Diablo Wiki - User contributions [en]

Marius

2010-05-12T19:34:04Z

Newbie:

'''Marius''' was a drifter who witnessed the horrors of [[Tristam]], and ends up helping the [[Prime Evils]] to a great extent before being killed by [[Baal]].

==Background==
[[File:Marius.png|thumb|left|Old marius]]
After Marius witnessed the horrors of [[Tristam]] and followed the [[Dark Wanderer]], he then becomes the Wanderer's companion. Marius' sanity is questionable, as well as his courage. He is tricked into removing [[Baal]]'s [[soulstone]] and then is unable to go through the infernal gate to [[Hell]] to destroy the soulstone at the [[Hellforge]].

Some time later, Baal visits Marius, in human form in his cell in a mental asylum. Marius then narrates the events of [[Diablo II]] to Baal, who he mistakes for [[Tyrael]]. In the end, Marius confesses that he did not destroy the soulstone and gives it unwittingly to Baal to be destroyed at the Hellforge. Baal then reveals himself and kills Marius, destroying the asylum in the process.

==Canonity and Time==
Marius is depicted as a very old man by the time [[Baal]] comes to visit him, implying there has been many years between the end of [[Diablo II]] and the beginning of the expansion ([[Diablo II: Lord of Destruction]]). In the new [[timeline]] (and even just in the Diablo II story line) this does not fit in. Either just holding Baal's [[soulstone]] for a few weeks/months have aged him severely, or this is a timing error by [[Blizzard North]].

Regardless, the [[canon]] information is that it only took a brief while between the death of [[Diablo]] and the events in the unnamed mental asylum and meeting [[Baal]].

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[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:NPCs (Diablo II)]]

Yaerius

2010-04-29T18:35:56Z

Newbie:

[[Yaerius]] is an [[archangel]] but not a part of the [[Angiris Council]]. It is believed that [[Yaerius]] created the belief of the [[Zakarum]] church by appearing for the prophet [[Akarat]].

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[[Category:Characters]]

Assassin (Lore)

2010-04-29T18:30:36Z

Newbie: /* Name of the Order */

The '''Assassins''', also known as the '''Viz-Jaq'taar''' (and sometimes '''Khral-Harzhek'''), that joined in the war against [[Diablo]] in [[Diablo II]] are not going to be included as a playable [[class]] in [[Diablo III]]. They are also known as the '''Order of Mage Slayers'''.

The [[Order of Mage Slayers]] was formed after the [[Vizjerei]] survived the tragedy brought on by [[Bartuc]] and [[Horazon]]. Their purpose was to watch for rogue magi that may become corrupted by the forces of Evil. To be effective at this task they were trained in abilities that were not conducive to Demonic corruption. Living as rumour and myth to the general population, even other magi knew very little about this mysterious order. Their reputation was shrouded in mystery and the simple fear of their retribution almost ensured steadfast vigilance against corruption amongst those who knew they were real.

Assassins do not employ the magical arts directly; rather, they use enchanted items that mimic elemental powers and can be used autonomously. To further avoid potential corruption, they focus on the natural abilities of the mortal body - powers of the mind and unarmed combat.

==Special Interests==
The order has been watching over the powerful mage [[Ormus]] for quite some time, thinking his madness could possibly be a demonic corruption taking over. It's possible they keep tabs on many individuals in this manner.[http://www.diablowiki.net/Ormus_dialogue]

==Known Assassins==
* '''[[Natalya]]''' - Placed in [[Kurast Docks]] 20 years ago in the demonic invasion. Was forced to stay in the docks awaiting orders while the heroes saved the docks and killed [[Mephisto]]. Presumably met up with the heroes again in [[Harrogath]], or she might have defended some other [[Barbarian]] outpost, seeing as the Assassin hero is sent there.

==Name of the Order==
While Viz-Jaq'taar is the most commonly known name of the order, [[Deckard Cain]] has been known to refer to them as '''Khral-Harzhek'''[http://www.diablowiki.net/Deckard_Cain_dialogue] as well. If this is a competing order, the name of the order in another language, or how these relate, is unknown.

==Diablo II Info==
{{Interwiki|half= }}

==References==
* [[Diablo II: Lord of Destruction Manual]]
* [[Ormus dialogue]]s
* [[Natalya dialogue]]s
* [[Deckard Cain dialogue]]s

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[[Category:Assassin]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups]]
[[Category:Classes (Diablo II)]]
[[Category:Diablo II]]

Rathma

2010-04-29T18:17:54Z

Newbie:

'''Rathma''', or '''Linarian''', is one of the few surviving [[Nephalem]] in [[Sanctuary]] and is a master over death and spirits. He created the [[Priests of Rathma]], who are also known as [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Necromancer Necromancers]. Rathma is the son of [[Lilith]] and [[Inarius]]. He was born with the name '''Linarian''' but was given the name '''Rathma''' by Trag'Oul.

==Background==
Rathma is at odd ends with his mother because she destroyed the rebel [[angel]]s and [[demon]]s to use the [[Nephalem]]'s power for herself, and feels the angels are no better than the demons.

He became the disciple of [[Trag'Oul]] (mystical entity depicted as a dragon made of stars living in a void dimension) and their goal is to keep a balance between the [[Burning Hells]] and the [[High Heavens]].

[[Mendeln]] was guided by Rathma in his initiation. Mendeln, along with his brother [[Uldyssian]], eventually met Rathma and Trang'Oul. Uldyssian and Rathma went to the [[Worldstone]] to change its essence in order to free the Nephalem's powers. It's the same plan Lilith originally had, but failed. Uldyssian completed the task and changed the way the Worldstone worked.

==Reference==
* [[Sin War Trilogy]]

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[[Category:Characters]]

Lucion

2010-04-29T18:11:00Z

Newbie:

'''Lucion''' is the son of [[Mephisto]] and brother to [[Lilith]].

==Background==
During the events of the [[Diablo: The Sin War|The Sin War trilogy]] by [[Richard A. Knaak]] (specifically [[Diablo: Birthright]]), Lucion took the guise of [[Primus]] and ruled a religion called the [[Triune]]. As the [[Triune]] leader, he fought a secretive and subtle war against the [[Cathedral of Light]], as the two tried to eventually dominate the human race.

Some time after the creation of [[Sanctuary]] by the renegade [[angel]], [[Inarius]], the world was discovered by the [[Burning Hells]]. Realising that a full scale invasion would inevitably draw attention of the [[High Heavens]] (which would very likely result in a heavy struggle that would devastate Sanctuary, rendering it useless to either side), the [[Prime Evil]]s opted for a more subtle approach. They devised a cult that would at first seem to be a harmless and peaceful, but gradually luring its followers deeper into the darkness. The cult, it would turn out, was a dark, unholy sect devoted to the three Prime Evils, at the head of which stood the Primus, the ''pontifex maximus''.

However, the Primus was nothing but a façade, a disguise used by the demon Lucion.

The Triune soon grew to become one of the dominating cults of Sanctuary, being second only to the Cathedral of Light, the counter-sect led by [[Inarius]] in his guise of the [[Veiled Prophet]]. The two sects continued to vie for control over the human race but without any open warfare, as it would draw unwanted attention. Instead, Lucion and Inarius plotted against each other through subtle scheming, always anticipating their opponent's moves.

Their subtle plans were disturbed by the sudden reappearance of Lucion's sister, and Inarius' former lover, [[Lilith]], a renegade demoness who had her own goals and plans. In the guise of the fugitive noblewoman [[Lylia]], she sought to awaken the special powers of the humans (who were in fact the offspring of [[Nemphalem]], children of renegade [[angel]]s and [[demon]]s), harbouring them for her own goals.

Her unwitting champion was to be [[Uldyssian]], a simple farmer from the lands near [[Seram]]. Noticing Uldyssian due to his immense powers (after it was used to the detriment of several travelling missionaries) and quickly seeing his potential, Lucion dispatched his trusted lieutenant, the high-priest [[Malic]] to capture the farmer and his companions. However, unaware of Lilith's presence, the raiding party was overwhelmed and utterly destroyed, sending Malic back fleeing to Lucion. Realising his sister could have returned, Lucion 'blessed' his failing lieutenant with a demon limb, allowing him to remove [[Lilith]]'s guise.

After a second and much more powerful raiding party consisting of many undead [[Morlu]] attacked Uldyssian and his followers near the town of [[Partha]], but failed again (this time leaving Malic dead by the hands of Lilith), Uldyssian decided to leave the town, after seeing the onslaught. Lilith followed him, still in the guise of Lylia, but soon after their reunion Lucion's spell took effect, revealing Lilith's true form to a horrified Uldyssian. Lilith easily defeated the farmer, leaving him severely wounded. Still, Uldyssian recovered and reunited with his companions, setting out for the jungles of [[Toraja]].

It was here that Lucion personally intervened. Disguised as a white stallion, the demon tried to lure Uldyssian with him but the latter was timely warned by his brother, [[Mendeln]]. Once again taking the form of the Primus, Lucion sought one more time to persuade the farmer to join him. After both attempts failed and Uldyssian and his gathering followers started attacking the demon, Lucion changed tactics. With relative ease the demon incinerated many of Uldyssian's followers and caused the latter's close friend [[Achillios]] to die by one of his own enchanted arrows. After seeing his comrades and followers die, Uldyssian's true powers awoke as he burst out in rage. Being unable to maintain his position, Lucion finally revealed his true form: a horrid, reptilian demon with hoofed legs and three tails, covered in thick scales. But even as a mighty demon, Lucion turned out to be overpowered by the sheer force of Uldyssian's abilities. As a last desperate act the demon even offered his obedience and subservience to the farmer, but all for naught. Instead of killing the demon, Uldyssian simply imagined the demon to be ''nothing'', and so the great Lucion faded away and disappeared.

It is unknown what exactly became of Lucion. Though the books are clear on the fact that he was not 'killed' but simply 'was no more', it is never explained what that meant. It could very well be that Lucion was simply banished back into the [[Burning Hells]] where he would have to answer to his father [[Mephisto]] or maybe Uldyssian's awesome display of force even banished Lucion to a plane beyond the reach of both [[High Heavens|Heaven]] and Hell.

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[[Category:Demons]]
[[Category:Characters]]

Help:Contents

2010-04-16T19:48:53Z

Newbie:

This is the '''contents''' page of the [[:Category:Help|Help Section]] of {{WikiTitle}}.

== Introduction ==
This is the {{WikiTitle}}, which is a community depository for ''Diablo III'' information of every kind. You are more than welcome, and even encouraged to help us all by expanding sections, adding missing numbers, or fixing the spelling mistakes of other editors. As the name might tell you, {{WikiTitle}} is a ''wiki'', an open source document that anyone can edit or add to. "All of us are smarter than any of us," goes the theory. Wikis are designed to be easy to edit; they are primarily text-based, and you do not need to know HTML, PHP, CSS or any other programming language to edit wiki pages.

==How to Help==
{{WikiTitle}} is a comprehensive information resource for the Diablo community. The site is supported by the Unofficial Diablo II site on [http://www.diii.net Diii.Net]. We encourage you and all other members of the community to share their knowledge with others to build the {{WikiTitle}} into the best resource for Diablo there is.

In order to help, you just need to press "Edit" on the article or section that you feel you can contribute on, or perhaps create a [[Help:New article|new article]]. In most cases, it is just a matter of adding text, or changing a letter or number, so no more skill is required. If you want to add pages, or make more substantial additions to the wiki, it is good to have a basic understanding on the very simplistic [[Help:Markup|edit markup]] used in wikis.

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* And if you come across any [[Special:BrokenRedirects|broken redirects]] you could be kind enough to fix or tag for deletion.

If you're less of an expert, or aren't comfortable writing original material, you can help improve existing pages. Almost every page on this wiki could be improved by adding links to other related pages, illustrating the information by inserting thumbnails or links to full screenshots, and improving the navigation (by adding links or categorization) to help people find the pages they seek.

If you have experience with wikis you can help fix up errors or formatting problems, or work with people who know ''Diablo III'' or are good at editing pages, but aren't wiki experts. This is very important, to increase the number of Diablo fans that help out with this communal project.

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As for the actual editing and Wiki skills, we have made a large help section available on {{WikiTitle}}.

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=== External Help ===
Wikipedia, and associated pages have a lot of additional help pages, if you want to go in deeper into the wiki editing business. Some of it might not be 100% compatible with this wiki, but next to everything will be.
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cheatsheet Cheatsheet] on editing.
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Diablo III release date

2010-04-13T18:36:12Z

Newbie: grammar

As with all Blizzard titles, the release date is, "When it's done." They do not make estimates in advance or give hints, at least not publicly. Any listed dates, such as the ones found on software sales sites, are not official and are gross estimates, or are simply manufactured in order to boost pre-orders.

==Not 2010==
In Activision Blizzard financial reports, two games are reported as being released this year: [[Starcraft II]] and [[World of Warcraft: Cataclysm]]. [[Diablo III]] is not even planned in an optimistic viewpoint (it could still have be planned for and delayed) for this year.

==Starcraft II First==
[[Image:Diablo_III_Logo.jpg|right|400px]]
[[Blizzard Entertainment|Blizzard]] has repeatedly confirmed that [[StarCraft II]] will be released before [[Diablo III]], but that D3 will be out before the first ''expansion'' of StarCraft. Since Blizzard announced they want to create one expansion a year (roughly) after release, we can expect D3 within/around a year from SC2 release.

Unfortunately we don't know how much earlier StarCraft II will hit the stores, but we have an inkling to how close to completion that game is. The game has so far gone through most of it's major changes, with all units planned for the game available and decently balanced. Minor tweaking is still in progress, but no massive changes have been done in the last few months.

As Blizzard had decided to split the SC2 single player campaigns into three different games, this naturally speeded along since nearly the entire team can dedicate themselves to working on the main game, with just the Terran single-player missions and [[Battle.net|Battle.net 2.0]]. Right now, there's no major delay, although Battle.net was the one major issue to keep the game from entering beta back in April 2009.

Blizzard has slated StarCraft II to be released in the first half of 2010, and beta started on 17th February 2010. A long beta test is expected for StarCraft, as the complicated multiplayer aspects of the game will need to be extensively play tested and balanced, but not longer than late June 2010. Blizzard has also said, and confirmed on several occasions, that the game will be released in the first half of 2010.

If StarCraft II is released in spring 2010, Blizzard's original estimates were somewhat accurate, and the game is confirmed to not be released in 2010, <b style="color:white;">then we can expect Diablo III somewhere between early 2011 and December 2011</b>.

This assumes that the statement made back in 2008 about Diablo III being released before StarCraft II's expansions still hold true. Seeing as the two development teams are both Blizzard, one could argue the "delay level" of them would be equal, and from a release point of view, it makes more sense to release their new game before an expansion anyway. Whether or not Blizzard is still aiming for "one expansion per year" for StarCraft II is unknown.

==Diablo III==
[[File:Fanmade_Diablo_3_game_box.jpg|right|thumb|350px|The Diablo 3 game box as interpreted by [http://s93.photobucket.com/home/sirashington sirashington].]]
As for Diablo III, the demo was very playable and seemed well-polished when the public was first given a hands-on opportunity at [[BlizzCon 2008]], and even more so at [[BlizzCon 2009]]. The [[D3 Team]] has repeatedly cautioned overeager speculators though; they say they have a great deal of work yet to do on it, and while what's been shown looks great, they're showing only a tiny fraction of the total game. Production was said to be well into Act 2 as of fall 2008, but with an estimated 4 acts to complete, they are nowhere near finished.

==Estimated Progress?==
Estimates of a percentage completed are discouraged by Blizzard development teams, since there's no way to quantify the process in that fashion. They spent years working on the foundation of Diablo III: programming the game engine, trying out numerous different styles of art design, coming up with a plot and character concepts, etc. The hardware and foundational work takes as long or longer than adding in the content, which makes it impossible to estimate the overall percentage completed.

We can wager a guess that [[Act I]] is relatively close to "completion", and [[Act II]] as well. At this time, Blizzard has said this is the order of the acts, but anything can change before release. The order of the acts might very well be something completely different.

No hints have been made about Act III.

==Diablo III Demo==
Blizzard has not said anything specifically about the upcoming demo of Diablo III, but when talking about StarCraft II, they said they had plans for a demo, and that they "use to do that after release". Most likely, we can expect a trial version of Diablo III ''after release''.

==Guess the Release Date==
If you're the betting type, there's a well-advanced release date prediction pool [http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=700147 you can join in here].

==Rumours==
There has been rumours on an off about a release date, and we're listing them as they appear here:

===The Dol Rune Conspiracy - 09/09/09===
Circulating on forums first in mid-September 2008, and the idea is that the {{iw|Dol Dol rune}} holds the truth of the Diablo II release date. Through lots of mathematical formulas and Hex code, the date is supposed to be 2009-09-09.

Besides being logically flawed all the way, it's obviously just a rouse. However, it has continuously been spread on fansites and video game sites up until today (mid January 2009).

* '''[http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?p=6802602 ~ Within Lies The True Secret Of Diablo ~]'''
* '''[[Dol Rune Conspiracy]]''' - DiabloWiki entry.

===Battle.net Trolling - Spring 2010===
Shortly after [[BlizzCon 2009]], rumours began spreading on Battle.net that Diablo III would be released around spring 2010. There was no evidence to support this, but the topic kept popping up for a period of time.

==Related Information==
You can read more about the [[system requirements]], [[Beta Test|beta testing]], price/payment methods and age [[rating]] on the '''[[Diablo 3 Basics]]''' page.

[[Category:Basics]]
[[Category:Diablo III]]

Khazra

2010-04-08T19:29:32Z

Newbie: grammar stuff

'''Goatmen''' are simple demonic creations that attack in great numbers. The name "goatman" is a colloquial name, and their original name is '''Khazra'''. The demonic specification of Goatmen is that they are [[Animals]].

==Diablo III Goatmen==
{{Monsterbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Mon-goatman1.jpg
|portrait-width= 155px
|name= Goatman
|classif= Animals
|family= Goatman
|role= Cannonfodder
|life= Unknown
|mana= N/A
|armor= Unknown
|resist= Unknown
|armament= Axe
|dps= Unknown
|dmg_low= Unknown
|dmg_high= Unknown
|range= [[Melee]]
|speed= Fast
|movement= Fast
|modifier= N/A
|spells= N/A
|found= [[Leoric Highlands]]
}}The only type of goatman yet named in [[Diablo III]] are '''Moon Clan Warriors''', but it's certain there will be {{iw|Goatman various clans of Goatmen}}, as there were in [[Diablo I]] and [[Diablo II]].

[[Image:Mon-goatman-camp.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Goatman camp.]]The goatmen foot soldiers seen thus far are much as they were in ''Diablo II''. They mill around in medium-sized packs, wielding huge two-handed polearms, and attack quickly, but not very effectively. The D3 goatmen have quick footspeed and a fast swing, but they pause for a long time between attacks. Their death sounds seem to be improved over how they were in D2, though they're not quite as delightfully bleaty and goaty as they were in D1, when their enticing noises put them amongst everyone's favorite monsters to kill.

[[Goatmen Shaman]] are a new type of goatman in D3, though it's not yet known what types of buffs or resurrection spells they might possess.

Goatmen are now found in camps, and in the [[WWI 2008]] [[Gameplay_WWI2008| gameplay movie]] a vast mob of them comes running out from behind a tent like the one pictured to the left.

===Known Goatman Types===
* Warrior (generic goatman)
* Archer (unconfirmed in D3)
* [[Goatman Shaman]]
* [[Goatman Spearthrower]]

===Known Khazra Clans===
* Moon Clan
* Night Clan (unconfirmed in D3)
* Blood Clan (unconfirmed in D3)
* Death Clan (unconfirmed in D3)
* Hell Clan (unconfirmed in D3)

==Background==
The Goatmen are a race that used to be five clans of the [[umbaru]] race from the [[Torajan]] jungles of [[Teganze]], but were separated, and later used by the [[Vizjerei]] [[mage clan]] in the [[Mage Clan Wars]] as deformed "goatmen". They engaged the Vizjerei in war for many centuries, and became completely obsessed with taking revenge on the [[sorcerer]]s, to the point of the rest of the non-transformed clans captured a Vizjerei mage, took control of their "lost" clans that were transformed to goatmen, and transformed themselves as well to better fight the mages.

They paid the price of servitude to the demon [[Zagraal]] in exchange for their feral power, raiding villages and caravans to sate their bloodlust and procure sacrificial victims for their demonic master. The names of the original five clans was forgotten at this point, and they were now given the name '''Khazra''', which roughly translates as "demon" or "devil" in the umbaru tongue.

The umbaru [[Witch Doctor]]s of lower Teganze started to rid the jungles of the Khazra, and in a truly legendary battle they defeated Zagraal. Without demonic powers, the goatmen became weak, and besides the power surge that came with [[Diablo]]'s emergence in [[Tristram]] some 20 years ago, they have been the sluggish and muddled beings we know today.

[[Vischar Orous]], Chief Librarian and Zharesh Covenant of the [[Brotherhood of the Vizjerei]] classified goatmen as ''Aries Vehemens''[http://www.diablowiki.net/Diablo_I_Manual#Goat_Men_.28Aries_Vehemens.29], lieutenants of [[Baal]] bred for strength, endurance, and cunning. Apparently spending a lot of time in Hell, exercising in mock wars to please their masters. According to Vischar, the different clans of goatmen were blessed with gifts from [[Baal]]. If this was the belief of Vischar, or if the Vizjerei just needed to cover up the horrible truth is unknown. [It's also possible that this is just a [[retcon]] from Blizzard].

Some of the history of Goatmen ('''Khazra''') is detailed in the [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir]]. They are especially named in [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0009|entry no 9]].

==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=goatman GoatmAn-specific gallery contents]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=goatmen GoatmEn-specific gallery contents]

[[Image:Mon-goatman-concept.jpg|frame|center]]

==References==
* [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0009]]
* [[Diablo I Manual]]

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[[category:monsters]]

Respec

2010-03-24T17:47:48Z

Newbie: /* Diablo I Respecs */

'''Respec''' is slang for '''respecialisation''' and refers to a game feature that allows players to partially or completely reallocate the points they have spent in various [[skill]]s, 'talents', 'attributes', 'feats' or other character values. Respeccing in Diablo 3 will allow players to reallocate most or all of their skill points, thus allowing high level characters to change their play style.

This was not a feature offered in Diablo 1 or 2, where characters could never change their stat or skill points once they were placed. (Respecs were added to Diablo 2 in the v1.13 patch.)

Respecs are a player-friendly feature found in most RPGs, notably Blizzards MMORPG, [[World of WarCraft]].

__TOC__
==Diablo III Respecs==
In [[Diablo II]], prior to v1.13, characters could not alter any of their attribute or skill points after they were initially placed. Not even a single point, just to fix a mis-click. (Respecs were added to D2X in v1.13.)

The Diablo 3 designers have committed to including some form of respecs in the game, though the precise mechanism remains to be determined. Game Director [[Jay Wilson]] has said [http://g4tv.com/games/pc/28197/diablo-iii/articles/68225/BlizzCon-2009-Diablo-III-Game-Director-Interview/] that respecs will be one of the main [[gold sink]]s in Diablo 3, but no other details are yet finalized.

Jay again confirmed respecs in an October 2009 interview, but declined to give any more details. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-exclusive-full-transcript/]

::'''''Diii.net: '''Respecs. Cost, gold mechanism, any specifics?
::'''Jay Wilson: '''We will have respecs. We haven’t determined the mechanism yet, but we’re definitely trying to do something different than a wholesale pay a token price and get all your skills back. We want to have a higher price than that.

==Diablo II Respecs==
From {{iw|Patch_1.13 Patch 1.13}}, [[Diablo II]] players can now respec:
* '''{{iw|Respecialization Diablo 2 Respecialization}}

==Diablo I Respecs==
There are no methods for [[Diablo I]] players to respec, and there are no plans to implement it.

[[Category:Skills]]
[[Category:Reference]]

Respec

2010-03-24T17:47:07Z

Newbie: /* Diablo I Respecs */

'''Respec''' is slang for '''respecialisation''' and refers to a game feature that allows players to partially or completely reallocate the points they have spent in various [[skill]]s, 'talents', 'attributes', 'feats' or other character values. Respeccing in Diablo 3 will allow players to reallocate most or all of their skill points, thus allowing high level characters to change their play style.

This was not a feature offered in Diablo 1 or 2, where characters could never change their stat or skill points once they were placed. (Respecs were added to Diablo 2 in the v1.13 patch.)

Respecs are a player-friendly feature found in most RPGs, notably Blizzards MMORPG, [[World of WarCraft]].

__TOC__
==Diablo III Respecs==
In [[Diablo II]], prior to v1.13, characters could not alter any of their attribute or skill points after they were initially placed. Not even a single point, just to fix a mis-click. (Respecs were added to D2X in v1.13.)

The Diablo 3 designers have committed to including some form of respecs in the game, though the precise mechanism remains to be determined. Game Director [[Jay Wilson]] has said [http://g4tv.com/games/pc/28197/diablo-iii/articles/68225/BlizzCon-2009-Diablo-III-Game-Director-Interview/] that respecs will be one of the main [[gold sink]]s in Diablo 3, but no other details are yet finalized.

Jay again confirmed respecs in an October 2009 interview, but declined to give any more details. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-exclusive-full-transcript/]

::'''''Diii.net: '''Respecs. Cost, gold mechanism, any specifics?
::'''Jay Wilson: '''We will have respecs. We haven’t determined the mechanism yet, but we’re definitely trying to do something different than a wholesale pay a token price and get all your skills back. We want to have a higher price than that.

==Diablo II Respecs==
From {{iw|Patch_1.13 Patch 1.13}}, [[Diablo II]] players can now respec:
* '''{{iw|Respecialization Diablo 2 Respecialization}}

==Diablo I Respecs==
There are no way for [[Diablo I]] players to respec, and there are no plans to implement it.

[[Category:Skills]]
[[Category:Reference]]

Cooldown

2010-03-24T17:40:13Z

Newbie: grammar stuff

'''Cooldown''' is the time it takes from casting a spell or drinking a potion until a new spell can be cast, or a new potion consumed.

__TOC__
==Cooldown versus Cast Time==
It's part of the game to prevent a player from doing too much at once just because he or she presses the mouse button. It's usually part of the design, so that powerful spells have a longer cooldown, and can't be used repeatedly.

Sometimes spells or abilities have a long cooldown because they have a short [[cast time]]. These two are often balanced against each other. The advantage of a long cooldown over a long cast time is that a player can still run around and use other spells while waiting for the powerful more spell's cooldown to run out.

A cooldown is not bound to only spells or abilities. In [[Diablo 3]], [[Potion|Healing Potion]]s will have a cooldown to prevent players from spamming heals like in its predecessor.

==Global Cooldown==
Some games also use a mechanic called a "global cooldown", which will affect all spells, skills and items. It's a measure making it easier to balance the game, limiting the number of things a player can do at once. All skills are not necessarily affected by global cooldown, or trigger a global cooldown.

==History==
Cooldowns were originally set primarily on CPU/GPU intensive graphic effects that could cause lag in multiplayer games when a player spams that spell.

[[Category:reference]]
[[category:skills]]

Horror

2010-02-25T20:19:27Z

Newbie:

Diablo III is being patterned after Diablo I, more than Diablo II. As such it's a horror-themed, gory, gruesome, frightening game. It's going to be creepy to play, at times, and the D3 Team hopes to make it a memorable, moody experience, with a pervasive sense of doom permeating the plot and dungeons.

How well they succeed at that remains to be seen, but early reports are promising, for fans who want a darker, more gruesome theme to the game than Diablo 2 managed.

=Gruesome Imagery=

[[File:Gore-montage.jpg|thumb|250px|Gruesome and gory images from Diablo 3 screenshots.]]
There is no shortage of bloody scenes and gruesome imagery in Diablo 3. One fan collected a bunch of representative images and worked them into a collage, just to prove it.

A major source of gruesome imagery in Diablo 3 comes from the [[critical hit]] graphics. When monsters die to a hit that trips for critical hit bonus impact, the result is usually spectacular, with the monster exploding in a style appropriate for the type of damage that did it in. Fire critical hits create flaming, melting chunks, physical damage detonates the corpse leaving ribs and blood everywhere, etc.

This can be seen in various screenshots, and it's quite impressive to witness when actually playing. Fans at Blizzcon 2009 reported occasionally knocking the skeleton out of a monster; the skeleton which would be sent sliding across the ground for dozens of meters, leaving along streak of blood the whole way. No, really.

There are quite a few screenshots and other images that have similar material in them. Enough that there's "gore" tag in the Image Gallery.
* Images [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/search.php?keywords=gore tagged for "gore" in the] Image Gallery.

==Use Gore Sparingly==

Blizzard has made no secret about the fact that they enjoy gruesome imagery and lots of blood and explosions in Diablo 3. Cartoonish gore and violence, but still violence. They think the trick to keeping it acceptable is in how they present the material.

Jay Wilson spoke on that in an interview from Blizzcon, August 2009. [http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/08/diablo-iii/]

::'''Wilson: '''Yes. We do get a couple of things that are questionable, but usually, it’s not so much gore-related … it’s that you can have gore that implies things that we as a Western society aren’t really comfortable with. Any kind of nudity, you can’t really have, especially when you couple it with violence. Those types of things don’t work well. You have to be really careful with things like torture. Those things are difficult. But to honest, in the development of the game, we tend not to think about it. We tend to build what we need to build and then wait for somebody to say, “That’s a step too far.” There are a few ways we edit ourselves, but usually not with gore, like sheer amounts of gore. It’s like, “You want to behead the guy? Go ahead, yes. You want to slice the guy apart? Go ahead.”

One example of one of the biggest ways we edited ourselves is … we have this cool system where we can hit a dude so hard that his skeleton flies out. It was awesome, really cool-looking. And we added several skills that did that; every time you hit somebody, their skeletons fly out. But I have to say, it got a little boring after a while! It became a little excessive. It took away the coolness of it. And so there, we felt like our overuse of it actually de-emphasized it, and we didn’t like that. We were like, “No, if we want to push the skeleton out of somebody, we want it to be a big deal.” I want to really like see it, and I want it to be a special event. And that’s probably the main way we’ve toned ourselves down, is to go back and say, let’s not go so overboard, that there’s nothing cool about the violence.

=Content Restrictions and Mature Rating=

One problem with making the game as gruesome and bloody as previous titles in the series is that the game is marketed and sold internationally. Many nations, especially in Europe, have strict ratings guidelines about how much violence, blood, and gruesome content can be shown in a game. This forces lots of action and horror games to censor themselves, in order to be released in those regions.

[[Jay Wilson]] spoke about this in an interview from Blizzcon, August 2009. [http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/08/diablo-iii/]

[[File:Gore-monk-punch.jpg|thumb|300px|Monk bursts a [[Lacuni]].]]
::'''''Wired.com:''' Are you thinking it’s possible to turn off the blood completely? Or simply change the blood color?
::'''Jay Wilson:''' Yeah, we’re going to have to be able to turn off blood, change the color and things like that, because you can’t have red blood in some regions, regions that we would very much like to sell the game in. So we definitely build everything, that every bit of gore, in a deposited manner so that at a future date, we can go through and change it all or turn it off. In terms of what kind options we give, we actually give within a particular version. We’ve haven’t nailed it down, but if you turn down the gore, you can actually change it to not have red blood. That seems to be really the sticking point for a lot of people because a lot of times we use blood as feedback. And so if we take that out, that actually hurts the gameplay. But we can change the note of that feedback so that it’s something that people are more okay with.

::'''''Wired.com: '''You’ll obviously have to edit content for regions like Germany and Australia, but what about China? Is that a more difficult case?
::'''Jay Wilson:''' Definitely for regions like Germany and Australia, we will have to change blood if we’re going to sell there. And that’s fine. Those are the standards for those regions, and we don’t really have a problem with catering to what they need and what they want. But China’s going to be hard for us. Because a lot of the restrictions there are really… we may not be able to do them. It may not be possible. With our relationship with NetEase, we recently got new information about what China really wants, and it’s a lengthy list. It’s really hard for us to cater to. We’ll try. There’s no reason we wouldn’t want to go there, but there is a certain point where we’d have to redo so much of the game that it’s not viable anymore.

=Fan Feedback=

The first and longest appraisal of how well Diablo 3 kept to the gruesome theme established in the earlier games in the series came from [[User:Flux|Flux]], a longtime fan of Diablo 1's horror vibe, who wrote extensively about the mood and gore in a report from [[Blizzcon]] 2008. [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/blizzcon-demo-discussion/]

::'''Blood, Guts, and an M-Rating'''

::One of my questions going into Blizzcon was about Diablo III’s tone and mood, and how much gruesome background art and blood would be present. Most players feel that Diablo I was much more of a horror game than Diablo II. Everyone who played the first title has a very clear memory of how scared they were when they first heard the Butcher give his “Ahh, Fresh Meat!” battle cry, and the dungeons, especially the Hell levels, were well-decorated by bloody, naked, dismembered bodies on stakes. Diablo II had plenty of blood and gore and horror elements too, (check out the tortured corpses and moats of blood in the Act 2 Sewers and Durance of Hate on your next {{iw|Mephisto Mephisto}} run, and there are some nice gory wall decorations in {{iw|Nihlathak Nihlathak’s}} dungeon as well), but it didn’t have the same sort of creepy, ominous, horror tone that D1 had.

[[Image:D2-gore.jpg|frame|Diablo II gore.]]
::The D3 team has often said that they were going to recreate the mood and theme of D1 more than D2, and that they wanted to make D3 more of a horror game. I was dubious of this claim going into Blizzcon, but was pleasantly surprised by how horror-filled D3 is. The tone was set with gore and corpses in the very first scene. New players started off in a [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2169&cat=546 tiny encampment] with just two NPCs. One of them was a talkative soldier, but the other was a silent [[Mr. Meat Wagon|meat wagon driver]] who spent his time endlessly shuffling between a wagon stacked high with bodies, from which he kept pulling corpses that he carried over and dumped onto a burning pyre. The animation was great, and the bodies were very well drawn as well. They looked like corpses, bloody and murdered ones.

::The mood continued as soon as a player moved out into the ruins of [[Tristram]]. The scenery was dark and oppressive, and no, the screenshots don’t at all do it justice. The floating, partially transparent mist looks so much better in the game than in the screenshots, where it just makes things look smudged and blurry. The black, gnarled trees, clusters of crows that flew away when the player got close enough to trigger them, dozens of ruined, blasted houses you could run through, bodies lying here and there, and small bunches of zombies to rout gave the area a great, creepy, doomed mood.

::Playing in the Blizzcon press room with crowds of journalists around, bright lights overhead, the only game sound through tinny headphones, and my attention mostly on gathering information, rather than enjoying myself, I didn’t feel any tension or atmosphere. I still enjoyed the visuals and theme, and found myself wishing I could play it at home, in a dark room with some candles burning, and the sound up high. It would be shivery. It will be shivery. I just hope Blizzard doesn’t have to tone down the gore and gruesome visuals too much, for the ratings boards.

[[Image:Gore-wagon1.jpg|thumb|250px|The D3 Meat Wagon]]
::There were a number of nice set pieces elsewhere in Tristram that added to the mood. A human hand is seen at one point, clawing at the earth, before being yanked down into a dark cellar from which come horrible screams and a fountain of blood. Ghosts wander the streets, sobbing quietly and pathetically. [[Zombie]]s are seen gnawing on corpses, and their moans and groans are very horror movie appropriate. The gruesome mood isn’t continued into the dungeon, but the design and graphics of the dungeon areas were very effective. They weren’t trying to be scary, but the monsters are so well animated and formed that they are threatening and very real. You want to destroy them, and even though the zombies you find early on are basically just walking experience pots, they’re loathsome and a little bit scary. I was again reminded of Diablo I, where even the weakest starting monsters were somewhat threatening, emotionally, if not from a survival standpoint.

