DiabloFans

Realz Joins the Hearthstone Development Team, PAX Prime this Weekend! TeSPA Tournament, Season 5 Ends Sunday
Developer Insights: Kerrigan, Heroes Battleground Pages on BattleNet, PAX Prime this Weekend
Beta Patch Notes Update - August 27, Blizzard at PAX Prime, Blue Tweets, Fan Art

First Live Season Begins Tomorrow!

We would like to remind you that the first Season of Reaper of Souls begins tomorrow! For those interested in the race aspect, make sure to check the launch times for each region below (shortened version) and setup your alarms. Use EveryTimeZone if you need help finding out the exact time on your location, and best of luck.

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Asia: 9:00 a.m. PDT (1:00 a.m. KST, UTC +9)
Europe: 12:00 p.m. PDT (9:00 p.m. CEST, UTC +2)
Americas: 6:00 p.m. PDT (UTC -7)

Thursday Stream Highlights

The Play Your Way stream earlier today gave us some interesting thoughts from the developers about Patch 2.1 and the console version of the game. Check below for the highlights, or watch the full VOD.

Class and Item Changes

• There may be a supporting piece for the new Crusader Set in the future.
• The Cold element on Crusader skills is probably getting phased out to focus on 4 elements.
• Firebird's will get the Crit Damage and Crit Chance rolled into its effect, so it doesn't either deal a ton of damage or hardly any (hotfix).
• DHs being multiple Greater Rift levels above other classes is being regarded as a "slight problem". To the devs, the issue isn't just their damage but their sustain, how they can avoid most damage and that their Sentries can't die.
• Control over pets is an issue which is hard to fix. Currently they hit the closest target, which is the least server-intensive way to deal with pathfinding.
• The Crusader's Archers might have their collision removed in the future.
• The Invoker Set will probably stay the way it is now, as the team is focusing on making new Sets.
• The Jade Set does not consume the Toxin Gem, and that's intended.
• The WD's Horrify was quite "overbudgeted", being much stronger than similar skills for other classes, and that is why it was nerfed.
• The Firestarter "ninja nerf" some people think happened might only be related to the fact that procs can no longer proc other procs (dat proc-ception!). 

Miscellaneous

• Thunderstorm and Jailer deal damage instantly because ranged classes need to take damage or they could just avoid those affixes entirely and have very low Toughness and just pure Damage.
• Greater Rift reward structure is being closely monitored, and constantly discussed by the devs.
• There will be a Monk build featured on the next Play Your Way stream.
• They're working to fix a bug with Rift density right now, and will keep a close eye on density feedback afterwards.
• There will be no new rewards for reaching a high position on the Leaderboards - only bragging rights.

Consoles

• No plans currently to provide patch support for PS3 or Xbox 360 - the architecture of those systems makes it incredibly difficult to port PC patches.
• PS4 and Xbox One systems were significantly improved, that's why they're able to provide post-launch patch support for those systems.
• No plans currently to bring Seasons to console.
• On console's Offline mode - "When we made the decision to bring Diablo III to consoles, we knew we would need to make significant changes in order to ensure that the game was accessible to the widest possible console audience. One of those changes was to allow offline play on supported platforms. Naturally, offline games don’t require save file verification, allowing you to get right to the business at hand—slaughtering copious amounts of demons. While we will continue to explore ways to discourage exploitative behaviour, we believe that most players will value the experience of battling the vile forces of the Burning Hells and finding cool loot over copying someone else’s inventory."

Leveling Tips and Tricks

With Seasons starting tomorrow, it might be useful to learn some useful tips for leveling fresh characters. Let's start with Rhykker's recently released video with tips on leveling (uploaded his youtube channel).

Also, Usling recent shared, in a thread on our forums, a method he considers to be the fastest way of leveling a character from 1 to 70 - in slightly over 3 hours (tested on the PTR before it went down - see the VOD). It consists on farming Bounties (on Torment 6) which do not require you to kill any monsters to be completed. Not exactly a new method, but still a very efficient one.

Create a new game and check the map for the following bounties:

• Miser's Will (Act V - very rare) -  Westmarch Commons - could take a while to find the Miser's Hovel
• Miner's Gold (Act II - common) - Howling Plateau - need to be alive to get the experience when the event ends. Either keep moving and avoiding enemies, or respawn right before it ends. If you can, open the resplendent chest to get some loot so that you are tankier in future runs.
• Jar of Souls and The Matriarch's Bones (Act I - somewhat common) - Cemetery of the Forsaken - the Matriarch's Bones can be completed without killing the Ghost. Just ignore him and click for the crypt to end the quest.
• This method is even better in a party (since there are more targets for enemies, less chance of dying), with each player creating their own game and inviting others once the quests are found. It also makes it more likely for the party to find the Miser's Will event, which grants more experience than the others.

Mind that this method has a few cons:

1. It is somewhat boring, as you aren't really fighting, just avoiding enemies and collecting the bounty reward.
2. You will die often, so it's not suitable for Hardcore (unlike the tips from the previous video).
3. You will get most of the experience from Miner's Gold, and there's a catch with that event - if you're dead when it ends, you get no experience (unlike the other 3 events which require you to "activate" something to get the reward).
4. You will barely collect any materials (pre-level-60), almost no gold (for lvl 70 enchants), and less Rift Keystones and Blood Shards than through normal leveling.
5. Note that in the VOD previously acquired Gold was used to buy gear from vendors (for improved Toughness), which is needed to survive and get the experience in the Miner's Gold event. That would result in even less gold once the player reaches level 70.
   
6. Remaking games over and over again (to check for the events) could be problematic for players who have disconnect issues, or if Blizzard servers are overwhelmed by too many users.

Rhykker also explained this method in the past, so check his video if you need explanation on how it works.

Legendary Gems Guide

MeatHeadMikhail uploaded a video with some tips on getting all Legendary Gems very quickly, and some thoughts on how to most efficiently upgrade them. Might also come in handy once the first Season goes live and players won't have instant access to high-end gear. Watch it below!