Diablo III: Gameplay Systems + Crusader

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!

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&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.



Gameplay Systems & Crusader Panel Pictures


























Comments

  • To post a comment, please or register a new account.
Posts Quoted:
Reply
Clear All Quotes