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Wrapping up Diablo's presence at BlizzCon, the World and Q&A panel dove into the lore of Diablo and gave a preview of some of the abilities the classes will use in Diablo Immortal. Wyatt Cheng, lead designer, prefaced the panel by saying that the development team hears fans in regards to some of the negativity surrounding the Diablo Immortal reveal, and stressed once more that there are multiple Diablo projects in development. Here's what went down.

Lore

• Matthew Berger, senior designer, dove right into the lore of Diablo, starting with a timeline of the universe, ranging from the creation of Sanctuary by Lilith and Inarius using the Worldstone on one end and the End of Times at the other. Berger then highlighted the various archangels and demons throughout the games.
• With Diablo Immortal we learn some pieces of the Worldstone survived. They're corrupted, and if those pieces fall into the wrong hangs it could be bad news.
• Skarn, the Herald of Terror and Diablo's lieutenant, who's purpose is to bring his master back to life, is the main antagonist.
• Diablo Immortal takes place five years after Lord of Destruction and 15 years before the beginning of Diablo 3.

Diablo Immortal Zones

Outdoor Zones

• Bilefen — swamp, bog environment. Corrupted Worldstone fragment is corrupting surrounding area.
• Zoltun Kule's Library — The wizard has a number of caches throughout Sanctuary, and this one is different from the archives of Zultun Kule in Diablo 3. Library is guarded by a curator, which is actually a copy of Zoltun Kule who doesn't realize he's a copy.
• Shassar Sea — desert environment

Instanced Dungeons

• Four player dungeons made for a specific, crafted experience. Monsters stay dead inside the instanced dungeon, and there are mechanics inside dungeons that aren't available in outdoor zones.
• Tomb of Fahir — descend down a rope into the temple, must unlock seals to progress through the dungeon
• Kikuras Rapids — ride a raft and make your way down the rapids, described as a theme park water ride with monsters trying to kill you the whole way.
• Forgotten Tower — area from Act 1 of Diablo 2, home of the Countess. Cultists have found a way to resurrect the Countess. 

Class Skills

The panel continued with an overview of each Diablo Immortal class, as well as a preview of their skills.

Barbarian

• Furious Charge — makes use of touch controls by aiming skill in different directions to tackle enemies in a line
• Hammer of Ancients — spirit hammer that smashes enemies, similar to Diablo 3
• Throw ability — can throw enemies at one another

Necromancer

• Command Skeletons — similar to Diablo 3 skill, can direct skeletons to attack specific enemies
• Corpse Lance — rips bones out of defeated enemies to attack other enemies
• Skeletal Spike — summons bones from the ground to impale enemies

Crusader

• Blessed Shield — can be aimed, damages enemies on the way out and back in, pulling enemies toward you
• Sweep Attack — Chargeable ability that deals more damage and has larger range the longer charged
• Falling Sword — Adjusted to be a two stage ability, target a location drops a sword on a location. Then activating the ability a second time causes you to crash down from above. Can use abilities in between first and second activation

Wizard

• Meteor — much the same as Diablo 3
• Ray of Frost — similar to Diablo 3
• Ice Crystal — new two-activation ability, can place crystal and then reactive to explode crystal. Can combine with ray of frost to fracture the ray and deal damage to multiple nearby enemies

Demon Hunter

• Daring swing — grapple hook that allows you to swing from the ceiling and shoot
• Strafe — similar to Diablo 3
• Rain of Vengeance — similar to Diablo 3, fires cluster of arrows up into the air, then rain down and puncture enemies in an area

Monk

• Seven-Sided Strike — similar to Diablo 3, Monk teleports in a small area and hits multiple enemies
• Kick — can use kick multiple times, including kicking off walls 
• Imprisoned Fist — new ability, punches the spirit out of an enemy

Q&A

The panel concluded with a Q&A portion. Numerous fans asking questions first apologized for their fellow fans during the Diablo: What's Next panel the previous day, where fans used the microphone to ask the team whether or not Diablo Immortal was a joke. Here's some of the answers that were given:

• Too early to say if Mephisto will be in Diablo Immortal. Game will explore how some of the Prime Evils are returning faster than they should.
• Currently looking at what itemization will look like in the game. Legendary powers will definitely be a part of it. 
• Also looking at how to upgrade and improve items over time. Socketing will be part of items in some form. 
• Haven't figured out business model. Focusing on making an excellent game first. When the game is farther along will figure out what the right business model is.
• On topic of keeping Diablo relevant in the face of competing action-rpgs, team is more concerned with making an excellent game.
• Team thinks there is some middle ground between no trading and the auction house in regards to trading in Diablo Immortal, but no specifics to talk about yet.
• Big time frame that Diablo Immortal deals with lore wise. Formation of Demon Hunter order is one storyline that will be explored in the game, and room for more of those stories to be explored in the future.