::The death animations of the monsters are well done, and they’re very visceral and bloody. Normal deaths are quite messy, with body parts breaking off in gratuitous fashion and blood spilling, but the real fun comes from [[critical hit]] deaths. When monsters die from critical hit damage, (which happens quite often), they get an extra special death animation. They literally explode, in appropriate fashion for the type of damage that did them in. You’ll see frost on the shattered pieces, or lightning flickering along with an extra nova blast, or flames charring the chunks of meat, or gouts of blood from the corpse explosion like critical hits with physical damage. I was frequently impressed with how much blood spilled onto the floor during battles, and the ensanguinated stone and [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2171&size=big&cat=546 scattered arms, legs, heads, chunks of rib cage], and various internal organs left lying around after a big fight was just awesome. (In the game I mean. Not real life. Do not want FBI visit!)

::On the whole I was quite pleasantly surprised by the gruesome nature of D3. Much more than I’d expected, and more reminiscent of the mood of D1 than D2.

Screenshots seem to back up this appraisal, though we'll have to see more first hand descriptions of the game to know how well the D3 Team carries this approach through the entire game.

[[category:basics]]
[[category:story]]

Flyer

2010-02-16T17:04:43Z

Newbie:

Flyers are [[Animal]]-type enemies. They are large, bat-like creatures that infest many of the dungeons in Diablo 3, and are quite similar in form and function to the various {{iw|Winged_Fiend Winged Fiends}} and {{iw|Blood_Hawk Blood Hawks}} that were seen in the earlier games in the Diablo series.

Flyers have various enchantments, including the ability to spark and shock players during combat. Not much is yet known about the subtypes or varieties of this monster.

==In-game Sightings==

Flyers have only been seen, thus far, in the dungeons of Act One, below Tristram. They are commonly seen in screenshots from those areas, and are always flapping around in random directions, annoying characters with their hit and run AI that returns from earlier games in the series.

The [[Pit Flyer]] is seen in concept art, as part of the [[Pit Flyer Spawner]] monster, but those have not been seen in the game. The Flyers encountered in Act One do not spawn; they are just flapping around the dungeons loose and ready to fight, like any other monster.

[[File:Mon-flyer1.jpg|center|frame|Flyers, with a zombie.]]

==Images==

Flyers are seen in various screenshots in the act one dungeons near Trisram.
* See [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/search.php?keywords=flyer&cat=all&x=0&y=0 Flyer screenshots and artworks] in the Image Gallery.

<gallery>
File:Mon-flyer1.jpg|A pair of flyers with a zombie.
File:Mon-pit-flyer-concept3.jpg|Pit Flyer Spawner concept art.
</gallery>

{{Monster navbox}}

[[category:monsters]]
[[category:animals]]

Diablo 3 History

2010-02-16T16:52:40Z

Newbie:

[[Image:D3-title.jpg|thumb|300px|Diablo III title image.]]On June 28, 2008, [http://www.blizzard.com/us/press/080628.html Blizzard officially announced] ''Diablo III'', in Paris, at their World Wide Invitational exhibition. Prior to that announcement, ''Diablo III'' had existed only in rumors -- more than eight years of rumors that were so powerful the hypothetical game had taken on an almost mythical status. While this was the first official acknowledgment of the game, careful observers were in near-unanimous agreement that development of ''Diablo III'' had begun at [[Blizzard North]] in the early 2000s, and continued at Blizzard Irvine following the closing of Blizzard North in late 2005.

Evidence for this hinged not on any one point of overwhelming evidence, but was instead built from a great deal of circumstantial evidence and leaked tidbits. Those strands of evidence were compiled on this page, which was updated until shortly before the official announcement, but is now retired, its purpose fulfilled.

=Timeline=
A very brief chronological history of important dates in the development of the next ''Diablo ''title. All events in this timeline are elaborated on elsewhere on this page.
*'''June 28, 2000'''. ''Diablo II ''released.
*'''Late 2000'''. Preliminary work begins on ''Diablo III''.
*'''June 29, 2001'''. ''Diablo II Expansion ''released.
*'''May 28, 2003'''. The "Big Four" resign from Blizzard North. ([[Bill Roper]], plus Blizzard North company founders [[Max Schaefer]], [[Erich Schaefer]], and [[David Brevik]].)
*'''June 11, 2003'''. Rick Seis named new head of Blizzard North.
*'''September 22, 2003'''. [http://hellgate.incgamers.com/w/index.php/Flagship_Studios Flagship Studios founded] by Bill Roper, Max Schaefer, Erich Schaefer, and David Brevik. Joining them as co-founders are five other principles, [[Kenneth Williams]], [[David Glenn]], [[Peter Hu]], [[Phil Shenk]], and [[Tyler Thompson]]. All were working at Blizzard North before quitting to join Flagship.
*'''April 27, 2005'''. (Unconfirmed.) Recording session for ''Diablo III ''soundtrack held in Bratislava, Slovakia, with the Slovak Radio Philharmonic.
*'''August 1, 2005'''. Blizzard North closed, employees offered severance or a transfer to Blizzard's Irvine HQs. The one remaining ongoing project (universally presumed to be ''Diablo III'') put on hold pending a thorough review. (Almost all of the work done by Blizzard North is eventually tossed and development is essentially begun from scratch by a new team at Blizzard Irvine.)
*'''October 28, 2005'''. Massive rumors about ''Diablo III'' leak from [[Chris Hartgraves]], an ex-Blizzard employee.
*'''September 6, 2005'''. [[Rick Seis]], head of Blizzard North, evidently unhappy with plans for the continued development of ''Diablo III ''at Blizzard Irvine, leaves the company and joins numerous other ex-Blizzard North/Diablo team members at Castaway Entertainment.
*'''October 26, 2006'''. [[Richard A. Knaak]], author of several of the [[Diablo novel]]s, states that he is not writing books "for a dead game."
*'''July 13, 2007'''. [[Frank Pearce]], senior vice president of product development at Blizzard, comments on the unannounced project. "Team 3 is working on something really awesome. I can’t give you any hints, but it’s totally awesome."
*'''2004-2008'''. Numerous Blizzard job openings offer positions on, "the team that designed ''Diablo ''and ''Diablo II''."
* '''June 21-27, 2008'''. Blizzard [http://www.diii.net/articles/667288/wwi-splash-image-mystery-day-4 posts mysterious splash screen images] on their home page, one per day, building anticipation for some sort of announcement at the WWI event the coming weekend.
*'''June 28, 2008'''. Diablo III is [http://www.blizzard.com/press/080628.html officially announced] at the WWI in Paris, France.

=The Rumor Mill=
[[Image:D3-fakebox01.jpg|thumb|250px|Nicely done fake D3 box.]]
See the [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Diablo_3_Rumors Diablo 3 Rumors] page for a complete listing of every rumor and semi-informed speculation on the prospects and progress of ''Diablo III''. This page only covers the major rumors, with somewhat believable sourcing.

==Early Work Trashed==
It's known and confirmed through private channels (though not officially by Blizzard) that the version of Diablo III the Diablo II team had been working at Blizzard North was dumped and the game's development was essentially began anew, from scratch, in late 2003 after Blizzard North was shut down. Why the new Diablo III team didn't continue on with the initial version of the game is unknown; the new team might have wanted to do their own game, the original version might have been too similar to what WoW became, or too similar to what Diablo II was, or it might not have been very good. That's what Brian Crecente reported <sup>[[#References|2]]</sup> on Kotaku on August 8, 2005:
<blockquote>
I just got an interesting update about Diablo 3. Rumor has it that the current work on Diablo 3 was canceled and that the game is going to be completely reworked. My tipsters tell me that Blizzard North's work on the game was, to put it kindly, below expectations. While this is mildly disappointing, it's nice to know that Blizzard still so zealously guards their name.
<br><br>
This news does help paint a broader picture about the closing of Blizzard North. I'm not saying the two incidents are related, but they may be.
</blockquote>

==Diablo III Takes Place in Heaven==
The next big rumor about ''Diablo III'' turned up about a year later. As the tale goes, a Blizzard employee named Chris Hartgraves left the company in late 2005, and promptly spilled all he knew about ongoing projects at Blizzard. In an email posted on a World of Warcraft fansite forum<sup> [[#References|1]]</sup> on October 28, 2005, Chris was quoted saying the following about ''Diablo III'':
<blockquote>
It is about Diablo 3. Last week they had a thing called "Show N Tell" which they have every 6 months to all the full time employees - Anyways Diablo 3 takes place in heaven. Hell is trying to take it over and it is AWESOME looking ... Imagine the brightness of heaven being taken over by the darkness of hell ... Imagine WoW but in a Diablo world in amount of size and playability ... Also, guild housing is available in this game for those of you who know about it. They should have a gameplay demo to show at BlizzCon.
</blockquote>
There was no way to confirm this account of ''Diablo III'', since, contrary to Hartgraves' prediction, the game did not debut at the 2005 [[BlizzCon]], and still hadn't made an appearance, more than 2.5 years later. That fact doesn't do much to argue for Hartgraves' claims, and they would be forgotten by now if not for the fact that he also said ''Starcraft II'' was under production long before it was officially announced. He also made several predictions about ''World of Warcraft'' in the same email, and most of them turned out to be accurate.

Hartgraves' Diablo III comments were echoed, or backed up, by an unnecessarily-obscure post<sup>[[#References|3]]</sup> GamingSteve.com, on February 3, 2006.
<blockquote>
I don't want to get any of my friends at Blizzard in trouble, so from instead of mentioning "Diablo III" let's call this theoretical game "Beelzebub 3" and instead of "Blizzard" let's call them "Snowstorm".
<br><br>
"Snowstorm" is indeed working on "Beelzebub 3". Not only are they working on it, but they have been working on this game for no less than the past four years. In fact, "Snowstorm North" nearly completed the game several years ago, but what they developed just "wasn't fun" and been quietly reworked. This was actually one of the key reasons why Snowstorm North was closed and everyone was relocated to Irvine-based Snowstorm, so that the bigwigs in Irvine could better track and follow the development of Beelzebub 3.
<br><br>
...It is true that Beelzebub 3 will be done in true 3D and it did indeed look freaking awesome. It is also true that Beelzebub 3 features a story between the conflicts of Heaven and Hell and contains a very cool feature where every single item in the game can change between a "light" version and a "dark" version. However this was also one of the problems with the original version of the game. Other than the ability for any item to visually change from light to dark it didn't affect the actual stats of the item or change the gameplay in any way. So the game has gone through a total rework to inject some "fun" into the gameplay and to make it feel like the Beelzebubs of old.
<br><br>
The core gameplay Beelzebub 3 will play pretty much like Beelzebub 1 and 2, but the game world will be much larger and provide a much deeper experience -- many more items, more levels when you go through the game for first time, more skills, more of everything. In addition, the multiplayer aspect will be greatly enhanced from the past installments and don't be surprised to see more than a couple of WoW-based concepts to leak over into the Beelzebub 3 universe ... such as two opposing factions (Alliance and Horde = Heaven and Hell), enhanced guild functionality, and maybe even mounts?!
</blockquote>
Like the leak from Hartgraves, there's no confirmation of this yet, and it's been more than two years since it was posted. The plot concept, of the game being set in the Heavens, is logical. After all, players descended into the Hells in Act Four of Diablo II, the game world's mythology features numerous battles between the Angels and the Demons, and there's constant interference/assistance from the archangel Tyrael. Most of the other predictions are pretty common sense too; of course the game is fully in 3D, and of course there will be expanded online play, guild housing, faction warfare, and so forth. Those features are all but mandatory in an online RPG these days.

Will we be able to transfer our D2 characters over to D3 & if so on single & multiplayer or just one???

=Blizzard North Upheavals=
[[Image:D3-fakebox03.jpg|thumb|250px|Nicely done fake D3 case.]]Blizzard North was founded by the creators of the Diablo series, and they were allowed to remain at their own location in the Bay Area since they felt they could produce better in their home location, rather than down in Irvine with the rest of Blizzard. The studio wasn't a vanity company for the Diablo team, but they remained in the Bay Area and semi-autonomous on the strength of their work, seniority, and clout. When the company's founders left in 2003, that independence was on a death watch.

==The Big Four Depart==
The years of happy existence at Blizzard North came to a sudden end when "the big four," Blizzard North founders David Brevik, Max Schaefer, and Erich Schaefer, along with Bill Roper, departed in late June, 2003. The first word came in a somewhat [http://www.diabloii.net/pressdesk/030630.php June 30, 2003 shocked press release] from Blizzard that morning. A [http://www.diabloii.net/pressdesk/030630b.php more official announcement] came later that day, as the big four cleaned out their offices and a media circus kicked into high gear.
<blockquote>
"I speak for everyone in our company when I say how grateful we are to have had the opportunity to work closely with this group of individuals. Each one of them has made valuable contributions to many of our games, and we would like to thank them for all of their hard work over the years. We wish them nothing but the best and are confident that they will be successful in their future endeavors," stated Mike Morhaime, Blizzard Entertainment president and co-founder.
<br><br>
"At the same time, we want to convey that Blizzard's success has never been attributable to any one person or small group of individuals, and I am confident that we have the teams in place to continue creating some of the best games in the world."
<br><br>
Blizzard does not believe that these resignations will <u>cause any significant delays or have long-term negative effects on the "Diablo®" series or other projects in development</u>.
</blockquote>
The last line of that press release was patently ridiculous, since less than two weeks later [http://www.gamespot.com/news/6071481.html?tag=result;title;0 Blizzard announced] a new Blizzard North leader, and slipped in mention (underlined here for empahsis) that the second project they'd been working on was being shelved.
<blockquote>
Blizzard has announced that lead programmer Rick Seis will take the position of development team lead for Blizzard North. In his new role, Seis will lead Blizzard North's team of developers, <u>which will be streamlined into one core group to focus their efforts on one key project</u>. The details of the studio's next project will be announced at a future time.
</blockquote>
That project was never unshelved, and is now assumed to be a forever lost game. No details have ever been released, and the only people who know, Blizzard North employees and some [http://www.diabloii.net/features/v110-play-test.shtml NDA'ed visitors], haven't talked. As for the one project, it was almost certainly Diablo III, and development on it largely ground to a halt during late 2003, when almost the entire team quit, migrating to [[Flagship Studios]] or other game companies in the Bay Area. With progress stagnating, Blizzard North was eventually shuttered and the remaining employees given severance packages or absorbed into Blizzard Irvine in late 2005.

==Why The Big Four Quit==
[[Image:D3-fakebox04.jpg|thumb|250px|Tyrael on mock box art.]]The basic reason the Big Four gave for quitting has remained constant throughout the [http://hellgate.incgamers.com/w/index.php/Hellgate_Archive#Interviews:_Founding_Flagship.2C_Pre-HGL dozens of interviews] they gave in the months after the split. Here's what Bill Roper said about it in late 2003<sup>[[#References|7]]</sup>.
<blockquote>
Actually, we didn't plan on leaving Blizzard, but that's the way things ended up working out. Basically, we were looking for a higher level of involvement concerning the sale of the Vivendi Universal Games unit and felt we had to go as far as tendering our resignations to try and open a direct line of communication with the decision makers in France. It was difficult to plan for our futures, and the futures of our co-workers, and with no long-term compensation or employment contracts in place, we wanted to be able to interact directly with the people making the key decisions that could drastically affect our lives and workplace.
<br><br>
In the end, Vivendi chose not to make that opportunity available and accepted our resignations over the matter. But going forward, we look at this as a great new opportunity to start all over again doing something we love. Life threw us a curve but, to use a baseball analogy, we're aiming to drive it out of the park.
</blockquote>
Another major issue various of the Big Four have cited was that they wanted to get back to making games, rather than running a business. There were nearly 50 employees at Blizzard North in early 2003, and due to Blizzard's organization scheme and parent company, communication was difficult and the company heads had to spend far more time than they wanted to spend on management, company business, and other administrative tasks. Bill Roper elaborated on this to IGN<sup>[[#References|8]]</sup> on October 22, 2003, when talking about their plans with Flagship:
<blockquote>
We want to keep the company a lot smaller. When we left Blizzard North was up to two teams and was part of Blizzard overall. That was a lot of people to interact with and maintain ties with. We ended up getting in to much more management and much less making games. We want to get back to (as close as we can) spending all day every day making games, not figuring out how to keep 50 or 100 or 200 people all happy and working together. That's one of the bigger changes.
</blockquote>
There has always been a great deal of speculation about other possible reasons: did they want to make ''Diablo III ''an MMO but were shot down since ''World of Warcraft ''was going to be Blizzard's MMO? Did they want to make a new game world but weren't allowed to since Diablo was the franchise? Were they lacking in creative freedom as part of a large company that didn't let them make the final decisions on their own title?

Some or all of these might have been issues, but if so none have been hinted at by the Big Four, and they have been very consistent with the reasons they have given, so it doesn't seem like any controversy is required to explain things.

==Blizzard North Shut Down==
August 1, 2005. <sup>[[#References|5]]</sup> Gamespot:
<blockquote>The team behind the enormously popular Diablo franchise--most recently known as Blizzard North, the Bay Area outpost of Irvine, Calif-based Blizzard Entertainment--has been officially shuttered. Arguably, the office was moribund for months, those with ties to the Diablo franchise having departed months or even years ago to form studios of their own.

In a statement today, Blizzard president and founder Mike Morhaime said the relocation will "improve our efficiency as a company" and "represents an opportunity for all of our teams to have regular, direct input on each other's projects."

Those from Blizzard North who were offered relocation packages "will continue work on an unannounced project," which most believe is the third installment in the hugely popular Diablo series.
</blockquote>
Many employees took the offer to remain with Blizzard and relocate to Irvine. Others did not, and many more joined Flagship Studios, or looked for other work in the Bay Area.

=Blizzard Job Openings=
[[Image:D3-fakebox05.jpg|thumb|250px|Real D2 artwork, fake D3 box.]]Over the years there have been numerous job openings posted on Blizzard's Jobs Page that strongly hint at a connection to Diablo III. One was so obvious it made Gamespot's Rumor Control page<sup>[[#References|6]]</sup> on February 11, 2005.
<blockquote>
'''RUMOR:''' Blizzard is hiring developers for Diablo III.
<br>
'''Source:''' A job listing on Blizzard's Web site.
<br>
'''The official story:''' "We can't comment. Sorry!"--A nice-but-reticent Blizzard rep.
<br><br>
What we heard: While many people consider the hack-and-slash-happy World of Warcraft to be Diablo's spiritual successor, that hasn't stopped rumors about an outright sequel from circulating. That speculation spiked this week when Blizzard posted a job listing for "an experienced Game Designer to help lead the team that designed Diablo and Diablo II." Besides the requisite experience, Blizzard would like said designer to have "Experience working on RPG titles." Given that description, the Diablo III theory would seem like a logical conclusion, even though Blizzard won't even acknowledge the game's existence. But given the Diablo series' legendary status, development of a new installment would seem to be an inevitability, if not already an open secret.
<br><br>
'''Bogus or not bogus?:''' Probably not bogus.
</blockquote>
In the years since then, many more such openings have been posted, many of them giving every indication that they were for a game in the Diablo series.

==Top Secret, Non-MMO?==
This issue came to light in mid-2008. Blizzard lists the job openings on their [http://www.blizzard.com/us/jobopp/ Employment Opportunities page] with an icon for the game the job is connected to. Their only announced projects (as of April 2008) are ''Starcraft II ''and ''World of Warcraft''. They have icons for those two games, and another Top Secret icon for other project(s). The interesting part is that of the 25 or so Top Secret jobs, roughly half mention Diablo II, and the other half mention "Next Gen MMO. Yet '''none''' of those listings say both "Diablo II" and "Next Gen MMO."

For example, here's a typical Diablo series job listing:
[[Image:Icon topsecret.gif|frame]]
<blockquote>
[http://www.blizzard.com/us/jobopp/designer-lead-3d-level.html Lead 3D Level Designer]
<br>
The team behind Diablo I and II is looking for a skilled lead 3D level designer with experience building levels using Maya or other similar 3D level building tools. The ideal candidate has experience creating levels in a senior or lead role on a shipped game. We would also like for this candidate to have excellent analytical understanding of competitive online play with various Blizzard Entertainment games and mods (real-time strategy, World of Warcraft, Defense of the Ancients, etc.).
</blockquote>
A typical Next Gen MMO opening reads like this:
<blockquote>
[http://www.blizzard.com/us/jobopp/art-lead-3d-character-artist.html Lead 3D Character Artist - Next-Gen MMO]
<br>
Blizzard Entertainment is looking for an exceptionally skilled lead 3D character artist for a team focused on next-generation massively multiplayer online games. The ideal candidate has extensive experience modeling and texturing a diverse visual range of characters and creatures at a senior or lead level...
</blockquote>
Note that there is no mention of any specific game; not Diablo, or even World of Warcraft.

Possible conclusions:
*The Diablo series game is not an MMO.
**The Diablo game can't be that close to completion, not with 5 key design job openings, including Lead 3D Level Designer, Senior 3D Level Designer, Senior Game Designer, 3D Level Designer, and Associate 3D Level Designer.
*Blizzard is working on a next gen MMO, and it's very early in the process, since all they're hiring are artists and not level designers.
*The Diablo game is a next gen MMO, and Blizzard is being careful not to mention both in the same job opening since that might tip their hand.

=Key Events=
[[Image:D3-fakebox06.jpg|thumb|250px|The work of some anonymous prankster.]]Other important facts relating to Diablo III's development, in chronological order. Many of the items in the above timeline are elaborated on here.

==2000: Work Begins on Diablo III==
Work began on a third title in the Diablo series shortly after Diablo II was completed, in June 2000. This fact was alluded to in various interviews and comments by the D2 team, and more obviously in various biographies. For instance, when the Blizzard North exodus began in mid-2003, several key members of the Diablo II team formed [http://castawayentertainment.com Castaway Entertainment] (now [http://www.bigtreegames.com Big Tree Games]). One of the founders, [[Stefen Scandizzo]], said the following in his company bio, with an underline for emphasis.
<blockquote>
Stefan joined Blizzard Entertainment in 1998 as a level designer. While at Blizzard, he developed key functional elements for ''Diablo II''’s random maze generation and also created much of the dungeon layouts using both his artistic and programming skills. He continued his level designing in ''Diablo II''’s expansion: ''Lord of Destruction''. <u>In 2000, Stefan started producing 3D monsters for the character team for an unannounced upcoming sequel</u>. Stefan worked for Blizzard for five years.
</blockquote>
This same point was made by [[Michio Okamura]]'s biography when he left Blizzard North to co-found [http://www.hyborealgames.com Hyboreal Games] in December 2005, creating a website with [http://www.whiplashmedia.com Whiplash Media], which later became [http://www.uipacific.com U.I. Pacific Games] after a business deal in late 2006. Okamura's bio was similar to Stefan's, in that it initially said his work at Blizzard North was on an "unannounced sequel," before the wording was changed to "unannounced project." Given that the only games Blizzard North ever released were in the Diablo series, and that we now know Warcraft and Starcraft games were being worked on by teams at Blizzard Irvine, it's pretty clear that the only other possible game world to set a sequel in was the world of Diablo.

==2005: Blizzard Centralizes Operations==
On August 1, 2005, shortly after shuttering Blizzard North, Blizzard issued a press release hyping the event.
<blockquote>
"We're looking forward to having our PC development teams together in Irvine," stated [[Mike Morhaime]], president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. "In addition to improving our efficiency as a company, the relocation also represents an opportunity for all of our teams to have regular, direct input on each other's projects."
<br><br>
Blizzard does not believe that these changes will cause significant delays on any of its projects in development. The company released its subscription-based massively multi-player online role-playing game, World of Warcraft, at the end of 2004 and is continuing work on StarCraft: Ghost, its upcoming tactical-action console game set in the award-winning StarCraft universe. Plans for future products will be revealed at a later date.
</blockquote>

==2005: Rick Seis Bails Out==
[[Rick Seis]] was named the new head of Blizzard North and project lead on their unannounced project in July 2003, shortly after the turmoil kicked off by the departures of the "big four." Rick remained with Blizzard North until the offices were closed and work on '''Diablo III'' was halted in mid-2005. He left Blizzard rather than move down to Irvine, and joined over a dozen other ex-Blizzard North employees [http://castawayentertainment.com/news.html at Castaway Entertainment].
<blockquote>
REDWOOD CITY, CA – September 6, 2005 - Castaway Entertainment is proud to announce that former Blizzard North studio lead Rick Seis has accepted the position of Technical Director and lead programmer for their current unannounced project.
</blockquote>
There were many possible reasons the head of Blizzard North's version of ''Diablo III'' might not have wanted to continue heading up the project in Irvine, but few of them were encouraging for fans who hoped to see the game released sooner rather than later.

==2005: More Blizzard North Departures==
Many other long time Diablo team members left the company in the wake of Blizzard North's closure. Most joined [[Flagship Studios]] or [[Castaway Entertainment]], but a few others struck out on their own. [[Eric Sexton]], [[Michio Okamura]], and [[Steven Woo]] [http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:Is-Xf09jwv4J:www.hyboreal.com/press/112805.pdf+hyboreal+games+Michio+Okamura&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us&client=firefox-a formed Hyboreal Games]:
<blockquote>
San Carlos, CA (10/31/2005) – Hyboreal Games announced today its formation as a new development studio dedicated to creating blockbuster video and computer games. The company is establishing a new best-selling game franchise by applying the proven formula of mass accessibility, addictive game play and longevity through re-playability. Hyboreal Games was founded by Eric Sexton, Michio Okamura and Steven Woo, all industry veterans and former developers for Blizzard North where their contributions were essential to the success of the highly acclaimed Diablo franchise which has sold well over 13 million copies worldwide.
</blockquote>

==2005: ''Diablo III ''Soundtrack Recorded?==
On April 27, 2005, a musician from the Czech Republic mailed fansite Diabloii.net to report that he'd recently been [http://www.diabloii.net/newsupdates/archive/arc9.php involved in a recording session] for the Diablo III music.
<blockquote>
I am musician in Czech Republic. I play not with one orchestra but with many depending on work. I have recently been to Bratislava in Slovak Republic for recording sessions with local Radio Symphony Orchestra, where we just recorded music for Diablo 3.
<br><br>
I did not find the people from Blizzard in the studio, but composer (Uleman?) was there and conductor was named Kirk Trevor, I think he is from England but he conducts in Bratislava much and also in some other cities in Czech Republic like Zlin.
<br><br>
The music is again, like in Diablo 2 expansion, very much based on Wagner. In Diablo 2 expansion there are many plases in Act 5 that take directly from Wagners opera "Tristan and Isolde". This time for Diablo 3 there was music similar to Wagner operas "Lohengrin" and also "Siegfried" from Ring cycle. But this is not so bad that he takes from these things, almost all movie composers borow Wagner music, like Williams for Star Wars and others like Nino Rota who made music for Fellini's films.
<br><br>
So now when Diablo 3 is finished I must buy, maybe I will hear all my mistakes (I play percussion instruments).
</blockquote>
This news could not be confirmed, but the musician signed his real name, he had a Czech email address, and some searching through the Diablo II credits revealed that the music for that game was recorded with the same symphony in the same location.

==2005: D3 at Blizzcon Rumors==
[[Image:D3-fakebox02.jpg|thumb|More fake box art.]]
Wild rumors about the supposed content of Diablo III leak out shortly before the first Blizzcon in October 2005. See [[#Diablo_III_Takes_Place_in_Heaven|the Rumor Mill section of this page]] for full details. As of April 2008 These rumors remain unconfirmed and undenied. The source of the rumors was correct about some details of ''World of Warcraft ''and ''Starcraft II'', but also claimed that ''Diablo III'' would debut at Blizzcon in 2005; a prediction that is now 2.5 years off. And counting.

==2006: Diablo III Team Job Openings==
February 2, 2006. Blizzard's jobs page has so many positions to join the Diablo team that [http://www.gamespot.com/news/6143594.html Gamespot runs a rumor report] on the likelihood of ''Diablo III'' being underway. See the [[#Blizzard_Job_Openings|Blizzard Job Openings]] section of this page for more details.

==2006: Blizzard Working on Multiple Games for Multiple Platforms==
May 11, 2006. Blizzard COO [http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/worldofwarcraftexp1/news.html?sid=6150919 Paul Sams tells Gamespot] that the company is working on several unannounced titles in a variety of game worlds.
<blockquote>
When asked by GameSpot if the Warcraft universe was all that's left for the company to mine, chief operating officer Paul Sams said, "No. Absolutely not. We have multiple games in development, currently, they are just not announced...to the outside world--and the reality of it is--we are laser focused on what is the thing right then, but there's a ton of additional focus being put toward these other [games] that are in development."
<br><br>
Reflecting on the existing franchises, Sams emphasized, "World of Warcraft and the Warcraft franchise is not the last and the only franchise we are going to operate within. We have two other very, very key franchises to our company's history and to our company's future success. The Diablo and Starcraft franchises are of the utmost importance to us as well. I wouldn't be surprised to see a new franchise from us at some time in the future; there's certainly a desire to do so."
<br><br>
A PR rep later expanded on Sams' statement, clarifying that not only were there "multiple games" in development, but that Blizzard was considering "multiple platforms" for those titles. The spokesperson confirmed that the company was looking at both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but that a decision as to which platform might get the nod had not been made.
</blockquote>
Since this time ''Starcraft II'' was announced, in development for the PC.

==2006: All Future Blizzard Games to be MMOs?==
June 14, 2006. Confusion briefly reigned after after media coverage of a [[Vivendi Games]] presentation reported that all future Blizzard games would be MMOs, thanks to the massive success of World of Warcraft. Official refutation came via Blizzard's forums.
<blockquote>
I believe this was a misquote. We haven't announced any specific development plans beyond the upcoming expansion for ''World of Warcraft'', and we don't have any intentions to focus on only one genre or platform with our future games.
</blockquote>

==2006: Diablo Novelist Drops Hints==
October 26, 2006. Fansite BlizzPlanet [http://www.blizzplanet.com/content/601 posted an interview] with [[Richard A. Knaak]], author of some of the [[Diablo novel]]s, in which he dropped some pretty unequivocal hints that work continued on the Diablo series.
<blockquote>
'''Question:''' How much of the book is creation of yours, and how involved is [[Chris Metzen]] behind the canon storyline of [[Diablo: The Sin War]] Trilogy? Do you think the ramifications of this book impact in the storyline of ''Diablo 3'' the game?
<br>
'''Knaak:''' This is a pure collaboration between myself and Chris Metzen/Blizzard. All that is written is passed by him and the others there. This will be canon and has adjusted earlier info. The ramifications here will be used for any future project ... and I ain't writing for a dead game. :)
<br>
'''Question:''' So ... Diablo 3?
<br>
'''Knaak:''' I am not writing for a dead world ... but a world with dead. 'nuff said!</blockquote>

==2007: Project Hydra==
Vague references to "Project Hydra" had been heard for years, but the best attested one came from an overhead conversation at the Austin GDC in September, 2007.[http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1042753/blizzard-projects]

::Blizzard Employee 1: What are you working on?
::Blizzard Employee 2: Starcraft II, and you?
::Blizzard Employee 1: I am working on Hydra.

==2007: Flagship Studios Community Day==
Flagship Studios held their first community day event on May 17, 2007. ''Hellgate: London'' information was covered by an NDA, but Diablo II discussions were not, and hellgate.incgamers.com and diabloii.net contributor Flux attended the event (and visited Flagship Studios several [http://hellgate.incgamers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2310&cat=513 other times] during 2006-2007) and [http://hellgate.incgamers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2312&cat=513 caught up] with [http://hellgate.incgamers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2311&cat=513 numerous] Blizzard North [http://hellgate.incgamers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1646&si=community-day-2007 founders] and employees he'd known since he started covering ''Diablo II ''back in 1998. Exact details of what they'd left behind when they departed from Blizzard North were off the record, but Flux was assured by several Blizzard North employees that a good amount of work had been done on ''Diablo III'' by the time the big four departed in June 2003, and that the project had been kicked back almost to the drawing board once nearly the entire Diablo II team left the company after Blizzard North was closed in 2005.

==2007: Third Ongoing Project Confirmed==
On July 13, 2007, Blizzard VP of Product Development [[Frank Pearce]] spoke to Gamasutra about the company's third team and their unannounced project.<sup>[[#References|9]]</sup>
<blockquote>
"Our global headcount is 2,700," said Pearce, "And most of that is customer service for World of Warcraft! In terms of development staff it’s probably around 350. World of Warcraft is about 135 people, 40 for Starcraft II, 40 for team 3, our cinematics team is about 85 guys. Then there’s sound and Q/A and that sort of thing."
<br><br>
When pressed for details regarding the new project, Pearce was cagey. "Team 3 is working on something really awesome. I can’t give you any hints, but it’s totally awesome."
</blockquote>

==2007: Diablo Franchise will be continued==
In a video interview with IGN posted on August 5, 2007, Blizzard VP of Business Operations [[Paul Sams]] spoke about the future of their various gaming franchises, including Diablo:<sup>[[#References|10]]</sup>
<blockquote>
"Diablo ... well, it is obviously a very important franchise to us. And I would say, that as with Starcraft and Warcraft, we will certainly get back to it at some point. We are focusing currently on World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and content associated with World of Warcraft and Starcraft II. We do have some other things in development, and we are not ready to talking about it yet, but what I can say is that we do love that franchise. And its something that we will get to revisit at some point."
</blockquote>

=Domain Names and Trademarks=
Blizzard Entertainment owns numerous trademarks and domain names for games in their empire. These do not necessarily mean anything, especially not in the short term; they bought Starcraft2.com before Starcraft was even released. But they do give some indication that the company has an ongoing interest in developing more games in their various game worlds.

==Domain Names==
A partial and growing list of Blizzard/Vivendi owned domain names and the dates they were registered.

{|
|
* Diablo2.fr
* Diablo3.eu
* Diablo3.es
* Diablo3.de
* Diablo3.fr
* Diablo3.asia
* Diabloiii.es
* Diabloiii.asia
* Diabloiii.no
* Diablo3.com
* Diablo3.no
|
* Diablo4.fr
* Diablo4.no
* Diablo4.fr
* Diablo4.ru
* Diablo5.fr
* Diablo5.ru
* Diablo6.ru
* Diablo7.ru
|}

==Trademarks==
'''Diablo II: Salvation''' was a title Blizzard registered in 2000, as a title for a movie or video game. [http://diabloii.net/news/archivenews/archive1/arc9.shtml In 2001] Blizzard instigated legal action to force New Line Cinema to change the name of their upcoming Vin Diesel-staring action film from ''El Diablo.'' Blizzard was ultimately victorious in the suit, and the film's title changed to [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266465/ ''A Man Apart''].

=References=
<small>
#[http://kotaku.com/gaming/diablo-3/diablo-3-trashed-116290.php Kotaku.com "Diablo 3 Trashed"]
#[http://www.gamingsteve.com/archives/2006/02/rumor_diablo_ii.php GamingSteve Rumor]
#[http://www.gamespot.com/news/6130138.html GameSpot News]
#[http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/02/11/news_6118466.html GameSpot 2005 News]
#[http://www.netwars.pl/modules.php?name=news&id=3751 Netwars Poland News]
#[http://pc.ign.com/articles/456/456138p1.html International Gaming Network PC]
#[http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=14691 GameSutra News Story]
#[http://blizzplanet.com/news/1592 BlizzPlanet News]
#[http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/index.xml Diablo III official homepage]
#[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVQZSJPkQAw Diablo III Trailer]
</small>

[[Category:Diablo III]]

Dark Cultist

2010-02-15T19:59:29Z

Newbie:

'''Cultists''' and '''Dark Cultists''' are humans who chose to, or got tricked into, follow one of the [[Prime Evil]]s in the [[Triune]] religion/cult. This monster type is likely called a "Cultist," and "Dark" is a prefix denoting their particular type, but this is not yet confirmed. Cultists are [[Demon]] type [[monster]]s.
<br>
<br>
==Diablo III Monster==
<div style="clear:both;"></div>
{{Monsterbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Mon-cultist-concept.jpg
|portrait-width= 150px

|classif= Demons
|family= Cultist
|role= Offensive [[Caster]] & Summoner
|life= Unknown
|mana= Unknown
|armor= Unknown
|resist= Unknown
|armament= Wand
|dps= Unknown
|dmg_low= Unknown
|dmg_high= Unknown
|range= [[Melee]]
|speed= Unknown
|movement= Medium
|modifier= None
|spells= Firebolt<br>[[Dark Demon|Summon Dark Demon]]
|found= [[Tristram Cathedral]]<br>[[Forgotten Tombs]]
}}[[Image:Mon-dark-cultist1.jpg|thumb|left|Cultist casting a spell.]]Cultists are human mages who spawn with [[Berserker]]s. Cultists are very weak, but they can shoot fireball projectiles and summon powerful [[Dark Demon]]s, so it's wise to bypass the hulking Berserkers to kill the Cultists as quickly as possible.

