Diablo III - Launching May 15

[Chrona 82]

Blizzard release dates are never set in stone. I would not be surprised to see the release date pulled and more time getting the game to a better state. At the moment, it sounds like a LOT of stuff is getting cut(PvP was the latest feature to be removed) to get the product out the door. I'd rather have them add in whatever time is necessary to get the game more polished. Stop the bad trend of releasing stuff that is broken on day one(or still broken in Diablo 2) and letting patches fix some of the issues.

 

pvp.... I'll play HC with some friends...

[Dragon Brother 619]

Lol...eeny meeny miny mo...which game do I pick...

[Chrona 82]

DIABLO III TEST SERVER MAINTENANCE - 3/16/12 Patch 15

http://us.battle.net...ic/4175831893#1

We will bringing the Diablo III test servers down for maintenance at approximately 10:00 a.m. PST tomorrow morning for database updates and to launch the next beta patch. We anticipate that maintenance will conclude at approximately 10:00 p.m. PST on Friday, March 16.While we are not planning to wipe characters with this patch, we will be resetting all auctions on both the gold and currency-based auction houses. If any changes are made during maintenance (or before then) that may require a character wipe, we'll be sure to provide an update in this thread.Thank you for your patience! As always, patch notes will be posted here once the patch is live.

Edited March 16, 2012 by Chrona

[Chrona 82]

NEPHALEM VALOR BUFF

 

http://us.battle.net...41234476?page=1

We're working hard on balancing and testing Diablo III, andone of the major components is making sure that the end game experience is funand exciting. We'd like to share a few of our goals for end game:

 

• We have an enormous number of skill build combinations, and we want a lot of those skill builds to be viable and interesting
• While there are millions of skill builds available to players, we don't want players swapping skills regularly to beat specific encounters as they come up
• We don't want repeatedly running specific three-minute chunks of the game to be the most efficient way to acquire gear for your character
• While a three-minute run shouldn't be the most efficient, we also don't want you to feel like it's a two-hour commitment every time you sit down to play
• Bosses should still feel worth killing

 

Nephalem Valor is one of the major new systems in Diablo III and it kicks in atlevel 60. Keep in mind that this is still in testing and we're still workingout the details. Here's how it currently works internally: Rare and Championpacks already have great loot on them. By killing a Rare or Champion pack, notonly do you get their loot, but you'll also receive a buff granting youincreased magic find and gold find. However, if you change a skill, skill rune,passive, or leave the game, the buff disappears. As an extra reward, if youkill a boss while this buff is active, you'll receive extra loot drops fromthat boss.

 

The exact amount of magic find and gold find provided by the buff is stillbeing reviewed, as is the amount of extra loot you get from a boss while thebuff is active. We're also playing around with whether or not the buff stacks,what the duration should be, and whether or not it should persist through death.We want to make sure the buff is strong enough to make staying in your currentgame more rewarding than creating a new game. At the same time, if the buff istoo strong, it risks making shorter play sessions feel not worthwhile.

 

We expect this system will encourage players to stick with a skill build oftheir choice, select an area of the game they enjoy, and sweep it for rare andchampion packs on their way to a boss, finishing off a run with a boss that'llbe worth killing. If you wanted a shorter play session you could be done atthat point, but if you have more time, the path of least resistance wouldideally be to stay in the same game and make your way towards the next boss.

 

[gogoblender 3,069]

That's an AMAZING idea! lol, sounds like something from Sacred like...survival bonus?

 

gogo

[Omnicide 26]

I was really excited about this game until I heard you can only play it via internet. I prefer to play games like this single player (mostly because I like to tool around and other players don't), but I will still buy it just because it's Diablo and I really like the new graphics. The Wizard is very cool looking. I'm probaby gonna wait a while, though, when the price comes down, and I can afford a faster internet connection. Besides, I'm currently quite busy playing Sacred 2 right now, and haven't even touched TitanQuest yet. So I will be patient for Diablo 3's release date.

[gogoblender 3,069]

We're gonna be playing a lof of this or a lot of Guild Wars 2 or a lot of both. You're invited to come along with us when yer read Omnicide!

 

 

gogo

[Llama8 8]

You've never played Diablo (1 or 2) Gogo? Really? (though having said that, I've never played Rogue, Angband, Nethack, etc)

 

I'll be playing D3 along with Star Wars The Old Republic (Frostclaw server).

[chattius 2,525]

ignorant, rogue, nethack, tome, adom, omega and all the other roguelikes have their own charm. probably I liked them because they could be played on these 19inch servers on an old lcd screen which was build in. got some money at night shifts in a big bank as a student making sure the servers were running, printers cleaned and feeded,...

