Diablo 3 - Imminent?

FriendlyFire · Aug 8, 2009

is there a true Beta for this?

Sirius · Aug 9, 2009

Not at this time, but there likely will be later. No idea whether it will be open or closed though.

Valindria · Aug 11, 2009

News on Blizzcon, D2 and D3:

Blizzard Reveals Ozzy Osbourne Live On Stage at BlizzCon 2009

The rumors are no more. Blizzard has revealed on its official website that Ozzy Osbourne will play on stage (Live In Concert) at BlizzCon 2009.

Ozzy Osbourne, the only mortal to openly challenge the Lich Kingâ€™s claim to the title â€œPrince of Darknessâ€ and survive, will take the stage live at Anaheim Convention Center to rock the closing ceremonies of BlizzCon 2009.

Although tickets to the convention sold out in minutes, you can still join in with the â€˜BlizzCon Virtual Ticketâ€™ live Internet stream or via DIRECTV Pay Per View. The Virtual Ticket will feature 18 hours of BlizzCon coverage, including Ozzyâ€™s live performance, as well as the BlizzCon 2009 exclusive in-game pet: Grunty the Murloc Marine.

Check out the official press release to learn more.

IRVINE, Calif.â€”Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, will headline the closing concert at this yearâ€™s BlizzConÂ®, which will take place August 21-22 at the Anaheim Convention Center. While tickets to the convention sold out in minutes, a live Pay Per View event will be available on DIRECTV and via Internet stream.

The largest event of its kind, BlizzCon is a celebration of Blizzard Entertainmentâ€™s WarcraftÂ®, DiabloÂ®, and StarCraftÂ® game universes and the global player communities surrounding them. At the closing ceremony on August 22, Ozzy will unleash a thunderous spectacle of rock to put the Lich King in his place and cement his own title as the one true Prince of Darkness.

One of the most influential rock musicians of all time, Ozzy Osbourne rose to prominence as the lead vocalist for Black Sabbath before embarking on a multi-platinum solo career. He is also known for putting on the Ozzfest music festival and for starring in his own reality TV show. Ozzy Osbourneâ€™s career has spanned four decades and his music is as relevant today as ever. The Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has sold over 100 million albums worldwideâ€”50 with Black Sabbath and as many as a solo artistâ€”and in 2003 was honored with a star on Hollywood Boulevardâ€™s â€œWalk of Fame.â€ This is his second collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment, following a recent TV spot for World of WarcraftÂ®.

â€œOur goal with BlizzCon is to deliver an unforgettable weekend of entertainment, and we canâ€™t think of a better way to close out this yearâ€™s show than having Ozzy rock the house,â€ said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. â€œMany of us at Blizzard are lifelong fans of Ozzyâ€™s music, and weâ€™re thrilled that heâ€™ll be performing for all of our BlizzCon attendees as well as those joining us via DIRECTV and the live Internet stream.â€

In addition to serving as a gathering place for the different Blizzard Entertainment gaming communities, BlizzCon will offer an array of activities, including discussion panels, hands-on playtime with upcoming games, contests, tournaments showcasing the skills of top eSports gamers from around the world, and more. While tickets to the convention are currently sold out, the live Pay Per View event can still be ordered for $39.95 USD, and is available via DIRECTV and Internet stream (pricing and availability may vary by region). Visit http://www.blizzcon.com for more details and ordering information.

To keep pace with the continued growth of World of Warcraft as well as development on other Blizzard Entertainment games, the company is currently hiring for numerous open positions. More information on available career opportunities can be found at http://www.blizzard.com/jobs. As BlizzCon draws closer, further details about the show will be announced at http://www.blizzcon.com.
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In some surprising news, Bashiok has announced that the eternally-delayed v1.13 patch will includeâ€¦ respecs. Hereâ€™s what Bashiok said on the issue, in several different posts in the same thread.

Skill tree re-specialization is currently a planned feature for the Diablo II 1.13 patch, yes.

There will be an easily accessed but very limited way characters will have access to respecs, and another way ...

Respecing = Yuck.

Bashiok: Itâ€™ll be fine.
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Elsewhere, Bashiok made a short reply to a long and rambling â€œthings I want in D3â€ type of post:

Player vs Player is definitely a part of the game. Itâ€™s not something weâ€™re waiting on, itâ€™s been a part of development since the beginning. Weâ€™re just not talking about it yet.
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Source

TheBerch · Aug 11, 2009

i hate blizzard

Valindria · Aug 20, 2009

Get ready for swarms of updates my friends. Blizzcon is soon.