Cultists can be recognized from [[Dark Vessel]]s by their lack of a staff. Vessels have a long staff which curls at the end, on which they lean while summoning up the demons by which they are possessed.

The cultists also have a weak attack of their own, but it's unknown if they can summon more powerful beings to the [[physical realm]].

===Spells and Abilities===
* Firebolt
* Summon [[Dark Demon]]

===Known Cultist Types===
* [[Cultist]]
** [[Dark Demon]] (summoned)
* [[Dark Vessel]]
** [[Activated Vessel]]
* [[Berserker]]

===Known Subtypes===
* [[Cultist]]
** [[Dark Cultist]]

===Related Monsters===
* [[Dark Demon]] (summoned by Cultist)



==Background==
Little is known about these worshippers of demonic powers. [[Abd al-Hazir]] came across them on his travels in the [[Western Kingdoms]], and he made an entry on his meeting with the cultists in his [[Writings_of_Abd_al-Hazir:_Entry_no._0042|42nd entry]] of the [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir]], and which mysteriously also became his last.

He describes in detail the early stages of the ritual to make a human into a [[Dark Vessel]], where "[[Teeth of Diablo]]" are nailed into the back of a willing cultist. Here is an excerpt:

:''That was when I first saw them, the dark cultists, arrayed in a circle. Their torches lit the macabre proceedings in a pallid light that danced over their garish rune-covered robes. I had heard tales of these hooded cultists and their depraved rituals, and I must admit to some curiosity upon seeing them. As their chanting droned on, I thought to make my escape lest they see me, but my attention was riveted by a pale, vacant-eyed supplicant being led forward. I do not know if he was of limited mental capacity, lost in religious mania, or simply drugged, but he was definitely not sound of mind as he knelt in the center of the thrumming circle.''

[[File:Mon-cultist01.jpg|thumb|300px|A Cultist, from the [[Cinematic: Monk|Monk cinematic]].]]
:''The chanting stilled as the leader, face shadowed by a heavily gilded hood, stepped forward and began to intone a ritual in some indecipherable tongue. A large, thickly muscled and leather-masked cultist draped a black, eyeless hood over the victim's head before pulling a foot-long spike from his sash. My mind searched for any possible use for this cursed nail when I noticed the immense stygian hammer grasped in his other hand. With one swift motion, he raised it above his head and drove the spike into the supplicant's back with fierce intensity. I almost screamed... but the victim made no sound.''

:''As another spike was readied, I knew I could watch no more. I trembled with the thought of those nails being driven into me should I be caught. I averted my gaze as I heard the revolting squish of another spike sunk into willing flesh. My eyes fell on the robe of the lead cultist. The intricate runes woven into his robe undulated and swirled in sickening movement. As I watched, horrified, I could feel my sanity crumbling away. I began to back away from the wicked tableau, forcing myself to move slowly while my mind screamed for me to flee with abandon. When I could contain myself no longer, I broke into a full run, not caring what sound I made. I ran until I collapsed. And then, as soon as I was able, I staggered to my feet and ran some more.''





==Development==
The Dark Cultists were one of the first monsters to be shown to Diablo enthusiasts at [[WWI 2008]] Paris, during the [[gameplay video]].



==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=cultist&x=0&y=0&limit= Cultist gallery search]

<gallery>
File:Mon-cultist-concept.jpg|Concept Art
File:Mon-dark-cultist1.jpg|Cultist in the game
File:Mon-cultist01.jpg|From the [[Monk]] cinematic.
</gallery>



==References==
* [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0042]]

{{Monster navbox}}

Thousand Pounder

2010-02-15T19:51:56Z

Newbie:

The [[Thousand Pounder]] is a special [[monster]] of a mini-[[boss]] variety. He is slow, but deals massive damage with his two huge maces. He appears to be a [[Demon]].
<br>
<br>
==Diablo III Monster==
<div style="clear:both;"></div>
{{Monsterbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Mon-thousand-pounder1.jpg


|bosstype= boss
|classif= Demons
|family= Bosses
|role= Boss
|life= Unknown
|mana= N/A
|armor= Unknown
|resist= Unknown
|armament= 2x Mace
|dps= High
|dmg_low= Unknown
|dmg_high= Unknown
|range= [[Melee]]
|speed= Slow
|movement= Slow
|modifier= None
|spells= Enrage
|found= [[Forgotten Tombs]]
}}[[Image:Mon-thousand-pounder-concept1.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Concept art of the Thousand Pounder(s).]]Thousand Pounder is a special boss monster, seen in the [[WWI 2008]] [[gameplay movie]] and a few related screenshots. It's not known if he's one particular individual out of a whole class of big, fat, dual-wielding, tattooed [[Demon]]s, or if he's a special, one-of-a-kind demon. He's not an [[Act Boss]] or a major [[Quest boss]] though, that much was made clear in the panels at the WWI event.

The Demon is summoned (as is described below), and sets to attack the player. Once he's ready to rumble, Thousand Pounder moves slowly, but with tremendous power, and deals heavy damage with his two large maces. When he smacks his two maces together, you don't want to be standing in the impact zone. In the gameplay movie, a [[Barbarian]] avoids damage by jumping around the beast with [[Leap Attack]] and uses [[Furious Charge]] to smash through the fatty monster. Other classes will likely be able to have some sort of similar mobility skills, like the [[Wizard]] skill [[Teleport]].

When his [[life]] drops below about 50%, he kicks into an enraged mode. At that point his tattoos begin to glow red and he moves much more quickly. He retains this rage until he is killed.

The Thousand Pounder doesn't have any additional minions or other monsters to help him out, so if the player uses an avoidance tactic and tries to damage him with ranged attacks, or forces him to use his strong but slow attacks, dodges them, and counter attacks before the Pounder retaliates, he can be taken down easily. Just remember not to get hit by the maces, and you'll be fine.

===Summoning Ritual===
Thousand Pounder is summoned up in a scripted event. The [[Barbarian]] in the [[Gameplay_WWI2008| Gameplay movie]] from WWI 2008 is running through the [[Forgotten Tombs]] when he comes upon a circle of five [[Dark Cultist]]s channelling their energy to call up the [[Demon]]. At first there are three pale-skinned youths dancing in the circle. They explode one by one, and then from their blood and flesh the demon is made incarnate.

[[Image:Mon-thousand-summon1.jpg|center|thumb|600px|Youths dance, then are sacrificed to call forth Thousand Pounder.]]

While the Barbarian watches, lights began to glow and the Thousand Pounder takes form. First his bones appear, then muscles, then skin over the top, until with a final explosion that sends the Cultists flying, Thousand Pounder bursts into life.

The brainstorming and work that went into creating this sequence was discussed between [[Bashiok]], [[Julian Love]] and [[Mike Nicholson]] during Blizzcast #8, in March 2009. [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/blizzcast-8-live-with-diablo-iii-goodies]

::'''Bashiok:''' At WWI we unveiled the Thousand Pounder and it had this really grand entrance where it was assembled out of the pieces of these sacrificed uh... I guess virgins, if you will. It was such a grand entrance for that monster, how did that come about?

::'''Julian:''' Well yeah, I recognize that it probably looks like it was really planned out and something that we worked on for a very long time. It was one of those things where we originally wanted it to come busting through the wall there, because breakables being what they are they’re kind of the hot thing in the game, but I think there was some recognition that when you have a monster of that shape busting through a wall it’s starts to look like a Kool-Aid commercial...

::'''Mike:'''" Oh yeah!"

::'''Julian:''' [laughs] Which really undoes what we’re trying to say with the thousand pounder. And it kind of stole some of the thunder of the siege breaker who does that later on. I think, very late in the game, not three weeks before we were scheduled to be done with that we got some concept that looked like he was being beamed in Star Trek style. My department did an emergency powwow and we weren’t really happy with that, and so we asked ourselves so what do we really want to see here? And the hardest thing we could think to do was what we ended up doing, and we’re all scared, could we get it done? It was an enormous amount of work and we were going to have to convince other teams to help us. We needed help from modeling, we needed help from animation. But there was just this really cool commitment from everybody that this was the best thing to do, and we were going to put a lot of overtime in. We just crammed on it in two weeks, and that’s what popped out.

::'''Bashiok:''' Very cool, and is that something we’ll see in the final game you think?

::'''Julian: '''Oh yeah, in fact I think there’s been a lot of off-shoot ideas. Like every other monster in the game, where applicable, we ended building a skeletal structure into him, and even a muscular set and things like that, that you see. And those things are functional, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you see skeletal and muscular thousand pounders running around, maybe half-summoned, and that sort of thing. There’s a lot of leeway with it.

[[Image:Mon-thousand-summon2.jpg|center|thumb|600px|Bones form, then are covered by muscle.]]

===Death Animation===

When he is defeated his death animation is basically the summoning animation in reverse; his skin sloughs off, then his muscles, before his bones clatter to the ground.

===Thousand Pounder 'Title'===
The title '[[Gluttony]] [[Incarnate]]' is a mystery. Comparing this big fella with the [[Siegebreaker Assault Beast]], he seems to have a 'title' that would work very much like Diablo 2 {{iw|Monster_Modifiers Monster Modifiers}}. Still, 'Gluttony Incarnate' could be his ''title'' just like the Siegebreaker's 'Living Siege Engine of Hell' obviously must be. The [[Thousand Pounder]] could also very well be an equivalent of a Diablo II {{iw|Superunique Superunique}}, with a different name than other units that look the same (as the Thousand Pounder has been depicted to come in packs in concept art).

Other players have speculated that perhaps we'll see mini-bosses with names inspired by all [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins seven deadly sins]. It's purely speculation at this point, but it's as good a guess as any.
# Lust
# Gluttony
# Greed
# Sloth
# Wrath
# Envy
# Pride

===Spells and Abilities===
*[[Image:Mon-thousand-pounder2.jpg|thumb|right|Rage mode activated.]]'''Enrage''' - The Thousand Pounder enrages when he reaches 50% health, making his tattoos glow ominously, and increasing his speed and damage.





===Related Monsters===
* [[Dark Cultist]] - These creatures summon the Thousand Pounder.



==Background==
Nothing is specifically known about the background of the Thousand Pounder. Is it a "[[Superunique]]" of this "Fat Demon" kind, or is it a completely new type of monster? The concept art seems to indicate that it's not a unique entity, showing a Barbarian with several of these creatures, but the matter in which he is summoned could suggest he is a little bit of a personality anyway. He is in either way powerful enough to require a quite advanced summoning to enter the physical realm.

==Diablo I & II Monster==
No monster like the {{PAGENAME}} is seen in [[Diablo I]] or [[Diablo II]].



==Development==
===The D3 Team on Thousand Pounder===
Thousand Pounder was discussed in the [[WWI_2008:_Denizens_of_Diablo_Panel#Custom_Deaths|WWI Denizens of Diablo]] panel.

::''The other way we emphasize [[monster]] character and personality is to look at the monster on whole. How do they get on screen and die? He's going to be on screen in a cool way, so we went to the the Thousand Pounder here. He's all bout hell. He's summoned from it literally piece by piece. When he gets on screen we figured he should be made and big. Express anger. Part of his gameplay is that he gets really mad when he's almost dead. Throws a huge temper tantrum and this changes how he plays and how the player has to play against him. When he's enraged we changed how he looked; made his tattoos glow, gave him new attack animations and special effects. When he dies the animation is somewhat a reverse of how he came on screen. We did this to show of the whole idea that he's from hell.''


==Trivia==
===The Metric System===
Speculative (and humorous), are suggestions for what this monster could be called in non-US/UK versions of the game, where the people don't, in [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110912/quotes the words of Vincent], "know what the f**k a quarter pounder is." Somehow, calling this boss the, "Four hundred and fifty four kilo'er" doesn't have quite the same ring to it...

A thread was started with this topic in the Unofficial Diablo 3 Forums as well.[http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=712626]

===Stay-Puft-Marshmallow-Pounder===
On the 30th of January, 2009[http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/thousand-pound-ghostbuster/], [[Bashiok]] responded to a [[Battle.net]] thread[http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=14697601893&postId=146959698364&sid=3000#0] about the similarities with Stay Puft from the [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087332/ Ghostbusters film]. His response was the image to the right here:
[[Image:Ghostbusters_Thousand_Pounder.jpg|thumb|499px|center|Similarities?]]

==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=thousand-pounder Thousand-Pounder-specific gallery contents]

<gallery>
Image:Mon-thousand-summon1.jpg|Summoning, part 1.
Image:Mon-thousand-summon2.jpg|Summoning, part 2.
Image:Mon-thousand-pounder1.jpg|Thousand Pounder swingin'.
Image:Mon-thousand-pounder2.jpg|Enraging.
Image:Mon-thousand-pounder-concept1.jpg|Concept art: 5 fat-blobs visible.
Image:Ghostbusters_Thousand_Pounder.jpg|Looking like Stay Puft?
Image:Delowyn Pounder.jpg|3D render by [[Delowyn]]
Image:Mon-thousand-pounder3.jpg|Summoning
Image:Mon-thousand-pounder4.jpg|Summoned
Image:Mon-thousand-pounder5.jpg|Concept art
</gallery>



==References==
* [[WWI_2008:_Denizens_of_Diablo_Panel#Custom_Deaths|WWI 2008: Denizens of Diablo Panel]]

{{Monster navbox}}

Battle.net

2010-02-12T20:22:28Z

Newbie: grammar

[[File:Battle.net_logo.png|400px|thumb|right|The new Battle.net icon/logo without text.]]
[[File:Battle.net_login.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Login screen.]]
'''Battle.net''' is [[Blizzard]]'s online match-making component and social networking tool for their game franchises. The network features both [[PvP]] and [[co-op]] for [[multiplayer]] gameplay.

The network offers its services to about 12 million players, and with a new version of Battle.net that will be available with [[StarCraft II]], Blizzard naturally hopes they can serve even more fans.
At this point in time, Blizzard has only released information about the StarCraft II-specific features for Battle.net, most of this article reflects that. As soon as [[Diablo III]] information (or any other game) is revealed or leaked, it will be added here.

Battle.net links:
* '''[http://www.battle.net/ Login to manage account]'''
* '''[http://forums.battle.net/index.html?sid=3000 Battle.net forums]'''
** '''[http://forums.battle.net/board.html?forumId=12007&sid=3000 Battle.net Diablo III Forum]'''
** '''[http://forums.battle.net/board.html?forumId=12009&sid=3000 Battle.net StarCraft II Forum]'''
* '''[http://classic.battle.net/ "Classic Battle.net" - info pages etc]'''
** '''[http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/ Battle.net Diablo II Section]''' (Arreat Summit)
** '''[http://classic.battle.net/scc/ Battle.net StarCraft I Section]''' (StarCraft Compendium)

==Supported Games==
The new Battle.net is directly or indirectly going to support "all Blizzard games", which include:
* [[Diablo I]] (''not the expansion, [[Hellfire]]'')
* [[StarCraft I]]
* [[Diablo II]]
* [[WarCraft II|WarCraft II: Battle.net Edition]]
* [[WarCraft III]]
* [[World of WarCraft]] (only for inter-game chat)
* [[StarCraft II]] (first game to be fully functional with Battle.net)
* [[Diablo III]]

==Pillars of Battle.net==
[[File:Battle.net_loading.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Loading a game of [[StarCraft II]].]]
The new Battle.net is designed primarily with four main purposes/features to make it the best gaming network:

===Always Connected===
The player will see a use for being connected at all times, even when playing single player, as he connects to a "character" online that gains achievements, limited avatars or decals and other related features.

There are a number of features that will only work online. Also, there will be an offline mode for Single Player, Skirmishes, the odd plane flight, or any internet downtime players may have.

Unfortunately, this pillar also includes the main reason why there is no [[multiplayer]] functionality for [[LAN]].

===Finding Games===
For [[RTS]] games on Battle.net, like [[Starcraft II]], the new Battle.net use a competitive arena matchmaking system that is more intelligent than most available matchmaking technologies right now. This system "learns" progressively which players to match up. The idea is that whatever skill level you are, you should have fun online, and be set up to win and lose about 50/50.

[[Diablo III]] players will instead be matched with people they are likely to have fun with, playing in [[co-op]] games.

===Social===
[[File:Battle.net_chat.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Chat interface of Battle.net. Somewhat reminiscent of Facebook.]]
Logging in will allow access to better friend management and other social gaming components. It's easy to use, and easy to keep in touch with friends that play any Blizzard game.

There will be both text chat and voice chat for players in [[StarCraft II]]/ and [[World of WarCraft]] (presumably all Blizzard games in the future) to use in any game to talk to each other. It will work like a backbone to the network, and will seamlessly integrate friends lists, matchmaking, messaging, and other features.

Players that wish to remain anonymous on Battle.net have the option to do so.

===Mod Support===
Mod support is basically "[http://starcraft.incgamers.com/wiki/Mapmaking map making]" support, since the maps can easily be modified to be anything rather than just an [[RTS]] game. The support for it will include an easy way to view and use mods, as well as being able to charge people real money to use your mods, if you have managed to create a very popular one.

==Battle.net Characters==
[[File:Battle.net_profile.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Battle.net profile screen showing the character "Ridley".]]
Battle.net is now outfitted with a brand new feature going live with [[StarCraft II]], and it's a ''StarCraft II Battle.net character''. This character serves as your single persistent identity across the service. Everything you do in the game -- win/loss record, achievements, unlockable rewards, friends list, and more -- will be saved to your character profile for you and your friends to see. Even your save game progress in the campaign can be synced to Battle.net.

Say you upgrade your computer and re-install the game; once you connect to Battle.net, you can continue the campaign right where you left off. This can be handy for people using more than one PC, allowing progress wherever the player is.

==Real ID==
[[File:Battle.net_friends.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Cross-game text and voice chatting.]]
In addition to the anonymous lists and social experience, there will also be a Real ID concept on Battle.net. It's a mutual friendship, so both parties must agree to the request.

Players can then see their Real ID friends by their real name, along with any character they are logged in as. There is also more detailed presence information about what they are doing, you can send or receive broadcast messages to/from them and use cross-game communication between StarCraft II, Battle.net, and World of Warcraft.

It's optional, and need not be activated unless the player wishes to.

==StarCraft II on Battle.net==
Since Battle.net in its new shape is designed for ''[[StarCraft II]]'', most of what we know about it is based on this game. Some information is true for both Starcraft II and [[Diablo III]] and some is not. This is the more StarCraft II-exclusive features we have been shown.

===Leagues and Ladders===
[[File:Battle.net_leagues_ladders.jpg|thumb|300px|1v1 Platinum League division 75 shown here.]]
The new Battle.net matchmaking service will measure player skill more accurately than ever before, making online competitive play more accessible for a wider audience. There is also a new Battle.net Leagues and Ladders System added to the service.

After using the auto-matchmaking system a few times, Battle.net will automatically slot players into a league and division that best suits your skill level. The goal here is to encourage local competition by finding players a neighbourhood of 100 players of equal skill to be ranked against. The intention is to make ranked online play much more enjoyable and give everyone a realistic chance to win their division.

Beyond ranked matches, Battle.net will also make it easier to compete by offering a number of other game modes. Custom games will of course make their return, but there will also be a slew of new, casual-friendly game modes such as the Practice League, Co-op Versus [[AI]], Challenges, and more.

===Replays===
Replays will now automatically be uploaded to Battle.net, and be available for anyone interested in watching them.

===Map Publishing===
[[File:Battle.net_custom_create.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Creating a custom game from available maps.]]
[[File:Battle.net_custom_join.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Joining existing games, much like the old Battle.net, but with more visual feedback.]]
The Blizzard community has previously been very creative and made a lot of maps and mods for the games seen on Battle.net, like DotA, Tower Defense, and many others. More on this in '''[http://starcraft.incgamers.com/wiki/Mapmaking Mapmaking]'''.

To help this further, Battle.net will feature a '''Map Publishing''' feature that will let users upload their maps to the service and share them with the rest of the community immediately on the network. Players can publish, browse, and download maps directly via the Battle.net client. Players trying to find games based on specific mods (like DotA or Tower Defense) will have little trouble with the new custom game system, that will allow easier searches and filtering of custom maps.

Sometime after the release of StarCraft II, modders will have access to an even more advanced means of sharing their work via Battle.net with the StarCraft II Marketplace. With the Marketplace, players will be able to browse, download, rate, comment on, and even buy mods if their creators choose to put a price tag on their work.

Blizzard strongly believes that providing content creators with the option of being compensated for their work will lead to some truly amazing projects; having a budget will give modders much more freedom to explore and fully realize all of their ideas. This in turn will theoretically lead to a bigger selection of high-quality mods and a greater variety of content on Battle.net

==Diablo III on Battle.net==
Thus far the Diablo 3 team has given no specifics about how Diablo 3 will interface with Battle.net. They've mentioned numerous planned improvements, such as to [[trade|trading]] and finding other players interested in the same sort of game experience as you, but with the game still so far off, and Battle.net undergoing extensive remodeling pre-Starcraft 2, no details have been offered.

Jay Wilson replied (sort of) to a question about this at Blizzcon 2009: [http://pc.ign.com/articles/101/1017305p3.html]

::'''''IGN: '''Considering that this is the big debut for the redesigned Battle.net, have you figured out anything you're planning on doing, with the exception of things like, obviously, easier ways of setting up co-op lobbies or creating panels so that everybody can immediately jump in and start up exactly where they left off?

::''Jay Wilson:''' Well, for us, Battle.net is... we're not quite at that stage. The full extent of our Battle.net development is that we do run through Battle.net. Pretty much everything that we reveal about Battle.net is going to be introduced in Diablo 3. I won't go through all of this because I don't want to take all your time, but the social networking aspects, the easy communication across games, and definitely... some of our big hooks are really good matchmaking, there was some poor matchmaking in Diablo 2, it was kind of esoteric and hard to use. We want a platform that puts you right next to someone else who's into the same thing as you, at the same level. We want you to be able to open up that friends list and say, oh, my friend Steve's killing Diablo, join! And you're right there next to them. We want players to be able to play together very, very easily. That's going to be a lot of work.

==Cheating==
[[Jay Wilson]] said this about [[cheat]]ing:
::''The way we handle cheating is almost the same across all our games. Battle.net is the same group for all of us except WoW - but they have representation there as well. Can I give specific examples? Not really, because it's kind of technical and I'm not very technical. But the same group that work on Diablo 2 worked on WoW; worked on StarCraft; worked on StarCraft 2 - Security is their obsession. I would hazard to say we have the most security conscious and experienced staff in the world at solving this problem and that's what they will focus on. It's one of the reasons why the online group is a common support group for all us - we all benefit from the experience of all the previous games.''

==Battle.net Costs And Profits==
Blizzard has always (so far, as of January 2010) maintained that it will be possible for gamers to play StaCraft 2 and Diablo 3 for free over Battle.net.

::"When a player buys the StarCraft II box at retail, they will have the ability to play on the new Battle.net for free."
::--Kevyn "Karune" Yu, Starcraft 2 community manager [http://starcraft.incgamers.com/blog/comments/no-monthly-payments-for-starcraft-ii/]

Though "free" is a good thing in the opinion of most fans, it's clear from how carefully-worded all these statements have been that Blizzard is considering ways to monetize Battle.net. [http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/08/blizzard-co-interview/]

::''Wired.com: So you don't want to say if you're going to monetize through Battle.net or is that going to be discussed later?

::[[Paul Sams]]: What we’re saying is, if you buy a copy of StarCraft II, you will be in a position to play the game on Battle.net with no additional cost. That's not to say there are no other things there. But, you'll be able to play and have a great experience. But they'll be a lot of different elements; we're going to be pulling a lot of social networking into the Battle.net experience, and they'll be a much more significant focus on e-sports, and so the competitive elements of that gaming experience with ladders and rankings and tournaments and everything you could imagine and more.

::We're going to integrate the games that we have into that Battle.net experience so that it feels like a much bigger and more meaningful community made up of all these Blizzard gamers. When I think of StarCraft II, and if there are other things we're going to do from a monetization perspective, it's certainly possible. But again, if you buy the game, you can play on Battle.net with no additional cost.

On top of the monthly subscription fee, [[World of Warcraft]] has added various additional revenue streams through allowing players to pay to move their characters between realms or switch their alliance. It's expected that we'll see similar options with Diablo 3; players may be able to pay to move characters between servers, pay for larger stash sizes or to create more characters on a given account.

Another possibility is that Diablo 3 might offer something like the current Diablo 2 ladder character system, but only to paying subscribers. Currently, Diablo 2 realm characters who are created in each new ladder season have special perks non-ladder characters do not. There are numerous high level unique items, cube recipes, and end game quests that only ladder characters can access. This is free in Diablo 2, but in Diablo 3? Other potential bonus content for Diablo 3 subscribers who pay the (monthly?) fee might include ladder rankings of various types, the ability to create more characters per account, special subscriber-only quests, tournaments and PvP rankings, and more.

Note that this is all speculative; the Diablo 3 developers have not yet made any official comments on what will or will not be offered for free over Battle.net.

::''In terms of the financial model, our ideal, our goal has always been to make the game first. You know, what’s going to make the best game? And then we’ll figure out what we need to do to support that on a financial model side.''
::--[[Leonard Boyarsky]] [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/diablo-iii-gamestar-interviews-leonard-boyarsky/]

Other quotes have been much the same; entirely non-committal about fees in either direction. It's clear that the developers are keeping their options open, but hoping to include some additional revenue streams -- if they intended for Diablo 3 to be just as free as Diablo 2, they've had plenty of opportunities to say so.

::"Mike mentioned it in an Activision Blizzard investor meeting [paraphrased] “A player that buys Starcraft 2 at retail will have the ability to play on Battle.net with no additional fee.” I’ll point out that this is a very carefully worded statement."
::--[[Bashiok]], Diablo 3 Community Manager [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/bashiok-on-lan-support-hammer-lore-and-blizzcon-t-shirts/]

We'll get a much better idea of their plans for Diablo 3 when Starcraft 2 is released and we see what sorts of fee vs. free services it offers, and how those go over with players.

[[File:Bnet-forms-of-payment-1.jpg|center|thumb|800px|Unknown what these "forms of payment" might be. Image from Battle.net, not part of WoW, July 2009.]]

==Development==
Battle.net started as a matchmaking service for [[Diablo]] players in 1997, and was revolutionizing at the time, as it did not require the player to go out of the game to connect to the service or set up a game with a friend. It had IRC-like chat commands that could be used both inside and outside of the game, and was a very popular way to play Diablo. Diablo unfortunately suffered greatly from [[hack]]s and cheating, something [[Blizzard]] helped improve in the second iteration of Battle.net, for [[StarCraft I]] and [[Diablo II]].

With Diablo II, the Battle.net team was reinforced with more anti-hack measures, and by the release of [[WarCraft III]], there was a whole team dedicated to keeping the network safe from cheaters.

Battle.net fell out of favour with StarCraft players as the network became increasingly outdated and laggy. An unauthorized third party service called iCCup gained popularity. It's essentially a hacked, or at least modified, version of Battle.net, and offers more services and functionality than the original.

"Battle.net 2.0" is a nickname given to the new version of Battle.net by the fans, and the work on it presumably began in late pre-alpha inside Blizzard in 2008. Back then, a great deal was still known about the network, and you can read more about it in the [http://starcraft.incgamers.com/articles/comments/battlenet-20-article-series/ Battle.net 2.0 Article Series] publicised by [[IncGamers]]' game channels at the time.

Blizzard also stated that services like iCCup would be fought with legal measures when the new Battle.net is released.

==Media==
Interview with Battle.net project director, Greg Canessa.
<youtube>dGt8TF_wQ1Y</youtube>

Here is a gallery of Battle.net pictures taken from the development period before launch:
<gallery>
File:Battle.net_logo.png|New Battle.net icon.
File:Battle.net_login.jpg|Login screen.
File:Battle.net_loading.jpg|Loading a game of [[StarCraft II|SC2]]
File:Battle.net_chat.jpg|Chat interface.
File:Battle.net_profile.jpg|Battle.net profile
File:Battle.net_leagues_ladders.jpg|1v1 Platinum League
File:Battle.net_friends.jpg|Cross-game text/voice chat
File:Battle.net_custom_create.jpg|Creating a custom game
File:Battle.net_custom_join.jpg|Joining custom games.
File:Battle.net_2.0.jpg|Battle.net 2.0 logo [http://starcraft.incgamers.com/articles/comments/battlenet-20-article-series/ suggestion].
</gallery>

==Reference==
* [http://eu.starcraft2.com/features/misc/battlenet.xml Battle.net Preview on StarCraft2.com]
* [http://starcraft.incgamers.com/blog/comments/official-battle.net-2.0-preview/ Official Battle.net 2.0 Preview]
* [http://www.incgamers.com/News/20919/new-battlenet-previewed New Battle.net Previewed]
* [http://starcraft.incgamers.com/articles/comments/battlenet-20-article-series/ Battle.net 2.0 Article Series]

[[Category:Glossary]]
[[Category:Battle.net]]
[[Category:Multiplayer]]
[[Category:Basics]]

Ureh

2010-02-12T19:46:12Z

Newbie:

[[image:concept-ureh1.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Ureh cinematic art.]]
Ureh is an ancient mystical city built at the feet of mountain [[Nymyr]], in the midst of the eastern jungles of the world of [[Sanctuary]]. It has a connection between Sanctuary, the [[High Heavens]], and the [[Burning Hells]].

==Ureh in Diablo III==
'''Ureh''' was thought to have a very high probability to be a playable town in [[Diablo III]]. A concept art piece, shown on the right, was named Ureh and there are various official concept art pieces of Ureh seen also in the [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=547&page=2 image gallery] as well as being included in the introduction cinematic.

Unfortunately, [[Jay Wilson]] confirmed [http://diablofans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23550] in late 2009 that Ureh will not be seen in Diablo 3. Jay explained that there were simply too many locations and too much content, and that some things had to be cut in order to "get the game out sooner." From what Jay said, it's hoped that Ureh will be seen in one of the Diablo 3 expansion packs, since it sounds as if preliminary work was done; more than just concept art.

===Ureh in Diablo III Expansion===
Since Diablo III most likely will have two expansions, and there's already considerable work having gone in to Ureh, both in concept art as well as modelling it for the cinematic, it is likely it will be one of the locations we'll see in an expansion. The sort of location it is would also support it, as it's highly mystical in nature, and really anything could happen there, story-wise.

==Ureh in the novels==
[[Image:Ureh.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Ureh on the [[world map]].]]
Ureh was also a featured in a [[Diablo novel]] by [[Richard A. Knaak]] called [[Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow]]. Seen in the cover, Ureh was a central town in the story. The connection to the books is important seeing how Diablo III Lead Designer [[Jay Wilson]] commented on a recent interview: "people can expect to see characters -- from some of the books." [http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/08/12/diablo-iii-storyline/]

Ureh also has a rich background. The book depicts the city as a potential gateway to the heavens or hells. This has lead to speculation about Ureh's importance and place in the story. The jungles near the city are inhabited by the [[necromancer]]s.

==References==
* [[Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow]]
* [http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/08/12/diablo-iii-storyline/ MTV Interview with Jay Wilson]
* [http://diablofans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23550 DiabloFans Interview with Jay Wilson]

{{Sanctuary navbox}}

[[Category:Settlements]]
[[category:sanctuary]]

Art controversy

2010-02-11T17:59:18Z

Newbie:

The '''art controversy''' of [[Diablo III]] started with [[WWI 2008]], when a considerable number of Diablo fans found the colour of Diablo 3's palette as initially revealed to be "too colourful". Many fans referenced the bright colors and tinted lightning so common in World of Warcraft and felt Diablo 3 was reminiscent of that and "too cartoonish."

Diablo 3's final version art direction was completed during the summer of 2007 after extensive iterative testing, tweaking, and editing. [http://www.ausgamers.com/features/read/2662371]

==Fan Reactions==
[[Image:Art_controversy_09.jpg|center|thumb|400px|One Diablo fan's artistic inspiration from the [[WWI 2008]] reveal.]]

This is what Blizzard said in regards to the Diablo III art direction in the [http://www.diii.net/articles/668952/lore-amp-environmental-art-panel-video Lore & Environmental Art Panel:]
::''Skip to about the 21:00 mark to hear it. To paraphrase, the designers talk about how their memories of D1 and D2 were that they were dark and gritty, but that when they actually looked back through the games they found much more color than they expected. They also say that they looked at horror movies and noticed how the color was used effectively to create mood, and that they're following that design path with Diablo III.''
<br>
<br>

===How it "Should" Look===
A lot of discussion started up about the colour of the environments in the [http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=669266 community forums], where some fans utterly hated the new colours, some didn't care as long as they got D3, and some liked it. Fan-made [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photo_manipulation#Photoshopping photoshopped] images popped up with no colour, higher contrast, more "grit", or even the odd blood stain. More pictures have been posted in the [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=553 Controversy Gallery] since then. Naturally, effects such as rainbows were done away with as the point of all these images is to make the pictures more grey and "dark". Some variants just enhance a few aspects, while some go all-out. A very strong fear for just "re-making World of WarCraft" is prevalent.

'''Sample of arguments:'''
* The art should be nowhere near the art of [http://www.worldofwar.net/ World of Warcraft].
* Art should not look "cartoonish" at all. Less pastel with bold lines and defined contours. More realism.
* Darker environment with more realistic gothic creepy dark influences.
* Less colour in the environment.
* No rainbows!
* Add the 'light radius' of Diablo 1 and Diablo 2.
* Equipment should be more realistic, with smaller shoulder plates as a main focus point.

<center>
<gallery>
Image:Art_controversy_01.jpg|<span style="font-size:80%;line-height:95%;">Colour, brightness, details and "grit".</span>
Image:Art_controversy_02.jpg|<span style="font-size:80%;line-height:95%;">Darker, more red ambient light, "creepier" with more blood.</span>
Image:Art_controversy_03.jpg|<span style="font-size:80%;line-height:95%;">Light radius and line-of-sight light.</span>
Image:Art_controversy_04.jpg|<span style="font-size:80%;line-height:95%;">Rainbows? An upset fan exclaims disappointment.</span>
Image:Art_controversy_05.jpg|<span style="font-size:80%;line-height:95%;">One suggested colour change. Red.</span>
Image:Art_controversy_06.jpg|<span style="font-size:80%;line-height:95%;">Dungeon with more "gothic" colours and detail. Necromancer's choice.</span>
Image:Art_controversy_07.jpg|<span style="font-size:80%;line-height:95%;">Outdoor colour change, more contrast, less pastel.</span>
Image:Art_controversy_08.jpg|<span style="font-size:80%;line-height:95%;">Rainy weather, and darker.</span>
</gallery>
</center>
<br>
<br>

===The Petitions===
Together with the first few photoshopped images, petitions started to appear on the net with the demand that Blizzard should change the art design, similar to what they did with [http://www.starcraftwire.net/wiki/Terran Terrans in StarCraft II]. Petition signature count 2008-08-07:
*[http://www.petitiononline.com/d3color/petition.html Petition Against colour 1] - Closed
*[http://www.petitiononline.com/DIII/petition.html Petition Against colour 2] - 1,873
*[http://www.petitiononline.com/d3art/petition.html Petition Against colour 3] - 54,138 (60,654 2009-07-01)
*[http://www.petitiononline.com/d3israd/petition.html Petition to support Blizzard] - 815
One of the petitions against the new art direction got quite popular, and Blizzard originally did not comment on it. There were also petitions starting to support Blizzard's decision. The number of signatures on the different petitions are probably not an accurate guideline for what fans think however, as the fans who do like the current direction would be less vocal than those who are unhappy.
<br>
<br>

===Responses to Complaints===
Among other fans, popular web comic site [http://www.penny-arcade.com/ Penny Arcade] didn't quite think the changes required such a violent response, and made a very satirical response to it. Very "Penny-Arcade-esque".

