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Posted by: Caleb Welty at Aug. 31, 2010 7:32 am

It is the answer to dreams, the product of nostalgia, and the remembrance of the 90s. It spawns late nights in dorm rooms, windfalls in Mountain Dew sales and the gross over-exercising of pointer fingers. There is no other game which can claim to be the best at combining the following elements: easy to learn, addicting to play and incredible online.

Diablo is the defining series in the action role-playing genre; where role-playing is low and action is high. It almost seems blasphemous to the great role-playing games of our time to even partially include them in the genre, and yet role-playing elements (classes, leveling, loot, etc) are there, so we must. Sometimes Diablo is described as a ‘hack and slash’ title because of gameplay that relies on the player defeating as many enemies as quickly as possible. This should not be seen as a detraction. It is this gameplay along with the randomization of levels, enemies and loot, along with the ease of controlling your character that make the Diablo games some of the most addicting of our time. Yet it really is just a glorified point-and-click game, an incredibly entertaining one of course, but still a gameplay experience that is showing its age.

Announced on June 28, 2008 at Blizzcon, Diablo 3 was the answer to the demands of gamers since 2000. The announcement wasn’t a complete surprise; rumors had been ongoing for years (though many said the series would make the MMORPG jump). We also weren’t shocked when we heard that the game had been in some form of development since 2001.

After the announcement, Blizzard quickly gave a handful of interviews that clued us in to where the team was taking the series. The storyline would no longer be an afterthought but would really impact the game. Role-playing would also be emphasized though multiple quests, scenarios, and a character that you invest far more time and effort in molding. Finally, a brand new visual design that introduces additional colors, and de-emphasizes the character's light radius from the previous two games. It was this last change that raised holy fanboy hell. Legions of gamers, in fits of righteous indignation, signed an online petition demanding that Blizzard rethink their artistic direction.

But before we delve into the details, let’s look at the history of a series so beloved it would generate this type of response.

History

The PC role-playing industry was experiencing a sales lull. Consumer demand was in the midst of a seismic shift towards action-oriented games. Turn-based, puzzle and adventure games had lost their appeal, and since RPGs relied on all three genres, it appeared that the end was near. But the issue was also compounded by a glut of sub-par products. The high profit days of the 80s had become too tempting, and by the early 90s, store shelves were flooded with RPGs that were little more than rehashed Ultimas. Even the gems of that time were beset with problems. Elderscrolls 2: Daggerfall experienced so many technical difficulties that gamers were returning their copies out of frustration. Betrayal at Krondor was released on 3.5 floppy disks and wouldn’t receive true recognition until it was released an entire year later on CD-ROM. Needless to say, the industry was in dire need of an RPG that catered to the current consumer needs and would be developed with quality in mind.

And so Diablo was released on January 2, 1997.

The game was an immediate success. It was buoyed by a swell of hype based not only on pre-release materials, but also on the success of Blizzard itself. The company had achieved incredible levels of fame for the WarCraft series. The sentiment was that if Blizzard could take the obscure RTS genre and produce a megahit with it, then the sky was the limit with an RPG. Indeed they did. Diablo would sell over 2.5 million copies, receive countless awards and earn high praise from the gaming community. Metacritic records a score of 94, the best in its genre for the entire decade.

Of course, the game still had its critics. It was repetitive, they said. It had no storyline. And worst of all, it was an RPG in name only. That last bit was a particularly low blow by the ‘hard-core’ role-playing crowd, but 2.5 million casual gamers didn’t care.

Diablo’s plot was simple but included a clever twist at the end. The main character enters a town that has been terrorized by a catacomb-dwelling host of demons lead by Diablo who has possessed a former prince. Through 16 levels, the player must fight these demons until finally they reach the end, kill the prince and trap Diablo in a soulstone. In one final act of bravery, the character pierces himself with the soulstone in order to banish Diablo forever. But what was meant for salvation merely enables the character to be possessed by Diablo himself, which was Diablo’s plan all along. And so begins the storyline for Diablo 2.

Diablo 2 was released on June 29, 2000. Like any good sequel it didn’t fix what wasn’t broken, and merely expanded on what was already there.

It took the three-character class of the original and expanded it to five. It took the 16 levels of Diablo and expanded it to four acts, with many quasi-levels per act. It even included a secret cow level, as a gesture of good will and humor to fans. But most importantly, it took the subpar, cheat-riddled multiplayer experience of Diablo and replaced it with the secure and free Battle.net. So superior was the Diablo 2 multiplayer experience, one could make the case that the game was designed specifically with multiplayer in mind. And it was.

