DiabloFans

I really do not see D3 being Pay to Play since it will be also a single player game.

I would not pay to play D3. I would stick with D2 and playing mods.

I would not pay to play any game including MMO's. I feel they are ripoffs since you still usually have to buy the game first as well.

I think the expansion packs would be the best place to get extra content if it is a large amount of content.

I think Micro Transactions may work as long as it does not gives a player an advantage or used for Battle-Net to help maintain the servers and for keeping out spambots and cheats.

I have a feeling Holy might be paired with Arcane.

I do not find it that much of an issue. HC players for the most part play cautiously to aviod death. We will learn the game and develop the needed strategy to ovecome the challenges of HC.

I hope they make HC impossible to win.

The 4 player limit is good. I never liked more than that many when I was playing multi player. The most fun I had in multi player was with one other person that knew how to play. Most of my experience in D2 multi play was with people that had no idea to play or were just annoying jerks.

Happy Birthday Reform

Quote from "italofoca" »

lol you sir are a real hardcore lol

I don't wanna imagine the sensation of getting a real rare item and then dying because of the lack of experience D:
Hmm.. well i can mule it if it's the case XD

It's better to loose a character then items

I'm kinda attracted by yourplay style XD If you play on b.net maybe we can party up on HC ?

If I ever do return to battlenet I will look you up.

I never cared if lost good items. To me it is more the challenge and having fun then finishing the game. If the character died then he/she died and start a new one.

You may want to try PlugY mod. It gives you infinite stash for personal and shared. You can also see more stats on your character by flipping to the next page on the main character stats page.

Third Eastern Sun Craftsman Tourney

Welcome to the Third Eastern Sun Craftsman Tourney. The last two were major successes. The third installment of the tourney will be open to both players from Diablo Fans as well as the Phrozen Keep. Please register at either the Phrozen Keep or the Diablo Fans thread before beginning your character.

Tim Taylor: This is my house, that is my dishwasher, and I will rewire it if I want to.
Jillian "Jill" Patterson Taylor: No! You will not rewire it and screw it up like you did the blender.
[Jill points at the blender]
Jillian "Jill" Patterson Taylor: End of discussion.
[walks off]
Tim Taylor: What is your problem with the blender? It's the only blender on the block that can puree a brick!

Wilson Wilson, Jr.: Sometimes the best thing you can do, Tim, is nothing.
Tim Taylor: [grunting] Oh. Jill got mad at me because I didn't listen to her!
Wilson Wilson, Jr.: No, I think she got mad at you because you blew up the damn dishwasher.

Rules:
1.) The tourney must be played with the latest official patch of Eastern Sun which is located here
2.) This tourney is single player only. No multiplay allowed.
3.) Must start a new character that is either softcore or hardcore. If your softcore character dies than it is considered rip for the tourney and it would have be noted as RIP in the table.
4.) No bringing in gear from the shared stash. You can place items in the shared stash but you can not use the items that are placed in the shared stash. You are free to use the personal stash pages to store your gear and items.
5.) No use of the escape and exit when in direct combat situation to cheat death.
6.) Once you start a new difficulty you can not go back to the previous difficulty.
7.) You can rerun areas as long as it is not an area in a previous difficulty.
8.) Before advancing to Nightmare you have to have 10 items crafted and be in use by either you or your hireling(merc).
9.) Before advancing to Hell all gear slots would have to be filled by a crafted item.
10.) 2-Handed weapons will count as two crafted items for the slots. If using a 2-handed sword in a sword/sword or sword/shield then it will count as a single slot.
11.) Only white, magic and rare items can be equipped on your character prior to equipping a crafted item. Once a crafted item is equipped that slot can only be used by crafts for the rest of the tourney.
12.) Jewels, Arrows, Bolts, Charms can be any quality since there is no crafting option for them.
13.) You are free to use runes and gems but you can not make any words out of them.
14.) You can not use the skill and stat reset option of PlugY or the Character Utility program.
15.) No use of hacks or third party programs.

Scoring:
Level: Each character level you will gain 10 points
WP&Q: Way points and Quests. You gain 10 points for every way point you activate and for each quest you complete. The town way points count for scoring.
Crafts: You will get an equal amount of points based on the required level of the item. If the item has been d-stoned or gem-melded then only the base required level of the item will be counted and not the additional levels that was added.

Players Name      Character Name      Level   WP&Q   Crafts    Total   RIP/RET
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hans              Zonked/Barb         10      10               20

This Tourney is now open to all players.
The tourney will go on until no one posts an update for 30 days or if there is a major patch that changes key features of the mod.

