WoW, so I'd expect a hell of a lot of iteration, especially when it goes into beta. Thanks to datamining, we already know a lot more details about what Blizzard is trying, and where they're going... and we also know that they care very about D3. You should probably put that little idea to bed.
Still, it's an improvement, but I probably expected too much from the item overhaul.
But I'll probably buy this thing day one despite all my hand wringing. hahaahha...
Also remember that if you hadn't read a single data-mined line of text, a lot of this would be pretty amazing to hear. I mean, I think most people were pretty floored when data-mined stuff started coming down.
Sorry if I didn't make myself clear, I meant that they dont care to show anything about D3 at Blizzcon, not that they dont care about D3 at all. They announced everything at gamescon so that they could talk about that at Blizzcon without losing focus of their biggest announcements (HoS, Hearthstone, Warcraft). Anyway this is just my humble oppinion.
This has been a pretty good presentation, imo. Sure, I already knew a lot of this stuff, but that's because I hang out on fansites and intentionally spoil myself on upcoming features. It's still cool to have it confirmed, and see it visually.
Not counting specific skill examples, since it really isn't a game system.
In the end, the issue isn't if the information is new or mot, but it is scary if they don't have a lot more changes planned, for a game that really need those changes.
Exactly.
Can't wait for those new items. Such cool legendary affixes.
The release might be pushed into mid-late 2014, due to lack of talk of known features.
The Loot 2.0 is going to be the fucking game changer. Absolutely moviing in the right direction
Crusader is a great class.
Overall This Blizzcon was a Warcraft Blizzcon, Hearthstone and WoW really took the majority but that's because WoW was on the back burner most of this year. SC2 has nothing to show, and Heroes of the storm is FUCKING INCREDIBLE! Can't wait for that game, seriously if you like MOBAS Blizzard is changing the genre.
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Wise ElderCouldn't agree more.
Ha. Bagstone.