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Update 9/27: Although there are still reports of excessive delays for some auctions, we've received many reports from those affected that these auctions in question are either finally going through, or returning the funds/gold/items. I will continue to update the thread as needed, but do ask that those intending to use the Auction House in the meantime remain aware of these issues noted below. Thank you!

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Update 9/26 4:20PM PDT: The gold and real-money Auction Houses are again online. To everyone affected by these outages and delays: thank you for your patience! For more information about transactions which may yet still be currently be delayed, please check the previous updates.

Hey Edan, thanks!

Indeed- I totally understand the frustration. Basically, as I understand it - there's two different things going on here: 1) we have auctions that failed (like both of yours have done, confirmed), but still show up on the player side as 'completed' and 2) auctions that are still taking longer, but on our side have a specific code saying something to the affect of 'under review' - auctions will typically have that message for as long as it takes for us to confirm the payment status and make sure all is well between buyer, seller, and appropriate payment systems. However - when that message is displayed for a prolonged period of time (we're talking over 5 days), this generally means that the auction is not going to process. When we have failed auctions like this, these are the ones that usually take about 10 days for our system to just give up on the transaction, and then items/gold/money are sent back, released via the financial institution, etc.

Bottom line is - we don't want you to wait, and as players have seen today, the AH has been getting more than a little punchy. I advise players to be aware that we may yet see further delays before this is through.


Hey Dasbean, I'll be happy to check back into the specific issue, but please be aware that because I am not at liberty to check each individual auction through the forums, it may take me some time to get back to you. Additionally, I ask that you refrain from making other threads regarding the AH at this time as we are aware of the aforementioned issues in this thread and are currently addressing those. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Edit: I see you have an open ticket regarding the issue- we will be responding momentarily.

@Dasbean we're going to do our best to help you get this resolved. Being that this original delay issue has caught us a bit by the wayside, I think that our response was likely compounded by that. Really, all I can say for now is to express my thanks for your patience - I have a approached a supervisor on your behalf as your situation is a spin on what I am directly dealing with. I will also stay apprised of your particular issue, although I am not in a position to rectify the issue directly.

@Leon - please see my above response - normally, I would have you put in a ticket, but being that the queues are as long as they are, you'll find the answer out one way or the other before we could likely respond. My best guess is that you fit into category 2 - please see above. If after some time passes you wish to post the transaction ID #'s I'll gladly to my best to let you know what I see.

@ Wubonk: That transaction ID# 1749702906 appears to be Category 1 (as I'm calling it) - showing up failed on our side, and if it looks like it's completed on your end was affected by the script we ran yesterday which helps the financial institutions involved to release the funds that were likely held. This is where it gets murky for me, and I apologize that I don't have more specific information - but as I understand it, Blizzard did not hold the funds for these specific purchases, but the funds were likely being held by the financial institutions that our system was in contact with.

Hopefully that makes sense. TLDR: (for those that were attempting to purchase items with real currency) If you don't have the money back, you'll be getting it- keep watch on your financial statement in the meantime.

@ Edan - The immediate reports I'm getting are that the AH is working much smoother now. Please take that with a grain of salt. I don't want to be unclear, but I can't predict the future. The AH has seen a lot of turbulence this week, and although we've brought the systems back online we may yet be still having to deal with further issues regarding these delays. I will do my best to keep my eyes and ears open in the meanwhile.

Glad to see the good news. I'll be back after awhile to help clear up a few of these other transactions. Thanks again for hanging in there!

@ Maijuana & KittyMilk, please submit tickets with the inquiries regarding those auctions - I was unable to locate them, when you make the tickets please be sure to do so through the account(s) from which the auctions originated. Thanks!

General message: If anyone else is experiencing a delay in your own auctions that occurred from around the 17th through the 25th, please go through the thread to see if the information provided here applied to you. As much as I wish that I could remain on standby to provide checkups on all the auctions, I will be unable to do so expediently through this channel. If you find that even after waiting a full ten days that your auction is not resolved, you are welcome to reach directly out to us via the support portal.

Please be aware that due in part to the Auction House issue, our queues are experiencing their own delays, so it may take us some time to get back to you. I will continue to keep my eyes on the thread and will offer any updates should further info need to be posted.

