Diablo III


 * "It has been said that in the end of all things, we would find a new beginning. But as the shadow once again crawls across our world and the stench of terror drifts on a bitter wind, people pray for strength and guidance. They should pray for the mercy of a swift death... for I've seen what the Darkness hides."


 * – Leah, narrating the cinematic trailer.

Diablo III is the latest game in the Diablo series. After years of rumors, the game was officially announced on June 28, 2008 at 12.18 in the afternoon (CEST) at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Paris (WWI08), France.

The CLOSED beta launched on September 20, 2011. As it developed, a number of patches were written.

The OPEN beta was launched April 20, 2012 at 12:01 p.m. (PDT) and ended Monday, April 23 at 10:00 AM (PDT).

The game was launched on May 15, 2012. Versions for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and 4 are planned also, with the release date for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 set for September 3rd.

It is only playable online and does not support mods.

Development
Diablo III spent six years in development before being officially announced, possessing a development team of around 60-65 individuals. The reason for the delay was that there was a lot of debate within Blizzard as to what kind of game Diablo III was going to be. In fact, several versions were scrapped and rumours link these difficulties to the dissolution of Blizzard North in 2005. As soon as a direction was chosen, the art style that would be used came under discussion. Initially the game as a whole was set to be dark and gritty, but it was found that monsters blended in too well with the background.

Additionally, the choice was not universally greeted with enthusiasm and a petition was created by players to force Blizzard Entertainment to change their art direction for the game. Blizzard underwent three art revisions, finding that a purely dark style was too drab. As the case was, the "sunny" art style represents the early parts of the game. This is to establish contrast between the game's early and late stages, things "feeling worse" as the game moves on.

Content is being generated in regards to the tech and game engine, which was indicated as "really solid" by August 2008. At that time, most of the design team was still on Act 1, refining and improving the quests and flow and some of the big game systems that hadn't been announced yet. Blizzard was not moving through the acts in a linear fashion, and would often revisit previous ones.

Despite compatible gameplay, Blizzard stated that it has no intention of releasing the game on a console. However, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version were eventually released. The lead designer is Josh Mosqueira, who previously worked as design director on Company of Heroes at Relic.

Diablo III was available for play on May 15, 2012 at 12:01 AM PST.

World of Warcraft players who purchased the World of Warcraft Annual Pass before April 30, 2012 were rewarded, among other things, a free digital copy of Diablo III which can be downloaded before the game's release. The digital copy can also be purchased, first available on March 15, 2012. This way, players can immediately install and play the game on launch day. If a player tried to install before launch, they got the message: ''The fire from the sky still falls. Diablo III has not yet launched.''

System Requirements
The beta requirements are:

Processor: Intel Pentium® D 2.8 GHz or AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 4400+ Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® 7800 GT or ATI Radeon™ X1950 Pro or better
 * PC
 * OS: Windows® XP/Windows Vista®/Windows® 7 (Latest Service Packs) with DirectX® 9.0c

Processor: Intel® Core 2 Duo Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT or ATI Radeon™ HD 2600 or better
 * Mac
 * OS: Mac® OS X 10.6.8 or newer

Memory: 1 GB RAM (1.5 GB required for Windows Vista®/Windows® 7 users, 2 GB for Mac® users) Drive: DVD-ROM drive Internet: Broadband Internet connection Display: 1024×768 minimum display resolution
 * All Platforms
 * HD Space: 12 GB available HD space

(Note: Be advised that some wireless connections do not meet the minimums required to be a true Broadband Internet connection. Wireless results will always be terrible.)

