Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2013/08/21/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-expansion-revealed/ Tons of Information: http://www.diablofans.com/#site Summary of Changes: The new class is the Crusader, a strength-based brawler. This sword and shield user is affiliated with the Diablo 2 Paladin and is described as a “mid-range melee” fighter. Video shows him using numerous flashy-graphic magical attacks, many of them Monk-like at a glance. The skills Shield Bash and Fist of Heavens were demonstrated during the press conference. Also Shield Flare, which can be used to blind your enemies. The Crusader is playable in the Gamescom demo! The Archangel Malthael is the main villain of the expansion. Returned from the void as the Reaper of Souls, with his wings turned skeletal. Malthael wants to end the Eternal Conflict by destroying all demons and he’s not fond of humans either. He can turn the dead against the living. The Expansion is set largely in Westmarch, an area not too distant from Tristram. It’s described as very gothic in design and levels in the streets of Westmarch and in the Temple of the Zakarum are being shown. These areas will be playable in the demo at the Gamescom event, so fans will get to see it and we’ll have video shortly. RoS adds many new forms of the End Game, with changes to the Paragon system and new types of loot runs. Max level is raised to 70. New skills and runes for all classes. Paragon 2.0: Paragon going account wide, so all chars will benefit. No longer a cap on max Paragon. Unknown how this will affect max Magic Find and Gold Find. Loot 2.0: Fewer total items will drop, but they’ll be of better quality, much as the console is promising. Josh Mosqueira gave a hypothetical example of drop changes: D3C sample drops: 256 white, 399 blue, 275 yellow, 1 legendary. D3X sample drops: 73 white, 266 blue, 83 yellow, but some Smart Drops. And 6 legendaries, which will be build-changers. A new item feature is “Smart Drops,” items that will drop with stats tailored to the class you are playing. Enchanting will allow you to reroll an affix on a Legendary or Rare item via the Mystic. A new Artisan will allow you to transmogrify your items, as detailed in a recent blue post. Loot runs are shorter dungeons, 15-20 minutes and completely randomized.
I am so hyped for this even know I shouldn't be. The new environments look dark and foreboding, mystic finally back in, implementation of a new loot system (I imagine they will be stealing a lot of D2 and PoE ideas), and the upper management team has drastically changed. Plus I really like the visual style of the crusader finally a happy medium between monk and barbarian. Currently have 500-600+ hours logged on my D3 which isn't as hardcore as some people are but I think I will finish my other softcores to 60 (Wizard/Barbarian) and then plug away at hardcore once I am off wireless. Love Love Love. Just don't fuck up the loot again Blizzard. Edit:
If the crusader does not have auras I will be upset. I know the monk has mantras to kind of fill that roll but I this feels more Paladin than monk and I loved the paladin auras. I love these videos. I would love to see them take the whole Diablo franchise and make a movie with videos like that. I also loved the You Shall Not Pass moment.
Hmm crusader certainly peaked my interest, but is D3 still shit for loot? I mean amount of sets and uniques etc.
The unique (legendary) in Diablo 3 (the base game) are generally considered shit in terms of selection. There are very few that are build defining, and the end game breaks down into best of slot extremely quickly. For example: Meepos are worn by 95%+ of higher level characters because of the stats of the item. Path of Exile has much better build defining items, but Blizzard has promised more effort towards this regard. To be honest, I don't think Blizzard will ever match the items coming out of GGG but the smoothness of the engine and enjoyment of play I personally find much higher. Disclaimer: I play lots of PoE and D3. They just float my boat in different ways. tl:dr; I imagine it will be better, but certainly not best. From the gameplay video one of the dev briefly described a self buff that acts as a passive that can be triggered to benefit teammates. While they might not all work like that, I liken it to the guardians from Guild Wars 2.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I am NOT going to touch this with a five-foot pole. D3 was the biggest disappointment, and what made me lose what little respect I had left for Blizzard. They did a lovely job with Heart of the Swarm single player, but SCII multiplayer is still shite, and WoW has been terrible for some time. And D3. Ugh. Fucking D3. Never again.
So they already re-did the loot? Loot2.0? I read a bit further "2014." I will probably play the expansion, and start over, like a new game. I really feel the AH broke the game for me.