New information from Gamescon:

New Witch Doctor Skill - Corpse Spiders (like corpse explosion except spiders come out of a dead enemy to attack others! I highlighted the skills used.

From IGN talking about Playable Demo at Gamescon:

I chose the Witch Doctor, the Necromancer-like wielder of weird magical arts and summon abilities. To turn monsters into a bloody paste, I had only a limited number of skills, but they all proved useful. I could toss fiery skulls into the air which detonated wherever I happened to hit the attack button, giving them a flexible and welcome range. The explosions also caused a fair deal of area of effect damage, making them ideal for wiping out packs of jittery fallen or skeletons or whatever other kinds of beasts decided to bunch together. With a piercing howl a menacing specter erupts from the Witch Doctor’s body, which works to horrify enemies and send them fleeing for a limited time. To my side could be called zombie dogs in battle, which I think we can all agree are the best kind of dogs. Then finally, I could pitch out a corpse spider attack, which causes opponents, when killed, to erupt into ravenous swarms of sickly green arachnids that skitter toward and inflict violence on whatever’s near. Using the dogs, corpse spiders, and fire bombs all during the same fight led to some satisfying scenes of destruction.

As tends to be the case in Diablo games and others like it, there are quite a few bad guys to absorb your punishment. I was attacked by hyena-like creatures, misshapen salamanders that popped out from beneath the earth, floating specters capable of unleashing deadly whirlwind attacks, giant demons carrying long jagged swords, four-legged ice mages, toxic bees, fallen guardians who could drive their minions to all attack at once, and slithering lizard people in crypts beneath the sands.
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Source

Some Wizard game play videos at Game Trailers:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/54519.html
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/54516.html

User comments about it:

I’m assuming both of these buffs are from outside sources. The fortune one is for sure but I wasn’t sure if the Ice Armor was self inflicted.

Fortune = Your chance to find magic items and gold is greatly increased.
Ice Armor = Slows movement and attack of enemies that attack you.
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Q. In the second video, after they clear the bridge, a notification pops up that says “MASSACRE: 11 monsters killed +24 exp”. I wonder how many other Exp bonus triggers there are."

A. I believe the 1UP preview mentioned an XP bonus for finishing a fight with low health as well. Seems like a nice touch reminiscent of Unreal Tournament.

Also, is the inventory system that is briefly shown in the second video a new redesign? Seems like a compromise between the “tetris” of old and their original gameplay demo.
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Screen shot of Massacre bonus:

Source

Valindria · Aug 21, 2009

Telling of Fansite day (Thursday) at Blizzard. They mention even more new WD skills. Shrines return. Waypoints Confirmed. Spell/skill progression. Inventory changes. Lots of good information.

Enjoy:

Thursday was a fun day for all fansites who attended the Fansites Summit at the Blizzard Entertainment campus.

All fansites waited together at the Marriott Hotel’s lobby awaiting the arrival of the bus. Bashiok took the lead and gave everyone their NDA sheets, and some free Breakfast tickets for the local Cafe del Sol restaurant.

From there we traveled to the campus where the awesome Wolf Rider statue welcomed us. We immediately moved to the Theather room where no recordings or photos were allowed as said by our NDA—so if you get to see any photos of that, someone is in trouble.

Bashiok started by loading Diablo III onscreen and playing a male Wizard in what looked like Act II in a desert. By the NPC dialogue, it was near Caldeum.

Caldum Guard: It’s not safe here. We need to move.

Asheara: Alcarnus is lost. There’s no hope.

Caldeum Guard: No sign of them, Captain.

Asheara: The desert is overrun.

Didn’t get to catch much of the dialogues, but that pretty much let’s you know the situation.

Objective: Follow the road to Alcarnus.

We got to see many monsters in the area such as the Sand Wasp in various sizes. There is voice over every few seconds throughout your journey, making it a pleasant and more vivid experience as you travel through the canyon.

You find optional quests too. One of them asks you to find the outlaw camp. However, some of this characters you find may be a trap. Bashiok got to talk to a weeping girl and suddenly the screen fill up with monsters from all directions.

The inventory was redesigned from what we have seen before. Now it holds items that take only one slot, but some items take up to two slots like in Diablo II to show off nice art where it’s worth.

Bashiok reached a place named the Howling Plateau. Here we saw a monster named Lacuni Warriors, Lacuni Huntress, Fallen Overseer, and other varieties, and more Sand Wasps. At some point, Bashiok loaded a female Witch Doctor. We saw a unique that almost kills Bashiok’s: Blade Jade.