 

and of cause this nasty left hand and all the surgeries I had. turn based rpg's were a good way to play without being as mouse acrobat. try out tome till the gw or diablo come out.

 

http://te4.org/

[Chrona 82]

Diablo 3 Dev Questions

 

 

Q. People keep asking about the wings perk from theCollector's Edition:

 

How will your character receive this item?

 

Will each character have the item, or does it have to beshared across your characters (like heirloom items did in WoW)?

 

If a unique item, how will transferring the wings work?

 

Can the wings be accidentally sold or destroyed?

 

How will these wings work on a HC character when they die —do you lose them?

 

Each character you make will receive CE items in theirinventory. They cannot be dropped, but can be destroyed if you want theinventory space, for example. If you want them back you can transfer throughthe shared stash from another character.

 

Q. Also will there be items similar to the wings (fluffitems) that drop in game later?

 

No plans for any right now, but we're not opposed to it. Theamount of equippable items we have is pretty intense.

 

Q. Some players are starting to suggest that the use of"yards" in elective mode skill descriptions is a bit misleading. Players feelthat the area of effects are much smaller than the tooltips indicate and jokethat their characters must be at least 15 feet tall if the tooltips areaccurate. Have we put any thought into changing the unit of measurement orreducing the numerical values to better the distance of the abilities?

 

We're well aware that it's not entirely accurate, but onceyou use the ability once or twice you understand how it's supposed to perform.With the fast and furious action of Diablo III, the exact measurements reallyaren't as important as how you actually understand and use the skill.

 

Q. Will the Collector's Edition dyes have any sort of"particle effect" on the items, or are they simply dying them with a uniquecolor?

 

No they don't have particle effects. For now they cantechnically only be single color gradients.

 

Q. Will dyes be shown on gear on the AH? (For example: "Thisgear is dyed 'Off-White.' ") This is semi-important because of Collector'sEdition dyes. Players anticipate that since this dye will be rare, it willcarry more value within the community.

 

No, dyes are removed from items when you put them on the AH.

 

Q. Will the AH be a part of the game world (find anauctioneer in the city to do it) or is it staying in the game menu?

 

We think it'd be cool, but no it's only within theBattle.net menu.

 

Q. Can we expect any achievements that aren't strictlyfocused on game mechanics? For example, there's rumor that finding and killingBashiok in game is an achievement. Are these going to be similar achievementsthat are more Easter Egg-like and inspired by the community?

 

Yes, we have many achievements that ask you to do somethingweird or crazy or just difficult to pull off.

 

Q. We've already shared that cosmetic rewards will be comingwith some achievements. We know about the banners, but are there any otherrewards we haven't yet mentioned that we could also share with the community?

 

We don't have any now, no. Titles and cosmetic item rewardswould be cool but it's a wish list item for the future. All achievement rewardsare banner related, which we think is pretty cool as it displays veryprominently when forming groups, as well in-game at the waypoint hubs.

 

Q. Will there be feat of strength achievements (I.E. firstperson to hit 60)?

 

We do have feats of strength but not one specifically forfirst to 60.

 

Q. Will you be able to bind Force Move to a mouse key?

 

You can bind it to anything but primary and secondary mousebuttons, but it can be bound to any other mouse buttons.

 

Q. Since there seems to be a cap for adventurer stats (+MF/+GF), will the stacks refresh on a Rare or Champion kill after you hitstack cap? Example: Say a stack cap of 5, on the 6th Rare/Champion kill, willthe whole stack refreshes?

 

The whole stack refreshes.

 

Q. Will there be difficulty-exclusive random events/quests?

 

We don't have any, no. It's not a bad idea so maybe it'ssomething we could look into for the future.

 

Q. When does the exit indicator appear on the mini-map? Whenyou are within range or when your character can see it (line of sight)?

 

When you're within range.

 

Q. Will weapons with elemental affixes get extra damageagainst their elemental counter-part (e.g. Holy weapons get more damage againstundead)?

 

No, we don't want people to feel like they're forced tocarry around a bunch of weapons with each damage type and swap them in and outto remain effective. We actually had it in the game at one point where eachdamage type had a secondary effect, and we were super excited about it, andthen we played it and it just sucked. It sounds super cool, but in practice itjust forces too much on the player and makes decisions for them on which typesof items are best based on the damage type.

 

Q. Will poison damage stack?

 

DoTs can stack, and the DoT can be poison based, but poisonis not inherently a DoT.

 

Q. In Hardcore Mode, will players receive damage fromcollapsing/destroyed walls and/or parts of the décor (as it is not the case inNormal Mode)?