Diablo 2’s plot revolves around Diablo releasing two more demons, Mephisto and Baal, from their soulstones. The player must fight through the various acts, killing lesser demons and dealing with both Mephisto and Diablo. Gamers had to invest in the Diablo 2 expansion, Lord of Destruction, to slay Baal.

Needless to say that while the storyline was probably less creative than the original, the popularity of the sequel was no match for the original. Diablo 2 would sell over 4 million copies, win multiple “Game of the Year” awards, and set the stage for what would become an irresistible desire for Blizzard to return to the series. Because let's face it, you can’t sell 6.5 million copies of a series and walk away.

Preview

The truth is that unless you’ve lived under a rock, been stranded on a deserted island or never played a PC game in your life...you don’t need a background course on Diablo. So this is what you’ve been waiting for: a preview of everything you want to know about Diablo 3. We’d like to think that once you’ve read this, you won’t need to read anything else about the game. The next step will be getting a copy in your sweaty little paws.

So without further ado, let's get started.

The Storyline

This is what we know: Diablo 3 begins twenty years after the world of Sanctuary has been saved in Diablo 2. During this time, merchants selling their wares to fortune seekers have rebuilt the town of Tristram. Now known as ‘New Tristram’, the town has fallen back into ruin. The Cathedral has been thoroughly plundered and the fortune seekers look for adventure elsewhere. The game begins with a meteor crashing through the Cathedral and into the catacombs below. Little is known about the meteor; it could be one of the Archangels or even Diablo himself returned from the dead. Regardless, it has stirred the ancient evil that lives in the catacombs and the call has gone out for heroes to save Sanctuary once again.

While little has been released regarding the storyling, we know that Blizzard is attempting to make the plot as immersive as possible. Their ultimate goal is to create a multiplayer game with a single-player storyline.

The Content

For the sake of readability, we've taken the rest of the preview and broken it down into sub-sections:

Acts and their Locations
Act I

- New Tristram
A shantytown built on the ruins of Tristram, the only sound structure is the cathedral which promptly gets smacked by a meteor at the start of the game. A safe guess is that there is an accessible catacomb below the cathedral. We’ve already talked about New Tristram so we’ll move on.

Act II

- Caldeum
Once the most important trade city in Sanctuary, now Calduem is just a shadow of its proud past. The problems started when wealthy elitists fleeing the wars that destroyed their hometowns overran the city. These elitists infiltrated the politics of the city and pushed their own self-serving agendas.

- Borderlands
The wastelands that surround Caldeum are a desolate and dangerous place. No longer patrolled and monitored by Caldeum gaurds, the Borderlands are overrun by terrible monsters. Refugees from the Borderlands tell tales of a violent cult that is raising a demonic army.

Blizzard has announced that there will be two additional Acts, but have not yet released any details.



Caravan
The Caravan is a group of NPCs that will follow you as you travel throughout the world. At each new location they will set up camp and be available whenever you need them. The Caravan will be comprised of artisans, quest givers and others.

Classes
Diablo 3 has five classes. Each class has unique skills, attacks styles, attitudes, and cultural perspective. Much to everyone's excitement, you can now choose your character's gender independent of your class. Because each class is from a different civilization, they will each have unique interpretations of game events. Blizzard has stated that each class will have a unique back-story that will be slowly revealed throughout the game.

- Barbarian
Strong and tough, the Barbarian is the master of the melee attack. They are brutes and their attacks have a savage, primitive feel. Blizzard has confirmed that their skills are divided into three groups: Berserker, Juggernaught, and Battlemaster.

- Monk
Light and fast, the Monk should be considered the antithesis of the Barbarian. Divine warriors tasked with ridding the world of evil, they spend their entire lives devoted to extreme physical and spiritual training. They use a martial arts-inspired fighting style where skills are performed in three distinct stages. Stages from different skills can be combined to create unique attacks. A good example of this is a skill called the ‘Crippling Wave’, which consists of three attacks that each serves a unique purpose. The first slows down the victim, the second reduces the damage the victim can inflict, and the last increases the damage and the duration of the first two attacks.

Known skills are:
• Crippling Wave
• Impenetrable Defense
• Force Without Thought
• Exploding Palm
• Radiant Visage
• Seven-Sided Strike
• Inner Sanctuary
• Way of the Hundred Fists

- Wizard
Headstrong and rebellious, the wizard is a sorcerer/sorceress who has rejected the advice of their elders and studied magic that was forbidden because of its danger. With an insatiable thirst for knowledge, the wizard is no respecter of persons but has won the admiration of rebellious youth. This class is the standard magic user that all RPGs must have, but with a few twists. The Wizard is fast and smart, with a brooding mentality that fits perfectly with its willingness to rebel and meddle with darkness.