[[Image:Angst.jpg|thumb|center|400px|Penny Arcade responded with a comic named 'Angst.jpg'.]]
<br>
<br>

==Blizzard's Response==
Blizzard seemed to be prepared for some sort of onslaught against the colours well before the actual [[WWI 2008]] reveal, and started talking about the importance of colour in the [[WWI 2008: D3 Lore and Environmental Art Panel|D3 Lore and Environmental Art Panel]] before the petitions even started.

::[http://www.diii.net/articles/668952/lore-amp-environmental-art-panel-video Video comment by Flux:]
::''Skip to about the 21:00 mark to hear it. To paraphrase, the designers talk about how their memories of D1 and D2 were that they were dark and gritty, but that when they actually looked back through the games they found much more color than they expected. They also say that they looked at horror movies and noticed how the color was used effectively to create mood, and that they're following that design path with Diablo III.''

The reactions from fans might have been a bit stronger than they initially thought though, as they started out in the beginning of July to avoiding replying to the petition itself. It's unlikely Blizzard didn't know about the uproar, considering several websites such as [http://www.slashgear.com/diablo-iii-producer-under-fire-for-adding-color-0312386.php Slashgear], [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080703.WBwgtgameblog030120080703084156/WBStory/WBwgtgameblog0301 The Globe and Mail] and the largest [http://www.diii.net/n/669078/too-colorful Diablo 3 fansite], all featured reports on the reactions.

::[http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/07/02/diablo-iii-art-direction/ Keith Lee replies:]
::''A great analogy is like in 'Lord of the Rings' — not everything is dark. [...] We don't want everything to look the same and that’s really what we're trying to aim for. [...]What we also tried to do is create very clean textures so that you can really focus. It's a stylized feel and in that sense, it's very sort of a Blizzard philosophy. It's just really pushing the envelope in terms of the visuals so that everyone is excited about how everything looks. We think that 'Diablo III' is going to be better in so many different ways. We're just building and improving upon the the first and second 'Diablo' games.''

::''We're very involved, because everyone's very passionate about our games. Blizzard employees, we spend a lot of time actually iterating on [the game], and so in terms of the next phase, what we'll try to do is a proof on concept on lot of different gameplay aspects. And we really want to get as much feedback as possible so that we can improve on the game and ensure that we meet Blizzard quality for our fans and for ourselves as players.''

Later in July, a few mainstream sites got the opportunity to talk to Blizzard in NYC, where art direction, and direct replies to some petition pictures were made by Jay Wilson.

::[http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/08/04/diablo-iii-designer-turns-tables/ Jay Wilson judges fan pics:]
::''[[Jay Wilson]]: The key thing to remember here is that this has been Photoshopped. This isn’t created by the engine. Though it looks really cool, it's almost impossible to do in a 3D engine because you can’t have lighting that smart and run on systems that are reasonable. If we could do that, we probably would in a few of the dungeons.''

::''Now in terms of the actual texturing, this texturing, where they grayed out everything and it's very flat and the monsters are all kind of a similar tone — that does not play well. It's very boring to run through more than a couple of times, and it's very difficult to tell creatures apart and pop them out of the environment. So those things don't really work for us. A lot of the lighting stuff I think is very cool, but it's also not very doable for us.''

[[Image:Rainbowkick.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Fun with Rainbows]]
At [[BlizzCon 2009]] in one of the Diablo III panels discussing animation for the monk, attendees got an exclusive first look at the Monk's Rainbow Kick. It was of course a tongue in cheek reference to the controversy and was greeted with much cheering and whooping.

==Ex-Blizzard Response==

Since virtually everyone who created Diablo I and Diablo II have since left the company (most before or when [[Blizzard North]] closed in 2005), and the project was begun almost entirely from scratch at Blizzard Irvine in 2005, there's very little continuity between D3 and the previous games in the series. This is not very noticeable in the gameplay, but it's quite clear in the visuals and art design/style, which is what spurred the whole Art Controversy in the first place.

Most of the designers of D1 and D2 have refrained from making any comments on the look or style of D3, and when they have commented they've been fairly positive. [[Bill Roper]], however, took a different, more candid approach when asked about Diablo 3 in a few interviews in early 2009. Bill spoke at length on this issue with IncGamers.com [http://www.incgamers.com/Interviews/175/bill-roper-talks/2]

::''IncGamers.com: To go further back in your career, you worked on Diablo, and that's coming up on a third sequel. How do you think it's been handled?

::'''Bill Roper:''' Ultimately they're going to do a great job, because Blizzard always does a great job on products. I was interested by the big explosion that happened online when they released the first gameplay footage and screenshots, when that vocal minority was outraged that it didn't have that dark, gothic, gritty look. But that actually made sense, because it's not Blizzard North doing it anymore. That's the art style that the guys down at Irvine do. So it looks to me as what I would've expected from those guys, handling the Diablo universe. I always thought that was a real strength between having development teams in Irvine and San Mateo. Blizzard North had a different art direction, a different style, and different thought processes towards mechanics that were all very solid, and allowed the Diablo games to expand out on their own in a lot of different ways. I think that what you're seeing now is that mechanic being taken over by the guys in Irvine because it's involves them now, and so it's going to have that flavour. I want it to be great because I love Diablo, and I want another one.

::''IncGamers.com: From your comments I get the feeling you'd prefer the Diablo 1 or Diablo 2 art style.''

::'''Bill Roper: '''I don't dislike how it looks now. I didn't look at it and have the appalled reaction a lot of people did, I just appreciated that it had a very distinct look. The Diablo games looked different to the Craft games, and I liked the fact that it was very dark, gothic fantasy. I just think that it's nice to be able to have different worlds represented with very different visuals... When WoW came out, there were plenty of people who didn't like the way it looked, and I think that with Diablo 3 there'll be some people who don't like it and prefer the look of the first two Diablo games. When they first released the the videos and the screenshots, there was definitely an uprising from certain sections of Blizzard and Diablo fans, but Blizzard does what it's going to do so I'm sure that all those people who were really upset will still be in line with the rest of us, getting a copy! As long as it's good and cohesive and takes the stories that they're telling, I'm okay if it doesn't look exactly like it did before, although I did like that really dark, edgy, gothic look.

Bill expounded further on this in an interview with VideoGamer.com. [http://www.videogamer.com/pc/star_trek_online/screenshot-8.html]

::''VideoGamer.com: You mention that you can understand the art style and direction Blizzard has taken with Diablo III, but are you pleased with it or disappointed with it? You were one of the chief architects of the original Diablo games which, as you've said, were darker and grittier than the Craft games.

::'''Bill Roper:''' You know, I liked the darker grittier. I liked the differences in art style, to be honest. So, I think I would personally from a player standpoint prefer that. One of the things that we always tried to get across was that Diablo was Gothic fantasy and I think there was just a need that was put in there from the visuals that I didn't necessarily get. I got it from the architecture and to a degree from the character design but not the feeling of the world. I can't say that I dislike it. I didn't look at it and go, oh my God that's horrible. But I looked at it and went, it's not really... to me as a player it just didn't really ring with Diablo.

<br><br>

==Blizzard Art Department Departing==
In the beginning of August, [http://kotaku.com/5034244/blizzard-looking-for-new-diablo-iii-art-director Kotaku noted] that the Lead Art Director position of Diablo III had quit, since they were [http://www.blizzard.com/us/jobopp/art-director.html looking for a new one]. [[Brian Morrisoe]] worked as Lead Art Director as recently as [[WWI 2008]], where he headed the [[WWI_2008:_D3_Lore_and_Environmental_Art_Panel|Environmental Art Panel]], and did some media, such as [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=193852 this interview with CVG]. Some fans said it seemed odd that he quit in time for the fan protests, just like if there had been tensions in the team, which re-ignited with fan protests.

[[Image:Blizzard_job_ops.jpg|thumb|261px|right|Blizzard recruiting art people.]]What the Kotaku piece doesn't mention is that there are several other D3 art team jobs listed on Blizzard's jobs page. None of them are recent additions, but many fans speculated that Blizzard was having trouble finding/keeping art talent on Diablo 3. Some even went as far as to say that the team might have gotten split up because of internal disagreements on the art direction. Jay Wilson, Diablo 3's Lead Producer, handled the fan screenshot replies mentioned previously, and some fans ask why the Art Directors didn't handle that.

[http://www.diii.net/n/682181/d3-art-direction-disarray Blizzard made a statement] saying that Brian quit to start his own company.
::''Regarding Brian, he recently resigned to form a startup technology company (outside the game industry), which is why we've posted about the open position. This change won't impact the game - we're really pleased with the look and feel that Brian helped create for Diablo III, and the new person we bring onboard will work with the other artists on the team to maintain the art style moving forward. Given this state of affairs, it's hard not to speculate (as several emailers have) that perhaps the controversy over the game's art direction wasn't just amongst the fans. Perhaps different factions within the Diablo 3 team had their own strong opinions on how the game's art should look, and when push came to shove, some of the crew left. Or were asked to leave? Happily, as Blizzard often points out, the production of a game as large as Diablo 3 is handled by a large team, and no one is indispensable. Let's hope they get talented job applicants and can plug them into the openings and carry on smoothly.''

This doesn't say anything in regards to if he quit because of disagreements, or other reasons.
----
[[Jay Wilson]] also commented further on Morrisoe: [http://www.ausgamers.com/features/read/2662371]
::'''''AG: I have a question that is slightly thorny: There was been a lot speculation around the departure of art director Brian Morrisroe from Diablo 3 - from when the art style was revealed; all that mixed reaction from different people. Why exactly did he leave and was it anything to do with that?'''''

::'''''Jay:''' It actually had nothing to do with the project. Brian really loves the project and his leaving was amicable - we actually still talk to him fairly frequently. He left to create a start-up outside of the games industry; he felt an opportunity that he just couldn't pass up - a once in a lifetime thing. I hate to see him go because he’s so good for the team, such a good art director and I really enjoyed working with him. But he felt like this was a fairly safe point for him to depart and pursue his other interest. Because the art style is established and because our art lead structure is strong. While I can't say it has helped the project to have him leave, I think it's done as minimal damage as possible to the project as it could have. It certainly has nothing to do with the art style controversy or anything like that, and our art style direction will not change.''
----
<br>
<br>

==Blizzard Changes Art Based on Feedback==
While most of the feedback from enthusiastic fans were discounted as not being a priority or even possible in terms of gameplay, [[Jay]] did come back and told the fans through [http://www.incgamers.com/Videos/190/Diablo-3-Jay-Wilson-GC-Interview IncGamers] that they made certain changes from the feedback. Here is a summary from [http://www.diii.net/n/686928/jay-wilson-video-interview Diii.net]:
<blockquote>''In the interview Jay talks about his past jobs in the gaming industry, the D2 team guys working on D3, struggles they've had with game and art design, and art design, and art design, and art design. Have you heard that there was a controversy about the art design? No? Well, this interview will fill you right in. Jay does elaborate on two art changes they've made based on fan feedback; they're going back and making a lot of the dungeon environments grittier and bloodier, and they're not going to fade out all of the corpses after battles now; just some of them. Many will remain on the ground until the characters leave the area. Also he confirms that there will be cinematics for D3, at least as many as there were for D2, and that the teaser we saw from WWI was pieced together from several of the longer cinematics we'll see in the final game.''</blockquote>
* [http://www.incgamers.com/Videos/190/Diablo-3-Jay-Wilson-GC-Interview Video Interview].
<br>
<br>

==The End of the Art Controversy?==
In the second week of September, a Diablo fan called Sozou [http://www.diii.net/n/692572/the-end-of-the-art-controversy posted] a completely modified gameplay video of Diablo III with desaturated and "gritted" moving art in high resolution, showing what the dev team could do. With all the possible screenshot modifications and the like, it seems unlikely any more thorough example of what some fans would like can be made. He also gave Diii.net a short interview.

* [http://www.diii.net/n/692572/the-end-of-the-art-controversy Stream video, summary and interview]
* [http://rapidshare.com/files/144363212/d3_cc-desktop.m4v.html Download link for high quality]
* [http://www.deriss.net/diablo3/HD_Stills.html Still images taken from the movie]

Blizzard have not responded to this new media yet, but as the hype slowly has diminished, it's not quite likely they will either.
<br>
<br>

==Links==
* '''Discuss the Issue'''
** [http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=669266 Join the Colour Fan Debate] - The big debate in the community about the colour palette.
* '''General Information'''
** [[WWI 2008]] - Art panels, video and screenshots of the new game.
** [[:Category:Art controversy|Art Controversy Category]] - All articles, pictures, panels and other material related in the wiki.
** [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=553 Controversy Gallery] - Gallery of original screenshots and edited ones by fans trying to convey a more "dark" feeling. Including responses to the critics.
** [[Media Coverage]] - All Interview, Previews, Videos and Pictures released by mainstream gaming media.
* '''Articles'''
** [http://www.diii.net/n/682181/d3-art-direction-disarray Art Direction Disarray] - Lead Art Director quit timely with the fan protests.
* '''Other Media'''
** [http://www.l4d.com/blog/post.php?id=2129 L4D Art Direction, Part 2: Stylized Darkness] - Randy Lundeen on Left 4 Dead explains why they could not use a too dark art direction in the game and make players happy.

[[Category:Controversies]]
[[Category:Art controversy]]

Hellgate: London

2010-02-10T20:10:19Z

Newbie:

'''Hellgate: London''' was announced via an exclusive article in the computer magazine PC Gamer in March 2005 following months of teasing concept art for an unknown game.

[[Flagship Studios]]' first title was formally released October 31, 2007 as an action role-playing game [[ARPG]] in the same vein as the Diablo games, but with the twist of being played in 3D, primarily from a first-person perspective.

The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic demon-infested London, following a great battle between demons and humans. The developer was careful to point out that the game experience would be nothing like that of regular first-person shooters. The game featured much deeper RPG content such as, random quests and a character's combat efficiency was determined by statistics rather than player reflexes. In addition, the game featured random levels, uncommon in games of similar perspective and scale.

Expectations from the game were high, as earlier games the developers have been involved in, especially titles from [[Blizzard Entertainment]], have become best sellers with few exceptions. However it received mixed reviews, and complaints by many gamers that the game was released in an unfinished state, which was later admitted by CEO [[Bill Roper]]. The company no longer owns the intellectual property rights to Hellgate: London.

HanbitSoft currently owns the game, and is developing it for the Korean market. Anyone that purchased the game in the EU/US are now unable to play due to a lack of servers. Namco Bandai currently owns the license for the EU/US, but are not using it at all.

==References==
* [http://www.incgamers.com/News/19942/hellgate-is-back IncGamers: Hellgate is Back]

[[Category:Games]]
[[Category:Flagship Studios]]

Necromancer

2010-02-09T19:31:36Z

Newbie:

The Necromancer will not be a playable character in [[Diablo III]] when the game is released, but the team has not ruled out including the Necromancer as an expansion character. They've also strongly hinted that players will see a Necromancer NPC at some point during the gameplay.

The '''Necromancer''' is one of the seven playable classes in Diablo 2. Refer to the {{iw|Necromancer Necromancer class page}} in the Diablo II Wiki for full details.

* The '''Priests of Rathma''' is the order's real name, called ''necromancers'' by the ignorant who fear them. This association is sometimes referred to as the '''Cult of [[Rathma]]'''.

==No D3 Necromancer?==
The non-inclusion of the Necromancer in Diablo III was greeted with a great deal of protest by loyal fans, and as a result Blizzard has repeatedly had to explain why they made the decision. Their main argument was that the Necromancer was done so well in D2 that they didn't see much to improve upon in D3, and didn't want to just repeat the same character in the new game. This contrasts to the [[Barbarian]], who they thought they could update and reinvent in interesting ways.

Here's D3 Game Designer [[Jay Wilson]] explaining this in an August 2008 interview. [http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/08/05/diablo-iii-necromancer/]

::"Our approach for classes in 'Diablo III' is that we don't have a strong desire to bring back classes from the previous game," Wilson told me. "The goal is to try and give people new gameplay and not just re-hash old gameplay. We're not just making a 'Diablo II' with updated 3D graphics."

::"The problem was, we looked at the class and didn't think that we could really make him a lot better," he explained. "We could add some new stuff to him but for the most part -- curses, corpse explosion, skeleton pets -- done. That's the class. We wanted to create new gameplay, so we chose to do the Witch Doctor as a different kind of class."

Jay elaborated on this in September 2008: [http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200809/N08.0903.1800.35279.htm?Page=3]

::One of the reasons we didn’t do the same treatment with the necromancer that we did with the barbarian is that the necromancer was more fully realized as a class in Diablo II. If we were going to bring him back, curses, skeletons, corpse explosion—you’re done. That’s the class. We felt the job was so well done that we didn’t know that we could do a lot to improve him, and that choosing to make that class was more or less like putting handcuffs on ourselves and wouldn’t allow us to create new and original gameplay. So we decided to go with a new pet class. We focused with the witch doctor on having him play differently enough from the necromancer so that, say if someday in the future we want to add some of the old classes back to Diablo III, I don’t like those doors to be closed.

===As An Expansion Character?===

Though the Necromancer will not be one of the five characters in Diablo 3, the developers have left the door open for the class to potentially return in the game's planned expansions: [http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/08/05/diablo-iii-necromancer/]

"There's a lot of people on our team who aren't happy with our class choices,” he admitted. "But after we've established 'Diablo III' as its own game with its own type of gameplay and experiences, I wouldn't be opposed to looking at old classes. We are trying to design [the Witch Doctor] class so that if we did bring back the Necromancer, there's room for him. We're looking out ahead of time at what our expansions are going to be, so we've got to keep room open for some of those other classes down the road."

There appears to be a level of PR in this reply -- the [[D3 Team]] has never ruled out any character from appearing in an expansion -- but it's impossible to know how much this is a serious consideration and how much it's just saying something consoling to keep Necromancer fans on board.

===D3 Necromancer NPC?===

Blizzard has not confirmed this, but they've given several strong hints that players will see one (or more) Necromancers in Diablo 3... as NPCs. (Or possibly as monsters?) The Diablo 3 Community Manager [[Bashiok]] teased about this in February 2010. [http://www.blizzblues.com/us/so-without-the-paladin-class-23042165807.html]

::The Knights of Westmarch and cult of Rathma still exist, so the chances of coming across a paladin and/or necromancer through your travels are pretty good.

==Necromancer ''Diablo II'' Lore==
[[Image:Necromancer-concept.jpg|thumb|150px|D2 Necro concept art.]]
::''From the steamy recesses of the southern swamps comes a figure cloaked in mystery. The Necromancer, as his name implies, is an unseemly form of [[sorcerer]] whose spells deal with the raising of the dead and the summoning and control of various creatures for his purposes. Though his goals are often aligned with those of the forces of [[Light]], some do not think that these ends can justify his foul means. Long hours of study in dank mausolea have made his skin pale and corpselike, his figure, skeletal. Most people shun him for his peculiar looks and ways, but none doubt the power of the Necromancer, for it is the stuff of nightmares.

==History==
As might be expected, the devotees of magic are a segregated lot. They are as leery of students of rival disciplines as a layperson is of all arcane practitioners. None, however, are so widely maligned and misunderstood as the '''Priests of [[Rathma]]'''.

As with most users of [[magic]], the priests of the cult of Rathma hail from the far Eastern Jungles. They reside in a vast underground city located deep within those jungles. Their specific geographical locale is particularly secluded, however, preventing their assimilation into a formal [[mage clan]]. But it is this same isolation that has allowed them to pursue their distinct kind of arcane science. For it is through the teachings of Rathma, as well as through years of research and physical experimentation, that these men have come to understand and hold sacred the delicate balance of life and death and are able to twist the line that borders the two. For although the minions of [[Hell]] have long possessed this power, among mortals the knowledge to reanimate and control the dead belongs to these priests alone. It is this practice that has led outsiders to refer to them as Necromancers. They truly comprehend the balance of all things, and understand and accept their place in what they refer to as the [[Great Cycle of Being]].

Their culture has subsisted in the shadow of the great mage clans from the earliest days, and in most ways their practice reaches back to a time before [[magic]] was formalized into strict disciplines. Although their art is considered "dark", and the people of the outside world shun the priests who practice these arts, these mysterious cultists never suffered the epidemic of corruption that plagued the ancient mage clans. Pragmatists in the truest sense, they are above temptation. They see death merely as a natural part of life and do not seek to deny its arrival. Their singular knowledge of the unknown allows them to face death without fear. These ideals, coupled with an understanding of the natural balance between [[Order]] and [[Chaos]], explain why they have not fallen prey to the influences of evil.

Their desire to uphold this balance has brought the Necromancers forth from the isolation of their remote, dank homeland to destroy [[Diablo]] and his brethren. The mere presence of these [[Prime Evil]]s on the mortal realm upsets the natural symmetry of not only the mortal realm, but also the Great Cycle of Being itself. The followers of Rathma seek to right the balance by ridding the mortal realms of non-mortal intervention altogether. They resent any force that would treat humans as pawns in a cosmic game, though they apparently are willing to ally with the forces of Order, but only until such time as the balance is restored.

==Early Life and Training==
It is unclear how one becomes a Necromancer (or apprentice).

Training takes place in the vast underground cites of the Necromancers in the Eastern Swamps. They are first taught the ideology of the Necromancers, including the [[Great Cycle of Being]].They then go through lessons on anatomy, how to revive people and a host of other skills. Despite their appearance, Necromancers can move quite fast as they are trained to react instantly in a hostile jungle world.

Once the Necromancer's training is over, he/she is initiated by a vision of [[Trag'Oul]]. The Necromancer is tested on summoning skills, and if successful, they are given a bone dagger from one of the corpses.

==Traits and Abilities==
Necromancers have the ability to reanimate corpses of most entities and to control the recently dead. The dead release spiritual energies that haunt the mortal realms. The Necromancer can focus these energies, giving them manifestation in the corporeal world. Practitioners of necromancy can curse the very fate of a victim by manipulating the [[Prime magic|Prime energies]] flowing through all living things.

==Known Necromancers==
* [[Mendeln]] (a [[Nephalem]], and one of the first)
* [[Zayl]]
* [[Kara Nightshadow]]
* [[Karybdus]] (gone mad)

==Further Reading==
{{Interwiki|half= }}

==References==
* [[Diablo II Manual]]
* [http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200809/N08.0903.1800.35279.htm?Page=3 Jay Wilson Interview by GameInformer.com]
* [[Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow]]
* [[Diablo: Moon of the Spider]]

{{class navbox}}

[[Category:Ethnic groups]]
[[Category:Necromancer]]
[[Category:Priests of Rathma]]
[[Category:Classes (Diablo II)]]

Player Kill

2010-02-08T20:39:11Z

Newbie:

The term '''Player Killing''', '''Player Killer''', or '''PK''' refers to non-consensual [[PvP]]. The verb of killing players is usually called '''PKing''', and someone killed is '''PKed'''. A '''Player Killer''' is usually just referred to as "a PK".

PKing is generally non-consensual, and often takes the form of sneak attacks, often performed with the aid of deception, cheats, or [[hack]]s.

There will not be any support for PKing in [[Diablo III]], since all PvP is going to require player consent. How exactly this will work has not yet been disclosed publicly.

PKing was a major issue in [[Diablo II]], with passionate arguments on both sides of the issue. The D2 team thought it was worth including in the game (via the "hostile" button), but the ease with which hostility could be declared was limited in various post-release patches, which gave unsuspecting characters more time to flee or prepare themselves before a PK could swoop down upon them.

Though [[Diablo I]] and Diablo II allowed for non-consensual PvP, most modern [[RPG]]s do not. Duelling is almost always allowed, but each player must agree to it, either at the time of the duel, when joining the game or entering the PvP-allowed area, or sometimes upon character creation or realm assignation.

PKing will not be a part of the game in Diablo 3, since the [[D3 Team]] has said there will not be non-consensual PvP. They have not yet released details on how PvP will be regulated, but it's widely assumed that it will only be allowed in special, "arena" type games. Many players hope for PvP ladders, rankings, and other bonus features to facilitate duelling, but the D3 Team has been entirely mum on those issues.

[[category:PvP]]
[[category:Multiplayer]]
[[category:Reference]]

Potion

2010-01-20T18:13:56Z

Newbie:

The role of '''potions''' in [[Diablo III]] is not yet determined. There are [[life]] and [[mana]] potions, but no rejuvenation potions have yet been seen or mentioned by the [[D3 Team]]. It's not known if there will be other potions such as antidotes, thawing potions, or offensive potions to throw at [[monster]]s.

==Potions and Game Balance==
One of the [[D3 Team]]'s main design goals in [[Diablo III]] is to make the game more consistently difficult, or at least challenging. Towards that end, they are going to greatly de-emphasize the role of potions in the game, and force players to obtain [[heal]]ing from [[health globes]]. It's not known if [[NPC]]s will sell potions, or if they will only sell them in limited quantities, but however they are obtained, potions will be less beneficial and less common than they were in [[Diablo II]].

In the [[BlizzCon 2008]] and 2009 demo builds there were no NPCs selling potions (or anything else). Healing potions could be found in the demo, but they were fairly rare. Each healing potion granted a set amount of [[life]] (40 for a [[Barbarian]] at level 8, who had about 150 total life), and filled that much health instantly, as rejuvenation potions do in Diablo II. There was a considerable cooldown time after drinking a potion (before another one could be consumed). In the 2009 demo, this cooldown was around 8 seconds.

===Health Potions===
Health Potions have worked their way back into the game, during development. Early on, the team talked about there being no, or very few potions. As of Blizzcon 2009, potions were very rarely seen compared to Diablo 2. Although the overpowered demo build characters seldom needed to use potions, this was definitely an accepted element of keeping a character alive.

[[Jay Wilson]] talked about the concept and execution of health potions during an interview from Blizzcon 2009. [http://pc.ign.com/articles/101/1017305p1.html]

::'''Jay Wilson: '''We did put health potions back in, but they play a very different role. You can't spam them like you used to, you can only use them about once a map. The purpose of those is to take the edge off the loss of health. I don't have health, or I've got half health, do I want to use a health potion, or do I want to risk it? Ooh, I've got 10% health, it's not even a decision. That's a really interesting decision, and it makes potion use a fun part of the game.

::'''''IGN: '''Why not auto-cast a potion if you're down to 10%?
::'''Jay Wilson: '''Because it takes the choice away from the player and we wouldn't want to do that. We really want the player to make that choice. So the other side of it is, we deal with some of the harder monsters, like bosses and rares and champions, they don't just drop them like that. They would drop health globes at percentages of their health. Rares in particular are almost guaranteed to drop about every 25%. The other thing we did, because we design everything for cooperative play, if you pick up a health globe and you have a friend nearby, you both get the benefit. So that's something we did to make sure the system didn't favor people who are running forward, melee classes, who used to pull up all the health potions. Now they're actually helping the people in the back.

==Potions in PvP==
Players have asked how potions will be handled in [[PvP]] play in [[Diablo III]]. This question is not one the [[D3 Team]] can answer very accurately yet, since they've not begun to work on balancing PvP play. However, [[Jay Wilson]] was still willing to answer the question during a Q&A session [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/blizzcon-press-conference-with-jay-wilson/] at [[BlizzCon 2008]].

Jay said that potions could not be used that often in D3 PvP, and that there would be some sort of cool down timer on them, as there is in [[World of Warcraft]]. They will be useful, but their benefit isn't that large, and they can't be chugged endlessly, as they were in [[Diablo II]]. The utility of potions is not designed to be that great, which should help keep them from becoming overly-valuable in [[PvM]] or PvP play. Jay thinks that the (relative) absence of potions in Diablo III will improve the PvP play, since potions in D2 essentially gave players infinite [[health]] and [[mana]]. This turned unregulated duels into little more than potion drinking contests, where the player with more of them usually won.

==Elixirs==
There are [[elixir]]s in Diablo III. So far [[Strength]] and [[Dexterity]] elixirs have been seen. As of [[BlizzCon 2008]], these provided a temporary, 300 second bonus to that one attribute.

==Potions in Diablo II==
See the {{iw|Potion Potions page}} in the Diablo II wiki for full details.

[[category:potions]]
[[Category:Items]]

Tristram

2010-01-19T21:39:09Z

Newbie:

[[Image:Tristram_concept.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Dark and wrecked Tristram.]]
::''This page covers Tristram as it is seen in [[Diablo III]] as well as its history up to this point. See also:''
::* ''{{iw|Tristram Tristram}} -- The town in [[Diablo II]].''
::** ''{{iw|Uber_Tristram Uber Tristram}} -- Reached via the end game quest {{iw|Pandemonium_Event Pandemonium Event}}.''
::* ''{{iw|D1_Tristram Tristram}} -- The town in [[Diablo I]] and [[Hellfire]].''

'''New Tristram''' is one of the [[town]]s in [[Diablo III]]. It's a wretched, rotting corpse of a town, grown up on the ruins of the old Tristram that blossomed during past ages, but has now fallen back into decay.

Tristram will be the starting town in [[Diablo III]].[http://www.diablowiki.net/WWI_2008:_D3_Lore_and_Environmental_Art_Panel]

==Description==
Tristram is a shell of its former self, with some burned down buildings still not removed. A "New Tristram" grew from the shell of the old one, built on the adventurers who seeked the treasures of the [[Tristram Cathedral|Cathedral]], but when they left, the new town also lost it's soul.

The wilderness surrounding Tristram is beautiful with lush fields and picturesque rivers. [http://www.diablowiki.net/Writings_of_Abd_al-Hazir:_Entry_no._0020] It's located fairly close to the fishing village called [[Wortham]].

==Background==
[[Image:Tristram_view.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Not so bad from a distance....]]

===The Horadrim===
The history of Tristram starts several hundred years prior to recent events (that take place around 1260-1290 Anno Kehjistani). In the last century of the first millennium, 912 to be precise, the [[Sin War]] ended when Diablo was finally captured in a [[Soulstone]] by a group of [[Horadrim]] monks led by [[Jered Cain]]. The monks buried the Soulstone in a cave near the river [[Talsande]] in [[Khanduras]] and a [[Tristram Cathedral|Horadric monastery]] with a network of catacombs was built over the location.

A few years after the erection of the monastery, the town of [[Tristram]] was founded around it and people prospered with the [[Prime Evils]] out of the picture. Unfortunately, with no quests left to undertake, the Horadrim's numbers slowly dwindled, and 200 years later, they are legends that are forgotten by most, the monastery long since abandoned.

Although villages grew and thrived around the shell of the old Monastery, no one knew of the dark, secret passageways that stretched into the cold earth beneath it. None could have dreamed of the burning red gem that pulsed within the labyrinth's heart....

===King Leoric and Diablo===
<table style="float:right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" border="0">
<tr>
<td>[[File:Mon-leoric2.jpg|thumb|right|100px|King [[Leoric]]'s madness.]]</td>
<td>[[File:Prince Albrecht's Corruption.jpg|thumb|120px|Prince [[Albrecht]]'s corruption.]]</td>
</tr>
</table>

It was at this time that the Eastern lord [[Leoric]] came to Tristram and declared himself king, and converting the old, long-unused [[Tristram Cathedral|Horadric monastery]] to a [[Zakarum]] cathedral. He was betrayed by his advisor, Archbishop [[Lazarus]], who secretly released [[Diablo]] deep within the monastery catacombs.

Diablo knew Leoric was a strong man and attempted to possess him. King Leoric was indeed strong and managed to resist, but was driven mad instead, imprisoning and executing anyone who questioned his authority. He also started a war against [[Westmarch]], despite common sense, as the armies of [[Khanduras]] were easily outnumbered.

Failing to possess Leoric, Diablo turns to Prince [[Albrecht]] instead, kidnapping him and possessing his soul and body.

When [[Lachdanan]], captain of King Leoric's army, returned, Leoric had gone even more mad by the loss of his only son and Lachdanan had no choice but to kill his king. The fallen monarch cursed Lachdanan and his followers with his dying breath. Not long afterwards, Lachdanan and the king's guards were attacked by Leoric, resurrected as the [[Skeleton King]], as they attempted to bury him.

===The Lone Hero===
[[File:Original_Tristram1.png|thumb|right|400px|[[Diablo I]] layout of Tristram, with expansion (the player has reached the Hell levels).]]
Many adventurers disappeared down into the catacombs in search for treasure, glory or both.

Archbishop [[Lazarus]] then lead a group of villagers into the cathedral and abandoned them to a bloodthirsty [[butcher]] demon. From this point, people began fleeing Tristram in droves. If they had not left during the king's madness, they left now.

[[File:Warrior.jpg|thumb|left|100px|The [[Warrior]].]]
Only a small number of villagers stayed and saw a lone hero arrive and defeat the fetid butcher demon. This hero was one [[Deckard Cain]] befriended, and with his guidance, he ventured further down into the maze and defeated the [[Skeleton King]] as well as killing Lazarus.

The hero traversed all the way into [[Buning Hells|Hell]] and defeated [[Diablo]].

Unfortunately for the hero, as well as everyone else, the hero foolishly thinks he can contain Diablo within himself, and sinks the [[Soulstone]] within his own flesh.

===The Dark Wanderer===
[[File:Tristram.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Tristram of [[Diablo II]].]]
Despite his noble intentions, his valiant spirit quickly succumbed to [[Diablo]]'s corruption and he became the [[Dark Wanderer]]. He left Tristram behind shortly before legions of foul demons attacked and destroyed the town and its inhabitants: Killing some, raising them as [[skeleton]]s, or possessing them, making them as demons, like poor [[Griswold]].

A group of heroes began a quest to defeat Diablo and his brothers, visiting [[Tristram]] to save the only surviving soul from the town: [[Deckard Cain]], a descendant of the [[Horadrim]] mage [[Jered Cain]].

Cain blamed himself that he did not foresee this, and travelled East with the heroes to save [[Sanctuary]].

===New Tristram===
[[File:Tristram2.jpg|thumb|right|400px|New Tristram in all its glory.]]
After the town was burned to the ground, "New Tristram" grew around the ancient monastery. The new town has been around for several years, but the exact date of its founding is unclear.

Originally simply a collection of merchants looking to profit on adventurers and travellers drawn by legends of riches within the old cathedral, it slowly set down roots and became an established town. As soon as the cathedral was looted bare, however, the adventurers and travellers stopped coming, and New Tristram found itself in decline.

What happened here is now as with most of the [[Diablo Legend]], something dismissed out of hand by most citizens of the world. People think of the [[undead]] monstrosities, demonic possession and the monarchy driven to lunacy to be part of a peculiar mould upon the bread or perhaps a fouling of the water. It was just an unfortunate event that people went mad.

===The Meteor===
[[Deckard Cain]] has returned to Tristram, looking for clues on what the [[demon]]s and [[angel]]s are up to. [[Leah]] is also now in Tristram, helping Cain, and worried for his well being.

A [[meteor]] has been seen darting across the skies, crashing straight down into the [[Tristram Cathedral|Cathedral]], but seemingly without hurting either Leah or Cain. The latter ventured down the hole to try and find more magical tomes to explain the events, later rescued by the [[Barbarian]] character.

Exactly what this meteor is, no one knows. If it's just some sort of cosmic stone or an [[angel]] like [[Tyrael]] or even a [[demon]] is still a mystery.

==Tristram in Diablo III==
[[Image:Tristram3s.jpg|thumb|400px|New Tristram starting point.]]
New Tristram is the starting town of [[Diablo III]],[http://www.diablowiki.net/WWI_2008:_D3_Lore_and_Environmental_Art_Panel] one of the many things the [[D3 Team]] has been inspired of from [[Diablo I]].

There's a lot of concept art of Tristram, but it's not clear how much was just for background information or reference. The New Tristram so far seen in the game has been a zombie-infested ruins; if there's more of a town waiting to be discovered in the final game, we've not seen in-game evidence of it yet.

Numerous screens have shown New Tristram, but only the ruined, monster-infested portion of the town. The [[BlizzCon 2008]] demo build started in a very small encampment just outside of New Tristram, but there were no NPC [[merchant]]s available. It's assumed that the New Tristram we'll see in the final game will be larger and have various merchants and [[quest]]-giving [[NPC]]s, but this is just conjecture.