I hope you all have an excellent weekend and that the loot gods smile favorably upon your Avatar!

We’re definitely aware that some players crave to stay in the fray as much as possible, and that for them, cut-scenes and cinematics can sometimes take away from the flow of battle. To that end, we’re currently exploring some possibilities that we hope might better satisfy both the players that want to experience the full story of Diablo III as well as those players that would prefer to have as few interruptions in their demon slaying as possible.

Hi guys, I've seen some great feedback so far. Let me answer a few questions and address some concerns.

Regarding the existing monster affixes. We'll be keeping an eye on these. For example, Reflects Damage internally has been changed to a flat amount rather than a percentage. I don't know if it's going to ship this way but that's the current internal version.

If we don't want a game defined by one-shot deaths, then we can't have damage that is defined by it's burstiness. Some people have suggested that the solution to making the game more tactical is to make all mechanics 100% avoidable. This sounds good on paper but unfortunately doesn't address one-shot deaths. What we want to do is avoid the extremes. Maybe in one case you can avoid all of the damage, but in another case "good play" means you avoid half of the damage. Having a broad spectrum of attacks with varying degrees of avoidability means both combat decisions and gear matter.

There have been some concerns that we'll swing back to the extremes of hyper-defensives builds such as when the game first came out. This is not the intention. As DrothVader pointed out, there's a middle ground here where you're able to gear and play offensively, but you still have to concern yourself with the dangerous affixes and other mechanics.

A clarification: When I said "After we pull in the rate of healing, next we analyze the patterns in which monsters deal damage" I meant those as steps in the development process. Sorry for the confusion. I didn't mean for a moment that we were going to release in between those two steps. As TheTruth posits, this is an iterative process. There are actually MANY steps involved, those are just the first two. We're changing a lot of things and we'll do a lot of testing of the whole package before putting it all live.

I also share ComposMentis' concerns that although we're trying to adjust how combat feels, we should make sure the result isn't a game that feels slow. Diablo is still an action RPG. As Bomdanil says, there's still a lot of room to "hack and slash through endless piles of monsters". Creating room for players to mitigate incoming damage through smart play is not mutually exclusive with being able to blow them up at a fast pace. A few people have jumped to the conclusion that tactical = slow, or created a false dilemna between "fast paced action RPG" and "strategic prolonged tactical combat". There are more possibilities than this. The goal is a game where the combat can still be very fast, and you are mowing down enemies, but you also get to make quick decisions about when to use a CC ability, when to pop a defensive ability or who to prioritize as a target. These are tactical decisions that don't detract from a fast pace.

I want to thank everybody for the really solid and constructive discussion. It's good to see so many thoughtful posts. I can't realistically respond to everything (such as the suggested modified damage model or some of the potion ideas) but I do appreciate that so many people put effort into stating their reasons and opinions clearly.

WIth the new emphasis on life on hit to stay alive, any word of returning some nerfed proc coefficients ...
We'll be doing a detailed tuning pass on all proc coefficients so Life On Hit and other effects work reliably across all skills. No single skill becomes the mandatory "go-to" because it's the only one that provides enough LoH to survive. Similarly we will ensure no skill's proc coefficient is too low to sustain you.

Rather than looking at things as buffs and nerfs to proc coefficients, think of it as the proc coefficients of skills being on equal footing with one another and the damage and healing of monsters is tuned against this baseline.

I just want the Crusader to have some "tank-esque" skill. Firing shells of holy artillery sounds boss.
That is definitely the design intent of the Crusader. When designing the Crusader, our lead designer, Kevin Martens, asked the question "What if a modern armored division tank was a medieval warrior?" There's loads of fun mid-ranged skills, including one that literally turns you into a divine artillery shell, whistling in to obliterate the hordes of demons below. It's called Falling Sword, and you can take a peek of it in action here. (I may be guilty of giggling incessantly when using this ability...)

Was always wondering, why you guys sometime name him Tyreal instead of Tyrael.
Oops, my bad on the typo. I get ahead of myself sometimes. Corrected, thank you!