- Witch Doctor
Spiritual warriors who resemble the African Voodoo doctors, they attack both the mind and the body and have the ability to summon the undead without the need of bodies. Blizzard has confirmed three skills trees for the Witch Doctor: Zombie, Spirit and Voodoo.

- Demon Hunter [Updated]
The fifth and final class for Diablo 3 is the Demon Hunter. It will focus on both magic and ranged weapons such as grenades, throwing knifes, burning arrows, etc. At one time Blizzard considered having this class be an actual demon...and that influence is evident in the artwork. The ragged clothing and glowing red eyes hint at a mysterious character that is dabbling in the dark arts.

Crafting
The ability to create rare items is important in all RPGs. It provides a sense of control to balance out the randomness of drops and finds. Since crafting traditionally required dedication, time and repetitive clicking, Blizzard’s solution is their new feature, Artisans. Artisans are NPCs who you will encounter during the main quests. You will be required to earn their trust by saving them, completing a mission, etc. Once finished, they will follow you from Act to Act as part of your Caravan. There will be three types of Artisans: The Blacksmith, The Mystic and The Jeweler.

• The Blacksmith will craft, repair and sell armor and weapons. They also are able to insert gems into ‘gem sockets’, which will be found on weapons and armor.
• The Mystic will create spells, runes and charms. They will also enchant weapons and armor.
• The Jeweler will craft gems, amulets and rings. They will also combine gems and remove gems from items for other uses.

Artisans will gain experience as they craft. The more you use them, the faster they will level up, although the materials they need will become more difficult to find and the gold required will increase. Visual clues will be used to indicate the level of an artisan. Their camps will become more elaborate and Blizzard is considering having these visual upgrades be influenced by the type of crafting you prefer. For instance, if you have the Blacksmith constantly craft axes, his camp would have axe parts lying around. The level of the Artisan will also determine which recipes they are able to use.

Artisans will also provide you with information and gossip as you interact with them.

Dead
One welcome change is that corpses do not disappear from the screen during or after a battle. This greatly improves the atmosphere and immersion that the game and each individual battle provide. Once you move away from the scene of battle and you can no longer see the corpses, they will disappear.

Difficulty
Blizzard is putting a lot of effort to make sure that the difficulty of Diablo 3 is on par with its predecessor. The player should expect a natural scaling in difficulty as time progresses and there will be unlockable difficulty modes.

Environment
Another major change is interactive environments. Because Blizzard is using the Havok physics engine, they are allowing players to use the environment as a weapon. The Barbarian has a skill called Seismic Slam that causes the walls to collapse and kill nearby enemies. This isn’t restricted to the player, as enemies will also use the environment as part of their attacks.



Items
Items are the only way to customize your character, and are the major driving force behind re-playability. Some important changes to take note of: unique items are now called Legendary items, items now have ‘visual effects’ based on their type and if they are magical, and potions have been largely replaced with health globes. Blizzard has hinted that the sale of items will retain Diablo 2’s characteristics instead of those used in World of Warcraft. What exactly this means is unclear (and Blizzard has said they still aren’t sure how they will ultimately handle this), but it appears that you won’t be able to sell in-game items over eBay, etc.

- Armor
Screenshots have confirmed that all armor types from the previous two games will be grandfathered, plus two new types: pauldrons and pants. In addition, all armor selections will be displayed on your character during live play.

- Elixirs
While Blizzard hasn’t made any official statement on elixirs, they have been observed in demos. Elixirs of Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, Willpower and Regeneration have all been seen. All of them were Level 1 elixirs and it is probably safe to assume that higher levels will be available.

- Potions
Blizzard has removed potion dependence from the game. In Diablo 2, any foray into a dungeon would be preceded by an all out effort to collect as many potions as possible. That no longer applies in Diablo 3. Now enemies will drop health orbs that players will use instead of potions. Because of this, health becomes far more limited and there is no longer what amounts to infinite health. Blizzard claims that this enables developers to design enemies that are far more interesting because they are not just focused on brute strength. Now monsters will actually wear your character down over time and challenge you in “different ways”. Because of this, they have also put more thought into the skills system. Blizzard’s goal is to replace potions with skills. Instead of the player just using a potion they will try to be creative using their skills.

- Runes
So far the biggest change is that runes now affect skills instead of items. Observed runes are the Hydra Rune (increases quantity), Viper Rune (increases lethality), Force Rune (increases power), and the Energy Rune (reduces resource cost).

- Gems
Gems have been given additional categories and are now crafted with the Jeweler. Gem quality has 14 levels. Monsters drop the first five, and the rest require a Jeweler to craft.