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS

Processor: Intel® Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 5600+ 2.8 GHz Memory: 2 GB RAM Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® 260 or ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 or better
 * PC
 * OS: Windows Vista®/Windows® 7 (Latest Service Packs)

Processor: Intel® Core 2 Duo Memory: 2 GB RAM Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M or ATI Radeon™ HD 4670 or better
 * Mac
 * OS: Mac® OS X 10.7 or newer

Console Version
The game has been ported to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 home consoles, and will have a PlayStation 4 release at a later date. The port is based on the PC version, including recent upgrades such as Paragon leveling, new legendary weapons, and brawling. Console differences/additions include:


 * Avatars: Diablo III-themed t-shirts are available for player avatars on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.
 * Buffs: The addition of power globes and the Nephalem Valor buff. Nephalem Valor was later removed.
 * Controls: The game is played through controllers
 * Combat: A target lock and evade function have been added.
 * Co-op: The game may be played cooperatively through Xbox Live/PlayStation Network, through LAN/System Link, or in offline couch co-op
 * Items: The PlayStation 3 version gets five exclusive items&mdash;The Hero's Journey, Drake's Amulet, Leoric's Gauntlet, Crimson Angelic Wings, and Leah's Ring.

Plot
The game takes place in Sanctuary, the dark fantasy world of the Diablo series, twenty years after the events of Diablo II. Deckard Cain and his niece Leah are in the Tristram Cathedral investigating ancient texts regarding an ominous prophecy. Suddenly, a mysterious star falling from the sky strikes the Cathedral, creating a deep crater into which Deckard Cain disappears.

The player character, known as the Nephalem, arrives in New Tristram to investigate the fallen star. The Nephalem rescues Cain upon Leah's request and discovers that the fallen object is actually a person. The stranger has no memories except that he lost his sword, which was shattered into three pieces. Although the Nephalem retrieves the pieces, the witch Maghda seizes the shards and attempts to capture Cain to force him to repair the sword for her own ends. However, with an uncontrolled display of power, Leah forces Maghda to flee, and she kidnaps the stranger instead. Cain, dying from Maghda's torture, uses the last of his strength to repair the sword and instructs the Nephalem to return it to the stranger. The Nephalem rescues the stranger and returns his sword, causing him to regain his memories. The stranger then reveals himself as the fallen angel Tyrael. Disgusted with his fellow angels' unwillingness to protect humanity from the forces of Hell, Tyrael cast aside his divinity to become a mortal and warn Sanctuary about the arrival of the demon lords Belial and Azmodan.

To avenge Cain's death, the Nephalem tracks Maghda to the city of Caldeum, which is controlled by her master, Belial. The Nephalem kills Maghda, and rescues Leah's mother, Adria. Adria tells Tyrael and the Nephalem that the key to stopping the demons is the Black Soulstone, which can trap the souls of the seven Lords of Hell and destroy them forever. In order to obtain the Black Soulstone, the Nephalem resurrects the mad Horadrim, Zoltun Kulle. Kulle reveals its hiding place and completes the unfinished Soulstone, but is killed by the Nephalem after he attempts to steal it for himself. The Nephalem kills Belial and traps his soul within the Black Soulstone, freeing Caldeum. As Leah studies in Caldeum's library to find more answers about the Black Soulstone and Azmodan, she receives a vision from Azmodan, who tells her that he is sending an army from the ruins of Mount Arreat to take the Black Soulstone for himself.

Tyrael, Adria, Leah and the Nephalem journey to Bastion's Keep, the only line of defense between Azmodan's forces and the rest of Sanctuary. With the others staying behind to protect the Black Soulstone, the Nephalem pushes out from the keep into Mount Arreat. The Nephalem kills Azmodan and traps his soul in the Black Soulstone. However, Adria betrays the Nephalem and takes the Black Soulstone with the seven Demon Lords' souls inside. She reveals that she has been Diablo's agent from the beginning, and that Leah's father is the Dark Wanderer, who conceived her while being possessed by Diablo, making her the perfect vessel for the demon's physical form. Using Leah as a sacrifice, Adria resurrects Diablo. Having the souls of all the Lords of Hell within him, Diablo becomes the "Prime Evil", the most powerful demon in existence, and begins his assault on the High Heavens, the defending angels being no match for him.