We saw the three Skill trees: Zombie, Spirit and Voodoo.

One of the few we got to see said Spirit Vessel: Gain 20 mana whenever you pick up a health globe (rank 2/5). Next level gain 30 mana.

Some items will be unidentified, but if you have scrolls of identify, you only need to click the item (I’m guessing with the left-button but may be wrong) and it auto-identify.

We saw the ability that fears mobs. A huge witch doctor ghostly figure appear above the female witch doctor and moves his hands around with a threatening pose animation. Looks pretty nice. Mobs run in fear in all directions. Another ability causes a corpse to come out of the ground to spew corpse spiders to attack your enemies.

We got to see Fallen Hound in the area named Canyon RIm Mines. Here we got to see for the first time a waypoint. It looks like a stony floor with a swirl. When you step in you are teleported to some areas. In this case a ruins.

Bashiok showed us the skill trees again and explained that their new system allows to diversify your class in comparison with other players. The philosophy is that you can place skill points in any of the three trees simultaneously and for as long as there is 2 points in Zombie tree, one point in Spirit tree and two points in Vodoo tree (for example) completing a total of 5 points in Tier 1, you automatically unlock Tier 2, and you can continue spreading your points. Once you reach the limit across all trees, you unlock Tier 3, and so on. That’s pretty cool because it doesn’t hamstring your capability to spend and mismatch points where you wish, nor need to spent a bunch of points in a single ability to unlock the next tier.

You can now drag any of the spell icons from any of the skill trees into the spellbar UI. Respecs will be available in Diablo III as mentioned a few weeks ago.

We got to see a special monster named Champion Lacuni Huntress with a blue tag. Below its name it said (Frozen).

We saw the return of shrines. He found a desecrated shrine, and somehow restored it granting him a special buff. Bashiok says if you get one of these buffs you should use them immediately upon any monsters around you. It lasts a minute or less. Some of these buffs may be skill amount bonus, damage bonus, and such.

We saw a new monster that can be a pain in the neck for how annoying it is. Bashiok assures it is easy to learn the mechanics after a while. The Dune Dervish is a very tall and thin monster. Once you aggro, he starts spinning and that’s bad for you.

While this happens, many other monsters attack you, including a Fallen Shaman who ranges you while you are dodging all the monsters and trying to get the heck out of the Dune Dervish’s way. The annoying part of this monster is that if you don’t kill him within the first three seconds, any spells you throw at him are reflected back at you, and that’s a no-good thing to happen with all the damage you are getting. Basically, you get owned. May be a good idea to have healing pots just in case. They are nasty.

We got to see some new witch doctor spells from the skill trees such as Fetish Army which allows you to summon 15 freaking Fetish guys—you know those little annoying tribemen from the jungle act in Diablo II. Parasite converts any mob into a zombie to fight for you. Gargantuan is a buffed up zombie dog, Grasp of Dead, Sacrifice, Mass Confusion, Spirit Barrage, and Horrify among others.

After the Diablo III demonstration, we separated into groups for Franchise specific tours. We walked throughout the World of Warcraft team offices.

Then we had lunch at the cafeteria with developers from each game who were open to questions.
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Source

More Gamescon Vidoes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aEXS6mi14E

Looks like Corpse Spiders at 1:30?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA-MSevi88s

Valindria · Aug 21, 2009

4th Class a Monk?

It appears that perhaps the Korean Blizzard website may have let the cat out of the bag. A screenshot of the character selection screen indeed shows a 4th class which appears to be a Monk. No details, confirmation or denial has come from Blizzcon yet.
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Source
Image Source

PhoenixDog · Aug 21, 2009

The Monk - Confirmed at Blizzcon

Mortae · Aug 21, 2009

PhoenixDog said: ↑

The Monk - Confirmed at Blizzcon
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The gameplay looked pretty cool... was he punching spells back at their casters?

Trice · Aug 21, 2009

Mortae said: ↑

The gameplay looked pretty cool... was he punching spells back at their casters?
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cha Read it here

PhoenixDog · Aug 21, 2009

Mortae said: ↑

The gameplay looked pretty cool... was he punching spells back at their casters?
Click to expand...

Yeah, seemed like a spell that reflected spells back to the enemy. I might grab all these trailers (from all 3 (maybe more?) games) and try and break them down, haha.

