Diablo III: Storm of Light Now on Sale

Storm of Light is officially out! Get it now!

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

"Death comes to call on all mortals, sooner or later."

Diablo III: Storm of Light is now available from Simon & Schuster! Written by Nate Kenyon, author of The Order, this epic new novel serves as bridge between the events of Diablo III and the haunting story that is to come in its first expansion,Reaper of Souls. Read on for an exclusive excerpt from Storm of Light and to find out what momentous events lie ahead in latest addition to the Diablo universe.The High Heavens are healing after the fall of the Prime Evil. The Angiris Council has recovered the Black Soulstone and now stands vigil over the cursed artifact deep within the glimmering Silver City. Amid these momentous events, Tyrael struggles with his position as the new Aspect of Wisdom, feeling out of place as a mortal among his angelic brethren and doubting his ability to fully embody his role. As he searches within himself and the Heavens for reassurance, he senses the Black Soulstone's grim influence on his home. Where harmony of light and sound once reigned, a mounting discord is threatening to shroud the realm in darkness. Imperius and the other archangels vehemently oppose moving or destroying the crystal, leading Tyrael to put Heaven’s fate in the hands of humankind . . . . Drawing powerful humans to his side from the far ends of Sanctuary, Tyrael reforges the ancient Horadrim and charges the order with an impossible task: to steal the Soulstone from the heart of Heaven. Among the champions entrusted with this burden are Jacob of Staalbreak, former avatar of Justice and guardian of the angelic blade El'druin; Shanar, a wizard with phenomenal powers; Mikulov, a lithe and reverent monk; Gynvir, a fearless and battle-hardened barbarian; and Zayl, a mysterious necromancer. With time and the forces of both good and evil against them, can these heroes unite as one and complete their perilous mission before Heaven falls to ruin?

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- Excerpt from Chapter 5, Storm of Light -

"Adria was convinced that the soulstone held the key to destroying the seven Evils from the Hells. I scoured our library for anything I could find on the stone and sent my notes to Caldeum, but they were returned to me. The messenger told me that Leah could not be found. Now you tell us that she…" Cullen stopped for a moment, carefully removing his spectacles. He slipped a cloth from his satchel and wiped his moist eyes, then returned the spectacles to the bridge of his nose. "All those years wondering about her mother," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "She deserved a better fate." "She fought against the possession of her soul," Tyrael said. "The fall of the gates was not her doing. The Prime Evil had already overtaken her. I believe her suffering was brief." Cullen nodded, glancing at his two companions, Thomas and the monk. "Where is the stone now?" he asked. "It sits in the Heavens, protected by the Luminarei, the Defenders of the Arch." "A holy guard? Why not leave it in place?" "The stone is too dangerous. Already it has begun to corrupt the Heavens, and I fear that soon it will be too late to act. But the Angiris Council will never voluntarily choose to hand it over to humans for safekeeping." "Then what are you suggesting we do?" Tyrael met the scholar's gaze. "We must invade the Heavens and steal it." The group erupted into shocked disbelief. "Invade the Heavens?" Cullen said. "From my studies, humans have never set foot there, at least before this battle you describe with the Prime Evil. Mortals cannot comprehend the beauty, the overwhelming scope of them. The dangers inherent in such an attempt…" You are correct, Tyrael thought. Even I might lose my life in this pursuit. The thought came unbidden and surprised him with its strength. His hand crept toward an inner pocket of his robes as if of its own accord, then dropped. Death comes to call on all mortals, sooner or later.

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Prepare for the return of Tyrael and the reformed Horadrim! Pick up your copy of Diablo III: Storm of Light at Simon and Schuster today.

Clan Cap Set to 120

After playing around with it for a while, Blizzard has set the cap for Clans at 120. Will this be enough?

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Maybe it's because I'm trying to fit 2 countries into one clan, but still!

That might be part of it. ;P

Clans and Communities in the current build had some experimental caps while we evaluated what would work best in a live environment. Bear in mind that there are some technical limitations we considered when it came to choosing these caps, and we've tried to make allowances where possible without sacrificing performance.

Clans are intended for smaller, more intimate groups of players. When 2.0.1 launches, the cap should be 120 for Clans.

Communities, on the other hand, are meant for larger player groups, and you can designate your Community by category (including but not limited to Classes, Regional, and Game Type). They will have no membership cap; however, if the roster exceeds 100 players, only Officers will be visible in the Members Roster.

Examples of Smart Loot

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Like when I play Crusader and use a certain skill and some stats that support this skill (elemental damage, skill damage)

When there is a legendary drop, will this be considered?

This question gets asked a fair amount, so I'd like to help clear it up if I can. Currently the smart loot system considers your class (in terms of what skills that class uses and its primary stat), but it doesn't consider your build when it tailors loot for you. As Nevalistis noted:

Smart Loot doesn't ensure you get completely 100% optimized gear with every drop, nor does it guarantee that you will receive a primary stat on an item What it does is limit the pool of affixes to stats appropriate for your class so that you are more likely to get something you can use. It also prevents rolls from occurring on gear that your class can't benefit from at all, such as seeing bonus Electrocute damage on a Fist weapon or Intelligence on a Mighty Weapon.

The intention for smart loot is to help ensure that heroes find items that are useful to their class a little more often, and that any potential skill bonuses on those items are skills used by that hero's class. 

However, randomness is an important element in any Diablo game, so not all loot will be a smart drop item. That means you will still find some stat combinations every now and then that aren’t perfectly tailored to your class. That’s intended. What you shouldn’t see is something like Hand Crossbows with Strength or Mojos with Dexterity dropping. The smart loot system should prevent this. If you’re seeing these types of items while playing in our test environment, be sure to report them in either our PTR Bug Report forum or Reaper of Souls Beta Bug Report forum (depending on where you’re playing). 

So, to recap, let’s use some more examples. Let’s say you’re playing on a Crusader. 
- Flail with Strength and a Crusader skill = most likely a smart drop.
- Staff with Strength and a Crusader skill = also most likely a smart drop.
- Two-handed sword with Strength and a Barbarian skill = not a smart drop.
- Flail with Vitality and a Barbarian skill = not possible under the new smart loot system. 
- Daibo with Dexterity and a Crusader skill = also not possible under the new smart loot system.

Also note that all crafted items are considered smart drops, and that the smart loot stats will be based on the character doing the crafting. 

If I have 2 or 3 Set Items, will the system enhance my chance to get the last item?

The smart loot system does not increase your chances of getting a Legendary item (or a particular one), but it does help in the sense that it weeds out any of the Legendary items that you can't equip. And, for clarity: Legendary and Set items can definitely be, but aren’t always, smart drops.

Lastzoul's Lightning Monk

So far Monk builds on the Beta have been quite varied and a lot is working in favor of the class. A nice new build is showcased here by Lastzouls - the Lightning Monk. Exactly as it sounds the builds relies heavily on Lightning damage from both gear and skills. Lastzoul demonstrates its success in Torment 1-2, because of somewhat low gear, some of which is still level 60.

The Elder Scrolls Online Beta Key Giveaway

Return to Tamriel in The Elder Scrolls Online, the latest chapter of the award-winning series, and bring the legendary experience online for the first time. Explore the vast world with friends or embark upon an epic adventure alone — the choices you will make will shape your destiny.

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Be sure to grab your Beta key before they are all gone! Pre-order now at http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en/preorder

Secure your play in Tamreil! Curse Premium members can start claim their keys now for the beta event beginning Friday at 12 PM EST.