Tyrael and the Nephalem follow Diablo to the High Heavens, where the city is under attack. The defending Angels warn the Nephalem that Diablo is attempting to reach the Crystal Arch, which is the source of all of the angels' power. To prevent Diablo from corrupting the Crystal Arch and completing his victory over the High Heavens, The Nephalem confronts and defeats him. With Diablo's physical manifestation destroyed, the Black Soulstone is shown falling from the High Heavens, apparently still intact. After the battle, Tyrael decides to rejoin the High Heavens but remain as a mortal, dedicated to building a permanent alliance between angels and humans.

Heroes
Diablo III has five classes:


 * The Witch Doctor is a new class. They can summon undead monsters, but without the need of dead bodies unlike the Necromancer. They appear to be a mixture of the Necromancer, the Druid and an alchemist, with some skills also reminiscent of the Warlock from World of Warcraft, such as Terrify and Mass Confusion. While these are old Necromancer skills, they are much more potent now. Witch Doctors use Mana as their primary source for magic.


 * The Barbarian returns from Diablo II as the straightforward brute-force fighter, with some new abilities as well. The Champion's mechanics seem very similar to those in the last game, with most moves being very close range. Barbarians use Fury to power their attacks.


 * The Wizard is the run-of-the-mill magic user in Diablo III combining the brilliance of the Sorceress and the cunning and stealth of the Assassin. Only the female Champion was playable in Blizzcon, the male Wizard's gameplay was revealed a few days later. Champion had stated that fans will "hate" one of the new classes for the game, courtesy of it resembling a former one. But, seeing the attitude of the new Champion compared to its brooding predecessors and the powerful skills it wields, fans have taken a certain liking for the Wizard. Wizards use Arcane Power as their source for magic.


 * The Monk is a class with fast melee attacks. It appears to rely entirely, or at least mostly on its fists and fist based weapons similar to the weapon choice of the Assassin in the previous game. Some attacks will have a limited range, so not all combat occurs at very close range. He also possess holy-light abilities which allow for healing, along with Mantras which share similarities to Auras from the Paladin class. Monks use Spirit as the source for their holy attacks.


 * The Demon Hunter is a new class introduced in Diablo III. With what gameplay Blizzard have shown of it, the Champion looks to be a combination of the Assassin; with its ability to throw grenades, and the Amazon in its usage of crossbows. However the class looks as if it is going to dual-wield crossbows which is a completely original concept in reference to prior games. Demon Hunters use Discipline and Hatred to power their ranged weapons.

Blizzard also announced the Archivist class as an April Fools' joke, it appeared to die in a single hit and use spells based entirely on the usage of books and scrolls.

According to Blizzard, each character has a backstory which will be revealed during the course of the game. However, contrary to hopeful belief, It is confirmed that the male Barbarian is not the same Barbarian featured in Diablo II. Also as mentioned above, you will now be able to select gender regardless of the class you choose.

There was a fair amount of debate in Blizzard as to whether each class should have both genders available, or whether to stick with the single-gendered classes from the previous games. Adding more genders meant having to create custom models, more weapon design, more art, etc. Despite the cost however, Blizzard decided to go ahead with the dual gender option, as in the knowledge that gamers come from both genders, they wanted to make a choice available. However, genders will not affect available abilities. Ultimately, both genders were made available for each class.

Initially, Blizzard did not intend to bring back any of the classes from the previous games, feeling that the other classes could not be improved on. With entirely new classes, Diablo III could stand on its own. The Barbarian was an exception to this, as it was felt that the class had a lot of room for development. As such, it is the only returning playable class from previous games. However, Blizzard is considering bringing back old classes for future expansions.

Followers


Diablo III also includes three different followers: Kormac the Templar, Lyndon the Scoundrel, and Eirena the Enchantress. Similar to the mercenaries of Diablo II, followers are unlocked as the player progresses through the main storyline. While only one follower can accompany the player at a time, followers gain experience even when not in the player's party.

Followers can be equipped with a minimal set of items, and gain two skill options at four periodic level-ups. Each time a new pair of skills is unlocked, the player must select one for the follower to learn. These skill choices can be reset and made again with no penalty.

