Finalized Character Resources
With the Beta tantalizingly close, Blizzard continues adding to their new Diablo 3 Community Site. This afternoon we got a glimpse of each classes' Resource System, complete with animated globes! Though this information is generally already known, by Blizzard posting an official page on the topic it seems the function of each system is finalized. Each system specifically supports the classes' generic role in combat, though doesn't completely prevent the possibility of creative, wild builds.
Barbarians use Fury, which is generated by both landing and taking hits. Some skills generate more fury than others, such as Leap Attack and Ground Stomp. While other skills are Fury heavy, such as Whirl Wind and Threatening Shout. The Barbarian will begin to lose Fury if he or she is out of combat for too long. The Fury System urges the Barbarian to be aggressive by generating Fury from both damage given, and received. Yet punishes the player for staying out of combat for too long.
The Demon Hunter has a split system, using both Hatred and Discipline. Hatred regenerates quickly, and is diminished by using offensive skills such as Bola Shot. On the other hand Discipline regenerates slowly, and is used for more defensive skills such as Smoke Screen, and traps. The Hatred/Discipline resources grant the Demon Hunter the ability to inflict damage from a far, or lure enemies into deadly traps.
A Monk relies on Spirit, which is gained from landing swift attacks such as Fists of Thunder, along with other special Spirit generating abilities. Other powerful attacks only deplete the resource, such as Seven Sided Strike. Spirit does not diminish when the Monk is out of battle, as the Barbarian's Fury does. Spirit guides the Monk to dish out as much damage as possible, while receiving as little as possible. Many of the Monk's skills aid in not getting surrounded.
Mana fuels the Witch Doctor, like in Diablo 2 Mana is gathered slowly, yet has a deep pool. The Witch Doctor may also take advantage of Mana generating skills such as Mana Steal, along with Passive Traits to help quicken the process. Most other attacks aside from Mana generating skills only diminish the resource. With the slow regeneration of Mana, the Witch Doctor is best off keeping an eye on his or her reserve. Fall too low and you may find yourself hopelessly thirsting for Mana in the heat of battle.
Wizards will use Arcane Power, a fast regenerating resource to fuel their vast array of magical spells and abilities. Using skills will only drain your Arcane Power, so pacing yourself in battle will be key to maintaining a constant bombardment of pain. The fast regenerating, yet shallow pool of Arcane Power supports all of the Wizard's skill disciplines, yet limits the amount of spamming which can be done at one time.
Though each resource system has its general function for its specified class, this in no way limits your personal play style.
Official Blizzard Quote:
Maximizing the Devastation
While the fundamental rules of each resource are set in stone, how they’re strategically spent can be greatly customized through passive skills, which can drastically alter how quickly and efficiently your resources generate or regenerate. Through the use of specific skills, as well as the near unlimited combinations offered by skill runes, you can fine-tune your character’s power through resource management and control. Now the choice is yours. Pick your favored class and learn to maximize the benefits of the resources at your disposal, rendering you an incredibly powerful hero and deadly foe of the forces of darkness.
Special thanks to Verity for the lead, and Zhuge for helping extract those nice resource globes.
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EDIT: Well, it would look nicer if the background of the .gif was forum colours and not black...
I'm so happy to finally see all the resource systems. I'm sure most of us, those waiting a handful of years since the announcement in 2008, can relate. So much theory was laid down by so many users that it almost became a challenge to sift through new resource idea threads and pick out fact from fiction. Now, it's all in one place and it's all known.
The globes look awesome! You have any pics of the resource systems at like half full? Curious how the "swirling" effect would look. Does it always "swirl" up to the top of the globe, or only to the top of the amount of resources that you have.
Could they do the division better? Maybe, but would it looke good when one or more of the globes is less full than the other, and would you be able to tell at a glance what your resources were at?
I liked the "fighting" idea for the two resources. Maybe remove the bar, and then have the middle be kind of like a purple with bits of red and blue moving around (the "fighting") but have the resources be depleted from the East and West, rather than North. There would always be the purple bit in the middle, but if you spend all your hatred the left side of the globe would be empty, and if you spent all your discipline, the right side would be empty.
And Mana doesn't seem to fit with the WD... Why create new ressources that fit for every character, but not the WD ?
" Fall too low and you may find yourself hopelessly thirsting for Mana in the heat of battle. "
That doesn't sound fun.
Any thoughts?
I think the barb's will have a "boiling" effect when not full, the monk's looks like it has a smokey effect going on, I imagine the DH's will have a ripple of some kind, i wouldn't be surprised if the light/energy bits of the wiz's kept moving around even without the liquid in the area (almost like sparks coming off the surface), not sure what they'd do for mana, maybe a bigger/slower wave/ripple effect? perhaps it will have a concave/convex bend depending if mana is being spent or filling up?