===Tristram's Layout===
[[File:Concept-tristram1.jpg|thumb|400px|Tristram at night]]
This was also addressed by Flux in a comment on his BlizzCon gameplay report[http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/blizzcon-demo-discussion/]:

::''As for the geography, it's not recognizable as the same town from [[Diablo I|D1]], but it's clearly inspired by it. The whole ruined town is much larger than in previous games, but that's understandable since it's been 20 years and the town was destroyed and rebuilt (and is now being destroyed again). There are about 15 or 20 ruined structures clustered in the center of the map. One has a broken wooden sign that hovers as "Griswold's Fine Weapons" if you point at it. No sign of [[Griswold]] or any other recognizable [[NPC]]s though.''

::''The basic landmarks remain; the monastery is still to the top left of town, with a graveyard beside it (lots of [[zombie]]s burrow up out of the earth if you enter and hang around there). The biggest change is that the left side of town, about where the creek was between town and Wirt, has become a deep gorge that provides an impassible boundary to that side of the level. [[Adria]]'s island and the creeks on the right side of the map aren't there anymore. Instead there are lots of ruined houses scattered over in that direction, and to the far right you find a few lightly forested areas with wide paths through them. Two other landmarks are along the left side of town, by the gorge. The well within which the little girl's ghost is trapped, and further north a spooky, Halloween tree out of which a bunch of zombies moaningly-emerge, if you remain in the vicinity.''

[[File:Tristram_tavern.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Tristram's rickety tavern.]]
::''It's hard to estimate size since the path you take through the area is so winding; there aren't any straight roads and the houses and boulders and dead trees are scattered everywhere. But I'd say the whole area is maybe 6 or 8 times the size of {{iw|Tristram Tristram in D2}}. I think it was a non-random area; possibly the ruins and other town elements change around slightly from game to game, but the overall size and shape remained the same in each game I played.''

===Diablo III Description===
Tristram was the starting point for the playable demo at Blizzcon, in October 2008. There was no town to speak of; just a very small camp with only two [[NPC]]s, and no [[merchant]]s. From there players proceeded into the fog-shrouded ruins of [[Tristram Cathedral]], battling [[undead]] every step of the way. The setting was described in some detail in a [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/blizzcon-demo-discussion/ gameplay report] by Flux:

[[File:Tristram_blacksmith.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Tristram's blacksmith.]]
::''The mood continued as soon as a player moved out into the ruins of Tristram. The scenery was dark and oppressive, and no, the screenshots don't at all do it justice. The floating, partially transparent mist looks so much better in the game than in the screenshots, where it just makes things look smudged and blurry. The black, gnarled trees, clusters of crows that flew away when the player got close enough to trigger them, dozens of ruined, blasted houses you could run through, bodies lying here and there, and small bunches of zombies to rout gave the area a great, creepy, doomed mood.''

::''There were a number of nice set pieces elsewhere in Tristram that added to the mood. A human hand is seen at one point, clawing at the earth, before being yanked down into a dark cellar from which come horrible screams and a fountain of blood. Ghosts wander the streets, sobbing quietly and pathetically. Zombies are seen gnawing on corpses, and their moans and groans are very horror movie appropriate.''

==Media==
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=tristram&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=18&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way= New Tristram Screenshots]
<gallery>
File:Original_Tristram1.png|Tristram from [[Diablo I]]
File:Tristram.jpg|Tristram in [[Diablo II]].
File:concept-tristram1.jpg|New Tristram at night.
File:Delowyn_TristramCathedral_Inside.jpg|Inside [[Tristram Cathedral]].
File:Tristram1.jpg|Screenshot from Tristram.
File:Tristram2.jpg|A second shot.
File:Tristram3.jpg|New Tristram starting point.
File:Tristram_overview.jpg|Beautiful surroundings.
File:Tristram_concept.jpg|Rainy day in Tristram.
File:Tristram_tavern.jpg|Tavern of Tristram.
File:Tristram_blacksmith.jpg|Blacksmith of Tristram.
File:Meteor1.jpg|Meteor tumbling to the [[Tristram Cathedral|Cathedral]].
File:Tristram_concept2.jpg|Tristram Encampment.
</gallery>

==Reference==
* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/blizzcon-demo-discussion/ Flux's gameplay report]
* [[Timeline]]
* [http://www.diablowiki.net/WWI_2008:_D3_Lore_and_Environmental_Art_Panel WWI 2008 Lore & Art Panel]
* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/blizzcon-demo-discussion/ BlizzCon Demo Discussion]
* [http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/world/environments/tristram.xml Blizzard's official lore page - New Tristram]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=tristram&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=18&cat=546&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=546 Diii.net's screenshot gallery]
* [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0020|Abd al-Hazir entry no. 20 - Gnarled Walkers]]
* [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0017|Abd al-Hazir entry no. 17 - Tristram Cathedral]]
* [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0016|Abd al-Hazir entry no. 16 - New Tristram]]
* [[Diablo I Manual]]
* [[Diablo II Manual]]

{{Level navbox}}
{{Sanctuary navbox}}

[[Category:Towns]]
[[Category:Act I levels]]
[[Category:New Tristram]]
[[Category:Act I]]
[[Category:Sanctuary]]
[[Category:Settlements]]
[[Category:Khanduras]]

Diablo

2010-01-19T21:26:00Z

Newbie: grammar, lore correction

'''Diablo''', the ''The Lord of Terror'', is the primary antagonist in the ''Diablo'' video game series developed by [[Blizzard|Blizzard Entertainment]]. He is the final boss in the first ''Diablo'' game, and the final boss in ''Diablo II'' prior to the release of the expansion pack. Along with his older brothers, [[Baal]] and [[Mephisto]], Diablo is one of the three [[Prime Evils]].

Disambiguation:
* Diablo I
** [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/D1_Diablo_%28monster%29 Diablo's stats] (Diablo I and Hellfire)
** [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Diablo:_D1_Quest Diablo] (Quest)
* Diablo II
** [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Diablo Diablo's Stats]
** [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Uber_Diablo Uber Diablo's Stats]
** [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Pandemonium_Diablo Pandemonium Diablo's Stats]

{{clear-right}}
{{Charbox
|portrait= Diablo_3_portrait.jpg


|chartype= normal
|title= Lord of Terror
|gender= Male (presumed)
|race= Demon
|status= Alive (presumed)
|occupation= [[Prime Evil]]
|affiliation= [[Burning Hells]]
|friends= [[Baal]], [[Mephisto]]
|foes= [[High Heavens]], [[Tyrael]]
|location= Unknown
|categories= [[category:Possible NPCs]][[category:Demons]][[Category:Prime Evils]]
}}

==Background==
[[Image:Diablo_Archive_cover.jpg|thumb|Diablo, Lord of Terror]]
Diablo ruled the [[Burning Hells]] together with his two elder brothers, [[Baal]] and [[Mephisto]] for eons. They were locked in an eternal war with the [[High Heavens]], and as always, hell had its own power struggles, primarily between the three [[Prime Evils]], and the four [[Lesser Evils]].

When the Archangel [[Inarius]] and the powerful demoness [[Lilith]] grew tired of this eternal war, they decided to create a refuge from it all, a [[Sanctuary]]. They, and other [[Demon]]s and [[Angel]]s, had children on Sanctuary, whom were neither demon nor angel, and significantly more powerful than either. These children were called the Nephalem, and Diablo found great interest in their lives.

The war with the heaven halted, seeing what would happen with Sanctuary. The High Heavens, with [[Tyrael]] and [[Imperius]] in the forefront wanted this "abomination" eradicated. Diablo saw potential in the massive powers of the nephalem, and the [[Sin War]] began. When Tyrael and the angels saw goodness in the humans, they were content to leave them to it, but the [[Worldstone]] would act as a dampener, making the nephalem less powerful, and became humans.

The Lesser Evils, too blinded by their hatred of Heaven, saw only the Prime Evils' meddling with Sanctuary as a distraction from the true war, and started a revolt in Hell. The Three were banished from Hell, and walked the earth of Sanctuary, spreading chaos in their wake.

Posing as [[Dialon]], the Spirit of Determination, Diablo secretly led a group of religious fanatics in attempt to establish control over the realm. After the plan failed, Tyrael created the [[Soulstone|Soulstones]] and charged the [[Horadrim|Horadric Order]] with the imprisonment of the Prime Evils.

[[File:Mon-leoric2.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Madness of [[Leoric]].]]
Diablo's soulstone was hidden underneath a Horadric monastery that later became [[Tristram]]. A few hundred years later, Diablo was strong enough to try and corrupt [[Leoric|King Leoric]]. The Lord of Terror invaded Leoric's dreams, attempting to possess the King. Leoric was able to resist Diablo's presence, but he was driven mad by the ordeal.

Diablo had already drawn in [[Lazarus|Archbishop Lazarus]], Leoric's most trusted adviser, and with Lazarus whispering into his ear, the mad king turned on his own people, executing those who disobeyed him, ordering his army into a suicidal war against the friendly neighbouring and previously allied kingdom of [[Westmarch]], and finally purging most of the townspeople from Tristram when his son, [[Albrecht|Prince Albrecht]], vanished. The horrible truth was that it was Lazarus himself who kidnapped the boy.

[[File:Diablo_1_portrait.jpg|thumb|right|Diablo himself]]
While Leoric was too strong for Diablo, Albrecht was not. The terror Albrecht felt in the tomb strengthened Diablo further, and he used Albrecht as his vessel. He inhabited the body and warped it in a demonic shape.

A hero travels through the Tristram labyrinths, catacombs, caves all the way down to Hell in order to confront Diablo directly and ultimately defeated him. The misguided hero drove Diablo's soulstone into his own forehead, hoping to contain the demon himself. He took it upon himself to bring the stone to the East and to imprison Diablo once more.

The [[Wanderer]] travelled the countryside, unleashing demons and horrors in his wake as he was slowly possessed by Diablo. Somehow, Diablo managed to bring the Lesser Evils back under his foot, and both [[Andariel]] and [[Duriel]] helped impair any attempt at catching up with Diablo's journey to release his brothers.

Surrendering control to the demon within, the Wanderer freed [[Baal]] and [[Mephisto]], eventually travelling to Hell where he completed the transformation into his true demonic form.

He was, however once again followed to Hell, where the pursuing heroes unlocked five seals to summon him in his Chaos Sanctuary. After defeating Diablo the heroes destroyed his soulstone, banishing him from Sanctuary back to the Burning Hells.

If this was a permanent death of Diablo or not is unknown, but such an evil rarely dies easily.

==Friends==
Diablo's two older brothers:
* [[Baal]]
* [[Mephisto]]

Diablo's favored servant or pet is the spider demon [[Astrogha]].

{{clear-both}}
==Diablo Appearances==
===Diablo I===
[[Image:Diablo_1_portrait.jpg|left|thumb|100px]]
The first encounter with Diablo occurs after a lone hero journeys deep beneath [[Tristram|Tristram's]] Cathedral in search of a demonic presence plaguing the countryside. Diablo had nearly possessed the former ruler of Khanduras, [[Leoric|King Leoric]]. Finding the king too strong willed to dominate completely, Diablo instead possessed his son, [[Prince Albrecht]]. The hero takes a portal directly to Hell in order to confront Diablo directly, ultimately defeating him. The misguided hero drove Diablo's soulstone into his own forehead, hoping to contain the demon himself.

{{clear-both}}
===Diablo II===
[[Image:Diablo_2_portrait.jpg|thumb|200px]]
The opening [[cinematic]] of ''Diablo II'' introduces us to the [[Wanderer|Dark Wanderer]], the warrior who defeated Diablo underneath [[Tristram]] and is now pursued by a group of heroes. The Wanderer travels the countryside, unleashing demons and horrors in his wake as he is slowly possessed by Diablo. Surrendering control to the demon within, the Wanderer frees [[Baal]] and [[Mephisto]], eventually travelling to Hell where he completes the transformation into his true demonic form. He is once again followed to Hell, where the pursuing heroes unlock five seals to summon him in his Chaos Sanctuary. After defeating Diablo the heroes destroy his Soulstone, banishing him from Sanctuary back to the Burning Hells.

{{clear-both}}

===Diablo III===
[[Image:Diablo_3_portrait.jpg|left|thumb|240px]]
Aside from a brief appearance in the cinematic trailer, not much is known about Diablo's role in the upcoming sequel. He seems to have some impact, however, since there are items such as [[Teeth of Diablo]] used by [[Cultist]]s.

There has been some debate if this demon really is Diablo, or one of his brothers, but when it was released by [[Blizzard Entertainment|Blizzard]], it was named "Diablo", so it's generally accepted it's "Big Red" himself.

{{clear-both}}

===Novels===
Diablo has appeared or been referenced in the following [[Diablo Novels|novels]]:
* [[Diablo: Legacy of Blood]]
* [[Diablo: The Black Road]]
* [[Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow]]
* [[Diablo: Demonsbane]]
* [[Diablo: Moon of the Spider]]
* [[Diablo: The Sin War]] trilogy:
** [[Diablo: Birthright]]
** [[Diablo: Scales of the Serpent]]
** [[Diablo: The Veiled Prophet]]

==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Diablo Diablo-specific gallery contents]

<gallery>
File:Diablo_3_portrait.jpg|Diablo in [[Diablo III]]
File:Diablo_2_portrait.jpg|Diablo in [[Diablo II]]
File:Diablo_1_portrait.jpg|Diablo in [[Diablo I]]
File:Diablo_Archive_cover.jpg|Cover of Diablo Archive
File:Diablo_vs_WoW.jpg|Diablo vs [[World of WarCraft|WoW]] humorous crossover
File:Patch_110_Hell_Frozen_Over.jpg|Diablo II Patch 1.10 wallpaper
File:Diablo_vs_Five.jpg|Epic battle between heroes and Diablo
File:Diablo_2_Holiday_2004.jpg|Holiday wallpaper
File:Diablo_Samwise.jpg|Diablo made by [[Samwise Didier|Samwise]]
File:Diablo_Sigil.jpg|Diablo's sigil
File:Diablo_ornament.jpg|An ornament related to Diablo
File:Three_Brothers.jpg|The three [[Prime Evils]]
File:Dark_Wanderer_skull.jpg|The [[Dark Wanderer]] turning into Diablo
</gallery>

==Reference==
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-is-returning/ Diablo is Returning]
* [[Diablo I Manual]]
* [[Diablo II Manual]]
* [[Diablo II: Lord of Destruction Manual]]
* [[Diablo: Legacy of Blood]]
* [[Diablo: The Black Road]]
* [[Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow]]
* [[Diablo: Demonsbane]]
* [[Diablo: Moon of the Spider]]
* [[Diablo: The Sin War]]

{{Monster navbox}}
{{NPC navbox}}

[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Prime Evils]]
[[Category:Great Evils]]
[[Category:Monsters]]
[[Category:Demons]]

Tristram Cathedral

2010-01-19T21:03:48Z

Newbie: typo, removed low-blow on D3

[[File:Tristram_Cathedral1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Menecing Cathedral]]
'''Tristram Cathedral''' is older than [[Tristram]] itself, with a long [[Horadrim|Horadric]] heritage, and a terrifying history.

==Background==
Most of the background is covered in the [[Tristram]] article.

==Diablo III==
The dungeons of Tristram will once again be playable. These are the catacombs and ruins of Tristram, once again inhabited by [[Cultist]]s and other evil creatures.

==Sections of Tristram Dungeon==
* [[Forgotten Tombs]]
* [[Cannibal's Lair]]

==Media==
<gallery>
File:Tristram_Cathedral1.jpg|Menacing Cathedral
File:Tristram_Cathedral2.jpg|Cathedral interior
File:Tristram_Cathedral3.jpg|Cathedral exit
File:Tristram_Cathedral4.jpg|Cathedral interior
File:Tristram_Cathedral5.jpg|Cathedral interior
File:Tristram_Cathedral6.jpg|Cathedral interior
File:Tristram_Cathedral7.jpg|Lit up by the [[meteor]]
File:Tristram-cathedral1.jpg|Entrance
File:Meteor1.jpg|Falling star ([[meteor]])
File:Meteor2.jpg|...Tumbling down
File:Meteor3.jpg|Impact imminent
File:Tristram meteor impact.jpg|[[Meteor]] impact
File:Tristram_Cathedral11.jpg|[[Meteor]] "crater"
File:Tristram_Cathedral12.jpg|Tristram dungeon
File:Cannibal's Lair.jpg|Cannibal's Lair
File:Tristram_Cathedral13.jpg|Dungeon interior
File:Tristram_Cathedral14.jpg|Dungeon exit
</gallery>

==Reference==
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=546 Diablo 3 Screenshots]
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=547 Diablo 3 Environment Artwork]
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=565 Diablo 3 Cinematics Artwork]
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=600 Diablo 3 Cinematics shots]

{{level navbox}}
{{Sanctuary navbox}}
[[Category:Act I]]
[[Category:Act I levels]]
[[Category:Dungeons]]
[[Category:Levels]]
[[Category:Sanctuary]]
[[Category:Locations]]

Mephisto

2010-01-19T19:52:47Z

Newbie:

[[Image:Mephisto.jpg|350px|right|Mephisto]]'''Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred''' is the eldest of the [[Prime Evils]]. He is brother of [[Diablo]] and [[Baal]] and deals primarily with [[Undead]] creations.

==Background==
Mephisto is known to be father of two demons: [[Lucion]] and [[Lilith]]. Mephisto's daughter was the lover of the rebel angel [[Inarius]], and together created [[Sanctuary]]. Both of Mephisto's children had a big responsibility behind the events of the [[Sin War]].

At the end of the Sin War, the [[Angiris Council]] dictated judgment against Angel Inarius, Sanctuary and his abominations: the [[nephalem]] and the [[edyrem]] (children of the mating between rebel [[angels]] and [[demons]]. Mephisto's shadow appeared before the Angiris Council proposing a truce and a pact.

Mephisto offered to let Sanctuary be untouched by either angel or demon to see what the children may yet become on their own for good or ill.

:"''We, like you, made false assumptions about this place, false assumptions about the creatures spawned by both our kind. But Sanctuary is much more than we envisioned! And we will let it grow and see where it leads, good or ill, untouched by either side.''"

The Angiris Council didn't believe the word of a [[Lord Demon]]. However, Archangel [[Tyrael]] stepped forward and asked Mephisto if he was truly proposing a truce, in order to believe him, he had to cast his mark on a place of Tyrael's choosing. To this Mephisto agreed, with the condition he was given a prize for such a goodwill gesture.

Archangel [[Imperius]] nodded at Tyrael, in agreement to Mephisto's petition. Mephisto requested the Angiris Council to be given the rebel Angel Inarius to pay for the loss of his children: [[Lilith]] and [[Lucion]]; and the sealing of the truce.

The Angiris Council, Mephisto and the three Sanctuary residents ([[Mendeln]], [[Serenthia]] and [[Rathma]]) shifted location instantly. No longer were they at the [[Silver City]], but on the vicinity of the [[Cathedral of Light]]. Tyrael signaled Mephisto to place his mark upon the point where the rebel Angel Inarius had preached to the masses of Sanctuary for centuries.

Mephisto rose his hand and bit it to bleed his black fluids upon the place chosen by Tyrael. Afterwards, Inarius was given to Mephisto to be taken into the [[Burning Hells]] for eternity. Mephisto asked what would be done with the cavern and the find within -- referring to the [[Worldstone]]. Archangel Imperius said a new pact should be done about that. What this pact was is yet unknown. Mephisto agreed with Imperius that the edyrem were to begin at the beginning with their powers set dormant and their memories of the past events of the Sin War to be wiped from their mind. Mephisto requested the firstborn, Rathma and the other nephalem to be able to remember for they were few remaining and their day was at an end.

==Diablo 2 Mephisto==
Read more about [[Mephisto]] in '''{{iw|Mephisto Diablo2Wiki}}'''

==Rumors==
* It is not confirmed, but it is thought that Archangel [[Auriel]] and [[Mephisto]] might have been lovers due to a remark and a wink hurled in Auriel's direction after Mephisto said:

:"''... false assumptions about the creatures spawned by both our kinds." - A blazing red eye materialized, then winked in the direction of Auriel, who utterly ignored it.''

==References==
* [http://www.blizzplanet.com/blog/comments/diablo_the_sin_war_trilogy_vol._3_the_veiled_prophet_-_excerpt/ '''Diablo: The Sin War Trilogy, book three: The Veiled Prophet'''] -- pages 331-335

{{Template:Monster navbox}}

[[Category:characters]]
[[Category:Demons]]
[[Category:Prime Evils]]
[[Category:Great Evils]]

Lut Gholein

2010-01-14T18:13:01Z

Newbie: grammar

[[Image:Lut Gholein day.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Lut Gholein by the sea.]]
'''Lut Gholein''', or '''The Jewel of the Desert''' is located in the [[aranoch]] desert and is one of the biggest trading centres of the [[Western Kingdoms]]. It is also the [[town]] area of Act II in [[Diablo II]]. It's not know if it will appear in [[Diablo 3]], but it is an important part of the lore of [[Sanctuary]].

==Description==
[[Image:Lut Gholein night.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Lut Gholein night-time.]]
The ''Jewel of the Desert'' has managed to become a huge trading post, despite being located in the [[Aranoch]] desert, mainly because of its very good location as the midpoint between the [[Western Kingdoms]] and [[Kehjistan]].

Lut Gholein is a very large and rich city on the western edge of the [[Twin Seas]] and has actually prospered in the merciless environment of [[Aranoch]]. Most credit this to the city's coastal location and strong sea trading ties with the kingdoms to the east and west. Although a few bands of nomadic people have found ways to survive in this hostile desert, most steer clear of these sandy wastelands.

The culture and architecture is very similar to [[Earth]]'s Arabic countries, while outlying ruins and dungeons in the desert has a distinctively more Egyptian feel with mummies and scarabs.

===Defenses===
This large city usually has very good defenses, including well-built wall structures and a well-trained army. However, during the arrival of the [[Dark Wanderer]], many guards have been slain and the rest were ordered back into the Palace to defend it against an internal invasion of [[demon]]s from the [[Arcane Sanctuary]]. Although this was not public knowledge, and [[Jerhyn]], the Sultan kept it under wraps.

Jerhyn hired [[Greiz]] and his mercenaries to protect the city instead. They did a good job, but in the end could not hold against the demons beyond the city walls.

Fortunately, a hero arrived and managed to help the city with the troubles outside the walls as well as inside the Palace.

==Background==
[[Image:Lut Gholein CoD4 map.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Lut Gholein interpreted into a Call of Duty 4 map.]]
[[File:Lut Gholein jigsaw.jpg|thumb|right|400px|A look at the [[Diablo II]] version of Lut Gholein.]]
Lut Gholein has been around for hundreds of years and has prospered, but 20 years ago, the town was more or less cut off from the [[Western Kingdoms]] by [[Diablo]] stopping the trade routes through the mountains. He travelled here to free his brother [[Baal]] from the [[Horadrim]] prison, where he was locked in the body of [[Tal Rasha]].

Diablo also altered much of the natural wildlife, including the [[lacuni]] to ferociously attack anyone passing by.

The town itself was tormented by [[Radament]] who is another mummified Horadric mage possessed by a [[demon]]. Radament was hiding in the city sewers below.

A group of heroes disposed of the possessed mummy, and went on a quest by [[Deckard Cain]] to use the [[Horadric Cube]] to restore the [[Horadric Staff]] to stop Diablo from freeing Baal in the [[Tomb of Tal Rasha]].

In the midst of all this, [[The Summoner]] started releasing demons into the Palace of Lut Gholein, killing anything in sight.

All the troubles were dealt with by the heroes, and many citizens have suppressed these memories to the point where it's more myth than legend.

==Characters of Lut Gholein==
*[[Atma]] - Tavern Keeper
*[[Deckard Cain]] - Traveller stopping by
*[[Drognan]] - Mage Trader
*[[Elzix]] - Trader and gambler
*[[Fara]] - A [[Paladin]] who repairs equipment and heals weary travellers.
*[[Geglash]] - Drunkard
*[[Greiz]] - Local [[mercenary]] service
*[[Jerhyn]] - The Sultan
*[[Kaelan]] - Palace guard
*[[Lysander]] - Potions Trader
*[[Meshif]] - Sailor
*[[Warriv]] - Caravan owner

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Lut Gholein day.jpg|Day picture
Image:Lut Gholein night.jpg|Night picture
Image:Lut Gholein CoD4 map.jpg|CoD 4 interpretation
Image:Lut Gholein CoD4 map2.jpg|CoD 4 map overview
Image:Lut Gholein CoD4 map3.jpg|CoD 4 map park bit
Image:Lut Gholein CoD4 map4.jpg|CoD 4 map palace
Image:Lut Gholein jigsaw.jpg|[[Diablo II]] version.
</gallery>

==References==
* [[Diablo II Manual]]
* [[Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow]]
* [[Diablo: Legacy of Blood]]
* [http://forum.i3d.net/modifications-cod4/56130-cod-4-map-lut-gholein.html Call of Duty 4 Lut Gholein map]

{{Sanctuary navbox}}

[[Category:Settlements]]
[[Category:Lut Gholein]]
[[Category:Aranoch]]

Town

2010-01-14T17:08:11Z

Newbie: typo

A '''town''' is an area within a [[Diablo game]] that is free of [[monster]]s, and where [[PvP]] combat is impossible. A sanctuary as well as a place to gather supplies for adventures ahead. Cities in [[Sanctuary]] are not per definition "towns", this term is saved primarily for the [[Glossary|game term]].

==Background==
[[File:Lut Gholein jigsaw.jpg|thumb|350px|right|[[Lut Gholein]] as a town in [[Diablo II]].]]
The [[Diablo game]]s have a tradition to circulate around towns. Towns acts as a central place in an area where no hostile actions can take place, and where adventurers can repair items, store their gear in a [[stash]] and barter or gamble for new ones. In Diablo 1, it was the entire game circulating around [[Tristram]], and in Diablo 2, it was one town per "[[Act]]".

Blizzard has released concept art and a world map that shows off many of the towns in Diablo III, but just how these will be integrated into the actual gameplay remains to be seen. There are no screenshots of a character in a town, or conducting trade with an NPC.

==Blizzcon 2008==
At the Blizzcon (October 2008) demo, new characters started off in a rough, very small encampment outside of [[New Tristram]]. There were two [[NPCs]] there, but neither was a merchant, and only [[Captain Rumford]] could be spoken to. There were no structures or even any tents in the camp; just a bonfire loaded with corpses, so that area could not be considered a "town" in any sense of the word.

==Towns and Cities==
The [[D3 Team]] has not confirmed that towns will be set up as they were in Diablo II, but it certainly seems likely, judging by the concept art of cities, and their general remarks about how the game will be structured.

One specific comment about towns came up during the April 2009 Blizzcast, when Jay Wilson was asked if characters would be able to enter buildings in towns. [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/blizzcast-8-live-with-diablo-iii-goodies/]

::'''Will buildings and towns be enterable, like Atma's Bar was from Diablo 2’s second act?'''

::'''Jay Wilson:''' There probably will be some buildings, my guess is not too far off from how many were enterable in Diablo 2. Most towns we don’t make all the buildings enterable, it’s just a ton of art to create for very little reason. Most people tear through the towns at lightning speed, so they don’t have a desire to go into the individual buildings. But we do have some specialty buildings that I’m sure we’ll go inside of throughout the quest course of the game.

From Jay's answer, "most towns we don't make all the buildings enterable," it's fairly clear that there will be towns with buildings set up much as they were in Diablo II.

==Towns in Diablo III==
See the specific towns pages for concept art, map coordinates, plot info, and more.
* [[Caldeum]]
* [[Kurast]]
* [[Lut Gholein]]
* [[New Tristram]]
* [[Ureh]]
* [[Viz-jun]]
Full [[:Category:Towns|list of all known towns]].

==Towns in Diablo II==
** '''{{iw|Act_I Act I}}''': {{iw|Rogue_Encampment Rogue Encampment}}
** '''{{iw|Act_II Act II}}''': {{iw|Lut_Gholein Lut Gholein}}
** '''{{iw|Act_III Act III}}''': {{iw|Kurast_Docks Kurast Docks}}
** '''{{iw|Act_IV Act IV}}''': {{iw|Pandemonium_Fortress Pandemonium Fortress}}
** '''{{iw|Act_V Act V}}''': {{iw|Harrogath Harrogath}}

==Towns in Diablo I==
* {{iw|Tristram Tristram}}

==References==
* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/blizzcast-8-live-with-diablo-iii-goodies/ BlizzCast 8 Live]
* [[BlizzCon 2008]]

{{Level navbox}}

[[Category:Basics]]
[[Category:Towns]]
[[Category:Levels]]
[[Category:Reference]]

Fan fiction:The Chamber of Bone

2010-01-13T20:25:55Z

Newbie:

'''The Chamber of Bone''' is a bit of [[Fan fiction]] poetry by [[Bereyn]] originally posted in the [[Diii.net]] [http://forums.diii.net/forumdisplay.php?f=8 Fan Fiction Forum]. Posted as a one shot on January 22nd 2009.

<center>
==The Chamber of Bone==
By '''Bereyn'''
</center>
<div style="clear:both;"></div>

<center>
Down in the darkness of the old Monastery.<br>
There lies a danger for those unwary.<br>
The bleached-white bones of the undead flower.<br>
From which most men would run or cower.<br>
An army of skeletons with shield and sword.<br>
Hundreds of archers, with arrows that gore.<br>
And the Undead King sitting on his throne.<br>
Await you down in the Chamber of Bone.<br>
</center>

==References==

* [[Bereyn]]
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=711603 Original Post]

{{Fan creation navbox}}

[[Category:Fan fiction]]
[[Category:Bereyn]]

User talk:Newbie

2010-01-13T19:56:44Z

Newbie: /* Typofixes */

==Andariel==
Hey Newbie, and welcome to DiabloWiki! Thanks a mil for fixing that link typo on [[andariel]], was a broken link otherwise!

Also, you think you perhaps could upload some image to her? I know there are some good Andariel images in the [http://diablo.incgamers.com/ Diii.net] gallery, and you're allowed to use them for DW... If you feel unsure on how to respond to this message, check out [[Help:Talk]], if you don;t know how to add images, check out [[Help:Image]], or just e-mail me with any questions :) it's leord at incgamers dot com. --[[User:Leord|Leord]] 17:50, 16 December 2009 (UTC)

:Not a problem, the dead link bothered me. I just took an image from the diablo 2 wiki, if that's okay.--[[User:Newbie|Newbie]] 00:43, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

::Hehe! A bit of an oversight it seems. Should have been brought over when the article was made :) This is the drawback with separate wikis. :P I know there's like loads of similar pages that could use some pics though, like [[Atma]], [[Malah]], and many other characters, especially D2 NPCs... --[[User:Leord|Leord]] 10:19, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

==Typofixes==
Cheers man, I missed that :) --[[User:Leord|Leord]] 11:30, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

:Glad I could help, hope my edits aren't too brutal. --[[User:Newbie|Newbie]] 19:56, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

Tyrael

2010-01-13T01:41:31Z

Newbie: grammar, etc

'''Tyrael''' is an [[Archangel]] and a member of the powerful [[Angiris Council]]. He defied the council in order to teach the [[Horadrim]] how to seal the [[Prime Evils]]' souls into [[soulstone]]s, thereby trapping them for eternity.

Tyrael is the Archangel of Justice.

{{clear-right}}
{{Charbox
|portrait= Tyrael_portrait.jpg


|chartype= normal
|title= [[Archangel]] of Justice
|gender= Male (presumed)
|race= Angel
|status= Alive (presumed)
|occupation= [[Angiris Council]] Member
|affiliation= [[High Heavens]], [[Horadrim]]
|friends= [[Deckard Cain]], [[Tal Rasha]]
|foes= [[Baal]], [[Mephisto]], [[Diablo]]
|location= Unknown
|categories= [[category:Possible NPCs]][[category:Angels]][[category:Angiris Council]]
}}
== Diablo III Character ==
Tyrael has been seen in a lot on concept art and on the official webpage for [[Diablo III]]. He is very likely to end up as an [[NPC]] in the game in some form. There have been debates as to his motives and whether he will be good or evil. Players will have to wait and see.

===Diablo 3 Theories===
Many players believe that Tyrael will be central to the plot of Diablo 3. They speculate that he will suffer the repercussions of destroying the Worldstone, and has been cast out of the heavens at some point during the 20 years following the destruction of the Worldstone. Tyrael could potentially be corrupted and an enemy in the next game [http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=669472]. These claims can be evidenced by images of Tyraels' wings appearing smoky[http://diablo3x.com/diablo-3-website-tyrael-is-turning-evil]. Finally, during a Q&A session a Blizzard Representative said the following in an answer to a question on The High Heavens and Tyrael:

<blockquote> "We are not going to reveal any details about that but I can say we do address a lot of the issues that you’re talking about. I can extrapolate that the high heavens aren’t very pleased about his actions. I probably shouldn’t say any more." [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/diablo-3-open-qa-full-transcript1/] </blockquote>

As to his whereabouts, Blizzard states, "He hasn't been seen by any mortal since the destruction of the Worldstone."

[[Image:Tyreal_bare.jpg|left|thumb|600px|Tyrael, as seen on the official home page. Some fans claim that his wings seem to be just smoke, as if he has been banished from the [[High Heavens]].]]

{{clear-left}}






===Related Characters (and Monsters)===
* [[Deckard Cain]]
* The [[Player character]]s

==Personality==
The personality of Tyrael is known to only a very few. We know he is a man of great justice, compassion and hatred of [[demon]]s, and he has a special interest in [[Sanctuary]] as well as humanity.

Since he was close to destroying Sanctuary himself, originally, it's clear he's not afraid to take action against what he considers a threat to the [[High Heavens]].

==Background==

===Sanctuary===
When the [[Angiris Council]] first discovered [[Sanctuary]], Tyrael was designated to lead Heaven's forces in destroying the "abomination". This was [[Imperius]]' view, one Tyrael sympathised with, since the whole existence of sanctuary comes from a defiled union of [[angel]]s and [[demon]]s.

When Tyrael witnessed [[Uldyssian]] sacrificing himself for the world of sanctuary he had a change of heart, and took the deciding vote within the council to save Sanctuary from destruction.

The council wiped the memories of all humans, and none now know that Tyrael could have been the one responsible for the undoing of all of humanity.

===The Horadrim===
[[File:Horadrim_Sigil.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Sigil of the [[Horadrim]].]]
After the existence of [[Sanctuary]] was secured, Tyrael has been ordered by his fellow angels on many occasions not to interfere with the mortal world. He has often disobeyed, fearing that Sanctuary would otherwise fall in the hands of the [[Burning Hells]].

When the [[Prime Evils]] later were banished from hell during the [[Dark Exile]], Tyrael helped humanity to create the [[Horadrim]] and creating the Soulstones they used to imprison [[Diablo]], [[Mephisto]] and [[Baal]] with, centuries before the events covered in Diablo I and Diablo II.

He also helped the Horadrim to seal the essence of Baal in the body of [[Tal Rasha]].

===The Worldstone===
[[File:Tyrael.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Tyrael destroying the [[Worldstone]].]]
Tyrael was captured by Baal after he failed to stop Diablo from releasing Baal but was eventually freed by the adventurers of [[Diablo II]]. He returned to the adventurers in the [[Pandemonium Fortress]], the last bastion before [[Hell]], to offer some assistance.

When [[Diablo]] was defeated and the adventurers had caught up with [[Baal]] to slay him, Tyrael made it clear that Baal had permanently corrupted the [[Worldstone]]. He decided that the only thing he could do to protect [[Sanctuary]] was to destroy the sacred relic.

The destruction left the massive [[Mount Arreat]] as nothing more than a crater, and dealt a devastating blow to the [[Barbarian]] tribes, who saw it as their life duty to protect the Worldstone.

The Barbarian tribe leader [[Anya]] considers the destruction and tells us in her valediction that this action was never foreseen in the prophecies.