 

No. Hardcore is the exact same as "softcore" in every way,you just can't die more than once.

 

Q. Will the Scroll of Companion (if/when it returns) be cuteand cuddly or will it be more visually gritty and dark (keeping in line withthe rest of the creatures in D3)?

 

If companions return, we have no idea. There may be somecute and cuddly things. Cute and cuddly things can and do exist in Sanctuary.They just may get stepped on by a demon. We'd make an effort to create moredark and gritty companions though, if we do revisit the system.

 

Q. Will you be looking at the visuals of the Wizard skill"Blizzard" and "Meteor" after the community's negative reaction to it? Playersaren't impressed with their current visuals as compared to those in D2.

 

There are plenty of people that like them, and plenty ofpeople that like one or more of the rune variants. No, we don't have any plansto make changes to any skill visuals.

 

Q. Are you guys happy with where the Witch Doctor is as ofpatch 15? We noticed as of the last few patches, particularly 14 to 15 the WDhas received an enormous amount of tuning compared to the other classes andcurrently feels a little overpowered at early levels.

 

Balance is always ongoing. It's possible the build for patch15 caught us at a point where we had made a lot of witch doctor changes and notchanges to other classes? We generate beta patches to test ongoing updates, anddon't wait to make sure each class has had equal attention. We're very happywith class balance on our internal builds.

 

Q. Since arena is temporary out of picture. Is there anyother way to take participate in PvP after D3 launch? Do you plan to implementworld pvp mode like D2?

 

No. There are many reasons why we're focusing PvP into thearenas and not bringing back hostility. PvP Arenas will only be a few monthsafter release, and in that time people will be trying out classes andperfecting their gear and builds. When they do arrive they'll be an awesomeaddition to the game, and players will be ready to face off in some awesome PvPaction in a designed and crafted experience.

 

Q. How does the new "Nephalem Valor" mechanism work inmultiplay game? Say if 4 player kill rare creatures separately, will theyreceive buffs from other players' killing credit? Or the buff will be countedseparately.

 

Everyone in the game gets the buff when a champion/rare iskilled.

 

[Omnicide 26]

We're gonna be playing a lof of this or a lot of Guild Wars 2 or a lot of both. You're invited to come along with us when yer read Omnicide!

 

 

gogo

 

Thank you for the invite, gogo. Now there's another game with some outstanding art: Guildwars. Love the Box art of the Necromancer the best. So many games to play, so little time...

[gogoblender 3,069]

We;re kinda goin hot for Guild Wars 2 right now

 

Can we join up with friends all over world in Guild Wars 2?

 

 

 

gogo

 

p.s. Never played it Llama , and it loox like the next instalment will be coming out in time

[Flooxim 49]

I agree that the Nephalem Valor buff looks a bit like Sacred 2 survival bonus.

I pre-ordered my copy last Friday, and there's a chance that I don't work on May 15th. Smells like a whole day of play.

 

 

Max

[Chrona 82]

Inferno Act 3&4

http://us.battle.net...132?page=33#654

 

 

 

 

This is maybe a good a time as any to REVEAL TEH SEKRITS! that Inferno monster levelsaren't linear any longer. They get progressively more difficult. This wasreally a reaction to Inferno playtesting. Our original intent was to have aflat difficulty level where you could go wherever you want, farm for items, andit'd be no more or less difficult than any other area in Inferno. Thiscaused a few inherent issues for us, though:

 

• It just felt wrong. It didn't feel right to be progressing through the game and have it stay pretty much the same difficulty the whole time. It felt like a letdown to get to the final boss of the game and it be no more difficult than the first.
• There's a wide variety of players out there and we wanted to make sure everybody had something to sink their teeth into. We expect that anybody with enough time and dedication will reach level 60. But the jump in difficulty to Inferno needed to be different amounts for different people. For the crazy people they need a HUGE ramp in difficulty, for a more "casual but still hardcore" audience you want an obvious but milder increase in difficulty. So for the crazy people who play non-stop they'll hit Act I and get a challenge, but 1 month later they'll still have something to work on (Acts II, III and IV). For the "hardcore-casual" they will reach level 60 later and not get brick walled when they reach Inferno. They can experience some "small victories" working on Act I with the dream of maybe someday reaching the later acts.
• Longevity. We know people really want goals to work towards and challenges to overcome. We made Act III and Act IV really, really brutally hard, for the most elite players only. It felt wrong to make ALL of Inferno that brutally hard.