Monsters
The monsters shown thus far through the first game play trailer include: Beast, Dark Berserker, Dark Demon, Walking Corpse, Crawling Torso, Dark Vessel, Activated Vessel,, Ghostly Orbs, , Lamprey, Moon Clan Warrior, Moon Clan Shaman, Skeleton Archer, , Skeleton, Skeletal Shieldman, Skeletal Summoner, Wretched Dead, , Wood Wraith, and Zombie.

Two unique monsters were shown as well, Thousand Pounder and Siegebreaker Assault Beast. A third super unique monster, possibly an Act boss, the Mistress of Pain was revealed a few days later only as concept artwork. Then in the 2008 Blizzcon, a new boss called the Skeleton King was introduced.

A new game mechanic has been created in the game that, after the end of each battle, there will be a number of corpses left behind to give a sense of aftermath. These will stay until the player moves off the screen. This change is likely brought about by the community's negative reaction to the disappearing corpses in the initial gameplay video.

New monsters like the Dune Thresher had been revealed in the following weeks. Check out the Diablo III Bestiary for links to all the monster pages containing what we know as well as what we expect from the monsters revealed until now.

Locations
Diablo III is still set in Sanctuary, but has a very wide variety of locations to explore. This agrees with the trend in each game. Diablo focused on only one town while Diablo II allowed players to explore five different environments, but still had only one town from each locale. Diablo III seems to let the player explore almost the entirety of Sanctuary. At the moment, many locations, most of them as yet unseen in-game, have been released as either concept art or as official lore.

The first and almost staple in every Diablo game is the town of Tristram, where Diablo was set. It appears in a new avatar as New Tristram. Old Tristram still has the Cathedral which is an explorable dungeon in Act I.

The second and third ones seen were in the Diablo III cinematic trailer - Caldeum and Ureh. Caldeum is speculated to be present because of its importance in the game lore as the reason for the corruption in Aranoch. It may also be noted that Caldeum is the home of the, now supposedly deceased, author turned explorer, Abd al-Hazir.

The Lost City of Ureh is seen in the cinematic trailer exactly as it is described in the Sin War novels. This has led to much speculation regarding the player meeting Zayl the Necromancer. It was confirmed to be Ureh in a concept art released by Blizzard after a few weeks of the release of the cinematic trailer.

Other locations include the newly formed Arreat Crater which was where the Demonic Legion was supposed to start its invasion and the much speculated upon Xiansai, the home of the female Wizard.

Gameplay
The entire quest system has been revamped. Along with the main storyline quests, there will be character specific quests as well as random adventures - mini quests generated randomly on the map or in dungeons.

Quests are introduced almost immediately and will display their status as they are completed. In the Beta, most of the quests follow linear progression as the story of the character unfolds, but a few branches appear as the game progresses.

A number of random events have been implemented for players to encounter, which also adds to the replayability.

The player can explore almost the entirety of Sanctuary. The outdoor environment has been left unspoiled for 20 years and looks more like a fantasy setting. The dungeons are still randomized but the random map generator has undergone an overhaul. However, there are still hard borders to areas and players must go around some obstacles like crevasses and large fixed objects like trees and inaccessible buildings. Small amounts of experience can also be gained by destroying many destructible objects in a short period of time.

The game now incorporates the Havok physics engine and enables players to utilize the environment to help in their quest. For example, huge walls can be reduced to rubble to squash monsters by the skill Seismic Slam. Even monsters use the environment which was demonstrated by s scaling the walls to reach the Barbarian. Many more parts of what appear to be a seamless background environment are destructible. Some dilapidated areas will also collapse (without harming the player in most cases) automatically when the player gets too near or passes under part of a structure.

Potions have lesser importance because of Health Globes. Slain monsters may drop a health globe, which when picked up, will replenish the character's health as well as the follower's in a way similar to how Healing Potions work. When playing co-operatively, nearby allies will also be replenished.

In co-operative play, loot is dropped for individual players. So, one player cannot see what the other gets. This was done to encourage trading between players in a group and reducing thievery. Co-operative play remains as the core of multiplayer, with a drop-in, drop-out feature.