So Crusaders were formed around the time of Rakkis or after the events of Diablo 2?
The former. They were founded at about the same time Rakkis set out to conquer the west. The leader of the Crusaders sensed Mephisto's taint in the Zakarum faith, though it had not yet been uncovered, and independently/secretly founded and sent the Crusaders off on their mission. They have remained a mostly secretive sect of the Zakarum faith until now. Crusaders tend to travel alone, occasionally with a ward or apprentice, and rarely interact with one another or the public as a unit. It's part of the reason they've remained unnoticed for so long.

@Revan I think in terms of lore the Crusader will be fitted like he was the original cast of heroes, not only joining in act V but another hero that searched for the Fallen Star, so he will be a Nephalem.
The Crusader has been integrated into all five Acts. You'll learn their motivation behind pursuing the Falling Star in New Tristram, and the NPCs surrounding them will question and interact with their presence as well. The Crusader's story should look and feel as if they were there from the start, and we hope you enjoy getting to re-explore Sanctuary from a different point of view.

Is falling sword similar to Leap in that it can be cast to move the paladin towards the enemy? Or is it simply straight up and down?
There's definitely some movement involved. There's a great example of Falling Sword being used to close distance in the Crusader gameplay demo here.

Maybe it will be delving too far but what did the Crusaders accomplished? After some centuries of as you say secretive war with Mephisto, someone else did their job. And as you present them this way I see a similarities with present Barbarians, the loners, the sacred duty at which they kinda failed (it was not their victory), for many years aimless (?).
Their quest is one that's eternal. The taint of Mephisto runs deep in the Zakarum, and even now it is still a recovering faith. The goal of the Crusader is to remove not just this taint and save their faith, but to purge all evil. As we know, it's not quite as easy as simply removing one Lord of Hell from the equation. As long as Hell’s influence persists in Sanctuary, the Crusader will never rest.

As for how the Crusader goes about doing that, I'm afraid you'll need to wait for Reaper of Souls to learn more.

just teasing you about this, but technically Hell's influence will ALWAYS persist in Sanctuary since nephalem/humans are the descendents of a demon (and angel).
Well, of course. There’s always going to be evil, and the Crusade (in that sense) will never stop.

I'm pretty sure Maltheal also has some feelings on that topic, though. ;P

Sucks to be a Crusader. His new Crusade will be a trip to the convenience store to pick up several cases of 5-hr energy since he's gonna be awake a LONG time.
I imagine I'll feel the same when Reaper of Souls releases. At the very minimum, a similar trip is in store for me. =X

Let's talk about combat.

From a big picture standpoint, it's not healthy for the game when a player's health pool goes from full to nearly empty and back to full on a regular basis very quickly, over and over, during regular play. I know not every character build plays this way - but I would assert that it's not good for the game when this is a dominant or even common way to play.

Why?

Here are a few negative effects it has:

1. A health pool that quickly goes from full to nearly empty implies that there's not a lot of room for variance in incoming damage. When incoming damage is that high, a 15% increase in monster damage would result in death. This leads to comments like "As soon as I turn up the Monster Power I get 1-shot". I'd like to see a game where a clever player can handle a higher Monster Power by reducing incoming damage through good play. Unfortunately, if the combat pacing and dominant builds are such that all players are geared to survive the biggest posisble hit from a monster and instantly heal to full then there's no room for that differentiation. Let's use mortar as a simple example. If a wave of mortar hits takes me from full to nearly dead, and then I instantly heal back to full, then mortars don't pose a realistic threat to me. In this state, there's no way for a clever player (who wants to dodge mortars) to differentiate themselves from somebody who doesn't care (and just decides to get hit). In both cases you're healing instantly to full and surviving through the damage no matter what, and in both cases turning up the monster power results in you dying no matter what if you take a single mortar wave. It becomes a pure gear check.

2. For players who push the MP up anyways, it makes the game feel like it was designed around one-shots. In my previous example with mortar, some of you may be thinking "There's room for turning up the Monster Power, just don't get hit at all!". This isn't great either. It means my death feels very binary. One moment I'm at full health, the next instant I'm dead. It also means that once you decide you are going to accept being one-shot, you don't care about your health at all. Who cares if you have 20K or 40K health if you're going to die either way? We'd be in a better place if the mortar-dodger was allowed to take the occasional hit, but can handle a higher monster power as long as a majority of them are dodged.