===Speculation: Tyrael's Agenda===
[[File:Angel concept1.jpg|right|thumb|300px|This [[Archangel]], who likely is Tyrael, is doing something powerful.]]
Tyrael has appeared throughout Sanctuary at many times to assist the humans in the fight against the demonic forces. Amongst players there is much speculation as to Tyrael's real agenda, but in the game all of the [[NPCs]] seem to hold him in the highest esteem.

However, the speculation includes notions that Tyrael does not care about humanity, and the destruction of the [[Worldstone]] is for some devious purpose. Seen from a certain light, it seems strange he first supplied [[Soulstone]]s to the [[Horadrim]], only to ask the heroes to destroy them a few hundred years later. What implications will the destruction of the Worldstone have on [[Sanctuary]] and how do we know it really was corrupted beyond salvation? [[Baal]] had not spent ''that'' much time in the chamber, and was the Worldstone really so easy to corrupt?

===Friends===
As with his personality, it's hard to know if Tyrael ever had any human friends, but if he did, [[Tal Rasha]] would likely be part of those, as would [[Deckard Cain]] and the heroes who helped defeat the Prime Evils.

===Foes===
More than anything, Tyrael opposes the [[Burning Hells]] and [[demon]]kind. If this is his only motivation for helping humans on [[Sanctuary]], or if he perhaps is using the human world as a battlefield against Hell is unknown.



==Previous Appearances==
[[File:Tyrael.gif|right|thumb|180px|Tyrael in [[Diablo II]].]]
Tyrael is seen in three places in [[Diablo II]]. The first is at the end of Act Two, when he greets the player from the island where Baal/Tal Rasha had been imprisoned. The second meeting comes in the [[Pandemonium Fortress]], the town of Act Four, where Tyrael interacts with characters like any other [[NPC]], though of course he's a bit less chatty.

He is not a merchant, but he can resurrect dead [[follower|mercs]], for the usual price. What Tyrael does with the [[gold]] is an eternal question and running joke for many players. The third sighting of Tyrael comes at the end of Act Five, when he descends from above after [[Baal]]'s defeat in the [[Worldstone Chamber]].

After a speech in which he asserts that Baal has poisoned the [[Worldstone]] and that it will no longer function to keep most of the forces of [[High Heavens|Heaven]] and [[Burning Hells|Hell]] from flooding into the mortal world, Tyrael creates a portal for the human heroes to leave.

After their departure, Tyrael hurls his sword into the Worldstone, causing it to shatter into countless millions of pieces, and its this explosion and apparent doom for humanity that fills the final cinematic of Diablo II.

For more information about the Diablo II NPC Tyrael, see: '''{{iw|Tyrael Tyrael}}'''

===Tyrael Dialogues===
These dialogues are the transcribed content of everything Tyrael has said in any [[Diablo game]]. So far of course only [[Diablo II]]...
* '''[[Tyrael dialogue]]s'''



==Trivia==
[[File:Tyrael_pet.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Tyrael pet.]]
Tyrael makes a cameo in [[World of WarCraft]] as an in-game pet. This was part of the goody-bag from [[WWI 2008]] in Paris, where Diablo was unveiled.

==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Tyrael Tyrael-specific gallery contents]

<youtube>VQyta80a5wc</youtube>
Tyrael in action, trying to stop the [[Dark Wanderer]] from freeing [[Baal]]. Unfortunately, [[Marius]] gets in the way and frees him.

<gallery>
File:Tyrael.jpg|Destroying the [[Worldstone]].
File:Tyrael_armor.jpg|Tyrael's Armour.
File:Tyrael.gif|D2's Tyrael.
File:Tyrael_portrait.jpg|Tyrael up close.
File:Angel concept1.jpg|Tyrael or possibly [[Izual]] doing some soul-searching.
File:Tyrael_pet.jpg|The [[World of WarCraft|WoW pet]].
File:Wanderer.jpg|Fighting the [[Dark Wanderer]].
</gallery>



==References==
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/tyrael-the-archangel-of-justice/ Tyrael - The Archangel of Justice ]
* [[Diablo II: Lord of Destruction Manual]]
* [[Diablo II Manual]]
* [[Diablo I Manual]]
* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/diablo-3-open-qa-full-transcript1/ Diablo 3 Open Q&A Full Transcript]
* {{iw|Tyrael Diablo II Tyrael}}
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=718&size=big&cat=563 Tyrael's Armor]
* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=724&size=big&cat=563 Tyrael or other Archangel being powerful]

{{Angel navbox}}
{{NPC navbox}}

[[Category:NPCs (Diablo II)]]

Witch Doctor skill archive

2010-01-04T20:47:58Z

Newbie: /* Locust Swarm */ grammar

{{Class skill archive top}}

Please note that [[Mana Globe]]s currently are not in the game. Mana is instead gained from [[Health Globe]]s.
See the [[skill|skill article]] for further details on how the tier systems evolved, and the skill system in general.

==Pre-BlizzCon 2009 Zombie Tree==
The Plague Skill Tree was renamed "[[Zombie Skill Tree]]" at [[BlizzCon 2009]] to reflect a more [[Zombie]]-related theme.

===[[Locust Swarm]]===
[[Image:Wd-locust-swarm1.jpg|thumb|250px|Locust Swarm.]][[Image:Skill_witchdoctor_locustswarm_icon.gif|left]]
{{Class skill archive status|Changed=A}} prior to [[BlizzCon 2009]].<br> <br>
This projectile emits a spray of green insects which swarm over anything in close range, like flying piranhas. The locusts deal poison damage, and have the ability to jump from one infested monster to other nearby targets. (They do this with a green swooshing graphic, [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1520&size=big&cat=&si=locust&what=allfields&mcats=all as seen here].

Each Locust Swarm seems to last for a set amount of time, but this duration is extended as they swarm to additional targets. It's possible for one swarm to spread to numerous targets, if they are in close proximity.

Locusts that pass over the Witch Doctor's minions, [[Voodoo_Skill_Tree#Summon_Mongrel|Mongrels]] for instance, will turn the minions green while granting poison damage to all attacks, for as long as the minion persists. (Or until a different skill hits the minion, granting it a different sort of bonus damage.)

===[[Plague of Toads]]===
{{Class skill archive status|Changed=A}} prior to [[BlizzCon 2009]].<br><br>
This skill works like a short-range, Charged Bolt of amphibians. In the Blizzcon demo 3 toads were tossed out with each casting. They hopped forward, spreading out slightly, but homing in on targets if any were in range. Their homing wasn't very good; they never changed direction or made a sharp turn, but if a target was roughly in front of the Witch Doctor, at least two of the toads were sure to leap into it.

[[Image:Wd-plague-toads1.jpg|thumb|300px|Plague of Toads. [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1986 Full shot here].]]
When the toads found a target or after several hops (covering about half the screen) they exploded in splats of green acid, which dealt poison damage to the enemy. Toads also left behind puddles of acid on the ground, which would damage monsters that stepped on them.

Like all of the spells in Diablo III, this one has a great sound effect, with the toads making their "ribbit" noises and wet slapping sounds as they hop forward. The animation is excellent as well. The toads really look like they have weight and mass as they gather themselves to leap, and land with a little thud after each spring.

It's not known what [[skill rune]]s will do to this skill, but a multi-strike rune seems a good bet to increase the number of amphibious attackers.

===[[Spider Statue]]===
{{Class skill archive status|Changed=A}} prior to [[BlizzCon 2009]].

This skill was first seen at Blizzcon, and has not yet been featured in a screenshot. It's essentially a trap with a small damage radius. When cast a small statue appears out of the ground. From it spiders emerge, and swarm over nearby monsters, dealing poison damage. Monsters take more damage per second the longer they remain in range.

==Pre-BlizzCon 2009 Spirit Tree==

===[[Skull of Flame]]===
{{Class skill archive status|Changed=A}} prior to [[BlizzCon 2009]].

[[Image:Skill_witchdoctor_firebomb_icon.gif|left|Firebomb Skill Icon]]The [[Skull of Flame]] (formerly known as Firebomb) allows the [[Witch Doctor]] to lob a sort of fire grenade projectile, like a molotov cocktail, to any spot on the screen. The burning skull tumbles end over end in mid-air, and explodes with a burst of flame when it lands, dealing fire damage to anything in the immediate vicinity. It also sets targets aflame, and they take continued damage from the fire for several seconds. There are fires left burning on the ground after a firebomb detonates, but these do not seem to deal damage to, or set fire to, targets that walk through them.

During BlizzCon 2008's Diablo 3 Class Design Panel there were shown some ways to improve a firebomb through the use of [[skill rune]]s.
* A [[Hydra Rune]] (named multi-strike before) causes the flaming skull to bounce on the ground like a rock on a pond, bounding and creating multiple explosions as it skips.
* A [[Force Rune]] (named power before) boosts the damage, and creates a firewall-like effect where patches of flame are left on the ground, scorching all monsters in the vicinity.

Like several other Witch Doctor spells, the flames from this one will spread to the Mongrels, adding fire damage to their attacks.

[[Image:Skill_witchdoctor_firebomb.jpg|frame|center|Sequence of Witch Doctor casting Skull of Flame.]]

During the [[WWI_2008:_Denizens_of_Diablo_Panel#Witch_Doctor:_Firebomb|Denizens of Diablo]] panel at the 2008 WWI event, the D3 team spoke at length about the development of the Firebomb skill and how it's one of the skills that best describes what makes the Witch Doctor tick. A partial quote:

:Originally it was a sort of fireball spell; when cast it traveled in a direct line from the WD to the target and would hit anything in the path. It exploded nicely. Explosions are cool. Everyone likes them.

:Problem was, not really problem, but we've all seen that kind of Fireball spell before. The artists came back said we didn't imagine him that way. We saw Firebomb as more of a physical magic. Like concocting some alchemical recipe in a skull and hurling that, and it explodes.

:Once it was a physical projectile designers liked that. It became a physical thing to throw, could go over walls. Become different tactics and use. Great example of how art and design can work together to iterate to make cool skill.

===[[Mass Confusion]]===
[[Image:Skill_witchdoctor_massconfusion.png|frame|right|Mass Confusion being cast on [[Goatman|Goatmen]].]]
{{Class skill archive status|Unchanged=A}} since [[BlizzCon 2009]].

This curse-like mind control attack summons a blue spirit where ever the [[Witch Doctor]] places it. The spirit confuses some of the [[monster]]s from a range, causing an aqua-colored orb to appear over their heads. Confused monsters seem to lose their AI, and they mill run around more than usual. They may also attack, or be attacked by other monsters. They are not the WD's minions though, and are not under his control, so he can kill confused monsters just like any other monster.
<div style="clear:both;"></div>

===[[Soul Harvest]]===
[[Image:Icon-soul-harvest.jpg|left]][[Image:Wd-soul-harvest3.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Soul Harvest]]
{{Class skill archive status|Unchanged=A}} since [[BlizzCon 2009]].

This skill creates a nova-like ring of blue smoke around the [[Witch Doctor]]. All targets within the ring are damaged, and if the damage is enough to kill them, their souls (white/blue ghosts) swirl into the air, then down into the Witch Doctor, where they add to his or her [[mana]]. The radius of the skill is not very large, so [[monster]]s need to be nearly in [[melee]] range to be affected.

This is a useful tool to finish off multiple weak enemies, and to replenish the Witch Doctor's mana in the process. It's not a very cost-effective spell to use as a regular attack, since the damage isn't very high, and the WD has other skills that can hit multiple enemies at once for more damage, and at a lower mana cost.

===[[Firebats]]===
[[Image:Wd-firebats1.jpg|thumb|300px|Firebats!]]
{{Class skill archive status|Changed=A}} prior to [[BlizzCon 2009]].

This inferno-like spell shoots forth a spray of flaming bats that scorch any monsters in range. The spell keeps firing for as long as the mouse button is depressed, and it can be aimed in any direction by moving the mouse. The screenshot here shows the range; it goes that far, and no further. Click to see [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1989 the full screenshot].

The bat animation is very nice, with a sort of swirling tornado of them appearing above the [[Witch Doctor]], then funneling down and out into [[combat]]. The bats are not on fire overhead, and are only ignited as they pass the WD's hands and strike the monsters. The WD in the image to the right has just released the mouse button, since the bats are still flying out and burning, but there aren't any visible flying down from overhead. There's a nice sound effect with this one as well, as the bats screech and chitter, with a burning, crackling sound over the top of their cries.

If you like bats, don't think of them as being incinerated in agony; think of them as eager volunteers to help the Witch Doctor rid Sanctuary of evil.

<br><br>

==Pre-BlizzCon 2009 Voodoo Tree==
===[[Horrify]]===
{{Class skill archive status|Unchanged=A}} since [[BlizzCon 2009]].
{|align="right" width="25%" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; clear:both;"
! Horrify
|-
|
'''Rank:''' 3/5<br>
A spectral mask that horrifies all enemies in proximity, causing them to run in fear.<br>
'''Mana cost:''' 10<br>
'''Radius:''' 20<br>
'''Fear duration:''' 1-2 seconds.<br>
'''Mask duration:''' 5<br>
Rank 4 duration: 5
|}

[[Image:horrify.jpg|thumb|left|Horrify the enemy]][[Image:Skill_witchdoctor_horrify_icon.gif|left|Horrify]]This curse-like spell works like the Terror curse (or the barbarian's grim ward skill), but functions almost like an aura; causing any monster near the WD to flee in fright. Monsters in range are overcome with fright and immediately scatter, running away from the WD. The skill works by summoning a frightening spirit, which appears above the WD and screams and shakes its arms at the monsters. Presumably, any monsters that come into range while the horrify spirit is active are affected by it, essentially making the WD a moving object of terror. This limits the skill as well, since it can't be cast on individual targets, or cast a great distance from the WD.

There are 2 durations; how long each individual fright lasts on afflicted monsters, and how long the frightening spirit remains over the WD's head, capable of horrifying or re-horrifying anything that comes into range.

The hover text for this one was seen in the WWI movie, and is reproduced to the right. This skill, like all active skills at that time, only allowed 1 point to be added to it at the Blizzcon 2008 demo. How many points will be allowed in the actual game remains to be determined.

===[[Wall of Zombies]]===
{{Class skill archive status|Unchanged=A}} since [[BlizzCon 2009]].
{|align="right" width="25%" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; clear:both;"
! Wall of Zombies
|-
|
'''Rank:''' 4/5<br>
Zombies erupt from the earth to attack your enemies.<br>
'''Current level:''' 4<br>
Zombies attack for 15 damage.<br>
'''Next level:''' 5<br>
Zombies attack for 15 damage.
|}

[[Image:Wd-zombie-wall1.jpg|thumb|left|The wall shreds goatmen.]]
[[Image:Icon-wallofzombies.jpg|left|Wall of Zombies]]This skill works much like the Necromancer's bone wall; causing a straight line of obstacles to erupt from the earth. Not merely obstacles though, this wall is made of zombified creatures who claw at and deal damage to any monsters who come into range. Monsters attack the wall, so this isn't hard to do.

The wall zombies seem to be very powerful in the WWI gameplay movie, ripping dozens of Moon Clan goatmen to shreds in just seconds. The skill is level 4 though, as revealed by the hover text, so likely it would be much less powerful at level 1. When tested in the Blizzcon 2008 demo, this skill was fun, but far less damaging than it was in the WWI movie from a few months earlier. With one point in Zombie Wall, the zombies were able to kill a few of the skeletons that attacked it, but the wall was of more use as a shield or a target for enemies; a sort of stationary "tank" that drew their attention and allowed the Witch Doctor to move into range to effectively use her offensive skills.

It's not known if it can stop the advance of larger monsters, who might just step over it or crush it; every monster so far seen near the wall has attacked it.

===[[Summon Mongrel]]===
{{Class skill archive status|Changed=A}} prior to [[BlizzCon 2009]].
[[Image:Wd-mongrel2.jpg|thumb|300px|Fire and regular mongrels.]][[Image:Icon-summonmongrel.jpg|left|Summon Mongrel]]
The Witch Doctor summons a mangy zombie dog which attacks the target like one of the D2 Druid's wolves. Mongrels are not great melee fighters, but they are quick on their feet and serve as fairly sturdy tanks, allowing the Witch Doctor to use her attack skills to devastating effect.

[[Mongrels]] pick up the characteristics of the Witch Doctor's attack spells, and they may be enchanted with fire or poison, adding that elemental damage to their regular attack. Mongrels that are so enhanced take on visual characteristics of the spell, as you can see with the flaming and regular mongrels in the screenshot to the right.

Mongrels are valid targets for the Sacrifice skill, and will detonate when chosen, dealing substantial damage to nearby targets.

* See more [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=mongrel screenshots of Mongrels] in the Image Gallery.

===[[Sacrifice]]===
{{Class skill archive status|Changed=A}} prior to [[BlizzCon 2009]].
This skill causes the targeted [[Mongrel]] to explode, dealing substantial damage to any enemies in the area. In the [[BlizzCon 2008]] demo the skill was not called "Sacrifice Mongrel," but just plain "Sacrifice." This seems an indication that it will work on all sorts of minions, not just Mongrels. No other minions have yet been revealed, but it's a safe bet that we'll see more in the future.
[[Image:Skill_witchdoctor_sacrificesequence.jpg|center|600px|thumb|Sequence of Sacrifice cast on a mongrel.]]

{{Skill navbox}}
{{Skill navbox zombie}}
{{Skill navbox spirit}}
{{Skill navbox voodoo}}

[[Category:Witch Doctor skill archive]]
[[Category:Witch Doctor]]
[[Category:Archives]]

Wizard

2009-12-30T20:54:20Z

Newbie: grammar, flow

The '''Wizard''' is a pure [[caster|spellcaster]], harnessing arcane and elemental magic to do her bidding. Similar to the [[Sorcerer]] and [[Sorceress]] of previous Diablo games.

==Background==
{{Classbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Wizards.jpg
|portrait-width= 200px
|name= Wizard
|classtype= official
|role= [[Caster]]
|attrib= [[Willpower]]

|skilltree1= [[Arcane Skill Tree]]
|skilltree2= [[Conjuration Skill Tree]]
|skilltree3= [[Storm Skill Tree]]

|origin= [[Xiansai]]
|affiliation= None. [[Vizjerei]] (former), [[Zann Esu]] (former)
|friends= None Known
|foes= [[Vizjerei]], [[Yshari Sanctum]], [[Valthek]]
}}
[[Image:Male Wizard2.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Male Wizard using [[Wave of Force]].]]
The word "wizard" is used derogatory for rogue [[Sorcerer]]s and magi that are dangerous to the world at large in the world of [[Sanctuary]].

The female Wizard character in [[Diablo III]] is from the island [[Xiansai]], an island to the far north with a culture similar to Asia in our world. [[Abd al-Hazir]] writes about a 'wizard' wreaking havoc in [[Caldeum]] in his [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0007|seventh entry]] of the [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir]].

This 19 year old female wizard was sent to the [[Zann Esu]] [[mage clan]], but later handed over to the powerful [[Vizjerei]] since she was a "rude and uncooperative student," that the smaller mage clan could not control. They hoped the harsh discipline at Vizjerei "would break her anarchic spirit." Yet even the Vizjerei instructors were unable to rein her in. She was continually being caught seeking out dangerous and forbidden magics without care for herself or anyone around her.

It was rumoured in Caldeum that she ventured into the infamous [[Bitter Depths]] below the [[Sanctum]], but the truth is she was caught in the [[Ancient Repositories]], where the most dangerous incantations are housed for the safety of the public.

[[Valthek]], a great Vizjerei mage confronted her and she attacked him. She relied on trickery and deceit to render Valthek unconscious and then proceeded to flee the city immediately after the encounter. The extensive property damage was assumed to be the result of Valthek's [[magic]]al prowess, not the young wizard.

[[Image:Male_Wizard.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Male Wizard Artwork]]
Abd al-Hazir is concerned about the young, rebellious and inexperienced wizard wandering the world, using magics she does not understand. He mentioned that certain schools of magic were too dangerous and "those wiser than you or I determined long ago [to forbid] their practice." Primal forces including time warps include the secrets he suspects she gathered from the Ancient Repositories.

===The Male Wizard===
The above is the background of the female Wizard. Since it's specifically a woman, we don't know yet where the male version comes from, his background or motivations. We can assume he'll be every bit as arrogant and self-absorbed as the female Wizard, however.

==Class Design==
The Wizard is an aggressive archetypal magic wielder founding his powers on the aggressive fierceness of the storm, the arcane and conjuration. Both the male and female wizards are rebellious, headstrong, impulsive, and brilliant. Too smart and arrogant to fit into the authority of the sorcerer schools of the [[mage clan]]s. Always on top of their skills and even smarter than their teachers, cocky and self assured.

===Sorceress Redux?===
Some fans have criticized the Wizard for just being the [[Sorceress]] with a new look. [[Jay Wilson]] commented on that [http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset=1&cId=3172030&p=1 in an interview with 1up.com] in December 2008.

[[Image:Wiz-disintegrate1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Wizard using [[Disintegrate]].]]
::''I would respond, "Yeah, you're right; the Wizard is basically a reskinned Sorceress." What we couldn't do with the Sorceress very well was break into what I'd call the old-school pen-and-paper magic user. You know the old magic user who could do a variety of things, like conjure up animals out of midair or create clouds of fog and acid or control time or [[Disintegrate|disintegrate things]] or use death spells. They had this wide variety of magic that they could use compared to the more traditional elementalist -- which is what the Sorceress is, meaning fire, ice, and lightning -- who was just more limited. What we really wanted to do is break into this area, while if we just did the Sorceress again, we'd be like, "OK, you have to do fire, ice, and lightning, but where does disintegrate fit? Where does slow time fit in?" So we decided [that we'd] just take the same class mechanics, and [that we'd] change the basic concept and name and just have a throwback to that old-school magic user to give ourselves a broader range of magic skills. But there was never a huge desire to go away from the basic gameplay of the Sorceress; there's a lot of repeated skills, and that's intentional.''

==Spell Damage==

One of the key changes to spell casters in Diablo III is the addition of +% spell damage modifiers. These sorts of modifiers were found on many skills in Diablo 2, and on a few uniques and runewords, but they were uncommon, and not necessary to kill effectively. As a result, casters in Diablo 2 were much less item-dependent than the combat classes, and found it easier to concentrate on [[Magic Find]], resistances, hit points, and other non-damage bonuses.

This will not be the case in Diablo 3, where mages must add considerable +% spell damage from modifiers to stay ahead of the monster hit point curve. A high level Wizard or [[Witch Doctor]] in Diablo 3 will no more be able to kill quickly with no +spell damage than a [[Barbarian]] or [[Monk]] could succeed with a junk weapon. A quote from Flux's post-Blizzcon 2009 Wizard write up explains this in more detail:

::When viewing the listed damage on each spell, it’s important to keep in mind that those are not absolute numbers, in D3. They’re much like weapon damage; modified by your wizard’s attributes, your character level, by other skills, and also by your equipment. Lots of types of items in D3 carry modifiers that boost spell damage, usually by a percentage.

::I found numerous wands, staves, and even pieces of armor with values between +5-25% spell damage, and that was just in the early stages of the game. We know nothing about higher level equipment bonuses, and it’s entirely possible that the D3 team is projecting high level characters to have +100%, +200%, or who knows, +500%, spell damage. If so they’ll be adjusting the base spell damage accordingly, which might make it look very low to our untrained eyes.

::Here’s an example from early in the game, that was mentioned in the [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-witch-doctor-skills/ Witch Doctor skills report]. The skill tree listed damage on my level 2 Skull of Flame spell was 6-9, yet with a level 12 Witch Doctor my Inventory screen showed 19-29 for that spell. I don’t think I had more than +50% spell damage from equipment, so assuming the display values aren’t wrong (in [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Lying_Character_Screen D2’s infamous LCS] style), there are considerable bonuses added to damage from character attributes, which are then further boosted by the spell damage bonuses on your equipment.

::This is all part of the D3 team’s plan to make all of the attributes useful to all characters, and to make more types of modifiers useful/essential to spell casters. We don’t know enough yet to judge how well it’s working, but it should be a substantial change from how spell damage was calculated and scaled up (or not) in D2.

==Attributes and Skills==
===Attributes===
====Starting Attributes====

*'''[[Life]]:''' 20
*'''[[Mana]]:''' 80


===Wizard Skills===
[[Image:D3_skilltree_wizardshot.jpg|thumb|right|150px|An off-screen still image of the Wizard's skill tree.]]
The [[wizard skill]]s are arranged into to three distinctive skill tree categories:
* [[Storm_Skill_Tree|Storm]]
* [[Arcane_Skill_Tree|Arcane]]
* [[Conjuration_Skill_Tree|Conjuration]].
All three trees have a combination of active and passive skills. Active skills are used in combat, while the passive skills usually boost or change the behaviour of the active skills.

====Arcane Skills====
[[Image:Wiz-slow-time1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Electrocute]] in a [[Slow Time]] bubble.]]
The [[Arcane_Skill_Tree|Arcane tree skills]] consists of many classical pen and paper RPGs, including time distortions, [[Disintegrate]], and other magical forces that are not related to elements like Fire, Ice, Lightning. This tree is also good at enhancing or manipulating other spells known by the Wizard.
<div style="clear:both;"></div>
====Storm Skills====
[[Image:Wiz-frost-nova1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Frost Nova]]]]
The [[Storm_Skill_Tree|Storm tree skills]] specialize in the power of the heavens, enabling the wizard to wield electrical energy and casting forth the fierce cold of a blizzard accompanied by the harsh freezing wind. The storm elements also protect and enhance the armour and the power of a wizard.
<div style="clear:both;"></div>

====Conjuration Skills====
[[Image:Wiz-spectral-blade1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Spectral Blade]]]]
The [[Conjuring_Skill_Tree|Conjuring tree skills]] summons protection or offence from other planes of existence. This is where the classic [[Hydra]] spell is located, as well as the powerful [[meteor]]. This tree can also be used to increase or modify other spells, similar to the Arcane tree.
<div style="clear:both;"></div>

==Development==
The Wizard was the third [[class]] revealed by Blizzard, debuting at [[BlizzCon 2008]]. It's in essence a re-make of the [[Sorceress]], but with a slightly different set of skills.

In the [[GamesCom 2009 demo]], we saw the male version of the in-game wizard the first time.

22nd of September 2009, [[Bashiok]] announced the Wizard will not be using traditional [[Mana]], but a [[resource pool|resource]] more specialized for the class. [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/bashiok-on-non-mana-resources-and-cinematics/]



==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Wizard Wizard-specific gallery contents]

<gallery>
Image:Ss71 hires.jpg|Female Wizard.
Image:Male_Wizard.jpg|Male Wizard.
Image:Wizard vs King Leoric.jpg|Wizard vs [[King Leoric]].
Image:Wizard disintegrate.jpg|Wizard casting [[Disintegrate]].
Image:Wiz-disintegrate2.jpg|[[disintegrate]] used on [[Zombie]]s.
Image:Skill_wizard_slowtime.jpg|[[Slow Time]] with [[Wave of Force]] to throw spells back at [[caster]]s.
Image:Wiz-slow-time1.jpg|Casting [[Electrocute]] out of a [[Slow Time]] bubble.
Image:Mana-orb1.jpg|[[Mana Globe]] in a [[Experience#Level_Up_Bonus|level-up]] explosion.
Image:Male_Wizard2.jpg|The male Wizard in the game.
</gallery>

==References==
* [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0007|Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0007: Wizard]]
* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/bashiok-on-non-mana-resources-and-cinematics/ Bashiok on non-mana Resources and Cinematics]

{{Class navbox floor}}
{{Skill navbox}}

[[Category:Classes]]
[[Category:Basics]]

User:Newbie

2009-12-30T20:35:51Z

Newbie: Created page with 'Grammar nazi extraordinaire.'

Grammar nazi extraordinaire.

Witch Doctor

2009-12-30T20:34:28Z

Newbie: grammar, flow, professionalism

The '''Witch Doctor''', abbreviated '''WD''', is a pure [[caster|spellcaster]], dealing with elemental magic, nature magic, necromancy and alchemy. The class has taken some inspiration from the [[Necromancer]] of [[Diablo II]].

==Background==
{{Classbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Witch_Doctors.jpg
|portrait-width= 205px
|name= Witch Doctor
|classtype= official
|role= [[Caster]], [[Summoner]]
|attrib= [[Willpower]] [[Mana]]

|skilltree1= [[Zombie Skill Tree]]
|skilltree2= [[Spirit Skill Tree]]
|skilltree3= [[Voodoo Skill Tree]]

|origin= [[Teganze]], [[Torajan|Torajan jungles]]
|affiliation= [[Tribe of the Five Hills]] 
|friends= None Known
|foes= [[Clan of the Seven Stones]], [[Tribe of the Clouded Valley]]
}}
The Witch Doctor comes from the an area of the [[Torajan]] jungles called [[Teganze]] on the southern tip of the great eastern continent, just southwest of [[Kurast]] (where {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Act_Three Act Three]}} took place in [[Diablo II]]). You can see it located on the [[World map]] close to Kurast.

The fearsome Witch Doctor of the [[umbaru]] is believed to be a legend by many, but [[Abd al-Hazir]] has seen them with his own eyes, documented in the [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013|thirteenth entry]] of his [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir|writings]].

The Witch Doctor uses terrifying precision to assault his foe's mind and body with elixirs and powders evoking fires, explosions, and poisonous spirits. He can also summon and control [[undead]] creatures from the netherworld to combat his enemies.

Witch Doctors come from the Tribe of the Five Hills, who frequently engages in tribal warfare with both the Clan of the Seven Stones and the Tribe of the Clouded Valley as a ritual rather than conquest. The tribes use these wars to replenish their supply of human sacrifices their civilization revolves around. Only those taken in battle are considered worthy of the ritual sacrifice according to the code of heroism and honour of the tribes.

The tribes define themselves by their belief in the [[Mbwiru Eikura]], which roughly translates to "[[Unformed Land|The Unformed Land]]". Their belief holds that the true, sacred reality is veiled behind the physical one we normally experience. Their vitally important public ceremonies are centred upon sacrifices to the life force that flows from their gods, who inhabit the Unformed Land, into this lesser physical realm.

Witch Doctors are finely attuned to this Unformed Land and are able to train their minds to perceive it through a combination of rituals and the use of selected roots and herbs found in the jungles. They call the state in which they interact with this other world the [[Ghost Trance]].

The second most sacred belief of the tribes is their philosophy of self-sacrifice and non-individuality, of suppressing one's self-interest for the good of the tribe.

Their most current war created an intense social upheaval among the tribes due to an incident, of which details are lacking, but might be the reason the Witch Doctor has traveled west to [[Tristram]].

==Class Design==
The Witch Doctor looks a bit like the top half of one of [[Diablo II]]'s {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Flayer_Shaman Flayer Shaman]}}, especially when outfitted in one of his oversized, colourful tribal masks. There is even a Flayer Shaman called {{iw|Witch_Doctor_Endugu Witch Doctor Endugu}}. Judging by the [[Witch Doctor skills|skills thus far demonstrated]], the WD fights a lot like a {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Necromancer Necromancer]}}, using cunning and guile, rather than direct physical attacks. Witch Doctors possess a number of mind control spells, the ability to summon and control [[undead]] servants, and a variety of direct damage [[elemental]] attacks.

[[Image:Wd-mongrel2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Simple [[Mongrel]] and fire-enhanced Mongrel, primary minion of the WD.]]
The [[D3 Team]] has described the Witch Doctor as old, grizzled and fanatical. His magic is not clean and easy, like the fire or lightning a {{iw|Sorceress Sorceress}} can produce with a snap of her fingers. Witch Doctors get dirty. They summon [[Wall of Zombies|walls of zombies]] to rip apart enemies, they call forth undead demon hounds called [[Mongrel]]s that they can detonate to deal heavy damage to their enemies, and they fashion the skulls of the dead into explosive grenades. The D3 team discussed the Witch Doctor's design concepts in the [[WWI 2008: Denizens of Diablo Panel|Denizens of Diablo panel]] at the [[WWI 2008]].

::''For the Witch Doctor, we wanted to get a rich, voodoo vibe. We wanted to avoid straight up master-caster feel. He's not just conjuring things out of thin air. WDs don't just channel magic. They take real world objects and infuse them with voodoo magic. Our spell descriptions for the WD were like, "He's going to throw a shrunken head filled with a chemical concoction." Or "He's going to create insect swarms by blowing voodoo dust from his palms." Or "He's going to sprinkle dust in the air and cause illusions and frighten monsters away."''

The team felt that it wouldn't be a real Witch Doctor without [[zombies]]. They go together naturally, but they didn't want normal slow wandering zombies. They mashed the idea of Zombies with the Firewall of previous games and came up with [[Wall of Zombies|zombie wall]].

[[Leonard Boyarsky]] describes the Witch Doctor: [http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/diablo-iii/885172p1.html]

::''The Witch Doctor is angry, someone who's been broken by a life that's dealt a few too many hard knocks and not enough joy. This is someone tired of being smacked in the head, so he uses his mystical powers to get into the heads of others (and if that doesn't work, a swarm of locusts will get under their skin).''

===Necromancer Replacement?===
The WD is clearly {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Necromancer Necromancer]}}-like, in his mixture of summonings, mind control curses, and sub-mage quality magical attacks, but the [[D3 team]] does [[WWI_2008:_D3_Design_Fundamentals_Panel|not view the character as a replacement]] for the Necromancer.

::'''Q:''' Is the witch doctor a replacement or spiritual successor to the {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Necromancer Necro]}}? They seem to have rather similar skills.
::'''A:''' We don't view the Witch Doctor as a replacement. The Necromancer is a very cool char. We thought about him as a class and tried to see if we could improve on him, which is something we did with every class, and that led us to create the Witch Doctor. If we ever decided to make a Necromancer, the Witch Doctor wouldn't prevent us from doing so.

[[Jay Wilson]] commented further on this and detailed what makes the Witch Doctor different than the Necromancer in an interview with 1up.com in December 2008. [http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset=1&cId=3172030&p=1]

::We wanted to create a class whose pets were not his primary source of damage output. [...] Most Necromancer builds are very pet heavy. The pets do a lot of the damage, and a lot of mechanics are built around [[debuff]]ing the enemy so your pets can be better against them or taking advantage of the bodies your pets create by blowing them up with corpse explosion.

::The Witch Doctor's pets are more of a distraction -- they're his form of [[crowd control]]. [...] We wanted to have this general notion of a character who controlled all things slimy and gross, like zombies, bats, snakes, and spiders, but he didn't rely on them -- he just throws them out there. [...] Each element is like that, where it's another distraction while the source of primary damage is the Witch Doctor himself. This makes him play very differently than the Necromancer, which was intentional.

==Spell Damage==

One of the key changes to spell casters in Diablo III is the addition of +% spell damage modifiers. These sorts of modifiers were found on many skills in Diablo 2, and on a few uniques and runewords, but they were uncommon, and not necessary to kill effectively. As a result, casters in Diablo 2 were much less item-dependent than the combat classes, and found it easier to concentrate on [[Magic Find]], resistances, hit points, and other non-damage bonuses.

This will not be the case in Diablo 3, where mages must add considerable +% spell damage from modifiers to stay ahead of the monster hit point curve. A high level Wizard or [[Witch Doctor]] in Diablo 3 will no more be able to kill quickly with no +spell damage than a [[Barbarian]] or [[Monk]] could succeed with a junk weapon. A quote from Flux's post-Blizzcon 2009 Wizard write up explains this in more detail:

::When viewing the listed damage on each spell, it’s important to keep in mind that those are not absolute numbers, in D3. They’re much like weapon damage; modified by your wizard’s attributes, your character level, by other skills, and also by your equipment. Lots of types of items in D3 carry modifiers that boost spell damage, usually by a percentage.

::I found numerous wands, staves, and even pieces of armor with values between +5-25% spell damage, and that was just in the early stages of the game. We know nothing about higher level equipment bonuses, and it’s entirely possible that the D3 team is projecting high level characters to have +100%, +200%, or who knows, +500%, spell damage. If so they’ll be adjusting the base spell damage accordingly, which might make it look very low to our untrained eyes.