Monsters
Blizzard has already confirmed many monsters, including many carryovers from the previous games. It is worth noting that the theme of increased awareness and interactivity has been carried over to the monsters, who will also interact with each other just like NPCs. Sometimes the monsters will even attack each other… here are the ones we consider the most interesting:

- The Unburied
Where mass graves exist, these creatures will arise. Made of various rotten body parts (legs, arms, heads, etc)...the unburied are large, brutish and difficult to bring down. They have spikes sticking out of their backs, which are shards of stone stuck to the body parts that comprise the monster. Blizzard’s screenshots show several unburied attacking at once.

- Gnarled Walker
Giant demonic trees, these guys are Ents on steroids. While they move slowly once within melee range they deliver quick powerful attacks that can quickly overwhelm a player. Consider them a replacement monster for the Thorned Hulks from Diablo 2.

- Mistress of Pain
Half spider,and half woman, this is one bizarre monster. Blizzard’s concept art shows her in a tattered Victorian dress with an elaborate head covering. She has an appropriately ugly face with mouth that looks like it could rip your throat out. Her legs are a mixture of spider and human, covered in some sort of leather and gold plated clothing. She has an arachnid abdomen that is protected by a spine-like rib cage. Lastly her abdomen is able to shoot silk that impedes player movement and launch explosive projectiles. She is a monster you don’t want to meet in a dark dungeon.

It’s interesting that this monster shares a name with the Mistress of Pain from Warcraft 3.

- Siegebreaker Assault Beast
Blizzard’s goal was to create a monster that dwarfed anything previously seen in the Diablo series. The result is a gigantic boss that relies on brute strength to destroy its enemies. Think “large and in charge” and you’ve got a good idea of what this monster is about.

The Siegebreaker Assault Beast video contained the first example of a monster ‘fatality’. In the video, the Siegebreaker bites off the Barbarian’s head as a final move, ala Mortal Kombat. We do not know if fatalities are unique to this boss or if all the bosses/monsters will have them.

Another unexplained piece of concept art released by Blizzard shows a Siegebreaker with some sort of creature riding it with reins. Nothing else is known about this, but we thought we should mention it.


- Thousand Pounder
Summoned from hell, this monster is created piece by piece in front you. As his name implies he is grotesquely overweight and he’s not happy about it or you. Initially his attack moves are slow but extremely powerful. Once he is near death he will, as Blizzard puts it, have a ‘temper tantrum’. From that point on his attacks will be faster, his tattoos will glow and he will have new attack animations and special effects.



Blizzard has stated that the Thousand Pounder will not be a major boss. Fans have speculated that he may be a randomized ‘mini-boss’. It is also possible, based on concept art, that there will be multiple Thousand Pounders.

NPCs
Because Blizzard is putting far more effort into the Diablo 3 storyline, NPCs are more interactive and have elaborate back-stories. They each have unique voices and dialogue, and players can choose different questions and responses during conversations with NPCs.

Two Notable NPCs:

- Deckard Cain
The only officially confirmed returning character from the previous games, Deckard will assist the player as they attempt to complete quests. It is Deckard Cain who observes the meteor crash. He had returned to the Cathedral to find clues on how to defeat the evil below it.

- Leah
She is Deckard Cain’s adopted daughter. Not much is known about her other than she will act on Deckard Cain’s behalf. Based on Blizzard’s comments and released video, we’re betting you’re going to see a lot of her.

Quests
One of the major changes in the game is the quest. Blizzard has completely revamped the system in order to provide a more story-driven experience and increase replayability. There are class specific quests, randomized quests, and main story-line quests.

Scrolls
Blizzard has confirmed that scrolls will also return in Diablo 3. Here is what we know:

- Scroll of Detection
No official word on what this does, but it can be seen in screenshots released by Blizzard. Maybe it detects hidden monsters?

- Scroll of Identity
It returns for Diablo 3...we assumed it identifies items, as usual.

- Scroll of Town Portal
They’re gone and they ain’t coming back, folks. Blizzard has confirmed that this scroll will not make it into Diablo 3, because they want to prevent rushing and beating nightmare mode. Now you’ll only get waypoints, and you’ll like it.

- Scroll of Superior Protection
Increases armor strength for a certain amount of time.

- Scroll of Wealth
A new scroll confirmed by Blizzard that allows the player to sell items without returning to town.

User Interface
While the user interface looks largely the same, the stamina bar has disappeared.

The End

Well that's it folks! We hope you enjoyed the article and found it useful. We'll update the content as necessary, so keep coming back. Feel free to leave comments with your thoughts...we appreciate it.

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