3. Healing very rapidly back to full also loses all the fidelity of small attacks. If players are regularly going from full to nearly empty and back to full again on a regular basis, then there's no room for mechanics which act as a slow drain on your health. Plagued is a great example of this. We don't want Plagued to be something that kills you quickly, but it also shouldn't be something you ignore forever. Standing in a pool of poison should be something that adds tension to the fight. You know you're not going to die now, but you can see the threat looming. When healing rates are very high, there is no room for the slow drain damage sources - they become insignificant.

4. My current health loses meaning. Being at 95% health should mean you're relatively safe. Being at 5% health should mean you're almost dead. Being at 50% health should mean you're somewhat in danger and you should play it safe, but as long as you do you should be fine. These are all concepts that make intuitive sense. Unfortunately, they are not at all true in the current Diablo environment. When health pools are rapidly going from empty to full and back again, these health values all blur together.

5. You lose a lot of tactical combat opportunities. Tactical combat requires that the player can properly assess the situation and react accordingly. When your health pool moves up and down rapidly you are no longer reacting to dangers. A rapidly changing health globe means you are playing in a predictable pattern and crossing your fingers hoping that you live through it. You are playing in a way that avoids situations that will instantly kill you, but there's no tension associated with being low on health that would cause you to make a tactical decision to change your play pattern.

I'm saying all of this without pointing at any specific solutions. That's because there are no instant-fix solutions. It's a challenging problem that we're actively working on. Things aren't going to be perfect overnight, but improving the pacing of combat is something we constantly work on.

I will say that the first line of defense is reducing the rate at which players heal. After we pull in the rate of healing, next we analyze the patterns in which monsters deal damage. Ultimately, defensive stats will play a role in all of this. If some life regeneration, damage mitigation or (gasp) life on hit lets me play a little more aggressively, that's a good thing.

Update 9/25: Breaking news has been posted regarding the temporary disabling of purchases via credit cards for the Auction House - we thank you for your patience in the meantime. We'll be sure to update our posts here as soon as these issues have been resolved.

no further updates?
Hi Xus, more specific updates will be shared as I get them, in the meantime - quick shout to Demonic, in regards to the specific auctions made through your account: transactions ID#'s 1749390446, 1751126339, 1747091389, and 174654107.

Correction: The first two are now showing as having failed, the 389 and 107 transactions appear to still be processing.

I will be sure to update the thread as more information becomes available. Thanks again everyone, I know that no one wants to wait - especially if you're not sure whether the transaction is going through.

working now?????
received all my purchases! i guess the tides are loosening up!
Thanks for the update LI7L!

Got my delayed purchases as well!
Good to know, Jeebz. Thank you!

UPDATE: Received all my purchases that I made about 2 days ago. Thanks for the hard work guys and gals!

I got my mempo!!! Thanks guys

Leah said once that once everything was over, she thought that she might open an inn. While she wasn't able to achieve her dream, with all the riches you've collected throughout your adventures in Sanctuary, have you ever stopped to wonder what futures your loyal followers might be saving up for?



For our latest community question, we want to know: If each follower in Diablo III were to run a business, what vocation do you think they would choose? Here are what some Diablo III players on Twitter had to say:


So what do you think? Where can you see Kormac, Lyndon, and Eirena setting up shop? Leave a comment below to let us know, or respond on Facebook or Twitter!

Across the last week we’ve received a growing number of reports concerning excessive delays with both the Gold and Real Money Auction Houses. We’re currently investigating the situation, and will be sure to update this post as more information becomes available.

Thank you to everyone affected by these delays for your patience while we work to resolve this. We apologize for this inconvenience and will do everything we can to take care of this as soon as possible.

In the meantime, may your Treasure Goblins be plentiful and your enemies tremble before you.