Valindria · Aug 21, 2009

If you guys have videos, please help out. Is someone at Blizzcon that posted here or just talking about what they have heard?

Here is some of the new stuff I have found:

I'm not sure what this is, but supposedly it's messages someone sent from blizzcon:

Flux_Diii.net: the class we're going to unveil today...
11:58 Flux_Diii.net: is very much in teh same tradition. roots in old school fantasy. never seen quite like this before. kicks ass!
11:58 Flux_Diii.net: here we go....
11:58 Flux_Diii.net: oen handed tiger strike fury. the monk!

11:58 Flux_Diii.net: video starts. trialer. showing desert.

11:58 Leord: Bo-yah
11:59 Flux_Diii.net: monk being talked to by guy in desert. danger in city. barely escaped with my life.

11:59 Flux_Diii.net: monk has big bead necklade and huge mallet/club thing over shoulder.

11:59 Flux_Diii.net: alcarnus. city. ruins, full of sand.
"cna you hear their screams on the wind?"
11:59 Flux_Diii.net: taunting mnster foice. dark cultists run up. monk commences massive beat down with staff/club thing.
12:00 Flux_Diii.net: martial arts style moves. like a staff that's much thicker at one end.

12:00 Flux_Diii.net: boss fight time.!!
12:00 Flux_Diii.net: monk does praying shield protection thing. now open hand punching anc beat down.
12:01 Flux_Diii.net: video over. much cheerig.

12:01 Flux_Diii.net: going to show gameplay video sequence. starting now.
12:02 Flux_Diii.net: lots of staff attacks. short range charges. very fast.
12:02 Flux_Diii.net: big fire explosions. maybe some kind of fire spells tree?
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PhoenixDog · Aug 21, 2009

Valindria said: ↑

If you guys have videos, please help out. Is someone at Blizzcon that posted here or just talking about what they have heard?
Click to expand...

Watching live online. I'm seeing it as it happens, and taking notes for XoO

Valindria · Aug 21, 2009

Did you get the Direct TV thing or do you have a site. If so and I can watch please pm me the link.

Mike Morhaime just stated that they are "planning" that WoW's expansion Catclysm be the second release in 2010.

So I guess D3 2011
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Source

Edit See PDogs response below.

PhoenixDog · Aug 21, 2009

Valindria said: ↑

Did you get the Direct TV thing or do you have a site. If so and I can watch please pm me the link.
Click to expand...

Bought the Direct TV online stream. And that quote isn't accurate. There was no mention of Diablo being pushed to 2011. Three different teams are working on the games. There could be 3 Blizzard games in 2010.

Paradize · Aug 21, 2009

Cant wait for this game to come out either... Gonna be sick!!!

Valindria · Aug 21, 2009

Monk!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFGXKV_45HQ

Valindria · Aug 21, 2009

Monk Gameplay Video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_IIe4Wufyw

Paradize · Aug 21, 2009

Strange, that video didn't quite tickle my fancy at all... I liked the warrior gameplay vid better BUT its probably the quality that turned me off... But thats my own fault, lol

Valindria · Aug 21, 2009

28 New Screen Shots from Blizzcon Press CD:

http://diablo-source.com/index.php?cmd=media&sec=screenshot

or

http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/new-shots-environment-monk-monsters/

At first glance of the tech tree, some of the abilities change based on how many times you've executed that ability simultaneously. So the first time you use it, it may deal 40 damage, then 50 damage on the 2nd hit.
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Source

High Quality(?) combination videos before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww24eSvq-tM

Diablo 3 FAQ from Blizzcon Press CD

DIABLO III FAQ

Q: What is Diablo III?
A: We’re developing Diablo III to be the definitive action role-playing game, and a true continuation of the Diablo series. Players will adventure through rich and varied settings, unraveling an epic storyline, engaging in combat with hordes of monsters and challenging bosses, growing in experience and ability, and acquiring items of incredible power. Diablo III will be a fitting sequel to Diablo II, with the easy interface, fast-paced action, and visceral gameplay that Diablo players have come to expect and enjoy. It will also include many new features that will take the Diablo action-RPG experience to the next level.

Q: Which characters will be in Diablo III?
A: Players will create a male or female hero from one of five distinct classes, such as barbarian, witch doctor, wizard, or monk, each equipped with an array of spells and abilities. New customization options will provide for an even greater level of character specialization than the previous Diablo games, allowing the player to create unique characters brimming with power.

Q: What can you say about the announced classes?