::Here’s an example from early in the game, that was mentioned in the [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-witch-doctor-skills/ Witch Doctor skills report]. The skill tree listed damage on my level 2 Skull of Flame spell was 6-9, yet with a level 12 Witch Doctor my Inventory screen showed 19-29 for that spell. I don’t think I had more than +50% spell damage from equipment, so assuming the display values aren’t wrong (in [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Lying_Character_Screen D2’s infamous LCS] style), there are considerable bonuses added to damage from character attributes, which are then further boosted by the spell damage bonuses on your equipment.

::This is all part of the D3 team’s plan to make all of the attributes useful to all characters, and to make more types of modifiers useful/essential to spell casters. We don’t know enough yet to judge how well it’s working, but it should be a substantial change from how spell damage was calculated and scaled up (or not) in D2.

==Attributes and Skills==


===Witch Doctor Skills===
The [[Witch Doctor skill]]s are arranged into three distinctive skill tree categories:
* [[Zombie_Skill_Tree|Zombie]]
* [[Spirit_Skill_Tree|Spirit]]
* [[Voodoo_Skill_Tree|Voodoo]].
All three trees have a combination of active and passive skills. Active skills are used in combat, while the passive skills boost or change the behaviour of the active skills.

====Zombie Skills====
[[Image:Wd-locust-swarm1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Locust Swarm]]]]
The [[Zombie Skill Tree|Zombie tree skills]] are focused on spells that summon Zombie and Zombie-related monsters. Several passive skills were revealed in the Blizzcon 2009 build of the game, that augment the Witch Doctor's minions.
<div style="clear:both;"></div>

====Spirit Skills====
[[Image:Wd-soul-harvest3.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Soul Harvest]]]]
The [[Spirit_Skill_Tree|Spirit tree skills]] appear to be heavily focused on augmenting the Witch Doctor's own abilities, such as health & mana regeneration, and even staving off death by inducing invulnerability. So far there are very few offensive skills in this tree.
<div style="clear:both;"></div>

====Voodoo Skills====
[[Image:Wd-zombie-wall1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Wall of Zombies]]]]
The [[Voodoo_Skill_Tree|Voodoo tree skills]] all focus more on the offensive aspects of the Witch Doctor; summoning Fetishes to fight, throwing acid on enemies or even summoning a whole army. Compared to the [[Spirit Skill Tree]], there are very few passive skills in this tree.
<div style="clear:both;"></div>

==Development==
The Witch Doctor class was unveiled at [[WWI 2008]], together with the [[Barbarian]]. Besides a few name changes for spells, not much had changed for the Witch Doctor by mid June 2009.



==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Witch+Doctor Witch Doctor-specific gallery contents]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=doctor&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=546&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=546 Witch Doctor Screenshots].
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=witch&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=563&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=563 Witch Doctor Concept Art].
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=witch&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=550&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=550 Witch Doctor Wallpapers].

<gallery>
Image:Wd-1.jpg|Witch Doctor in game
Image:Wd-concept1.jpg|WD concept art
Image:Wd-firebats1.jpg|[[Spirit_Skill_Tree#Firebats|Firebats]] unleashed.
Image:Skill_witchdoctor_firebomb.jpg|[[Skull of Flame]] animation shots.
Image:Wd-concept2.jpg|High quality concept
Image:Wd-concept3.jpg|Crazy WD
Image:Wd-concept4.jpg|Male WD concept
Image:Wd-concept5.jpg|Female clothing concepts
Image:Wd-concept6.jpg|Female WD
Image:Wd-concept7.jpg|Male WD action
Image:Wd-concept8.jpg|Female sketches
Image:Witch_Doctors.jpg|Female and male WDs.
</gallery>

==Resources==
* [[Umbaru]]
* [[Tribe of the Five Hills]]
* [[Clan of the Seven Stones]]
* [[Tribe of the Clouded Valley]]
* [[Khazra]]
* [[Torajan Jungles]]
* [[Teganze]]
* [[Mbwiru Eikura]] / [[Unformed Land|The Unformed Land]]
* [[Ghost Trance]]

==References==
* [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013|Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0013: The Witch Doctor]]
* [[Media Coverage|Diablo III Media Coverage Archive]] for all interviews, previews, pictures and more.

{{Class navbox floor}}
{{Skill navbox}}

[[Category:Classes]]
[[Category:Umbaru]]
[[Category:Basics]]
[[Category:Lore]]

Talk:Barbarian

2009-12-30T20:04:15Z

Newbie: grammar

Not sure the word 'girt' should be used in the line under Barbarian skills that reads "Renowned for their awesome combat prowess as well as their arrogant demeanor, the Barbarians appear to be perpetually girt for battle."
--[[User:Newbie|Newbie]] 20:04, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Barbarian

2009-12-30T20:01:25Z

Newbie:

The '''Barbarian''' is a [[melee]]-oriented class with great physical powers, and uses [[fury]] instead of [[mana]] as a [[resource pool]]. See a full listing of the [[Barbarian Skills|Barbarian's skills]].

The class also exists for [[Diablo II]] and [[Diablo I]]:
* {{iw|Diablo_2_Barbarian Barbarian (Diablo II)}}
* {{iw|Barbarian_Diablo_I Barbarian (Diablo I: Hellfire)}}

Barbarian can also refer to the ancient people:
* [[Children of Bul-Kathos]]
* [[Barbarian cities]]

==Background==
{{Classbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Barbarians.jpg


|classtype= official
|role= [[Melee]]
|attrib= [[Strength]], [[Fury]], [[Vitality]], [[Life]]

|skilltree1= [[Battlemaster Skill Tree]]
|skilltree2= [[Berserker Skill Tree]]
|skilltree3= [[Juggernaut Skill Tree]]

|origin= [[Bastion's Keep]], [[Mount Arreat]]
|affiliation= [[Children of Bul-Kathos]]
|friends= [[Druid]]s (distrust)
|foes= None known
}}
The Barbarian character himself is the same individual from [[Diablo II]].

Lead by [[Bul-Kathos]], the tribes called "barbarians" by the people of the [[Western Kingdoms]] united in for a sacred charge, to protect [[Mount Arreat]] and its mystical secrets. They call themselves the [[Children of Bul-Kathos]], and have seen their culture collapse after the destruction of the [[Worldstone]] and Mt. Arreat.

The Children of Bul-Kathos have developed a kinship with the land and have learned to harness the primal energies in nature to enhance their own substantial physical prowess, simply called "[[fury]]".

A number of Barbarians started roving the lands outside the Steppes, prepared for war and seeking information regarding the activities of the [[Prime Evil]]s before the conflict that ended with the destruction of the Worldstone and Mount Arreat.

In his personal history the Barbarian defeated [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Baal Baal], only to learn from [[Tyrael]] that the Worldstone was corrupted and would have to be destroyed. The destruction of the Worldstone blasted Mount Arreat to rubble, destroying the remainder of Baal's army and saving the Barbarian lands from their invasion.

[[Image:Map-arreatcrater2.jpg|left|thumb|Arreat Crater]]
Twenty years later, when [[Diablo III]] takes place, the Barbarian lands are largely deserted, and the only remains of Mount Arreat, formerly the symbol of the lands and the source of the Barbarians' spiritual strength, is a huge crater.

More than the physical damage, the events detailed in {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Act_Five Act Five of Diablo II]}} devastated the Barbarian culture. The Barbarians gained their identity and cultural pride from protecting the Worldstone within Mount Arreat. To see it defiled by Baal and his minions, and then destroyed, tore out the heart of these proud people. They abandoned their homeland and became nomadic, wandering the lands of [[Sanctuary]] and pitching themselves into battle after battle in an effort to forget the pain of their shattered homeland.

[[Abd al-Hazir]] visited the Barbarian lands and wrote about his experiences and observation in the [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0025|25th entry]] of [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir|his writings]]. It sets the stage for the story we will learn when playing the game.

::''The Barbarians consider it their sworn duty to protect [[Mount Arreat]] and the mysterious object within. They believe that if they fail to uphold their duty to the great mount, or are not given a proper burial upon its slopes, they will be denied a true warrior's death, and their spirits shall roam the land without honor for all eternity.

::''If there are any barbarians left alive, they must truly be without hope. Perhaps this is the genesis of the rumors of monstrous things reported to resemble the barbarians in size and ferocity, but that are in reality nothing more than unreasoning, inhuman beasts. Could the destruction of not only their home but also their very beliefs have actually brought this magnificent race so low?

'''Read more about the Barbarian people and their history on the [[Children of Bul-Kathos]] article.'''

'''Read more about Barbarian cities in the [[Barbarian cities]] article.'''

===Female character Story===
[[Image:Barb-f-pose1.jpg|thumb|125px|Female Barbarian.]]
The female Barbarian is identical in ability to the male, but her origin story is a bit different. She is younger and different from the individual who defeated Baal in Diablo 2. She is a new warrior, one who was motivated to go forth into battle since the men were not getting the job done.

==Class Design==
The [[Diablo III]] Barbarian is an evolutionary improvement on the [[Diablo II]] Barbarian. He (or she) retains some of the same [[Barbarian Skills|skills]], such as [[Whirlwind]] and [[Leap Attack]], but has a variety of new skills to unleash on her enemies. One of the features of the class is also [[Fury]], which is an alternative [[resource pool|resource]] to [[mana]] for Barbarians. Instead of a globe of energy that needs refilling, it's a meter of the pure anger the Barbarian feels in combat, slowly building up as she deals or receives damage. Fury allows her to pull off extraordinary feats with skills that require Fury.

He (or she) is bigger and better. There's a great emphasis on power and destruction; on wanting every movement to look massive and devastating. It's a violent, crushing style, and she exudes power and devastation with her every movement. The D3 Team spoke about the character concept during the [[WWI 2008]] panel titled [[WWI_2008:_Denizens_of_Diablo_Panel|Denizens of Diablo]].

[[Image:Barb-1.jpg|thumb|left|120px|Male Barbarian.]]
::''This is actually the same individual from Diablo 2. He's aged twenty years, and he's got a personality in this game. Look at his gear; his [[armor]] has points on which he could impale himself. It's extra protection for the harsh environment, but it's also dangerous to him. The day to day life characters lead in this world is very hard.''

::''With the Barbarian, we had to updating a classic. The Barbarian was exciting for us to work on -- to take a classic char we all love to play and bring him back to life. What's this guy been doing for the past 20 years? This guy's 8 feet tall and 300 lbs of pure muscle. He saw things during the events of Diablo II that would have killed most people, but he's still around. In D3 we aged him, grayed his hair, gave him some scars. We think those elements help sell the story visually. Signs of age, how he wears his armor. All that helps us tell the story visually.''

It's also an interesting concept to have the same character return in D3, as a grizzled veteran of countless conflicts, as a grown man who defeated the three Prime Evils twenty years ago... and who starts off D3 at level 1, without the ability to do much more than swing an axe.

===Why Repeat the Character?===
The Barbarian was not intended to come over from [[Diablo II]] originally. A character with similar appearance and skills was planned, but everyone in the dev team started calling it Barbarian, and so they decided to call it that. [[Jay Wilson]] quote: [http://www.ausgamers.com/features/read/2662371]
----
:: ''The barbarian is the only returning class. Originally we actually planned to have no returning classes, but as we developed the barbarian, it essentially ended up turning into a barbarian. We sort of got to the point where we went – because we actually had a different name for him originally - I think were going to call it this other name and everyone else is just going to call it the barbarian, so maybe we should just call it the barbarian.''

::''One of the things we really did not want to do – it's why we set that initial goal to not repeat classes – was, we didn't just want a rehash; we wanted to make the sequel and the sequel has new gameplay and new experiences. I know a lot of people really love the classes in Diablo 2 and it's not my desire to intentionally arc those people – I like those classes to; I love the necromancer, he's my favourite class from Diablo 2 – but as our goal we really wanted to provide new experiences; that was our focus.''
----
Jay did not disclose what the original name was.

==Attributes and Skills==


===Barbarian Skills===
Renowned for their awesome combat prowess as well as their arrogant demeanor, the Barbarians appear to be perpetually girt for battle. Through harsh conditioning, the Barbarians excel in physical combat and tremendous feats of strength. They derive their power chiefly from intense physical training, but also tap primal energies from the living world around them. They can manifest these or add to their already considerable catalogue of superhuman feats of strength and power. The barbarians call this power [[Fury]].

The [[barbarian skill]]s are arranged into to three distinctive skill tree categories:
* [[Battlemaster_Skill_Tree|Battlemaster]]
* [[Berserker_Skill_Tree|Berserker]]
* [[Juggernaut_Skill_Tree|Juggernaut]].
All three trees have a combination of active and passive skills. Active skills are used in combat, while the passive skills boost or change the behaviour of the active skills.

====Battlemaster Skills====
[[Image:Barb-charge3.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Furious Charge]]]]
The [[Battlemaster_Skill_Tree|Battlemaster tree skills]] are focused on general combat, like [[Hammer of the Ancients]] and [[Furious Charge]]. Many of the skills enable the Barbarian, but it still includes passive skills.
<div style="clear:both;"></div>
====Berserker Skills====
[[Image:Barb-ww1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Whirlwind]]]]
The [[Berserker_Skill_Tree|Berserker tree skills]] is similar to the {{wl|[http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Barbarian_Combat_Skills combat skill tree]}}, but focus more on violent behaviours like you would find in a berserker, like [[Whirlwind]] and [[Frenzy]].
<div style="clear:both;"></div>
====Juggernaut Skills====
[[Image:Barb-stomp1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Ground Stomp]]]]
The [[Juggernaut_Skill_Tree|Juggernaut tree skills]] also focus on combat, but more on the "stout fighter" type, with skills like [[Stunning Blows]] and [[Seismic Slam]].
<div style="clear:both;"></div>

==Development==
The Barbarian was unveiled as the first ever Diablo III class at [[WWI 2008]] in Paris, and has gone through a number of small changes since then. Some skills have changed name since the reveal, and the skill tree has changed drastically from the [[BlizzCon 2008]] demo in October until May 2009. See more on the [[Berserker Skill Tree]].



==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Barbarian Barbarian-specific gallery contents]
** [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=barbarian&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=546&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=546 Barbarian Screenshots].
** [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=barbarian&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=563&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=563 Barbarian Concept Art].
** [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?si=barbarian&x=0&y=0&limit=&thumbsonly=0&perpage=24&cat=550&ppuser=&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&cat=550 Barbarian Wallpapers].

<gallery>
Image:Barb-concept1.jpg|Male Barbarian in battle.
Image:Barbarians.jpg|Male and female barbs.
Image:Barb-f-pose1.jpg|Female in-game barb.
Image:Barb-1.jpg|Male ingame barb.
Image:Barb-concept2.jpg|Male Barb attack.
Image:Barb-concept3.jpg|Male Barb armour.
Image:Barb-concept4.jpg|Male Barb close-up.
Image:Barb-concept5.jpg|Fem barb sketches.
Image:Barb-concept6.jpg|Female barb posing.
</gallery>

==Resources==
* [[Barbarian Skills]].
* [http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/characters/barbarian.xml Blizzard's Barbarian] page has plenty of plot information, and short videos of some skills in action.
* [[Media Coverage|Diablo III Media Coverage Archive]] for all interviews, previews, pictures and more.

==References==
* [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0025]]
* [[Diablo II Manual]]
* [[WWI_2008:_Denizens_of_Diablo_Panel|Denizens of Diablo WWI 2008 Panel]]
* [http://www.ausgamers.com/features/read/2662371 Jay wilson AusGamers Interview]

{{Class navbox floor}}
{{Skill navbox}}

[[Category:Classes]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups]]
[[Category:Basics]]

Monk

2009-12-18T21:07:07Z

Newbie:

The '''Monk''' is a [[melee]]/[[caster]] hybrid, with focus on martial arts close combat. He is like a mix between the [[Assassin]] and [[Paladin]] from Diablo II, and shares a few traits with the Monk from Diablo: Hellfire.

==Background==
{{Classbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Monk1.jpg


|classtype= official
|role= [[Melee]]/[[Caster]]
|attrib= [[Strength]] [[Dexterity]] [[Vitality]] [[Willpower]] [[Life]] [[Mana]]

|skilltree1= [[Skill Tree A]]
|skilltree2= [[Skill Tree B]]
|skilltree3= [[Skill Tree C]]

|origin= [[Sanctuary]]
|affiliation= Monks of [[Ivgorod]]
|friends= None Known
|foes= None Known
}}
The male Monk character comes from the Monasteries of [[Ivgorod]] in the Foothills. They are taken into the Monastery at a young age, where they are taught ancient knowledge; they believe in 1001 gods that dwell within everything (one god in water, one god in fire, one god in the air, etc.), martial arts, and meditation to purify the body and soul.

The Monks have a fondness for structure and creativity, which is why they have various symbols on their bodies. Their light magic is brought to life through runes, symbols that invoke the light to aid them. It is said that each Monk has a tattoo on his back, that chronicles their lifetime/adventures (needs confirmation), and that it may take a monk an entire lifetime to complete the tattoo on his back.

The monk serves the Elder Monks of the monastery, who seek to destroy evil in all forms. He thinks of himself as the weapon of the gods against all that is evil. He is a peaceful, patient and good man who aids those who suffer, with no hatred against anyone, in contrast to the [[Barbarian]]. He is adept in Martial Arts, being able to defeat multiple foes without the aid of weapons.

==Class Design==
The "theme" of the Society of Monks is a mix of "spiritual" Buddhism and "eradication of evil" of the European churches while maintaining an Asian/Indian visual theme. [[Abd al-Hazir]] writes about an encounter with a Monk in a tavern, in his [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0032|32nd entry]] of the [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir]].

The monk was partly made as an opposite to the [[Barbarian]], with more focused gameplay. He is also relatively weak, so a lot of the class design is built upon the monk [[debuff]]ing his foes, to receive less damage himself.

[[Jay Wilson]] mentioned that [[D3 Team]] wanted to make a character that isn't necessarily one of the easiest characters to start with, but the Monk will even out with the other classes later on in both power and difficulty.

::With the Monk, we really wanted another melee class, but we wanted him to be the polar opposite of the Barbarian. Somebody who focused on speed over toughness, who could use magic where the Barbarian really doesn’t, and who had a combat style that required a little bit more finesse. He’s kind of the opposite of the, “I’m going to run in and try to overwhelm all my enemies with my sheer ferocity.”

::For the Monk, we really were inspired by fighting game characters and games like God of War, where we wanted a character that could do really cool moves in rapid succession. So, we decided to do a combo system for him where many of his combat skills have different stages to them so as you use them, you move from stage 1 to stage 2 to stage 3. You can mix and match abilities as well and put them together.

::So with the other classes [in multiplayer], the Monk moves forward because he’s faster than everyone else, and gets in front of the fight. He tends to disable enemies a lot. He can blind them. He can [[debuff]] them. If he stays, however, he could be in trouble because he’s a lot more fragile than the [[Barbarian]]. So, then he’ll step back and then all of his friends can come in. He can certainly do a lot of damage. If used right, he’s ridiculously powerful. We have a lot of skills that focus on placing something on a monster. For example, we have the [[Exploding Palm]] skill where the third stage will place a bleed damage-over-time (DoT) effect on the monster. If the monster dies while this DoT is on him, and there’s a high chance that he will, the monster explodes and does damage to everyone around him. So it really supports this idea of, “He runs in. He does something and then he backs off or goes after another monster because he knows the first monster is already dead.”
-- [http://g4tv.com/games/pc/28197/diablo-iii/articles/68225/BlizzCon-2009-Diablo-III-Game-Director-Interview/ Jay Wilson interview]

===Combat System===
[[Image:Monk - Way of a hundred fists.jpg|thumb|left|[[Way of the Hundred Fists]] in action.]]
The Monk's concept was that of a fighting game character, where the player could create combos by pressing the right buttons at the right time. This being not so different with the Monk, as almost all skills have 3 stages. Each stage of each skill performs a specific action. The player can chain these stages into a combo, being able to create 64 different combos from only 4 spells. In addition to that, many custom combos can be made that fit the player's style of combat.

Using a skill will cast the first stage of that skill. The player has a 0.6 second window to press the skill again to advance to the next stage of that (or a different) skill, that may lead to the 3rd stage of said skill. Alternatively, the player can wait for the 0.6 second window to pass, to re-use the first stage of the skill.

An Example:

*Use/Objective of Skill(s): Easy for Beginners, Depth for veterans.
**Stage One: Way of the Hundred Fists, move in close to the enemies.
**Stage Two: Crippling Wave, lower the damage of the enemies.
**Stage Three: Exploding Palm, Apply the DoT to a damaged enemy and watch the bunch of monsters go boom! (make sure the enemy dies before the bleed ends)

During the [[BlizzCon_2009_Panel:_Diablo_3_Heroes_and_Monsters| BlizzCon 2009 Diablo 3 Heroes and Monsters panel]], it was said that the combat style was influenced by the combat styles of the [[Assassin]] in Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction and the [http://wow.incgamers.com/wiki/Rogue | Rogue class in World of Warcraft].

==Attributes and Skills==


===Monk Skills===
The [[Monk skill]] trees as revealed at [[BlizzCon 2009]] were clearly works in progress, with temporary names and the skills grouped in what seemed to be random clusters. There were no prerequisites or synergies of any kind.
* [[Skill Tree A|A]]
* [[Skill Tree B|B]]
* [[Skill Tree C|C]]
The monk uses a very special combat system that is better explained above.

====Tree A Skills====
[[Image:Monk_-_Seven_Sided_Strike02.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Seven Sided Strike]]]]
The [[Skill Tree A|A-Tree]] seems to be a "Combat" skill tree, with skills related to dodging, or maneuvering in combat.
* Tier 2 Skills
** [[Force Without Thought]]
* Tier 3 Skills
** [[Seven Sided Strike]]
* Tier 4 Skills
** [[Inner Sanctuary]]
** [[Way of the Hundred Fists]]
<div style="clear:both;"></div>

====Tree B Skills====
[[Image:Monk-exploding-palm.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Exploding Palm]]]]
The [[Skill Tree B|B-skills]] resemble a [[debuff]]ing tree, where you make your opponents weaker (or part of your arsenal with [[Exploding Palm]].
* Tier 1 Skills
** [[Crippling Wave]]
* Tier 2 Skills
** [[Exploding Palm]]
<div style="clear:both;"></div>

====Tree C Skills====
[[Image:Monk_-_Impeneterable_Defense3.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Impenetrable Defense]]]]
The [[Skill Tree C|C-skills]] seem to be the "Holy" skills, with power infused by the Light, especially [[Impenetrable Defense]].
* Tier 1 Skills
** [[Impenetrable Defense]]
* Tier 2 Skills
** [[Radiant Visage]]
<div style="clear:both;"></div>

==Development==
The Monk was the Fourth [[class]] to be revealed by Blizzard, debuting during the opening ceremony of [[BlizzCon 2009]], in front of 26,000 cheering fans and countless DirecTV viewers. As with much of Diablo III, the [[D3 team]] took inspiration from old Pen and Paper RPGs and from Fighting Games/Console Brawlers.

There is no female Monk at the moment, but according to [[Jay Wilson]], the creation of the female Monk is in progress.

The Monk was first heard of almost a year ago, shortly after the [[Wizard]] was unveiled at [[BlizzCon 2008]]. Jay Wilson just commented and said us fans would love it [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/exclusive-jay-wilson-interview/].

==Trivia==
The monks symbol is the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsudomoe mitsudomoe], a triple tomoe. It's used in family crests but also associated with Okinawa where many martial arts originated.

==Media==
You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=Monk Monk-specific gallery contents]

<gallery>
Image:Monk1.jpg|The Monk
Image:Monk_-_Seven_Sided_Strike02.jpg|Monk using [[Seven Sided Strike]].
Image:Monk_-_Impeneterable_Defense3.jpg|A bubble of his own: [[Impenetrable Defense]].
Image:Monk-exploding-palm.jpg|[[Exploding Palm]]
Image:Monk_-_Way_of_a_hundred_fists.jpg|[[Way of the Hundred Fists]]
Image:Monk_-_Crippling_Wave.jpg|[[Crippling Wave]]
Image:monk_trailer_innerS|From the Monk Trailer
Image:Monk_concept1.jpg|Concept art for a battle-ready Monk.
Image:Monk_concept2.jpg|Monk in battle.
</gallery>

==References==
* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-monk-skill-tree-discussion-and-status/ Full Monk Skill Tree Stats and Discussion]
* [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/exclusive-jay-wilson-interview/ Exclusive Jay Wilson Interview]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsudomoe Wikipedia: mitsudomoe]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=3183&cat=563 Monk Concept art]

{{Class navbox floor}}
{{Skill navbox Monk}}

[[category:Classes]]
[[category:Basics]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]

Fanmade:Zealot

2009-12-18T20:59:01Z

Newbie:

The '''Zealot''' uses physical [[melee]] attacks and magic skills to deal damage and can shapeshift into a powerful [[ranged]] [[caster]].

{{fanclass|'''Sinbadass'''}}

==Background==
{{Classbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Male_Zealot.jpg
|portrait-width= 200px
|name= Zealot
|classtype= fanclass
|role= [[Melee]], [[Caster]]
|attrib= [[Dexterity]]

|skilltree1= Soul Skill Tree
|skilltree2= Body Skill Tree
|skilltree3= Mind Skill Tree

|origin= [[Lut Gholein]]
|affiliation= None
|friends= None
|foes= None
|catexclude=
}}

===War of the Gods===
Long ago, a war between the forces of heaven and hell was waged over the rulership of Sanctuary. Human '''acolytes''' - ancestors of the zealot order fought on the side of the angels and the forces of heaven. Dark '''heretics''' from the north fought alongside the demons. It was these heretics who would scour the battlefield capturing the essences of the fallen angels in [[soulstone]]s denying them death. The war ended with neither side claiming our world, as the gates between Sanctuary and the greater planes were sealed by a small band of human freedom fighters.

===Discovery of the Soulstones===
A thousand years passed and a party of '''acolytes''' led by '''Shia Koran''' discovered a cache of [[soulstone]]s while raiding the derelict stronghold of the dark '''heretics'''. Unaware of the torment endured by the angels over the last millennium, Koran decided to free his trapped masters. Selecting a large soulstone, he opened himself as a channel for the soul to pass through. The being that was once an angel manifested fully within Koran, with chaotic fury clearly etched on its celestial features. Carnage ensued as the acolytes sought to banish the creature with full knowledge that doing so would also destroy their leader. Few acolytes survived the banishment ritual amidst the creature's devastation. '''Augus Moriden''' announced himself the new leader of the acolytes, and selecting a very small soulstone, tentatively attempted to draw a small amount of the angel essence into himself. The resulting form scorched his left arm with an intense white fire and burned his eyes, but with a strong willpower he found he could control the form.

===Present===
Through this discovery, the '''acolytes''' became what we now know as the Zealots. Warrior monks fighting with sword and sorcery, and when necessary - the chaotic powers of insane angels!

==Class Design==
In general, zealots excel against magic users, stand equal to most melee opponents but fail miserably when facing ranged attackers. There are several key builds for Zealots, and combinations are also viable.

These are:
* [[Fan_class:Zealot#Melee_Zealot|Melee Zealot]]
* [[Fan_class:Zealot#Mana_Burn_Zealot|Mana Burn Zealot]]
* [[Fan_class:Zealot#PvM Zealot|PvM Zealot]]

===Melee Zealot===
Typical melee zealots weild 2-handed-swords (or dual-wield) as a shield is unnecessary. This is because zealot's are not afraid of using the maimed left arm they recieve from manifesting, and will even use it to block enemy attacks! The bandages they use to staunch the bloodied wounds and burns are usually wrapped thick, thus giving a decent protection against physical attacks and replacing a shield. When combined with a zealot's already high dexterity, this will gives a good block rate. Melee zealots mostly concentrate on the body skill tree and therefore do not require alot of mana.

===Mana Burn Zealot===
Mana burn zealots, or "Mage Slayers" specialize in skills like "Mana Burn"(Passive) and "Mana Blast" to deliver damage to enemies based on their current mana minus their maximum mana. This build is also the most viable for PvP, especially against [[Witchdoctor]]s and [[Wizard]]s who usually rely on a relatively large mana pool.

===PvM Zealot===
This build is best suited for single player or soloing, where you want all your bases covered in case you run up against (inevitable) immunes. This build focuses mostly on the Soul skill tree, especailly the Manifest skill, and skills which increase your attacks and survivability while in this state. This build often uses the elemental spells from the mind tree. Good solid damage output is the key.

==Weaknesses==
Zealots certainly do have their flaws. One such is that they are quite susceptable to ranged attacks. Many of their attack skills involve sprinting at the enemy which leaves them very vulnerable to attacks. Also they have relatively low Health and Defence, which can be accomodated for by investing skill points in such skills as '''Endure''' and magical defence/resistance. These skills however do not increase your survival chances by much when facing ranged attackers. Manifest form only gives them an easier target, as you move slower and are somewhat larger, but at least it gives you some nifty new ranged attacks to fight fire (or more appropriately - arrows), with fire! One skill which helps against ranged attacks is '''Sandstorm''' which will flick arrows away if it is timed properly, or you could simply run in circles...

==Items==
Zealot equipment tends to rely less on strength and more on dexterity in order to equip. Zealots can duel weild.

===Armour===
Zealots tend to equip light armour types made from fabric and/or leather. They rarely equip anything heavier than chainmail due to the wasteful strength requirements. Also light armour allows for fastest run/walk which is important for melee characters. Zealots have the passive skill '''Endure''', which directly adds to defence and helps make up for the lack of defence provided by light armour.

===Weapons===
Zealots usually weild Scimitars, Falchions, Sabers and 2-handed-swords which rely less on strength, and more on dexterity. They are also capable of duel weilding. New Zealot characters begin the game weilding a plain scimitar.

===Miscellaneous===
Zealots can also equip the new class specific item '''Soustone Chain''' Which is a requirment for manifestation. New Zealot characters begin the game wearing soulstone chains that give +1 to Manifest.

==Attributes and Skills==
Zealots rely on [[dexterity]] for damage unlike most other [[melee]] classes which rely on [[strength]]. Strength still plays a minor role in base damage, but is usually only increased enough to equip the heavy curved swords zealot's seem to love so much. Next important is [[willpower]] for [[mana]] - which acts like health while the Zealot is in manifest form and obviously allows casting of spells. And then there is vitality, which should definitely get a stat point or two every time you level up.

===Attributes===

====Starting Attributes====
*'''[[Strength]]:''' 7
*'''[[Dexterity]]:''' 15
*'''[[Vitality]]:''' 10
*'''[[Willpower]]:''' 8
*'''[[Life]]:''' 25
*'''[[Mana]]:''' 35
*'''[[Stamina]]:''' 30

====Level Increase====
*'''[[Life]]:''' 1
*'''[[Mana]]:''' 1.5
*'''[[Stamina]]:''' 1.5

===Zealot Skills===
Zealot skills can be describes as eclectic, with a vast array to choose from. Some work well together, others don't. The skills are what make this class so fun, especially manifest and those that enhance it. There are skills for beginner players, such as the passive and defensive skills in the Body tree. Then there are skills for more strategic players, such as those in the Mind tree, which do more damage when the target is low on mana and/or has a large maximum mana pool, and ofcourse offensive elemental skills for blowing stuff up.

The '''Zealot skills''' are arranged into to three distinctive skill tree categories:
* [[Fan_class:Zealot#Soul_Skills|Soul]]
* [[Fan_class:Zealot#Body_Skills|Body]]
* [[Fan_class:Zealot#Mind_Skills|Mind]]
All three trees have a combination of active and passive skills. Active skills are used in combat, while the passive skills boost or change the behaviour of the active skills.

====Soul Skills====
[[Image:Zea-manifest1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|'''Manifest''']]
The '''Soul tree skills''' are drawn from the crystal the [[Zealot]] wears on a chain around his neck. These crystals are actually [[soulstone]]s containing the tortured souls of angels trapped for all eternity. Through training and discipline the [[Zealot]] learns to draw out just enough of the angel's essence to empower himself without being fully possessed by the chaotic being trapped within.

Soul skills can be divided into 4 catagories:

*Summoning
*Sight
*Wings
*Flesh

<div style="clear:both;"></div>

* Tier 1 Skills
** '''Manifest''' Shapeshift into a celestial being with the aid of a ''soulstone chain''. Higher levels increase statistics and raises the cap on related skills. requires that a soulstone chain be equiped
** '''Brighteye (Passive)''' Increases light radius and attack rating while in manifest form.
** '''Levitation (Passive)''' Every level increases the range weapons require to hit you while in manifest form, and also allows you to navigate terrain with less obstacle collisions.
** '''Living Flame (Passive)''' Your left arm becomes engulfed in an intense flame which deals magic damage every time you block melee attacks in Manifest form.
* Tier II Skills
** '''Mind Lapse''' an active skill which allows the tainted angel to momentarily control your manifest form, dealing increased damage. Higher levels increase duration and attack damage. Low levels mhave a chance to attack allied characters and minions.
** '''Inner Fire (Passive)''' Greatly increases mana regeneration while in manifest form.
** '''Tendrils of Incense (Passive)''' Gives you [[Tyrael]] wings while in manifest form, which deal magic damage to nearby enemies.
** '''Burning Blade''' Invokes a small amount of angel essence to cover your blade with white fire, dealing bonus magic damage. This is a "per attack" skill similar to Amazon's Charged Strike, and does not require the zealot to be in Manifest form.
* Tier III Skills (10 points required in Soul Skill Tree)
** '''Summon Wisp''' Summons a spirit from the heavens to aid you. Higher levels increase duration and every 5 levels allows another Wisp
** '''Divine Visage (Passive)''' Gives you an aura while in manifest form which increases the attack rate of nearby allied characters and minions.
** '''Ascension''' Fly to target location, level increases flight distance. Does not require manifest form, but flight can be continued/altered during mid-flight while in manifest form.
** '''Tempered Flesh (Passive)''' Increases block rate, does not require manifest form. Recieves synergy from Living flame skill.
* Tier IV Skills (15 points required in Soul Skill Tree)
** '''Summon Angel''' Summons an angel to fight by your side. Angels have the same statistics to your own manifest form, but look a bit more holy {as apposed to the abomination you resemble). Does not require manifest form. Higher levels increase duration
** '''Holy Fire Mastery (Passive)''' Works in the same way as sorceress' elemental masteries by lowering enemy resistance to magic damage.

====Body Skills====
[[Image:Zea-magicalDefence1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|'''Magical Defence''']]
The '''Body tree skills''' are derived from the fact that Zealots are trained under the harshest conditions in the desert wastelands south of [[Lut Gholein]]. The harsh sun, the cruel night and the unpredictable sandstorms are just a few of the daily struggles a lesser man would not expect to survive.
The active body skills cost no mana, but often involve running at the enemy which lowers your block chance drastically and cannot be stopped unless you are hit during the sprint. skills that utilize sprint do cost stamina.

Body skills can be divided into 4 categories:

*Endurance
*Evasion
*Fast Attacks (usually require stamina)
*Power Attacks (often require good timing)

<div style="clear:both;"></div>

* Tier 1 Skills
** '''Magical Resistance (Passive)''' Each level adds 1 point to fire and cold resistance and .25 to lightning, poison and magic resistance
** '''Dodge (Passive)''' Gives a chance to avoid melee attacks (exactly the same as Amazon)
** '''Sprint Attack''' Sprint at an enemy to deliver a knockback blow. Sprint speed depends on faster run/walk and armour weight. No mana cost.
** '''Blade Mastery (Passive)''' Each level increases attack rating and damage inflicted by swords, daggers and axes. Effect is doubled for scimitars, cutlasses, falchions, sabers and other curve bladed swords.
* Tier II Skills
** '''Magical Defence (Passive)''' Each level reduces damage taken from spells by .5
** '''Avoid (Passive)''' Gives a chance to avoid ranged attacks(exactly the same as Amazon).
** '''Blink Strike''' Sprint behind enemy and strike from behind. cannot be blocked and has a chance to open wounds. sprint speed depends on faster run/walk and armour weight. No mana cost.
** '''Parry''' Momentarily gives an increased chance to block melee attacks, inflicting great damage if the block is successful. Timing this move right before you are hit by an enemy melee attack is essential. No mana cost.
* Tier III Skills (10 points required in Body Skill Tree)
** '''Endure (Passive)''' Increases defence (which helps makes up for a zealots usual choice of light armour.)
** '''Evade (Passive)''' Gives a chance to evade melee and ranged attacks even while running/walking (exactly the same as Amazon)
** '''Lightning Assault''' A very fast combo attack which inflicts bonus lightning damage, has a small amount of knockback, a chance to open wounds and a chance to ignore target defence. The gap is closed with a short sprint every time enemy is knocked back.
** '''Shield Breaker''' A melee attack that does not use sprint, but requires a short period of standing still without being hit before unleashing a single devastating attack which always hits (as long as the enemy has not moved out of range), ignores target defence and cannot be blocked. No mana cost.
* Tier IV Skills (15 points required in Body Skill Tree)
** '''Agility (Passive)''' Increases run/walk speed, sprint speed and chance to dodge, avoid and evade
** '''Dedication (Passive)''' Every level gives a chance to inflict critical hits or stun with every attack. Also increases the chance your attack skills will knockback, cannot be blocked, ignore target defence, open wounds.