Similar to the characters, the NPCs are also more lively and will have interesting backstories. The gameplay video showed the Barbarian communicating to Deckard Cain in a new interface. The player characters have also been given more interactivity and are able to choose conversation options while conversing with NPCs. The characters have unique voices and will reveal their own backstory in conversation. In turn, the player character will speak back to NPCs. Followers will carry on short conversations with the player as they adventure together, revealing more of each follower's origin and backstory.

The mode of traveling will be similar to Diablo II. 4 Acts are present, each roughly the same length as those featured in its predecessor. Not every act has a central town however. Differences have been made to the waypoint system, a new checkpoint system having been added to supplement waypoints. Checkpoints allow characters that have died to return to the fray quickly, without going through the hassle of returning from town, as was the case in Diablo II. New teleporters were revealed in the Beta that can appear deep inside some dungeons, if the player discovers they aren't part of an active quest objective.

It has also been revealed, for the sake of entertainment and realism, that players may sometimes chance upon monsters fighting against each other. Evidence for this has been seen in a few screenshots. One such shot shows Goatmen standing against a Siegebreaker Assault Beast. How this may affect the difficulty of gameplay and how the monsters fighting each other will react to the player's interruption is unknown.

Fatalities also made an appearance in the Diablo III gameplay trailer, on the last boss fight of the trailer, the Siegebreaker Assault Beast picks up the male barbarian and bites his head off. Fatalities on players may make death a more fun experience in Diablo III. It has been stated that it was too hard to implement into the actual game and will no longer be in the retail release.

Blizzard does not intend to make the gameplay of Diablo III any easier than its predecessors, and wants the game to have the same level of difficulty as Diablo II, though is easy to progress through at the beginning. However, harder difficulty modes can be unlocked. In addition, the game can be played through entirely as a solo experience and no section of the game requires more than one player to complete.

The new Inferno Difficulty was revealed at Gamescom 2011. See video below.

Carrying over from World of Warcraft, Blizzard has added a plethora of Challenges for players to accomplish awarding them sigils and banners to customize with.



Player vs Player (PvP)
Blizzard is also introducing a separate player vs player (PVP) mode called "Battle Arenas" to allow players to show off and face off against other players. They made PVP separate to remove griefing and help keep the focus on player vs monster (PVM) gameplay. This also allows for balancing of PVP without changing the PVM experience. PVP will not be available at release, as Blizzard reiterates some core PVP concepts, PVP game play, and experience. The company stated the PVP experience for Diablo III is not up to their expectation or quality standards. The system will be implemented via a patch later on.

When PVP is made available, the Hardcore characters will not have access to the RMAH (Real Money Auction House) unless Blizzard feels the player demand is high enough.

Development
It was initially intended that the classes have a 7 skill limit. This was reduced to 6 during development.

User Interface
The UI is generally the same as its predecessor, besides the graphical upgrades, and will be very familiar to Diablo II players. However, there are some differences. The health and mana globes have moved more toward the center, rather than being all the way in the corners. The stamina bar has disappeared. The experience bar is now at the bottom of the screen spanning the distance from the health globe to the mana globe.

Skill Bar
Above the experience bar, where the stamina bar, experience bar, and potion belt used to be, are where the skill and scroll slots are. There are four slots for keyboard activated skills or scrolls, associated with the 1-4 number keys. They are followed by a potion slot associated with the 5 number key. Lastly on the skill bar are the mouse skills. There is a primary for the left mouse button and a secondary for the right mouse button. The secondary can be quickly switched back and forth with another skill by scrolling the mouse. The mini menu returns from Diablo II, but it does not appear to be collapsible and has other functional differences.

Buffs
Buffs and debuffs are now displayed on the HUD. They are located just above the skill/scroll slots and are represented with pictures similar to the skills in the skill bar.