Good Luck to all.

Here is a link to the older Craftsman Tournaments
Second Craftsman Tournament
http://phrozenkeep.hugelaser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=49466&hilit=Craftsman+Tournament&start=850

First Craftsman Tournament
http://phrozenkeep.hugelaser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=42311&hilit=craftsman+tournament&start=700

Here is the link to the other thread at the Phrozen Keep third Craftsman Tournament
http://phrozenkeep.hugelaser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=55236&p=435241#p435241

Mf does not mean as much in ES. Gf is more important.

It sounds that the random number god is not happy. You need to sacrifice a noob.

Did you by chance checkout my signature?? Also, love the addition of eyes to your avatar.

I do not think Eastern Sun would run on Open Battlenet anyway since it is a 1.10 mod only since it uses d2mods plugin manager. The mac version of the mod also has modified code due to the full inventory for the mercs and a few other code changes.

Sslong as both players have the same version there will be no problems. Again, all Open Battle.net does is advertise your game (name:address) nothing else. The only case where it would not work would be if the mod stripped the Battle.net functionality.

Over a month since the last community spotlight, and I know you've all been lost without me.

Rejoice, for I have returned.

However, this spotlight was delayed for good reason. In case you missed it, the Community Projects article overruled this spotlight a while back, and focused mainly on the Fan Art, Fan Fiction, and Roleplaying forums.

Then, we had our (Or, should I say, Scyberdragons, seriously, give the man a pat on the back for the work he put into that.) Valentines day article. If you've been wondering what the fifth class will be, we've solved the mystery. Cupid, it will definitely, 100% without a doubt, be cupid.

As for the last month or so, a lot has gone down.

Starcraft II Beta, the Female Monk, a New Version of Patch 1.13, and a multitude of other noteworthy articles have graced our front page. Don's most recent editorial (scroll down the page a bit, you'll run into it) explores the possible locations of Diablo III, while Seth's Various Mod Articles will let you squeeze as much enjoyment out of Diablo I & II while you wait for Diablo III.

Now, with all that out of the way, we turn our gaze towards the forums.

(Colour brought to you by Nektu and CrazyCapnMorgan)

The Forums

The long standing debate of PvP vs PvE has finally been made tangible, through this poll. Cvoisgreat created this thread, and thus far, it has been met with quite a few votes, 57 in total (at the time of writing). The votes have been swinging towards PvE, with PvP trailing behind by roughly 25. Keep in mind, that PvE included cooperative play, which, as those of us who have had a LAN party will say, is one of the most fun experiences in Diablo when you've got a good crowd together.

Then, we've got lorenzo von matteorn, with his thread. Basically, it asks which character you will choose to play first. Over 7 pages of solid discussion have resulted, with users stating their reasoning behind their choices, the build they plan on using, and why they like the character they have chosen. Personally, I'm all about the Monk. Whether you agree or not, is another matter, and should be settled in the thread. Get in there and share your opinion!

For any looking for a new challenge from Diablo II, check out the Eastern Sun Craftsman Tournament, by Hans. Basically, this tournament tests your single player abilities, with strict guidelines. Hardcore is a must, and you can only use white, magic, rare, and crafted items. Definitely something to check out if you're looking for a new challenging type of gameplay, it will test you, there's no doubt about that. (In case you don't know what Eastern Sun is, it's a mod for Diablo II, and any questions will be answered here.)

In the realm of real life, the Vancouver 2010 Olympics have been taking place, and a thread has been made to discuss them. Pryda brought this thread into existance, and thus far, it has been filled with excessive patriotism, and sportsmanship. Personally, I'm surprised that this thread didn't degenerate into death threats and fist fights, kudos to everyone who handles themselves maturely in there, it's hard to do when the Olympics are going down.

As for forum games, Nacho_ijp has spawned a new creation, with the Treasure Hunt game. An account has been set up by the name of "Treasure", players will have to guess the password of Treasure, by using clues given by the current owner of the account. Once guessed, players will have to change the password, and begin giving out clues as to what it is. At the moment, Nacho is in the lead with 4 correct guesses, see if you can beat down his streak.

Have you ever seen a movie that was so bad, that those several dollars and hours invested in it will never be justified? Now, we have a thread to warn others of these abominations, courtesy of pathsofthedead. In here, you're free to whine, QQ, even rage about the worst movie you have ever seen. Death threads to the directors are still prohibited, but I'm sure you can sneak some in by using tricky synonyms, the moderators will never know.