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Update 7:10PM PDT: Hello again everyone, thanks for hanging in there until we could dig deeper into this. We found that for a large number of auctions this past week, the game was displaying these as having successfully completed, when in fact they had not. The issue which was preventing these transactions from being recognized as having properly failed, has now been resolved.These particular auctions which were excessively delayed may still appear as ‘completed’ in-game. Any funds that were temporarily associated with these auctions are not being held by Blizzard and will be released through the financial institution that was used in conjunction with these transactions. The release times for these payments can vary depending on which bank or credit card was used.

We again apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and thank you for your understanding.

Our investigation into the issue is ongoing, thanks everyone for your continued patience! At this time, even if your particular auction has exceeded 10 days, I would ask that you refrain from submitting a ticket as whatever is going on with any of the Auctions is likely related to this core issue. I will be sure to provide regular updates as we go along - if you have any change in the status of your auctions, please post that as well. Thank you!

There are definitely plans to dig deeper into the mysteries of not just Covetous Shen, but the other artisans and followers as well. You've had the chance to get to know these characters and their backstories in the context of Diablo III, and Reaper of Souls will give you the opportunity to advance their tales even further. What exactly will come of Dirgest’s gem, though? Well, you’ll just have to wait and see.

No details, please
Wish granted.

Different orders, same zealotry.
This is a pretty good summary of their differences.

The Templar order remains an enigma to many on the outside, and there are rumors abound regarding their exact founding and purpose. Though the Templars profess a dedication to the Light and seek to rid Sanctuary of demonic corruption, they are not officially sanctioned by the Zakarum church, while the Paladin and Crusader orders were founded within it. Rather, they have risen from the ashes of the Paladin order after it fell to corruption, and they view themselves as the new, pure continuation of that faith.

As for Paladins and Crusaders: A long time ago, the Paladins headed west under the command of Rakkis seeking conquest, a historic march which ultimately ended in the founding of Westmarch. Meanwhile, the Crusaders – an elite group of fighters who rallied under a different Zakarum leader – headed east on a secret mission to search for a way to cleanse their faith of the perceived taint left behind by Mephisto. Unlike the Paladins, the Crusaders have never been corrupted, and in their journeys abroad have honed new skills and talents that set them apart on the battlefield.

To put it a different way, think of the Crusaders as the “veterans of the veterans.” They take zealotry to an entirely new level, finding comfort and strength in their unshakable confidence in their cause. Their only goal is to find a way to save their faith; any other objectives will fall to the wayside should it ever threaten to impede their quest. Whereas the Paladin might meddle in a town’s affairs -- settling disputes, converting new followers, burning some witches -- and then move on, the Crusader, despite brandishing a similar level of intimidation, would quietly enter the town, ask a few questions, restock their supplies, and then depart, leaving little more than confusion in their wake. (To give you perhaps a more relatable image, if you were put a Crusader in space, he’d probably be a lot of like Hicks in Aliens. Very experienced, a little easy going on the surface, but doesn’t fool around when stuff hits the fan.)

More specific details on the Crusader will, naturally, be covered in Reaper of Souls (as well as in Acts I-V). However, if you really dig that sort of lore, definitely keep an eye out for the Book of Tyreal. You can expect to find some good juicy historical tidbits on several of the orders, the Crusader's included.

Paragon experience is only earned when you are playing a character who is max level. If you are level 60 and paragon 100, when the expansion launches you will continue earning paragon experience in the new system. Once you have the expansion enabled your experience earned will take you from level 60-70 at which point it will again be added to your paragon level instead of character level. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

I think I added a sufficient number of caveats to my previous post, but let me go ahead and reiterate: Paragon 2.0 is still very much in development, and nothing is set in stone at this point. The system will likely undergo several changes (based on testing and feedback) before it ships.

So, on that note. For those of you who've voiced a dislike of the Paragon 2.0 mechanics quoted below, what kind of functionality would you prefer to see instead? (And most importantly, why would you prefer that functionality over the one currently being considered?)

- What category a Paragon Point can be spent in will be determined by what Paragon level you earn. Paragon level 1 gives you a point to spend in "Core Stat," Paragon level 2 gives you a point to in "Offensive," Paragon level 3 gives you a point to spend in "Defensive," and Paragon level 4 gives you a point to spend in "Utility" (or "Adventure"). Each Paragon level past that follows the same pattern.