Mini Map
There is now a mini map displayed on the top of the right hand side of the screen. This replaces the translucent map overlay that was present in Diablo II. Your character is represented by a yellow circle. Allies, which include mercenaries and pets, are represented by blue circles. Orange circles indicate NPCs. Text displaying the current location is directly above the map. By default, pressing "M" or the Tab key will bring up the actual map.

Mini Combat Log
Things such as the damage you cause when you get a critical hit and when you block an attack with your shield will be displayed with small text that appears above enemies' heads. The text moves upward and quickly fades away.

Enemy Health
Enemies' health bars appear at the top of the screen when a player attacks them and disappears if combat ceases or after the enemy dies. However, for Super Uniques and Bosses, there will be a separate health bar on top of the screen, staying there regardless of the location of the mouse until the enemy is destroyed.

Inventory
After many iterations the latest style of inventory is grid-based, but to a smaller degree than the inventory in Diablo II. Small items take one space, while big items take two spaces. Scrolls, potions and some other items (scraps and ingredients) are stackable.

Player will also have a similar grid-based stash in town for storage purposes, it is expandable with gold.

Runestones
As part of character class customization in Diablo III, Runes will return from Diablo II. The Skill Runes will be used to enhance character class skills. As the player levels up more skill runes become available (filling the empty level 30-60 gap of not getting anything when you level). Each skill rune gives a different effect and attribute to the base skill. The use of skill runes will increase the number of skill variations to 6 including the base skill. And as each character class has at least 20 skills, the overall total of skill variations per class is very high.

Article here

Class abilities and skill runes are visible in the game guide section of Diablo III's official site.

Barbarian Demon Hunter Monk Witch Doctor Wizard

Items
Diablo III expands the player character's arsenal by leaps and bounds. Many items make a return in the form of magic, rare and unique types. It has been mentioned that some of the more popular Diablo and Diablo II items may make a return, but that the color system could change, though normal and magic items are still white and turquoise respectively. There are purple-colored items as well, as seen in the gameplay video. The items also have a visual background color in the inventory depending on their type. Items with magical attributes will also give a visual effect when equipped by the character. This is a great improvement from the different color palettes that were used in Diablo II's magic items.

For a list of all the items seen in the video, see here.

Armor
Blizzard has stated that there will be no customization of characters outside of choosing your gender. However, the Diablo series is known more for its custom avatar looks through countless different pieces of armor. The first gameplay trailer has shown that they have kept all the old armor slots:


 * Helm
 * Body Armor
 * Gloves
 * Boots
 * Belts
 * Pauldrons
 * Amulet
 * 2 Rings
 * 2 Weapons (mainhand, offhand)

It also shows that they have added a slot for bracers and for pants. It has also been stated that all of the parts will have an impact on the visuals of the character, meaning that not only armor, helmets and weapons will make up your character's appearance, an improvement from Diablo II.

Gems
Gems make a reappearance, and it appears that there is another type of categories of gems than their power levels (chipped, flawed, etc.): prefixes such as square and star have been spotted. What they signify in item value and function is currently unknown. Gems have 14 quality levels, but only the first 8 can be obtained as drops from monsters, the rest must be crafted by the Jeweler Artisan.

Miscellaneous Items
The Scroll of Identify has been replaced by the player simply right clicking an unidentified item.
 * Minor Health Potion
 * Small Bag
 * Scroll of Superior Protection
 * Dyes

The Scroll of Town Portal has also been replaced by a button on the player's toolbar, which transports you directly to town. In addition, there have been items that binds to player on pickup and can't be sold: These are some of the items required to open the new "secret cow level," a secret unicorn level. These items and various others are randomly generated and may require a number of replays till they are found. They are encountered from Act I through to Act IV.
 * Black mushroom- Found in Crypts in Act I
 * Leoric's Shinbone- Found in Leoric's Manor in the fireplace in Act I

Cinematics
To view all the cinematic and gameplay videos, see Diablo III videos.

Expansions
It has been confirmed that Diablo III will have a number of expansion packs. Angels will not be playable classes due to them not being nephalem.

The first expansion is Reaper of Souls. It centers around the return of Malthael who has become the Angel of Death.