Forum Changes

We've got a new admin!
Say hello to Alexia, the newest admin on the Diablofans team.

Fan Creations

The fan fiction and art forums are still trucking onwards, and the roleplaying forum is picking up steam once more, thanks to yours truly.

Fan Fiction

Old Fanfics have been continued, veteran writers have created new works, and two new writers have emerged into the forum. All in all, a solid month for the Fan Fiction forum.

The Veiling continues onwards, thanks to the hard work of Seth. It has now reached three chapters, and will be continued onwards. All of the finished chapters are downloadable, as well.

Scyberdragon has also produced some fiction, with his story, The Mercenary.

Two newcomers to the Fan Fiction forum have also produced some work, shibblicious with A Lesson in Life and Death, and Kickin_It with Redemption of the Vizjeri.

Fan Art



Fan art by Tepes, squishie, and naj (from left to right)

Roleplaying

We've got two new Roleplays that are both pretty far outside the box, so if you're looking for something new, now is the time to start using the Roleplaying Forum.

Where other roleplays have left out statistics for a more text driven approach, Scyberdragon and Junction3 has created one of the few "True RPG's" we have. He has created the Zombie Survival Tactics game, in which players take turns, level up, find items, and pick and choose tactical targets, hence the name. Players will, of course, be fighting against zombies as a team of survivors. If you're a fan of the Dungeons and Dragons games, this will definitely suit you well.

Most roleplays set pit you against all manner of undead, demons, and corrupt humans. But, you very rarely see roleplays in which you play the bad guy. Look no further, for the best user on these forums (Ahem) has created Damnation Rising. In this roleplay, you don't fight back the horde of demons, but instead, you play as one of the demons trying to see that horde overtake Sanctuary and eventually, Heaven.


Blues not in the News

Seems gender biases will be non-existant in Diablo 3, as both genders of the same class will have the exact same stats, as indicated by this post by Bashiok.

http://www.diablofans.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=99&pictureid=708&thumb=1

Where [I]The Hell[/I] brought us to the deepest levels of Diablo I, and [I]Back to Hellfire[/I] strove to find Diablo II's roots in Diablo I, [I]Median XL[/I], an acclaimed mod for Diablo II, is something altogether different. Today, Laz tells us important goals and features he set in to [I]Median XL[/I], why it is so successful, and his thoughts on modding for upcoming Diablo III.

[I]Median XL[/I] adds a tremendous amount of new effects, skills, items, and content, making the game we've all played for a near decade take new livelihood that lost its luster over the years. Beyond the basic skill trees, which have seen their fair share of renovation, many skills can only be used by equipping select items. Playable characters have new lore, and special events allow for more button-mashing goodness, making Horadric Cube transmutation more feasible and fun. Laz admits to the challenges he faced making the mod, discovering what he believes to really drive [I]Median XL[/I]'s playerbase:

Quote from Laz »

There are modmakers who strive to improve the balance in the game and create 'the perfect Diablo' while the rest of the world passes them by. No game should be taken that seriously. I admit to making the same mistake in the past, only to discover that the players don't actually want a challenge.

Therefore the main way [I]Median [/I]strives to improve upon d2 is through spectacle. Most skills, items, monsters and levels in d2 are boring. [I]Median [/I]throws in crazy uberquests and fireworks and nuclear bombs and you get to kill angels in heaven and robots in a dystopic city.

[...]

Originally my concerns were to make skills situational, so you could (and had to) switch between skills depending on the situation. This was in the fairytale times when I thought d2 could be tactical and difficult - and nobody played [I]Median [/I]because it was too tactical and difficult.

Nowadays my concerns are simply 'is this skill overpowered enough?'. After years of requests to buff just about anything that isn't already the obvious best choice and some stuff that is (and the corresponding increase in playerbase) it has become clear that many players do not actually want much of a challenge and many others believe that challenge in d2 means that you need to figure out the very best build to farm efficiently.

http://www.diablofans.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=99&pictureid=710&thumb=1

[I]Median XL[/I] also focused on making the single-player experience more rewarding, promising, and accessible, which Laz noted as [I]single-player-friendliness[/I]: "[...] you can actually find decent stuff in single player, instead of becoming useless in mid-Nightmare without the 1-in-10000 unique drop)."

The mod is as true as his word. Nearly any screenshot taken during battle or a skill's use will admit seizure-inducing colors, flashes, and spectacular effects, giving player's the adrenaline rush of god on steroids. Players will battle fiersome beings not formerly seen in Sanctuary, including Baalspawn, terrible new renditions of uber quests, and even the returns of some of the classics.