====Mind Skills====
[[Image:Zea-manaBlast1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|'''Mana Blast''']]
The '''Mind tree skills''' are learned in the [[Lut Gholein]] monastery through years of training. For the most part they are offensive magic spells dealing different types of elemental damage. Some of the more unique mind skills involve the enemy's current mana in the damage calculation, dealing more damage when the target is low on mana and/or has a large maximum mana.

Mind skills can be divided into 4 categories:

*Mana Stealing
*Mana Manipulation
*Magic Damage (often based on enemy mana)
*Elemental Damage

<div style="clear:both;"></div>

* Tier 1 Skills
** '''Mana Burn (Passive)''' Gives your melee attacks a mana steal ability. Higher levels increase mana stolen.
** '''Mana Bolt''' Shoots a bolt which damages enemy's mana instead of health.
** '''Mana Flare''' Shoots 3 bolts that deal magic damage. Inflicts slightly greater damage when enemy is low on mana and/or has a large maximum mana. Higher levels increase number of bolts.
** '''Frost Shards''' Launches several low damage ice bolts
* Tier II Skills
** '''Mana Chain''' A ranged attack which connects the zealot to an enemy, stealing mana over time.
** '''Blood Mana''' A curse which swaps an enemy's mana and health for the duration. (Exactly like the harpies in DII)
** '''Mana Blast''' This is THE zealot skill. Inflicts damage that is multiplied by enemies maximum mana minus their current mana. Will still do damage if the enemy has full mana, though it works best against enemies with large mana pools who are currently low on mana. In such a case the damage would likely kill in one hit. Deals magic damage and has a medium area effect.
** '''Sandstorm''' Whips up a sandstorm which surrounds the zealot for a few seconds, giving a chance to deflect ranged attacks and physically damaging enemies that get too close.
* Tier III Skills (10 points required in Mind Skill Tree)
** '''Mana Vortex''' Creates an area of effect at chosen location with mana steal
** '''Mana Share''' Expel all your current mana, spreading it evenly between nearby allies.
** '''Fizzle''' Strikes all nearby enemies instantly with mana below 50% dealing massive magic damage. Spell has a 2 second cooldown period. Higher levels increase damage and enemy mana percent required with 75% as a cap.
** '''Ion Blast''' a ranged lightning attack which shoots out charged bolts when it collides with the enemy or obstacles.
* Tier IV Skills (15 points required in Mind Skill Tree)
** '''Spellbreaker''' A nova type spell that greatly damages the mana of all enemies it hits. (Does not have mana steal.)
** '''Holy Fire''' launches tendrils of fire in the direction the zealot is facing. (Exactly like Diablo's fire attack in DII)







<gallery>
Image:Female_Zealot.jpg|Female Zealot
Image:Male_Zealot.jpg|Male Zealot
Image:Zea-manaBlast1.jpg|Mana Blast
Image:Zea-magicalDefence1.jpg|Magical Defence
Image:Zea-manifest1.jpg|Manifest
</gallery>

==References==
If you like my class idea, please leave a comment on the discussion page. Just click the discussion tab at the top of this page and then the edit tab to leave a comment.

{{Fan creation navbox}}
{{Class navbox}}

Fanmade:Arcane Warrior

2009-12-18T20:01:46Z

Newbie: /* Steel & Fire Skills */

The '''Arcane Warrior''' is a highly [[magic]]-augmented warrior that could focus equally on [[melee]] or [[ranged|missiles]]. Her main skills are enchantments on her weapons and armor that add elemental or other magical properties.

{{Fanclass|'''Technomancer''' ([[Leord]] & [[Holyknight3000]] assisted) Concept Art by [[Boqu]]}}
==Background==
{{Classbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Arcane_Warrior.jpg

|name= Arcane Warrior
|classtype= fanclass
|role= [[Melee]]/[[Ranged]]/[[Caster]] hybrid
|attrib= [[Strength]] [[Dexterity]] [[Willpower]]

|skilltree1= [[Arcane_Warrior#Steel_&_Fire_Skills|Steel & Fire]]
|skilltree2= [[Arcane_Warrior#Pax_Arcanna_Skills|Pax Arcanna]]
|skilltree3= [[Arcane_Warrior#Terra_Firma_Skills|Terra Firma]]

|origin= [[Sanctuary]]
|affiliation= [[Vizjerei]]
|friends= None Known
|foes= [[Viz-Jaq'taar]] Assassins
|catexclude=
}}
Upon the destruction of the [[Worldstone]] 20 years ago, a [[Vizjerei]] elder concluded that the mortal powers of Order had failed. Secretly, he went to the [[Viz-Jaq'taar]] Assassins to share his concerns and make a proposal. Even though the [[Prime Evils]] were defeated, mortal powers and agents were still not powerful enough to save the Worldstone. He feared that following its destruction, things would get worse and proposed that the Assassin's lack of magic was weakness, that the time would soon come to fight fire with fire. He suggested that they should begin to incorporate magic to counter the coming flood. He was rejected outright by most of the clan, and nearly slain on principle, but one Assassin elder had reached a similar conclusion, but didn't know how to act upon it. With this opportunity, he stole away with the Vizjerei elder and a few of the younger clan members, to work on combining their knowledge and powers to create a new breed of mage-knight. Once the Viz-Jaq'taar realized what had transpired, they decreed death for all violators, but the group disappeared and no one had heard from them to this day. All knowledge of what had transpired was hidden.

They spent years hidden away from the world in the northern reaches near the ruined [[Mount Arreat]]. They honed their skills, focusing less on subversion and more on direct confrontation. From the Assassin's understanding of the mind and martial combat and the Vizjerei elder's understanding of the Elemental magics, a marriage was made into magically enhanced warriors. This combination of studies gave special insights into the nature of the world and gave these new warriors the power to tap into the very elemental threads that are woven into our world and weave them into their own bodies and equipment. They also gained some insight into exploring the Ether. They spent a great deal of time developing methods of countering and diffusing hostile magicks and it's practitioners, as per Assassin tradition, up close and at range. They also knew, however, that the demonic hordes need not rely on magic to wreak their destruction, so great emphasis was also placed on raw combat power and fortitude.

With the coming of the falling star, they knew that their time had arrived. They re-emerged into the world to discover what foul forces were involved. While two of the apprentices were away doing reconnaissance, their base of operations was utterly destroyed. Most were killed, the rest were missing. The elders were not among the remains, nor were there any clues as to the perpetrators. Had the Assassins finally caught up to them? Was it the mustering forces of evil? The two apprentices had no answers, but were determined to fulfill their duties. They ventured into the world on their own to discover what evil schemes plotted against Sanctuary and to put it to an end... or die trying...

==Character Design==
The Arcane Warrior is a highly magic augmented warrior that could focus equally on [[melee]] or [[ranged|missiles]]. Her main skills are enchantments on her weapons and armor that add elemental or other magical properties, possibly even castable on allies. In D2 terms, it'd be something of a cross between a [[Paladin]], [[Amazon]], and [[Assassin]].

==Attributes and Skills==

Base level Enchantment skills are cast by the character and last until overridden with new Enchantments or dispelled. They can be passively augmented with more spectacular effects with different skills. Can have only 1 Weapon and 1 Armor Enchantment active at a time. When special effects are triggered, they automatically drain mana, and if there is no mana, effect is cancelled.

===Arcane Warrior Skills===
The Arcane Warrior skills are arranged into to three distinctive skill tree categories:
* Steel & Fire
* Pax Arcanna
* Terra Firma
All three trees have a combination of active and passive skills. Active skills are used in combat, while the passive skills boost or change the behaviour of the active skills.

In each tree, Tier I has a master Weapon Enchantment (2 in Steel & Fire), and Tier II has a master Armor Enchantment. Additional Enchantments are simply augmentations of those skills. The master skills are Burn, Jolt, Spellbind, and Frostbite for weapons and Flame Armor, Mystic Fortress, and Rockform for armor.

====Steel & Fire Skills====
This tree focuses on speed and raw destructive output. Uses Fire and Lightning. "A good defense is a good offense."

'''Tier I:'''
* '''Burn:''' Active. Enchants Weapon. Adds fire damage to attacks and increases accuracy. Enables additional Fire Weapon Enchantments.
* '''Jolt:''' Active. Enchants weapon. Adds electrical damage to attacks and increases attack speed. Enables additional Lightning Weapon Enchantments.
* '''Lightning Spirit:''' Passive. Increase attack speed and accuracy.
* '''Channeling the Flame:''' Passive. Increases damage done by Enchantments in this tree.

'''Tier II:'''
* '''Twitch:''' Active. Missile attack. Essentially a Missile based Zeal or fixed # Strafe.
* '''Flame Armor:''' Active. Enchant Armor. Deal fire damage to any melee attackers. Enables additional Fire Armor Enchantments.
* '''Flame Spray:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. Adds a chance to cause a spherical firewall centered on target.
* '''Lightning Rod:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. When enemy is struck, a lightning bolt goes from character through target. Can trigger multiple bolts from one attack. More useful for multiple missiles against clustered enemies.
* '''Missile Mastery:''' Passive. Increases Damage, Accuracy, and Crit. % of Missile attacks.

'''Tier III:'''
* '''Sweep:''' Active. Melee attack. Spins once in a circle, striking any surrounding enemies within range.
* '''Flame Sabres:''' Active. Spell. Creates floating swords made of fire that seek targets to attack and deal fire damage. They stay around until attacked and destroyed.
* '''Flame Nova:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. Can trigger a fire based nova from target. Increasing rank increases size of effect.
* '''Chain Static:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. Causes electrical damage to target that jumps to nearby enemies, quickly rippling through tightly packed groups.
* '''Conflagration:''' Passive. Enchant Armor. When hit, has a chance of causing the ground around the character to burst into flames for xx seconds.

'''Tier IV:'''
* '''Ricochet:''' Active. Missile attack. When a target is struck, the arrow jumps to the nearest target. Every time a target is struck, the arrow keeps retargetting up to a skill based maximum or until it misses one.
* '''Thunderclap:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. When attacking, has a chance of calling down a lightning bolt on top of character, knocking all foes back next to character and dealing damage.
* '''Burst:''' Passive. Enchants Armor. When an enemy attacks, has a chance of causing explosive fire damage to targets adjacent to character, knocking them back.
* '''Fire Elemental:''' Passive. Activates if Burn or Jolt and Flame Armor are active. Transforms into a Fire Elemental, dealing extra fire and increasing Fire and Lightning damage. Also, absorbs fire damage.

====Pax Arcanna Skills====
This tree focuses on penetrating and neutralizing hostile magics and magicians. Uses skills that interfere with magic, and uses teleportation offensively and defensively. "What good is magic if you're unable to use it?"

'''Tier I:'''
* '''Displace:''' Active. Melee attack. On striking, teleport to another random position next to target. The confusion enhances your defense for x seconds. Has a 3 second cooldown.
* '''Spellbind:''' Active. Enchants weapon. Has a chance to silence target. Enables additional Magical Weapon Enchantments.
* '''Resist Affliction:''' Passive. Decreases the chance that negative condition magics can affect character, like chill, slow, silence, etc. and also decreases the duration of such effects if they get through.
* '''Enhanced Spellbinding:''' Passive. Increases the duration of all effects caused by skills from this tree.

'''Tier II:'''
* '''Dispel:''' Active. Spell. Sends out a shockwave that will dispel any negative magic effects on friendly units.
* '''Mystic Fortress:''' Active. Enchants armor so that when attacked, fires a silence bolt at attacker. Enables additional Magical Armor Enchantments.
* '''Interference:''' Passive. Enchants weapon to inflict a condition that causes target's casting rate to be greatly decreased.
* '''Skip:''' Passive. Enchant Armor. When attacked, has a chance of teleporting to a random location within range. Could be annoying to some players, but to those who thrive on chaos, welcome home! Could be a particularly useful defense for range-based characters. Will not teleport through walls or closed doors.
* '''Arcane Defenses:''' Passive. Increases resistance to arcane magics.

'''Tier III:'''
* '''Summon:''' Active. Spell. When cast on a target, causes them to be teleported right next to caster. Doesn't work on bosses or other characters.
* '''Short Circuit:''' Active. Spell. Cast on a single target. Caster loses half and target loses all mana, adjusted for Arcane resistance. (may not be very relevant, because they may not keep track of enemy mana. PvP uses would be neat-o.)
* '''Blood Price:''' Passive. Enchant Weapon. Adds mana damage and inflicts a condition on target that causes any abilities that drain Mana to drain an equal amount of Health as well.
* '''Absorb Magic:''' Passive. Enchants armor. Has a chance of absorbing spells cast at character, eliminating damage and restoring however much mana that skill cost.
* '''Enhanced Evocation:''' Passive. Increases chances that any Weapon or Armor Enchantments will activate.

'''Tier IV:'''
* '''Shift Stirke:''' Active. Melee. Quickly teleport next to an enemy, attack, then zips back to her original location. If hit, she's stuck where she's at.
* '''Disruption:''' Active Spell. Sends out a shockwave that destroys any enemy spells, offensive or defensive, within the given radius. Does not affect friendly units (ie. use Dispel to get rid of negative effects).
* '''Tiamat:''' Passive. Enchants weapon. Adds elemental damage of fire, cold and lightning to attacks. Enhanced by Burn, Jolt, and Frostbite. Only works if Spellbind is active.
* '''Reflect:''' Passive. Enchants armor to have a chance of reflecting magics cast at character.
* '''Efficient Evocation:''' Passive. Decreases mana costs incurred when Enchantment effects trigger.

====Terra Firma Skills====
This tree focuses more on defense and fortitude. Attacks are based on strength more than speed. Uses Stone/Earth and Cold. "The mountain need not fear the storm." (Note: Earth elemental skills are only called that for conceptual reasons and cause physical damage, not an "earth elemental" damage type. That is, unless Blizzard adds that.)

'''Tier I:'''
* '''Ethereal Anchor:''' Active. Missile attack. A successful attack can anchor the foe in place, unable to move, but can still attack. Doesn't work on bosses or other players.
* '''Frostbite:''' Active. Enchants Weapon. Adds cold damage to attacks and chills targets. Enables additional Cold Enchantments
* '''Immovability:''' Passive. Decreases the chance that any effect can cause the character to move against his will, ie. knockback effects.
* '''Quenching the Flame:''' Passive. Increases damage done by Enchantments in this tree.

'''Tier II:'''
* '''Stone Guardian:''' Active. Spell. Creates a floating fist of stone that randomly attacks nearby foes. Certain runes may add Knockback.
* '''Rockform:''' Active. Enchants Armor. Increases Defense and Damage Reduction. Enables additional Stone Enchantment.
* '''Project Cold:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. Chills enemies within a given radius.
* '''Inertia:''' Passive. Causes attacks to physically pack more force. Increases physical damage and with Missile attacks, increases the distance the missiles will travel.
* '''Melee Mastery:''' Passive. Increase Damage, Accuracy, and Crit. % of Melee attacks.

'''Tier III:'''
* '''Torque:''' Active. Melee or missile attack. Slower attack, but does much more damage. If missile, it travels faster (if engine supports that).
* '''Stalagmite:''' Active. Spell. Summons a spike of solid rock from the earth at the desired location. Any enemies nearby take physical damage and pillar remains as an obstacle until destroyed.
* '''Icicle:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. Has a chance of causing a giant Icicle to fall on target, causing splash damage to nearby foes.
* '''Attunement:''' Passive. Increases resistance to fire/ice/lightning.

'''Tier IV:'''
* '''Anvil of the Earth:''' Active. Melee attack. Crushing attack with cooldown time that does highly increased damage to target and nearby targets.
* '''Ice Shield:''' Active. Spell. Creates a literal shield made of solid ice. If a shield is being used, it enhances it defenses and blocking. Without a shield, it floats near caster and confers double the blocking bonus that Ice Shield adds to a shield and can be used with 2-handed weapons.
* '''Jagged Shards:''' Passive. Enchants Armor. Causes sharp rock protrusions to spring from armor, causing physical damage on melee attackers. Against missile attacks, has a chance of shattering the missile, causing no damage. Against attackers that have weapon Durability (ie. PvP), has an equal chance of reducing Durability of attackers melee weapon by one.
* '''Earth Elemental:''' Passive. Activates if Frostbite and Rockform are both active. Transforms into Stone. Makes Earth and Ice skills do more damage, adds defense. Also, adds resistances to cold and lightning.

==Development==
The Arcane Warrior was first posted 9 June 2009 [http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=728784] by [http://forums.diii.net/member.php?u=335830 Technomancer] on the [http://forums.diii.net/ Diii.net forums].
It was re-posted as a wiki article by [[Holyknight3000]] and [[Leord]] on 10 June 2009.
The wiki and original post were updated by [http://forums.diii.net/member.php?u=335830 Technomancer] with a major update/overhaul on 17 June 2009.
The wiki and original post were updated by [http://forums.diii.net/member.php?u=335830 Technomancer] to add more passives and change the skill layout to better match the Diablo 3 schemes on 22 June 2009.

===Technomancer Notes===
This is a pretty large overhaul on the original idea, which I kept in quotes at the bottom of the original message board post. This class is now something of a D2 combination of [[Paladin]], [[Amazon]], and [[Assassin]]. This is pretty much a full class now, without technical game stats. I thought it was a good idea to change primary gender to female, not just because of [[Boqu]]'s awesome artwork, but I always thought it would be cool to have a female character that could hold the front lines shoulder to shoulder with the Barbarian!



==Media==
<gallery>
Image:Arcane_Warrior.jpg|Arcane Warrior Concept by Boqu
</gallery>

<br>

==References==
* [http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=728784 Original post]
* [http://forums.diii.net/member.php?u=335830 Technomancer's profile]
* [http://forums.diii.net/member.php?u=136916 Boqu's Profile]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=503 Diablo Fan Art Gallery]

{{fan creation navbox}}
{{class navbox}}

Fanmade:Arcane Warrior

2009-12-18T19:49:50Z

Newbie:

The '''Arcane Warrior''' is a highly [[magic]]-augmented warrior that could focus equally on [[melee]] or [[ranged|missiles]]. Her main skills are enchantments on her weapons and armor that add elemental or other magical properties.

{{Fanclass|'''Technomancer''' ([[Leord]] & [[Holyknight3000]] assisted) Concept Art by [[Boqu]]}}
==Background==
{{Classbox
|game= Diablo III
|portrait= Arcane_Warrior.jpg

|name= Arcane Warrior
|classtype= fanclass
|role= [[Melee]]/[[Ranged]]/[[Caster]] hybrid
|attrib= [[Strength]] [[Dexterity]] [[Willpower]]

|skilltree1= [[Arcane_Warrior#Steel_&_Fire_Skills|Steel & Fire]]
|skilltree2= [[Arcane_Warrior#Pax_Arcanna_Skills|Pax Arcanna]]
|skilltree3= [[Arcane_Warrior#Terra_Firma_Skills|Terra Firma]]

|origin= [[Sanctuary]]
|affiliation= [[Vizjerei]]
|friends= None Known
|foes= [[Viz-Jaq'taar]] Assassins
|catexclude=
}}
Upon the destruction of the [[Worldstone]] 20 years ago, a [[Vizjerei]] elder concluded that the mortal powers of Order had failed. Secretly, he went to the [[Viz-Jaq'taar]] Assassins to share his concerns and make a proposal. Even though the [[Prime Evils]] were defeated, mortal powers and agents were still not powerful enough to save the Worldstone. He feared that following its destruction, things would get worse and proposed that the Assassin's lack of magic was weakness, that the time would soon come to fight fire with fire. He suggested that they should begin to incorporate magic to counter the coming flood. He was rejected outright by most of the clan, and nearly slain on principle, but one Assassin elder had reached a similar conclusion, but didn't know how to act upon it. With this opportunity, he stole away with the Vizjerei elder and a few of the younger clan members, to work on combining their knowledge and powers to create a new breed of mage-knight. Once the Viz-Jaq'taar realized what had transpired, they decreed death for all violators, but the group disappeared and no one had heard from them to this day. All knowledge of what had transpired was hidden.

They spent years hidden away from the world in the northern reaches near the ruined [[Mount Arreat]]. They honed their skills, focusing less on subversion and more on direct confrontation. From the Assassin's understanding of the mind and martial combat and the Vizjerei elder's understanding of the Elemental magics, a marriage was made into magically enhanced warriors. This combination of studies gave special insights into the nature of the world and gave these new warriors the power to tap into the very elemental threads that are woven into our world and weave them into their own bodies and equipment. They also gained some insight into exploring the Ether. They spent a great deal of time developing methods of countering and diffusing hostile magicks and it's practitioners, as per Assassin tradition, up close and at range. They also knew, however, that the demonic hordes need not rely on magic to wreak their destruction, so great emphasis was also placed on raw combat power and fortitude.

With the coming of the falling star, they knew that their time had arrived. They re-emerged into the world to discover what foul forces were involved. While two of the apprentices were away doing reconnaissance, their base of operations was utterly destroyed. Most were killed, the rest were missing. The elders were not among the remains, nor were there any clues as to the perpetrators. Had the Assassins finally caught up to them? Was it the mustering forces of evil? The two apprentices had no answers, but were determined to fulfill their duties. They ventured into the world on their own to discover what evil schemes plotted against Sanctuary and to put it to an end... or die trying...

==Character Design==
The Arcane Warrior is a highly magic augmented warrior that could focus equally on [[melee]] or [[ranged|missiles]]. Her main skills are enchantments on her weapons and armor that add elemental or other magical properties, possibly even castable on allies. In D2 terms, it'd be something of a cross between a [[Paladin]], [[Amazon]], and [[Assassin]].

==Attributes and Skills==

Base level Enchantment skills are cast by the character and last until overridden with new Enchantments or dispelled. They can be passively augmented with more spectacular effects with different skills. Can have only 1 Weapon and 1 Armor Enchantment active at a time. When special effects are triggered, they automatically drain mana, and if there is no mana, effect is cancelled.

===Arcane Warrior Skills===
The Arcane Warrior skills are arranged into to three distinctive skill tree categories:
* Steel & Fire
* Pax Arcanna
* Terra Firma
All three trees have a combination of active and passive skills. Active skills are used in combat, while the passive skills boost or change the behaviour of the active skills.

In each tree, Tier I has a master Weapon Enchantment (2 in Steel & Fire), and Tier II has a master Armor Enchantment. Additional Enchantments are simply augmentations of those skills. The master skills are Burn, Jolt, Spellbind, and Frostbite for weapons and Flame Armor, Mystic Fortress, and Rockform for armor.

====Steel & Fire Skills====
This tree focuses on speed and raw destructive output. Uses Fire and Lightning. "A good defense is a good offense."

'''Tier I:'''
* '''Burn:''' Active. Enchants Weapon. Adds fire damage to attacks and increases accuracy. Enables additional Fire Weapon Enchantments.
* '''Jolt:''' Active. Enchants weapon. Adds electrical damage to attacks and increases attack speed. Enables additional Lightning Weapon Enchantments.
* '''Lightning Spirit:''' Passive. Increase attack speed and accuracy.
* '''Channeling the Flame:''' Passive. Increases damage done by Enchantments in this tree.

'''Tier II:'''
* '''Twitch:''' Active. Missile attack. Essentially a Missile based Zeal or fixed # Strafe.
* '''Flame Armor:''' Active. Enchant Armor. Deal fire damage to any melee attackers. Enables additional Fire Armor Enchantments.
* '''Flame Spray:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. Adds a chance to cause a spherical firewall centered on target.
* '''Lightning Rod:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. When enemy is struck, a lightning bolt goes from character thru target. Can trigger multiple bolts from one attack. More useful for multiple missiles against clustered enemies.
* '''Missile Mastery:''' Passive. Increases Damage, Accuracy, and Crit. % of Missile attacks.

'''Tier III:'''
* '''Sweep:''' Active. Melee attack. Spins once in a circle, striking any surrounding enemies within range.
* '''Flame Sabres:''' Active. Spell. Creates floating swords made of fire that seek targets to attack and deal fire damage. They stay around until attacked and destroyed.
* '''Flame Nova:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. Can triggers a fire based nova from target. Increasing rank increases size of effect.
* '''Chain Static:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. Causes electrical damage to target that jumps to any units next to them, etc, etc, quickly rippling through tightly packed enemies.
* '''Conflageration:''' Passive. Enchant Armor. When hit, has a chance of causing the ground around the character to burst into fire for xx seconds.

'''Tier IV:'''
* '''Ricochet:''' Active. Missile attack. When a target is struck, the arrow jumps to the nearest target. Everytime a target is struck, the arrow keeps retargetting up to a skill based maximum or until it misses one.
* '''Thunderclap:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. When attacking, has a chance of calling down a lightning bolt on top of character, knocking all foes back next to character and dealing damage.
* '''Burst:''' Passive. Enchants Armor. When an enemy attacks, has a chance of causing explosive fire damage to targets adjacent to character, knocking them back.
* '''Fire Elemental:''' Passive. Activates if Burn or Jolt and Flame Armor are active. Transforms into a Fire Elemental, dealing extra fire and increasing Fire and Lightning damage. Also, absorbs fire damage.

====Pax Arcanna Skills====
This tree focuses on penetrating and neutralizing hostile magics and magicians. Uses skills that interfere with magic, and uses teleportation offensively and defensively. "What good is magic if you're unable to use it?"

'''Tier I:'''
* '''Displace:''' Active. Melee attack. On striking, teleport to another random position next to target. The confusion enhances your defense for x seconds. Has a 3 second cooldown.
* '''Spellbind:''' Active. Enchants weapon. Has a chance to silence target. Enables additional Magical Weapon Enchantments.
* '''Resist Affliction:''' Passive. Decreases the chance that negative condition magics can affect character, like chill, slow, silence, etc. and also decreases the duration of such effects if they get through.
* '''Enhanced Spellbinding:''' Passive. Increases the duration of all effects caused by skills from this tree.

'''Tier II:'''
* '''Dispel:''' Active. Spell. Sends out a shockwave that will dispel any negative magic effects on friendly units.
* '''Mystic Fortress:''' Active. Enchants armor so that when attacked, fires a silence bolt at attacker. Enables additional Magical Armor Enchantments.
* '''Interference:''' Passive. Enchants weapon to inflict a condition that causes target's casting rate to be greatly decreased.
* '''Skip:''' Passive. Enchant Armor. When attacked, has a chance of teleporting to a random location within range. Could be annoying to some players, but to those who thrive on chaos, welcome home! Could be a particularly useful defense for range-based characters. Will not teleport through walls or closed doors.
* '''Arcane Defenses:''' Passive. Increases resistance to arcane magics.

'''Tier III:'''
* '''Summon:''' Active. Spell. When cast on a target, causes them to be teleported right next to caster. Doesn't work on bosses or other characters.
* '''Short Circuit:''' Active. Spell. Cast on a single target. Caster loses half and target loses all mana, adjusted for Arcane resistance. (may not be very relevant, because they may not keep track of enemy mana. PvP uses would be neat-o.)
* '''Blood Price:''' Passive. Enchant Weapon. Adds mana damage and inflicts a condition on target that causes any abilities that drain Mana to drain an equal amount of Health as well.
* '''Absorb Magic:''' Passive. Enchants armor. Has a chance of absorbing spells cast at character, eliminating damage and restoring however much mana that skill cost.
* '''Enhanced Evocation:''' Passive. Increases chances that any Weapon or Armor Enchantments will activate.

'''Tier IV:'''
* '''Shift Stirke:''' Active. Melee. Quickly teleport next to an enemy, attack, then zips back to her original location. If hit, she's stuck where she's at.
* '''Disruption:''' Active Spell. Sends out a shockwave that destroys any enemy spells, offensive or defensive, within the given radius. Does not affect friendly units (ie. use Dispel to get rid of negative effects).
* '''Tiamat:''' Passive. Enchants weapon. Adds elemental damage of fire, cold and lightning to attacks. Enhanced by Burn, Jolt, and Frostbite. Only works if Spellbind is active.
* '''Reflect:''' Passive. Enchants armor to have a chance of reflecting magics cast at character.
* '''Efficient Evocation:''' Passive. Decreases mana costs incurred when Enchantment effects trigger.

====Terra Firma Skills====
This tree focuses more on defense and fortitude. Attacks are based on strength more than speed. Uses Stone/Earth and Cold. "The mountain need not fear the storm." (Note: Earth elemental skills are only called that for conceptual reasons and cause physical damage, not an "earth elemental" damage type. That is, unless Blizzard adds that.)

'''Tier I:'''
* '''Ethereal Anchor:''' Active. Missile attack. A successful attack can anchor the foe in place, unable to move, but can still attack. Doesn't work on bosses or other players.
* '''Frostbite:''' Active. Enchants Weapon. Adds cold damage to attacks and chills targets. Enables additional Cold Enchantments
* '''Immovability:''' Passive. Decreases the chance that any effect can cause the character to move against his will, ie. knockback effects.
* '''Quenching the Flame:''' Passive. Increases damage done by Enchantments in this tree.

'''Tier II:'''
* '''Stone Guardian:''' Active. Spell. Creates a floating fist of stone that randomly attacks nearby foes. Certain runes may add Knockback.
* '''Rockform:''' Active. Enchants Armor. Increases Defense and Damage Reduction. Enables additional Stone Enchantment.
* '''Project Cold:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. Chills enemies within a given radius.
* '''Inertia:''' Passive. Causes attacks to physically pack more force. Increases physical damage and with Missile attacks, increases the distance the missiles will travel.
* '''Melee Mastery:''' Passive. Increase Damage, Accuracy, and Crit. % of Melee attacks.

'''Tier III:'''
* '''Torque:''' Active. Melee or missile attack. Slower attack, but does much more damage. If missile, it travels faster (if engine supports that).
* '''Stalagmite:''' Active. Spell. Summons a spike of solid rock from the earth at the desired location. Any enemies nearby take physical damage and pillar remains as an obstacle until destroyed.
* '''Icicle:''' Passive. Enchants Weapon. Has a chance of causing a giant Icicle to fall on target, causing splash damage to nearby foes.
* '''Attunement:''' Passive. Increases resistance to fire/ice/lightning.

'''Tier IV:'''
* '''Anvil of the Earth:''' Active. Melee attack. Crushing attack with cooldown time that does highly increased damage to target and nearby targets.
* '''Ice Shield:''' Active. Spell. Creates a literal shield made of solid ice. If a shield is being used, it enhances it defenses and blocking. Without a shield, it floats near caster and confers double the blocking bonus that Ice Shield adds to a shield and can be used with 2-handed weapons.
* '''Jagged Shards:''' Passive. Enchants Armor. Causes sharp rock protrusions to spring from armor, causing physical damage on melee attackers. Against missile attacks, has a chance of shattering the missile, causing no damage. Against attackers that have weapon Durability (ie. PvP), has an equal chance of reducing Durability of attackers melee weapon by one.
* '''Earth Elemental:''' Passive. Activates if Frostbite and Rockform are both active. Transforms into Stone. Makes Earth and Ice skills do more damage, adds defense. Also, adds resistances to cold and lightning.

==Development==
The Arcane Warrior was first posted 9 June 2009 [http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=728784] by [http://forums.diii.net/member.php?u=335830 Technomancer] on the [http://forums.diii.net/ Diii.net forums].
It was re-posted as a wiki article by [[Holyknight3000]] and [[Leord]] on 10 June 2009.
The wiki and original post were updated by [http://forums.diii.net/member.php?u=335830 Technomancer] with a major update/overhaul on 17 June 2009.
The wiki and original post were updated by [http://forums.diii.net/member.php?u=335830 Technomancer] to add more passives and change the skill layout to better match the Diablo 3 schemes on 22 June 2009.

===Technomancer Notes===
This is a pretty large overhaul on the original idea, which I kept in quotes at the bottom of the original message board post. This class is now something of a D2 combination of [[Paladin]], [[Amazon]], and [[Assassin]]. This is pretty much a full class now, without technical game stats. I thought it was a good idea to change primary gender to female, not just because of [[Boqu]]'s awesome artwork, but I always thought it would be cool to have a female character that could hold the front lines shoulder to shoulder with the Barbarian!



==Media==
<gallery>
Image:Arcane_Warrior.jpg|Arcane Warrior Concept by Boqu
</gallery>

<br>

==References==
* [http://forums.diii.net/showthread.php?t=728784 Original post]
* [http://forums.diii.net/member.php?u=335830 Technomancer's profile]
* [http://forums.diii.net/member.php?u=136916 Boqu's Profile]
* [http://www.diii.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=503 Diablo Fan Art Gallery]

{{fan creation navbox}}
{{class navbox}}

User talk:Newbie

2009-12-17T00:43:39Z

Newbie: /* Andariel */

Andariel

2009-12-17T00:35:08Z

Newbie:

[[Image:Mon-andariel01.jpg|frame|right]]
'''Andariel''', also known as the '''Maiden of Anguish''', and the other [[Lesser Evils]] once overthrew the three [[Prime Evils]] - [[Diablo]], [[Mephisto]] and [[Baal]] - banishing them from [[Burning Hells|Hell]] to our world according to ancient [[Horadrim|Horadric]] texts.

==Background==
During the demon war some 20 years ago, she was acting on behalf of [[Diablo]] to prevent anyone from following him eastward to [[Lut Gholein]] and [[Tal Rasha]]'s Tomb, meaning the forces of [[Burning Hells|Hell]] were once again aligned behind Diablo and his Brothers.

Whether or not this was a mutual agreement, or a case of the Lesser Evils beaten into submission is unknown.

Andariel was slain by the [[Barbarian]] hero (and possibly others) as they moved towards the [[Aranoch]] desert.

==Diablo II Andariel==
For more information about Andariel's stats and tactics against her, please see '''Diablo 2 Wiki: {{iw|Andariel Andariel}}'''.

==References==
* {{iw|Andariel Diablo 2 Wiki Andariel}}
* [http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/monsters/act1-andariel.shtml Arreat Summit Andariel]

{{NPC navbox}}

[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Demons]]

File:Mon-andariel01.jpg

2009-12-17T00:33:45Z

Newbie:

Andariel

2009-12-16T01:12:22Z

Newbie:

'''Andariel''', also known as the '''Maiden of Anguish''', and the other [[Lesser Evils]] once overthrew the three [[Prime Evils]] - [[Diablo]], [[Mephisto]] and [[Baal]] - banishing them from [[Burning Hells|Hell]] to our world according to ancient [[Horadrim|Horadric]] texts.

==Background==
During the demon war some 20 years ago, she was acting on behalf of [[Diablo]] to prevent anyone from following him eastward to [[Lut Gholein]] and [[Tal Rasha]]'s Tomb, meaning the forces of [[Burning Hells|Hell]] were once again aligned behind Diablo and his Brothers.

Whether or not this was a mutual agreement, or a case of the Lesser Evils beaten into submission is unknown.

Andariel was slain by the [[Barbarian]] hero (and possibly others) as they moved towards the [[Aranoch]] desert.

==Diablo II Andariel==
For more information about Andariel's stats and tactics against her, please see '''Diablo 2 Wiki: {{iw|Andariel Andariel}}'''.

==References==
* {{iw|Andariel Diablo 2 Wiki Andariel}}
* [http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/monsters/act1-andariel.shtml Arreat Summit Andariel]

{{NPC navbox}}

[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Demons]]