Well, I guess most of us were right...
Diablo 3 Official WebsiteDiablo III will pick up the story twenty years after the events of Diablo II. Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal have been defeated, but the Worldstone, which once shielded the inhabitants of the world of Sanctuary from the forces of both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, has been destroyed, and evil once again stirs in Tristram. Playing as a hero from one of five distinct character classes, players will acquire powerful items, spells, and abilities as they explore new and familiar areas of Sanctuary and battle hordes of demons to safeguard the world from the horrors that have arisen. The first two characters classes -- the barbarian and the witch doctor -- were shown as part of the announcement at the event today in Paris.
Diablo III will feature a custom 3D-graphics engine to render lush indoor and outdoor areas of Sanctuary with a high level of detail and vivid special effects. The game's physics-enhanced environments will be interactive and destructible, offering traps and obstacles that create added danger for players and monsters alike. These elements, along with a new quest system and random scripted events, will be integrated into the game's random-level generator, giving Diablo III the ultimate combination of dynamic gameplay and replayability. Cooperative and competitive play will be available online through an upgraded version of Blizzard Entertainment's renowned online gaming service, Battle.net®. So yeah, pretty exciting times, once again
There's so much stuff to tell and show, where to start? Oh yeah!
Movies!Official trailer: Watch/Get it on the
official page (via Blizzard’s downloader) or
hereArtwork movie: Watch/Get it on the
official page (via Blizzard’s downloader) or
hereGameplay movie: Watch/Get it on the
official page (via Blizzard’s downloader). It's a whooping 800Mo and we can't really host something that big (my downloader is not working for some reason, but I can watch the movie on the website)
Gamespot interview with Rob PardoScreenshots!There's a lot of em. I'm not gonna post them here as it would clutter the frontpage, but see
this post.
Artwork!Same deal. See
this post.
Wallpapers!Go to the
official page to select which one you'd like and in the desired resolution
Now how about some known info:
- Will use a new Hotbar system similar to WoW for spells (can use Tab or the mouse wheel to switch between bars)
- You can enchant your stuff (in the gameplay video, we see freezing and shocking axes)
- Now enemies sometimes drop red globes that replenish some of your health (so you don't have to rely as much on potions as you used to in D2)
- You can now interact with the environment, like making a wall crumble on your foes!
- Traps can now summon a buttload of monsters
- There will be a lot more quests and a lot more events happening while you play (like semi-cut scenes when talking with NPCs or cultists summoning a boss)
- Male and female version of each class (or so it seems)
- Potions are still in the game, just not as core an element
- In cooperative play, when one player picks up a health globe, all players benefit from its restorative effects.
- Some monsters will miss players and get their weapons stuck in the ground.
- Better quests, more in-depth interractions with the NPCs. The story won't be forced in front of your face, but will be there for those interested.
- Random scripted events will occur at random moments
- No grid inventory system like in D2.
- Hardcore mode may or may not be included in the game.
- You'll probably be able to respec your character skills. (no confirmation)
- The game will not require DX10 to run. (Although I'd like a DX10 as well as a DX9 one)
- Two classes released for now: the Barbarian and the Witch Doctor
Barbarian:
- A lot similar to the D2 version in term of gameplay/abilities (or so it seems) but he's older now (at least the male version)
Witch Doctor:
- Tribal magic: Fire, Diseases, Can summon minions and take control/confuse enemies
- Locus Swarm: when they killed your target they go for the next one
- Summon Mongrels: You can cast your spells on them to make them more powerful (for example, if you cast Locus Swarm on one, it will do additional Disease damage), you can also sacrifice them for AoE(Area of Effect) damage
- Has an AoE fear spell
- Mass Confuse spell that can turn monsters against each others
- Wall of Zombies: basically it's a wall that can attack foes that get too close
More cool stuff:
Lore nuts, here is
Cain's Journal (with narration by Cain himself)
The official
FAQThe World of Sanctuary: where you can get all the released official information (classes, dungeons, areas, monsters, etc.)
*This will be updated as more info is revealed at the WWI, so stay tuned for more details!
BTW, new Diablo 3 forums will be created soon, when Digi will be back to make them.