Laz drew [I]Median XL[/I]'s repertoire of monsters and enemies from, as he stated, an "eclectic mix" of games, some from genres you might not have been anticipating:

Quote from Laz »

I just looked around and threw in stuff that looked like it would work well. The old d1 content was of course easy to find and adapt, but there are influences ranging from Left4Dead to Twisted Metal. When I see a good idea, I use it.

The difference with most other mods is that everything in [I]Median [/I]was adapted to the Diablo lore. When a unique item bears someone's name, this person does exist in the Diablo world. Likewise, imported concepts from other games were modified to fit the Diablo lore. Etc.

However, fantastical skills and flashy effects do not keep players enthralled forever. Laz continued to acknowledge the inevitability of character development in gaming, which we even see in vanilla Diablo II's handful of cookie-cutter builds:

Quote from Laz »

I'm still committed to making all skills viable, as in you can complete most uberquests with them. Unfortunately viable does not mean useful - most players simply go for the 2-3 best builds per class and ignore everything else. This is either because this yields the most l00t per second or else because they made a different build but a few minutes of reading the official forum left them with a dark cloud of impending doom and futility hanging over their head so they respecced.

And there are a few skills that exist mostly to appeal to the rule of cool. Carpet of Spiders? Yes, please.

http://www.diablofans.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=53&pictureid=305&thumb=1

The special uber quests, which vary in difficulty and actually function a bit more like quests, lay in wait for players that want even more from [I]Median XL[/I]: "They were intended to be a tactical challenge to complete, what with the shield auras that make the boss immune until you take out other monsters."

In addition to many new baddies, supernova skills, fresh lore, and cool new features, [I]Median XL[/I] has been teetering on the fine line between challenge and godmode for years, especially with the latest renditions. Work on the mod has been a fight for balance between the old-timers and the newer crowd: "[I][...][/I] veterans lament the fact that the game has 'become easier and easier' while newer players reply that the game is actually hard if you don't obsessively twink. I have no idea what the real difficulty is, but I know that people seem to stick around so I suppose it is generally okay."

Quote from "Laz »

[I]Median XL[/I] was also intended to remove all the old cheese from [I]Median 2008[/I'] and add new harder regular monsters and elites - at least, that was the plan. During the lengthy beta, people wept bitter tears over the increased difficulty. It seemed that every new elite caused someone to quit the game. Some players even said literally that they just wanted to run through the game as fast as possible and do ubers instead of wasting time getting killed by hellcats.

The story of a scammer who got scammed

Well, there's no questions about it now; the Jace Hall Show did have the inside scoop concerning the female monk. The official Diablo III website has just been updated with two new pieces of artwork, and a 3D render of the female monk.

Bashiok was quick to update us on the official forums.

Pictured to the right, is one of the two new pieces of artwork for the female monk. The second, is similar to the image we were salivating over several days ago, in the sense that it is a standing pose showing off the armored version of the monk.

Both images, as well as the 3D render, showcase the same armor style as the male monk (as would be expected), and personally, I think it flows very nicely with the current art style. It's simple, yet has a splash of color that will provide some extra eye candy in game. Something else I noticed that was similar between the two genders, was the beads they wear around their necks. Nothing has been said about it thus far, but perhaps background lore about the monks order will be tied into them in the near future.

On a sidenote, it seems that the pixie haircut is here to stay. I'm sure we'll warm up to it once we start eviscerating monsters in style, no other character got a haircut that rad.

Now, after having the official monk art revealed, I wonder if any Female Monk Fanart can compare...

(Also, props to Seniri and Shatterer for bringing this to our attention)

http://diablofans.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=55&pictureid=915&thumb=1

Blizzard recently updated Diablo3.com with a few new screenshots. It appears to be a few new ones featuring Act II locations and the characters dealing out their skills on their enemies, as well as an updated blood texture that departs from the vibrant monochrome of old (see left).

http://diablofans.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=55&pictureid=916&thumb=1

Could these serpentine poker-wielders be the revamps of the Claw Vipers of Diablo II and Diablo I (see right)? The Witch Doctor's pyrotechnics even seem more appealing for some reason, as does his body animation, or maybe we're just reading too much in to these images. A quick view of a cached version of the gallery reveals as many as twelve of the images are new, so go and see for yourself by checking out the rest in the screenshot gallery on the official website.

Thanks to snillum101 for the heads-up!

Hey all,
Hope you enjoy the Skill Calculator! It's in beta phase so report the bugs you find in the Diablo Tools Discussion so I can fix them asap.
Enjoy!