- All categories other than Core Stats (DEX, INT, STR, VIT) have a cap on the number of points that can be allocated to them, which also means there is a cap to the total number of points that 3 of the 4 categories can have. At present, this means if you reach Shared Paragon 800, you will have maxed the number of points that can be allocated to the Offensive, Defensive, and Utility categories and all future Paragon levels you earn will grant you a point in the Core Stat category instead.
While simply saying "yes, I like this" or "no, I don't like this" is totally legit feedback, digging a little bit deeper into the details helps us get a better feel for what kind of experience you're really looking for.

Thanks!

including the low level characters who have not even reached lvl 60?
suppose my account's shared paragon level IS 100.
Does even the level 30 character get 100 paragon Points to spend???
Under current design, yes. Using your example, if your account's Shared Paragon level is 100, all Normal characters on your account would have access to 100 Paragon points, even if they're not at max level (i.e. sub-60).

Again, all subject to change prior to ship, etc etc.

Also, some more information from Travis. I'll be sure to add it to the compiled list in just a bit:

Posted by Travis Day
Paragon experience is only earned when you are playing a character who is max level. If you are level 60 and paragon 100, when the expansion launches you will continue earning paragon experience in the new system. Once you have the expansion enabled your experience earned will take you from level 60-70 at which point it will again be added to your paragon level instead of character level.
For clarity (since I saw some confusion in the other thread):

- After Paragon 2.0 goes live, if you are level 60 and do not have the expansion enabled on your account, you will continue to earn Paragon experience in the new system. This is because you are still technically at the level cap.

- However, if you are level 60 and decide to enable the expansion on your account, you will stop earning Paragon experience. This is because the expansion increases the level cap to 70. Once you reach level 70, you will start to accrue Paragon experience again from where you left off.

So, basically: Only max-level characters will be able to earn Paragon experience. If you don't have the expansion, max-level = 60. If you have the expansion, max-level = 70. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

AH Conspiracy Theories
Yep Blizzard knows people will not buy their expansion based on how terrible D3 was overall. So they decide to hype it up with removing the AH before the release of RoS so that people will think well they are removing the AH maybe ill give it another shot. So they cash out on bigger sales for the expansion then they re-add the auction house about a month later once people have bought the game
While I can respect a good conspiracy when I see one, I'm going to shut this one down. We have no plans to add either the gold or real-money auction house back into the game after they are removed. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

No New Followers in RoS
When D2 exp. LoD released, new mercenaries added to the game, the barbarians. Why don't we get new follower on RoS? A dps type, two-hander melee follower would fit pretty well imo. What do you think?
We have no plans to introduce any new followers in Reaper of Souls. Instead, we will be delving deeper into the existing followers, and we'll find out more about their personal motivations in their expanded story lines.(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

RMAH Error Being Worked On
anyone else not receiving payout from RMAH for transaction since the 17th? seems to be a recurring/same old problem for the RMAH, likely to be caused by the maintenance on the 17th.
Hi all, just wanted to drop in and let you know that we are aware of this issue and it is currently being investigated. Although I don't have much more to share right at this moment, I will continue to update the thread as information becomes available.

Thank you for your patience in the meantime! (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

While the world of Sanctuary is fictional, its characters, monuments, heroes, and villains get to live on through the hearts and minds of players. For those who’ve made frequent visits, it can be a difficult place to forget! And something as simple as a phrase, a food item, or even a voice you hear in passing can evoke the memory of your Nephalem on the battlefield.

For this week's Community Commentary, Monty11 wants to know: what events in your real life remind you of Diablo?

In his thread in General Discussion, Monty11 talks about how he was reminded of his Wizard's arcane prowess when learning about “nephelometry” in one of his classes. But what about you? Maybe you were on a quick shopping trip to the grocery store, yet you heard the bustling markets of Caldeum. Or maybe the old man with the kind smile you passed on the street the other day reminded you of a certain Horadrim. Or maybe you caught yourself wondering if the jewelry store downtown carries that last perfect ring you've been meaning to upgrade.

Head on over to Monty11's thread in General Discussion or comment below with your memory of a moment in the real world you couldn't help but view through the eyes of your hero!