A: Returning from Diablo II, the dual-wielding barbarian is one of the stoic guardians of Mount Arreat. Retooled with powerful new abilities and moves, this plate-wearing savage wields ferocious weapons to annihilate the demonic forces threatening the world of Sanctuary.

The fearsome witch doctor hails from the terrifying Tribe of the Five Hills of the legendary umbaru race. The witch doctor is equipped with spells and alchemical powers; can summon mongrels, locust swarms, and zombie armies; and hurls fiery concoctions to annihilate any demon foolish enough to trifle with the powers of the umbaru.

The wizard is a wielder of the elements and a master manipulator of time, who combats the hordes of the Burning Hells by launching environment-shattering lightning bolts, channeling explosive arcane energies, and creating pockets of space outside of the normal flow of time.

The monk is a skilled warrior of unparalleled dexterity. Armed with speed, holy fervor, and a quest for physical and spiritual perfection, the monk becomes a deadly apparition in the heat of battle, moving faster than the eye can follow to strike down enemies with a barrage of lightning-fast blows.

Q: How did the new monk character class come about?
A: We wanted to add another melee character that was still hard-hitting, but lightning fast, to complement the raw strength and brutality of the barbarian. When we set out to design the monk, we wanted him to feel elegant and fluid, like something out of a fighting game. What we came up with is a holy warrior and martial artist who uses a unique arsenal of weaponry, hand-to-hand combat techniques, and a distinctive combo-based attack system.

Q: What is the story of Diablo III?
A: The game takes place on Sanctuary, a world of dark fantasy. Unbeknownst to most of its inhabitants, Sanctuary was saved some twenty years ago from the demonic forces of the underworld by a few brave and powerful heroes. Most of those warriors who directly faced Hell’s armies—and were fortunate enough to survive—went mad from their experiences. And most of the others have buried their haunted memories and pushed the horrors from their thoughts. In Diablo III, players will return to Sanctuary to confront evil in its many forms once again.

Q: Will Diablo III be running on a new engine?
A: Diablo III is powered by a new graphics engine that can display characters and hordes of monsters in lush, fully 3D environments. Powerful special-effects systems and Havok-powered physics allow for realistic object dynamics and cloth simulation, and enable players to lay waste to the minions of the Burning Hells in spectacular ways.

Q: Will Diablo still have randomized events?
A: Diablo III builds on the random environments of the previous Diablo games by adding random scripted events and encounters throughout the game, creating a dense and exciting world alive with quests, NPCs, and dynamic encounters.

Q: What can you tell us about Battle.net?
A: Diablo III will benefit from Battle.net upgrades that will provide some exciting new features for players. Cooperative online play remains a primary focus, with multiple enhancements being planned to make connecting with your friends easier and cooperative play even more fun. We’ll have more details on all these aspects as well as other exciting new features at a later date.

Q: How will PvP be implemented in Diablo III?
A: With regard to the multiplayer component of Diablo III, the emphasis will be on cooperative play, but we will also include support for competitive play. What form that support will take is still being discussed, but we are being careful to avoid features that can easily lead to griefing, such as the ability to go hostile at will.

Q: When will Diablo III be released?
A: It’s too early to estimate Diablo III’s release date. As with all Blizzard Entertainment games, our goal is to create a game that is as fun, balanced, and polished as possible. We intend to take as much time developing Diablo III as is necessary to ensure the game meets our own high expectations and those of our players. We’re aiming to release Diablo III on both Mac and Windows simultaneously in as many regions as possible, and to localize the game in several languages. We’ll have more details to share about countries, languages, and specific dates as we get closer to release.

Q: What will Diablo III be rated?
A: The Diablo III rating will be determined by the ratings boards in each region. We still have a good amount of work to do content-wise, so we’re not quite ready to submit the game for ratings yet.

Q: Will players interact with any familiar faces or places in Diablo III?
A: Yes, definitely. Players will return to Tristram and certain other locations from the previous games and they’ll also be exploring new areas of Sanctuary. Players will also encounter several new characters as well as a number of characters from the previous games including Deckard Cain.

Q: What will questing be like in Diablo III? Will it be similar to Diablo II?
A: Our plans for the story and quest mechanics are still under wraps. We’ll go into detail on those elements of the game at a later date. We can say, however, that we expect to have class-based quests in addition to the main story-line quests.

Q: What are the system requirements for Diablo III?
A: We’ll announce specific system requirements at a later date.
Click to expand...

Source

http://www.wegame.com/watch/Diablo_III_Monk_Class_Trailer_Diii_net/

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