Now, you may be saying "I thought you wanted us to be able to farm anywhere wewanted. Now we only have half as much area in the game to farm in? What gives?"Our goal is to make the loot mathematically better in the later acts withoutmaking the earlier gear completely obsolete. We feel Diablo II actually did avery good job with this and we expect Diablo III to perform similarly.

 

Specifically, people in D2 did Diablo runs, Mephisto runs, Pindleskin runs, Pitruns, Baal runs, etc. because the loot in Diablo is extremely random. Eventhough the theoretical best items might come from the later Acts, well-rolleditems from earlier acts will still be better. Internally we find sometimesafter an intense session of brutally hard Inferno it can be really fun tocruise through Hell Act III or IV and it's not too uncommon surprise when anupgrade drops. We expect this to carry through to Inferno difficulty wheresomebody who can theoretically farm Act IV will likely still enjoy rompingthrough Act I simply because the drop potential is still there. It's allbecause of the highly random items having lots of overlap in their powerdistribution curves.

 

[Knuckles 904]

Thanks for all the great info links....I cannot wait for this game to finally arrive...I played the heck outta D1 and D2.....during a small break from D2 I luckily ran into Sacred 1...knew nothing about it at the time but got hooked too...

 

Almost makes me want to re-load D2 and play a Hammerdin now

[Chrona 82]

Almost makes me want to re-load D2 and play a Hammerdin now

 

I reinstalled d2 last year and had some fun with my fav...NECRO

 

 

 

[gogoblender 3,069]

awwwwww...I never played diablo

awwwwww

*being a cry baby"

 

 

gogo

[Ryanrocker 200]

Nothing better than having a hugely hyped game coming out on your birthday! Haha, it feels so good to see my birthday posted all over the net and on big posters like this one: (Don't forget that drooling awesome box art! )

 

 

All jokes aside, this looks quite promising and I hope to eventually run into some Darkies from over here

[Etherian 76]

Nothing better than having a hugely hyped game coming out on your birthday! Haha, it feels so good to see my birthday posted all over the net and on big posters like this one: (Don't forget that drooling awesome box art! )

 

 

All jokes aside, this looks quite promising and I hope to eventually run into some Darkies from over here

 

Great to see you back on the forums Rocker! Been far too long my old friend.

 

We will definetly see each other sometime down the road in either D3, S3 or GW2.

 

Keep Rockin'

 

I remain,

[Chrona 82]

I preordered it too download finished

 

cu in 42 days

 

Countdown:http://d3countdown.readme.nu/

Edited April 2, 2012 by Chrona

[Chrona 82]

Diablo III Demon Hunter Spotlight Video

 

[Chrona 82]

Inferno Act 3&4 Bashioks 2nd post

http://us.battle.net...832?page=12#227

 

I justwrote like three pages of a reply and the forums lost it when I clickedPreview. ... *cry*

Ok what it boiled down to was:

• Read my previous post. It seems like some people glossed over it.
• I'm happy most of you are happy about the change, and I know you're going to love the game.
• Those few of you who don't like it, you'll love the game too because you're wrong.
• Item pools are not limited by Act, or Boss, or anything like that. While you'll have a better chance to get better items in Act IV Inferno, you could get those same items in Act I, or even Hell.
• Our item pool philosophy is that you can break an urn and get the best item in the game - it's all a matter of chance. Running more difficult areas and taking on more difficult enemies will not always be the most efficient way to find upgrades.
• Previously, Inferno difficulty was mlvl 61 across all of Inferno, and now it starts at mlvl 61 and ramps up quickly in Act I and ends somewhere around 65 (?) in Act IV. We've only increased the difficulty.
• I'm aware of internal bets on how many months it will take someone to beat Inferno.
• A flat Inferno of mlvl 61 had a small curb of difficulty, and once that was over you had nowhere else to progress and no reason to. That's boredom.
• Boredom doesn't generally come from content repetition, it comes from lack of ability to progress, or ease of progression.
• By having a sharp increase in difficulty in Inferno we can encourage progression without having a brick wall of difficulty.

I think that was about it. In any case, as I said, I know the vast majority ofyou are excited about the game, the change we made, and trying to progress inInferno. Just don't feel bad when you have to go back to Hell.

 

[Chrona 82]

Poison dmg

 

https://twitter.com/...659571005882369

I'll repeat: poison damage does not work like D2. It does not apply a persistent effect, it's a type of damage like fire or holy

[gogoblender 3,069]

Chrona, I switched out your link for video that displays here directly in the post.

 

I still love her, so intense and quick!

 

 

gogo

[Flooxim 49]

Here's a really interesting update on the Battle.Net website that shows Characters skill progression : LINK

 

It's great to see that every character will unlock something every level.

 

 

Max